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AMERICAN TEACHERS SER IES
EDITED BY
JAMES E. RUSSELL,Ph .D.
DEAN OF TEACHERS COLLEGE,COLUMB IA UN IVERSITY
T HE
TEACHING OF LATIN AND GREEK IN THE
SECONDARY SCHOOL
CHARLES E. BENNETT, A .R.
AND
GEORGE P . BRISTOL,A .M .
P ROFE S SO RS IN CORNEL L UN IVERS ITY
fimeriwn meatfiew ga ted
T he Te aching of L atin and
Gre ek in the Se condarySchool
CHARLES E. BENNETTQAB .
AND
GEORGE P. BRISTOL , A .M .
PROFESSORS IN CORNELL UNIVERSITY
a J
NEW EDITION
L ONGMA N S , GRE E N,A ND CO .
FOURTH AVENUE 67° 3OTH STREET, NEW YORK
LONDON, BOMBAY AND CALCUTTA
1 9 1 1
Copyrnt, 1 900,
BY LONGMANS, GREEN,AND Co.
Copyrz'
gizt, 1 91 1 ,
BY LONGMANS, GREEN , AND Co.
FIRST EDITION, jamuvy,1 900.
Reprinted , March , 1 903, Septembe r, 1906.
Revised , March , 191 1 .
UN IVERSITY PRESS jorm wxnsox
A ND SON C A M B R I DGE, U . s.A.
Editor’s Pre face
SECONDARY educati on i s no new thing . Human soci
ety has always granted commanding positions to m en
who were qual ified by natural abi l i ty and special train
ing to lead the i r fellows . With advancing c ivi l i zationthe need of Spec ially trained leaders became incre as
ingly apparent ; schools were eventual ly establ i shed to
meet this need . Such insti tutions , however rud imentarythei r course of instruction , were essenti al ly secondaryschools . Thus the schools of the grammarians and
rhetori c ians were calculated to develop leadership in the
forum at a time when oratory was a recogn ized poweri n the poli ti cal l i fe of Greece and Rome . Later in the
Middle Age the Church became the dom i nant socialforce , and gave ri se to cathedral and monasti c schools
for the education of the clergy. With the founding of
universities , however, the secondary schools took overthe p reparation of p romi s ing youths for professi onal
study in the i nterests of Church and State . And this
function has conti nued to be the chief characteristi c ofsecondary education unti l the p resent time .
The m odern elementary school , on the othe r hand ,i s of comparatively recent growth . In a certain sense
every man i s educated , but histori cally the education of
242889
EDI TOR’S PREPA CE
the masses comes for the most part through custom
and trad i tion and the ord inary experiences o f l i fe .
Schools for the people and formal i nstruction are not
requi red unti l the re i s universal recogni tion o f ind ivid
ual worth,such as the wo rth of the human soul which
i nsp i red Luther to found the elementary schools of
Germany , or the worth of the c i ti zen and his pol itical
rights under a representative government which le d
to the publ ic schools o f Ame ric a and England . The
recogn i ti on of such rights by a democratic socie ty Obvi
ously leads to a complete schoo l system in which the
l ine o f demarcation between i ts vari ous d ivis ions , as e le !
mentary,secondary , and higher , i s arbi tra ri ly drawn.
The i deals which dete rmine the growth of educational
system s never remain long fixed ; they change from age
to age to conform to the d evelopment of the po li tical ,econom i c , and sp i ri tu al l i fe of a people . The medidschool system was qu i ckly overthrown in Protestant
countri es by the combined i nfluence of the humanis tsand the re formers . And the Protestant sc hoo ls , i n
tu rn , held und isputed sway only so long as the ir rel i
gious id eals found popular support . Within the last
hundred years another transformation has be e n effectedi n the educational ideals o f the weste rn world , and new
school system s have been evolved unde r the d i recti on
of the State for the pu rpose of promoting C ivil o rde r
and soci al stabi l i ty . The soc i al m i nd has come to
recogni ze the fact that the Chu rch is no longe r able toshape society as i t once d id ; and it also re cogni zesthat each generation i s under moral obl igations to im~
prove its cultural i nheri tance and transmit it unentai led .
EDI TOR’S PREFA CE ix
Hence the reso rt to the strongest fo rce i n modern
soc i e ty fo r the accompl i shment of th i s pu rpose . The
p roce ss of soc i al i z i ng the i nd ividu al— of making him
an effic i e nt , i n tel l i gent , l oyal member of soc i ety— hasno mean s ign ificance . The end i n v iew i s one of the
greatest o f human needs ; and i t i s equal ly the conce rn
o f eve ry parent and eve ry c i t i zen .
School re fo rm , howeve r , neve r amounts to complete
revolu ti on . The organ i zati on and admin i strati on o f
school systems may be revol uti on i zed by min i ste ri al
re sc ri pt , as i n Pru ss i a d u ring the Napole on i c wars , or
by act o f Parl i ament , as in England wi th i n the past
th i rty years , o r by the adopti on of a c onsti tu ti on , as i n
many American state s , but the i nstructi on o f ch i ld ren
cannot be reached by legal enactment o r popu lar vote .
The ave rage teache r wi ll consi stently conform to the
l e tte r o f the law and as pe rs i stently vi olate i ts sp i ri t .
The resu lt i s that long afte r new id eas are d i sti nctly
en unci ated , even afte r they are gene ral ly accepted by
intell i gent pe rsons , the strangest con fus i on o ften pe r
vades the class - room . Teachers are natu ral ly conse rva
tive ; they can teach only what they themselves have
l earned,and the trad i ti ons of the p rofess i on combined
wi th the i r own acqu i red hab i ts i nc l in e them to teach as
they them selves have been taught . Thus the p revai l i ng
means and methods of in structi on do not always con
form to the accepted standard s of educati on , and refo rm
is halted m idway i n i ts course .
Great p rogress has been made i n recent years , but
the resu lts whi ch show up so wel l on pape r are not i n
all respects satisfacto ry . We have state school systems
choos ing .The growth has been i n two d i rec ti ons ,
from the top downward and from the bottom upward .
The col leges have d ipped down into the lower strata
and given ri se to preparato ry schools largely patronized
by the favored classes o f society ; the common schools ,
imbued with more democratic sympathi es , have ex
pand e di nto publ i c high schools i n which soc i al d istinc
tions have no place . The preparato ry schoo l aims to
send its pup ils to college ; the ways and means of bes t
attain ing thi s pu rpose are cond i ti oned by what the col
lege wants and what i t wi l l accept . The American
high school,i n its effort to serve al l c lasses , pu rports to
be a school p reparato ry both for college and the ord i
nary avocations of l i fe . One class i n the communityexpects i t to complete the education al structu re begu n
in the common schools ; another cl ass expects i t to lay
a substanti al foundation for fu rther academic trai n ing .
Thus the confusion resulti ng from the natu ral conse rva
tism of the teacher i s worse confounded by confl i cti ngsoc ial i nterests .
In all the field o f education there are no problemsmore diffi cult to solve than those pertain ing to the
work of the secondary school . What i s the aim of
secondary educati on ? What i s i ts functi on i n m od ern
soci ety? What knowledge i s of most worth ? Whatmeans and methods p roduce the best resu lts ? Such
questions as these come to every secondary teacher anddem and an answer . The most encou ragi ng S i gn of thetimes i s the growth of a teaching p rofess i on p ledged to
EDITOR’
S P REFA CE x i
study these p rob lems i nte ll igently and to find som e
rational so luti on o f them .
The Ameri can Teache rs Series , the firs t volume of
which i s herewith p resented , wi l l revi ew the p ri ncip al
subj ects o f the secondary school cu rri cu lum . The pu r
pose i s to d i scuss the edu cational value o f each subj ect ,the reasons fo r inc lud ing i t i n the cu rri cu lum
,the se lec
t ion and arrangement of materi al s i n the cou rse , the
esse nti al featu res of c las s i nstruction and the vari ous
help s which are avai lable for teachers’ u se . These
books are not i ntended to correct the fau lts of i gnorant
te aching; they are not put forth as manuals o f i n fall i ble
methods . They are merely contributi ons to the p ro
fe ssional knowledge necessary i n secondary education .
They are addressed to teache rs of l iberal cultu re and
speci al scholarsh ip who are seeki ng to make the i r
knowledge more u sefu l to the i r p up i ls and thei r pup i ls
more u sefu l to the State .
JAMES B . RUSSELL.
TEACHERS COLLEGE,
C o n t e n t s
THE TEACHING OF LATIN IN THE SECONDARY
SCHOOL
PAGEINTRODUCTION—HISTORICAL POSITION OF THE STUDY OF LATIN
IN MODERN EDUCAT IONCHA PTERI . THE JUSTIFICATION OF LATIN A s AN INSTRUMENT OF
SECONDARY EDUCATION
THE BEGINN ING WORKI . The Beginne r’s BookII. PronunciationI II . The Inductive ” Me thod
IV. Re adingat Sight
V . Unse en Trans lationVI . What Latin Re ading should Fol low the Elementary
Work ?
WHAT A UTHORS ARE TO BE READ IN THE SECONDARYSCHOOL , AND IN WHAT SEQ UENCE ?
I . What Author should be Re ad First?II . Should Cice ro Pre cede or Fol low Virgil ?III . Should Virgil’s Eclogue s be Re ad in the Se condary
School ?IV. Sal lustV. OvidVI . Five -
ye ar and Six ~
year Latin Course s
xiv CON TENTS
CHA PTERIV. CONDUCT OF THE SECONDARY WORK IN LATIN
I . Gene ral Points on which Emphasis should be Laid0 . Translation6. Subj ect Matte r
a'
. How Scientific should a School Grammar be ?e . The Grammar a Book to be Studie d and
LearnedII. Spe cial Points to be Emphasiz e d in Conne ction
with the Diffe rent Latin Authors Re ad inthe Se condary School
a . Cmsar
b. Cice roc. Virgil’s {Ena '
d
V . LATIN COMPOSITIONTwo Ways of Te aching it
The Purpose of Studying Latin Composition
Defe cts of the Newe r Way
VI . LATIN PROSODYDifficulties Of Re ading Latin Ve rseIctus not StressPoints in which our Pronunciation of Latin fails to se
cure Q uantitative A ccuracy
SOME M ISCELLANEOUS POINTSa . Roman History6. Comparative Philologyc. Etymologyd . Illustrative Mate rial
BooksMaps
Photographs and Casts
VIII . THE PREPARATION OF THE TEACHER
CONCLUDING NOTE
CON TEN TS XV
THE TEACHING OF GREEK IN THE SECONDARYSCHOOL
PA GEINTRODUCTION THE A IM OF GREEK STUDY THE HIGH
SCHOOL
CHA PTERI . PRONUNCIATION
Theory and PracticeA ccent in PronunciationPronunciation of Prope r Name s
II . THE BEGINN ING WORKThe Two Methods
The First ParadigmsThe Deve lopment of Syntax
The First Reading
XENOPHON AND OTHER PROSE WRITERS GREEKNEw TESTAMENTThe Conducting of Re citation
Omissions in th e AnabasisFurthe r Prose Re adingThe Gre ek New Te stament
HOMERThe Problem of Se le ctionRe ading of the Te x t
Inte rpretation of the Te x t
Translating Home rEnglish Ve rsions of Home rHome ric LanguageWhat Portions to Re ad
V. GREEK COMPOSITIONObj e ct of Compos itionA rticulation of C lausesSuggestions for Practice
CON TEN TS
CHA PTERVI . GEOGRA PHY AND HISTORY
History Part of Work in Gre ekImportance of Corre ct Maps
Divis ion of H istory into Pe riodsMode rn Gre e ce , Land and Pe ople
VII. MYTHOLOGY AND A RT
Gre ek Mythology in English L ite ratureGre ek A rt
Mate rials for I llustration of Gre ek A rt
The Te ache r and his Work
A PPENDIX
INDEx
MA P OF THE GREEK WORLD
THE TEACH ING OF LAT IN IN THE
SECONDARY SCHOOL
CHARLES E. BENNETT,A .B.
PROFESSOR OF LATINI
‘
IN CORNELL UNIVERSITY
qui ring a practi cal maste ry of the spoken id iom for
actual use. Pup i ls were trained in the p reparationof letters and such other documents as the necess iti esof the pol it i cal and ecclesi asti cal l ife of the day dem ande d . Latin was not only the m ed ium of i nstructionin the schools , but was also the m ed ium of all conversation . The Lati n authors read served merely the pur
pose of increasing and improving the pup i l’s knowledge
of the language and his faci l i ty i n its employment.The content of the Latin wri ters was practi cally disregarded throughout the enti re period of the MiddleA ges . This conception of the function of Latin naturally determ ined the method pursued in teaching . A S
the Latin vocabulary was confessedly inadequate forthe needs of the day, i t becam e necessary to add newwords , co ined to cover new conceptions. The se wereincorporated in speci al vocabulari es , which pupi ls comm itte d to memory . Me chanical oral reading was alsoextens ively practised , - often before the pupi ls werecapable of understanding what was read . Intended toserve merely mechanical purposes , Latin was stud iedexclusively in a mechan ical way . Yet , i rrational as themethod seem s to us , we can hardly deny that i t wasenti rely cons i stent with the purposes which the studywas at that time intended to subserve . Nor can wefeel surpri se that , with this conception of the functionof Latin , there should have prevai led a low and almostbarbarous standard in the employment of the spokenand written idiom .
With the humanisti c revival of the fourteenth and fifte enth centuri es there manifested itself an altered and
The Human_ a loftie r conception of Latin study. This new“tic Refi val conception was a natural and i nevitable resultof the fundamental sp i ri t of the humanistic m ovement.While throughout the Middle A ges all intel lectual l ife
IN TROD UCTION 3
had culminated in the eccles iasti cal ideals of the scholasti c phi losophy , the new movement p laced man,
humancapaciti es , hum an achievements , and human asp i rationsi n the foreground . The great works of class i cal anti
quity were recogn i sed as of vital importance i n understanding and solving the new problem s .This conception of Latin as an instrum ent o f education speed i ly wrought a revolution in methods of teaching . Hi therto both form and content of the Latinmasterp ieces had been neglected . Now both began tom eet recognition . The great Lati n classi cs were readand stud ied for thei r vital bearings on the intellectuall i fe and asp i rati ons of the new era. They were nolonger primari ly a means of acqu iring a fam i l i ari ty withthe d ig
'
ecmmemém of the barbarous id iom whi ch had ti llrecently p revai led .
A long with this appreciation of the substance ofRoman thought went an appreci ati on for the form inwhich i t was expressed . The Spi ri t of the day wasanti - barbarous to a degree. Correctness and eleganceof d iction came to be a passion with the Latin i sts ofthe time . This tendency natu rally went too far, andwe notice the beginning of an arbitrary exaltati on ofthe C i ceron ian m anner of speech as the sole exampleworthy of im i tation ,— an atti tude which unfortunately,desp ite frequent and vigorous protest, i s sti l l widelyprevalent to—day.
It i s essentially thi s human isti c conception of Latinstudy which has prevai led in modern education s i nce theRenaissance . The special detai ls of devel Launmopment for Germany may be found pre Recent Times
sented by a master hand in the work of Pau lsen aboveC i ted . So far as I know, no such presentation of thehistori cal stages of Latin study in any other Europeancountry is yet avai lable . Probably In no other would
4 IN TRODUCTION
such a hi sto ry have the interest o r the hi storical andpedagogical s ign ificance afforded by the experi enceof the Germ an schools .In the Un ited States , L atin , as a study of the sec
ondary education , naturally started wi th purely Engl i sh
mul e United trad itions . These trad iti ons fortunately wereStates humani sti c i n the best sense . Sti l l , for a longtim e Latin was thought to be pecul i arly a study for boyswho were p reparing for college . In the earl ier historyof thi s country thi s meant that Latin was thought tohave educative importance primari ly for those lookingforward to activ ity i n the church , i n letters , i n the law ,
i n med icine , or i n teaching . During the last generationin parti cular a d ifferent atti tude seem s to be man i festingitself. The number of students of Latin i n our secondary schools has i n recent years been increas ing out of al lp roporti on to the number of students who go to college .
Unless this phenomenon be attributed to an unaccountable infatuation , it admits to my m i nd of but a S inglei nte rpretati on : Latin i s now recognised as an importantelement of secondary education for the average pup i l ,whether he be intend ing to go to college o r not . Iti s perhaps unfortunate that the present tendency towards a larger study of Latin i n our schools cannotbe traced to any recent sober d iscu ssi ons of the valueof Latin ; i n fact i t i s not a l ittle su rpri si ng that thisrap idly i ncreased recogniti on has occurred in the faceof the most vigorous assaults upon the class i cs whichthi s country has ever witnessed . Yet experience i sthe great teacher, more convincing than all the argum ents of the academic ians . Is i t too bold to say thatthe experi ence of those who have stud ied Lati n andof those who have seen the positive resu lts of the studyupon others , i s afte r all the ul timate reason which i sat p resent so potent i n winning increased recogn iti on
IN TROD UCTI ON 5
for L ati n? Whatever the cause of the existing conditions , they are with us . That they may be perm anenti s to be hoped . That there i s abundant j ustificationfor the i r permanence , i t wi l l be the aim of the followingchapter to show.
CHAPTER I
TII E JUSTIF ICA TI ON OF L ATIN A S AN IN STRUME NT
OF SECONDARY EDUCA TION
BIBLIOGRAPHY .l
Laurie,S . S . Le cture s on Language and Linguistic Method . C am
bridge Unive rsity Pre ss . 1890. Chapte r i. and particularly Chapte r vii.Chapte rs on the A ims and Practice of Te aching, e dited by Fre de ric
Spence r . Cambridge Unive rsity Pre ss . 1897. Chapte r ii. , Latin, by
F ouil l ée , A l fre d . Education from a National Standpoint. London,
A rnold . New York , A pple ton . 1892 .
Handbuch der Erz iehungs und Unte rrichtsleh re fur hohe re Schulen,
he rausgegeben von A . Baum e iste r . Munich . C . H . Be ck’sche Ve r
lagsbuchhandlung. 1898 . D idaktik und Me thodik d e r e inz e lnen L e hrfach e r . III . Late inisch , von P . D e ttwe ile r .
B rand t, H . C . G . ; Sachs , Julius ; M ack enzie , Jam e s
G. ; and othe rs , in Proce e dings of th e First A nnual Convention ( 1893)of the A ssociation of College s and Preparatory Schools in the M idd leState s and Maryland . Published for the A ssociation. Philad e lphia .
1894. pp . 38—64.
P aul sen ,Fri e d ri ch . Ge schichte de s ge lehrten Unte rrichts auf den
deutschen Schulen und Unive rs itaten . L e ipz ig. 1885 . Ve it Comp.
Particularly Schlussbe trachtung.
”
pp. 755—784.
Har ris , W . T . On the Function of the Study of Latin and Gre ek inEducation. Journal of Social Science . 1 885 .
Harri s , W . T . A Brief for Latin. EDUCATIONAL REVIEW . April ,1899.
P e ck , Tracy. D iscussion in SCHOOL REVIEW . 1893 . pp. 593 fi'
.
Sh orey, P aul . D iscipl ine w . D issipation. SCHOOL REVIEW . 1897.
pp . 2 17 ff.
Coll ar, W . C . Burgess , I saac ; M anny , Frank . Proce edings of theNational Educational A ssociation . 1896. pp . 563 ff.
B enne tt, 0 . E . L atin in the Se condary School . SCHOOL REVIEW .
May, 1893 .
Sp ence r , H e rb e rt. Education, Inte l le ctual, Moral , and Physical .London , W il liams Norgate . N ew York , D . Apple ton Co . 1861 .
1 Onlythe more important recent literature is he re cited .
THE jUS TIF I C'
A 1 1 01v 017 LA TIN 7
P ain , Al e x and e r. Education as a Science . London, Kegan PaulCo . New York , D . A pple ton Co. 1 881 .
P lanck ,H . Das Re cht de s Late inischen als wissenschaftlichen Bil
dungsm itte l . Stuttgart. Schulprogramm . 1888.
Schm e d ing. D ie klassisch e Bildung in de r Gegenwart. Be rlin. 1885 .
F rary, B . La Q ue stion du Latin. Paris . 1890.
Jam e s , Profe ssor Edmund J . The C lassical Q ue stion in Ge rmany.
POPULAR SC IENCE MONTHLY. January, 1884 .
B arne tt, P . A . Common Sense in Education and Te aching. Chapte rviii. London and New York . Longmans, Gre en , Co. 1 899 .
Je bb , R . C . Humanism in Education. (Romane s Le cture forLondon. Macmillan Co . 1899.
Eliot, C . W . Am e rican Contributions to C iviliz ation. New York.The C enturyCo . 1897.
Sidgwick ,H enry. The oryof C lassical Education, in his Misce l laneous
Essays and A ddre sse s . London. 1904.
THE questi on as to the educational worth of any studymust always be a pertinent one . This i s particularlytrue in the case of Latin , which has not only The Questi onfor generations occupi ed a commanding p lace “W e “8°
i n the curri cu lum of Ameri can secondary education , buti n recent years has even been winning enormously in~
creased favou r among us . Desp ite the extensive l i teratu re on the subj ect , i t has seemed necessary, at thebeginning of this volume on the teaching of L ati n in thesecondary school , to exam i ne afresh the ti tle of Lati nto the p resent respect i t enj oys , and to state anew thereasons why i t i s of value in secondary education . Lestthere be any m i sconception as to the subj ect of thechapter , i t i s desi rable to emphasi ze at the outset thatthe value of Lati n as a college study does not here ente rinto cons iderati on . That question
,i n te resting and im
portant as i t i s , seems to m e enti rely d i stinct from thequestion as to the value of Latin in the secondary school .The fundamental importance of the exam i nation p roposed hardly needs to be urged . For obviously thegeneral m ethod of instru ction to be fol lowed in teaching Latin must depend largely upon the results that
8 THE jl/S TIFI CA TION OF LA TIN
the study is capab le of achieving, and the teacher whofai ls c learly to apprehend the goal to be attained mustnecessari ly pursue but a grop ing course i n impartinginstru ction . The recent increase , too , i n the number ofpup i ls studying Latin i n our secondary schools makesi t of i ncreasing importance to get clearly before ourm inds the functions and purpose of the study . The
Statisti cs of the Comm i ss ioner of Education for theUnited States Show that in the eight years prior to 1 898
the number of pup i ls studyi ng Latin in our secondaryschools had increased I74 per cent , whi le the total e nrolm ent of pup i ls i n the secondary schools for the sameperiod had increased but 84 per cent . In the eight yearsfrom 1 898
—1 906 also the increase i n the number of L ati nstudents more than kept pace with the increase inschool attendance . No thoughtfu l person can fai l to beimpressed by these figures . I f L atin i s not of basalimportance i n the secondary curri culum , then large numbers of students are m aking a p rodigious error in pu rsu ing the subj ect ; and the sooner we understand this ,the bette r . If, on the other hand , the increase i s theresult of wise choice or even of wise inst inct , we m ust,while rej oi c ing at the greater recogn iti on Latin i s se curi ng
,at the same time adm i t our own vastly increased
responsibi l i ty for i ts wise d irection and promotion .
Before considering the special reasons that exist i nfavo r of studying Latin , let us first consider the function
of language in general as an instrument of
Function of education .
Language “ The function of educati on i s confessedlyto prepare pup ils to be useful members of
society . To m ake them such , i t i s essenti al that they betaught to understand as fully as possible the nature andcharacte r of the national l i fe soci al , c ivi l , poli tical ,rel igious in which they are born or in which thei r lot
jUS TIFICA TION OF LA TIN
unapproachable perfecti on of Greek l i terature ,and that the Greeks su rpassed the world in phi losophical acuteness , the i nvincible fact remains that theyexpended no effort i n the study of foreign languages ,and common sense decla res it was because of it.
”
Obvi
ously, i f “ common sense” declared anything so absu rd ,
i t should explain to us Why the Hottentots or the Eskimos or the hordes of other barbarians who l ikewiseknow no language but the i r own , have not been S im i larlyem inent for thei r contributions to human thought .A s to the Greeks , i t wi l l p robably always be imposs ible to account for the achievements of that wonderfulpeople on the basi s of the i r system of education . Whatthey accomplished seem s rather the result of an ine xpl icable nati onal endowment . Thei r fine ae stheti c sense,thei r keen speculative capacity, are as difficult to ac
count for as the unique gen ius of the Romans forpoli ti cal organi zati on , for governm ent , and for law , orthe p rofound sense of moral obligation to a higherpower so imp ressively formulated by the Hebrews ,as d ifficult to explain as the rise of a Charlemagne inthe e ighth centu ry or an A l fred in the n inth . Great asthe Greeks were by endowment, they certainly were notgreat for thei r attainments . With all the i r highly developed aestheti c sense and the i r subtle speculative acum e n , they were mani festly deficient i n the capacitieswhich i t i s the function of modern education to develop
,
namely, a j ust understanding of the p roblem s of soc i ety,an understanding which Shall secure and promote thestabi l i ty of the soc ial and politi cai organ ism . Had theGreeks been as well educated as they were highly gi fted
,
i t i s l ikely that thei r own national l i fe would have run alonger and a more glorious course , and that thei r greatlegacy to posterity would thus have been immenselyincreased .
THE jUS TIFI CA TION OF LA TIN I I
At all events,the fact that the Greeks , desp ite thei r
neglect of language study, nevertheless attained a certain national greatness i n some d i rections , cannot becited as d isproving the educative value of such studyfor us to- day .
What,now, are the reasons for studying L ati n in the
secondary school? What are the effects of the studyupon the pup i l that are at p resent so potentnot mere ly i n maintain ing i ts status but in 3
11
621118
extending i ts vogue? These reasons areseveral
,and I Shal l enumerate them i n what seems to
m e the order of thei r importance .
F i rst and foremost , I should say Latin i s of valu e because i t confers a m astery over the resou rces of one’smother tongue .
1 This m astery comes as the d i rect andnecessary result of care ful dai ly translati on , a processinvolving on the one hand a careful consid
Training
e ration and analysi s of the thought of the in the
author read , and on the other a severe andvem cm r'
labori ous compari son of the value of alternative Engl ish words , phrases , and sentences , with the consequentattainment of Ski ll i n making the sam e effective asvehicles of express ion . No one , I th ink , wi ll undertaketo deny that the results here claimed are actual ; and itactual , i t can hardly be denied that they consti tute animportant j u stification for the study of Latin .
Train ing i n Engl ish , then , as the resu lt of carefultranslation from Latin i s here set down as the fi rst andmost important reason for studying L atin . To my ownm ind this reason weighs m ore than all others combined
,
1 Th is is not me ant in the narrow sense of a me re unde rstanding of
th e m eanings ofwords ; it is the maste ry of ideas of which words are but
the symbols , and th e assimilation of the se into one’s own inte l le ctual
life , that I have in mind.
THE jUS TIF I CA TION OF LA TIN
though several other excellent reasons for the study ofLatin wi l l be d iscussed later . L e t us exam i ne m ore in
Analysis of detai l how translati on from L atin gives suchthe “m ' adm i rable train ing i n Engl ish . Translationi s a severe exerci se . The lexicon or vocabulary tellsthe m ean ings of words , and the gramm ar states theforce of inflected form s ; but i t i s only after the pup i l ,provided with this equipment, has attacked his L atinsentence with a vi ew to translation that the real strugglebegins . His vocabulary may have given h im a dozenor even twenty m eanings under a single verb or noun ,and the pup i l must reflect and ni cely di scrim i nate before he can choose the right word , the one j us t su itedto the context . Further, his Latin sentence may belong , complex , and period ic , enti rely d ifferent i n struc
ture from anything we know in Engl ish ; such a sentencemust be broken up and so arranged as to conform toour Engli sh mode of expression ; or the L atin sentencem ay have one of those Protean ablative absolutes , anidiom that ou r Engl i sh style p racti cally abhors . Everysuch ablative absolute has to be exam ined with careprior to an English rendering . It may express tim e ,cause
,concess ion , condition , attendant C i rcum stance ,
means, or what not , and must be rendered accordingly .
Again the L ati n sentence may secure by its arrangement of words certain effects of emphasi s which Engl i shcan bring out only by the employment of very differentresources .For the purpose of further i llustration , l et uS take the
opening l ines of Nepos’
s l ife of Miltiades , and note thep roblems that suggest themselves to the pup i l’s m i nd ashe endeavours to secu re a passable translation for theL atin . The text runs as follows : M iltiades , Cz
'
fnonz'
s
filz'
us , cum cl antiguz'
tate generz'
s cl glorz'
o
mojorum cc sua modestz'
u unus omnz’
um man z'
fnefloreret,
THE jUS TIFI CA TI ON OF LA TIN I 3
eague esset a erate ut non jam solmn o’e eo bene spem re ,
sea’ezz
'
ane confidere cz'
ves possent suz'
l a lem eunzfuturum
guolenz cognz'
tufn judz'
ca runt, accz'
dz'
t ut A tkenz’
enses Cicer
sonesum colonos mittere .
Probably the first stumbling- block to the pupi l wi l lbe the p roper rendering for modestz
'
a . The vocabularygives moderation ,
’
modesty ,’ temperance ,
’ ‘ hum i l i ty ,’
‘ discretion,
’ and the question i s , which one of theserep resents the idea that Nepos i s trying to convey .
The pupi l has to pause and consider . Reflection Showsthat humil i ty ’ wil l not do , and modesty i s no bette r .These qual iti es hardly consti tute a ti tle to eminence .
The pup i l , therefore , tu rns to ‘moderation ’ or ‘tem
pe rance .
’
The latter of these wi l l hardly answer h i spurpose ; i t has an unfortunate acqu i red connotationsuggesting predom inantly an absti nence from strongdri nk . Nor wi ll ‘moderation ’ sati sfy the pup i l’s sense ofthe demands of his native tongue , for we hard ly speak ofa man em i nent for his moderation . Of the five wordsgiven for modestia , therefore , the last only, d i scretion ,
’
will answer i n the p resent passage . The pupi l thenpasses to the following words : unus omnz
’
um max ime .
Thei r l i teral translati on is easy, alone of al l especi ally ;but thi s i s j argon , and clearly must be bettered in som eway . By refl ection , the pup i l comes to see that aloneof al l ’ m ay be rendered by our beyond al l others ,
’ orsome other equally id iomati c phrase . But here a newproblem presents i tself, how to j oin ‘ especi ally ’ withbeyond al l others .’ Possibly after a few trials the boyhits upon the device of rendering far beyond all others .’
Whether th is phrase or anothe r be chosen , however ,may depend somewhat upon the rendering selected for
florerez‘
; i n fact at each point in a translati on the rend e ring must be regarded as possibly only temporary ;one’s selection of words and phrases wi ll often require
I4 THE jUS TIFICA TI ON OF LA TIN
modificati on as a result of the rendering chosen forother parts of the same sentence . The pupi l meets nofurther special d ifficulty unti l he com es to gna lem cognz
’
tunz judz'
ca runt. L i terally, such as they j udged h imknown .
’ In and of i tsel f, the parti c ip le may m ean‘ i f
known ,’ though known ,
’ ‘when known ,
’ s ince known .
’
A ll these possib i l i ti es , however , must be we ighed before a safe deci s i on can be reached as to the actualmean ing here .
But I need not dwell further on the detai ls of theprocess we are considering. Every teacher knows whati t i s ; he knows that i t i s seri ous work , often slow work ,but he knows what i t means to the pup i l who subm i ts toi t . He knows that such a pup i l i s gain ing a mastery overthe resources of his mother tongue . Posit ive knowledge
,
except to a very l im i ted degree , he is not gain ing ; buthe i s learn ing what words m ean ; he i s learn ing to di ffe re ntiate related concepts ; he i s acqu i ring sense forform and style , and i f he be so fortunate as to be endowed with any native gi fts of thought himself when hereaches m aturer years , he has that indispensable equipm ent of the educated man,
— the capacity to say whathe says with d irectness , clearness , precis ion , and effect .There has been a great outcry in recent years aboutthe importance of Engli sh , and i t has been one withwhich I think the body of thoughtful m en have in largem easure sympathized . A ll have cheerfully acknowl
edged the great importance of an abi l i ty to use one’snative id iom with Ski ll and power . It i s because I sym
pathiz e so hearti ly with thi s sentiment that I enter thi sdefence of translation . It i s because translation fromLatin to Engl ish seems to m e such a stimulating , vitalizi ng exercise
,and so help ful to the student who wou ld
attain m astery of hi s own language , - it i s because of
thi s that I find ful l j ustification for the study of Latin .
THE TIFICA TI ON OF L A TIN 1 5
Perhaps I approach this subj ect with prej ud i ce , but Ican never forget the insp i rati on of my own early Latintrain ing, nor eve r fai l i n grati tude to the teacher whofirst suggested to m e the boundless resources of ou rown language , who by his own happy and faithfu l rend e rings of C i cero and Vi rgi l stim ulated a l ittle class ofus to do our best to make our own translati ons Showtruth , and strength , and l iterary form . Can we afford tounderrate the value of such d isc ip l ine ? How many a
lad has felt his heart kindle and hi s ambition ri se atsom e happy rendering by m ate or teacher? A nd withwhat pers istence these l ittle ni ceti es of phrase cl ing tous and influence us ? L anguage i s subtle . We cannotexplain its charm by any phi losophy . But i t i s the keyto l iterature , and our own language m ust ever be thebest key to ou r own li terature .
How finely Barrie has put th is i n his sto ry of Tommy '
Who that has read that unique description of theessay- contest can have done so without feel ing theprofound truth i t contains ? You remember the scenei n the Old Scotch school - house , how Tommy andyoung McLauchlan had been given paper and pen andset to work to write on A Day i n Church
” i n competi ti on for the Blackadd e r Pri ze , and how at the end ofthe time allotted Tommy had brought him self to scornfor the lack of a word .
“ What word ?” they askedhim testi ly ; but even now he cou ld not tell . He hadwanted a Scotch word that would s igni fy how manypeople were i n church and i t was on the tip of histongue
,but would come no farther Puckle was nearly
the word,but i t d id not m ean so many people as he
m eant . The hou r had gone by l ike winking ; he hadforgotten al l about time whi le searching his m ind forthe word .
Then the friends who had been waiting in confident
THE‘
jUS TIF ICA TI ON OF LAm v
expectation of Tommy’s vi ctory begin thei r reproaches .His teacher
,Cathro i s the fi rst . “ What ai led you athe cries , or “ I thought of
repli ed Tommy , woful ly , for he was ashamed of him self,“ but— but a manzy
’
s a swarm . It would mean thatthe folk i n the ki rk were buzz ing thegither l ike bees ,i nstead of S i tting sti l l .”
Even if i t does mean that, says another fri end ,what was the sense of bei ng so particular? Surely theart of essay-wri ting consi sts i n using the first word thatcomes and hurrying on .
”
“ That ’s how I d id ,” proudly says McLauchlan, the
vi ctorious competitor .“ I see ,
” i nterposes another fri end , that McLauchlan
speaks of there be ing a mask of people i n the church .
Mask i s a fine Scotch word .
”
I thought of m ask ,’ says Tommy, but that would
have m eant the kirk was crammed , and I j ust m eant i tto be m iddl ing ful l .
‘F low ’
would have done , suggested another.F low ’ ’
s but a handful .”
Curran ,’ then , you j ackanapes .
Cu rran ’ ’s no enough .
”
The fri ends throw up the i r hands i n despai r .I wanted something between curran and mask ,
said Tommy, dogged , yet almost at the crying .
Then Ogi lvy, the master of the victorious McLauchlan,
but whose heart i s secretly with Tommy, and who withdifficulty has been hid ing his adm i rati on , spreads a netfor him . You said you wanted a word that m eantm iddl ing full . Well , why d id you not say m iddling full ’
or fell m askYes , why not? demanded the others .I wanted one word ,
” sai d Tommy.
You j ewel ,”
muttered Ogi lvy under his breath .
18 THE jUS TIF I CA TION OF LA TL/v
Ctes iphon , not rendering word for word , but p reservi ngthe style and sp i ri t of these two omn
'
ones
weighing the i r words , he adds , not counting them .
Compare also what Lowel l says . Speaking before theModern Language A ssoc i ation in 1 889 , after a li fe of wide
observation and carefu l reflection upon theproblem s of education , he says : In read ing
such books as chiefly deserve to be read in any foreignlanguage , i t i s wise to translate consci ously and in wordsas we read . There i s no such help to a fuller masteryof our vernacular . I t compels u s to such a choosing
,
and testing , to so n ice a d iscrim i nation of Sound , pro
prie ty, pos ition , and shade of m eaning , that we now firstlearn the secret of the words we have been us ing or m isusing al l ou r l ives , and are gradually m ade aware thatto set forth even the plainest m atter as i t Should beset forth is not only a very d ifl‘icult thing , call ing forthought and practi ce , but i s an affai r of conscience aswell . Translation teaches , as nothing else can , not onlythat there i s a best way , but that i t i s the only way .
Those who have tri ed it know too well how easy i t i s tograsp the verbal m ean ing of a sentence or of a verse .
That i s the bi rd i n the hand . The real m ean ing, thesoul of i t , that which makes i t l i teratu re and not j argon ,that i s the b i rd in the bush , which tantal i zes and stimu
lates with the van ishing glimpses we catch of i t as i t fl i tsfrom one to another lurking- place
Lowel l .
Et fugit ad salices e t s e cupit ante videri.
Lowell may not have been a great teacher . His l im itations i n the class—room were probably very p ronounced ,
but that,for all that , he possessed by natu re
and train ing a clear sense for what i s vi tal and strengthening i n education , I am thoroughly persuaded . A t allevents
,the words I have quoted are the ones I have
THE jUS TIF ICA TION OF LA TIN 19
always heard commended when mention has been madeof the address i n which they are found .
This transcendent importance of translati on as bearing upon an increased m astery of one’s vernacular i s sogenerally recogni sed by educators that i t seem s worthwhi le to c ite a few further s im i lar express ions of op ini onas to its value . Thus we find Dettwei ler dec laring (Baumei ster
’s Handbucn o’er Erz ie
kungs uno’Unterricfits le/zre , iii . L a te iniscn, p .
“ Wemust not forget that the real strength of Latin instructi on l i es i n the recogniti on of the wide d ifference ofideas
,which is brought out i n the choice of words and
phrases as one translates from Latin to Germ an .
These ends we must reach by a constant comporia
son witfi tne mot/zer tongue ,1 through the m edi um of a
much more ex tensive employment of translation 2 thanhas heretofore prevai led .
”
A t a later point ( pp . 54 ff.)Dettwei ler dwells more fully upon this top i c . A fterenumerating a number of special p rincip les to be ob
se rved in translation , he goes on to say : “The p roper
treatment of these and m any other points may exerci sean absolute ly enormous influence upon the pup i l’sGerman style . The Latin language i n i ts means andmodes of express ion i s so remote from ou r own , thatthe form of translati on demands the exerc i se of astyl i sti c power the appl i cati on Of which to the pup i lm ust i n future constitute one of the noblest tasks ofthe teachers in ou r Gymnasien . The experi ence of
other countrie s which is often c ited with approval may
be uti l i zed in Germany too . In France and Belgium
ttweiler.
1 The italics are De ttwe ile r s z e . they corre spond to the space d type
of the Ge rman .
2 It is noteworthy that the re vise d cours e s of study for the Prussiangymnasia promulgate d in 1892 cal l for incre ased attention to trans lationfrom Latin into Ge rman.
20 THE jUS TIFI CA TION OF LA T11v
translati ons from Lati n are regarded as an admirableexerci se i n express ion . In England the superior styleo f the gentry is ascribed to extens ive p racti ce in translating
,and i t i s wel l known how C i cero [see above ,
p . that supreme styl ist , formed his style by practisi ng translation from the Greek .
‘Translati on from afore ign language ,
’ says one of our most experiencedschool ofli cials , ‘ i s a lesson in German that cannot betoo highly pri zed , and is , alas l ‘ too much neglected .
By a good translation , one conforming to the geniusof the German language , i nstructi on i n German i s mosteffectively promoted .
’
To a s imilar effect are theremarks of Isaac B . Burgess and W . C . Collar as giveni n the Proceedings of the Nationa l Educationa l A sso
ciation, 1 896, pp . 563 ff. ; also those of Laurie , L ectureson Language and L inguistic M et/rod , p . 108 ; Paton ,i n Spencer’s A ims and P ractice of Teocking, p . 6 1
Shorey , D i sc ipl ine vs . D i ss ipation , i n Tbe S enool Review, 1 897, p . 2 2 8 : Every hour spent by the studenti n improving the accuracy or elegance of hi s versi on is ,apart from i ts p racti cal service in mobi liz ing hi s Engl i shvocabulary, an unconsci ous phiIOSOphic d iscip l ine i nthe comparison of two sets of conceptual symbols andthe m easuring against each other of two parallel intel~
lectual outgrowths of the one sensational root of allour knowledge . Every time the student i s correctedfor washing out i n h i s translati on some poeti c im agefound in the original , he rece ives a lesson in the relationof the symbol i z ing imagination to thought . As oftenas he discu sses with the teacher a word for which noapt Engl i sh equ ivalent can be found , he acqui res a newconcept and a finer conception of nice d isti ncti ons .Whenever an apparently grotesque or senseless express ion i s eluc idated by reference to the prim i tive or ali enrel igious o r ethi cal concepti on or institution that gives
THE jUS TIF I CA TION OF LA TIN 2 1
i t meaning, he rece ives a S imple , safe , and concretelesson i n comparative rel igion , ethi cs , folk- lore , anthro
pology, or i nstituti onal history, as the case may be .
A nd as often as he i s forced to,reconsider
,i n the l ight
of the context, the m echan ically memori zed m eaningof a word or phrase , he has impressed upon hi s m i ndthe truth which the student of the more rigid workingformulas of the physical sc i ences i s so apt to m i ss , thatwords are not unalterable tal ismans , but chameleon-huedsymbols taking shape and color from thei r associ ates .The effect of th is kind of d isc ipl i ne i s unconsc ious ,i nsensible , and cum ulative . It cannot, of course , cancelthe i nequali ti es of natu ral parts ; i t cannot take theplace of p racti cal acquaintance with li fe and accurateknowledge of a speci al trade or p rofess ion . But pursued system ati cal ly through the plasti c years of youth
,
i t d ifferenti ates the m i nd subj ected to i t by a flexibi l i ty,
del i cacy,and n icety of intellectual perception which
no other merely scholasti c and class - room training cangive in l ike measure .
”
The Engli sh training derived from such careful translation as above described seems to me greatly superiorto that gained by the usual methods o f Eng Transl ationl i sh compositi on . Original composi ti on must vs. Original
necessari ly deal only with the ideas already OW N S” :
present in the pup i l’s m i nd . How elem entary andcrude these are i n case of the pup i ls i n our secondaryschools
,i s a fact suffici ently fam i l i ar to us all . The
reflective period has not usuallyb egun at the age whenthe pup i l enters upon the secondary education ; hefinds it d ifficult to write an Engl i sh theme because hehas nothing to write about . But set before him a passage of Latin , elevated in thought and well exp ressed ,wi th the problem of putting thi s i nto the best Engl ish
2 2 THE jUS TIF I CA TION OF LA TIN
he can command ; i n the first place he i s reli eved ofthe necessi ty of hunting aim lessly about for ide as
’
which
do not exi st i n his brai n ; and in the second place hei s rai sed above the p lane of hi s ord inary thinking, andi n this h igher atmosphere grows fam i l i ar with conceptsand ideas which m i ght otherwise long remain fore ignor at least vague to him . A ll things cons idered , I donot hesitate to say that I beli eve there i s a considerableperiod in the secondary train ing when Latin translation ,i f rightly conducted , may wisely be mad e
'
practically
the exclusive i nstrument of speci al i nstructi on i n Engl i shcompositi on . This view, too , I find , i s shared by m any .
Se e the d iscuss ions i n the Proceedings of the Nationa l
Educa l iono l A ssociation , 1 896, p . 563 ff. , especi allyp . 570 . Probably no teacher who has ever systematically i nstituted this experiment of wri tten translati onshas fai led to regard the time i t demanded as wiselyexpended .
I have said above that this train ing in Engl ish seemedto me to form a larger part of the advantages of LatinOther m eets study than all others together . Yet the other°f Latin : advantages are by no means insignificant .They are now to be considered .
D i scussing with hi s usual sober thoughtfulness andlucid ity of exposi tion the question : Wherein PopularEducation has Fai led ,1 President El i ot lays down thefour essential educational processes which should beinvolved in any rational and effective system of instructi on . These are
I . The process of “ observation ; that i s to say , thealert , i ntent , and accurate use of all the senses . Whoever wishes to ascertain a present fact must do i tthrough the exerc i se of this power of observation .
1 Ame rican Contributions to Civiliz ation, p . 203 fi
'
.
THE jUS Tl Fl CA TI ON OF LA TIN 2 3
Facts , d i ligently sought for and firm ly establi shed , arethe only foundations of sound reasoning .
”
2 .
“ The next function , process , or operation whicheducation should develop in the individual i s the function of m aking a correct record of things observed .
The record m ay be m ental only , that is , stamped onthe memory, or i t may be reduced to wri ti ng o r print .
This power of accurate descripti on or recording isidenti cal i n all fields of inqu i ry .
”
3 .
“ The next mental function which educati on shoulddevelop
,i f i t i s to increase reason ing power and general
i ntell igence , i s the faculty of d rawing correct i nferencesfrom recorded observations . This faculty i s almosti denti cal with the faculty of group ing or coord inatingkindred facts , comparing one group with another orwith all the othe rs , and then drawing an inferencewhich i s sure in proportion to the number of cases ,i nstances , or experiences on which i t i s based . Thispower i s developed by practi ce i n induction .
”
4 .
“ Fourthly, educ'ation should cultivate the power
of express ing one’s thoughts clearly, concisely, andcogently .
”
These , accord ing to President El i ot , are the fouressential p rocesses o f the educated m ind : observingaccurately ; record ing correctly ; comparing , group ing ,and inferr ing j ustly ; and expressing the result of theseoperations with clearness and force .
Now i t i s p recisely these fou r processes or operationswhich the study of Latin , when well taught , promotesi n an eminent degree :
I The study of Latin trains the observing faculty.
To fathom the m eaning of a Latin sentence requ i res awhole series of accurate observations . Thusthe pup i l sees the word ogissoii t i n a sentence ;he observes that the word i s a form of ago ; he takes
24 THE jUS TIFI CA TI ON OF LA TIN
note of the vo ice , mood , tense , person , and number ;he observes i ts posi tion ; he may make other observations . Or he i s read ing poetry and comes to the l ine
,
Si qua fa i‘
a s inant, jam tam tenditgne fooetgne . The
second word puzzles him at first ; to the eye , i t maybe either a nom inative plural neuter or an ablatives ingular fem i n ine used adverbially . Observati on ( scansion of the l ine) teaches him that the latter conclus ioni s the true one .
2 . L i ttle of thi s observati on i s recorded in speech orwriti ng in the p reparation of a lesson , but it is recorded
menta lly, which accord ing to President El i oti s enti re ly adequate . Moreover the p rocess
i s constant . It i s necessari ly so . No lesson in a L atinauthor can be adequately prepared without sustainedand repeated observing and recording from beginningto end .
3 . The study also necess itates the most thorough andrigid p rocesses of reasoning . The pup i l has observed that
a certain word i s i n the dative case , or in thesubj unctive mood , and has made also a'm ental
record of the fact . He now proceeds to determ ine therelationship of the dative or subj unctive to other wordsi n the sentence . This demands as severe an exercise ofthe reasoning powers as anything I know . The fi rstcombination the pup i l tries may be found to be grammatically imposs ible ; i t offends against h is consc iousness of l ingu isti c usage . Or i t may be grammati callycorrect and yet be flatlyabsurd in point of m eaning .
Or i t may make only a half sati sfactory sense , somewhat inconsistent with the context . Every consc iousendeavour , however , rightly to combine and accuratelyto interp ret the words , phrases , sentences , and paragraphs of any passage of a Lati n author i s an exerc iseof the reason . It i s not, to be sure , an exercise of the
Recording.
26 THE jUS TIF ICA TI ON OF LAmv
comparing the views of many others rather than byadopting the view of any individual . In such cases weadopt the preponderance of authority or the preponderance of evidence furn i shed by others and assumed byus to be fai rly complete . But the process i s sti l l d eductive . So i n most of the serious things of l i fe : our choi ceof a vocation , our p reparation for i ts duties , our d ietand recreati on , the education of our chi ldren , our soci al ,rel igiou s , and poli ti cal affiliations , al l these must ofnecessi ty be determ ined by deductive processes of reason , so far as they are determ i ned by reason at al l . Icannot help thinking , therefore , that Pres ident El i ot attributes too important an educational functi on to p rocesses of i nductive reason ing , and allows such processesa much larger play than they can , under any conce iv
able condi tions , ever have in the practi cal l i fe of anyind ividual . At all events , I think i t p roper to ins i st ona recognition of the part which deductive reasoningmust always play in nine tenths of the l ives of the m ostconsc ientious of us , and to u rge thi s fact as of importance in estimating rightly the value of the deductivereasoning so i nevi tably associated with the study of
Latin and other languages .
4 . L astly , the study of Lati n i nvolves i n translationconstant practi ce i n express i ng the results of one ’s ob
se rving , recording , and reasoning. Whetherthi s be clear , concise , and cogent , as Pres i
dent El iot would have it, i s a matte r enti rely within thepower of the teacher to determ i ne . But I am confidentthat no teacher fit to be intrusted with giving Latininstruction , or i n fact any instruction , will neglect thismost important and crowning feature of Latin study .
Latin , then , would seem fai rly to fulfil all the importantfunctions demanded by Pres ident El iot as essential in arational system of teaching. Yet he himself i s i ncl ined
Ex pression.
THE [ US TIFI CA TI ON OF LA TIN 2 7
to look askance at the p resent predom i nance of L atinand
‘
othe r language stud ies in the cu rri cu la of our secondary schools . Though not specifically declaring i t
,he
impli es his d istrust i n the efficacy of language study toachi eve any of the results which must be adm i tted byall to be so em i nently important .To m e al l these results seem to flow of necess i ty from
the study of Latin . Even with poor teaching , obse rving, record ing , reasoning , and express ing are necessarydai ly processes of the pup i l’s intellectual l i fe . This may
explain why even poor Latin teaching often seem s tohave an educative influence . Where the teaching i s of
first- rate qual i ty, the p rocesse s referred to are naturallygiven an accuracy, a power, and clearness of form , whichcannot fai l to prove of the highest educative power .It i s , of course , man ifest that the foregoing arguments
i n favour of studying Latin , i f val id , app ly at least i nsom e m easu re to other languages than Latin , Latin w .
and many persons doubtless wi ll be i ncl ined Modern
to advocate the advantages of French or Ge r Languages“
man, as superior to those of Latin . Whi le not denyingthe usefulness of both those languages when taught withd iscrim i nati on , yet , if one language only can be stud ied
,
I see two reasons for givi ng Latin a decided p referenceto e i ther French or German . In the fi rst p lace theconcepts and ideas of the Latin language are m uchremoter from those of Engli sh than are those of themodern languages . All modern thought i s essenti allykindred . The same intellectual elements , so to speak ,are common to al l c ivi l i zed nations , parti cu larly tonations so closely in touch as the Engl ish , French , andGerman . This i s not true when we come to studye ither of the ancient languages . The ultimate e lementsof the thought , i . e . the language of the Greeks andRomans , are as d ifferent from our own as i s thei r enti re
28 THE jUS TIFI CA TION OF LA TIN
c ivi l i zation . It i s p rec isely thi s fundamental d ifferencewhich makes e ither of the class i cal languages of suchinvaluable d iscipl ine . At every stage of study we arebrought i n contact with new phases of thought , newideas ;— the i ntellectual hori zon is continually widening . The modern languages , on the other hand , suggestrelatively much less that i s new. Both the m atter andthe manner of express ion are so d i rectly in the l ineof our ord inary knowledge and speech , as to give muchless occas ion to processes of compari son or to thatstimulating intellectual grapp le which i s essenti al tomental growth . This i s parti cu larly true of French
,
whose thought- forms are so closely kindred to our own .
It i s less tru e of German , though even that languagesuggests vastly fewer d ifferences i n i deas and consequently vastly fewer opportuniti es for compari sonthan does either Greek or Latin .
There i s ye t ' anothe r reason which I should urge i nfavour of La tin as compared with e ither of the modernlanguages , and that i s that Latin has suppl i ed us withso large a share of ou r own vocabulary . Just what theexact percentage of such words i n Engl i sh i s , I do notknow . Nor i s i t m ateri al . The number, at any rate ,i s very large , and covers every department of thought .For thi s reason no educated person can safely undertake to d ispense with a knowledge of the root words ofthe Lati n language . I mean no such knowledge ascomes from memori zing a l i st of the commoner rootsand suffixes along with thei r meanings , but a knowledgeat first hand , and sufficiently comprehensive and thorough to enable one to feel the full s ignificance of theprimary words of the Latin , a knowledge which revealsat once the ful l value of such English words as connotation, speciousness , integrity, desultory , temperance , induc
tion, deduction, abstract, ingenuous , absolute , and scores
THE IUS TIFICA TIOIV OF LA TIN 29
of others whose prec i se apprehension marks the educated man . This point has been strongly though bri eflyemphasi zed by the Commissi oner of Education , W . T .
Harri s , i n “ A Brie f for Latin ,”
Educationa l Review,
A pri l , 1 899 . Se e also Paton , i n Spencer, A ims and
P ractice of Teacbing, p . 4 1 f.To the two foregoing theoretical reasons for preferring Latin to French or German as an instrument ofsecondary education , must be added a thi rd reason ,more cogent even than those already empha Testimony of
s i zed,namely, experi ence . I bel ieve i t well EXPefi ence '
within the l im i ts of accuracy to assert that no one whohas had actual experi ence with the teaching of eithe rof the modern languages to pupi l s o f the same ageand intellectual power wi ll for a moment ventu re tocompare the i ntellectual p rofit attained from French orGerman with that derived from Latin . In fact, so faras we have any testimony on this point , there i s a striking unanim i ty of j udgment i n favour of Latin . Speaking at the first annual meeting of the Association ofColleges and Preparato ry Schools i n the M iddle Statesand Maryland (P roceed ings , 1 893 , p . Principal Mackenzi e , di scussing the questi on , “Will any kind oramount of instruct ion i n modern languages make themsati sfactory s ubstitutes for Greek or Latin as constituents of a libe ral educati on? said : Twenty- three yearsago , when I was a school - boy at one of our forem ostacadem i e s , there was no sc ientific or Engl i sh 1 course ,no course , that i s , without Latin . Those who know theh istory of that school for the centu ry closing in theseventies , know her bri l l i ant achi evements in develop ingm ental power with L atin as the staff of the pupi l’s
1 The scie ntific or English course s regularly omit Latin, and includee ithe r French or Ge rman, or both French and Ge rman.
30 THE jUS TIFl CA TI OJV OF LATIN
mental l i fe . Meantime , i n company with all our fittingschools , she , too , has establ i shed an Engli sh side without Latin . I could give no umbrage nor be chargeablewith indel i cacy were I to repeat the statem ents m adeto m e by her teachers as to the unfavou rable change inthe intellectual tone and character of the insti tuti on .
There are i n th is A ssociation an earnest , ski l fu l , e x pe rience d body of teache rs connected with our high - schoolsand other schools of secondary grade ; I have yet tomeet one such teacher who , adm i n i steri ng courses ofstudy both with and without one or two of the class icallanguages , does not, however reluctantly, affirm thatsatisfactory scholarship i s found only on the so - cal ledclassical side , and that, therefore , no satisfactory substitute for Greek and Latin has yet been found .
”
Sub
sequently Pres ident B . I . Wheeler , then Professor of
Greek at Cornell , declared i t h is convi ction that Frenchand German cannot compare with the classi cs as e ffe c
t ive instruments of secondary education , simply be
cause they don’t .” These positive asserti ons based onexperience went absolutely unchallenged i n the p rotracted d iscu ss ion of the questi on which followed .
Compare also the testimony of an Engl i sh educator ,Mr . Paton , i n Spencer, A ims and P ractice of Teat/ting,
p . 44 :“ Many argue that French and German wou ld
be j ust as efficient [as Latin], but thei r contention hasnever been practi cally demonstrated .
”
S im i lar testimony comes from Germany, France , and Belgium , tothe effect that those boys who have received a class i caltrain ing are on the whole superio r to those who havereceived a train ing on ly in the modern languages
(Fou i llée , Education from a Na tiona l Standpoint, p .
Fou i l lée ( ibid . , footnote) adds : One of ourmost em inent cri ti cs [Ferd inand Brunetiere], beforehis connection with the Revue des D eux Mondes , was
THE jUS TI FI CA TI ON OF LA l v 3 r
on the staff of the Ecole Normale Supéri eu re , andtaught French l i teratu re to the pup i ls at the CollegeChaptal , and at the same time to the m athemati calstudents at the Lycée Lou i s - le -Grand and the CollegeSainte -Barbe . A t Chaptal almost every boy passedthrough his hands
,as he took each class som e time or
other during the week , and i n this way he knew theboys in s ix classes , of course of varying ages . Now,
says M . Brunetiere , ‘ I feel , after th is experience gainedunder exceptional conditi ons , that for Open ing the m i ndand for general development, for a knowledge of ourown tongue, and for l iterary ski l l , the boys who insteadof a classi cal train ing have rece ived a purely Frencheducation , with the additi on of modern languages , areat least two and perhaps three years behind thei rfellows . ’ A t Lou is - le -Grand and Sainte -Barbe , M .
Brunetiere’s p up i ls had'
done Latin and Greek grammaronly , and had never had a thorough ground ing in that ,i ntending to devote themselves at an early peri od exe lus ive ly to m athemati cs . Here again the superiori tyof even a l ittle c lass i cal traini ng was equally m arked .
These observations ,” adds Foui llée , “ agree with my
own whi le I was engaged i n teaching . Such testimonym ight be multipl i ed almost indefinitely .
