A Word About Education
Essay.

by Robert G. Ingersoll
(1891)

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll (Dresden Edition, 1900–1902), Volume 11.
Source: https://thegreatagnostic.com/works/a-word-about-education/
Public domain. CC0 / Public Domain Mark 1.0.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

THE end of life—the object of life—is happiness. Nothing can be better
than that—nothing higher. In order to be really happy, man must be in
harmony with his surroundings, with the conditions of well-being. In
order to know these surroundings, he must be educated, and education is
of value only as it contributes to the wellbeing of man, and only
that is education which increases the power of man to gratify his real
wants—wants of body and of mind.

The educated man knows the necessity of finding out the facts in nature,
the relations between himself and his fellow-men, between himself and
the world, to the end that he may take advantage of these facts and
relations for the benefit of himself and others. He knows that a man may
understand Latin and Greek, Hebrew and Sanscrit, and be as ignorant of
the great facts and forces in nature as a native of Central Africa.

The educated man knows something that he can use, not only for the
benefit of himself, but for the benefit of others. Every skilled
mechanic, every good farmer, every man who knows some of the real
facts in nature that touch him, is to that extent an educated man. The
skilled mechanic and the intelligent farmer may not be what we call
"scholars," and what we call scholars may not be educated men.

Man is in constant need. He must protect himself from cold and heat,
from sun and storm. He needs food and raiment for the body, and he needs
what we call art for the development and gratification of his brain.
Beginning with what are called the necessaries of life, he rises to
what are known as the luxuries, and the luxuries become necessaries, and
above luxuries he rises to the highest wants of the soul.

The man who is fitted to take care of himself, in the conditions he may
be placed, is, in a very important sense, an educated man. The savage
who understands the habits of animals, who is a good hunter and fisher,
is a man of education, taking into consideration his circumstances. The
graduate of a university who cannot take care of himself—no matter how
much he may have studied—is not an educated man.

In our time, an educated man, whether a mechanic, a farmer, or one who
follows a profession, should know something about what the world has
discovered. He should have an idea of the outlines of the sciences. He
should have read a little, at least, of the best that has been written.
He should know something of mechanics, a little about politics,
commerce, and metaphysics; and in addition to all this, he should know
how to make something. His hands should be educated, so that he can, if
necessary, supply his own wants by supplying the wants of others.

There are mental misers—men who gather learning all their lives and
keep it to themselves. They are worse than hoarders of gold, because
when they die their learning dies with them, while the metal miser is
compelled to leave his gold for others.

The first duty of man is to support himself—to see to it that he
does not become a burden. His next duty is to help others if he has a
surplus, and if he really believes they deserve to be helped.

It is not necessary to have what is called a university education in
order to be useful or to be happy, any more than it is necessary to be
rich, to be happy. Great wealth is a great burden, and to have more than
you can use, is to care for more than you want. The happiest are those
who are prosperous, and who by reasonable endeavor can supply their
reasonable wants and have a little surplus year by year for the winter
of their lives.

So, it is no use to learn thousands and thousands of useless facts, or
to fill the brain with unspoken tongues. This is burdening yourself with
more than you can use. The best way is to learn the useful.

We all know that men in moderate circumstances cau have just as
comfortable houses as the richest, just as comfortable clothing, just
as good food. They can see just as fine paintings, just as marvelous
statues, and they can hear just as good music. They can attend the same
theatres and the same operas. They can enjoy the same sunshine, and
above all, can love and be loved just as well as kings and millionaires.

So the conclusion of the whole matter is, that he is educated who knows
how to take care of himself; and that the happy man is the successful
man, and that it is only a burden to have more than you want, or to
learn those things that you cannot use.—The High School Register,
Omaha, Nebraska, January. 1891.
