McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson CXVI · Part 12: Herculaneum, Waterloo and A Psalm of Life
122. How Men Reason (Oliver Wendell Holmes)
Goal: Your student can explain some of Holmes's sayings about how people grow and judge one another.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
From Holmes's Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table: the speaker reports what his friend the Professor said after being abused in print, with witty sayings about young and old writers.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
Look over the notes and definitions printed at the end of the lesson before you start, so names and hard words don't trip up the reading.
Your student picks three unfamiliar words, guesses each meaning from the sentence, then checks a dictionary.
About the author
This lesson has no new author note. Oliver Wendell Holmes, the American poet, doctor and essayist, appears earlier in the book.
Read aloud
Read it aloud together, stopping to enjoy each witty sentence.
Listen for these lines:
My friend, the Professor, whom I have mentioned to you once or twice, told me yesterday that somebody had been abusing
Men, like peaches and pears, grow sweet a little while before they begin to decay.
Talk about it
SayWhat had happened to the Professor? How did he take it?
SayWhat does Holmes mean that men grow sweet like peaches and pears?
SayHow are young writers different from old ones, according to the passage?
SayDo you think people grow kinder as they grow older? Give an example.
Narration
Your student picks the saying they liked best and explains it in their own words.
Memorize or copy
Copy and learn this saying:
Men, like peaches and pears, grow sweet a little while before they begin to decay.
Writing (optional)
Write two witty sayings of your own about growing up, in Holmes's style.