HOW G ERT RU DE

TEACHES HER CHILDREN

AN ATTEMPT TO HE L P M O TH E R S TO T E ACH TH E I R OW N C HfLDR E N

AN D

AN AC C O U N T O F T H E M ET H O D

A Rep o r t t o th e S o ci e ty of the Fr i e n ds of E du c a ti o n B u rg do rf
,

JO H A NN H E I N RI C H P E S T AL O Z Z I

T R AN S L ATE D BY

LU C Y E . HO LL AND AND FRANCE S C T U RNER .

AN D E D I TE D , W I TH I NT R O D U C TI O N AN D N O TE S ,
'

EBE NEZ E R COO K E

S e c o n d E diti o n , f r o m W h o l ly N ew Pl a t es

S Y R A CU S E N Y ,
‘ .

C . W . B A R D EE N P U B L I SH E R ,

1 89 8

C O PY R I GH T ,
1 898 , BY 0 . W . B ARD EEN
 C O N T E NT S

EDI T O R PRE FAC E

’
S

NO TE ON T W O DI FFI CU L T W OR D S
PR E FAC E
LETTE R I Ex pe rim e n ts at Stan z an d Bu rg d o rf
.

LETTE R II Pe stal o zzi s Assi stan ts at Bu rg d o rf

.
’

LETTE R III Pe stal o zzi s Assi stan t s at Bu rg d o rf

.
’

LETTE R I V T h e Law s o f T eac h i n g

.

L ETTE R V T h e T h ree So u rc e s Of K n o w l e d g e
.

L ETTE R V I Nu mb er Fo rm L an g u ag e
.
, ,

LETTE R V II First El e me n tary Me an s So u n d

.
,

LETTE R V III Se c o n d El e m e n tary Me an s Fo rm

.
,

LETTE R I X T hird El e me n tary Me an s Nu mb er

“

.
,

L ETTE R X Se n se Impre s si o n th e Fo u n d ati o n

.
-

L ETTE R X I Se n se I mpre ssi o n m ad e an Art

.
-

LETTE R X II Pe st alo zzi s Re Yie W o f h is W o rk

.
’

LETTE R XIII Impo rtan c e o f Practi c al Sk ill

. .

LETTE R X I V Mo ral E du c ati o n .

LETTE R X V Rel i gi o u s Ed u c ati o n

.

APPEN DI X
AN ACC OU N T MET H O D A RE POR T
O F T HE .

S U PPL E ME N T S T o T HE MET H O D
NO TE S T o PR E FAC E AN D L ETTE RS
IN D E X
 ED I T O R S P R E FA C E
’

The Metho d in time and thought precedes How Ger

tru de Tea ches It may be read after Letter I for in
. .
,

this letter Pestalozzi gives the history and circum

s tances which led him t o those principles h e first de fi

n it e l
y stated in The Me tho d T h e Fir st Le tter.
fro m

S tan z also belongs to this period It will be found in .

De G uim ps s Life ( S yracuse edition pages 8 8 9 5 ) and

’
,
-

in Quick s Essays o n Edu ca tion a l Reformers ( S yracuse

’
_

edition , pages 22 1 These works form a com

,

l
p e group and are his most important educational
e t ,

Works They are undoubtedly his own of later works

.

this cannot be said u ntil we c ome to the Swan s Son g ’

and My Experien ces .

The portions of How Gertru de Tea ches in Biber s ’

Life f o Pesta lozzi

are all that have been translated Its .

peculiar terms such as An scha uun g ( see pp 7 1 4 ) m ay

,
— .

partly account for this neglect Th e s e t erins are diffi

’ ’

—
.

'

cult for apparently We do not grasp Pestalozzi s

,
’

thought ] W e neither read nor follow him If we .

walk in his ways we may see what he saw ; if we

,

repeat his experiments we may in some measure share

,

his thought Doing leads to knowing He has been

. .

blamed fo r not de fining his terms He gives i n stead .

2 EDI I O R ' ’
s PR EF AC E

the history O f his conce ption the circumstances which ,

led to it its develo pment and his schemes founded on

, ,

”
it . There are two ways O f instructing
“
he says ; ,

either we go fro m words to things or from things to ,

words Mine is the second method

.
”
His meaning m ay .

become clearer if the reader will substitute An schauun g

”
for sense i m pression and for all other eq ui valents
“ -

throughout the work It has and can have no e qu iv a

.
, ,

lent in English W e may partly learn its meaning

.
,

as we have learned that Of some other words from its ,

use I f definitions are desired the most helpful will

.
,

be found at the beginning Of K ant s Critique of Pure ’

Reaso n K ant s method is to begin with definitions

.
’
.

W e have tried to translate this work lite rally with ,

out ph araph rase and without Omissions : no di ffi cult

passage has been left out Much might be improved . .

The m ore we learn from him the more eviden t this is .

An y help which will mak e his thought still clearer will

be gladly and thankfully received .

Pestalozzi foresaw on its first morning when he began

, ,

How Gertrude Teaches, the nature of the coming century

“
The whole e arth the beauty wore Of promise We .
”

have entered into it From W ordsworth s Prelu de

.
’
,

“ ’
dedicate to Natur e s self and things that teach as
Nature teaches written at exactly the same time and
, ,

in the same Spi r i t as How Gertrude Tea ches; to Ofir latest

,

schemes of technical ed u c ation we have been thinking ,

 F RE DE R ICK D E N IS O N MAUR I CE ,
1 8 05— 1 8 7 2
,

and working in the same ways with but little of h is ,

dire ct influence Education generally the doctrine Of

.

development the culture and knowledge Of the body

'

practically by exercise theoretically by physiology ,

science and art both included in his elementary means

,

— form both founded on An scha uun the training O f

, g ;

t eachers based on psychology ; our soci al se h e m e s fo r

,

the welfare Of the pe Opl C are all and more to be foun dL

in this Work .

In other minds similar ideas germinated in de pe n d

ently Portions of the truth Pe st alo z zi perceived were
’

seen by many S oon after the middle Of the century

.

muc h Of it wae re embodied by the Re v F D Maurice

-
. . .

in the Working Men s College His faith in both

‘ ’
.

I n his
8

‘‘
learning and working are in the name .

deep reli gious feeling and h uman S ympathy his per ,

c e pt io n Of principl e s in the common facts of every day -

li fe, the unity Of all studies their relation to work in

“

, ,

h is desire to educate exercise and develop the w

,
hole ,

being and in many oth er ways he resembled Pestalozzi

, .

'

At a time when the m utual in structiofi Wf Stanz

“ i i ‘
’

had bee n twisted here t o support the monitorial sys

t em the reality itself reappeared in the C onversational
,

teaching— alli ed to S ocratizing— which was generally

adopted at the Coll ege Me n taught men in a non .
-

p rofessio nal way for the social and human elements

,

3 w ere Considered as important as learn i n g I n this

‘

.
4 E D IT O R S P R EFA C E
’

direct action O f mind on mind was to b e found some

i“
ifi a i
thing O f the mutual self v v c t o n f
O Stanz — The -
.

unselfish devotion O f Mr Maurice s fellow workers to a

.
’
-

common purpose is a significant contrast to the divisions

at Yv e rdu n .

Am ong his associates Mr Ruskin who may have

'

.
, ,

been influenced by Rousseau maintained the suprem ,

acy Of Nature and insisted as strongly as Pestalozzi

,

“ ”
himself on learning to see and on seeing as the “

beginning of art and thought He claimed for form .

s ense impression and doing

-
a place in education ,
.

Every yo uth should learn to do something thoroughly

”
w ith his hands to know what touch means he said ,
.

I n many other ways he continued Pestalozzi s thought ’

,

Another associate Rossetti restored to form its Old

, ,

power O f e x pre ssm g thought and unconsciously illus ,

t te
ra d— as did all the Pre R a ph a e lit i e s— the Pesta
-

l o z z ian principle — the development of the individual

fo ll ows that O f the race The College was perhaps at
.

’
its best nearly twenty years before Payne s lecture on
Pestalozzi .

The privilege and duty of continuing Mr Ruskin s .

’

teaching in one class fell to me and after several years ,

this attempt to teach from nature naturally led me to

Mr C H Lake He watched with much sympathy
. . . .

my attempts to teach drawing and natural science Of .

these things he professed to kno w nothing but his ,

 RUS K I N , R O SS ETTI , LA KE 5

profound knowled ge Of psychology educational prin ,

c ipl e s and O
,
f —
Pestalozzi s spirit h e had been friend ’

and fellow worker with Payne for many years — made

-

him the best guide and critic possible perhaps the only ,

one He entered into the work with great interest for

.
,

he delighted in experiments and to bring actual Scho ol ,

work to the test Of principles He was a master of .

S ocratizing believed in inductive teaching and with

, , ,

Pestalozzi and Maurice in that mutual i nstruction ,

” “

which brings minds into direct contact by conversation .

To him I am much indebted I was compelled to fall .

back on the unforgotten lessons O f my boyho od and I ,

expected to find the methods and principles of Pesta

lozzi established well known even exten ded and h is
, , ,

own work easily access ible ; bu t only Biber s frag ’

ments were available Blind to i ts d iffi culties I long

.
‘

failed to ind uce friends to translate How Gertru de

Tea ches until t r l ng fo r myself help was for the first
y
, , ,

time Offered ; Miss L E H olla nd translated not only

. .

this work but several others which threw light on it

,
.

'

There were di fficulties and the lat e E G Turner ,

x-
W .

revised the whole work a n d reduced the number He ,

.

s ought in both French and G erman literature to v erify

p assages a n d for help generally eve n during his long ,

and painful illness The amount and kind Of help Of

.

these friends could only have been given by those who

fully sympathised in the work .
 EDI T O R S P R EFAC E
’
6

So m e dou b t ful passages

remained ; for these several
frien ds were consulte d and the various readings com
,

pared I n this wa y we had help from Mme Michaelis

. .
,

Miss F Franks Fraulein H Seidel Mr A S onnen

.
,
.
,
. .

Sc h ein and others W e have added the index

,
. .

1 8 94 .
 N O T E ON T WO D I FF I C U L T W O RD S
I

Anscha uun g is here usually translated sense im -

When another equivalent is used it is

J

pression
indicated b y Sense impression is fre -

quently use d by Mr Sully Sense impression s are

. .
-

the alphabet by whic h we spell Ou t the Objects pre

S ented t o us ea cher s Han dboo k of Psycho logy , 1 8 8 6
’
( T .
,

ch vi ii ) It was one of the most suitable words but

. .
,

we are indebted to Mr J Russell for fixing it T he

. . .

first dr aft of the translation of this work was made

before his translation Of R De G u imps Life of Pesta lozzi
.
’

was published but he suggested this term an d said

, ,

he had use d it Intuition w

. a s impossible ; ins t ead

Of conveying it hides Pe stalozzi s meaning and it h as ’

,

caused much mischief Mr F C Tur n er Shows that

m
. . . .

intuition has not the sa e meaning for us that

An scha uun g had fOr Pestalozzi
l

The language of Pestalozzi presents considerable

difficulties to the translator He tells us ( p .that .

he is incapable Of phil Os o phi c thought ”

His words .

do not always express his full m e an ingr b u t that is

partly b ecause his thought is still growing and imper
feet A year earlier he did not really know the fo u nda
m
.

tion Of his ethod and his expressions like his thought

, , ,

are in some ways still immature, c hanging and con

_

fused His sentences are often over burdened with

.
-

qualifications and saving clauses characteristic Of him , .

(7)
8 NOTE ON Tw o D I FF I C U LT W O RD S

S ometimes he u ses words with local meanings differing

from their usual signification .

The greatest di fficulty however is in dealing with , ,

that word which is the keys t one of his whole th eory ,

Anscha uun g Its meaning has grown under his hands

.
,

and it connotes for him much more than it ever did

before It has and can have no satisfactory English
.
, ,

equivalent The early writers and translators used the

.

word in tuition
“
and quite recently l fi Q ui c k has
sanctioned its use It has the advantage of being
.

etymologically an equivalent of An schauun g but so ,

have con templa tio n and in spectio n by which no one would ,

pro pose to translate it It has moreover the fatal .

, ,

O bj ection of connoting a philosophical idea and theory

which is far removed from Pestalozzi s An schauun g ’

.

To Show this we give the most authoritative account

,

we can find of the two words .

ANS CH A UU NG
Con templa tio , in tuitio , eaperien tia

An schauu n g ist ein e si ch u n mittelbar au f den Gegen

stan d a s l ein z eln en sich beziehen de Erhen n tn iss .

An scha uu n g is a knowledge which is directly

obtained from a Special obj ect .

/
An scha uun g ist ein e Vorstellun g so wie sie un in ittelbar
'
non der Gegen wa rt des Gegen sta n des a bhan gen

wiirde An scha uun g is a mental image s uch as

.
”
,

would be produced directly by the presence of

the obj ect (K ant Kritik der rein en Vern unft )
.
, .

Ein un mi ttelbares B ewusstsein heisst An schauun g fi .

A direct consciousness is called An scha uun g .

Sie so llen es fa ssen n i cht im Den ken son dern in leben

 AN SCH A UU NG N OT I NT U ITI O N 9

~
diger An scha u un g
”
You mus t grasp it not in
.

t h o u gh t , b u t in vivid An scha uun g F

'

( ichte ) . .

— s Deutsches WOrterbu ch
G rimm
’
.

I NT U ITI O N
1 Mental perception Of anything ; immediate knowl
.

edge .

The truth of these propositi ons we know by a bare ,

Simple intuition Of the ideas and such proposi ,

”
tions are called self e vi dent -
.

2 K nowledge not Obtained by de ductio n of reason

.
,

but instantly a ccompanying the ideas which are

its Obj ect .

All knowledge of causes is deductive for we know ,

nothing by simple intuition but through the ,

mediatio n of the effects for the caus ality itself ,

is insensible ( G
.1 an v ill e
) .

Discourse then was almost as quick as intuition .

S ermon s
( outh S , ) .

He th e se si n gl e v irtu e s did s urv e y

B y i n t u i tio mi rr h i s o w n l arg e b re as t ( Dryd e n ) .

— Latham s
John son s Diction ary
’ ’
.

It is evident that the two words have not the sam e

”
conn otation and that the English word intuition
,

does not imply the pre sence of the obj ect bef ore t h e
Senses with the same strictness that An scha uun g does in
the mouths of K ant and Pestalozzi .

Pestalozzi uses the word Au n scha uun g

1 Fo r the kn owledge obtained by the direct contem
.

p l a t i o n of the Obj ect before the senses — sen se

impression .

2 .
( )
a Fo r the men ta l a ct by wh ich the above k n owl
e dge is obtained— o bserva tion .
10 NO T E ON T wo D I FF I C U LT WO R D S

( b) An d for the men ta l faculties by which it is ,

oh

t ain e d— the sen se s .

( ) A
0 n d again for o bj ects of the world about which
, ,

—
such knowledge is gained seen o bjects .

Allied to this is the meaning in the following passages

Culture brings before me the sea Of confused phe
n o men a
( A n sch ) flowing one into the other
.
”
.

( T h e M e tho d page ,
S O also An scha uun g

bucher picture books page 6 7

, ,
.

( )
d O bj ects seen possess form number color light , , , ,

and Shade etc Pestalozzi considers that form

,
.

is common to all and so he frequently uses ,

An scha uun g as a synonym fo FF O RM not for form ,

alone but for form plus something else The

,
.

nearest equivalent for A B C der An schauun g is

alphabet of form though the expression is often
,

used in other and wider senses As Pestalozzi .

found drawing impossible without measurement ,

the A B O of An scha uun g was used for measure

-

ment also Therefore A B C of An schauun g

.

meant form and a means of measuring form

,

( ME A S URE F O RM ) -
.

3 Fo r knowledge obtained by contemplation of ideas

.

alre ady in the mind which have not necessarily ,

been derived from the O bservation of external

obj ects This meaning seems at first to con
.

t radic t the foregoing ; but it is Obvious on ,

reading the passages in which this meaning

occurs that Pe st al o z z r regarded the ideas in
,

question as possible obj ects of an internal or

subj ective Observation : e g K n owledge gained . .
 PE ST A LOZZ I S U S E S
’
OF ANS CH A U U NG 11
—

by sen se i mpress i o n teaches me the prope rties of

-

things that have no t been brought before my

sen ses by their likeness to other obj ects that I
”
have Observed This mode of o bserva tion . etc ,
.

( p ag e F o r t h is mea n ing the word in tui

,

tion can appropriately be used .

4 Es ( der Kin d) lebt i n sei n er An scha uun g ( d h G o t

.
_
. .

tes) The child lives in con templa tio n of G o d

.

( page
The word intuition is used by Pestal o zzi but not as ,

an equivalent Of An schauun g unless it be for meaning

'

3 I live e n tirely upon convictions that were the

result of countless though for the most part forgotten
,

intuitions ( page Speech was a means .

~

of representi ng the actual process of m aking ideas ( In

tu ition en ) cl ear ( page In both these passages
it means something di fferent from An scha u un g 1i t ,

means An schauun gen with the me n tal process which

c ombines t hem into unity of idea superadded
”
( F .

C T )
. I ntuitive ideas given by nature and art
.

( A
I

p . is nearer n sch a uu n g .

Pestalozzi summ arizes his views of An scha uung on

pp . 1 83 1 8 5
— .

( )
1
Im made by all that
i o m i d n ta lly L
press on s c e s a cc e

into contact with the five senses The obj ects are in .

d
n o o r er but in natural confusion
, The action on the .

mind is limited and Slow There is but l it tle if any .

active living interest in the mind NO atte n tion . .

( )
2 Atten tio n Teachers call a tten tion to what they
.

consider important and so arouse con sciou sn ess a n d

, ,

deepen th e impression There is order in the presen t a .

12 NOTE ON Tw o D I FF I CU LT W O RD S

tion and the thought is connecte d The Art of te ach

, .

in g guides the selection and exercises the thought ,

.

( ) p
3 S o n ta n eo us ef or ts But what the teacher
. pre
sents does not always absorb the whole attention some ,

times not at all The child has its own interests

. .

S ome knowledge it strongly desires and therefore will ,

seek this of its own free will and throw its whole soul ,

into the search The will s timulated by self a ctivity of

.
,
-

a ll the fa culties prompts to spon tan eo us efforts

,
This i s .

a step towards moral self activity and independence -

.

( )
4 N ec es sar y w o rk Man must satisfy his wants and
.

wishes he must work h e must know and think that h e

, ,

may be a ble to do This is especially considered in Let

.

ter X III To know An scha uun g is necessary and kn ow

.
, ,

in g a n d do in g are so intimately connected that if one

ceas es the other ceases also An schauu n g and Fertigkeit
, .

observation and experiment seei ng and doing impres , ,

sion and expression united lead to clear ideas general , ,

iz at io n s and education
, .

( )
5 A n a logy a n d Su b ective o bserva tion
j The unseen i s .

understood by it s likeness to the seen We classi fy .

and know by analogy What we can remember we .

c ompare reas on about j udge and generalize

, ,
Th e .

resu lts of sen se im ression a re cha n ge d in to the wo rk of m

-
p y
”
mind a n d a ll my po wers This wider meaning ih .

c l u de s the whole psycholog ical sequence .

Pestalozzi s An scha uu n g covers as much or more than

’

W ordsworth s imagination
’

tru th W hi c h
"

in
I s b u t an o t h e r n am e fo r ab st rac t po w e rs
An d c l e are st in sigh t famplit u de o f mi n d
An d Re aso n in h e r m o st e x alte d mo o d —Pre lu de . .
 14 NOTE ON T wo D I FF I CU LT W O R D S

but darkness how great is that dark ness

,
.

Ea gle s Nest 1 8 8 7 pp 1 2 7
’
, .
,

After An scha uung the most di fficult word to t ranslate

,
'

is Fertigke zt which literally means ( 1 ) promptitu de or

,

rea din es s ; ( )
2 rea din ess in performin g some a ction
a n d skill .

It is not easy to find a satisfactory English equivalent

in this sense The following quotations given in
.

Grimm in addition to one from Wie Gertru d will make

, ,

the meaning quite clear ( The Eng lish equivalent in .

each case is in italics ) Da n emlich es kurz zu sagen .

, ,

diese Rein igun g in n ichts a n ders beruhet a ls in der Ve rwa n d

lun g der Leide n schaften in tu de n dhafte Fertigkeiten .
’

AS to put it shortly this purification consists of

, ,

no t hing less than the tr ansformation of the passions

”
into ha bits of virtuous a ction ( Lessing ) . .

I hr a lle reimt mit gleicher Fertigkeit

”
“
You all .

rhyme with equal fa cility ( G ellert ) . .

Die Eigen schaften die Fertigkeiten des Iflc hts rege eu

'

machen To bring the properties the capa bilities of

.
,
”
l ight into play ( G oeth e ) .

Er besitzt ein e a ussero rden tliche Fertigkeit in G eigen .

He poss esses extraordinary skill in fiddling .

”
( F .

Fertigkeiten
we have generally translated ac t iv
ities but several other equivalents are use d e g ( 1 ) , . .

acts actions ; ( 2 ) powers of doing Skill practical s kill

, , , ,

technical skill ( 3) practical ability abilities faculties , ,

capa cities ; e g ( 1 )
— We are far behind the gr e at
. .

est barbarians in the AB O of acts or a ction s (gymn astics)

and their skill in striking and throwing etc These , .

contain the foundations of all possible a ction s on which

 F ER TIG KE IT 15

hu m an callings depend ( )
2 T h e people do not
.

enj oy in regard to culture in skill (technical education )

one scrap of that public and universal help from gov
e rn me n t t hat eac h man need s In no way do they e u .

”
j oy the culture o f those practica l a bilities ( )
3 The .

abilities ( capacities on the possessio n of

,

whi ch depend all the powers Of knowing and doing

( K onn en ) that are required of an educa ted mind and

noble heart come as little of themselves as intelligence

,

” ”
an d knowledge Powers of kn o win g a n d doin g
. .

Can and k en are derived from the same root

“

as the G erman konden and ken n en ; the p resent tense ‘

f
‘
C an is the prete rite of the Obsolete verb meani ng
kn ow so that its real meaning is I have kn own or lea rn t
, ,

and t herefore a m a ble to do I ken therefore I ca n ; .

,

knowledge an d skill are inseparable Se e Murray s .

’

Dictionary .

This whole series of meanings as with An scha uu n g , ,

are co nnected K nowing an d doing are so closely

.
“ -

connected that If one ceases the other ceases with it .

Doing has a do uble functio n; by doing thought is ex

pressed and by doing thought is also ga ined and made
,

clear It is An scha uun g by experience through the

.
, ,

sense of touch or active movement ; impression and ex

'

d
'

p ressio n combined The whole p y

s c h.o l gi cal sequence
of Pestalozzi is impr ession clear idea or knowledge , ,

and expression Observe think do and know On e

.
, , ,
.

kind of An schauun g he says Le t t e r V II is obtained , , , ,

by workin g at one s calling He connects observa

’

tion and experience .

Fo r Pestalozzi s use of Form see Note 4 4 page 36 3;

’
,

for his use of Oval see Note 6 5 page 37 2 , .

 A U T H O RI T I E S

It has not been possible to give authorities for notes

except where they are quoted entire We have con .

s ul t e d and are indebted to the following editions of

Pestalozzi s : Wie Gertru de ihre Kin der lehrt Ed 1

’
,
.

G essner Z ii ic
r h 1 80 1
,
— Pddagogische Biblio thek Albert ,
.
,

Richter Leipzig 1 8 8 0 ,
This is the text we have gen , .

e rally followed Se yffart h Pesta lozzi s s a mmtliche Werke

.
,
’
,

vol XI Brandenburg 1 8 7 2 — Padagogische K la ssiker

°

.
,
. .

III K arl Riedel Wien 1 8 7 7 Au sgewdhlte Schriften

,
—
, , .

beru hmter Pddagogen I V Dr K Aug Beck 1 8 8 7 , ,

. . .
,
.

Un iversa l Biblio thek Leipzig 9 9 1 9 9 2 4 0 pf a small , , , ,

.
,

popular edition without notes .

Dr Darin Commen t Gertru de in str uit ses infan ts Ed 2

.
, ,
.
,

Paris 1 8 8 6 ,
Also t h e following biographies etc
.
, .
,

Biber E Hen ry Pesta lozzi an d his Plan of Edu ca tion

, _ .
, ,

bein g an a ccoun t of his life an d writin gs London 1 8 31 , ,

.

R De Gu imps
. Pesta lozzi his Life an d Work . Tra n ,
.

s la te d fro m the editio n of 1 8 7 4 by Ma rga r et Cu thbertson

Crombie Syracuse 1 8 8 9 ,
— Morf Z ur B iographie Hein ,
.
,

ri ch Pesta lozzi s Winterthur 1 — ’

868 1 8 85 G uillaume
, ,
.
-

J.
, Pesta lozzi Etu de Biographique Paris 1 8 90 ,
Pesta , ,
.

lozzi B latter Z urich 1 8 7 8 1 8 92 Herbart Pdd Schriften

—
,
—
, , .
,

1 8 8 0 — J P Rossel Allgemein e Mon a tschrift fur Erziehun g

. . .
,

un d Un terricht Aachen 1 8 2 8 etc etc , , , .

, .

( 1 6)
 H
owGertrude Teaches H
er Children

P R E FA C E
If these l etters may be considered in some r espects
as already answered and partly refuted by time and .
,

thus appear to belong to the past rather than to the

presen t yet if my idea of elementary education has
,

any value in itself and is fitted to survi ve in the future

the n t h e Se letters so far as they throw light on the
,

way in which the germ of the idea was developed in

me may have a living value for every man who con
,

Siders the psychological devel opment of educational

methods worthy of his attention .

B esides this general view o f the matter it is cer ,

tain l y remarkabl e t hat this idea in th e midst of the

,

simpli city and artlessness of my nature and life came ,

forth fro mthe darkness within me as from the night .

In its first germ it burnt within me lik e a fire that ”

sh owe d a power of seizing on the human mind ;but

This p reface was a dded t o the second edi t ion Co l ,

lec t e d W orks v o l v
,
. C otta Stuttgart and T ii b in g e n
.
, , , ,

1 8 20 . The first edition ( 1 8 01 ) h a s no preface This .

therefore gives us Pestalozzi s v iews twenty years after

’

he publishe d the book .

18 P R EF A C E

after wards when men looked upon it and spoke of it

,

as a matter of reason in its deeper meaning it did not ,

maintain its first vitali t y and even seemed for a time ,

to be quenched .

Evenin this early stage Ith Jo h an n se n Niederer , , ,

‘

and others gave a significance to my own expression of

my views which went far beyond th at which I gave
,
i

them myself b u t whic h therefore stimulated public

,

attention in a way that could not be sustained Gruner .

,

v o n Turk and Cha vannes about the same time took

2
,

up the actual results of our e X pe rime n t s in j ust as

marked a way and brou ght them before the public in
,

a manner which went f ar beyond my original view of

th e subj ect and the power that lay at the basis of my
eff orts .

It is true there lay deep in my soul s consciousness ’

a prevision of the highest that migh t and Sh o uld be

aimed at thr ough a deeper insight into the very natur e
,

of educatio n ; and it Is Indisputable that the idea of

elementary education was implied in the view I t o ok i n

its full S i gn i ficance , and shimmered forth in every

word that I spoke . But the impulse within me to seek
and find for the people Simple methods of instruct ion ,

intelligible to every one ,

did not originate in the pre
vision that lay in me of the highest that could Come
“

from the results of these me t hods when found ; but on

 HI S V I Ew s RE ACHE D B Y E X P E R I ME NT 19

the contrary this prevision resulted from the reali ty of

the 1 mpul se that led me to seek thes e method s

This soon led me naturally and simply to see tha t

Intelligible methods of instruction must as a general ,

principle start from Si m

,
ple beginning points ; and
that if they are carried on in a continuous graduated
series the results must be psychologically certain B u t .

this view of mind was far from being philosophically “

and clearly defined and scientifically connected AsI .

was unable by abstract deductions to arr i ve at a satis

fac t o ry r e su l t I wanted to prove my views prac tically ;
‘

and t rie d o rigin ally by experiments to make c lear to

e

'

myself what I really wished to do and was c apab l e of

'

doi n g i n order by this path to find the means o f

,

accomplishing my purpose All that I strove for the n .

7 and strive for now is closely connect ed in my min d

with that which twenty years before I h ad tried on my
estate .

Bu t the higher significance that was given to my ,

views so loudly so variously and I must say so care

, , , ,
f

lessly and hastily gave a directio n to th ET o rm and

“
‘

method of carrying the mout in my Inst itute t hat was

not really the outcome of my own soul nor that Of the
people round me nor that of my helpers ; and I was l n
,
.

this way led away I I OIII myself into a region strange to

‘

me which I/never trod before Cer tainly this V I SI On

,
.

ary world into which we fell as from the clouds was

”

, ,
20 PREF A C E

not only quite new ground to me but with my c o c e n ,

t ric it y , with my want of scientific culture in the ,

Singularity of my whol e being as well as my age at ,

that time — in th ese things there were reasons why I

,

could scarcely expect even a half lucky star to shine -

upon this c ourse .

Insurmountable difficulties seemed to obstruc t the

hope of being able to advance in this region to happy
results These lay in th e peculiarities of my assistants
.
,

wh o though they were in part quite helpless themselves

s hould have stretched out helping hands to me in my

e fforts on this new ground Meanwhile a liv e ly impulse

.

t o tread this region was roused in our midst But t he .

cry W e can do it before we could We are doing ,

it before we did it was too l Ou d too distinct too

, , ,

often repeated partly by men whose testimony had a

,

real value in itself and deserved attention But it had .

too much charm for us ; we made m Ore of i t than it

really said or meant .

Briefly the time as it was dazzled us ; yet we still

,

worked actively in order practically to approach our

,

end W e succeeded in many respects in the way of

_
‘

bringing a few beginning subj ects of instruction into

better order and to a better psychologi cal foundation ;
and our e fforts on this side m ight have had really
important results ; b ut the practical a ctivit y which ,

alone coul d secure the success of our purpose was ,

 P R EF A C E

actually lost myself in myself ; and against my n ature ,

and against all possibility of success I tried to make ,

myself and my house that which we ought to have

been in order to make any progress in this region
,
.

This preponderance that Niederer gained in our

midst and the views he laid down on this subj ect so
caught hold of me and led me on to such a resigned
subj ection and complete sacrifice and forgetfulness of
myself that I as I know myself can and must now
, , ,

say clearly it is quite c ertain if he had been with us

,

when I wrote these letters I should have considered

,

their whole contents and consequently the i dea of

'
elementary education as it then lay before me lik e a
vision glimmering in the clouds as coming from him
,

and carried from his soul into mine .

In order to believe this statement and look upon it

as naturally and innocently as it comes from me you
must really know me more ; you must distinctly know
h o w I am On t h e one side animated by the conviction
, ,

of h o w much I was and still am wanting in clear phil ,

o s o phic al definite ideas on this subj ec t ; and On the

,

o t her side t h e degree of my trust in the lofty views

,

of my friend and the weight which he would n e c e s

,

s aril y have upon those ideas lying dim wi t hin me ,

vague and limited .

That Herr Niederer was not with u s when I wrote .

these letter s is the only circumstance that mak es it

,
 ‘

T H E P R E P O N D ER A N CE OF N I E DE RE R 23

possible for me to see clearly what was Herr Nie de re r s ’

serv1 0 e In our e ffOr t s in elementary instruc tion and ,

what I may consider as coming from myself I know .

how little t his is and how much an d what it still

,

requires if it is not to be a mere n othing , or at least if

something is to come out of it In the last respect .

my reward is greater than my merit In any case it ’

is q uit e clear to me t hat t h e deductive vi ew of our .

e flo rt s advancing in front of the practi cal perform

,

ance far surpassing it and l e av rn g it behind w as

, ,
‘

Herr Nie de re r s view ; and that my vi ew of the subj ect

’

c ame o u t Of a personal stri vi ng after methods the ex ,

e c u t io n of which forced me actively and experimentally

to seek to gain and to work out what was not the re

, ,

and what as yet I really knew not .

These t wo efforts Opened the ways on which each of

us mus t go to r e ach the common end and for which
-

e ach of us felt in himself a special power But we did'

n ot do this and hindered one another because w e forced

,

our selves long too long to go with him hand in hand

, , ,

might say in the same s hoes and at the sa m e pa c e with

I
him Ou r end was t h e same ; but the road which we
.
’

should tak e to get to it was marked out for each of us

differently b y Nature and we ought to have recognized
,

S ooner that each of us would reach his end wi t h more

ease and certainty if he would step and go along it in
p erfect freedom and indepen d ence .
24 PREF AC E

We were too different The crumb lying on the .

road arrested me if I thought it wo uld a fford the leas t

bit of nourishment to my effort and further it I .

must pick it up I must stop at it and examine it ; and

,

before I know it enough in this way I cannot possibly

consider it critically and look upon it as instructive
for me in universal connection and combination with
,

all the relations which as a single thing it bears to our

, ,

e fforts My whole manner of life has given me n o

.

po w er and no inclination to strive hastily after bright

and clear ideas on any subj ect before suppo rted by , ,

'
facts it has a background in me that
,
h as awakened
some self -
c o n fi de n c e .

Therefore to my grave I shall re mal n In a kin d of

vi
’

fog about most of my ews . But I must sa y if thi s

fog has a background of various and su ffi ciently vivid

sense impressions it is a holy fog for me
-
. It is the
only light in Which I live or can live , . An d in this
p eculiar twilight of mine I go on towar ds m y goal in
peace and content so long as I go in pe ace and free
dom ; and at the point I have reached In striving after
my ideal I stand firm to my conviction that whi l e I
have done very little in my life to reach i deas that can
‘

be defined with philosophical certainty by words ,

yet in my own way I have found a few mea ns

to my en d which
‘

, I s h o ul d n ot have found by such

 PE STALo z z r ’
S I D I O S Y N C R A SI E S 25

philosophical inquiries after cle ar ideas of my subj ect ,

as I was f ma kin g
capa ble o .

Ther efore I do not entirely regret my backwardness .

I ought not I ought to pursue my way of experim

. en ts ,

which is t h e way of m y life will ingly and gladly with

'

, ,

out desiring th e fruit o f a tree of knowledge that for

me and for t h e idiosyncrasy of my nature is forbidden
fruit If I pur sue the road of my e x pe rl m e n t s how
.
,

e v e r l imit e d hones t ly faithfully and energetically I

'

, , , ,

think by do ing so I am what I am and know What I

know ; and my life and action though imperfect is not , ,

merely a blind groping after experiments n ot really

underst o od :
I hope it IS more I hope in my way t o make some
.

few points of my subj ect philosophically clear t h at

could no t so easily be made equally clear in any other
way The idiosyncrasies of individuals are in my
.
,

opinion the greatest blessing of human nature and

, ,

the one basis of its highest and most e sse n tial bless
ings ; therefore they Should be respected in the highes t
degree They cannot be where we do no t —s ee them
.
e
,

and we do not see them wh en everything stands in the

way of their showing themselves and every selfishness ,

strives to make it s o wn pe c uliari ty rule and to mak e

_

th e peculia rities of o ther s su b se rv1 e n t to its o wn If .

We would respec t them it is necessary that we should

not sunder that which G o d hath j oined together ,
26 PRE FA CE

an dalso that we should not j oin together that which

G o d hath put asunder Every artificial and forced
.

j oining together of heterogeneous things has according

to its nature the result of checking individual powers
and qualities ; and such unsuitably j oined and th ere ,

fore che cked and co nfused individual powers and

qualities express themselves then in every c aSe as u n
n atural ; forcibly brought forward ; and work u on the
p
whole mass in whose interest they were thus brought
,

t ogether in a destructive confusing and distort i ng

, ,

mann er .

I know what I am not ,an d therefore may honestly

say I woul d not be more than I am But in order to .

u se the powers that may fall nto my h a

i nds a s I am I ,

must use my po wers freely and independently however

.
,

l ittle they may be that the words

,
To him that hath ,

shall be gl v e n may be true for me and the others

, , ,

He that hath not fro mhim sh all be taken away

,

”
e ven that which he hath may not be too depre s sin gl yi
‘

fulfilled in me .

As I now look in this way upon the value that this

b o o k may have for me and the world I must let it ap ,

e ar exa ctly in the shape I n Which it had the courage

p -

t o step forward twenty years ago Meantime I hav e

.

g i ven the necessary a ccount of our pedagogic progre ss

i n educational practice and methods since then in s ome
O f my n e w works I will go on doing this and especially
.
,
 I N R ET R O S P EC T 27

the fift h part of Leonard an d G ertrude I will

’

in ’l
<

t hrow more light on this point than I have yet been

able to do .

But whatever historical and personal Concerns I

touch upon in these letters I shall now enter on no ,

m ore I cannot well do so I smile over much and

’

. .

loo k on it with quite different eyes than I did when I

wrote it Bu t over much I would rather weep than
.

s mile . But I do not this either Now I can speak .

n either weeping nor smiling My conscience tells me .

t h e hour of my silence is not yet passed ; the wheel of

my fate also is not yet turned Smiling and weepin g .

would alike be premature ; if not with locked doors

h armf ul .

Many of the subj ects and views touched upon in this

b ook may perhaps soon be changed Perhaps I shall .

s oon smile over much whereat now I should weep ; and

perhaps I shall shortly think very earnestly about

things which I now pass with a smile . In this State I
have left the book almost unalte red . Time will explain
the contrast between what is said there and my pr esent
“

The fifth part of Leonard and G ertrude never ap

re d for the man uscript was lost with other works
p e a ,

left behind by Pestalozzi when it was sent to Paris to

,

Josef S chmid in the b eginning of 1 8 4 0 to b e pub

, ,

lish e d .
28 PREF A CE

opinions about the things said and will also explain

thos e which appear incomprehensible and inexplicable ,

if it is necessary I hardly think it will b e But if it

. .

is n ecessary beyond my grave may it be in mild not

,

glarin g colors ;

PE S T AL O Z Z I
YV E RDU N , Jun e I st,
30 I E X PER IME NTS AT
. STAN z AN D BU RCDORF

and th e place s from whi ch there might be a possibility

of divert i ng its foul waters.

I will now lead you about for a while in this maze

of error out o f which I extricated myself after a long
,

time more b y accident than by sense and skill .

Ah l x
enough ! ever Since my youth has my
lon g .
,

heart moved on like a mighty stream alone and lonel y f

i

, ,

towards my one sole end— to stop the sources of the

l

misery in wh ich I saw the people around me sunk .

It is more than thirty years since I put my hand t o

this work which I am n o w doing Iselin s Ephemer ’

ides ” 4
bear witness that my dreams a nd wishes whic h
I was then trying to work out are n o t less c o mpre h e n
sive n o w than they were then .

But I was young ; I knew neither the needs of my

scheme nor the attention that its preparation required
, ,

nor the skill that its realization calle d for and pre su p
posed My ideal Scheme included work in t he fields
.
,

the factory and the workshop I had a de ep but

, .
.

y ag u e feeling of the value of all three departments ; I

looke d upon t he m as safe clear paths towards the real

I z at i o n of my plan ; and verily I have come back after
,

all the experienc es o f my life to nearly my early view s

i

On the essential foundations of my pla n Yet my .

confidence in th e l r essential t ruth founded upon t h e

,

apparen certainty of my instin ct wa s my ruin

t ,
.

The truths of my Opinions were t ru t h s i n the

'

air ;
i
T
 B E GINNING OF H IS W O RK 31
‘

and my confidence in my instinct in t he foundation s ,

of my work was the confidence of a sleeper in t h e

,

reality of his dream I wa s in all three dep artment s

.

in which my experiments should have b een made an

inexperienced child I wanted facility in details that
.

careful persevering and accustomed handling from

, ,

whic h the blessed result towards which I strov e alon e

, ,

could come The consequence of this positive unfit ;

.

ness for my t ask was soon felt The pecuniary mean s

.

to my end went quickly off in smoke all the soone r ,

because I neglected to furnish myself in the beginning

with a satisfa ctory st afi of assistants in my task .

Wh en I began to feel keenly the need of such person s

as could properly supply that in which I was wanting ,

I had alre ady lost the money and credit which would
have made the organization of thi s staff possible to me
m
.

Su c h a confusion in my circu stances soon arose that

the wreck of my scheme was ine vi table .

My ruin wa s complete ; and the fight against fate

was the fight of underlying weaknes s against an enemy
of ever increasing strength Struggles against disaster
.

led to nothing Meanwhi le I h ad learnt in the im

.

measurable st ruggle immeasurable truth and h ad

‘

ga ined im measurable experience ; and my conviction

of the truth of the principles o f my views and e flo r t s

was never greater than at the moment when they were ,

to the outward eye entirely destroyed My heart still

,
.
 I E X PE R I ME NTS AT STAN z AN D BUR G D O RF
’

32 .

moved on unshaken towards th e same o b j ect and I ,

now found myself in mis ery in a condition in which

,

I perceived on the one hand the essential needs of my

work and on the other the ways and means by which
,

the surroundi n g world of all sorts and conditio ns,

really thinks and acts about the obj ec t of my endeavor s .

S o that I p erceived and compreh ended the truth Of

\

these opinions as I never Should have done in an ap

,

pare n tl
y happy issue from my premature attempts .

I say it now with inward exaltation and gratitude

,
,

towards an over ruling Providence that even in my

-
,

m i sery I learned to know the m i sery of the p e ople an d

its Causes deeper and de e per and a s no happier m ,
an

knows them 5
. I suffered as the people su fi e re d ; an d
the people showed the m
:
selve s to me a s they were and ,

a s they showed the mselves to no one el se I sat long ’

"

years among them like an owl among birds But in

,
.

the midst of the scornful laughter in the mi dst Of t lre

'

l o u de st tau n t s of the men who rej ected me You

poor wretch you are less able than the mean e st day
,

laborer to help yourself an d ddyou fan cy you can help

, ,

t h e people — in the midst of these je e rrn g taunt s ,

which I read on all lips the mighty strea mof my

,

heart c e ase d n o t alone and lonely to struggle towar ds

‘

, ,
"

the purpose of my ife to stop the springs of the

l — ‘
.

m i sery in which I saw the people aro u nd me Sunk In “

one way my stre n gth became ever greater My mi s .

 T RU E T o TH E
'

PUR P O S E OF H I S LI F E 33

fortunes taught me always more and more truth for

my purpose That which deluded no one else deluded
.

me ; but that which deluded every one els e deluded

me 11 0 more .

I knew th e pe ople as no one about me knew them .

Their pleas ure in the prospect of profit from the newly

introd uced cotto n manufacture their increasing
we alth their brightened houses their abundant har
, ,

vest even the

, So erat iz in g of some of their teach
’

ers ,and the re ading c irc l e s amo n g t h e under b ailiffs -

’

s ons and the barbers deceived me not

,
I saw their .

mi sery ; but I lost myself in the vast prospe ct Of its

sc attered and isolated sources ; and while my insight
into the i r real conditio n became ever mor e wide I did ,

not move a step forward in the practical power of r e m

edyin g the evil Even t h e b ook that my sense of this
.

c ondition forced from me even Leonard and Ge r

,

t rude 6
,was a proof O f this my inner helplessness I .

sto od there among my contemporaries like a sto n e that

t ells of life and is dead Many men glanced at it but
.
,

understood as little of me and my aims as i m n d e rst bo d

t he details of skilled labor and knowledge that w ere
necessary to accomplish them .

I was careless of myself and lost myself in the whirl

,

o f powerful impulses towards outward operations of

which I had not worked out the foundation s deeply

enough
‘

.
34 I E X P ER I ME NTS AT
. ST AN z AN D BUR G D O RF

Had I done this to what an inner height sho u

,
ld I
have been able to raise myself for my purpose and how ,

soon Should I h at e reached my end ! This I never

found because I was unworthy ; for I only sought it
from without and allowed my love of truth and j u stice
,

to become a passion which t ossed me ab out like an u p

rooted reed upon the w aves of life I myself day b y .
,

day hindered my torn u p roots from fastening again

,
-

'

into firm ground and finding that nourishment which

they so essentially needed fer my end Vain was t h e .

h Ope that another might rescue this uprooted reed fro m

the waves and set it in the earth in which I h ad de
,

layed to plant it .

Dear friend ! Who ever h as drop of my blood in h im

a

now knows how l o w I h ad to sink ; an d you my G e es

_
,

ner before you read further dedicate a tear to my

, ,

fall .

Dee p di ssatisfaction devoured me now ; things eter

nally true and right see me d to me in my condition mer e
castles in the air I clung with obstinacy to words and
.

phrases which had lost within me their b aSI s of eternal

truth So I sank day by day more towards the wo rs
.

of common places and the trumpet blare of quack s

-
,

with which this modern age pretends to help t h e

h uman race .

Yet it wa s not that I did not feel this sinking an d

struggle against it Fo r three years I wrote with l n
.
,
 I N Q U I R IE S I N To T HE C O UR S E on N A T URE

credible fatigue my Inquiries into the Cours e of

,

Nature in the Development of Mankind particularly

with the view of agreeing with myself as to the pro
gress of my pet ideas and of bringing my innate feel
,

ings into harmony with my conceptions of c ivi l right s

and of morality But this work too is to me only an
.
, ,

evidence of my inner helplessness a mere play of my ,

power of questioning one Sided wi th out proportionate

,
-
,

skill aga i nst myself and void of sufficient effort towards

,

that practical power which was so n e cessary for my

purpose The disproportion between my practice and
.

my th eories only increase d : and that deficiency in my

self which I was bound to supply for the accomplish
ment of my purpose became greater and I less able t o ,

supply it .

Besides I di d not reap more than I sowed Th e .

effect of my book was like the effect of all my doing s

on those around me ; nobody understood it I did n o t .

find two men who did not half give me to understan d

that they looked upon the whole book as a galli

f Na ture in the Developmen t

In qu iries in to the Course O

of the H uma n Ra ce This study of the evolution of man

.

was written at Neuhof at Fic h t e s suggestion Pub

' ’
.

lishe d 1 7 9 7
,
Nie de re r writing to him early in 1 8 01
.
, ,

says I look upon it as containing a most valuabl e

“
”

discovery ; I may call it indeed the germ of your whol e

method
 E X P ER I ME NTS AT STAN z AN D B UR G D O RF
'

36 .
I .

mau fry An d only lately a man of importance ,

who rather likes me said with Swiss familiarity ,

But really Pestalozzi do you not feel yourself that

, , ,

when you wrote that book you did not exactly know ,

”
what you wanted ?
Yes that was my fate to be misunderstood and to
, ,

Su fi e r injustice I ought to have been used to it but

.
,

I wa s n o t I met my misfortune with inward sco

.

'

and contempt of mankind and thereby I n Ju r e d ,

cause at those inmost foundations which it sho ul d h

had in me I did it more harm than all those by wh
.

I was misunderst oo d and despis ed could have done

Yet I swerved not from my purpose ; but it was 11
s ensibly at rophied and lived on m an unsettled I m ag
‘

a tion and a disordered heart I became more .

more confirmed in the wish to nourish the sacred pl

o f human h appl n e s s on unconsecrated ground .

G essner ! my Inquiries I lately defined

In “

claims of all civil rights as mere claim s o f my ani ~

nat ure ; and in so far as they are a real

,
.

the only thing that h as any worth for human nat

looked u po n them as hindrances to moral purity .

I now lower ed myself under the provocation of ext

force and internal pa s sion to expect a good is sue
‘

hodge podge
-
. Win ter ’
s Ta le ,
sc . 3
.
38 I . Ex pERIME NTS AT ST AN z AN D B UR G D O R F

homin es) , who did not want so little and who knew no
the people of course found that I was not m ade fo
,

them .These men wh o in their new place lik

,

shipwrecke d women took every straw for a mast

which the republic might be carried to a
d espised me as a straw at which no cat would
They knew it not and intended it not but they ,

ood more good tha ever m n had done me

g , n e .

rest ored me to myself and left me ( Sile ntly

at the sudden transformation of their Ship s re pair i ’

)
Sh ipwre c k :n o t h in g but the word which I spoke in

first days of that overthrow I will turn schoo lma ster

,
”
.

Fo r th is I f ound confidence I became one ; and eve r

‘

Since I h a ve been engaged in a mightystruggle ( forc ed

upon me in spite of myself ) to fill up those internal
deficiencies by which my ultimate purposes were form
erly hindered .

Fri end ! I will openly reveal to you the whole of my

being and d oing since that moment . I had during the
fir st Directory wo n confidence through Legrand in my
”

obj ect the culti vation of the peopl e

, ,
an d was on the
point of bringing out an extensive plan of edu cation in
Argau when St an z >l<
was burnt down ,
and Legrand

marke t town Canton U nterwalden was de

Stanz , , ,

stroyed by the French Sept Jean LII e

, .

—
Legrand 7 5 5 1 8 38 belonged with Iselin and other
1 , ,
 H IS SCH O O L AT ST AN z 39

at once Offered me that unfortunate place for my

r esidence .

I went I would have gone to t h e hin dmost cavern

.

of the mountains t o come nearer my end and now I

_ ,

really did come nearer it ; but imagine my position— I

alon e— deprived of all the means Of education ; I alone ,

overseer paymaster handy man and almost servant

, , ,

reformers to t h e Patriotic Party He became a

"

member of the Grand C ouncil of Ber n in 1 7 8 3 and ,

President o f the Swiss Directorate 1 7 9 8 but held Office

, ,

for only part Of a year He became acquainted with

.

Ob e rlin t h e famous pastor Of Ban de Ia Roche in 1 8 1 2

,
.
_
- - -
, ,

settled near him in 1 8 1 4 and devoted the remaining

,

years Of his life wholly to popular educa tion .

 H IS D I FF I CU LTI E S AT ST AN z 41

maid ,in an unfinished h o u Se surrounded by ignorance

”

, ,

disease and novelty Of all kinds The number Of

,
.

children increased gradual ly to eighty all Of di fferent ,

ages ; some full of pretensions others wayside beggars ; ,

all except a few wholly ignorant What a task ! t o

, ,
.

form and develop these children ! What a task !

I dared to attempt it and stood in their midst pro
,

n o u n c in
g sounds 7
and mak i ng them
,
I m i ta t e them .

Whoever saw it was as tonished at the result It .

wa s like a meteor that is seen in the air and vanishe s ,

again NO one knew its nature I understood it n o t

. .

myself It wa s the result Of a Simple psychological

.

idea w hich I felt but Of which I was not cle arly aware .

It was exactly the pulse of the ar t that I was seek

ing ; I Seized it a mon strous grip A seeing man
‘

,
.

would never have dared ; I was l uckily blind or I t o o ,

had not ventured I knew not clearly what I did but

.
,

I knew what I wanted that wa s Death or the carry

—
, ,

ing through of my purpose .

But the means of attaining it were absolutel y

nothing but the direct result Of t h e n e e e ss ity with
which I had to work thro ugh the extreme diffi cultie s
of my Situation .

I know not and can hardly understan d how I cam e

through In a manner I played with necessity defied
.
,

her di fficulties which stood like mountains before me

‘

.
,

Again st the apparent physical im possibility I oppose d

42 I. E X P E R I ME NTS AT STAN z AN D BURGD ORF

the force of a will which saw and regarded nothing but

What was immediately b efore i t ; but which grappled
with t he difficulty at hand as if it were alone and lif e
a n d death depended on it .

