THE RELATION OF THE ATTITUDES OF LEADING PUBLIC MEN IN BRITAIN CONCERNING LARGE-SCALE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO THE GENERAL PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE IN THE VICTORIAN PERIOD WAS STUDIED. THE EDUCATIONAL IDEOLOGIES OF BENJAMIN DISRAELI, WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE, LORD JOHN RUSSELL, AND WILLIAM LOVETT WERE ASCERTAINED. ADULT EDUCATION IN 19TH-CENTURY BRITAIN WAS EXAMINED WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO THE SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY EXPOUNDED IN AND BY LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETIES, MECHANICS INSTITUTES, LYCEUMS, WORKING MEN'S COLLEGES, SETTLEMENT HOUSES, AND PUBLISHING VENTURES. THE PROCEDURES USED WERE TO EXAMINE PRIVATE PAPERS, PUBLISHED WORKS, GOVERNMENT REPORTS, BIOGRAPHIES, AND MONOGRAPHS. THE RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS WERE PRESENTED IN DETAIL. THE ROLE OF ADULT EDUCATION IN FOSTERING A COHESIVE SOCIETY WAS EMPHASIZED. (TC)