Page:Preparation of the Child for Science.djvu/52

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
48
PREPARATION FOR SCIENCE

when the land is lying fallow. Sabbath does not mean any sort of conscious exertion. But on the other hand it does not mean useless idleness. A mathematical writer on logic[1] of the nineteenth century wrote, that to listen to the voice of the Eternal Teacher we must make silence from conscious learning or even thinking; and adds, 'In these days we need repose far more than we need work. Repose is the brother of silence. We are sterile for lack of repose far more than for lack of work. The wise man acquires wisdom during the time of his repose.' A mathematician of the eighteenth century said that Sabbath and Jubilee mean, not mere cessation from work, but renewal. Sabbath, Jubilee, Holy Days, Holidays, mean, in fact, time to renew our force for future work by getting our relations with unseen forces, with nature, with man, and even with tools, more true, more perfectly harmonious, more elastic and easy than is possible while the conscious mind is acting on the relation. Begin therefore as early as you can to set up in the child's mind what one may call a Sabbatical rhythm in science; a clear distinction between the time when he is being taught by man and the time when he is free to investigate or experiment as he pleases. Give him limits of