ferred to a thatched shed or other covered building. Along with ceremonial usages and moral instruction, reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught in a primitive, mechanical way. The first exercises in writing are in the sand. The teachers are aided not only by regular assistants, but also by the more mature pupils of the school. The lessons are learned aloud by the whole body of pupils at once. The discipline, in the main, may be regarded as mild, and it is only after admonition has failed that bodily pain is inflicted by the rod, by placing the pupil in an uncomfortable position, or by pouring cold water upon him—a mode of punishment peculiar to India. "Good instruction," says Manu, "must be imparted to the pupil in an agreeable manner, and a teacher who regards virtue must use sweet, gentle words."

HIGHER EDUCATION.-Higher education in India has received, from ancient times, careful attention. Although the higher institutions of learning were destined chiefly for the Brahmans, they were open also to students from the second and third castes. The subjects of study constituted an extensive curriculum, and included grammar, mathematics, history, poetry, philosophy, astronomy, medicine, and law. This course, which required twelve years for its completion, was pursued in its whole extent only by the Brahmans. The students of the warrior caste, from which the civil officers were chosen, and of the trading or agricultural caste, pursued only partial courses, with immediate reference to the wants of practical life. In the science of mathematics the Hindus have made noteworthy progress, and have placed the rest of mankind under obligation for their development of this branch of knowledge.

FUNDAMENTAL DEFECTS.-In the system of India no

provision is made for physical education. The Hindu is naturally averse to physical exertion. A life made up of eating, drinking, and sleeping is his ideal of happiness. He does not feel that exuberant vitality which makes mere existence a conscious enjoyment and wrestling with difficulties a positive pleasure. This is a blessing reserved for the hardier children of the West. The religious side of education lacks the conception of a conscious, personal God, and in practise religion has degenerated into a set of puerile observances. The highest religious aspiration is to be absorbed into the great, unconscious world-spirit. This ideal leads to an intensely selfish subjectivity, which violates, by its idle dreaminess, our fundamental duties to God and man. The intellectual education of the Hindus is not wholly undeserving of commendation. By nature they are a contemplative people, and this natural tendency is constantly fostered by their religion. But, however subtle their intellectual operations may be, the Hindus are wanting in that strong practical energy which is necessary to subdue nature and lift the masses to a high degree of civilization. The name given to the system of India is Caste Education.

3. PERSIA

PLACE IN HISTORY.-Persia occupies an important place in history. It attained its highest point of greatness under Cyrus, who freed it from the dominion of the Medes and elevated it into a mighty empire extending from the Indus to Macedonia and Egypt. At this period Persia was the foremost nation in the world, not only in power, but also in civilization. We discover there an individual freedom unknown in either China or India. The individual

attains to a self-consciousness and independence in which he recognizes the distinction between the objective and the subjective as a source of authority, and consequently assumes an attitude of freedom in relation to righteousness. Not from the prescription of an external authority, whether tradition or caste, but from a voluntary choice, he sides with Ormuzd in resisting the works of darkness.

RELIGION. The religion of Persia, founded by Zoroaster in the sixth century before Christ, is interesting in itself, and also in its relation to education. Nowhere else, if we except the Jews, was this relation closer than among the ancient Persians. Zoroaster discovered a dualism running through all nature. The contrast between light and darkness, fruitfulness and barrenness, useful and hurtful animals, fortune and misfortune, life and death, led him to conceive of two spiritual beings, the. one good and the other bad, who divide the world into hostile kingdoms. At the head of the kingdom of light is Ormuzd, whose symbol is light; at the head of the other is Ahriman, whose symbol is darkness. In the end the kingdom of good will prevail, and it is the duty of every man to contribute to this triumph. He aids in this work by cultivating the soil, caring for herds, educating children, maintaining physical and moral purity, and opposing whatever is evil and hurtful in the world. "The position of man in the cosmic scheme," says Rawlinson, was determined by the fact that he was among the creations of Ahura-Mazda. Formed and placed in earth by the Good Being, he was bound to render him implicit obedience and to oppose to the utmost Angro-Mainyush and his creatures. His duties might be summed up under the four heads of piety, purity, industry, and veracity." GENERAL CULTURE.-The Persians exhibited strength

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rather than refinement of culture. They have left no great literature, and in science and art they achieved far less than other empires of the Orient. As they worshiped in the open air they had no need of magnificent temples; but their royal palaces were adorned with sculptured staircases and tall, graceful columns. A graphic picture of the magnificence of the imperial court, as well as of certain social and political customs, is found in the book of Esther. The Zend-Avesta, which purports to be a revelation from Ahura-Mazda to Zoroaster, is about all that remains to us of their literature. It consists of hymns, prayers, and a moral and ceremonial code somewhat resembling the ritualistic parts of the Pentateuch. It teaches that the future destiny of man is fixed by the preponderance of good or evil in his life, and in some of the hymns and prayers we find a deep aspiration after holiness and personal communion with God. "We praise all good thoughts," says one of the hymns, "all good words, all good deeds which are or shall be; and we likewise keep clean and pure all that is good."

DOMESTIC LIFE.-As in all Asiatic nations, the women were slavishly subordinate, and excluded, as a rule, from the advantages of education. Every morning the wife was required to kneel at the feet of her husband and ask, "What do you wish that I should do?" And having received his reply, she must humbly withdraw to obey his commands. Children were objects of parental pride, and as they were looked on as the source of the future power and prosperity of the State, the king was accustomed to show special favors to the heads of the largest families. The utmost care was exercised in the training of children. Up to the age of seven they were left beneath the parental roof under the care of the mother, but after that age

they were regarded as belonging to the State, and were educated in public institutions.

PUBLIC TRAINING.-Till the age of fifteen this education was physical and moral. The body was strengthened and hardened by temperate habits in eating and drinking, by gymnastic and military exercises, and exposure to heat and cold. The moral nature of the child was developed with assiduous attention. As far as possible it was preserved from contact with vice, while the virtues of selfcontrol, truthfulness, and justice were constantly enjoined and practised. Ingratitude and lying were considered the most shameful vices, while truthfulness was looked on as the highest virtue. At about fifteen the boy passed to youth's estate, and at this critical period of life he was subject to strict supervision and wholesome restraint. Through severe military discipline he was prepared for the hardships of war, while the wise instruction of overseers or governors fitted him for the civil service of the State. The teachers were the ripest and worthiest men of the country. At the age of fifty the Persian was exempt from military service. It was from among these men of advanced age and ripe experience that the instructors of youth were chosen, and they were expected to be patterns of the virtues that they inculcated by precept.

MAGI. The Magi were an important class in Persia. They had charge of all the religious ceremonies, and were the learned class, being at once both priests and philosophers. So great was their reputation that people from distant countries came to receive instruction at their hands. The learning of Pythagoras, which gave him such eminence among the Greeks, is said to have been borrowed in large measure from the Magi. The king was required