In `Erewhon' we see Samuel Butler's thoughts on:-

 FEE-PAYING SCHOOLS & UNIVERSITIES

 "It astonished me to see what sacrifices the parents would make
 in order to render their children as nearly useless as possible"

 INCONSISTENCY AND EVASION

 "The more earnest and conscientious students attain to a proficiency
 in these subjects which is quite surprising; there is hardly any
 inconsistency so glaring but they soon learn to defend it, or injunction
 so clear that they cannot find some pretext for disregarding it."

 "It is one of their peculiarities that they very often do not believe
 or mean things which they profess to regard as indisputable."


 SPECIFIC CRITICISM OF ENGLISH EDUCATION (in comments added to `Erewhon')

 "No doubt the marvelous development of journalism in England, as also
 the fact that our seats of learning aim rather at fostering mediocrity
 than anything higher, is due to our subconscious recognition of the fact
 that it is even more necessary to check exuberance of mental development
 than to encourage it.

 There can be no doubt that this is what our academic bodies do, and they
 do it the more effectually because they do it only subconsciously. They
 think they are advancing healthy mental assimilation and digestion,
 whereas in reality they are little better than cancer in the stomach."


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