From th i s verd ict of experience we can hardly ventu reto appeal , unti l experience has new and d ifferent contributions with which to support the claims o f the equal i tyof the modern languages with Lati n as educationali nstruments . The position of those who have advo
cate d the equal i ty of French or German on theoret i calgrounds i s well represented by the late ProfessorBoye sen. In his remarks before the A ssoc iation o fColleges and Preparatory Schools of the Middle Statesand Maryland (Proceed ings , 1 893 , p . 38 ff ) , he laysstress on the adm i rable qual i ty of the French and
32 THE jUS TIF I CA TION OF L A TIN
German li te ratu res , comparing them favou rably with thecl ass i cal m asterp ieces . But the training of the secondary pup i l who i s studying a foreign language , as wasshown above , i s p rimari ly l inguistic, not l iterary. Li terary study enters i n to some extent, to be su re , but thema in benefit of the study must come afte r all from them i nute study of the elements of the thought , not fromthe contemplation of its larger l i terary aspects . A nd
i t i s p reci sely on this li ngu i sti c s ide that French andGerman exhibi t, as compared with L atin , such a striki ng lack of adaptation to the ends of a truly l iberaltrain ing.
It i s for the foregoing reasons that I feel j ustified i nu rging the superi ority of Latin to e ither of the modernlanguages as an educational instrument in ou r secondaryschools . Experience may ultimately prove French andGerman enti tled to relatively greater considerati on thanwe can at p resent concede to them , though the theore tical grounds against any such eventual result seemvery strong .
A s to Greek , for the pupi l of the secondary school Iam reluctantly forced to give it a place second to Latin .
I do th i s chiefly because Greek has contributed so muchless to our own Engl ish vocabulary than has Latin .
These estimates of educational values , however , by nom eans imply that one or even more of the other languages mentioned may not wisely be added to Lati n i nthe secondary school . I most certainly bel i eve that th isshould be done wherever practi cable , and would advo
cate the comb ination of two languages , as , for example ,Latin and Greek , Lati n and Germ an , or L atin andFrench . Latin , however, I should insi st upon as tbe
basa l studyfor a l l pupils of the secondary school whoare capable of pursu ing i t . More than two languages
(Latin for fou r years and Greek , German , or French
34 THE jUS TIP/CA TION OF LA TIN
inant pri ncip le of al l Roman civi l izati on , the powerof organ i zation and adm i n i strati on combined with asense of imperi al destiny, —as he who comes face toface with that sentiment i n the Lati n authors . Theseare examples merely of the almost infinite suggestiveness of Lati n study along histori cal and instituti onall ines ;—not that the study of Latin
'
should or canrep lace a formal study of Roman history and institut i ons , but i t can and should serve to supplement suchstudy .
I shal l venture to emphasi ze also the value of thetrai ni ng of the aestheti c and moral sense which mustE sthefic come to every mind of ord inary endowm entm m by contact with the m asterp ieces of Latinwri ti ng usually read in our secondary schools . Hereagain I shall quote the words of Professor Shorey Dis
cipline vs . D i ss ipation ,”
School Review, 1 897, p . 2 2 8
This scholasti c study of language , through the carefu li nterp retation of selected l iterary masterp i eces , i s atotally d ifferent thing both from mere gerund - grind ingand the acqu is iti on by conversati onal m ethods of thecourie r’s polyglot faci l i ty . It i s essenti ally a study ofl i terature , —a fact overlooked by those who declaimagainst language whi le p rotesting thei r devotion tol i terature ; and it i s the only form i n which l i teraturecan be taught to young students that offers seriousguarantees of the i ndi spensable accompanying d i sc ip l ine . It trains the intellect i n close associ ati on withthe sense for beauty and the sense for conduct as noother stud ies can . The i ridescent threads of cultivate d and flexible ae stheti c and ethical institutions mustbe shot through the i ntel lectual warp of the m i nd at theloom . They cannot be laid on the fini shed fabric l ikean exte rnal coat of paint . The student who betweenthe years of twelve and twenty has thri lled at the elo
THE jUS TIFI CA TI ON OF LA TIN 35
quence of Ci cero or Demosthenes , has threaded themazes of the Platon i c d ialecti c , has laughed with Aristophane s , has pored over the p i ctu resque page of L ivy ,or apprehended the sagacious analysi s of Thucyd ides ,has learned to enjoy the curious fel i c i ty of Horace andthe suprem e elegance and tender melancholy of Vi rgi l ,has trembled before the clash of destiny and humanwi ll i n the drama of IEschylus and Sophocles , has beencradled in the ocean of Homeri c song, or attuned hi sear to the state ly harmon ies of Pi ndar, - the student , Isay
,who has received thi s or a l ike d isc ip l i ne in the
great languages and l i teratures of the world , has insensibly acqu i red the elementary materi als , the essenti almethods , and the finer i ntu itive perceptions of thethings of the sp i ri t , on which all more systemati c studyof the mental and moral sciences must depend .
”
We have dwelt suffici ently upon the various reasonsfor studying Lati n in the secondary school . I t remainsto d iscuss briefly some of the obj ectionswhich have been u rged against the study at Urged against
thi s stage of education .
1 Latin
In 1 861 Herbert Spence r publi shed his work on Educa tion : Intel lectua l , Mora l , and P bysica l ,
l
consisting of aseri es of four essays whi ch had p revi ously ap Herbertpe are d i n various Engl i sh Reviews . I shall not Spen‘m‘
have the presumption to question the importance andvalue of these essays as permanent contributions to thed iscussion of educational p roblems . Yet with regard tothe value of at least one classi cal language in any adequatescheme of secondary education , Spencer i s s ingularly un~
j ust . The title of the fi rst essay i s : What knowledgei s of most worth? In d iscussing thi s question no at
1 It is impracticable h e re to d iscuss anyutte rance s e x cept those of afew repre sentative thoughtful stude nts of e ducation.
36 THE jUS TIF/CA TION OF LA TIN
tempt at a comparative estimate of the educationalvalue of d ifferent stud ies i s i nstituted . On page 2 3 ,
Spencer observes : “ If we inqui re into the real motivefor giving boys a classi cal education , we find i t ’ to bes imply conform i ty to publi c Op inion . A s the Ori
noco Indian puts on his paint before leaving his hut ,not with a vi ew to any di rect benefit, but because hewould be ashamed to be seen without i t , so a boy
’sdri ll i ng in Latin and Greek is i nsi sted on , not becauseof thei r i ntri ns i c value , but that he may not be d i sgraced by being found ignorant of them .
”
This i s the sum and substance of Spencer’s exam i nat ion of the worth of the pursu i t of e i ther L atin or Greek .
The bulk of this first essay, the ti tle of which assumes atleast an honest attempt to insti tute a candid inqui ry concerning the relative value of d ifferent subj ects , i s devotedto an exposition of the thesi s that the study of sc i ence i sof some worth to some people , nothing more . Granti ng for the sake of argument that thi s thesis i s ade
quate ly establ ished , i t by no means fol lows that othersubj ects are of less worth or that Latin i s of no worth .
Herbert Spencer has often , and with great acumen , j ustlyconvicted other th inkers of unwarranted assumptionsand bad logi c
,but i n the p resent instance he seem s to
cap the cl imax in his absolute begging of the questionat i ssue . The value of Latin can never be proved ord isp roved by discuss ing the value of something else , norcan i t be proved or d isp roved by pass ionate declarationsof its worth or worthlessness . Spencer unfortunatelyhas not attempted to go beyond these methods ; and i ti s doubly unfortunate that this atti tude has been assumed by a thinker who usually exhib its such e x cep
tional seriousness , candour , and intellectual integrity, andthe i nfl uence of whose utte rances must inevi tably be sogreat .
THE jUS TJF f CA TION OF LA TIN 37
Much more commendable i s the p rocedu re of Alexander Bain i n Education as a Science (London andNew York, In chapter x . ,
“ Valueof the Class ics , Bain seriously undertakesto estimate the worth of Lati n and Greek . Unfortu
nate ly he does not l imi t the questi on to any periodof education
,nor does he seem to recogn i se that the
questi on of the study of Latin alone i s a rad i cally d ifferent question from the study of Latin and Greek . His
d iscuss ion , however, i s one that commands ou r attention .
Bain fi rst sets forth the al leged advantages of studyingthe classi cs , and then the d rawbacks . His conclus ion i sthat the latte r decidedly outwe igh the former . It i simpossible here to take up his arguments in detai l , buti t i s to be noted that, among the advantages of thestudy , Bain practi cally ignores the transcendent valueof the i ncreased intellectual power derived from thestudy of the class ics , and the mastery acqu i red over theresources of one’s mother tongue , i . e . ,
over the ideaswhich form the highest intellectual elements of ournational l ife ,—the very things which we set downabove as c onstituting the p rime reason for studyingLatin. Of the other assumed advantages of the studyof the classi cs , Bain finds no one of suffici ent weight tobe entitled to great respect . On the other hand he enum e rate s fou r positive obj ections to the study : His
1 . The cost i s great . 2 . The m ixture of “lemm e"
confl i cti ng studi es d istracts the learner. 3. The study
i s devoid of i nterest. 4 . The class i cs incu lcate the evilof pandering to authority
.
A s to the cost , i t must be adm i tted that Latin doescost . It takes time and labour . If pursued as a dai lystudy i n ou r Am eri can schools for four years
,i t claim s
one- th i rd of the enti re secondary - school curri culum .
The real question for us , however, and the question
38 THE jl/S TIF I CA TI ON OF LA THV
which Bain p rofesses to be exam i n ing, i s the question ofva lue . To the discussion of that questi on the cons iderati on of cost i s i rrelevant . When we have determ i nedthe value of Latin , the question of cost may properlyi nfluence the pup i l’s choi ce i n ind ividual cases , but i tcannot affect the questi on of value any more than thelength of one’s purse determ i nes the value of a finewatch .
That the study of Latin i s devoid of inte rest ( Bain’s
thi rd obj ection ) , or that i t i nsp i res a blind panderingto authority ( his fourth obj ecti on ) , i s contrary to myown experience , and I beli eve to that of teachers i n thi scountry. I can only conclude that Bain i s here advanci ng arguments which , i f val id , are so only in GreatBri tain .
More importance attaches to Bain’s second obj ecti on ,which I intentionally reserve ti ll the last . The m ixtureof confl i cting purposes , he adds , d istracts the learner ,i . e . he would contend that i t i s d i stracting to the pup i lof Lati n to be gain ing in intellectual grip and breadthof visi on , to be mastering the resou rces of his mothertongue ( i . e . the higher elements of the nati onal l i fe ofwhich he is a member) , to be gain ing a p rofounderinsight i nto the thought , l i fe , and insti tutions of theRomans , to be advancing in the cultivati on of theze sthe tic and moral senses ,— to be doing all these atone and the same time. I see no answer to m ake tothi s obj ection beyond declaring that experience doesnot seem to m e to bear out i ts truth , any more thanexperience shows that the study of Latin i s devoid ofi nterest or that i t inculcates a bl ind respect for authori ty . On the other hand , experi ence seem s to m e toshow, and to show abundantly , that all the results whosecontemporaneous real i zati on Bain declares to be so di stracting, do actually flow from the study of Latin . The
THE JUS TIFI CA TION OF LA TUV 39
reason they do flow is , i n my judgment, due to thefact that tbey are not consciously sougbt by cit/tor pupil orteac/zer . Were such the case , I am quite prepared tobeli eve that the joint quest would p rove d i stracting andeven futi le . Fortunately, however, the valuable resultsof studying Lati n are ind i rect resu lts
,while Bain’s obje c
ti on seems to have been formulated as a result of theerroneous convi cti on that the valuable ends of Latinstudy are always p resent to the pup i l’s consciousness
.
It i s really thei r absence from his consc iousness whichis the salvation of the study
.
Less radical i n his atti tude toward the value of Latinin secondary educati on is Fri edri ch Pau lsen
,who in
1 885 publ i shed hi s important Gesc/zicbte d esgelehrten Unterric/i ts auf den deutsc/ten Sennlen und Univers itaten vom A usgang d e s M itte la lters bisz ur Gegenwa rt m it besonderer R iicbsic/zt auf den blassisc/i en Unterricli t. Pau lsen’s cri ti c i sm s upon classi caleducation as at p resent organized and conducted i nGerman secondary schools (Gymnas ien and Rea lscltu
len) are embodied i n his conclud ing chapte r. Beforeproceed ing to thei r consideration , however , i t wi ll benecessary to get clearly before our m i nds the status ofclass i cal education i n Germany . In the Gymnasien andR ea lgymnas ien Lati n i s studied for n ine years , — fromabout the tenth year to the nineteenth ; whi le i n theGymnas ien Greek also i s studi ed fo r s ix years , —_
fromabout the thi rteenth year to the n ineteenth . A total offi fteen years of study i s therefore regularly devoted tothe class i cs in the Gymnas ien. A nother e lement thatenters into the s itu ation i s that the amount of work i nclass ics and other branches combined has long beensomething enormous for the student of the Gymnas ien.
For two generations the Ueberbitrdungsfrage has been
Paulsen.
40 THE jUS TIFI CA TION OF LA Tm
one uppermost i n educational d i scussion . A ccord inglywhen Pau lsen undertakes to show the evi ls of existingconditions , and when he urges earnestly and cogentlythe dropp ing of Greek and the rad i cal retrenchment ofLatin , we must be exceedingly cautious what conclus ions we d raw from his observations for the study of
L atin in the secondary schools of the United States.The time now spent on L ati n i n a German Gymnasiumor Rea lgymnasium i s more than equal to that spent bymost graduates of our American colleges who - have pursued L ati n continuously from the lowest grade of thehigh school to the term ination of the i r college cou rse .
A retrenchment of Lati n i n the German Gymnasien,
therefore , may be enti rely compatible with the m aintenance of the existing attention given to Latin in thi scountry, or even with i ts extension .
Paulsen nowhere goes so far as to advocate the abandonm ent of Latin as an instrument of German secondary education . His atti tude on thi s point I bel ieve haslargely been m i sunderstood i n thi s country, owingmainly to the prevalent incapacity of many m inds tod issoci ate L atin and Greek . Paulsen’s atti tude as re
gards Greek i s p racti cally uncomprom i s ing . For thegreat body of students he i s convinced it would betterbe abandoned , but as regards Latin , he nowhere goesbeyond the demand for retrenchment . Thus on p . 762 ,
whi le declaring positive ly that the present ideal of classical education in Germ any must pass away, he unhe si
Beuevesm tatingly asserts his bel ief that L atin mustRetaining continue to be indispensable . A s to the“an amount of time to be devoted to the studywe get an expression of op in ion on p . 774 , where Pau lsen thinks that the study may profitably be pursuedthrough the lower and m i ddle classes , presumably tothe end of Obertertia , or five years i n all . On p . 782
42 THE jUS Tl FI CA TION OF L A TIN
personality in teaching can hardly be cons idered asbearing upon the question at issue . Even Paulsen himself, by the way, candidly adm i ts that the ancient class i cs do afford an unusual Opportun ity for the ef ectiveex ercise of personal influence , or at least that theywould , were i t not that inabi l ity to understand the language i n which they are wri tten constitutes an impassable barri er between teacher and pup i l . But i t i s d ifficultfor an Ameri can who has witnessed the bri ll i ant inter
pretations of the class ics i n the upper forms of theGymnasien to credi t the general existence of any suchbarr ie r .Paulsen passes on to u rge that the pursu i t of the
classi cs does not tend to promote that sympathy, charity ,Moral and brotherly love which m i ght be expected“ men” from the humanities . But certainly Paulsen’sown volume teaches us most clearly that the humanities
( stud ia humaniora ) were never so designated becausethey were supposed to make m en humane, i n the senseof sympatheti c and charitable . Humanism was but therevolt from scholasti cism : the one made God the exelusive obj ect of speculati on ; the new tendency empha
s i zed man, his achievements , capaci ti es , and asp i rations .The impl i cation , therefore , that the class ics are speci allyunder obl igati ons to m ake men kindly and chari table i sone hardly j ustified by the designation humaniti es ,
’ norhas i t ever been the professed ideal of these stud ies . But
let u s look at the facts adduced by Pau lsen in supportof hi s charge that the study of the class i cs p romotesstri fe , hatred , pride , and all uncharitableness . He c i tesa letter of Jakob Grimm , i n which complaint i s m adethat of all branches of knowledge none is more arrogant,more contentious , and less indulgent toward the shortcomings of others than phi lology . Goethe also wri tesin a similar strain to Knebel . But phi lology i s not con
THE jUS TIFICA TI ON OF LA TIN 43
fined to the class ics ; i t i ncludes the modern languagesas well
,even German , which , as we shall late r see , i s
speci ally recommended by Paulsen to take the place ofGreek and Lati n in the reformed program . Goethe’sind ictment also i s not d i rected against the classi cs , butagainst l iberal stud ies i n general . But neither of thesem en was considering the effects o f any of these studiesupon pup i ls . They were obviously al lud ing to theexhibiti ons of j ealousy and rival ry m ani fested betweenscholars of eminence . Such exhib itions must always bea more or less frequent result o f keen intellectual competiti on . They are no more frequent i n classi cal philology than in other departm ents . Nothing can exceedthe vi ru lence of some of the recent polem i cal l i te ratureevoked i n Germany by the h igher c ri ti c i sm of the Scriptu res . Even phi losophy ( another subj ect which Paulsencord ially endorses as a substitute for the class i cs ) i s notwithout i ts am en ities , and I vivid ly recal l the polem i c of
a lead ing German investigator i n this field , i n whichwords were used that Engl ish l iterature has not tolerateds ince the days of Swift . Natu ral sc i ence , too , has notbeen exempt , —a study which Grimm and Goetheseem ed to think more adapted to the development ofa “ sweet reasonableness . ” Such may have been thecase i n Germany at the beginning of the century . Itm ay sti l l be so . But certai nly in the United Statesthere are many exceptions to thi s ru le , and one of myclearest boyhood recollections i s of the vehement personal i nvectives hurled against each other by two em i
nent paleontologists.Paulsen wi ll attach no weight to the fact that men ,
even profess ional m e n,who have enj oyed the severe
classical train ing of the Gymnasien, are prac M m .
tically a uni t i n thei r advocacy of retain ingthi s i nstructi on i n i ts p resent form . These men, he
44. THE jUS TIFI CA TI ON OF LA T/IV
asserts , are actuated not by any educational considerations , they are not impressed with any sense of thevalue of the train ing they have received . What actuates them i s soci al pride , an ari stocrati c sense of therecognised superiori ty which the i r education has conferred . They wish to perpetuate the caste i n al l i tsglory . How j ust thi s imputation of motives i s , i t i s ofcourse imposs ible for us to determ i ne , but one hesi tatesto bel ieve i t well founded . A t all events , i n th is countryno one will charge the existence of such sentiments asa factor i n the adj ustment of educational p roblem s .Paulsen’s last argument i s based upon the observable
educational tendenc i es of the last four centuries . Ever
Tendency of s ince the Renaissance and the Reformati on thethe Times ' relative importance of the class ics has beend im in i shing . There was a time early i n the s ixteenthcentu ry when these stud ies practi cally m onopol i zed thefield of learn i ng . Each succeeding centu ry has seenthei r relative importance d im i n i sh . Pau lsen’s reasoningi s that ultimately thei r place must vani sh , and that thatera has i n fact arrived . But any such argument basedupon the operation of a tendency i s l ikely to be fallacions . No one can say with certainty how long a giventendency m ay operate . The record of the Ameri cantrotti ng horse has been reduced i n the last twenty-five
years from two m i nutes seventeen and one - quarter secouds to a fraction ove r two minutes . But he would bebold who should pred ict that this tendency will go onwithout l im i t . S im i larly, educational pol i c i es can hardlybe determ ined on the basi s of observed tendencies .They must be settled rather in the light of exi sti ngconditions .A s substi tutes for Greek and for so much of Latin asi t i s proposed to banish
, Paulsen suggests the introduction of phi losophy and German . We hardly need to
THE jUS TI FI CA TIO/V OF LA TIN 45
d iscuss the value of the former of these studi es . I f introduce d i nto the Gymnas ien , i t i s obvious that philosophy cou ld be intended only for the two higher proposed
classes of the Gymna sium , a department of Substitutes
education lyi ng beyond what we designate as secondary,
and corresponding rather to the lowe r years of ourAmeri can colleges . But the propos ition to i ntroduceGerman as a substi tute for the class ics invites ou r careful attention , for i f it i s sound for Germany, i t i s alsosound for us to replace the study of ei ther or both theclass i cal languages by the study of Engl i sh . Myreasons for question ing the soundness of the generalp rinc iple involved are two
1 . Experi ence has never shown that any study of thevernacular i s capable of yield ing results i n any way comparable with those secu red from the study of
“adequacy ofother languages . In fact experi ence has so a Study of the
frequently i l lu strated the reverse as praeti cally to have demonstrated the impossibi l i ty of se curing such results . 2 . Reflection , too , reveals adequategrounds for bel i eving that the study of the ve rnacular never can prove of any very high educative value .
The case has been so wel l stated by Fou illée , Education from a Nationa l Standpoint, p . 108, that I quotehis words : “ From the point of vi ew of i ndividual deve lopm ent, the study of the mother tongue i s onlysu ffic ient i n the case of excepti onal ly gi fted m inds .Secondary education should be regulated accord ing tothe average , and not accord ing to exceptional students .Now, on the average , to the cu ltu re essential to thehumaniti es , the study of a tongue other than the mothe rtongue i s the shortest and su rest m ethod . A Frenchman, for instance , has a qu ick m ind and a versati leintellect ; but the very faci l i ty with which he uses h isintellect does not leave him enough time for reflecti on .
46 THE jUS TIFI CA TJ0N ~OF LA TIN
When a French boy is reading a French book , unless heenj oys unusual reflective faculti es , his mind i s carri edaway by the general sense , and the detai ls and shadesof express ion escape him . As M . Rabier says
,
‘A
French chi ld read ing a page of Pascal or Bossuet doesnot fully grasp i t, i . e . only half grasps it.’ Exerci sesand translati ons force the chi ld to weigh every word , toascertai n its exact meaning , to find its equ ivalent ; hemust also consider the inter- relati ons of tlte ideas and
words i n order to fix the sense concealed in the text ;finally
,he must transpose the whole from one language
to another , j u st as a mus ic ian transposes an ai r . The
final result i s that he has repeated for him self the laboursof the thinker and writer ; he has re - thought thei rthoughts , and has revived the l iving form which wasorgani c to the writer’s thought . He has had to reproduce a work of art . A cursory perusal of works in themother tongue i s rather l ike a strol l through a museum ;translati on from one language to anothe r i s l ike copyinga p ictu re ; the one makes amateu rs, the other arti sts .In thi s way the sense of depth and form are s imu ltaneously acqu i red .
” My own experience confi rm s thi sV i ew . For some years I was connected with one of ourlarge universities , i n which there was an “ Engl i sh ”
course . The preparation for admiss ion to thi s coursei ncluded neither class i cs nor modern languages , butwas based primari ly upon Engl ish itself. For years thestudents who presented themselves for adm i ss ion withthi s Engl i sh preparation were recognised as the mostdefic ient i n intel lectual strength and train ing of any whocame up to the University . Nothing, I bel i eve , but adesi re to give the experiment the fai rest possible tri alprevented the early abol ition of that course .
In conclus ion , Paulsen calls for the exerc i se of morecommon sense i n the organization of education , partie
THE jUS TI F/C'
A TION OF LA TIN 47
ularly i n the establ ishment of the curri cu lum . Commonsense , he adds , suggests that languages are learned tobe understood , and the inference i s that , i f understanding them i s not obviously of transcendent value , thenthe i r study i s profitle ss . A ll the fine phrases about thed isc ipl i ne and culture , he adds , supposed to result fromlanguage study are l ikely to make no appeal to sturdycommon sense . I f by stu rdy common sense i s meantthe instinctive conclusion of the common man who hasgiven no serious thought to the p roblems of education ,Paulsen i s p robably right , but can we safely intrust thei nterests of our higher education to such hands ?Such are Paulsen’s arguments against the study of
Greek and L atin in the German secondary schools , andsuch are the substitutes he proposes . I have
Review of
cons idered them partly because they repre Paulsen’s
sent the conclusions of an eminent thinke r Ob’em’ms '
and earnest student of educational problems , partlybecause by many in this country Pau lsen i s popularlysupposed to have demonstrated finally the absolute lackof any ra ison d ’
e‘
tre for the study of e ithe r of the class i callanguages . Our exam i nati on of hi s arguments shows , Ithink , that they are very far from j u sti fyi ng the radicalchanges which he p roposes i n German secondary educati on . Much less do they warrant a lack of confidencein the pursu i t of the classi cs as pu rsued i n thi s country ;while , as regards Latin , Paulsen expressly recogn i ses the
justification of retain ing qu ite as m uch as i s ordinari lypursued in Ameri can secondary schools .
In conclusion we may state the case for Latin brieflyas foll owsReason and experi ence show that Latin in secondary
education i s capable of producing intellectual results o fgreat positive value
,practi cally i nd ispensable to the
48 THE jUS TIF ICA TION OF LATIN
educated m an. Experience has not yet shown that anyother subj ect ( excepting possibly Greek ) i s capable of
producing equally good results . Theori stshave often asserted the equal value of other
subj ects , or at least have asserted the capacity of othersubj ects to yield as good results . Som e of thesetheori es , e . g. that i n favou r of the study of modernlanguages , that in favour of the study of the vernacular,we subj ected to cri ti ci sm with a vi ew to showing the i rdefects . Sti l l the empi ri cal argument must ever be thestronger , and , say what one may,
the stubborn factremains of the unique educational i nfluence exerc i sedby Latin . By thi s i t i s not for a moment m eant tod i sparage the legitimate functions of a single otherstudy . The i r special value i s ungrudgingly conceded .
But i n the l ight of ou r present knowledge , i t seem s aplain educati onal duty to adhere to Latin as adm i rablym eeting a d isti nct educational need which i s not m e t
by any of the other subj ects with which we are so oftenu rged to replace it .A t present , however , the danger seem s to be not
that too few wi ll study Latin , but rather too m any .
A rm ing L atin i s a d ifficult subj ect, and the pecul iarDang“ educative power i t possesses i s not capableof be ing exerc i sed upon all m i nds , —only upon thoseof a certain natu ral endowment . In our i ntense d emoc
racy we are pe rhaps at times incl ined to forget thatno consti tuti onal declarations of civil equal ity can evermake , or were ever intended to recogni se , an inte l lectua lequal ity between the ind ividual members o f the nation .
L ati n i s good for those whose gifts enable them top rofit by i ts study . I t i s not , however, capable ofpopular d istribution l ike so much flour or sugar .Because L ati n i s a highly effective instrum ent for thetrain ing of certain m inds , we must not think that the
Summary.
CHAPTER I I
THE BEGINN ING W ORK
IN the beginn ing work we are confronted with whati s p robably the greatest d ifficu lty i n the enti re rangeDifficul ty of of e lem entary Latin instructi on . The pup i lthe “men who i n his early study fai ls to becom e wellgrounded in the elements of Lati n —who fai ls to secu rean accu rate knowledge of
,forms and of the lead ing
principle s of syntax— i s at once put at an immensed isadvantage . The chances are that he becomes d iscourage d , and that his continuance i n the work wi llp rove increasingly un interesting and increas ingly profitl ess to himself, as wel l as increas ingly burdensome tohi s teachers . The proper conduct o f the beginningwork also makes the severest demands upon the knowledge and skill of the teacher. Too often , beginners arei ntrusted to inexperi enced instructors on the generaltheory , apparently , that the lower the class the easieri t i s to i nstruct i t . But i n every subj ect I bel ieve that,i f there must be d iffe rences , the ablest and wisest teachershould be put in charge of the beginning work . A l lerAnfang ist schwer
,says Goethe . Certainly this i s pre
em i nently true of Latin . Only the well- trained teacher,whose knowledge of Latin i s accurate and b road , i squal ified wisely to d i rect the first steps of the beginner . For only such can and wil l inculcate that ind i spensable p rec i s ion
,and only such can j udge what things
are of vital importance and must be learned now , and
THE BEGIN/VB ]?as BOOK 5 1
what things are less essential and may be deferred to alate r time .
Even for a well - trained and accurate Latin i st, thed ifficu lti es that beset the teacher i n charge of thebeginning work are very great . Some of them areinherent i n the subj ect ; som e of them are connectedwith the choice of m ethod to be pu rsued . Thei r number and importance m akes i t desi rable to cons iderthem under d ifferent heads . I shal l d iscuss successive ly I . The Beginner’s Book . I I . Pronunciati on .
II I . The “ Inductive ” Method . IV. Reading at S ight .V. Unseen Translati on . VI . Easy Read ing .
I . Th e B eginne r’s B ook .
No problem i s greater than the wise choice of the firstbook to be put into the beginner’s hands . The plan ofthe beginner’s book used in th is country has
The Beginbeen rap idly and rad ically changing in the net’s Book
last.
twe nty years . Twenty ye arso
ago the fixe
i‘
g.
pup i l u sual ly began W i th the L at in Gramm ar and the Latin Reader . The Grammar served togive the facts of p ronunciati on , accent , declension , conjugation , etc . , while the Reader gave parallel exe rc i sesi llustrative of the parts of the Grammar assigned fromday to day . The development natu rally fol lowed thearrangem ent of the Grammar, i . e . the pup ils weretaught the five declensions in success i on , then theadj ective , pronouns , and the four conj ugations . Dur
ing the acqu isi tion of the forms l i ttle attenti on was paidto syntax . Only a few indispensable principles of themost elementary kind were introduced at thi s stage ,such as the rules for the p redi cate noun , apposi tive ,subj ect , obj ect , agreem ent of adj ective with noun , etc .
A fter the acqui siti on of the form s , and before the com
52 THE BEGINNING WORK
mencem ent of the regular reading of a continuous text ,the beginner’s attention was di rected to the elementarysyntacti cal principles of the language . Here again theGrammar was used as the basi s of i nstruction , andthe d ifferent constructions stud ied were accompaniedby parallel i llustrative sentences i n the Reader . L ikethe study of the form s , the study of the syntax followedthe order of the Grammar , i . c. all the constructionsof one case were treated together, and all the caseconstructi ons preceded the constructi ons of mood andtense . This m ethod of study yielded excellent results .Boys learned thei r form s with accu racy, they earlybecame fam i l i ar with the Grammar, and so laid a sol id
foundation for future work . Thi s plan of
i nstructi on , however , i nvolved one featu rewhich exposed i t to attack from the theoretical side ;i t was u rged that the i solated fragmentary words andphrases given in the Reader as parallel exerc i ses to theGrammar were i rrational . During the acqu is i tion ofthe declension of nouns , adj ectives , and pronouns , andlargely during the study of the conj ugations
,the pup i l
was fed i n the Reader on these i solated words andphrases . Complete sentences were almost unknown
,
necessari ly so unti l the verb was reached . Now,i t was
u rged that i t was an inj usti ce to the pup i l to be confinedfor weeks together to such unnatural exerc ises asD ionysii tyranni ; equum Ba lbi ; vobis ; templum quod
dam audiveris ; sunto ; laudatos esse , etc . The j usti ceof this positi on i s fai rly debatable
,but debate now is
hardly necessary . To - day the use of the Grammar
The Typical and Reade r as above described is a thing ofBeginner’s the past . For two decades the beginner’s
°f T°' book has been com ing into more and moregeneral use , unti l to day its re ign i s prac
t ically un iversal . These books are usu ally complete
A Defect.
THE BEGINNER as B OOK 53
i n themselves . They contain al l the grammar supposedto be essential for the beginning pup i l , along withcop ious i llustrative sentences . Representing as theydo , also , a reaction against the old Reader with i ts i solated words and detached phrases , they introduce com
ple te sentences at the start . Thi s i s accompl i shed bytreating certain parts of the verb in the very earl i estlessons .
Had the makers of these books contented them selveswith remedying what they characteri zed as the cryingdefect of the old Reader , the resu lt wou ld not havebeen so bad . But they have gone m uch further . Mostof these manuals are absolutely without p lan Unsyste
i n the i r d istribution of material . B i ts of the matic
noun , adj ective , adverb , verb , and p ronoun are found scatte re d here and there throughout the book , i nterspersedwith various syntactical rules , now on the noun , now onthe verb , now on one case , now on anothe r . The mostcu rsory glance at almost any one of the dozens ofbeginner’s books publ ished in recent years wi l l amplyconfirm the accuracy of this statement .The plan of these books has long seemed to m e
pedagogically unsound , and in practi ce I fear they havenot e rfable d us to real i ze the best results i n ou r elementary L atin teaching . To m e i t seem s unden iable thatpup ils to - day are consp icuously i nferior in the masteryof thei r i nflecti ons to the pup i ls of twenty years ago ,as well as consp icuously i nferi or i n the i r general fam i l iarity with the Latin Grammar . This observation I findi s qu ite general . The complaint comes from Harvardeven , s i tuated though it i s i n the centre of the finestp reparatory schools of the country ,— schools whoseeffic iency ought to increase , not d im i n ish , with time .
Both these results I trace i n large measu re di rectly tothe type of beginne r’s books now in vogue ; as regards
54 THE BEGINN ING WORK
the former, at least , I do not see how it can possi blybe ass igned to any other source .
L e t us examine more close ly the defects of thesebooks . My cri tic isms wi ll cove r three heads
Dem I . They separate things that logically beDetafl long together ; also , i n endeavouring to rel i evethe m emory and to promote i nterest, they sacrificeaccu racy of knowledge .
2 . They separate th ings i n the early stages of teaching which must late r be associated .
3 . In introducing the translation of Engl i sh i nto Latinbefore the forms are thoroughly mastered
,they involve
a serious expenditure of time without any correspondinggain .
My fi rst cri ti c i sm was that things which logicallybelong together are i n these books separated from one
another . Thus the five declensions seem tom e more l ike each other than like anythingelse ; the same i s true of the pronouns takenas a whole ; i t i s also true of the four con
jugations of regular verbs , and even of the i rregularverbs taken as a whole . So also i n the case of thesyntax
,the d i fferent constructions of the genitive ,
the dative,the accusative
,or the ablative , the uses of
the subj unctive,seem to m e more l ike each other than
l ike anything else . This intimate logical relationship i sexplic itly recognised
,too
,i n all Latin grammars with
which I am acquainted . Now both reason and e x pe ri
ence have for years constantly tended to strengthen myconvicti on that facts which logi cal ly belong togetherare most eas ily acqu i red by being learned in conj unctionwith one another
,and that i t i s a fundamental psycho
logi cal m i stake to d issoc iate such facts in teach ing .
Thus the pupi l who i s studying Roman private antiqu it i es
,for i nstance
,can hardly expect to secure an easy
THE BEGIIVIVER ’S B OOK 5 5
mastery of hi s subj ect i f i n one lesson he learns a fewfacts about the Rom an house , a few more about thetoga , coupled with i solated allus ions to the modes ofm arriage and the m ethods of d i sposal of the body afterdeath . S im i larly , the pup i l who acqui res i n one lessona b it of a verb , a parad igm of a declens ion , the infle ct ion of a p ronoun , along with a rule for the use of thei nfinitive , and then i n the next, perhaps , the pri nciplesfor the use of cum , the formation of adverbs , and theconjugation of possum ,
— such a pup i l , I say, seem s tome to be put at an enormous psychologi cal disadvantage i n his acqu i s i tion of the really essenti al facts whosethorough mastery i s so ind ispensable .
A certain theory of interest i s , I am well aware , sometimes u rged in defence of the prevai l ing plan , but i t i sa se rious question whether i nterest i s real ly The Theory
promoted by a plan whi ch does vi olence to “mm
obvious psychological laws , and , even i f i nterest werepromoted , whether it would be wise to m ake so great asacrifice for the end .
The combinati on of a study of syntax wi th the formsresu lts apparently from the sam e motive ,— that ofi ncreasing the interest of the subj ect by in
Al l eged (m p
creas ing its vari ety. training of
It i s frequently urged , too , that the Oldthe memory
method of vigorous , aggress ive attack upon the parad igms ( and upon them alone unti l mastered) i nvolveda train ing of the memory at the expense of other faculti es ; hence the j u stification of combin ing the study ofsyntax with that of the declensions and conj ugations .But even were the study of syntax taken up more systematically, I am convinced that i t would be a m i staketo pursue i ts study in conjunction with the study of theform s . It can hardly fai l to d istract the energy of thebeginning Lati n student to be studying contemporane
56 THE BEGINNING WORK
ously two things so diffe rent as forms and syntax. Anysuch plan necessari ly precludes , or at least enormo uslydim in ishes , any effective concentration . Without suchconcentration i t must be more di fficult to acqui re amastery of e ither form s or syntax. We hear much
Importance “ to - day of correlation in educational.
work ,but we need to exerci se the greatest d is
crim i nation in the combinati ons we undertake to make ;else under the name of correlation we are l ikely to findourselves encouraging a serious d issipation of energy .
Nor need we , I bel i eve , cherish any fears o f overtrainingthe memory by d i recting the pup i l’s efforts from theoutset exclus ively ( or practi cally so 1 ) to a systemati cstudy of the forms unti l these are m aste red . So farfrom there being any danger of overtrai n ing the m emoryby this plan, I am convinced , by my experi ence withsome twelve hundred freshmen whose work has allpassed d i rectly under my observation during the lastten years , that there is the greatest danger of train ingi t too l ittle . The age at which pup ils ord inari ly beginthe study of Latin i s one at which the memory i s usually active and responsive . Later the keenness of itsedge i s dul led , and i t seem s unfortunate not to e ncourage i ts cultivati on by putting upon i t the legi timateburdens which at this peri od i t i s fitted to bear withease . Nor i s i t a common experience that pup i ls qual ifie d to pu rsue Latin with p rofit find thi s work eitherspec ially laborious or d istaste ful when pu rsued i n themanner I am recommending . On the other hand , I
1 The re can be no obj e ction to giving the pupil at the outset the
parad igm of the pre sent indicative active of a regular ve rb of the I st
conjugation, the pre sent indicative of sum , a longwith a few fundamenta lsyntactical principle s (subj e ct, obj e ct, predicate noun, appositive ) . This
make s it possible to deal with comple te sentences from the e arlie stle ssons .
58 THE B EGINN ING WORK
work tbings w/i ic/I must later be associated . Thus thepupi l
,let u s say , learns the p resent , imperfect, and
Necessitatesfutu re ind icative of amo i n one lesson ; i n
Later Re another somewhat late r he learns the perfectad’m em ‘ i nd i cative active , and long Subsequently heacqu i res p iecemeal the remainder of the conj ugation ofamo. So with the other conj ugati ons , with the p ronouns ,with the five declensions
,parti cularly the thi rd , which i s
often d ismembered and whose parts are treated at widei ntervals ; so , too , with the various constructi ons of theaccusative , dative , genitive, ablative , etc. Sooner orlate r the pup i l comes to the Grammar , and here hefinds the facts with which he has p reviously becomefam i l i ar grouped in qu i te another way. In the revi ewof what he has already learned
,and in form i ng a basi s
around which to group systemati cally the new facts offorms and syntax he may acqu i re , the p up i l i s forcedto make an enti rely new d istributi on of hi s stock ofknowledge . All the subtle threads of associ ation whichhave h itherto been woven into the existing fabri c o f hisknowledge have to be rudely broken , and a new warpand a new woof have to be created . I fear that theamount of effort requ is ite for the consummation of th isred istribution and rearrangement i s not fully appre ci
ated . To my mind the requ is ite effort cannot fai l tobe enormous . 1 I fear , i n fact, that i t i s so great thatthe red istributi on and rearrangement frequently fai l o fconsummation by the pup i l
,and to this fact I bel i eve
we must attribute i n large measure 2 the deplorableignorance of Latin grammar which characteri zes the
1 On this point, c]?De ttwe ile r (in Baume iste r, Handbuch der Erz iehungs und Unte rrichtslehre fiir die hohe ren Schulen,
Vol . I II . Part iiiLate inisch , p . who insists that the beginne r’s book and the Grammar sbould agree in arrangement and inform of statement.
2 Anothe r cause is mentioned late r in chapte r iv. p . 1 44.
THE B EGINNER ’S B OOK 59
pup i ls of ou r secondary schools to - day . Even wherethe change of assoc iati on and the necessary regroupingare effected , i t canbe only at great expense of time andenergy . A true economy of acqu i s i ti on shou ld alwaysconsider the u ltimate form and arrangement in whichthe student i s to marshal and group the facts of h i sknowledge . Unless we are to abandon the effect ivestudy of the L ati n Grammar , i t seems to m e indispen
sable to make the beginner’s b ook conform in its arrangement and m aterial to the order of the Grammar, so faras the two books cover identi cal ground . In thi s waythe beginning book wi l l be a di stinct help to the late rstudy of the Grammar ; i n the other case , the d ifficu ltyof the n ew adj ustment is l ike ly to prove a‘ seri ous impediment to an effective maste ry of the Grammar . The
old way of beginning Latin with Grammar and Readerwould , I bel i eve , be sounder and easie r than thi s .The thi rd fundamental defect i n these books to whichI wished to call attention touches the i ntroduction ofexerc ises in translating Engl i sh into Lati nbefore the form s are mastered . So far as $333“any increased mastery of the forms i s con Introduced
cerned , i t seems a seri ou s m i stake to expectt°°Early‘
to secu re i t by practi ce in translating from Engl i sh intoLatin . L e t us suppose, for example , that the essenti alfeature of the lesson for a given day i s the inflecti on of anoun of the first declension , or the ind icative Economym ood of the active voice of amo. Is i t l ikely Of Timeto be an effective employment of the student’s time andenergy, for him to translate , say , a dozen or fi fteen sen~tence s from Engl i sh i nto Latin . call i ng for the use ofd ifferent form s ofporta and amo.
? The pupi l i n th is waygets but a l im i ted amount of dri l l on the forms . F i fteensentences of the sort mentioned consti tute a fai rly longexerc ise . My own experiments indi cate that two and
60 THE BEGINN ING WORK
one - half minutes i s a very moderate average time allowance for each sentence . This makes thi rty- seven minutesfor such an exerc ise , a large proporti on of the pup i l’sDefective time . Moreover, the exerci se i s almost certainRemm to be lacking in ton ic effect . The pup i l’s natu ral tendency in writi ng the Latin for of the farmer,
’
‘ of the gi rls ,’ ‘ to the inhabitants
,
’
etc .,i s to turn to
his p rinted paradigm and secure the desi red form byim i tating ; so i n the verb , he wi ll p rai se
,
’ ‘we havep raised ,
’ ‘ you summoned ,’ ‘ they are call ing
,
’
e tc . ,are
not turned into Latin by an active effort of deriving therequ i red form from the pup i l’s p resent knowledge ofthe parad igm , but almost inevitab ly the pupi l fol lows thel ine of least res i stance and consu lts the p rinted parad igm .
Thi s tendency on the pup i l’s part i s so strong,I bel i eve
,
as to be p racti cally i rresi stible,and
,where yi elded to
,
must exert an influence which , so far from being tonicand strengthen ing , i s positively weakening to the pup i l .To m e i t seem s possible to ensure the requ is ite independent exerc i se upon the form s only by oral methodsunder the immediate d i rection of the teacher .Le t m e i l lustrate what I have in mind . L e t us sup
pose the lesson i s on the fi rst declension . Le t the
A practical teacher put to the enti re class such questionsSuggeSfion as the following
,asking for a show of hands
as each pupi l i s prepared to answer : What i s theL atin for of girls ; ‘ to the farmers ; farmers ’ as sub
je ct ; as obj ect ; of the island and so on , i. e . pursui ng a seri es of questions i n which the Engl ish i s givenand the corresponding Latin form i s dem anded . Thenlet the reverse process be instituted , and translati on intoEngl i sh be demanded where the Latin form i s given .
The teacher asks : “What i s the Engl ish for pue l la e ,for insul is , incola rum , incolam , agricola e , agricola s é
’etc.
Then a fresh turn may be taken and the form be given ,
THE BEGINNER ’S B OOK 61
while the pup ils are asked to give the numb er and casei n which the form i s found ; and , lastly, the teacher may
give the number and case , asking for the form whichcorresponds , e . g . , What i s the gen itive p lu ral of insula ; the dative singular of agricola ; the dative plural ;the accusative p lural of incola? etc. S im i larly with theverb ; the teacher can give the meaning and ask for thecorresponding form
,or he may give the form and ask
for the m eaning ; or he may state the mood , tense ,person , and number i n which a given form i s found andask the pup i ls to give the form ; or , lastly , he may givethe form and ask the pup i ls to locate its mood , tense ,number , and person . By such an exerc i se the pup i lsare thrown enti rely upon their own resources . Theyare forced to recall and to reconstruct ; they cannotrefer to a book ; the process i s stimulating and strengthe ning. They are indel ibly impri nting upon thei r m indsvivid p ictu res of the paradigms , fi l l i ng i n the relativelyuncertain and shadowy outl ines with definite and e ffe c
tive strokes . A nother advantage of such an exerc isei s the amount of work that can be done in a relativelyshort time . The pupi l who in thirty- seven m i nutes haswritten fifteen exerci ses has at best rece ived only fifteenimpressions i l lustrating the parad igm i nvolved in thelesson for the day . There i s the greatest danger
,too
,
that these impress ions have been feeble,— i nevi tably so
i f, i nstead of recall ing the requi red form by a d i recteffort, the pup il has consulted the printed paradigm fori t . On the othe r hand , by such an exerc i se as Idescribe i t i s easi ly possible i n two m inutes to securethese fi fteen impress ions , and to be su re that they havebeen secured by the only way possessing any educativevalue ,— by a
‘d i rect effort of the memory and reason .
In ten m inutes , therefore , five times as m uch can bedone toward impressing upon the pup i l’s m ind the
62 THE BEGINN ING WORK
parad igm of porta or of amo as in four times the sameamount of tim e devoted to wri ting sentences involvingthe appl i cati on of these forms , and the teacher can becertain too that the work has been honest . It i s notd i fficu lt e ithe r to enl ist the activity of an enti re class insuch an exerc ise . While only one pup i l can answerany given questi on , yet I have never fai led to feelconvinced , where I have followed thi s p lan , that theenti re class were doing the work . Such work , furthermore , i s i ntensive , whereas the writing of sentenceseven of s imple sentences — i nevitably di stracts thepup i l’s m i nd from the form s , and d issipates hi s energi esupon a vari ety of things . One of these i s the vocabulary. A s the pup i l progre sses from lesson to lessonhe i s su re to forget some , at least, of the earl i e r Lati nwords , and when he needs them there i s only one re
course,to hunt them up in the Vocabulary at the end
of the book . Another d ifficu lty 1s the syntax , sl i ght ,perhaps
,but actual ; yet another 15 the matter of word
order . All of these e lements together consp ire to prevent that ind ispensable concentrati on upon the formswithou t which they cannot be maste red . Instead ofdoing one thing , the pupi l i s doing several contemporane ously,
and all probably ind ifferently . One t/zing at
a time , and that done we! was a fine old motto of ou rfathers
,whi ch seems too much neglected i n recent edu
cation . Sti ll the wri ting of Lati n undoubtedly has itsplace . When the pup i l comes to the system ati c studyof syntax
,such exerc i ses are ind ispensable ; but I hold
i t to be a self- evident propos iti on that for the purposesof effective dri l l i n syntax the form s must be al readythoroughly mastered , so that the pup i l
’s enti re energymay be devoted to the one central obj ect o f attention .
Only then can we secure that d efinitene ss of impressi onwhich 13 the foundation of real knowledge . The piano"
THE BEGINNER as B OOK 63
forte pup i l does not p racti se exerc i ses the success ivebars of which consist of arpeggios , tri l ls , double thi rds ,octaves , and scales . These various elements of musicalcapaci ty are taken ind ividual ly, and each i s made thesubj ect of intens ive work . I cannot but feel that i n al lstudy and all teaching the same pri nciple m ust applywherever effective progress i s to be m ade without de
plorable waste of time and energy both on the pup i l’s
and the teacher’s part .As to the vocabulary of the beginner’s book
,I
bel i eve i t should be small . The principl e above advo
cate d of do ing one thing at a time and doingThe Vocabm
that th1ng well , as opposed to undertaking to lary shoul d
do several th ings at a time and inviti ng di s m smm '
aster, holds here also . If the beginner can learn hi s infle ctions and a few elements of syntax , even though hi svocabulary be limite d ,
'
he i s equ ipped to begin somesimple read ing . A vocabu lary can be acqu i red onlyslowly at best , and i ts acqui s i tion wi ll be retarded solong as the pup i l st i l l has an imperfect o r i ncompleteknowledge of his paradigms , and i s sti ll under the ne ce ssity of devoting a large part of hi s energy to this featureof hi s Latin study . Even after the form s are m astered ,i t would sti l l seem wiser, pending the acqu i s ition of thefundamental p rinciples of Latin syntax , to defer anyspec ial endeavou r to extend the range of the pup i l’s vocabulary . When these ind ispensable prelim i nari es havebeen m e t the pup i l may well en ough m ake the acqu isiti on of a vocabulary an important end of study , and may
then , I bel i eve , expect to make fai rly rap id p rogress inhis quest. But before that , I am convinced not onlythat his struggle wi l l be futi le , but that h is general p rogress in other d i rections wi ll be impeded by the multi
plicity of hi s concerns , and the consequent d istracti onof effort and energy . Those educators , therefore , who
64 THE BEGINN ING WORK
advocate a vocabulary of or words in the beginner’s book seem to m e to be gu ided by unsound convictions . It i s perfectly true , as these persons u rge , thatthe lack of vocabulary is the one great impediment tomore extensive and more rap id read ing of L atin ; but thegreat questi on after all i s how best to secu re an extens ive and accurate knowledge of the words one i s l ikelyto meet in read ing . A re we likely to succeed by dint ofa hero ic effort at the outset when other and m ore seriousd ifficulti es are encounteri ng us at every tu rn ? Is i t notbette r to restri ct ourselves to other th ings i n the beginn ing work
,and leave the vocabulary for the later stages
of the study? Seven hundred words have been shownby experi ence to be amply suffic i ent to lend vari ety andi nterest to the work , and , by the abundant repeti ti on ofthe same words , to ensu re that th is small vocabularywil l be thoroughly m astered . But even thi s maste ryshould hardly be made a consp i cuous obj ect . Probablymost pup i ls wi ll inevitably become fam i l i ar with al l o rnearly al l the words of a vocabulary of that si ze by themere frequency with which the words recu r . A ny
effective vocabulary will certainly always be gained inthat way
, i . c. by reading and frequently m eeting thesame words used again and again i n the same senses .Nothing but wide read ing can bring about this resu lt ,and to read widely whi le pursu ing the beginning work i sa contrad iction i n term s .To sum up , then , on thi s subj ect of the beginner’sbook
,I feel convinced that m ost existing beginner’sbooks m ake a profound psychological m istake i n combin ing the contemporaneous
study of form s and syntax from the outset ; i n d issociating not merely the different declensions and con
jugations , but even the d ifferent parts of the samedecl ension and the same conj ugation ; i n d issoci ating
Summary.
66 THE BEGINNING WORK
translation . Unti l the form s are mastered , syntax , I amconvinced , should be kept in the background , beyondthe introduction of the commonest syntacti cal pri ncip les
,
such as the case for subj ect , obj ect, pred icate noun ,appositive , the agreement of the adj ective with i ts substantive , and of the relative wi th its antecedent . The
writing of Latin , too , should be deferred at least ti llsyntax i s reached , and i f i t i s deferred ti ll after the firstrough outl ine of elementary syntax i s acqu ired
,i t wil l
i nvolve no harm . The vocabulary should be brief ; sevenor eight hundred words , exclusive of proper nam es , areample for the beginn ing work . These , too , should becommon words , and as concrete as possible ; words ,too
,employed i n thei r ori ginal senses , not i n derived
ones .
I I . P ronunciation .
BIBLIOGRAPHY .
B enn e tt, Ch as . E . Appendix to Benne tt’s Latin Grammar, pp. 4
- 68.
Boston . A l lyn Bacon . 1895 .
L ind say , W . M . The Latin L anguage , Chapte r 1 1 . Ox ford . Glarendon Pre ss . 1 894.
Lind say, W . M . Historical L atin Grammar . pp . 8—2 1 . Ox ford.
C larendon P re ss . 1 895 .
Se e lmann ,Emil . Die Aussprache des Latin. He ilbronn . 1885 .
El li s , Robin son . The Q uantitative Pronunciation of Latin. Lon
don . 1874 . A d iscussion of spe cial problems .
R oby , H . J'
. Latin Grammar. Vol . I ., 4th e d . pp. x x x—x c . London .
Macm illan Co . 1 881 .
It i s now something l ike twenty years since the so
called Roman or quantitative pronunc iation of Latin was
The Roman first generally i ntroduced into the schoolsPronuncia and colleges of thi s country . Pri or to that ,”0m
most schools and colleges had used the Engl i sh pronunciation ; some few employed a p ronunci ati oncalled the ‘ continental .’ This last , howeve r, was not
PRON UN CIA TI ON 67
one p ronunciation , but several ; i n the sounds of thevowels i t adhered to thei r prevai l ing p ronunciation i nthe languages of continental Europe , but the sounds ofcertain consonants
,namely , c,g, t,j, s , were rendered with
much variety . Both the Engl i sh and continental p ro '
nunciations'
still survive i n this country , though probably the two togethe r are not represented by five percent of the Latin pup i ls of the secondary schools ; i nthe colleges the percentage must be lower sti ll .By the Roman pronunci ati on i s , of course , m eant
the pronunciation employed by the anc ient Romansthem selves . This pronunc iation natu rally varied m uchat d ifferent periods ; 1 hence i t has been necessary totake the pronunciation of some well - d e fine d epoch asa standard . The epoch conventionally adopted for thispurpose i s the golden age of Rome’s l i terary greatness
,
— roughly the period from 50 B . C . to 50 A . D . Inasm uch as many intell igent and otherwise well
Evidence fori nformed persons , i nclud ing teachers of Latin , the Roman
often cheri sh and express a skepti c i sm as to method '
the grounds on which scholars have presumed to reconstruct the pronunci ation of a dead language like Lati n ,i t may be well here briefly to ind icate the nature of theevidence which supports thi s Roman pronunciati on ofLati n . The evidence may be brought under five heads .a . Tbe statements of Roman writers . To a person
unaware of the wri tings of the old Latin grammariansfrom the first to the e ighth centu ri es o f our
Romanera , the body of thei r works wi ll be su rpri s ing . Grammari
These works have been careful ly collectedby Kei l , a German scholar , under the ti tle Grammatici
1 Thus v, to take but a single le tte r for the purpose s of illustration,
was pronounce d as Engl ish w down to about 1 00 A . D . ; late r it be cam e
a bilabial spirant (a sound not occurring in Engl ish ) ; and finally (sthcentury A . D . ) it passed into the labio dental spirant, English v
68 THE BEGIN/VING WORK
La tini (Leipzig , 1 85 5 and fi ll e i ght large quartovolumes . These writers cover the enti re field of grammar, and most of them devote more or less space toa system ati c considerati on of the sounds of the letters .A s representative wri ters on this subj ect , may be citedTe re ntianus Maurus ( flouri shed 1 85 A . Mari usVi ctorinus (H. 3 50 A . Marti anus Capella (fourthor fi fth century A . D . ; not i n Kei l
’s collecti on) ; Pri sc i an
(H. 500 A . Even the class i cal writers have ofteni nc identally contributed valuable b its of information ;e . g. Varro , C i cero , Q uint i l i an .
b . Inscriptions furn ish a second important sou rce ofi nformation . The total body of these i s ve ry great .
The Corpus Inscriptionum L atina rum , i n p rocess of publi cation s ince 1 863 , consi sts al
ready of fifteen large fol i o volumes , some of them inseveral parts , and is not yet completed . These inscripti ons d isclose many peculi ariti es of orthography whichare exceed ingly instructive for the pronunci ati on ofL atin . Thus such spell ings as urps and plops by theside of urbs and plebs clearly ind icate the assim i lati onof b to p before s . S im i larly terma e , aetereas , etc. , showclearly that at the tim e these i nscriptions were cut tliwas sti l l p racti cal ly a t- sound , and forbid us to attachto i t the value of Engl i sh tnas heard i n e ither t/tis ortbin . Even the blunders of the masons who cut theinscripti ons are not infrequently exceedingly instructive .
c . Greet: transl itera tions of L atin words constitute athi rd sou rce of knowledge . Not only Greek writersGreek Trans ( espec ially the Greek historians o f Romanuterafi°ns° affai rs) , but also Greek inscrip tions , affordus abundant evidence of thi s k ind . Thus the GreekKm e
’
pwv (Cicero) fu rn ishes support for the K- sound of
L atin c ; whi le A tout’
a (L ivia ) and Obah evn’
a Va lentia )bear s im i larly upon the w - sound of Latin v. The
PRON UNCIA TION 69
i nscripti ons are naturally m uch more trustworthy guidesin th is matter than ou r texts of the Greek authors , forwe can never be su re that the MSS . have not undergonealterati ons i n the p rocess of transm i ss ion to moderntimes .
(1. Tbe Romance languages also (French , Spani sh ,Ital i an , within l im i ts , m ay be uti l i zed Romancei n determ i n ing the sounds of L ati n .
Languagese . Tbe sound - c/Ianges of L atin itse lf , as ana lyz ed by
etymologica l investiga tion. Modern scholars, particu
larly i n the last forty years , have done m uchto promote the sc i entific study ofL atin soundsand form s ; thei r researches have thrown no l ittle l ightupon the sounds of Latin .
A s a result of all these sources of knowledge ,1 anyone who wi ll pati ently
,
revi ew the evidence may easi lyassu re himself that the Rom an pronunc iati on rests upona sol id histori cal foundation , and is not a fl im sy productof the imagination . A s to certain points , the evidenceis , of course , confl i cti ng, and as a result the op inions ofscholars d iverge . Doubtless , too , there existed certainrefinements of pronunciati on which wil l always remainunknown to us . But i t cannot be denied that we canto - day restore in its essenti al featu res the p ronunciati onof Latin substantially as the Romans spoke i t .A dm i ss ion has j ust been made above of our inab i l i tyto establ ish with certainty all the vari ous refinem entsof pronunc iation which must have existed in L atin .
A n exception m ust be made , however , i n Hiddenregard to one point
,hidden quanti ty .
”
A Q‘mnfitY'
hidden quantity is the quantity of a vowel before twoconsonants . Such a quantity i s called hidden as d istinguished from the quantity of a vowel before a s ingle
Philology.
1 The de taile d e vidence wil l be found in the books above cited .
70 THE BEGINNI/VG WORK
consonant , where the employm ent of the word in verseat once ind icates whether the vowel i s long or short .1
The determination of these hidden quantiti es i s obviously of great importance i f we would secure an accurate pronunci ati on of Latin . In a modern language thepronunciation of a long vowel for a short, or vice versa ,
will often effectually d isgu ise a word .
2 A t fi rst si ghtthe determ inati on of these multi tudinous hidden quantiti es seems a wel l~nigh insuperable d ifficulty . Scholarlyresearch has , however , succeeded in definitely settl ingmost of them .
