He was sent, as usual, to a public school, where a little learning was painfully beaten into him, and from thence to the university, where it was carefully taken out of him.

The description turns an education into a process of putting learning in and then taking it out. The careful balance between school and university gives the criticism its comic force. Both institutions appear busy, yet their efforts end by cancelling each other out.

Context reviewed 20 September 2026