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Nature perpetually thrusting this method upon us, if we had but the wit
to see it, and the humility to adopt it? What can be more manifest than
the desire of children for intellectual sympathy? Mark how the infant
sitting on your knee thrusts into your face the toy it holds, that you
too may look at it. See when it makes a creak with its wet finger on the
table, how it turns and looks at you; does it again, and again looks at
you; thus saying as clearly as it can--"Hear this new sound." Watch the
elder children coming into the room exclaiming--"Mamma, see what a
curious thing," "Mamma, look at this," "Mamma, look at that:" a habit
which they would continue, did not the silly mamma tell them not to
tease her. Observe that, when out with the nurse-maid, each little one
runs up to her with the new flower it has gathered, to show her how
pretty it is, and to get her also to say it is pretty. Listen to the
eager volubility with which every urchin describes any novelty he has
been to see, if only he can find some one who will attend with any
interest. Does not the induction lie on the surface? Is it not clear
that we must conform our course to these intellectual instincts--that we
must just systematise the natural process--that we must listen to all
the child has to tell us about each object; must induce it to say
everything it can think of about such object; must occasionally draw its
attention to facts it has not yet observed, with the view of leading it
to notice them itself whenever they recur; and must go on by and by to
indicate or supply new series of things for a like exhaustive
examination? Note the way in which, on this method, the intelligent
mother conducts her lessons. Step by step she familiarises her little
boy with the names of the simpler attributes, hardness, softness,
colour, taste, size: in doing which she finds him eagerly help by
bringing this to show her that it is red, and the other to make her feel
that it is hard, as fast as she gives him words for these properties.
Each additional property, as she draws his attention to it in some fresh
thing which he brings her, she takes care to mention in connection with
those he already knows; so that by the natural tendency to imitate, he
may get into the habit of repeating them one after another. Gradually as
there occur cases in which he omits to name one or more of the
properties he has become acquainted with, she introduces the practice
of asking him wheth