But before I continue further here, it is my duty to consider my life
and work from yet another point of view.
Amongst the various branches of education, the teaching of languages
struck me with especial force as defective, on account of its great
imperfection, its capriciousness and lifelessness. The search for a
satisfactory method for our native language occupied me in preference to
anything else. I proceeded on the following basis:--
Language is an image, a representation of our separate (subject) world,
and becomes manifest to the (object) world outside ourselves principally
through combined and ordered sounds. If, therefore, I would image forth
anything correctly, I must know the real nature of the original object.
The theme of our imagery and representation, the outside world, contains
objects, therefore I must have a definite form, a definite succession of
sounds, a definite word to express each object. The objects have
qualities, therefore our language must contain adjectives expressing
these qualities. The qualities of objects are fundamental or relative;
express what they are, what they possess, and what they become.
Passing now to singing and music, it happened very luckily for me that
just at this time Naegeli and Pfeifer brought out their "Treatise on the
Construction of a Musical Course according to the Principles of
Pestalozzi.
Pages:
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159