And then it occurred to him
that he remembered, many years ago, having heard some one mention a
theory of education which aimed rather to give the man power in whatever
direction he chose to exercise it, than to store his mind with greater
or less quantities of particular forms of knowledge. The only faculty to
be left uncultivated, according to this theory, was that of human
love--this being considered destructive, or, at least, greatly
prejudicial, to progress and efficiency in any other direction. The
professor could not at the moment recall who it was had evolved this
scheme, but it became involuntarily connected in his mind with
Bressant's peculiarities.
"According to the letter I received to-day, you come here to be trained
to the ministry," resumed he. "Has all your previous education had this
in view?"
"The education would have been the same, understand, whatever the end
was to be," explained the young man, with a shrewd smile in his sharp
eyes. "I am as well prepared to study theology as if I had been aiming
at it all my life; but I might take up engineering or medicine as well
as that. About a year ago, I decided to become a minister."
"And what led you to do that?" demanded the old gentleman, with rather a
stern frown.
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