3The evidence i s as follows
a . Express testimony of tbe ancient Roman writers .
Thus , for example , Ci cero (Orator, 48. 1 59) lays downthe general princip le that all vowels are long before nfand us . Nearly every Roman grammari an fu rn ishessome l ittle d i rect testimony of this kind .
b . Tbe versification of tbc early Roman dramatists ,
particu larly Plautus and Terence . These writers fre
1 Thus in the he x ame te r line beginning conspex ere silent, the m e trecle arly shows that the i of silent is short ; for if the vowe l we re he relong, the syllable would be long. But the c of silent m ight be e ithe rlong or short. A ll that the m e tre shows is that the syl lable is long; itte l ls us noth ing about the vowel
,and we cannot (at le ast not by m e re
inspe ction of the ve rse ) d e te rm ine whe the r we should pronounce 5 or e” .
Hence we call th e quantity of the vowel in such case s hidden. Pupiland te ache r a like should a lways guard care fully against th e pre va lentconfusion of quantity of vowe l with quantity of syl lable . Be fore a singl econsonant the quantity of the vowe l and syllable are , of cours e , a lwaysidentical , i . e . if the vowe l is long, the syllable is also long, but be fore twoconsonants , wh ile the syl lable is long, the vowel itse lf may be e ithe r longor short, and must be pronounced long or short according to its actua lquantity.
2 W e re one to spe ak of a wi’
clz as a wine , or a pool as a pztl l , the
metathe sis would be the same as in Latin when one says victor for
victor or z‘
i’
stus for ustus . I remembe r that in Ge rman mypronunciationof K irister as K lo
’
ster ; Maud as M e’
nd ; and Wild e as Wu'
ste , al l com
ple te ly nonplusse d my listene rs .
3 A de taile d discussion of the principle s for hidden quantity, a longwith a ful l list of words whos e hidden vowe ls are long, may be found in
Bennett, Appendix to Latin Grammar, pp. 34—68.
P RON UN CIA TI ON 71
quently employ as short many syllables which in class ical poetry would invari ably be long by posi ti on . Inm any of these cases i t i s mani fest that the short syl lablequantity is owing to the fact that the vowel was shortand that the two following consonants somehow fai led tom ake positi on .
’
c . Inscriptions . Various modes of spell ing and variousd iacritical m arks were i n vogue to ind icate long vowels .
Thus from 1 30-
70 B . C . we find the vowels a , e , u writtendouble , when it was desi red to ind icate thei r long quanti ty, e . g. paastores , pequlatuu,
etc . Long i was in earlytimes often written ci, e .g. ve ix it. Beginn ing with themiddle o f the first centu ry B . C . we find the ape x (oraccent mark) set over the vowels a , e , o, it, whi le long iwas now designated by an I ri s i ng above the otherletters and cal led i longa . L ater , i also took the apex .
Examples are : trdx i, o’
l la , le’
ctus, juncta , Q VINQ VE,
prisons .
d . Greeh trans l iterations of L atin words . This methodi s most fru itfu lly appl ied in case of the vowels e and o.
The employment of Greek 6 or 77, o or a), m akes the
quantity of the Lati n vowel certain , wherever faith m ay
be reposed in the accuracy of the transcripti on . Thuswe wri te E squil ia e i n view of
’
c cv7t2vos , Strabo , v . 2 34 ;
Ve’
Igil ius afte r Obepryls ; VesO’
ntio afte r ObeoD io Cassi us , lxvi i i . 24 . The quantity of i also may oftenbe determ i ned by Greek transli terations . Thus ea regularly points to Latin 5 , e . g. B eulrdwps : Vipsanius;
Greek i points to Latin e .g. Ia rpos= Ister.
e . The voca l ism of the Romance languages , particu
larly the Span ish and Ital i an . These languages treatede,z, o, u with great regulari ty accord ing to the natural
length of the vowel in L atin . L atin e and 0 were closevowels ; e and 5 were open . The Romance languageshave preserved these o riginal vowel qual i ti es with great
72 THE BEGINN ING WORK
tenacity. Hence Ital ian crescere with close e j ustifies ourwriting cre
"
sco‘
for Latin ; while Ital i an honesto with opene points to Lati n honesta s . S im i larly Ital i an noscere wi thclose 0 j ustifies our wri ting no’ sco‘ for Latin , whi le Ital iandotto with open 0 points to Latin do"ctus . In the sameway L atin 5 and it remained i and u in Romance, whilei and it became respectively close e and close 0. Thusfrom Ital i an diss i we infer L atin d ix i‘ from Ital i an dassi ,Latin dux i‘ ; while detto with close e points to L atind ictus , and - dotto with close 0 to Latin d z‘t’ctus . Thism ethod of determ in i ng the hidden quantity of Latinvowels from the Romance has been appl ied most fru i tful ly in recent years .As a resu lt of the appl i cati on of the five methodsabove described , there remain at present extremelyfew undeterm i ned hidden vowel quantiti es i n Latinwords . Some sl ight d ivergence of op in ion sti l l existsamong investigators as to the quantity of certain vowels ;but
'
this d ivergence i s exceed ingly sl ight , vastly less ,i n fact, than for any corresponding number of Engl i sh words . Professors Greenough and Howard in thepreface to thei r A l len and Gre enough
’
s Shorter Latin
Grammar, p . iv , speak of thi s m atter of hidden quantiti es as a subj ect sti ll i n i ts infancy . Such i s far frombeing the case . Of the five m ethods above enum eratedof arriving at a knowledge of hidden quantiti es , each onehas al ready been uti l i zed to practi cally the fullest extentof whi ch i t i s capable . The works of the Roman grammari ans and other Roman wri ters have been system ati
cally searched,and thei r testimon ies recorded and s ifted ;
the ve rsification of the Rom an dram atists has been carefully stud ied with specific reference to this very point ;the great body of L atin inscriptions has been conscie n
tiously exam ined , and all i nstances o f the use of theapex or I longa have been gathered and class ified by
74 THE B EGINN ING WO/
RK
serve rs . Such persons cal l attention to the fact that ,under the Rom an p ronunciation , c, g, t, s arealways uni form i n p ronunciation , whereas by
the Engl i sh method the sounds of these letters vary anddepend upon ru les . This
,however, i s a very sl ight con
s iderati on ; for c, g,t, s under Ehe Engl i sh pronunci ati on
vary in accordance with the norm al mode of pronounci ng the same letters i n Engl i sh words . Thus we instinctive ly pronounce genus asjee - nus ,propitius as propishus ,after fam i l i ar Engl ish analogy .
,What m akes
!
theRom an pronunci ati on of L atin l‘ eally d ifficult i s thequantity of the vowels . So far as these belong toinfle ctional endings , e . g.
- z"
,- o
‘
ru7n ,- o
‘
s,
- a'
s ,—ctrum ,
- ibus ,-abam ,
- e7bam ,- ero
’
,- e ram , etc . ,
they can be learned aseasi ly by one pronunciation as the other . But evenwhen the pup i l has acqu i red a knowledge of these , thereremains the multitude of vowels i n the i nteri or of words ,i n root syllables , i n stems , and i n suffixes . Here
nothing but sheer force ofmemory can enable any one tobecome master of the vast number of vowels to be pronounce d . Even the sam e root often vari es , e . g . fido' ,but fides ; fidel is , but f idus . Some few general principle s can , of course , be given , but there remain l i teral lythousands of vowe ls that must be learned outright andretained by m emory alone ; e . g . s tu
’
dium , ge’
ro‘
,vitium ,
mbdus , sex ctgintc'
t, sene’
x , video“
, ldtus but la' tus ,broad etc . , etc . , etc. To these must be addedhidden vowel quantities by the hundreds ; e . g. frustra,
ce’
ssi'
, scr ips z’
,ti
'
nx i'
, m issus , ustus , iZssz'
, lux ,nttx , d itx ,
ne’
x , lex , usque , ro’
strum ,no
’
ster, sisto'
, s istrum , ma'
x imus ,
luctus ,flu’
ctus , etc . ,etc . , etc.
Even the consonants c reate d ifficulty , parti cularly thedoubled consonants ; e . g . pp,
tt, cc, l l , mm , ss , etc . InEngl ish we pronounce these singly . Thus we sayf ery,
though we write ferry hity, where we write hitty. But
Difficul ty.
PRON UN CIA TI ON 75
i n Lati n we know that these doubled consonants wereregularly p ronounced double ,just as they are i n modernItal i an . A distinct effort i s necessary to achieve thi sp ronunciation .
A nother point of d ifficulty i s the p roper d ivi s ion ofwords into syllables . Recent researches have shownthat our tradi tional ru les for syllable d ivis ion , thoughthey rest upon the ‘ express testimony of the Lati ngrammari ans , were purely mechanical d i rections , andd id not i ndicate the actual p ronunciation .
‘ The actuald ivi s ion , moreover, must have been qu ite different fromthat which p revai ls i n Engl ish under corresponding cond itions .
L astly, we have the d ifficulty of the Lati n accent . Iti s beyond questi on that Latin was less heavi ly stressedthan are the accented syllables in our Engl i sh speech .
A ll these di fficu lties are really so great that anythingl ike an accurate pronunciation of Latin under theRom an system i s p racti cally impossible except by thesacrifice of an amount of tim e out of al l p roportion tothe importance of the end to be attained . A s a matte rof fact , few teachers and p racti cal ly no pupi ls ever doacqu i re a pronunc i ation of any exactness . Out of sometwelve hundred freshmen whom I have tested on thi spoint in the last dozen years at two lead ing Am eri canunivers ities I have never found one who could m ark tenl i nes of Cmsar’s Ga l l ic Wa r with substanti al quanti tativeaccuracy. Nor i s this all . For e ight years I have conducted summer courses for teachers at Cornell Universi ty . Thi s work has been attended by some twohundred teachers and college professors , nearly all ofthem college graduates
,and many of them persons who
had had graduate work at ou r best un ivers i ties . Yet few
1 Se e the discussion in Benne tt, Append ix to B ennett’s Latin Gram
mar, p. 30 ff.
76 THE BEGINNING WORK
of these have ever shown any thorough grasp of tRom an p ronunciati on , and most of them have exhibi tdeplorable i gnorance of the fi rst p rinc ip les of its accuappli cati on . Even college p rofessors of em i nence oftenfrankly adm i t the i r own ignorance of vowel quantity andproclaim the i r despai r of ever acqu i ring a knowledgeof i t . It i s not long since I l i stened to a professor ofhigh positi on who gave at an educational m eeting ani l lustration of hi s method of read ing Lati n poetry.
The reading was prefaced with th e candid declarationthat the reader had never pretended to acqui re anaccurate knowledge of Latin vowel quantiti es and despaire d of ever succeed ing i n do ing so . The read ingwhi ch followed proved the correctness of thi s statement . The opening line of Horace , Odes , I . 2 3 , wasread thus
Vitas infiléé me similis Ch loe,
and was followed by sim i lar violati ons of vocal i c andsyl lab ic quantity .
It i s safe to say that only those who have devotedlong and pati ent attention to the subj e c t , and whopracti se frequent oral reading , can p ronounce L atinwith accuracy accord i ng to the Roman m ethod . Myobservation teache s m e that those who ever atta in th i saccomplishment are so few in number as to constitutepractically a negl igible quantity .
The foregoing practi cal considerations , based uponthe inherent d i fficulti es of the Rom an p ronunciation
,
coupled with the practi cally un iversal fai lu re to adhereto its p rinciples , have long seemed to my m i nd val idgrounds for its abandonment . Those who urge itsretention on the ground of its ease certainly are ine xcusably bl in d to the facts . Those who advocate i t onthe ground that i t i s a moral duty to p ronounce Latin
RRON UN CIA TION 77
as the Romans d id , may theoreti cally have a good case .
But certainly i t can no longer be held to be a moralduty to maintai n a system of p ronunciati on which theexperi ence of twenty years has shown to result ln
m i se rable fai lu re , and the i ntrins i c di fficulties of whoseaccurate appl ication are so evident . We cannot hope ,I beli eve , to secu re appreci ably better results than havethus far been achieved , certainly not without the ex
pe nditure of a vast amount of time and energy , whichcan i ll be spared .
b . It brings no compensating advantages . This statement wi ll doubtless p rovoke d issent , and some may wishto urge that the acqu is ition of the vocali c
Brings “sounds of the Roman pronunci ati on of Latin Compensating
i s of ass istance in the study of the modernAdvantages’
Eu ropean languages . But this can hardly be deemeda seri ous argument . Som e of the Latin vowels andd iph
’
thongs designate identi cal sounds in French andGerman , but qu ite as often they are d ifferent ; e . g.
French a, u,eu, ei, a i , oi German a e , eu, ci . Moreover ,
the apprehension of these consti tutes an exceed inglysl ight d i ffi culty .
Others urge the importance of the quantitative pronunciation of Lati n fo r the read ing of Latin poetry ;and here , i f anywhere , we m ight recognise a validreason for the retention of the Roman pronunciation ,i f only ou r pup i ls acqu i red , or could reasonably be ex
pe cte d to acqu i re , an accu rate quantitative pronunciati on of the Latin language , and i f they combined withthis any j ust conception of the truly quantitative natu reof Latin poetry .
1 But so long as the p revai l ing pronunciation i s practically obl ivious of the d ifferencebetween long and short vowels , and so long as we
1 Se e be low, chapte r vi Latin P rosody.
78 THE BEGINN ING WORK
fol low the trad iti onal p racti ce of m aking Latin poetryaccentual , i t i s id le to s upport the retention of theRoman p ronunciat ion on the grounds that i t contributes to a capacity to app rec i ate Latin poetry in i tstrue organic and artistic structure . A rigidly accuratequantitative p ronunciati on wi ll do this , provided weelim inate the unju stifiable artifici al stress i ctus , but ourpresent p rofici ency in the Roman pronunciation , or anyproficiency we are eve r l ikely to achi eve , wi ll hardlyenable any cons iderable fraction of our students everto appreci ate Latin poetry as a quantitative rhythm .
c . It does bring certa in d istinct d isadvantages . Chiefamong these i s the di fficulty it adds to the beginn ing
Disadvantages work in Latin . I am forced to bel i eve thatthe acqu isition of the forms i s very m uch
easie r under the Engl i sh pronunciation , where the enti reenergy of the pup i l can be devoted to the form s themselves without the embarrassment whiffh the d ifficult i esof a strange pronunciati on inevi tab ly impose .
A nother se ri ous d isadvantage is the chaos i t haswrought i n our cu rrent pronunciati on of classi calp roper names , Latin quotations , proverbs , techn icalte rm s , l egal phrases , ti tles of class ical works , etc. It i sextremely difficu lt to reach any sati sfactory basi s forpronouncing these . The Roman p ronunciation seem sawkward and affected , and i s to many unintell igible ,while to those who have been taught the Roman pronunc iation any other i s d i fficult . The result i s a conditionof affai rs that i s keenly felt by many classes of soc iety ,—by none perhaps m ore than by the teachers of Latin ,who
,while protesting against th e p resent anarchy, find
themselves at a loss to effect any rad ical improvement .
The foregoing are the considerations which have foryears weighed with m e , and which have final ly com
PRON UN CIA TION 79
pe lle d me to beli eve that the retenti on of our p resentunmethodi cal “ method ” of pronouncing Lati n hasproved itself a serious m i stake . F i fteen years ago myzeal for the Rom an pronunc iati on was unbounded . For
years I have been a consc ientious studen t of the b i storical and l ingu isti c evidence bearing upon this subj ect .For years I cherished the hope that with time andbetter teaching a decided improvem ent i n the resu ltsyi elded by the Roman pronunc iati on would m ani festitself. But I am now convinced that no such advancehas been apparent , and that it wi l l not , can not , oughtnot to b e . So long as we retain the Roman p ronunciati on , whi le nom inally m aki ng that ou r standard , weshall i n real i ty be far from exempl i fying that m ethod inour practi ce . We shall be gu i lty of p retending to doone thing, while we real ly are doing something else . Ihes itate to bel ieve that such dis i ngenuousness can permanently comm en d itself to thoughtful teachers . Ihave above mentioned the fact that certa i n educatorsadvocate the employment of the Roman pronunciati onon moral grounds , u rging that i t i s our bounden dutyto apply what we know to be true . It i s equally onm oral grounds (among others) that I would urge theimmediate abandonment of the Roman pronunc i ati on .
We are not j ust to ou rselves , we are not j ust to ourstudents , so long as we encourage the present hypocritical p racti ce . The Engli sh p ronunciati on i s at leasthonest . It confessedly violates vowel quantity , thoughI doubt whether i t actual ly does so any m ore than theRoman m ethod as actually employed . But i t i s s imple ,easi ly appli ed , and rel i eves the beginner especially of
one important element o f d ifficulty and d iscouragement .The educators of other countries have shown muchgreater wisdom in thi s m atter o f Latin pronunc iationthan have we . England and Germany have witnessed
80 THE B EGINN ING WORK
e fforts to introduce the Roman pronunci ation , but thesober conservative sense of ‘Ge rman and Engli sh educators has thus far res isted , and probably will continuesuccessfully to res ist, thi s unwise sp i ri t of innovation .
In Ameri ca we are unfortunately too p rone to V i ew withfavou r any new idea , educat ional or othe r , and to em
bark p recip itately in experiments which involve seri ousconsequences . Undue pressu re , I think , i s often exe rted upon the schools by col lege teachers . Many of
these,i n the i r enthusi asm for the sc ientific aspects of
the i r own professional work , exhibi t a tendency todem and that the teaching of thei r subj ect in the secondary schools shall be conducted with express referenceto the u ltimate needs of the higher scholarship . Thisatti tude m an ifests itself in many matters of educationalpol i cy connected with Latin , and in my j udgment involves great danger to the best interests of the schools .The prim e questi on in the teaching of every subj ect inou r schools should be the present educational needs ofthe pup i ls . Pedagogical p rocedure should be governedby these considerati ons . In other words , pupi ls do notexi st for Latin , but Latin exists for the pup i ls . The
needs , real or fanci ed , of the higher scholarship have noclaim to cons iderati on as compared with the rationalsati sfacti on of the pup i ls’ present interests .
III . Th e Inductive M e thod .
BIBLIOGRA PHY .
Cane r,P aul . Grammatica Militans, 1898. Chapte r 11 . Induktion
und Deduktion.
W en z e l , A lfre d . D er Tode skampf de s a ltsprach lichen Unte rrichts .
Be rlin. Carl Duncke r’s Ve rlag. 1899. pp. 19- 41 .
A discuss ion of the “ Inductive Method may seemsomewhat academ i c . A t present certainly i n this
82 THE BEGINNING WORK
out the princip les of accentuation . So with the otherfacts and princ ip les of the language . Instead Of thestatement of a princ ip le followed by an i llustrati on of i t,the pup i l i s to work out and determ i ne the princ ip le forhimself by observati on and refle ction . The plan rep
The Name resents,therefore , a definite educational the
a Misnomer ory. The nam e “ i nductive , however, seem sa thorough m i snom e r . A ny prope r induction ( i n anysense of the word with wh ich I am fam i l i ar) consi sts i nbringing together a l l the facts or , at least, a ll the poss ible types of facts bearing upon some one problem , andthen determ i n ing from these the p rinc ip le whi ch theyp rove . In the book before us , the pup i l i s given tounderstand that the facts are typ ical ; hence he reallyinsti tutes no truly i nductive process ; 1 he m ere ly i nter
pre ts the meaning of an example which some one elseby processes truly inductive has d iscovered to be typ ical .This inaccuracy of nom enclature , however , does not bearvital ly upon the merits of the method , except so far asi t maym i s lead both teacher and pupi l to beli eve they arepursu ing a severer mental p rocess than i s really the case.The purpose of the method , such as it i s , may be presumed to be the stimulating of the pup i l’s observati onal
mand reflective powers . Whether i t be wise to
of Question uti l i ze the beginn ing Latin work for th is pur
223W”. pose seem s open to serious question . Pe r
sonally I have had no experi ence with thi smethod of learn ing the elements of the language ,parti cu larly the acc idence ; but the experience of those
1 The proce ss , in fact, is a truly deductive one . Formal ly, it amounts
to this : 1 . The e x ample be fore us illustrate s a unive rsa l principle .
2 . The e x ample be fore us illustrate s the fol lowing truth (e . g. that the
subj ect of th e infinitive stands in the accusative case , or that adj e ctive s offulness are construed with the ge nitive ) . 3 . Th e re fore it is a unive rsa lprinciple that the subj e ct of the infinitive stands in the accusative , orthat ad jective s of fulne ss are construe d with the genitive .
THE IND UCTI VE"ME THOD 83
who have attempted to apply i t has impressed m e withthe bel ie f that i t i s ne ithe r effective nor econom i cal .The l ater study of Lati n i s so rich i n the opportuniti esi t affords for the cu ltivation of the observati onal andreflective powers , that i t seems safer to defer for thefirst three o r fou r months of Lati n study any specialattention to these ends . It ce rtainly wi ll be not onlysafe
,but a posit ive duty , to do this , unless experience
can show that thi s so- called “ i nductive ”
method oflearn ing the sounds , accentuation , form s , and inflectionsof Latin i s an easier and bri efe r way of mastering them.
That experience ever wi ll show this , I doubt . Obse r
vation and reason have neve r p roved very help fulassi stants i n memori z i ng any large body of facts
,such
as the forms of a highly inflected language . Reason,I
fear , hinders rather than help s in such a task . Such atask seem s to m e rather a function of the retentivememory , a facu lty whose importance we have latelyshown such a m i staken tendency to ignore . A n exclusive cultivati on of the memory at the expense of theother faculties i s certain ly most deplorable . But m em
ory has its important functions , and i t i s to be hopedthat i n avoid ing the abuse of thi s faculty we m ay not bebetrayed into ignoring and neglecting i ts legitimateuti l i zation .
In hi s Grammatica M il itans , Pau l Cauer , one of thesoberest and m ost thoughtful of German classi cal educators , thus expresses him self on the subj ect Caner’sof the “ Inductive ” Method as its workings Criticisms
have been obse rved by him i n German schools (Chapteri i . : l nduktion und Deduktion ,
” p . 2 5 ) In the exactsc iences , all know how di fficult not to say imposs ible— it i s to establ i sh a complete inductive proof, andhow diffi cult i t i s to avo id the errors which are ne ce s~
sarily i nvolved in the l im i ted material at one’s disposal .
84 THE BEGINN ING WORK
Yet in the school in studying grammar, after three , 1four , or , if you will , ten examples have been adduced ,the pup il IS encouraged to conclude
,
‘ Therefore i t i salways true that, etc.
’ Instead of this,the teacher
should always rem ind the pup i l that no p roof has reallybeen adduced , and that the p rincip le to which attentionhas been called in one or two examples has been establishe d by the labours of scholars who have carefullyexam i ned the l i terary monum ents of the Greek andLatin languages . Otherwise there i s p ropagatedby teaching , i nstead of the bless ings of an inductivep rocess , m erely the tendency to p recip i tate general i zati on , a tendency always too natu ral , as i llustrated inthe case of the Engl i shman who retu rned from He idelberg with the convi cti on that it always rained there
,s ince
he had twice so found i t . The passage from theparti cu lar to the general , from fact to law , i s not the onlymethod of acqu iring new knowledge the reverse p rocessi s equally j ustified . Which process i s best
,must be .
decided in each speci al case by the nature of the subj ect . ”
A s regards i nductive treatment of the form s , Cauer( p . 26) says : In the fi rst weeks of the study of a newlanguage the pup i l i s i nsp i red ‘with a burn ing zeal fo rlearn ing m uch ; he has a veri table hunger for extensiveacqu is iti on . The teacher shou ld grati fy thi s d isposition ; he shou ld uti l i ze it , and not weary the pup i lswith a m ethod which is i n place only where one i sreviewing matter already fam i l i ar for the purpose ofd iscoveri ng the laws to which i t conform s . L ater alsoin the syntax there are m any instances in which i t i sboth simpler and m ore instructive to derive the truthfrom the natu re of the subj ect under d iscussi on ratherthan from observation .
”
1 Our Ame rican books have mostly contente d thems e l ve s with one .
THE BEGIIVN IN G WORK
princip les , i t was prom ised , should enab le the pup il , ashe p rogressed i n hi s Lati n study , to understand L atinwithout the necess i ty of a trans l ati on . Professor Halei ncluded in hi s paper well - chosen i l lustrati ons of the waythe pup i l’s m i nd should act i n attain i ng the p rom i sedgoal , and new vis i ons of the m i l lenn i um th ri l led thehearts of those who were so fortunate as to l isten tothe original exp ositi on of his views at the Conferenceof A cadem i c Principals held at Syracuse i n December,1 886.
S i nce Professor Hale’s pamphlet appeared ( and inc identally before that time) ,1 Professor Greeno ugh hasProfessor given forc ible expression to views practicallyGreenwgh ' i denti cal with those presented by ProfessorHale . In the P reface to his ed iti on of Eutropius (Boston
, 1 892 ) he thus concludes hi s rem arks on this question : “ The essence of all thi s i s , that to learn to reada language the words must be taken as they come ,with the ideas they are supposed to convey, and mustbe forced to mahe a m enta l picture in that order ,
2
no matter whether the order i s fam i l i ar o r not .” 3
More recently sti l l the Comm i ssi on of New EnglandColleges has u rged “that a very large amount of attention be paid to reading at s ight in the new scheme ofinstruction which they have lately recommended to thesecondary schools of New England for adoption . The
em i nent standing of the advocates of the new theorynatu rally claim s for thei r vi ews the most seriou s cons iderati on , and i t i s because I am not fam i l i ar with any
1 For e x ample , in the Introduction to h is e dition of C ice ro’s Orations.Boston
,1886.
2 The ita lics are m ine .
3 Cf also the s imilar te nor of Profe ssor Flagg’s remarks in the P refaceto his e d ition of N e pos . Boston, 1 895.
4 Se e the Report of the ir action in the SCHOOL REVIEW for De cembe r.1895 .
REA D ING A T S IGH T 87
previous d iscuss ion of the subj ect that I ventu re hereto express som e doubts as to the soundness and thepractical possibi l i ti es of the theori es so confidentlychamp ioned .
A favouri te appeal with those who lay stress upon theimportance of reading at sight i s to the fact that chi ldrenin l earn ing a language learn i t not through
Subjecti vethe med ium of obje ctlve study and transla Acquisifion of
ti on , but by d i rect interp retation of what they L3 11"
hear or read . Why ,” they ask
,
“ shouldnot Latin and Greek be acqu i red in the same way?A proper answer to th is question seem s to i nvolve thecons iderati on of two others ; fi rst , What i s the purposeof Lati n study in the secondary school ? and
, purpose of
second , What is the nature of the intellectual 1 3 1111 Study
trai n ing gained by acqu i ring a language in the subj ective way that i s regular with chi ldren ?To the first of these two questions I can sti ll see noother answe r than that which I undertook to formulateand defend in the first chapter of this volum e . A s
there set forth , the only rational j u stification of thestudy of L atin i n ou r secondary schools seem s to m e
to be found in its uniqu e effect i n stim ulating and elevating the pup i l
’s intellectual p rocesses , and most ofal l i n the increased mastery over the resou rces of themother tongue which it c onfers . A s p reviously m aintaine d , these resu lts com e natu rally from careful dai lytranslation under wise gu idance .
In orde r properly to answer the second question ,namely , that as to the value of the subj ective acqu isi tionof a foreign language , the attainment of a capacity ford i rect interpretation without the m ed ium of translati on ,let us assum e that an Ameri can boy of ten goes abroadand resides at Pari s or Berl in . It i s a fam i l i ar fact thatsuch a boy rap idly acqu i res a certain command ofFrench
88 THE BEGINN ING WORK
or German . To the person who has no oral commandof those languages, the performance of such a yo uthafter a year’s foreign residence would be impressive to adegree . But what has the lad really acqu i red , and what
i s the s ign ificance of his acqui s iti on from theSlight Educa
tional Value purely educational po1nt of v1ew? The actual01 5 11mm“ acqu is i ti on does not go beyond a capacity to
express the l im i ted range of hi s o rdinaryideas . His vocabulary i s small . A s regards the educational worth of his new- found capaci ty , i t has givenh im no mental stimu lu s , no new powers of d iscrim i nat ion or analysi s . Least of all has i t given him anyincreased mastery over h is own native language . Infact , as he has become subj ective ly fam i l i ar with a newtongue , the chances are that he has p roportionately lostcommand of hi s own . Educationally apparently theboy’s new acqui s iti on m arks no posi tive intellectual
Worthl essnessgain , nor could i t fai rly be expected to do
of lmitative so ; for the p rocess of acqu is iti on has beenpurely im i tative , or p racti cally
.
so,and such
a boy m ight go on indefini tely , learn ing a new languagea year i n the sam e way, without essenti ally strengthening his i ntellectual fibre or i ncreasing his i nte llectualrange . Educational p rocesses afte r the very earl i estyears are no longer im i tative . They are rathe r d isc rim inative and constructive . They m ust i nvolve compari son and j udgment , and no employm ent of the pup i l
’sattention which ignores thi s p rincip le can be expectedto yi eld fru i t of value .
Those , now , who insi st so strenuously on the importance of the d i rect subj ective interpretati on of Latin atthe very outset of the study seem to m e to advocate theacqu i sition of something which i n the first place can beattained only by an im i tative process , and which , i f attaine d , i s not l ikely to be of any greate r educati onal
99 THE B EGINNING WORK
Roman boy of n ineteen centu ries ago . But was such aprocess an educative one to the Rom an boy? I f i t wasnot , i s i t l ikely to be to the boy of to—day? Or i f it beclaimed that to the Roman boy it was di stinctively educative , why i s not the acqu isi tion of ou r own tongue i np rec i se ly the sam e way of d isti nctively educative value
,
and why does i t not accompl i sh ideal results? It cannotbe too clearly borne in m ind , I bel ieve , that i t i s not theknowing a language that i s p rimari ly of educationaluti l ity . If that were so , the polyglot cou riers and kel lners and porti ers of the continental hotels ought to bethe most highly cu ltivated persons of contemporarysociety . How many of them are able to speak withfluency and accuracy four or five di fferent languages !These m en have learned Engl ish , French , German ,Ital i an i n the very way that we are told i s so desi rablefor L atin . They feel Engl ish as Engl i sh , French asFrench , German as German , Ital i an as Ital i an . No detai ls of word - order trouble them . No necessi ty for evena m ental translati on into term s of thei r own vernacular.A ll i s subj ective , as i t should be . The appeal i s as d i rectas was Cave canem / to a Roman boy . A nd yet whatintellectual furtherance has ever come from such linguisti c attainments? In fact , ought we to expect i t to come ?Must not such intellectual growth for pupi ls i n these condary school com e from processes of reflecti on andcompari son , rather than from those of im i tati on ? Pe r
sonally I am convinced that they must so come . A nd
so I say again : To i nterp ret Latin d i rectly, to feel i tas a Roman felt i t, i s a faci li ty that can be acqu i red
( i f at all ) only as the Roman acqu i red i t , nam ely, byim i tative p rocesses ; and these p rocesses do seem to belacking in any ton ic educationa l value which warrantsthei r recogni tion as instruments of the secondary education .
READING A T S IGH T 9 1
But there are those who advocate the subj ective acqu i~sitiou of Latin on other grounds , namely , aestheti c ones .Is i t worth while , they ask , for students to E sthefic
study Lati n fou r years i n the school , unless Grounds are
they acqu i re a feel ing for Lati n and learn to urged '
enj oy it? Now I have a regard for what i s beauti fu l , andI certainly bel ieve in cultivating the msthe tic sense, but Icannot bring myself to bel i eve that the purpose of Lati nstudy is primari ly an aestheti c one , and that the chiefgoal i s the attainment of a nice feel i ng for the cadenceand rhythm of the L atin sentence , so that the culm inati on of a fou r years’ course shall be a capaci ty to reveli n the flow of C i cero’s periods or i n the long roll o f thehexamete r, or , fai l ing this , to be condem ned to lookback upon wasted hours and neglected opportuniti es .If that be true , why is it truer of Latin than of geometry?We hold up no such pecul iar ideal for the latte r study.Toreap value from geometry i t is not thought necessary thatthe pup i l should feel a thri l l of raptu re over the contem
plation of an i sosceles triangle or an inscribed hexagon .
Why should we m agn i fy the aestheti c aim of feel ingLatin any more than feel ing geometry? There m i ghtpossibly be reason for so doing, did Latin offer opportunitie s for cu ltu re i n no other way. But wi ll any oneseriously maintai n such a thes is ?There are sti ll othe rs who are i ncessant in the i r asser
tion that i t i s the rep roach of L atin study that a youthwho has spent fou r years on L atin does not
Present Reacqu i re a suffic1e nt maste ry of the language sul ts of Lafin
to enable him to read L ati n with ease and SWW e C
speed , or to continue hi s study of Latin l i teraave '
ture with pleasure and enthusiasm . It certainly i s beyond questi on that the great maj ori ty of young m en
when they reach college do not tu rn with rel ish to Latin ,and i t i s even truer that i n afte r years they do not evince
92 THE BEGINN ING WORK
a disposition to begu i le any considerable part of thei rle i su re i n the perusal of L atin l iterature . This conditionof affai rs I adm i t i s beyond questi on . But what conclus ions are we j ustified in drawing from i t? Have we a rightto assum e that al l young m en when they enter collegeought to turn with avid ity to the study of Latin ? Have wea right to assum e fu rther that afte r graduation the properemp loyment for one ’s le i su re time i s the continuati on ofone’s study of the class ics ? A nd with thi s assumptionas ou r maj or prem i se , have we a right to assume as ourm inor p rem i se that students would tu rn eagerly to Latinin college , and that college graduates would assiduouslypursue the study of Latin l iterature , i f only the capaci tyfor reading at sight were the i rs ? We should then getthis syllogism
1 . A ll college students ought to study L ati n with e n
thusiasm , and all college graduates ought to turn withzest to the study of Latin l i teratu re .
2 . If the persons referred to cou ld read Latin ats ight they wou ld do these things .Therefore , al l pup i ls should be taught to read at s ight .But with al l my i nte rest i n L atin and all my convic
tion of its abounding importance , both for d iscipl ine andculture
,yet I cannot assent to e ither of the two p rem i ses
j ust mentioned .
A s a preparation for college , both reason and e x pe ri
ence seem to m e to show that L atin i s not only thebest single instrument , but practi cal ly an ind ispensableinstrum ent ; but for the average m an i n college I saywith al l frankness I do not bel i eve that extensive speci aliz ation i n Latin i s a sine qua non. The secondary educati on i s essenti ally d iscipl inary. The college cannotafford , and does not pretend , to restri ct i ts energies tothat goal . It a im s at imparting breadth of vi ew , i t aim sat depth and soundness of knowledge in some few lines .
94 THE BEGINNING WORK
scant d ramati c variety and weari som e repeti ti on ofbrazen cou rtesan , tricky slave , s imple father, and braggart sold ier? Shall he devote i t to Cato and Varro ,with the i r old recipes of how to plant beans or thebest way to manure a field ? Shall he devote i t toLucretius even? Will the noble enthusiasm of thatwriter and his occasi onal m agn ificent bursts of poetrybe compensation for the long and ted ious d iscu ss ionof pueri le physi cal and m etaphysi cal theories ? Evenwhen we come to C i ce ro , how many of that great writer
’sworks can be counted on to m ake an appeal to thesympathy and intell i gence of the average cultivatedman of to day? He would be hardy who should saythat the proportion i s large . The best of Vi rgi l andHorace , of L ivy and Tac itus , has presumably been readin school and college , and to these he wi ll often return ;but wi ll he find strength and insp i ration in the otherA ugustan poets or i n the later poetry of the imperiale ra , overloaded as i t i s with mythologi cal detai l andstud ied rhetorical embell i shm ent? I am speaking ofthe average e ducated man. For such a m an I do nothesitate to say that , when we consider the wealth of theworld’s l ite ratu re outs ide of Latin , when we considerthe masterp ieces of the more recent centuries , many ofthe greatest of them i n ou r own language too ,— whenwe consider these , i t seem s to m e that i t i s not to beexpected that Latin l ite rature should assert any suchparamount claim s .To the speci al student of Latin the case i s qu ite d ifferent . The professi onal teacher will and must spare noeffort in fam i l i ari z ing himself with all the l iteratu re , j ustas he spares none in studying the history and growthof the language , i n trac ing the development of instituti ons
,soc ial , rel igiou s , and pol iti cal . He will and must
endeavour to becom e satu rated with anci ent thought
READING A T S IGHT 95
and l i fe . But m e n of this equ ipment cannot be relative ly numerous , nor i s i t desi rable for the interests ofmodern soc i ety that they should be , any m ore thanthat every man should be a profound physici st
,a p ro
found chem i st, or profound b iologist . Of the two premise s , then , which we undertook to exam ine , ne ither onewould seem to rest upon a basi s su ffic iently solid towarrant i ts acceptance . Even did our freshmen bringto college an abi l i ty to read Latin at sight , I cannot seehow i t would alter or ought to alter the attention givento Latin i n college or afte r graduation , s imply becauseadequate reasons appear why Latin should not constitute a more absorb ing obj ect of attention than i tactually does at present. When , therefore , Latin i sreproached because i t fai ls to accompli sh these ends
,
i t i s pertinent to inqu ire whether the difficulty m ay notbe one inherent in Lati n as a study, and not merelythe resu lt of the trad iti onal methods of Latin instruction in the schools , and also whether the ends whichi t i s claim ed Latin as now taught fai ls to achi eve arethem selves legitimate and indispensable ends of a l iberaleducation . Why , then , reproach Latin for fai l ing toconsummate these ends? W hy not rather commendi t for what it does accompli sh , and endeavour by wiseand fostering care to make i t real i ze even more richlythat which experience has so abundantly shown it capable of ach ieving ?In al l th i s d iscussion thus far I have been conced ing
what I really beli eve to be impossible, nam ely , theacqu isi tion in the secondary school of the Subjecti vepower to read Lat1n as Latin and to interpret $185 1;a Latin text d i rectly . My own conviction possibl e in
i s that relatively l i ttle can be accompl i shed “13 5mm"in this d i rection in the schools
,even under favou rable
cond itions . Do we reali ze suffic iently the amount of
96 THE BEGINN ING WORK
tim e that i s i nd ispensable i n acqu i ri ng pronunciation ,learning form s and vocabulary , analyzing words , trac ingthei r hi story and development of mean ing , studyingsyntax
,and writing Latin? Some time , too , i s conceded
to translation even by the m ost ardent adherents ofd i rect interp retati on . When all this i s done , how m uchtim e i s l ikely to be left i n any ord inary school p rogramfor the acqu isi ti on of a subj ective feel ing for L atin ?Does i t not take in the aggregate an enorm ous amountof time to acqu i re a subj ect ive feel ing for a modernlanguage ? I do not mean a subj ective feel ing merelyfor a few cu rrent phrases suffic ient to enable one tosecu re rai lway transportati on and hotel accommodationsin F rance or Germany . We are speaking of a subje ct ive acqu i s ition of Latin which shall be adequate for theinterp retati on of l i teratu re . Can any such subj ectiveacqu isi ti on ofF rench or German be attained withoutprolonged concentrati on upon the spoken language?Is i t not a m i stake , too , to imagine that the chi ef difficulty in acqu i ring a sense for Latin as L atin i s theword - order? Undoubtedly the word - order does constitute one great obstacle to the pup il , but i t i s farfrom being the only one , or the greatest . My ownexperi ence with elem entary pup ils has shown m e thatthey are ignorant of the m eanings of words , they fai lto apprehend the force of inflections , they have hazyor inaccu rate conceptions of syntacti cal poss ibi l i ti es ,they are not adequately informed as to the subj ectmatter with which the Latin text i s concerned . Undersuch ci rcumstances , there are apt to be so m any elements of uncertainty in a Lati n sentence that the d i rectapprehensi on of its content i s simply imposs ible to theaverage elem entary pup il . The capac ity to understandLatin as L atin , and to interp ret i t d i rectly , must , i t seemsto m e ,
be a m atter of growth , and with m ost pup i ls a
98 THE B EGINN ING WORK
( though I am prepared to defend i t) has been adj udgedanywhere from improbable to absolutely impossible byother scholars . This in the case of a classi c that i srelatively easy, whose text i s unusually sound , and forwhose elucidation relat ively so much has been done .
I repeat, I bel i eve L atin to be hard , and i ts accu rateunderstanding and faithful i nterpretati on no s implematte r . We so often fai l to real ize the immense intellectual gu lf that separates u s from the past . It i s notmerely the structu ral d ifficulti e s o f the Latin languagethat m ake L atin a hard study ; i t i s even m ore thecontent of what i s recorded in that language . Latinliterature consi sts not of the doings , thoughts , andasp i rati ons of nineteenth century Am eri cans , but of awidely d ifferent people , d ifferent i n al l thei r soc ial , intellectual , rel i giou s , and pol iti cal endowments , attainm ents ,and envi ronment . When we read L atin , therefore , wemust not merely master the technical d ifli cultie s of the
Some of the Roman speech , but we m ust surmount theDifficulties obstacle of adapting ourselves to the totally“ Lam“ new intellectual surround ings . Is not th i sthe really d ifficu lt thing ; and must not the key to itbe fu rni shed m ain ly by a slow and m inute study of thel iterature i tself? Unti l we have by gradual steps workedour way up to the new atti tude , may we undertake tobel i eve that we can interp ret Lati n d i rectly? In otherwords , can we feel Lati n ( the speech of the Romans )as Latin , unti l we have first su rrounded ourselves withthe i ntellectual atmosphere of that anci ent people ? Thisi s true of any modern language , even under favou rablecondi ti ons . It takes i n the aggregate a long timelonger than can ever be avai lable i n the schools , — tolearn to think and feel i n French or Germ an , even whenone hears those languages constantly spoken . How
much more d ifficult m ust i t be to do the same in the
REA DING A T S IGHT 99
case of Latin , which we not only do not hear spoken ,but p ractically not even pronounced to any extent worthm ention ing, a language , too , whose enti re i d iom i s somuch more at variance with ours than i s e i ther of themodern languages just m entioned .
One other fact , too , rem ains to be considered . Latini s an elasti c term .
‘ French ’ and ‘Germ an ,
’ on theother hand , are defin i te and preci se concepts , “M u mor relatively so . When we say French ’ or tic Term
German ’we mean the F rench or German of to - day,of a single period . Latin may be the Latin of Plautus orthe Latin of Suetoni us , and between the two is an i nte rval of nearly fou r centuri es , contain ing writers of widelydifferent style , vocabulary, syntax , word - order , sentencestructure , etc. The vastness of the d ifference betweenm any of these variou s wri ters we often fai l to appre
c i ate , s imp ly because i t i s so d i fficult for us to acqu i rean actual feel ing for a language which we do not speak .
But these d iffe rences exist , and they augm ent enormously the d ifficulti es of acqu i ri ng a sense for L atin asLatin
,especi al ly in the beginne r ; for with a new author
and a new period we practi cal ly come upon a newlanguage . L ati n i s not one language , but practicallyseveral , according to i ts vari ous periods and i ts variousrep resentatives .A ll these d ifficu lti es and embarrassments must befrankly faced when i t i s seri ously p roposed to teachpupi ls i n the secondary schools a sense for Latin asLatin , and to make the acquisi ti on of that capacity theprime end of Latin study at that stage . It i s very easyto recommend such a program , and even to tell howit should be carried out . Thus Mr . Hale tells us thatthe m ind should hold in suspense . But the humanm ind is a peculi ar organi sm . It i s very obsti nate forone thing. It has laws of operati on which when they
I00 THE BEG][VA /71VG WORK
become habi tual i t i s well n igh impossible to alter . It i sone thing to be told we are to hold in suspense ; it isqu ite a d ifferent thing to hold something in suspense .
S im i larly Professor Greenough urges us to force them ind to make a mental p i cture , whether the given orderi s fam i l i ar or not . I am free to confess that so far asthe secondary schools are concerned I believe both Mr .Hale and Mr . Greenough to be at fault . I cannot thinkthat the true way to get a feel ing for Latin i s by any can
scious process ,— least of all by any conscious forc ing
process as M r . Greenough would have us bel i eve .
Ham erton in his Inte l lectua l L ife has a dream of aLatin i sland . Le t us suppose , says he , that a hun
Hamerton.s dred fathers could be found , all resolved toPmpm l subm i t to som e i nconvenience i n order thatthei r sons m ight speak Lati n as a l iving language . Asmal l i sland m ight be rented near the coast of Italy ,and in that i sland Latin alone m ight be perm i tted .
Just as the success ive governments of France m aintain the establ ishments of Sevres and the Gobel insto keep the m anufactu res of porcelain and tapestry upto a recogni sed high standard of excellence , so thisLati n i sland m ight be m aintained to give more vivac ityto scholarship . If there were but one l i ttle corner ofground on the wide earth where pure Latin was constantly spoken , our knowledge of the class i c write rswould become far more sympatheti cally intimate . A fterthinking in the Latin i sland , we should think in Lati n aswe read , and read without translating . Hamerton h imself confesses that thi s i s a Utopian dream , and so I amconfident i t i s , but not for the reasons that he advances .To his m i nd the p roposed plan i s idle , because sooner orlater these i solated L atin i sts would be forced to retu rn tothe corrupting influence of modern colleges and un iversiti es . But even on thei r i sland I must bel ieve that the
Ought not any such detai led scheme of teaching, if it i sto give p rom i se of success , to originate primari ly i n theschools them selves ? Ought i t not to be the outcome ofthe observation and experi ence of the teachers who arei n constant touch with secondary pup i ls , who knowexactly thei r strength and weakness , the i r capaci ty andthei r l im i tations? Is there warrant for bel i eving that anydefinite method of imparting knowledge
,elaborated out
s ide the schools by m en of however exalted scholasti cpositi on , can be intell igently adopted and appl ied by theteache rs? I do not bel i eve there i s . A ny m ethodreally feasible and fru itfu l i s su re to be d i scovered andappl ied by the secondary teacher long before i t i s for.mulate d outs ide . I have therefore regretted not a l i ttleof late to note the increasing tendency on the part ofthe colleges to assume a responsibi l i ty for the i nterioreconomy of the schools , and not merely to p rescribe thesubj ect matter , but to urge definite ways of giving instructi on . Any such attitude , I bel i eve , does i njusti ceto the schools . As one who has laboured in that department of education for some length of time , and knowssomething of the problem s with which the secondaryteacher i s confronted , I earnestly deprecate the assumpti on that the secondary teachers are not the most competent agents to solve thei r own problems . Certainly i fthey do not possess the intell igence and patience to doso
,I am at a loss to see how they can be thought capa
ble of applying a solution d evised by others .The foregoing cons iderations were formally p resentedto a gathering of representative teachers a few yearsago . In the d i scussion whi ch followed , an em inent educator nom inal ly took issue with my conclusi ons . A s
his remarks showed , however , his attitude on the main
point under d iscussi on was practically identi cal with myown . In fact he dealt the m ethod I had myself been
TRANSLA TION A T S IGHT 103
condemn ing some additional blows , call ing attentionamong other things to the undue stress lai d upon syntax to the practi cal exclus ion of everything else . Whatthis educator understood by read ing at s ight ’ was anexerc ise wherei n the pup i ls under the teacher’s gu idance read a passage of Latin hitherto unseen . This i snot read ing at sight in the sense i n which i t i s ardentlychampioned by some , and i n which I had endeavouredto d iscuss i t . A n exerci se i n which the pup i ls aretaught by a competent guide the proper mode of attacking a new passage of Latin and getting i ts fullestand most accu rate meaning, i s one for which I have onlycommendation . Wi thi n l im i ts i t i s m ost u seful . But
i t should be obvious that i t has not i n the least beenthe subj ect of consideration i n the forego ing pages .
V. T rans lation at Sight.
‘Translati on at sight ’ has already been defined above,
p . 85 . It means preci sely what the words natural lysuggest, namely, the translati on of a passageof Lati n whi ch the pupi l has never seen . Ihave already , at the close
’
of the p revious secti on,i nd i
cate d what all wi l l undoubtedly recogni se as a legitimateemployment of translation at s ight for pu rposes of instruction . Where time offers—and i t can usually bewisely taken for such an exerc i se , i t i s l ikely to provean efficient means of gu idance and of imparting knowledge . It i s nothing new
,however, and has probably
been recogni sed as an effective instrum ent from timeimmemori al . More seri ous i s the questi on how far‘ translation at s ight ’ should be made
,
the As th e Basis
bas i s of college adm i ssi on tests . Were this mfi’
question one which affected the colleges Tests .
alone , or the student after leavi ng the secondary school,
Definition.
104 THE BEGINN ING WORK
i t would be an imperti nence to d iscuss i t here ; but asi t has vital bearings upon the teaching of Latin i n theschools
,the relevancy of cons idering these bearings
must be apparent .Som e persons advocate making such translation (com
bine d with the Wri ting of Latin ) the sole test o f thecandidate’s knowledge , to the exclusion of any e x am i
nation upon prescribed work . A gainst an exam inationupon prescribed authors , i t i s u rged that su ch a te st i s
quantitative , whereas an exam i nati on on a passage setfor translati on at s ight i s qualitative . Such a comparison
,however , seem s to m e exceed ingly unfai r . To
characteri ze an exam i nation upon prescribed work asessentia l ly quantitat ive impli es that i ts primary obj ect i sto di scover lzow ni ne/z has been read , combined wi th thepol i cy of accepting or rej ecting the cand idate accord ingas the amount i s found to be great or sm all . No oneseriously supposes any such thing for a moment . A s amatter of fact , an exam i nati on upon prescribed work is ,and always has been , primari ly a quali tative test . The
essenti al d i fference between such an exam i nati on andan exam i nati on by translati on at sight i s not that one i squal itative and the other quantitative , but that , bothbeing qual itative , the range of selection is somewhatgreater i n the one case than i n the othe r. My ownobj ecti ons against an exclusive s ight test are based qu i teas much on the p ractical effects of the system , as uponany theoreti cal grounds . Practically I bel i eve the tend e ncy of such a test i s to tempt m any teachers toemploy the time of thei r classes on the rap id read ing oflarge amounts with consequent fai lu re on the part ofthei r pup i ls to acqu i re that precise knowledge of thegrammar and that fine feel ing for the language whichare so i nd ispensable to true scholarsh ip . This I bel i eve
,
because I have thought I d iscovered the effects of thi s
106 THE B EGINNIJVG WORK
I f a sight test i s to be made the basi s— wholly orparti ally— of a college entrance exam i nation , I shouldrecommend as the best possible p reparation for sucha test the most careful and thorough preparation ofthe traditi onal p rescribed authors , Cmsar ( or Nepos) ,C i cero , and Vi rgi l .The pupi l who has faithfully and accu rately studiedhis four books of the Gall i c War, his seven speeches ofCi cero , and his s ix or e ight books of the AEneia
’
, needhave no fear of any passage set him for translation ats ight that ought to be put before a candidate for ad
m i ss i on to college . It i s because so m any teachersfai l to see thi s , and because the colleges so often setextremely d ifficu lt passages , that new “ m ethods ”
are
becom ing prevalent and viti ating the qual i ty of p reparatory L atin teaching .
W i th a definite amount of time at ou r d i sposal onlytwo possibi l i ti es p resent them selves to me : Ei ther thetraditional p rescribed authors and honest work
,or an
increase of the amount read and a consequent loweringof qual ity . I leave i t to the candid j udgment of al lteache rs , which course i s l ikely to prove the bettere ither for the student who is to end his Latin study inthe secondary school or for the p rospective col legian .
VI . W hat L atin R e ad ing should fol low th e E l em e nta ry W ork ?
When the elements of Latin have been once masteredthe question arises , What i s to be done next? It waslong common to begin at once the read ing of Ca sar ;and probably that custom i s sti l l somewhat prevalent .Yet the d ifficulti es of Cae sar or even of the alternativeNepos are unden iable , and have led teachers moreand more to prefer the use of some simple Latin toserve as a trans ition from the simple sentences u sed i n
EA S Y READING 107
connection with the elementary work to the first regularcontinuous p rose author . I am myself de Reading
cide d ly of the op in ion that some such s imple m mLatin should precede e ither Caesar or Nepos . Severalthings offer themselves for th is pu rpose :
a . Viri Ronzae .
5 . Roman Hi story (e . g. Jacobs’
s extracts) .
e . EutrOpius .
a’. Some simpl ification of a part of Caesar .L e t us consider these i n tu rn .
Vir i Rmna e i s o f m ore value than i ts barbarous Lati nti tle m ight suggest . It was p repared a centu ry and ahalf ago by an enthusi asti c French teacher
,
Lhomond , —a m an whose whole l i fe wasded icated to the se rvi ce of secondary educati on . A s
the ti tle of the work suggests , i t i s a history arrangedbiographically . It contains some thi rty l ives of Romanworth ies from Romulus to A ugustus . In compos itionthe work i s a cento , i . e . the d ifferent sentences of wh icheach l i fe i s m ade up are d rawn from vari ous Latinwriters . Often they are abbreviated or otherwise sim
plifie d for the purpose of p roducing a narrative whichshall avoid the d iffi cu lti es that characte ri ze almostcontinuous prose . Lhomond evidently had the teacher’sinstinct ; he knew the advantages of the biograph icaltreatment , with i ts keen appeal to the youthful mind ;he was qu ick , too , to see and uti l i ze those histori cal andbiographical features which were striking and essential ,and to bri ng these out i n strong rel i ef. His l i ttle worki s therefore extrem ely i nteresting to the average pup i lof the class for which i t i s i ntended . For years i t hasbeen widely used abroad
,and recently i t has met with
m uch favour i n thi s country .
Jacobs’
s extracts from Roman ( and Greek) historyhave also done excellent servi ce both abroad and in
Viri Romae .
108 THE BEGINN ING WORR’
this country . They were originally prepared by Jacobs ,an em inent Germ an educator of the early part of thi s
Jacob “ centu ry , for his L atin Reader . The arrangeEx m cts’ m ent i s hi stori cal , as opposed to biographical , but the materi al i s put together on much the sameplan as that i n Lhomond
’
s book . It is , however , drawnfrom fewer sources ( chiefly from Justin and Eutropius ) ,and the changes from the original have been fewer thani n Viri Roma e . Though brie f, and sketchy, i t i s notdevoid of interest , and impresses upon the pup i l whoreads i t a number of the essenti al happen ings whichconsti tute the basi s of Roman hi story . Few freshm en ,I must confess , bring to col lege as m uch knowledge ofRoman history as i s contained i n these bri e f selectionsof Jacobs , m eagre as they are . A possible advantagepossessed by this work as compared with Viri Roma e
i s the great s impl i c i ty of the Latin , parti cu larly i n theearl i er porti on of the selecti ons .Eutropius
1 has never been much used in this countryor elsewhere
,so far as I know , and the reception ac
corded to recently publ ished edi tions of thework fai ls to encou rage the belie f that i t
wi ll ever be popular. The work lacks l i fe and , aboveall
,i t lacks perspective ; i t i s an exceed ingly dry annal
istic account of events important and unimportant . Itcan hardly be expected to insp i re interest, especially inyoung pupi ls .The last type of s imple read ing to be considered consi sts of some simpl ification of a part of Cae sar . A n ad
vantage of such m atter i s that the pup i lSimpl ified ° becomes familar with s ar’s vocabulary , hissubj ect matter
,and hi s general style , without encounter
i ng the severer obstacles of his continuous narrative .
Eutropius.
1 Se e Redway, J . W The B rew’
a rz’
nm of Eutropius , in The Educa
tional Re view,vol . x ii. (De c. p. 509 ff.
1 10 THE BEGINN ING WORK
dress. This last p rocedure seem s a seri ous m i stake . To
the extent that we withdraw the student of L atin fromthe thoughts and ideas of anci ent Rom e , we are m i ss ingone important elem ent of cultu re which ought to com efrom the study of L atin , namely, better understandingof the present through an understanding of the past.Thi s end i s certainly not reached by stories from theA ra éian N igkts or Engli sh history put i n L atin formby modern scholars.
CHAPTER III
WHA T AUTHOR S ARE TO BE READ IN THE SECONDARY
SCHOOL AND IN W HA T SE Q UEN CE ?
REFERENCES .
W agl e r , F . A . , Casar als Schulbuch , in Z EITSCHRIFT FUR DA S GYM
NA SIA LWESEN , 1857, pp . 48 1-
503 . This article has be e n e x ce l lentlytranslate d by F . H . Howard in THE SCHOOL REVIEW
,1897, pp. 561 - 587.
Re port of the Comm itte e of Ten of th e Nationa l Educational A ssociation. Latin. 1893.
Report of the Committe e of Twe lve of the Ame rican PhilologicalA ssociation on Course s in Latin and Gre e k for Se condary Schools .
1899.
I . W h at A uthor should b e re ad first?
THERE has been much di scussi on i n recent years asto what regular p rose author should be read first . For
years Caesar’s Ga l l ic Wa r had been chosen for thi s purpose , and thi s p ractice had becom e so universal as to beregarded almost as a permanent and necessary featureof our educational economy . In the Report of the Comm itte e of Ten of the National Educational A ssoci ation ,publ ished in 1 893 , the suggesti on was formal ly madethat Nepos be substi tuted for Cae sar as the Nepos w ,
first prose author to be read in our secondary Cm
schools . This suggestion of the Comm i ttee of Ten wasbut the adoption of a recommendation of the L atin Conference appointed by the Comm i ttee in December , 1 892 .
The Conference devoted two days of careful d i scuss ionto the considerati on of several problem s of secondaryinstructi on i n Latin , and was p racti cally unanimous in
I I Z A UTHORS TO BE REA D
i ts recommendati on that Nepos be made opti onal wi thCaesar . A s the question of choice is of some importance , i t seem s worth whi le to d iscuss the relative meri tsof these two authors with reference to the i r adaptati on tothe needs of secondary instruction . I cannot do betterperhaps than to enumerate the considerati ons whichweighed with m e (and I think wi th others) as a member ofthe Latin Conference which reported to the Comm i ttee ofTen; and then to add the reasons which have tended subquently to m odi fy the posi tion then taken . While notexpli ci tly express ing d isapproval of Cae sar as the firstauthor read , yet the recommendation of the Conferencewas i ntended to ind icate a certai n d istru st of the fitness of Cmsar to retai n the place i t had held so long .
In recommending Nepos , though only as a perm i ssible alternative , the Conference m eant to suggest thesuperior fitness of that author for the spec ial stageof Lati n involved .