I worke d in Stanz until the approach of the Aus

SO
t rian s took the heart out of my work and the feeling s ,

that now oppressed me brought my physical powers to

the state in which they were when I left Stanz
Up to this point I wa snot
yet certain Of the fo u n da
tions Of my pro c e du re q But as I wa s attempting the
L

impossi ble I found that possible which I had not ex

'

'

p e c t e d ; and as I pushed through the p athless t hicket

June 1 7 9 9 t h e French were driven out of U ri

In , ,
'

i nto U nterwalden b y the Austrians and the orphanage ,

was converted into a French h o spit al On J u ne 8 s

,

1 7 9 9 sixty children were sent a w

,
ay leaving only ,

t wenty Pestalozzi intended to return b ut the Go v

‘

.
,

e rn me n t was unfavorable and t h e orphanage after som e

time was clo s ed .

t The first Letter from Stan z was written at Gurn

"

i gel betwee n June 8 and t h e end Of J uly and

‘
‘

, ,

wa s printed in 1 8 07 It will be foun d e ntire in De

.

pp 8 8 9 5 It Sho uld be compar ed with

“

-
. .

t his account At that time he says h ere

. I wa s not ,
'
,

certa i n Of the foundations Of my procedure ”

His _ .

k
Accoun t of the Metho d to the Society Of Friends Of
'
‘

E ducation June 2 7 1 8 00 is th e first attempt to state

, , ,

h is prin c ipl e s ( S e e The

. M e t h o d la st par agrap h )
N

.
 T HE L E TT ER FR O M STAN z 43

that no one had trodden for ages I found foo tp rints

,

in it leading to the high road which for ages had been

,

untrodden .

I will go a little into details AS I was obliged to

.
”

give the children instruction alone and without help

, , ,
'

I learned th e art of teaching many together ; and Since

I had no o ther means but loud speaking the idea Of ,

making the learners draw Write and work at the same

, ,

time was naturally devel oped .

The confusion of the repeating crowd led me to feel

the need o f keeping time and beating time increased
,

the impression made by the lesson The utter ign o r

.

ance Of all made me stay long over the beginnings ;

and this led me to realize the high degree Of Inne r
‘

power to be Obtain ed by perfecting the fir st beginnings ,

and the result Of a feeling Of completeness and per

fe c t io n in t h e lowest stage.I learned as never before
, ,

the relation Of the first steps in every kind Of knowl

edge to its complete outline ; and I felt as never ,

before the immeasurable gaps that would bear witness

,

in every succeeding stage of k n o wl e dge t o c o n fu sio n ‘ ‘

and want of perfection On these points .

The result of attending to this perfecting of the .

early stages far outran my expectations It quickly .

developed in the children a consciousness Of hitherto

unknown power and particularly a general Sense of
,

beauty and order They felt their own p o wer and the
.
,
44 I . E X PER I ME NTS AT STAN z AN D B UR G D O RF

tediousness Of the ordin ary School tone van i shed lik e -

“

a gho st from my rooms They wished —tried — per; .

, ,
~

severed succeeded : and they laughed Their tone

, .

wa s not that Of learner s : it was the tone Of unknown

powers awake ned from sleep ; of a heart and ml n d
exalted with the f eeling of what these powers could
and would lead th em to do .

Childr e n taught children They tried [ to put i n t o .

practice] what I t old them to do [ and Often c am e ,

.

themselves on t h e track Of the means of its execu tion

from many sides This self activity which had devel
.
-
,

Oped itself in many ways In the b e gi n n 1 n g of learn i ng

”

worked with great force on the birth an d g rowth o f \

the conviction I n me t h at all true all ed ucated in

, ,

struction m u st be drawn out Of the children th emselves

‘

and be born within

. T o this I wa s l e d c hiefly ,

by n ecessity Since I had no fellow helpers I put a

.
-
,

capable child betwee n t wo less capable ones ; h e em

“

These b rackets inclu de a dditions made in t h e

i

‘
"

seco n d edition Not al l have been indicated in this

“

way S ome are very slight and other s are di ffi cult to

.
,

Separate ina translation They may be found I n m o st.

G erman editions Rarely words or passages I n the

.
.

first edition have been left out Of the second Th e ‘

mos t important o m1 S S1 o n i s gl v e n i n note 5 The mos t .

import an t addition s made are to this passage and as

'

th ey give u s Pestalozzi S views twenty years later the y

’
,

may be co n sidered as his last words In the b ook .

46 I . E X P ER I ME NTS AT STAN z AN DBUR G D O RF 7
!

Its defects were the defects Of healthy nat ure imme as ,

u rab l y different from the defects caused by b ad and

artificial teaching — hopeless flagging and complet e

crippling of the mind
I saw in this combination of unschooled ignoran ce a
power Of see i ng ( An scha uu n g) and a firm conception
8
,

of the known and the S een of which our A B C puppet s

h a ve no notion .

I learned from th em I mu st have bee n blind if I

—

had not learned— t o know the natural relatio n in whic h

a

w
r eal k n o ledge Stands to b oo k kno wledge I learned
— .

from them what a disadvantage this one sided lette r -

k n owledge and entire relianc e on words ( which are

Only sound and n 01 se when there is nothin g behin d

m
the ) must be I saw what a hin drance this may b e
.
‘ ‘

to the real power Of Observation (An scha uun g) an d t h e ,

firm conception Of the Obj ects that surround us .

SO far I got in Stanz I felt my experiment had de

.

ci ded that it wa s possible to found po pu lar i n st ru c t io n

‘

on psy c hological groun ds t o lay true knowled ge ga i ne d

, ,

b y se n s e i mpression at its founda tio n an d to t ear a w ay

'
-
,

t h e mask of its superficial bo m bast I felt I coul d

‘

. .

solve t h e problem to men of penetration and u n pre j u

diced mind ; but the prej udiced cro wd like ge e se wh ich
,

ev e r since they cracked the Shell have bee n Shut up i n -

the coop and shed and so have lost all power Of flying an d
Swi mmIn g I c o uld never m
,
ake wise as I well knew
, .
 T H E S CH OOL AT B UR G D O RF 47

It was reserved fo r Burgdorf to teach me mo re .

But imagine — you know me — imagine with what

, ,

feel ings I left Stanz As a Ship wrecked man after

.

weary restless nights sees land at last breathes in hope

, ,

Of life and then swung back into the boundless ocean

, ,

by an unlucky wind says a thousand times in hi s

,

trembling soul Why can I not die

,
and yet doe s
not plunge into th e abyss but still forces his tired eyes
,

Open looks around

,
and s e eks the Shore again and
, ,

when he sees it strains every limb to numbness

, ,

eve n S O was I .

Gessner ! imagine all this ; think of my heart and my

0
A town in Canton Bern . Here he resumed his in
t e rru pt e d work towards the end Of July ,
1 799 .
 48 I . EX P ER I ME NTS AT ST AN z A N D BU RGD ORF
!

will my work and my wreck — my disaster the t re mb

, , ,

ling Of my shattered ne rves and my b ewilderment , .

Such friend was my conditi on when I left Stanz an d

‘

, ,

wen t to Bern .

Fischer got me an intro duction to Z e h e n de r o f G ur ‘

‘

[ t h rough whose kindness ] I enj oyed some re st

I needed them Hi s a wonder
\
ful days at that place . .

that I still live But it was not in y haven It was a . .

rock in the ocean upon which I rested in o rder to swim

aga i n I shall never f o rget those days Z ehender as
.
, ,

long as I live They saved me But I could not li ve

. .

without my work At the very moment when I looked .

down fr om G u rn ige l s height upon the beautifu l ’ “

,
~

b oundless valley at my feet ( I h ad never seen so wi de

a V iew before ) even with that n e w before me I thought
,

m Or e of the b a dl y t au gh t people than Of the beauty Of

'

the scene I c ould not a n d would not live without my

,

purpose .

My depart ure from Stanz although I was near de ath , ,

was not a conseque nce of my free will but of military

measures which rendered the contin uance o f my plan s _ ,

temporarily impossible It renewed the old non sense .

about my uselessness and utte r inability to persevere

in an y business
_
Eve n my friends said Yes for five
.
, ,

A beau tifully Situated much frequented bath 27

*
, ,

ho ur below the summit of Mt Gurnigel 9 miles west .

,

Of Thun .
 HE E N OOU N TE RS RI DI OU LE 49

months it is possible for him to pose as a worker but ,

’

in the Sixth it is no go
‘
We might have known it
‘

.
’

before He can do nothing thoroughly and is at bot

'

,
.

t o m no more fit for actual life than an Ol d hero Of

”
romance In this too he has but outlived himself
.
, , .

T h ey told me to my face It would be ridiculous ,

t o expect b e c au se a man wrote something sen sible in

'

his thirtieth year that h e sh ould do something reason

,

”
able in his fiftieth They said aloud that the very
.

most that co uld be said fo r me was th at I brooded over

a beautiful dream , and like all brooding fools might
n ow and then have a bright idea about my dream and
‘

hobby . It wa s O bvious that no one listened to me .

Meanwhile every one agreed in the opinion tha t things

ha d gone wrong in Stanz , and that everything always
would go wrong with me . F
. reported a
friendly conversat i on i n support of this view . It hap
pened in a public assembly but ,
I
-
will not describe
it more particularly .

”,
T he first said DO you see h o w ugly li t4 8 i - 3

T he o ther : Yes I am sorry for the poor fool

, .

The first An d so am I ; but he cannot be h elped .

E ever he throws out a spark one mom e nt , S Othat On e

might think he really is capable of something the next ,

moment it is again dark around him ; and wh en one

O nly b urnt himself .
50 I E X P ER I ME NTS AT S T A N Z A N D BURGD O RF
.

The o ther : What a pity he did not burn himself to .

”
death ! He cannot be helped till he i s ashes .

The first Go d knows we must soon wish that fo r

”
him .

That was the reward Of my work in Stanz ; a work

'

that perhaps n o mortal ever attempted On such a scale

and under such circu mstances an d of which the inner ,

result brought me practically to the point at which I

n OW st an d
'

They were ast onished that I came down again fro m

G urnigel with my Ol d will and forme r purpo s e wishin g ,

and seeking for nothing but to take u p the thre ad

where I had dropped it and to knot it together aga ,

in any c orner without regarding anything else

, .

Re n gge r and St apfe r rej oiced Judg e Schn e ll a .

vised me to go to Burgdorf ; an d in a couple Of days

“

was there and found in Statthalter Schnell and i

,

D octo r Grimm men wh o knew the Shifting san d o

9

which our Ol d rotten schools n o w stand and

‘

it n o t impo ssib l e that firm ground might yet be

‘

under these quicksands I am grat e fu l to them .

' .
.

'

gave attention to my purpose and h e lpe d m ,

T
energy and good will to make the path whic h I -

seeking .

But here too I was not wit hout di ffi c ulties L

, , .

ily they looked on me at first as casually as 0 ‘

other schoolm aster who r uns about seeking his

 HE MEE TS wH iT O PP O SITI O N 51

A few rich people gre eted me in a friendly way ; a few

parsons courteously wished me [ though I must say
—
,

evi dently without c o n fi de n c e ] G od s blessing on my

—
,
’

undertak ing ; a few prudent men believed th at s ome

thing useful might come out of it for their children .

Everyb ody seemed to be content enough ; to be willing

to wait till whatever was to peep out Of it showe d
itself .

” 1 0
But the Hin tersa ssen schoolmaster Of the brisk ’
‘

littl e town to whose school room I was sent laid hold-

Of the business a little closer I believe he suspected .

the final end Of my A B C crowing was to cram his

situation neck and crop into my sack The rumor
, ,
.

at Once spread through the neighbor i n g street that the

Heidelber g ” k
was in danger>
This is still the food .

b n which the youth of the lower class Of the towns

people is kept as long as the m ost neglected peasantry
,

of the v illages ; an d you know they are kept at it till

their betrothal day .

T he
Heidelberg or Palatinate Catechism was com
piled and published by the Heidelberg t he o to gian s ,

Zacharias U rsinus and K asper Ol e vian u s in by

command and with the c o operation Of Prince Elector
,
-

Friedrich III Of the Palatinate

_
. It was and is the .

most popular elemen tary book of religious instruction

in the schools of the Swiss Evangelical C onfession .

T h e little book has a preponderant doctrinal character ,

an d was therefore not suited for Pestalozzi s teaching

’
.
52 I E X PE R I ME NTS AT
. ST AN z AN D BU RG D ORE

Yet the Heidelberg was not the only thing Me n .

’
still whispered in each other s ears in the streets that
I could not even write nor count nor read correctly
, , .

Now my friend that street gossip is not alway s

, ,

entirely unt rue ; I could neither write count nor read , ,

p erfectly But people always Shut out too much Of

.

s uch street truths You have se en it in Stanz

. .

could teach writing without being able to write p

fe c tl y myself ; and really my ignorance 0
t hings wa s essentially necessary in order to bring
to the highest Simplicity Of methods Of teaching ,

to find means whereby t he most ine xperienced

i gnorant man might also do the same with his child

w
Mean hile it was not to be expected Of
c l asses of Burgdorf that they should acc

beforehand still less that they Should believe i

,

Th e y did not They decided at a meeting that

.

did no t wish experiments made on their children

t h e new teaching : the burghers might try them on
o wn . But as it happened patrons and friends bro
,

all the influence that wa s needed there for that

pose S O that at last I was admit t e d in t o the lo

,
‘

scho ol in th e upper town .

This was the Spell i ng and Reading S chool

Miss Margare tha St ahli the younger It was a
'

by 20— 2 5 boys and girls aged 7 —8 This mus t

,
.

confused with the girls school kept by Miss

’

retha Stahli the elder ;

54 I E X P ER I ME NTS A T
. STAN z AND BU RG D O R F

With this work the idea gra dually developed of the

pos sibility of an? A B C Of An schauun g that is n o w
important to me ; and while working this out the ,

whole scheme Cf a general method Of instruction in all

it s s c o pe appeared though still dimly before my eyes
’

.
, ,

I t Was long before that was clear to me To you it is .

still incomprehensible ; but it is c ertainly true I [ had .

for lon g months been working out all the beg i nn i ng

points of a path breaking attempt at reducing t he
-

means Of instruction to t heir elements and ] had don e ,

everything to bring them to the highest simplicity

”

Yet I knew not their connection or at leas t I was n o t

, ,

clearly conscious Of it ; but I felt every hour that

Was moving On and moving steadily too
,
.

While I was still in boy s Shoes they preached to m

’ ’

that it is a holy th i ng to serve from below u pwards

but I have learned now that in order to work miracl
one must with grey hair serve from below u pwards .

We are obliged to use An s

Obj ects seen sense impression form measure
,
-
, ,

in t it u t io n and the other meanings i ncluded i

m ay retain the unity Pestalozzi intended It .

while working out his first attempts at the A B

An scha uun g that the whole scheme Of a united me
appeared Here An scha uun g is used in a wide
.
f

sense ; i t s Oo n develops and differen tiates The .

meanings will be noted as they appear .

 FR O M BE L O W U P W A RD S 55

sh al l work Do n e and am in no , way born or mad efor

that l l
I shall neither reach such heights in reality
— ~

nor in any way pretend to i m itate them by tricks [ If .

I would I co uld not I know how weak my c apab il

, .

itie s are now ;] but if men at my age who have their ,

Whole head and uns h attered nerves would or should ,

i n a cause like mine se r ve from below upwards they

‘

would succe ed Bu t no ; at my age such men seek

.
,

as is fair and right their arm chairs This is not my

,
- .

condition ; I m ust still in my Ol d days be glad that I

am allowed to serve from belo wupwards I do it .

willin gly but in my o wn way In all I do and attempt

,
.

I se e k the high roads The advantage of these is that

-
.

their straight way and open course destroy the charm

Of those crooke d paths by which men are otherwise
accustomed to reach honor and ad m iration .
“

If I could do fully what I try to do I only need to

e xplain it and the S i mplest man could do it afterw ards
_
.

But in Sp ite Of my clear convic t ion that I Shall bring it

neither to admiration nor to honor I Still re gard it as the ,

crown of my life ; all the more S i nce I h ave Se rv ed this e

Object fo r long years and in my Old age from below ,

upwards .

The adv antages Of it strike me more every day .

Wh ile I thus took in hand all the dusty school duties

'

not merely superficially and whil e I always went on ,

‘

and On fro m e igh t in the morni n g till seven in the

’
56 I E X P ER I ME NTS A T
. STAN z A N D B U RG D O RF

evening a fe w hours excepted I naturally p o unced

, ,

every moment upon matters of fact that might throw

light on the existence of physico mechanical laws ac -
,

c ording to which our minds pick up and keep o ut e r

impre ssions easily or with difficul ty .

I adapted my teaching daily more to my sense Of

such laws ; b ut I wa s n o t really aware of their pr i nci
ples until the Exe c utive Councillor Glayre to whom
, ,

I had tried to explain the sense of my works last sum

mer said to me
, Vo us o ou lez mechan iser
.
,
1 2

[ Iunderstood very little French I thought b y

\

. ,

these words he meant to say I was seeking means of

,

bringing education and instruction into psychologically

order ed sequence ; and taking the words in this sense ]
,

he really hit the nail on the head an d according to ,

my view put the word in my mo n t h which Showed

,

me the essentials Of my purpose and all the means

“

thereto Perhaps it would have been long before I

.

had found it out because I did not examine myself as

,

I went along but surrendered myself wholly to vague

,

though vi vid feelings that indeed made my cours e ,

certain but did not teach me to know it I could n ot

"

do otherwise I have read no book for thirty year s:

‘
.

I could and can read none I had nothing mor e to .

sa
y to abstract ideas I lived solely upon conv i ctions
.

t hat were the result Of countless though for t h e mo st , ,

p art forgotten intuitions

, .
 HE R EAD N O BO O K IN T H I R T Y Y E A R S 57

SO without knowing the principles On which I was

working I began to dwell upon the nearness with
which the Obj ects I explained to the children were
wont to touch their senses ; and SO as I followed out ,

the teaching from its beginning to its utmost en d I ,

tried to investigate back to its very beginning the early

_

history Of the c hild wh o is to be taught and was soon

‘

convinced that the first hour Of its teaching is the

hour Of its birth From the moment in wh ich his
.

mind can receive impressions from Nature Nature ,

t e aches him The new life itself i s n o thing but the

.

j ust awakened readiness t o receive these impressions ;

-

it is only the awakening of the perfect physical buds

-

that now asp i re with all their power and all their im
pulses towards the development Of their individuality .

It is only the awakening of the n o w perfect animal

that will and m ust become a man .

Al l instruction Of man is then o n ly t h e Art Of help

_

i n g Nature to d e velop in her own way ; an d this Art

t
'

re st s e s se n t iall on the rela ion and ha rmony between

y
the impressions received by the child and t he exact —

degree Of his developed powers It is also nece s sary .

in the i mpressions that are brought to the child by

The Art frequently r eferre d to hereafter ,is

,
”

distinguished by a capital from art generally ; it is our

S cience and Art o f Education ”
“
which is here first ,

put on a psy chological and scientific basi s .

58 I E X P E R I ME N TS A T S T A N Z A N D BURGD ORF
.

'

instruction that there should be a sequence so that ,

beginning and progress should keep pace with the

"

begi nning and progress Of the powers to be developed

in the child I soon saw that an i nquiry into this
.

s equence thro ughout the whole range of human kno wl

edge particularly those fundamental points from which

,

the development of the h uman mind o rigin at e s mu st

'

be the Simple and only way ever to attain and to keep

satisfactory school and instruction books of eve ry ,

grade suitable for our nature and our wants I saw

, .

j ust as soon tha t in making these books the c o n st it u

ents of i nstruction must be separated according t o t h e h

degree Of the growing power Of t h e child ; and th at in

all matters of instruction it is necessary to det er
1 3
,

mi n e with the gre at e st ac c u rac y which of these con

:
s t it u e n t s is fit for each age Of the child in order on the
,

o n e hand not to hold him back if he is ready ; and o n

‘

t h e other not to load him and confuse him with any

,
~ -

thing for which he is not quite ready .

This wa s clear to me The child must be brought

.

to a high degree of knowledge both Of t hings seen an d

of words before it is reasonable to teach him to spell or
read . I was quite convinced that at their earliest age
c h ildren need psych o logical training in gain i ng i n t e lli
“

gent sense impressions of all things But Since suc h

-
.

training without the h elp Of art i s not to be thought

'

, ,

of o r e x pe c t e d o f men as they are the need of p

l

,
ictur e
 T H I NGS B EF ORE W O RD S 59

b ooks struck me perforce These Should p rece de t he.

A B C books in order to make those ideas that men

,

express by words clear to the children [ by means of

Well chosen real Obj ects
- 1 4
that either i n r eality or in
, ,

t h e form of well made models and drawings can be

-
,

brought before their mind s ]

A happy experiment confirmed my then un ripe
op i n i on i n a striking way [ in Spite of all the l imita
.

t ions of my means and the error and o ne sidedness in

‘

-
,

my e xperiments ]
‘
. An anxious mother entrusted her
h ardly t h re e year Ol d child to my private teaching
- - I .

saw h im for a time every day for an hour ; and for a

time felt the pulse of a method with him I tried .

to teach him by letters figures and anything handy ;

, ,

that is I aimed at giving him clear ideas and expres

,

sio n s by these means I made him name correctl y

.

—
what he knew of anything color limbs place form , , , ,

and number I was obliged to put aside that first

.

plague Of yo u t h t h e miserable letters ; he would have

,

nothing but pictures an d things .

He soon expressed himself clearly ab o ut bj ects t

t he
'

that lay within the limits of his knowledge He found .

common illustrations in the street the garden and , ,

t h e room ; and soon learned to pronounce the h ardest

names of plants and animal s and to compare Objects ,

q uite unknown to him with those known and to pro ,

duce a clear sense impression Of them in himself

- .
60
‘

I E X P ER I ME NTS
. AT S TA N Z A N D BURGD ORF

Although this experiment led to b ye ways and worked ,

for the strange and distant to the disadvantage of the

present it threw many sided light on the me ans of
,
-

quickening the child to his surroundings and Showing ,

him the charm of self activity in the extens i on of his

-

powers .

But yet the experiment was not satisfactory for that

which I was particularly seek i ng because the boy h ad
,

I am con
i

already three unused years behind him

1 5
.

v in c e d that nature brings the children even at this age

to a defin ite consciousness Of innumerable Obj ects It .

only needs that we Should with psychol ogical art unite

speech with this knowledge in order to bring it to a
high degree Of clearnes s ; and so enable us to connect
the foundations Of many sided arts and truths Wl tll
-
.

that which nature herself teaches and also to use wh at

,

natur e teaches as a means Of explaining all the funda :

me n t al s of art and truth that can be connected with

them Their power and their experience both are
.

great at this age ; but our unpsychological schools are ,

e ssentially only artificial st iflin g machines for destroy

-

ing all t he results Of the power and experience that

n ature herself brings to life in them .

You know it my friend But for a moment picture

, .

to y ourself the h orror Of this mur der We leave n

.

children up to their fifth year in t h e full en j oyme nt

Of nature ; we let every impression Of nature w ork
62 I E XP ER I ME N TS AT
. STAN z A N D BURGD ORF

ful guidance of n ature which they have enj oyed s o

,
,

long to the mean and m i serable school course has u p

, ,

on the souls Of children ?

Will men always be blind ? Will they never reach
the first springs from which flow our mental distrae
tion the destruction Of our innocence the ruin of our
, ,

ca pacities and all their consequences ; which lea d all

”

to unsatisfactory lives thousands to death in hospitals ,

,

and to madness .

Dear G essner h o w happy shall I b e in my grave if I

,

have contributed something towards making these

springs known Ho w happy shall I be in my grave if
.

I can unite Nature and Art in popular education as

clos ely as they are now Vi olently separated Ah ! h Ow .

my l a St soul is stirred Nature and art are not only

~
.

separated they are insanely forced asunder by wi cked

,

men !
It i s as i f an evil Sp irit had reserved for our quar t er -

of the world and our century an infernal gift of

malicious disun i on i n order to make us more w eak an d
,

miserable in thi s philosophical age than ever yet self

deception presumpti on and self c oncei t have made
, ,
-

mankind in any part of the worl d in any age , .

Ho w gladly would I forget such a world ! Ho w :

happy I am i n this state Of things by t h e side .

Of
_
. my;
dear little Lu dwig wh o se whims force me to
,
‘

ever more deeply into t h e s pi rit of b e gin n in

 N A T URE AN D ART U NIT ED 63

i nf ants Yes my friend i n these the fittest blow

.
, ,

against t h e fo olish instructio n Of our time must and

Shall be given Their Spirit grows ever clearer to me
. .

The y must start from the simplest el ements of human

knowledge they must deeply impress the children with
,

the most essential forms of all things they must early ,

and clearly develop the first consciousness of the rela "

tions Of n umber [ and measure ] in them they must ,

give them words and sentences ab out the whole range

of their knowledge and experience ; a n d above all , ,

completely fill up the first steps Of the ladder of knowl

edge b y which nature herself leads u s to all arts and
crafts.

What a gap the want Of these books makes We .

-

want n ot only what we could ga i n by our own skill but

also what we could n ever gain We want above all . -

that spirit with whose life Nature herself surrounds us

-

without our help This Spirit is wanting in us also

.
,

an d we do violence to ourselves while we through our ,

miserable popular schools and their monotonous letter

t eaching extinguish within us the last trace of the
,

burning style wi th which Nature would brand us .

But I r e turn to my path While I wa s thus on one

.

side On the tra ck of the first beginning points of the -

pr actical means Of psychologically unfolding human

capacities and talents which might be practicable and
,

applicable for the development Of children from t he

64 I E X P ER I ME NTS AT
. STAN z AN D BURGD O RF

cradle upwards I had On the oth er Side at the same

, ,

time to teach children who up to this time had been

,

formed and brought up quite out Of the sphere Of such

views and means I naturally came while SO doi ng in
. .

many ways in o ppo sit io n to myself and availed myself , ,

and was forced to avail myself of measures which ,

seemed in direct opposition to my principles ; especial

1 7

l y to t h e psychological sequence Of knowledge Of things

and language on the lines of which the ideas of chil
,

dren should be developed .

I could n o t do otherwi se I was obliged as it were in

.
,

the dark to seek out the degree of capacity which I

,

could not f athom in them I set to work in every .

possible way and fo u nd everywhere that much fu rther

progress had intensively been made even amidst t h e ,

greatest rubbish than seemed possible to me conside r

, ,

in g t h e i ncomprehensible want of all kno w ledge Of t h e

‘

Art As far as men had influence I found u

. nspeak
able sleep i ness ; but behind this sleepiness Nature was
not dead .

I have and can say that it is long in c On

no w learned ,

c e i v ab ly long before human error and unreason can

‘

wholly stifle our nature in a child s [ mind and] h eart ’

.

There is a G o d wh o has put in our boso m a counterpoise

to madness against ourselve s The life and truth Of .

all Nature that surrounds us support this counterpoise ,

to the eternal pleasure of the Crea t o r wh o wi lleth not ,

 N A T URE T HE O NLY G U I DE 65
‘

that the holiness Of our nature should be lost in the

time Of our weakness and innocence but that all children ,

O f men Should with certainty advance to the knowledge

, ,

Of truth and right ; until forfeiting the worth Of their

inner nature through themselves by their own fa u lt an d

, , ,

with fu ll con scio usn ess of it they stray into the labyrinth
,

o f error and the abyss Of vice .

But [ the maj ority of ] the men [ of t his time ] hardly

know what G o d did for them and allow no weight to ,

the infinite influence Of Na tu re on our developmen t On .

the contrary they make a great fuss about any poor

,

inve ntion crooked and stupid enough compared to her

,

work as if their skill did everything and Nature

,

nothing for the human race ; and yet Nature only does
u S good ; she alone leads u S uncorrupted and unshaken

to truth and wisdom The more I followed her track

.
,

the more I sought to unite my deeds to hers and

strained my powers to keep pace with her footsteps ,

the more infinite this step appeared to me .

But the power of children to follow her is j ust as -

infinite I found weakness nowhere e x c e pt i n myself

.

and in the art of using what is there I tried to drive .

where n Ohlrivi n g was possible ; where i t was only pos

‘

to invit e into a vehicle what had its o wn power

ing in itself ; [ or rather I tried to force in where
-

, ,

S only possible to bring out from within t h e child

lies in him and i s only to be stimulated

,

and cannot be put into him] .

66 I E X P ER I M ENTS AT
. STAN z AN D BURGD O RF

I now considered three times before I thought Of

anything The children cannot do it — and ten
times before I said : It is impossible for them
“

They did what seemed to me impossible at their age :

I let children of three years old spell the wildest non
sense merely because it was nonsensically hard ” .

Friend you have heard children under four spell out

*

the longest and hardest sentences W ould yo u have .

believed it possible if yo u had not seen it

E ven so I taught the m to read whole geographical
w
sheets that were ritten in extremely abbreviate d
forms and the least known words indicated only b y a
,

couple Of letters at an age when they could hardly

,

spell the printed words You have seen t h e perfect

.

accuracy with which they read these Sheet s an d the ,

'

unconstrained ease wit h wh ic h they could learn them

by heart
:

I even tried to make gradually clear to afe w o lde r

l

children complic ated and t o the m wholly in c o mpre he n

sible propositions in natural science The y learned . ,

the pro po sitions thoroughly by heart by re ading and ,

repetition and also t h e questions explaini n g

,

propositions It was at first like all c at e c h i

.
,

mere parrot like repetition Of dull u n c o m

-
,
-

words But the sharp separation of single ideas

.

definite arrangement in this separation and the “

S 01 o u sn e ss deeply an d indel ibly i mpressed Of these

 D EV E L O P ME NT OF PR IN C I P L E S 67

words glowing in the midst Of their dulness with a

,

gl eam Of light and el u cidation brought them gradu ,

ally to a fe eling Of truth and insight into the subj ect

lying before them that bit by bit cleared itself like
,

sunlight from densest mist .

By these tentative and erring measures blendin g ,

their course with the clearest views Of my purpose ,

these first trials gradually developed in me clear prin

c ipl e s about my actions ; and while every day it became

clearer to me that in the youngest years we must not ,

reason with children but must limit ourselves to t h e

,

m eans of developing their minds :

1 . By ever widening more and more the sphere Of

their sense impressions

-
.

2 . By firmly and without confusion i mpressing upo n

, ,

them those sense impres sions that have been

-

brought to th e ir consc i ousness .

By givi ng them su fficient kno wledge of language

‘

3 .

fo r all that Nature and the Art have brought or

may in part bring to their consciousness .

While as I say these three points of view b e cam e

, ,

e are r to me every day j ust as a firm conviction grad

,

nally developed within me

1 Of the need Of picture books for early childhood
. .

2 Of the necessity of a sure a

. n d definite means Of

explaining these books .

3; Of the need Of a gu ide Z t O names and knowledge ,

68 I E X P ER I ME NTS AT
. ST AN z A N D BDRG DO RF

Of words founded upon these books and their ex

planations with which the children Should be
,

thoro u ghly familiar before the time Of spelling .

The advantage of a fluent and early nomenclature is

invaluable to children The firm i mpression Of names
.

makes the things u n fo rge t ab l e as soon as they are _

brought to their knowledge ; and the stringing together

O f names in an order based upon reality and truth

d evelops and maintains in them a consciousness of the

r eal relations of things to each other The advantages .

O f this are progressive onl y we m ust never think b e

,

c ause a child does not understand anyth ing fully tha t

t herefore it i s Of no use to him C ertain it is that .

when with and by A B C learning he has himself ,

made the sound and tone Of the greater part Of

s cientific nome n clature his o wn h e enj oys t h ro u gh i
‘

a t least the advantage that a child enj oys who in hi

home a gr eat house of business daily becomes ac

, ,

u in t e d from his cradle u pwards with t h e names

q a

c ountless O bj ects .

The philanthropic Fischer wh o had a similar

,
1 9

pose to mine saw my course from the beg i nn i ng

, ,

said it was wrong so far wa s it removed from his

,

manner and views The letter that he wrote a

.

my exper i ments t o Steinmuller is remarkable for

2 0

view he takes Of th i s subj ect at this time I will .

it here with a fe w Observations .

70 I E X P ER I ME NTS AT
. ST AN z A N D BURGD ORF

in lower schools an d to seek forms of instruction

u larly ,

that have not these deficiencies ) .

1 .
“
He wishes to ra ise the capa city f
o the min d in ten sively,
an d n ot merely to en rich it ex ten sive ly with con ception s .

He hopes to attain this in many waysWhile he .

re cites words explanations phrases and long sentenc es

, , ,

loudly and Often to the children and lets them rep eat ,

them he wishes thereby ( according to the distin ct

,
:

individual aim that each step has ) to form their organ s

and to exercise their Observa tion and thought Fo r .

the same reason he allows them during the repetition

,

exercise to draw on their slates freely or to draw let ,

”
ters with colored chalk .

( I allowed the m even t h en to dr a w espec i ally lines , ,

angles and curves an d to learn their definitions

, ,

heart I proceeded in the measures that I had trie d

.

teaching to wri te from t h e principle founded u p

,

experience th at the children are rea dy at an earlier

for knowledge Of proportion and the guidance of
slate pencil than for guiding the pen and maki
,

tiny letters ) .

Fo r this purpose he deals out thin little leaves

transparent horn to ;his scholars ; upon these lit
tablets are engraved strokes and letters and t h e p ,

use th em as models ; so muc h the more eas ily

they can lay them upon the figures they have
and the t ran spare n c y e n ab l e s them to make the
 FIS C HER S ’
V IEW OF PE ST A L OZZ I S T E A C H ING
’
71

g,
sary comparison A double occupation at the same .

time is a preparation for a thousand incidents an d

works in life in which Observation must sha re without
,

diss ipa tin g itself Industrial schools for example are

.
, ,

founded entirely upon this re adiness .

”R
A
5
( I had in my experiments of thirty years ago found
l
the most decisive results I h ad already at that time .

brought children to a readiness -Of reckoning while spin

ning that I mys e lf could not follow without paper All .

depends however on the psychology of the form Of

teaching The child must have perfectly in his po wer
.

the handicraft which he carries on with his learning ;

and the task which he thus learns with the work must
h in every case b e Only an easy addition to that which he
f

Ca n do already ) .

2 . He ma kes his tea chin g depen d en tir ely on lan

u
g ga é .

( This should b e e xactly ,He ho lds, f

ate r the rea l sen se

impression f
o Na tu f
r e, la n gu a ge to be the first mea n s O g n
a i
i n g kn owledge Of o ur ra ce I arrived at this from the .

p rinciple that the child must learn to ta lk before he

can be reasonably taught to read But I con n ected .

the art Of teac hing children to talk with the intuitive

ideas given to them by n ature and with those given to ,

the m by art ) .

In language t h e results Of all human progress are

recor ded It is only necessary therefore to follow its
.

Course psychologically .
’

g
72 I E X P ER I ME NTS AT S T A N Z
. AN D BUR G D O RF

( The clue to this psychological pursuit must be

sought in the very nature of the development Of lan
guage itself The savage first n a mes his Obj ect then
.
,

dra ws it then combin es it very simply after learning it s

, ,

qualities variabl e according to time and circumstances

,

with words by terminations and combinations in

, ,

order to distinguish it more nearly I will further .

unfold th i s Vi ew and by so doing I will t ry to satisfy

,

Fischer s demand for a psychological investigation Of

’

the course Of language under the title of Lan gua ge )

,
.

He will not reason with the children until he has

furnished them with a stock of words an d expressions ,

which they bring to their places and learn to compose ,

and decompose Thereby he enriches their thought

.

with simple explanations Of Obj ects Of sense and so

“

teaches the child to describe what surrounds h im to

.
,

give an account of his ideas and to master them Sinc e

, ,

he now for the first time becomes clearly co nsciou s

, ,
1
”
Of those already existing in him .

M
( y Opinion on th i s point is : In order to make
children reasonable and put them i n the way Of a
”

power of independent thought we must guard as ,

much as possible against allowing th em to speak at

haphazard or to pronounce opinions about things that
,

they know only superficially I believe the time fo r.

learn i ng i s not the time for j udgment ; the time for

j udgment comes with t h e completion of learning ; it
 FIS CHER S ’
V I EW OF PE ST A L OZZ I S T E A CH ING
’
73
“

comes with the ripening of reason for the sake of which

“

we judge or Should judge I believe every judgment .

that is supposed to have inner truth for the individual

who expresses it for this reason must Of itself out Of a
,

comprehensive knowledge fall ripe and perfect as the ,

perfectly ripened grain falls unforced and free from

the husk or Shell ) .

Mechani cal readiness and a certain tact in speak,

ing he produces by doing exercises in inflect i ons before

”
them .

( These inflections were limited to descriptions of

well known Obj ects )
-
.

Their mental freedom gains exceedingly by this ;

and when they have learned and learned to use certain ,

forms Of description by many examples they will in ,

l

future reduce thousands Of o b je Ct s to the same for

mula and impress upon their definitions and de sc rip
,

tions the stamp Of clear vi si o n .

n o w trying to find in number me asurement

( I am , ,

and language the primary and universal foundations

,

for this purpose ) .

3 . He seeks to provi de a ll opera tio n s O f the min d with

”
either da ta or hea din gs or lea din g i dea s .

( That is —h e seeks the fundamental points in the

,

whole compass Of art and nature the kinds Of sense ,

impressions the realities which can be used through

, ,

their dist ino t n e ss an d their universality as fruitful

74 I E X P ER I ME NTS AT
. ST AN z AN D BUR G D O RF

means for making knowle dge and j udgment easy upon

many Obj ects subordinate to and c onnected with them .

S O he gives the children da ta that will make them

Observe similar Obj ects ; he gives hea din gs to sequences

of analogous ideas by defining which he separates for

,

them the whole sequen ce Of Obj ects and makes their ,

essential characteristics clear to them ) .

'

The da ta however disj ointed they b e wh e n given

, ,

depend On e upon the other There are i deas one sug

.
,
,

g e st in
g the other which for
,
that very reason inspire
the desire fo r i nquiry through the mental necessity of
compl etion and facility in putting together separate
”
Obj ects .

( The h ea din gs lead

-
to the classification Of the ideas
to be upgather c d ; they bring order into the chaotic
mass and th e set u p framework causes the child to
,
-

fill up the separate Shelves assiduously Th at is the .

value of headings of G eography Natural History , ,

Technolo gy etc Above this comes the analogy which

,
.

rules i n the choice of subj ects for though t The lea d .

-

in g i deas lie in certain proble ms which in t hemselves

—
,

are or may be the subj ect Of whole sciences .

When these problems analyzed to their elements

, ,

are intelligibly pu t before the child conn ected with ,

data which he already has or can easily find and are ,

used as exercises for the Observing powers the c hild s ,

’

mind will be l ed to work incessantly at thei r solution .

 FIS CHER S ’
VI EW OF PE ST A L OZZ I S T E A CH ING
’
75

The simple question What can man use as clothing

,

out o f t h e t h re e k in gdo m s Of nature is an example

O f this proce ss The child will examine and prove
.

much from this point of view from which he antici ,

pates he can contribute to the solution of a technical

problem In this way he builds up his knowledge
. .

Tr uly the m a terials must i n every cas e be given him .

To th e leading ideas belong also propositions which at

first can be trusted to the memory only as practical
maxims but gradually receive force application and
, , ,

Sign ifi c at i o n and become more deeply impressed and

,

confirmed ) .

4 He wishes si mplify the mechan ism Of tea chin g

‘

. to

an d lea rn in g .

Whatever he picks up from his text books and -

wishes to t e ach the children Should be so Simple that

every mother and later every teacher even with the
'

, ,
,

least capacity for instruction can grasp repeat ex

_
, , ,

plain and connect together He particularly wi shes

, .

mothers to make the earliest education Of their children

“

pleasant and important by e a sy in st ru c ti o n in speech ,

and reading ; and S O as he expresses it g radually to

, ,

It is indisputable t hat the human mind is not

equally susceptible to impressions aimed at in educa
tion in every form in which they may be presented .

The art Of finding out the methods that most readily

stimulate this susc e ptibility is the mechanism Of teach
ing which every teacher Should seek out in fr e e nature
, ,

and should learn from h e r on behalf Of his art .

76 I E X P ER I ME NTS AT
. STAN z A N D BURGD ORF

cancel the need of elementary schools and to supple ,

ment them by an improved home education He .

wishes in this Way to prepare experiments with mothers

as soon as his text books are printed ; and it is to be
-

hoped that t h e G overnment will help by little pre

miu ms .

I know the difficulties Of this ques tion People all

( .
[

cry that mothers will not be persuaded to undertake a

new work in addition to their scrubbing and r ubbing ,

their knitting and sewing and all the i r [ tiresome

,

duties and the distractions Of their life ] ; an d I may

,

answer as I like : It is no work ; it is play ; it take s

no time rather it fill up the emptiness Of a thou sand
,

moments Of depression ”
People have no mind for it
.
,

”
and answer back ,
T hey won t do it
’
But Pope Bon i
.

face i n the year 1 5 1 9 said to the good Z wi ngli

,
It ,

wo n t do ; mothers will through all eternity neve r

read the Bible with their ch ildren never through all
.

eternity pray daily with them morning and even i ng ;

yet he found in t h e year 1 5 2 2 that they did it and ,

”
said ,
“
I n ever shou ld have believed it I am sure Of .

my means [ and I know and hope at least before I am

, ,

that a n e w Pope Boniface will speak Of thi s

steadfastly Pestalozzi hoped in moth ers ap ,

pears clearly in this passage In the first edition he

.

wrote , Before we get to 1 8 03 (p This hope .

was n o t lfu lfill e d and yet in the second edition b e ex

,

pressed it again but this time it is

,
before I am .
“

”
buried .
78 I E X P ER I ME NTS
. AT ST AN z AN D BURGD ORF

use of th a
t which nature does in all ways fo r his d e vel
op me n t ) .

This Shall reach further through t h e division and

cheap sale of the text books Short and intelligible -
.
,

they shall be issued in a series and supplement each ,

other ; and yet be ab le to stand alone and be dispe rs ed ,

in single numbers Fo r the same end he would mul

.

t ipl y maps geometrical figures etc

,
by woodcuts at ,
.
, ,

the very lowest prices He dedicates the profit of these.

works after deducting the cost to the improvement

, ,

Of his method v iz to practicall y use it in an estab

,
.
,
‘

” ’
l ish e d school institute or orphan s home
, ,
.

( This is too much to say I am not able to afier to the .

pu bli cthe who le profi t ,f merely dedu ctin g the

g co st o p i r n tin

of works that are the result of my wh ole life and of ,

pecuniary sacrifices that I made with th i s i n Vi ew .

But notwithstanding all the manifold sacrifices that

m
I have already ade for t h e sake Of my aim yet if the ,

G overnment or an individual will make it possibl e for

-

me to carry On an orphan s home accord ing to my ’

principles I will sacr ifice for this end my tim e and all
,

my powers with the greater part Of the profit Of my

,

school books till I die ) .

The gain Of school instruction is that the teacher

with a certain minimum of skill n o t only dOe s no harm
but is able to make suitable progress
( This is essential I believe it is not pO S S
.ibl e f o r
 FIS CHER S ’
V I EW OF PEST ALo z z I ’
S T E A CH ING 79

common popular instruction to advance a step so long ,

as formulas Of instruction are not found which make

the teac her at least in the elementary stages Of knowl
,

edge m erely the mechanical tool Of a method the

, ,

result Of which springs from the nature Of the formulas

and not from the skill Of the man wh o uses it I .

assert definitely that a school book is good o nly when -

an uninstructed schoolmaster can use it at need [ al

most as well as an instructed and talented one ] It .

'

must essentially be SO arranged t h at u n in st ru c t e d men ,

and even mothers may find in its clues sufficien t help

,

t o bri n g them always one step nearer than the child to -

that progressive development of skill to which they are

leading h im More is not wanted ; and more at least
.
,

for centuries the mass of schoolmasters could not give

,
.

But we build castles in the air and are proud Of ideas ,

of reason and independence which exist Only on paper

and are more wanting in school rooms than even in -

tailors and weavers room s Fo r there is no other

’ ’
.

profession that r elies so entirely on mo re words ; and if

we consider how ver y long we h ave been relying on
these the n the connection Of this error with the cause
,

from which it arises startles us ) .

More could be gained in the following way If .

many children are taught together the emulation ,

aroused and the reciprocal imparting to one another of

what has been gained becomes more easy among the
80 I . E X PE R I ME N T S AT S T A N Z AN D B UR G D O RF

children themselves ; and the hitherto roundabout ways

of enriching the memory may be avoided or shortened
by other arts 6 g by analogy of subj ects discipline
, . .
, ,

increased attention l oud r epetitions and other e x e r

, ,

”
cises.

So far Fischer His whole l etter shows the no ble

.

man who honors truth even in a nightgown and when ,

she seems to be surrounded by real shadows He was .

t ransported b y t h e sight of my children in Stanz ; and

'

since the impression that this sight made upon him

has given sincere attention to all my doings .

But he died before my experiments had reached a

ripeness in which he could see more than he really saw
in them With his death a new epoch began for me
. .
 Friend soon wearied in Burgdorf as in Stanz If
,
I .

you know you can never lift a stone without help do

not go on tryingfor a quarter of an hour without this
help I did incomparably more than I W as obliged
‘

.
,

a n d they believed I wa s obliged to do more than I did .

My breast was so to rn from morning to night with

'

scho ol affairs that I wa s again in danger of the worst

, .

I was m this condition when Fischer s death brought

’

me into contact with the schoolmaster E r ti si 2 1

through ,

whom I learnt to know Tobler and Buss wh o a few ,

weeks later j oined me Their union with me saved

‘

my life and preserved my undertaking from an u n

,

timely death before 1 t was well alive Meanwhile the .

latter danger wa s so great that there was nothing left

for me to do but to risk everything not only financially ,

but I might almost say morally I was d rive n to the

.

point at which I despair e d of the fulfilment of a dream

to which my life h ad b een devoted This produced a .

state of mind and mode of acting that almost bore the

stamp of madness on th em ; while owing to the force of
,

circumstances and the continuous duration of my mis

,

fortunes and undeserved sufferings that disturbed the

(8 1 )
82 II PESTALo z z r s ASS I S TA N T S AT BUR G D O RF
.
’

centre of my e fi o rt s I sank down into the depths of

,

inward confusion just at the moment in which I

,

apparently began really to approach my aim .

The help that I received from thes e men in t he

whole scope of my purpose restored me financially and
morally to myself The impression that my c ondition
.

as well as my work made upon them and the c o n se ,

u n c e s of their union with me are so importa n t in

q e ,

relation to my method and throw so much light on

,

the spirit of its psycholo gi cal basis that I canno t pass,

over the whole course of th eir union with me m sil ence .

K rii si ,
whom I first learnt to know spent his youth ,

in various occupations through which he had learned

much and varied manual skill which in the lower,

ranks so often develops the basis of the higher mental

'

culture and raises men wh o have enj oyed it from

,

childhood to general and comprehensive u sefulness .

f

When only in his twelfth or thirteenth year his ,

father wh o had a little b u sin ess used to send him

, , _

several miles with six or e i ght dollars to buy good s; to

this he added some messages and commissions After .

wards he undertook weaving and day la b orer s work -

’
.

In his eighteenth year he wa s employed w ithout an y ,

preparation in school work in his native place G aiss

, ,
.

At that time as he n o w says he did not know even

, ,

the names of t h e first grammatical distinctions An y .

thing more was not to be thought of s ince he ne ve r ,

 E n o sI
’
s FI RS T T E A CH ING 83

had any instruction except at an ordinary Swiss village

,

school where it was limited to reading writing copies

, , ,

learning the catechism by rote etc But he liked th e , .

intercourse with children and he hoped that this post ,

might be a means of gaining culture and knowledge ,

the Want of which he felt keenly as a messenger Fo r .

since they distilled there he was so on commissioned to ,

b u y prepared things sal ammoniac borax and a hun

, , ,

dred other things the names of which he had never

,

heard in his life while at the same ti me he dared not

,

forget the most insignificant commission and was

' ’

answerable for every farthing It was borne in upon .

him how advant ageous it must be for e very child to b e

brought forward in reading writing counting and all , , ,

m ental e xercises even in learning to s peak as far as

“

, ,

he now f e lt he wished to have been brought for t h e

sake of his poor calling
"

In the first fe w weeks he had already a hundred

pupils But the task of occupying all these children
.
,

properly teaching th em and keepin g t h em in order s

was beyond his power He knew no art of school

. ,

keeping except settin g tasks of spelling reading and , ,

learn i ng by heart ; repeating lessons by turns wa rn in g ,

an d c hasti sin g with the rod when the tasks were not
“

learnt But he knew from his own youthful e x pe ri

‘

ence that under this method of school keep i ng the -

maj ority of children sit idle for the greater part of

84 II PESTALo z z r s ASSIST A NTS AT
.
’
BU R G D OR F

school time and even fa

,
ll into all kinds of foolish and
naughty ways ; that in this way the precious time for
culture passes useless away and the advantages of ,

learning are not balanced by the harmful consequences

that such a school keeping must necessarily have
-
.

Past or Schiess wh o worked energetically against

,

the old slow course of instruction helped him to keep ,

- '

s chool for the first eight weeks They immediately.

d ivided the children into three classes These divisions .

,

a n d the use of n e w reading books that were shortly

a fterw a rds intro duced into the school made it possible ,

to exercise seve ral children together in spelling and

reading and thus to occupy all more than had been
, ,

possible before .

He also lent him boo ks necessary for his o wn culture ,

an d a goo d copy book which he copied a hun dre d

-
,

t imes in order to form hi s h an dwrit in g ; an d he was .

s oon in a position t o satisf the highest demands of t he

y
parents But this did not satisfy him He W i shed
. .

not only to teach his scholar s to read and write but ,

also to train their understanding .

The n e w reading book [ that the pastor introduce d

into his parish ] contain ed religious instruction in pro
verbs and Bible stories passages of nature teaching and
,
-

natural history geography politics a n d so o n At

, , ,
“

every reading lesso n K rii si saw that his pastor as ked

,

the children questions on every paragraph to '

86 II PEsT ALOZ Z I
.
’
s ASSIST A N TS AT BU R G D OR F
“

h igher treatment of the subj ect ; but the combination ,

by its very nature leads no further than the squaring

,

of the circle that a wood cutter with the axe in his

hand tries upon a wooden board ; it will not do 2 3
The .

uncultured superficial man cannot fathom the depths .

out of which Socrates drew spirit and truth ; therefore

it is natural that it should not succeed He wanted a .

foundation for his questions an d the children needed ,

a background for their answers Further they had .

.
,

no language for that which they knew and no books ,

th at c ould put a definite answer in their mouths for

questions understood or not understood , .

Meanwhile K rusi did not feel clearly yet the difi e r

,

ence between these similar methods He knew not yet .

that catechism proper and particularly the catechism

,

ab ou t abstract ideas excepting the advantage o f

“

separatin g words and subj ects into analytical forms is -

nothing in itself but a parrot like repetit i on of unin

“

t e lligib l e sounds So c r
at iz m g 1 s essentially i mp o ssible
.

for children since they want both a background of

,

preliminary knowledge and the out w ard means of ex

pression language He was unj ust to himself about
— .

this fail ure ; he believed the cause of failure lay entirely

in himself and t hought any good scho olmaster would
,

be able to draw right and clear answers from childr en

by questions about all sorts of religious and moral
ideas .
 E RIISI GOES FIS CHER 87
’

To

He had fallen upon the fashion able perio d of So c ra

tiz in g , or rather upon an epoch in which this sublime

art was [ genera lly absorbed by an infe rior art and ] ‘

spoiled and degraded by a combination of monkish and

teachers formulas of catechism At that p eriod they
’
.

dre amed of drawing out the intellect in this way and ,

o u t of veritable nothing t o c all forth wonders ; but I

‘

think they are now waking from that dream .

