Learning to think

Chapter I

\HARLES ! stop a moment, will you? I want to speak with you."

"You must be quick, then, that I may have a run with my hoop. What is it you want with me ?" " Come here, and I will tell you. How do you like the neighbourhood now ? You seemed to feel it very strange when you first came." * Yes ; but we have been here a fortnight now, and I have picked up some playfel- Iqws."

"So I see. Your iron hoop runs along this hard ground capitally. Can you tell me what it is that makes it go along so famously ?"

" What it is ! To be sure I can. It is my stick ; you know that very well ! The harder I hit it, the faster it goes."

" But hit this post as hard as you like with your stick, and it will not stir from the place where it stands."

" No ! That is because it is fast in the ground."

" Yonder is a post that is not fast in the ground, but lying down in the road ; hit that, then, with your stick, and see if it will run along like your hoop."

" I know it will not, because it is so heavy ; it is of no use to hit that."

" Well, then, here is my pocket handkerchief; let us see how you can knock that along. Surely that will not be too heavy for you."

" No ; but it will be too light. The handkerchief would not run along at all."

" The post is too heavy, and the pockethandkerchief is too light; you are hard to please : but suppose I put a stone in the handkerchief, and make it just what weight you please, will you bowl it along then with your stick ?"

" No, that I could not."

" And why not ?"

" Why, because — because it would not run along at all."

" But can you tell me the reason why it would not run along at all ?"

" No, I cannot ; I never thought about it."

" I dare say not ; for we boys very seldom do think about any thing but our play, unless we are obliged to it. But now let me tell you what I wanted to say to you."

" Do, and then I will be off again ; for yonder is Edwin Palmer with his hoop, and I want to join him. His hoop is bigger than mine, but still I can outrun him. What is it you are going to tell me ?"

" Why, I wanted to talk with you about Learning to Think."

" Learning to think ! I never heard of such a thing!"

* I dare say not ; but for all that, I only wish that I had begun to learn sooner."

"But where is the good of learning to think?"

" Where is the good ! What a question ! But I dare say that I should have asked it myself a few years ago, and, therefore, I ought not to be surprised at you. If people had not thought about things, we should never have had the comforts and pleasures we now enjoy. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, have all been the subject of much thought ; and our very pastimes, too. Why does the peg-top spin, the ball bounce, the humming-top make a noise, and the kite fly in the air ? I hardly think you can answer me one of these questions. Now, if you had learned to think, you would be able to answer them all."

" Should I ?"

" Yes, that you would ; but, instead of being able to answer them now, you cannot tell me, I dare say, why a battledoor will not fly in the air as well as a kite. It is something of the same form ; why will it not rise in the air?"

" It is too heavy."

" Too heavy ! Why, a large kite is as heavy as two battledoors; so that cannot be the reason."

" I cannot think, then."

" And for that very reason you should learn to think. Now, try to find out why the boy's Kite, yonder, does not go up higher in the air when he has let out all the string ?"

LEARNING TO THINK.

" Because the string holds it fast, and keeps it from going up higher."

" Then how is it that, if the string breaks, instead of the kite going up higher, it comes tumbling down directly ?"

" I cannot tell that, I am sure. Can you ?"

* Yes, I can, and many other things of which I once knew nothing. I am several years older than you, and ought to know more ; but if you would learn to think, what is now hard to you to understand would soon become easy. Thinking people have a great advantage over others, for they are much wiser : they can give better advice, and assist others, for they know the best way. of doing things, and the proper time when to do them. If you wanted to know how many grains of corn there are in a bag of wheat, how would you find it out ?"

u Count them, to be sure."

" That would be one way, but not the way a thinking person would set about it. Why, if you counted two hundred every minute, and kept it up day and night for a whole week, you would hardly be able to get through your task."

"How would you set about it, then? It is a puzzle to me how it could be done without counting."