Objections to A gainst Cae sar (and by Caesar i s meant hi sw Ga l l ic War) i t i s u rged :a . Cz sar is undeniably a
’zjicnlt. Ind i rect D i scou rse
abounds , particu larly i n the fi rst book , which from natu ral ine rti a wi ll always be the book generallyfi rst read , desp ite the frequent re comm e nda
tions of educators to begin with the second,th i rd
,or
fou rth book . But even apart from the indi rect d i scourseand apart from the fi rst book , Caesar cannot be calledeasy read ing, especially for the beginner .b . Owsar is not interesting. The writer does not
impress u s as gi fted with imagination,histori c or . other .
Lack of He i s exceedingly dry . There i s l ittle to exInteres" ci te the enthusiasm . The narrative , moreover , i s monotonous . We have practi cally an unbrokenchronicle of m arches and vi ctories , i n which the triumph of trained Rom ans over undi scipl ined and poorly
Difficul ty .
1 14 A UTHORS TO BE REA D
and m arch , never suggest the i r own connection withcontemporary or futu re history . To al l i ntents andpurposes they stand outs ide of the events of thei r ownday. They do not contain facts the knowledge of whichi s of value to the average pup i l or the average educate d person of mature years . Some have comparedthe sim i lar choice of Xenophon’s A nabasis as the firstGreek usually read . But i t must be adm i tted i n favou rof the Anabasis that , while i t has for the pup i l no visibleconnecti on with Greek history and no visible bearingsupon i t, i t i s at least ne ither d ifficult for the beginnernor dull . Caesar, on the other hand , i s regarded bymany as un ique i n i ts combination of d ifficu lty, i ts dulness , and i ts dearth of valuable information . If anythingof Ca sar’s were to be read , i t i s often u rged that i tThe Civil ought rather to be hi s Commentari es on theW“ Civil War than those on the Ga ll ic War .
The account of the C ivi l War at least contains valuablei nformati on of an important epoch in Roman history .
We see the very death- struggle of the old order ofthings
,— the Republ i c passing away to make room for
the Empi re . We see Cae sar leave his Gall i c p rovinceand become an active maker of Roman history at i tsmost cri tical e ra . We fol low him from the beginningof hi s stri fe with the Senate and Pompey through allthe sti rring events of the next three years (49 atPharsalus , i n the East, in
‘
Egypt, i n Num i d ia , unti l hefinally comes back to Rome to lay the foundations ofthe imperi al organ ization . There i s no doubt here as tothe bearings of the narrative . The most ordinary pup i lcannot fai l to apprehend its import . Nor i s i t dull . Itmay,
however,poss ibly suffer from one defect : i t i s
difficult, —too d ifficult perhaps for the average pup i lwho i s approaching hi s first Latin author .In defence of Cae sar the ch ief po int to be u rged i s
CAESAR GR NEP OS ? 1 1 5
the puri ty of hi s d icti on and the accuracy of h i s style.That he i s a correct wri ter, no one can deny. He
thought , as he acted , with a d i rectness and 111 wprecis i on which were adm i rable , and he ex Of Cm
presse d himself i n writing with equal d i rectness andpreci s ion . A t the sam e time nothing could be moregrotesque to the m i nds of most than to attribute al i terary character or quali ty to Cazsar. He s imply givesus a plai n and colourless statement of facts , which makeshardly any nearer app roach to l i terary charm than doesa clear statement of a proposi tion i n geom etry . Sucha statem ent m ay be clear and prec i se and d i rect, - yeti ts l i te rary qual ity would be grudgingly conceded .
We pass to the considerati ons which areurged in favou r of Cornel ius Nepos .a . Nepos
’
s Latinity is gooa’. This i s d isputed by
some , and I have even heard i t charged that Neposd id not know how to write Latin . That hewas an elegant write r , possessed of commanding styl i sti c powers , no one wil l maintain , but that hewas a correct wri ter and represents i n the m ain withgreat fidel i ty the standard class i cal u sage of the bestperiod cannot be gainsaid . To veri fy the impress i onsof my own reading , I have recently re - exam i ned Bernhard Lupus’s book of some two hundred pages , Der
Spra cbgebraucb a’es Corne l ius N epos , Berl i n , 1 876. This
work i s a detai led syntacti cal study of Nepos , andsupports abundantly the assertion made above regarding the correctness of Nepos
’
s style . Nepos , to besure , om i ts the auxi l i ary esse with the future active andperfect passive infinitive s , but thi s i s the prevai l ingusage with m any excellent writers . He also uses a’ubitowi th the infinitive , where C i cero and Cmsar preferredto use a guin - c lause ; but whi le C i ce ro him self neveruses the infini tive with a
’ubito i n this sense , several of
His Latinity.
1 16 A UTHORS TO BE READ
his correspondents emp loy it , the accompl i shed A sinius
Poll io , Trebonius , and C i cero’s own son Marcus . Dum ,
‘ whi le,
’ i n standard prose usually i s construed withthe histori cal present . Nepos once uses i t with theperfect ; but C i ce ro also does thi s . The perfect sub
junctive ( for imperfect) i n result clauses i s exceedinglyfrequent i n Nepos , — so frequent as to be a strikingfeatu re of his style . Yet the usage i s thoroughly good.
Caesar and C i ce ro use i t , though rarely . The only twostriking excepti ons to standard usage that I have notedin Nepos are fungor with the accu sative and quamviswith the indicative . Yet C i cero also i s cred ited withone i nstance of the latter constructi on , and Sal lust onceuses vescor with the accusative . On the whole Neposwrites l ike his contemporari es , barring the fact that hedoes not exhibit thei r stylisti c gi fts . He shows noneof the symptom s of the so- cal led “ decli ne .
”
So far ashi s d i ction is concerned , he i s an em i nently fi t authorto put into the hands of young pup i ls .b . Nepos
’s lives a re interesting. Though they are the
l ives of Greeks , they are the l ives of famous Greeks .m en who stand out as great exemplars inhum an history, whose ach ievements and
whose characters have always evoked adm i rati on . Werethey the l ives of Romans , they would undoubtedly bebetter adapted to pup i ls of Latin , yet Nepos
’
s point ofview and his mode of treatm ent are so thoroughlyRoman that one catches much of the Roman spi ri t i nread ing and studying them .
c . Tlicy a re composed in sltort insta lments . This i sexclus ively a psychological advantage , perhaps , but i t
i s not without importance . Where the pup i lsees the end , he rece ives a stimulu s to coun
te ract the fatigue of study . When the end of what hei s reading l i es but two or three pages ahead
,he i s eager
Interest
1 1 8 A UTH ORS TO BE REA D
of ski lfu l tri umph over d ifficu lti es . Upon m ost matu rem inds not of the Mi les Standish type , thi s n arrativesoon palls ; but it seem s to be a fact that to the m i ndsof many young pup ils i t has a pos itive attractiveness .One other reason i n favou r of Ce sar of a somewhat
subtle r nature may not be without i ts weight , and may
Caesar’s
have acted subconsc iously perhaps i n determGreater Con i n i ng the adherence of many teachers to the“ aw e-“ in traditional Ga l l ic War . I re fe r to the voca
bulary of Ce sar . A very careful compari sonof the vocabularies of Ce sar and Nepos undertaken inconnection with the p reparation of my Foundations ofL a tin revealed to m e the much greater concreteness ofCe sar’s d icti on . This i s largely a natural and necessaryadj unct of Ce sar’s subj ect matter . He deals m ainly withfacts ; Nepos indulges much more i n character analysis ,and , whi le th is i s never deep or subtle , i t necessitatesthe employment of words i n transferred , figurative , abstract senses . This fundamental d ifference i s of vitalimportance for the beginner . He should , i f possible ,first become acquainted with concrete ideas and withthe l ite ral meanings of words , parti cu larly in the caseof words that also possess figurative se‘nses . Thesewords and these meanings make the m ost d i rect ap
peal , and leave the most vivid imp ress on the m i nd .
A n apprehension of the l i teral m ean ing affords , too ,the best guide to al l figurative , transferred m eaningswhich have later developed from i t . These consider
ations may perhap s explai n the fact oftenmore Notice noted by teachers that pup i ls who have read
one book of Ce sar find the next book mucheasi er , and the subsequent books easier sti ll , while withNepos this i ncreased faci l i ty i s not noti ced , the tenthl i fe being no easi er than the first and the twentiethscarcely easier than the tenth . Yet even apart from
CICERo A ND VIRGIL 1 19
the vocabulary , i t must be mani fest that the range of
i deas i s cons iderably greate r i n Nepos than in Ce sar ;th i s consti tutes a
'
p e rmanent difficulty i n Nepos , so that,though this author i s somewhat easie r at the outset
,i t
may afte r al l be doubted whether on the whole he i sm ore so than Ce sar .On the whole , I for one feel to - day that the cons ider
ations which are so often urged in favour of read ingNepos i nstead of Ce sar are by no m eans weightyenough to warrant our giving the pre ference to theforme r author . The choi ce between the two may
properly vary with the temper and taste of teachersand the d isposit ion of thei r pup ils . Yet refl ection tendsto m ake m e think that for most pup i ls Ce sar i s thebetter book for the purpose we have been cons idering .
11 . Sh ould C ice ro P re ce d e or Fol low V irgil ?There i s a difference of op in ion as to whether C i ceroshould precede or follow Virgi l , and practi ce variesaccord ingly . The question i s one of enough importanceto rece ive cons ideration here ; two reasons suggestthemselves for postponing Virgi l .a . On tbe ground of tbe la nguage . The pupi l who
has finished Ce sar or Nepos has not yet a suffic i entm astery of the language . He p robably knows Linguistic
the form s , i f he i s ever going to , but he i s not Rem “
yet posted as he should be on the syntax of the language
,on i ts vocabulary, on the order of words , and
m any other points of id iomati c usage . I f he enterupon the study of Virgi l i n thi s state of m i nd o r ofknowledge
,the chances are that what l i ttle knowledge of
the language he possesses wi ll be pretty thoroughly unsettled by read ing poetry . The use of cases , the employment of words
,and the arrangement of the sentence are
1 2 0 A UTHORS TO BE READ
al l so d ifferent from prose usage , that unless the pup i lhas already acqu ired settled convicti ons on the subj ectgreat damage wi ll be done . On the other hand , i f hetakes his C i ce ro imm ed iately after Nepos or Ce sar, hebecomes so fam i l i ar with norm al p rose usage by thetime he fin i shes that author , that not only does thepoeti cal d icti on of Vi rgi l work no inj u ry— it ratherhelps , by vi rtue of the contrast i t furni shes to theid iom of prose .
b . On tbe ground of tbe l iterature . Virgi l i s a poet,
whose product i s one of the choicest that Rom an l i tera
Literarytu re contains . L e t the pup i l wai t unti l he i s
Rem “ best qual ified to do j usti ce to the fine qual ityof the zEne id . A year makes a great d ifference , andwi ll often decide whether the pup i l shal l read Vi rgi lwi th sympathy and profit , or the reverse .
Attention m ust also be given to another sequencerecently suggested in the reading of C i ce ro and Vi rgi l .
Another Ar I refer to the course tentat ively outl ined inm eme“ the P rel im inary Report of tbe Committee ofTwelve on Courses in L atin and Greek for S econdaryS c/tools , i ssued i n 1 897. This comm i ttee consi sted of
members of the Ameri can Philological A ssoc i ati on , andwas appointed at the request of the Nati onal Educational A ssoc i ation in July, 1 896. The suggesti on ism ade in this report that i n the thi rd year of an ord inaryfour years’ Latin cou rse C i ce ro’s four speeches againstCati l ine be read , fol lowed by Books i . and i i . of Vi rgi l
’sAfne id i n the same year, and that in the fourth yearBooks i i i .—vi. of the zEneid be first read , to be followedby two more orations of C i cero . It i s d ifficult , however,to bel i eve that this suggesti on represents the m aturej udgment of any cons iderable number of educators .To break the continu ity of one’s reading of Ci cero’sorations by Vi rgi l’s zEneid , and to break the conti
1 2 2 A UTHORS TO BE READ
the fact that they are palpable im i tations of Greeko riginals , they nevertheless do m ake a strong appealto the youthful m i nd which cannot be ignored . Thereis danger, perhaps , of condemn ing too p rec ip itatelyevery l i terary work which bears traces of imitatingsom e previous work . All of Vi rgi l bears the sameimpress of his Greek originals as do the Eclog ues .
The prime question in all these works and all s im i larworks i s not merely whether they exhib it traces ofborrowing, but whether they exhibi t anything else . In
Virgilthe case of al l of Vi rgi l’s works we may say
W ted~ that, desp ite the obvious evidences of ind ebte dne ss to his p redecessors , he i s no i rresponsibleplagiari st or slavi sh im i tator . He i s a true poet
,with
the geniu s and endowment of a poet . In form , ‘
i nphrase , i n metaphor and s im i le , he has drawn withfreedom ,
i n accordance with the sp i ri t of hi s own ageand of all antiqu ity, upon Homer , Hes iod , and Theocritus . But i n sp ite of this he has transformed all hetook with the sp i ri t of his own genius ; he has re
created . It i s thi s which makes the zEneid , theGeorgics , the Eclogues all great poems , and whi chm akes each in its total i ty as di fferent as can possiblybe from the I l iad , the Odyssey, the Works and Days ,
or the Idyls of Theocritus . Preci sely the same thingi s true of Shakspere and of M ilton .
I bel ieve , therefore , that the Eclogues have a cleartitle to a place in the curri cu lum of our secondaryschools , and that where time i s avai lable , i t would bewise to read them . They exhibit to u s a phase of anc ient l ite ratu re not so we l l exempl ified by anything elseI know . They breathe the breath of sp ring, the perTennyson
’s fume of fl owers ; they suggest the charm of
mm“ natu re— trees , brooks , hil ls , l akes , sun , ai r ,stars—in her mani fold phases . They touch upon
THE E CLOGUES —S ALL US T 1 23
the abounding j oys of country- l i fe . Tennyson’s threestanzas well exhib it the spel l which these unique poem sexerc ised upon himself
Poet of the happyTityrus
pipingunde rne ath his be echen bowers ;Poe t of the poet
- satyrWhom the laughing shephe rd bound with flowe rs ;
Chante r of the Pollio, gloryingin the blissful ye ars again to be ,
Summe rs of the snake le ss me adow,
unlaborious earth and oarless se a ;
Thou that se e st Unive rsalNature moved by Unive rsal M ind ,
Thou maje stic in thy sadne ss
at the doubtful doom of human kind .
This , to be sure , i s the tribute of a poet , but I am
convinced that the atti tude of pup i ls wi l l be generallyanalogous , and that i t wi l l j usti fy the study of thesepoem s wherever time allows . All thei r subtleti es wi l lnot be apparent to the young student ; some of themhave not even yet been settled by the cri ti cs , and m ay
never be , but there i s enough that i s obvious , that i sstimulating , that i s elevating , to make them legitimateand worthy obj ects of study for the pup i ls of ourschools .
IV . Sa l lust.
In point of content and style , Sallust is well deservingof rep resentation in the curricu lum of the secondaryschool . Both the jugurt/ta and the Catil ine are valuable and interesting specimens of histori cal p rose whichwil l wel l repay carefu l study. The Catil ine in particu lari s instructive as correcting the one- sided conception of
1 24 A UTH ORS To BE REA D
the famous consp i racy derived from read ing only Ci cero’sCati l inari an speeches ; Sallust
’
s narrative also largelysupplements C i ce ro’s account and m akes the histori cp i ctu re much fuller and completer .The great d ifficulty , however , with the average school
i s to find time for reading this work . The Latin curriculum of the secondary school i s already full , and our schoolprogram s are now so congested that in most cases to addmore work is to increase a tens ion already too great andto run great ri sk of lowering the qual i ty of the instruction given .
V . Ov id .
There i s no denying the charm of Ovid’s M e tamor
pboses . Thei r style , too , i s s imple , whi le they afford nol ittle i nstructi on i n class ical mythology . What has longexi sted i n the pup i l’s m ind i n more or less vagueness
,
now takes on defin ite shape , as he reads Ovid’s pictur
esque detai ls of the Deluge , of Phaethon , of Daphne , etc.
Yet the same d ifficulty confronts us here as in the caseof Sallu st, and desi rable as both these authors are i n anideal secondary cu rri cu lum , i t i s greatly to be feared ,desp ite the recent recomm endations of the Comm i tteeof Twelve ,1 that no large number of schools wil l find i tp racti cable under existi ng condi ti ons to i ntroduce e itherof these authors into the Lati n p rogram .
V I . F ive -ye ar and S ix -ye a r L atin Cours e s .
The foregoing d iscuss ion has been based upon the assumption that the cou rse of Latin study in the secondaryschool i s a four- year course of five periods a week .
Many schools , however, already have five -year and s ix
1 Report, p . 28 f.
1 26 A UTHORS TO BE READ
complete in themselves , together with some of thebri efer and more interesti ng L etters . Thus the pup i l‘sacquaintance with Ci cero’s m any- s ided l i terary and inte lle ctual accompl i shments wi l l be extended , whi le theselecti ons suggested wi ll fu rnish the best possible model.of styl e for the writi ng of Latin
'
in the latter part of thecourse .
A six-year course may be establ i shed at once by introducing L ati n in to the last two years of the grammarsa wm schools ; such was the method adopted in the
ci ty of Chicago . Or a six - year course may
be developed out of the five - year course , through theuse of e ither of the form s which have been suggested .
In ei ther case i t i s obviously desi rable to aim at a fai rdegree of un i formity i n such courses , and thus avoid forthem the inconven iences from whi ch ou r p resent fou ryear cou rses suffe r . In the s ix-year course , at any rate ,two years can be given to that careful and thoroughpreparation for read ing which not only form s the bestfoundation for al l later work in Latin , but also constitute s, for th is period of the student
’s education , themost effective in strument of train ing in exact habits ofthought and of express ion . If two years are given tothi s sort of work , most of the d ifficulties felt by theyoung pupi l i n entering upon the study of Ce sar wi llhave been anti c ipated and overcome . Thus arranged ,the first five years of the six—year course and the fiveyear cou rse in the first form presented wi ll be identicali n respect of the subj ects taken up and the order of arrangement . The work of the s ixth year wi ll then correspond closely with that of the last year of the five - yearcourse as given in the second form ; that i s , i t wi ll bedevoted to the fini shing of the Ai ne id , to the reading ofC i cero’s essays On Old Age and On Friendsbip,
and ofselected L etters , and to weekly exerci ses in prose com e
F I VE AND S IX YEAR COURSE S 1 27
position based on C i cero . Here also the princ ipalobject shou ld be , not to extend widely the range ofauthors taken up , but so to adj ust the work of thecourse to the needs of the pup i l’s i ntellectual l i fe asmost effectively to promote hi s development at thisperiod .
In a number of c iti es i t has been thought advanta
ge ous to give two years o f Latin in the grammar schoolrather than one . The reason i s that , s ince the length ofthe high- school course , by common consent , remains fixedat four years , the study of L atin for only a s ingle yearbefore entrance i nto the high school i s not only lessfru i tful i n itself, but i s also less sati sfactori ly adj ustedto the other stud ies of the grammar- school course . The
arrangement i s also found to be advantageous from thepoint o f vi ew of the adj ustment of the gramm ar- schooland high - school courses to each other . In a ci ty inwhich two years are given to Latin in the grammarschool , the high school also wi ll undoubted ly continue togive a four- year course . Pup i ls , then , who come up fromthe grammar schools with two years of Latin wi ll i n thehigh school find it poss ible to enter upon work whichcorresponds with that of the second , thi rd , and fourthyears of the four - year course , and will n eed to be taughtseparately from other high- school students only in thes ixth year of the i r L atin study ; i n other words , imm edi ate ly upon enteri ng the high school they may beuni ted with the second -year students in the fou r-yearcourse . In large high schools separate secti ons need tobe formed in any case for each Latin class , and probablyi t wi l l be found advantageous to teach the students ofthe six-year course by them selves . In l ike manner , theadj ustment of a six - year or five -year course to analready existing four - year course wi ll be found easy inthe case of academ i es and private schools .
1 2 8 A UTHORS TO BE REA D
A plan by which the work of the fou r- year Latincourse m ay be correlated wi th that of the six-yearcourse i s i nd icated in the fol lowing d iagram :
SIX- YEAR COURSE
N e x t-to- la stgrade in gramma r
sclzool
First ye ar of Latin
La stgrad e in gramma r school
Se cond ye ar of Latin
F irst yea r in l ugli sc/zool
Third ye a r of Latin
S econd yea r in big}: scbool
Fourth ye ar of Latin
T/zird yea r in big]: scbool
Fifth ye ar of Latin
Four”: yea r in lziglz school
Six th ye ar of Latin
L ed by the considerati ons which have been brieflypresented , the Comm i ttee , after careful del iberati on ,has fram ed the three program s subj o ined : one fora four- year cou rse , one for a five -year course (in twoform s) , and one for a six-year cou rse . We commendthese program s to the consideration of the schools ,hop ing that they may be found conveni ent as standardor model courses .
1 30 A UTHORS TO B E READ
S IX- YEAR LATIN COURSE.
(Five periods weekly t/zroug/zout tbc six years . )
FIRST AND SECOND YEARS .
The same as the first year of the four-ye ar course.
THIRD YEAR .
The same as the second year of the four-year course .
FOURTH AND FIFTH YEARS.
The same as the th ird and fourth years of the four-yearcourse .
SIXTH YEAR .
Virgil’s xEneid : comple ted .
C ice ro D e Senectute and D e Amicitia sele cted Lette rs.The equivalent of at least one pe riod a we ek in prose com
position based ou C icero.The read ing of Latin aloud . The memorizing of selected
passage s.
”
It i s earnestly hoped that these recommendati ons mayrece ive careful cons iderati on from Lati n teachers whe rever it may be feasible to put them i nto effectiveoperation .
CHAPTER IV
CONDUCT OF THE SECONDA RY W ORK IN LA TIN
REFERENCE.
M i ll e r , F . J. The Preparatory Course in Latin. SCHOOL REVIEW.
1897. p. 588 ff.
1 . Gene ra l Points on wh ich Emph as is sh ould b e la id .
A SSUMING that the pu rposes of Latin study in thesecondary school are those already ind icated in Chapter I . , namely , train ing in Engl ish , the strengthen ing of
the m ental powers , the bette r comprehension of thehi story of Roman thought and insti tuti ons , the qu ickening of the higher l i te rary sense, we shal l eas i ly drawcertain conclusions as to the fundamental princ iples ofLatin teaching . I have no speci al schem e to advocate,but wish s imply to cal l attention to one or two important parti cu lars , i n which i t seem s to m e there i s oftenneglect of duty on the part of teachers—frequently tothe great and , under the ci rcum stances , deserved d i scred it of Latin as an educational i nfluence.a . Trans la tion. To begin with , i f Latin i s to be a
means of train ing in Engl ish , the form of the Engli shtranslation becomes a m atter of the fi rst im The Form of
portance It i s not enough for the pup i l “m m“
to grasp the idea , and then to render i t in a mongrelid iom half Latin and half Engli sh . F rom the very outset of Latin study the standard should be set high , andno translat ion accepted which will not stand the sever
1 32 COND UCT OF THE WORK
est test as to the orthodoxy of its Engl ish . It shouldnot merely be id iomati c ; i t should possess the meritsand even the graces of style . Wherever a renderi ng isunnatu ral and smacks of the original , a halt should becal led , and improvement demanded . I bel i eve I amnot extreme when I insist that no translation shouldever be accepted which would not , when written out , beaccepte d
'
as fi t to print . It the pup i l i s not capable ofthi s , i t must be e ither because he does not unde rstandthe passage to be rendered , or else because he cannotexp ress i n Engl ish a thought which hi s m i nd clearlyapprehends . Ei ther of these d ifficulties , i f i t exist ,adm i ts of rem edy by j ud icious i nstructi on . Such instruction may be slow,
- both at the outset and oftenafterwards , — for i t i nvolves frequent di scussion as tothe cho i ce of words and sentence- structure ; but p recise ly here i n l i es the advantage Of the study . I am wellaware of the pressu re for time , and can apprec i ate thetemptation of the teacher to accept any rendering of apassage
,however um-Engl ish , provided i t i ndi cates that
the pup i l apprehends the thought . But I i ns i st thatthere i s no false r economy than a su rrender under' suchc i rcum stances . Comprom i ses of thi s sort not only donot save time i n the long run , but they ignore the veryprinc iple and purpose of L atin study, and ought tom ake that study stand in even less respect among thegeneral publ i c than i t actually does to- day . Yet I am
convinced that the habi t of ignoring the form of translation
,provided the pup i l gets the sense , i s p ractically
ep idem i c . More than this , the custom i s even defended .
I know of teachers who soberly m aintain thei r p reference for a perfectly l iteral translation on the groundthat such a rendering fac i l i tates the teaching of Latinsyntax . This attitude , I th ink , gives u s the key to theprevai li ng methods of translati on from Latin into Eng
1 34 COND UCT OF THE WORK
bend the real d rift of the p iece as a whole ! Is not thep iece commonly made a success ion of “ takes
,
” theorder of which m ight be vari ed ad l ibitum
,so far as
concerns interference with any systemati c endeavou r toshow the i r organi c connection ? A nd i s not the impress ion left upon the m inds of pup i ls often one of utte rvagueness as to what i t i s all about? I bel i eve thealleged defect to be very general ; and i f i t i s , i t surelyought to be rem ed ied at once . I know of no surerway to ki l l al l l i terary sense and encourage m echanicalform al ism , than the exclusive employm ent of the analyti c m ethod of study, without ever a thought of synthesis ,— always taking apart, never putting together .Such a process i s destructive i n more senses than one .
L e t us not abandon analysi s i n ou r study of L atin,
but let us combine with i t a larger use of syntheti c
Importance methods . After a pup i l has translated aof Synthetic book of Ce sar or an oration of C i cero , let
him , under the teacher’s gu idance , go care
fully over the whole ; let him bui ld up thought onthought, unti l he com es to see and feel the p iece as aunit . I be lieve that reform i n thi s parti cu lar i s widelyneeded in the schools where L atin i s taught . The
ancient languages are held to be instruments of cultu re ;and so they are when rightly used . But culture impl i esthe apprehension of things in thei r relations . I t i s notm erely a fam i l i arity with “ the best that has beenthought and said .
” If i t we re , ‘ the D ictiona ry of Fa
m il ia r Q uotations would be the place to find it . L e t
us bear this i n m i nd as we teach the L atin class ics ; l etus remember that they are not merely language, butwhat i s much more— l iteratu re .
c . Grammar . A ttention has been called above tothe danger of laying undue stress upon the importanceof syntax in connection with translation , even to the
GENERA L P OIN TS 1 3 5
extent of neglecting the form of the Engl ish rendering and the p roper understand ing of what i s read .
Grammati cal work , however, has i ts p lace ,and a very important place , i n the study ofLati n in the school . Even i n connecti on with the dai lytranslation i t must command som e attention , while besides th is it should also be stud ied separately , I bel ieve ,by way of regular lessons to be ass igned for formalreci tati on .
Considered from the pu rely i ntel lectual point of vi ew,
grammar i s by no means the ari d , profitle ss study thatm any conce ive i t to be . Far from i t . On
Logical Disthe syntact ical s ide ln particu lar it brings us cipline in
face to face with the severe p roblems of logi c , St
ru
g g
l
e
and forces upon us the m inute and consc ien
tious considerati on of complex thought relationships .Take the cond itional '
se nte nce , for example . I t i s thefunction of gramm ar to offer some classification of them ass of materi al fall i ng under this head . Usuallythe bas i s of class ification i s found in the logi cal impli cati on of the protas i s of su ch sentences . Thus in one typenothing whatever i s impl i ed as to the truth or falsi ty ofwhat i s assumed in the protasi s (
‘ If death ends al l , letus eat , drink , and be In another type , theprotasis suggests that the substance of i ts content may
eventually be real i zed Should he come , I should re fusehim whi le yet a thi rd type as d istinctlyimpl i es that the supposed case i s contrary to fact
(‘Were I a ri ch man,
I should gladly helpThe differenti ation of these three types of protases i ssomething requ i ring a definite logical effort , and thepupi l who has learned accurately to d istinguish thethree has made important attainments i n the way ofgrasp ing logical relationships . Parti cu larly instructivein this l in e i s a study of the Latin equ ivalents of those
Grammar.
1 36 CONDUCT OF THE WORK
treache rous modal auxi l i aries ‘m ay,
’ ‘ should,
’ ‘ would .
’
Logical analysi s shows that we have not merely onem ay,
’ and one should ,’
etc. , but several , all c learlyd istinct from each other i n present logical value ; sothat the pup i l who is translating from Engl ish to L ati ni s forced to m ake a mental equation of hi s ‘ may,
’
should,
’ or would before he can undertake torender the thought in Latin .
‘ The class m ay pleaseturn to page 5 2
’ i s one may ’
;‘ Men may com e and
men may go , but I go on forever ,’ i s another may
’
;‘To-morrow i t may rain i s another ; whi le
‘ From thi sevidence we may easi ly conclude
’
;‘You may thi nk
to succeed i n thi s audac ity May I take thi s book?’
all rep resent yet other vari eties of thi s elus ive auxi l i ary,
whose capacity is by no m eans exhausted by the aboveexamples . A s all of the above may’s ’ represent d isti nct logi cal ideas , so each one wi ll dem and a differentform of rendering in Latin , as wi ll be read i ly recogn i sedby teachers . Equallyvaried are the ideas representedby ou r Engli sh ‘ should ’ and ‘ would ;
’ and equallyvari ed , too , the mechanism of rep roducing in Latinthe logical values which they represent . In short , conscientious gramm atical study brings out , as nothing elsecan , the fact that grammar i s not a mechanical occupation deal ing with dead formulas , but that i ts substancei s human thought i n its infini te and stimulating vari ety.
Exceed ingly valuable too i s the insight afforded bygrammar i nto the psychology of language , i ts l i fe andgrowth . I llustrati ons i n abundance may be
Gives Indrawn from sounds , m fle x rons , word - forma sight into
ti on , and syntax ; but the latte r field alone gam e.
must serve our p resent pu rpose . The pupi li s puzzled at first to find the Latin ablative used withcomparatives i n the sense of than ,
’ but he easi ly seesthe psychology of the id i om when he learns that this
1 38 COND UCT OF THE WORK
sounds and infl exions . Verbs of fi ll ing normally takean ablative ( developed from the ablative of means) ,
yet owing to the analogy of the genitivewith plenas , and adj ectives of fulness
,
’ wefind compounds of -pleo occas ionally construed withthe genitive at al l periods of the language . In oro,
ux orem ducas (‘ I beg you to get the sub
junctive , by origin , was a j u ssive , ‘
Ge t m arried , Ibeg you to .
’
But by analogy the subj unctive sooncam e to figure in express ions where this logi cal e x planation could not apply , as seen in expressions l ike non
oro ux orem ducas (‘ I don’t ask you to where
the explanati on ‘ Marry a wife ; I don’t beg you to
,
’
would be m anifestly absurd . Grammar , too , shows howa rbitra ry language i s . To denote pri ce , defini te ori ndefini te , the ablative was o riginally employed ; todenote value , definite or indefinite , the genitive wasemployed . A s a resu lt of the near relationship ofthese two conceptions of value and p ri ce , the two constructions natural ly began to invade each other’s territory . Four geni tives , tanti , guanti , pluris , m inoris , fromthe earl ie st times on were mandatory with verbs ofbuying ’ and sell i ng ’
; yet the constructi on of the genitive with express i ons of ‘ buying ’ and sell ing ’ wentno further ; with all other expressions of i ndefini te price ,e . g. magno, ma x imo, pa rvo, m inimo, etc. the ablative '
was as mandatory as was the genitive i n tanti , guantz,
etc. There can hardly be profit i n speculating upon thecauses for this d istinction ; i t s imply i llustrates thefundamental arb itrari ness of language in i ts hi stori caldevelopment . Language was not primari ly a creati onof the logician , but an emanation from , and an evolu
ti on of,the folk - consc iousness . The same forces which
brought i t i nto exi stence determ i ned in the m ain i tsenti re futu re career , and forever precluded the existence
GENERA L P OIN TS 1 39
of an ideally perfect and consi stent scheme of express ion . What we see i n syntax , therefore , i s largely thewaywardness and inaccuraci es of the popular m ind .
L i terary m asters exercised a certain i nfluence i n givingcurrency and character to those form s of speech whichthey deemed superi or in accuracy, s impl i c i ty, or e ffe c
tivene ss ; but they could not create the forms themselvesor alte r thei r moulds when once the form s were cast .Syntax , too , shows u s often the battle of two rival
constru ctions in . a struggle for supremacy. No betteri llustrati on of this general p rinciple can be speech
found than i s exhibi ted by the hi story of the Rivalryconstructi ons with sim il is . In ou r earl iest Lati nity
( Plautus ) , sim il is i s construed with the gen i tive alone .Late r , probably under the influence of par and sim i larwords , s imil is begins to be construed with the dative .
The gen itive , however, sti l l continues i n vogue and isp racti cally mandatory when the governed word is apronoun or the des ignation of a person . In point ofmeaning , absolutely no d istincti on between the twocases can be discovered ; we see s imply a struggle forsupremacy between two rival form s of equ ivalent value .
A s time goes on , i t i s evident that the invader ( thedative ) i s gaining ground rap idly . In the post-Augustan wri ters the terri tory of the gen itive becomesnarrower and narrower ; for a tim e the genitive of pronouns i s usual , but with othe r words , whethe r d e signations of persons or of things
,the dative occup ies the
field . Ultimately even the p ronouns succumb to thelevell ing tendency, t i l l by the tim e of A puleius the dativei s p ractically left i n undi sputed supremacy .
I have thus far be en considering the functions of gramm ar study, parti cularly syntacti cal study , as a train ingin logic and as i l lum i nating general l inguisti c psychology.
Grammar has yet one other functi on which demands
14o COND UCT OF THE WORK
recognition ,— e stheti c train ing .
l Such train ing is an inevitable result of a contemplati on of excellences of styleN ew i n the choicer m asterp ieces of Latin read inPhases : the schools . Being subtler than the othe rkinds of training , to whi ch attenti on has above beencalled , i t i s less certain of effective communication by anyof the custom ary methods of i nstruction . We can explai n facts and relati onsh ips , genes i s and developm ent ,to ou r pup i ls with tolerable assu rance that they wi llapp rehend a luc id expositi on of the truth . But whenit comes to m atters of taste and feel i ng , the case i sd ifferent . We may indi cate our - own emotions andour own appreci ati on , but there i s no ce rtainty of aresponse on the pup i l’s part , as there i s i n the case ofa matter p resented exclu s ively to hi s understanding .
Sti l l the d ifficulti es of communicati on on the teacher’spart and the l im i ts of appreciati on on the pup i l’s partdo not obl iterate the existence of the function hereclaimed for grammatical study ; they s imply p rove thatthere is less certainty of making thi s function effective .
But i t i s grammar that guides us through wo rd- orderto a right appreci ation of the relative prom i nence ofwords
,phrases , and clauses ; i t i s grammati cal study
that shows us the force of such rhetori cal devi ces assynchysis and chi asmus ; and that tells us the d ifferencebetween the rapid summary of an asyndeti c se ri es ascompared with the cumulative effect of a polysyndeton .
It i s nothing but obj ective grammatical study that cantel l us the subtle d ifferences between the multi tude ofsynonymic constructions
,reveal ing thei r shades of mean
ing,thei r i nward characte r , thei r elevation or thei r com
monplace ne ss , thei r l i terary d ignity o r thei r every- daycolloqui al nature .
1 Se e particularlyGilde rsle eve , Essays and Studies, p. 1 27 f. , Grammarand IEsthe tics .
’
142 CONDUCT OF THE WORK
short root vowel i n several i nfl ected forms , was classedas a verb of the first conj ugati on . Hi stori cally
,how
ever, do, dare , i s an i rregular verb , j ust as i rregular
,
and i rregular i n the sam e way, as sum , fero, volo, eo
i . e . i t was unthemati c , the personal end ings being ap
pended directly to the root without the use of anyconnecting vowel . Thi s fact i s now qu ite generallyrecognised i n our grammars . In the same way theLatin syntax of a quarte r of a century ago has e x pe rience d many rad ical improvements . The ablative withutor, fruor, fungor, potior, and vescor used to be d e signate d as an ablative i n speci al construction . This wasarb itrary and unsatis factory . To - day the pupi l learnsthat the ablative with these verbs i s s imply an ablativeof means . The naturalness of this i s perfectly apparenteven to the elementary pup i l so soon as he i s rem i ndedthat all these verbs were ori ginal ly refl exive m iddles ,utor mean ing I profit myself ’ ; fruor , I enj oy myself ’ ; fungor,
‘ I busy myself ’ ; potior,‘ I make my
self m aster ’ ; vescor, I feed myself.’
S im i larly in thesyntax of the verb , the tendency i s strong at the presentday to introduce into our school grammars the true scientific explanation of substantive clauses developed fromj ussives and optatives . I refer to such expressi ons as
postulo abea s postulo ut abeas sino d icot licet abeus
oportet dicas vel im veniat cupio ne veniat, etc. Thatthe dependent subj unctive in clauses of thi s type i s nota substantive clause of purpose , as i t was formerlyexplained , i s made suffic i ently clear both by the meaning and history of these clauses . The subj unctive i ss imply a j uss ive or optative that was once used paratactically and late r cam e to be felt as the obj ect orsubj ect of the main verb . This origin i s so simple andnatu ral that i t i s capable of easy demonstrati on to thesecondary pup i l . It i s easy to show him that i n postulo
GENERA L P OIN TS 143
flat or postulo utfiat, the original sense was‘ let i t be
done ; I dem and i t’
; so cupio ne venia t, may he notcome ; that
’
s my wish .
’
In general i t seems a safe p rincip le that, whereverthe results of scientific advance in ou r knowledge of
Latin grammar are of such natu re as to be A sm
apprehended by the pup i ls of the secondary “m ime :
school,these results may cl aim a place i n our school
grammars . Such incorporation would seem not merelythe right and privi lege of the writer of a school grammar ;I bel ieve I am not going too far when I assert that i t i salso hi s duty . In some cases a certai n arbi trarinesseven i s j ust ifiable . The construction of the ablativewith opus est i s almost certainly of i nstrumental o rigin.
Yet this point cannot possibly be m ade clear to theelementary pup i l . To my m i nd , however , i n a casel ike thi s and i n some s im i lar cases, i t i s better to treatthe construction i n the l ight of our best knowledgerather than deliberately to i nculcate what i s untrue .
Care must, of course , be taken to d isti ngu ish betweenwhat i s sc i entifically establ ished and what i s mere tentative hypothesis . Care must be taken , too , to avoidthe introduction of unn ecessary and difficu lt explanati ons of origins . Thus the subj unctive of result andthe subj unctive of characteri sti c are almost certainlydevelopments of the potential ( the
‘ should ’ ‘would ’
)subj unctive . Yet i t i s questi onable whether i t i s wiseto treat these uses of the subj unctive as subord inatepotenti als , as i s done i n a recently publi shed Latingramm ar . For the ord inary pup i l wi l l detect no traceof the should would ’ ide a i n a sentence l ike P erswita territi sunt ut ad naves perfugerint, or i n nemo fuitgui non vulneraretur. While subj unctives l ike this werealmost certainly extensions and developments of the‘ should ’—‘would ’ use , traces of the original value of
144 COND UCT OF THE WORK
these clauses have vani shed so completely that probablythey can no longer b e detected in one per cent of theclauses of result and clauses of character i sti c actuallymet by the pup i l . In cases of thi s kind i t seem s farbetter , therefore , to offer to the pup i l no explanati onof origi ns , but to content one
’s self with simply statingthe facts of usage.e . T/i e grammar a book to be stud ied and learned .
A dep lorable tendency has m anifested i tself i n recent
Recent Neg_ years to m ake the grammar primari ly al ect of the book of reference i nstead of a book to beGm ’ thoroughly learned . The results of thi s attitude are 1nevitable . From nearly every quarter com ecomplaints that students are stead i ly growing away fromthe grammar ; that they n o longer kn ow i t as they onced id , i n the days when the confident boast was m adethat, i f every copy of A ndrews and Stoddard
’s L atinGrammar were blotted out of exi stence , the boys of
One Reason the Boston Lati n School wou ld restore i t i nW this a fortn ight . One reason for the changedattitude has been the excessive bu lk of m ost of ourLatin grammars. Twenty years ago they were booksof modest s ize covering scarcely m ore than three hundred pages of open typography . S ince that time theyhave qu ite generally swollen i n bulk with successiveed itions . Of these books the smallest now containsfou r hundred and fi fty pages , while of the others oneapproaches five hundred pages , and a thi rd nearly sixhundred pages . The open page , too , of the older bookshas in the i r later ed iti ons become crowded ; where sm al lp ica
,long prim er , and bourgeois formerly m e t the eye ,
one now finds extens ive paragraphs of m i n ion or evenagate .In al l these changes the pup i l of the se condary
school has d i stinctly suffered . The immense m ass of
146 COND UCT OF THE WORKI
that they be provided with a grammar that can belearned . What i s needed i s a m anual that states the
es sential facts of the language with sci entificaCompendi accuracy and i n clear form . In thi s m atter
we Amer i cans may well be gu ided by the ex
pe rience of the Germans . German experi ence i n recentyears has tended to restri ct the bulk of school grammarsboth of Latin and of Greek , and has demanded the incor
poration of the m ain princip les of the language in com
pact manuals of less than three hundred pages . Books ofthi s compass now hold the field in Germany, and have forthe last fi fteen years proved more and m ore conclusivelythei r ab i l i ty to m eet the severe dem ands of the Germangymnasi al course , - a course representing qu ite as muchin scope and content , and more i n thoroughness , thanthat pursued by the average Ameri can graduate whohas studied Latin i n school and college . To be adequate for the requi rements of the average student , aL atin grammar does not need to include a l l the factsof the L atin langu age . Isolated or pecul i ar id iom s ofform or syntax m e t i n the course of reading are p roperly explained in the accompanying notes ; i t i s qu i teunnecessary and qu ite unwise , especi al ly i n a grammarintended primari ly for beginners , to give an accountof every spec ial deviation from normal usage . To
give space to thes e i s to incur seri ous ri sk of d istortingthe true perspective of actual usage . What the pupi lneeds to know is the main facts of the language . If heacqu i res these as hi s p rimary equipment , he will thebetter appreci ate the relative importance and frequencyof exceptional usages by noting such points i n conne ction with hi s reading .
Dettweil er’s I n d iscussing the featu res which shouldPostulates
m ama]!to day characteri ze a Latin Gramm ar ln
Grammar. tended for use in secondary educati on i n Ge r
GENERA L P OIN TS 147
many, Dettwei ler 1 emphasi ze s , among other po ints , thefollowing :
1 . The Latin Grammar must l im i t i tself to a statementof those facts and laws of usage which are common to allL atin wri ters . A ll i nd ividual peculi ari ti es should be leftfor the phi lologians .It has been j ustly observed that Latin syntax conveys
the impression of som ething defini te , fixed , and energetic ; that i t i s dom inated by a sp i ri t of stri ct subord ination , and that these features of the language are anaccurate m i rror of the essenti al sp i ri t of the Romansthem selves with thei r respect for authori ty and for law .
Yet this impress ion of the language certainly fai ls ofbeing gained by the pup i l i f he i s confronted with a hostof exceptions and l inguisti c pecu l iarities which holdonly for ind ividual writers . The grammar should givesystemati cally the fundam ental laws o f the language ,therefore ; the excepti ons should be noted as they occu ri n the ind ividu al authors .2 . There should be but one grammar, not a skorte r
and a longer.
2 If the grammar i s to be used , i t must bea book in which the pup i l can become thoroughly athome . The acqu i red local m emory for th ings a s theystand on the pri nted page i s something that com es on lywith time , and i s a not inconsiderable factor in promot
i ng an intell igent retention of what has been learned .
The gramm ar,too
,should
,i n i ts arrangement and its
d iction , agree with that of the beginne r’s book .
3 . The Latin grammar should not be u ltra - pu ri sti ci n i ts basis ; i. e . i t shou ld not assume a single author asthe sole representative of correct or m odel L atin , andbase the laws of the language upon hi s d icti on . For a
1 In Baume iste r’s Handbuch d e r Erz iehungs und Unte rrichts leh refur bOhe re Schulen
,vol . iii. Part iii. Late inisch , p. 3 2 ff.
2 The ital ics corre spond to De ttwe ile r’s spaced type .
148 COND UCT OF THE WORK
long tim e C i cero’s usage was taken as the basis of standard L ati n . What was found in him — and nothing e lse— m i ght be im i tated . The tendency was even carri edfurther, and certain speci al features of C i cero
’s d icti onwere canon ized as spec i al ly qual ified to serve as re presentative s of pure L atin . This i s not only i rrational ; i t i slud icrous . It betokens a des i re to be more Roman thanthe Romans them selves . We may fai rly take the attitude that anything found in rep resentative wri ters of thebest peri od i s correct L atin , even though it do not onceoccur i n C i cero . The fact that a form of expressioni s not rep resented in that autho r i s by no m eans cone lusive evidence that he would have repudiated i t .Even assum ing that he wou ld , i t i s u nreasonable for u sto exalt any single writer , however gifted i n his style ,to the pos i ti on of authori ty which in the past has so frequ ently been ascribed to C i cero .
4 . It i s des i rable that the L ati n Grammar i n a supp lementary chapter embrace the ch ief featu res of Lati nstyle , i . e . the essenti al points of styl isti c d ifference between Latin and the ve rnacular of the pup i l .Most L atin grammars which have appe ared in Ge r
many in recent years recogn ise the val idi ty of the foregoing propos iti ons . Parti cu larly as regards the fi rst andsecond of the fou r po ints enumerated , there p revai ls themost hearty unanim i ty, as m ay be seen by a glance atthe appended l i sts 1 of the lead ing Latin grammars nowin vogue i n Germany .
3
LIST A .
B ook s Sh ortene d in R e cent Y e ars .
Ellendt-Seyffe rt. 34th cd . , Be rlin, 1 890, 303 pp . ; 37th e d .
265 pp. ; 53d e d . 1 909, 265 pp.
Lattmann-Mil ll e r. 6th e d ., Gottingen, 1899 , 324 pp. ; 7th ed .
2 56 pp.
1 Brought down to 1909.
1 50 CONDUCT OF THE WORK
Recent movem e ntc in thi s country tend to show thatthe working grammar of Ameri can secondary schools i sto be a book constructed upon the p lan so extensively andso successfully followed abroad , namely, that of a clearand conci se statem ent of the essential facts wi th carefule l im i nati on of superfluous erudi ti on . Within the lastfive years no fewer than six gramm ars of moderatecompass have appeared i n the United States , whi le asmany more are reported to be now in p reparation .
This timely recogniti on of the interest-s of the secondarypup i l i s a grati fying augury for the future of Latin studyin our schools .
II . Spe c ia l P oints to b e Emph as iz e d in Conne ction w ith th e
d iffe re nt L atin A uthors re ad in th e S e cond a ry S chool . 1
a . Caesar.
21 . Study the mi l itary system of the
Romans , and m ake i t the subj ect of systemati c p res
m ar ,e ntation to the class . Have the pup i ls
Mil itary understand how the legion was o rgan ized and” Stem
office re d . Study m i l i tary evoluti ons , methodsof siege
,equipm e nts , arm s , engines , i n fine , everything
that i s embraced in thi s department of antiqu ities . A l l
our ed itions of Ce sar now have adm i rable summaries ofthe chief facts b elonging under thi s head , so that welld igested information is easi ly accessible to the student .3
A fam i l i ari ty with these m i l i tary detai ls cannot fai l tolend greate r interest to the read ing of Ce sar’s narrative ;
1 The attempt is he re made m e re ly to sugge st a few sa lient pointswhose re cognition in te aching se ems of importance for a prope r unde rstanding of the author re ad . Many othe r points will ine vitably sugge s t
themse lve s to the te ach e r .2 Se e in ge ne ra l the e x haustive work of T . Rice Holme s , Caesar
’s
Conquest of Gaul . The Macm illan Co. 1899.
3 A somewhat fulle r pre sentation is found in H . P . Judson, Ccesar’s
A rmy, Boston. Ginn Co. 1887.
CE S A R 1 5 1
i t possesses,too , an undoubted cu lture value which wi ll
wel l repay the time devoted to i ts attainment .2 . A t some stage in the study of the commentaries
set forth the motives that actuated Ce sar i n his Gall i ccampaigns. Have the pupi l understand that Cm .
s
al l thi s seven years’ fighting was not without M°fives~
a purpose,that very likely i t was begun and continued
i n the exerc i se of great poli ti cal sagac ity by a masterm ind , —a mind that apprehended the superi ori ty ofthe Roman c ivi l i zation and foresaw the inevi table clashbetween the expanding dom i n i on of Rom e and thepoli ti cally defective insti tuti ons of her neighbours .Show further what were the specific defects of theGall i c c iv i l i zation of Ce sar
’s day . Explai n the forces atwork among the Celts , — all eccentri c ; the growth ofthe c ity arrested at a prim i tive stage , as i n Greece ; notendency toward central i zation o r national un ity . A ll
th i s may eas i ly be put so that the pup i l wi l l easi lyunderstand how necessary i t was that Rom e should inte rvene with her insti tutions in orde r to secure poli ti calstab i l i ty among the Gauls and to lay soli d foundationsfo r the futu re c ivi l i zati on of western Eu rope . On thi ssubj ect the pup i l wi ll find some adm i rab le suggesti onsby Mommsen in his Roman History, Book v . chaptervii The Subj ugation of the West .’
3 . Lastly , the attempt may be m ade to give some l i ttlesketch of the institutions ( c ivi l and re ligions ) of the chiefnations mentioned by Ce sar , namely, theGauls , the Germ ans , and the Bri tons . Muchof the material on these topi cs wi ll naturally be fu rnishe d by Ce sar him se lf, but i t wi l l need supplementingwith matter from other sources .b . Cicero. C i cero is important not only for his good
Latin and his usual ly good style,but parti cu larly for
the l ight that hi s orati ons throw upon contemporary
Institutions.
1 52 CONDUCT OF THE WORK
history . The speeches against Cati l ine are of thefirst importance , reveal ing, as they do , thepol it i cal and soci al unrest of the day
,— an
omen of the complete col lapse of the republ i canorgani zati on .
A ll the orations , too , afford the best opportun ity forthe study of the actual workings of the machinery of
the Roman state . Every pupi l ought toRomanPol itical understand , at least in 1ts m a in outllne s , the
gfinfla‘
Roman consti tuti on , the functi ons of them agistrates , — consu ls , p re tors , e di les
,cen
sors , tribunes , que stors , etc. , the organ izati on andj u ri sd i cti on of the Senate , the functi ons of the variouspopular assembli es , especi ally the Com itia Centuriata ,
the Comitia Tributa , the Concil ium P lebis , the methodsof provinci al adm in istration , and the other fundam entalfeatu res of the old Roman publ i c l i fe . Here again thei ntroductions to ou r recent ed iti ons of C i cero’s speechesafford excellent gu idance . Gow’s Companion to Sc/zoolClassics also contains some condensed information onthis point .C i cero’s characte r, too , stands out in clear rel ief i n his
orati ons . It i s important that the teacher endeavour
m ew sto gu ide the pup i l to an understanding and
Personalityo appreci ati on of C i cero as a man , always ofgood i ntentions , and of high moral purpose , yet vain ,of narrow poli ti cal vi s i on , and often lacking strength ofcharacter i n emergenc ies . If possible , the pup i l shou ldbe stimulated to read parts , at least , of som e of them ore recent l ives o f the great orator , e . g. Trollope’sL ife of Cicero or Strachan -Davidson’s Cicero and tbc
Fa l l of tke Roman Republ ic.
Even desp ite C i cero’s unden iable m er i ts as a styl ist ,yet he i s far from faultless . It wi l l be a m i stake toendeavou r to conceal this fact from the pup i l . C i cero
1 54 CONDUCT OF THE WORK
pious i s used (and i t generally is) as a rendering for theLatin pins , i n pius zEneas , the pup i l attaches the qualiti es of weakness rather than of strength to the centralfigure of thi s great ep i c . P ius {Eneas almost defiestranslation in our own language . Virgi l wishes to dep ict h is hero as faithful to hi s whole duty toward hi sparent
,his wi fe , hi s chi ld , hi s fellow-m en, and above
al l toward the gods . This was pietas, — one of thecardinal Roman vi rtues , as i t i s one of the card inal virtues of al l times . Virgi l wishes to exhibit IEne as to usas devoted , as tender, as loyal , faithful , j ust, sympatheti c
,reverent , and obedi ent ; all of th is and doubt
les s more i s contained in the one ep i thetpins , for whichour own language possesses no adequate single equ ivalent. Nor i s IEnea s defic ient in the sturd ie r vi rtues sopri zed by the ancients . He i s pati ent in trouble ; he i scourageous in d isaste r ; he i s val i ant in the fight . A s arep resentative of marti al prowess he i s , of cou rse , lessconsp icuous than the Homeri c heroes . But whi le mostof these excel only in hewing and sm i ting, IEne asexhib its a robustness of moral vi rtue almost totallylacking in the great figure s of the Il iad , and not yetp rom i nent even i n the Odyssey .
The character of IEne as , then , must be interp retedby antique , not by modern , standards . To understandIEne as we must go back to the conception of soc i ety,of the state , and of man
’s place in the world , which p revailed twenty centu ri es ago . Viewed in this l ight fEne aswill be seen to be the embodiment of the moral qual iti esthat consti tuted the very essence of the Roman characte r .A nothe r featu re of the l fl ne id which sometimescauses adverse criti c ism i s the great extent of Virgi l’sThe Charge i ndebtedness to Hom er and to earl i er Latin
poets . This borrowing i s evident on everypage . In phrase , i n ep i thet, i n figure , i n sim i le, Virgi l
VIRGIL 1 5 5
has freely appropri ated whatever se rved h is purpose .
But i n so doing he was only fol lowing the p revai l ingcustom of his day, and thi s free appropri ation of thestructural e lem ents of which the fi neid i s composedshould not bl i nd u s to the m aj esty of the original ideaswhich Vi rgi l has i ncorporated in the poem . A fter all ,i t i s only in unessenti al externals that the {Eneid i san imitative poem . Just as the character of Unique RomanfEne as himself i s i nsti nct with the card inal Features :
Roman virtues , so the A ineid as a whole breathes anintensely national sp i ri t, i n that i t gives such decis iveexpression to the idea of Rome’s miss i on in the world ;her consciousness of imperi al destiny ; her function asm i stress of the nations and the civi l i zer of m ankind .
This idea i s finely wrought i nto the whole fabri c of thepoem ,
reaching i ts cl imax in vi. 847 ff. :
Ex cudent aln spirantia mollius ae ra ,C redo equidem , v ivos ducent de marmore vultus,Orabunt causas me lius
,cae lique me atus
De scribent radio, e t surgentia side ra d ice ntTu rege re imperio populos , Romane , memento
Hae tibi e runt a rte s pacisque impone re morem,
Parce re subje ctis e t d ebe l lare supe rbos .
”
L i nked with this i ntensely national spi ri t i s the poet’ss incere adm i rati on for the Emperor A ugustus . Pro
foundly impressed with the horrors of Rom e’s
recent past , consc ious Of the necess i ty of anew pol iti cal order, and imbued with a deep faith thati n A ugustus lay the only hope for the m oral and pol itical regeneration of the state , Virgi l lent h is wholeenergy to the glorification of the Ju li an house , surrounding its past wi th the most splend id halo that hisimagination could suggest, i n the evident endeavour toi ncrease its present prestige and perpetuate its be neficenti nfluence .
Augustus .
1 56 COND UCT OF THE WORK
It i s wel l that the pup i l should apprec iate the foregoing points i n read ing the l /Ene id . For only so canhe appreci ate the true p roporti ons of the charaCte r of{Eneas and the genu ine original i ty and m aj esty of thepoem as a whole . For som e fu rther excellent sugge stions concerning the study of the E ne id , see El i zabethH. Haight, A n Experience with the zEne id .
”
SCHOOL
REVIEW , Vol . XVI p . 578 ff. A t p. 585 f. a veryfull bibl iography of the l i terature on Vi rgi l i s given .
( 1. Use of translations . In connection with the dai lywork of the pup i l i t i s often poss ible for the teacher tom ake effective use of translations . This work m ay taketwo form s
1 . The teacher may read aloud to the class a translati on of the work thus far cove red by the pup i ls . Thisp rocedure helps greatly to intensi fy the pup i l’s syntheti cconception of what he has already stud ied . He nowsees as an organi c whole the campaign , the speech , orthe ep i c ep isode which he has p reviously stud i ed slowlyand laboriously in Ce sar , Ci cero , or Vi rgi l .2 . A gain , the teacher m ay read to the class other por
tions of Ce sar and Vi rgi l than those read in the course ,or other speeches of C i cero . Only relatively few pupi lsread in school al l of the Ga l l ic War or al l Of the E ne i
'
d,
while none ever read more than ten or a dozen o fC i cero’s speeches . By m eans of translations , oppor
tunity i s thus offered for widely extending the p up i l’s
app rehension of Lati n on the “ content ” s ide of thestudy . The conclud i ng porti ons of the Ga l l ic Wa r
consti tute beyond question the most absorbing part ofCe sar’s enti re narrative . The last six books of theE ne id also , while perhaps inferior in interest to theearl i er books
,are well worth Carefu l reading . It i s a
sati sfacti on , too , to have read al l of these two works,even though partly i n translati on . Of Ci ce ro’s orations
CHAPTER V
LATIN COM POSITION
THERE i s p robably no subj ect i n the enti re range ofsecondary L atin teaching upon which there exi sts sucha radi cal d ifference of op in ion as upon the best way of
The TWO Dir.
teaching Latin compositi on . This divergenceferent Ways of V i ew i s clearly rep resented in two kinds ofof Teaching it.
m anuals p repared for use In the secondaryschools . These books m ay be conveniently des ignatedas the old - fashi oned and the new . The plan of the old
The Tradi fashioned book,which sti ll commands great
fimmmetmd ' confidence and respect (as I shall hope toshow it deserves) , i s to take up the various gramm ati calcategori es i n tu rn . The treatm ent i s severely system ati c , following closely the order and classificati on of thesame material as p resented in the Gramm ar . Thus thevariou s case and mood - constructions are taken up i nturn . The lesson begins with references to the Gramm ar covering the subj ect under d iscussion . Thesereferences are followed by sentences to be memori zed .
i l lustrating the syntact ical princ iples i nvolved . Avocabulary of new words ( also to be m emori zed) i sadded , and the lesson cu lm i nates in a seri es of Engli shsentences to be turned into L atin ; these sentences , ofcou rse , i nvolve the repeated appl ication of the syntac
ti cal principles which the le sson i s designed to i l lustrateand enforce . Thi s i s the old - fashi oned plan of teachingLatin composition .
