Such is also the process which， still at the present day (1890)， in England and in America secures future ability in the various professions. In the hospital， in the mine， in factories， with the architect， with the lawyer， the pupil， taken very young， goes through his apprenticeship and subsequent stages about the same as a clerk with us in an office or an art-student in the studio. Preliminarily and before entering it， he has attended some general seminary lecture which serves him as a ready-made basis for the observations he is about to make. Meanwhile， there are very often technical courses within reach， which he may attend at his leisure in order to give shape to his daily experiences as these happen to accumulate. Under a régime of this stamp practical capacity grows and develops of itself， just to that degree which the faculties of the pupil warrant， and in the direction which his future aims require， through the special work to which he wishes for the time being to adapt himself. In this way， in England and in the United States， the young man soon succeeds in developing all he is good for. From the age of twenty-five and much sooner， if the substance and bottom are not wanting， he is not only a useful subordinate， but again a spontaneous creator， not merely a wheel but besides this a motor force. In France， where the inverse process has prevailed and become more and more Chinese at each generation， the total of the force lost is immense.
The most productive period of human life extends from fifteen or sixteen up to twenty-five or twenty-six； here are seven or eight years of growing energy and of constant production， buds， flowers and fruit；during this period the young man sketches out his original ideas. But， that these ideas may be born in him， sprout， and flourish they must， at this age， profit by the stimulating or repressive influence of the atmosphere in which they are to live later on； here only are they formed in their natural and normal environment； their germs depend for their growth on the innumerable impressions due to the young man's sensations， daily， in the workshop， in the mine， in the court-room， in the studio， on the scaffolding of a building， in the hospital， on seeing tools， materials and operations， in talking with clients and workmen， in doing work， good or bad， costly or remunerative； such are the minute and special perceptions of the eyes and the ears， of touch and even smell which， involuntarily gathered in and silently elaborated， work together in him and suggest， sooner or later， this or that new combination， economy， perfection or invention.[74] The young Frenchman， just at this fecund age， is deprived of all these precious contacts， of all these assimilating and indispensable elements. During seven or eight years， he is shut up in school， remote from the direct and personal experience which might have given him an exact and vivifying notion of men and things， and of the various ways of handling them. All this time his inventive faculties are deliberately sterilized； he can be nothing but a passive recipient； whatever he might have produced under the other system he cannot produce under this one； the balance of debit and credit is utter loss. - Meanwhile， the cost has been great. Whilst the apprentice， the clerk busy with his papers in his office， the interne with his apron standing by the bedside of the patient in the hospital， pays by his services， at first for his instruction， then for his breakfast， and ends in gaining something besides， at least his pocket-money， the student under the Faculty， or the pupil in a special school is educated and lives at the expense of his family or of the State； he gives back in exchange not work that is useful to mankind， none that is worth anything on the market； his actual consumption is not compensated for by his actual production. Undoubtedly， he cherishes the hope that some day or other he will obtain compensation， that we will refund later and largely both capital and interest， and all the advances made； in other words， his future services are discounted and， as far as he is concerned， he speculates on a long credit. - It remains to be seen whether the speculation is a good one； whether， at last， the receipts will cover the expenses， in short， what will be the net or average returns on the man thus fashioned.[75]