K rii si ,however was still fast asleep ; he wa s locked

,

in it else I should won der if even the Appenzell er had

,

not observed when half awake that the hawk and the
, ,

e agle could take no eggs from the nest if none had

been laid He was determined to learn an art that

.

seemed so essential to his calling An d as he found .

in the departure of the emigrating Appe n z e ll e rs an

Oppo rt u n t iy of coming to Fischer his hopes were ,

renewed on this s ubj ect Fischer did everything to

.

make him a cultivated teacher according to his views,

.

But in my Opinion he has let the attempt to raise him

into the clo uds of a superficial art of catechizing take
prec e dence of the work that Sho uld m ak e E
l e ar e r to
’

him t h e foundations of things about which he Should

,

catechize .

K rii sihonors his memory an d speaks only with ,

affection and gratitude of his benefactor and friend .

But love of truth which bound me also to Fischer s

,
’

heart d emands that I leave no vi ew and no circum

,
 II PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS AT BURGD O RF
’
'

88 .

stance of this subj ect in doubt which more or less con

tributed to de v elop views and Opl n l o n s In me and my
helpers that now unite us on this subj ect Therefor e .

I cannot conceal that while K rusi admired the ease

with which Fi scher held a great number of question s
in readiness about a crowd of subj ects and hoped with ,

time and industry to gather together a sufficient num

ber of questions for the elucidation of all the pr i ncipal
subj ects of human knowledge 24
he could ever less and
,

’
less conceal it from himself that if a teachers sem i nary
be a thing that must raise every village schoolmaste r
to this height in the art of questioning such a seminary ,
‘

m i ght still be a doubtful advantage .

The more h e worked with Fischer the greater seemed

,

the mountain that sto od befo re him and the less h e ,

felt in himself the power that he saw was necessary t o

climb its summit Since however he heard me talk
.
, ,

with Fische r of education and the cultur e of t h e

.
,

people on the first days of his visit and heard me dis

, ,

t in c t ly declare against the S ocratiz ing of our candi

dates with the expression that I was wholly agains t
,

making -the judgment of children upon any subj ec t

‘

appa ren tly ripe before the time but rather would hold it
,

back as long as possible until they really had seen with

,

their own eyes the obj ect o n which they Should expr es s
-

themselves from all Sides and under several condition s

, , ,

and ha d become quite familiar with words b y which

 K RtISI G E TS
‘

PE ST A L OZZ I S ’
V I Ews 89
’

they could describe its essential characteristics K rusi

,
,

felt that he decidedly wanted this himself and that he ,

"

needed just this training that I intended to give my

children .

Wh ile Fischer on his side did everything to l e ad

him into several departments of knowledge in order ,

to prepare him for giving instruction K rii si felt daily ,

more and more that his way was not among books so ,

long as he was wanting in the fundamental knowledg e

o f things and of words which these books presu pposed

more or less Fortunately he became more confirmed

.

in this self knowledge by seeing before his eyes the

-
,

e ffec t produced on the children by being taken back t o

the beginning points of human knowledge and by my ,

patient dwelling upon these points This changed his .

whole view of instruction an d all the fundamental

,

ideas he h ad forme d thereon He n o w saw that in all .

that I did I tried more to develop the in n er capa city of

the child than to produce isolated results by my
actions ; and he was convinced through the effect of ,

this principle in the whole range of my method of

development that in this way the foundations of intel
,

lige n c e and further progress were laid in the children

as could never be attained in any other way .

Meanwhile Fischer s plan of founding a sc h o o lmas

’

ter s seminary was hindered He was elected again t o

’
.

the Bureau of Ministers of E ducation He promised .

90 II PE ST A L OZZ I S ASS I S TANT S AT
.
’
Bu RG Do RE

himself to wait for better times for his seminary and ,

meanwhile to direct the schools in Burgdorf ev en in

‘

his absence They sh o odd be remo d elled and they

.
,

needed it ; but owing to his absence and the diverting

o f all his time and strength he had not even been able ,

to begin ; and certainly would not have been able in

h is absence and in the midst of varied occu pations to
, ,

s e t it working .

K ru si condition was aggravated by Fischer s ab

’
s
’

s ence
. He felt less and less capable of what Fischer
e xpected of him without his p ersonal pre s ence and

s ympathy S oon after Fis cher s departure he ex

’
,
.

p ressed to him and to me his wish to j oin himself and

h is children to my school But though I sorely needed
.

h elp I rej ected it then because I would not ann oy ,

Fischer wh o showed continu al zeal for his Semi n ary

,
_

a n d who depended upon K rusi But he was ill soon .

a fter an d K rusi told him of the need of this union in

,

the last hours that he Spoke with him An affection ~ .

a t e nod of the head wa s the dying man s answer His ’

.

m emory will be always dear to me He worked .

t owards a like purpose to mine en e rgetically and nobly ,

.

Had he lived and been able to wait for the ri pe n l n g of

m y e x pe rl me n t we should certainly have entirely
,

agreed .

After Fischer s death I myself proposed to j oin

’ “

K rii s i s school to mine ,and we n o w both saw o ur work

’
 K RIISI C O MES PE ST A L OZZ I 91
‘

To

much lightened but the di fficulties of my plan much

,

increased I had already from Burgdorf children

.

unequal in age cultivation and manners The arrival

, ,
.

of childr e n from the little cantons increased the diffic ul

tie s ; for beside Similar inequalities they brought into ,

my s c h o o l room a natural independence of thou ght

-
,

feeling and speech that combined with insinuations

, , ,

a gai n st m y method an d the want of a firm organization

in my teaching which might still be looked on as a
,

mere experiment made every day more d e pressing In

,
.

my condition I needed free play for my exp eriments ,

~
an d ye t at every moment private people sent particular

o rders as to how I should s e t to work to teach the

c hildren wh o were sent to me .

In one place, where they had been accustomed for

a ges to be c o ntent with very little in the way of in

struction and te aching they n o w demanded from me

,

that a method of teaching embracing all the elements

,

of human k nowledge and one that was compiled for

,

the early use of little children should also have a great

, ,

universal and absolute effect upon c h il dien w

,
h o up to '

their twelfth or fourteenth year had remaine d in the

most thoughtless mountain freedom and had therefore ,

become distrustful of all teaching .

It was certainly not such a method ; and they said

as it had not this e fi e c t it was no use They confused .

it with an ordinary modification of the method of teach

92 II PE STALo z z r S ASSIST A NTS AT BURGD ORF
.
’

ing A B O and writing,

My aim of seeking firm and
.

sure foundations I n all branches of human art and

’

human knowledge ; my efforts to strengthen the cap aci

ties o f children simply and g enerally for every art ;
and my calm and apparently indifferent way of wait
“

ing for the results of principles that Should gradually

develop out of themselves— these were ca stles in the
air They anticipated nothing from and saw nothing
.

in them ; on the contrary whe re I built up capacity

, ,

they found emptiness

They said : The children do not learn to read
j ust bec ause I taught reading properly ; they said
”
The y are not learning to write b e c au se I ta ught ,
/

writing properly ; and at last : T hey do not learn t o

‘ ‘

”
be go od , just because I did all I could t o remove o u t
of the way the first hindrances to goo dness t h at we rein
'

the school and especially opposed the idea that t h e

,

parrot like lear ning by heart of the Heidelberg can

-

be the o n lv method o f teaching by which the Saviour ,

of the world sought to rais e the human race to rev er

ence G o d and to worship Him in Spirit an d in Tru th .

It is true I have said fearles sly Go d I s not a G o d

, ,

to whom stupidity and error hypocrisy an d lip servic e

,
-

are pleasing 2 5
I have said fearlessly : Take care to
.

teach children to think feel and act rightly to

, , ,

quicken and make use of the blessings of faith an d

love in t h e mse lv e s before we drill t he subj ects of posi
'

,
 II PE ST A L OZZ I S ASS I S TA N T S AT BURG DORF
'
’
94 .

the effect will be to make everything that come s

within the Sphere Of their ob servation gradually
clear and plain .

3 That by exercising children beginning to count

.

with real obj ects or at least with dots represent

,

ing them we lay the foundations of the whole of

,

the scie n ce of arithmetic and secure the ir futur e

,

progress from error and confusi o n .

The descriptions that the children learnt b y heart

of going seeing standing lying etc showed him
, , , ,
.
,

the connection of the fi rst principles with t he end

that I Was aiming at through them the gradual ,

clearing up of all ide as He soon felt that whil e

.

we make children describe thin gs tha t are so plain to

them tha t n o experi men t can ma ke them clea rer they ,

are checke d in the presumption Of wishing t o

'

describe that which they do not k now and gal n ,

the power of describing what they do know and

what comes withi n the Sphere of their observation ,

with brevity clearness and understanding

, ,
.

5 . A fe w word s that I Spoke ab out th e influence o f

my methods in counteracting prej udice made the ,

deepest impression upon him I said : Tr uth tha t .

Springs fro m sense I mpre ssI On may make t iresom e

-

talk and t edious argumen ts superfluous ( th es e

h ave almost as much e fi e c t against error and pre
judice as bell ringing against a storm ) b ecau se
-
,
 K EHSI ’
VI EW OF P E S TAL OZZ I S WO RK
’
95
‘

-
S

truth so acquired generates a power in the man

that makes his soul proof against prejudice and
error ; and even when through the continual chat
ter Of our race they come to his ears they become ,

so isolated in him that they cannot have the same

effect as upon the common place men of our time -
,

on whom truth and error alik e witho ut sense ,

impression with mere cabalistic words are thrown

, ,

as through a magic lantern upon the imagination .

These expressions convinced him that it might

be possible to do more against error and prej udice
by the still Silence of my method than has yet ,

b een done through t h e endless talk that we have

permitted against it or rather have been guilty of
,
.

6 , T h e plant collecting that we pursued last sum

-

mer and the conversations to Whi ch it gave rise

, ,

partic ul arly developed in him the conviction that

the whole circle of knowledge generated through
our senses rests upon attention to Na ture and On
in dustry in co llectin g and ho ldin g firm everything
that she brings to our consciousness
Al l these views j o l n e d with his growing need of
,

bringing all means and subj ects of instruction into

harmony with each other convinced him of the pos si ,

b ilit y of founding a method of instruction in which

the principles of all action and knowledge Should be so
united that a te acher need only learn how to u se them, in
96 II PE STALOZ Z I
.
’
s ASSIST A NTS AT BURGD O RF

order by their help t o ra i se himself and the children to

a n y standard that can be aimed at by teaching
2 6
By .

this plan not eru dition but only hea lthy human un der
, ,

s ta n din g and pra ctice in the metho d was wanted to lay ,

solid foundations of all knowledge in the children ,

a n d to rai se a satisfactory inner self activity in both -

parents and teachers by simply u s1 n g these means of

gaining knowledge .

AS has been s aid he was Six years village school

,
-

master Over a very large number of children of all

,

ages ; but with all the pains he took he had never so ,

developed the capacities of children and had never se e n ,

the firmness security comprehension and freedom

, , ,

reached to which we had risen

, .

He sought the causes and found many , .

He saw first tha t the principle of b e g1n n in g with

the easiest an d making this complete before going
‘

further then gradually adding little by little t o th at

,

already perfectly learnt does not actually in the first

,

moments of learning produce a feeling and a self con -

s c i o u sn e s s of power but it keeps alive in the children

,

this high witness of their unweakened natural po wer :

W e must never
“
said he drive the children
, , ,

”
but only lead them by this method Before when .
,

he began to teach he used to say : C onsider that

, .

Do you not rememb er

It wa s inevitable for instance when he aske d in
, , ,
98 II PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS AT BURGD ORF
.
’

instruction An d when he now fixed his eye upon

.

these phrases he found them of su ch a quality that the

children could have no sensible image of the nature of
the separate words ; and when put together looked not ,

at simple well known parts but at a confusion of in c o m

-
,
'

prehensible combinations of unknown obj e cts with .

.

,_
-

which we lead them against their nature above their

, ,

strength and with many de lusions to get hold of se

, ,

quences Of thought which are not o nly wholly strange

to them but need an art of speaking the beginning
,
‘

of which they have not even tried to learn .

''

K rl i si saw that I threw away the r ubbish of our

school Wisdom and like Nature with the savag e
, , ,

always put a picture before the eye and the n sought ,

for a word for the picture He saw that this Sim .

pl i c it y of proced ure created in them no ju dgment an d

no inference while it was put before them not as a ,
~

dogm a nor in any way connected with either truth or

,

error but only as material for observation as a back

, ,

ground for fut ure criticism and infer ence an d as ,

guide on whose track they might go further by t

selves by uniting the i r early and future experiences .

AS he learnt more and saw deeper into the spirit

,
,

the method of reducing all branches o f knowledge

the first beginning points and the gradual jo ml n g
-
,

of a lit tle addition to the first step in every

and found that the consequenc e o f t h a ~
.
 T O BL ER AN D BUSS C O ME To PE ST A L OZZ I 99

gress to n e w and further a dd itions he became daily ,

more ready to work with me in the Spirit Of these prin - r

c ipl e s ; and he helpe d me to br ing out a spelling boo k

and an arithmetic book in which these principles are

essentially followed .

In the first days of his union with me he wished to

go to Basle in order to tell T Ob l e r 2 7
to whom he was
‘

—
, ,

much attached of Fischer s death and about his pres

,
’
,

ent Situation I took this opportunity of saying to him

.

that I was indispensably in need of help in m

—

y writing
work and that I should be very glad if it were possible
,

for Tobler to j oin me I already knew him from his

.

corresponde nce wi th Fischer I told him at the time

.
, ,

t h at I needed just as much for my purpose a man wh o

co uld draw and S i ng .

He went to Basle and talked With Tobler wh o decided ,

a lmost directly to accede to my wish and came in a

few weeks to Burgdorf and Since K rii si told him that
I also wanted a drau ghtsman he fell in with Buss wh o , ,

undert o ok the task directly Both have b e en here .

,

eight months ; and I think it wo uld interest you to

read a precise account of their experience on t h I S sub
j t Toble r w five ears tutor important
‘

e c as
.
y In an

house in Basle .

His opinion of the nature of my undertaking com ,

‘

paring it wi th his o wn course in his own wor ds is the ,

f ollowing
1 00 II PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS AT B UR G D O RF
.
’

After the e fforts of Six years I found the results of

,

my instruction did not correspond to my expectations .

The int ensive powers of my children did not increase ,

in proportion to my efforts ; they did not even increas e

as they Should have done according to the de gree of
their real knowledge They did not seem to perceive
.

t h e inner connection of the isolated bits of inform a

tion I gave them nor to give them the st rict long con
,
-

tinned reflection that they needed .

Iused the best instruction books of Ou r time But

- -
.

t hese were partly expressed in words that the children

c ould hardly understand and partly so filled with idea s

,

t hat W ent beyond their experience and were so opposed

to their own way of look i ng at things at t h e l r age ,

it demanded infinite time and trouble to explain

incomprehensible These explanations were the
.

s elves a c ontinual worry which had no more effect

,

t he ir real inner de velopment than a Single beam

l ight in a dark room or i n a thick fog This was m .

the case Since many of these books w ith thei

a n d representations descended to the deepest
~

human knowledge or ascended above the 010

,

up to the heaven of eternal glory before they a ,

the children to set foot on the firm ground on ,

men must stand before they learn to fly or grow wi

wherewith to rise .

The gloomy consciousnes s of all this impelled

1 09 II PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS A T BURGD O RF
.
’

times heavier upon the under teacher s if a miserable ,

kind of dabbling work did not make the mWh olly in

'

capable of s u ch a feeling .

I lived in ardent through misty consciousness of

,

the gaps which I saw in the whole compass of educa

tion and I tried by all means in my power to fill them
,

up I undertook to collect partly from experience

.
, ,

partly from educational book s all means and adv an t

,

ages by which it might be possible to obviate the edu

c at i o n al di fficulties that struck me in all children of

all ages .

But I soon felt my life would not be long enough

to reach this end I had alread y writt en whole b ooks
.

on this subj ect when Fischer drew my att e n t l o n i n

,

several letters to Pestalozzi s method and made me

’
,

suspect that perhaps in other ways thanmine he might

reach the end I sought I though t : My systematic
.

scientific course perhaps creates the difficulties that

do not stand in his way ; and the art Of our time may
itself produce the gaps that he need n o t fill up bec ,

he neither knows nor uses this art Ma n y of .

means e g drawing on Slates

, . .
2 8
etc seemed to me
, .

simple that I could not understand Why I h ad n

thought of them long ago It struck me that wh
.

already lay near to hand wa s used by him Thi sprl n .

c ipl e of his method particularly attr acted me — e du cat

ing mother
 T O BL ER C O ME S To B UR G D O RF 1 03

designed by nature ; because all my experiments were

—

founded upon it .

These Opinions were c onfirmed by the arrival in

Basle of Krii si who practically Showed P e stalozzi s
,
’

methods of teaching reading and arithmetic in the

G irls Institute
’
Pastor Fasc h and V o n Brunn who
.
,

had organiz ed the instruction and part of the direction

of this Institute according to the first in dications of
Pestalozzi s method which as yet we hardly knew saw
’
, ,

at once t he firm impression th at the drill in Simultane

ous reading and spelling made upon the children The .

fe w materials that K r usi brought with him for te a ch -

ing writing and arithmetic after this fashion as well as ,

a few copies Of a dic t i onary that Pestalozzi had de

S i gned as the first reading book for children Showed ,

us that these methods had a deep psychological b asI S .

Al l this made me quickly decide to accede to Pe st al o z

-

z i S wish and j oin him

’
.

I came to Bu rgdorf and found my expectations

”

fulfilled at t h e first glance at this growing undertaking

“

The remarkable and general Self expressi ng capacity of -

his children as well as the Simplicity and multiplicity

,

of means Of development by which this capacity wa s

created filled me with astonishment His complete
, .

dis regard of all former sc hool routine the Simplicity ,

of the pictures he impressed the Sharp separation Of ,

the inner parts Of his subj ect Of instruc tion into por
1 04 II PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS A T BURGD O RF
.
’

tions th at must be learnt progressively at odd times ,

his rej ection Of every thing involved or confused h is ,

Silent influence upon all the inherent powers his firm ,

hold upon words whenever they were needed ; and par

t ic u l arl y the force with which his few means of in st ru c
.

tion seemed to Spring like a new creation out of the

, ,

elements of art and human nature — all this stretched

my attention to the utmost .

Certainly there seemed to me a few very u n psy

c h o l o gic al things in his experiment e g the repetitio n
,
. .

of di fficult confused p ropositions Of which the firs t

, ,

impression must be quite vague to t h e c h ild B ut as .

I saw with what power he prepared for the gradual

clearing of ideas ; and how as he told me Nature her
, ,

self Wraps all sense impressions at first in confuse d

-

mistiness but gradually clears them up I found I h ad

, ,

n othing more say : and certainly less as I s aw tha t

to -
,

he set little value on the individual portions of his u n

de rt ak in g but tried much only to rej ect it
,
By many .

of these experiments he was seeking only to raise t h e

inn er capacity of the children and t o fin d the explana
l

tion of the grounds and principles which oc casioned

the use Of these various methods I did not let myself
‘

be misled wh e n a few Of his means came upon me in

the trembling weakness of isolated first experiment s ;
the less so as I soon convinced myself that pro gre ss1 v e
,

advance lay in their very nature Certainly I saw this

.
 ’
1 06 II PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS A T BURGD ORF
.

'

mind that all arithmetic is only a short method of

,

counting and counting only a Short method i nstead

, ,

of the tiresome expression one an d one and one etc , , ,

.
,
.

makes so much ; and wh y he built all power of doing ,

—even the power Of clear representation of all real

Obj ects —upon the early development of the ability to

,

draw lines angles rectangles and curves

, , ,
.

It followed Of course that my conviction of the ad

vantages Of the method should be daily strengthened
as I daily saw the e ffect produced on measurement
,
,

arithmetic writing and drawing by t h e power univer

, , ,

sally awakened and used according to these principles .

I ral se d myself daily more to the convict i on that it

might be possible to reach the end which I mentioned
a bove a s having animated m
y o wn actions n amely to ,

e ducate mothers fo r that to which they are eminently

designed by nature ; and through it even t h e lowest ,

material Of Ordinary school instruc t ion might be -

fou nded u pon the results Of companionable motherly

‘

i n struction I saw a universal psych ological meth o d

.

formed by which all fathers and mothers wh o found

,

the motive in themselves might be put in a position to

instruct their o wn children and thereby to obviate the
,

Imag i nary necessity of cultivating teachers by costly

s eminaries and educational libraries for a long period .

In a wo rd through the impression of the wh ole

, ,

a n d through the constant Similarity Of my experiences ,

 PE ST AL OZ Z I
"

V I EW
’
T OELE R ’
S OE
‘

S W O RK 1 07

I am restored to the faith that I ch erished so warmly

in the beg i nning Of my pedagogic course but which I
nearly lost as I went on under the burden of such art
and help as is provided by the age the fa ith namely ,

”
in the possibility of improvin g the human ra ce .
 III
You have now read T o b l e r s and K ru si s Op i n i on of
’ ’

my Obj ect I will now send that of Buss

.
2 9
You .

know my op i n i on of the laten t capacities of the lower

classes What a proof Buss is of this ! Ho w this man
.

has de veloped in six months Show Wieland his at

tempt at an A B C of An schauun g 30
I know how ih.

t e re st e d he is in all that can throw light on the cours e

of development of the human race ; he will certainly ,

in this attempt find a proof of h o w many apparently

,

wasted and neglected powers can be used an d in

creased by gentle help an d stimulus .

Dear friend , the world is full of useful men b u t

-
,

empty of people wh o can put these useful men into

,

their places In our time every one limits his idea of

.

human usefulness within his o wn Skin [ or at most

extends it to men who lie as near as his shirt ] .

Dear friend — seriously imagine these three men and

,

what I do with them I wish you knew them and

.

th eir way of life more exactly Buss tells you at my .

request something ab out it h i mself .

T o b l e r s first education wa s sheer neglec t

’
In his .

t wo and twentieth year he found himself as by a

- -
,

( 1 08)
 110 III PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS A T BURGD O RF
.
’

higher points of school instruction to which we have -

,

not yet co me .

You know K rusi and have seen the power he show s

,

i n his vocation It is extraordinary Whoever see s

. .

him working is astonished He possesses an in de pe n d .

ence in his vocation that is displeasing only to the

man wh o has none himself ; and yet before he knew
‘

the method he wa s except in mechanical school teach

,
-

er s routine far behind Buss in all branches He now

’
, .

says himself that without knowledge Of the method all

his e flo rt s towards independence would not have e n
abled him to stand on his o wn feet but he should have ,

remained always dependen t upon others guidance ; ’

and that is entirely Opposed t o his Appe n z e l Spirit He .

has given up a post Of 5 00 flo rin s and has remained in

the most straitened circum stances Of his prese nt situa
tion just because he felt an d saw that here he now might
,

indeed become a sc h o o l mast e r but there he could be

a

nothing else and even that not satisfa

,
ctorily Y o u . i

will n o t wo nder h o w he came to this dec i s i on ; h i s Si m

p l i c it y led him to it ; he entire ly lost hi mself in the
method The result is natural ; as Tobler truly said
.
,

It was easy enough for him because he had no art ,

and he gained it precisely because he kne w nothing

but had ability .

Friend have I not reason to be proud

, the fir st
‘

Of

fr uits of my method ? Shall men a lways as you said

,
 BUSS S E A R LY E DUC A TI O N
’
111

t dme t wo years ago have no mind for the simple psy

,

c h o l o gic al ideas On which it is founded ? May all its

fruits be l i ke these three firstlin gs Read Buss s .
’

Opinion too and then hear me again

, , .

My father said Buss ,

”
held an Office in a Theo ,

logical college at T iib in ge n and had free lodging ,

there He sent me from my third to my thirteenth

“

year to the Latin school where I learned whatever

‘

was taught at that age At that time I lived mostly .

when out of school wit h students who were pleased to

play with a lively boy In my eighth year one of them .

taught me piano playing but as he left T ii b in ge n in

-
,

half a year my lessons were broken Off and I was left ,

to teach myself Steady persevera nce and pract i ce so

.

brought me forward that I wa s able in my twelfth year

to give l e ss o n s i n this subj ect to a lady and a b o y wi th ,

the best results .

In my eleventh year I enj oyed also instruction in ,

drawing and continued perseveringly the study of

'

Greek an d Hebrew Logi c and Rh e t o rief T h e aim of

'
é “

, ,

my parents was to dev ote me to study and fo r this

‘

en d to send me to the newly built Academy of Arts

and Sciences at Stuttgart or to the direction Of the ,

'

pro fessors of the U niversity at T li b in ge n .

Up till n o w men of all ranks were admitted into

‘

the Academy some paying some free My parents

, ,
.
’

me an S did not allow them t o spend the least sum upon

'
1 12 III PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS A T B UR G D O RF
.
’

me Fo r this reason a petition was sent for free ad

.

mission to the Academy but it was returned with a ,

negative answer Signed by Carl himself ,

31
This with .
, ,

as far as I r emember the Simultaneous notice of the

,

closing of studies agains t the sons of all the middle an d

lower classes had a great effect upon me
,
I turned my .

attention entirely to drawing but wa s again inter ,

ru t e d within the half year ; for my teacher on account

-
p
of bad conduct was obliged to leave the town and SO I ,
.

wa s left without means or prospects of being a ble t o

help myself and soon found it necessary to bind my
,

s e lf appre n t ic e to a bookbinder
. .

My frame Of mind had sunk almost to in diffe r

ence I took up this trade as I should have taken any
.

other in order to extinguish all remembrance of my

,

youthful dre ams by constant manual lab or This I .

could not do I worked b ut I was unspeakably dis

.
,

contented and nourished hasty feelings against the

,

injustice of a power that against preceden t shut me out ,

merely because I belonged to the lower class es from i t ,

any means of culture and from the hopes and pros

,
e

S
peets to reach which I had spent a great part of my
youth Yet I nourished the hope Of earning through
.

my trade the means of giving up my unsatisfactory

handicraft and Of somehow retrieving wh at I had lost
, .

I travelled ; but the world wa s too narrow for me .

I became melancholy sick had to go home again tried

, ,
‘

,
’

s.
1 14 III PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A N T S A T BUR G D O RF
.
’

I k new I was backward in g eneral culture and in

drawing and my hope of finding opportunity of ad
,

v an c in g in b o t h made me quickly decide to go to Burg

-

dorf althou gh I Was warned by several people against

,

having any connection with Pestalozzi b ecause he Wa s ,

half an idiot and did not kno w his own

,
Thi s
tal e is still repeated with variations ; h o w once he cam e
into Basle with straw bound shoes because he had
-

given his buckles to a beggar outside the gate I h ad .

read Leonard and G ertrude and b elieved in the

buckles ; b u t that he was a fool I did not believe .

In short I wished to try I came to Burgdorf

,
. .

His first appearance hardly surprised me He came .

down from an upper ro om with ungartered stockings ,

ve ry dirty and looking thoroughly put out with Z iems

,

sen wh o had j ust came to visit him I cannot describe

,
.

my feeling at that moment ; it almost approached pity ,

mixed with astonishment .

Pestalozzi l— an d wha t did I see His benevolence

his j o y over me a stranger his freedom from pre su mp
, ,

tion his simpli city and the disorder in which h e sto od

, ,

before me all carried me away in a moment N 0 man

, .

I naturally feel that the public expression Of thi s

part of my Opinion is unseemly But Pestalozzi wished .

it and demanded an unconstrained candid statemen t

,

of the impression tha t he and everything else had

made upon me .
 ’
BUSS S ’
V I EW OF PE ST A L OZZ I S W O RK

h adever so touched my heart no man ,

h ad ever so won
my trust .

The next morning I went in t o his school and saw ,

really nothing at first but apparent disor der an d t o ,

me unpleasant confusion But from the warmth with

,
.

which Z iemssen had spoken the day before of Pe st al o z

z i s plans my attention was ready to be aroused before
’
,

hand SO that I soon got over this impression ; and it was

,

not long before I was struck by some advantages of

this method of teaching I thought at first that dwell
.

ing too long upon a point strained the children too

much ; but when I saw the perfection to which he
brought his children i n the beginning points Of their -

exercises the flit t in g around an d springing about per

,
- -

mitt e d by the co urse of instruction g i ven i n my youth

appe ared for the first time at a disadvantage It mad e .

me think that if I had been made to dwell as long and

as steadily on the beginnings ,I sho u ld ha ve been in a
po siti on to help myse lf in progress i n g towa r ds the higher
' t

and S O to conquer all the evils o f life an d the

a

steps ,

melanch oly in which I was now plunged .

This reflection agreed with Pestalozzi s principle of ’

en a blin g
'
men by his metho d to help themselves, sin ce , as he
helps them, help them
’
sa ys, on Go d s ea rth n o on e or can .

I shuddered when I read this passage in Leonard and

Gertrude for the first time
—
But it is the experience.

of my life that no o n e on G od s earth will or can help ’

116 III PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A N TS
.
’
AT B UR G D O RF

him who cannot help himself It was n o wevident to .

me that the gaps which I could not fill up to attain

,

my end had their origin in 32

the weakness an d su pe r
’

fi c ialit y of t he instruction I had received in the branch

of art in which I had now to work without knowing ,

\
anything of the principles on which that art was
founded .

I certainly now threw all my energ y into the de

rt m e n t in which Pestalozzi wanted my help but for
p a ,

a long time I could not unde r stand a Single one of his

O pinions on drawing and at first knew not what he
,

wanted when he said Lines angles and curves are , ,

th e foundations of the art of drawing In order to .

’

e xplain hi mself to me he said Here too the human , , ,

being must be raised from dim sense impressions to -

c lear ideas But I could not understand h o w

.

c ould be done by drawing He said This must be

‘

.
,

O btained by the divis ion of squares and curves in t o

‘

p arts,
and by analyzing their parts to units that can
’
be seen and compared .

I tried to find this analysis and simpli ficat ion ,

I c ould not fin d the beginning point of simplicity -

,

with all my trouble fo und myself in a sea of single

figur e s that were certainly si mple in themselves b ut
did not make Pestaloz zi s laws of simplicity cleary
’
.

U nfortunately he could neither wri te nor draw though i ,

he had broug ht his children by Some incomprehensible 2 h

118 III PE ST A L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS A T BURGD O RF
.
’

in connection with his whole purpose and in connec,

tion with Nature which allows no part of the Art long

,

to stand separate in the human mind With this ih .

tention he had put a double series of figures before the

children from the cradle upwards — some in the book for
,

early childhood some in preparation for definite forms

,
.

With the first he wished to help Nat u re an d develop , ,

knowledge of words and things as early as possible in

the children by means of a series of representations of
Nature Wit h t h e second he wished to combine the
.

rules of art with the sense impression of art and to

-
,

support the consciousness of pure form and of obj ects ,

which fit into it in the minds of t he children by m e ans

,

of j uxtaposition ; and lastly to secure thereby a gradual

psychological progress in art so that they can use
,

every line that they can draw perfectly for Obj ects the ,

c omplete draw ing of which is only a repetitio n of the

measure form that is already familiar to them
-
.

I fea red to weaken the power of sense i mpression -

in the children by laying down figures but Pestalozzi ,

wanted no unnatural power He said once : Nat ure

.

gives the child no lines ; Sh e gives only things an d

"

lines must be given him only in order that he may pe r v

c e iv e things rightly The things must not be taken “

from him in order that he may see only lines An d .

’

an o th e r t ime he became so angry about th e danger of

rej ecting Nature for the sake of lines that he ex - f

 BUSS S ’
VI EW OF PE ST A L OZZ I S W O RK
’
119

claimed : G o d forbid that I should over whelm the

hum an mind and harden it against natural sense im -

pr ession for the sake of these lines and Of the Art as

, ,

idolatrous priests have overwhelmed it with su pe rst i

tious teaching and hardened it against natural sense
impressions .

Lastly I Observed and found in the plans of both

,

books full agreement with the course Of Nature and ,

only so mu ch art as is necessary to make Nature have

t ha t e ffe c t upon the hu man mind which is esse ntially

wanted for the development of its talents .

Before this I had been in a dilemma Pestalozzi .

said to me that the children must be taught to read

these outlines like words and to name the separate
,

parts of curves and angles with letters so that their ,

c ombination can b e as clearly expressed upon paper as

a n y word by the combination of letters These lines .

a n d curves Should be an A B C of An scha u u n g and ,

thereby become the foundation of an art llan gu age by

which all varieties of forms Should n o t only be most
‘
i '

c learly known but disti nctly expressed in word s He

w
.

did not rest t ill I understood I sa how much trouble

.

I gave him ; I was sorry ; but it Wa s of no use ; no

A B C Of A n scha uu n g would have been found without

his patience
.
.

At last it was found I began with the letter A

.
°

that was what he wanted and one followed another

, ,
1 20 III PE STA L OZZ I S ASSIST A NTS A T BURGD O RF
.
’

SO that I had no more trouble The thing alre ady

.

existed in the finished drawing but the difficulty was

,

that I co uld not express what I really knew nor und er ,

stand the expre ssions Of o t hers .

It is however one of the essential results of th e

, ,

method that this evil will be remedied The art of .

Speaking will be firmly connected with the knowledg e

given us by Nature and Art and the children Will
,

learn to express themselves about every step of

knowledge .
‘

It was commonly remarked among us teacher s

that we could not clearly and fully express ourselve s
about matters that we thoroughly knew It wa s diffi » .

cult even to Pestalozzi always to find words [ for stat

ing his views of the aims of education ] that would
clearly express his meaning .

It was owing to this want Of [ definite ] speech that

I fu m bled about S O l ong in doubt about my de part
ment and did not and C ould not see Pestalozzi s
,
’

principles
After I had o vercome this difficulty I recognized ,

the advantages of the method every day and partic u ,

l arl y saw how the A B C of An scha uun g through the

definit elanguage which it gives the children about o b
'

s and art even in that degree must form in the m

j e c t , ,
.

a far more exact feeling of rightness and propo rtion .

'
I felt especially how men who have been taught to
33
1 22 III PES TAL O ZZ I S ASS I S TANT S AT BUR G D O RF
.
’

consciousness of their definite outlines or proportions ,

é 6 of their contents
f
. . No w I was sensibly conscious
.

o f the definite contents of any number ; and I recog

n iz e d the progress made by children wh o enj oyed this

teaching and saw at the same time how essential it is

,

for every branch of knowledge that simultaneous in

struction should be given in number form and lan , ,

guage .

As I had recognized the stoppage in my branch

o wing to want of language so now I recognized the ,

defic iencies owing to want of arithmet i c Fo r example .

,

I saw that the child cannot represent the separate

parts of any form without being able to count them ,

j ust as until he distinctly knows that the number 4 is

composed of four units he cannot understand how the
“

s ingle number can be divided into four part s Thu s .

,

from the clearness to which my work now brought

m e daily as much a s through myself the conviction
, ,

de v eloped that the method by its influence upon the ,

human mind generally produces in c hildren the pow er

,

of helpin g themselves furth er

on in every branch and is ,
-

essentially a fly wheel that needs only to be set going

-

in order to go on by itself But I was not the only .

on e t o find this out Hu n dreds of men came saw and

‘

.
, ,

s aid This cannot fail

, Peasant men and women
.
’

s aid I can do that with my child at home

,
An d .
’

t hey were right .

 B u ss ’
s V IEW OF PES TAL OZZI S W OR K
’
1 23

The whole method is play for any one as soon as ,

he grasps the clue of the b e g1 n n 1n gs This secures .

him from wandering in byways which alone make the

,

Art di fficult to the human race because they lead ,

a way from Nature herself and from the firm ground

,

upon which alone it is possible to rest its foundations .

Sh e requires nothing of us that is not easy if we seek ,

it in the right way and f rom her hands only 35

.

I have but this to add K nowledge of the method

.

has in great measure restored the cheerfulness and

strength of my youth and animated my hopes for my
,

s elf and the human race that I had long before this

time regarded as dreams and which I threw away in

,

”
s pite of the yearnings of my heart .
 Friend you have now learned to know the men who
,

are still working with me ; but I did not have them when
I first came here I did not look for them at first
. .

After I left Stanz I was so tired and shaken that even ,

the ideals of my old plan s for popular education be gan

to wither up in me and I limited my purpose at th at
,

time only to improvements of detail in the existing

m i serable condition of sch o ols It was o wm g s1 mply .

to my needs an d the circumstance that I co uld not

even do this and that I was forced back i n to the only
,

track by which the spirit of my old purpose wa s

attainable .

Me anwhile I worked several months within t h e

, .

li m its to which my own diffide n c e had confined me

—
.

It was a strange state of things Ignorant and u n prac .

tical as I was b u t with my power of c o mpre h e n smn

,

and of simplifying I was at the same time the lowes t

,

hedge schoolmaster and also reformer of instruction

-

and this in an age in which since the epochs of Rous

, ,

seau and Basedow

36 37
half the world had been set in
,

motion for this purpose .

I really knew nothing of what they wanted and wer e

doing I saw only this much— t h e high e r points of in
.

( 1 2 4)
1 26 IV . T HE L AW S OF TE ACH IN G

by which in a human wa y they could mount to the upper

story ; and if a few showed a desire to clamber up t o
the higher story animal fashion whenever they wer e
,
-
,

see n someti mes a finger here and there an arm o r a

'

, ,

leg by which they were trying to climb was cut off

, , .

Lastly below lived a countless herd of men wh o had

,

an equal right with the highest to sunshine and healthy

a i r ; but they were not only left in nauseous darkness ,

in starless dens but by binding and blinding the eyes

,

they were made unable even to look up to the uppe r

’

stories 38
.

Friend this vie w of things led me naturally to the

,

conviction that it is essential and urgent , not merely

to plaster over the school evils which enervate the great
-

m
.

maj ority of the e n of Europe but to heal them a t the ,

root —that consequently half measures in this matter

,
-

will ea sily turn into second doses of poison which not ,

only cannot stop the e fi e c t s of the first bu t must surely ,

double the m I certainly did not want that Mean

. .

while the consciousness began daily to develop in me

,

that it must be absolutely impossible to remedy school

evils as a whole if one cannot succeed in reducing t h e
me c h an l c al formulas of instruction to t hose eternal
laws according to which the human mind rises from
mere sense impressions to clear ideas
-
.

This consciousness which as I said was daily con

,

firmed led me also at the same time to a point Of vi e w

,
 C ATOH I N G A W H AL E W IT H A HOO K

which commanded the whole field of education Then .

,

th ough in my innermost state of mind I resembled a

mouse in her hole frightened by a cat and hardly
,

daring to peep out yet I was forced to see that the

,

faint hearted h a
- lf measures adopted in my discourage
-

ment could not only do nothing satisfactory for the

needs Of schools as a whole b ut in circumstances that
,

might easily arise might here and there even have the
effect Of making the poor children take a second dose
;

of that Opium which they were accustomed to swallow

wi thin the school walls .

But without fearing so much from the lifeless inanity

of my solitary school keeping it displeased me more
-
,

every day I seemed in my endeavors like a seafarer

.
,

who having lost his harpoon tri es to catch a whale

, ,

with a hook Of course it cannot be done He must

. .

if he wants to reach Shore safe and sound either take a

harpoon in his hand or let the whale go AS soon as I .

began to comprehend what was wanted to satisfy the

urgent needs of my purpose and to make th e prin c ipl e s
- - =

of in struction agree with the course of nature I was in ,

a like case The claims of Nature upon my work were

.

no l o n ge r isol at e d T h ey stood together as a con

‘

n e c t e d whole before my eyes ; an d if like the whale ,

fi sh e r I would reach home safe and sound I must

, ,

either give up the thought of doing anything even the ,

least in my profession or res pect the unity of Nat ure

, , ,

whithersoever it might lead me .

 IV . T HE LAws OF T EA CH I N G

I did the last I trus t ed myself once and for ever

.
‘

blindly to her guidance : and after I had been knock ,

i
ing about a will l e ss hedge schoolmaster dri v ng the
- -
,

empty A B 0 wheelbarrow I threw myself suddenly ,

i nto an un dertaki ng that incl u ded the founding of an

’
orphan s home a teacher s seminary and a boarding
’
, ,

s chool ; and which needed in the first year an advance

o f mon ey even the tenth part of which I could not

a nticipat e getting i n to my hands .

But it succeeded Friend it succeeds and it must

.
,

succeed ; Deep experience has ta ught me that the

human heart even the misle d government heart that
,

[ under certain circums t ances ] is the h ardest of all

human hearts cannot if its fertile bud has once fully
,

blossomed before it s e ye s resist any great and pure ,

eff o rt of devo tion to humanity nor let it pine and sink ,

helpless away An d G essner a few of my early e x pe ri

.
, ,

ments have borne ripe fruit 39

.

Friend man is good and de s ires what is good ; at the

,

same time he de s1re s his own welfare with it If he 1 s .

bad certainly the way is blocked up a lon g which he

,
"

wou ld be go o d Oh ! this b l ocking up is a terrible thin g ;

.

and it is so common and man is therefore so seldom

,

good .Y e t I believe everywhere and always In the

human heart In this faith I n o w go on in my untrod
.

den way as if it were on a paved Roman road

“

But I wished to lead you into the c o n q iOn of ide as

1 30 IV . T HE LAws OF T E A CH I N G

unshaken foundation of the Art It also appears t o.

th e eye of every one wh o sees beneath the surface in ,

its highest splendor only like a magnificent house that

,

by imperceptible additions of single tiny bits has been

raised upon a great everlasting rock So long as it i s.

inherently bound up with the r o c k it rests u n sh ak

'

e n l y upon it ; but it falls suddenly asunder into the

tiny bits of which it wa s composed if the bond between

it and the rock is broken in the last degree .

'

Soimmense is the result of the Art in it se lf as a

“

whole S O little and imperceptible 1 s I n every case t h e

,

Single thing that the Art adds to the cours e Of Nature ,

or rat her builds on her foundations Its means for

,
.

the development of Ou r faculties are limited essentially

to this wh at Nature puts before us scatt e red over a
—

wide ar ea and in confusion the Art puts together in

,

narrower bo unds and in regular s equence and brings

"

nearer to our five senses by associations which facilitat e

and strengthen our susceptibility to all impressions ,
’

and so raise our senses to present to us the obj ects of

the world daily in greater numbers for a longer time
, , ,

and in a more precise way But the power Of t h

.

depends on the harmony of its results and work ,

the essential workings of Nature Its whole action.

one and the same with that Of Nature .

Man ! imitate this action of high N ature who ,

of the seed Of the largest t re e fi rst produces a scar

 Ex T RAC T FR O M T HE ME T H O D 1 31

perceptible shoot ; then just as imperceptibly daily , ,

and hourly by gradual Stages unfolds first the begin

, ,

n in s of the stem then the bough then the branch

g , , ,

th e n the extreme twig on which hangs the perishabl e

‘

leaf Consider carefully this action Of great Nature

.
,

— h o w she tends and perfects every Single part as it i s

formed and j oins on every new part to the permanent

,

g r o w t h jo f the old .

C onsider carefully how the bright blossom is u n

folded from the deeply hidden bud Co n sI de r how the .

bloom of its first day s Splendor is soon lost while the

’
,

fruit at first weak but perfectly formed adds some

, ,

thing important every day to all that it is already So .

quietly growing for long months it hangs on the twi g ,

that nourishes it until fully ripe and perfect in all it s

,

parts i t falls fr o m the tree

,
-
.

C onsider
how mother Nature with the uprising
shoot also develops the germ of t h e root and burie s ,

the noblest part of the tree deep in the bosom of the

earth ; again how she forms the immovable stem from
,

the very heart of the ro ot and the boughs fro m the ,

very heart Of the stem and the branches from the very ,

heart of the boughs Ho w to all even the weakest

.
,

outermost twig Sh e gives enough but to none useless

, , ,

disproportionate superfluous strength

, .

The mechanism of physical [ human ] na t ure is essen

t iall y subject to the same laws as th o se by which physi
1 32 IV . T HE LA WS OF T E A C HI N G

cal Nature generally unfolds her powers According .

to these laws all instruction should engraft the most

,

essential parts of its subj ect of knowledge firmly into

the very being of the human mind ; then j oin on the
less essential gradually but uninterruptedly to the
most essential and mal n t ain all the part s o f the sub
,

j e c t,
e ven to the outermost in one l i v ln
g proportionate
,

whole .

I now sought for laws to which t h e development Of

t h e human mind must by its very nature be subj ect
, ,
.

I knew they must be the same as those of physical

Na ture and trusted to find in them a safe clue to a
,

u nivers al psychol ogical method of instr u ction Man ”

.
,

s aid I to myself while dreamily seeking this clue

, ,

you recognize in every physical ripening of the com

p l e t e fruit the result of perfection in all its parts s o ,

c onsider no hu m a n j udgment ripe that does not appear

to you to be the res u lt of a complete sense impression -

O f all the parts of the O bj ect to be j udged ; but on the

contrary look upon every j ud gment that seems ripe

,

bef ore a complete observation (Au sch ) has been made

as nothing but a worm eaten and therefore appa ren tly -

”
r ipe fruit fallen untimely from the tree
, .

1 . Learn therefore to classify observations and com

pl e t e the simple before proceeding to the complex .

Try to make in every art graduat e d steps of

_

knowledge in which every new idea is only a

,
1 34 IV . T HE L A W S OF T E A CH I N G

with which yo u work through instruction upon

your race and the results you aim at be founded
, ,

upon natural law so that all your action smay be

,

means to this principal end although apparently ,

heterogeneous .

5 . Bu t t h e richness of its charm and the variety of

’
,

its free play cause physical necessity or natural ,

-

law to bear the impress of freedom and i nde

,

d
’

pe n e n c e .

Let the results of your art and your instruction while

you try to found th em upon natural l aw by the rich ,

ness of their charm and the variety of their free play

bear the impression of freedom and independence .

All these la ws to which the development Of human

nature is subj ect converge towards one centre They .

converge towards the centre Of our whole being and ,

we ourselves are this centre .

Friend all that I am all I wish all I might be

, , ,

comes out of myself Should not my knowledge also

.

come out of myself

 V

In these several propositions I have given you threads

from which I believe a general and psychological method
of instruction may be woven .

They do not content me ; I feel I am not in a position

to st ate the essential laws of Nature on which these
propositions rest in all their Simplicity and complete
,

ness SO far as I see they h ave collectively a three

.
, ,

fold source .

The first source i s Nature herself by whose power ,

our mind rises from misty sense impressions to clear -

ideas From this source flo w the following principles

.
,

which must be recognized as foundations of the laws

whose nature I am seeking .

1 All t hi ngs which afi e c t my senses are means of

.

helping me to form correct Opinions only S O far ,

as their phenomena present to my senses their im

v

mutable unchangeable ess ential ,

4 2
as dis
t in g uish e d from the i r v arI ab l e appearance or their

external qualities They are on the other hand

.
,

sou rces of error and deception SO far as their phe

n o m e n a present to my senses their accidental
qualities rather than their essential characteristics .

2 To every sense i m
.
- pression perfectly and indelibly
,

( 1 35 )
1 36 V . T H E T H REE SO U R CE S OF K NO WL ED G E

impressed on the human mind a whole train of

"

sense impressi ons more or less closely associated

-
, ,

may be a dded easily as it were involuntarily ,

.

3 . Now if th e essential nature rather than the acci

dental qualities of a thing is impressed with a
force disproportionately strong upon your mind ,

the organism of you r nature leads you of itself

4 3

in re lat l o n to this subj ect daily from truth t o

truth If on the contrary the variable quality
.
, ,

rather than its essential nature is impressed with

disproportionately stronger force upon your mind ,

the organism of your nature leads you on thi s

4 3

subj ect daily from error to error .

By p utting together obj ects whose essential nature

is the same your insight into their inner truth b e
,

Comes essentially and universall y wider sharpe r

-

, ,

and surer T h e one s ided biased im pression mad e

‘

-
.

by the qualities of individual Obj ects as opposed ,

to the impression that their nature Should mak e

upon you bec omes Weaken e d Your mind is pro
'

, .

t e c t e d against being swallowed up by the isolated

force o f Single separate impressions Of qualities ;

,

and you are saved from the danger o f thoughtlessly

confusing the ext ernal qualities w it h the essential
nature of things and from fantastically filling your
,

he ad with i ncidental matters to the detriment of

c learer insight It follows the more a man make s
.
1 38 V . T H E T H R EE SO U R CE S OF K N O W L ED G E

of my race is stimulated by curiosity while curiosity ,

i s lulled again by laziness But neither the stimulus

.

of the one nor the sedative of the Other has in itself

more than physical value Yet c uriosity has gr eat
.

value as a sense foundation for my power of inquiry

-
,

a n d inertia is valuable as a Sense foundation for cool -

j udgment W e reach all our learning through the

.

infinite charm that the tree of knowledge has fo r our

nature through our senses ; while owing to the princi ,

ple Of i nertia that checks our easy superficial flitting

a bout from one sense impression to anothe r a man in
-
,

many ways ripens to truth before he expresses it .

But our truth amphibia know nothing of this ripen

-

ing They croak truth before they have an inkling Of

.

it let alone know it They cannot do otherwise

, . .

They have not the power Of quadrupeds to stand firm

o n the ground ; the fin s of fishe s to swim over gulfs ;

the wings of birds to soar above the clouds They .

know as little Of un bia sed sense impressions of obj ects

-

as E v e ; and when like Ev e they s wallow the unripe

fruit of truth they share her fate
,
.

The third source of these physico mechanical laws -

lies in the relation of my o uter condition to my power

o f learning .

Man is bound to his nest ; and if he hangs it upon a

hundred threads and describes a hundred circles round
it what does he more than the spider wh o hangs her
, ,
 U NB IA SED SE N S E I M PR E SS I ON S
‘

nest upon ah u n dr e d t h re a ds and describes a hundred

'

circles round it ? An d what is th e difference between

a somewhat larger or smaller Spider ? The essence of
their doing is they sit in the centre of the circle they
,

describe ; but man chooses not the centre in which he

S pins and weaves ; he learns all the realities of the

world in their mere physical aspects absolutely in pro

,

p ortion as the obj ects of the world that reach his sense
impressions approach the ce ntre in Which he Spins and
we aves [ for the most part wit h Cu t his h elp ]
,
.
 VI

Friend ! You see at least the pains I take to make

the th eory of my doings clear to you Let this pains .

t aking be a kind of excuse when you feel how little I

have succeeded .

Si n ce my twentieth year I have been incapable of

,

philosophic thought in the true sense Of the word

, .

Happily for the practical working out O f my plan I

‘

wanted none Of that philosophy that seems to me s o

tiresome : I lived at t h e highest nerve tension on ever y -

point in the circle wherein I worked I knew what I .

wanted took no thought for the morrow and felt at

, ,

the moment what was really necessary for the subj ect ,

that particularly interested me An d if my imagin a.

tion drove me to day a hundred s teps farther than I

-

found firm ground t o mo rr o w I retrac ed these hun

, r ,

dred steps .

Thi s happened thou sands Of times Thousands and .

th ousands Of times I believed I was approaching my

goal and suddenly found this apparent end to be only
,

a new mountain against Which I stumbled SO I went .

on ; particularly when the principles and laws Of physi

cal mechanism began to become clearer to me I thought ,

dir e ctly it needed no m o re than simply to use them in

(1 4 0)
1 42 VI . NUM B ER FO RM , , L AN G U A G E

a book for early childhood through which I trusted t o ,

raise the actual knowledge of three and four year Ol d - - -

children above the knowledge of seven and eight year - -

old school children These experiences that I learned

- .

practically led me indeed to isolated helps in instru o

tion but at the same time made me feel that I did not
,

yet know the true scope and inner de pt h o f my subject '

.

