liar lessons--the one
about Latour, however, was never ventured in her presence--and she did
not fail to give us to understand, by her looks, that she considered
this whole method, which my father with an inimitable expression of
countenance called his "Socratic method," exceedingly dubious. But
she, by nature wholly conventional, not only in this particular, but
in others, was absolutely wrong, for, to repeat, I owe in fact to
these lessons, and the similar conversations growing out of them, all
the best things, at least all the most practical things, I know. Of
all that my father was able to teach me nothing has been forgotten and
nothing has proved useless for my purposes. Not only have these
stories been of hundredfold benefit to me socially throughout my long
life, they have also, in my writing, been ever at hand as a Golden
Treasury, and if I were asked, to what teacher I felt most deeply
indebted, I should have to reply: to my father, my father, who knew
nothing at all, so to speak, but, with his wealth of anecdotes picked
up from newspapers and magazines, and covering every variety of theme,
gave me infinitely more help than all my _Gymnasium_ and _Realschule_
teachers put together. What information these men offered me, even if
it was good, has been for the most part forgotten; but the stories of
Ney and Rapp have remained fresh in my memory to the present hour.

My father's method, which, much as I feel indebted to it, was after
all somewhat peculiar and utterly devoid of logic and consistency,
would in all probability have led to violent quarrels between my
parents, if my critical mother, who saw only its weaknesses and none
of its virtues, had attached any special significance to it in
general. But that was not the case. She only felt that my father's way
of teaching was totally different from the usual way, in that it would
not lead to many practical results, i.e., would not give me much
preparation for an examination, and in this respect she was perfectly
right. However, as she herself attached so little value to knowledge
in general, she contented herself with smiling at the "Socratic
method," as she saw no reason for becoming seriously wrought up over
it. According to her honest conviction there were other things in life
of far greater importance than knowledge, to say nothing of erudition,
and these other things were: a good appearance and good manners. That
her children should all present a good appear