" I would first weigh an ounce of wheat out of the bag, and count the number of grains in that one ounce. Then I would weigh the whole bag together, to see how many ounces there were in all. If, after that, I multiplied the number of grains in one ounce by the number of ounces in the whole bag, it would give me the amount of grains altogether ; and this might be done, if a pair of scales were near, in ten minutes or a quarter of an hour."

u I should never have thought of that plan, however : but what is the use of learning to count the grains in a bag of wheat ?"

"Just the same use as there is in learning to do a sum : it teaches us to reckon in the quickest and the best way. There would be no good in a boy learning the alphabet, only that it enables him to read ; and there would be but little advantage in learning to write copies in a copy book, if it did not fit us to write letters, bills of parcels, and other things, all through our lives."

" Well, that plan of counting the grains is a capital one."

" It was not hit upon without thought, depend upon it. Some time ago, I heard of a thoughtless cottager, who, seeing that a crop of grass had grown on the old thatch of his cottage, tried all manner of contrivances to get a cow that belonged to him up to the roof of his cottage, to eat the grass."

" And how did he manage it at last ?"

" Why, a neighbour of his, who had learned to think, told him, that though he could not get the cow up to the grass, yet he might, perhaps, manage to cut the grass, and bring it down to the cow 5 and this plan was adopted without difficulty." •

" Ah ! ah ! ah ! What a foolish cottager he must have been !"

" He had never learned to think. I read a story yesterday about a mischievous monkey, that, after doing much damage, ran up a thin tall tree, and took shelter in the top branches.. Two men undertook to catch him. One of them had learned to think, and the other had not. The thoughtless man climbed up the tree as far as he could ; but he was obliged to come down again, for the thin branches would not bear his weight. The thinker then stepped forwards, but, instead of climbing the tree, he set to work with his axe, and soon brought down the tree and the mischievous monkey to the ground. "

" Capital ! So poor pug was taken at last. I begin to have a notion that ' learning to think' is a capital thing, and I should like to talk with you a litttle more about it another time."

" Well, then, be off with your hoop now, for I see that Palmer is waiting for you. No doubt I shall see you to-morrow, and then 1 learning to think' shall be the subject of our conversation."

LEARNING TO THINK.

Chapter II

THOUGHT I should find you out to-day, Charles ! you are sailing your ship, I see. How famously it goes along now the wind blows ! Can you tell me why it floats on the water, and does not sink to the bottom ?"

" Because it is made of wood, Henry, and wood is very light ; that is the reason."

" But see, here is a shot. It is not a tenth part so heavy as your ship. A tenth part ! No, nor a hundredth part ; and yet, when I put it into the water it sinks directly. What is the reason of it ?"

H LEARNING TO THINK.

"I cannot tell, I never thought about it. If you know, you should tell me. What is the use of asking me puzzling questions, and telling me nothing about them ? You never told me why a peg-top spins, a humming-top makes a noise, a ball bounces, and a kite flies in the air ?"

" No, I did not, and for this very good reason : I wanted you to think a little, that you might be able to find out the reason yourself. So long as you are told every thing, you will never be a thinker."

" If I could get any body to teach me to think, I should like to learn."

" Well, then, if you will learn to think, I will teach you as well as I can, and you shall know all that my kind tutor, Mr. White, teaches me. He has paid great attention to me, and I have done my best to make progress. He tells me that, to a thinking person, every thing on which the eye can look becomes an object of interest. In the grains of corn, he sees the food on which millions of people live ; in the flax growing in the field, and the wool on the sheep's back, he regards the clothing that covers mankind ; and in the drops of dew that spangle the grass, and the stars that glitter in the skies, he beholds God's workmanship : nor is there a single ig which does not supply him. with usefiu reflections. 7 '

u If I learn to think, shall I know why a peg-top spins, a ball bounces, a humming-top makes a noise, and a kite flies in the air ?"

" Oh, yes, and a hundred things more useful to know : but see, your ship is unsteady ; you should cast anchor. I was by the river side yesterday with Mr. White, and we walked to a spot where an anchor lay on the ground. He talked about it, till I knew a great deal more about an anchor than I ever before. At first, he put questions to me, to set me thinking; then he helped me to : : and, after that, he made every ft r to me that I did not seem to underlet" •• I wish I had been there with you.*' i; I wish you had ; you would have heard something better worth hearing than any thing I can tell you. There was one very story that he mentioned : it proved ly was more important than iking much."

