Poitiers March 1846 Printed by Depierris. 13x19 cm, pp. (2), 10, softcover. Condition: undated library and ownership stamps and markings, rust stains.
A concise sketch by Alexander Napoleon Dybowski (1811-1862), an émigré activist, on what national education and upbringing should look like.
"If it is true that the existence, growth, happiness and greatness of a nation, depend on the virtue and light of its citizens, it must be equally true that the early instilling of virtue into the hearts of young generations and the enlightening of their minds, or in a word, public education, constitutes the first, most sacred duty of a nation. So far, however, no nation has yet grasped this, for none has had a truly paternal government. Everywhere, public or private education is the privilege of only a small number of children, born of more or less well-to-do parents; when the rest grow like animals in unskillful and to unskillful labor." [from the introduction]