or Reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in the upper forms of schools
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the abolition of man. Copyright © 1944, 1947, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1971, 1974, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd.
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first harpercollins paperback edition published in 2001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898–1963.
The abolition of man, or, reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in the upper forms of schools/
C. S. Lewis
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-06-065294-4
1. Education—Philosophy. 2. English language—Study and teaching (Secondary). I. Title: Abolition of man. II. Title: Reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in the upper forms of schools. III. Title.
LB41.L665 2000
370'.I—dc21
00-049858
The Master said, He who sets to work on a different strand destroys the whole fabric Confucius, Analects II. 16
appendix—illustrations of the tao
men without chests
So he sent the word to slay And slew the little childer.
traditional carol
I doubt whether we are sufficiently attentive to the importance of elementary text books. That is why I have chosen as the starting-point for these lectures a little book on English intended for ‘boys and girls in the upper forms of schools’. I do not think the authors of this book (there were two of them) intended any harm, and I owe them, or their publisher, good language for sending me a complimentary copy. At the same time I shall have nothing good to say of them. Here is a pretty predicament. I do not want to pillory two modest practising schoolmasters who were doing the best they knew: but I cannot be silent about what I think the actual tendency of their work. I therefore propose to conceal their names. I shall refer to these gentlemen as Gaius and Titius and to their book as The Green Book. But I promise you there is such a book and I have it on my shelves.
In their second chapter Gaius and Titius quote the well-known story of Coleridge at the waterfall. You remember that there were two tourists present: that one called it ‘sublime’ and the other ‘pretty’; and that Coleridge ...
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About The Abolition of Man or Reflections on Education with Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of SchoolsIn the classic The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis, the most important Christian writer of the 20th century, sets out to persuade his audience of the importance and relevance of universal values such as courage and honor in contemporary society. He also makes a cogent case that a retreat from these pillars of our educational system, even if in the name of “scientism,” would be catastrophic. Both astonishing and prophetic, The Abolition of Man is one of the most debated of Lewis’ extraordinary works. National Review chose it as number seven on their “100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Twentieth Century.” |
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