Furthermore, when wit does strike, it strikes with such effect, that the child himself cannot fail to discover whether he is hit or not; he cannot help but feel that he does or does not comprehend the idea. He may not be conscious that he does not clearly get an ordinary thought; but he can hardly remain so in regard to an epigram like this, upon a conceited person. He will either "see it," or know that he does not "see it:"
"The best speculation the market holds forth
To any enlightened lover of pelf,
Is to buy Tommy up at the price he is worth,
And sell him at that he puts on himself."
Or in regard to any of Lord Bacon's apothegms like this one. Dionysius gave do ear to the earnest suit of the philosopher Aristippus until the latter fell at the tyrant's feet. A by-stander afterward said to Aristippus, "You a philosopher, and to be so base as to throw yourself at the tyrant's feet to get a suit?" Aristippus answered, "The fault is not mine, but the fault is in Dionysius, who carries his ears in his feet."
What will so bring thought to a focus, and so develop the comprehension of words from their connections as a riddle like this from Dean Swift, and which Mr. Garvey, in his "Manual of Human Culture," mentions as an illustration upon this point:
"From heaven I fell, though from earth I begin;
No lady alive can show such a skin.
I'm bright as an angel, and light as a feather,
But heavy and dark when you squeeze me together.
Though candor and truth in my aspect I bear.
Yet many poor creatures I help to ensnare.
Though so much of heaven appears in my make,
The foulest impressions I easily take.
My parent and I produce one another,
The mother the daughter, and the daughter the mother."
Of course, such material, of which the active teacher will find abundance, must be used judiciously. The purpose must be to develop, not simply to entertain. Such specimens must be carefully adapted to the capacity of the class. Time must be given, and encouragement to "weigh and consider." Every contrast, comparison, and lurking sense, must be hunted out. No exercise in science or classics can equal this as a sharpener of the wits (to say nothing of wit). The child is made to realize what real comprehension is. He becomes familiar with the sensation which accompanies a clear perception, and is more sensitive to its absence when dealing with more ordinary thoughts. It is in this way that the study of Shakespeare, now being introduced into our high-schools, is going to do more for good common-sense in the comprehension and use of language, than all the
