The etymology of the word "fidelity" is reasonably easy, but this
analysis is powerless to cause the child to thrill at the story of
Casabianca, or of Ruth and Naomi, or of Esther, or Antigone, or
Cordelia, or Nathan Hale, or the little Japanese girl who deliberately
bit through her tongue that she might not utter a syllable that would
jeopardize the interests or safety of her father. The word analyzed is a
dead thing; the word in use is a living thing. The word merely analyzed
is apt to be ephemeral; the word in use is abiding and increasingly
significant. As the child puts more and more content into the word, he,
himself, expands at the same rate in the scope and power of his
thinking. Words are the materials out of which he weaves the fabric of
life, and the pattern depends upon the content of his words.
=Illustrations from art.=--The child can spell the word "art" and can
repeat the words of the book by way of a memorized definition, but he
cannot define the word with even a fair degree of intelligence. He
cannot know the meaning of the word until its significance becomes
objectified in his life processes. This requires time, and thought, and
experiences with books, with people, and with galleries. In short, he
must live art before he can define the word; and his living art invests
the word with content. The word will grow just as he grows in his
conception of art. At first, he may denominate as art the simple little
daubs of pictures that he makes with the teacher's hand guiding his
brush.
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