LA TIN COMP OSI TION 1 59
The new- fashioned p lan was fi rst champ ioned andmade avai lable in thi s country in the books of Mr.Collar and Mr . Daniell . A lmost simu ltane
The Newerously i n the year 1 889, each of these educators Plan.
i ssued a L atin Composition of a novel sort . The plan i sthisThe pupi l i s given a p iece of continuous d iscourse to
tu rn into Latin . This p i ece of continuous d iscourse i sbased upon a passage of original Latin which the pup i lhas already read , and to which he i s now specifically re
ferred . The book is furn i shed with no Engl ish -L atinvocabularies , ei ther speci al or general . I t has no m odelsentences to be comm i tted to m em ory . The Engl i shgiven for translati on into L atin i s natu rally a rather closeim i tation of the original . A fai r sample of what i s usually set may be seen by comparing a translation of Ce sar ,De B e l lo Ga ll ico, iv . 19 , with an exerc i se of the sort m en
tione d which is based upon it.1 The translati on of theCe sar passage runs as follows : Ce sar having linge red afew days i n the i r territory , having burned all thei r vi llagesand dwell i ngs
,and cut down all thei r grain , m arched
into the country of the Ubi i ; having prom i sed these h ishelp i n case they should be hard pressed by the Suebi ,he heard the following news : The Suebi upon learn ingthrough scouts that a bridge was be ing bu i lt
,held a
counci l accord ing to the i r custom , and sent m essengersi n al l d i rections urging the peop le to m ove away
,and
place thei r wives , chi ldren , and all the i r possessi ons i nthe woods .”
The Engli sh modelled upon this , and set for translation , i s as follows :
“Ce sar tarri ed a few days in the terri tory of the
Sugambri unti l he cou ld cut down thei r grain ; then went
1 Taken at random from Moul ton,P repa ratory L atin Composition , p. 75 .
160 LA TIN COMP OS I TI ON
to the country of the Ubn , whom he p rom i sed to freefrom the oppress ion of the Suebi . Meanwhi le the latterhad sent m essengers i n al l d i recti ons announcing that abridge was being bu i lt over the Rhine by Ce sar, andu rging the women and chi ld ren to flee to the woods . ”
Before making any comm ents upon thi s exerc i se,let
u s get well before us , i f we can , the pu rpose of L atincompos i tion . Why i s i t to be stud ied in the
The Purposeof Studying schools ? What does It accompl ish? TheLatin c0m“ field m ay be parti ally cleared by stating , first ,
what i t does not accomplish , at least i n theschool , namely, an abi l i ty to write continuous L atin wi thfluency and ease . Whatever be th e purpose of the study ,
Wham (lowi t cannot be that . For I am convinced no
notAceon one eve r does learn to wri te L atin of this kindpm ' i n the school by any m ethod of study yetdevised , desp i te the occasional p rescripti on of an abi l i tyto wri te s imple Lati n p rose i n the entrance requ i rementsof ou r col leges . In fact , even in the college i tself theab i l i ty to compose continuous L atin p rose i s a capaci tyacqu i red by but few, chiefly those who special i zesom ewhat carefully i n the classi cal field .
What , then , i s the purpose and function of Latin composit ion in the secondary school ? So far as reason andexperi ence enable m e to j udge , the study of Lati n com
“ Increase posi ti on i s primari ly i ntended to increase theKnowledge accu racy , breadth , and certainty of the
pupi l’s grammati cal knowledge ,— more particularly his knowledge of syntax . He fi rst l earns theSubj unctive of Purpose , let u s say, or the Ge rundiveconstructi on , by learn ing to recogni se these id iom s when
How “ he meets them i n hi s read ing . But thi s i sAchi eves only partial knowledge . A completer knowl
edge of the Subj unctive of Purpose or theGerund ive constructi on i s acqui red when the pup il
162 LA TIN COMP OS I TI ON
by a large number of i l lustrative sentences . Thus,
under the Clause of Characteristi c , or under the A blativeA bsolute , so many i l lustrative sentences are give n
'
that adefinite and deep impress ion i s conveyed , and one m ay
count on the pup i l’s getting a fi rm hold of the i d iom sunder d iscuss ion . In the new- fashioned plan
,on the
other hand , there i s no such massing . The A blativeA bsolute or Clause of Characteri sti c may be involved ina single sentence of a given exerci se , and then not m e t
again for weeks . Now a vital psychologi cal p rinc ip leseem s to m e to be i nvolved here . A ll my experiencewith pup i ls has taught m e to bel i eve in the vi rtu e of theAdvantages amplest possible i l lustrati on of everything“mam d ifficult , and of massing this i l lu strati on at aof a prin given tim e , i nstead of scattering i t sporadiciple ' cally over a longer peri od of tim e , and furthero f massing i t on one thing at a time , and not d istributing d i luted i l lustrati ons on a m ulti tude of d ifferentthings . Thus , to be concrete : The C lause of
’
Characte ristic i s d ifficult . It needs m uch i l lustrati on . L e t ussay, i l lustrati on by m eans of twelve Engli sh sentencesto be turned i nto L atin . My experience leads m e tobeli eve that these twelve i llustrative sentences wouldbetter be m assed at one time , than d istributed over adozen separate lessons
,as done by the new- fashioned
plan,and that unti l that m ass ing i s consummated , and
the Clause of Characte ri sti c , or whatever e lse i t may be ,i s amply i llustrated and the intended impress ion madeupon the pup i l’s m i nd , unti l this i s done , other id iom sand constructions would bette r stand aside . It i s forpreci sely this reason that I d istrust the new- fashionedway of pursu ing the study of Latin composi tion . To
m e i t seem s psychologi cally defective . It does nOt
m ass ; i t scatters .Moreover, the old - fashioned plan employs yet other
LA TIN COMP OS I TI ON 163
resources for m assing which the new method lacks .The systemati c gramm ar lesson , and the i llu strativeexamples which
"
pre ce d e the exerci se , help materially tointensi fy and deepen the impression intended to be conveye d by the lesson as a whole .
The new- fashioned plan also seem s to m e open tocri ti c i sm on the ground of the extremely sl ight degreeof effort which i t demands of the pup i l i n The Newerthose parts of the exerc i se really withi n the Planne
mands Lesspup i l’s power , whi le on the other hand nearly Independent
every exerc i se bri stles with d ifficulti es whose Em“:
adequate soluti on i s far beyond the capacity of nearlyall pup i ls and of very many teachers . The exi stenceof these d ifficu lties i s impl ic i tly recognised i n
Yet in Partsthe publ i cati on of keys for teachers to accom it is too
pany books of the new- fashioned kind . Butmm “:
i f teachers find books o f thi s sort so d ifficu lt as to feelcompelled to resort to keys , what i s to be said of theadaptation of such exerci ses to the ord inary pup i l?Reverting now to the exerci se based on Ce sar , De
B e l lo Ga l l ico, iv . 19 , le t u s exam i ne somewhat minutelythe nature of the d i sc ip li ne which a pupi l i n A Concrete
the secondary school is l ike ly to de rive from mum afiw
the attempt to put i t i nto Latin . The passage i s anextremely fai r sample of the exerc i ses i n all books ofthi s type . It was chosen by a random open ing of thebook .
The passage for translation i nto Lati n beginsCe sar tarried a few days i n the terri tory of the
Sugambri.”
Turning to the Lati n on which this passage is based , the pup i l wi l l easi ly see that he i s to writeCe sa r paucos d ies in Sugambrorum finibus moratus est,
or , following the hint of the foot- note , mora tus alone .
The exerc i se continues unti l he could cut down thei rgrain .
”
This clau se i n i ts Engli sh i s unfortunately
164 LA TIN COM P OS I TI ON
i nexact . Taken as they stand , the words mean thatCe sar waited unti l he shou ld have the abi lity to cutdown the grain , i . e . procure tools and command thenecessary le i su re for the operation . But i t seems m uchmore l ikely that the author m eans that Ce sar tarriedfor the purpose of cutting down the grain . If we adoptthi s latte r V i ew of the m ean ing of the clause , the Latinwi ll be dum corum f rumenta succideret ; i f we take thewords l iterally , the Latin wi ll be dum eorum frumenta
succidere posset. But i t i s not easy to see how the pupi li s to command the proper form of express ion in e ithercase
,unless he has received some formal dri ll on em
ploying dum - clauses of thi s kind , —the ve ry featurewhich books of thi s type avoid on princip le . Thus ,while in the fi rst clause of the sentence before us
, prac
ti cally no effort was requ i red of the pup i l i n p rovidingthe Lati n rendering , i n the second clause he i s l ikelyto m eet with d ifficulti es beyond his capacity . L e t uspass to the next sentence of the Engl ish : “ then wentto the country of t he Ubi i , whom he prom i sed to freefrom the oppress ion of the Suevi . ” A glance at theoriginal Latin shows the pup i l at once that went intothe country of the Ubi i i s se infines Ubiorum recepit.
The conclud ing relative clause , however , i nvolves a difficulty, i n the use of the proper mood , tense , and subj ectaccusative , which only a m i nute and sustained study ofthe princip les of ind irect d iscou rse wi ll enable the pup i lto m eet with confidence and certainty . The Latinequ ivalent for the relative clause i s : guos se obsidione
Sueborum l ibera turum esse pol l icitus est. But to mym i nd there seem s sl ight probabi l i ty that m any pup i lscan be counted on to know thi s unless they havehad the speci al training i n this id iom which books ofthe type under considerati on expressly evade giving .
The next paragraph of the Engl ish begins : “ Mean
166 LA TIN COMP OSI TI ON
the exerc i se above exam ined . Certainly i n some booksof thi s type the resemblance amounts practi cally toidentity . Thus , from anothe r book , I take at randomthe following , i n which I have indicated clause byclause the original Latin (Ce sar , B . G. iv . 2 1 ) on whichthe exerc ise i s based , and which by a few extremelysl ight changes on the pup i l’s part i s transformed intothe requ i red Latin : “
Caius Voluse nus was sent forward with a galley ( Ca ium Volusenum cum navi longa
pra em ittit) , and was commanded to i nvestigate all thingsand to retu rn as soon as poss ible (Huic manda t, ut, ex
ploratis omnibus rebus , ad so guam primum revertatur) .
He retu rned in five days , and announced that he hadnot dared to disembark and intrust himself to barbarians
( quinto d ie revertitur renuntiat navi egred i
ac se barbaris committere non auderct) . Meanwhi le,
because ambassadors had com e from many parts ofBri tain ( Interim a compluribus insula e civitatibus
ad cum legati veniunt) and had prom i sed to subm i t tothe authori ty of the Roman people ( qui pol l iceanturimperio popul i Romani obtempera re) , Comm ins , K ing ofthe A trebates , was sent to the i sland with them ( cume is una Comm ium regem , m ittit) to u rge theBri tons to continue i n that purpose ( liortatus , a t in ca
Sententia permanerent) .
Yet in the passage which was fi rst considered , the resemblance i s so close that any pup i l of average ab il ityought to be able without great effort to do all that practi cally any pupi l m ay with confidence be expected to do .
I f we el im i nate a few special d ifficulti es l ikely to bafflem ost pup i ls , and for whose solution no adequate resourcesare access ible , the few changes necessary to adapt thephrases and sentences of the original Ce sar passage toa Latin equ ivalent of the Engl i sh exerci se are exceedingly easy to make . But an exerci se so simple as this ,
LA TIN COM P OSI TION 167
i t seem s to m e , cannot be tonic and strengthening ,s imply because i t dem ands practically no effort on thepup i l’s part . Such exerc ises do not call for reflection ,for j udgment , or fo r m emory ; they simply involvethat weakest of all intellectual p rocesses , — mechanicalim i tati on .
The absence of vocabulari es i n books of the newtype also seem s to m e a serious defect . Most wordsneeded in any exerc i se are , to be su re , sup Vocabu
pl ied in the Latin passage on which the Eng1am“
l i sh exerc i se i s based ; but not all . Where the pup i li s unable to d iscover the needed word in the originalL atin and cannot recall i t by memory, he must e i therresort to the pernic i ous expedient of hazard ing a guessor else remain in ignorance . The spec ial vocabu laries ,too , of the old - fashi oned books seem to me a wise feature . These speci al l esson -vocabu lari es are given tobe learned . Personally I bel ieve i t not merely legitimatebut important for the pupi l i n his compos ition work tocomm i t regularly to memory a certain number of them ore common words of the Latin language . A re
luctance to do this seem s to m e to be di ctated by thesame unwise attitude toward the exerc ise of the m em
ory to which I have above referred (p .
Thus far I have been cri ti c i s i ng what seems to m e
the defects of the new- fashi oned way of teaching L atincomposition . It remains to exam ine the rea Reasons
sons which are advanced in its favour . These Urged “!F f
are best set forth by Mr . Collar In the Prefaceto his P ra ctica l L atin Compos ition,
Boston , mm
1 887. Mr . Collar owes the suggesti on of his method tocertain passages i n A scham
’
s Sckolemaster, i n whichA scham
’
s own m ethod i s set forth . The
m ethod is this : The pupi l i s to take a passageof some Latin author , and maste r i t i n detai l with the
Ascham.
168 LA TIN COM P OS I TI ON
teacher’s help and gu idance . Then he i s to make a carefu l Engl ish translation of the sam e . A fter at least anhou r’s pause , he is to re - translate into L atin th is Englishvers ion . A scham i ncorrectly speaks of this methodof study as suggested by C i cero , De Oratore , i . But
C i cero goes no further in that work than to speak withapproval of the p racti ce of careful written translationfrom a foreign language into one’s vernacular . The
question of writing in a fore ign language i s not evenremotely suggested . For his own method , A schamsays that he knows by good experi ence that
-
with easeand pleasure and in a short tim e it worke s a true choiceand placing of words , a right ordering of sentences , ane asie understand ing of the tonge , a read iness to speak ,a facilitie to wri te , a true j udgment , both of h is owne
and other men’s doinge s , what tonge so ever he dothuse .
I shal l make no cri tici sms upon A scham’
s m ethod ;I shal l not even pause to urge that the extravagantclaim s made for i t by its author may properly exci tei n us a good degree of d istrust . But Mr . Collar’smethod involves ne ither of A scham
’
s fundamental p rocesses ; i t does not include a careful translation by the
m om “pup i l i nto Engl ish to start with ; i t does not
Method not i nclude the effort of re - translating this Eng” cham'
s ‘ l ish,after an interval , i nto L atin . It i s an
enti rely d ifferent method , i n whi ch the pup i l , with thetext before him
,engages in a feeble im i tati on of the
Latin phrases which he finds i n the original passage .
As regards Mr. Collar’s own method , not al l wi ll be
able to assent to hi s fundamental propositi on , which i s
w . mm ,sthi s : L atin writing must go hand in hand with
First As L a tin r eading. Nor does Mr . Collar himselfadvance any reasons for thi s positi on . He
assumes i t as though a self- evi dent p ropositi on . The
1 70 LA TIN COMP OSI TION
deal wi th the sam e subj ect matter) . A s above noted ,thi s positi on needs support before we can accept it assound . Ti l l then we m ay question the p ropriety andnecessi ty of the existence of any such intimate assoc i ation between the subj ect m atter of the author read andthe subj ect m atter of the exerci ses in Latin composition ;and
,unless this associati on i s shown to be something
necessary and organi c , we may with perfect j ustice denythat there i s any breaking Of threads of assoc i ation ;there may be failu re to bring certai n threads into assoc iation ; but i f they do not natu rally and necessari lybelong together, then there has been no act of severing .
From the point o f V i ew of those who beli eve thatLatin composi tion i s of value primari ly as the handm aiden of L atin grammar, there certainly i s i n the oldm ethod of teaching Latin composition no breaking ofany threads of connection that ought to remain assoc iated . On the other hand , the very associ ati ons arep reserved whi ch ought to be preserved . The study ofLati n composition deepens and strengthens the pup i l’sknowledge of syntax and form s . I f a m i nute
,accurate
,
broad , and certai n knowledge of Lati n grammar i s ofthe fi rst importance for the Latin pup i l of the secondary school , then anything that p romotes the attainmentof this must be regarded as rati onal and legitimate . IfLatin compos iti on prom otes this end , i ts natu ral andorgani c associ ati ons would seem to be with grammarrather than d i rectly with the content of the authorsread in the schools .
Mr . Collar’s position seems to m e s ingularly analogousto the hypotheti cal atti tude of a teacher of music who
An Analogy should u rge that scales , arpeggios , octaves ,“0m MUS C tri lls , thi rds , s ixths , etc . , should be studiedonly in connection with regular m usical compositions ,and should protest against breaking the threads of
LA TIN COM P OSITION 171
mus ical associ ati on by practi s ing the foregoing elements of musi cal technique i n i solati on . The technique of a language i s of no less importance than thetechnique of the fine arts . To m e i t seem s analogousin many ways . Minute knowledge of the structure
,
parti cu larly the syntacti cal and styli stic structure,of a
language i s as ind i spensable an instrument for theproper inte rp retation of its l i terary monum ents
,as i s
a thorough musical technique for the rendering of asonata . Ne i the r of these , however , can be attainedwithout laborious and sustained attention to the elements which constitute them . Mr . Collar calls the process by which this techni cal fam i l i arity i s acqu i red i nthe trad itional way of studying Latin compositi on m e
chanical ” ; and the p roduct he calls“ artifici al .” Both
these allegations are to a certai n extent j ust, but theyare , I bel ieve , far from possessing the significance whichhe wou ld attach to them . The trad itional m ethod ofteaching Latin compositi on i s mechanical i n The T m,
j ust the same way that .all L atin grammar i s 3331
31
11“m echani cal. It i nvolves repeated i l lustrati on Unduly Me
of principles to the end that they may becomemanic” :
very fam i l i ar ,— so fam i l i ar as to be always subcon
sc iously present to the pup i l’s mind . Only i n thi s waycan the whole energy of the pup i l be devoted to themost effective interp retati on of what is read , j u st asi n rendering a m us ical compositi on the technique ofthe i nstrument must be so thoroughly m astered bythe performer that al l hi s energy may be devoted to them usical i nterp retation . But to m e this m echan icald ri l l seem s i nd i spensable
,and I have deplored with
increasing anxiety its parti al d isappearance i n ou rschools i n recent years .
So the product of the trad i tional method of teachingLatin composition i s also , as Mr . Collar urges , to a cer
172 LA TIN COM P OSI TION
tain extent artifici al . But the sam e i s tru e of many ofthe fundamental elem ents of every l iberal education . For
the average student I can conce ive nothing
Limitations more artificial than the study of geom etry ,
TiaA
ciiing.
trigonom etry , analyti cs , and d ifferenti al calculus . In the sense that these m athemati cal
branches deal not with what i s V i tal and of perm anenti ntellectual worth to the student , they are artific i al .Yet I assum e that thei r value i s concede d by m oststudents of education . Desp i te thei r artificiality theypossess proved educative effic i en cy . So I think i t i swith the tradi ti onal mode of teaching Latin compos ition .
It i s i n a sense artific ial , but i s an i ndispensable disciplinary element of the Lati n course .
I am enti rely at one , therefore , with Mr . Collar i n hiscontention that Latin composi ti on i s not an end in
i tself ; I am at one with him also i n thinkingthat i ts u lteri or purpose i s to aid the pup i l
i n read ing and understanding Lati n authors . I cannotagree with him , however , that the tradi ti onal methodfai ls to do thi s , and my di ssent i s based primari ly uponextended experi ence . Undoubtedly the results of thetrad itional method are not as large as the teache r woulddesi re ; but we must not forget the l im i tations of teaching . Few of us ever get more than d istant glimpses ofour ideals . If we only succeed i n remain ing fai thful tothem in our hearts , we have cause for satisfaction . But
I have not , as a college teacher , annually m eeting ahundred or more new freshmen , been able to di scernthat those trai ned under the new method have begunto acqu i re the abil i ty to wri te even simple detachedsentences which I have often seen real i zed under thetrad iti onal m ethod .
Mr . Collar’s m ethod also lays great stress upon theprinc iple of continu ity, i . e . of having the pup i l write
Conclusion.
174 LA TIN COMP OS I TI ON
reaction i s attested not so much by the welcome ac
corded to new books prepared on the traditional plan ,A Reaction as by the ci rcumstance that books of the new“Swab“: fashioned sort are i n thei r revi sed editionsso remodelled as to i nclude systemati c dri l l i n syntax .
Thi s i s consp icuously true of Moulton and Collar’sP reparatory L atin Compos ition, which , though in i tsfirst edition ( 1 897) constructed on the stri ct l ines ofMr . Collar’s earl i e r work above considered , has recently
( 1 899) been enlarged by the additi on of Part i i . Sys
tematic D ri ll i n Syntax . 75 pp .
”
Practi cally the samei s true of Dan iel l’s L atin Composition i n i ts revised ed iti on . Whether these tendencies point to an ultimateretu rn to the traditi onal m ethod of teaching Latin com
positi on , the future alone can determ i ne .
CHAPTER VI
L A T I N P R O S O D Y
THE difficulti es of read ing Lati n poetry are suffi
cie ntly fam i l i ar . Extrem ely few pup i ls , and not m anyteachers , ever learn to read Lati n verse with that keenconsci ou sness of its arti sti c form which ought to attendthe read ing of poetry . The main causes of the troubleare two :
a . A fai lu re to apprehend the truly quantitative character of Latin poetry ; TWO Funda_b. A n i naccurate p ronunc iation of the mental
Lati n .
L e t u s consider j ust what i s meant when we say thatLatin poetry i s quantitative . We shall best understandthe significance of thi s term i f we pause am oment to cons ider the nature of Engl i sh w a s
poetry and the general relati on of poetry to Quantitati vethe spoken language .
Poetry
Engl i sh poetry i s based on accent , i . e . on a regularsuccession of accented and unaccented syllables , groupedby twos or threes .The ve rsification of
This is the fore st prime va l , the murmuringpine s and the hem locks ,
depends enti rely upon this arti stic alternation of stressedand unstressed syllables
,and the same i s true of al l
ord inary Engl ish verse . Thi s basi s of Engl ish poetry ,moreover , i s a result of the very natu re of the Engl i sh
1 76 LA TIN PROS OD Y
language . L ike all languages of the Teutoni c group ,our Engli sh speech is strongly stressed ; we pronounceour words with an energy typ ical of the race .
Latin verse , on the other hand , l ike Greek , was basedon quantity . Recent d iscussi on , i t i s true , has tended toshow that the native Latin verse , as exempl ified by theSaturnian measu re , was governed by stress ; but however that may have been , i t i s certain that , from thetime Greek metres began to be introduced at Rom e ,from the time of Enni us , Latin verse was quantita
tive l ike Greek ; a li ne of Latin poetry cons i sted ofan orderly and harmonious arrangement of long andshort syllables , i . e . of syllables which i t took along or short time to pronounce . This basi s of Lati npoetry again , as i n the case of Engl i sh poetry , i sstri ctly i n conform i ty wi th the character of the spokenlanguage . For L atin apparently, i n the class i cal period ,was not a strongly stressed language . Had i t been ,i t i s qu ite inconce ivable that the long envi roning vowels should not have been shortened i n such words asEvitcibatur and scores of others l ike i t i n which the Lati nlanguage abounds . Cf . , e . g.
, a Lati n inevitabile withEngli sh Strong stress has a tendency toreduce every long pre - ton ic and post- ton i c syllable toa short one . In other words , strong stress i s absolutelyi nconsi stent with the quanti tative phenomena of theLatin language .
Now i t i s p reci sely thi s sl ightly stressed character ofthe Latin language that explains to us the characte r
of Latin poetry . Stress was so weak as to
$3112, constitute an inconsp i cuous feature o f theStressed spoken word . Q uantity, on the other hand ,m m ge ’ was p rom inent i n the spoken word . Hencequantity and not stress natu rally came to be the basi sof verse .
178 LA TIN PROSOD Y
fai ls scrupulously to observe the quantity of every voweland of every syllable . A neglect of quantity was inevitable under the Engl ish p ronunciation of Latin ; i t i si nevitable under the pronunciati on of Lati n cu rrent inGermany . Neglect o f quantity leaves nothing exceptaccent as a bas i s for a m etri cal effect, and natu ral lyleads to an a ccentual read ing of Latin verse , whichbrings with i t the conception of i ctus as a stressed syllable . Yet thi s conception seems to m e demonstrablyfalse , for the following reasons
1 . So far as we know, no language i s ever forced toan artific ial p ronunci ation when adapted to the service
Reasons for of poetry . It i s i rrati onal to conceive anyRejectingtheAccenmal
such adaptation . The poet Simply takes theTheory of choice r words of fam i l i ar speech and employs”m s" them i n thei r ord inary equ ivalence with thei rregular p ronunciati on . He must do so . For his appeal i sto the m any, not to a select handful who may have beeni ni ti ated into the secret tri ck of his ve rsification ; hencehe m ust use words i n the p ronunci ation famil i ar to hi saud itors or readers . Otherwise he can make no appeal .His art consi sts , on the m echanical s ide at least , i n arranging words i n such a way that the poeti c form i sobvious to the meanest observer who knows the wordsby ear or eye . Can any poetry be c ited in any language of which thi s i s not true? I s i t then not absu rdto assume that i n Lati n poeti c form consi sted in employing words with gratu itous stress accents unknown in theordinary speech? Can we conceive of an atavis , a regibiis , a Trojae
’
, a cano, or a thousand other equally grote sque hermaphrod ites that we are compelled to fatherby thi s theory? A nd i s i t cred ible that poetry so inconceivably artifici al should have been tolerated , not tosay adm i red , by such sober-m inded persons as theRomans
LA TIN PROS OD Y 179
2 . The view that ictus was stress i s to be rej ectedbecause i t i nvolves the assumption of a second basis forL atin verse .
- We have already noted that Lati n verse isquanti tative , i . e . a dactyl i s a long time followed by twoshort times . But i f i ctus i s stress , then a dactyl i s astressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables .We should thus get two princ ip les as the basi s of Latinverse , quantity and accent ( i . e . stress) , and i t seem s tom e imposs ible that there should uniform ly and regula rly
have been two princ ip les at the basi s of Lati n verse orany other .3 . It i s nowhere hinted or impli ed in the ancient
wri te rs that i ctus was stress . To j udge from the prom ine nce assigned to i ctus i n our grammars and otherworks on prosody, one m ight expect to find that the wordwas wide ly current as a technical term among the an
cients . Such , however , i s not the case . Among all thesystemati c di scussions of prosody found i n the L atingrammarians , I have been able to di scover no definitionof the term ,
— in fact, no m enti on of i t as a technicalterm of p rosody . The word does occur a few times i nthe classi cal period , but so rarely and i n such context
'
that there i s no j ustification for regarding it as a term inustecknicus . Thus we find i t i n the fam i l i ar passage of
Horace , ad P isones , 2 53unde e tiam trimetris accre sce re jussit
Nomen iambe is , cum senos redde ret ictus
P rimus ad e x tremum similis sibi .
More frequently we find ictus i n th is s ignificationcombined with d igitus , pol lex ,
or pes . Thus Horace ,Ca rm . IV 6, 36 poll i ci s ictum ; Q u int . Inst. Or . IX 4,5 1 pedum e t d igitorum ictu i ntervalla s ignant ; Pl i ny,N . H . I I 95 , 96, 209 ad ictum modulantium pedum .
From these and sim i lar i nstances ( the total number,however , i s very small ) , the natural i nference i s that
I 80 LA TIN PROS OD Y
i ctus as a m etri cal term primari ly designated taps of thefeet o r fingers , and was then transferred to denote therhythm i cal beats o f verse . Certain ly there i s no evidence e ither from the etymology of the word or from i tsuse i n any citable case to i nd icate that i t designatedvocal stress .Scarcely more support of the stress theory can be de
r ived from the use of the words arsi s and thesi s as employed in the systemati c treati ses on Latin prosodyprepared by the ancient grammarians . These writersgive us abundant testimony
,but yet an exam i nati on
of thei r utterances fai ls to reveal any definite coherentdoctrine . The witnesses not only contrad ict each other ;they even contrad ict themselves .I have already given three reasons why i t seems to
m e erroneous to regard ictus as stress : 1 . Because i ti nvolves the importati on of a stupendous artificialityi nto the reading of verse . 2 . Because it i nvolves adual basi s for ve rsification, stress as well as quantity .
3 . Because the view finds no support i n any ancienttestimony . To these three reasons I wish to add as
4 . There are excel lent grounds for beli eving that i ctuswas something else than stress . If Latin poetry wasquantitative , as i ts internal structure and all external evidence seem to show, then a dactyl was a long tim e followed by two short times , and a trochee a long timefollowed by one short time , absolutely without any otherparasitic accretion . When , now, we com e to use dactylsby the l ine, one part of every foot wi ll i nevitably be feltas prom i nent , namely , the long syllable . The relativeamount of tim e given the long syllable of every dactylnatu rally brings that long syllable i nto consciousness ,and espec ial ly must i t have done so to the m inds of theRomans , whose n ice quantitative sense i s p roved by thevery fact that they made quantity the basi s of thei r
1 82 LA TIN PROS OD Y
to voca l ic and syllabic quantity . My own revolt againstthe traditional V i ew of i ctus has been purely and solelyemp i ri cal . It was s imply because by fai thfu l p ractice i naccu rate read ing my ear quickly grew sensitive to quantitative d ifferences , that I was forced to bel i eve that, asquanti ty was the basis of Latin verse , so i ctus was onlyquantitative prom i nence . This conclus ion , I say , wasfirst forced upon m e empi ri cally, and the theoreti calformulation was enti rely subsequent to , and solely theresult of, my actual oral experience i n read ing Latin .
No one , i n my j udgment, can app roach thi s subj ect ina candid spi rit who has not first taken the pains toacqu i re the habi t of exact pronunc iation of Latin vowelsand syllables . Even i n thi s country , where we havenom i nally adopted the quantitative pronunci ati on of
Latin , we have sti ll m uch to learn i n this matter . Our
shortcom i ngs are so pronounced , and bear so d irectlyupon the theoreti cal aspect of the question at i ssue , thatI shall here ventu re to recap i tulate some of them .
F i rst , we habitually neglect vowel quantity . One
cause of this i s the vehem ent stress which ( i n accordance with our Engl i sh- speaking instinct ) we regularly
Points m put upon the accen ted syllable . The wordW111“! our e
'
vi tcibatur, for example , contains four succesof Latin i; s ive long vowels . Yet in n inety- n ine casesDefecfive ' out of a hundred , the penultimate syllable i sso strongly stressed that the first three vowels are p ro~
nounce d short . In L ati n poetry the result of suchpronunc iation i s to wreck the quantitative characterof the verse as effectively as i f i n Engl ish we were tom i splace the accents on success ive syllables . How
much poeti c form would appear in Milton’s open ingl ine of Paradise L ost , were we to p ronounce Of man
’sfi rst d i sobedience ,
’ for i nstance? Besides destroyingvowel quantity as a result of over- stress ing the accented
LA TIN PROSOD Y 1 83
syllable , we habi tually neglect i t i n hundreds of otheri nstances where there i s no such distu rbing factor . Bysome strange fatal ity the - is of the genitive s ingular i scommonly pronounced - i
'
s , while the - is o f the ablativeplural as regularly i s heard as - is ,
° while the number ofsuch pronunciations as pater, tiger, nisz
’
, quo’
d, guibus, in
ge‘
nium i s s imply legion . No one who pronounces Latini n that way can expect to feel the quantitative character of a L atin verse , and i s i n no proper fram e of m i ndto give the quantitative theory dispass ionate co nsideration ; for one or two false quantiti es destroy as com
ple te ly the quantitative character of a verse of Latinpoetry as would one or two misplaced accents anyEngl i sh verse .
Even more seri ous than ou r neglect of vowel quantityi s our neglect of syllabi c quantity. The sh ipwreck re
sulting from neglect of vowel quanti ty occurs Neglect of
chiefly in open syllables , i . e . i n syl lables whose Syl labic
vowel i s fol lowed by a s ingle consonant, whichQuanfity'
always belongs to the fol lowing vowel , thus leaving thepreceding syllable Open . In such syllables the quantity of the vowel i s always identi cal with the quantity ofthe syllable
,so that a false vowel quantity i nvolves the
quantity of the syllable as well . In closed syllables , onthe other hand ( i . e . syllables end ing i n a consonant ) ,an error i n vowel quanti ty does not affect the quantityof the syllable . I m ay pronounce ve
‘
ndo‘
or ve’ndo. Ineither case the syllable w i ll be long . Hence i n closedsyllables an error i n vowel quantity does not destroythe quantity of the syllable
,and so does not i nterrupt
the quantitative character o f a Latin verse . But thesyllable must be actually closed in pronunci ati on ; e lse
wkere t/ze vowe l is skort, t/ze syl lable,
wil l be left open ,
and will be m etrica l ly skort, destroying the verse . Iti s preci sely here that we err so frequently and so fatal ly
184 LA TIN P ROS OD Y
i n ou r reading of Lati n verse . We do not close thesyllables that ought to be closed and were closed bythe Romans . The commonest class of words wherewe comm i t thi s error are those containing a gem i natedconsonant—words of the type of ges - scrunt, ao—cipic,
at- tzgerat, ter- rarum , ap-
parabat, an- norum , ad - d iderat,
fiam -marum , ex ce l - lentia ,ag
-
gerimus . These words wehabitual ly p ronounce i n prose and verse al ike , as get
scrunt, cit- cipio, d- tzgerat, tei rarum ,
d -parabat, c‘
i- norum ,
d - d id it,fid -meus , ex cé- lentia ,
a“-
ger imus . Words of thistype are extremely frequent in Latin . I have countedforty-five i n the first hundred l i nes of Vi rgi l’s fi ne id ,
i . e . the p ronunciati on descr ibed destroys the quantitative characte r of the Lat i n verse at forty-five distinctpoints
,often twice i n the same verse .
Nor i s thi s all . In other combinati ons in the interiorof words we are often gui lty of qu ite as serious errors .In Engl ish , besides muta cum l iquida , there are manyother consonant combinati ons with which in stressedsyllables we show a regular te ndency to begin the syllable . This i s especially true of the combinations sp ,
sc(k) , st, sou; also se l , scr, str. This tendency of ou rvernacular speech natu rally affects ou r pronunciati onof Latin words i n whi ch these combinations occur .The s of such combinations properly belongs with thepreced ing vowel , i n order that the preced ing syllablemay be closed and so m ade phoneti cally long ; yet wefrequently ( almost invari ably, accord ing to my obse rvation) j o i n the s with the consonants of the ton ic syllable .
I refer to such pronunci ations as ci i- stz’
us ,
tempei sta’
tibus , coriZ- sccibat, nzi—sczierat, magi-
stro’
rum ,
d - sclepias , a- scri’
psit, qui—sguil ia e . My own students
often exhibi t a tendency to combi ne even ct, pt, ps with afollowing accented vowel , and produce short syllablesi n such words as volii-ptdte , d -spe
-cto'
rum , i—ps ius. Where
1 86 LA TI I’
V P ROS OD Y
eri- tVerri. I do not say that this l ia ison i s invariable .
It i s ce rtain ly frequent , and , where i t occurs , m ust vi tiate the quantitative effect of the verse .
These common errors i n read ing L atin m ust beclearly understood , i f they are to be rem ed ied . It i sby no means an imposs ible matte r to acqu i re an exactquantitative pronunc iati on . It takes time and painsand considerable oral practi ce . I do not bel ieve thati t requi res a parti cu larly sens itive ear . By practi cein rigidly exact reading , the quantitative sense i s notslow in com i ng ; but without that exactness i t cannotcom e and cannot be expected to com e . He who hasonce developed the quanti tative sense wi ll , I am confid ent, feel no need of any artificial stress .In thi s connection the words of Madvig are well
worth pondering (L atin Gramma r, § 498,“ We
Madvig’s should also guard against the op inion whichi s generally current ; nam ely, that the an
c ients accentuated the long syllable ( i n the ars is) andd istinguished in this way the movement of the verse
(by a so- cal led verse—accent , ictus metricus) , and cousequently often accentuated the words i n verse qui teotherwise than in prose ( e . g . A rma virumque canO
Trojaé qu i p rimus ab oris ; Italiam fato profugus Lavinaque ven i t) , which i s impossible ; for the verse dependson a certain prescribed order and form of m ovementbe ing distingu ishable , when the words are correctly pronounce d . In our own verses we do not accentuate thesyllablesfor tke sake of tke verse , but the syllables whichare perceptibly d istinguished by the accentu ation i nprose form verse by being arranged to succeed eachother i n thi s way . In Latin and Greek (where even inprose pronunciation the accent was qu ite subord inate ,and i s never named in speaking of rhetori cal euphony ,while on the other hand the d ifference of quanti ty was
LA TIN PROSOD Y 1 87
di stinctly and strongly marked ) , the verse was aud iblyd istinguis/zed by this very alternation of the long andshort syllables . So far my assent with Madvig is com
ple te . He goes on : “But as i t i s not possible for us ,
e ither i n prose or i n verse , to pronounce the wordsaccording to the quantity in suck a way as the ancientsdid , we cannot rec ite the i r poetry correctly , but areforced in the del ivery to give a certai n stress of voice tothe arsi s , and thus make the i r verses somewhat resembleours . I t should , however , be understood , that i t wasdifferent with the anc i ents them se lves ( unti l the lastcentury of thei r h istory , when the pronunc iation itselfunderwent modifications)
”
These words of Madvigwere written i n 1 847
— over half a centu ry ago . Atthat t ime i t i s not strange that he should have den iedthe possibi l i ty of our read ing Latin verse quanti tativelywith substanti al accu ra cy . But before the end of hi sl i fe , i t i s l ikely that Madvig rel inqu ished thi s part of hi searl ier op in ion .
A s regards word - accent i n the read ing of Latin verse ,I bel ieve that i t retained its ful l value ; for as I havem aintained that i n poetry words are used Word_
with thei r Ord inary prose values , and are Accent
pronounced without addition of foreign elements , so Ibel ieve that they were pronounced without subtractionof any of the i r elements . But we have already seenthat the Latin accent was sl ight . It was preci sely thatfact which led the Romans of the classi cal period tomake quantity the basi s of thei r verse . A ssum i ng ,now , that the word - accent was very sl ight, what wonderthat, with quantity predominant in the verse and in tbcRoman consciousness , such sl ight word - accent as existedwas felt as no intrusi on ? A n analogous s i tuation re
veals itself i n our Engl i sh verse . Our verse i s p rimari lyaccentual , and yet each syllable has i ts quantity, and
1 88 LA TIN PROS OD Y
shorts and longs m ingle~
harmlessly with accented andunaccented syllables . Why should not the reverse haveoccurred in Latin j ust as s imply and j ust as naturally?To sum up , then : Lati n poetry is to be read exactly
l ike Latin prose . Latin was primari ly a quantitativelanguage in the classi cal period and i s to beread quantitatively . The Latin word - accent
was relatively sli ght as compared with that of ourstrongly stressed Engl i sh speech , and is therefore tobe carefully subord inated to quantity both in prose andpoetry . Ictus was not a metri cal term current ‘ amongthe Romans
,nor was there anything corresponding to
it i n the quantitative poetry of the Greeks . The term ispurely modern . We first imported the conception ofstress from ou r . modern speech into the quantitativepoetry of the Greeks and Romans , and then importedthe term i ctus to cover it . But j ust as the conceptionof artifici al stress i n Latin poetry i s false , so the termi ctus ’ i s superfluous . Oe
’
o i e was employed by the anc i ent Greek writers on metri c to designate the promine nt part of every fundamental foot , and i s sti l l enti re lyadequate to cover that conception .
It remains to say a word with regard to el i s i on , theru le for which
,as stated in our Latin grammars , i s i n
substance as follows : A final vowel , a finald iphthong
,or m with a preced ing vowel , i s
regularly el ided before a word beginning with a vowelor k.
”
The exact natu re of this el i s i on , as observed bythe ancients i n read ing Latin verse , i s sti l l very unce rtain . The Romans may have slurred the words togethe ri n some way, or they may have om i tted the el ided partenti re ly . In p ractice , the latter p rocedure i s p robablythe wiser one to follow .
1
Summary.
Elision.
1 The write r has frequently be en favoured by prominent advocate sof ‘ s lurring,’with practica l illustrations of the me thod of re ading re com
190 LA TIN PROSOD Y
d isputes the soundness of what has above been urgedwith regard to observing scrupulously the quanti ty ofeach vowel and of each syl lab le , and i t i s p re dic
'
ted thata fai thful observance of quantity wi ll bring an emp i ri calj ustification of the soundness of what has been set forthconcern ing the nature of ictus .’
I f there be one argument in favou r of retain ing theRoman pronunci ati on of Latin , i t i s that by that pro
nunciation faithfully observed one may re
Relation to
the Roman produce the quant itative characte r of anc1ent
finwfi
‘
fi’ m L ati n poetry . But i t i s only by faithfulobservance of the quantity of every vowel
and every syllable that this can be done . So long asthe Roman pronunciati on i s retai ned , th i s accuracy oughtto be striven for . But even when i t i s attained , i t i sdoubtful whether the achi evement suppl i es a suffici entj ustification for maintain ing the Roman p ronunci ati onof L ati n . Beauti fu l as is the correct reading of Latinpoetry , I cannot feel that i t i s worth the p rice whichwe m ust pay for i t , parti cularly when one reflects uponthe extremely smal l number of those who ever ac
qu i re a pronunciation of even approximate quantitativeaccuracy .
CHAPTER VII
SOME M ISCELL ANEOUS P OINTS
Roman History Compa rative Ph ilology Etymology I l lustrative M ate ria l B ooks M aps P hotograph s Casts .
a . Roman History . Much excel lent work in thi s sub
je ct i s undoubtedly done in the schools . Nor i s thereany lack of good text- books i n the field . Rom
Yet the knowledge of Roman hi story b rought 3 13101 37
to college by the average freshman is something lamentably meagre and defective . Students are often ignorantof the commonest facts o f Roman hi story . I
Students arehave frequently asked my freshmen such ele Ignorant of
mentary questi ons as ‘Who was Clodius?’ this Field '
‘What was the i ssue that brought on the Puni c Wars?’
only to meet with blank faces at the be nches before m e .
Nor are the chronological concepti ons of students for thi speriod of hi story what they ought to be . I was oncegiving a course of lectures to j un iors and sen iors in oneof the histori c New England colleges now well along inits second century . My subj ect was the topographyand monuments of anci ent Rom e . A s my auditors wereall m e n of classi cal traini ng and classi cal i nterests , Inaturally took certain things for granted . In this sp iri t ,I natu rally referred with confidence to such hi stori ccharacters as A ugustus
,the F lavian emperors , the
A ntonines , Constantine , etc . Yet i t took m e but a shorttim e to see that some thing was wrong . By the eyes ofmy students , I could see that I was not striking home .
192 S OME M IS CELLA IVEOUS P OI/VTS
When I cam e to qu i z them on the matter which I hadpresented with al l the clearness i n my power, I foundthey had gained no adequate conception of the elementary survey of the success ive archi tectu ral eras of Rom ewhich I had endeavoured to characteri ze . In theendeavou r to secu re a 71
-
013 0 7 61, I put the questi on ,
‘When d id A ugustu s reign ?’ ‘
500 A . D .
’ was theresponse from the first man I asked . A s thi s replyfai led to meet approval , another student volunteered anestimate . 1 500 A . D .
’was the answer , as I tu rned tohim . On another occasion I was lecturing on the hi story of Roman li te rature . My them e was Romantragedy in the days of the Republ i c . My Opening sentence ran something l ike this : Roman tragedy was aclose im i tati on of Greek tragedy , that l i terary glory of
the Peri c lean Age .
’
Then , i n accordance with my somewhat informal m anner of lectu ring , I paused and put ,to the fi rst student whose eye I caught, the questi on :What was thi s Peri clean A ge and when was i t?
’The
student was a young woman i n her senior year , who wasspeci al i z ing in Greek and was
'
writing a thes i s i n thatdepartment . My query, however , was too much for her .She could only say that she had heard of the A ge ofPeri cles
,but was unable to locate or characteri ze i t .
These two cases are , of cou rse , extreme ones , yet a longexperi ence in three great Ameri can univers ities persuade s m e that they are somewhat typ ical . Ignorancei s not often so pronounced as in the instances j ust ci ted ,and , when it i s , i t i s p robably confined to a sm all m i nori tyof a class . Yet classes , as a whole , certainly cannot betrusted to know the fundamental events and tendenc iesof Rom an antiqu ity which the instructor of college freshm en ought to be able to take for granted as a permanentpossessi on of al l hi s students .With insti tutions , pol iti cal , rel igiou s , and social , the
194 S OME M IS CELLA NEOUS P OIIVTS
history . Fabri c i us , Curius , Cam i l lus , Decius , C i nci nnatus , Sc ip i o , Marcellu s , Pompey , Ci cero ,Ce sar , even the last two of these , —are
unfortunately often nothing but fam i l i ar names —someof them are not even that to the m i nd of the averagestudent . I think it i s not too m uch to dem and that thepupi l know thei r personali ty and carry in his m i nd som erecord of thei r pos itive achievements .3 . Some knowledge of dates . I am well aware that
a mere parrot- l ike capacity to reel off dates i s no evidence of a knowledge of history , and that avery ord inary intellect i s frequently capable
of mem oriz ing such detai ls without appreciating thefacts with which they are connected . Yet i n sp ite ofthi s possible ( not frequent) pervers ion of study , thereare many dates that every student ought to know . It i sa safe statement to say that i f an event i s important, i tsdate i s important . The founding of Rom e , the e x puls i on of the kings , the great landmarks i n the stri febetween the orders , the Cornel ian law , the Hortensianlaw
,the Decemvi rate , the L i c i n i an Rogations , the war
with Pyrrhus , the battle of Z am a , the destructi on of
Corinth , the Social War, the stri fe of Marius and Sulla ,the assassmation of Ce sar , the battle of A ctium ,
these and the l ike are great events of whose chronological locati on i n the course of Roman history no pup i lshould be ignorant . When a student tells m e thatCi cero was born 300 B . C . , I cannot accept as valid hisplea that he never had the faculty for learning dates . Isee at once that he has never had any adequate conception of Roman hi story.
4 . L astly , I feel that the secondary student of Romanhistory ought to have som e orderly and system atic knowledge of Rom an instituti ons .
I do not , of course , presume that he shal l be fam i l i ar
Chronology.
SOME M I S CELLANEOUS P OIN TS 195
with every detai l of the working of the Roman constitu
tion and with the functions and prerogatives of thescores and hundreds of m i nor offici als . But I do claimthat he ought at least to understand the Roman constitution i n i ts broad l ines . He ought to know what theSenate , and magistrates , and assembli es were , whatpowers they had , how they d id the i r work . He oughtto understand also the imperfections of the consti tuti on ,and how and why it proved i nadequate to the needs ofthe late r Republ ic .
Is the foregoing too mu ch to ask? I cannot think iti s , or that secondary teachers wi ll j udge my demandsexcess ive. One thing , however , i s certain . Nothingapproaching i t is now real i zed in our secondary schoolsas a body, or in any considerable proportion of them .
Furthermore , could any such knowledge be assumedin the graduates of secondary schools , i t would m ean averitable revolution i n the possibi l i ti es of college teaching
,though the improvement i s urged not i n the inte rest
of the colleges but of the schools them selves .b
. Comparative P hilology. There i s an undoubted fascination to most pupi ls i n tracing the origin of words ,thei r development of m eaning , and thei r cog Comparati venates in other languages . There i s also a Pm°l°gy °
valuable histori cal training imparted in the conceptionof th e various - Indo -Eu ropean languages as origi nallymembers of a single group , as descended in fact froma common parent . Yet i t i s doubtful whether it i s ad~
visable i n the secondary school to press very far i npursu i t of these m atters . Fasc inating as i s the com
pari son of such words as Greek nap81’
a, Lat. cor, Engl i sh
lzea rt, German Here ; Greek ( b) 5o'
V7 Lat. 059725 ;
Engl i sh German Z aku ; yet the study ofsuch equati ons i s not properly the functi on to anyextent of e ithe r Greek o r Lati n instructi on in the
196 S OME M IS CELLA IVEOUS P OIN TS
secondary school . The functi on of such instructi on i sto convey to the pup i l fi rst a knowledge of the language
,
next of the l i teratu re , and lastly , so far as possible ,of the civi l i zati on of the ancient Greeks and Romans .
For none of these purposes i s a knowledge of L atin i ni ts relati ons to the Indo -Eu ropean parent- speech orto the other Indo -European languages i nd ispensable .
It can do no harm now and then to show the correspond ence i n seve ral languages of cognate words , and topoint out the hi stori cal s ign ificance of such correspondence ; but to make much of thi s seem s to m e a se ri ou sm i stake , for the reason that such work i nevitably divertsattenti on from the essential pu rposes of Lati n study inthe school . And so when I see young teachers , freshperhaps from the enthusiasm of univers i ty stud ies , inculcating i n secondary pup i ls the subtleti es of Grimm
’slaw
,of Grassmann
’
s and Verner’s laws , of Ablaut andnasa l is sonans , I cannot help deplo ring thei r m i sd i rectedenergy . These phi lological m atters are important i nthei r place , but I cannot beli eve that that place i s thesecondary school .c . Etymology . The trac ing of words to thei r origins
within the l im i ts of the Latin language i tsel f i s an e x e r
ci se of much more importance , one,i n fact
,
which cannot be neglected . To a large extent, of course , the origi n of words i s obvious . The
pupi l does not need to be told that amabil is comesfrom amo, or potentia from potens . With regard to otherwords help i s necessary , and i t i s cause for regret thatmany of the m anuals to which the pup i l natu rally refersfor i nformati on on these points are so inadequate andso antiquated . This i s particularly true of the standardlexicons and d icti onari es of Latin . A ll of them areculpably behind the times . The same is true of mostof the word - l i sts ” which often accompany edi tions of
Etymology .
198 S OME M I S CELLA NEOUS P OIN TS
Antiquities . Under th is head , the best s ingle book i sthe recently revised ed iti on of Wi ll i am Sm i th’sD i ctionary of Greek and Roman A ntiqu ities .
London , John Murray ; Boston , L i ttle , Brown , Co.
2 vols . Other works are
Antiquities.
Harpe r’
s Dictionary of Classical L iterature and Antiquitie s .
New York, American Book Co .
Seyffe rt. Dictionary of C lassical Antiquitie s . London,S .
Sonnensche in 8: Co. NewYork, Macm i llan Co.
Rich. A Dictionary of Roman and Gre ek Antiquities.
London and New York , Longmans, Gre en, 81 Co.
A ll of these are d icti onari es arranged on the alphabe tical plan . Books of a d ifferent arrangement are
Abbott, F . F. Roman Political Institutions. Boston, GinnCo .
Ramsay. A Manual of Roman Antiquities. London,Griffin
NewYork. Charle s Scribner’s Sons .
Gow. Companion to School Classics. London,Macmillan
Co . (Ltd . ) NewYork, The Macm illan CO .
H ill, G . F. Illustrations of School C lassics . London
,Mac
m illan Co. (Ltd . ) NewYork, Macmillan Co.
For the narrower field of private l i fe may be noted
Pre ston 81 Dodge . The Private Life of the Romans. Boston,
Benjam in H . Sanborn Co.
Fowle r,W. Warde . Soc ial L ife at Rome . London
,Mac
m illan Co. NewYork,The Macm illan Co .
Abbott, F . F. Soc ie ty and Politics in Anc ient Rome .New York, Charle s Scribner
’s Sons .
Be cke r . Gallus, or Roman Scene s in the Time of Augustus .
London and NewYork, Longmans, Gre en, 81 Co.
There are also several pub l i cati ons of p lates whichare wel l worthy of a place i n the school l ibrary
Cybulski , S. Bilde ratlas, and Tabulae quibus antiquitate s
Romanae illustrantur. Le ipz ig, Koehle r .Baume iste r, A . Bilde r aus d em grie chischen und rOmischen
A lte rtum ,filrSchule r zusamm enge ste llt. Munich
,R.Oldenbourg.
Schre ibe r, Th . Atlas of C lassical Antiquitie s. London,
Macm illan Co. (Ltd . ) NewYork,Macm illan Co.
S OME M IS CELLA NEOUS P OIN TS 199
Topograpky and A rckwology. Recent years have beenrich in works on the topography and remainsof Rom e and -Pompe i i . The best books are : ology.
Platne r, S . B . Anc ient Rome . Boston, A llyn 81 Bacon .
M iddle ton , J. H . The Remains of Anc ient Rome . London,
A . 81 C . Black NewYork,Macm illan Co.
Lanciani, R . The Ruins and Ex cavations of Anc ientRome . London , Macmillan 81 Co . Boston, Houghton,Mifflin
, 81 Co.
Man, A . Pompen : Its L ife and Art. London, Macmillan81 Co. (Ltd .) NewYork, Macm illan C0 .
Geograpky . In the field of geography, the most conve nie nt books are Wi lli am Sm i th’s D icti onary of Greek andRoman Ge o ra h London , John Murray ;Boston
,Littfe ,
I
Brbr
wn, 81 Co . 2 vols . ; or theGeography.
sam e author’s C lass ical D i cti onary of B i ography , Mythology
,and Geography. London , John Murray . This
last i s an abbreviat ion and combination of two of Dr.
Sm i th’s larger d icti onaries . These , however , are somewhat out of date . Recent and of the very highestauthority i s K iepe rt
’
s A nc i ent Geography . A usefull i ttle manual i s Toz e r’s C lass ical Geography. L ondon ,Macm i l lan 81 Co . New York , Ameri can BookCo. The best class i cal atlas i s that of K iepert. L ondon ,Will iam s 81 Norgate ; Boston , Benj am i n H . Sanborn 81 Co.
H istory . Every school l ibrary should conHistory.
ta in the standard Roman h i stories :
Mommsen . The H istory of Rome . London , Macmillan 81Co . (Ltd .) NewYork, Charle s Scribne r
’s Sons . 4 vols .
Merivale . History of the Romans unde r the Empire . Londonand NewYork, Longmans, Gre en, 81 Co . 8 vols .
Mommsen. The Prov ince s of the Roman Empire from Ce sarto Diocle tian. London, Macmillan 81 Co. (Ltd .) New York,Charle s Scribne r’s Sons . 2 vols.
Fe rre ro, G. Greatne ss and Decl ine of Rome . New York,Putnams . 5 vols .
Gibbon . The De cline and Fall of the Roman Empire . Lon
don, M e thuen 81 Co. 7 vols. NewYork, Macmillan Co. 4 vols .
200 S OM E M IS CELLA NE OUS P OI NTS
Bes ides these standard works a number of volumes 111the Epoch Series are of very great value
,presenting
,as
they do , the chi ef facts and featu res of important erasi n condensed form . Especial ly to be noted are :Ihne , Early Rome ; Me rivale
,The Roman Triumv irate s ;
Cape s, The Early Empire ; also Cape s , ,
The Age of the Anto
nine s . A ll of the se are published in London and New York byLongmans, Gre en , 81 Co.
Sm i th’s D i ctionary of Greek and Roman B i ographyand Mythology ( L ondon , John Murray ; Boston , L i ttle ,B rown , 81 Co . 3 though now somewhat antiqu ated
,
i s sti l l an excell ent work .
Sm i th’s C lass ical D i ctionary (B i ography, Mythology ,Geography ) , an abbrevi ati on of the large r d icti onaries ,i s also enti rely adequate for al l o rd inary purposes ofreference .
Roman L iterature . Not m uch i s needed here,and
this l i ttle i s fortunately accessible i n the excel lent
Roman m anual of J . W . Mackail : L ati n L i te ratu re .
Literature London, J ohn Murray ; New York , CharlesScribner’s Sons . Other adm i rable books are J . W. Duff,A L i terary H i story of Rome . NewYork , Charles Scribner’s Sons ; H . N . Fowler , Hi story of Roman L i teratu re . New York , D . A ppleton 81 Co . ; W . C . Lawton
,
Introduction to C lass i cal Latin L i teratu re . New York ,Charles Sc ribner’s Sons . Excellent noti ces of the L ati nwriters may also be found in Sm i th’s D i cti onary ofGreek and Roman B i ography and Mythology , or i nthe shorter Class ical D i cti onary (B i ography , Mythology,and Geography ) of the same author.Myt/zology. The ful lest works of reference are either
the larger work of Sm i th , D i cti onary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology , or the smallerC lassi cal D i cti onary of the sam e author
already noted . Of sm aller works m ay be mentionedGue rbe r, He len . Myths of Gre e ce and Rome . NewYork,
Ame rican Book Co.
Mythology.
CHAPTER VI II
THE PREPA RA TION OF THE TEA CHER
REFERENCES .
Rus se l l , J . E . Ge rman Highe r Schools . N ew York and LondonLongmans , Gre en, 81 Co. 1899. Chapte r x viii. “ The Profe ssiona lTraining of Te ache rs .
B olton , F . E . The Se condary School System of Ge rmany. New
York : D . Apple ton Co . 1 900 . London : Edward A rnold . Chapte r ii.PP
THUS far no mention has been made of what must beadm i tted by all to be the most V i tal e lem ent i n the or
gani z ation of the secondary school , namely, the teacher .I shal l make no attempt to sketch the requ i si tes in theway of characte r and of personali ty which must besought i n the effic i ent teacher , whether of Latin orany other branch . Nor shall I cal l attention to theimportance of that capac ity to give i nstructi on whichseem s to m e i nborn and as impossible to impart ashealth or personal beauty . I shal l speak only of theacademic training desi rable for the m an or woman whopresumably possesses these first requ is ites of character ,personal i ty, and talent for teaching .
In the p reparation of our teachers i s to be foundperhaps the weakest point of Ameri can edu
Our AmericanTraining of cation . A n 1nve st1gat1on of the causes for
$2232.
thi s m i ght be interesting and profitable , buti t i s out of place here . The fact, I beli eve ,
i s incontestable that we are far behind the great
PREPA RA TION OF THE TEA CHER 203
nations of Europe Germany , France , England , Norway, Sweden , A ustri a, Switzerland , and even Russiain the loftiness - . of ou r conception of the teacher’s function and in the seri ousness of our p reparation for theteacher’s duties .A better sentiment i s now manifesting i tself, and i t i s
to the credi t of our best educati onal leaders that theyare keenly consc ious of our shortcom i ngs and are straini ng every energy to remedy them . Yet the task i sso large , and i ts importance as yet so far from beinggenerally appreciated , that i t certainly cannot be superfluous to call attention here to ou r great deficiencies i nthe training of our teachers of Lati n .
