Choice of Elective Subjects.

With every enlargement of the various departments of instruction announced in the elective pamphlet, the maze through which the man of "no particular bent of soul" must wander becomes denser and more labyrinthine. But this is one of the disadvantages that attends every growth of what modern sociologists term "the diversification of function." The choice which the individual must make be comes modified and motivated by the introduction of new fields that are opened to him. A recognition of this fact is forced on every man as he sits down to make out his electives for the ensuing year. Moreover it is plain that with the difficulty of the choice, the responsibility increases and it becomes more necessary to weigh the pros and cons in each decision. There can be no doubt that it is just here that the enlargement of the elective pamphlet it apt to bring about the best results. Behind the obvious advantage of having a larger range of subjects included in the instruction given, there lies that deeper advantage of making men more careful and deliberate in the choice of their courses. This force is brought to bear most cogently on the man who is taking what is known as a "general course" in college; for his range of studies is usually the widest and his choice therefore the hardest. The specialist, on the other hand, gets all the benefit out of the expansion of his department without the attendant difficulty in coming to a final choice.

The complaint which we occasionally hear about the uselessness of bothering about it, which then results in selecting a lot of heterogeneous work, clearly arises from idleness and a lack of recognition of the responsibility which rests on a man's shoulders in this matter. This feeling, fortunately, obtains in a very meagre proportion of the students and is sure to be condemned by all the rest.

The direction which our university is taking is one that is forced upon her by the progressive spirit of the age, and although the total of the courses given at Harvard may exceed that given in any other educational institution in America, a careful inspection would show that certain departments, particularly those of history and of political economy, are not up to the highest standard as regards variety. Comparing our electives with those offered at a great European university, like that of Berlin or that of Paris, the number will appear small. It must be borne in mind, however, that the staff of instructors employed at these universities far exceeds ours, and that, in proportion to the number of professors, we have as large a number of courses as any university abroad. In fact, I believe that carefully collected statistics would show that the instructors at Harvard are obliged to give more courses and devote more of their time to the students than those at Berlin or at Paris. In fact, it is to be regretted that some of our strongest scholars are hampered to such a degree in their private work by the amount of devotion to university lecturing that is required of them. It is to be hoped that means will soon be found to enlarge the corps of instructors quite considerably, and by the addition of able scholars. The prospect which then opens before us for an enlargement of the field of instruction is both pleasing and encouraging as an evidence that, with due equipment, the United States will be able to compete with the great educational institutions of the world in the race after knowledge.