I long Sought for a common psycholog i cal origin for

all these arts of instruction because I was c o n vm c e d ,

that only through this might it be possible to discover

the forra 4 4
in which the cultivating Of mankind is
determined through the very laws of Nature itsel f .

I t is evident this form is founded on the general

organization of the mind by means of which our u n ,

de rst an din g binds together in Imagination the impres

sions which are received by the senses from Natur e
into a whole that is into an idea and gradually u n ,

folds this i dea clearly .

Every
line every measure every word said I t o
, , ,

my self is a result Of understanding that is produced

,

by ripened sense impressions and must be regarded a s

-

a means towards the progressive clearing up of our

ideas Again all instru ction is essentially nothin g
.
,

but this Its principles must therefore be derived

.

from the immutable first form of human ment al

de velopment .

Everything depends on the exac t k n O Wl e dge of this —

 CL E ARN E SS DE PE N DE N T ON NE ARN E SS 1 43

prototype I therefore once more began to keep my

.

eye on these beginning points from wh ich it m u s t be

-

derived
”
The world said I in this reverie
,
lies before our
,

eves like a sea of confused sense impressions flowing -

,

one into the other If our development through

.

Nature only is not sufficiently rapi d and unimpeded ,

the business of instruction i s to remove the confusion

Of these sense impressions ; to separate the obj ects one
-

from another ; to put together in imagination those

that resemble or are related to each other : and in this
.

way to make all clear to us and by perfect clearn e ss in

,

these to raise in us distinct ideas It does this when

.

it presents these confused and blurred sense impressions -

to us on e by o n e ; then place s these separate sense im -

p ressions in di fferent changing positions before our

eyes ; and lastly brings them into connection with the
,

whole cycle Of our pre vi ous knowledge .

SO our learning grows from confusion to de fin it e

ness ; from de fin it e n e ss to plainn ess ; and frOm plain
'

ness to perfect clearness .

But Nature in her progress towards this develop

,

ment is constant to the great law that makes the

,

clearness of my knowledge depend on the nearness or

distance Of the obj ect in t ouch with my senses All .

that surroun ds you reaches your senses other things ,

being equal confused and di ffi cult to make clea r to

,
1 44 VI . N UM B E R FO RM, ,
L AN G U A G E

yourse lf in proportion to i t s distance from your senses

o n the contrary everything that reaches your senses is
,

distinct and easy for you to make clear and plain in

proportion as it approaches your five senses .

You are as a physical living being nothing but your

five senses ; consequently the cle arness or mist in e s s o f
your ideas must absolutely and essentially rest upon
the nearness or distance with whic h all external Obj ects
touch these five senses —that is yourself the centre
"

, , , ,

because your ideas converge l n yo u .

You yourself are the centre of all your sense im

, ,
-

pressions ; you are also yourself an Obj ect for your

sense impressions
-
It is easier to make all tha t I s
.

within you clear and plain than all that is without you .

All t h at you feel Of yourself is in it self a defin ite sense

'

impression ; o n l y t h at which is without can b e a con

fused se nse impression for you
-
It follows that the
.

c ourse Of your knowledge in SO far as it touches your

,

self is a step shorter than when it comes from some

,

thing outside yourself .

All that you know of yourself you know clearly ; all ,

that yo u yourself know is in you and in itself c lear , ,

through you It follows tha t this road to clear ideas

.

is easier an d safer in this direction than in any other

and among all that is cle ar nothing can be clearer
“

than this principle : man s knowledge of truth comes

’

from his knowledge of h imself .

1 46 VI . NUM B ER FO RM , ,
L AN G U A G E

The result of this action in such a man manifestly

pre supposes t h e fo ll o win g ready formed powers
-
“

1 The power of recognizing unlike Obj ects according

.

to the outline and of representing to oneself wha t

,

is contained within it .

2 That Of stating the nu mber of these obj ects and

.
,

representing them to himself as one or many .

3 That of representing Obj ects their number and

.
,

form by speech and making them u n fo rge ta b l e

, , .

I also thought n u mber form and lan gu age are to

, , ,

gether the elementary means of instruction because

, ,

t he whole sum of the external properties Of any Obj ec t

'

is comprised in its outline and its number and i s ,

b rought home to my consciousness through language .

It must then be an immutable law of the Art to star t

frem and work within this threefold principle
‘

1 To t eac h c hildren to look upon every Ob je c t t h at

.

is brought before them as a u nit : that is as sepa ,

rated fr Om those with which it seems connected .

To teach them the form Of every Obj ect : that is ,

its siz e and proportion s .

3 As soon as possible to mak e them acquainted with

.

all the words and name s descriptive of Obj ect s

known to them .

An d as the instruction of children s h ould procee d

from these three elem entary points it is evident that the ,

first e fforts of the Art Should be directed to the p

 PREC I SE ,
CL E A R , DI S TIN C T K NO W L ED G E 1 47

mary faculties of counting measuring and speaking , , ,

which lie at the basis of all accurate knowledge of

Obj ects of Sense We Should cultivate the m with the
.

strictest psychological Art endeavoring to strength

m
,

and make them strong and to bring them as a eans , ,

of development and culture to the highest pitch of ,

simplicity consistency an d harmony

, ,
.

The only difficulty which struck me in the re c o gn i

ton of these elementary points was the question : Wh y
are a ll qualities of things that we know through our
five senses not just as m u ch elementary points of
knowledge as number form an d names But I soon
, ,

found that all possible Objects have absolutely number ,

form and names ; but the other characteristics known

, ,

through our fiv e senses are n o t co mm on to all Obj ects , .

I found the n such an essential and definite distinction

between the number form and names Of things and, ,

their other qualities that I could not regard other,

qualities as elementary points of human knowledge .

Again I fo u ,
nd that all other qualities can be in
cluded under these elementary points ; that couse
quently in instructing children all othe r qualities
, ,

of objects must be immedia t ely connected with form ,

number and names I saw now that through knowing

,
.

the unity form and name of any object my knowl

'
, , ,

edge o f it becomes precise ; by gradually learning its

- O ther qualities my knowledge of it b ecomes l
g c e ar ;
1 48 VI . NUM B ER FO RM , ,
L AN G U AG E

through my consciousness of all its characteristics my ,

knowledge of it becomes distin ct .

Then I found further that all our knowledge flows

, ,

from three elementary powers

1 . From the po wer of making soun ds the origin of ,

language .

2 . From the in defin ite simple sen suo us—power offo rmin g
,

images out of which arises the consciousness of all

,

forms .

3 . From the defin ite no longer merely

,
sen su o us-po wer

f
o ima gin a tion , from which must be derived con
S CI Ou sn e SS of unity and with it the power of
,

calculation and arithmetic .

I thought then th at the art Of educating our race

’

, ,

must be j oined to the first and simplest resul t s of these

three primary powers —sound form and number ; and , ,

that instru c tion in separate parts can never have a .

satisfactory effect upon our nature as a whole if these ,

three Simple resu lts of our primary powers are not

recognized as the common starting p oint of all instru o -

tion determined by Nature herself In consequence

,
.

of this recognition they must b e fitted into forms

,

which flow universally and harmoniously from the

—

results of these three elementary powers ; and which

’
l

tend essentially and surely to make all in st ru c tio n a

Steady ,unbroken development of these three elemen
tary powers we d together and considered e qually
_
, “
 V II .

The first elementary m e ans of ins truction is then ,

SOU N D
This leads to the following special means Of in st ru c

I . So un d teachin g, 4 6
or training the organs of
speech .

II Word tea chin g or teaching about single Obj ects

.
,
.

II I Lan gu age tea chin g or the means whereby we are

.
,

led to express ourselves accurately about well

known Obj ects and about all we know o f them, .

1 . SO U N D T E A CH I N G
Is divi ded i n to teaching sounds spoken and sounds ,

sung .

a Of Soun ds Spo ken.

I n regard to these we cannot leave it to chance

_
,

whether they be brought to the chil d s ear sooner or ’

later combined or separately It is important that

,
.

t hey reach his consc i ousness in th eir whole compass as

early as possible .

This consciousness should be perfect in him before

his power of speech is formed ; and the power of re
pe a tin
g them easily should be complete before the
( 1 5 0)
 TR AININ G T HE ORG A N S or S PE EC H 151

forms of letters are put before his eyes or the first ,

reading lessons begun .

The Spelling Book must therefore c o n t al n all the

4 7

s ounds of which speech consists ; and these Should in

‘

every family be brought to the e ar Of the child in the

cradle and be deepl y impressed and made u n fo rge t ab l e
,

by constant repetition 4 8
even before he is able to
"

utter a single one .

N 0 one c an imagine for it is n et se en how the

, ,

u tterance of these Simple sounds ba ba ba da da , , , , ,

da ma ma ma la la la etc may rouse the Observa

-
, , , , , , ,
.
,

tion of infants and please them ; nor what can be

“

ga i n ed for the general pow e r of learning I n children

by the early knowledge Of these sounds .

In consequence of this prin c ipl e o f the Importance

'

of co n sciousness o f sounds and tones before the child

can imitate them and of the conviction that the kind
,

of obj ects and pictures that lie before the eyes of the
infant can be as little a matter of in difi e re n c e as the
sounds that are brought to his ears I have pre pa re d a
‘

z ‘

book for mothers in which I have not only represented

,

* These attempts were afterwards found to be super

flu o u s owing to a deeper knowledge of the psyc h o l o gi
,

cal course of development and the gradation in the

foundation of our knowledge and were no longer used ,
.

This whole statement must be regarded as only a vague

aspiration towards methods o f education abo ut the -
,

nature of which I was far from clea n — PES TA L O ZZI .

1 52 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T ARY ME AN S : SOU N D

by illuminated woodcuts the beginnings of numbe rand

form b u t also the other most essential characteristic s
,

in Obj ects which our five senses make evident to us .

Through a knowledge of many names thus strength ,

ened and enlivened by all sorts Of Observation I pre ,

pare for and make his future rea ding easy just as by ,

making impressions Of sounds precede letters I prepare

for and make this work easy for the child at this same ,

age By means Of this book I make these so unds at

.

home in h is head if I may so express myself befor e

-

he can utter a syllable .

I shall accompany these tables of sen se impression for

earlier childhood with a book of methods in which ,

every word that the child sh ould use about the obj ec t
represented is expressed so exactly that even the mos t
unpra ctised mother can work sufficiently for my pur
‘

pose because she need not add a word to wha t I say

, .

Thus by means of the book prepared for mother s

, ,

and by constantly hearing the S o unds in the Spelling

Book the child as soon as his o rgan s of speech are
, ,

formed mus t be accustomed to imitate a few of t h e

,

sounds of the Spelling Book several times a day with ,

just the S ame playful ease with which he imitates pu r

po se l e s s sounds .

This book differs from all preceding books in this

Its form of teaching proceeds gen e rally from t h e
vowels w hi c h c a
,n be apprehen ded by the pupil him - f
1 54 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T AR Y ME AN S : SOU N D

and in this way the Obj ect Of making an Indelible

impression is more easily attained .

3 . It helps t h e children quickly to pronounce at a

glance any new word that is formed by adding
single consonants to others that are well known ,

without being Obliged to spell it ; and afterwards

‘

to be able to learn to spell these compound words

by heart This makes writing them correctly
.

afterwards very easy .

In the short directions for using this book given in

the preface mothers are asked to pronounce to the
,

children before they can speak these sequences of

s ounds several times every day and in difi e r e n t ways , ,
‘

in order to rouse their Observation and to accustom

them to these sounds This pronouncing must be .

c arried on with redoubled zeal and be begun again

from the b e gi n n 1 n g as soon as the children begin t O

talk in order to induce them to imitate and thereby
, ,

t each them to talk quickly

In order to make easy to the children the knowl

edge Of letters which must precede Spelling I h av e
, ,

added large printed letters to the book ,so that the

children can better observe the differences b etween
them .

These le t ters are each one separately glued upon

, ,

s tiff paper and

g I v e n to the child one by one
,
W e .

begin with the different vowels painted red w hic h , ,

 T HE FU N D A ME N T AL RU L E OF S PE LL I N G 155

t hey must know perfectly and be able to pronounce

before we can go farther Afterwards they are shown .

the consonants one by one but always in connection ,

with a vowel because they cannot be pronounced

,

a lone .

As soon as the children partly by means of these ,

s pecial exercises partly by means Of real Spelling ( of

,

which I will speak directly ) h av e b e gu n to be tolerably ,

a cquainted with the letters we can change them for ,

the threefold letters also accompanying this book on

, ,

which over the G erman printed letters ( that may now

,

b e smaller ) stand G erman written letters and u nder ,

t hem Roman letters Then let t h e c hild Spell every

.

s yllable with the middle form alrea dy known to him ,

and repeat it in the other two so without losing time

he learns to read t h e threefold alphabet .

The fundamental rule of spelling is that all syllables

a re Only additions by means of consonants to the
, ,

original sound of a vowel ; and that the vowel is always

"

the foundation of the syllable This vowel also will .

b e first laid down or put on the hanging board ( which

,

sho u ld have a groove on its upper and lower edge for

the letters to stand in in which they can easily be ,

s hifte d about ) This vo wel will according to the

.
,

guide gradually have consonants added before and

,

a fter a — a b— b a b— b and so on Then every sylla

, g a ,
.

ble should be pronounced by t he teacher and re peate d

156 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T AR Y ME AN S : SOU N D

by the children until they cannot forget it The n

,
.

the letters are repeated in and out of their order ( the

first the third , and so on ) ;then syllables which are
,

hidden from the m are Spelt by heart ,

.

It is particularly necessary in the first paragraphs of

the book to proceed very sl o wly and never to go on ,

to anyt hing n e w until the old is indelibly Impressed

upon the children ; b ecause thi s I s th e foundation Of
all instruction in reading : all that follows is built upon
it b y small and gradual additions
-
.

When the ch ildren have reached a c e rtain readiness

in spelling in this manner we can change it for other ,

methods F o r example we c an put the letters o f a

.
,

word one af t er the o ther until it is complete and l e t ,

each of the letters be spoken alone and together w ith

;
the next e g G Go Gar Ga d Ga rde G a rden
r
, . .
,

Garden e Ga rden er
— Then by taking away the let
‘

T .

ters one by one we go back in the same way and repeat

,

th ese again and a ga i n until the children can spell the

,
,

word perfectly by heart We can In this way spell the .

word backwards .

At last the word is divided into syllables and each

“

is pronounced in and out of it s order according to its

“

nu mber On e special advantage for school instruction

.

is that the children may be accustomed from the begin ‘

n i n g to pronounce all together and at the same moment

every so u nd that 1 s g1 v e n them or tha

t which they are ,
1 58 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T AR Y ME AN S : SOU N D

method Of sound is word or rather name teaching I

,
.

have already said the c hild must receive his first

,

guidance in this direction from the Mo ther s B oo k “

,
’
.

T his is so ar ranged that the most important obj ects of

the world especially those which like ra ce and kin d
, , , ,

include a whole series of obj ects should be all spoke n ,

abo ut and mothers rend ered able to make the chil d

.

quite familiar with their right names so tha t the chil ,

dren are prepared from the earliest age for n a me

tea chin g ; that is fo r the second special method of
,

'
instruction founded upon t h e po we r of making sounds
, .

This name teaching consists of lists of names of the

-

most important obj ects in all divisions Of the kingdom

of nature history geo graphy h uman callings and re
, , ,

l at i o n s These lists of words are given to the child

.
!

simply as exercises in reading immediately after ,

-
th e

completion of his Spelling Book ; and experience h as

shown me that it is possible to bring the children to

learn these lists of names perfectly heart in t he _

by

time which is given to complete their power of rea dg ] -

ing . The gain to the children at this time of so wid e

and complete a knowledge of so many and such com
pr ehensive lists Of names is immense for making later
,

instruction [ and is only to be

e a SIe r ,reg ar ded as t h e

chaotic collection of materials for a house that will b e

built later ] .
 L AN G U A G E T E A CH I N G

3 L AN G U A G E T E A CH I N G
.

Th e third special means of instruction based o n ,

the power of making sounds is language tea ching ,

-

proper An d here I arrive at the point at which the

.

special form begins to disclose itself according t o ,

which the Art by using the special characteristic of

,

our race language can ke e p pace with the course Of

, ,

Nature in our development But what do I say .

The form disclo ses itself by which man according to ,

the will of the Creator should take the instruc tion of

,

our race out of the hands of blind and senseless Nature ,

and put it into the g uidance of those better power s

which he has developed in himself for ages The form .

discloses itself independent like the human race ,by

, ,

which man can give a precise and comprehensive

direction to and haste n the development of these fac
u lt ie s fo r whose development Nature has given h im

powers and means but no guidance This Sh e can .

never give because he is man The form unfolds

,
.

'

itself by which man can do all this wit h Out de st ro yin g ,

’ ‘

the loftiness and simpli city of the course of physical

nature or the harmony our physical development
,

always has or robbing ourselves by a Single fraction

,

of a hair of that un iform care that mother Nature

co n fers upon our physical development .

All this must be aimed at through the perfect art of

language teaching and the highest psychology in order
-
,
1 60 VI I . FI RS T E L EME NT ARY ME AN S : SOU N D

to bring the mechanism of nature s marCh from con ’

fused sense impressions to clear ideas to the greatest

-
,

perfection This I am far from being able to do and

.
,

I feel verily like the voice of one crying in the wilder

ness .

But the Egyptian wh o first bound the bent Shovel

to the horns of the ox and SO taught it the work of
,

the digger led the way to the discovery of the plough

, ,

though he did not bring it to perfection .

Let my merit be only the bending the shovel and ,

binding it to a n e w horn Bu t why do I speak in

.

parable s ? I will say what I want to say straight out ,

without beating about the bush .

I Would take school instruction out of the hands Of

the old order of decrepit st ammering j ourneymen
, ,

t eachers as well as from the new weak o n e s wh o are

, , ,

g enerally no better for popular instruction and entrust ,

it to the undivided po wers of Nature he rself ; to t h e

light that G o d kindl es and ever keeps al i ve In the
hearts of fa thers and mothers ; to the Interest of .

parents wh o desire th at their children should grow up

in favor with G o d and man .

But in order to define the form or rather the , ,

different methods of teaching langu age by which we

can attain t o this purpose that is by which we mus t
, ,
.

be led in order to be able to express ourselves d early .

about O bj ects that are becoming known to us and all ,

1 62 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T AR Y ME AN S : SOU N D

abstr actions Of physical nature on which all

other means of making our ideas clear depend .

Teaching the child to express himself exactly

ab out all t h e other qualities of things besides ,

form and number ( about those that we know

through our five senses as well as those that
we l earn not by simple sense i mpression but
,
-
, ,

through o u r po we rs Of imagination and judg

'

ment ) .

The prI mary physical generalizations number an d ,

f orm that we have in accordance with the experience

,
'

of ages by using our five senses l e arn e d t o ab strac t

, ,

from the qualities of things must be early and famil

,

iarlv brought to t he child not Only as inhere n t ,

characteristics of special things but as physical gene ,

al iz at i o n S He must not only be able early to call

.

r ound Or a squ a re thing round or square but he mu

, ,

as soon as possible be impressed with the idea

r oundness or squareness as a unity as a pur e abstr
‘

tion This will enable him to co nnect all that

.

meets in nature round square simple or com p]

, , ,

with the exact word that expresse s this idea H .

also we see the reason why language must be con

as a means of expressing form an d number as ,

g u i sh e d from the way In which we may regard it as

means of expressing all the other qualiti e s of o b je c
th at Nature teaches us through our five senses .
 G E N ER A LIZATI ON S OF NUM B ER AN D FO RM 1 63

I therefore begin in the book for early childho od

, ,

to l ea
d the children to a clear consciousness of thes e
generalizations This book contains a comprehensiv e
.

survey of the ordinary methods as well as the simplest ,

way of making the c hild understand the first properties

of numbers .
Farther steps towards this end must li k e the lan ,

guage exercises be reserved for a later time and be

-
, ,

connected with the special treatment of number and

form These , as elements of our knowledge must be
.
,

considered after a complete survey of the e x e rc 1 se s l n

langu age .

T he ill u strations of the first instruction b obk the -

,

Mother s Book for infants are in all their variety so

’
,

chosen that all kinds of physi cal generalizations that

a re learnt through o ur five senses are spoken of and , ,

mother s are enabled to make the child familiarly ac

q u ain t e d with the most exact expressions without any ,

tr ouble to themselves .

Bu t in whatever relates to those qualities O

”

f things
“

that are learnt not d ire ctly through our fiv e s enses

, ,

but thro ugh t h e in tervention of our powers of compari

son imaginat ion and abstraction I stick to my pr inci
, , ,

ple of making no kind of hum an judgment apparently

p rematurely ripe ; but I use the unavoidable knowledge
of Such abstract words as children of this age possess
m erely as memory w o rk and a s easy food for th e ir
,

fancy and power of guessing .

1 64 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T AR Y ME AN S : SOU N D

On the other hand in respect to Obj ects th at can be ,

learnt directly through our five senses I take the fol ,

lowing measures to enable the child to express himself

accurately as soon as possible .

I take out of the dictionary substantives distin

g u i sh e d by striking characteristics known through
our five senses and put the adj ectives that express
,

these characteristics next to them Fo r example .

eel ,
slippery worm like leather skinned ,
-
,
-

ca rrion dead stinking, ,

even in g quiet bright cool rainy

, , , ,

a xle, strong weak greasy , ,

ld
fi , e sandy loamy manured fertile
, , , ,
r o fit a
p
ble unprofitable ,

Then I invert the process an d find adj ectives that ,

des cribe t he striking characteristics of Obj ec t s learnt

thr ou gh o u r senses ; then I put the substantive that
h as t he characteristic de s cribed by the adj ective n e xt
t o it . Fo r example
ro un d,
ball hat moon sun , , ,

light feather d own air

, , ,

heavy gold lead oak wood

, , ,
-

wa rm stove s summer days flame

, , ,

high towers mountains t re es giants

, , , ,

d eep seas lakes cellars graves

, , , ,

soft flesh wax butter

, , ,

e lastic steel springs whal e bone e t c

, , ,
.
1 66 V II . F I RS T E L EME NT AR Y M E A N S : SOU N D

1 . Descripti ve geography .

2 . History .

Physical science
3 . .

4 Natural history
. .

'

But to avoid unnecessary repetition of the same

word and to make the form of teaching as Short as
,

possible I divide these pr i ncipal sections into forty

,
”

sub divisions and Show the children the names of

-
,

obj ects in these sub divisions only -

.

Then I consider the principal obj ect of my sen se

impression myself o r rather the whole series of
—
, ,

n ames that indicate myself in language ; while I bring

what the great witness of the ancients language says , ,

a bout men under the following heads

,

1 W hat does i t say of man regarded as a mere phy

.
,

sica l bein g in relation to the animal kingdom

,

2 W hat does it say of him as striving upwards

.
,

through the so cia l sta te to independence

3 What does it say of him as struggling upwar d s
.
,

through the forc e s Of his heart mind an d ,

to a view of himself and his s u rroundings highe r .

than the animal s ? 5 1 ’

I divide these three hea ds into forty sub divisions -

,
‘

a n d br ing them before the children onlyin these sub :

Th e first arrang e ment in these ser 1 es I n ,

b o th d
’
e f

rt m e n t s about men as w ll as mater i al bj ects

pa , e O ,

All these attem pts were subse quently abandon ed as

'

the result s of immature Opinion s — PES T AL OZ ZI .

 G R O U PIN G W O RDS B Y ME ANIN GS 1 67

Should be Simply alphabetical without any meaning, .

They are to be u sed simply for making things gradu

ally clear by putting together Similar sense impressions
,
-

and ideas gained by sense impressions - .

When this is done ; when the witness o f the ancients

has been thus used to put all that exists into simple
a lphabetical order the second question ar ises
, ,

Ho w does the Art rr ange these Obj ect s later after

a ,

closer inspection "

Then a new work begins The .

same series of words that the child k n ows perfectly

well up to the seventieth or eightieth r o w merely ,

alphabetically must now be shown him anew in all

, ,

these sub divisions and in all t h e cla ssifications by

-

which these subdi vi sions are further artificially divided

an d he must be enabled to form q u e n c e s for himself ,

an d to arrange th e m after the following plan .

The difle re n t classes into which the obj ects are

di vided are put at the head of each column and indi ,

c at e d by numbers abbreviations or other convenient

, ,

signs .

In the first reading lesson the child must thoroughly

,

learn the different classes of the principal div isI On S ,

and then if he finds in the seri es of words the Sign of

,

the class t o which it belongs he is able at the first

,
-

glance to see to which class the Object belongs and so ,

by himself to change th e alphabetical into a scientific

nomenclature .
1 68 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T ARY ME AN S : SOU N D

I do not know whether it is necessary to make the

matter clearer by an example ; it see ms almost super
flu o u s but I will do it in consequence of the novelty
,
”

of the form On e of t he sub divisions of Europe is

.
-

G erm any Now the children are first made perfectly

.

familiar with the division of G erman y into 1 0 c ircles .

Then t h e t o wn s of G ermany are put before the m in ,

reading first in alphabetical order ; but afterwards every

,

town is indicated by the number of the circle to which

it belongs As soon as they can re adily read these
.

towns they learn the connection between these num

,

bers and the sub divisions of the chief headings and -

,

in a few hours the child is able to arrange the whol e

serl es of G erman towns according to the su b divi siOn s e

of the principal headings .

Suppos e for example he sees the following G erm an

, ,

towns with their numbers

Aachen 8 ,
Allenbach 5 . Altkirchen 8 , .
, .

Aalen 3 ,
Allendorf 5
. Altona 1 0 ,
.
,
.

Abenberg 4 Alle rspe rg 2

,
Altorf 1
.
, .
, .

Ab e rt h ran 1 1 Al sc h au fe n 3
, Altranstadt 9
.
, .
, .

Acken ,
Alsleben 1 0 Altwasser 1 3 ,
.
,
.

Adersbach 1 1 Alt b u n z l au 1 1
,
Amberg 2 .
, .
, .

Agler 1 ,
Altena 8
. Ambras 1 ,
.
, .

Ahrbergen 1 0 Altenau 1 0 ,
Am oneburg 6
.
, .
,
.

Aigremont 8 Altenberg 9 ,
Andernach 6
.
, .
,
.

Ala 1
,
. Altenburg 9 , .

Alk e rdisse n 8 Alte n salz a 1 0 , .

, .
1 70 V II . FI RS T E L EM EN T ARY ME AN S : SOU N D

men in ten from the social rights of men from the ,

right to be educated or at least from the possibility of

,

using that right .

May this barrier burn above my grave in blazing

flames Now indeed I know th at I lay only a weak
.

coal in d ank wet straw— but I see a wind no longer ,

afar Off and it will fan the coal ; gradually the wet
,
'

straw round me will be dried will become warm will , ,

kindle and burn Ye s Gessner ! however we t it is

.
,

n o w round me it will burn it will burn !

, ,

But while I see myself so far advanc e d In the second ;

Special method of teaching language I find I have not ,

yet touched upon the t hird method that should lead ,

to the final end of education the clearing u p of Ou r

— -

ideas .

c
. Teaching the child to disti nguish clearly by speech
the connection of obj ects with each other in their ,
.

varying conditions of number time and propor , ,

tion ; or rather to make still clearer the nature

, ,

properties and powers of all obj e cts that we have

,
'

already learned to know by name and have to ,

=

some degree made clear by putti n g together the ir

names and qualities .

Here a ppear the foundations o n which real grammar

should rest and in this way progress will be made
,

t ow ards the final end Of education the clearing up

—

o f ideas .
 IDE A S M A DE C L E AR B Y L AN G U A G E 1 71

Her e also I prepare the children for the first step by

a very Simpl e b ut psychological instruction in speech .

Without let ting fall a word about forms and rules let ,

the mother first repeat before the child Simple sen

t e n c e s only as exercises
,
These should be imitated
.
,

as much for the sake of exercising the organs of speech

as for the sake of the sentences themselves We must .

clearly distinguish between these two obj ects exercise

—

in pronunciation and learning words as language ; and

,

practise the first by itself independently of the second

,
.

When the meaning and pronunciation are understood ,

the mother s hould repeat the following kinds of sen

ten o es
Father is kind .

The butterfly has gay wing s .

The cow e at s grass .

The fir has a Straight stem .

When the child has said these sentences so Often that

the repetition is e asy to him the mother asks : Wh o ,

is kind What has gay wings An d the n b ackwards : -

What is father ? What has the butterfly ? etc And .

then she goes on

Who or wha t are
Be ast s o f prey are fle sh eating
’

- .

Stags are light of foot .

The roo ts are wide spreading

-
.

Who or wha t ha s Wha t ha s o r it

T h e lion has strength .

1 72 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T AR Y ME A N S : SOU N D

Man has re ason .

The dog has a good nose .

The elephant has a trunk .

Who o r wha t have Wha t have they

Plants have roots .

Fish have fins .

Birds have wings .

Cattle have horns .

Who wishes 9 Wha t do es he wish

T he hungry man wishes to eat .

The creditor wishes to be paid .

The prisoner wishes to be free .

Who wish Wha t do they wish

Sensible people wish for what is right .

Foolish people wish for what they fancy .

Children wish t o play .

Tired peo ple wish to rest .

Who or wha t ca n Wha t can he or it do

The fish can swim .

The bird can fly .

"

The cat can climb .

The squirrel can jump .

The ox can toss .

The h o rSe can kick .

Who can 9 Wha t can they do

Tailors can se w .

Donkeys can carry .

174 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T ARY ME AN S : SOU N D

V erb and Obj ect Simply connected .

Atten d to th e teacher s words ’

.

Brea the through the lungs .

Fell a t re e x
Bin d a sheaf etc ,
.

Then follows the second exercise in putting verb s

together .

I ten d the Sheep I a tten d to t h e teacher s

To ten d . .
’

words to my duty and my property

,
I a tten d to my
duty and my work I con ten d against wrong I do . .

n ot reten d to be better than I am I ex ten d my pos

p .

sessions I in ten d to buy a house I must s uperin ten d

. -; .

those men So far as a child pays a tten tion to an y

.

th ing he is atten tive or in a tten tive

,
.

I br eathe ha rd lightly quickly slowly

Brea the .
, , , ,

I breathe again if I h ave lost my breath and recovered

,

it I breathe air in The dyin g man breathes h is

“

/
. .

last .

Then I go on to repeat thes e exercises with gradu

ally extending additions and so get to m ore complicated ,

and descriptive sentences e g , . .

I shall .

I Shall preserve .

I Sh all preserve my health in no other way

“

Literal translation impossible ; an illustration is

attempte d L E H
— . . .
 IDE A S M A DE C L E AR B Y L AN GU A G E

After all tha

t I h ave su ffered I shall pr e serve my
‘

health in n o o ther way .

After all that I su fle re d in my illnes s I shall pre ,

serve my health in no other way .

After all that I have suffered in my illness I shall ,

p reserve my health in no other w a y than by modera

tion
After all that I h ave su Ee re d in my illness I shall ,

preserve my health in no o t h e r way than by the great ~

e st moderation .

After ll
tha t I have suffered in my illness I Shall
a ,

pr e serve my health in no other way than by the gr e at

e st moderation and regularity .

After all th at I h ave suffered in my illnes s I shall ,

pres e rve my health in no o the r way than by the

greatest m oderat io n and general regularity .

All these sentences Should be separately re peated in

all the persons of t h e verb e g ,
. .

I shall pre s erve .

Thou shalt preserve .

He Shall preserve et c ,
.

I Shall preser v e my health .

T h ou shalt preserve t h y health etc , .

The same sentences should be repeated in other

tenses
"

I have pres erved .

Thou hast pre served et c , .

1 76 V I I F I RS T E L EME N T AR Y
. ME AN S : S OU N D

With these sentences thus deeply impressed upon ,

the children we take care to choose those that are

,

particularly instructive stimulating and suitabl e to, ,

their special case .

With these I give examples of descriptions of real

Obj ects in order to strengthen an d use the power
,

given to the children by these exercises .

Fo r example
A b ll is a wide thick round bowl open below
e , , , ,

usually hanging free growing narrower towards th e

,

t o p rounded above like an egg and h aving in the

, ,

middle a vertical and freely h anging clapper that by ,

a quick movement of the bowl is knocked from side t o r

side thus producing a sound we call ringing

,
.

To wa lk is to move on step by step .

to rest upon the legs with the b ody

TO sta n d is ,
up

right or vertic al .

To lieis t o rest on something with the body in a ,

horizontal position .

To sitis to rest on something in such a position that

the body makes two angles To kn eel is to rest o n t h e
”

. .

legs when the y form an angle at the knee .

To co u rtesy is to le t t h e
_ body be lowere d by bending
the knee .

To bow is to bend the body forwards from an upright

position .
1 78 V II . FIRS T E L EME N T ARY ME AN S : SOU N D

the injured masses the bad Consequences of which

can be averted only by a wise ret urn to the spirit of
the original limitations of the purpose for the sake of ,

which the earth freely given by Go d to man wa s

, ,

divided by him into special plots 5 5

.

To Thou art angry because thou canst not

express .

always express thyself as thou wouldst DO not be .

angry that thou art forced e ven against thy will to

, ,

take time to become wise .

But it is time I ended this subj ect .

I have dwelt long upon language as a means of grad

u all
y making o u r ideas clear It is in deed.the fi rst
means My method of instruc t ion is particularly dis
.

t in gu i sh e d in this it makes greater use of language

-

as a means of raising the child from vague sense im -

pressions t o clear ideas than has ever been dOn e before

,
.

Also it is distinguished by the pr1 n c 1 pl e of excluding

from the first elementary instruction all collections of
T1

words presupposing actual knowledg e Of language o r ;3

grammar
“

Whoever understands that Nature leads only fro m i .

clearness a bout individual to clearness about the whole ,~ s

will understand that words must be separately clear t o

.

the child before they can be made clear to hi m when

j oined together Whoever understan ds this will throw
:

away at once all previous elementary instruction b OOkS -

?
,

as such because they all presup pose knowledge o f

,
 L AN G U A G E T HE SU M T O T AL OF AR T S 179

language in the child before they have given it to him .

Yes G essner it is remarkable even the best in st ru c

, , ,

tion book of the past century has forgotten that the

-

child must learn to talk before we can talk with him ;

this oversight is remarkable but it is true Since I ,
.

know this I no longer wonder that we cannot mak e

,

other men than we do out of the children ; for we

have so far forgotten the wisdom and goodness of the
ancients as to talk to them [ of so many and suc h
variou s things ] before they can talk .

—
Language is an art it is an infinite art or rather it ,

is the sum total of all arts which o u r race has reached .

It is in a special sense a giving back of all Impressions-

that Nature as a whole has made upon our race

, , .

Thus I use it and try by the associations of its spoken

,

so unds to bring baCk to the child the very same im

.

pressions which th ese sounds formed and gave rise t o

I n the human race The gift of speech is infinite in
.

itself and becomes dail y greater as it grdwsfi v e r mor e

, t

perfect It g1 v e s the child in a short time what Nature

"

needed ages to give to mankind We say of an ox .

,

what would he be if he knew his s trength and I say

of man what would he be if he [ wholly] knew his
,

power of speech and [ wholly ] used it

The gap is great that has arisen in the maze which
we call human culture becau se we have so far forgot
,

ten o urselves that we not only have done nothing to

1 80 VII . FI RS T E L EME N T ARY ME A N S : SOU N D

teach humble folk to talk b ut h ave made the

s6
,

Speechless people dream their time a way on abstract

ideas and while we made them learn empty words by
,

heart we have taught them to believe that they co uld

,

in this way reach real knowledge of things and truth ,

:
3

V erily the Indians could do no more to keep their 5 7

lowest Classes of people in everla sting idolatry an d in ,

t hat way to breed a degraded race of men as sacrifices

t o their idols .

You may di spute the fact [ that our lowest classes

c annot Speak , and are led astray by t h e m apparen t

a bility to speak ] ; I appeal to all clergy mag1 st rat e s

, ,

t o all men wh o live among people wh o are oppressed I n

the midst of entire neglect by such a terribly distorte d

paternal sham careful method of teaching to Spe ak
,
- .

Let him wh o lives among such peop le co me forward

a n d bear witness if he has not experienced h o w tro u ble :

s ome it is t o get any idea into the oor re a t u

p c

” 5 8
B u t every one agrees about this Yes yes , ,

the clergy f‘
it is so ; when they come to us to
,

taught th ey do not understa nd what we say nor

, ,

what they answer ; and we get o n no farther with them

until they have learnt the answers to our questions by
heart
S o say the mag i strates ; and they are r1 gh t e n o
it is impossible to make their j ustice c o mpre h e
to t hese men When they come out of a
.
18 2 V II . FI RS T E L EME N T AR Y ME AN S : SOU N D

—
I say again while we do this and degrade the lower
,

”5 9
class of Europe into word and clapper folk“
as
hardly any people have been degraded before we n ever ,

teach them to ta lk It is therefore not surprising that

.

the Christianity of this century and this continent

looks as it does On the contrary it is wonderful that
.
,
-

good human nature in spite of all the blun dering of

,

our “
word and clapper schools has preserved so ,

much inward strength as we Often meet with in the

lowest classes of the people But thank G o d ! all follies
.

a nd all apin g s find at last a counterpoise in human

nature itself and cease to be further harmful to our

,

race when error has reached the highest point that we

can bear Folly and error carry in every garment the
.

seeds of their decay and death ; truth alone in every ,

fo rm bears in itself the seeds of eternal life

,
6 0
 V III

The second elementary means from which all human

knowledge according to the nature of instruction
,

must proceed is ,

FO RM
The teaching of form is preceded by the conscious
ness of the sen se impression of things having form
-
,

the artificial representations of which for the purpose ,

of instruction must be derived partly from the nature

,

of the observi ng powers and partly from the definite

,

mm of teaching itself .

Al l our knowledge arises

1 From impressions made by eve rything that acci
.

dent brings into contact with our five senses .

This kind of sense impression is irregular con

-
,

fused and has a very Slow and limited scope

, .

2 From all that is brought to our senses through

.

the interposition of the Art and thS gii idan c e of

,

our parents and teachers This kind of sense.

impression is naturally more or less psychologically

arranged according to the degree of insight and
,

energy of the parents and teachers [ of each child ] ,

and is also more comprehensive and connected .

His progress also towards the end and aim of in

( 1 8 3)
1 84 V III SE C ON D E L E ME N T A RY
. ME AN S : FORM

struction clea r i deas is in the same degree mor e

, ,

or less rapid and safe .

3 . From my will [ ba sed on and kept alive by the

,

self activ
- i ty Of all my faculties ] ; f rom my strong "

desire to obtain notions knowledge and ability ; , ,

and from spontaneous e fforts towards gaining

sense impressions This kind of knowledge gained
-
.

by sense impression g ives intrinsic value to o ur

-

notions and brings u S nearer to moral self activ e

,
-

education by forming in us an independent vitality

for the results of our sense impressions -
.

4 . From the results of e ffort work at one s calling ,

’
,

and all kinds of activity the obj ect of which is ,

not merely sens e impression This manner of

-
.

g ai n In
g knowledge connects my sense impression s -

with my conditions and positio n and brings t h e ,

results i nto harm ony with my efforts towards d u ty

and virtue Through the nece ssity of its c o urs e
.

as well a s through its results it has the most im ,

portant influence on the accura cy continuity and , ,

harmony Of my insight as well as on the purpos e ,

~
aimed at ma kin g ideas clear .

5 . Lastly by analogy K nowledge gained by sense

, .

impression teaches me t h e pr operties of t hing s

that have not been brought to my sense impres -

sion by their likeness to other obj ects that I have

,

Observed This mode of observation (An sch )

. .
1 86 V III . SEC O N D E L EM EN T ARY ME A NS : FO RM

ART OF ME A SUR IN G
T HE
presupposes an A B C of form ( A B C of An schauun g) ;
that is it presuppose s an art of Simplifying and de fin
,

ing the principles of measurement by exact separation

of all inequalities that appear to the observer .

Dear G essner , I will again call yo ur attention to the

l

empirical course that led me to this view of the sub -

je c t ; and for this purpose will add an extract

,
fro m a
”
passage in my Report 6 2
Grant the principle
. said ,

I, that sense impression is the foundation of all

-

knowledge it follows inevitably that accuracy of sense

,

impression is the foundation Of ac c u rat e ju dgme n t

~

“
But it is Obvious that in art education perfect
a ccuracy of ob servation must be a result of measuring

the obj ect to be j udged [ or imitated ] or of a power of ,

perceivi ng proportion so far cultivated as to render

“

measurement of the Obj ect superfluous Thus the .

capacity of measuring correctly ranks in the art ,

education of our race immediately after the need of

,

observatio n ( An sch ) Drawing is a linear definition of

the form of which the outline an d su rfac e are rightly
'

and exactly defined by complete measurement .

The principle tha t the exercises and capacity Of

measuring everything must precede exercise s in draw
in g or at least keep equal pace with them is as
, ,

obvious as it IS generally overlooked The u sual course .

o f our art ed u cation is to begin with inaccurat e o b se r

-
 ART F OU N DED ON MEA S U R EME N T 187

vation and crooked structures ; then to pull down and

build up again crookedly ten times over until at last , ,

and late the feeling of pro po rtI On IS matur e d Then

,
.

we come at last to that with which we Should ha ve

, ,

begun mea suremen t

,
6 3
That is our art course Ye t we
.
-
.

are so many thousand years Older than the Egyptians ,

an d Etruscans whose drawings all depend on perfect

,

measure m ent or are at bottom nothing but [ simple

,

statements of ] such measurements .

An d comes
no w question W hat means have
t he —

we of educating the child in this foundation of all art ,

correct measurement of all obj ects that come before

x h iS eyes ? Obviously by a series of measuring su b di
visions o f the square wh ich are arranged according to
Simple safe and clear rules an d include the sum
, ,

total of all p ossibl e sense

“
True the modern artis t s in spite of the want of
,

such meas u rements have by lon g practice in their craft

a cqu ired methods by which they have attained more or

less ability in plac in g any obj ect and

Remark for the new edition This passage is like .

,

many another the expr e ssion of immature unformed

, ,

O pinion of the first empirical inqu i ry ; of an idea o f

elem entary educat ion only mistily conceived as a Whole ,

'

and now only so far interesting as it shows the first

empirical course that this idea took in myself and
fellow workers PES TAL O ZZI
-
.
-
.
‘
1 88 V III SEC ON D E L EME N T AR Y ME N S :
. A FO RM

drawing it as i t really is in nature It cannot be .

denied that many of them attained this power by toil

some and long continued e flo r
ts By the most confused
-
.

sense impressions they reached a sense of proporti on

-
,

so far cultivated as to render actual measure ment

superfluous .

But there were almost as many varieties of method

as men N O one had a name for his o wn because no
.
,

one knew it clearly ; the refore he could no t properly

impart it to his pupils The pupil also was in the
.

same state as his teacher and was obliged with ex , ,

tre m e e flo rt and long practice to find out a method of ,

his o wn or rather the result Of a method and to

, ,

acquire a correct sens e of proportion An d so art .

staid in the hands of the fe w happy ones wh o had tim e

and leisure to gain t h l s sense by circuitous way s ; and
therefore no one could look upon i t as an ordinary
‘

human business or claim its cultivation as an ordi n ary

,

human right .

Yet it is one ; at least he c an n o t b e contradicted

‘

wh o assert s that every man living in a c ultivated Stat e

has a right to learn to read and write Then evi .
,

de n t ly the wish to draw and the capa city of me a s ur

,

In
g which are developed naturally and easily in t h e
,

child ( as compared to t h e toil with which he is taught

reading and writing ) m u st be restored to h im with .

greater art or more force if we would not inj ure him

,

more than the reading can ever be worth .

1 90 VIII S EC O N D E L EME NT A RY
. ME A NS : F O RM

These divisions of the square by straight lines pro

duce certain forms for defining and measuring all
angles as well as the circle and all arcs I call th e
,
.

whole The A B C of An scha uun g

This should be presented to the child in the follow
ing way .

W e show him the properties of straight lines u n c o n ,

n e c t e d and each by i tself under many condi t ions and

,

in difi e re n t arbitrary directions and make him clearly ,

conscious of the different appearances without con ,

side rin g their further uses . Then we begin to name

instruction for the just appreciation of the forms of

things B ut until now this method has been entirely
.
,

neglected and ignored though we have a hundred such

,

method s for arithmetic and language Me anwhile th e

want of suc h a method of instruction about formis to
.

be regarded not only as a defect in the structure of

human knowledge b ut as the defect in the foundation
,

of all knowledge It seems to me a de fe c t in knowl

.

edge a t the very point where language and n u mb er

, _
s

should be subordinate to it My A B O of An scha uun g

.

will remedy this deficiency and secure instruction a ,

basis on which other methods of instruction must be

b uilt I beg the men of G ermany who feel thems elves
.

entitled to j udge to look upon this po m t as the found

ation of my method The value or worthlessness of
.

my att e mpt zre st s upon the rightness o r wrongn e ss of

this foun datio n — PES TA LOZ ZI .
 T HE ART or ME AsuRI N G 1 91

the straight lines as horizontal vertical and oblique ; , ,

describing the oblique lines first as rising or falling ,

then as rising or falling to right or left Then we .

name the di fferent parallels as horizontal vertical and , ,

oblique parallel lines ; then we name the principal

angles formed by j oining these lines as right acute , , ,

obtus e In the same way we teach them to know and

.

name the pro t otype of all measure forms the square -

, ,

Which arises from j oining together two angles and its ,

divisions into halves quarters sixths and so on ; then

, , ,

the circle and its variations in elongated forms and , ,

their different parts .

All these definitions should be taught to the children

a s results of measuring with the eye and the m e as u r ,

in g forms named in this course as square horizontal

-
,

or vertical oblong ( or rectangle ) ; t h e c u rve d lines as _ ,

circle semi circle quadrant ; first oval

,
‘

-
,
6 5
half oval ,
-
,

quarter oval second third fourth fifth and so on

-
, , , , ,
.

They must be led to use these forms as means of

measuring and to learn the nature of t h e proportions
,

by which they are produced The first means of .

obtaining this end is

1 . To endeavor to make the child know and name
the proportions of these m easure forms -
.

2 . To enable him to apply and use them in d e pe n

de n t ly .
/

The child will be alrea dy prepared for this purpose

1 92 V III SEC ON D EL EME N TA R Y
. MEA NS : FO RM

by the Mo t h e r s Bo o k ; and many Obj ects have been

'
’
'

s hown him that are sq u are round oval broad long , , , , ,

narrow S oon after t h e divisions of the AB 0 of

.

An scha uun g will be cut out in cardboard and shown

him as quarter half quarter sixth of the square and
, , ,
“

s o on ; and then again as circle half and quarter circle , ,

oval half and quarter oval

,
.

In this way a dim consciousness will be produced

beforeha n d of the clear i dea that must hereafter be
developed by learning t h e artistic appearance and the
use of these forms Fo r this too they are prepar e d .
, ,

by the Mother s Book in which are given the beg1 n

’
,

n in gs of a definite l anguage of the forms as well as ,

the beg i nn i ngs of number which presupposes m eas ,

u r e me n t .

Fo r this p urpose they are led through the A B C of -

An scha uun g since the methods of this art l anguage

, ,

and number Of which they are m ,

ade dimly c o n sc l o u s by
the Mother s Book are in this AB 0 made clear fo r the
’
, , ,
.

precise purpos e of measuring ; and they are en ab l e d t o

express themsel ves clearly about number and measure

in every form .

3 The third means of attaining this end is by draw

“

in
g these forms themselves by which the children ,

( combining this with the other two methods ) not

only gradually gain clear ideas ab o u t e v e ry form ,

but gain accurate power of working wi th every

1 94
. V III SEC ON D E L EME N TA RY
. ME AN S : FO RM

its re l at io n t o others By this art guidanc e he is enabled

.
-
.

whenever he looks at a figure to describe and na m e n ot

only the proportion of height t o breadth but the pro ,

portion of every single deviation of its form from the

'
square in oblique lines and c u rv e s an d to apply the
, ,

names which denote these deviations in our A B O o f

An scha uun g .

The means of attaining this power lie in the art of

me as u ring ; and will be still further develope d in the
child by the art of draw ing particularly the art of
,
"

drawing lines He will be brought to a point when he

.

will be so familar with t h e measure forms that they -

will become a kind of instinct After perfecting the.

preliminary exercises he need no longer put them b e

,

fore his eyes as an ac tual means of measuring the most

complex Objects ; but without the help o f [special ]
measur ement he can represent all their p roporti ons
, ,

and express himself clearly about them .

We cannot say to what results the developed power .

may raise every child even the weakest NO one shall

,
.
‘

s ay it is a dream I have led children on these pr1 n

.

c ipl e s a n d my theory is for me entirel ythe result of

, .

my decided experience An y one may come and see

. .

Certainly my children are only at the beginning of this

guidance but these beginnings show so far , that it
, ,

nee ds a peculiar spe c l e s of man to stand near my chil

dren an d no t be convin ced ; and this is no less
extraordinary .
 T HE ART OF DR AW IN G 195

ART OF DR A W IN G
THE
is the power of representing to oneself the sense
impression ma de by any obj ect its outline and the ,

characteristics contained within the outline by mean s ,

of similar lines and of be i ng able to 1 mitate these line s

,

accurately .

This art will become beyond comparison easier b y

the new method because in every way it appea rs to be
,

only an easy application of the forms that have n o t only

l

been Observed by the chil d alre ady b u t by practice in ,

imitating have developed in him a real power of me as ~

.

uring .

This is done in this way As soon as the child

.

draws readily an d Correctly the horizontal line with ,

which t h e A B C of An scha uun g begins out of the ,

whole chao s of Obj ects seen and shown we try to find

him figure s whose outline is only the appli catio n of
the familiar ho rizontal line or at least offers only an
,

imperceptible deviation from it .

Then we go on to the ver tical line then to the right ,

angle and so on As the child by easy application of

, .

these forms becomes stronger we gradually vary the

,

figures The results of these measures (which agree

.

with t h e natural phys ical mechanical laws ) on the art

Of drawing ar e as remarkable as those of the A B O of

An scha uun g upon the art of measuring While in this .

way the childre n before they proceed farther bring t o

1 96 V III SEC O N D EL EME NTA R Y
. ME AN S : FO RM

perfection every drawing even the ,

first -beginning

drawing a consciousness of the result of perfected

,

power is already developed in them in the first steps

,

of this art ; and with this consciousness are also de

v e l o pe d an e fi o rt towards perfection and a perseverance

t owards com pletion which the hurly burly caused by

,
-

t h e folly and disorder of our unpsychological men and

methods of art e ducation never attempts or c an at
-

t e mpt.

The foundation of progress in children so taught is

n o t only in the hand ; it is founded on the in t rin sI c

p owers of human nature

. The exercise -books of meas

u re forms then gi ve the sequence of means by which

-

this effort used with psychological art and within

,

physical mechanical laws raises the child step by step

-
,

t o th e point on which we have already touche d when ,

having the measure forms actually before him becomes

-

g radually superfluous and when of the guiding lines

in art none remains b ut art itself .