- What was it ? Do tell me.- '

tt He said that a man accustomed to think

:at deal about what was useless, and very

about what was useful, was on board a

when the vessel was wrecked. No

16 LEARNING TO THINS.

sooner did he see all around him running to lay hold of something to keep them afloat, than he ran and foolishly took fast hold of the anchor/

" The anchor ! Why that would sink directly !"

•• No doubt it would. He told me another story, also. He said that a party of young thoughtless sailors, who were shipwrecked on an island where no water was to be found, were in great danger of dying of thirst ; when it struck one of them, who was accustomed to think a little more than the rest, that though there was no water on the surface of the ground, there might be some ten or twelve feet under it. So, after procuring a few pickaxes and spades from the wreck, he joined companions in sinking a well, when they i had water enough and to spare*"

•• That is a very good tale. Did he tell you any more "r

" Oh. yes. a great deal ; but I cannot think of all now. He told me about sheet anchors, bower anchors, stream anchors, kedge anchors, and pilot anchors : all of which, he said, had been brought to their present perfection by thinking people. After explaining to me why an anchor must be large, that the thick cable might be fastened to it : and heavy and strong, to bear the great stress or strain on the cable ; why it had a stock, to turn it on one side, that one of the flookes might always drag along the ground ; and why it had flookes at all, to hook to, or catch hold of, the rocks and uneven places at the bottom of the sea, that the ship might be kept steady at her anchorage : after explaining all these, he told me that earthly things should remind us of heavenly things, and thereby be made the more useful to us. God, he said, to a thinking mind, was present in every thing."

"How could he make out that? How could he make out that God was present in every thing."

" To a thinking mind, remember ! But answer my questions, for they will be the same that Mr. White put to me. What is the use of an anchor?"

" To keep the ship from being blown about, I suppose, when they want her to be still."

" And what is a ship made of?"

" Of wood, to be sure."

" And who made the wood grow ?"

u God made it grow."

"What is the anchor made of?"

"Of iron."

2*

" Where does iron come from V 9

" Out of the ground."

" And who put the iron into the ground V 9

"Why, God put the iron there."

"Not only did God make the trees grow^ of which the ship is made, but he formed the sea also. c The sea is his, and he made it, and his hands formed the dry ground/ So that you see, God is present in the sea, the ship, and the anchor. Mr. White said, that we should 'see God in all things, and all things in God/ But when will you begin to learn to think ? I shall be at home to-morrow night, if you can come then : come at six o'clock, and I will be prepared for you."

" Well, then, at six o'clock let it be : but it will not suit me if it is very hard."

" I will make it as easy as I can, and you will be surprised to find how fast you get on. I know that I was."

" Can I begin with the peg-top, the ball, the humming-top, and the kite? I should like that."

" We shall come to them in time, never fear ; but a few things must be attended to first. Mr. White says that educating a boy vvithout teaching him to think, is like dragging him through thorns and brambles : by teaching him to think you clear the brambles and thorns out of his way."

" All this seems very odd to me ; perhaps I shall know more about it, by and by."

" The power of thinking helps us in every thing; it is just like a schoolfellow looking over our shoulder, and telling us how to do a sum that we do not know how to set about."

" If it is like that, it will be the very thing for me."

" Thinking aright lessens labour, quickens our faculties, increases our understanding, and strengthens our judgment. If you should ever think that I talk more wisely than usual, you must call to mind that I have learned what I teach you from Mr. White, or my parents."

* It will be a long while before I shall be able to talk so. It seems odd to me that you should know so many things as you do."

" You must remember, that Mr. White has had me under his care for three or four years $ and then, consider, Charles, you lost your parents when you were very young, but mine are alive now : my father takes great pains with me, when he is at home ; and my dear mother, who is one of the wisest and best women in the world, never loses an opportunity of instructing me. It would be to my shame, indeed, if, after all the care that has been taken with me, I had not learned something ; though I fear not so much as I ought, with my advantages."

