A number of Cambridge dons on Saturday last published an
interesting suggestion for a via media between universal military service and " reluctant acquiescence in the present inadequate number of efficients in the Territorial Force." They say:— " If no undergraduate were permitted to take the B.A. or similar degree until he has at least attained the standard of efficiency as a member of the Officers Training Corps or of the Territorial Force, it is estimated that at least 2,500 efficients would be available in three years from Cambridge alone. Exceptions should be confined to foreigners and to men physically incapable or over thirty years of age."
They very appositely back up their suggestion by a quotation from one who was not only one of the noblest champions of English liberty, but also a Cambridge man, an educationist if ever there was one (we ask pardon for the barbarous word), and a Nonconformist—John Milton. The compulsory military training to be given in Milton's ideal University is thus described in his Tractate on Education:— "This institution of breeding which I hero delineate shall be equally good both for peace and war. . . . The exercise which I commend first is the exact use of their weapon, to guard and to strike safely with edge or point; this will keep them healthy, nimble, strong, and well in breath, is also the likeliest means to make them grow large and tall, and to inspire them with . . • a native and heroic valour, and make them hate the cowardice of doing wrong."
Previous page