T HE ART W R ITI N G
OF

Nature herself has subordinated this art to that of

drawing ; and all methods by which drawing is de
v e l o pe d an d brought to perfection in children must

then be naturally and specially dependent upon the _

art of measuring .

The art of writing can as little as drawing be begun

and pursued without preceding developing exercises in
1 98 V III SEC O N DE LEME NTA R Y
. ME AN S: FO RM

on the contrary one wrong word re m

,
aining on paper
Often leads t o a whole tribe of still worse mistakes

th an the first and almost from the beginning of a line

,

or page of writing to the end there is a remarkable

kind of progression from the mistaken deviation set
up at the beginning of the line or page .

Lastly I consider it an essential advantage of thi s

,

method that the child rubs out the perfectly good

work also from the slate NO one can believe how
.

important this is if he does not generally know how

important it is for the human race that man should be
educated without conceit and not come to set a fi c t i
,

tious value on his own handiwork too soon .

So I divide learning t o write into t wo stages .

1 That in which the child becomes familiar with

.

the for ms of the let ters and their combinations ,

independently of the use Of the pen .

2 That in which his hand is practised in the use Of

.
-

the proper writing instrument the pen ,

.

In the first stage I put the letters in exact propor

tions before the child and have prepared a c opy book
,
-

by which the child in harmony with this whole meth o d

,

and its advantages may educate himself in the power

,

of writing almost alone and without fu rt h e r h e lp The f

advantages of this writing book are -

1 It dvi e ll s long enough on the beginni ng and funda

.
T

mental forms of the letters .

 THE ART OF W R ITIN G 1 99

It gradually j oins the parts O f the combined forms

of letters to ea ch other so that the completion of
,

the more d ifii c u l t l e tt e rs is to be regarded only as

‘ '

a gra dual addition of new parts t o the already

practised beginnings of letters
!

3 . It exercises the child in combin ing several letters

frOm the moment th at he is able to c opy one cor
re c t l and he rises step by step to the com b ination
, y
o f such words as co nsist simply Of those letters

which he can co py correctly at that time .

4 . Lastly it has this a dvantage ; it can be cut up

,

into single lines and so laid before the child that

,

the lines to be imitated by eye and hand stand

immediately over the letters of the copy .

In the second stage when the child must be led to

,

use the sp e cial writing instrument the pen he has , ,

already been exercised in the forms of the letters and

their combinations and is tolerably p erfect The
,
.

teacher has then nothing further to do but to complete

the power of drawing these forms b y IBB ESe of the
T

pen and make it the real art of writing

, .

Meanwhile t h e child here too mus t j oin o n the

further progress to the point up to which he has
already practised His first writing with the pen is
“

merely his pencil progress over again ; and with the

first use of the pen he Should b e g1 n § wit h writing the
lett ers just the same size as h e drew them at firs t and ,
2 00 V III SEC ON D EL EME NTA R Y
. ME AN S : FO RM

only gradually be exercised in C opying the ordinary

small writing .

All branches instruction demand essentially psy

Of

c h o l o gic al analysis of their methods and the age shoul d ,

be exactly fixed at which each may and ought to b e

given to the child As I work on this principle in all
.

subj ects so in the art of writing by always followin g

, ,

it and by using a slate pencil copy for children from

f our to five I have come to the conclusion that by thi s
,

method even a bad teacher or a very untrained mother , ,

may be able to teach the children accurate and beauti

ful writing up to a certain po i n t without being abl e ,

to do it herself The essen tia l purpose of my m

. ethod
here and elsewhere is to make home instruction possi
ble again for peo ple neglected in this respect ; and t o
raise every mother whose heart beats for her children ,

step by step till at last she can follow my elementary

,

ex ercises by herself and be able to use them with h e r

,

children T O do this she need in every case be but a

.
,

little step in advance of the children .

My heart beats high with the hopes to which thes e

views l ead me ; but dear friend ever since I began t o
, ,

express any suggestion of t h ekind men cry out at me ,

from all sides The mo thers of this coun try will n ever do
,

it
. An d not only men Of the people but even men wh o ,

teach the people men wh o teach the people Christian

,

ity say scornfully to me Yo u may run up and down

, ,
2 02 VIII SEC O N D EL EME NTA R Y
. ME AN S : FO RM
I would answer th e men who dare to say Ru n up ,

and doWn the country the mo thers of the la n d will not

“

do it or wish to do it and say

”
,
You ought to cry ,

out to these unnatural mothers of our fathe rland a s

Christ once cried to Jerusalem Mothers ! mothers !
,
‘

we would have gathered you together under the W i ngs

of wisdom humanity and Christianity as a hen
, , ,

gathereth h e r chickens bu t ye wo u ld n o t
,
.
’

If they dare do this I will be silent and believe in

,

their w ord and in their experience and not in the

—

m others of the land not in the heart that G o d has put

,

into their breast But if they dare not do this I will

.
,

not believe in them but in the mothers of the land

, ,

and in the heart that G o d has pu t in their breast I .

will declare the wretched talk in whi ch they throw,

away the people of t h e lan d as if they were the pro

duce of a lower order of creation a slander against th e
,

people against nature and truth

, .

I go on my way like a wanderer wh o hears the wind

in a distant wold but feels it not I go on my way for .

all this talk Throughout my whole lif e I have seen

.
,

and known all kinds of su c h wo rdy men wrapped up ,

in systems and theories kn owin g n o thin g an d carin g

,

n o thin
gfo r the eo l
p p ;e and t h e individuals who to day -

slander the people in this way about this matter of

education are mor e in this sta te than an y others that
‘

I know Such men think the mselves upon a height ,

.
 W H AT PES TAL O ZZI E x pE C T s OF MOT HER S 2 03

and the people far below them in the valley ; but they
a re mistaken I n both ; and are like poor apes hindered ,

and by the conceit of their miserable na ture made in

capable o f judging rightly about the pure worth of
real animal powers or about true human talents The
,
.

brilliant polish wh ich these wordy men owe to their

,

unnatural way of livi ng mak e s them incapable of u n

,

de r s t an din g that they are mounted on stilts and ,

therefore mu st come down from their misera ble woo den legs ,

in order to stan d as firmly a s o ther fo lk upon Go d s earth ,

’
.

I pity them I have heard many of these wretched

.

wordy men say with a mixture of nun like innocence

,
-

an d rabbinical wisdom : Wha t can be more bea utifu l for

the people ha n the t Heidelberg Ca techism an d the Psalter
— and I must take humanity i nto account even here ‘

an d recall t o m in d the causes of this error .

f Yes fri end ! I will excuse them this error of t h e

,

h uman mind ; it has always been and will ever be so .

Me n are alike ; the s cribes and the disciples were so

too Then I will not open my mouth gai n against
‘
!E

the verbo sity o f the 1 r social dogmas against the tink ,

ling cymbals o f their ceremonies and the loveless and ,

f oolish frame of mind that they must by their very ,

nature produce ; but with the greatest man wh o ever

, ,

declared the cause of truth of the people and of love

, ,

victorious again st t h e errors of the scribes I will only ,

I‘
Sa
y ,
F ather , forgive them ; for they kn ow n ot wha t they
do .
204 V III SEC ON D EL EME N TA RY
. ME AN S : FO RM

But I return Learning to write appears to be

.
,

thirdly a kind of learing to talk In its nature i t is

,
.

only a peculiar and special exercise of this art

As writing considered as form appears in my
, ,

method s in connection with measuring and draw i ng

, ,

and in th is connection enj oys all th e advantages that

,

are produced by the early development of these fac ul

ties so it appears again as a specia l kin d of learn in g to
,

ta lk in connection with the very exercises which have

been used from the cradle upwards for the develop

ment of this power .

The child enj oys j ust the same advantages that h e

has h ad already in the development of his speech a ,

faculty that has been d eveloped and firmly fixed in him

by th e Mother s Book the Spelling and the Rea ding
’
,

Books .

A child tau ght by these methods knows the spelling

and first reading book almost by heart He know s .

the f undame ntals of or thography and language as one

‘

great whole and when he has practised the forms of

,

the letters by means of the slate pencil and the first

writing exercises and is quite familiar with the indi
,

vidual features of the letters and their combinations ,

he n eeds for his further writing lessons n o more specia l

copies He h a
. s the essence of copies in his head by ,

his readiness in speech and orthography ; he write s

from his own experience on the lines of the spelling ,
2 06 V III SE COND ELE ME N T
.
’

ARYME A N S : FO RM

gains independent power of disco vering and add

ing his own knowledge or ideas to the many
seque nces the chief contents of which he has made
his own in learn i ng to talk .

Fo r example in the writing exercise he not only adds

,
-

What in the reading book he has learne d to call high

and pointed but he is taught and is pleased with
, ,

the task to think and add what obj ects with in his own
,

circle of knowledge have this form .

I give an example whi ch shows the children s power

,
’

of discovering such illustrations .

I gave them the word three co rn ered and they used it

-

With the help of a country schoolmaster on the fol ,

l o wm g examples

Three corn ered : the triangle ; the plummet ; half a

-
“

handkerchie f ; the j oiner s rule ; a kind o f file ; the

’

bayonet ; the prism ; the beechnut ; the scraper of an

engraver ; the wound made by a leech ; the sword
blade ; buckwheat seed ; the legs of the c o mpass ; the
lower part o f the nose ; G ood Henry s le af
- the ’

spinach leaf ; the ovary o f the tulip ; the fig ure 4 ; and

- -

the Ovary of the shepher d s purse ’

.

They found several more three cornered figur e s in -

tables and windows with r o und panes for which h o w

, ,

ever they knew no names

C hen o podium , Bonus Henricus , G oosefoot .

 W R ITIN G AN D L AN GU A GE C O M B IN ED 207

The same thing is done when they add adj ectives

to nouns They add for example n o t only all the
.

adj ectives which they have learne d from the reading

-

book to eel carrion evening etc but also those a d

, , ,
.
,

iv e s that their experience has shown them to be

je c t

suitable So in the simples t way by collecting the

.
,

characteristics of thing s they make t hemselves ao ,

u ain t e d and familiar with the nature essence and

q , ,

properties of all things within their knowledge V erbs .

also are treated in the same way When for example .

, ,

they W I Sh to explain to o bserve by adding nouns and

adverbs they will not only explain it or support it by
,

those which they find in the reading book but will do ,

as before .
0

The results of these exercises are far reaching -

.

They enable the c hildren from the descriptions learned

by heart e g the bell to go to stand to lie eye ear
, . .
, , , , , ,

etc which are fixed and general leading strings for

.
,
-

them to express themsel ves clearly about every possi

,

ble thing whose form or substance by

word of mouth or by writing But of course it must .

be understood that this result is attained not by iso

"

lated special writing exercises but by connecting these

-
,

with the whole series of means by which the method

raises the pupils gradually to clear ideas .

This must be understood throughout the whole

course of this teaching when I say that learning to ,
2 08 V III SEC O N D EL EME NTA R Y
. ME A N S : FO RM

write is perfected not only as an art but also as a call

ing ; and that the child in this way may be enabled to
express itself in words as easily and as naturally by
this art as b y speech itself.
210 IX .TH I RD EL EME N TA R Y ME AN S : NUM B ER

Special care and skill It is extremely important that

.

it should be put into such forms as will enable us to

use all the advantages afforded to instruction by deep
psychology an d a comprehensive knowledge of the im
“

mutable laws of the physical mechanism .

I have therefore taken especial trouble to mak e

arithmetic evident to the child s sense impressi on as ’
-

the clearest result of these laws I have tried not only

.

to reduce its elements to that simplicity in which they

appear in actual n atural sense impressi ons but also
,
-
,
_

to connect accurately and uninterruptedly its furthe r

steps and all its variations with this simplicity of the
beginning points I am convinced that even the ex
-
.
?

treme li mits of this art can be means of true enlighten

ment (that is a means of gaining clear ideas and p
insight ) only in so far as they develop these in t he
human min d in the same gradation with which nat ur e
herself goes on from the first beginning points -
.

AR IT HME TI C
arises e n tirely from simply putting togethe rand se pa
.

ating several units Its basis as I said is e sse

‘

, ,
.

this : On e an d o n e are two an d on e from two

,

An y numbe r whatever it may be is o n ly an

, ,
'

tion of this natural original method of coun ting

, .

it is important that this conscio u sness of the o r1 g1

relations of n umbers should not be weakened in
human min d;b y the shortening expedient
 T HE BASIS OE AR IT HME TI C 211

tic It should be deeply impressed with great care on

.

all t h e ways in which this art is taught ; and all the

future steps Should be built upon the consciousness ,

deeply r etained in the human mind of the real rela ,

t ions of things which li e at the b ottom of all calcula

ti on If this is not done this first means of gaining

.
,

clear id e as will be degraded to a playt hing of our

memory and imagination and will be useless for it s
,

e ssent ial purpose .

It cannot be Ot h e rwI se Whe n for example we j us t

.
, ,

2
learn by heart three and four make seven
‘
and
then build upon this seven as if we really knew that
,

three and four make seven we deceive ourselves ; for

‘

t h e inner truth of seven is not in us since we are n o t ,

conscious o f the meaning behind it whi ch alone can

make an empt y w o rd a truth for us It is the sam e
‘

with all branches of human knowledge Drawing too .

,

for want of being connected with its basis measure ,

ment loses the inner truth of its being by which alon e

, ,

it can be raised t o a means of leading us to clear

ideas .

In the Mo ther s Book I begin my e flo rt s to give t h e

’

children an impression of the relations of numbers as

act ual changes of more and less ; these can be found
in the obje cts before their eyes Th e first tables of .

this book contain a series of Obj ects that give the child
a clear sense impression of one ,t wo t h re e etc up to
'

-
, , .
,
212 IX TH I RD
. EL EME NTA R Y ME A N S : NUM B ER

ten Then I let the children look for those obj ects
.

that are represented on these tables as units pairs of ,

units threes of units and so on

,
.

Afterwards I let them find these same relations on

their fingers or with peas stones or other handy
, , ,

obj ects and I renew the knowledge hundreds and hun

,

dreds of times daily Fo r as I divide words into sylla

.

bles and letters on the spelling board I throw out the -

,

question Ho w many syllables has th is word

, What
i s the first second third ?
,
and so on In this way
,
.

t h e beginning of calculation is deeply impressed upon

t h e children and they become familiar with its ab b re

,

v iat i o n s and with numbers with full consciousness of

, ,

t he ir inner truth before they use them without t he

background of sense impression before their eyes

-
.

Independently of the advantage of in this wa y making

calculation th e foundation of clear ideas it is in c re di ,

ble how easy the art itself may be made to the child
b y this firmly based preparation through sense i m pres -

sions Experience shows that the begin n ings are diffi

.

cult only because these [ necessary ] psychological meth

ods are not so widely used as they should be There .

'

fore I must be somewhat circumstanti al in my de sc rip

tion of the methods t o be appl ied here .

Besides the means already indicated we use af ,

them the spelling board also for c o unti n g W e

-
.

upon it e ach tablet as a unit ; and when the

2 14 IX TH I RD
. EL EME NT AR Y ME AN S : NU MB ER

him acquai nted and familiar with the beginnings of

subtraction in the same way through sense impression
, ,
-
.

This is done in this way From the ten tablets col .

l e c t e d t ogether we take a w ay one and ask : When

, ,

you have taken one a way from t e n how many are

Q

”
left ? The child counts finds nine and answers , , ,

“
Wh en I take one away from ten nine are left ”
,
.

Then we take a second tablet away and ask : On e

“

less than nine h o w many P The child counts again ,

,
‘

find s eight and answers , On e less than nine is

”
eight So we go on to the last
. .

This kind of explanation of arithmetic may n o w be

set down in writing in the following way in rows ;
etc .

etc .

etc .

As the co u nting of each row is finished the sepa ,

rate numb e rs will be taken way in like manner ; as

follows
If for example we add 1 and 2 are 3 an d 2 are 5
, , , ,

”
'

a n d 2 are 7 etc up to 2 1 then we take t wo tablets

,
.
,

away and say 2 less than 2 1 how many ?

,
an d go ,

on till no mo re are left .

The consciousness of many or fe w obj ects that is

~

produced by laying real movable actual things before , ,

the child is then confirmed in him by counting

,

tables by wh ich he is shown similar sequences of rela

,
 T HE T A B LE OF U NIT S 21 5

t i ons b y means of S trokes an d dots

-
These tables .

like real obj ects will be used as guides to counting

—

, ,

as the Spelling Book is used for putting up the words

-

on the spelling board -

.

When the child is accustomed to count with real

Objects and with the dots and strokes put in their
,
-

place as far as these tables ( that are founded en tirely

,

on sense impression ) go the knowledge of the real rela

-
,

tions of numbers will be so confirmed in him that the

short methods by means of ordinary numbers without ,

se nse impression
-
will be incredibly easy to him b e
, ,

cause his mental powers have not been dissipat ed [ so

far as arithmetic goes ] by confusion discrepanci e s , ,

an d guessing We can say in a special sense that such

.

counting is an exercise for t h e re aso n an d not memory /

,

o f rou t ine work It is the result of the clearest most

—
.
,

exact sense impression ; and leads safely to clear id eas

-

about these relations .

But as increase and decrease of all obj ects does not

l '

consist only of more or fewer units b u t al so I n the ,

division of units into several parts a second form of ,

counting arises ; or rather a path is opened by which

every separate unit may be the fou ndation of endless
divi sions of itself and endless divisions of the units
,

contained in it .

As inthe first kind of counting that is of many or ,

few whole units we have co nsidered the number on e

,
21 6 IX TH I RD
. EL EME NTA R Y ME AN S : NUM B ER

as the beginning point of all calculation ; and as the

foundation of the a rt of sen se impression and all its -

changes ; so now in the second kind of counting a

figure must be found which does the same for this ki nd
of counting as the number one does for the other .

W e must find a figure that is infinitely divisible and

that in all its divisions is like itself ; a figure by which
a kind of sense impression may be given of in fin it e ssi
-

mal fractions either as parts of a whole Or as inde

,

pendent undivided units This figure must pu t before .

the child s eyes every relatio n of a fraction in relation

’

to the whole as clearly and as exactly as by our

,

method in simple arithmetic the number one I s shown

in the number three exactly three times .

There 1 s n o possible figure that can do this except

the square .

By this we can put sensibly before the child s eyes ’

the proportions of the divisions of the unit or the frac

t i on in their progressive sequences from the commo n
,

beginning point of a notions of more or less t h e

ll- —
,

number one : j ust as We showed him the increase o r

decrease of undivided units We have prepared a .

t ab l e o f sense impressions of fractions that has 1 1 rows

‘

-
,

each consisting of ten

Fo r this purpose Pestalozzi used three tabl es .

( )
1
Table of U nits which is not referred to here consist
, ,

in g o f twelve rows of twelve rectangular spaces ; in

M
2] 8
-
’

IX TH I RD
. EL EME N TA R Y ME A N S : NUM BER

The squares in the first row are undivided Those .

in the second are divided into two equal parts ; those

in the third into three and so on up to 1 0 , .

This table simply divided is followed by a second

table in which these simple visible divisi ons go on in
the following order The squares which in the first
.
,

table are divided into two equal parts are n o w divided ,

into 2 4 6 8 1 0 1 2 1 4 1 6 1 8 2 0 parts
, , , , ,
those in , , , ,

the next row are divided i nto 3 6 9 1 2 etc , , , , .

AS the A B C of An scha uun g consists of measuring

form s which are founded generally on the t e n fold -

division of the square it is Obvious that We can use ,

the common basis of the A B C of An scha uun g th e ,

square as the fou n dati on of an A B C of arithmetic ;

,

or rather that We have brought the e le me n t s o f form

,

and nu mber into such harmony that our measure

_

forms C an be used as the first foundation of the rela

t io n s of numbers ; and the first foundation s of the rela
tions of numbe s can be used as measure forms
r -
.

'
each space of the first row is one stroke In each of t h e
"

s econd t wo strokes and so on up to twelve stroke s

, ,
.

( )
2 Table of Simple Fractions ; and ( )
3 Table of C o m
po und Fractions as here described The plate on the
,
.

preceding page gives t h e left hand half of the third

table The three tables are g1 v e n I n a large sheet in ;
I

se rt e d in Pullen s Pestalozzi s I ntellectual or In

’ “ ‘
’

t uitive Arithmetic London 1 8 2 1 , .

 CAL CU LATI O N B A SED ON SE N SE -IM PRES S I O N 21 9

S O we have reached this : By our method we can

teach children arithmetic only by using the very same
A B C that at first we used as the A B C of An scha u un g
in a narrow sense 6 6
that is as t h e foundation of
, ,

m easure drawing and writing

, , .

The child will be made so fully conscious of the vis

-

ible relations of all fractio ns by the use o f these tables ,

that exercises in f ractional arithmetic in ordinary ,

numbers will be as incredibly eas y as arithmetic with

,

undivi ded units Experience shows that by this method

.

children attain readiness in these exercises three or

four years sooner than is possible w ithout it By
“

these as by the former exercises the child s mind is

, ,
’

preserved from confusion discrepancies and useless

, ,

guesses ; and here too we c an say with decision The —

calculating power o f suc h child ren is the result of the

-

clearest most exact sense impression and leads by its

,
-
,

clearne ss to truth and susceptibility to truth

,
6 7
.
 X
Friend ! When I now look back and ask myself
What have I specially done for the very being of educa
tion I find I have fixed t h e highest supreme principl e
,
—

of instruction in the recognition of sen se impression a s the

-

a bso lu te
f o un da ti on o f a ll kn owle dge
. Apart from all
specia l tea chin g I have sought to discover the n a tu re of

teachin g itself; and the pro to type by W hich Nature her

,

self has determined the instruction of our race I find “

I have reduced all instruction to three element ary

means ; and have sought for special methods which
would render the results of all instruction in thes e
three branches absolutely certain .

Lastly I find I have brought these three ele mentary

,

means into harmony with each other ; I have made

1 n st ru c t i o n in all three branches in many ways b armo ~

n i o u s n o t only each with its elf b u t al so with human

nature ; an d I have bro ught it nearer to the course of

Nature in the development of the human rac e .

But while I did this I found of necessity that the

instruction of our country as it is pu blicly an d gen era lly
,

conducted for the people wholly and e ntirely ignores

,

sense impression as the supreme principle of instruo

-

tion ; that throughout it does not take sufficient notice

( 220)
222 X . SE N SE -IM PRESS I O N T HE FOU N D ATI ON

psychologically inevitable ; it could not be otherwise .

Europe with its system of popular instruction was

, ,

bound to sink into the error or rather insanity that , ,

really underlay it It rose on the one hand to a

.
“

gigantic height in special arts and sciences an d lost ,

on t he other all foundations of natural te aching for

the whole race No country ever rose so high on t h e
.

one side nor sank so l o w on the other Like t h e

, .

image of the prophet it touches t h e clouds with it s

,

g o lden head of specia l arts an d scien ces ; but popular

instruc tion that should be the fou n dation of thi s
,

go ld e n he a d is like the
,
feet
,
of this gigantic image the ,

most wretched, most fragile, most goo d fo r n o thin g cla y .

This disproportion ruinous for the human m1 n d,

-

between the advantages of the upper and the misery

of the lower classes or rather the beginning poin t
,
-

from which this striking disproportion in the cultur e

of our country dates is the invention of t h e art Of
,

printing The country in its first astonishment abo ut

.
,

this n e w and b oundless influence this making o f ,

word know
-
ledge easy fell into a kind of dizzy quack ~
, ,

like trust in th e universality of its e fle c t s This was .

natural in t he first generation after the discovery ; _

but tha t the country afte r so many ages still lives in

t he same dizzy state and has let it grow to a soul and
,
-

body destroying nervous fever without fe eling ill !

-

really th i s could h ave happened in no country but ours .

 EX A GGER AT ED V AL UE OF B OOK S 2 23

But it needed anoth er influe nce inter woven of ,

monkish feudal Jesuit and government systems in

, , , ,

order to produce through this art the result it has had

on E urope With these surrounding circumstances
.
,

it is then really not only comprehensible how it came

to take a positive position together with our arts and
our popular instruction but it is even clear that under
,

given circumstances it could produce no infer ior art but

also no better instruction than it has actually produced .

It is quite clear how it was forced to narrow the fiv e

'

senses of th e country and so to bind particularly that

,

in strument of sense impression the eye to the

-
, ,

heathen altar of the new learning letters and books , .

I might almost say it was forced to make this universal

instrument Of knowledge a me re letter eye and us -
,

mere letter men -

.

Th e Reformation[ by t he weakening of its original

Spirit an d the necessary resulting de ific at io n of dead
forms and thoughts ] completed wh at the art of print
ing began With out putting its heart unfle r t h e Ob vi
“

ous stupidity of a monkish or feudal world it has ,

opened its mouth generally only to express abstract

ideas 6 9
. This still more increased the inner atrophy of
the world making its men letter beings and brought
,
-

it to such a point that the e rrors of this condition can

not be dissolved by progress In truth love and faith ; , ,
,

but on the contrary they can only be strengthened

, ,
2 24 X . SE N SE -IM PRESS I O N T HE FOU N D ATI O N

while they seem to be dissolved by the still more danger ,

o us errors of infidelity indifference and lawlessne ss

, , .

As a devastat i ng flood checked in its career by a ,

fallen rock takes a new course and spreads its devasta

,

tion from generation to generation so European p c pu ,

lar educa tion having once forsaken the even road of

,

sense impression owing to the influence of these t wo

-
,

great events has taken ge n erally a baseless visionary

, ,

c ourse increasing its hu m

,
an devastation year by year ,

from generation to generation .

No w after ages it has c ul ml n at e d in the general

word twistin g
-
of our knowledge 7 0
This has [ led to .

the word twisting of infidelity This profound vice of

-
.

word and dream is in no way fitted to raise us to the

still wisdom of faith and love but on the contrary to ,

lead as to the word twisting of sham and superstition

-

and its in difie re n c e and hardness In any case it is

—
‘

undeniable that this devo u ring word an d book n at ure

of our culture has ] brought us to this— we cannot any
longer remain as we are .

It could not be o therwise Since we have contrived .

with deeply founded art and still more deeply founded

measures for suppor ting error to rob our k n owledge ,

and our methods of instruction of all sense impression -

,

and ourselves of al l power of gaining sense impressions -

,

the gilded giddy pate of our culture could not pos sibly
,

stand on any feet but those on w hich it does act ually :

22 6 X . SE N SE IM PRESS I O N T HE FOU N D ATI ON
-

in sp i te of our folly ( because it is impossible for any

error in the Art to snatch this wholly from man kind )
—even this kind of knowledge being isolated becomes
, ,

one sided illusory egotistic and illiberal There is

-
, , ,
.

'

no help for it U nder such guidance we are forced t o

.

rebel against whatever is opposed to this one sided -

,

illiberal kind of observation (An sch ) and to becom e ,

insensible to all truth that may be beyond the limited

range of our untrained senses There is no help for it . .

We are forced un der these circumstances to sin k eve r

deeper from generation to generation into the unh at
.

ural conventionality the n arrow hearted selfishness

,
-
,

the lawless ambitious violence resulting from it in

, ,

which we n o w are .

Dear G ess ner ! thus and in no other way can we ex

plain how in the past century during the latter part ,

of which this delusion rose to its greatest height we

-

were plunged into a dre amy or rath er raving condition

l

of bas el ess frantic presumption This prevented all

, .

our ideas of truth and j ustice Yiel ding to t h e violen t

.

agitation of our wild and blind n atural feelings we ~

sank down an d a general overturning spirit of sans o u

,

l o t t ism took possession of us all in one way or another ,

resulting as it must needs result in the inner diso r

, ,

n iz at i o n of all pure natural feelings and of all thos

g a e ,

means o f helping humanity whi ch rest upon th ose

feelings This led to the disappe ara n ce of all human ity
.
 FAL SE TE A CH IN G L E A DS To RE V O L U TI O N S 22?

from political systems ; this again to the d issolution o f

a few poli tical systems which had ceased to be human .

But unfortunately this did not work to the ad vantage

of humanity .

This dear friend is a sketch of my vi ews on the

, ,

l atest events Thus I expl ain the measures bo th of

.

Robesp i erre and Pitt t h e behavior of the senators

,

and of the peopl e An d every time I reconsider it I

.

come b ack to the assertion that the deficiencies of

European instruction — o r rather the artificial inver
, ,

sion of all natural principles of instruction — has ,

brought this part of the world where it is n ow and that

there is no remedy for our present and future overturn
in society mor ality and religion except to turn back
, ,
-

from the su pe rfi c ialit y incompleteness and giddy

‘

, ,

headedness o f our popular instruction and to reco gnize

-
-
,

that sen se impression is a bso lu tely the foun da tion of a ll

-

kn owle dge ; in other words a ll kn owledge gro ws o ut of,

sen se-i mpression an d may be tra ced back to it .

 XI
Friend sense impression considered as the point
! -
,

at which all inst ruction begins must be difi e re n t iat e d

,

from the art of sense impression ( An sch ) which teaches

-

us the relations of all forms Sense impression as the

.
-
,

c ommon foundation of all three elementary means of

instruction must come as long before the art of sense
,

impression as it c o m e s b e fo re the arts of re c k o n in g an d

‘

S peaking If we consider sense impression as opposed

.
-

t o the art Of sense impression ( An sch ) separat ely and

-

by itself it is nothing but the presence of the extern a l

.

ob j ect befo re th e sen s es which rouses a consciousness of the

impression made by it Wit h it Nature begin s all in
.

struction The infant enj oys it t h e mother g1 v e s I t

“

.
,

him .

Bu t the Art has dOn e nothing here to keep eq u al

pace with Nature In va i n that most beautiful spec
.

tacle the m
,
other showing the world to her infant , was
presented to its eyes ; the Art has don e n o thin g ha s verily ,

don e n o thin g for the people in connection with this

,

spectacle .

Dear G essner ,
I will here quote for you the pass age
that expressed this feeling ab out o u r Art more than a
year ago 7 1
.
2 30 XI . SE N SE -IM PRESS I O N M A DE AN ART

himself througho ut his life how easy would it be t o ,

assist in raising our race and every individual man in

any position whatever even amid the difficul ties of
,

unfavorable circumstances and amid all the evils of ,

unhappy times and secure him a still calm peaceful

, , ,

life O G o d ! what would be gained for men But

. .

we are not yet so far advanced as the Appenzell

woman wh o in the fir st weeks of her child s life hangs
,
’

a large many colored paper bird over his cradle an d

-
,

in this way clearly shows the point at which the Art

should begin to bring the obj ects of Nature firmly to
t h e child s clear consciousness
’ ”
.

Dear friend ! Whoever has seen h o wthe two and

three Weeks old child stretches hand s and feet towards
-

this bird and considers h o w easy it w ould b e for t he

,

Art to lay a foundation for actual sense impressions of -

all obj ects of Art and Nature in the chil d by a se ries

o f such visible representations which may then b e
“

made gradually more distinct and ext ende d— Who ever

co nsider s all this and then does not feel how we have
wasted our time On G othic monkish educational ru b
—
bish until it has become hateful to u s truly cakes
, ,

an d al e are wasted on him .

To me the Appenzell bird li ke the ox to the Egyp ,

tians 1 s a holy thing and I have do ne everything to

, ,

begin my 1 nstruction at the same point as the Appen

zell woman I go fu rth e r Neither at th e first point
‘

. .
 THE APPE NZ E L L B I RD 2 31

nor in the whole series of means of teaching do I leave

l

to chance what Nat u re circumstance or mother love

, ,
-

may prese n t to the sense of the child before he can

.

s peak .I have done all I could to make it possible ,

by omitting accidental characteristics to bring the ,

essentials of k nowledge gained by sense impression to -

'

the child s senses before that age an d to make the

’
,

Conscious impressions he receives u n fo rge t ab l e

The first course in the Mo ther s Boo k is nothing but an
’

attempt to raise sense impression itself to an art and

-
,

to lead the children by all three elementary divisions

of knowledge form n umber and wo rds to a compre
, , , ,
:

h e n siv e consciousness of all sense impressions the -

,

more definite concepts of which will constitute the

foundation of their later knowledge .

This b o Ok wi ll contain not only representations of

those obj ects most necessary for u s to know but also ,

material for a continuous series of such obj ects as are

fit at the first sense impression to ro us e a fe e lin g in
,
-
, fi m

the children of their manifold relationships and simil

a rit ie s .

In this respect the Spelling Book does the same

thing as the Mother s Book Simply bringing sounds to
’
.

the e ar and rousing a consciousness of the impression

made thro ugh the hea rin g is as much sen se impression for
,
-

the child as putting obj ects before his eye and rousing a ,

consciousness of the impression made throu gh the sen se of

2 32 XI . SE N SE -IM PRESS I ON M A DE AN ART

sight . Founded on th is I have so arranged the Spelling ,

Book that its first course is nothing but simple sen se im -

ression that is it rests simply on the e fi o rt to bring the

p ,

whole series Of so u nds that must afterwards serve as

’
the foundation of language to the child s sen se of hearin g ,

and to make the impression made by them permanent a t

ex a ctly the sa me a ge at which in the Mother s Book I
’

bring before his sense of sight the visibl e obj ects of

the world the clear perception of which must b e the
,

foun da t ion of his future knowledge .

This same principle of raising sense i mpression to ,

-

an art has a place to o in our third elementary means

,

of knowledge Number in itself without a foundation

.
,

of sense impre ssmn i s a delusive phantom of an idea

-
, ,

which our Imag i nation certainly holds in a dreamy

fashion but which our reason cannot grasp firmly as a
,

truth The ch ild must learn to know rightly the inner

.

nature of every form in which the relations of number

may appear before he I s In a position to comprehend
,

one of these forms as the foundat io n of a clear eo n

.

s c io u sn e s s of few or many 7 2
Therefore in the Mother s .
’

Book I have impressed the first ten numbers on the

chil d s senses (An sch ) even at this age in many ways
’
,

by fingers claws leaves dots and also as triangle

, , , , ,

square octagon etc

, ,
.

After I have done this in all three branches and ,

have made sense impre ssI On the ab solute fou n dation-

 XI SE N SE IM PRESS I ON M A DE ART
’

AN
’

-
.

of the child and at the same time make him unforget

,

ably familiar with the expressions which stand for

them .

Thus I bring the beg i nn i ngs of arithmetic in general

into sequences which are nothing but a psychological ,

c ertain and unbroken m arch onwards from deeply

impressed j udgments restin g on sense impression to

,
-
,

a little additional new sense impression but mount ing

-
,

only from 1 to 2 and from 2 to s Th e result of this .

c ourse ascertained by experience is that when the

, ,

children have wholly understood the beginning of any

.

kind of calculation they are able to go on w ithout

,

further help .

It is generally to be noticed with respect to this

~

manner of teaching that it tends to make the princi

ples of each subj ect so evident to the child ren that
they can complete every step of their learn i ng so that ,

every case they may be absolut ely cons i dered [ and

“

in

used ] as teachers o f t h e ir younger brothers and sisters ,

as far as they have gone themselves .

The most important thing that I have done t O sim

l
p yif and illustra t e number teaching is this : I not onl y
bring the consci ousness of the tr u th within all relations
of numbers to the child by means of sense impression ;
,
-

b ut I unite this truth of sense imp ression -

w ith th e
truth of the science of magnit udes and have set up ,
 DEV E L O PMENT OF L AN GU A GE 2 35

the squa re as the common foundation of the art of

s ense imp ressio n and of a rithmetic
-
.

The third primary means of knowledge speech con , ,

s ide re d as an applicatio n of m principles is capabl e

'

_
y ,

o f t h e greatest extension .

If knowledge of form and number should precede

S pe e ch ( and this last must partly arise from the fir st
t wo ) it follows that the progress of grammar l s quicker
,

t han that of the art of sense impre ssmn ( An sch ) and -

a rith metic The impression made on the senses

.

( A n sch
) by form and number p r ece des th e art of speech ,

b u t the art of sense Impression and arithmetic come

”
‘

aft ir t h e art of s eech gra mma r

‘

p ( ) T h e great pecu .l iar ity

a n d h ighest charact eristic of our natur e Lan gu age , ,

begins in the power of maki ng sounds It becomes .

g rad u ally d e v elo e

p y
d b I mpro vi ng so u n ds to a rt icu la te

; and frOm articu la te wo rds to lan guage

t wo rds .

Nature needed ages to rai se our race to perfect pow er

o f speech yet we learn this art for wm g h fl at ll re in
“

é
, ,

respect to this subj ect needed ages in a few months ,

.

[ In teaching our childr en to speak ] we must then f Ol

low exactlyth e same course that Nature followed with
the human race W e dare not do otherwise An d
.
‘

she unquestionab ly began wi th sens e impression Even -

.

t h e simp
’

le s t sound by which man strove to express

th e Impression that an obj ec t made on him wa s an ,

expression of a sense impression -

.
2 36 XI . SE N SE -IM PRESS I O N M A DE AN ART

The speech of my ra c e long only a power of mim was

icry an d of ma kin g soun ds that imitated the tones of liv e

ing and lifeless nature From mimicry and soun d

.

ma kin g they came to hieroglyphics and separa te words ,

and for long they gave specia l obj ects specia l n ames .

This condition of language is s ublimely described I n

the first book of Moses 11 1 9 2 0
, The Lord G o d ,
.
,
°

brought to Adam all the beasts of the earth and all ~

,

the birds under heaven that he migh t loo k upo n them ,

An d Adam g ave every beast h is

’

and n a me them
‘

name
From this point speech gradually went further .

Me n fir st o bserve d the striking di fferences in th e

‘

Obj ects that they n a me d Then they came to name .

properties ; and t hen to name the difle re n c e s in the

a ction s and forces of obj ects Much late r the art devel .
'

oped of ma kin g sin gle words mean mu ch unity plurality , , ,

s ize many or fe w form and number and at last to

, , ,

express clearly all variations and properties of an o b

j e c t which were produced by c hanges of time and
place by modify i ng the form and by j oining wo rds
,

together .

In all these stages speech was to t h e race a mean s

,

produced by art not only o f represen tin g the actual

,

process of making man ifo l d ide as ( In tu itio n en ) clear

by th e power of sound but also of ma king impression s
,

f
u n orgeta ble .
2 38 XI . SE N SE -IM PRESS I ON M A DE AN ART

and speech tea chin g ? Ho w have I brought the forms Of

-
-

my method of instruction in these subj ects into har

m ony with the aforesaid stages
I have given the highest scope of which it is capa
ble to sou n d tea chin g by firmly holding and distin
-
,

u i s hin g the vo wels as the spec ial roots of all sounds

g , ,

and by gradually adding singl e consonants before an d ,

aft e r the vowels In this way I have made it possibl e

.

for t he child i n the cradle to become conscious of all

these speech sounds an d their seque nces I have even
- -
.

made it possible i n the infant to let an i n n er se nse im -

p ression precede the o u ter by mean s of t

,
hi s i n st r u c t i o n
’ ‘

which shows the child arbitr ary signs of s o u n ds f I n

this way I insure that the imp ress i on on the c ar sho ul d .

have the sa me start of the i mpression on the eye that “

“

it h as in Nature s teaching of soun d

’
.

Again I have made thi s subj ect easier to te ach b y

,

arranging the seq uences of sounds in this boo k i n

’

such a way that every s u cceeding sou n d is as lik e as

possible to the preceding an d is Only differentiated , x

from it by the addition of a sin gle letter Thu s I ris e .

from C Ompl e t e fam iliarity with syllables t o word tea ch

.
-

i n g t o n am e s ; and g i ve t h e c h ild a word i n the fi rst

,

reading book in the ,

word book and again in se
-

of
.

q u e nc e
,
s which by the greatest possible S i milarity
f o rm makes the further steps of the reading book th e
y

ea s t play si nce this word h as been d e e ply impre ssed

,
 ME T H O D OF L AN GU A GE TE A CH IN G 2 39

and made familiar by a constant addition of a few new

letters to those already known Thus many sided .
-

sense impression lies at the base Of the Mother s Book

-
’
,

of its speech teaching and of the meaning of t h e

-
,

words which the child has to speak .

The infinite range of knowledge gained by sense im -

pression that nature brings t o the c hil d s c o n sc i o u sn e s s

'

at the earli est age is i n this book psychologically

, ,

arranged a n d concentrated ; and the supreme law of

Nature by vi rtue of which t h e n ear is always more
,

firmly impressed upon the child than the dista n t is ,

connected with the principle which is j ust as import

,

ant for instruction of letting the essen tia l n a ture of

,

things make a far deeper impression on the children

than their varying propertie s In this book by con .

centration an d psychological arrangeme nt of obj ects ,

the boundless range of speech and knowledge gained

'

b y se n se impression it is made easy to the child to get

-
,

a general view The separate obj ects of Nature only

.

are countl e ss their essential c h ara c t e ristihs are not

f
fi

.
,

Therefore when the obj ects are arranged according to

,

these characteristics it can be made easy for the child

to get a general view .

I subordinate special language teaching to this prin -

c ipl e ; My grammar is only a series of method sfor

7 3

enabling the child to express himself a ccurately about

all knowledge gained by sense impression and its rela -
,
2 40 XI SE N SE -IM PR ESS I O N M A DE AN ART
‘

tions with number and time I even use for this pur .

pose the art of writing so far as it can be conside red

,

a s language teachin g and have generally tr ied to u s e

-
, , ,

for this same purpose all the means that Nature and
experienc e have put into my hand for the clearin g u p
o f ideas

The em p irical attempts I have contrived have chiefly

served to show me that our monkish instruct i on by its ,

neglect of all psychology has not only driven us in all

,

subj ects from this final end of instructio n but has ,

even robbed us of those methods which Nature o ffers

to u s without the help of the Art fo r m ak in g our
,
‘

ideas clear ; and has made the use of th e se means im

poss i ble for us by i ts pernicious effects on o u r min ds .

Frie n d t Th e annihilation of all real power in our

c o u ntry by this unnatural monkish instruction and all
“

the misery of it s unconnected teaching i s incredible , .

I ncr e dible also is the degree i n which all natural mea ns

, ,

of rising through sense impression to true k n owledge

-
,

and all enticemen t to strengthen ourselves for this pur

pose have vanished from our midst ; because this u n
,

connected teach i ng has dazzled us with the charm of a

language which we speak without having knowledge ,

founded on sense impression of the ideas whi ch we let

-

fall from o u r mouths I repeat The mass of o ur

.
-

public schools not only give us nothing but o n the ,

contrary they quench all t hat in us which h umani t y

 XI . SE N SE IM PRESS I ON M ADE AN ART
-

the composition of phrases and sentences are in this ,

way rendered unfit to develop cle a rly in the child s ’

m i nd a consciousness of the causes and means which

led to this completion T h erefore I would if I had
.

influence take apparently pitiless measures with these

instruction books in the school libraries ; or give u p
-

the attempt to bring languag e teaching into harmony

7 5
with the course of Nature .

Dear friend ! It is generally known that Nature in

the first stage s of the development of language in the
r ace wholly and entirely ignores the complicate d and
artific ial combinations of the complet e grammar ; and
the chil d understands these combinations as little as
t h e barbarian Only gradually by c ontinuous pra o
.
,

tice in simple combinations does he gain the power Of

,

understan di ng the complica ted Therefore my exercise s

.

i n language from the first putting aside all science and

,

all knowledge that can only be aimed at through com

p l e t e g rammar inquire into the elements of language ;
,

and give the child the advantages of form ing spe

in exa ctly the same gra du a l way In which Nat ure gave
it to the hu m an race .

De ar friend ! Will men m isunderstand me here too ? 7 6

Will there be even a few wh o wish with me that I ma

suc ceed in checking and puttin g an end to the
faith in words that from the very n ature o f the -

je c,
t as well as from their artificial construct io n
 FOLL OW N AT UR E S P LAN ’
243

combination bear the stamp of incomprehensibility

,

for the child ; and being void of all sense impression -

,

by their inner emptiness work towards the devas t ation

of the human mind May I succeed in making nois e
and sound unimportant by language teaching itself ; -

and again give sense impression t he preponderatin g

-

influence which is due to it ; b y whi c h alone speech

may become the true basis of mental culture and of
all real knowledge and of t h e power of judgment
,

resulting from it ?
Y es ,friend . I know that for a long long tim e
7 7
,

there will be b u t few wh o do not misunderstand me ,

'

and wh o recognize that dreams sound an d n o ise are

, ,

ab solutely worthless foundations for mental culture .

The causes for this are many and deep seated The -
.

love of babble is SO closely connected with respect for

What is called go o d society and its pretension to wide
,

general cult ure and still more with the livelihood of

,

man y t h o u san ds among us that it m u st hn l nn g very

’

, f ,

long before t h e men of our time can take with love

,

into their hearts that truth against which they have

hardened themselves so long .

But I go on my way and say again : All science

teaching that is dictated e xplained analyzed by men
, , ,

Who have not lea rnt to think and to spea k in a ccor da n ce

with the la ws of Na ture ; all science teaching of which
c
-

th e definitions are forced as if by magic into the minds

2 44 XI SE N SE -I M PRESS I ON M A DE AN ART
’

of children like a Deus ere Ma chin d or rather are blown

,

into the ir ears as by a stage prompter — s o far as it

-

m
,

does this must necessarily sink into a iserable bur

l e squ e of education Fo r where the primary powers of
.

the h u man mind are left asleep and when words are, .

crammed upon t he sleeping powers we make dreamers , ,

wh o dream unnaturally and inconstantly in proporti o n

’

a s the words crammed into these miserable gaping

,

c reatures , are big and pretentious

7 6
Such pupil s
d ream of anything in the world except that they are
a sleep and dreaming ; but the wakeful people round
'
t hem feel all the ir presumption ; and those who see

m o st consider them night wanderers in the fulles t ,

a n d clearest sense of t he word .

The course of Nature in the development of o ur

race is unchangeable There are and can be no two
“

g oo d methods of instruction in this r espect There .

—
is but on e and this is the one that rests entirely upon
the eternal laws of Nature But of ba d methods there
.

a re infin itely man y ; and the badnes s of every one in

‘

creases in proportion as it devia tes fromthe laws of

Na tu re and decrea ses in proportion as it appro a ches to
,

following these laws .

7 9
well know that this one good method is neither
I
in my hands nor in any other man s ; that we can only ’

approach it But its completion its perfection must

.
,

b e the aim of him wh o would found human instru o

 XI . S E N SE -IM PRESS I O N MA DE AN ART

ca n This principle Settle s first

brin g n o more clea rn ess .
, ,

the order of the powers and faculties to be developed ,

by which the clea rn ess of all ideas can gradually be ar

-

rived at ; secondly the order of o bj ects by which exercises

,

in definitions can be begun and carried on with the

children ; lastly the exa ct time at which definitions of
,

a n y kin d contain real truth for the child .

It is evident that clea r idea s must be worked out or

cultivated in the child by teaching befo re we can take ,
_

for granted that he is a ble to understand the result of

—
such training the clear idea or rather it s statement ,

in words .

The way to clea r ideas depends on m aking all obj ects

clear to the reason in their proper order This order .

again rests on t h e ha rmon y of all the arts by whic h a ,

child is enabled to express himself clearly about the

properties of all things particularly abou t t h e meas
'

ure number and form of any obj ect 6 Z

In this way
‘

, ,
.
,

a n d no other can the child be led t o a comprehe n sive

,

kn o wledge of the whole nature of any obj ect and be ,

?

c ome capable of definingit ; that is of s t ating in word s ,

it s whole nature with the utmost precision and brev

,

ity. A ll de fi n iti o n s — that i s all such clea r stat e

, ,

ments in words of the nat u re of any obj ect contain

—
,

essential truth for the child only so far as he has a

:

clear vivid background of sense imp ression of the o h

,
-

je c t W .here thorough clearness in the sense im pr e s -

 U SE OF DEF INI TI ON S 247
‘

ion of t h e o b je c t to be defined is wanting he only

‘

s ,

learns to pl ay with words ; to deceive himself ; and to

believe blindly in words whose sounds convey no idea
to him or give him no other thought than that he has
,

j ust give n out a soun d .

HI N C I LLrE L AC RY MrE .

In
rainy weather t o adst o o l s grow fast on every dung
heap ; and in the same way definitions not founded on
s ense impression produce j u
-
st as quickly a fungus , ,

like W isdom Which dies j ust

,
as quickly in the sun
light and which looks upon the clear sky as poison to
,

it . The baseless wordy show of such baseless wisdom

,

‘ 6
produces me n wh o believe they have reached the end
'
in all subj ects because their life i s a tiresome babble
,

about this end They have never reached it never pur

.
,

sued it because all their life it has not had that at t rac
,

tive char m for their observing powers ( An sch ) which is

generally necessary to produce a manly e fi o rt .

Ou r generation is full of such men They lie sick

“

of a kind of wisdom that leads us ro

p f ma to
or the goal
of knowledge like cripples on , th e race course without ,

be i ng able to make this goal their goal until their feet

are cured The power of describing generally pre
.

cedes definition : I can desc ribe what is quite clear

to me but I cannot on that ac c oun t define it
,
. That
is I can say exactly what its properties are
, b ut not
 XI . SE N SE -IM PRESS I O N M A DE AN ART

what it is I only know the object the individual ;

.
,

I cannot yet poin t o u t its relations or its kind Of .

that W hich is not clear to me I cannot say exactly ,

what its properties are let alone what it is

,
I canno t .

describe it much less define it When a third pers on

,
.
,
.

to whom the matter is clear puts words into my ,

mouth with which he makes it clear to people in his own

con dition it is not on that account clear to me but it
, ,
.

is an d will remain his clear thing not mine inasmuch , ,

as the wo rds o f another cannot be for me what the y

‘

are to him the exact expression of his own idea

—
,

which is to him perfectly clear .

This purpose of leading men with psychological art ,

.

an d according t o the laws of their physical mechanism ,

to clear ideas and to their expression definitions , de

, ,

mands a gradation of statements about the phys i cal

world before definitions This gradation proceed s
.

from sense impressions of separate obj ec t s to their

-

names from their names to determ i n i ng th eir charac

,

t e rist ic s that is the power of descri b ing ; and from t h e

,

power of describ i ng to the power of specia lizin g that ,

is of defining Wisdom in guiding sense impressio n

, .
-

is obviously the beginn ing point on whic h this chain

-

of means for attaining clear ideas must depend ; and it

“

is obvious that the final fruit the end of all instru o

,

t ion the clearness of all ideas depends e ssentiall y on

, ,

the complete po wer of its first germination .

250 XI . SE N SE -IM PRESS I ON M A DE AN ART

does not satisfy and content our race The positive .

truth of the condit ion and circumstances of any indi

vidual case claims the same equal right o f necessity ,

by virtue of eternal laws as the co mmon law of human

'

, .

nature itself C onsequently the claim of necessi ty

.
, .

o f both l aws must be brought into harmony if they ,

a re to work satisfactorily on men Care for this union .

is essential for our race The accidental is by its ex

.
,

i st e n c e and its consequences as neces sary as the eternal

,

and unchangeable ; but the accidental must from i ts ,

very existence and its inevitable consequences be

,

brought into harmony with the eternal and unchange

a ble in human nature by means of the freedom of

t h e human will .

Nat ure On which the inevita ble laws of the existence

'

and consequences of the accidental are bas e d seems ,

o nly devoted to the whole and is careless of t he in di

‘

vidual that she is a ffecting externally On this side .

s h e is blind ; and be i ng blind she is not the Nature ,

that comes or can come i n to harmony wi th the seei ng ,

S piritual moral nature of men

, On the contrary it .
,
.

is only S i mple and moral nature that is able to bring

itself into harm ony with the physical— and that can ,
an d ought to do so .

