DR. NEWMAN ON ART AND LITERATURE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 712, 11 January 1910, Page 3

DR. NEWMAN ON ART AND LITERATURE.

Sir,—Perhaps our learned' Mayor would deliver a public lecture on" the .'utteit i yaluelessness •of Greek and Roman ideas \ in art and literature, and' demonstrate, i once for all, that • everything' good and great in modern life is the product of the modem spirit. ' The'best that we yin do for the youth of New Zealand is to; assure them : that - they, can become great scholars and thinkers, distinguished artists,' and. men of,''letters,' without tak-. ing . any- account of, or /wasting 'their precious time over, the ideals;of what are regarded in certain circles as-the' masterminds of. old, of what, earthly- use'-are the fine, arte, classical study,' the 'higher mathematics,-- to Tom, -Dick, and Harry, or. to Mary-Ann and: Mary Jane, who'ore never likely to aspire . to' be anything more than just 'simple, plain -Tom, Dick,' etc.? . Why should we" try to'make ,the> offspring or the . mew proletariat' too big for their boots :by ' stuffing their heads with what the'so-called learned call *'cnlture." What ; .we in New.. Zealand need, above all. things, is to discourage .education beyond, ; say, the. third 'in our primary schobls. If we keep oh our as .hitherto;, making the road to socwled, learning/and..culture easy for the ofispring of the proletariat, we shall have nobody to rido our I horses on the racecourse or to' brush our boots when we (who by some: chance, or mischance, are of social standing '-and—and—culture, of ..course) wish to ,go to • the racecourse, or to any of the'other places of ■ r" 6 Influence . which, interest . and. attract the . great , ; minds .in .-.modern society.- .-Why,.again, should we men of wraith-and social .standing l '-worry the little brains, of our. innocent. sons, with iiann; Greek,-.or . Mathematics, when- ws are.in a position to make' it possible for .p' life', to!'-the 'full, ..as' we; their fathers, did, without: drawing on Let the middle classes : - •j ■ ' treadmill", of learning, and provide uswithall that is necessary or that cheap' commodity rliut,* above'- alt let our educationists see to it, that an mbplb supply of illiterates is provided' in this so that ' the .sons and 1 daughters of the proletariat may - regard it . as aprivilege-to brush' the - boots of, ana to beck,' and sndVsctape to modern society.—l aw, etc.i i ; /socialist utilitarian. :