" If I had been brought up as you have, I should know more than I do. But what a while it is, to be two or three years learning to think !"

" Yes ; but you begin to get good from it directly. Every day of your life it will be giving you pleasure, and making you more useful. Look ! Look ! While we have been (3>i talking, your ship has upset; she lies all ; along on her side, or, as a sailor would say, oil her ' beam ends/ To-morrow evening, at six o'clock. I will be ready for you."

" At six o'clock I will come. Good bye !"

Chapter III

ELL, Henry ! I am come just at the time you fixed. The clock struck six as I came up the village street and passed the church."

" Yes, Charles, you have kept to the time very well. Come in, we have the room all to ourselves ; so if there be any quarrelling, it will be between us two. There ! sit you down at the table."

" For what use are these things that you have put on the table. Are they to teach me to think?"

" We shall see. You know, that when a child first begins to learn any thing, he is taught the names of the persons and things around him ; papa, mamma, dog, cat : and he is next taught the qualities of these persons and things. He soon knows that papa and mamma are kind and good, that the dog barks, and the cat mews. This is the beginning of education ; but as you have learned all this, and a great deal more, you must not be treated like a very young child. You know the name of almost every thing you see the moment you look at it."

" Yes ; but knowing the name of a thing does not teach me to think."

" Perhaps not ; but it is a very necessary part of knowledge, and I hardly know how J we should manage without it. One thing is often necessary to help us in obtaining another. A jointstool is not a book ; but for all ^ that, you may find it very useful in putting - your foot on it to reach the book from the v high shelf in the study : and, in like manner, yj knowing the names of things will help us in

.thinking about them."

u The first thing for you to do is to obtain more knowledge than you have of the powers, the qualities, or properties of things. The kindness and goodness of our parents, the barking of a dog, and the mewing of a cat, are qualities or powers : you understand this."

" Yes, I understand that very well." " If I have a knife that is strong and sharp, strength and sharpness are qualities of the knife. Now, 1 want you to find out the qualities of things yourself, and this you cannot do without thinking. Come, now, tell me what this is ; for while I do my part of the business, you must do yours."

" It is a lump of flint, that is all."

u And what do you think of it ? Take it in your hand, and tell me."

" I do not know what to think about it. It is a piece of flint. I cannot think any thing else of it."

" Feel it with your finger. How does it feel?"

" Why it feels hard."

" What do you mean by feeling hard ?"

" I mean — that — that — it will not dent in, or give way when I press it hard."

" Very good. Now do you know any thing else that is hard ?"

" Oh, yes ! The poker is hard, the wall is hard, and the floor is hard."

" What do you think of this ? It is a piece of dough. How does it feel ?"

" Oh, quite soft ! When I pinch it, I leave on it the mark of my finger and thumb."

" It is very necessary to be quick in distinguishing hard things from soft things. I once took a leap from a bank to some ground near a brook that I took to be hard, and in I went up to my knees ; for it was nothing but soft mud."

*

" Ah ! ah ! ah ! That was a mistake, indeed. Have we done with the flint stone ?"

" Not quite. Can you think of nothing else about it ? Feel it again."

" It feels rather cold."

" What do you mean by feeling cold ?"

I mean that it feels — I do not know how it feels."

" Think about it, and try to explain what cold is as well as you can. Now try. How does it feel ?"

"It feels — a little, but only a little, like ice — and makes me rather, but not much, inclined to shiver."

" Capital ! Why you have explained it fa- \j mously. By and by we shall have you quite \\A\a thinker. If you were to touch a hot cinder ^^r from the fire, I suppose you would say it felt \so as to make you snatch away your finger. Now, do you not see how a knowledge of the qualities of things helps us in thinking and speaking? When we want to let another know that any thing is very cold or very hot, we say it is almost as cold as ice, or almost as hot as a fire coal, and we are understood directly."

