, 1874-02-08
THE STUDY OF THE MODERN LANGUAGES

THE STUDY OF THE MODERN LANGUAGES
BY PROF. WILLIAM MATTHEWS, OF TUE uN1yEns1r,
| OF CHICAGO.
Tint the study OF foreign languages is neces
sary part Of liberal education is proposition
which few intelligent porsous will at this day
dispute. Tho records of thought and kuowl.
edge are many-tongued; and, therefore, as
means Of encyclopedia culture, ,-of tha. thorougl
intellectual equipment which is SO imporiously
demanded Of every scholar, and even thinker, ut
the present day,-~a knowledge OF foreign liter
ature, both ancient and modern,
IS ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSABLE.
Familiarity with foreign languages iberalzes
the mind in tho same way as foreign travel.
The Emperor Charles Y. once said that to learn
new language WAS to acquire new soul. The
man who ia ia mliar only with the writer's Of Lis
native tongue is in danger Of confoundiag what
is accidental with what is essential, and of sup
posing that manners and customs, tastes aud
habits Of thought, which belong only to his own
age and country, arc inseparable from the nature
Of man. AcQuainting himself with foreign liter
aturcs. heindsthat opinions which he had thought
to be universal, aud feelings which ho Ind sup
posed inBtiuctiyo, have been unknown to millions.
| he thus loses that
| CHINESE CAST OF MIND,
that contempt for everything outside Of his own
| narrow circle, which was 3 foe to ell self
knowledge and to all self-improvemont. He
doubts whero he formerly dogmatized; he
J toleratcs where he formerly execrated- Quail
! flying tho sentiments Of the writer's Of his own
| age and country with the thoughts and Aenti-
| ments OF writer's in other ages aud other coun-
tries, he to bow slayishly to the authority
! Of those who breathe the same atmosphere with
himself, and with whose idiosyncracies he is
en- rapport. He declines henceforth to accept
their opinions, to make their tastes his tastes,
and their prejudices his prejudices and thus
avoids that mental slavery which is baser than
the slavery Of the body.
While We thus appreciate the value Of lin
gnistic studies to tho few WHO have the time and
money for thorough culture, we yet doubt
whethor the study Of foreign languages, to the
extent that fashion now exacts, is
WISE on PROFITABLE.
That m EngIishman, Frcnchman, or German,
even though business-man, should deem
knowledge of them not only useful, but even
vital to l1is worldly success, we can understand.
There is hardly commercial house Of any note
in England that does not sell goods to Germany,
Trance, Switzerland, Sweden, or Russia;
hence every such house must havo EN-
ployes to conduct its foreign correspondence.
and a knowledge Of foreign tongues is, there
fore, one of the best recommendations with
which young man seeking clcrkship can be
armed. The same is true OF Germany and
france; but
WHO WILL rEETEED
that such ia the fact in this country? Il, in
Btead Of all speaking common tongue, the
Eastern, Northern, Southern Western, and Mid
die STATES Of onr country spoke rs many lam
gunges, the lineua1 necessities Of our merchants
and manufacturers would be similar to those Of
the great busincss-houses OF Europe; but, as
the facts are, no such necessities ex-
ist It is truo We have a few houses that
do business with Europe; and it is truo,
also that, in few of our largest cities, there |
are many foreigners who cannot speak English;
but, everywhere else, linguistic knowledge is Of
little practical use.
The question is not whether + knowledge Of |
Trench and German is desirable per Sc, but |
whether it ia not too dearly purchased. Is it J
worth the heavy tax which our youth pay for it?
Cannot the weary days, weeks, months, and !
even years, which are spent in acquiring what,
after all, is usually but the metest smattering Of
those tongues, be
MORE pEoFTlADLT SPENT I
upon English literature and the sciencess There I
is hardly any subject upon which so much Illusion
prevails as upon the supposed ease with which
modern language eau bo mastered We hear it
daily remarked that French aud italian are very
easy, and that German, though presenting some
is by no means hard to acquire. Nov
The truth, to which sooner or later, every stu
dent il forced to open his eyes, is, that the ac-
quisiion Of any language, as Mr. Lincoln said
of tho crushing Of the Rebellion, is g q big
job" The mastering Of foreign tongue, even
the easiest, is tho work, not Of q day, but of
yesrs and years Of
STERN, USREMrTrIEG Toll.
Mr. Hamerton. the author Of s.The INTEL
ectunl Life, "a most competent judge,--lays
DOWN the following two propositions, tested by
arge experience, Us unassailable. l. When
,yer foreign language is perfectly acquired,
here are peculiar family conditions. The per-
ION has either married person Of the other
ration, or il Of mixed blood. 2. 4 language
annot be learned by an adult without Eve
ears residence in tho country where it is |
poken and, without habits OF close obserya- |
ion, q residence OF twenty years is insufficient. !
Il. Il. further adds that one OF the most ac-
omplished OF English Angulsta remarked to |
i'm that, after much observation OF the labors
t others, ho had come to the rather discourag-
1g conclusion that it was /:
NOT POSSIBLE TO LEARN 4 FOREIGN LANGUAGE.
This is an extreme position but, if by i" learn
lg language" is meant thorough acquisition
+ it, so that one can speak and write it like {
alive, We believe that the statement is impreg-
able. OF course. We except the fow prodigies
linguistic genius,-the Magliabecchis and the
[ezzofantcs, OF whom but one appears in 6
entury, men who, as Do Quincey eays, in the !
It OF dying, commit q robbery, abscon ding viii, :
valuable polyglot dictionary.
Will it be said in reply, that knowledge Of
'reign language may fall short Of perfect, yet !
, Of great practical and even educational value !?
e admit it; but We do not be- :
eve that the smnttering which tho great I
aiority Of our yonns men and women Z
't,-and uhich is al 1ley can get in n.ost cases,
can n
POSSIBLY ENRICH THEM INTELLECTUALLY. A
As Mr. Hammerton Justly urges, until you can II
ally feel the refnenlents Of language, you can