L e t us look a moment at the preparation of the Latinteacher of the German secondary schools , the Gymnas ien . In the first place , such a teacher has Preparation
studi ed Latin for n ine years and Greek for of Ge rmanTeachers.
5 1x years at some Gymnas ium . Th is workextends ord inari ly from the n inth or tenth to thee ighteenth or n ineteenth year . During this
Course ofperi od the pup i l reads , with a thorough Study in the
ness unknown to us i n Ameri ca , substantiallyGm m '
the following authors and works : Nepos , Ce sar (Ga ll icWa r, i- vi i) , Ovid (M e tamorpkoses , selecti ons) , Virgil ,(A ine id ) , C i cero ( seven Orations and selecti ons fromthe Lette rs) , L ivy ( i , xxi , xxi i ) , Horace ( Odes , i—iv ,selections ; Epodes , Satire s , Epistles , selecti ons) , Taci tu s(A nna ls , i , i i ; Histories , i ; Germania ) . Besides th isthere i s an extensive amount of private read ing i n Sallust , L ivy, Curti us , C i ce ro , and other authors . The
language , too , receives constant attention not only inthe m inute study of the grammar , but also by way of
writing Latin . In th is latte r exerc i se a wonderful faci li ty i s gained by the students of the higher classes of theGymnas ien . I have wi tnessed students i n the highest
204 P REPA RA TION OF THE TEA CHER
class translate two sol id pages of continuous Germaninto L ati n within thi rty m i nutes . Thi s was an oralexercise , and the Germ an was not closely model led onany original Latin , as i s often customary with us . I remember wel l the fine disdai n of the rector of this particular school , when I asked him whether thi s was arevi ew lesson .
With these attainments i n Lati n and with corresponding attainments in Greek as the result of a six years’
study of that subj ect , the student com es to the university at the age of eighteen or n i neteen to speci al i zemore closely in hi s chosen field . Yet up to thi s time , hehas not devoted him self exclus ively to class i cs ; thesehave been the ch ief and most exacting studi es of thegymnasial course , but mathem ati cs are pursued throughquadrati c equations , sol id geometry , and plane trigonome try ; much attenti on is p aid to the Germ an language
,l i te rature , and hi story ; F rench i s pursued for
several years ; natu ral sci ence , i nclud ing natural h i story
,physics , and chem i stry , i s pursued two hours a
week for the enti re n ine years ; writing , drawing , s ingi ng
,and gymnasti cs are also i ncluded ; English and
Hebrew are elective . Such i s the l iberal foundation ofthe young man of eighteen or nineteen who leaves theGymnasium for the Unive rsi ty , and who , I assum e , isi ntending to fi t h imself for the career of a teacher ofUniversity Latin in Germ an secondary schools . A rrivedsmdy ‘ at the un iversi ty
,he devotes him self almost
exclusively to the study of the class ical languages , l i te ratures
,and c ivi l i zati ons . He takes cou rses in h istori cal
L atin grammar , i n hi stori cal Lati n syntax , on Romanl i te rature , Roman histo ry , epigraphy , private antiqu iti es ,pol i ti cal antiqu ities , arche ology , m etri c , pale ography ,Roman comedy, etc . ; he becomes the m ember of one ofthe sem i nari es and devotes days to preparing a paper
206 P REP A RA TION OF THE TEA CHER
are al lowed for the p reparation of each essay, and thecomm i ss ion i s empowered to grant an extension of s ixweeks
,making twelve weeks i n all , i f necessary, on
the subj ect .” 1
This wri tten exam i nation , i f sati sfactory , i s followedby an oral exam ination before a speci ally appointedexam i ner . If both the written and oral tests are succe ssfully m e t, the candidate receives a certificate authori zing him to teach .
“ The i ntend i ng teacher , even with hi s certificate i nhis hand
,has yet other gauntlets to run . The certificate
The Probe. of i tself confers no right to teach . SomeJahre‘ thing more than general culture and m inutescholarship i s requ i red . It i s safe to say that Germanyowes more to the pedagogical train ing of her teachersthan to any other factor i n thei r p reparation . It i s theprofessional sp i rit , which every German teacher feels
,
that d ifferenti ates him from his speci es i n other countri es
,and thi s sp i ri t i s the result chi efly of hi s pe dagogi
cal training .
” 2 Accordingly the German candidate i sobl iged to spend two additi onal years of apprenti ceshipeven afte r he has passed the rigid teachers’ exam inati on .
The first of these two years i s spent in a S em z'
na rz'
um ,
where the i ntending teache r receives speci al advancedinstructi on in the practi cal p roblems of the secondaryschool . The second year i s devoted to actual Tnstructi on ( only seven or e ight hou rs a week) under thesupervisi on of some experienced teacher .Such i s the p reparation of the German teacher who i s
to go into the secondary school and give instruction inthe beginning L atin work , i n Nepos , Carsar, C i cero ,Vi rgi l , ez’c. Contrast with this rigid and exacting course
1 Russe l l , German Mgr/Ear Scfioolr, p. 3 59f ,
2 Russe ll , German fl zlgfier Sc/zool s , p . 363 .
PREPA RA TION OF THE TEA CHER 207
of train ing the cond iti ons p revalent i n our own country !In the first place , teaching with us does not
Contrastrank as a profess ion . As a resu lt, the body Offe red byof teachers i s recru ited largely from the £3 1
6
33 .
ranks of recent college graduates , who resortto teaching as a makeshi ft whi le they are accumulatingthe means to pursue the i r speci al preparati on for medic ine , the law, or somethi ng else ; or from young womenwho turn to teaching as a respectable occupation du ringthe period they spend between the completi on of thei reducation and marriage . Even among the small numberof those who enter the vocati on of L ati n teaching del iberately with the intention of m aking i t thei r l i fe work
,few
are at all adequately equipped for thei r tasks . Many ofthem have never been to college at all . Som e few havehad one or two years of undergraduate study of Latin .
Fewer have made i t a seri ous study throughout the i rcourse , while the number of those who have had a yearor two of graduate study i s so smal l as to consti tutepracti cally a vani shing quantity i n the great sea ofpoorly equ ipped teachers of the subject .Without good teachers , i t must be impossible to havegood teaching
,and we shall never have good teachers
of Latin or anything else ( except as excepti ons to theprevail ing m ediocri ty) unti l we set as a first
Kn ledrequ is ite a lofty standa rd of knowledge of of s
g
:b_t/ze subject to be taug/zt. Force of character, iectthePfime
m agneti c personali ty,pedagogic ski l l , are al l
necessary in thei r way,but the man or woman who pos
sesses all of these and who i s not satu rated with themost thorough knowledge of the subj ect he or she hasto teach i s incapable of making the teacher that wehave a right to demand in our secondary schools , notm erely in Latin but i n other branches as well . In myjudgment , the greatest defect i n American education to
208 P REPA RA TION OF THE TEA CHER
day i s the prevai l ing supe rficiality i n the attainm ents ofA merican teachers . They do not know thei r subj ects .A t least they do not know Lati n as well as they oughti n order to teach i t even with a moderate degree of success
. There are noble exceptions to thi s sweep ing statem ent , which i s meant only to characteri ze the general
field of Latin teaching . Nor would I passj udgment on the m ass of the incompetent .
sel ves Re’ They are almost wi thout exception me n andsponsible for
the American women of character , of ser ious and earnestsystem‘ purpose
,and faithful , often to the detriment
of the i r health,i n the perform ance of thei r tasks . They
are , nevertheless , endeavouring to achieve the impossible ,to perform a work involving the employm ent of large
resou rces,without ever having secured the necessary pre
paration . They are victim s of a system which nothingbut a qu icken ing of the pub l ic consc ience , local , state ,and national , can alter . But the change i s i nevitable . I twi l l not com e i n a moment ; i t i s now in progress , however , and the devoted teacher should be the one aboveall others to give com fort and support to this forwardmovement , for i t wi l l give to the teacher new ideals ,new li fe , and new dignity . It i s to be hoped that thetim e i s app roaching , and i s not far d istant , when teachersin the Am eri can secondary schools , l ike those in Ge rmany , wi ll , as a result of the i r completer preparationfor thei r profession , no t m erely be better teachers , butwi ll also , as a res u lt of thei r enthusiasm for Latin andthei r devotion to it , be numbered among the ranks ofthose who by thei r labour shall , as investigators , add tothe sum of ou r knowledge of classi cal antiquity . InGermany valuable work of thi s kind i s constantly ema
nating from the teachers of the secondary schools . A
number of the very ables t classical p roductions in thatcountry have com e from thi s source .
2 1 0 PREPA RA TION OF THE TEA CHER
teacher,the re are many other fields i n which he must
be more than a tyro . Some speci al knowledge of anc ient geography should be hi s ,— parti cularly someknowledge of the topography of ancient Rom e . The
histori cal d iscip lines , too , have a large claim to make ,which cannot safely be ignored . Under this head comenot merely pol i ti cal h istory , but the al l ied di scipl inesof phi losophy , mythology , and the hi story of l i terature .
A gain we have the broad domain of Rom an antiquiti es,poli ti cal , private , rel igious , and legal , a knowledge of
each of them be ing practi cally indispensable . Someknowledge of the natu re and methods of textual criticism , too , must the teacher have before he can properlyunderstand the condition in whi ch the ancient texts havecom e down to u s and the sp i ri t i n which thei r moderni nterpretation should be approached . That the prospe ct ive teacher also should have read widely in the fieldof the class i cal l i teratu re wi ll of cou rse be taken forgranted , and that his fam i l i ari ty with Lati n i s such thathe can interp ret any ordinary passage of s imple p rosewithout extensive recourse to lexi con or commentary .
The foregoing demands by no m eans exhaust theposs ibi l iti es of the teacher’s p rel im i nary training . Ihave des ignedly om i tted m any important branches , suchas the Ital i c d ialects (Oscan and Umbri an ) , epigraphy ,palae ography, along with the various departments ofarchae ology , such as archi tectu re , sculptu re , pottery ,painting , num i smati cs , to say nothing of others . I haves imply outl ined the “ i rreducible m i n im um ” which i tseems to m e the teacher must have i n order adequatelyto meet the legitimate demands which wil l be made uponhim i n the consc ientiou s performance of hi s daily duty .
One other add ition , however , m ust be m ade , namely, aknowledge of Greek . The teacher of Greek may perhaps do without Latin , but the L ati n teacher cannot do
PREPA RA TION OF THE TEA CHER 2 1 1
without Greek . All Roman civi l i zation i s so dom i natedby Greek i nfluences and Greek ideas , that the personignorant of Greek i s i ncapable of understanding andinterpreting to others the sign ificance of Roman li feand thought.When our Latin teachers have something l ike theequ ipment I have desc ribed we shall no longer meri tthe rep roach of a recent criti c ,1 who declares that themajori ty of our high - school teachers are hardly fit toteach in a primary school , and the maj ori ty of primaryteachers are j ust enough educated to fi ll a salesgi rl’sp lace i n a m i ll inery store .
Obviously such training as I have described involvesno sm all outlay of time and m eans . It i nvolves specializ ation i n Lati n throughout the college course
,and i t
i nvolves probably at least two years of severer spe cializ ation in class ics after graduation . We may be slow inattaining the standard indicated , but it i s bound tocom e , and unti l we reach i t , or som ething approximatingi t , we cannot honestly claim that we are doing our wholeduty by the pup i ls of our secondary schools
.
One word as to m ethods . It seem s to m e that inour study of pedagogy we are often apt to overrate theimportance of these . A s I understand it
,the Limitations of
science of education aims at two things : first,
Methm ”
to give the hi story of educati onal theory and practice ;secondly, to lay down certai n fundamental psychologi calprincip les appl icable to al l teaching . That i t shouldprescribe a definite and m echanical scheme for imparting i nstructi on i n L atin or anything else would be preposterons . Teaching i s the ve ry reverse of anythingmechanical ; i t i s s imply constant ski lful adaptation tothe mom entary problem i n hand . This problem varies
1 P rofe ssor Munste rbe rg in A tlantz'
c M om/My,May, 1 900.
2 1 2 PREP A RA TION OF THE TEA CHER
with the subj ect and the m i nds with which the teacher i sbrought in contact . It i s an unusual accident i f preci selythe sam e s ituation confronts the same teacher ° twicewith in any reasonable interval . There may be methods ”
for reduc ing ores , for making steel , for treating m easlesand sore eyes , but the human m i nd i s no such constantfactor as even the least constant of these things I havem entioned . It recogni ses no universal solvent or p rescripti on . In othe r words , teaching is an art demandingthe fullest knowledge , the fullest j udgm ent , the fullestski ll ; i t i s not intellectual quackery . Young teachers , Ibeli eve , cannot too carefully treasure this truth.
2 14 CON CL UDING N OTE
determ i nation has been the s incere purpose of thi svolum e .
The fri ends of Latin should soberly consider that thestudy i s now on tri al as never before . The attacksagainst i t are not merely reacti onary, nor do they proce e d alone from the prej udi ced or the i l l - i nform ed .
They represent i n m any instances the del iberate convictions of seriou s students of the problems of education ,convictions which i t i s i dle and wrong to ignore . If
the study is to retai n i ts position as a permanent part ofthe school curri cu lum , i t can do so only by the positiveresults i t shows itse lf capable of p roduc ing . Whetherthese shal l comm end them selves to educators wi ll depend not upon any theoreti cal c laim s or advantagesof the study , but upon wise and effic ient instruction .
THE TEACH ING OF GREEK IN THE
SECONDARY SCHOOL
GEORGE P . BRISTOL, A .M .
PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN CORNELL UNIVERSITY
2 18 IN TROD UCTI ON
college , though not at fi rst by the m ain entrance . Firsta side door was opened to h im , and i f he passed throughcollege without a knowledge of Greek , his d ip loma ind icate d thi s fact by showing a d ifferent degree . But afte ra whi le the “ regular course and the Bachelor of A rtsdegree were not l im i ted to the student of Greek . Latinwas longer requ i red , but at the present tim e , though notso largely as i s the case with Greek , has ceased to beind ispensable to a college course and to what i s calledsomewhat indefin itely a “ l iberal education .
”
This i s the p resent state of things with which we haveto deal , and thi s state of things has di sposed of one argum ent for the study of Greek in the high school , via , thati t i s necessary to enable a pup i l to enter college . The
case of Greek must be defended on i ts meri ts . Unlessthere i s value enough in i ts study for the student whodoes not get beyond the high school to j usti fy its retention
, Greek will ultim ately disappear from the curri cu lumof the publ ic high school . Of the priva te high schooli t i s not possible to speak with certainty . It containsa much larger p roportion of students who are lookingforward to a col lege course , and for th is class Greek ,even when not requ i red at the col lege of the i r choice
,i s
apt to be regarded in the light of a college course in it .But I bel i eve that we shall not be able to hold permauently the prom inent place for Greek in secondary education which i t has occup ied unless we can successfullym aintain two points : first , that the study of Greekgives results worth hav ing ; and , secondly, that thes eresults cannot be reached in any other way. The studyof Greek m eans hard and prolonged labour . There i s no“ thi rteen weeks i n Greek ,
” with a laying by of the sub
je ct at the end of that time . Two years of continuousstudy i s the m in imum period recognised . A re thebenefits derived therefrom commensurate with the work?
IN TROD UCTI ON 2 19
I assume that two obj ects at least are to be gained bythe study of Greek in the secondary schools : fi rst
,to
enable a student to acqu ire the abi li ty to reada Greek text with the help of gramm ar , dic mmgh Schooltionary, and an edition of the author read gig.
“
containing some commentary and some helpson the more d ifficult passages . Further , to read a consid e rable portion of one author and someth ing at leastof another . Secondly , to gain such knowledge of thepri nciples underlying the form ation and inflection ofwords in Greek as wi ll enable him to understand thos ep rinc ip le s in thei r appl i cation in Greek i tself, and in the i rlarge and ever- i ncreasing use in the vocabulari es of thevarious sc iences , and in the vocabulary ofscience comm onto al l educated Engli sh - speaking people .
Under the first of these two heads , by the wordsabi li ty to read ,
” I do not mean the abi li ty to stumblethrough a sentence and to get the general d ri ft Ability to
of the thought m erely I m ean that complete read Greek
knowledge of the structu re of, the Greek sentence , whichdetects the shi fted emphasi s of a changed word order
,
which distingu ishes between the m eaning of attributiveand pred icate position i n the sentence , which notes carefully the vari ous balancing parti cles and so grasps theproper relations of the various words i n the clause , andof clauses in the sentence . I m e an a feel ing for thosedel icate shad ings i n expression and in compositi on whichm ake a Greek sentence a m odel of art . To acqu i re thisknowledge means careful study and close attention tom any l ittle ( l . e . m i nute ) th ings . A nd i t i s j u st at thi spoint that the study of Greek is often and violentlyattacked . This petty detai l i s considered in m any quarters as of very sl ight or even of no value . We are toldthat the Greek sp i rit ,
” i s the great thing to be gained ;why, then , should one waste the pup i l
’s time with
2 20 IN TROD UCTION
struggles over accents , over parti cles with m i nute d iffere nce s of meaning? I say at once that thi s apprec i ati onThe “ Greek of the Greek sp i ri t ” i s the greatest thing ofSpirit
” all . It i s the goal toward which al l shouldstrive . But i t i s not to be reached by any superficialstudy of the various forms of art i n which i t foundexpression . This very Greek sp i ri t consi sted , i n part atleast
,i n a faithful attention to detai ls , and it i s i n an
equally faithful attenti on to these detai ls that we shallsee and apprec i ate i t ou rse lves . It i s given to a Keatsto grasp this sp i ri t by intu iti on , but for the most of usHesi od ’s words hold true
A 3 A t A I
ms 3 apems tOpw'
ra 06m. 7Tp07Tap0L0€V £977K<1 V3 I 1 9 a o Ia9ava r oc pa x pos 36 Ka t 0p0tog oq ws es aw ny.
Much is said and much is written on this point . Iquote the following statements which appeared not longThe Ex ampl e ago in a j ournal of sound views i n general ,°f macaw because they seem to m e to i llustrate well avery common atti tude toward thi s subj ect . The writer i sarguing against the
'
present m ethods of teaching theclassi cs
,and in the course of hi s arti cle says : Every
body remembers what a prodigious lot of Latin andGreek Macaulay read on his outward voyage to Indi aand while at Calcutta . He wrote from Calcutta in 1 834‘ I read m uch and parti cu larly Greek , and I find that Iam ,i n all essenti als , sti l l not a bad scholar . I read ,
however , not as I read at college , but as a man of theworld . If I do not know a word , I pass i t by , unless i ti s important to the sense . If I find , as I have of lateoften found , a passage which refuses to give up its m eaning at second read ing , I let i t alone . I have read duringthe last fortn ight
,before break fast , three books of He
rodotus , and four p lays of fEschylus .
’ It i s perfectlyevident that Macaulay had some use and j oy of his clas
2 2 2 IN TRODUCTION
trained in thi s way to read his Xenophon or hi s C i cero .
But i n fact Macaulay read like a m an of the world , andwas able so to read , because he had back of hifn longyears of carefu l reading in school and in college . Itwas the power and the knowledge gained in these yearsof toi l which enabled him to secure i n after l i fe the p leasu re he so dearly loved and pri zed . I venture a c itati onor two from his letters home whi le at school . When thi rteen he wri tes : “ I do Xenophon every day and twicea week the Odyssey, L atin verses twice a week . Weget by heart Greek grammar or Vi rgi l every even ing .
”
This on week days . On Sunday,” he s ays a li ttle later ,
we learn a chapter i n the Greek Testament , withoutdoing i t with a d icti onary , l ike othe r lessons This , ors omething like this , lasted for five years , only to be followed when he went up to the University by an amountof read ing in the class i cswhich would astonish an Ame rican college graduate , a college man even who had m adethe class i cs his speci alty . No , i f any argument i s to bedrawn from the case of Macaulay , so often c i ted , i t IS anargument for thorough work from the start and for alonger continuance of these studies than is now common .
But let m e say frankly that I do not bel i eve that in thethree years ( to say nothing of a shorter period) of p re
Necessary paratory study, the average pupi l can gain theLimitati ons power , so often claimed and so often ( appar“ Studs “ ently ) demanded , of read ing A tti c prose ats ight .” I am not convinced , however , that this poweror ab i l ity i s the u ltimate test o f the value of the study .
What thi s study can do, and what thi s study rightlyappl i ed and rightly d i rected ought to do, i s to give a hab itof accuracy in reading the text ; I m ean , i n seeing al l therei s of a word because all o f it— prefix , root , and suffixmust be taken into account i n dete rm in ing the exact
m ean ing i t carries with it . The very strangeness of the
INTROD UCTI ON 2 2 3
forms wi ll compel this searching analys i s of them . Thatcarelessness i n reading of ou r own language i s all toocommon among pup ils i n our schools , i s a common complaint of teachers . A lack of train ing in exact Observation and in exact statement i s too frequently observedamong m e n of college education , and I bel i eve that muchof it i s due to careless habits of youth and of school . Ido not wish to be understood as saying that the studyof Greek i s the only disc ip l i ne which gives , or which cangive , thi s train ing in accuracy , but that thi s train ing isone of the results of the study rightly followed .
A nother result of the stu dy of Greek i s the acquaintance with some of the best of the world’s l i terature .
Not to press the question as to the l iterary Knowl edge of
value of Xenophon’s A nabasz’
s , which i s , I Literature '
beli eve , greater than i s often adm i tted , the student i n athree years’ course can make the acquaintance of Platoi n additi on , or of some other p rose author, and even in them i n imum of two years he can get a considerable amountof Hom er . This i s no mean achievement i f vi ewed fromthe standpoint of the l i terary gain alone . But all thewhi le the dri ll i n translating has been forc ing him tothink on the m eans of expression i n the two languages ,and by the del icate shadings in the Greek i t should havecompelled an equally careful cons ideration of the express ion of the same thought in Engl ish .
The second of the two m ain results attainable i n theschool study of Greek i s the ab i l i ty to understand betterthe great number of modern scientific ( i n the Knowl edge orwidest sense ) term s in Engl i sh . I think there Greek Words
inEnglish .can be no d ifference of op in ion as to the desirability of this result . I f we except the study of theLaw,whose vocabulary i s largely Engl i sh , or Englishwith Latin elements , the re i s not one of the learned profess ions the vocabulary of which does not inc lude an
2 24 IN TROD UCTI ON
immense stock of words de rived from the Greek , or
form ed at least from Greek elements . But i t i s O ftenasserted that thi s knowledge can be obtained by studyingj ust enough Greek to be able to recognise these e lem entsor these words . I am i ncl ined to doubt the effici ency ofthis amount of study of Greek for the end proposed . Idoubt i f the understanding of the compounds i s m uchclearer than i t would be i f the words were looked up in anEngl ish d ictionary , and thei r elem ents learned mechan
’
ically there in . I doubt i t for thi s reason — learning aforeign word i s an act of arbitrary memory, and theword wi ll i n al l p robab i l i ty be forgotten unless by seei ng it frequently i n reading its m ean ing and form havebecome thoroughly fixed in the student’s m i nd . It i sonly by seeing a word m any times and in various assoc iations that i t becom es a fam i l i ar acquaintance . I thinkthat reading is absolutely necessary to the fixing of avocabulary .
So I think that the second of the two ends I haveassumed above is reached in close connection with , and
through the means of the first . In the following chapters I shall have constantly i n
m i nd thi s proposi tion . The great aim of the study ofGreek i n the high school i s to gain the power to readGreek , and to read as m uch Greek as can be done withcare i n the time given to i ts study . In doing this manylessons wi ll be learned i n related l ines , i n h istory
,i n art
,
i n the p roblem s which faced the Greeks as ind ividualsand as organized in society . A ll of these man i festationsof the activi ty of the Greek m ind are intensely interestingand valuable for study , but the language in which theybrought so much of the i r thought to expression m ustremain the primary obj ect of attention i n the schoolperiod of study .
Conclusion.
2 26 PRON UN CIA TI O/V
H . W . Chand ler . A Practica l Introduction to Gre ek Accentuation.
Se cond e dition . Ox ford, C larendon Pre ss . 1 88 1 . A work ofgre at use fulne ss . Give s rule s for the accentuation of th e various categories of words,and a ve ry large numbe r of il lustrative e x ample s , with an inde x of wordsgroupe d according to the ir te rm inations .
B enjamin I . W h e e le r . De r Grie chisch e Nominalaccent. S trassburg,Triibne r. 1885 . A valuable study of the h istorica l d e ve lopm e nt of the
Gre ek accent.
WITH the first lesson in Greek , as in any language , weare confronted by the question of pronunciati on . It i s
The Question of suprem e importance , and i t cannot beFunda avoided . For pronounce we must , rightly or
wrongly,and i t i s j ust as easy to start i n the
right way as i n any other , whi le such a start saves muchlabour later on , and makes poss ible an accuracy nototherwise attainable .
1
Language i s speech , not writing. A s most of ou rteaching i s by talking to one another , so the words we
speech and use must be exact i n form , i f we are to beWfifing understood and to understand in return . The
ear must be trained as well as the eye . The writtenletters and words are merely a m eans o f m aking clearthrough the m ed ium of sight the real words ,
’
z'
. e .
sounds . It is all important , then , that these real wordsshould have a fixed relati on to thei r eye symbols , thewri tten words . In Greek this relation i s a s impler onethan in Engl i sh , for, excepting the varying quantity ofthe sounds denoted by a 1, v, each sound has one writtensymbol and one only . Conversely each written symboldenotes only one sound . In Engl i sh the sound i s oftenno clew to the spell ing, and the reduci ng of unaccented
1 Some e x ce llent obse rvations on the ne ce ssity of a corre ct habit inpronunciation and of the e arlyformingof that habit maybe s e en in THE
SCHOOL REVIEW for February, 1900, on page 88. They are contained in
a report to the Association of Col lege s and Preparatory Schools of the
Southe rn State s of a committe e on Programme of Studie s , and are by
Chance llor J . H. K irkland of Vande rbilt Unive rsitv.
P RON UN CIA TION 2 27
vowels to a uni form value makes i t much more d ifficultto keep ear symbol and eye symbol corre lated i n m em
ory . For i nstance , a spell ing of the Greek word o-
rpa'
rnfyés
as lately noticed by m e , gives clear proof offai lure i n p ronouncing to d istinguish 77 and L when notaccented . This i s common enough in Engl ish , as maybeseen in such words as tea t/table and vis ible , whose m i ddlesyllable i s sounded l ike the u i n but. For Greek , as forLatin , however, i t i s enti rely wrong . I f one of the resu ltsof the study of Greek is to train the eye in accurate obse rvation i n reading , i t ought to do as m uch for the earin the real read ing , z
'
. e . speaking .
Language is constantly changing . Our own languageshares thi s princ ip le of change in common
Constantwith all others , ancient and modern . This Change in
change , though constant , i s so gradual thatl anguage '
we usually fai l to take ‘note of the m i n ute variati ons , andi t i s not unti l i n a given word , or i n a group of words , thed ifference i n sound has become so marked that we arestruck by i t
,that we speak of a d ifference in dialect .
For i nstance , think of the varying pronunci ation i nEngl ish of the word ba tk. Between the extremes bawtfiand baatk l i e a large number of actual sounds given theword in various parts of the country . Denoting one ofthe sounds above indicated by a and the other by a , i ti s evident that we may have a large number of interm ediate sounds each of which d iffers from i ts nearestrelated sound by a very smal l d ifference . It i s onlythe trained ear that recognises the d ivergence of one ofthem from the next in the seri es
,whi le the great d if
ference between a and z would strike even the mostuneducated l istener . These changes are constantlygoing on in all l iving tongues , and we detect themby carefu l attention , and by training our ears to recogn ise the “ correct ” sounds , as we hear them spoken ,
2 2 8 PRON UN CIA TION
and by im i tating these alone . For languages no longerspoken this i s impossible
,and so the rules for pronunci a
ti on have not the sam e degree of certainty as in the caseof languages now in common use .
Fu rther, i f we apply the sam e system of pronunciationto widely separated periods of a language , i t i s evident ‘
But not ,“that i t cannot be equally true for al l of these
the Writing periods . The written symbols when oncefixed are hard to change . A s t ime goes on ,
however,they are interp reted diffe rently , they are trans
lated into d ifferent ear symbols , and so they are notreally the same words . For example , we spell ou r wordsi n Engl ish mostly as they were spel led in the sixteenthcentury , but we know that the sounds they represent arenot the same sounds which they then rep resented ; thati s , the words ( sounds) are not the same words now asthen , though the eye symbols of them are the same .
This eye p icture of a word is l ike the photograph of afriend taken long ago . We recognise the featu res asthose of our fri end , but we know that it i s not the p ictureof the man as he now looks .For a language , then , whose l iteratu re covers a periodof hundreds of years , no one system of pronunciationcan be right . The Engli sh of Shakspere’s time did notsound as we make i t sound in read ing his plays to - day .
In the case of Greek , as of L atin , we must for the sakeof uniform i ty, that we may understand one another ,choose the p ronunc iation of some one period in thehistory of the language , and then apply this to all otherperiods . This i s the only practical solution of theproblem .
The pronunciation adopted for ancient Greek is thatTheory and bel ieved to have been followed by the A thePracuce in n iams about the year 400 B . C . In practi ce ,Pronuncia
0
tion. however , th is i s commonly cons iderably
2 30PRON UN CIA TION
by shortening the 'vowel sound i n the word law. Thus ,law, lawt, lawt ( z lot) . This vowel sound i s of veryfrequent occu rrence i n Greek , and i s of great importancein
'
word formation and inflection . From the start effortshould be made to have the student d istingu i sh i t from a .
A nother vowel sound often not marked wi th suffic i entcare i s v. The grammars give i ts value with practi calunan im i ty. It should be given the sound of German 22,
French u,i n all cases when it i s not found as the second
element of a diphthong . In the d iphthongs , a v,ev
, nu, i tretains i ts older value of the Latin u. This i s l ikeEnglish 00 i n boot, though not long i n quantity . Caretaken i n sounding thi s vowel at the outset wil l p reventthe formation of a habit which leads to the sounding o f(bah/a wand cpwya
'
wal ike as f ewgo‘
ne . 7) i s almost withoutexception given the value of Engl i sh a i n ba - be l , thoughthe true sound i s nearer that of a i n babble . In Engl i shwe represent the bleating of sheep by baa . Cratinus , apoet of the fi fth century B . C . , represented i t by 3 735 77.
There are two reasons based upon conveni ence i n usefor giving thi s latter value ; first , the clearer viewthereby gained of the shi fting between 77 and a i n thefirst declension ; second , the avoiding of confusion withthe sound of the d iphthong 6L.
Tlze Sounds of t/ze D z’
pktbongs . a t, a v. Each vowelhas i ts own sound , and the . two are combined i n one
syllable : Ka i/t a . as Engl ish L ima ; afi're
,as i n
Latin ant, and l ike Engl ish out; ev= English
eb- ao. There i s no exact Engl ish equ ivalentfor th is d iphthong , but an effort should be m ade to givethe sound as accurately as can be
,and parti cu larly to
avoid p ronouncing i t i n such a way as to m ake the soundsof ev, ou, u all equal to Englishyou. If thi s hab i t of confus ion i s allowed , there i s su re to result hopeless confounding of such forms as é’cpevfyov and é
’
qbvr
yov, Kauai and
PRON UN CIA TI ON 2 3 1
Mi
a), and others . nu i s not very common . The sound.
would be something l ike Engl ish (touch or abdout. ou
i s monophthongal and z English ao i n boot. e t i s l ikethe same letters i n English e ight. There were two d ifferent sounds represented by thi s d iphthong . F i rst , a trued iphthong in such words as M ia-w
, a r e i’
x w. Thi s a in
te rchange s i n word composi ti on and inflection with or
and L. E . g. ,Re in a) , 7te
'
7toc7ra , Aorwo’
s‘
, ie'
Mw'
ov ; a re ix w,
a roix os, o r ix as . Second , a “ spurious ” d iphthongreally not a d iphthong at all formed by the contracti onof two 6 sounds i nto one . E .g. ,
é—gbo’
ke- e becomes e’cfu’
kec.
The cases of 61. i n Greek in which i t ari ses in th is wayare very numerous , and j usti fy , I think , the p ronunci ati on ind icated above . The phenomena of vowel contraeti on and of compensative lengthening are made plainer ,and the rules govern ing them are rendered easier ofcomprehensi on and are better retained by the use ofthis p ronunciation .
“e-e becomes by contraction 6L
(pronounced as a i i n a isle ) i s an arbitrary statementwith no possible vocal i l lustration , but “
e - e becomesec ( p ronounced as i n eight) i s easi ly i l lustrated andremembered .
The Consonants . These p resent fewer d ifficult ies andthere are fewer points of d i sagreement among teachersi n thei r pronunc iati on . I note a few po ints of Com m a .
importance . é’ should not be sounded like ( lg The Aspirates.
i n a a’z e , but l ike z s imply , or l ike eu
’. Com
I’
pare , for example ,’
A07§va §e ( for’
A 9nva a - 86) and oix o’
vBe,
M e'
r
yapafi8e . The aspi rates (I) , 0, x , were true aspii’
ate s ;
that i s , they were sounded approximately as in Engli shuphold , pothooh , hlochheaa
’. In the i r p ronunciation ,
however , they are commonly treated as sp i rants , andare given values which they assumed much later i n thehistory of the language ; that i s , they are soundedl ike Engli sh f, th ( as i n thin, not as i n this , that) and ,
2 32 PRON UN CIA TI ON
though not so regularly, l ike German ch i n machen .
I bel i eve that this method i s advi sable , though it i scertainly not histori cally correct, for by i t 77 and (I) , 7
and 9, 1c and x are d ifferentiated and d i sti ngu ished , andthe relati on between m any Engl i sh derivative wordsand the i r Greek originals i s not obscured . Compare ,for instance , the immense number of compounds intowhich d) l enters as a component part . In speakingof the mutes and of the i r class ification I th ink the term s“ lab i al ,
” “ dental ,” and “ guttural ” (or
“ palatal arethe best .The A ccent in P ronuncia tion . There i s sti l l the large
questi on of the accent . Theori es as to the m i nor problems of the Greek tones need not occupy the
ficul ties in time of the teacher. Two po ints are , however ,macaw important . The accent should be p laced inpronouncing where i t i s put i n wri ting the words , and aneffort should be m ade to keep the true quanti ty of thevowels . E . g. ,
(pi’
x os and a im s , though both have theaccent on the first syllable , diffe r in the quantity of thefirst vowel . 0 27 09 Engl ish see
’- toss , while (bike s Eng
l i sh f i - loss ( i as infit ) . Another frequent confusionwhich I have noted i s between such words as Spa/ca
a'
rah- nca ) and rypd/ma (2 gramma ) . The fi rst syl
lable i s long i n both of them , but in the fi rst thi s l engthi s due to a long vowel , and in the second to the doubledconsonant . It i s very hard to avoid lengthen ing short
Am man vowe ls unde r the accent i n such words asVowel nam
’
d, and to keep the proper quanti ty o f the
Quantity long and unaccented vowel . This word isusual ly sounded ha - heei a
, and not , as i t should be ,ha -hi
’
h- ah . This hab i t tends to p revent the feel ing forthe quantitative princip le o f Greek poetry , or to verylargely obscure the perception of the pri ncip le . Se e
further d iscuss ion of thi s point in Chapter IV. The d is
2 34 PRON UN CIA TION
the necess ity for a large amount of p ractice outside theclass - room . A new language wi th i ts strange . sound s
and forms cannot be m ade fam i l i ar by devoting onehour only per day to its study and practi ce . Eye andear should be trained together , and the greatest poss ible amount of p ractice be secured . This questi on ofacqu i ring a p roper pronunci ati on i nvolves no choicebetween m ethods of further instructi on , and i s equallyimportant for al l further instruction and study .
Encl itics ana’P rocl itics . These are capable of re ce iv
i ng ample i llustration in Engl ish where they are i n con
Encl isis .
stant use . E . g . Give him the hooh, or giveIl lustrations him the hoéh , and give him the hooh ; Te
’
l l mefromEnglish .
and te l l me’
may serve to show encl i t ics in
Engl ish . Procli ti cs are fu rn ished by the defin ite andthe i ndefinite arti cle . The main point i s to show thestudent that what looks strange and what is describedby unfam i l i ar names and in new words i s really something s imple in i ts natu re and a matter of every- dayuse .
There i s hardly any portion of the field Of Greekstudi es i n which there i s so l i ttle un ity in practi ce as in
n e h onuncm the writi ng and speaking Of Greek names .tion of Prope r One meets A eschylus , A ischylos , A ischulos,”m es
A ishhulos , and with varying pronunc iati on ,Eschylus , Eeschylus , A ischulos , and possibly other vari ati ons . Socra tes appears as Sohrates , and A esop looksstrange enough as A isopos . A ristotle appears almostalways i n th is recogn ised Engl ish form , but P lato meetsus as Platon, and this form i s spoken ei ther P layto
‘
ne orP lah - to
’
ne . I t i s not reasonable that such confusi onshould continue .
1 In defence of these strange form s i t
1 A prote st against the pre vailing lack of uniformity in this matte rmay be se en in the EDUCATIONAL REVIEW ,
vol . vii. p . 495 , by John M.
Moss .
PRON UN CIA TION 2 35
i s u rged that we should reproduce the Greek word asnearly as possible . This m ight be u rged for the spelling K learhhosf but not for p ronouncing thi s with theaccent on the second syl lable , for in the Greek alphabeti t i s Kx e’apx os. Nor i s K l ea’r/ehos a help to the correctwriti ng of the Greek form , s ince X i s commonly transl ite rated by ch . A gainst
.
thi s way of writi ngGreek names i n Roman letters may be u rgedthat ou r Engl ish l iteratu re i s ful l ofsuch nam es “m m
which have come to have fam i l i ar forms , andthat these form s may be cons idered as genu ine Engli shwords , almost as recogni sed translati ons of the i r Greekoriginals . Fu rther , i t seem s to m e that th is m ethod i srarely carried out consistently by its advocates . In fact ,some of them say that names which have acqu i red afam i l i ar form i n Engl i sh writers shou ld not be changed .
Well , here i s j ust the point of uncertainty, for who shallsay that th is or that name has acqu i red such a form ?Why should A ristotle be left untouched , but Platochanged to P laton ? The only defensible m ethod tomy m ind i s that general ly adopted for d ictionaries ofbiography in Engl ish , for cyclopasd ias , and other worksof reference of a s im i lar kind . A ccord ing to this method ,the Greek names are written i n the L ati n form , and arethen spoken with the Engl i sh sound- values of theseletters , but with the Rom an accentuation . In actualusage , some exceptions , affecting the quanti ty chiefly ,are m ade . The importance of this m atter and the sl ightattention given i t i n grammars and beginners’ books
justify a statement of these principles here .
1
Names have
1 In but one of the Gre ek grammars most commonly use d , and in one
only of beginne rs’books, so far as I know, is anyattemptmade to e x plainthe se principle s of trans l ite ration.
2 35 P RON UN CIA TION
TABLE
Greek Alphabeta,e, 77, L, 0, to
But - 09 and - ou as endings of nouns of the seconddeclens ion are represented by -us and - um , and - oc
, ending of the plural of the same declension , by - i . For theconsonants i t wi l l b e suffic ient to note
x = c
C z5 x
9 = th
o : ph
x = ch
o= ps
Some examples wi ll i l lustrate these ru les of translite rat ion .
EI’
q'
rra s,‘
Ep/ssHkofir os,
Nt'
Ka ta ,
A i'yis,
Baum-ia,
A i’
rrdltvk os,
Bd I/n ov,
Milhrroq,
Xcipwv,
"AWGAOS‘,
A lcmene .
Eurotas.
He rme s.Plutus.
Nicaea .
A egis.
Boeotia.
Autolycus.
Byz antium.
Mile tus.
Charon.
Psyche .
Ange lus.
EQ U IVA LENTS
Latin Alphabeta,e , i , O
2 3g PRON UN CIA TION
when ending an in iti al syl lable not under the accent .Lycur
’
gus i s p ronounced with the first syllable l ike l ie .
Present usage treats all cases as long , so that I havemodified Walker’s rule as i nd icated by the bracketedwords .
7. E final , either wi th or without the preced ing consonant
,always form s a d istinct syllable , as P ene lope
( four - syllabled) . But whenever a Greek or a Latin wordi s angl i c i zed i nto thi s term i nation by cutting off a syllableof the ori ginal , i t becomes then an English word , and i sp ronounced according to our own analogy . Thus , Hecate
pronounced in three syllables when in L atin and inthe same number in the Greek word E x am, in Engl i shi s contracted into two . [This holds for Shakspere , buti s against the present usage .] Kpaj
'n ) has become inEngli sh Crete . v d/cova a c sim i larly i s Syracuse , whileThehes and A thens have received the Engl ish plu ralS ign s .
The Consonants .
I . C and g are hard before consonants , and the vowels a , o, u. They are soft before e , i , y , and the d iphthongs ac and ac.
2 . T, s , and c before ia ,
ie , ii , ia, in,-
yo, and eu preceded by the accent , change into sh and e h .
’
Ho~l0809 ,
Hesioa’us , Heehioa
’. But where the accent i s on the fi rst
of these two vowels , the consonant preserves i ts soundpure . So MLATLdOnS
‘
,M iltz
'
acles pronounced M ilti 'aa’es ,l ike satiety .
3 . Ch before a vowel i s l ike h .
4 . S che beginn ing a word i s l ike sh .
5 . P h followed by a consonant i s m ute .
P hthiotis sounds as Thio'
tis .
PRON UN CIA TION 2 39
Rules for the Engl ish Q uantity of Creole and Latin
P rope r Names .
I . Words of two syllables , with one consonant i n themiddle , have the long sound of the first vowel whateveri ts quantity m ay be in the original : thus , Wal ker'sAfioco, Lysis , i s p ronounced Ly
'
s is , although Rules for
v i n the Greek i s short . S im i larly Cha'
re'
z, mush“,
Greek Xdpns (oi) ; M e"non,
M e’
va w.
2 . Words of three syllables with the accent on thefirst , and with but one consonant after the first syllable ,have that syllable pronounced short , let the Greek orLatin quantity be what i t wi ll . Exception . When thefi rst syllable i s followed by e or i followed by another
vowe l , the vowel of the fi rst syllable i s long unless i t be thevowel i ory . Examples : Ti ecpos , Te lephus , Te l
'
epha s
OZBL’
vz-
ovs , Oedipus , Ed'
ipas . Examples under the e x ception are Bope
’
ao, A di/I la , L am ia ,La
'
m ia ;
and of L and y under this condition , N Z/cla s, N icias ,N ish
'
ias ; AfiBi’
a, Lydia , Lyd
'
ia .
3 . The general tendency i s to shorten every accentedantepenultimate vowel or d iphthong (the te rm antepenultimate i s used to denote any vowel preceding the penult of the word ) unless followed in the next syllable bye or i and another vowel . In thi s case the quantityfollows the exception to Rule 2 .
The accent i s determ ined by the rule for Latin words .If the penult i s long in words of m ore than and for
two syllables , i t rece ives the accent . If theAccent
penult i s Short , the accent is placed on the antepenult .
CHAPTER I I
Tm? BEGINN ING W ORK
REFERENCES
For the matte rs tre ated in this and the fol lowing chapte rs , the teache rwho commands the use of Ge rman wil l find many sugge stions and much
he lp in various numbe rs ofth e L ehrproben und L ehrga'
nge aus der P ra x is
der Gymnasz’
cn und Rea l schulen ,Halle , 1885 , and stil l continue d in
monthly numbe rs . In gene ral, also, re fe rence may be made to the tre atis e byDr. P . De ttwe ile r inHandbuch der Erz ichungs a nd Unterrichtslehre ,
e dited by A . Baume iste r, vol . iii. , Munich , 1898, and to the article Grie
chisches Unterricht in vol . iii. of Encyhlopa'
d isches Handéuch der P ddagogih,
e dited byRe in, Langensalz a, 1897. Se e also th e bibliography indicatedon p . 8 f.
Books for F i rst Re adings .
M oss , C . M . A First Gre ek Re ade r with Note s and Vocabulary.
Boston, A l lyn Bacon. 1900 .
Colson , F . H . Storie s and L egends . A First Gre ek Re ade r,with
Note s , Vocabulary, and Ex e rcise s . N ew York , The Macmillan Com
pany. 1899.
A s aux iliary to th e work in th e e arlie r stage s , T . D . Goode l l’s TheGre ek in Engl ish is valuable . The author take s pains to point out in a
ve ry cle ar manne r th e way in which Gre ek words and stems are used
in coining te rms in mode rn English .
THERE are two d i stinct m ethods now represented i nbooks for beginners i n Greek . One of these , and theTW OMethods one more general ly fol lowed at present , aim snW in Use to present an amount of m aterial which canbe completed i n two te rm s , and which will p roperly prepare pup i ls for the rap id but exact read ing of a book ofthe A nabasis du ring the last thi rd of the year . The
books written on thi s plan contai n al l the necessarygrammar m ate rial , and thei r use perm i ts the postponement of the d i rect use of the grammar unti l the read ing
242THE BE GINN IN G WORK
ginning,the labour of the early lessons i s not very much
i ncreased . The teacher’s advi ce and help i n learningthe use of the gramm ar removes many d ifficulties . Th e
student gains i n thi s way gradually and surely the fam i liarity with the arrangement of materi al i n the grammarwhich i s absolutely essential to satisfactory progress .The difli cultie s of this plan are more num erous at first,but I bel i eve time is gained in the end . By thi s m ethod ,too
,one avo ids the feel ing of d iscouragement so often
brought about by the apparent beginn ing all overagain in grammati cal study .
The choi ce of a method , however , i s of far less importance than the thorough mastery of the method he i s
u sing by any teacher . The age of the m em
is greater bers of a class i s an important factor . The
number of students in a class i s also of importance , as i t determ ines the amount of per
sonal dri ll which each individual can receive .
The secret of success in the fi rst year’s work in Greekdoes not depend upon m ethod one half so much asupon the teacher. I wi sh to point out the matters uponwhich I think emphasi s should be laid , and whose importance i s not i n any way dependent upon the m ethodfollowed . A s regards vari ous short cuts to a knowledgeof Greek , or of reading Greek , by whatever nam es theyare called , natural m ethod ,
” “ i nductive m ethod ,gate
,
” etc . , I wi l l say once for al l that I have no fai thi n them . A s I have said , and as I fi rm ly beli eve , theteacher i s greater than any m ethod , and I wi ll ingly ad
m it that in the hand of an able and thorough teacher anyparti cu lar method may be made to yield first- rate results .I bel ieve , however , with equal firmness that i t i s the i nd ividuality of the teacher that i s the effic i ent factor i n theresult , and not the vi rtue of the m ethod he employs .
( a) The First Pa radigms of Conjuga tion. The best
Method .
THE BEGINN ING WORK 243
verb to start with i s a pu re verb of three syllab les l ikenek eéw. Thi s i s easi er to p ronounce than Mia)
,for 13
i s not an easy sound . It affords i n the first The bestVerb
aori st a better Opportun ity of noting the fi rm s“
norm al accentuation of imperative and infinitive . E .g.
x éx eva ov and x ek efia at, are more helpfu l to a studentthan M50 01} and Aflo a t. The latte r suggest that al l verbsare accented in these form s on the penult
,and further
that the infinitive of the fi rst aorist ( a very commonform ) should always have the ci rcumflex . nekefio a c
does not suggest thi s last i nference,because the graphic
designation by the diphthong ev i s less m i slead ing .
The present and imperfect ind icative of a few verbs andthei r present infinitive forms ( i t i s a m i stake to postponethe infinitive to a much later time) should be thoroughlymemori zed . These forms should be analyzed bothorally and in writing : thus , é—ne
’
h evo-v,é-ne
’
h eve-s, é—ne’
Xeve .
This should be continued unti l the pup i l i s able fromany stem given him to speak and write correctly theform s called forIn inflection , the dual forms of verbs and nouns are
best om i tted altogether . The best beginners’ booksrecomm end this om i ss ion now, though none Omission“
of them , so far as I know, has taken the DW FWms '
logical and desi rable step of om i tting dual form s fromthei r parad igms , or of plac ing them after the pluralforms or p rinting them i n smaller type . Dual forms arenot necessary for the beginner’s book
,nor should he be
given exerc ises contain ing them . When m e t with inreading , and th is wil l not be a frequent occu rrence ,they can be explained by the teacher, i f thi s i s notdone in the notes on the passage . I doubt i f the dualhad ever acqui red a place i n beginners’ books were i tnot for the fact that there are a few examples of i t i nthe opening sections o f the A nabasis .
244THE B EGINN ING I/VORK
It i s best to add to the form s of two or three pureverbs those of one or two verbs rep resenting severally a
Proper Se.
stem ending i n a lab i al , a dental , and a palaquence of tal mute . This m eans, i n additi on to neXeéwnew Forms’
(Ba a-Ma ia) , As ia n) ; met a)
,
wireéSw ; Xe’r
yw,(fictive) ; or others of s im i lar formation .
The advantage gained by the introduction of thesem ute stems l i es i n the fact that i n form i ng the i r futu reforms the pup i l has an opportun ity to see the changesproduced by the addi ti on of 9 . These changes are soimportant in the i nflection of both verbs and nouns thatthey are best i ntrodu ced at a very early m oment . The
detai ls of the development of the verb infle ction— i . e . ,
how to combine the success ive steps i n the inflection ofverbs and of nouns— may well be left to ind ividualj udgment , or to the method of the book in u seThere i s one p racti ce , very common i ndeed , whichseems to me a great m i stake , via , i ntroducing the form s
of the perfect at an early stage i n the pup i l’sThe Pe rfectnot tobe p rogress . The student should be taught thattaught t°° the present (with the imperfect ) , the future ,early .
and the aori st are the tenses most u sed . Withthese he should be made thoroughly fam i l i ar beforegoing to any others . He should not be given the form sof the perfect unti l he has learned that i n Greek theaori st i s oftener than the perfect the equ ivalent of theEngl i sh perfect . The perfect tense may be , and I thinkShould be , ignored or postponed unti l the student hasbecome fam i l i ar with the turn ing of such Engl i sh phrasesas having done , having sa id , having made i nto Greekaori st form s . If the perfect be brought i n too early i nthe lessons , confu sion results i n the student
’s m ind .
Furthermore the perfect i s not so very frequent in useas to j usti fy giving i t an equal p lace with the aori st i nbeginners’ lessons . In the fi rst book of the A nahas is
246 THE B EGINN ING WORK
write these forms correctly from dictation , and can re
peat them_
when heard by him . Each teache r wi ll bethe best j udge of the mastery obtained by hi s class , andcan increase the number of exerci ses here at wi ll .1 Tim espent here wi ll p rove to be tim e saved later . There i sscope for considerable read ing with the form s of thesecond declension alone . Se e , for instance , the read ingexerc ises introduced in the early lessons of Sandys’
First Greeh Reader and Writer, or in Forman’s First
Grech Boo/e .
Three groups are necessary in tak ing up the first declension : I . stem s in a ; 2 . stem s in 4 7 ; 3 . stems i n a
".
The Form The al l - important rule i s the following : a i sof First retained in the case term i nati ons throughoutDec’ens’m ' the s ingular i f p receded in the nom i native bye,L, p, and in the accusative s ingular i f the accent of the
nom i native shows that the a i s short i n quantity . Se e
the statements and examples in the gramm ars . The exceptions may be neglected at th i s stage . Contractnouns of declens ions one and two I Should postpone toa later time . Fem in ine nouns of the second declens ionand mascul ine nouns of the fi rst declens ion shouldcome next , and then a halt i n studying noun declensionunti l the present m iddle . and the futu re and fi rst aori stactive of verbs have been thoroughly maste red andm ade the subj ects for m uch p racti ce in wri ting and inspeaking .
At this point the i nflection and use of 59 , 0157 09 , e’
x e ivos,
and a i’
rro'
s with perhaps 686 should be takenDe nstr
uvT’
i’ro-a
up and made the basi s of d ri l l as with nouns .
mm ‘
The subsequent order followed i n the deve lopment of forms m ay very well be left to in
1 An Ex pe riment in Gre ek Te aching, by MaryWhiton C alkins ,EDUCATIONA L REV IEW , vol . vii. p . 80
,may prove sugge stive to te ache rs
who wish to introduce som e thing in th e wayof dril l in pronunciation and
in knowle dge of a vocabulary.
THE BEGINNING WORK 247
dividual j udgment . I think the battle wi ll have beenwon at this point, i f absolute thoroughness has beenmaintained .
(c) The Development of Syntax . The m ain thing tobe kept i n m i nd i s the secu ring of fam i l i ari ty with themost frequently used forms of express ion . Importance
What these are i n the earl i er weeks of reading of Knowl edge
of NormalW i l l natu rally depend upon the author or and Commonwork chosen for the fi rst read ing . In our Usageschools this i s now , almost without exception , Xenophon
’sA nahasis . A most valuable help to the m ost importantfacts of syntax i n the A nabasis i s a book by A rturJoost
,enti tled Wa s e rgieht s ielc aus dem Spra chgebrauch
Xenophons in der A nabas is fa'
r d ie B ehand lung d er
griechischen Syntax in der S chul e f’Berl in , 1 892 . In
connection with the book should be considered Profe s~
sor Gild e rsle eve ’s review of i t i n the Am er ican Yourna l
of P hilology. I quote here from Joost’s conclus ions onsom e of the weighti e r matters , pages 337 ff.
“ The following constructions m ust be taken up atan early time and constantly d iscu ssed and practi sed .
1 . In declension the p lacing of attributive phrasesbetween the arti cle and the noun , or after the noun withrepeti tion of the article ; the possessive and parti tivegen itive (6 7 013 cpl kov uio
’
s , oi c’
vya eol Trim c’
w9pa’
nrmv,Té
’
iv
G ocpé’
iv The prepositi ons én,
659 , ém .
’ withthe accusative , 7rpo
'
o with accusative i n local use , Bidwith genitive of p lace , Ran i with accusative of place ,weptwith gen it ive and equal to ahout, concerning,
7rapa§
with geni tive , an d of place , Bid with accusative , £7 5 withaccusative of person to indicate hosti le purpose , aga inst.The dative of the agent
,the dative with e iva c or r
yt’r
yve
a fla c of possess ion . The dative of manner , of time , ofcause , with verbs compounded with The
‘ accusative of extent of time or space ,
’ the accusative of refer
248 THE BEGINN ING WORK
ence ( l im i tation) , double accusative with verbs of making ,etc . The use of the arti cle for the possess ive pronoun .
The om i ss i on of the arti cle with the noun in the pred icate . Such uses of the adj ective as ayaflo
’
v 7 c,oéBév
nako’
v.
2 . In treating of pronouns the syntax of the relativem ust receive early and parti cu lar attention , i n i ts ordinary use as relative and also as introducing ind irect inte rrogative sentences . Further the use of the articleas p ronoun
,and with modi fying gen itive , and in other
phrases without a noun added .
3 . In verb syntax , the passive constructi on with157 6 and the gen itive must be i llustrated early . e t
’
i ns imple (logical) conditi ons , 67rd and é'n
-
eLSijwith imperfee t and aori st ind i cative are very important , and equallyso with the indi cative , and 87 1. and e
’
7re i’ used in
causal clauses . A ttention m ust be paid to the subjunctive with éa’v (fizz) , and with ga me , i
’va
,059 . The optative
uses of most importance are those of indi rect statement,i n i ndi rect questi on and the potenti al use with c
’
iv. Fur
ther, the optative i n final clauses after a past tense . The
i nfin itive with é'qbn i s all important , and further i ts use with8st
,80x 65
,é’
fea '
rt, i n result clause with aS
’
cr-re
,with ix a yo’c
and S im i lar adj ectives . A ttention must be given to thei nfin itive with Boéx ona i , c
’
He'
Aw, and nex eéw
, and to thefuture infinitive with verbs of hOping, prom i s ing , andthe l ike . The parti cip le
,first of al l i n the present, then
in the aori st , i s to be carefully stud ied and cop iouslyi l lustrated by wri ting exerci ses . The following are themore important u ses : Parti c iples i n the nom i native ,rep resenting a subord inate clause , which are to be translated by a conj unction with finite clause , temporal andcausal . Parti c ip les both with and without the arti clewhich represent a relative clause, and are so to betranslated . The obj ect partic ip le of ind irect state c
2 50 THE BEGINNING WORK
scheme of double clauses from the start, as , 7631} a rpa 'n
wré’
w ol [Lev lea /col. i’
ja a v, 05 8cdr
ya dol, or of p év a rpa'
rncyol. of. Be a rpa rcc
’
bra c. Make as many differentcombinati ons of sentences as possible to i l lu strate thesetwo ways of using ne
’
v Se’
. Note that in one of thesethe subj ect i s common to both clauses , whi le the predicate words are contrasted . In the other there are twosubj ects standing in a contrasted relati on to each other .ae
’
u 8é clauses are not necessari ly mutually exclusive .