" Yes, I see that."

"Well, then, now let us mention a few other things. Here is a bullet : feel it, and tell me what you think of it."

" It pushes down against my hand — it feels heavy."

" Now feel this bit of cork ; it is very different from the bullet."

" Yes ! It does not push against my hand."

" Well, then, it must be light ; nothing can be clearer than this, that substances are very different from each other. One is hard, another soft ; one hot, another cold ; one heavy, another light ; and so on. So that, as I told you, every substance has its particular properties or qualities. It is the knowledge of these qualities which enables mankind to find out how these substances may be made useful. Perhaps you think I am talking very learnedly, but all I tell you has been told me by Mr. White."

" How does a knowledge of a thing being hard or soft, heavy or light, help people in making it useful ?"

"A knowledge of the qualities and properties of substances is the foundation of almost all the conveniences, comforts, and luxuries of life, and I will tell you in what way. The most useful things in life are food, clothing, fire, and shelter. If we had no knowledge of the quality of food, we should 3 be continually injuring ourselves by eating that which would make us ill ; for a man cannot live on grass, nor a horse on flesh, nor a cow on fish."

" I see that."

" If we had no knowledge of the quality of wool and flax, we might be almost melted in summer by wearing nothing but flannel, and nearly perished in winter by wearing nothing but linen."

"I understand now — I see what you mean."

" We should be sadly off for fire if we made it of straw, and put stones on it for fuel ; but a knowledge of the qualities of wood and coal enables us to make up a good fire at any time."

u Very good, indeed. I wonder I did not see this before."

" It was because you had not learned to think of such things. If we built our houses of unburnt clay, the walls would be damp in wet weather, and in dry weather they would crack ; and if our roofs were covered with brown paper, instead of slates and tiles, the first heavy shower would find its way through them."

"I see now that it is very necessary to know the qualities of things. But how am

I to find them out, if I never saw the things before ?"

" By the use of your senses — by observation, thought, and experiment: but it will be time enough to attend to this when you know the qualities of the things that are common around you. As you found out that the flint was hard, the bullet heavy, and the cork light, by feeling them, so you would find out these qualities in other substances in the same way. One thing will surprise you in learning to think, and that is, to find that things have so many more qualities than you suppose they have. Here is a halfpenny: you could not, perhaps, tell me more than five or six of its qualities; but I, having learned to think more than you have, could tell you twenty of them."

" Twenty qualities in a halfpenny !"

" Yes ; and more than twenty, to say nothing of its uses. Do you know the use of a halfpenny ?"

" To buy a halfpennyworth of ginger-bread with, or a piece of packthread."

" Ay $ and it may be put also to other uses. A halfpenny roll, or a halfpennyworth of milk, given to a starving person, might save a life ; and a halfpenny book, setting forth the advantages of piety, might be the means, with

LEARNING TO THINK.

God's blessing, of changing the mind of a thoughtless reader. But our time is gone, so we must now separate. Come again to-morrow; I shall expect you at the same hour."

Chapter IV

[OW do you do, Henry ? I see you have a great many things on the table ready. It is very kind of you to teach me to think ; but you have a very dull scholar."

" Oh no, Charles ; I do not think so. When you are a little more accustomed to the thing, you will get on faster. Rome was not built in a day ; and I do not know that, at first, I learned more rapidly than you do. I remember once reading two lines on the subject of writing ; they were these : —

* He that in writing would improve, Must first with writing fall in love/

Now, if you should fall in love with thinking, you will find it not only easy, but also one of the most pleasant things in the world."

" I will tell you how I think I should get on faster than by answering puzzling questions. If pou would let me know the way 3 * in which you begin to think of any thing, it would help me on nicely."

" Tell me what you mean, as plainly as you can, and I will do all in my power to help you."

" Why, here are several things on the table. Now, instead of asking me questions, take one of them, and think about it yourself. Here is a pin, and here is a pipe ; now put the pipe before you, and let me know how you began to think about it, and that will teach me, perhaps, how to think of other things."