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PARENTS, COLLEAGUES, AND BOYS 207
the manifestation of a new life transcending the intelleet,
but offered to the simple-hearted of-mankind ?
Schoolmastering is a profession which encourages a high
moral standard, but is apt to loosen the link which ought
to bind morals and religion, so that insensibly the appeal
to honour and the sense of duty oust the religious motive.
For a time a measure of visible success may not unfrequently
be attained by this method and doubts are easily
suppressed in a life of singularly exacting routine, though
men may be all working on very dubious assumptions.
For instance, the very deepest Christian thinkers have long
been agreed that man cannot save himself. Yet a housemaster
in a boarding-school, wishing for success, may find
a short cut to it which proceeds on the opposite assumption.
I mean in this way: Success means popularity.
and popularity means conforming to the main demand of
each of three groups : the parents, his colleagues, theboys.
The first look to him to be kindly to their sons,
and just striet enough to prevent disorder. The second
estimate him according to the amount of " work" he
does. The boys require justice, sympathy, tact; that is
to say, they respond to any appeal addressed to their
sense of honour, their British love of lawfulness, and
desire for the good name of the house ; all the more
readily, so it seems, if their pastor avoidi the vexed and
nebulous subject of their relation to their Creator.
Religious matters, in short, may be left to the Chapel
services and to the uncertain infiuence of the parents.
Thus the tutor-I use the term loosely-very easily falls
into the way of dealing ethically with the youngsters
conunitted to his charge, and up to eighteen years of age
the method has all the appearance of being well suited to
the needs of what is roughly called " boy-nature."
Then, too, there is committed to him the task of imparting
to his pupils " secular " knowledge-history,
science, literature, and the like-which has during the last
century come to be more and more definitely severed fron(
sacred knowledge.