They are often , stri ctly Speaking, not paratacti c at all .Don’t be afraid of spending too much tim e on thi s point .I t i s of the highest importance . Next come clauses with
ya’
p and The m eanings and the p roper p lace i n theclause of these words Should be carefully exp lained andi l lustrated . Then let the students add clauses involvingthei r use to the model sentence . So this wi l l grow bythe j udi cious selecti on of clauses to be added to i t . A
very few sentences may be made to i llustrate al l themore important princip les of positi on of words in aclause and of the simpler ru les of syntax . To the threes implest prepos itions , each with one case only , may beadded mode with the accusative , am : with the gen itive , ém
’with the accusative i n the meaning aga inst.with the infinitive , and also é
'
rc, tha t, should be abun
dautly i llu strated , taking care that the 37 1. clause doesnot requ i re the optative m ood . These model sentencesshould be well fixed in the pup i l’s m ind , and made totake the place of a constant cit ing of grammar ru les .It i s of the greatest importance that the student should
be made fam i l i ar with the j o in ing of clauses in variousThe Joining relati ons at a very early period in hi s course°f C1auses i n Greek . The majority of beginners
' booksdo not pay sufli cie nt attention to this m atter, and theresult is that students who have had dri l l i n detachedclauses alone Stand helpless before a p iece of connected
THE EEGTNNTM ; WORK 2 5 1
writing,no matter how simple i t m ay be . This i s par
ticularly true of the use of and of clauses with ae’
v
Be’
. The latter “
method of j oining clauses i s very common, and I have spoken of i t above . In one of the mostwidely used of first—year books , I find that p e
’
v Se'
,
i s first used in the i llustrative exerc ises of the s ixteenthlesson
,and is there accompani ed by an explanation which
seem s to m e to be i nadequate to the full comprehensionof its value and use . That the importance of this construction is not real i zed by the author , seems to me to beevident from the fact that in the first twenty- s ix lessonsand read ing exerc ises it i s used e ight times only . In thetwenty- eighth lesson , however , there i s presented as anexerci se for read ing about half a page of original Greektext . In this passage there are four cases of ae
’
v Be’
clauses,one of which i s p articu larly unsu itable for presen
tation to a beginner , as , i t stands in -
a passage which i salmost un iversally modified by editors , because of thepecul i ar positi on of the Se'. The net result of this must ,i t seems to m e , be to produce confus ion in the pup i l
’sm ind . In another beginners’book the ne
’
v Se'arrange
m ent i s first introduced in the sixteenth lesson , althoughbefore that point a number of form s of the perfect tense ,rarely found in use , have been given . Here a footnoteto ae
’
v refers the student to the vocabulary at the endof the book , where the statement of i ts use i s exceedingly vague . In forty lessons of th is ‘
book, covering onehundred pages , there are fourteen sentences with thep e
’
v 86’ construction , and of these , two are dec idedly
confus ing instance s . Taking these two books , and theyare not bad books by any means , as typ ical , i t seem s tom e evident that this very important point is not ade
quate ly treated . This use should be,constantly ex
plained , i llustrated , and m ade the bas is for practi ce . Iti s d ifficu lt work , at the best , to acqu i re a feel ing for the
2 52 THE B EGINNING WORK
m eaning of the parti cles , and this result can be reachedonly by a fam i l i arity gained through much read ing andmany repeti ti ons of the words . A n i nstructive paralle li s afforded by the Ge rmanj
'
a . If a boy i s told that thismeans yes , and i s given sentences which i llustrate this .
mean ing and use of the word alone , he must e ither ignore i ts presence i n m any a sentence m e t with in reading
,or translate falsely. Se e more on this i n Chapter V.
( d) Further VVor/e in the S tudy of Forms . Nouns ,
Third Declension . Begin with the palatal stem s and
OtherNom continue with labial and dental stem s , then“fi ver“ nasal stem s . The neuter noun stems in - a ( r )and in - os - 69) may follow . Vowel stem s in - L and - v
shou ld be postponed to the last , as they present confusing d ivergences from the normal schem e of inflecti on .
The development of verb form s may be carri ed outaccording to ind ividual j udgment o r to the m ethod ofthe textbook in u se . I think , however , that contractverbs should not be postponed too long . They may
well be taken up , especi ally those i n - e’
w, as
“soon as thenoun inflection calls for a knowledge of the p rinc iples ofcontracti on . For a convenient classification of verbsaccord ing to the i r form s of conj ugation , the followingscheme may be of ass istance
CLASSIFICATION OF VERBSVe rbs with stems in -w. Thematic Ve rbs .
1 . Pure ve rbs Stem ends in a vowe l .a . Stems in L, v, or diphthong, not contracted .
b. Stems in a,e, 0 . Contract verbs.
2 . Verbs with stems ending in a consonant.a . Labial stems in W, B, 46.
b . Dental stems in r , 8, 9 Mute verbs.
c . Palatal stems in x, Y; X
d . Liquid (nasal) stems in A, p , v, p.
2 54 THE BEGINN ING WORK
then a book of s imple prose selecti ons i s better adaptedto the pup i l’s knowledge . For reading matter oughtnever to be so d ifficult that some considerable amountof it cannot be covered at one exerci se . Power to readcomes by read ing . A book of easy passages helps tothi s end . Furthe r , i t enables the teacher to p roceedfrom the simple to the complex . It postpones the mored i fficult points in constructi on unti l the pup i l has thoroughly maste red the eas ier ones . It affords , too , top icsin read ing, each one of which i s complete in i tself. Thisi s a d istinct advantage , and helps to arouse an interesti n the subj ect matter, which i s scarcely to be gained ifan histori cal narrative , l ike the A nabasis , be broken upinto very smal l porti ons .There i s a th i rd way rep resented in som e beginners’
books which consi sts i n i ntroducing from the fi rst lessonwords , phrases , and clauses taken from the
The Questionof a “ Sim. A nahaszs , and , as fast as it can be done , much9mm” of the narrative of the fi rst book , with what
changes i n the way of simpl ificati on areneeded . For thi s method i t i s claim ed that much ofthe reading of the A nabas is i s anti c ipated and accom
plishe d i n connecti on with the grammar lessons . Thisi s certainly true i n part , but I beli eve only in part .Sentences must often be changed from thei r originalform and connection to avoid constructions not yetlearned . A ll styl isti c effect . i s thus lost , and muchof the real syntax . To gain a real knowledge of thestory as told by Xenophon , m uch , i f not all , m ust beread over again , and this c ould be only with d im i nished i nterest . I shal l leave i t to the j udgment ofthe teacher who wishes to form an op ini on on this pointafter presenting a passage of Xenophon (A nabas is ,I . 7, and the same as modified for. use in a beginners’
book .
THE BEGINNING WORK 2 5 5
A y F S A
07m) ; 32Ka i. ( 33777 6 ( is oiov epx eoee dywva vpa s 3c3ci§m. 1 0
KA
O A\ A A s l s\ a
prev yap 1r 7) 0; 7 m v Ka i. Kpavyy r oMy ( m a c-w av 3c r avra
3 I v 9 I9
I fl V I
ava a xnaOe , To. aM a Ka t. a LO'
XIH/GO'
a t p01. 30m ) otovgmumv O TO'Oe
A t A A A
f or) ; fit 727 x o'
ipa fit/rag dvdpo’
movs . 1) ; t 3€ (iVBpUH/ dife Ka i cf) row2 A I a c A V
8 A,
I s I A
c‘uwv yevop evwv, cyw vywv TOV [LEV own 6 fiov oyevov am eva t r a ts
9 f 3 A Iouroc ( “altos
-ray r oma n) a r ekflew, n oM ovs 36 onani. R oma n y 7 a r ap
9 C 3 A a;
cum ehea ea t (Ll/TL rowOLKOL.
As simpl ified , or “ adapted , th i s reads as followsA S. A A’
Eytl) 32 e is OIOV 3pX60'96 dywva. vjua s 3t3oifw. TOphi
‘
yc’
Ip WATIOOSA I
KI A A 9 I
8\
row Bapfiapwv 7 m 1) ca n Ka t Kpavy'
n WOAA'
I] ewepx ov'
ra t av 5
2 a I
0JV 3 I 0 c A t 9 A I
(3
EVrav'
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w 32. 5 a x w T a I ae
n
av9pw7roc. row36 au3p€s 777 6 Ka t. 61) Ta qua. yer/ma t
,cyw $3w
7 3V {LEV oi'
ica3e fiovltdp evov dn eAGé’
V {nAe v 7romj0'w role ol
'k oi,
O IwoM ovg 3kofpa i. flovlhjcreafla t 7rap e
’
juoi net/cw.
CHAPTER II I
XENOPHON A ND OTHER PROSE W RI TERS THE
GREEK NEW TESTAMENT
REFERENCES .
R eh d antz , C . Xenophon’s A nabas is , six th e dition, by Dr. Otto
Carnuth. Be rlin, We idmann. Th is is the e dition of the Anabasis of
fundam ental importance for the grammatica l study of the work . It con
tains note s in Ge rman on al l of the use s of the various parts of spe e ch
as illustrated in the te x t, with many cross refe rence s to othe r passage s .
Its gre at lack is an inde x of words and of passage s . The book shouldbe in th e hands of e ve ry te ache r who can use Ge rman .
P re tor , A lfre d . Th e Anabas is of Xenophon with English note s .
Two vols . I . Te x t. I I . Note s and Indice s . Cambridge , Th e Unive rs ityPre ss . A n e x ce llent e d ition of the entire work with English note s .
W hite , John T . Grammar School Te x ts . Xenophon’s Anabasis .
Each Book separate ly, with a vocabulary to e ach . Ve ry convenient forsupplementary
‘
re ading, or for th e re ading of a small amount of th e
Anabas is . London and New York , Longmans , Gre en Co.
R ol fe , A . G . The Fifth Book of Xenophon’s Anabasis with note s
and vocabulary. Boston , Ginn Co . , 1897.
W hi te , J . W . , and M organ M . H . A n Illustrate d D ictionary to
Xenophon’s Anabasis . Boston, Ginn Co . A n e x ce l lent and val~
uable work .
B lak e , R . W . The He l lenica of Xenophon, Books I . and II . Boston,
A llyn Bacon,1894 .
G le ason , C . W . The Cyropaed ia of X enophon Abridged for Schools .
New York,Ame rican Book Company, 1897.
P h il lpots and J erram . Easy Se le ctions from Xenophon. Parts of
the Anabasis . The e arlie r pie ce s are“s implifie d . Ox ford , Th e C lar
e ndon Pre ss . Sam e authors . Se le ctions adapted from Xenophon.
Passage s from the He llenica . Same publ ishe rs .
For th e various que stions of synta x , the discussions scatte red throughthe volum e s of th e A MERICAN JOURNAL OF PH ILOLOGY
,now in its
twentie th ye ar . Many of the se discussions are by the e ditor,Profe ssor
B . L . Gilde rs l e e v e , himse lf, and most of the re st by his associate s or
pupils . A ful l list of books maybe found in the e d ition of th e first fourbooks of the Anabasis by F . W . K e lsey, publ ished by A llyn Bacon,
Boston.
2 58P ROSE WRI TERS
thi s means to lose the finest opportunity for instruction,
i n the best sense of the word . Som ething in the natureof exam i nati on i s necessary . But with earnest ’ studentsthe result sought to know how well they understandmatters p reviously studi ed , or how thorough has beenthei r hom e p reparation — can be reached by invitingthem to ask questions on all points not understood .
Individual d ifficulti es thus presented will i n most casescover al l the more d ifficult points , and the students arespared the ti resome exerci se of l i sten ing to statementsof what they know.
Second . P arsing, as commonly understood , shouldbe reduced to a m i n imum . It i s , i f at all p rolonged , a
Parsing" dreary exerc i se , and when appl ied to sen
kms Inte rest. te nce s which have been already analyzed andwhose m eaning has already been di scovered , i t i s certainlya hyste ron—proteron . Nothing so surely takes the li fe outof the exerci se , and the interest i n the work out of thepup ils
,and specially out of the brightest and qu i ckest of
them . Some explanation i n class of form s and of syntact ic problem s there m ust be , but i t Should be confined tothose that have proved difficult for the class , that havenot been mastered by private study, or that have beenbrought out by a fau lty or inadequate translati on . The
student must be m ade to feel that the recitaRecitation
must be an tion hou r is a time in wh ich progress i s made .HO“ °f So much by way of caution . Posi tively I sug
gest the following'
m e thod : The first lessonto be read i s taken up in class at the first exerc ise i n thesubj ect , and before any attempt at preparation has beenm ade by the pup i ls them selves . The teacher Should pointout the more difficult form s and constructions , showingthose which have been already m e t with and those whichare new . In parti cu lar i t i s important to point out thatany roots al ready known m ay be found in words thatare new .
PROSE WRI TERS 2 59
To i l lustrate what I mean I wi ll take examples fromthe opening sections of the A nabasis . fia dévec. The
form i s i n the imperfect. Why? The accent
( compare e’
qSlAec) shows that . Hence i t hasat the beginning an augmented vowel . Thi s Anabafis as
e Il lustration.
vowel may be a , as in nryov from a rym, or e , as
i n ijeekov from e’
fie'
kw. This suggests e’a fieve’co or da eeve'w.
Possibly dodemjs or a de’
uos has been already learned . If
not , a de’
vos may be written on the blackboard , and theothers derived from i t, and the Engli sh derivatives ca ll isthenics and asthenic may be pressed into servi ce byway of fixing the m ean ing of the root word . fmo
’
mr eve
should be fi rst analyzed , and then the meaning of theprefix explained and i llustrated by the L atin su( h) spicio.
wapclw e’
r tiryx’
ave needs careful explanation , i f not al readyfam i l i ar . I n Greek the parti c ip le contains the lead ingor chief idea of the express ion and the verb the subordinate thought . In Engl i sh the expressi on i s constructedin the reverse way . The uses of the tenses of the verband of the supplementary partic ip le should be explained ,m odel sentences framed to i llustrate them , and exerc ises ,oral and wri tten , based upon these principles . The
present parti c ip le with the p resent or imperfect of theverb i s found in three fou rths of al l occurrences of thi sid iom , and should be made the bas is for i llustration ofi t . The uses of the connecting ae
’
v 36’ should be d i s
cussed . The first ae'
v Be’ are correlatives without any
strong oppositi on impl i ed ; the second 86’ i s connective
and nearer i n m ean ing to and than to Out. Then againae
’
v 8e' almost , but not qu ite , as i n the first case . Then
zea l, emphasi zing a S i ngle word and not a copulative con
j unction as in the first sentence . door, a s many as , who,
suggests the use of these correlatives . In connectionwith thi s the tables in Goodwin’s Grammar , 429 , and inHadley and A l len , 2 82 , should be read over and carefully
2 50 P ROSE WRI TERS
explained . Special note should be m ade of the d ifference between 05 7 0? and rowfiros , between rowfrros and7 00 067 09 , between 0209 and 60 09 . The definite article andi ts uses should rece ive attention . Note its om i ssion inKa o
-
rwx of) r eBL’
ov,i n effect a p roper nam e . Cf. in Eng
l i sh Ma rshfie ld . 01311 i s once used , név to sum upthe story to that point ; that i s , i t i s continuative and notequal to Engl i sh therefore . I t i s once resumptive afterthe d igression ica l a rpa rn
fyév 3é a t
’
Irt’
w ddpoc’
é’
ovra c.
A s many of these points as can be Should be pointed ou tand explained by the teacher , and the passage assignedfor rec itation on the following day . When the classm eets again , thi s portion should be translated by thepup ils , who Should be u rged to modi fy thei r renderingswhen faulty by repeated tri als unti l a translati on hasbeen obtained which shows that the pupi ls have m astered ,fi rst , the m eanings of the words , second , the i r propersyntacti c relati ons i n the clause , and , thi rd , the syntacti cand rhetorical relati on of the clauses i n the period .
Speci al attenti on should be given i n th is connectionto the emphasi s given words by thei r posi tions in the
Order ofclause . For i n stance , i n section two of the
Words and its passage from A nahasis , I . I , c’
waBa t’
vet, andImportance ‘ further the added emphasi s of the ica l before
and the extending of the relative construc
t i on by an independent clau se . Then , last of all , a careful read ing of the Greek text . with special attention tothe pronunc iation of the words SO as to Show thei rm utual relations , and to bring out the m ean ing clearlyby good enunc i ation . There is j ust as m uch differencebetween good read ing and bad reading in Greek as inEngli sh . Then repeat the p rocess of the day before ona new portion of the text . I should not advi se thepupi l’s undertaking at first new passages of text beforethese have been consid e red with the teacher . Unlearn
262 PROSE WRI TERS
Two ,or possibly three , books Should be read in thi s
careful manner, and then the read ing should be more
Increasem rap id . The range of d i scuss ion on top icsRapidity connected with the lesson may be broadened ,°f Ream g' as the grammati cal i nte rp retati on wi ll naturally demand less tim e . This d ifference in treatm ent i srecognised in the plan recommended by the Comm i tteeof the Ameri can Phi lologi cal Association , and i s a thoroughly reasonable one . No Slovenly or inaccurate habitsi n translati on Shou ld be tolerated at any point i n thecou rse , but correct habi ts ought to be fixed by thistime , and so a more rap id rate of p rogress be poss iblewithout sacrifice of accuracy . The subj ect matter increases in i nterest , i n my op in ion , from the beginning ofbook three . From thi s point Xenophon becomes thecentral figure of the story . His account of hi s j oin ingthe exped iti on , of hi s dream , told at the beginn ing ofbook three , and of the reorgan izati on of the army andthe choice of new generals i s i nteresting and instructive .
The last named shows us the army as a typ ical self- govern ing poli ti cal community with its attendant ind ivi dualinsubordination and independence of thought andspeech . The long speech of Xenophon , I I I . 2 , 8—32 ,
may be considerably cut down in length . From thispoint the story is ful l of exc iti ng scenes and situations .Book fou r gives much interesting information about themanner of l iving of the tr ibes the Greeks m e t with onthe northward m arch . The terrors of a winter i n thehighland and mountains of A rmen ia have never beenbetter described . The passage at the end of the fi rstchapter and the beginn ing of the second may be leftout . It i s hard to understand , and the facts m ay easi lybe summari zed . SO book four i s brought to an end ata fai rly rap id rate , and wi th i t comes the end of thenormally p resc ribed reading in prose of the three-yearcourse in the high school .
PROSE WRI TERS 263
The question ari ses frequently , however, “ What further read ing i s to be recomm ended when there i s st i lltime for the purpose ? For time there wi lloften be . Many classes , especi al ly sm al l Proseclasses
,wi ll fin ish ahead of the usual time .
Others wi ll have extra tim e gained by taking an additional half-year or year for preparation for college , ormay find le i sure because they are ahead in other stud ies .The answers given to thi s questi on are four : F i rst
,
selections from one or more of the other works ofXenophon , - the He l lenica or the Cyropwd ia . Second ,som ething of Plato . Thi rd , selections from Lysi as , oranother of the A tti c orators . Fourth , porti ons of He
rodotus . In favor of som e fu rther read ing i n anotherwork of Xenophon , i t m ay b e said that his style hasbeen mastered , and that a wider vocabulary can beobtained by the re ad ingf
propose d . Thi s m ay be grantedand sti l l not be convincing . It i s often the subj ect ofcomplaint that the student com es up to hi s college workwith a very l im i ted vocabulary . A nothe r work of Xenophon wil l not material ly aid in removing the ground o fthis complaint . For the choice of the He l lenica i t may
fai rly be said that the subj ect m atter i s of importance ,and that som e valuable knowledge of hi story may begained by its study . No su ch argument can be urgedfor the Cyropwdia , however , nor can I think i t of suffic ient importance to j usti fy the devoting to i t of p reci oustim e .
That some of the easi er portions of Plato m ay betaken up with profit seem s l ikely . I cannot speak fromany actual experience in school work i n thi s
Plat“author, but I know that, as freshmen in col Easier
lege , students never fai l to becom e interested ”mm ”
i n h im . Some book of selections m ay be taken to furn ish the reading m atte r, or one of the eas ier d i aloguesmay be chosen .
2 54 PROSE WRI TERS
The P rotagoras i s adm i rably adapted for the firstreadings i n Plato . It can be arranged by some om i ss i ons so as to furn ish no very great difli cultie s . A s anexample of Socrates’ habit and manner of giving aserious tu rn to the most trivi al remarks , and of introduci ng themes of the highest importance in an unexpectedmanner and in an unlooked for connecti on , i t i s unsurpassed . Besides this there i s the l ive question introduce d at the beginn ing , What i s the end of educati on ,and what kinds of education are there ?”
This i s a particularly fit them e for the last year of school work , andof pos itive value for the man who does not go to collegeas well as for the prospective collegian . The beauti fu lmyth of the creation of man and of the organizati on ofsociety i s not hard read ing , and i t i s certainly very sug
ge stive and stimulating to further study in this wonderfu l author . A nother practi cal advantage in the readingof the P rotagoras l ies i n the fact that the vocabulary ofthe e arlie r
‘
chapte rs i s adm i rably adapted for dri l l i nprose compos ition . Other short and easy d ialoguessometim es chosen are the Lysis , Menex enus , and L a ches .
I do not myself th ink the Apology of Socra tes i s su i tablefor the first introduction to Plato . It contains manydifficulties . It i s a defence of a l i fe of pecul iar activi ty ,and i t i s better understood and m ore thoroughly appre
ciate d later i n the course , when m ore has been learnedof thi s l i fe and of the habits which are the subj ect of thedefence . Various other m i nor works proposed for thepu rpose of add iti onal prose read ing I do not d iscuss ,because I thi nk that the time of the student Should notbe claim ed for wri tings of l ittle histori cal o r l iteraryvalue . The amount of Greek he can and wi l l read isvery l im i ted at best . A ll save the finest should beexcluded from consideration .
The plan of taking something from one of the orators
266 PROSE I/VRI TERS
Pre ferable to any of the plans mentioned i s , i n myj udgm ent, that of reading the remainder of the A naba sis ,More of the or , at least , large portions of i t, and for theseAmm ' reasons : F i rst, the read ing done , both incollege and in school , i s , at the best, very fragme n
tary . Consider the latte r as commonly done . F i rst, ofone author about one half of one work , the A nabasis .
Then , a smal l po rti on , not more than one fourth at theoutside , of one poem , the I l iad . This portion of thepoem i s not su fficient to carry through to i ts conclus ionany one of the developments of the story suggested inthe part that i s read . Thi s i s the usual acquaintancewith Greek l iteratu re which the boy possesses when heenters col lege . There again too often the same fragmentary nature of this Greek reading i s continued . SO
i t does not seem to m e wise to add to the school reading another smal l fragment of a work l ike Herodotus’
history . Second , the enti re setting of any new workmust be learned , whi le with the A nabasis and with itsauthor, who in the later books i s the chief actor , thestudents are already acquainted . Thi rd , the subj ectmatter of Books V.
—VII . of the A nabasis i s of much inte re st. This i s especially true of Book V . Here thepersonal ity of Xenophon comes out with d i stinctness .The descripti ons of the varidus i nhab itants of the northcoast of Asia M inor , of thei r manner of l iving , and of
the l i fe and home of Xenophon himself in later years ,all thi s i s i nteresting , and i t i s told in a language not atal l d ifficult . If less than the whole seven books of theA nabasis must be the limit, I th ink that Book V. , atleast , should be read . This read ing can be done by thestudent with more ease and with m ore rap id i ty than anew work or a new author . Therefore i t wi l l be read ,I bel i eve
,with more pleasure and profit .
There wi ll be a sense of sati sfaction in the completing
P ROSE WRI TERS 267
an enti re work , and in the increasing ab i l i ty to read withless labou r i n the use of the d i ctionary . I add a fewwords about the vocabulary of the fifth book
Specialof the Anabasis . Xenophon’s Anabasis , Book AdvantagesV. ,contai ns about two hundred and fifty mum”
words which have not been used in Books I .
—IV . Thi rtyof these are contained in one passage , a few sections i nlength . More than one fourth of them are new prepositional compounds of verbs already m e t with in theearl ie r books . To the understanding of these the lex icon is hardly necessary , if the meanings of the p repositi ons have been carefully stud ied . Other new wordsare of common occurrence i n Greek works to be readlater , and an acquaintance with them i s a d i rect advantage . Such words are ulna , a Sa c/t a , avdenua , c
’
i'zroucos,
do cpdkeca , arppoafivn, Bla ze s, rye
’
hocov, 3Ldvoca , 3uca cr'rojs,
é’
n'
zropos, é'
vr tuos, 550309 , chwopt’
a , Icaflafw-
ep, nolkn
maflocpopd, vo'
a os, 71 wpd’éevos , a r ijkn, ghop
-rt'
ov,
«Mt/me . These two classes , of which the second m ightbe extended , comprise one thi rd of the whole numberof new words m e t with i n Book V . These considerations seem to m e worth careful weighing when decid ingthe main questi on of what nex t? I t may be addedalso that this book describes the m arch of the Greeksthrough a country which is at the present time of muchinterest i n m any ways .
The Greeh New Testament. Few, i f any , schoolsmake systemati c provi s ion for instructi on in the GreekNew Testam ent . I do not bel ieve that
o
l t canDesirabmty
be crowded into the curr icu lum , wh ich is of lnstrucfion
now over full . But I do think that a wide $1.eawake te acher would often be able to get anOpportunity to spend perhaps an hou r a week with h isstudents , and to start them i n this time in the readingof some of the easier portions of the New Testament in
2 5 3 PROSE WRI TERS
thei r original form . Once started , they could , and , Ibel i eve , would , follow up the read ing by them selves . I fthis can be accomplished , there wi l l be a double gaintherefrom . F i rst, the student wi ll gain some knowledgeof the Scriptu res in Greek . I regard this as desi rable .
In fact, i t seem s to m e that the p resent ignorance ofthe Greek New Testament on the part of people whohave had a class ical education i s l i ttle short of a d isgrace . It may be said that the college is the placewhere thi s b ranch of Greek l i te rature should be read .
A s a m atte r o f fact , i t i s not read there to any greatextent, nor by any cons iderable number of students , eveni n those colleges i n which i nstruction i n i t i s offered .
I venture the statement that very few, outs ide the num
ber who m ay be looking forward to a course of study ina theological sem i nary, choose this . More ’s the p ity !Few p ieces of l i te rature are more impressive or morecharm i ng in the i r s imple and straightforward earnestness . But these books are more to us than l i terature .
Stripped of al l theological i nterp retati on , they presentthe first l i terary message and the first history of therel igion p rofessed by most of the civi l i zed world .
A cquaintance with these books may be begun at anearly peri od in the student’s work in Greek . I wouldadvi se urging upon every student who has begun to readXenophon the purchase of a Greek New Testam ent .Le t him carry this with him to chu rch always and followi n i t the read ing of the Scriptures . Besides afford inghim a knowledge of the text, thi s hab it wi ll assi st himnot a l i ttle i n hi s school work in Greek . His vocabularywill be i ncreased , and his fam i l i arity with Greek m adegreate r . I have refrained from presenting any arguments based on rel igious considerations , but I bel i evethat the careful study of the Greek text wi ll p rove superior i n moral effect to numerous hom i l i es on the valueo f the lessons taught therein .
2 70 PROSE WRITERS
beginners i n Greek , but its use presupposes some knowledge of classi cal Greek .
Burton , E . D . W . Syntax of the Moods and Tensesi n New Testament Greek (Chicago : The Universi tyPress) . A n excel lent book in the field i t covers .Hudd ilston, J . H . Essentials of New Testament
Greek (London and New York : Macm i l lan , A
book for beginners in Greek . Based enti rely on thegrammar of the New Testament usage , i ts aim i s to provide the shortest method for acqu i ring sufli cient knowledge of the language to read the New Testament i nGreek . It can be used without a teacher , i f need be , andi s a thoroughly good book . It contains also a selectedbibl i ography of works on the New Testament .
CHA PTER IV
HOMER
REFERENCES .
A . LANGUAGE, ANTIQ U ITIES, L ITERARY Q UESTIONS.
Gehr ing, A . Inde x Home ricus . L e ipz ig, 1891 . Indispensable to
e ve ry te ache r who wishe s to make a firs t-hand study of the poems .
Eb e ling , H . Editor. L e x icon Home ricum . 2 vols . L e ipz ig, 1885 .
The large st and most comple te work. It is valuable for a l ibrary of
re fe re nce,but rathe r e x pensive for individua l owne rship.
A utenr ie th , G . A Home ric Dictionary. Trans late d byR . P . K e ep,
and re vise d by Isaac Flagg. The Am e rican Book Company, New York .
The most convenie nt smal l work of the kind , though not a lways accu
rate . Its sma l l cost place s it within the re ach of e ve ry te ache r,and
e ve ry student in school who intends to pursue Home r in college shouldbe urge d to buy it.M onro, D . B . A Grammar of the Home ric D iale ct. Se cond e dition.
Ox ford , 1891 . The standard grammar of the language , including forms
and syntax .
J e bb , R . 0 . Home r : An Introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey.
London and Boston. A n e x ce edingly use ful book, whose purpose is“to furnish , in a compact form , a gene ra l introduction to the s tudy of
Home r . The four chapte rs into which it is divided de al re spe ctive lywith four aspe cts of the subj e ct : ( 1 ) The gene ral characte r of the
Hom e ric poems , and the ir place in the history of l ite rature ; (2 ) the irhistorical va lue , as il lustrating an e arlype riod of He l lenic life ; (3) the irinfluence in the ancient world , and the criticism be stowed on them in
antiquity; (4) the mode rn inquiry into th e ir origin.
”The se are matte rs
about which e ve ry te ache r of Home r Should know. They are tre ated inthis work with the bril liancyand grace which are so characte ristic of the
author’s work.Caue r , P . Grundfragen de r Homerkritik. Le ipz ig, 1895. A good
pre se ntation of the va rious phase s of the Hom e ric que stion or que stions .
Buchhol z , E . D ie Home rische Re al ien. 3 vols . Le ipz ig,1871
- 1885 .
An e x tended and , in the main, satisfactory tre atm ent of the “antiqui
ties of th e poem s .
2 72 HO/WER
H e lb ig, W . Das Home rische Epos aus den D enkm alern e rlaute rt.
2d e d . L e ipz ig, 1887. A n attempt to illustrate the various d e scriptionsof clothing, armour, e tc ., in th e poems by me ans of a rchaeologica lmate rial .R e ich e l , W . U ebe r Home rische Waffen. Vienna, 1 894. A n at
tempt to illustrate the de scriptions of a rmour in Hom e r byme ans of the
Mycenaean rema ins .
L ang, A nd rew . Home r and the Epic. Longmans , Gre en, Co .
London and N ew York,1893 . A gene ra l d iscuss ion of the Hom e ric
que stion ”from a lite rary and conse rvative point of view. Lang argue s
for the unity of authorship.
L e af , W alte r . A Companion to the Iliad . Macmil lan Co. Lon
don,1 892 . Like the last-nam e d work, a d iscuss ion of the Home ric
que stion . L e af be lie ve s the I l iad is an enlargem ent'
of an e arlie r andshorte r poem .
Ge d d e s , W . D . The Problem of the Home ric Poems . London, 1878.
In addition to a discuss ion of the subj e ct,the book contains a statement
of th e history of the d iscussion .
Much matte r of a similar nature is to be found in some of the e ditions
named be low.
B . ED IT IONS .
M onro, D . B . Home ri Ope ra e t Re l iquiae . Ox ford , The C larendonPre ss , 1896. A be autiful te x t e d ition, on India pape r, containing in one
octavo volume al l of the I liad,the Odyssey, and the Home ric Hymns .
It costs and is a re al tre asure .
Ch rist, W . Home ri l liadis Carmina sejuncta, discre ta , emendata.
Prolegomenis e t apparatu critico instructa . The poem is separate d intoforty shorte r songs , whose compa rative age is indicate d by four diffe rentkinds of type in printing the te x t. The Prolegomena are of much value .
L e af , W . The I liad e dited with English Note s and an Introduction.
2 vols . London,Macmillan Co .
,1900, 1903 . A fine library e dition.
The note s are large ly critica l and e x ege tical . The introduction to the
se cond volum e contains a table of arrangement of the various books inthe supposed ord e r of the ir compos ition. This table is a valuable analysis of the contents of the poem .
Am e is , K . F . , and Hentz e , C . Hom e rs Ilias fiir den Schulgebrauche rk l
'
art. Teubne r, L e ipz ig. The be st,and it is ve rygood inde ed , e dition
with Ge rman e x planatory note s . An appendix contains de taile d discuss ions of particular passage s , with the citation of a vast numbe r of booksand pamphlets . I t is published in e ight diffe rent parts , e ach of wh ich
contains thre e books of th e poem ,and to e ach of the se the re is a corre
spond ing part of the appendix . New e ditions are constantly appe aring,
and this fact make s it one of the most valuable of aids in th e study of
the poem . The re is an e dition of th e Odysseyby the same e ditors , andidentical in plan and scope .
274 H OMER
m ust accept the s i tuation and proceed upon the theorythat some porti on of the Il iad or the Odyssey i s to forma part of the high school cou rse i n Greek .
The field of Homeri c study i s so vast , and the variousproblem s connected with i t are so num erous , that the
The rmbl em fi rst questi on the teacher m ust m eet andOf SeleCfion answer i s that of selecting what he wi ll emphas ize
,and of decid ing what must be passed by . Th e
reasonable answer seem s to m e to be , fi rst of all , thepoem i tself. I t m akes no possible di fference to theyoung student beginning this reading whether the I liadi s a uni t o r a collecti on of poems . He will not betroubled by confusion , real or fancied , of m otive , or byform s which are unhom e ric .
”
His d ifficulti es are fars impler ones than these , or others l ike them . His d iffi
cultie s cons i st i n the strange form s of inflection , the noveluses of syntax
,the separation of the parts of compound
verbs,and so on . Not unti l he has m astered all these
and has read a considerable portion of the poems , shouldproblem s of textual or l i terary cri ti c i sm be suffered tod isturb hi s appreci ation . Sympathetic study and inter
pretation are the things which will m ake thi s , his chiefl iterary study i n school , of lasting value and enj oym ent .F i rst of all , i n my j udgment, com es the reading of the
text in an accu rate and true rhythm i cal fashion . I f
Readingof thethe student has already learned to read hi s
11011131“Tel “ Virgil i n thi s m anner , there wi ll be no greatd ifficulty with the Homer . If not , then tim e enoughmust be devoted at the start to m aster the rhythm ofthe verse . Th e Hom eri c verse i s easi er to read thanthe Latin . The el i s ions of vowels are nearly al l m adein the text as p rinted , and vowels do not have to becrowded out or slu rred in p ronunc iati on . A gain , thevowels whose signs are doubtful i n quantity are fewerthan in L atin verse . a ,
L, and v are usually short . In
HOMER 275
the first two hundred verses of the fi rst book of theI l iad , there are twelve cases of d ( not counting infle ctional syllab les) i n which the accent as printed does notShow the quantity , or the vowel i s not i n the fi rst syllable of the verse . Of these the word Xa o's furn ishesfive
,and ’
A 7r0’
7t7\cov four . The rem ainder i s made upof apnrfip twice , and the rare word wokvaZ/cos. Z i s m e t
with under sim i lar conditi ons twenty- two times , of whichar iaa
'
w furn ishes four, and dim three .
’
13 i s found e ighteen times i n the two hundred l ines . Of these Grinds,seven times , and h im, three times , make up m ore thanone half.A carefu l noting of these facts wi ll be a great help ,
and save m uch uncertainty . A n exam inati on by theteacher of the passage to be read wil l enable him tose lect the more important words from thi s point of V i ewfor m emori zing by his pup i ls and for practice i n p ronunciation. The m echanical analysi s of the Mechanical
verse wi ll often afford much help in getting Aidsmthiso
the quantity . A S the verse i s made up of dactyls andspondees exclus ively , —barring the final foot i n theverse, which may be a trochee , i t i s evident that oneShort syllable wi ll never be found stand ing alone i n i t .That i s , the success ion of syllables u ( a creti c )cannot occu r . Further , i t i s equally plain that threesuccessive short syllables , u u u , cannot occu r . Two
long syllables m ust be followed by a thi rd long . So aschem e l ike the following may be used in determ in ingthe quantity of syllables which to the eye are doubtful .L et a: represent the one uncertain in quantity . In thecombinations x and u u x
,.r must be equal to
In sr u and u x , 3: must be equal to u . Ihave found this a saving of time in d iscuss ing quanti tyi n Hom eri c verse . Care i s necessary , however , thatthe pupi ls do not ge t the idea that this explains the
2 76 HOM ER
cause of the quantity , and not m erely the fact . Ex
planati ons of m etri cal d i fficulti es of a spec ial natu re wi l lbe found i n the notes to any good school ed i ti on. One
phenomenon of rather frequent occurrence i s the Shorte ning of a d iphthong , when fina l in a word ,
before thein iti al vowel of the following word . E . g. I l iad A 1 8,
Eatc’
ikAoZ e’
v/cmjnt3es’
Ax aw t’
. Note that the a t of ’Ax a Loli s not so treated .
This shorten ing m ay be i llustrated i n Engl i sh , ap
proximate ly, by the fulle r sound of the letters oy i n enjoyor enjoyment
, for i nstance , than in the parti c ip le enjoying.
Other example s , l ike employ, employment, employer ; cry,
crier , crying, wil l suggest themselves to the teache r oreven to the bright pup i l . The teacher m ay Show, too ,that a) i s l ike 00, and that in such a l i ne as Thu 3
’e’ryd) 013
Aéow, I l i ad A 29 , i t m ay be cons idered that the second
of these 0 sounds has been elided .
When the quanti ty of al l the syllables has been settledi n a verse or verses , and the proper divi s i on into feetRhythmical has been m ade , the read ing aloud Should beReading° thoroughly practi sed in perfect time . By
perfect time I m ean if time , that i s , with its un i t formedby a m easu re that has four beats and can be used as am arch movem ent . In theory nothing can be simplerthan thi s analysi s , but i n practi ce it i s d i fficult , becauseof the confusion caused in the appli cati on of these te rm sof Greek m etri cal system s to Engl i sh poetry , i n whichthe princ ip le of rhythm i s enti rely d ifferent . Engl ishdactyl i c verse i s not i n the least l ike Gre ek dactyl icverse . The Engl ish dactyl i s represented by the sam eS igns , u u , but i t depends enti rely upon stress for i tseffect and not upon quanti ty . It i s really i n 2 t ime .
The tendency on the part of Engli sh - speaking students ,and teachers too , to carry thi s method of read ing intothe Greek hexameter i s almost i rres istible . But the
278 HOMER
the feet and upon rep roducing them , will p robably d ivide i n thi s waywokkc
‘
zs 8’
Z¢95 yous «Irv 7621 9V
A L St 7rpof Iampevmaking a d istinct pause at the end of each foot , andnone between the words them selves . Call attention tothe fact that there i s no such word as [ mum/m or x a sa i
’
.
It cannot be too often emphas i zed that this poetry wascomposed for recitation , not for reading ; and that i twas to be understood by hearing . The only way toreproduce the effect and to get any adequate idea ofthe artisti c form i s to im i tate th is p rocess of reci ting asbest we m ay. This same p rinc ip le m ust be borne i nm i nd in d iscuss ing the ca sural pause of the verse . Itshould be an aid to the unde rstand ing of the poet’sm eaning . Therefore what i s closely jo i ned in thoughtshould not be separated by i t . Nor i s i t always of thesame we ight . Compare in this respect the l ine givenwith l ine five , or l i nes eight and n ine with each other .The very common habit of m aking a complete break inthe thi rd foot of the verse , qu ite i rrespective of the senserequ i red , should not be tolerated .
The i nterpretati on of the text which has been sostudied , should be , on the teacher
’s part,a first- hand
Interpretation i nterp retati on as far as possible . I would“the Ten urge the teacher , with the help of Ge hring
’
s
Index , to follow the uses of any given Hom eri c wordthrough as m any passages as poss ible
,and in thi s way
form hi s own idea of the prec ise mean ing and use of theword , and of the most adequate Engl ish word to replacei t i n translating . A teacher who has done this has acommand of the text wh ich cannot be obtained from thevocabulari es alone , and can be much more confident ofhi s knowledge and much clearer in explanation to the
c al class . Further , the students shou ld be e n
Em ple courage d to make a s im i lar study for them
HOZVER 279
selves,after they have followed thei r teacher through
the steps of the p rocess i n a few examples . I shall tryto give an i l lustration of what I mean .
Il iad A 1 1 1—1 1 5 reads as follows7 3 3 I , 3,
ovve x e ryw lcovpns v myi oos a fyha. a 'n
'
owa.
013K geckov Béfa a da t, e’
7rei 770K?) Boéx omu a z’
n'iyv
V 3, f Q I
oucoc ex ew . [ca b ryap pa. Kkv
fl
ramvna rpns wpoBeBovka ,V fI 3 I 9 I a
novpioms akax ov, eweoou 696 1) 60 7 1 x epe rcov,3 l 3, f V 3,
cu ouBe (bum) , OUT ap (bpeva s OUTG TL epf
ya .
Here the p roblem i s to d istingu ish i n verse 1 1 5 them eanings of Se'p a s and 43 11 7511 . The notes in school ed iti ons and the vocabulari es m ost used show a wide d ifference of interpretati on . If the ed itions of Keep and ofSeymour are both represented in the class , i t may happenthat one pup il read ing a ccording to Keep translates riotin figure nor in stature . A nother , however , quotesSeymour’s note riot in build . This p robablyrefers to her stature , since the Greeks always associ atedheight and beauty .
” 1 Now thi s i s confus ing . Figureand sta ture are not the same thi ng , and i t i s hardly poss ible that the same Greek word m eant either one atpleasure . I f now to m eet the d i fficulty thus presentedwe look into other books for help , we find that A utenrieth’s d icti onary gives as equ ivalents for (Se/ms frame ,
build , and for q figrowl/z , form , pkys igue . This i s notspecific enough to be of m uch ass istance . L eaf, i n h isediti on of 1 886, says i n hi s note on the passage : The
distincti on of Be'p a s and (fwfii s not quite clear . Fromphrases l ike Se’p a s 7rvp0
'
S‘ i t would seem natural to take
1 Seymour re fe rs furthe r to line 167 in support of this ide a , but it
s e ems to m e that that particular passage , if line s 168 and 169 be re ad ,is not a good one for his purpose . Of the corre ctne ss of his s tatement
the re can be no possible doubt, for Homeric time s at le ast.
2 80 HOME]?
86'
p a s as outward appearance generally ; (fivfi as growl/z ,i . e . , stature . But thi s latter m eaning belongs to 86’,u.a si n E 80 1 . Perhaps we m ay render stature and figarewith about the same degree of vagueness .” But Leafand Bayfie ld , i n thei r ed iti on of 1 895 , translate rze ilker
Help from the infavoar nor stature . So there seems to beP091“1mm no settled op in ion as to the meaning of eitherword . Now i f, as the next step in the process , we compare I l iad B 56—58,
96269 p01 ofit/157171 101) fikdev”
Ovetpos
dpflpom’
nv 818 vfix '
ra'
“cil ia-
Ta 86N 6'
0'
7'
0p1 859)
62869 7 6 “6476969‘TG (pt/751} c
’
ifyx w ra égix e i ,
we find (IN/75 used , and a th i rd word , 62809 , added , whi le
p e'
ryedos i s used in place of Thi s change of word
i s a help to the understanding of 86'
,ua s . A dditional l ight
i s thrown on the mean ing of 867m? by I l iad E 80 1 ,
Tv86159 7 01 p cp s 31711 86’
,ua s,
and by I l iad I‘ 2 26,
c’
wiyp nus 7 6 ye’f
ya s 7 6,3, l I 3 I V
efox os Ap'yewwx egbahnv 7 6 fea t. evpea s CUILLOUS
‘
.
From these passages i t seem s that pucpo'
s and p e'
rya?
used with 86’p a 9 i nd icate that the latte r word refers tostatu re . That p e
’r
ya s m eans ta l l may be seen by Il iad ,F 167, ue lé
’
oves x ecfiakfi80001 e’
ua'
t,a dead ta l ler . There
are two passages in the Odyssey which give us somehelp on thi s point : 0d . 6 2 1 1—2 1 8, where Calypso says ,i n comparing herse lf with Penelope
of) pee'
v 9771) x e r’
vns 76 x epe lwv 6vx op cu e l l/cu3,
86'
,ua s, 01388q fiv, 6
’
7r6i. 057 009 01386 eotx ev
011777219 c’
zdavdrym ica l. 62809 épc’
é’
ew .
HOMER
dents also to make collecti ons o f the ep i thets used withany parti cular word , and so to try and gain something ofthe vis ion whi ch the poet had of that person or thingdenoted by the word . It i s thi s c learness of vi si onwhich means everything in the power to appreci ateHomer . The teacher must have i t, i f he expects to besuccessfu l i n his work , and the pup i ls ought to gainsomething of i t i f they are to enj oy the work and to getreal and lasti ng benefit from i t . Now, j ust how far thisor a sim i lar method can be used to advantage i n aclass , must , as i n so many othe r points , be a matter ofi nd ividual j udgment . Something of i t can be , I think ,tri ed in any class . I have confidence that th is way ofworking wi ll p revent the danger of that deaden ing useof a vocabulary in a pure ly mechan i cal way, and willbring the students c loser to the real l iving poet . I shallm ention the aid to i nterpretati on gained from works ofart later .The turning of the Homeri c poetry i s easy , i f oneregards m erely the story . The consequence i s that i t i sTranslating usually badly done by students , done worse°f 3 0m “ than the translating of Xenophon . Carefulstudy which gives a firm grasp on the detai ls of the narration i s the only preparation whi ch can make an adequatetranslation possible . This must be fol lowed or accom
panie d by an equally careful study of the style andm anner of the narration . A s a guide in thi s study Ithink that there i s nothing better
,after all that has been
said and written , than the essays of Matthew A rnold0a TranslatingHomer . Every teache r of Homer shouldbe fam i l i ar with them , and with the conclusi ons thereinstated , and I should advise that a summary of the i r contents , or the conclusions at least , be put before studentsat an early m oment in thei r study of Homer . Try andget students to m ake d i rect use of these princip les of
HOMER 2 33
A rnold’s i n thei r own work by attempting wri tten trans~lations for them selves . These translati ons should be inprose at first , but after some experi ence has been gained ,the student may be encouraged to m ake metrical ve rs ions . I f this be tri ed , each verse of the Greek shouldbe expressed whereve r possible by one verse i n Engl i sh .
A n adequate apprec iation of the rap id i ty of movementof the Homeri c verse can best be gained in this way .
One of the best helps that I have found i n trying topoint out these characteri stics of Hom e ri c thought andstyle consi sts i n comparing a publi shed Eng Comparisonl i sh version with the Greek text , and noting of English
the excellences and defects of the rendering .
This forces the student to take careful note of m anyl i ttle points which are apt to be overlooked . This comparison of one Engl ish vers ion with the Greek m ay thusbe extended so as to include the compari son of severaltranslations , one of which m ight be put into the handsof each pupi l . Or one may place side by side on aprinted sheet three or four standard Engl ish vers ions .
In using these i t i s well to take each sentence by itself,
fi rst making as close a translation as can be done in theclass , and then comparing the Engl i sh renderings of thesame sentence with the Greek and with each other .This affords opportunity to j udge how far one translato r i s dependent upon another for phrases .To i l lustrate thi s m ethod , I reproduce here four
Engl ish translations of I l iad A 42 8—487
This passage is complete i n itsel f, and affords oppor
tunity for studying the effect of the translati ons in alarger way, as well as for testing them i n m atters ofdetai l . I have chosen these translati ons because theyrepresent d i fferent periods in the history of translatingHomer into Engli sh , and because each presents wellmarked ind ividual features .
2 84 HOMER
FOUR TRANSLATIONS INTO ENGLISH OF HOMER,
ILIAD 43 1—487.
I . CHA PMAN , 1 598.
Thus , made she he r remove ,And left wrath trying on h e r son, for his enforced love .
U lyss es , with the he catomb , ar rive d at Chrysa’s shore ;
And wh en amidst the hav’
n’s de ep mouth , they came to use
the oar,
They straight strook sail, then roll’d them up , and on the
hatche s th rew ;The top
-mast to the ke lsine then , with halyards down
they drew ;
Then brought the ship to port with oars ; then forkedanchor cast ;
And,’
gainst the violence of storm , for d riftingmade h er fast.
All come ashore , they all e x pos’d the holy he catomb
To angry Phoebus , and , with it, Chryse is we lcom’d home
Whom to he r s ire , wise Ithacus , that did at th’altar s tand
,
For honour led , and, spoken thus , re s ign’d her to his handChrys e s , the mighty king of men, great Agamemnon, sends
Thy lov’d se ed bymy hands to thine ; and to thyGod commends
A hecatomb , which my charge is to sacrifice , and se e kOur much-sigh
-m ix’d woe his re cure , invok’d by e v’ryGre e k .
Thus he re s ign’
d he r, and he r s ire re ce iv’d he r high lyjoy
’d .
A bout the we l l-built altar , then, they orde rly employ’d
The sacred off’ring, wash
’d the ir hands
,took s a lt cake s ; and
the prie st,W ith hands h e ld up to heav’n, thus pray
’d : O thou that all
things s e e st,
Fautour of Chrysa , whose fair hand doth guardful ly disposeCe le stial Cil la, gove rning in all pow
’r Tene dos,
O hear thy prie st, and as thy hand , in fre e grace to mypray’rs
,
Shot fe rvent plague - shafts th rough the Gre eks , now he arten
the ir affairs
H OMER
I . CHA PMAN ,1 598 Continued .
With health renew’d , and quite remove th
’infection from th e ir
blood .
”
He pray’d ; and to his pray
’rs again the God propitious stood .
All , afte r pray’r, cast on sa lt cake s , d rew back , kill’d , flay’d the
b e e ve s ,Cut out and dubb
’d with fat the ir thighs , fair dre ss’d with doubled
leave s ,A nd on them all the swe e tbreads prick’d . The pr ie st, with sma l l
se re wood ,Did sacrifice
, pour’d on red wine ; by whom the young men
stood,
And turu’d , in five ranks , spits ; on which (the legs enough) theye at
The inwards ; then in giggots cut the other fit for me at,
And put to fire ; which roasted we l l they d rew. The labour done ,They s e rv
’d the feast in, that fed all to satisfaction .
De s ire of me at and wine thus quench’d, the youths crown
’d cups
of wine
Drunk off, and fill’d again to all . That daywas he ld divine ,And spent in pae ans to the Sun, who heard with ple ased e ar ;
When whose bright chariot stoop’d to se a
, and twilight hid the
c le ar,A l l sound ly on the ir cab le s s lept, ev’n till the night was worn.
And when the lady of th e l ight, the rosy-finge r’d Morn
,
Rose from the hil ls , all fre sh arose , and to the camp re tir’
d .
Apol lo with a fore - right wind the ir swe l lingbark inspir’d .
The top-mast hoisted , milk-white sails on h is round breast they
put,
The miz ens strooted with the gale , the ship he r course d id cut
So swiftly that the parted wave s against he r ribs d id roar ;Which , coming to the camp , they d rew aloft th e sandy shore ,Where , laid on stocks
,e ach soldie r kept his quarte r as before .
HOMER
II. DRYDEN, 1697 Continued .
The ir salted cake s on crackling flame s th ey cast.
Then,turning back , the sacrifice they sped
The fatted ox en s lew,and flay
’
d the de ad .
Chopp’d off the ir ne rvous thighs , and ne x t prepar
’d
To invol ve the le an in cauls , and m end with lard .
Swe e tbre ads and col lops we re with skewers prick’dA bout the s ide s ; imbibingwhat they d e ck
’d .
The prie st with holy hands was se en to tine
The c loven wood, and pour the ruddywine .
The youth approach’
d the fire , and , as it buru’d ,On five sharp b roache rs rank
’d, the roast they turn
’d ;
The se morse ls stay’
d the ir stomachs then the r e stThey cut in legs and fil le ts for the fe ast ;Which drawn and serv
’d,the ir hunge r they appease
W ith savouryme at, and set the ir minds at e ase .
Now when the rage of e ating was repe ll’d ,
The boys with gene rous wine the goble ts fill’d .
The first l ibations to the gods theypourAnd then with songs indulge the genia l hour .Holy de bauch Til l day to night they bring,W ith hymns and paeans to th e bowye r k ing.
A t sun- se t to the ir shi-p th eymake re turn,
A nd snore se cure on de cks , til l rosymorn.
The skie s with dawning daywe re purpl ed o’e r ;
Awak’d , with labouring oars they le ave the shore .
Th e Powe r appeas ’d , with winds suffic’d the sail ,
The b e l lying canvass strutted with the gale ;The wave s indignant roar with surly pride ,A nd pre ss against th e s ide s , and beaten off divide .
They cut the foamyway, with force impe ll’d
Supe rior , til l the T rojan port th eyhe ldThen
,hauling on the strand , th e ir gal leymoor,
A nd pitch the ir tents a long the crooked shore .
2 87
2 88 HOMER
I I I. POPE ,1 71 5 .
The godde ss spoke : the rol lingwave s unclose ,;Then down the ste ep she plunged from whence she
And left him sorrowing on the lone ly coast,
In wild re sentment for the fair h e lost.In Chrysa
’s port now sage U lyss e s rode ;
Bene ath the de ck the destined v ictims stow’d
The sails they furl’d , they lash
’d the mast aside ,
A nd dropp’d the ir anchors , and the pinnace tied .
Ne x t on the shore the ir he catomb they landChrys e is last de scending on the strand .
He r, thus returning from the furrow’d main
,
U lysse s led to Phoebus’ sacred fane ;Whe re at his solemn a ltar, as the maid
He gave to Ch ryse s , thus the h e ro said
“ Hail,re ve rend priest ! to Phoebus’ awful dome
A suppliant I from great A trides com e
Unransom’d,he re re ce ive the spotle ss fair ;
A ccept the he catomb the Gre e ks prepare ;A nd may thygod who scatte rs darts around ,A tone d by sacrifice , de sist to wound .
”
A t th is , the s ire embraced the maid again,
So sadly lost, so late ly sought in vain .
Then ne ar the a ltar of the darting king,Disposed in rank the ir he catomb they bring;W ith water purify the ir hands , and takeThe sacred offe ring of the sa lted cake ;While thus with arms de voutly raised in air
,
A nd solemn voice , the prie st d ire cts his prayerGod of the sil ve r bow
,thy e ar incline ,
Whose powe r incircl e s Cil la the divine ;Whos e sacred eye thyTenedos surveys ,And gilds fair Ch rysa with d istinguish
’d rays !
If, fired to venge ance at thy prie st’s reque st,
Thy d ireful darts inflict the raging pe st :Once more attend ave rt the waste ful woe ,And smile propitious , and unb end thy bow.
290 H OMER
I II . POPE ,1 71 5 Continued .
So Chryse s pray’d . Apollo he ard his praye r
And now the Gre eks the ir hecatomb prepareBetwe en the ir horns the salted barley threw,
A nd , with the ir he ads to he aven, th e v ictims s lewThe limbs they se ve r from the inclosing hide ;The thighs , se le cted to the gods, divideOn the se , in doub le cauls invol ved with art,
The choice st morse ls lay from e ve ry part.
The prie st hims e lf before his altar stands ,A nd burns the offe ringwith his holy hands ,Pours the black wine , and s e e s the flame s aspire ;The youth with instruments surround the fireThe thighs thus sacrificed , and entrails dre ss’d ,Th
’assistants part, transfix ,
and roast the re stTh en spre ad the table s , the repast prepareEach takes his seat, and each re ce ive s his share .
When now the rage of hunge r was repre ss’d ,
W ith pure l ibations they conclude the fe ast ;The youths with wine the copious goblets crown’d,And
, ple ased , dispense the flowing bowls a round ;W ith hymns d ivine the joyous banquet ends ,The pae ans lengthen
’d til l the sun descends
The Gre eks , restored , the grate ful note s prolong ;Apol lo listens , and approve s the song.
’T was night ; the chiefs be side the ir ve sse l lie .
Til l rosymorn had purpled o’e r the sky
Then launch , and hoist the mast : indulge nt gale s,Suppl ied by Phoe bus , fi l l the swe l ling sailsThe milk-white canvas be l lying as they blow,
The parted oce an foams and roars be lowA bove the bounding b il lows swift theyflew,
Till now the Gre cian camp appe ar’d in View.
Far on the be ach they haul the ir bark to land ,(The crooked ke e l divide s the ye l low sand ,)Then part, whe re stretch
’d a long the wind ing bay,
The ships and tents in m ingled prospe ct lay.
HOMER 29 1
IV . COWPER ,1791
— Conti'
nued .
They, ne x t, invested with the double caul ,Which with crud e s l ice s thin th ey ove rspre ad .
The prie st burned incense , and libation pouredLarge on the hissing brands , wh il e , him b e side ,Busywith the spit and prong,
stood many a youth
Trained to the task . The thighs with fire consumed ,
Theygave to e ach his portion of the maw,
Then s lashed the remnant, pie rced it with the spits ,
A nd managing with culinary skillThe roast, withd rew it from the spits again .
The ir whole task thus accomplish’d , and the board
S et forth , they fe asted , and we re all sufficed .
W hen ne ithe r hunge r more nor thirst remained
Unsatisfied , boys crown’d the be ake rs h igh
W ith wine de l icious,and from right to le ft
D istributing the cups , se rved e ve rygue st.
Thenceforth the youth s of the A chaian raceTo song propitiatorygave th e day,Pae ans to Phoe bus , A rche r of the sk ie s ,Chauntingme lodious . P le ased , Apol lo h e a rd .
But, wh en, the sun de scending, darkne ss fe l l ,They on the be ach be s ide the ir hawse rs s lept ;A nd , when the day
- spring’s daughter rosy-
palm’d
Aurora look’d abroad , then back they ste e r’d
To the vast camp. Fair wind , and blowing fre sh,Apollo s ent them ; quick they re ar
’d the mast,
Then spread the unsul lied canvass to the ga le ,A nd the wind fi l led it. Roared the sabl e floodA round the bark , that e ve r as sh e went
Dash’d wide the brine , that scudded swift away.
Thus re aching soon th e spacious camp of Gre e ce ,The ir gal ley they updrew she e r o’e r the sands
From the rude surge remote , then propp’
d he r side s
W ith scantlings long, and sought the ir s e ve ra l te nts .
292HOMER
Other passages su i table for this purpose are Iliad B
35—52 , 84
—100 , 299-
320 . Any translati ons at hand may
be used . I think that Bryant m aywell be stud i ed ; andPope’s translation , which i s so generally prescribed nowas a part of the high school course in English , wi ll gene rally be avai lable . Pope’s vers i on i s i nstructive . A
student wi ll soon see where i t i s faulty , and , with a l i ttle
Keeping
help,wi ll see j ust why it i s faulty . I would
the Greek encourage translating in the order of theorder “ Greek . It wi l l be a surp rise to one whonm afing’ attempts i t for the fi rst tim e to see howclosely the Homeri c word order may be followed ,
and how good an Engli sh sentence such an order intranslating will p roduce . Verses 60 1 and followingof Il iad A m ay be tri ed as an experiment. A s withthe first reading and translating of Xenophon , thesec ret of ultimate success and sati sfacti on l i es i n slowand careful work at the start . There i s no other waypossible .
I have not felt i t necessary to enter i nto detai lsconcerning the learning of the form s peculi ar to the
The Homeric Hom eric poem s . Most of the grammars andLanguage' the school edi tions without exception giveenough material i n the way of explanation in this field .
They do.
not, however , or most of them do not, exhibi ti n regular parad igms the forms of declension and ofconj ugation .
These I would encourage the student to make up forhimself i n a note book , fi l l ing up the parad igm s as theform s occur i n h i s read ing . For example , the firsttwenty - five l ines of the first book of the I l iad affordexamples of the Homeri c forms for the genitive s ingularand the dative plural of the - 0 stem s ; of the gen itive ,dative , and accusative s ingular of the thi rd dec lensionnouns in - eu9 .
