There were no Schools of St. George. Ruskin intended, as we have seen, that the labourers on all lands of the Guild of St. George should be provided “with every proper means of mental instruction.” Every community under St. George's banner was to have its school, its library, its collection of examples of art, organised and selected by “ the Master.” It is a pity that no such school was actually started, for it would have been an interesting experiment; though it may be doubted whether Ruskin would have found co-operation with Whitehall very easy. But as there were no St. George's Settlements on a scale large enough to require a separate school, there were also no St. George's Schools. They existed only in Ruskin's imagination; but a large portion ofFors Glavigera was devoted to the subject of education. He wrote or edited school-books; he collected school – examples ; he instituted school – festivals. In the present chapter a connected account is given of his work in this sort. There is perhaps no subject on which Ruskin threw out so many luminous and suggestive ideas; nor any field in which his teaching has been more fruitful.

In all his political writing, Ruskin insisted upon the individual character as the key of the position; and hence a discussion of the theory and practice of education was an essential part of Fors Glavigera as an essay in social reconstruction.