In the dull atmosphere which stagnates between the high walls ofcolleges and churches wherein play the little eddies of fashionableliterature, which considers the authorship of an old play1 moreinteresting and important than the questions that involve the welfareof all humanity or the destiny of a nation,—an atmosphereseldom stirred by the strong, pure breezes of the mountain and theocean,—the best thought and impulse of which humanity is capableis stifled in its birth, or if it comes forth feels the overshadowinginfluence that chills its life.
Not there, amid the pedantries of “culture,” do we find the atmospherefor free and benevolent thought, but rather far away fromsuch influences, in the forests, the mountain and prairie, where mancomes more nearly into communion with nature, and forgets theinheritance of ancient error which every corporate institution preservesand perpetuates. It is to this widespread audience that theJournal of Man appeals and offers a new suggestion.
In sending forth the “New Education,” hoping for some appreciativeresponse from educational circles in which collegiate influencesprevail, I did not deem it prudent to introduce some of the noblestthoughts that belong to the great theme. The book was sent forthlimited and incomplete, hoping that, heretical as it was, and quiteirreverent toward the ignorance descended from antiquity, it mightstill receive sufficient approbation and appreciation to justify laterintroduction of matter that would have hindered its first reception.
It has reached the third edition, but it has been very apparentthat its reception was cordial and enthusiastic only among the most progressiv