The laws of o u r senses by virtue of the essenti al

,

c laims o f our nature must be subordinated t o the la

:
,

o f our m oral and spiritual lif e ; Without this s

 N AT U RE N OT ,
T HE B ES T TE A CHER 25 1

n at i o ii
it is impossible that the physical part of our
‘

nature can ever influence the actual fin al r esult of Ou r -

e ducation the production of manliness

,
Man will b e .

come man o n l y through his inner and spiritual life .

He become s through it ind ependent free and con , ,

t ented Mere physical Nature leads him not hither

. .

Sh e is in her very nature blind ; her ways are ways of

darkness and death Therefore the education and
.

training of our race must be taken out of the hands

o f blind sensuous Nature and the influence of her ,

darkness an d death and put into the hands of our

,

moral and spiritual being and its divine eternal in , ,

ner light and truth .

All all that you carelessly leave to outer blind Nature

,

i ks
S n .That is true of lifeless nature as of living .

Wherever you car elessly leave the earth to Nature it ,

bears weeds and t histles Wherever you leave the edu

.

cation o f your race to her she goes no further than a,

confused impression on the senses that is n opadapt e d to z

your power of comprehension nor to that of your child ,

in th e way that is neede d for the best instruction .

In orde r t o lead a child in t h e most certain way t o

c orrect and perfect k nowledge of a tree or plant it is ,

not by any means the best way to turn him without care
into a wo od or meadow where trees and plants of all
kinds grow together Neither trees nor plants here
.

:
a

c ome b efore h i s eyes i n such a manner as i s calculated

,
252 XI . SE N SE -I MPRESS I O N M ADE AN ART

to make him observe their nature and relationship s ,

and to prepare fo r a general knowledge of their sub

je c t by the first impression In order to
. lead y our
child by the shortest way to the end of instruction ,

clear ideas you must with great care first put befor e
,

his eyes visibly and distinctly those Obj ects (in every
, ,

branch of learning ) which bear the most essential char

a c t e rist ic s of the branch to which this object belongs ,

and which are therefore fit ted to strike the eye with

the essential nature rather than the variable qualities .

If you neglect this you lead the child at the very first
,

glance to look upon the accidental qualities as essen

tial and in this at least to delay the knowled ge of
,

truth and miss the shortest road of rising from misty

,

sense impressions to clear ideas

-
.

But if t h is error in your method of instruction is

'

avoided if the sequences of subj ects in all branche s of

,

your instruction are brought to the child s sense i m ’

-

pression so arranged from the very beginning that at ~

t he very first observation (An sch ) the imp r ession o f

the essential nature of an obj ect begins to overpo we r
the impression of its qualities the child learns from
,

the very first to subordinate the accidental propertie s

of an obj ect to its essential nature He is undoubtedly .

moving on the safe path in which his power develop s

,

daily of connecting in the simplest manner all acci i

,
-

dental qualities with his full consciousness of the essen

254 XI . SE N SE -
IM PRESS I ON MA DE AN ART

these obj ects fu llv in Vi ew in t he Mother s Book

’
.

Friend I have succeeded ; I h ave so far confirme d

,

my powers of gaining knowledge through my senses by

this book that I foresee that children trained by it may
throw aw ay the book and find in Nature and all that
surrounds them a better guide to my goal than that
which I have given them
,
.

Friend the book as yet is not ; yet I already see it

"

sup e rseded by its o wn ac tion .

No te for New Edition

The Mother s Book of which this is a dreamy ao

’
,

count never existed At that mome nt I thought it

,
.

easy to complete it Its non appearance is expl ained

.
-

by the erroneous views in which I was then involved .

Th i s s u gg ests a closer examination into the exact dgg re e

o f tr u th I had then attained with regard t o m y b o ld
ideals and the glaring deficiencies which we re caused
,

by immature j udgment It is now twenty years since .

these utterances and , ye t I am hardl y beginning to be

able to give myself a clear account of the views he re
expressed . I must ask myself ,
Ho w h ave thes e
twenty ye ars passed in regard to these ide als and I
rej oice to be able to say at last : However much th ey
appeared to hinder my attempts to develop the vagu e
ideas I t hen hel d in that same degree they actually
,

favored this development so far ,

as it was atta i nable by j
 No L ON GER B EAC H ES FOR T HE MO O N 25 5

a man of my c haracter Time has quenched my hopes

.
,

and I no longer stretch out my hand to pluck the moon

from heaven as a child does in his nurse s lap
,
’
.
 XII
Dear friend ! The statement with which I ended
my last letter is important and I now repeat m ore em
__
,

phatically the training for the purpose of instruction

,

which I spoke of j ust now is only adapting t h e course

of nature for that end ; but there is a higher eans m
p o ssible of attaining it a completion of this adapted
,

course of nature a course of pure reason A training

,
.

of pure reason i s possible It is possible for my nature

.

to raise all that is uncertain in human sense impression -

to the most definite truth It is possible for my n ature

.

to separate sense impression itself from the uncertainty

-

of its origin in m
,

ere sensation and to make it the

,

work of the higher power of my being that is o f my ,

reason It is possible for the Art thus ennobled by

.
,

the hand of Nature to make the wild man s living

,
’

power of observation more than the mere mechanism

of the senses It is possible to add to this livm g
.

po wer of observation my pow e r of reason It is possi .

ble to unite the resto ration of this living power of o b

servation with the most sublime s tudy of my race the ,

study of absolu t e infallible tr uth .

Dear friend ! If my life has any value it is that I

have raised the square to the foundation of a system
( 25 6)
25 8 XII PES TAL OZ ZI S REV I E W
.
’
OF H I S WO RK

Purely as a mea ns of develop i ng all our powers and

talents by its very n a ture it extends its influence and
,

its results not one step beyond t h at which is in c o n t e s

table P urely as a means of developing o u r powers it
.
,

is n o t the teaching of truths but of truth It is not a ,

,
.

combatant against error ; it is the inner developmen t

of moral and mental powers that are opposed to error
'

I t is p urely a guide to the faculty of recognizing truth l

and error The very nature of its effor t is only to bas e
.

the good cultivation of this faculty on psychological "

grounds and to su pply all its needs

, .

Friend ! I see both h o w far this expressio n leads ,

and how far distant I am fro m it I recognize only .

the track s of the means by which it may be possible t o

reach this end as a whole Yet faith in the pOssib .

of reaching this end lives undying in my soul , ,

‘

h o w when and through whom my antic i pations

, ,

or will be fulfilled , I really know not T h ere is ,

.

p resumption in my soul In all my e fi o rt s the r

.
,

of which lead me to thes e expressions I have s ,

nl to make easier and mor e simpl the method

p y e

instructing the lowest classes in my imme diate n e

b o rh o o d whom I saw to be unhappy disc o n te n
, ,

and dangerous in consequ ence of their wrong tr

,

ing My heart was inclined t o t his effort from

.

youth up From my youth up I have had o ppo rt

.

ities; granted to few b f learning the causes of

,
 HE TA UGH T N OT TRU T HS B U T TRU T H 259

moral mental and domestic degradation of the people

, , ,

and the sufferi ng deserved or not intimately con

, ,

n e c t e d with it You may believe me I have borne :

some suffering and some wrongs with the people .

I say it to excu se the apparent boldness of some of “

my as sertions for in my inmost soul lies only the ard

,

ent desire to help the people In t he sources of thei r

backwardness and the misery arising from it — not the
”

least presumption no th ought of bein g a ble to do it I

,
.

pray you consider all my apparently bold expressio ns

,

in this light .

When for instance I say distinctly the de velopment

, ,

o f all human powers proceeds from an organism t h e

~

ti on of which is absolutely certain I do n o t say that ,

e law s of this organism are clearly known by me nor ,

at I recognize their whole scope When I say there .

is a course of pure reason in instruction I do not say ,

.

I have proved and practised these laws in their full per

fe c t io n In the whole account of my do in gs l have
.

tri ed far more to make the truth of my prin Cipl e s

cl ear than to br ing my very restricted action to the
,

sta ndard of What might and must come fo r the human

ra ce from the complet e development of these princi

les I do n o t know myself ; and I fee l daily more and

p .

how muc h I do not kno w 8 4

er theory and j udgment exist in my whole

are absolutely n o th in g b ut the result of a
‘
'
2 60 X II . PES TAL OZZI S REV I E W’
OF H I S WORK

limited very laborious and I must add seldom success

, ,

ful series of experiments I ought not to and I will

,
.

not conceal that if a man wh o had long ago sunk into

weariness and become a poor tired creature —wh o
, , ,

until his hair turned gray had been considered every , .

whe re ab solutely im practicable by practical men ,

had not finally succeede d in becoming a schoolmaster ,

a n d if Bu ss Kru si and To bler had n ot come with a

,

power of helping his utter helplessness in all arts and !

a cti vi ties ( Fert ) as I never dared to h Ope my theorie s

, ,

o n this subj ect would have died within me like the ,

g low of a burning mountain that can find no outlet .

I should have sunk int o my grave like a dreaming fool ,

o n whom no charitable judgment would be passed ,

misunderstood by the good and despised by the bad , .

My only merit my desire my incessant e ver grow

, ,
-

ing desire for the sa lva tion of the people my l ab o rio u ,

days the sacrifice of my life the murder of mysel

, ,

would have been given over to the mockery of

I should not have had a friend wh o dared to do
tice to my despised shade I could n ot have de fe .

myself ; I could n o t have done it I should h ave .

into th e grave angry with m yself and

,

own misery and that of t h e people Friend ! s .

thus I should only have retained the miserable

,

of complaining against my fate I should l — .

,

not have helped it — I should have imputed the

,
2 62 XII PES TALOZZI S REV I E W
.
’
OFH I S WORK

thrown on the wayside without consciousness —ih

, ,

whom the aim of life like an ear of corn among thorns

, ,

thistles and m arsh y reeds budded up very slowly in

, ,

constant danger of death and suffocation ? I S it my

fault that the aim of my life now remains like a bare
,

rock in the flood from which the wasting waters have

,

washed away every trace o f the beautiful earth that -

once covered it
Yes friend ; it is my fault I feel it deeply and
, .
,

b o w myself to the dust not indeed b e fo re t h e j udg

,

ment of bad men buzzing ro u n d me like a dist u

,
rbed
n est of wasps but before the ideal of myself and of
, ,

the inner worth to which I might have risen if in the ,

midst of the everlasting night of my forlo rn life I had

been able to rise above my fate and above the horror ,

o f days in which all that cheers and eleva te s huma n

nature vanished ; while all that confuses and degrades it

pressed round me unceasingly and constantly falling ,

with all its weight on the weakn ess of my heart that ,

-

found n o support in my head against the blow s that

broke on it .

Bu t it is my fault friend All my misfortune is my

, .
,

own fault .I could have done it ; I ought to have

done it ; I m i ght say I determined to do it I did de .

—
termine to raise myself above my fate if that can be
called a determination which I did not carry out .

Thi s much is tr u e I h ave grown old ; the mi sery of

.
 T H E G U ILT OF DES PAI R 2 63

my days h as brought me near my grave , before the

whole shattering of my nerves has completely destroyed
my balance and before the last revolt wi thin me finally
,

made me throw away myself and my sympathy W i th the

human rac e .

Friend ! Awo man greater than any man a woman ,

-

who was only ennobled never degraded by the mis

,

fortu nes o f a life that far outweighed my misery ,

saw long ago my despair of myself an d answered my

”
di stracted words , I t do es n o t ma tter,
with O Pes
tal o z z i ! if a man once utters that word of despair may
G o d help him ; he can help h i mself no more

I saw the glance of sadness an d anxiety in her eyes

as she spoke the word of warning ; and friend if I had
, ,

no more guilt in the final disappearance of my better

self than that I co uld hear this word and forget it
“

again ,m y guilt would be greater than that of all men

who have never seen this virtue and never heard this
wor d.

Friend ! Let me now forget my action and my pur

pose for a moment and give myself wholly up to the
,

feeling of sadness that overwhelms me because I still

,

live and am no more my self I have lost all ; I have

.

lost my self Yet hast Thou O Lord preserved the

.
, ,

desire of my life in me ; and hast not destroyed the o h

je c t of my pains before my eyes as Thou hast
,
destroyed
the aim o f a thousand men who ruined their o wn Way
'
2 64 XII PES TAL OZZI S REV I E W
.
’
OF H I S WO RK

before their eyes and mine Thou hast pr e served t h e .

work of my life in the midst of my ruin and hast cast ,

an even i ng glow over my hopeless dying old age ; t h e ,

lovely sight outweighs the sorrows of my life Lord .

,

I am unworthy of the faith and mercy that Thou has t .

shown me Thou Thou alone hast pitied the crushe d

.
,
'

worm The bruised reed Tho u hast not broken and

.
,

the smoking flax Thou hast not quenched Till my .

death T h ou hast not turned Thine eyes a way from t h e

offering which from c hildhood I wished to make an d ,

have never been able to make to the forsaken in t h e ,

world !
No te for the New Edition
I read this letter written twenty years ago with
, ,

heartfelt sorrow It expresses my depression and my

.

despair at the course of my life and the annihilation of

my hopes at the very moment when a n e w living path
, ,

for my purpose wa s opened I cannot say h o w m y .

heart beats and how the impression of feelings long

,

ag o subdued and raised again is renewe d The word s ,

.

of self accusation shake my soul as the mitigation of

-
,

these accusations confuse it Gla dly would I fall on my.

knees an d pray as I read this letter again at a time

, ,

when after twenty years I again see a new living path ,

o pened for my purpose Reader ! how I should feel

.
.

encouraged when after so many years I stand again at

,

t h e poi n t at which I stood then I must repeat speak .

,
2 66 XII PES TAL OZZ I S REV I E W
.
’
OF HI S WORK
s poilt their o wn path before their eyes and m i ne
, .

Thou hast preserved the work of my life in the midst

of my ruin Thou hast cast an evening glow over my
.

hopeless old age and the sight of its beauty c o mpe n

,

sates for my sufferings Lord I am unworthy of Thy

.
, \

l oving kindness and faithfulness Tho u Thou alone .

,

hast had pity for the crushed worm ; Thou Thou alo ne ,

hast left the bruised reed unbroken and the smoking ,

flax unquen c hed T h o uh ast n o t rej ected the sacrifice

’

that from childhood I would have made for the poor

”
a n d forsaken in t h e land and have n ever made ,
.

Reader forgive th e repetition of the same words in

,

the same page But the ardent desire of my heart will

.

not permit me to Opp ose this n e w feeling of salvation

a n d happines s t hat must be expressed and put do wh

i n words that I wrote twenty years ago

, I must u se .
_
~

them to express the feelings of the present hour with

the words o f to day You Wl ll 1 know willingly for ?
-
.
,
1

,
-

g ive this repetition .

 XIII
In my last letter my feelings would no t allow me to
s ay more I put my pen away and I did well What
.
, .

a re words when the he art bows itself in dark despa ir ,

“

o r rises in highest rapture to the clouds B

‘
a

Friend what are words even apart from these

,

heights and depths !

I n the eternal nothingness of the most sublime char
ac t e ri st ic of our r ace h u man speech and t h en aga i n I n
, ,

its sublime power I see the mark of the ext ernal lim
,

it ati o n of the Sh ell in which my cramped u p spiri t -

”

pi n es I see in it the ideal of the lost innocence of

“

my race ; but I see in it also the ideal of t h e shame

which the memory of this lost holiness a lways awakens —

i n me so long as I am not wholly unworthy

, This .

f eeling so long as I have not sunk in the depths ever

, ,

revives within me the pow e r of seeking what I have

‘

lost,and of sa vi ng myself from ruin .

Friend so long as man is worthy of the sublime

,

c haracteristic of his race speech so long as he uses it

, ,
.

a s a powerful means of expression and for the main

x

t e n an c e of his human super i or i ty with a pure desire ,

to en nobl e himself and humanize himself b y it it is a ,

hi gh an d holy thing But when he is no longer worthy

‘

( 26 7 )
 '

2 68 XIII . IM PO R T AN OE OF PR A C TI C A L SK ILL

when he no longer uses it as a powerful expression of

his human su pe rio rit yh an d with no pure desire t o
humanize himself it will be nothing but a natural in
,

exhaustible source of illu siOn the use of which will ,

lead to the loss of his manliness to e fle min ac y an d , .

'

brutality It will be to him the first an d mo st pow er

.

ful means of completely ruining his moral and spiritual

nature and the first source of his domestic mis ery
, ,

civil wrong doing and wrong suffering and the publi c

-
,

crime arising from it .

Meanwhile he most skilfully makes it into a cloak

for all this ruin and crime It is incalcul able how .

deeply the depravity of our language has sprea d ; how

deep a hold it has on all the aspects of the world of
‘

'
“

our time ; how its tone is to be found in goo d society

-

at court in the law courts in books in comedies in

, , , ,

periodicals in daily papers in short it is everywher e

—
'

, , ,

in our midst with all its dissolute force It is notori

,
.

ous that now more than ever before it is encouraged

, ,

from the cradle ; it is inspired by the school ; it is

strengthened through life ; I might even say it speak s
from t he pulpit and the council chamber down to t h e -
,

tavern and the b e e r sh o p it is heard among us every

where All the sources of human depravity and sen
.

s u al it y find a ce n tre in it in wh ich they collect and ,

unite for their common interest and become infectious ,

.

By this and this only can

, ,
we explain the terrible fact
270 XIII . IM POR TA N CE or PR A C TI C AL SK ILL

qu i into the subj ect I started from no positiv e

rie s ,

notion of teaching— I had n on e— I ask mys elf simply ,

What would you do if you wished to produce in a

,

single child all the kn owledge and a bility ( Fert ) that it

,

needs in order by wise ca re of its essen tia l con cern s to

,

a ttain to in wa r d con ten t

But I see now that in the whole series of my letter s

to you I ha ve only considered the first portion of the
,

subje ct the training of the child s ju dgmen t and kn owl

,
’

e dge ; b u t not the tra i n i ng of his a ctivities so far

as these are not especially activities brought out by i n
’

struction [ in knowledge and An d yet t h e

a ctivities that a man needs to attain inner content by
thei r possessio n are not act ually limited to the fe w sub
je c t s that the nature o f instruction forced me to touch

upon .

I cann o t leave these gaps untouched Perhaps the .

most fearful gift that a fiendi sh spirit has made t o this

age is kn owledge withou t power of doin g ( Fert ) an d in sight
withou t tha t power of ex ertion or of overcomin g that m ake s
l

it possible and ea sy for our l ife to be in h armony wit h

‘

our in m o st n at u re .

Man ! needing much desiring all thou must to

an d ,

satisfy thy wants and wishes kn ow and think b ut for : ,

this thou must also [ can and ] do An d k n owi n g and

,
.
‘

d oing are so clo sely connected that if o ne ceases the

, -

other ce ase s with it 8 6

But there can be t his har
.
 MUS T BE
‘

ACQ U I RE D BY EDUC ATI O N 271

mony between thy life and thy inmost nature only if

the powers of doin g ( Fert ) ( without whic h it is impo s
sible to satisfy thy wishes and wants ) are cultivated in
t h e e wi t h j ust the same art and raised to the same
'

d e gree of perfection as thy insight into t h e obj ects of

,

thy wants and wishes The cultivation of these ac t iv

.

ities rests then on the same organic laws as the culti

8 7

vation of knowle dge .

The organism of Nature is one an d the same in

8 7

the living plant ; 1 11 the ammal whose nature is merely ,

py
h sm a l ; and in man whose nature is also physical
, ,

but who p ossesses will In the threefold results which .

Nature is capable of producing in me she is always the ,

same He r laws work either physically upon my physi

’

cal nature in the same m anner as upon animals gener

,

ally ; o r se c on dl y t h e y work upon me s o far as they

'
“

, ,

determine the sen su ous basis of my ju dgmen t a n d will .

In this respect t hey are the sensuous basis of my opin

ions my inclinations and my resoluti ons Thirdly
, ,
.
,

they work upon me so far as they ma ke me capa ble of tha t

ra ctica l skill F
p ( ert
) the need of which
,
I feel through

my instinct , I recogn ize through my insight and the ,

learning of which I comman d through my will B ut in .

thi s respect also the Art m ust take the cul tivation of
,

our race out of the hands of N atur e or rather from ,

accidental attitude towards each individual in ,

er to put i t in t h e hands o f knowl edge power an d , ,

2 72 XIII . IM POR TAN CE OF PR ACTI C AL SK ILL

meth o ds which s h e has taught us for ages to the ad

,

vantage Of the race .

Certainly men never lose the feeling for the n e c e s

_

s it y of being c ultivated in the activities required in

ordinary life even in the deepest decadence caused b y

,

over re fin e me n t and artificial training

- Still less .

does the individual man lose this consciousness .

Natural instinct in all moral mental and practic a

,
l , ,

t h ings drives him with his whole force into paths Of

,

life in which this consciousness Of need increases and

develops daily This tends in eve ry way to take his
.

improvement out of the hands of blind Nature and ,

out of the o n e sided over re fin e d and artificial train

-
,
-
,

ing of his senses in this case intimately connected with

,

the blindness of Nature and put it into the hand s of ,

t hose intelligent powers methods and arts wh ich have , ,

bee n raising our race of ages .

But in every c ase bodies of men succumb to the

c laims of sensuous nature and its over re fi n e d and ar -

fi c ial t ral n m g far far more than individuals

, ,
Thi s is .

t rue even of governments They s u ccumb as bodies .

,

masses or corporations to the claims of our sensu o us

,

nature and its atrophy far more than individuals or , ,

li stbrichtun sverderben
>
degeneracy or decadence caused
g ,

by artificial or circus training ; that is training possi : ,

b l é but not in harmony with the true na ture of t h e

creature t rained .
 2 74 X III .
f
I MPORT AN C E OF PR A C TI C AL SK ILL

wherever this is the case ther e its i n fluence on t rut h l

,

and j ustice and in consequence on national enlighten ;

,

ment and national happiness is inevitably hinder e d , .

This distinction bet ween the effect Of 1 n st in Ct

upon individuals and upon bodies Of men is of the i
,
"
highes t importance and deserves far more attentio n
,

than it gets It throws when we understand it de

.
, ,

cided light on many phenomena of human life partic ,

a

u l arl y on many actions o f governmen t s which els e

would be incomprehensible It also explains why .

must not e xpect too much of governments with re g

to th e care of the in dividu al o f the e ducat io n o f ,
'

people and everything on which the common weal

.

pends things which can only be accomplished

—

individuals .

N O it is an eternal truth easily explained by hu ma

, ,

nature and shown in all the history of the wo rld ,

what can be done by t he life and energy Of indi vidu .

in the state that is by the peo ple cannot be done

"

, ,

well by the government We cannot expect i .

less demand it Th e o nly thin g we can ask is t h a

. t

individual Should not be allowed to sink down i

‘

want of power and will G overnments ought to t ry

.

i guar d against this want si power in the individual ,

thos e matters in which he could accomplish an d c o

tribute anythi ng himself to for ward the public goo
“
‘

and should neglect nothing that every individual n e

 THE PA R T OF T HE STAT E IN EDUC ATI ON
”

275

for t h e cultivation of his intelligence disposition and , ,

abilities in order as an individual to be able to do his

,

part for the public good .

But it grieves me to say that the governments of our

tim e are not strong and li vi ng enough for the practic a l
skill required for this end It is undeniable that the
.

p eople of our part Of the world do not enj o y the prac

“

tical help that each man needs for th e cultivation of

his intelligence disposition and ability ( Fert ) in
, , ,

order on the one hand by wise care of his o wn busi

, ,

ness to attain inner self content ; and on the other t o

-

e
f ac ilit at e pro vi de and Secure to the state all that it
, ,

needs in order as a state to find help and assistanc e

,

in i ts millions of individuals for that which it can only

,

maintain through the good condition of the moral ,

mental and prac tical powers of these individuals

,
8 8
.

HERE I S A GRE AT G AP *

* Much as I have wished and resolved to leave t h e

original edition of this work unaltere d, ahd to giv e
‘J ‘

free course t o the s tream of my opinions and thought s

i
at t h at time I have here suppressed a long passag e
,

that expressed my feelings about the position of t h e

people and our country at that time although the ,

horrible even ts of the twenty years between the first and

second edition have in many ways confirmed these
Opinions I was obliged to suppress them I now re
. .

condition Of the peo ple with more sorrow

and my views Of remedies for the evi ls of
276 XIII . I M PO R TA N CE OF PR A C TI C AL SK ILL

All ability on the possession of which de

pend all the powers of knowing and doing that are
required by an educated mind and a noble heart c o mes ,

a s little Of itself as the in telligen ce and kn o wle dge that

man needs for it AS the cultivation of mental powers

.

a n d faculties presupposes a psychologically arranged

j

g radation of means adapted to human

,
nature so the ‘

c ultivation of the faculties which these powers

( F ert
) presuppose rests on the
,
deep rooted m echa -

ism of an A B C Of Art ; that is on universal laws

the Art by following which the children may be ed
,

c at e d by a series of exercises proceeding g ,

.

from the simplest to the most complicated .

must result with physical certainty in obtaining

, ,

them a daily increasing facility I n all that they 11

for their education .

But this A B C is anything but fo un d It is .

natural that we seldom find anything that nobody

for B u t if we would seek it with all the cam e
.

with which we are wont to seek an ys mall adv an t

the money market it would b e easy to find and
-
, ,

found would be a great blessing to mankind It .

start from the simplest manifestation s of physi cal

the time tend rather to more
u e n c e of youthful zeal the shrill expressions of
q ,

with whatever reserve of love truth an d justice r , ,

ex tin guish than kindle the holy eternal inner n , ,

of l OV 6
. PES TAL OZZI
-
.
278 XIII . IM PO R T ANCE OF PR A C TI C A L SK ILL

All these as far as popular instruction is concerned

,

are castles in the air The ground is clear We have

. .

spelling schools writing schools catechism ( Heid el

, ,

berger ) schools only and we want— m en s scho o ls

,
’
.

But these can be of no use to those whose whol e

9 0

id ea is to keep things as they are to the j obbery and

‘

, _

inj ustice that are SO readily maintained by this idea ;

nor to the nervous st at e o f the gentry whose interestsg

are involved in this contemptible state of la issez fa ire -

.

[ But I almost forget the point at which I bega n ]

Th e mecha nism of activi ties takes the same cours e
,

as that of knowledge and it s foundation s with regard

,

to self education are perhaps still more far reaching

- -
.

'

In order to be a ble y o u must a ct ; in order to kn ow you

, ,

must in many cases keep pa ssive ; you can onl y see

, ,

and hear Hence in relation to your activities you are

.

not only th e centre of their cultivation but in many

cases yo u de t e rmin e t h e ir ultim ate use— always within
'

t h e laws of the physical m e c h an l sm As in the infinite .

range of lifeless nature its situation needs and , , ,

tions h ave determined the special 0

e ver y obj ect ; so in t he infinite range of living natur

that produces the developme nt of yo ur faculties you ,

‘

s ituation needs an d relations determine t h e

, ,
sort o
'

power ( Fert ) that you specially need .

These considerations throw light on the mod e

9 1

developing our activities and also on the charact e r ,

 E VER Y MAN H A S H I S S PEC I A L WORK 279

the a ctivities when developed Every influence that .

in the development of our powers an d activities turns

us away from the centre point On which rests the per
s onal re spo n sib ilit iy of everything that man is bound

throughout his life to do to b e ar to attend and pro, ,

vide for must be regarded as an influence opposed to

,

wise manly education Every influence leading us to

.

ap ply our po wers and a ctivities in a way that turns us

away from this central point and thus weakens or robs ,

the activi ties of the special Character which our duty

t bwards ourselves requires of us or puts us out of accor d ,

wit lr t h e m or in Some way or other makes u s incapable

,

o f e rfi n g o u r fell o w men or o u r country must be re

-
s ,

g a rded as a deviation from the law s of nature from ,

the harmony with myself an d my surroundings

.
.

T he refore it is a hindrance to my self culture t o t he

'
l

-
,

train ing for my calling and to my sense o f duty It

,
.

is a delusive and self destructive de vi ation from t h e

“

pure and beautiful dependence of my rel ations in life

O n my real character .

9 2
Every
kind of instruction or education every kind ,

of life every us e of our trained powers and talents in

,

life which bears in itself the seeds of such disco r

, d be
tween o u r ed u cation and our actions and the re al char ,

acter of our being our relations and our duties must be

, ,

all fathers and mothers wh o have

long peace of m ind at heart ; fo r
-
2 80 XIII . IM PO R TAN CE OF PR A C TI C AL SK ILL

w must
e see k t h e sources
the infinite evil of our
Of

baseless sha m en lighten men t and the misery of our ma s

-
,

uera de revo lu tion in errors of this kind since both

q ,

find a place alike in the instruction and ih the life of -

our educated and uneducated people .

The necessity of great care for the psychological

manner of developing and culti vating our powers of
doing (Fert ) as well as the psychological training for
,

the development of our power of knowing is obvious , .

This psychologi cal training for t h e developm ent of o u r

powers of k n o wm g ISbased on an A B O of An scha uun g ,

and must lead the child by this fundamental clue to

the fullest purity of clear ideas Fo r the cultivation .

of the activities on which the sense foundation of o ur

,
-

v irtu e r e sts we must seek for an A B O for develo i n g

p
i ‘

this power ; and on its lines a sense cultivation a physi ; -

,

cal dexterity of those powers and activities whi ch are

needed for the life d utie s of our race - 9 3
which we ,

must recognize as lea din g strin gs i n the n ursery of virtue ,

unt il o u r senses ennobled by this t raining need the

, _
,

leadin g strings no longer

-
.

In this way can be developed a general kin d o f

9 4

education suitable to t h e human race for training

, ,

those practical abilities which are necessary for t h e

ful filment of th e duties o f life It goes from complete , .

po w er of doin
g to the re co gn itio n of la w just as the educa ,

tion of intelligence goes fro mcomplete sen se impression to -

2 82 XIII . IM PO R TA N CE OF PR A C TI C AL S K ILL

wh o fulfils her duties well I see myself at the begin

.

ning of the task of making the child in its baby clothes

t h e satisfactory husband Of the woman and a str ong ,

father filling his place well

, .

Wha t a task my friend

,
.
T o make the Spirit of h i s

future calling a second nature to the son of man .

An d what a still higher task to bring the sense means -

o f facilitating the virtuous and wise disposi t ion of m i nd

i nto the blood and veins before the hot desire s for
,

Sensual pleasures have so i n fected blood an d veins as -

to make v irtue and wisdom impossible .

Friend ! This problem is also solved The same .

laws of the physical mechanis m t hat develop in me the

s ense foundations o f knowledge are also t h e sense
“

means of facilitating my virtue s But dear friend it , ,

is impossible for me to go into the details of t his solu

t ion now I reserve it for another time
. .
 X IV

Frie n d !AS I sal d I t would have led me too far to

'

e nter into details Of t h e principl es and laws upon

whi ch t h e Cultivation of t h e practical abilities ( Fe rt )
'

»
i n life depe nd But I will not end my lette rs without
.

t o uchin g on th e keystone o f my whol e system namel y ,

t hi s question — Ho w 1 s religious f eeling co n nected

,

with the se principles which I have accepted as gener

"

a lly true for t h e develop ment of the human race

He re also I seek the solution of my probl em in my ‘

S elf and I ask : Ho w is the id ea o f G o d germinated in

,

my soul Ho w comes it that I bb lie v e in G o d that I "

t h rO
A w myself in His arms and feel blesse d when I love
m
,

Him trust Him thank Him follow Hi 3

‘

, , ,

I soon see that the fe elings of love trust gratitude , , ,

a n d readiness to Obey , m ust be developed I n me before

I can apply them to G o d I must 10 7 9 1 136 11 trust.
3
,

me n thank men an d obey men b e fore I c an aspi re to

, ,
i

l ove t h an k t ru st and Obey G o d

, , _ Fo r whoso loveth
,
.

n o t his brother whom he hath seen h o w can he love ,

Go d whom h e hath not seen B

‘

Then I ask myself : Ho w do I co me to love trust , ,

thank and Obey men ? Ho w come those feelin gs i n

-

m
,

f umy nature on which human l ove hu an gratitude , ,

( 283)
28 4 X IV . MORAL EDUC ATI O N

human confid ence rest and those activities by which

'

Obedience 1 S formed An d I find : Tha t they have their

chie f so urce in the rela tion s tha t exist between the ba by an d

his mo ther .

The mother is forced by t h e power of an i mal instinc t “

to tend her child feed him protect and please h l m

, , .

Sh e does this Sh e satisfies his wants she removes

.
,
.

anything unpleasant she comes to the help of his

helplessness The child is cared for is pleased
. T he , .

ger m of love is developed in him .

NOW put an Object that he has never seen before his

eyes ; he is astonished frightened ; he cri es Th e , .

mother presses him to her bosom d andles him an d , ,

diverts him He leaves off cry i ng but his eyes are

.
,

still we t The obj ect appears again The mother

. .

takes him i nto her sheltering arms and smil es at h im

again .NOW h e weeps no more He returns his ,

mother s smile W i th clear unclouded eyes The germ

’
.

of trust is developed in him .

The mother hastens to his cradle at his every need .

Sh e is there at the hour of hunger she gives him ,

drink in the hour o f thirst When he hears her ste p

—
,

he is quiet ; When he sees her he stretches out his

hands His eye is cast on her breast He is satisfied
. . .

Mother and being satisfied are one and th e s am e

, ,
,

thought to him He is gra tefu l . .

The germs of love trust an d gratitude soo n grow

, ,
.
28 6 X IV . MOR AL E DUC ATI O N

The mother s breast s t ills the first storm of hysical

’
p
needs and creat es love ; soon after fear is developed .

The mothe r s arm stills fear Thes e actions produc e

’
g
.

the un ion of the feelings of love and trust and develo p ,

th e first germ Of gra titu de .

Nature is in flexible toward s the passionate child .

He b eats wood an d stone ; Nature 1 s I n fle x ib l e an dt h e ,

child cea ses to bea t wood and ston e NOW the mo the r .

is inflexible towar ds his irregular desires He ra ge s .

and roars sh e 1 s still inflexible He leaves of cryi n g

‘

. . ,

h e becomes accustomed to subj ect his Will to hers

T he first germs of pa tien ce the first germs of o bedien ce a re
, _

developed .

Obedience and love gratit ude and trust unit ed

‘

, ,

develop the first germ of conscien ce the first faint

"

,
g

shadow of the feeli n g that it is n o t right to rage .

against t h e loving mother ; t h e fir st faint shadow of

3
"
the fe eli n g that the mo the r is n o t in the worl d .

a ltogether fo r his sa ke ; the

, first faint sh adow of a
feelin g that everything in the world is not al t o ge th
“

for his sake ; and with it is also germinated the feelin g

that he himself is not in the w orld for his own sa e o y
k n l i e
,

The first Shado w of duty and right 1 s m the germ .

Th ese are the first prin c 1 ple s Of mo ral self devel op

“
-

ment which are u n fo lde d b y t he natural relati ons

'

,
~

t ween mother an d child But in them lies the

“

“
esse n ce of the natural germ Of that state of mind
 TH E IDE A OF G OD
”

is peculiar to human depende nc e on the Autho r of o u r

a . f
bei g That is the germ O all feelings of depend
n ,
:

BII CG on G o d through faith is in its essence the sam e

‘

, ,

“
germ which is produced by the infant s dep endence on ’

its mother The manner in whic h these feelings de

.

volop is one and the same .

In both the infant hears believes follows ; but I n

, , ,

both at this time it kn ows not what it believes and wha t

it do es Meanwhile at t his t ime the first groun ds of it s
.
,
‘

faith and actions begin to vanish Growing in de pe n d .

ence makes the child let go his mother s han d He ’

.

begins to beco me Conscious of his o wn pers onality an d ,

a secret thought unf olds itself I n his heart I no ,

lon ger need my mo ther Sh e reads the gro wing thought 3, “

in his ey es ; she presses her darling more firmly to her

heart and S ays m a voice he h as not yet heard
“

, ,

Child there is a G o d whom thou needest , wh o

,

ta k e t h thee in His arms when thou needest me n o

“
s

long er when I can shelter thee no mOre — Th e re is a

,
ee A

G o d wh o prepares j oy an d happiness for thee when I

”
can no more give t h e m t h e e
'

Then an 1n e x pre ssib l e something rises in t h e child s ’

s heart a holy feeling a desire fo r fait h that raise s

, ,
'

him above himself He rej oices in the name of G o d as

.

so on as he h ears his mother speak it The feelings of .

love gratitude and trust that were developed at h e r

, ,

bo so m e xtend and embrace G o d as father, G o d as

,
 X IV . MOR AL EDUC ATI O N

mother The . of obedience has a Wider

field T h e child wh o believes from this time forwards
.
,

i n the eye of G o d as in the e ye O f his mother does ,

.

’
r1 h t now for Go d s sa ke as he formerly did right for
g ,

his m o ther s sa ke
’
.

Here in this first attempt of the mother s innocence

,
’

an d the m other ’ s heart to u n ite the first feelin g of in de

pen dence with the n ewly developed feelin g f

o m li y h
o ra t t r ou
gh
n

f
the in clin a tion to the foundations are
a ithd i s in Go d, -

clos ed on which education and instruction must cast

their eyes if they would aim with certainty at enno ?

bling u s . .

As th e first germination of lo v e gratitude trust , , ,

and obedience wa s
a simple result of t h e cOi n ci den ce o
in stin ctive feelin gs betwee n mother and child so the ,

ther developmen t of these germinated feeling s is a

huma n a rt But it is an art t h e threads of which will

.

be lost in your hands if for one moment yo u los e sigh t

.

of the origin from which the we b springs The danger .

of this loss to the child is great an d c omes e a rly ,

.

lisps his mother s name he loves than ks trusts

’
, , , ,

follow s He lisps t he name of G o d he l oves

.
, ,

trusts and follows

, But the motives of .

love an d t rust vanish with t he first appearance Of

,

1 dea : He n ee ds his mother n o mo re The world t hat .

surrounds him appears to h im in a n e w ligh t and ,

tices him with its pleasure saying , ,

2 90 X IV . MO R AL EDUC ATI O N

be no more what she once was to her child ; now when

the germ of trust in the new aspect of the world is de
v e l o pe d in him and the charm of this new manifesta
,

t iO n be ins to sti le an d devo u r his trust in his mother

g f
wh o is no more what she once was to him and with it ,

his trust in an unseen and unknown G o d— as the wild f

we b of tangled roots of the poisonous plant stifl e and
de vour the finer web of roots of the noblest plants ,

now mankind ! n o w at this momen t of transition b e

,

tween the feelings of trust in mother an d G o d and

‘

those of trust in the n e w aspect of the world an d all

that t h e re l n l s n o w at this parting pla c e you s
—
, ,

use all your art and all your power to keep the fee
of love gratitude trust and Obe dience pure in you
, , ,

child .

Go d is in t h e se feelings and the whole po wer of yo

,

moral life is intrinsically connected with their pres

vati on .

Mankin d ! at this time when the physical causes -

the germination of these feelings in the infant cea

r Art should do everything to bring to h a
’

y o u nd n
metho ds
,

f
o mula tin g them,
sti an d to let the a ttra ctio n s

the world co me befo re the min d of yo ur growin g child on ly

con n ectio n with them .

No w for the first time you ca n n o t trust Na ture , b

must do to ta ke the reins out of he r b
everythin g l

'

han ds and put them into t h e h an ds of principle

 N AT URE NO L ON GER SUFF I C I E NT 2 91

po wers in which the experience of ages has put them .

The world that appears before the child s eyes is not ’

.

G od s first creatio n ; it is a world spoilt alike for th e ln

’

nocent enj oyment of the senses and for the feelings o f

his inner nature It is a world full of war for t h e
.

means Of gratifying selfishness f ull of contradiction , ,

full of V iolence presumption lying and deceit

, , ,
.

Nto G od
s first creat ion but this world decoys the
’

child to the giddy dance of the Whirlpool of the abyss

whose dept hs are the home of lovelessness and moral
death Not G od s creation but the brut e force and
.
’
,

art of bringing about its own ruin is what this worl d ,

puts before the child s eyes ’

.

Poor child ! your dwelling roo m is your world ; but

“

your father is bound to his work sh op your mother is ,

vexed to day has compan y to morrow and has whims

-
,
-
,
i
t h e next day You are bored ; you ask questions ;
.

your nurse will not answer You want to go out ; y o u .

may not Now you quarrel with your si ste r fl b o u t a

'

t o y — Poor child ! What a miserable heartless heart , ,

acc rru pt in g thing your world is ! But is it anythin g

mo re when y o u d rive ab out in a gilded carriage under
z
y

shady trees Your guide deceives your mother You .

s u fi e r less but you become worse than all sufferers

,
.

have you gained ? Your world is be come a

you than any p ain .

0 rocked to sleep in the ruin of a per

 X IV . M O R AL E DUC ATI O N

verse and oppressive opposition to the laws of Nature

that it has no mind for being the means o f pre se rv in g
purity in the heart of man ; on t h e contrary it is a s , r
‘

careless at the critical moment of the inno c ence of our

race as a heartless second Wife o f her step child : a -

carelessness that in a hundred cases to one ca uses and

“

must ca use the wreck of the last means that i s left u s

fo r ennobling our race .

At this time the child has no counterpoise that can

be Opposed to the phenome n a of the world and the one
s ided charm Of its impressions on the senses ; and so

its co n ceptions both through their one sidedness and

,
-

through their V ividness maintain a deci ded preponder

,

ance over the impressions of experien ces and feelin g

which lie a t the bas e of the moral and spiritual improve
ment of o u r rac e Hencefo rth an infinite and i
~ .

living field is opened up for selfish and degra

sions On the other h and the way to that state
.
,

o n whic h the powers of his intellige n ce and enli

‘

ment rest is lost ; that path to the narrow gate of

ity is blocked up the whole sensuous n ess of his
must take a direction separating the pa th of reason f
that of love and the improvemen t of the min d from
,

impu lse to war ds fa ith in Go d — a way that more or

m
,
“

akes selfishness t h e one driving Wheel of all his

t ions and thereby de t e rml n e s the result of his cult
,

to his own destr u c tion .

2 94 X IV . MO R AL EDUC ATI ON

lie deep in my nature As my physical power s in crease

.
,

th eir prepon dera n ce by virtue of the laws of my devel

,

o pm e n t mus t van ish that is they must be su bor din a te d

, ,

to a higher law But every step of my develop m ent

.

must be completed before it can be subordinated to a s

higher purpose This subordi n ation of tha t which is

.

already complete to that which is to be completed ,

requires above all pure ho ldin g fa st to the begin n in g

o in ts of all knowledge and the most exact continuit
p , y ,

in gradual progre ss from these beginning points to the -

fin al completion The primary law of this continuity is

.

this : the first i n struction of the child should n ever be

the business of the hea d or of the rea son ; it should al
ways be the business o f the senses of the heart Of the , ,

mo ther .

The second law that follows it is this : h uman edu

, ,

cation g o e s o n slowly from exercise of the senses to

,

exercise of the j udgment It is for a long time the .

b u s1 n e ss of the heart before it is t h e b u sm e ss of the

,

r ea son . It is for a long time the business of the woman

bef ore it begins to be the business of the ma n .

W hat shall I say more — With th ese words the eter

nal laws of nature lead me back to your hand mo ther
m
,

Mother ! I can keep my innoce n ce y love my obedi— , ,

f

ence the excellences of my n obler nature with the new

,

impressions of the world a ll a ll at your side only , ,

.

Mother mother ! While y o u have still a hand a heart

, ,
 FI RS T T HE SE N SES ; T HE N T HE JUDGME NT 295

for me le t me not turn away fro n i you

no one If
’
.
,

h as t au gh t you to know the world as I a m forc ed t o

learn it then come we will learn it together as you ought
, , , ,

and I must Mother mother ! we will not part from

.
, .

ea ch o ther at the moment when I run into danger of b e

ing dra w n away from yo u from G o d and from myself

, , ,

by the n e wphenomena of the world Mother mother ! .

san cti fy the tr an sitio n f

ro m your hea r t to this wo rld by the
“

suppor
t of yo ur hea rt .

Friend ! I must be silent My heart is moved and .

,
'
I see tears in your eyes Farewell ! .
 XV

Friend ! I go further and ask myself : What

n ow

have I done to work against the evils tha t affected m e

,

throughout my life from a religious point of View ?

‘

Friend ! If by my e fforts I have in any way succeeded

in preparing the road to the goal at wh ich I have been
aiming that is to take human education out of the
,

hands of blind Nature to free it fro mthe destructiv e

,

influence of her se n sual side and the po wer of t he

routine o f her ml se rab le teaching and to put it into
l

the hands o f the noblest powers of our na ture th e soul ,

of w hich is faith and love ; ii i can only in some slight

degree succeed in making the Art of education begin
in the sanctuary of home more than it n o w d o e s an d
, ,

to put new life into the re ll gl o u s instinct of o ur ra ce ,

from this tender side ; if I sh ould only h av e partly su e l

’

-
g

c e e de d in bringing nearer to my contemporaries t h e

Withered rootstock o f mental an d spiritual educatio n ,

an d an Art o f education in ha r mony with the n oblest

powe rs of he art and mind : if I have done this my ,

lifewill b e blessed and I shall see my gre atest hope s

_
,

ful fille d .
9 7

I Will dwell a moment longer on t his po in t T h e *

ger mout of wh ich spring t he feelings that are essen e

( 29 6)
2 98 XV . RE L I G I OUS E DU C ATI ON

does not allow the path of my reason to di vide ab so

l u t e ly from the path of my heart nor the improvement ,

of my mind to separate me absolutely from my impulse

o f faith in G o d .

T he whole of my method is not only to rene w

Spl rl t

the b o n d b e t we e n mother and child with the disap

~
,

ran c e Of its physical cause but to put a methodical

p e a ,

s eries of me ans that is an Art into her hand by w h ich

, ,

S h e c an give permanence to this relation between her

heart an d her child until the sense me thods of making,

-

Virtue easy united with the sense methods of ac qu l r

,

i n g knowl edge may be able by exercise to ripen the

,

independence of the child in all that concer n s right

a n d duty .

It has made it easy for every mother Whose heart is

her child s to keep him not only at the criti cal period
,
’

fro mthe danger of being drawn away from G o d and

love to save his soul from dreadful withering and
, ,

himself from being given up to u navoidable bewilder

ment but also to lead him by the han d of her love and
,

with pure supporting noble f eelings i nto G od s best

’
, ,

c r e at l o n befo re his heart is spoilt for the impressions

, ,

o f innocence truth and love by all the lying and de

, ,

celt of this world .

Fo r the woman who makes my method he r own ,

child is no longer confine d Within the miserable

limited sphere of her own actual knowledge .
 DE VE L O PME NT OF RE LI G I OUS FEE L IN G 299

Mother s Book opens to her for her child the world

’

which is G od s world The purest love opens her mouth

’
.

f o r all that the child sees through her Sh e has ta ught .

him to lisp the name of G o d on her bosom ; now she

_

s hows him the All loving in t h e rl sm g sun in the rip

-
,

p ling brook in
,
the branch e s of the trees l n the splen ,

d o r of t h e flower in the dewdrops Sh e shows him the

,
.

All present in himself in t h e light of his eyes in the

-
, ,

flexibility of his j oint s in the tones of his V Ol c e

,
— in ,

e verything she shows him G o d ; and wherever he sees

G o d his heart rises wherever he sees G o d in the world

,

338 loves the world Joy in G od s world is interwoven

.
’

with j oy in G o d He includes G o d the world and his

.
, ;

another in one and the same emotion The torn bond .

i s j oined together again He loves his mother more

.

n o w than wh e n he lay upon her breast .

He stands now a step higher He is now raised .

t hrough the ver y same world by which he would have

,
b een bewildered if he had not learne d to k now it -

t hrough his mother The mouth that smiled on him

.

s o Often from the day of his birth the voice that f rom ,

the day of h is birth has so often foretold j oy to him ,

t his voice now teaches him to talk The hand that .

p ressed him so O ften to her heart now sho ws him pi c

t ures whose names he has of ten heard A new feeling .

germinates in his breast He becomes conscious by.

he sees . The first step of the gradation

300 XV . RE LI G I O US EDUC ATI ON
'

of the uni on of his spiritual and m o ral impr o v e me n t is

Open T h e mother s hand opens it ; the child learns
’
.
,

knows and names ; he wishes to know mor e to nam e

,
-

more He forces the mother to learn with him ; Sh e

.

learns with him and bo th mount daily to knowledge;

,

p o we r an d love,
.
.

Now she attempts with him t h e elements and ground s

of art straight and curved lines The child soon o u t
, .

steps her— t h e j o y of both is equal n e w powers de velo p

‘

in his mind he draws mea sures reckon s The mothe r

, , ,
.

show s him G o d in the aspect of the world ; now sh e

shows him G o d in his drawing measuring reckoning , , ,

in all his powers He n o w sees G o d in his self pe rfe c

.

—
-

tion The law of perfection is t h elaw of his t ral n l n g

. .

He recognizes it in the first pe rfect drawing l n

‘

straight or curved line ye s friend with the first

—
, ,

fe ct drawing of a line with the first perfect p

’

t i on of a word the fi rst idea of t he high law

,

also perfect , as your Fath er in heaven is per

developed in his breast An d since my me .
"

essentially on constant e fi ort s towards the

of single things it works powerfully and con
,

impress the spirit of this law deeply in the child s breas ’

from t h e cradle upwards .

To thi s first law of your inner perfection a seco n d i

unite d intrinsically interwoven wit h the first T hi
,
.
‘

is Man is not in the world fo r his o wn sake

—
,
 RE L I G I OUS E DUC ATI ON
’

302 XV .

to the child so m ust I if the mo ther i s i n Go d s pla ce

, ,
’
to

me and G o d fills my heart in the mo ther s pla ce

,
z
.

A feeling like the mother s me Man

'

fe e lin g l mpe l s
’ ‘

is my brother my love embraces the whole race ; but I

,

c ling to the wretched I am dou bly his father ; to act like

,

Go d becomes my n a ture -
I am a child of G o d ; I b e .

lie v e d in my mother her heart sho wed me G o d ,

Go d .

is t h e G o d of my mother of my hea rt and her heart I ,

.

know no other G o d The G o d of my bra in is a chimce ra

. .

I know no other G o d but the G o d of my hea rt By .

f aith in the G o d of my heart only I feel a man The .

G o d of my bra in is an i do l I ruin myself by worship .

ping him Th e G o d of my heart is my G o d I perfect

.
,
.

myself in Hi s love Mother mother ! you showe d n fe

.
,

G o d in your co mma n ds and I found Him in o be dien ce

,
.

Mother mo ther ! when I fOrge t Go d I forg e t you and

, ,
l

when I love G o d I am in yo ur pla ce to your infant I .

cling to your wretched o n es an d those who weep rest in ,

my arms a s in their mo ther s ’

.

Mother mother ! as I l ove you SO I love G o d and

,
“

,
'

duty is my highest goo d Mother ! whe n I forget yo u I ; ,

G and the wretched ones ~lon er rest I n

f g
o r e t o d ,
n o g
my arms I am n o lo n ger In G od s place to the su fferer
,
’
.

When I forget you I forget Go d Then live I like t h e .

lion for myself and in self c o n fide n c e use my po wers -

m
,

for yself a ga in st my own ra ce Then is there no sense .

of fatherhoo d in my soul ; th en no sen se of Go d sancti

 TRUS T IN G O D T HR OUGH SE LF -K N O w LE D e E 303

fies my obedience ; an d . my apparent sen se f

o duty is a

y ain deception .

