The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-03-11
Letter from Or. Case.

called 10 sunurY c)nmucltl0ns which |
have appeared il your paper in reierece
to an address given by me at Salisbury
on the subject Of Latin in our Schoos."
From the number of "pop guns" lis
charged at me, | think | must lave
caused some uneasiocss among the alvo.
Gates Of the study OF the dead past 10.
stead of the living present.
dislike newspaper controversies, and |
should pass all these things uunoiced,
did they not contain certain absolute alse-
hoods, which if believed would place me
IN ridiculous position before your read.
ers.
am charged with saying on the occa.
sion referred to, "that there are but very
few words in the English huguago deriv.
ed from others" sal, nothing that
bears the slightest resemblance to the
above, and your correspondent may save
himself the trouble of referring me to
Trench" Marcel, Whitney or Schclc
DeVere to cnlighton myignorancc on that
subject
am charged with advocating the old
fashioned district school" never al
uded to the "old ashioncd district
school," on that occasion, or spoke ono
word in its praise. | lid not discuss the
question whether highr branches should
or should not, be aught in district
schools, and made no illusion to the local
affairs Of that place.
Thopa -, R,,,1o,, AL ,,,n,,,,t,. L.
know Of my efforts fol the last ten years,
in behalf of our schools, especially our
Graded School, know fall well how much
of an admirer am Of the "old fashioned
Vermont school Douotlcss these cor.
respondents fud it much easier to erect
sham structure Of something l lid not
say in that address, and proceed % batter
it down with their clumsy ridicuc. than
to meet fairy the arguments uscC on that
occasion. in which happea and be sus-
tanned by many of the best writer's and
thinkers of the present age.
Prof. lIigley did not hear my address,
nor his; but if, as your CORRESPONDENT
utmates he demolished what was repre-.
scented to him as my views, his tas, could
not have been difficult one, aud hardly
worthy the abilities of that abe and
promising young man
While | believe that the study Of Lat.
in and Greek may with propriety cousi.
tute part of an extended course Of lu-
cation where one has time and money
enough to devo'e to it, and al.o that
these studies are useful as prela atory
studies for certain professions, still
believe they are made quite too promi
nent IN the college course to the negec
Of scientific studies aud Other more useiu
matter ; though many Of our Colleges art
yielding to the outside pressure Of publ,
opinion, and modifying their curriculum
more to meet the demonds OF the age.
believe tina. the abuse Of Latin and thu
criminal neglect of Physical Science, i
to the whitening curse Of cur academic
aud graded schools in our state.
have statistics from several Of GU
graded schools, and all tell the tale o
the prominence, giyen to Latin aud tn
c'nseq ent neglect OF phi steal science:
find crowds of young boys and girl
studying Latin before they have complet
ed the common school branches. Man
that have only year or two more to at
tend school aud then must 90 out into &C
tive lie are coun,eled by their teachers t
spend most OF that time in Latin, to tn
utter neglect Of any knowledge of tn
beautiful laws chat govern the operation
Of nature IN the world around them, an
too often to the neglect Of a decent know
edge Of their own native tongue. In tn
| language Of Prof. Higlcy, believe "po,
terity will cry shame on US if we do nc
remedy this deplorable state Of things
believe that the mental discipline to b
J obtained from the study of dead lar
| guages has been greatly overrated, tina
much better discipline can be secured b
scent &c studies. and by those brancht
which we can study in our own Language
, believe that the knowledge OF Englis
to be secured from the study Of Latin, h'
, been also greatly overrated, that if it
so necessary to study the Latin froI
, which onc-fourth or one. third Of our wore
: are derived, it is equally necessary
: study the Ango.Saxon, and other lal
guages from which Il greater number {
, our words are derived than from the La
. in. And further, language being in
Q continual state of change, we cannot d.
f pend on the original for the nice shade
of meaning of English words but the u
innate court of appeal is "Webster's U,
= abridged" ! believe that Of the 1900
n boys and girls to be educated in Vernon
: that nineteen out Of twenty would secu
I more knowledge Of their own languag
= and in less time after studying Engli
e grammar by reading the best English 81
@ thors. and the constant use of Webster
x Unabridged" than nv attempting 10 a
= qnire it through the Latin.
= | believe that science with recent wo
y ierful discourses and its wealth of know
C edge, so useful in all the departments
It life. is deserving of vastly more attenti,
i than it receives in our schools, or can r
ceive, as long as our teachers make elias
It les so prominent, and nearly all of the
q under value, and many of them despi
n science. They find it much easier TO
!. in their easy chairs and teach classic
l. Than to get up chemical or phllos pnhic
-s experiments. or to roam with their class
# through the fields and woods in pursuit
d plants, flowers and minerals with viii
= they are less familiar, than with Gre
s roots.
l. have thus given you in brief IN
It Creed" Like Mr.. Murray's, it may
N suppressed, in Middlebury. but | he
st these opinions honestly, and respect I
Y opinions of those who differ from m
g. But such is the vanity of parents, Al
n such the desire on the part of children
ID study something that will sound biz
so overwhelming is the influence of esta
L "A .,.,,,no -, 81 49, r.