The New Ideal in Education

The New Ideal in Education

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Title: The New Ideal In Education
Author: Nicholai Velimirovic
Release Date: August 27, 2004 [EBook #13301]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE NEW IDEAL IN EDUCATION
AN ADDRESS GIVEN BEFORE THE LEAGUE OF THE EMPIRE
On July 16th, 1916.
BY FR. NICHOLAI VELIMIROVIC, PH.D.
_Reprinted from the "FEDERAL MAGAZINE."_
LONDON "THE ELECTRICIAN" PRINTING AND PUBLISHING
CO., LIMITED. SALISBURY COURT, FLEET STREET, E.C.

THE NEW IDEAL IN EDUCATION.

By Father Nicholai Velimirovic, Ph.D.
"Nature _takes sufficient care of our individualistic sense, leaving to_
Education the care of our panhumanistic sense."
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If we do not want war we must look to the children. There is the only
hope and the only wise starting point. It is not without a deep prophetic
significance that Christ asked children to come unto Him. In all the
world-calamities, in all wars, strifes, religious inquisitions and
persecutions, in all the hours of human misery and helplessness, He has
been asking, through centuries, the children to come unto Him. I am
sure, if anybody has ears for His voice to-day, amidst the thunderings
of guns and passions and revenges, one would hear the same call: Let
the children come unto Me!--Not kings and politicians, not journalists
and generals, not the grown-up people, but children. And so to-day also,
when we ask for a way out of the present world-misery, when we in
profundis of darkness to-day ask for light, and in sorrow for to-morrow
ask for advice and comfort, we must look to the children and Christ.
WHY NOT KINGS?
Why does Christ not ask the kings to come to Him--the kings, and
politicians, and journalists, and generals? Because they are too much
engaged in a wrong state of things, and because they are greatly
responsible themselves for such a wrong state of things, and because
consequently it is difficult for them to change their ways, their hearts
and their minds. It would be very hard for Napoleon and Pitt to kneel
together down before Christ and to embrace each other. It would be
almost impossible for Bismarck and Gambetta to walk together. Not
less it would be impossible for the Pope and Monsieur Loisy or George
Tyrrel to pray in the same bench. Every generation is laden with sins
and prejudices. That is the reason why Christ goes only a little way
with every generation, and then He becomes tired and asks for a new
generation--He calls for children. Christ is always new and fresh as
children are. Every generation is spoiled and corrupted by long living
and struggling.
But for a new generation the world is quite a new wonder. God is
shown only to those for whom the world is a new thing, a wonder. No
one, who does not admire this world as a wonder, can find God. For the
old Hæckel no God exists, just because for him no wonder exists. He

pretends to know everything. Christ means for him nothing and he
means for Christ nothing. Every foolish child, believing in God and in
this wonderful world, has more wisdom than the materialistic professor
from Germany. Christ is getting tired of an old generation. Sadly He
calls for a new one--for children. In our distress to-day, I think, we
should multiply His voice, calling for Him, for a new generation and
for a new education.

THE EDUCATION WHICH MAKES FOR WAR.
It is called by a very attractive name, the individualistic education. The
true name of it is selfishness, or egotism. No religion of Asia ever
boasted of having been the birthplace of such an education. It is born in
the heart of Europe, in Germany. It was brought up by Schopenhauer
and Goethe. It was subsequently supported by the German biologists,
by the musicians, sculptors, philosophers, poets, soldiers, socialists and
priests, by the wisest and by the madmen beyond the Rhine.
Unfortunately France, Russia and even Great Britain have not been
quite exempt from this pernicious theory of individualistic education.
The sophistic theories of Athens of old have been renewed in Central
Europe--the individuum is the ultimate aim of education. A human
individuum is of limitless worth, said the German interpreters of the
New Testament. Materialistic science, contradicting itself,