Mother mother as I love you so love I G o d Mo ther

, , ,
.

and o bedien ce Go d and du ty are one and the same to

,
-

’
me Go d s will and the best and n o blest that I can
—
,

imagin e are o n e and the same to me I live then n o .

mere for myself; I lose myself in my brethren the chil ,

"

dren of my G o d I li ve n o more for myself I live fo r

—
,

Him wh o took me in my mother s arm s and r a ised me ’

,

with a fath er s hand above the dust of my mortal co il

’

to His love An d the more I love Him the Eternal

.
, ,

the more I honor Hi s commandments the more I de

-

n d on Him the more I lose mysel d b m H the

p e , f a n eco e is ,

more does my nature become divin e the more do I feel ,

in harmony with my inner nat ure and with my whole

race The more I l o v e Him the more I follow Him
.
, ,

t he more do I hear on all s ides the voice Of the Eter

W
n al : F
“
ear not I am thy G o d I will never forsake
, ,

thee ; follow My commandments ; My will is thy salva

'

tion .
”
An d the more I follow Him t h e more I love ,

Him and thank Him ; the more I trust the Eternal ,

the more I k now Him who is a n d wa s a n d wa s an d sha ll

\
be evermore the Author of my being needing me not
, ,
.

I have recognized the Eternal i n myself I have seen .

,
t he way of the Lord I have rea d the l aws Of the Al
,

mighty in the dust I have so ught out the laws of His

,

love in my heart I kn ow in whom I believe My tr ust

— .
.
304 XV . RE LI G I O US EDUC ATI O N

in Go dbecomes infinite through my s elf knowledge ,

1
-

a n d through the insight germinated in it of the laws of

t h e moral world "

The idea Of the Infinite is inter
.

woven I n my nature with th e idea Of the Eternal I .

h ope for eternal life an d the more I love Him t h e

,
.
,

Eternal the more I hope for eternal love

,
Th e more .

I trust the more I thank and follow Him

,
The more .

faith in His e t ernal goodness becomes a truth to me ,

t h e more does my faith in His eternal goodness become

a witne s s Of my immortality .

I am silen t again Friend — Wh at are words to ex

,
“

p ress a certainty that springs from the heart W hat

are words on a subj ect in which a man whose head

a n d heart alike deserve my respec t thus expressed hi m

s elf : There is no pe rcep tion of G o d from mere k n owl

e dge ; the true G o d lives only for faith fo r childlike ,

faith .

W h at is dim t o t h e w i sd o m o f t h e wi se
I s c l e ar a n d si mpl e u n to c hi l d li k e e y e s .

Then o n ly the h ea rt knows G od the h eart that ,

rising above ca re for it s own finite being embraces man

kind be it the whole or a part .

Thi s pure human heart requires and creates f

‘

love its o b edience its trust its worship a perso n ifi

, , , ,

type o f t h e highest a high holy will which exists a

-

, , ,

t h e so ul Of the whole spiritual world .

Ask Wh y is your duty your

”

t h e good man — b ig
'

,
31 0 T HE ME T H O D

errors and mistakes which hin dre d the progres s of his

”
work .

Se yfi art h who publishes it V o l

, 18 says It , .
,

seems that Niederer made no alteration in this treatise ,

for he has added notes to the text which he did not ,

”
do when he made alterations But there is reason .

for thinking that it has been touched by Nied erer .

S e e pp 31 3 31 4
.
, .

The of Friend s o f Education was founded by

S ociety
St apfe r in June 1 8 00 to make Pestalozzi s views bet
, , ,
’

ter known A commission was appointed from among

.

its m embers to examine and report At their request .

he gave them An Acco un t of the Metho d The y

vi sited his school and presented their Report at a gen

eral meeting of the Society Oc t 1 1 8 00 , .

, .

The Report or Account of the Method which

Pestalozzi made for this S ociety is the first systematic ,

statement of his views W hen he left Stanz he was

.
,

not sure of his principles In this Report An scha uun g

.
, .

and his great principles first appear ; but the A B O

of An scha uun g is no t here That and his Elemen ts first
.

appear in How Gertru de as well as his at tempts to cor

,

relate and unite them

“
.

When he wrote this Report he was quite alone It , .

is entirely his o wn work : it gives us the condition of

his mind a year after he left Stanz The Observations .

made there have ge rml n at e d and developed : this is

‘
 PREF AT O RY N OT E 31 1

their firSt
expres si on It comes between the First
w
.

Letter fro mS tan z and Ho Gertru de Tea ches her Children

,

these three works complete his writings at this i mport

ant period o f his o wn development After thi s until .
,

we come to the Swan s Son g there is nothing of equal

’
,

—
value nothing qu ite free from the infl u ence of helpers
,

wh o had never been at Stan z .

The Report is quote d s everal times in Ho Gertru de ; w

it is the germ of that work ; to add it h ere is necessary
to complete the work Of this period and also to Show ,

”
how the idea germinated in him It presents .
,

says De G u imps the doctrine of Pestalozzi with a

,

clearness and fairness which have hardly been sur

passed in anything the author wrote later ( P
—
. .

He forgets that he has only j ust said overleaf He , ,

was not ye t clear as to what was his method ; he was

unable to explain it ; he was seeking it He was in .
,

fact seeking a principle

,
”
These statements can be
.

reconciled if applied to 9 9 but not to 1 8 00 , .

This memoir un fortunately l eft fifipii bl ish e d

,
‘

says De G u imps remained almost unknown It w

,
as at .

last printed by Niederer in his Pestalozzian Pamphlets ,

Aix la Oh ape ll e 1 8 2 8 but this book is not now to be

- -
, ,

”
had . But De Gu imps is mistaken The first edition of .

his Life of Pestalozzi was published in 1 8 7 4 Se yffart h .

reprinted T he Metho d only the previous year 1 8 7 3

had , ,

é
!

wh fle Niederer had published it in 1 8 2 8 in the Allgemein e

31 2 T HE ME T H O D

Mon atschrift fu r Erziehun g un d Un terricht with othe r ,

:

works of Pestalozzi These works had also been pub

.

l ish e dise parat e l y ,but De G u imps did not k now this in

1 8 7 4 wh e n his first edition wa s published ; in Edition
,

2 he adds an appendix but doe s not correct the text

, ,\

and his note is n ot quite accurate He says that .

,

Se ylfart h ( vol 1 8 ) contains some special works here

.

first published ; among the m The Metho d ThI s I s

the Report presented b y Pestalozzi to the Society of “

the Friends of Education in 1 8 00 referred to by u s in ,

its proper pl ace .

No w this Niederer version of the Method referre d to

in the append i x I s not the same as that quoted by De
Gu i mps He has not discovered t h l s He gives the
“

. .

con clu sio n Of the Report but his last two paragraph s
,

are at the begi n n i n g Of Nie de re r s version its second ’

,

and third paragraphs There are oth er difi e re n c e s

. .

There is evidently then another copy This is con .

firmed by How Gertru de some of t h e quotations given

there are n o t to b e found in this versi on of Ni e de re r s ’
.

In Letter V II there is a long quotation beginning

.
,

Grant the princi ple N ed

( p This is not
. in i
’
e re r s version ; so that although it I s S i gned by Pesta
,

lozzi is in his o wn handwriting and is undoubtedly

, ,

genuine it is not the version quoted in How Gertru de

,

n o r by De G u im s It may be the first draft T h e

p . .

question arises If no account wa s published how did

, ,
31 4 T HE ME T H OD

first t o remind you that in dealing with those portions

o f Pestalozzi s work which he edited
’
Niederer left ,

n othing untouched ; he gave his own color to every

thing He lived in the firm belief that he understood

.

Pestalozzi b e t t e r t h an Pestalozzi unders tood himself

~
.

The quotations that I give i 2 2 8 and seq are taken ,

. .
,

from t h e original docu ment Of June 1 8 00 It was , .

printed in the newspapers of that date .

At present we have not been able to get at these

,

n ewspapers but we may suggest to the editor of Pes ta

,

lozzi-bla tter
that it would be well to reprint it The .

Augsburger Z eitun g and Deutscher Merkur ( Wieland edi

-

tor ) took u p his cause .

Mr Morf does n o t se t tle on e point of importance

.
‘

D id the diagram of A B O der An schauun g

( see page ap pear in the newspapers ? Se yfi a rt h

excludes it and the sentence preceeding it If thi s

,
.

d i agram is really Buss s it could not have exis t ed

’
,

whe n Pestalozzi wrote the Report If it is not in the .

v ersio ns from which Morf copies it seems clear tha t

“

Ni ederer has not left this untouched The A B O is .

p rob a bly not Pestalozzi s own production

’
for Buss says ,

(p
.

age 1 1 6 ) he could not draw and that for months,

he
c ould not understand him But he gave Bus s some .
,

lines as a patte rn .
 T HE MET HOD

am trying to psychologize the instruction of man

I
k ind I am trying to bring it i n to harmony wit h the
nature of my mind with that of my circumstances and
,

m y relations to othe rs I start from no positive form

.
a
-

o f teaching as such but simply ask myself

, ,

What would you do if you wi shed to give a single

I
,

c hild all t h e knowledge and practical Skill he needs so ,

that by wise care of his best O pportunities he might

r e ac h inner content
l

l I think to ga in this e n d the human race nee ds exactly

the same thing as the single child
“

I think further the poor ma n s child needs a greater

, ,
’

r efinement in t h e met hods of instruction tha n the rich

i

it
Nature indeed,
does much
,
for the human race but ,

we have strayed awa y from her path The poor man .

/
i s t h ru st away from he r bosom , a n d t h e r ich des troy
t
ii '

themselves both by rioting and by lounging o n her

3W
fo ve rfi o wm b reast
g
The picture is severe But ever Since I have been
.

a ble to see I have seen it so ; and it is from this v iew

the impulse arises within me not merely to plaster ,

er the e vI l s in schools which are enervating the pe ople

Europe but to cu re them at their root
,
,

( 31 5 )
31 6 e
T HE ME T H O D

But this can never be done witho ut subordinating

all forms of instruction to those eternal laws by which
the huma n mind i s raised from ph ysI c al impressions on
the senses to clear ideas .

I have tried to Sl mplify the elements of all human

knowledge according to these laws and to put them ,

into a se ries of typical examples that shall result in

spreading a wide k nowledge o f Nature general clear ,

ness of the most importa nt ideas in the mind and mg ,

o ro u s e xercises of the chief bodily powers e ven among ,

the lowest cl asses .

I know what I am undertaking ; but neither the diff] ?

c u l t i e s in the way nor my o wn limitations in skill an d

,

insight shall hinder me from giving my mite for a pu r

,
e

pose which Europe needs so much An d gentlemen .

, ,

in laying before you the results of t h e se labors on

which my lif e has b e e n spe n t I beg o f you b ut o n e
'

,
'

thing . It is this — Separate those of my assertions .

that may be doubtful from those that are Indisputable .

I wish to found my conclusions entirely upon complet e

convictions o r at least upo n perfec tly rec o gniz e d
,

p m
re l se s .

Th e most essential point from which I st art is this

S en se impression Of Nature I s the only t ru e fo u n daf
-

tion of hu man instruction because it is the only tru e

‘

foundation of human knowledge .

All that follow sis the result of this s en se impressio -

and the process of abstraction from it Hence in e v e .

31 8 THE ME T H O D

human Art to their origin I find it in the comm on ,

basis of our mind by means Of which our understand

‘

ing combines those impressions which the sense s have ,

received from Nature an d represents them as wholes ”

,

that is as concepts
,
.

It is evident from this statement that in any cas e

where systematic training does not keep pace with t h e
actual sense impressions of Nature the Art by it s o v e r
-
,

hasty work upon the human mind becomes a source o f

physical atrophy which must inevitably result in o n e
,

sidedness warped judgment su pe rfi c ialit y an d error

, , , .

Every word every number is a result of the under

, ,

standing that is generated by ripened sense impressi o n -

.

But the gradations by which physical im pre ssI On s on

‘

the sense s become clear ideas reach the limits of t h e

sp ontaneous working of the int ellec t independent o f , ,

the senses along a course in harmony with the laws of

,

the physical mechanism .

Imitation precedes hieroglyphics ; hierogly phics pre

cede cultivated language just as the individual name
,

precedes the generic .

Further it is only through th is course in harmony

, ,

with the mechanism of the senses that culture brings ,

l
u p before me the sea of confused phenomena An sch
( )
flo wm g one into another first as defi nite sense impres
,
-

sions and from these forms clear concepts .

Thus all the Art ( of teaching ) men is esse ntially a l

 PH Y SI OO -
ME OHAN I OAL L A W S 31 9

result of p hysico mechanical laws the most important

-
,

o f -which are t h e following

1 Bring all things essentially related t o ~e ac h othe r

.

to that connection in your mind which they really have

in Nature .

2 Subordinate all unessential things to essential

.
,

an d especially subordinate the impression g1 v e n by t h e

Art t g that given by Nature and reality .

3 Give to nothing a greater weight in your ide a

.

than it has in relation to y our race in Nature .

4 Arrange all obj ects in the world according t o

.

their likeness .

5 Strengthen the impressions of important ob ject s

’
f

by allowing them to affect you through difi e re n t senses .

6 In every subj ec t try to arrange graduated steps of

.

knowledge in which every n e w idea shall be only a

,

small almost imperceptible addition to th at earlier

,

knowle dge which has be en deeply impressed and made

u n fo rge t ab l e .

7 L earn to mak e the Simple perfect before g o I ng on

.

to the complex .

8 Recognize that as every physical ripening must be

.

e result of the whole perfect fruit in all its parts so ,

ery just judgment must be the result of a sense im -

e ssio n perfect in all its parts of the Obj ect to be

, ,

dge d Distrust the appear ance of precocious r1 pe

.

he apparent ripeness of a worm eaten apple -

.

physical e ffects are absolutely necessary ; and

32 0 T HE ME T H OD

t his necessity is the result Of the art of Nature with ,

which sh e unites the apparently heterogenous elements

of her mat eri al into On e whole for the achievement of
her end The Art which imitates her must t ry
.
, ,

the same way to raise the results at which it aims t d

a physical necessity while it unites its elements into
,

one whole for the achievement of its end .

1 0 The richness Of its c harm and the variety of its

.

free play cause the results of physical necessi ty t o bear

the impress of freedom and indepen dence Here too .
, ,

t h e Art must imitate the course of Nature an d by t h e ,

richness o f its charm and the variety of its free play

-

try to m ak e its results bear the impress of freedom

and independence .

-
1 1 Above all learn the first law of the physic al
.
,

mechanism t h e powerful universal connection b e l

, ,

tween its results and the proportion o f nearness or

tance between the obj ect and our senses Never fo .

that this physical nearness o r distanc e of all ob

around you h a s an immense e fi e ct in de t e rmIn In g yo
positive sense im pressions practical ability an d e v
-
, ,
~

virtue .

But even this law of your nature converges as

whole towards another It converges towards th e c o
.

tre of our whole be in g and we ourselves are

,

Man ! never forget it ! All that you are all yo u

’

, ,

all you might be comes out of yourself All

,
.

have a centre in your ph ysl c al sense impressions -

322 T HE ME T H O D

that nourishes it ; until fully ripe and perfect in all

, ,

its parts it falls from the tree

,
.

C onsider h o w Mother Nature with the uprising

Shoot also develops the germ of the root and buries ,

the noblest part of t h e tree deep in the bosom of the

ear th ; then how she forms the immovable Stem from
the very heart of the root and th e boughs from t h e
,

heart Of the stem and the branches from the very

_

h e art of the boughs Ho w to all even the weakest

.
, ,

outermost twig she gives enough but to none useless , ,

disproportionate strength .

Th e mechanism of physical human nature is essen

,

t ially subj ect to t h e same laws by which physical

Nature generally unfolds her powers According t o .

‘

these laws all i n st ru c t io n should graft the most esse

,

tial parts of its subj ect firmly into t h e ver y being

.

the human mind ; then j oin on the less essential gra

u all
y but uni n terruptedly to the most essential ,

maintain all the parts of the subj ect even to the out ,

e rm o st in o n e living proportionate whole

, .

I now go further and ask Ho w has E urope —

“

, ap

pli e d these laws of the physical mechanism to all

.

ters of popular education ? What has E urope

bring the elementary means of human kn
the work of ages has put into our hands i
with the real nature of the human mind
‘

of the physical mechanism What use

 FI RS T T HE ESSE NTIA L EL EME NT S 32 3

made of these laws in the organization Of its

e rat io n

teaching inst itut ions ; in its speaking drawing writ , ,

ing reading reckoning and measur i ng

, , ,

I see no ne In the existing organization of these

.

institutio n s at least so far as they affec t the poore r

,

classes I s e e no trace of any regard for the general

,

h armony of the wh ole and for the psychological grada

tions required by thes e laws .

No it is notorious ! In the exis ting methods o f pop

,

u lar i n struction these laws are not only ignored ,

b ut

generally rudely opposed .

An d when I ask again — What are t he unmistakable

c onsequences Of th us rudely despising t hese laws I ,

cannot conceal from myself the physical atrophy ,

On e sidedness warped j udgm e nt su pe rfi c ialit y and

-
, , ,

p resumptuous v anity that character i ze the masses in

this generation are the necessary consequence of de

,

spi sin these laws and of the i solated u n s c h o lo i

g , py g ,

cal baseless unorganized u n c o n n e c te d te ac hin g

, , ,
e
r
r

which our poor r ace has received in our lower schools .

Then the problem I have to solve is this Ho w t o -

'

f
bring the elements of every art into harmony with th e
very natu re of my mind by following the psyc h o l o gi
,

cal laws by which my mind ri ses from

ense impressions to clear ideas
- .

has t wo principal and general means of

human activity towards the cultivation of
324 THE ME T H OD

the arts and these should be empl oyed if not before

, , ,

at least side by side with a n y particular means They .

are singing and the sense Of t h e beautiful .

With song t h e r m o t h e r lulls her babe to sleep ; but

here as in everything else We do not follow the law
, ,

Of Nature Before the child is a year Old his mother s

.
,
’

s ong ceases ; by that time she is as a rule no l o nger a , ,

mother to the weaned child Fo r him as for all others

.
, ,

S he is only a distracted o ver burdened woman Alas !

N

-
“

.
,

t hat it is so Why has not the Art of ages taught us

.

t o j oin t h e nursery lullabi es to a series of n atio

songs t hat should rise in the cottages of the peo
,

from the gentle cradle song to the sublime h ymn

praise But I cannot fill this gap I can only poi .

it out .

It i s the same with the sense of the bea utiful .

Nature 1 s full of grand and lovely sights b ut Eu r ,

has done nothing to awaken in the poor a sense

these beauties , or to arrange them in such a way a
produce a Series of impressions capable of d evel ,

this sense The sun rises for us in v al n ; I n

.

us he sets In va i n for us do wood and

.

mountain and valley Spread for th their in n u me r

charms They are nothing to us
. .

Here again I can do nothing ; but if ever popul

, ,

education should cease to be the barbarous ab su rdi

it now is and put itself into harmony with the
,
32 6 T HE ME T H O D

against mere n Oise and empty sound From his very .

first development I wish to lead my child into the whole

Circle of Nature surrounding him ; I would organize
his learning to talk by a c o ll e c t l o n of natural products ;
I would teach him early to abstract all physical gener
aliz at i o ns from separate physical facts an d teach h im
,

to express them in words ; and I would everywhere

s ubstitute physical generalizations for those me t aph ysi
cal generalizations with which we begin the instruction
o i our race . Not till after the foundation o f h u man '

knowledge ( sense —impressions of Nature ) has been

fairly laid and secure would I begin the dull abstra ct ,

work of studying from books .

But even my A B 0 book is o nly a collection of easy

stories by which every mother is enabled with t h e soun d
of the letter to make her child acquaint e d w ith the
most i mportant facts of his physical nature .

Supplement NO -
. 1 contains the lette r T of this
AB 0 book .

Before the child knows the forms of the le t ters by

-

sight ,before his Organs begin to make articulate soun ds ,

I let the root forms of all G erman syllables b e r

so Often and so carefully before his developing organs
that he learns to imitate them easily an d di stinctly
When this is done I let him s e e first single letters
,

then two or three together letting him hear ,

soun d as he looks at them ; and wh en he has fixed

 E L EME NTA R Y RE A D I N G 32 7

or der in which they are placed in his memory he pro ,

no u n c e s t wo three o r four together like one

, , .

The mpl e s of the series by which this is done are

‘

- exa

in Supplement No 2 I al so depend here on the . .

physi cal e ffects of completeness and have given t his ,

A St age Of sense impression a fulness that it has never

-
‘

had be fo re .

Words of one or more syllables are placed letter by

letter o n t h e board Fo r instance t ake the word .

S oldatenstand W e first put .

S an d ask Ho w do y o u s ay th at ? An s w e r S
, ,

th e n 0 n ow ? SO
4
3
L S OL
D S O LD
A S O LDA
T S OLDAT
S OLDAT E
S O LDAT EN
ST S OLDATE NS T

an d SO OD .

Frequent repetition of building up the same word is

absolutely necessary to make the formation and pro
n u n c iat i o n perfectly fluent to the child .

the children can form and pronounce the word

e it should be shown them in syllables and
, ,

by them until they feel themselves which , ,

e board belong to each syllable I number .

an d ask : What is the fi rst the seco nd , ,

32 8 T HE ME T H OD

and so on ? and out of the order of their sequence

t h e Sixth the first the fourth and so on ?
,
The n for
, , ,

the first time I let them spell it Changing the let

, .

ters of a word to be spell e d taking one or more of them ,

aw ay adding others an d divi ding i t up into false syll a

, ,

bles strengthen the observation of the children an d

, ,

t h e l r l n c re ase d power enables them to re arrange t h e -

ve ry hardest words by the ms elves .

By this method the formation of words becomes evi

dent to children ; their organs of speech are exercise d
to pronounce the hardes t words easily ; in a Short ti m e

they reach an incredible facility inthis busines s usually ,

so tiresome ; and from one word often learn a number

of independent words as in the above example ,
.

Lastl y , we use the s eparate lette rs as a basis for b e

g1n n 1n
g arithmetic according to a systemat ic series
, o f
number rel ationshi ps which is shown in Supplement
-
,

No 3
. .

Regardless confusion an d erro r Nature lays he r

Of ,

whole wealth before the eyes of the inexperience d;

}

child an d the child in her great warehouse hears t h e

,

whole wealth of language before h e has an idea of a -

single word But sound and t one are deeply impre ssed
.

u pon him and the conne ction in which he daily hear s

,

t h e words soon gives him a vag ue sense of what the y,

mean .

Here too I imitate the course of Nature

, ,
My firSt l .
’
330 T HE ME T H O D
‘

The following figure contains the characteristic lines

of the ar t of writing .

The principle from whi ch I start is this

Angles parallels and arcs comprise the Whole art of
,

d rawI n g Everything that can possibly be drawn is

.

o nly a definite application of these three primary forms .

We can I magl n e a perfectly simple seri es arising out

o f these primary forms within which an absol u ,
te

l omits the last sentence and diagram ; h e

Se yffart h
‘

>‘

m ay have good reaso n s It is supposed to be Buss s

.
’

A B O of An scha uun g— Form Se e Note 30 page 35 6 .

, .

I f it really Occurs here in the o rigin al text Pestalozzi ,

m ust have made it When this Report was written he

.

h ad not met Buss I cannot yet satisfactorily trace

.

i t s origin Biber calls it the alphabet of form and

.
,

uses it to illustrate B uss s accoun t ; he says it was

’ “

never published and soon s u perseded ( p

,
He .

e vide n tly did not kno wNiederer had published it three

y ears before A lthough

. he had his informat i on ,

through K rii si and Niederer we follow Rossel Seyf ,

.

fa rth apparently thinks that Nie derer has added it,

a n d therefore leaves it out .
 G E O ME T R Y B E FO RE AR IT HME TI C 331
“

standard is to be foun d for all drawing ; an d the ,

ae sthetic beaut y of all forms c an be evolved from the

n ature of t h ese primary forms .

NO . 9 contains a few drawings mathematical , a nd

aesthetic .

No 1 0 contains mathematical definitions of the pri

.

m ary forms of all the letters .

No 1 1 contains gra ded e xercises in wri ting wi th the

.

s l a te pencil The beginnings of geometry are closely

.

c onn ected wit h these .

No ; 1 2 contains examples of the way in which I try

‘

t o sharpen the child s eyes

’
.

N o 1 3 Contains attempts to make clear to them the

.

p rinciples of this subj ect .

Numbers are a bstractions from magnit udes ; there

f ore it is n ecessary that the elements of geometry
Should preced e the first pr1 n c ipl e s of arithmetic or at , ,

lea st sh o uld be taugh t at the same time

, .

He re too I begin with

, , mpre ssio nsman d make
se n se e i

the di visions of numbers by showing first few o r more

real things ; then groups of dots so that the child does
n o t take arbitrary forms as numbers but can revise ,

la nd test by the actual dots the actual relations of

n umbers .

In No 1 4 are a few examples of this method of cal

.

c ulat in
g .

In this way , gentlemen I try to follow in ele mentary

,
332 THE ME T H O D

instruc tion the me c h an l c al laws by which man rise s

from sense impre ssI o n to clear ideas
-
.

Al l Nature is bound to th i s course of action Sh e .

i s bound to rise step by step from the simple beginning .

I follow in her path If the child knows simpl e ~

.

bodies air earth water fire —I Show him t h e e fle c t s

—
, , , ,

of these elements on b odies that he knows ; and as h e

learns the properties of se v e ral simpl e bodies I Show '

him the di fferent e fle c t s Obtained by uniting one body _

to ano t her and lead him always by the simplest cours e

"

o f sense impression to the boundaries of the highe r

-

sciences . Everything must be put into fo rms tha t

mak e it possible and easy for any sensible mother t o
follow thi s i nstruction But I would also wish that
.
“

my ch ildren taught in this way should not let them

, ,
—

selves be l e d astray b y the presumptuous ignorance of

schoolmasters .

I maintain that my metho d will lead them as ea

a s t h e ir seventh year to seek the man wh o is master
'

an y branch of knowledge and to b e able t o j udg ,

about it independently and freely .

But we know n e it h e r wh at education is nor wh a

‘

the child is .

'

T h e det ail s of human sense impres sion from

’
-
‘

his kno w ledge arises are in themselves im

an d l eft to Nature unarranged they are
, ,

confused But the important part of this

.

chaos is small in each department and whe n ,

334 T HE ME T H OD

naturally and closely surround h im f He becomes a

devil when he neglects the m and ranges over all ,

mountains to seek them at a distance It must be so . .

When the obj e cts of the world are r e moved from my

.

senses they are so far sources of deception and error

, , ,

and even of crime But I say again this law of t h e

.
,

physical mechanism revolves about a higher one ; it re

volves about the centre of your whole being that is ,

yourself Self kn owledge then is the centre fro

.
-
, ,

which all human ins truction must start .

But t his has a double nature .

NO 1 5 shows ( 1 ) how much I try to use the knowl

.
,

edge o f my physical nature as the foundation of human

ins truction
H u ch I try to use the knowledge of m 11 1
( )
2 o w m y
ner i ndividuality ; the consciousness of my will to fur
th er my o wn Welfare ; and of my duty to be true to m y
‘

inner light But in the sphere of the c h ild s ph ysic al

.
’
_

experience there are not enough motives fo r stand

,

points Therefore Nature has inspired himwith trust

.
,

in his m o ther and upon this trust has foun ded willing
,

obedie n ce within the limits of which the child h a s

,

acquired those habits the possession of which will

make t h e duties of life easier .

Nourished On his mother s breast reading love ’

”

her e ve ry glan c e depende nt for each want of his

’
,

upon her ob edience in its first o rIgIn 1 s a ph y

,

necessity fo r him its performance an easy duty

, ,

its result the source of his ple asure .

 SE L F -K N OW L ED GE T HE CE NT RE O F I N S T RU CTI ON 335

Even so is man. He finds in the whirl of existence

an d in his material experiences no sufficient mo t l v e s
for subj ecting himself to that alone which t h e duties of
his life require of him .

To fill this gap Nature has implanted in his b osom

trust in G o d ; and upon this trust has founded willing
obedience within t he limits of which he daily acquire s
,

those h ab it s t h e possession of whic h alone makes a

las ting effort t o wards inner nobility possible He too .
, ,

is nourished at the bosom of Nature and finds all his,

j oys resting on her lap ; b u t j ust as much is he depend

ent on stern necessity Therefore for him Obedience

’

to truth and justice Obedience to the Author of his

,

being wh o has no need of him is also in its origin a

, ,

physical necessity of h is conditio n its fulfilment an

,

easy d uty and it s i e su l t the source of all his j o y

, .

I then lay the keystone of my ins truction upon the

, ,

early deve lopment of the natural motive t O fe ar G o d ; '

for though I am thoroughly convinced that religion is ,

badly used as an exercise for the understanding and as

a subj ect o f instruction for children yet I am equally
,

convinced that as the affair of the heart it is a necessity

fo r my nature even at the tenderest age ; th at as such
it cannot too early be awakened purified or elevated
, .

From M oses to Christ all the prophets have tried to

connect this sen timent with the innocence of the child
like mind and to develo p and nourish it through
,

of all Nature .
336 THE ME TH O D

I follow th e ir pat h My whole instruction is not h

.

I n g but a series of illustrations of the wisdom and

g reatness of m y nature in so far as it has not been de

g raded by me .

Through an eye o pened by infinite preparation of

“

the Art I Show the s h ild the w orld and he no longer

, ,

dreams of G o d he sees Him ; he lives in contemplation

,

A n sch ) of Him H e pra ys to H im

( . .

Supplement No 1 6 co ntains an exampl e of my series

.

o f verbs frO m the Simple combination of which every

,

process and actio n of Nature that specially c oncern s

man is made cl ar what he does in commo n with in
e —
,

a nima te Nature and what he does in common with th e

“

‘
'

brute .

I do not think it possibl e to find illustr

“

ations by
which the natural man can be more surely raise d t o
’

worship G o d and to re v e re n c e h imse lf and his o wn

‘

worth It is my h o n e st wish to o to found my instru o

‘

.
, ,

tion on this foundation of human tranquillity Fo r I .

am c o n v m c e d that a child brought up without tru

G o d isa motherless waif ; that a child out of tune
this trust is an unhappy daughter wh o has los t h e
'

mother s heart’
.

B u t it is time I ended G entle men th i sis the firs.

,

sketch of my principles and method of in st ru c t i

and I offer it to your fre e criticism .

PES TAL OZZI

’

BURGD ORF Jun e 2 7 th 1 8 00

, ,
.
338 T HE -
ME T H OD

The various relations of th e numerical system mus t

be brought home to the sense impression of the chil -

dren by mea ns Of re al o bj ects I fin d the lette rs o n .

the reading b oard the handiest

-
.

At first I put one letter on t h e board and ask

, , ,

Ho w many are there The child says 1 I add .

another ,
an d ask
1 and 1 are ? 2

2 1 3

3 1 4

Only very few are wanted at first until by very easy

exercises the increased power of the child demands
gradually more and difle re n t numbers Then we tak e .

the added letters away one by o n e and ask ,

Ho w much is 1 less than 20 An s 1 9 . .

1 19 ? 18 .

I go on with— What are 1 and 2 3 .

3 2 ? 5 .

5 2? 7, etc .

Then b ack again . 2 less than 99 are 97 .

2 97 9 95 .

Then 1 and 3 are ? 4 .

4 3 7 up to 1 00 an d b ac k again .

Then 2 3 5 .

5 a 8 up t 0 1 00 e t c
‘

T he n l 4 5 .

5 4 9 up to 1 00 etc .
 SPEC I ME N S OF T HE SU RPLE ME N T S 339

Then 2 and 4 are 6 etc .

Then 3 4 7 etc .

Then 1 5 6 etc .

I go on further to
Ho w many times
‘

2 and 2 are 4 . 2 make

4 2 6 . Ho w many times 2 make
2 8 . Ho w many times 2 make 8

An d so on up to
. and then backwards
1 00

2 less than 1 00 are 98 Ho w many times 2 make 9 8

.

2 98 96 Ho w many times 2 make 9 6

.

In the same way I go on

3 and 3 are 6 Ho w many times 3 make 6
.

4 8 Ho w many times 4 make 8 etc

. .

No 4 G old fin c h
. .
-
Silver gilt Almond tree - -
.

mine mine scent .

d ust war e flavor .

fish plate oil .

( A sele ction from many examples

No 8 To make s1 gn s I s to make
. . under
stood by gestures without words .

To extend is to make longer .

To stretc h is to make longer .

T o spread is to make broader .

( Al l the other examples to go , etc .

,
are in Let
ter V II ) .
34 2 N OT ES ,
—
3 6
'

Chavannes , D . A . An Accoun t of the Elemen ta ry

Metho d of H Pesta lozzi .
,
with an a ccoun t of the works f this
o

celebra te d ma n , his In stitu te, prin ciples, an d fello w-

workers .

Paris ,
1 8 05 . Ed 2 , 1 8 09
. .

3 (p . Lavater Johann K asper Z urich 1 7 4 1

2 9 )— , , ,

1 8 02 Died Jan 2 from . .

,

effects of a bullet wound re -

c e iv ed on Sept 22 1 7 9 9 .
, ,

when the French en tered

Z urich while he was helping ,

wounded soldiers in t h e
street Preacher ph il o so .
,

pher poet and prose writer , , .

Bes t known to us by his

w o r k 0 n physiogno my . .

JO H A NN K A PER LAA ER 1 7 41 —1 802

S
Member Of Patriotic Party ;
V T ,

warm friend of Pestalozzi His Views o n Etern ity in .

,

Letters to J G Z immermann was publishe d Z iiric h

. .
, , ,

1 7 68 4 vols
, Se e G p 306 . .
, . .

Z immermann Johann G eorg Brugg Canton Aargau , , , ,

1 7 28 — 9 5 Physician and philosophical writer His

. .

Observa tion s on So litu de is well known .

4 ( p —.Isaak Is elin author and publisher Basle , , , ,

1 7 2 8 —8 2 published a j ournal entitled Ephemeri des of

,

Huma n ity In 1 7 7 6 Pestalozzi published in it APrayer

.
,

to the Frien ds a n d Well wishers of Man kin d fo r K in d Support -

of an Esta blishmen t fo r givin g Po or Children E du ca tion an d

Work in the Coun try Iselin warmly Supported the ap .

peal . Pestalozzi s Even in g Hour of a Hermit also ’

.

appeared first in t h l s j ournal May 1 7 8 0 Iselin , , .

especially directed the attention of the readers of the

 ISE LIN E T C ,
. 34 3

Ephemeri des to Pestalozzi s effo rts ; and tried to support ’

him in every way Pe st al o z z 1 always remembered him

’

gr atefully In the good h o t working days when

.
,

apparently I was wasting my strength he was the only ,

one upo n wh o m I could lean covered as I was with

'

dust and swe at and find refreshment in my pains Oh

, .
,

my friend ! perhaps witho ut you I should have sunk in

”
the depths and been lost in the mire o f my life "

( B ec k ; and G p .
, .

5 ( p 32 ) Ed 1 pp 3 4 instead of
,
.
-
.
,
But I was.
, ,

y o u n g etc h as the f o ll
. o,wIn
g b e g 1 n n i n
g with the
o ft q uoted passage not in E d 2
-
Long years I lived
,
. .

Sur r o unded by more than fifty beggar children In .

poverty I shared my bread with them I lived like a .

beggar in order to lear n h o w to make beggar s live l ike _

”
men etc , ( S e e G . cha p v pp 2 6— 3 8 . for
,
account . . .
,

of the experi ment at Neuhof which b egan in th e wint er

’

of
6 ( p — The first volume of this work appe red
. a
1 7 8 1 and was a great s u ccess
, In the form of a story .

Pestalozzi shows how the people in Bonal were re fo m ed

by education G ertrude the mother of s eve n childr en
.
, ,

wife of Leonard a m ason is t h e educator Bu t thes e

‘

.
, ,

things are an allegory : Bonal is the world and Ge r ,

t ru de the t ypical mother educator Pestalozzi likes -

.

to connect his work and G ertrude h ere I s only a name ,

for t h e ideal mother who educates as in h is previous ,

work W e forg e t sometimes perhaps Pest alozzi him

.
,

self forgets , that this work is a guid e to m others in

educating their children ”
Fe w mo thers ca n under .

take the entire education o f their children ; but the —

mother is the child s first teacher and guide; her ’

.
34 4 N OTES ,
6— 9

natural methods of teaching prompted by sympathy ,

and love are adapted to the little child and her in flu

, ,

ence is generally stronger than any other Th e . ,

mother untrained follows nature in pure simplicity

, ,

without knowing what nature does through her and ,

~
nature does very muc h through her Sh e Opens t h e
’

world to the child Sh e makes him ready to use h is

,

Sense s and prepares for development of attention an d

,
.

observation T wo women both servants are said to , ,

have been models for Gertrude — Babeli servant to , ,

Pestalozzi s mother ( G pp 2
’
and Elizabeth Naef
. .

wh o found Neuhof in disorder and worked hard to pro

vide for Pestalozzi and his family Of her Pestalozzi .

said , Sh e is an image of G ertrude 37 ,

—Herbart as early as Ma
7 ( p 4 1 ) .
y ,1 8 01 promised , ,

his friend Halem wh o was planning a lit e rary jo u rn al

,

under the name Iren e an article on Pestalozzi T h e

, .

letter accompanying the article is dated De c 2 4 1 8 01 .

, ,

and the article appeared early in 1 8 02 .

Herbart me t Pestalozzi for the first time at Z urich .

In Z iiric h I met neither

L a v a t e r nor Hegel b ut -

chance brou ght me in con

tact with the celebrated Pes - f

t al o z z i ( Letter , Jan 2 8 . .
,

The second time he visited .

him was at Burgdorf but

Pestalozzi says that here h e
JO H A NN FRI E D R ICH HERHAB T ,
c ro we d his A B 0 daily fr o m

morn till night and went on ,

the same empirical way that h e had followed at Stanz .

34 6 No TEs , 9 , 1 0

Philosophy and Philology Bern Min ist e i of Arts and , ,

S ciences He alone remained steadfast to Pestalozzi

.

when he left St anz and exerted himself to find a place ,

where he might carry o n his experiments St apfe r . .

wished to found a Teachers Instit ute Fischer sub ’

.

m it t e d his plans to him and St apfe r proposed to the ,

“

Directorate tha t they give u p the castle of Burgdorf

to him In J uly 1 7 9 9 Fischer went to Burgdorf as
.
, ,

s uperintendent of the schools and institutes that he

had j ust orga n ized St apfe r opened a new field of .

work to Pestalozzi at Burgdorf ; he sent a report to

the Directory July 2 3 1 7 9 9 ; on the same day they
, ,

granted him part of Castle Burgdorf as a dwelling ; and

a fi x e d position a s a teacher with a sa lary of LI v re s ,

1 60 . S
( ye ffa rt h I n tro du ction
) H e founded
,
the S ociety .

of Friends of E ducation June 1 8 00 ; in July 1 8 00 , , , ,

a f urther grant was made to P e stalozzi throu g h his

efforts of as much of the Castle of Burgdorf as he
,

nee ded a garden and wood ( G pp 9 8

, Sep t .
, .
,

1 8 00 was amb assador to Paris

,
At the end of the .

Republic 1 8 03 he retired into private life and lived

, , ,

in France 37 years .

Schn e ll J Prefect of B u rgdorf

,
He published a .

pam phle t perhaps the first on the s ubj ect giving a

, ,
'

c omplete exposition of Pestalozzi s views about Octo

’
,

ber 1 8 00 Reprinted I n Pesta lozzi B latter Z urich

,
.
, ,

1 888 . G
( , p The
,
first
. edition of W ie G ertru d

c l o se d wit h an extract from a letter of Dr S chnell

'
.
. .

Dr; G rimm an influential citizen of Burgdorf and a

, ,

warm friend of Pestalozzi .

10 ( p 5 1 )— Hin tersassen , or Hin tersedler, were n on

'

- .
 C O N D ITI O N OF SW I SS TE A CH ERS 34 7

burgesses wh o po sse ss é d besides a house a garden or

, , ,

a b it of field They were also small suburban peas

.

a nts . Their children attended the school of a worthy

Shoemaker Samuel Dysli who carried on his t rade in
, ,

his spare time as well as when with the children His .

s‘-
instruction consisted in teaching the children to read
in a mechanical tedious m anner and in hearing the
, ,

Heidelberg Catechism T h e room belonge d to him .

a n d he worked at his trade in it His teaching ap par

-
.

u tus consisted of the Spe llin g a n d Na me B o o k ( Fibel ) ,

The B egin n in gs of Christian Do ctrin e ( Siegfried ) The ,

Heidelberg Ca techism a n d the usual Psa lter The school

,
.

c ont ained seven t y three scholars of all ages -

( G p . .
,
.

Morf Obtains much information about the wretched

c onditio n and entire absence of culture among Swiss

t each ers in Pestalozzi s time from the o fficial lis t of

’

q uestions which teachers had to answer -

inf

writing ,

a bout the1 r personal relations their former occupa ,

f t ions thei r future work their nomination e t c; On e

, , ,

t eacher Me yer of Sc h Offle sdo rf could not ans wer the

, ,

”
q uestion s because he could not writ e yer
y well g

Another Meyer of K loten ,

in summe r When he has , ,

n o school
'
earns his bread by bricklaying He used
,
.

t o be a watchman in the town ; he now works in the

g
”
arden and is a
,
rope maker -
.

We hardly any trace of a proper schoolroom

hnd .

The c h o ic é of a teache r often depended not on his ,

a bility but on his having a room ; his family remained

,

and carried on their domestic duties during school

Often neighbors brought their spinning wheel s ,
34 8 T —
N O ES , 0 1 4
1

finding more warmth an d entertainment there than at

home . Reading and learn ing by heart wer e
the pupils only tasks The big ones were learnin g
’
.

aloud so there was a constant hubbub in the school

, .

Class teaching was not thought of On e report says .

The vanity of parents makes them wish their chil

dren to appear clever A child is considered clever if .

he can shout the whole catechism without a blun der .

If he knows the 1 1 9 t h Psalm and can rattle o ff a few

chapters of the Bibl e (never mind the sense ) he is a ,

wonder To read the Bible through is the highes t

.

point . Se e al so Se yffar th I n tro du ction to

’
Wie Ger ,
”
tru de V o l XI,
. .

Schools of this kind were not confined t o Switzer ~

land Possibly some exist still changed it may be in

.
,

appearance but unchanged in principle Psalm and

,
.

catechism are gone but mere word memory work ,

remains .

11 ( p 5 5 )— Ed 1 p 30 I shall work none I

‘ ‘

. . . . .
,

am not pro ordained for this I will have nothing t o

-
.

”
do with miracles real or pretended ,
.

12 ( p p 32 . Vo us vo u lez mecha n iser

5 6 )— Ed 1 , . . .

l é du ca tion
’
He hit the nail on the head and put t h e
.
’
,

word into my m outh that exactly described the nature :

of my purpose ”
Pestalozz i soon afterwards foun d . .

that he had not quite understood Gl e yre .

In the second edition the word mechanical is

sometimes changed to organic ”
He altered thi s “
.

word as he thought and knowledge became clea r as ,

scientific terms are altered with additional knowledge .

Mechanical ”
became s o metimes s
py c h o l o gi c a
35 0 N OT ES ,
1 4— 1 9

o b so l e t e f W e tell what should be seen tho u ght and , ,

said This A B C of An scha uun g involves expression

.

by words as observation is sometimes used b y us .

It in c l u de s ec ression by the child of what it see an d thin ks .

On eday at Burgdorf when they were looking at a ,

dra wing of a window a child s aid C ould we n o t , ,

learn as well from the window itself Another tim e

a si ilar re m
m ark wa s made The o hild is right ”
.
“
,

said he and put the drawings away and s t udied fro m

, ,

obj ects but he does not exclude drawings

,
.

S ome have naturally supposed that as obj ects are t h e

‘

sources of ideas and kno wledge o b je c t s o n ly Shoul d ,

be given for drawi ng studies In Belgium they ;

,

rej ect absol u t ely the practice of drawI n g from prints .

‘

As soon as a child can dra w lines he is se t _ ,

to produce geometrical forms plane surfaces an d , ,

solid bodies ( M C ouvreur

. Minutes Of
. the Inter ,

national Conference 1 8 8 4 ii But the child s n a

, ,
.
’

ture should be considered also and children prefer t o ,

draw from copies even the usual dead copi e s ; but copie s
,

made with them by t h e living teacher or the mothe r

,

ar e the best Historically direct imi tati on of obj ect s

.
,

comes later Possibly drawI n gs may have value as well

.

as obj ects If they are useful as Oopies for dr awing

.
,

they may be useful as helps to observation .

15 ( p 60) E.d 1 p 37 A l l—came soon

. to kno , . .

the hardest names of the le ast known animals in Bu

fon s Na tura l History and to notice
’
,

clearly points in them as well as in

But yet this test was not decisive f
 DR A W IN G vs . RE AL OB JEC T S 35 1

po In t o f i nstruction This boy had already three u n .

u sed years beh ind him and I am convinced etc , , .

1 6 ( p 6 1 ) E d 1 p 39
.
— I cease describing les t
.
, . .
,

I sho ul d come again upon the picture of the school

master and the terrible contra st between their nat ure
, ,

their action their state and their misery and that

, , ,
”
of lovely nature But friend tell me etc .
, , .

1 7 (p 6 ) Ed 1 p 4 2
4 .
— .

While I was thus on

.
,
. , .

th e track of the first b e g1 n n 1n g points of all inst ru c

tion for the children who should be educated by it from
the cradle and all power for the method itself I took
, ,

ihe an s with the school children wh o fell into my hands ,

not having been formed by it in direct Opposition to

”
my principles
a
etc , .

1 8 ( p 66 ) Pe st al o z z 1 came in many ways into oppo

—
.

sit io n with himself ; he tried t o cram in wh en he ought

to have drawn out Nature s method alone is ’

right he says ; and then gives this unnatural parrot

,

l ike repetition of dull uncomprehended words or ,

wildest nonsense absurdly hard complicated and e n , ,

t ire l y incomprehensible W e m u st always remember .

he has o nly really reached clear ideas abOut hi s prIn C i

p les withi n this y ear and it is not wonderful that he ,

o ppos es himself ; the habits and thought s of hi s lif e

are n o t all ref ormed and regenerated at once Pos .

-

si bl y too
,
somethi n g may be said in favor of such test
,

exe rcises .

19 ( p 68 ) —.Fischer‘

1 7 7 2 1 8 00 wa s a pupil of
—
, ,

S alzmann in Schnepfenthal,
W a s appo inted Secretary .

o f Scien ce and Art Depart ment by St apfe r in 1 7 9 8

L
‘
.

EIn 1 7 9 9 with St apfe r s consent he attempted to Organ

’
, ,
35 2 N OT ES ,
1 9 — 22

ize a course of training for teachers in Castle Burgdorf ,

but failed In 1 8 00 he left Burgdorf and went back

.
,

to his post as secretary He died on the 4t h of May .

,

1 8 00 .

Fischer S letter wa s printed in full by Steinmuller to

’
,

whom it wa s addressed in his Helvetischer Schu lmeister

biblio thek, v ol seq St Gallen 1 8 01
. i pp. . 21 6, . .
,
.

20 ( p 68) —
St e in mii ll e r took great interest in Pesta
.

lozzi and applied to Fischer to learn more of his method

,

of teaching Fischer answered De c 6 1 7 9 9 On

.
,
.
,
.
‘

De c 31 St e in mii ll e r wrote to thank him and said :

.
, ,

Oh h o w true it is that the teacher without psy

,

c h o l o gy does his work as badly as an old woman doctor

ing St e in mii ll e r in 1 8 03 criticized Pestalozzi s v 1 e ws

’
.

and meth ods in a small pamp hlet Remarks upon Pesta ,

lozz i s Metho d of In stru ction

’
It is especially directed .

a gainst exaggerated p raise of the method and disputes ,

’
to some degree the claim of novelty of Pestalozzi s
ideas .

Morf publishes a collecti on of his letters to Fischer

taken from the Swiss Archives at Bern giving an ,

account Of his life .

2 1 ( p 8 1 ) K ru si s career from an errand boy to a

.
— ’
-

fellow worker with Pestalozzi is given in the text His

-
.

s itua tion in G ai s brought him plenty of work and 2h ,

g ul den a week Fo r self culture h e zealously studied

.
-
,

the works of Basedow Salzmann and others and tried , , ,

to use in school what he learned this way as well as ,

by his own observations and experiences from nature

and life He was an active thoughtful teacher with
.
, ,

a lovable disposition the effects of which were s Oo n ,

35 4 N OT ES ,
—
22 27

th O
u gh t , mental power and exp ression by mea ns o f ,

questions ”
He obj ected to Fischer s Socratizing b e
.
’

ca u se it was not prepared for and preceded by sense

impression o r observation of obj ects at this time n ew ,

to him C onsider no human j udgment ripe that is

.

not clearly the result of complete sense impression of -

all parts of the obj ect to be j udged ( p H e .

would rather hold back the j udgment until the child

had rea lly seen with its own eyes the obj ect about which
he should express himself fro m a ll sides an d un
‘

der dyferen t con ditio n s But he b elieves even n o w

"

strongly in Socratizing I found weakness nowher e .

exce pt in myself and in the art of using what already

e xists I t ried to force in where it is only possible to
"

draw out from wit hin t h e child that which is in h im

and is onl y to be developed from what is within him
”
and cannot be put into him ( Letter I Later h e .

is not less than Fischer its supporter All true .

_

all real ed ucative instruction must be drawn out o f

”
the children ( Letter I ) . .

23 ( p 8 6 ) E d 1 p 7.4 A ft e wa rds K rusi t ri

— .
,
. .
-

to combine Socrati zing and catechisi ng But this 0 .

bination by its very nature leads no further than

”
squaring of the circle that a wood cutter etc -
,
.

24 ( p . 88) — Ed 1 ,
p 77
. With time and industry
. .
,

it is po ssibl e to ask many questions easily about m

‘

”
subj ects .

25 ( p p 84
. 9 ) Ed 1 ,
2 —
I h ave said fe arless
. .
,

tha t it is n o t opposed to G o d or religion to lead up

_
r

clear ideas and endeavor to teach children to

,
 CA TECH IZIN G A N D SO CR A TI Z IN G 35 5

fore we cram their memori es with the afi airs of positive

theology and its never to b e settled disputes - - -
.

26 ( p. 9 6 ) E d 1—p 8 8 A ll.these,
views con. .
,

n e c t e d with the harmony daily becoming clearer b e

tween my methods of instruction and nature fully ,

convinced himthat all knowledge lay in t h e union of

these methods so that a te acher need only learn how to
,

use the m in order to raise himself and his p upils by their

means t o all knowledge that can be al me d at by
teaching ? ”

'

2 7 (p . 9 9) — Tobler ,
Johann G eorg 1 7 69— 1 8 4 3 , ,

from Trogen in Appenzell

, ,

Au s se rh o de n went to Basle
, ,

1 7 9 2 to be trained for t h e
,

Church but soon gave up

,

theology for teaching He .

was a tutor for five years ,

and became dire ctor of a

girls school in Basle 1 7 9 9
’
, .

In 1 8 00 his friend K rusi in

t r o du c e d h im t o Pe st al o z z i ,
ANN G E O R G T O B ER
m

JO H
i m
— ‘

with whom h e Stayed seven

l

1769 —1 843
l
L ,

years In 1 8 07 he founded an industrial school at

.

