Produced by Ryan D. Evans, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
THE TRUE CITIZEN, HOW TO BECOME ONE
BY
W. F. MARKWICK, D. D. AND W. A. SMITH, A. B.
PREFACE.
This book, intended as a supplementary reader for pupils in the seventhand eighth grades of school, has been prepared with a view to meeting areal need of the times. While there are a large number of text-books,and several readers, dealing with citizenship from the political pointof view, the higher aspects of citizenship—the moral and ethical—havebeen seriously overlooked.
The authors of this work have searched in vain for something whichwould serve as an aid to the joint development of the natural facultiesand the moral instincts, so as to produce a well-rounded manhood, uponwhich a higher type of citizenship might be built. The development ofcharacter appears, to us, to be of far greater importance, in thepreparation of the youth for the discharge of the duties of publiclife, than is mere political instruction; for only by introducingloftier ethical standards can the grade and quality of our citizenshipbe raised.
It is universally conceded that ethics and civics should go hand inhand; and yet pupils pass through our schools by the thousand, withouthaving their attention definitely called to this important subject; andonly an honest desire to aid in improving this state of affairs, hasled to the preparation of these pages.
The plan of the book is simple in the extreme. It consists ofthirty-nine chapters,—one for each week of the school year;—to eachofwhich has been prefixed five memory gems; one for each school day.Especial care has been taken to use only such language as will beperfectly intelligible to the pupils for whom it is intended.
The largest possible use has been made of anecdote and incident, so asto quicken the interest and hold the attention to the end. Theseanecdotes have been selected from every available quarter, and no claimof originality is made concerning them or their use.
Into each of those chapters which have to do directly with thedevelopment of the natural faculties, or the moral powers, a "specialillustration" has been introduced; this being clearly marked off by theinsertion of its title in bold-faced type. To these specialillustrations a brief bibliography has been added, in order that afuller study of the character presented may be readily pursued wheredeemed desirable. It is hoped that these special illustrations will notonly serve to increase the general interest; but that, by thus bringingthe pupil into direct contact with these greater minds, ambitions andaspirations may be aroused which shall prove helpful in the later life.
A careful presentation of each separate theme by the teacher, will notonly increase the interest in the work of the schoolroom; but, bydeveloping a higher type of citizenship, will be a real service to ournation.