rished by proxy. His food must be received, digested, and assimilated
by his own powers, and by the use of his own organs, else he will never
be fed. In the same way, the food for his mind can benefit him only in
so far as he himself is the active agent. He must himself receive,
reiterate in his own mind, and commit to the keeping of his memory,
every idea presented to him by his teacher. No one can do this for
him;--he must do it himself. In a family, the parent may provide, dress,
and communicate the food to the child,--but he can do no more; and
similar is the case with respect to the mental food provided by the
teacher. He may no doubt select the most appropriate kinds,--he may
simplify it,--he may break it down into morsels;--but his pupils, if
they are to learn, must learn for themselves. When a pupil, to save
himself trouble, tries to evade the learning of a preliminary lesson, or
when the teacher winks at the evasion by performing the exercise for
him, it is as absurd as for a parent to eat the child's food, and expect
at the same time that his boy is to be nourished by it. If the mental
food be too strong for the child, something more simple must be provided
for him; but to continue to administer knowledge which the pupil does
not comprehend, and force the strong mental food of an adult upon the
tender capacities of a child, is an error of the most mischievous kind.
It prevents the mind from acting at all, without which there can be no
improvement. The mind must wield its own weapons if ignorance is to be
dislodged; and if the child is to advance at all, he must overcome the
difficulties that lie in his way by the exertion of his own powers. His
teacher may no doubt direct him as to the best and the easiest way of
accomplishing his object; but that is all. The pupil must in every case
perform the exercise for himself.

This leads us to notice another point of analogy in this case, which is,
the necessity of adapting the food to the age and capacities of those
who are to receive it.--There is in the mental, as well as in the
physical nourishment provided for our race, milk for the weak, as well
as meat for the strong; and it is necessary in both cases that the kind
and the quantity be carefully attended to. In the case of the strong,
there is less danger; because, with regard both to the mental and bodily
food, Nature has so ordered matters, that the food which is best adapted
for the weak, will also nourish the