Cato major sive De senectute, Laelius sive De amicitia et Epistolae selectae. With notes, and an index

발행: 1850년

분량: 303페이지

출처: archive.org

분류: 미분류

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It is here urged that a boy should have nono but the plainest sentences, containing the Simple proposition, laid besore him, ortWo suci, sentences united by a conjunction, untit he has tained a good stock of Words, and has fully mastered ali theso Simple sentences so as to render the Latin into tho Englisti ortho Englisti into tho Latin in disterently. Above ait, tot thoteacher buware of perplexing him With subordinate or depend-

ent sentences, untii this part is fully mastered. The sentences onwhich he must bu exercised should only contain the indicativomood; but there are some sentences Whicli contain only

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in this manner, the boy Will be able to read it over again Without the previous explanation of the master, and with a littis help While he is saying the lesson. Nor must the master chidehim, is ho is diligent and does his best, even is he fati sometimes.

learning. I have noW Wished tWice or thrice this gentie natureto be in a schoolinaster. And that I have done so, netther bychance nor Withoiit sOme reason, I Will now declare at large, Whyin mine opinion, love is sitier than fear, genueri ess beller than

goes On to argue in favour os gentieness in teaching, and to dis- courso against harsh chiding and beating, premising h0WeVer,as I Would do, to prevent mistahe, that Ι do gladiy agrest Withali good schoolinasters in these potnis : to have children broughtto good perfectia ess in learning, to ali honesty in mariners; toliave ali faulis rightly amended; to have every Vice seVerelycorrected: but for the order and way that leadeth rightly to these politis We sonte What disser. V Αscham.)It is tho fashion in this country for boys to write Latin verses at a very early age, to Whicli, is the method he weli conducted, there is not the fame objection as there is to their writing Latinprose. Tho third book of Ovid's Μetamorphoses, is weli learned, wili teach the boy the structure os a Latin hexameter, and willgius him a fair stock of Words. The practice of repeating the fame aloud wili forin his sar to the verse, so that is the mastershali select easy hexameter lines out of Ovid, plainly turn ed into Englisti, and noW and then supply a Word, a bοy Will easilyrestore the original hexameter, Whicli generalty is and alWaysshould be nothing more than a simple proposition With some poetical embellistiment. There is no objection to this sori os exercise, when it is at 1irst limited, as it is almost necessarily, to

on his oWn practico: Exercenda est etiam memoria ediscendis ad Verbum quam plurimis et nostris scriptis et alienis.'' Cicero, De Orat. i. 34.

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thoroughly mastered untii the boy can render the Latin into Englisti, or give the Latin for the Englisti indifferently. Acarefui teacher may add something to Ascliam's method, orstightly modisy it; but the principie must rem ain; Whicli isthis: that the boy shali learn to construct Latin sentences by Rcareful study of them in a Latin author, by the remarks of his master, and by the imitation of them in rendering the Englisli

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ceeds to the consideration of subordinate Or dependent gentences, as he must do, Wlien he comes to read Caesar Or Cicero,

for the bοy to have a good grammar to refer to, in Whicli some of the most important rui es are clearly laid down, Or eVen agood exercise book. It is enough to remarh stat many of the grammars in ordinary use Will not Serve this purpose. The more exact knowledge of the Latin longue is acquired by a caresul reading of the best Writers, by whicli alone can belearned a right choice of Words, a right placing of them y, and aright Danaing of a sentence. HOW absurd it is to expect boys tolearn the right Daming of a Latin sentence by the ordinarysystem of eXercises, When they can hardly frame one in theiroWn language correctiy. Boys begin Latin very early, and soearly that it is necessary for them to learn as much as can belearnsd of the language in the way that is nearest to the bestmode of learning a modern language, that is, by imitation. Asthey advance in years and in understanding under the care os a

Ellis's Latin Exercises, and thus explainod in the preface: The SecondPari contains the principat rules of syntax, With shori eXamples to them, the Latin words to Whicli correspond in their arrangement With the Ensisti; mitti an intention that the scholar should, under his maste, sdirection, endeavour gradually to place them in the Latin order. He isto be accustomed tο What is Wrong, and must gradually endeavour to correct his error ; and by a like reason, he must be accustomed to any otherbad habit, and must gradually endemour to correct it.

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understand the lesson as they read it. In deed it is not too much to require of boys, Who have gone Once through the sirstbook of Caesar's Gallic War, to commit to memory ten or adogen chapters, so as to be able to deliver them orally without any fauit. Such a practice, combined With the remarhs of themaster on the order of the words in the datly lossons, wili formitie ear of the boy to a right order, and lay the foundation of asound knowledge of the forni os a Sentence. HOWever muchboys may fail, under the usual system, in the right constructionos a sentence and the ordering os Words, it is certain that theymay attain a great proficiency in both by this practice, simplyby the exercise of the ear; and they may be come tolerablyexpert in this part of the language before they have attained a

correspondent skill in the right choice of Words, at least of any other than the ordinary Words. For the perfeci choice of right wOrds Only comes With riper years and much caresul reading; asany may convince himself by a litile consideration. The properchoi se of words to denote abstraci ternis and ternas of art is learnsed flowly and with much labour. In laci it is the part of alangvage Whicli is learned last. Is we consider the power Whicli the Latin langvago has invarying the order os Words in a sentence, so as to express by the same words, disserently placed, disserent Sliades of meaning, wemust admit that the order of the words is as much a matter of caresul observati an froni the first, as any thing else. What would bo thought os a Germari teacher Who fhould not froin thosirst mahe his pupil observo the dissererice belwsen the Eriglisliand tho German orderi or We may tahe another eXample homthe Italian language, whicli has retained ali the force and vigour of the Latin, and acquired powers unknown even to the parent longue. Biagioli in his Italian Grammar has given a goode Xample os an expressiori whicli can be varied seven disserent ways, each of whicli has a disserent mean ing. It is this: Rendo me a voi; A voi rendo me; Ili rendo a voi; Rendomi a

expressions have a disserent and very distinci mean ing'. The Latin is not capable of so much variety; but in a like sentence ε Biagioli, Grammatre Italienne, p. 58. Paris, 1808.

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XXIII

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gross absurdities of modern teaching, only exceeded by the grOSSness of the materiai, whicli is produced and callod Latinprose. As Ι have explained, I would mahe a boy learn his Latin author both ways, froni Latin into Englisti and DomEnglisti and Latin, in ordor that he may know both sides of it. In this way he will acquire a considerable facility of rendering Englisti into Latin, without acquiring a facility in writing bad Latin, Whicli, according to Ellis' ingeniolas plan, he mu St acquire for the pleas ure of afterwards getling rid of it. I reject alto-gether the notion of teaching a boy any Latin independent of the book that he is studying. Instead of mastering his author sully and completely, he is biisy ab ut the mahing of Latines; 'and the more he mahos, in the worse plight he is; While the

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1. Proprium. 4. Contrarium. 2. Translatum. 5. DiverSum. 3. Synonymum. 6. Ρhrases.

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and translate it you yourself into plain natural Englisti, and thon givo it him to translate into Latin again, allowing him good spaco and time to do it both With diligent heed and good

ad visement.

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