294 H OMER
For many, perhaps for m ost , teachers the questi on asto j ust what parts of the Il iad or of the Odyssey he shall
choose for read ing with hi s c lass i s not anfions to read open one . The se lecti ons are fixed for h imi n advance
,e ither by the curri cu lum of the school in
which he i s teaching , or by certain entrance requ i rements prescribed by some college or by an associ ationo f colleges . The question i s one , however , well worthconsideration , for upon i ts answer , and upon the planfollowed in consequence thereof, must depend i n considcrable degree the success of the teaching itself. The
princ ip les which should gu ide one i n making his selecti ons have been very well stated by Dr. A . L ange i nL e lzrproben and L e/trga
‘
nge a ns der P rax is der Gymna sien
and Rea lso/zulen, No . 43 , p . 48.
A s i t i s not possible to read all of Homer , selectionsfor this purpose must be made
,and they should be m ade
accord ing to the following princip les“ I . Passages whose subj ect m atter has a h igh poeti
cal value , or parti cularly valuable eth ical contents .II . Passages which shall fix and hold the interest o f
the pupi l .I I I . Passages which have a perm anent value i n
thei r relation to cultu re and to i ts h i story ; that i s ,which have furn ished m aterial of a permanent i nfluencei n art and li te rature . For examp le , the p icture of Z eusin I l iad A 52 8 ff. ,
77 ica l. nva ve’
naw 0¢pv0 1 vevo'
e Kpomwv.
ap o’
o'
La L apa v Ta c éweppcéa avro a'
va /cros
rcpa'
rbs c’
wr’tida l/draw p eg/a v 8
’
éke’
Mfev"O7tv,u7z
-
ou.
Or that of Hermes i n Odyssey 6 43 ff. .
ou8 0171 8Ldn7 0p09 apfyetqbo
’
vms .
V f
a v'
ruc 67reL9 v7ro n oc o-iv 6
’
8770'
a 7'
0 nak a 71-
68L7ta ,
aq o'
o'
La x puo-
eta , 7 d paw (pe'
pov finer) 6’
cj)’
1'
na
H OMER 295
738’
671"c’
wre c’
povavya iav c
'
iua 7rv0tg'
7’
9 c’
we’
uow .
67k67 0 86 76488012, 777?
7’
a v8pwv’
He'
NyeL
(In; 6961 61, 7 0139 8’
a v7 6 ica l. v7rva'
70v7 a 9 61764061 .3! I I
7 771) Xepaw ex a m7767 67 0 icpa 7v9 apt
yetcpowns .
IV . Each portion selected must be complete in i tself.V . Passages should be chosen in which the chi ef
characters are active , and whi ch show the basi c fabri cof the poem ; that is , of the Odyssey, passages in whichOdysseus appears as chief figure , and of the I l iad thosei n which A chi l les i s prom i nent . But i n the I l iad thereare other heroes to whose deeds whole passages aredevoted .
”
These princ ip les of selecti on m ay be appl i ed to bothpoem s . For the Il iad , however , we m ust face anotherproblem , which i s th is : Shall we take pas mul esages alone which carry forward the main mad
action ? Or shall we include i n our selecti ons thosewhich contai n ep i sodes not connected so d irectly wi ththe wrath of A chi lles , the quarre l with Agame nnon,
andthe results attendant thereon ?And further : Shall we , i f we do i nclude these episodes ,
take them i n the order i n which they come in ourHomer , or treat them separately , as stori es not d i rectlyconnected with the main narrative ? It i s of i nterest tosee how Dr. Lange’s se lecti ons from the I l iad , made onthe basi s he advocates , turn out . I add , therefore , theI l iad as he arranges it i n his scheme .
The Il iad i s begun in the fi fth year of the study ofGreek , and after the Odyssey has been read during thetwo years immediately previ ous .He prescribes Book I . all , I I . 1—483 , II I . all , IV . 1
2 50 , VI . 1 19—5 29 , VII . 1—3 1 2 , IX . 1—5 2 3 and 600—71 3 ,
XI . 1—5 20 , XII . 3 5—471 , XV . 592
—746. This makes a
total of 42 2 5 verses for this year of reading . It i s followed ih the fourth year of Homeri c read ing , which i s
296HOM ER
the sixth in Greek study and the final year of the Ge rman gymnas ium , by these passages of the remainingbooks of the Il iad : XVI . al l , XVII . 1 - 2 36, 4 26
—462 ,
65 1—761 , XVI II . all , XIX . 1—2 14 , 277
—424, XXI . all ,
XXII . all , XXIII . 1—261 , XXIV . all . Or a total i n thi syear of 442 1 verses . The amount covered in boththese years i s 8646 verses , which i s more than one halfo f the total number of verses , of the poem . Iwi ll not go through the Odyssey i n s im i lar detai ledfashion
,but his total number of l i nes there i s 54 14 , or
less than one half the total number of verses i n
andmthe the entire poem . In thi s schem e for theOdyssey read ings in the Odyssey , Books III . , IVXV . ,
XVIII . , XX . , XXIV . are om i tted altogether, and
79 verses only are i ncluded of Book I . This i s i n striking contrast to the latest school ed iti on of the Odysseypublished in the United States , i n which Books I .
- IV.
are given enti re .
Retu rn ing to the consideration of the I liad , i t wi ll beevident that the four thousand l ines which our p resent
programme of reading requ ires,may be so
rangement chosen from the poem that they wi ll i nclude“ 5 011001 more of its famous parts than they do now .
A s i t i s , I think the student rarely gets aclear idea of the action of the poem . The fi rst booki s reasonably clear . A chi lles’ resentment, his p rayerto hi s mother Theti s , her request of Z eus and theprom i se of the latter , are plainly told , and there i snone of that bewi ldering confusion of motive whichbegins almost at the start in Book I I . To select fromthe I l iad such portions as would carry out the them estated in Book I . , and contain the subsequent decisi onof A chi lles , first to send Patroclus , and then , after thelatter’s death , to enter the fight himself, the resultingfight with Hector , the death and burial of Hecto r and
CHAPTER V
GREEK CODIPOSI TI ON
REFERENCES.
S idgwick ,A . Introduction to Gre ek Prose Composition. London
,
Longmans ; Boston , G inn Co . Far too difficult a book for use inschools
,but containing much e x planatory matte r of gre at value to
te ache rs . A furthe r work by th e same author is Le cture s on Gre e kProse Composition, London and N ew York, Longmans . Th is , too, is
ful l of valuable hints and sugge stions .
A ll inson , F . G . Gre ek Prose C omposition. Boston,A llyn Bacon,
1890 . Contains good Note s on Idiom and Syntax , Rule s for the C ase s ,Rule s for the A ccent.”
BY common agreement i n the statements of al l teachers whose experi ences I have learned , thi s i s the part ofsubject is not Greek instructi on i n school which is regarded“ 94 ° with the least sati sfacti on by teachers themselves , and the part wh ich gives the m ost m eagre retu rnsfor the labour i t i nvolves . Teachers and school p rogram sare apt to sl ight i t , and students seek to shi rk i t as far asthey can . And yet i t ought not to prove so uninteresting. Compos ition is i n i ts natu re not unl ike a problemto be solved . In a way i t i s l ike a puzzle to be guessed .
Now, thi s characteri sti c , thi s contain ing som ething to bedi scovered , to be guessed , has always the power ofattracting a student’s m ind . But the puzzle m ust not betoo di fficult . One ti res soon of puzzles which he cannotwork out to an evident answer , or of r iddles which he
M useum cannot guess . A t the same time the problemoften too must be hard enough to furni sh stimulus toDifficult
the pup i l . I bel i eve that most of the m i stakesmade i n the teaching of Greek composi tion , so far as
GREEK COMP OSI TI ON 299
books for that purpose go , l i e , first , i n m aking the problemor problem s too difficult . One passage offers often toomany hard points for so luti on . I quote as an examp lea part of the first exerc ise set i n a book on compos iti on ,a book which has some good featu res . It is as fol lows“ When
,now
,the Ci l i c i an queen saw the Greeks with
spears ati lt com i ng on and running with shouts towardthe Pers i an camp , and saw the barbarians running awayin fright
,she fl ed from her carriage i n great alarm . A nd
the fear of al l the barbari ans was so great that even themarke tme n forsook thei r wares and ran away . Cyrus ,however
,was much p leased when from his chariot he
saw the bri ll i ant d iscip l i ne of the Greeks , who ran withlaughter to thei r tents , whi le the barbarians feared themand were flee ing from them ; for he was taking the Greekswith him that he m i ght not be forced to wage a long warwith the king , but that he m ight destroy hi s great poweri n one battle .
”
The Gree k text on which this exerc i se i sbased affords no example of such complex arrangementof clauses as the last sentence here seem s to cal l fo r .The m ultipl i cation of d ifficu lti es produces at least twobad results : fi rst, a d i scouragement on the part of thestudent ; and secondly , a too lenient j udgment on thepart of the teacher of the results reached by the pup i l .I can see no value at all i n the wri ti ng of Greek unle ss theresu lts are to be exact and are to be measu red by exactstandards , and by rules which are so definite that the students can understand and m aste r them . Otherwise theexerci se can result only in a half knowledge which wil lreveal itself in equal ly lax habits i n translating from Greekinto Engl ish .
A second cause which contributes i n my j udgment tothe lack of success so often m e t with in the
Subjectteaching of Greek compos ition i s the selec Matter
tion of subj ect matte r for the exerc i ses in writing which i s
300 GREEK COMPOSI TI ON
not connected with the Greek tex’
t being read at the sametime . This habit brings up a new vocabulary of words
,
rarely furnishes top i cs of interest , and , what is the mostimportant of all , does not afford an opportunity of comparing the exerc i ses written by the student with theoriginal Greek text . This method i s fortunately far lesscommon than formerly .
I think there i s substanti al agreement as to the obj ectof the work in Greek compos i tion in the school . It i s toObject of get a firmer hold on the facts of accidence
,
of syntax and of id iom ,
” to enable thestudent to read Greek more i ntell igently and to translatemore exactly . It i s , i ndeed , true here that “ writingmaketh the exact man .
”
The writing of Greek should,
I think , be kept up continuously from the very firstlesson , a dai ly exerc ise , i f poss ible , and at any rate ,not less frequently than once a week . The work oughtto be ( 1 ) s imple , that i s , proportionate to the knowledge already gained ; ( 2 ) progress ive in difficulty ;3 ) designed to cover systemati cally the most importantparts of noun and of verb syntax ; (4) be di rectlyconnected i n subj ect matter with the reading which i sbeing carri ed on at the same time .
When the student begins the read ing of the A nabasis ,and has presumably written sentences in Greek in con
Composition ne ction with the beginners’ book he has been
211
2116 Read using , he wi ll be ready for composi ti on work
somewhat more d ifficu lt and of a d ifferentkind . Just what wi ll be most needed and j ust what hewi ll be prepared to do , must be a matter to be settled bythe individual j udgment o f hi s teacher. The questi onwi ll requ ire poss ibly a different answer for each class .I think one m ay assum e that the average student wi llhave learned by thi s time how to use the cases in thei rcommoner constru ctions , and the moods and tenses in
302 GREEK COMP OS I TION
be seen that three parti c ip les one after the other wouldnot be euphon ious , nor would the relation of the ideasexpressed by the different parti cip les be easi ly grasped .
More weight i s often given to a thought expressed by aclause with a fini te verb . Compare Anab. I . 1 , 7 :
c
0
86 Kfip09 1371'07ta ,8 chv 7 0139 5561570117“ GvXXe
'
Ea s O'
Tpa'
TGUfla
évrokw’
p/cel. M 1’
A777 0v. Here the descripti on carri es u srap idly forward to the besieging of Mi letus . Dakyn
’
s
translation , “Cyrus , on his side , welcomed these fugi
tive s , and having collected an army laid s iege to Mi letus ,”
does not move on to the m ain point with equal swi ftness .Compare fu rther A nab. I . 2 , 4 with I . 2 . 5 . To enablethe student to become fam i l i ar with both forms of express ion , i t i s well to have him write both a parti cip ialclause and i ts equ ivalent dependent clause with a conj unction , for e ach
'
English dependent clause . Then helphim to select the one which under the ci rcum stancesseems the better in each case . The next point i n this
Greek and sentence i s the question why the order shouldEnglish be 0 8’ ai9 c
’
wrijkde , and not 0i9 8’
a7r7’
jA96 .
This d ifference i n id iom between the Engl ishand the Greek i s fundamental , and , i f not already learned ,should be cop iously i llustrated and explained . Furtherpoints for consideration i n connection with thi s clauseare : Is 059 the m ost comm on conj unction ? A sk thestudent to note -
62’ used for thi s purpose . Is the
aori st d ifferent from the imperfect? Keep a memorandum of the uses of each . What are some of the uses of059 ? Regarding this last questi on on the uses of 059 , thepractice ofXenophon in the A naba sis , i f one takes Joost
’sfigures , i s not to use i t extensively i n temporal clauses .The verbs d enoting sense perception m ake up twothi rds of al l occu rrences . The phrase 628011
forms over one thi rd . So , I should say, i t were betternot to introduce this use of 059 i n practi ce . It i s better
GREEK COMP OSI TI ON 303
to give as few equ ivalents for an Engl ish express ion or
word as may be enough to get along with . The nextclause with should be compared with the firstsentence of 6, where 57 009 appears as a final particle .
The translati on now t/zat will answer for both clauses .an d . Point out d iffe rence i n use between thi s wordand and give sentences to i llu strate these uses .7161} 875. This 71 63} has no 86
’
corresponding to it , and thefact should be noted . I . I
, 5 . 30 7 19 8’
agbmv027 0, i ono
ever. Compare this word with the conditi onal 6 1’ 86’ 7 1 ofI . 5 , 1 . Make several sentences in Engli sh with wnoever ,w/za tever clauses , and let each be tu rned into Greek intwo ways , with a relative and with 62
’
7 19 phrase . (5 0 7 6
with the infini tive . It m ay be as well , i n choosing between the infinitive and the i nd icative constructi on with(150 7 6
, to allow the pup i l to follow the Engli sh set forhim . If the infin itive i s u sed in the Engl i sh sentence
, so
as to, then the i nfin i tive in Greek : i f i n Engli sh so t/zat,
then the indicative in Greek . The l i ne between the twoconstructions i s a di fficu lt one to draw, and I do notthink i t the best way of employing a pup i l’s tim e at thi sstage of his progress to attempt to explai n such deli catequesti ons , even i f a sati sfactory statem ent were possible .
C losely connected with the u se of conj uncti ons andpartic les i s the wide extension of the parti c iple construction i n Greek as compared with Engl ish . I
The Use of
find often that fai rly good students are not Parti cipl es
fam i l i ar with this u se in Greek . In settingin Gm k '
sentences for translati on,the teacher should cal l for
both ways of phrasing subord inate clauses , as abovesuggested ; and for some sentences , too , where thegenitive wlll be needed as well as -the nom i native . Inthe sentence under consideration gbLXOfiO
'
a. (causal) and81117 196 59 (temporal) are good examples of the
“ imperfectparti c iple .
”
304GREEK COMP OS I TI ON
Especially should i t be m ade clear that a subord inateclause with the pluperfect i n Engl ish should be renderedby the aorist parti ciple . Important also are the usescorresponding to Engli sh t/ze men wno are doing, saying,
etc. ,or taoso wno do, say, etc. Greek 01
'
WOLOOV‘T6S
‘
.
The uses of the variou s p ronouns are frequently notwell learned . 6
’
fc62v09 and 0137 09 and 886 are toooften confounded . The rules for thei r use
tive Pro are perfectly s imple , and i t must be frommun" fai lu re to noti ce thei r uses i n reading orfrom lack of practi ce that the con fusion ari ses . The
habit of translati ng into Engl i sh by p ronouns stronglyemphas ized wherever they are used as the equ ivalentsof the Greek demonstratives , wil l p rove a great help .
The Engl i sh sentences given for translation into Greekshould be made to show thi s , whether they are given tothe class in writing or orally. A nabasis , I . 1 , 4 , and 5 ,furn ish two or three good i llustrati ons . Do not al lowa 137 0
’
v to be give n emphasi s i n any Engl i sh translation ,or to be put i n the emphatic place , first i n i ts clause , i nGreek. The form 7 a 137 a proves a stumbl ing—block i nthe way of good translation i n many cases . We do notsay in Engli sh tltese tnings , or sue/z t/tings , with anyfrequency . A nd yet 7 a t'37 a and 7 o1a 1
’
37 a are exceed inglycommon in Greek . 7 a 1
'
37 a m eans tlzis over and overagain . Or we may, i n cases where 7 a 1
’
37 a i s the obj ectof a verb , put the special m ean ing of the verb into theform of a noun , and then translate the verb by such ageneral word as made , d id , etc. E . g. 7 a i
'
57 a 6271 lze
sa id t/zis , or lze m ade t/zis statement ( statem ents ) .
One othe r group of p ronom i nal words needs attenti on the correlatives . I have spoken of them above
(Page 2 59)A n exerc ise of great value consists i n making a sen
tence for translation that contains one word in a variety
306GREEK COMP OS I TION
to right use i n compos iti on . If a student i s allowed totranslate 862with the i nfinitive by it is necessaryfor , hei s pretty sure to use a dative in Greek when told toexpress a thought by 862.The order of words i n writing i s always puzzl i ng to abeginner . The Greek order is qu i te free , and often
order of corresponds to the Engli sh order i n the sameW0f ds~ sentence . The student should be cautionedagainst putting the verb at the end of i ts clause i n al lcases
,against putting an unemphati c word fi rst i n the
sentence,and against m i splacing the particles used .
In parti cular,3i should not be put fi rst i n i ts clause .
1
The proper positi on of attributive and of pred icatewords should be stri ctly noted and fol lowed . For therest
,the best advice i s to follow models to be found in
the Greek text . Make the pup i l feel that he m ust beready to give a reason for the order i n which he p laceshis words
,as well as for the choi ce of the words them
selves. The really dangerous atti tude toward the matte r
i s one which assum es that it does not make any d ifferencehow it i s done . I f a reason cannot be found for a particular arrangement, then i t i s best to adm i t the factplainly
,but only afte r a reason has been d i l igently
sought for .In thi s review of some of the problems presented by
thi s part of the teaching of Greek , I have not attempted
Teachingofto be exhaustive , or to do more than suggest
Compositionways of m eeting certain defects and d ifficul
11193 118 113“ ties which I have found to be common . Iwork wish to add , however , my firm convictionthat no lasting results can be secured without constantand hard labour by the teacher in correcting the exercises
1 I should not think it ne ce ssary to emphasiz e this,had I not found
do so m isplaced in an illustrative s entence in a book on composition which
is wide ly use d .
GREEK COMP OS ITION 307
written by the student: This should be done for everyexerci se given out and for each ind ividual paper .There i s no effic ient substi tute for thi s work . A l lowingthe students to correct thei r own exerc i ses from a m odelsentence or sentences written on the blackboard , will notanswer at all . The m i stakes m ade are so varied thatthey demand ind ividual treatment . In a class of anyconsiderable s ize , I think i t well , after each paper hasbeen corrected and handed back to i ts writer , to take upthe essential points i nvolved in the lesson , and treatthem at length with blackboard i llustration . This givesan opportun i ty to take up and consider the m isconcepti ons which have been d iscovered through the m i stakesm ade , and allows of individual questions on any m attersconnected with the exerc i se . The i n formation whichthe teacher gains in this way is of great aid i n choosingthe po ints to be emphasized i n the following lessons .A s a valuable aid i n thi s work of correction , the students should be compelled to write all of the i r exerc i sesupon paper spec i ally p repared for this pu rpose
,and
put up in padded form , with a code of abbrevi ations o fthe highest value . It i s called the Greek ComfiositionTablet, was devi sed by Professor B . L . D
’
Ooge , and i spubl ished by Messrs . Gi nn Co . ,
Boston .
CHA PTER VI
GEOGRA PHY A ND HI STORY
REFERENCES .
Holm , A . History of Gre ece, 4 vols . New York, 1896—1898. The
be st gene ral history of Gre e ce which take s account of re cent inve stigations and e x plorations .
Oman ,C . W . C . A History of Gre e ce from the e arl i e st time s to the
d eath of A le x ande r the Gre at. London and New York,Longmans
,
18 1 .
Eotsford , G . W . A History of Gre e ce for High Schools and A cade
m ie s . New York , Macmillan,1899: A book of the highe st va lue to
e ve ry te ache r of Gre ek history. It give s much space to the social andlite raryde ve lopment of the people . Contains also good l ists of se le ctedbooks of value to te ach e rs in th is fie ld .
Cox , G . W . L ive s of Gre ek State smen, 2 vols . N ew York , 1886.
A bbott, E . Pe ricle s and the Golden Age of A thens . New York , 1 89 1 .
W h e e le r , B . 1 . A l e x ande r the Gre at. The Merging of East and
We st in Unive rsal History. New York, 1900 .
Ga rdne r , P e rcy . N ew Chapte rs in Gre ek History. H istorical re sultsof re cent e x cavations in Gre e ce and A sia M inor. London, 1 892 .
Ha r rison and Ve r ra l l . Mythologyand Monuments of Ancient A thens .
London, 1890 . A translation of the portion of Pausanias which is
devote d to A thens , with a ful l commentary, many figure s and plans . A
ve ry valuable work .
M ah afi‘
y, J'
. P . Survey of Gre ek Civiliz ation. Me advil le , Pa . , 1 896.
J e bb , R . C . A Prime r of Gre ek L ite rature . New York, 1 887.
Gil b e rt, G . Handbook of Gre ek Constitutiona l A ntiquitie s . London,
1895 .
G re eni dge , A . H . J. A Handbook of Gre ek Constitutional H istory.
London,1896.
For th e be stworks on A ncient Ge ography, s e e page 1 99 . The worksjust m entione d are but a few out of a vast numbe r wh ich could be given.
Othe rs may se rve as we ll . I fe e l sure that the s e wil l not provedisappointing.
3 10 GEOGRA PH Y A ND HJS TORV
think that a teacher unfam i l i ar with Hom er cou ld giveanything l ike as good an impress ion of what theMycena an c ivi l i zation m eans i n Greek history asone to whom the I l iad and Odyssey had m ade Hom eri cl i fe a real and l iving thing . A knowledge of the dram aof fEschylus and of the dramati c narrative of He
rodotus i s essential to a clear vi ew of the confl i ct betweenGreek and Pers ian . The verd i ct of m odern historiansupon the issues involved in the struggle of A thens andMacedon for the leadership among Greek states robsDemosthenes’ name ofmuch of the glory so long attachedto i t . I doubt, however , i f a teacher who had not stud iedthe speeches of Demosthenes could appreciate the attitude of the orator or the power he wielded over hisfellow - ci ti zens . The fai lure to real i ze thi s power and itsresults m eans fai lu re to grasp the most important fact inthe whole struggle .
I u rge , then , that the teacher of Greek should be theteacher of the history of the Greeks , as well as theteacher of thei r language and thei r l ite rature
,and that he
should be trained for thi s work as carefu lly as he i strained for work in teaching Greek grammar .The history to be stud ied i s the history of the activi ti esof various Greek peoples and of d ifferent Greek states ,Importance a history of the Gre eks , not of Gree ce . There
gam ed fore i t i s o f the highest importance that
the student should get a correct idea of thegeography of the countri es inhabi ted by these differentpeoples . The student’s first m ap of the Greek worldshould be broad enough to include all the lands whichwere the seat of Greek activity in history and in whichthei r c ivi l i zation was developed . Thi s m ap should ine lude not Greece alone as i s too often the case butall the borders of the Mediterranean , both sides of thezEge an, the Bosphorus , and the western end of the
3 1 2 GE OGRA PH Y A ND H IS TOR Y
dangers are d im in ished by the m u lti tude of safe bays foranchorage
,which the mariner may speed i ly reach at the
approach of foul weather . The winds are legi slators ofth e weather ; but even they in these lati tudes subm i t tocertain rules , and only rarely rise to the vehemence ofdesolating hurri canes . Never , except in the short winter season , i s there any uncertai n i rregulari ty in windand weather ; the commencement of the fai r seasonthe safe months , as the anci ents called it— brings wi thi t an immutable law followed by the winds i n the enti reArchipelago : every morn ing the north wind arises fromthe coasts of Thrace , and passes over the whole i slandsea . This wind subsides at sunset . Then the seabecomes smooth , and ai r and water tranqu il , ti ll almostimperceptibly a sl ight contrary wind ari ses , a breezefrom the south .
” 1
Great con fusion ari ses often i n the m i nds of studentsfrom the different scales on which maps are made . Most
maps of Greece are drawn on a rather large
Size of scale . Unless other maps which contain a
800
3111
5122? larger number of countri es be used for thepurposes of compari son , the s i ze of the va
rious Greek states i s apt to be m uch exaggerated . For
example , S i c i ly usually appears on a map containingItaly
,i n whole or i n part , and so seem s to be much
sm aller than the Peloponnese , although the latter is butabout four fifths its s i ze . Aga in , the importance ofA thens i n the history of the Greek world makes them i stake of overestim ating i ts s i ze and the size of A tti caa not uncommon one . A tti ca contains about n ine hundred and seventy square m i les , which is almost exactlythe size of Warren County in New York State . The
State of Rhode Island has an area of twelve hundredand forty- seven square m i les . The c i ty of A thens was
1 Curtius , History of Gre ece , English trans lation, vol . i . pp. 2 1 f.
GE OGRA PH Y A ND HIS TOR Y 3 1 3
not a large one . It contained about two and onequarter square m i les of land , or j ust about the areaof Chelsea , Massachusetts . Every teacher can findopportun iti es for i l lustrati ons of thi s kind , and thushelp his students to get a clearer idea of what they arestudying .
Speci al maps and plans of A thens should be avai lable ,and
,i f possible
,a plaster model of the A cropoli s .
Speci al m aps for the vari ous battlefields are mans otto be found in many of the histori es in use .
They ought to be supplemented by photographs of suchplaces
,i f these can be obtai ned . One or two views of
the bay of Salam i s or of the pass of Thermopylae areworth pages of description . In the rush to get at thefacts , usual ly emphasized as the all - essenti al points ,descriptions are apt to be read hurriedly, i f at all ; or , i fstud i ed , to leave an impress ion of words rather than areal p icture of the scene described . A lm ost anything i sbette r than a mechanical repeti ti on of statements from atextbook . In teaching the special geography of alocal ity or the topography of a town , i t i s always of thegreatest advantage to be able to use som e i llustrationsfrom the local itie s fam i l i ar to the students . The teacherwho has his eyes open , and who i s watching for suchopportuni ties for i ll ustration , will be pretty su re to findthem , and wil l su rely be pleased , perhaps surpri sed , atthe resu lts obtained by thei r aid .
It i s m ani festly impossible within the l im i ts of th ehigh school course to give m uch more than an outl ineof Greek hi story . But to do this well , and in HOW muchsuch a way that the outl ine shall contai n what can be d‘me
i s most important , most vital , most characteristi c i n thel i fe of the people , requ i res careful training and preparation . It demands that the teacher have the necessarytrain ing in histori cal m ethod , and that he possess such
3 14 GE OGRA P H Y A ND HI S TOR Y
knowledge as wi l l enable h im to see the field in itsp roper relations to other porti ons of h istory and inthe right perspective . The teacher should have thequal ifications for this branch of his work which are demande d by the comm i ttee of the Am eri can H i storicalA ssociati on . He will then be able to take a carefulsu rvey of the enti re field , and to arrange hi s p lan foroutl in ing and subdivid ing the work . It i s of p rimaryimportance that the teacher shall have thought out hisp lan from the beginning to the end , and shall havesettled i n hi s own m i nd j ust what peri ods and j ust whatevents he intends to dwell upon . If, as i s commonlythe case , a textbook be used , he m ust understand theauthor’s p lan thoroughly . If, on the other hand , heprefers to teach by dictating the heads of subj ects tohis class , who are to fi l l i n the outl ine thus given byreading in works assigned them , he must be convincedof the superior value of his own arrangement . C lear.ness of view on the part of the teacher i s the fi rst conditi on of unde rstand ing on the part of the student .The following d ivi s ion seem s to m e a convenient one ,and one which gives opportun i ty for enforc ing the m ain
Division into facts of Greek history I . Mycenae an . ThisPeriOdS i ncludes the earl iest porti on of Greek history .
I t i s impossible to fix dates for i ts beginn ing or its c lose .
It i s m ade to include all the time from the first traces ofhum an activi ty i n the lands afterwards inhabited byGreek peoples down to about the year 1000 B . C . Stri ctlyspeaking , i t i s l im i ted to the period when Mycenae wasthe great state in the Greek world . To thi s m ay begiven , tentatively , the l im i ts 1 500—1000 B . C . Our sourcesof knowledge of thi s period of the hi story of the Greeksare of two kinds : F i rst , the statem ents i n the l i teratu reand especi ally i n the Hom eri c poem s . For i nstance ,in the second book of the Il iad the poet says that
GE OGRA PH Y A ND HIS TOR Y
with which the student becomes acquainted through hi sHomer .The early history of the hi stori c states , i n parti cu lar
A thens and Sparta , and the colon iz ing activi ty of theAthens and Greeks form the mai n featu res of the pol iti calSpam ' history of the next period , which m ay bel im i ted by the year 500 B . C . and the beginnings of thewars with foreign states .The history of thi s peri od gives ample i llu stration of
the breaking down of the old inheri ted pol i ti cal system ,
and of the development i n vari ous ways towards newerforms of organ ization . These changes should be stud i ed ,and thei r causes and thei r results should be understood .
This i s particu larly important in the case of Spartaand of A thens , s ince these states cam e to rep resent typesof government , and were in the next period of Greekhistory the leaders i n the Greek world . Two othe rfeatures of the hi story of th is period are of much importance . F i rst , the expansion and extension of Greekcommerce over the lands of the Medite rranean . The
plac ing of traders’ posts , and sometimes , a l i ttle late r, aregular co lony from the mother c i ty (71 777p17
’
7ro7t19) at thepoints most desi rable for trade , was the starti ng- pointfor some of the most flourish ing of Greek ci ti es . It alsogave a disti nctively Greek characte r to the l i fe and thec ivi l i zati on of S i c i ly and lower Italy , among other countri es , which they never lost i n later tim es nor under thegreatest poli ti cal changes . The second point i s thecreative activi ty of the Greek m i nd , particularly i npoetry and i n phi losophy . Som e of the finest of Greeklyrics were wri tten in the sixth centu ry . The sam e century saw the beginnings of that phi losophical activi tywhich m ade Greek thought and Greek thinkers i n thi sfield famous for all time . I f Herodotus i s read in the
GEOGRA PHY A ND HIS TORY 3 17
school course , many of hi s most charming stories 1 m ay
well be chosen for read ing in connection with the studyof thi s period of Greek history .
The thi rd period may be l im i ted by the years 500 and
43 1 B . C . In the years between these dates the Greeksestablished them selves firm ly against the at W and
tacks of non—Greek peoples in both the East , West
where the Pers i ans were the leaders , and the West ,where the attack came from the Carthagin ians .The general te rm barbarians was appl ied by the
Greeks to all other peoples , but the word should beavoided because i t carries with i t , as now used by us ,wrong impress ions . The better way to look at thi sgreat struggle for supremacy in the lands of the Med iterranean i s as a struggle between East and West , andthe form of civi l i zation represented by each ; a strugglewhich began long before thi s time , and which has beenrepeated in various forms
,many times s ince then , even
to the present day . The struggle was successfullywaged by the Greeks . They placed succeeding generations under a debt of grati tude to them , and i n the firstrank to A thens .
A thens made the greatest sacrifices in these wars , andA thens reaped the greatest benefits from thei r successful conclus ion . The extension of the power of A thensduring the years following the battles of Salam i s andof Plataia i s the second great pol itica l featu re of theseseventy years . There i s no danger that too l ittle attention wi ll be paid to the various achi evements o f the Pe r
icle an A ge . In fact , the histori ans complai n that toomuch time i s spent on th is part of Greek history. But
i t i s i n thi s tim e that A thens m ade som e of her noblestand richest contributions to the things of the sp i ri t .
1 E . g. , th e story of C roe sus and Solon, of C leobis and Bito, of A rion,
of Agariste .
GEOGRA PH Y A ND HI S TOR Y
A fourth period may be m ade to i nclude the years ofwar between the variou s Greek states from 43 1 B . C . ,
theform al outbreak of the Peloponnesi an war
,to
338 B . C . , the battle of Chae ronea . This , poli tically considered , i s a period of confus i on . The earl i e rpart of i t i s occup ied by the contest between A thensand Sparta , with the all ies of each . The success ofSparta i s not of long stand ing before Thebes becomes thechief c ity of the easte rn Greek world , —a place whichs/te also i s unable to hold . The peri od closes with thefinal tri umph of the Macedonian power over the d is imtegrate d states of Greece . In other than the pol iti calaspect the period presents many facts of the highest importance . The greatest of Greek prose write rs l ivedduring thi s tim e ; Greek art reached its highest perfecti on ,Greek phi losophy its most perfect form . The i ntellectual l i fe becomes more and more separated from thesold ier’s and statesm an’s l i fe . Theories i n rel igion , i ngovernment , were thought out and put in many cases toactual experiment . The time was i n many ways pe culiarly and interesti ngly modern .
”
A more generalknowledge of som e of the theori es , especi ally i n whatmay be somewhat broadly termed
“ the field of socio logy
,
” and of the attempts to put them i nto practi ce ,m i ght possibly prevent at the present tim e the repetiti onof the fai lu res which then fol lowed .
Al ex ander The fifth period includes the time of theand Hel Macedonian empi re and the Hellen i sti c king’enism doms and c iti es , down to the i ncorporationof the last of them i nto the empi re of Rome in
30 B . c .
A lexandri a i s the central place i n these years , whoseinterest l i es i n the growth and extension of Greekthought over East and West . In the kingdom of theworld Greece has ceased to have power, i n the
GEOGRA PH Y AND HIS TOR Y
Baedeke r,Karl . Gre e ce. Handbook for Trave lle rs. Eng
lish Edition. L e ipz ig, Karl Baedeker New York, Scribner.One of the we ll-known se rie s of guide -books for travellers, andthe be st in English . It contains manymaps and plans, whichshow both the anc ient and the modern conditions, and has alsoa ske tch of Gre ek historyand of Greek art. It is the best bookfor obtaining an accurate and systematic de scription of the landand the buildings, and its usefulne ss is not limited to trave lle rs.
Bent, J. T. The Cyclades, or L ife amongthe Insular Gre eks .
London, 1 885 . One of the most inte re sting de scriptions of thelife of the Gre ek people in the districts whe re mode rn change shave affe cted it the least.Toz er
,H . F . The Islands of the IEgean. Ox ford, 1 890 .
Similar in theme to the one last mentioned .
Rodd,R . The Customs and Lore of Mode rn Gre e ce.
London , 1 892 . Inte re sting de scriptions of present- day folklore and folk- song, with sugge stions as to the connection ofsomeof them with the anc ient customs and be l ie fs.
Diehl, C . Ex cursions in Gree ce to re cently Ex plored Sites
of C lassical Inte re st. London,1 893 . A popular account of
the re sults of re cent inve stigations .
Barrows, S. J. The Isle s and Shrine s of Gree ce. Boston,
1 898. A charm inglywritten book of trave l. Perhaps the bestgene ral book of the kind within the last few years .
CHAPTER VII
MYTHOLOGY A ND A RT
REFERENCES .
A . ON MYTHOLOGY.
Gayl ey, C . M . The C lassic Myths in English L ite rature . Base d
chiefly on Bulfinch’s Age of Fable . A ccompanied by an inte rpre tative and il lustrative commentary. Boston,
1 893 . A most e x ce l lent work ,particularly for its tre atment of the mythological e lement in Englishlite rature .
Bulfinch,Th om as . The Age of Fable . A new re vised and e nlarged
e dition by J . L . Scott. Philade lphia, 1898. Similar to th e last-nam ed
work .
R al e igh , K . A . Translator from P e tiscus,A . H . The Gods of
Olympos , or Mythology of th e Gre eks and Romans . W ith a preface byJane E. Harrison. London, 1892 .
The se thre e are the most Convenient e lementarymanuals in this fie ld .
The first e x ce ls in lite rary illustration ; th e th ird in pictorial matte r, havingmany choice illustrations d rawn pure lyfrom classical source s . The
se cond book has a numbe r of good il lustrations , but th eyare taken frommode rn as we l l as ancient works of art, and hence are not so we l l adapte dto showing the Greek conception.
Sm ith , W il l iam,Editor . A Dictionary of Gre e k and Roman Biog~
raphy and Mythology. London, 1880. A large work in thre e volume s .
A gre at work for its day, and stil l use ful , though on many points addi
tional light has be en thrown since it was published .
P arne l l , L . R . The Cults of the Gre ek State s . Thre e vols . Ox ford,1898 .
Dye r, L ouis . Studie s of th e Gods in Gre e ce . London, 1891 .
Cam pb e ll , L ewis . Re ligion in Gre ek Lite rature . London,1898.
The se thre e are valuable works of refe rence on the archaeological andth e l ite rary inte rpre tation and e x pre ssion of the Gre ek re ligious cults .
B. ON A RT .
Coll ignon ,M . Manual of Gre ek A rchaeology. Trans lated by J . H .
W right. New York , 1 886. An e x ce llent brie f work, cove ring th e his
toryof al l forms of Gre ek A rt.
M YTHOL OGY A ND A RT
Tarbe l l , F . B . History of Gre ek A rt. Meadvil le , Pa .
,1896. Good
gene ra l survey of the entire fie ld .
Gardne r, E . A . A Handbook of Gre ek Sculpture . N ew York , 1897.
Two parts . M ay be had separate ly or both in one volum e . This is
the late st and be st short work on Gre ek sculpture , and we l l worth owning.
It is we l l il lustrated and contains a s e lecte d bibliography.
M itch e ll , L . M . A History of A ncient Sculpture . N ew York , 1883 .
A large work de a ling with th e entire fie ld of ancient sculpture . Some
what behind the ful le r knowledge of the pre s ent time , but an e x ce l lentbook for a school library. The re is an atlas of illustrations publishe d inconne ction with it.
Large r and more e x pens ive works are
B aum e iste r , A . D enkmale r d e s klassich en A lte rtums . Munich,1888.
Thre e large volumes , sple ndidlyillustrate d . The book of picture s e dite d
by the sam e man ,and m entioned on page 198, is mad e up of se le ctions
from th is work .
Furtwaingl e r , A . Maste rpie ce s of Gre ek Sculpture . Trans late d byE. Se l le rs . London, 1 895 . W ith atlas of plate s .
P e r rot and Ch ip ie z . History of A rt in Primitive Gre e ce . Mycenze an
A rt. Two vols . London,1 894. A splendid book , fine ly illustrate d .
Particularly valuable in conne ction with the s tudy of Home r.Har rison and M acColl . Gre ek Vas e Paintings . A se le ction of e x
ample s with pre face , introduction, and de scriptions . London,1894 . Mag
nifice nt work , but too e x pens ive for the ave rage te ache r. A lux ury for aschool l ibra ry.
A list of d e ale rs in photographs is give n in the A ppe ndix at the end
of this volume . I wish to comm e nd the col le ction of the M e ss rs . A . W .
Elson Co . The ir catalogue de scriptive of the h istory of Gre ek and
Roman art, with a list of illustrations se le cted byP rofe ssor F . B . Tar
be ll,is a valuable he lp in m aking purchase s in this line .
CLOSELY connected with Greek history is the subjectof Greek Mythology . The l i ne which separates the twoMythology cannot always be drawn with certainty
,nor
andms'wry' when drawn is i t su re to rem ain stationary .
Recent histori cal i nvestigation has accepted as tru e,and
hence characteri zes as h istory, some stori es which hadlong been considered idle tales o f the ever- l ively Greekfancy . In general, I bel ieve that the tendency of thestud i es and d iscoveri es of recent years has been towardsconfi rm i ng anc ient trad iti on .
Our abi l ity to prove the truth of legendary history
324 M YTHOL OGY A ND A RT
These considerati ons concern primari ly the understanding and interp retation of Greek l i teratu re and art .
Gm k My_Another reason may be urge d
o
for the studythology in of Greek mythology, one wh ich wi ll appeal
to a larger number of teachers and students,
and which may be considered stronger thanthose mentioned . It i s the importance of some knowledge of the myths of the Greeks for an adequate understanding of Engl isk l i terature . With the possibleexception of our Bi ble , no l i terature has contributed solargely to the stock of i ll ustrati on , of compari son , andof fam i l i ar reference in the best Engl ish authors as hasthe Greek . A mythologi cal name has i n m any instancesin Engl i sh been the sou rce of a word , most frequently anadj ective
,whose ori gin i n i ts common use has become
largely obscured , or perhaps qu ite forgotten . For example , the words tanta l iz e , vulcaniz e , ma rtia l , mercuria l
would seldom ,I thi nk
,suggest the i r u ltimate derivation .
In kerculean,cyclopean,
delpkic, saturnine the derivationhas not been so completely lost . A gain , i n figures andcomparisons
,and here especi ally i n poetry, Greek my
thology furnishes no inconsiderable amount of m ateri al .I give as i l lustrations the following examples chosenfrom one poem
The murmur of a happyP an.
The pulse s of a Titan’s heart.”
But some wild P a llas from the brain .
The re e l ingFaun, the sensual feast.”
Sad Hesper o’er the buried sun.
”
On thy P arnassus se t thy fe e t.”
To many a flute of A rcady.
”
Lastly , Greek mythology has furnished the subj ectm atter for m any beauti ful poems i n Engli sh ; and , ofcourse , Engl ish translations from the anci ent classi cs are
M YTHOL OGY A ND A RT 32 5
full of i ts creations . Granting , then , the des i rabi l i ty ornecess ity for learning something of Greek mythology,how can this be best accompl ished ? Un How e“
doubtedly the simpler stories can be most KnowledgeofMythology
e asfly learned in ch1ldhood . Many ch1l best be
dren wi ll learn them at home or i n the i r fi rst game“
reading lessons . But many— I fear , an increasing number— wil l not. These wi ll come to the study of thei rLatin and Greek largely or completely i gnorant in thi sfield
. How shall they be taught? One way i s by adefinite lesson i n a book to be learned and rec ited .
This plan i s urged by Gayley i n hi s excellent book ,already noticed . I cannot speak from experi ence , butam not over- sanguine as to the retention i n memory ofmatters learned i n that way apart from some associ ationor connection with other work . The framework —thenam es and relati ons of the greate r gods , for instanceought to be carefully and exactly learned . I shouldthink i t advi sable to leave much of the detai ls to be takenup i n connection with the places i n the read ing wherereferences to myths or to mythological persons arefound . For i nstance , A pollo , one of the most importantof Greek gods , i s spoken of i n the A nabas is i n connection with his oracle at Delphi , while in the first book ofthe I l iad he i s seen vi s iting his wrath upon the Greeksby means of a pesti lence . The two passages afford anopportun ity for studying the d ifferent aspects of the cu ltof A pollo , and so , i t seems to m e , of fixing in the student’s m i nd these essentials i n a much firmer way thani f they were learned out of connection with an actualobserved case .
To ass i st th i s knowledge further , and to enlarge at thesame time the
.
student’s acquamtance with 1,
118mGreek themes 1n Engl i sh hte rature , it IS well of English
to call for the reading of some bi t of English ” an"
M YTHOLOGY A ND A R T
whi ch has the same or a sim i lar theme . To i llu stratewhat I have i n m i nd , I wou ld suggest the reading of Swinburne’s Tbe Lost Oracle i n connecti on with the study ofA pollo and hi s oracle . Tennyson’s Titkonus will comenaturally in connecti on with the reading of the Odyssey,
Book V. Fu rther m ateri al i n great abundance may befound i n Gayley. It i s the exi stence of a myth as afactor in l i teratu re that i s the m ain point to be grasped .
A s to attempting an explanation of the origi n of a myth,I
bel i eve that i s a matter to be settled by each teache r,as
his j udgment shall dec ide . Such explanati ons are notalways certain , they are frequently confus ing , and thei rvalue i s secondary . It i s best to treat these creations ofthe imagination as actual l ivi ng creatu res , for only so i sthei r i nfluence to be at all adequately grasped . Therei s , at best, l ittle enough of the imaginative left i n ourschool work.
Greek A rt. Though , as a matter of fact , most peopleare more fam i l i ar with class i cal authors as a source for in
Impom ce of formation , the remains of art , and especially ofGreek Art' Greek art , are , from i ts position i n antiqu i ty,one of the most important sources for the study of thei nsti tutions
,custom s
,and , above all , the sp i ri t and char
acter of that people , and of the changes and modifi
cations of its consti tution and sp i rit i n various local iti esand various epochs . It i s d ifficult fo r those of ou r tim eto real i ze this prim ary and essenti al position held by artwith the Greeks , s imply because art i s not to us the greatreal i ty whi ch i t was to the ancient Greeks .” These sente nce s , taken from a disti ngu ished contemporary inte rp reter 1 of Greek art , present at once in clear fashi on theimportance of thi s part of the study of Greek antiqu ity ,and at the same time ind icate the great d iffi culty i nsecu ring any adequate appreci ation of i t . A nd yet an
1 Charle s Waldste in, Essays on tbc A rt (3/P/zeidias N ew York , 1885 .
M YTH OL OGY A ND A RT
m ents i llustrati ng the author being read at the time ,or of a systemati c course of instruction in the hi story of
Materials for art . If there i s i n the school a regular demustramn
partm ent of art with its own collections andwith its separate teacher , then help can be obtained fromthi s source . But thi s i s l ikely to be the case i n fewschools
,and the teacher of Greek must look out for thi s
part of hi s i nstructi on . What he can have wil l be entire ly dependent on the m oney at his d isposal . I bel ievei t i s best to have at least one good plaster cast of somep iece of sculptu re , and one such cast bronzed . The
advantages of casts over pi ctures hardly needs to beemphasi zed , and
_a s ingle example at least should be
secured , i f poss ible . The head of the Hermes of Praxiteles would be my choi ce , i f no m ore than a bust can bebought . If a ful l statue can be afforded , there i s a fai rchoi ce between several , but the A phrodite of Meloswould perhaps give the best sati sfaction . Not toom anyphotographs should be shown at any one time , or evenhung on the walls at the sam e time . It i s better tochange the p ieces , and so secure undivided attention tothe one or the few in view . A great advantage in therepresentation of Greek sculpture i s gai ned by showinga specimen with the colouring restored , or at least by theknowledge on the part of the teacher of som ething aboutthe practi ce of colouring marble . There i s one finei llustrati on i n colou r in Baume is ter’s Denkma
‘
ler . The
teache r should watch for an opportun ity to look atHamdy
-Bey and Re inach’
sN e’
cropole roya le a‘
S idon, Paris ,1 896, and espec ially at the i llustrations i n the ae companying atlas of p lates . These are magnificent represe ntations of the sculptu red rel i efs on the so - calledA lexander Sarcophagus of S i don . Interesting also i sthe conj ectu ral restoration in colour of the Dori c templearchitecture in P enger’s Doriscke P olyclzrom ie , with atlas
M YTHOL OGY A ND A RT 329
of plates, Berl in , 1 886. These last-mentioned are not
l ikely to be found outs ide of a large l ibrary, but a chanceto exam i ne the first one , at least, should not be allowedto escape .
Some explanation and interpretati on of each p i eceshown is necessary, and for thi s the teacher must makea careful preparation . The teacher m ust have masteredthe subj ect qu ite as much , perhaps even more , i n thi sfield as in the grammar work . In grammati cal mattershe can give only what he knows , and as a guide to thebeauties of Greek art he can give only what hefe e ls .
Colleges give some opportuni ty for th is study of Greekart, and univers i ties offe r speci al courses of i nstructi oni n the field . With the aid of a book l ike Gardner’sGreek Sculpture such museum collecti ons as are nowavai lable in every c ity of considerable si ze may be madeto supply what defic i enci es previous training has left .S impl ic i ty of statem ent
,
i s extremely desi rable in al l explanations . In no field i s i t eas i er to use words whichconvey no defin ite impression to the student . Enoughof i llustrati on and explanation should be given to showin some measu re the hi stori cal growth and developmentof Greek art . Thi s i s easi ly done in connection withthe reading of Homer , and then of an A tti c author o rauthors . Or i t may be done in connection with and asa part of the work in Greek history . Once explained ,the p icture or cast should be looked at long and
,i f
poss ible , lovingly by each student , 11 112 0177 079 11 1378
77017517 61 .Most that I have said has been with regard to sculp
ture . The apparatus for i nstructi on i n Greek art in thewider sense must make some provis ion for
Architecture ,
i l lustrating some of the most famous temples . Vase Paint
To the l i st of views given on page five ofElson’s catalogue , I shou ld add , i f possible , a plaste r
M YTHOL OGY A /VD A RT
m odel of the A cropoli s . This gives a much better ideathan any number of maps can do of the Propylaea andthe walled sides of the hi l l . How far any attention canbe given to vases and to vase paintings must be a m at
ter for ind ividual j udgment . Possibly the school l ibrarycan own one of the various splendid volumes which dealwith the subj ect and which contain fine reproducti ons .This field , i nteresting as i t i s , i s secondary in importanceto the sculptu re . W
’i th Greek art as expressed in thecoin s the school can do l ittle , though i t may be possiblesometimes to show some specim ens . Possibly the i nterest of a young collector of coins m ay be made avai lablefor encou raging him to a deeper study . In that caseGardner , P . , Types of Greek Coins , Cambridge , 1 883 ,
will be of valuable serv ice .
It i s the duty of eve ry teacher to settle the proportionate value of the subj ects p resented in the previ ousThe Question pages for hi s i nd ividual work and the needs°1 Va1ues of his pup i ls . To do thi s wisely he needssuch a care ful train ing for hi s work as has been outl inedabove at page 2 07. He needs a thorough training inthe language
,for no one can teach a language whi ch he
does not know . He needs a broad acquaintance withi ts l i teratu re , for no one can teach a l iteratu re which hedoes not fe e l . He should have a knowledge of the li te rature and of the social and pol i ti cal organization ofhis o n country , that he may be able to i l lustrate thel i fe and the thought of an ancient people . He shouldknow ' the sc ience of language for the sake of being ableto i l lu strate the phenomena of Greek by the morefam i l i ar facts of Engli sh . A man fully equipped canri se above the petty restri ctions of any m ethod , andmay say
0 1)
7 7386 np1'
V619 ,‘
d nkew, Ke ir/77 8’6703.
A P P END IX
II . A d d re sse s of Deal e rs in P laste r Casts of Works of A rchite ctureand Sculpture .
BOSTON . P . P. Caproni Bro. 1 9 1 4—1 92 0Washington Street.
The firm s in the above l i sts wi l l fu rn ish catalogues orany desi red information concern ing the i r stock uponappli cati on .
A Sugge ste d Li st of P hotograph s of Rom an Subjects .
The Roman Forum .
The Arch of ConstantineThe Column of Trajan .
The Cloaca Max ima.
The Atrium Ve stae .
Portrait ofVe stal Virgin .
Pantheon Ex te rior and Interior Views.
Re lie fs from Arch of T itus.
View of Ex cavations at Pompei i .A Stre e t in Pompe i i .The House of Pansa.House of the Tragic Poet.Mosa ic of Cave Canem .
’
Pompe ian Wall Painting.
The Baths of Caracalla .
The Aqueducts Claud ia and Anio Novus .
The Coliseum Ex te rior and Inte rior Views .
The Mausol eum ofHadrian .
Tomb of Cae c ilia Mete lla.A Columbarium.
For a l i st of photographs of Greek Subj ects the readeri s refe rred to the excellent selection by Professor F . B .
Tarbell , m entioned on page 32 2 .
I n d e x
NOTE.—The inde x e s for both parts of this work have be en consoli
dated for convenience of refe re nce . Items which refe r particularly to
e ithe r the Latin or Gre ek se ctions, and are not s e lf-e x planatory, are
indicate d by the abbreviations Lat ,”
or Gr .
”
A BIL ITY to read 2 19.
A ccent 232 .
fEsthe tic training from study of
Latin, 34 .
A le x ande r the Great, 3 18.
Anabasis : Book V. , 266 ; omis
s ions in re ading, 260 ; openingsections of, 2 59 ;
“simplified ,
2 541
Analysis, as a me thod of study,
should not be employe d alone(Lot ) , 1 34.
Antiquitie s , manuals of,198.
A rchaeology,manuals of 199.
A rt 326 ; il lustrations of,
3 28.
A rticulation of sentence sA scham , Roge r, on Latin composi
tion,167.
Athens : plan of, 3 1 3 ; siz e of, 3 1 2 .
A thens and Sparta, 3 16.
BAIN , A le x ande r, his obj e ctions tothe study of Latin, 37 ff.
Barrie , J . M . , th e e ssay conte st
from Sentimental Tommy,” 1 5 .
Beginne r’s book (Lat ) , 5 1 ff.Beginning le ssons (Lat ) , 50 ff. ;
240- 2 5 5 .
B ibl iographie s : (Lat ) , 20 1 ;240, 256, 269, 271 , 298, 308, 3 19,
32 1 .
Books for the libraryof the se condary school (Lot ) , 197 ff.
Boye se n, H . H ., e ducative value
of Latin and mode rn language scompared , 3 1 .
Brunetiere , M . Fe rdinand , on the
e ducative value of the mode rnlanguage s as compared with
Latin, 30 f.
Burge ss , Isaac, on the educativevalue of translation, 20.
C/ESAR : or Nepos as first author.1 1 1 ff. ; points to be emphas iz ed
in studying this author, 1 50 ff.Casts , 201 .
Change in language , 2 27.
C ice ro : points of importance in
the study of this author, 1 52 ff. ;
to pre ced e or follow Virgil , 1C lause s , joining of 2 50.
Collar , W . C . : on Latin compos i
tion,168 ff. ; on the e ducative
va lue of trans lation,20.
Comparative philology, 195 f.Comparative siz e of place s , 3 1 2 .
Compos ition 298—307 ; dis
l ike for, 298 he lps in, 305m e thods in, 301 , 306 ; obj e ct of,
300 often made too hard , 299 .
Compos ition (Lat ) , 1 56 ff.Corre lative s 2 59.
334
D e Amicitia , in se condary schools ,1 2 5 .
D e S enectute , in se condary schools ,1 2 5 .
De ttwe ile r : h is postulate s for the
Latin grammar of to-day, 1 46 ff.
on the importance of translation,1 9.
D ifficultie s of Latin, 98 .
Dual, omission of
,243 .
ECLOGUES,Virgil’s , suitable for the
se condary school , 1 2 1 f.Eliot, P re s . C . W . , on the e ssentialproce sses invol ve d in e ducation
,
2 2 .
Elision, in poe try (Lat ) , 188.
Encl itics , 234.
Etymology (Lat ) , 196.
EutrOpius , 108.
Ex pre ss ion, as an e ducative force(Lat ) , 26.
F IRST de clension 245 .
Firs t re ading (L at ) , 1 06.
Five -
ye a r and s ix -
ye a rcourse s , 1 24.
French , its educative va lue com
pare d with Latin , 27 ff.
Function of language - study, 8.
Latin
GEOGRAPHY : e ssentials of
3 1 1 ; manual s of,199 .
Ge rman, its educative value com
pare d with Latin , 27 ff.
Ge rman teach e rs , the ir preparationfor the ir work , 203 ff.
Grammar (Lat ) as a logical , historical , and ae sthe tic d iscipl ine ,1 35 ff. ; te x t
-books of, scope and
characte r, 1 41 ff.Grammars (Lat ) , 1 97.
Grammar school , Latin course s in,
1 26.
Gre ek e l ements in English , 2 23 .
Gre eks,the ir negle ct of language
s tudy, 9 f.
INDEX
Gre ek spirit, the , 220.
Gre enough , Profe ssor, on re adingat sight, 86.
HALE, P rofe ssor, on Re ading at
s ight 85 .
Harris , W . T ., an important reason
for studying Latin, 29.
He rodotus , 265 .
Hidden quantity (Lat ) , 69 ff.
Historical training from study of
L atin, 33
H istorie s 1 99 ff.
History, Gre ek : how much can be
taught, 3 13 ; mythology and ,
32 2 ; pe riods of, 3 14—3 18 ; who
should te ach, 309.
History, Roman, 1 91 f.
Home r : A rnold on trans lating,282 as now studie d , 296 ; choice
of subj e cts in, 274 ; English ve rs ions of
,283 ; I liad and Odyssey,
297 ; in h igh school,273 ; inte r
pre tation of,278, 281 ; language
of, 292 ; re ad ing of te x t, 274,
276 ; se l e ctions in re ad ing, 294 ;shortening the Iliad , 295 ; shorte ning th e Odyssey, 296 ; translating of
,292 .
Humanistic rev ival (Lot ) , 2 .
ICTUS, its probable characte r (Lot ) ,1 78 ff.
Illustrative mate rial (Lot ) , 1 97 ff.Imitation, a proce ss of s light e ducative value , 88.
Inductive m e thod,80 ff.
Ins titutions , Roman,the import
ance of studying them,194 f.
LANGUA GE- STUDY,its function, 8.
Latin composition, 1 56 ff.
Laurie , on the educative va lue of
translation,20 .
Le x icons (Lat ) , 197.
L imitations in study 2 2 2 .
336
Trans lation : at s ight (Lat ) , 103 ff . ;
its educative powe r, 1 1 ff. ;
Burge ss’s views, 2 0 ; Collar’sviews , 20 ; De ttwe ile r’s views , 19 ;Lowe l l’s views , 18 ; Paton
’s
views,20 ; Shorey
’s views , 20 f. ;
versus origina l compos ition, 2 1 f.should be idiomatic 1 3 1 .
Translite ration 236.
VERB S (Gr . ) classification of, 2 52pe rfe ct of, 244 ; the first for
study, 242 .
Ve rnacular : how training in it isbe st attained , 1 1 f. ; its d ire ct
study shown to be e ducational lyinade quate , 45 f. XENOPHON
,263.
Ve rsification, 176 fi.
Virgil , points of importance in thestudyof this author, 1 53 fi.
Vz'
rz'
Rome , 107.
Vocabulary, in beginning work63 .
WHEELER, Pre s . B . I . , on e ducative
value of mode rn language s as
compared with Latin and Gre ek,30.
Words (Gr . ) z orde r of, 249, 260,
302 , 306 orde r kept in translat
ing, 292 .
Writing d ril l in, 245, 246.
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