Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1865-03-08

A PIsa for The stuGy Of the Medsrn
LAnsusges-.A Voice from Oh TTsr.
ward.
lFrom the Boston Daily AdVsrsiusr.1
We reprint below some extracts from the
recent report of the Committee Of Over
seers Of Harvard College appointed for
the examination in the study of modern
languages:
Your committee would do great injustice
to tEeir own convictions Of tie importance
and the needs of this Department. if they
omitted TO state in the most emphatic way
their opinion that Injustice ID done to the
cause Of education, and to every class which
graduates, by the low position assigned TO
modern languages IN the University. While
Latin, Greek and mathematics are made
studies Of obligation during the feeshmsn
and sophomore years, and Latin and Greek
during the junior year, modern languages
are verbally elective. During the Arst year
no place is given to them, even as elective
studies. During the sophomore year French
is permitted, but only as an ertTa. During
the junior year one modern language may
be taken instead Of mathematics, and an
other instead of chemistry, and during the
senior year italian is also SLOWED IS an
| elective study. Your committee cannot
but consider that the course in this respect
has changed for the worse in recent times;
| for formerly modern languages were re-
duired studies, even in the freshman year. d
To make this matter more clear, we will
compare the place given to the Greek Ian
guage in Harvard with that assigned 10 the
| four modern languages. For the Greek
there are two professors and two tutors
that il, four teachers for one language
/ For French, German, Spanish and italian,
there is one professor and two tuters-that
is, three teachers for four languages. The
Greek is required study, during the fresh
man, sophomore and Junior yeSrs, and is
made elective and extra in the senior year.
The modern languages are not required at
all, and student may 60 through the uni
versity and graduate the first scholar in his
class, without knowing word Of any mod
ern Language but his own. He is not re-
uuired to know even Frsnch,in order to be-
received into the University while already,
in order to be admitted to the Freshman
class, he must have studied enough Greek
to pass an examination in the Ansbasis of
Xenophon and the three Arst books of the
Iliad. And having spent SO much time
upon Greek before entering the college, he
| ia Obliged, whatever be his tastes or biss of
mind, TO do an amount Of study in college,
represented in she Freshman year by five
recitationa in week, and in the Sopho-
more and Junior By three recitationS in q
week, And, IN addition to al this, stu
dents are required during three years to
write Greek prose competitions, every week,
and werought perhaps to congratulate our
selves that they are not also obliged les in
the English uniTersities) to write Greek
poetry. - -.-.-.-. --r--f -f--
Your committee have no prejudice
against the Greek language their object
in this compsrisonis only 20 show how lit
tie il done for modern languages. It is
dihcult to see the advantage that it will be
to q class Of hundred young men, to
know how to write Greek prose, but surely
no one can doubt the advantage it would
be to them, to be able to write and speak
French, GsrGan, Italian or Spanish. Prob
ably no graduate will, ever have occasion
to write another line Of Greek composition !;
but If the young man is lawyer it will
help him to clients to be sblo to speak
German; if he is merchant it will help
him to be able TO write French or Spanish
/ letters. Perhaps half in every class some
time in their lives, will have occasion to
travel abroad, in which case to speak the
Language oft country, however imper-
fectly, will add infinitely to the pleasure
and profit of the jodrny. And whether the
graduate becomes lawyer, physician, cler-
gyman, or man of science, he will find con-
slant advantage to be able to read with ease
books and periodicals In each of the mod
ern languages. - a1
There Is, however, another rerson for
making this comparison between the place
given to Greek and to modern languages
in the present university, curriculum. If
more time Is to be given TO modern lsngua-
ges, it must be taken from some other de-
partment. And if taken from any, it
might perhaps be better spared from Greek
than from Latin or Mathematics, Grant
everything that can be said in favor of this
study-the beauty Of the Greek language,
the richness of its literature, its use as .
mental dicipline. The question remains
which is the most useful Are not the lit
eratures which enshrine the names Of Cor
nellie and Rosseau, Dante and Tasso, Ger
vantes and Lops de Vegs, Goethe and
Schiller, also worth knowing2 And may
not the intellect be disciplined by useful
study, as well as by useless? We consider
the time given to Greek composition as
wholly wasted except 90 far as the mental
diciplins Is concerned. It does not help,
but actually hinders the acquisition Of the
Greek language and acquaintance with the
Greek literature: Every one knows that
to learn to read language and to learn
to write it are wholly distinct mental op-
erstions. Hayoung man spends his time
and strength in leaFning to write Greek,
he has Just SO much the less time and
staength for learning to read it. One of
your committee lately Went7to New York
in company with young lady, and noticed
that she had taken with her copy Of the
Greek Illisd to read by the way. How
many graduates would have been likely to
have done this D Probably very few grad
uAtes of HavArd can reak Greek book
with facility after having devoted large
part of seven Of the best years Of life to
this study. Yet this young lady laid no
claim to distinguished scholarship. But
she had studied Greek simply in. order to
read Greek books. Consequently aha had
given no more time to philology than was
necessary tor. this purpose. She had not
spent Year, IN committing to memory the
details Of grammar or in studying accents
which no oneeveruse after they have bsen
learned She probably knew nothing
Of the Ionic nlertTe a Blinors, o., the enclisl
[" It's" If thetime now devoted to gram
mstical minute, to the sabtflties Of Greek
words and the penduntry Of Greek piosody
WIS spent in reading the literature, and II
after the frst year Greek was made an elec
tive study to be taken only by those who
had q taste for IT, NE ihbuld hnd many
more of onr graduates amusing themselves
on their journeys with Plato or Homer.
And We cannot but take this occasion to
utter protest against the constant ten
dency to make grsmmars larger, and, con-
sequently worse. The size of Framuars has
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