UNIVERSITY COURIER.
7
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WHAT IS PRACTICAL?
Much has been said of late in regard to the "practical" studies and "practical" affairs of life, and the opinions as to what is practical are about as numerous as are they who express them. Now man at best is a depraved being, and by nature prone to err, and the danger is, that we may become as much over-practical, in the more vulgar sense of the word, as our ancestors were ideal. The chronic form in either case is to be avoided. We do not live to eat, but rather eat to live. Happiness is the great object in life, and that which produces it, both in respect to body and mind, is practical. As time is to eternity, so is a dwarfed body to a dwarfed mind. In general, then, the development of all the intellectual faculties may be considered practical. Upon this depends the degree of our future life and happiness. To live in the respect and memory of our countrymen might well be the ambition of all.
But to do this our minds must not only be developed but we must play on the chord of human sympathy, and become a public benefactor. In ancient times, ere the morning of scientific investigation had begun to dawn, when the seals which held the science of steam, electricity, and magnetism, were yet unbroken, when the facts of mathematics, astronomy, and other branches, had not been reduced to a science, the field over which the mind was allowed to wander was somewhat contracted, and yet it was broad enough to develop some of the greatest minds the world has ever produced. It was no scientific age that produced the immortal Homer, and yet for sublimity of thought and majesty of expression, to this day he remains unsurpassed. Virgil, Dante, Shakspeare, Milton, and others, fired by the Homeric torch, have flamed in their respective ages, and left to the world an undying name. To Aristotle, Plato, and others, we are indebted for much of our logical system of to-day. Bacon, indeed, filled with a spirit of the practical, revolutionized their system as it came down to him, or rather, he laid the plan which others put into execution. He aroused the spirit of scientific investigation, which has scarcely been allowed to slumber since. The discoveries of one generation have been handed down to the next. Theory after theory has been set up to the world, only to be undermined by one more probable. And so, after centuries of investigation, we have scarcely reached the twilight of scientific knowledge, and yet so gratifying have been the results that that curiosity implanted in man has only been augmented, and not satisfied. Men are becoming so enthusiastic over this kind of study that they are inclined to discard all others, which have not, to them, the smack of the practical.
Now it is not my intention to oppose science in any of its forms, neither do I intend to defend the beautiful, the grand, or sublime, as displayed in poetry, painting, sculpture, and other arts, neither shall I urge the study of the classics, the history of the ancients, their manners and customs, or the origin and development of our own language, all of which, I claim, viewed from an intelligent standpoint, are practical studies, but, for the present, I shall advocate a spirit of toleration, without which our ancestors too frequently stained their hands with blood; too frequently did they undertake to defend a holy cause by unholy means. Such tyranny has held sway in the hearts of men as far in the distant past as history extends. Almost every improvement has had to fight its way to distinction; and shall we, with the history of centuries before us, continue in this same tyrannical course? Shall we curb that man who delights to delve in the mysteries of nature, or since
this spirit is slowly gaining the ascendency, shall we in turn oppress the lovers of classical literature and art, and deny to them the right and opportunity of gratifying their desires? Shall our public schools and universities be dedicated to the cause of science only, leaving those whose curiosity and taste do not run in that same channel neglected and uncared for? without an equal opportunity for developing their minds in the manner directed by nature? Neither the taste nor the ability has been given to all to successfully pursue scientific investigation. Nor is such a state of affairs desirable. Imagine, if you please, a country where all are merchants, mechanics, or farmers, where one branch of industry is followed to the exclusion of all others, where every mind flows almost in the same channel, and what a monotonous country it would be. Though the pursuit be ever so practical, when carried to this excess it becomes unpractical. And whilst I believe that, in general, it is the specialist who succeeds best, yet we do not desire a specialistic country, but a country of specialists.
Let the nation have a general development and the individuals develope their individuality. All do not possess the necessary endowments of the statesman, the minister, the lawyer, or the scientist, and it is therefore impossible for all to become successful in such callings. "If you attempt to cut a stone with a razor, the razor will lose its edge, and the stone remain uncut," whence the necessity of toleration, and not only toleration, but also of the recognition and encouragement of the various modes of developing the resources of a nation financially and intellectually. Our schools should be as comprehensive as posssible. The prosperity of a nation depends largely upon the contentment and happiness of its inhabitants, and therefore whatever tends most to the true happiness of any individual, that to him is practical. The bread and butter pursuits are practical to all only so far as they are a necessity. The gratifying of the wants of the body is not the summit of all happiness save to the brutes alone. "The ox driven to the slaughter careth for naught but the grass by the wayside." But man, reasoning, intelligent man, is not satisfied with these desires alone. Advance is his watchword, development his motto. He is busied in summoning the deeds of the past to aid in the penetration of the future, for take it in whatever sense you will, it is man's prospects for the future that bring to him either joy or woe. Science looks at this world, religion at the world beyond. The one founded chiefly on faith, the other upon knowledge, they are related to two distinct states, and, therefore, cannot conflict to any great extent. That true science aids religion, I do not deny; neither do I deny that abused science is a detriment to it. Each have their own fields for operation, and there let them work. Let the friends of religion labor for the advancement of their cause, and bid the cause of science God speed. Away with that religion which cannot endure the pressure of true science legitimately applied. Let the scientist strive to build up the true interests of science, from the love he has for it, and not abuse it in the vain attempt to destroy religion. Let both breathe a spirit of toleration.
In the study of the aesthetical, the ethical, and the philosophical, great minds have been developed, and their works have made a lasting impression upon our literature and race. It is the good to be accomplished that makes anything practical, and it matters not whether it be found in poetry, architecture, science, or ethics, it is practical, and is entitled to a reasonable amount of care and encouragement.
H. J. O.