LETTER TO KRAUSE 104-125

  Begins at Griesheim his ideal work 113, 121

    Undertakes education of his nephews 121

    Moves to Keilhau 122, 127

  NOTE BY THE TRANSLATORS 126

  CRITICAL MOMENTS IN THE FROEBEL COMMUNITY 127-137

  Froebel goes to the Wartensee 131

  Then to Willisau 132, 136

  Then to the Orphanage at Burgdorf 135, 136

  Visits Berlin 137

  NOTES BY THE TRANSLATORS 138, 139

  Death of Froebel 138

  CHRONOLOGICAL ABSTRACT OF FROEBEL’S LIFE AND MOVEMENT 140-144

  BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FROEBEL 145-152

INDEX 153-167

INTRODUCTORY.

The year 1882 was the centenary of Froebel’s birth, and in the present “plentiful lack” of faithful translations of Froebel’s own words we proposed to the Froebel Society to issue a translation of the “Education of Man,” which we would undertake to make at our own cost, that the occasion might be marked in a manner worthy of the English branch of the Kindergarten movement.  But various reasons prevented the Society from accepting our offer, and the lamentable deficiency still continues.  We have therefore endeavoured to make a beginning by the present work, consisting of Froebel’s own words done into English as faithfully as we know how to render them, and accompanied with any brief explanation of our own that may be essential to the clear understanding of the passages given.  We have not attempted to rewrite our author, the better to suit the practical, clear-headed, common-sense English character, but have preferred simply to present him in an English dress with his national and personal peculiarities untouched.

In so doing we are quite aware that we have sacrificed interest, for in many passages, if not in most, a careful paraphrase of Froebel would be much more intelligible and pithy to English readers than a true rendering, since he probably possesses every fault of style except over-conciseness; but we feel that it is better to let Froebel speak for himself.

For the faithfulness of translation we hope our respective nationalities may have stood us in good stead.  We would, however, add that a faithful translation is not a verbal translation.  The translator should rather strive to write each sentence as the author would have written it in English.