ce by Nature bringing the
_ideas_ suggested by the group directly before the mind of the child,
without even the intervention of words; and we see by this example, how
much more laborious it would have been to communicate the very same
amount of knowledge to the pupil, by making him _read_ the description
of it, and how utterly preposterous and unnatural it would be to compel
him, for the same purpose, to commit the words of that description to
memory. The words are merely an artificial contrivance for the conveying
of ideas;--and the more they can be kept out of view, it will be better
for the teacher, and more natural and easy for the child.

In communicating knowledge, therefore, to the young, the more directly
and simply the ideas to be communicated are presented to the mind the
better. They must usually be communicated by words; but these, as the
mere instruments of conveyance, should be kept as much as possible out
of view. To bring them at all under the notice of the child is a defect;
but to make them the chief object of learning, or to make the pupil
commit them to memory, is not only laborious and unnecessary, but is
unnatural and hurtful.

In all this we ought simply to take our lessons from Nature, if we wish
to succeed in conveying knowledge by the combination of simple objects.
In the above example, we have seen that a single glance was sufficient
to give the infant a distinct idea of the whole scene; and the reason
is, that the principle of individuation had previously done its work.
Each of the elements of which the scene was composed, had undergone an
individual and separate examination, and therefore each was familiar.
This is Nature's method of communicating knowledge to the young; and it
is obvious, that a different arrangement of the objects or actions would
have made no difference in the effects produced by the operation of the
principle. Whatever the circumstances might have been, the new scene,
with all its variety of incidents, persons, and things, which it would
take ten-fold more time to enumerate than to learn, would at once be
impressed on the mind, and delivered over to the keeping of the memory,
without labour, or any perceptible effort. The whole grouping forms a
chain of circumstances, any one link in which, when afterwards laid hold
of by the mind, brings up all the others in connection with it. The
memory by this means is relieved from the burden of remembering all the
individualities