es. What is required _before this_, is their
relative position, more than their form; and this, upon the principle of
analysis, will be easiest and most permanently acquired by mastering in
the first place the great outlines.

Children, by mere imitation, will practically acquire the art of
_Grammar_, long before they are capable of learning it as a science. It
ought invariably to be taught by "Steps;" and the child should have a
perfect knowledge of the etymological part, before he is allowed to
advance to syntax. The efficiency of this concluding part of grammar,
depends entirely upon his familiarity with the former. It will therefore
be found here, as in the practice of arithmetic, that the prize will
ultimately be awarded, not to him who expends most labour and strength
in running, but to him who has made the best preparation for the race.

The art of _Composition_, or the ability to express our thoughts in an
orderly and natural form, is the last branch of education to which, as
recommended by Nature, we shall here allude. The perfection of this art
appears to depend on three circumstances. There must be a clear
understanding of the subject upon which the person is to write;--there
must, in the second place, be a distinct perception of the most natural
order in which it ought to be presented to the mind and imagination of
others;--and the third is, an ability to manage these materials with
facility, and without distraction of mind, while engaged in writing
them. As to the first of these three, nothing requires to be said here,
as the exercises recommended in the previous part of this Treatise will
almost invariably accomplish it. With respect to the second, that of
presenting the ideas connected with the subject in due and proper order,
it may be remarked, that the hints formerly given, as to the natural
order of "grouping" objects to be presented to the imagination, will be
of great use here, and to them we must refer;[36]--and the third object
here required, that of managing the thoughts at the moment of writing
them, has been in effect already described and treated of, in a previous
part of this Treatise.[37] It is the same kind of ability as that which
is required for acquiring fluency and ease in extemporaneous speaking,
and is to be gained by the use of the same means. It is here only
necessary to observe, that abstract teaching and general directions are
not the things most required for forwarding a child in