Rensselaer Democrat, Volume 1, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 June 1898 — DARWIN AS A PUPIL. [ARTICLE]

DARWIN AS A PUPIL.

Ile Preferred Chemistry to the Old Greek and Latin Verses. Thirty years ago Dean Farrar, at that time plain Mr. Farrar and merely a master at Harrow School, delivered a lecture in which he attacked the system, then in vogue, of spending much time over Greek and Latin verse. He urged that the practice should be abandoned in yase of boys who had no aptitude for sjuch work. In place of this artificial drilling, the lecturer advocated the study of science and natural history, as likely to benefit boys who cared nothing for Greek and Latin versification. Of course the lecturer was opposed by those who were believers in the old classical system. But he lias received his reward. Then there was but one well-known school in England which had a “Science Master;” now there is scarcely a school of note which has not. Then the “Latin verse” system was universal; now it is almost entirely abandoned. He, also had the pleasure of receiving from Charles Darwin a letter of historic Interest in the annals of English education, wherein the great biologist relates his own experience, while a pupil, in being snubbed because he preferred chemistry to the classics. He writes: “I was at school at Shrewsbury under a great scholar, Dr. Butler. I learned absolutely nothing except by amusing myself by reading and experimenting in chemistry. Dr. Butler somehow found this out, and publicly sneered at me before the whole school for such gross waste of time. I remembef he called me a pococurante (careless, indifferent fellow), which net understanding I thought was a dread ful name.” Dean Farrar, commenting on Dr. Butler’s mistake with regard to the greatest intellect which ever passed under his tuition, calls it a fault of the times and not of the man. In those days boys described chemistry as “Stinks,” and Darwin’s nickname at school was “Gas.”