, and the innumerable details of the scene, by
maintaining a comprehensive hold of the whole united group, as one
undivided object for remembrance.

From this it appears evident, that this principle is intended to succeed
that of individuation, and never to precede it. Objects and truths which
form the elements of knowledge must be individually familiar, before
they can be successfully grouped, or associated together in masses, in
the way in which the several parts of the knowledge of the young are
usually presented; but after these objects or truths have once become
known, they may be permanently associated together in any variety of
form without fatigue, and be retained on the memory for use without
confusion or distraction of any kind.

In our investigations into the nature and working of this principle, as
detailed in a former chapter, we found several causes which gave rise
to certain uniform effects, which, for the purpose of imitation or
avoidance, may be classed under the following heads:--We found,

1. That wherever the principle of grouping acted with effect, it had
always been preceded by the principle of individuation.

2. That wherever the principle of individuation was made to interfere,
the effect intended by the principle of association was in the same
degree obstructed or destroyed.

3. That whenever ideas or objects, whether known or unknown, were
presented to a child in greater number than the mind could receive or
reiterate them, it silently dropped the surplus;--but if these were
_forced_ upon the mind, all the mischiefs arising from the interference
of the two hostile principles immediately took place.

4. That children, in grouping under the tuition of Nature, received and
retained the impressions of objects presented to their notice, in a
natural and regular order;--forming in their minds a continuous moving
scene, where motion formed a part of it; and that this movement of the
objects, actually was a portion of the grouping.

These being the facts connected with this portion of Nature's
educational process, the object of the teacher should be to endeavour to
imitate her in all these circumstances; carefully avoiding what she has
shewn to be inoperative and hurtful, and copying as closely as possible
all those that tend to forward the objects of instruction.

The first thing then to be attended to by the teacher, is, that in every
attempt to communicate knowledge to a child by the groupin