Miihlh au se n that soon numbered 6 00 scholars ; thi s

,

was close d in 1 8 1 1 In 1 8 1 2 he became mast e r of a

.

private school in Glarus but left in 1 8 1 7 on acc ount ,

.

of the famine After again being a tutor for three

.

ye ars he became director of an educational institute

founded by himself ; this he gave to his eldest son in
‘

51 8 31 H i s last years were s pent in Basle where he ,

:
died at the house of his y oungest son who had a boy s ,
’
35 6 NOT ES , 2 7 32 -

school at Nyon Tobler helped Pestalozzi in his writ

.

ing His written works consist chiefly of children s

.
’

and popular b o oks — Riegel . .

2 8 ( p 1 02 ) Slates
— . Pestalozzi was led by his lim .

it e d means to use slates and slate penc ils This very .

p ractical invention
‘
made writing drawing and arith ,

m e t ic c o mmo n subj ects of instruction at a time when

the more expensive paper could not have been used .

H e speaks first of using slates at B urgdorf They .

w ere of great service but he never mentions the in v e n ,

t ion or application as his o wn T o b l e r s statement

’
.

h ere is allowed to stand and is therefore sanctioned ,

b y Pestalozzi Chalk too was used

. Fo r drawing .

”
we wer e given only slates and red chalk ( Ram .

sauer s account ; G p
’
.
,
.

2 9 ( p 1 08 ) Buss of T ii b in ge n tells his own his

— .
, ,

tory in the text Afterwards he taught drawing in

.

Bern ; Gr uner thus describes him Buss has extra .

ordinary talents particulary for art He is born to

, .

teach by sense impressio n -

He has indefatigable zeal , .

energy and skill Li k e K rusi he has a bsolute authority

.

over his pupils and manages them well showing

, ,
”—
mirable patience in teaching them Riegel . .

30 ( p 1 08 ) Ed 1 p 1 07
— Show Wielan d “

m
,
. . . .

A B C der An scha uun g and ask h i if he ever fo

stronger proofs of powers thrown away .

Wieland author o f Oberon was friendly to Pestal

, ,

His German JlI ercury De c 1 8 01 contains the , .

, ,

n otice o f Wie G ertr ud It is warmly re c o mme .

In it he says
'

Pestalozzi promises much but ju

, ,

from the firs t fruits lying before us he is a m ,

”
keep his word .
35 8 N OT ES ,
32—36

Fo r this reason I failed to grasp its principles I threw .

all my energy into the special department in which

”
Pestalozzi wanted my help .

33 ( p 1 2 0) Ed 1 p 1 2 6
—. Ho w men have lan
.
, . .

guage in order by knowing the names of obj ects to be

,

able more easily to disting uish one from another .

3 (
4 p 1 2 ) Ed 1 p 1 2 7
1 —. However I estimated
.
,
. .
,

the whole method only through the medium of a de

rt m e n t and its e fi e c t s upon it In this way I came
pa .

ste p by step to see and understand its effects upon

other b ranches I found now by the clue given by my
.

”
art teaching how it might be possible
-
etc ,
.

35 ( p . 1 2 3) —
p 1 29 Which a
Ed 1 ,
.lone make . .
“

the Art difii c u lt t o the human race because they under

mine the foundation which it has in man and lead him
away from Nature who asks nothing of us that is not
,

easy if we only seek it in the right way from h e r

,

hands only
Richter says W e see even this account of one of
, ,

Pestalozzi s fellow workers is altered in the second

’
-

edition in one o r two places Did Pestalozzi do this .

It is doubtful It is more likely that Jos Schmi d wh o

. .
,

bro ught out the collected works made these changes ,

for h e has been proved t o have made arbitra ry altera

tions sometimes Some other changes In the seco nd
.

edition are due to Schmid But that Pestaloz z i did .

s ometimes make alterations appears from the preface ,

in which he Says tha t he left the book almost unal

t o red in fact most of the alterations are limited to
f orms of expression In some however and part ic
.
, ,
’
u l arl y in the more important alterations Pestalozzi s ,
 S CHMI D
’
S A LT ER ATI ON S 35 9

a uthorship is undoubted as is e vi dent from their char ,

”
a cter .

This note of Richter s illustrates the way in which’

t h e best editors speak of Schmid while the latter pa rt ,

neutralizes th e beginning most of the alterations are ,

”
l imited to forms of expression Yes they are often .
,

so slight that we could not well represent them in

translation Fo r instance
. vi llages in Bohemia ,
”

become castles in Spain

“
in the second edition ;
dem Auge becomes in dem Auge ”
etc etc Some , .
,
.

a re evidently corrections But if the more impor tant .

additions are evidently Pestalozzi s own the lesser ’

,

a l terations and corrections may also be his ; besides the

"

o riginal co m munication of Buss may have been written

under circumstances which justified these slight altera
tions by Pestalozzi No Schmid theory is needed to
.

explain them .

36 ( p . 1 24 ) -
Rousseau , Jean Jacques 1 7 1 2—1 7 8 7 ,
.

The Revolution last century

began a new era It was .

not like the Re n ais sance — a

return to an older civiliza
tion with its art and liter ,

ature but a return to na ,

ture A new faith w a s .

growing and the need was ,

felt for cultivating the in

JE A N JA Q E R O
C E A 1 7 12 17 87 t e ll e c t instead of su b ju gat
U S U SS U, -

ing it to priestly authority I t was a struggle for lib .

e rt y of thought speech and inquiry ,

Rousseau was
,
.
360 N OT ES , 36— 39

the man of his time prepared by special ed u cation and ,

mental con dition for it It was his work more than .

that of any other man that France arose from decay

and found irresistible energy says Mr Morley Fo r ,
. .

”
twelve years he says himself ,
his heart made hot ,
“

within him by the idea of the future happiness Of t h e

”
human race and the honor of contributing to it h e ,

wrote th ose works which Mr Morley says gav e ,

.
,

E urope a new gospel and a new education On e of .

these works perhaps t h e best is Emile By so me

, , .

means he had the very education himself that he sug

gested for Emile that of nature All his life he was
,
.

outside the rules of civilization an untamed nat ural ,

man a vagabond Quick says Fo r extracts both in

”
, ,
.

the o rI gI n al and translated that give an excellent view

of E mile see Q uick s Educational Reformers ( Syra
,
’

cuse editio n ) pp 1 4 1 —1 8 2 ,
. .

These quotations will give some idea of t h e new

education founded by Rousseau and worked out by ,

Pe st al o z z 1 Froebel and others

, Str angely enough it .
,

agrees with the Renai ssance in the place given to the

child We must study the child learn its n ature if
.
, ,

we would teach it We must conq ue r nature by

.

”
obeying her Employ the child s activity
. Let it ’
.

learn from things not books ; it is an obser ver an d a

,

doer Self activity helps self teaching K nowledge

.
- -
.

comes by the action of our mind n o t fro m what it is ,

told The real teacher is within Teach the method

. .

of acquiring knowledge Exercise faculty and by so .

,

doing develop it .
36 2 N OT ES ,
39 - 44

e xperiments went further : they have thriven and

become ripe fruit : ,

It is interesting and sig n ificant of P estalozzi s c On ’

c e pt i o n of t h e s ubj ect to see how the e xpre ssI O n Is

a ltered in the second edition .

4 0 ( p 1 2 9 ) This Re pOrt is given in full p 309

— .
,
. .

In it Pestalozzi first states his great fundam ental

rm C I l e of An scha uun At first he limited his pur
p p g .

p ose to imp rovin g deta ils in existing schools and whe n ,

he l e ft Stanz he says at the beginning of his letter

,

t hat even his old pla ns for educating the people began
t o wither But this Report marks a new epoch He
. .

I s now a Re o rmer o E du ca tion not an I m rover o In stru c

f f p f ,

tion . What he observe d at Stanz had germinated and

developed and the first printed expression of the
,

m eth o d of Burgdorf is this Re pOrt The next is Wie .

Gertru d .

41 ( p . E d 1 p 1 4 5 — This physical
.
,
nearness
. .
-

o r distance d etermines all that is positive in yo u r

sense impression in your technical training and even
-
, ,
”
in your virtue .

4 2 ( p 1 35 ) Pestalozzi s frequent use of the word

’
—.
-

wesen tlich essen tia l

,
is due to scientific an d ph il o so
p h i c al ideas n o w no longer held F rom Plato down .

wards the qualities of obj ects were divided into two

classes essential and accidental To some extent this
,
.

c o rresponds to the distinction drawn by Mill be tween

connotative and nonconno tative qualities i e those ,

. .

qualities which help to decide the classifica tion and so ,

a re implied in t h e use of the name and those that do

‘

n ot .
( F C T ) . . .
 PES T AL OZ ZI S USE ’
OF
“
FO RM ”
36 3

43 —
( p
. 1 3 6 ) Ed . 1 p , 1 5 0 . This . mechanism of
y our nature .

In t wo places in this paragraph mechani sm has

b een altered in the second edition to organism
4 4 ( p 1 4 2 ) Form is one of the k e y words in K ant s
.
- -
’

philosophy To put the mat .

_

ter Simply , the manner in

which we think is determined
by the nature of our m inds ,

and it I s Im possible for us to

think of any obj ect except as
in time and space Time and .

space therefore are not to , ,

us properties of the external

I MMAN AL K A N
U T, —
1 7 24 1804 W O I l d b u t'
the f orm,
III W t h
a lone it can be thought Although P e stalozzi does not
.

use the word strictly in the K antian sense his use of ,

i t is colored thereby . Following G rimm we get those ,

meanings that have an y bearing on the use of the

word in Wie G ertrud .

1 Outline of figure shape

.
,
.

A j ust appreciation of all fo rm .

2 As opposed to matter
. .

3 The vessel or mould in which a work is made

. .

5 : ( T echnical ) . The frame in which type is se t .

M M
—

( e tap )h u st be fi t t e d into f orm s P

( ) . .

6 The form of a leg a

. l process ( rel to 2 ) .

Ein Wi derspru ch in der besten Form ( K an t ) .

A contradiction in the best form .

8 G eneral for man n er

. .

Aber in den heitern Region en

 N OT ES ,
4 4- 4 9

We die rein en Formen wo hn en

Ra uscht des Ja mmers trii ber Sturm n icht mehr .

-
Schi ller .

9 V isualization , sense represe n tation of phenomena .

The K ingdom of G o d can be represented in t h e

vis ible form of a church .

Pestalozzi s special meanings which do not exactly

’
,

correspond to any of the above though they follow ,

i mmediately upon them are ,

( )
a M odel type
, Urfo.rm prototype ,
.

The form discloses itself independent like t h e

”
human race . P
( ) .

All instruction is nothing but this ; it is derived

from the typical form of human devel opment P
( ) . .

Everything depends on the exact knowledge o f

this prototype P
( ) .

( )
b M ethod imposed by the facts of human nature .

The Ar t leads us no further than the Spirit of tha t

form by which the race is raised from vague sense
”
impressions to clear ideas P
( ) .

The form or rather the di fferent methods of teach

ing languages P
( )
. . F C T . . .

4 5 ( p 1 4 5 ) The Elements were not reached whe n

.
—

T he Me tho d was written .

4 6 ( p 1 5 0) Hi s natural means of teaching at Stanz

.
—

wa s the living voice ; and here he b e gl n s with soun ds ,

not with n ames or forms of letters The child should

, .

be able to repeat the sounds easily before the forms are

put before his eyes Phonetics h e had not reached
. .

Always connect a consonant with a vowel because it ,

cannot be pronounced alone We here see says

”
.
,
36 6 N OT ES ,
4 9— 5 2

plied to singing by Nageli and Pfei ffer I n Englan d .

h is influ e nce has been greater or his method used mor e

e fi e c t iv e l y in teaching Sl n gl n g than any other subject .

The Re v John Cu rwe n fou n der of the Tonic So l Fa

.
,

method said in a discussion on Pes t alozzi at the Edu

,

cation Soc iety that he came on purpose to testify , _

how much and h o w deeply he was indebted to him ; and

Mrs J S Cu rwe n tells me he was always ready to ao
. . .

knowledge it and that before he attempted to teach

,

sin ging he was familiar with Pestalozzi s method and ’

,

used it .

— T he Mo ther s Boo k never

56 ( p 1 5 8 ) . existed s o ’
,

P e stalozzi himself says ( p That is not as h e .

,

conceived it On e of his elementary b ooks published

.
,

1 8 03 was called T he M o ther s B oo k or Hin ts to M o therl s

’
,

o n T eachin g their C hildren to Observe a n d Ta lk B u t this .

b ook wa s nearl y all of it written b y K rii si and its fun ,

dame n t al idea that of using the human body as the

—
?

basis fo r the first lessons in sense impression— K rii si -

owed to Ba sedow Parts 1 6 are by K rii si ; part 7 and

— .

th e introduction are by Pestalozzi ; 1 0 parts we re pro

posed but only 7 were published The se parat e part s
, .

called Exercises in the book —are =

1 Observation and naming t h e p art s of th e body ;

.
,
.

2 Their pos ition

. 3 Their connection ; 4 Which . .

parts are single double etc ; 5 Characteristics of , , . .

each separate part ; 6 Comparison of parts ; 7 Func . .

tion .

The three remaining exercises were to have been

8 What belongs and is necessary to the ca re of the
.

body ; 9 V arious uses of the special parts 5 ; 1 0

.
—
.

Summary and description 1 .

 PES TAL OZ Z I S ’
MOT HER S B O OK ’
36 7

Pestalozzi seems to ha ve thought that his fellow

wo rk e rS u n de rst o o d his ideas better and were mor e
'

capable of carrying them out than he was himself

“

But he saw later they were not as the note in Letter ,

XI ( p 2 5 4 ) and Preface to Ed 2 ( pp 1 7— 2 8 ) Show

—
. . . .

W e were too different he says None had had his

”
,
.

experience ; none followed so heartily his way of e x pe r i

ment and observation This then is not his c o n c e p
.
, ,

tion of t h e Mo ther s B oo k ; it is only a part a n d an

’
,

unsatisfactory part of what he pr O , po se d He often .

indicates his no tion of it especially in Letter XI , .

Th e first cou rse in the Mo ther s B o o k is an attempt to

’

raise sense impression to an art and to lead t h e child

-

by form nu m
,

,
ber and speech to a comprehensive con
,

s c i o u sn e s s of all sense impression the more definite

-
,

concepts of which will constitute the foundation of h i s

later knowledge .I have impressed the firs t ten
”
numbers on th e child s senses etc These quotation s
’
,
.

Show the difference between his conception of th e

Mother s B ook and the portion published
’
.

This book was attacked and criticised more th an any

other of his elementary books and pgrhap s justly , .

However i t probably suggeste d t o Froebel his Mu tte r

,

But the idea of his o wn Mo ther s Boo k

‘

’
u n d K o selieder .

is most nearly carried out in his Letters on Early

Education addressed to J P G reaves
,
first pub . .

lish e d in 1 8 2 7 and recently ( 1 8 9 8 ) reprinted in Ameri ca .

51 ( p 1 66)
.
— Ed 1 p 1 9 6 . What does it say of
,
. .

him as a reasonable being struggling upwards toward s

Inner independence an d self ennoblement -

5 2 ( p 1 7 7 ) Ed 1 p 2 1 2
— To fall is to move
'

.
,
. . .

d ownwards Wi thout or against your will ”

.
36 8 N OT ES —
53 58
,

5 3 (p 1 7 7 A lega cy .Pestalozzi left a work in .

MS called T he Na tura l Scho o lmaster , written between

.

1 802 1 8 05 , which contains several exercises of the ki n d

4

referre d to He gave it to K rii si who published it

.
, ,

o r a selection from it and other works under the title ,

of A Fa ther s Lesson s on the Cu stoma ry Use of Words a

’
‘

Lega cy fro m Fa ther Pesta lozzi to His Pupils 1 8 2 9 The ,

.

manuscript in Pestalozzi s handwriting throughout is

,
’
,

in Mo rf s possession It is printed in Se yflart h s Ed

’ ’
.
,
.

vol 1 6 Pestalo z zi began this before the Mo ther s B o ok

. .
’

wa s pu blished After talking t o the child about his

.

physical impressions he thought it w ould be well to ,

t alk about his moral impressions and he took word s

fo r his tex t — The moral lesson and its S ocratizing
wa s as regular with us as th e obj ect lesson but I
n ever hear of it now .

—
5 4 ( p 1 7 7 ) Ed 1 p 2 1 2
. I should try to con
.
,
. .

ne o t truth correct sense impressions and pure feelings

,
-
,
”
with every word describing human action or condition .

5 5 ( p 1 7 8 ) Ed 1 p 2 1 3
— . But if the state al
.
,
. .

lows the proprietor or itself a power opposed to thi s

purpose then special actions of the rich and powerf ul
,

springing from this will rouse as far as they are felt , ,

feelings never to be quite extinguished in the h uman

breast of its original equal rights in the division of
,

the land ; and if they become universal will produce ,

revolutions so long as men are men The evils of this

, .

cannot be mitigated or remedied except by t u rn l n g

them back to the limits of the purpose for t h e sake of
”
which etc , .

56 ( p .
— Ed 1 p 2 1 6
.
; . . To teach the humble
37 0 N OT ES , 5 8- 6 4

degraded they n ever taught them t o ta lk It is no won

,
.

der that the Christianity of this cent ury and this lan d
looks as it dOe s ; on the c o ntrary it is wonderful tha t ,

good human nat ure I n Spl t e of all the bungling art s

,

t ha t are tried in our own word and clapper schools ~ ,

has Still preserved so much inward strength as we al

ways find in the midst of the people Yet praised b e .
,

G o d ! the stupidity of all these ape like arts finds at -

last a counterpoise in human na ture itself and cease s ,

to be harmful to our race when its ape in gs have reache d

t h e fhigh e st point that we can bear Folly and error .

K arl Riedel s comment on this is worth repetition

’
,

even here where we are so Often told that we h ave go t

beyond Pestalozzi an d n eed his method no more
Seldom has all word teaching all weakness in -
,

school teaching been so boldly and frankly c rit ic I se d a s

her e by Pestalozzi with all j ustice and noble wrath
.
.

Parents teachers teachers trainers and school in spe c

, ,
’
,

tors should never forget for one instant that only b y

ins truction fo un ded upon the Pestalozzian principle o f
sense impression and self activity that avoids every n u
- -

comprehended or superfluous word can word and c lap !

per schools b e set aside This cannot be too ofte n
’
.

”
repeated .

59 ( p 1 8 2 ) . W ord and clapper folk wor ds an d

empty phas es ; sounding brass and tinkling cymbals .

60 ( p . 1 8 2 )— Se yffarth
e n ds Letter V II here ; h is .

Letter V III begins with Form W e follow his num

. . .

bering as that most com mo n ly u se d ( Se e G

, . .
 ME A SUREME NT I N ART 37 1

6] ( p . A summary of Pestalozzi s meaning s

1 85) — ’

of An schauun g is given on pp 7— 1 4 . .

62 ( p 1 8 6 ).
— The five paragraphs which follow are
not in Nie de re r s version of The Report of the Metho d
’
.

6 3 (p 1 87) . Measurement
“ ”
C ompare this with .

what Prof Ruskin says on our public schools of art

.

s ystem . The first error in that system is the f orbid

ding acc uracy of measurement an d e n fo rc m g the prac ,

tice o f guess i ng t h e siz e of objects the st ude n t .

fini shes his inaccu rate drawing to the end and his mind ,

is thus d uring the whole process of his wor k accus

t o me d to falseness of every contour Such a prac tic e .

is o to be characterized as
t m l h r m f l— it i s
‘

u
'
n r
e e y a f

”
ruinous . Laws of Féso le Preface pp vii ,
viii Pes ,
. .
,
.

t al o z z i h owever carried measureme n t to extremes

, , ,

until form was lost The author of The Two Pa ths

.

would n o t agre e to this On e of Pestalozzi s strong

’
.

p oints Is that in teaching the child we should

follow the n atural course of the race The La ws of .

P eso le are So called because they are founded on

p rI n C I
pl e s established by G iotto in F l o ren e e a he rec e

in g them from the Attic Greeks through Cimabue the ,

”
last of their disciples Pestalozzi s principle is ad
.
’

mit t e d here as the foundation of teaching art It is .

not generally admitted and is applie d less frequently

.
, ,

perhaps not even in these Laws of P eso le

“

64 ( '
p 1 8 9 ).
— These measuring forms are the square s -

in Buss s A B C of Form ( The Metho d page 3303

’
, ) ,

measuring sub —divisions of t h e square are those

,

underlying the general form The child is to b e so .

familiar with the measure forms that they beco me a -

37 2 N OT ES ,
6 4 —7 0

kind of instinct Then they are needed no longer ;

.

without this help he can represent all proportions and

express hims elf clearly about them Froebel adopts .

these measured squares to get over the difficulty chil

dren h ave of measuring for invention but we hear ,

nothing about abandoning them later .

65 ( p 1 9 1 )
. F irst oval half oval etc ,
In Let , ,
”

“
t e r III ovals or elongated forms of the circle are
’

n o t mentioned at all W hat he means by .

”
oval is “

n o t c lear but Herbart e x pl al n s it

,
Pestalozzi also .

h as taken up t h e e llipse in the AB C der An scha uun g .

H e Calls it somewhat erroneously the oval ( H erbart ,

Pad Schriften ii
. Pestalozzi has not un derstood
,
.

o r appreciated this form or it sallies nor its parts His , .

description el ongated form of t he circle shows this .

He mentions it and leaves it It seems to me that th e .

oval is the fundamental form of all l iving things and ,

until some line of g raduated curvature su ch as the ,

quadran t of the ellipse is added to elementary line s , ,

a n d the ellipse or oval to our general forms an AB C , ,

,

o f For m is impossible useless inj urious Pestalozzi s ’

, , .

failed partly because he did n o t see this as I have tried ,

t o Show in a paper on Negle cted Elemen ts in Ar t

Tea chin g ( Trans Teachers G uild . I did no t ,
-

k now when that was published that Pestalozzi reco g

n ized the ellipse or oval at all Biber says n othing .

ab out it The entire absence of satisfactory accounts

.

of Pestalozzi s work drives us to the original works

’
.

— ”
( p ) Pestalozzi s narrow sense seems
’
66 2 1 9 .

He has reduced form to the Square

-

wider than this .

only He never really

. s aw the value of the oval and
37 4 N OT ES 71 —7 8
,

7l ( p 2 2 8 ) this — If
passage i from Th M h d it is
”

. s e e t o

not to be found in the Niederer version When he re .

ferre d to the Report in Letter I he said six months , ,

“

ago here m ore than a year ago

“
But Wie Gertrud
was not published ti ll October 1 8 01 ,
.

In this letter we have said the art of sense impres -

sion ( o r o bserva tion ) to distinguish it from sense im -

re ssI o n but Pestalozzi uses art of sense impression -

p ,

only “
What Pestalozzi meant ”
says J H Fichte , . .

is that only can become the pupil s or even the ’

,

man s , t rue mental po sse ssI o n which he has raised for

’

himself to a perfectly clear mental picture (An sch ) ,

that is has thought out and has reproduced out of h im

,

self from his own knowledge through the self activity -

of his mind It is only then that it becomes one with

.

his consciousness It is become evident real to him a

.
, ,

conviction which is theoretically and practic ally at h is

command at any moment of his life ( De utsche Viertel
‘

j h h if No 2 7 This is really wh a t P
’

a r ssc r t 1 .
,
e s
'

”
t al o z z i m e an t b y his art of sense impression Richter -
,

adds ( Exkurse Wie Gertru d p ,

.

7 2 ( p ;2 32 ) E d 1 2 8 9 Number also in itself

-
.
, ,

wit h o u t a foundation of sense Impres sion is a phantom

‘ ’

for our mind The child must know its form before he
.

is in a position to consider it as a n umber relation i e -

,
.

a s the basis of a clear consciousness of fe w or many .

(p M mm
' ‘

73 . 2 39 )
p 301 —
y g ra Ed 1 ,
a r i.s only .

a serie s of methods for leading the child b y every kind

o r chang e of word combination from vague sense im

- -

”
p ressions to clear ideas .
 ?

ART SE N SE IM PRESS I O N
'

T HE OF -
37 5

74 (f l . 24 1 )p 3—
03 Ed 1 ,
But I
. am convinced . .

by experime nts which lie at the base of th is statement

, ,

and have C ome with decision to rej ect all hal f measures ,

an d t o put aside all text books for elementar

y instru
-
o
”
tion which are based on the supposition etc , .

75 ( p 2 4 2 ) —E d 1 p 304 A d i all i
“ ’

. .n s n c
, e n . .

Structio n books which are written in the usual gram

mat ic al way assu m e this I would had I influence act
‘

, , ,

quite mercilessly towards school librari e s or at any ,

rate towards those elementary boo ks w hich are meant “

”
fer the youngest chil dren .

7 6 ( p : 2 4 2 ) Ed 1 p 305 -
Will there be even
.
, . .

a fe w wh o wish with m e that I may succeed in chec k

, ,

ing and putting an end to th e mad tru st in empty

words that is enervating our generation by making ,

word and sound u n l mpo rt an t to the Imaginatio n of

men and in restoring to sense impression that pre po n
,
-

derance over word and so u nd in instruction that o b v i

”
o u sl y belongs to it ?

77 ( p 2 3) Ed 1 p 305
4.
— Yes friend there
.
,
. .
, ,

will long be fe w very few The babble Of our tim e is

,
.

so closely connected with the bread ge t t in g and the

‘

-
,

ordinary association of tens and hun dred s Of thousands

together that it must be long very long b efore the
, , ,

men of our time can take that truth etc .

7 8 (p 24 .4 ) — Ed 1
p 306 S uch .pupils
,
never . .

dream t hat they are dreaming and sleeping ; but all

wakeful men round them feel the ir presumption and ,

— if the y are kind— look on them as night wanderers

,
37 6 N OTES ,
‘

7 84
9 —

79 ( p 2 4 4 ) 1 p 30 7— Ed I well know that the

'
.
,
. . .

one go od method is neither in my hands nor in any

other man s but with all the power lying in my hands
’
,

I try to approach this one true good (method ) .

80 ( p 2 5) Ed 1 p 307 I have o n e ru l e in “
4.
— .
, . .

B y their fruits sha ll ye kn ow them

’
judging all others . .

_
81 p 2 5)
.4 — E d 1 p 308 Can be n o t h l n g b u t
.
,
. .

developed faculties and clear I deas Oh if starting .

,

from this point of view they would ask themselves at ,

every step Does it really further this end ?

,
’

8 2 ( p 2 4 6 ) Ed 1 p 31 0
.
—
In this way and n o
.
,
. .

other can the child be led to definitions which give him

ideas of the thing to be defined Fo r definitions are .

only the simplest and purest expression of clear ideas ,

but for the child definitions contain actual truth onl y

, ,

so far as he has a clear vi vid background of sense ,

impres sion .

8 3 ( p 2 4 9 ) —E d 1 pp 31 4— 31 6
. You must dis
.
,
. .

t in gu ish the laws of nature from her course that is , ,

from special workings and statements about these

workings In respect to her laws she 1 3 eternal truth
.
,

and for us the eternal standard of all truth Bu t .

in res pect to her course and the statements ab out h e r

course sh e is not satisfactory to the individual of my
race ; she is not a ll sa tisfyin g truth Careful o f the
-
.

whole she is careless of the single creature and par

,

t ic u larly of man whose self dependence sh e will lessen

,
-

by no kind of guardianship .

In this aspect and no other be it understood that ,

she is careless and blind and that she requires that t h e ,

guida nce of our race should be taken out of our hands .

 37 8

I do not therefore say I have developed all it s laws ; t

a n d when I say there is a rational course of instruc tion ,

i t do e s not f ollow that I have f ully st ated this course .

I n the whole account of my doings I have tried far ,

m ore t o make the security of my principles c lear than -

to set up the very limited action of my own littl e i n di

a s t an dard of what m
V l du alit y as a ay and must come

f rom t h e full developmen t of these princi ples for the

human race I do not know myself and I feel daily
.
,

m ore and more how muc h I do not know ’

8 5 (p —
.
) E
2 69 d 1 , p 332 I see I n it the id eal of
. . .

t h el ost Innocence of my race ,

but I see in it al so the
“

id eal of the s ham e which the memo ry of this lost ho li

ness al ways awakens in me so long as I am worthy , ,

and s o long as I am worthy ever revives within me the

_

power of seeking what I have lost an d of sav m g myself

from ruin Friend so long as man is worthy of the
.
,

s ublime characteristic of his race spe ech s o long as he , ,

uses it with a pure de sI re to ennoble himself thr ough

it it IS a high and h oly thing But when he is no
,
.

l onger worthy when h e uses it with no pure desire to

,
‘

ennoble hims elf it will be to him an d fo r h im th e fi rs t

,

c au se o f rui n a wretched promoter of much mi sery

”

, ,

an inexhaustible source of unspeakable illu sion an d a

-

, 4

l amentable cloak for his crimes Friend it is true ; ,

:

terribly true the depravity of language g rows with

—

the depravit y of man Through it the Wretched b e

.

c ome more wretche d ; through it the night of e rror

b ecomes still darke r ; t hrough it the crimes of t he

W I c ke d still increas e Friend the crimes of Europe
.
,

a re still inc reasing through idle talk We cannot gue ss .

 C H AN GES FR OM FI RS T EDI TI O N 37 9

to what thi s e ver increasing list of publications will

-

lead a generation who se weakness confusion and vi o , ,

”
lence have alr eady reached the stage we see .

This passage has been extended but not much

a ltered in the second edition .

8 6 (p
-
2 7 0) — .E d 1 p 335 . Thought
, .and actio n .

should stand in such close relation to each other that , ,

like spring an d stream if one cease the other ceases ,

”
With it .

8 7 ( p 2 7 1 ) Ed 1 p 336
.
-
. Mechan i cal laws
,
. .

The mechanism o f nature .

8 8 ( p 2 7 5 ) This entire passage and the begi n ning

.
—

o f the next is altered in the later edition W e give .

-

i t here as it stands in the first edition and also fill up , _

t he great g ap o nce more .

Ed 1 p 32 4
.
, . The indivi dual man has not lost
.

t h e consciousne ss of these impo rtant requirements for

h is development His natural instinc t together with
s ,

t h e knowledge he possesses drives him to this path ,

.

T h e father does n o t leave his child wholly to Nature ,

S till less the master his appren tice bu t go vern men ts ma ke ,

i nfin itely more mista kes tha n men No cor por—ation is in .

" b

flu e n c e d by instinct and where Instinct does not act

“

t ruth enj oys but half its right .

It is a fact that no father is guilty t owards his son

m
,

n o aster t owards his apprentice of that which the ,

g overnment is guilty towards the people The people .

o f Eur ope do n o t enj oy in regard to their culture in .

s kill ( Fertigkeit t e c h n ICal education ) a vestige of that

z

p ub lic a nd general help from government that each

m an n e eds in order by wise care of his own bus ine s s to
38 0 N OT ES ,
88 , 89

attain in w ard satisfaction In no way do they en j o y .

the cultivation of their pra ctica l a bilities except indee d

'
,

for the purpose o f human slaughter for military

organ i zation devours all that is d u e to the people o r ,

rath er what they o we to themselves It devours all .

that is ground out of t h e people all tha t can be groun d ,

out of them in an ever increasing rat l o Their pra o -

.

tical abilities are neglected becaus e the government

does not ful fil the promises which were made in orde r
to grind the people But this which the government
.

W I t hh o lds from them is of such a nature that if it wer e

only granted the extortion would become j ust ; and t h e
misery of the pe o pl e a s a consequence of this justice
, _ ,

woul d be changed into contentment a n d happiness .

But now the y snatch the bread from t h e wi do w wh o i s , _

taking it o u t of her o wn mouth to give it to her bab e

They snatch it n o t int e n ding to use it for the people
“

, ,
, ,

but in order to make their inj u stice and worthlessnes s

lawful and leg al I n the same Spirit at one time the y
.
, ,

snatch bread from the W I dOW and orphan to m ake j ob

bery ecclesiastical and canonical The same meth o d s .

served for b o th : for t h e j obbery spiritual extorti on , ,

an d for t h e inj ustice worldly taxati on both In t h e

, ,

name of the public welfare — the one for the salvatio n

of the soul the other for the happiness of the body
,

both n o t o rl o u sly work against salvation and agains t

h appl n e ss .

The people o f Europe are fatherless and wretched .

Most of those wh o stand near enough to help them hav e

something else to do than to thi nk of their welfare .

In the stable an d with dog s an d c at s y o u will be led

, , ,

to believ e that many of them are humane but they ,

38 2 N OTES , 8 9 —9 8

gradual ly from the simplest to the m o st complicated ,

These e xercises must certainly result in affording daily

I n c re a sIn g c as e i n those faculties ( Fert ) which need e d .

improvement But this A B C is n o t fo un d Of cours e

. . .

we seldom find what nobody seeks It wa s so easy t o .

find It must begin with the Simplest expressions of

.

the physical powers which contain the prin ci ple s o f

,

the most complicated human practical ability -

90 ( p 2 .
—
7 8 ) Ed 1 p 34 3. But these are Of n o
,
. .

use t o the prIn OI pl e s of j obbe ry and inj ustice that

form the basis of our public revenues and are n o t ,

easily compatible with the distinctl y nervo us state of

the gentry who ta ke the biggest slice of the results of the
,

j o bb e ry and injus tice .

9 1 ( p 2 7 8 ) Ed 1 p 34 5
.
-
. These consideration s
,
. .

must determine the power of applying our activities .

Ever y influence th at in th e applic ation of o u r power s

”
and faculties turns us away f rom the centre point .

9 2 ( p 2 7 9 ) Ed 1 p 34 6
.
-
. Every ki n d of in
, . .

struction that bears within itself the seeds of such evil

for short lived men mu st cause the more terror to every
-
-

father and mother who have their childr e n s life lon g ’

-

p ea ce of m i nd at heart since we must S eek the sour ce s

,

of the infinite evil of our sham en lighten men t and t h e

misery of our masquera de revo lu tion in errors of thi s
kind since they have existed for ge n e rat l o n s bo th in
,

the in stru ction and n on in stru ctio n of our people

-
.

9 3 (p .
— Ed 1 p 347 ' An d On its line s
.
,
.
“

a sense preparation for ph ysic al in st in c t will be l aid

-

whi ch will promote the wis m and virtue of our race .

9 4 ( pi 8 0) Ed
2 — 34 7
. In this way the only .
“
 CH AN GES FR O M FI RS T ED ITI O N 3831 ,

form of ed u cation suitable to the human race is devel

oped which can be rec o gnized as a means of training
”
v irtue .

.
—
9 5 ( p 2 8 0 Ed 1 p 34 7 . Therefore it is that . .
, .

as definition befo re se n se impression makes men pre -

sumptuous fools so explanations about virtue before

,

the exercise of virtue mak e them presumptuous villains .

I do not believe I am c ontradicted by experience Gap s

‘

in the sense cultivation of virtue c an n o t well have othe r

-

results than gaps in the sense cultivation of knowledge -

.

9 6 (p .
— Ed 1 p 35 3 .
,
It is not a simple re
. . .

sult of natural instinct but yet it follows the sam e,

course of develop ment .

97 ( p 2.9 —
6 ) E d 1 p 37 0 . Friend if my metho d
, . .
,

here sat i sfie s a want of my race its value surpasses my ,

”
every hope and it does
, .

9 8 (p: 305 ) — Ed 1p 37 0 Here the second editio n

, . . .

ends . In the first edition a long passage follows from

a letter addressed to Pestalozzi by Dr Schnell o f .
,

Burgdo rf .
38 6 HO W G E RTRUD E T E ACH E S H ER CH I L DREN

Pa ge
child d ifficul tie s o f
. e c
ffe t o chi g wo rd s
f te a 240 n

fe t te re d by c a t e chizi n g e l e me n t a ry re a di g 327 n

give s up mo t h e r fo r t h e e d a d me a s of l a gu a g e
n n n 16 1 n

wo rld e s s e t i a l e l e me n t s
n 323
t ra i i n g of v s a ccid e n t a l qu a li t i e s
"
n 28 1 . 1 36 252 ,

cl e a r id e a s 94 225 245 , , v s u e s se n t ial

. n 1 33 362 ,

d pe n d e n t o n s e n se i mp re s
e - E v e n i n g H ou r O f a He rmi t 342
s io n e v e ry ma n h i s S p e ci a l wo rk 27 8
f ro m s e se i m p re s sio n
n - e x e rci s e s i n li n e s a n gle s a d n

s t re n g t h e n e d by s e e i n g curv e s
cl e ar k n owl e dge e xp e ri me n t s a t S t a n z a n d B urg

cl e a r s s d e p n d e t n e a r e s s l 43
ne e n o n n . do rf 2 9 80 -

coi cid e n ce of i n s t i n ct iv e fe e l
n

i gs
n 288 Fas c h
comm o n origi n of all me t hod s of fe a r of Go d the . ke yst on e of in
i n st ruct io n s tr uct io n 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 335
comp l e t e O b se rv at io n fu n d a me n t Fe r tigk ei t . 1 4, 15
al me a n i n g s as h e re t ra n s late d
co mpou n d fra c t io n s ,
u se
'

of abili t y 27 0 27 5 2 7 6 , ,

cou n t i g fro m re a l
n a c t io n s

C u rwe qn ,
. a c t ivi t i e s O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

ca p a bilit ie s O O O O O O O O O O
5
O O O O O O O O O O O

di st i n ct k owl e dg e
n c a p a ci t i e s

d a g e s o f l a n gua ge
n r e xp e ri m e n t

d e fi n i n g i s s p ci a lizin g e e xp re s s io n

d e fi n it io n s be fore s e n se i mp re s - f a cul t ie s
s io n ma n ife s t a t io n s
u s e of powe r
De G u i m ps s L ife o f Pe s t a lozzi
’
powe r of doi g 12 27 0 27 1 27 6 2 80 n .
, , , ,

. 1 , 7 , 1 6 , 311 , 31 2 , 349 p ra c t ica l a bilit y 27 7 283 382 , ,

d e ve lop me n t o f l a gu a g e n p ra ct ice 0 0 0 288

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

of mora l se n t i me n t . r e a di n e s s 14
o f p ri n cipl e s i n e duc a t io n 67 s kill 1 4 233 27 1 37 9
o f t h e hu ma n ra c e 28 5 . .
F ich t e 35 37 4 ,

dict io n ary a s a re a di g b ook 97 103 n , Firs t L e tt e r f ro m S t a n z 1 42 31 1 , ,

d ra wi g n 1 85 329 Fi s ch e r 48 68 99 346 35 1 352 353 354

.
, , , , , , ,

a d e fi n i t io n of fo rm 186 an d K rii s i . 87
art of 1 95 -1 96 an d oble r T 102
d p e d e n t o n me a s ure me n t 2 11
e n Fi s ch e r s vi e w of Pe s t a lozzi s
’ ’

mak e s id e a s cl e a r 1 89 t e a chi n g 69 80 -

n s l at e s follow Na t u re s pl a n ’
o 2 42
v s re a l obje c t
. fo rm 1 5 142 18 3 208 363 -
,

me a n i g s O f n 363
e dit io n s f Pe s t alozzi
o 1 7 , 29 o f i n s t ruc t io n 1 49
e di t o r s p re f a ce form—t e a chi n g l e a d s t o re vo l
’
a

e duc a t io life p robl e m o f

n , t io n s
 INDEX
Page Pa ge
Fro e be l 3360, 361 , 367 i dividua l s m 0 r e t ru s t wo rt hy
n

f ro m be low upw a rd 55 t h a n t h e ma s s e s O O O O O O O O O O O O

f u n d a me n t a l r ul e o f s p e l li n g . 1 55 I qui rie s i n t o t h e C ou rse of Na

n

t u re
“

Gai s t e a c h e rs s e m i a r y ’
n 35 3 i t e s ive e rich me n t O f t h e
n n n

g e ra l iza t io
ne n 1 63 mi n d
g e og ra phy 1 66 i n t uit ive a ri t h me t ic
of G e rma y t augh t n 168 Ith
tg e o m e t ry be fo re a ri t h me t ic . I 331 .

56 348 , Je su ti s y s t e ms Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

gloo my vie w o f E urop e 37 9 38 1 JO h a n n s e n

G d id e a o f
o ,

id e a o f d v lop d e29 8 300

e e - Kan t
good work e ra e d
; s1 98 K an t ’
s C ri t iqu e of Pu re Re a s o n 2
gov r me n t how l d i t o e rro r 27 4
e n s, e n . K rii s i 8 1 , 1 03, 1 1 0, 1 1 3, 260, 330,
ma k e mis t a k e s 37 9 35 2 , 35 4 , 355 , 356 , 366 , 368
g ra d u t e d e x e rci se s i n w ri t i g
a a 205 n co me s t o Pe s t a lozzi 91
!
. .

g ra mmar co m s a f t e r s p e e ch
p e 235 . . e a rly t e a chi n g 83
g ra t i t ud e how d e v lop e d 2 84 28 6 288
,
e .
, ,
e xp e ri me t s i n S oc ra t izi n g
n . . 85
groupi g word s by me a i g
. n 1 64 n n . g t s P s t l ozzi s vi e ws
e e a
’
. 89
G ri mm 5 0 346 ,
go s t o F i s ch e r
e

G ru e r n 18 341 35 3 356 , ,
He r m a n n
g ui l t O f d e s p a i r 2 63 k n owl e dg e g row s o u t of se n se

G u r ige l
n 48 5 0 . i mp re s s io n 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 227
g y m a s t ic s
n 27 7 l e a d s t o vi rt u e O O O O O O O O O O O O 282
ma d e popul a r 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 77
H a e ck e l 344 of s e lf . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 45
Ha i n e s j o s e ph ,
4 re s t s upo n a t t e t io n n to n at u re . 95
h ea di g s f r O p e ra t io n s f
n o o the s ou rc e s of 183
mi n d 73
Zh e a rt fi rs t t h e n re a s o ,
n 293 L a g ra n d
H e id l be r g c a t e chi s m 5 1
e 347 L ak e C H g
i g
. .
,
.
, “

H e rb art . l a gu a g e a ft e r s e s mpre s s mn 72
n n e -I

H i n t e rs a s s e n s chool ma s t e rs . 346 a n d w ri t i g co m bi n e d 205 n

T
h i s t o ry ” 1 66 ba se d n se n s e i mp re s s io n 237
o —

h g e choo l ma s t e rs
ed -s 1 28 be gi n s i m a ki g s ou d 235 n n n s

H oll a n d Mi s s L E ,
. 5 d a n g e rs of 2 67 2 7 0 -

H ii b n e r 35 3 d e ve lop me t of 2 35 n

en d an d me a n s o f 16 1
i d e as ma d e
cl e a r . 236 Of t e n u i t e l ligibl e n n 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 80
by l n gu a g a e 17 0 t a ch i n g O O O O O O O O O
e 1 5 9 - 182
I se li n . 38 , 342 t chi g me t hod
ea n 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 238
i m a ge fo rmi n g powe r
- 148 t h e s u m to t l o f ar t a
.
17 8 -9
i ma gi a t io n n 1 48 t h W it e s f t h e
e ci
n s o an ent . 166
i m po rt a n c e f p ra c t ic a l s kill
o . 26 7 -28 2 L a va t e r 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 , 2 2 1 , 342 , 344
38 8 Ho w G E RT RUDE TEACH ES HER CHI L DR EN

Pa ge
l a w s a n d course of Nat ll re n at ure fol lowe d O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 332
of s e s e s ubo rdi n a t e t o l a w s
n furn i s h e s o n ly t wo me thod s . 244
of mo ra l life i n s u fii c i e n t fo r mo ra l t ra i n
L e o n a rd a n d 33 ,
in g 290
1 1 4 , 1 1 5 , 247 , 343 i n s ufficie n t t e a che r 296
fro m St an z
L e t t el' 1 , 42 , 31 1 t h e fi rs t cou rs e of k n owl e dge . 1 35
love d e ve lop me n t of
, . . 28 4 , 285 , 28 8 l a ws a n d cou rs e d i s t i n
g ui sh e d .

M u ic
a r F D e, . . b
n o t the ch e r
e st te a

me a s u re me n t a fou n d a t io n 0 f t h e o ly guid e n

d ra win g n a t u re s pl a n t o b e followe d
’

in a rt me t hod
me a s uri n g a rt O f , Ni e d e re r
~
1 8 2 1 24 35 309 -313
. .
-
, , ,

me ch a n i s m o f a c t ivi t y 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 330, 341 , 35 7 , 37 4

o fure n at . p re po n d e ra n ce of 23 .

Pe s t a lozzi s me a n i n g Of ’
n e w s p a p e r s d a n g e rs o f , 269 .

o f t e chi n g a n o me n cl at ure we ll a rr n g e d 93 a

me ch a n izi g e duca t io n n n o t t h e i n dividu a l b ut t h e ra ce 305

me t hod o n ly n e good
,
o ,
n u mb e r 2 09 2 1 9 2 33 -

the . S e e Rep o r t . a n d fo rm 1 62 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

Mill . form l a n gua g e , 145 1 49 -

m i n d e n rich e d i n t e n s ive ly : n e v e r d e c e iv e s 209

m o n it o ra l s y s t e m a t t a n z S
mo n ki s h i n s t r uc t io n O be die n ce how d e v e lop e d ,

mo ra l e duc a t io n . 2 85 , 28 6 , 288
s e lf -d e v e lop me n t on ly o n e good me t hod 2 44
s e n t i me n t d e v e lo pe d o rg a n i s m o f n a t ure 27 1
mo ra li t y g e rm of ,
ova l s 1 5 , 1 9 1 , 352 .

Mo f r . 31 3, 347
mot h e r fi rs t i n e duca t io n 229 294 . .
,
p at ie n ce h o w d e v e lope d
,

i n G od s pl a c e t o t h e child 302
’
. . p e n cil u s e d be fo re pe n
i n st i c t f n o 22 9 p e ma n s hip
n .

n o lo n g e r n e e d e d 28 8 . p e rfe ct io n t h e g re a t l a w of a n

s ou rc e of m o ra l id e a s 2 84 t u re .

Mot he r s ’
1 58 16 3 1 92 , , ,
Pe s t a lozzi bl a me s hi ms e lf f O r
204 , 2 1 1 , 2 31 , 2 32 , 233, 239 , 245 , f a ilu re
2 54 , co n s id e re d a n idiot
ve r e xi s t e d
ne could n o t wri t e o r d ra w
mo t h e rs d e pe n d e d upo n by Pe s ig ora n t o f s cie n ce
n

t al o z z i
mu s ic
n at u ra l hi s t ory
n at u re a d a rt u i t e d
n n
200-2 03 i n h i s s chool a t S t a n z
324 i n ca pa bl e of philo s ophic
t hough t
mi s u n d e rst ood
. re a d n o book i n 30 ye a rs

be gi n s wit h s e n se impre s - ridicul e d

S io n O O O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 t a ugh t n o t t ru t h s b ut t ru t h 258
39 0 Ho w G E RT RUDE T EAC H ES H ER CH I L DR EN

Page Page
s e n se - i mp re s s io n a rt of 2 16 37 4 , ,
te a chi g n d e pe n de n t p n l a n g ua ge fll '

fou n d a t io n O f i n s t ruct io n 316 . . o f s pok e n s ou n d s 1 50-15 7

of k owl e dg e 22 0 227
n - s ou d s s u n g n 1 57
ma d e a n a rt 25 5 - t e x t —book t e a chi n g 24 1
p ropo rt io a t e t o n e arn e s s 333 n . Th e Art . . 57 , 64 , 1 13, 12 9 , 1 34 , 1 48 ,
s ubo rdi n a t e d t o co n vict io n 293 . . 1 59 167 22 5 253,
s e n s e s fi r s t t h e n j udg me n t
,
. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 1 , 277 , 29 7 , 317 , 325
s e n s e me ch a i s m a n d re a s o n
- n 257 . . d e ve lop me n t o f 232 .

s e n s u a l pl e a s ure 289 fou n d e d n a t u re 129 on .

s i mpl e be fo re co m pl e x 132 319 ,

i n h a rmo n y wi t h n a t ure 149
s i n gi n g 1 5 7 366 ,
T h e Me t hod S e e Rep o r t o n . .

s kill co m e s t h rough e duc a t io n 27 1 . t h re e powe rs O f k n owl e dg e 148

s l a t e s i n t ro d uc e d b y Pe s t a lozzi 35 6 r s i n s uffi ci e t
’
,
141 n

u se o f 1 97 s Ou rc e s of k owl e dg e n

S oc t izi g
ra n 3, 33, 35 3 t hi n g s be fo re li n e s 118 .

i W o ki g M
n r n en s
’
C olle ge 3, 5 be fore word s
K rii s i 85 t h rough t h e mo t h e r t o G o d 300
’
s 0 0 0 0 0 0

T o b le r 1 01 T obl e r 8 1 9 9 1 1 3 2 60 35 5 356
’
s , , , , ,

so ul i n s piri n g t hought s co me s t o B ur gdorf 1 03

s ou d T o b l e r s di ffi cul t i e s a s a t e a ch e r 1 00
’
n 15 0 182 - .

powe r of 1 48 e a rly e duc a t io n 108

t e a chi n g of 1 5 0 157 237 .
-
,
vie w f Pe s t a lozzi s wo rk 103 7
o
’
-

s ou rc e s O f k nowl e dg e 183 t o n ic s o l fa me thod 366

S p e e ch o rg a n s o f t ra i n e d
,
1 51 t ra i i n g t h e o r g a n s o f s p e e ch
n 15 1
s p e e ch -t e a chi n g t ra n s p a re n t ho rn i n p e n ma n s hip 7 0 .

S pe llin g Book 158 204 2 15 231 232 . .

, ,
t ru s t how d e v e lop e d
, 2 8 4 288 ,

fun d a me n t a l rule of 155 T u rn e r E C ,

.

s chool a t B u rgdo rf

s qu a re fou n d a t io n of a ri t h me t ic u n bia s e d s e n s e i mp re s s io - n

un e s s n t ia l v s e s s e t ia l
e . n

ubdivi s io n s of
s . 1 87 , 329 u n i t s t a bl e o f
,
.

St a n z 4 , 38
St a pfe r . 5 0 345 , 35 1 vie ws re a ch e d by e xp e rime n t .

s tat e , p art O f in e duca t io n 27 5 2 9 80

S t e i n mii ll e r . 352 , 35 3 v On B ru n n 103
ste p s i n di st i n g ui sh i n g a n umbe r . 1 45 vo n T ii rk
S ull y q . 7 vowe l s t h e roo t s of s ou n d s 238
Su ppl e me t t o T h e Me thod No
.
,

n ,
.

2 327 , 337 Wi l de an 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 108 , 3 6 5

NO 3 . 32 8 , 337 Wi dow i n s t e a d of pict ure of i t
n , . 350
No 4 . 329 338 W o rd s wo rt h s pre lud e ’

339 word a d cl a pp e r s chool n s 182

Sw an s
’
So g n 31 1 word -t e a ch in g 1 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
, 237
s yllabl e s a ddi t io n s to s ou n d of e ff e c t O f 2 40
wo rd t wis t i n g
- 12 4
 I NDEx 39 1

Page
wri t i n g ,
a rt 1 96 -200 204—208 Ze he n de r
d e pe n d e n t on me a s u re me n t . . 1 97 Z ie m s s e n
Z i mme rma n
Yv e rd un 19 -24