The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-09-29

which VIC would so earnestly rccommcnd-tho ascot
alton, from the very first, of theory ana lrac"e, IL:
And inasmuch as tho suljact assigned us
The Programme is one which q volume
could not exhaust, VIC shall devote IN
the remainder Of this discussion to the consideration
Of n single fcatntc-the New Me:h"a i enennn; es
Languages. We have m additional reason Tor comm
ing our remarks to this branch OF The suoJec.: as
some Of the Association are aware, the me oi Inc
writer has been devoted chiefly te tn the study Vi the
classics aud without affecting the role "i II suleIiW
linguist. he has one claim, st least, to your nt'eh''on
and confidence. chat
the idea OF combining theory ana GrHctEe Is , . rS,'" NJ
origin. Such q preterSiOn wonla be Tue he'Snt W
arrogance md absurdity. Every Llt!n or urt ,ks
aulhnr furnishes u rrnxis on the principles " .ns
language. The %hoytwho reads tps"r . t"nlhsh.afe . .
is making n practical application OF his know,eu:', as
well IA be- who translates on the blackboard an fA.
ercise from the Greek ar Latin Prose Comp"st."I'
But We do Insist, most atrrnu"usly, that inc imn.nou
now inrosrIe makes this feature much morrProlnine".
Accor,lin. to the old method. the Grammar WIS hre'
placed In the hands of the tyro, aud after some "erhs
or months Of patient drilling In Declehs'"n M"
Coniugation, and In committing u" memory Wv
Rules OF Syut8X, lessons were assigned phltn6lh solhe
Greek or Latin author, Ms an exercise IN irahsiatl"h
Il: the conclusion OF which, he WINS required % d.enhe
some noun or adjective, C onjug:te some pefp, anu III
either case, to account for s me particular Iorlh;
Munifc,tly, we have n combination OF theory anu
practice. Every chapter, paragraph, ana sentehee
even, furnishes n cOpiOus exercise on tho nrlnc,Ples
Of the language, MS LAID down in the Grammar. no"
then, We my very pcrlincntly inquire, does inc
New Method differ from the old Grin what oors lS
vounted superiority consist? In our humble Juis.
mcnt, il is entitled to the preference ON several &C.
counts.
In the first place, It Is emphattcally and prominently
the natural method. It Is o remarkable" ''i most NY.
niiicant fact. thn', at the age Of slx uf seven, a chiiu Is
able TO speak the vo. nncular fuently, and with some
degree Of ~pr"priety. lie expresses hitns'if without
hesitation, on any subject with which he Is acqnalntcr'
he will entertain yori with o copiuus narrative OF MS
! clil1ish eytluiip niS fonplle Ia NJ nttnbIU rs l1Eul-
ming. The words pour forth In . continual streht''
until the tpre,,s copid dtcendt Is theckea ~ ,ne
gentle adnOnition. my child, you talk ia" inuch! ne
has nrverseen an English Grammar. ne cahh"t us,
tinguish brlween q noun md o verb. lie HAS learned
the language by hearing it spoken, and by Speaking II
himself.
A missionary is sent to Egypt. As soon as he mr..
rives ut his place Of dcstination' he purchases an
Arabic Grammar, md, with comuncndahle rcselution'
addresses himself to the task Of acquiring the IAN
guagc. At the end OF SOME weeks or months nc haa
made scarcely any PROGRESS. lie now begins q course
OF reading In Arabic, but with no better result. ne
Is ready to abandon the mission In despair. %hrh ior'
%tunatcly, It occurs to him that there Is q pelt"r why.
lie goes ont into the streets, and hears the language
spoken. lie secs the flashing eve. the vehement grs'
t~iculation, the smile of intelligence. lie ventures 10
add css one Of the natives. and succeeds IN ihah'he
himself understood. lie goes through the same p'o.
cess every dav, aud Is astonis,ed to discover mat ne
IS ucq uiring the language much nlore rapidly IMAM W
porting over Grammar and Lexicon.
We shall find illustrations much nearer home In
the great III. i"rity Of cases, the French or Herman
immagrant. when landed at New York, does not
understand O syllable OF English. lilo Is rs innch
perplexed rs Ii he were set down In tho streets OF
Pekin or Canton. hut the acquisition OF the language
IS necessity. lie must speak English, or not nj AL.
lie recognizes the fact, and at the end Of n few years,
he can DO distinguished from the native American
only by q slight trace Of the foreign accent.
On the other hand, 1t Is q notorious fact thst years
are spcnt In reading Greek and Latin without 50
much as approximating such u result. So far from
being able to converse fue;tly in those languages,
the student would be very much embarrassed or c"H'
pletely ~nonplusrd II required even TO read rom some
huthor not Ibid down In the College curriculum.
These facts are suggestive, rs well rs stubborn. IT
Is natural to inquire, why are these things so! And
the answer Is obvious. that a language is much more
easily acquired by writing and Speaking It than by
solitary study or porting over text books. The New
IcthOd then, has this advantage over the Ola, that
40 Oro tsQuc at mato, from the beginning even 10
the end Of his literary course, the student is corhpell-
ed to write aud speak the language: In other WORDS 10
follow nature.
"First follow nature. and yonr udcmentframo
BY her Just standard, which /. eth the eanics
Unerring nature. still divincly bright.
One clear, nnciUundcd, universal light"
The New Method Is { superior to the old, because 1t
requires the student to Translate nom English into
Greek or Latin, MS well as ricc CcrSU. II transiating
into the vcrnacular is highly beneficial, as OIL
admit, the contrary PROCESS must be still more so, De.
cause IL requires Il larger expenditure OF labor. u
was the opinion of the late DR.. Thornwell, and. It
would not be easy to fLdn more competent Judge,
that the study If the languages Was Invaluable. ns
furnishing the best possible discipline fur the mind.
To this eminent authority may be added that of Sir
William Hamilton. As already observed, the New
Method furnishes copions exercises In trnGslating
from, rs well rs int, the rerracu'ar, thus requiring n
greater mental effort. and increasing, In the same pro-
portion. the utilty VI the study. II this exercise Is
not peculiar to the method which we advocate, 1t Ia
mad" 81 prominent thutit may bcjustlY regarded as
the diGcreftid, or Characteristic.
The Natural Method, ns wo may rightly cMl IL
holds the more difficult subjects In reserve. AS the
skilful commander will not discourage his men ny
forced marches, or attacking the enemy ut q disad.
vantage. 81 the teacher who Is not n mere empire,
will advance his schpars very cautiously, surveying
every inch Of the ernnnd, and avoiding obstacles,
rs far rs possible. until his raw recruits have gained
strength and confidence. What could he more un-
philosophical, not to say absurd, than to advance the
student, at q single stride, from tho rudiinrnts Of
Grammar to the Georges OF Virgil; according to
Dryden, his translator, the mnst difficult OF hl! tie
Latin poets? Many q lad OF more than ordinary
promise has found the Bridge Of Caesar n vcritable
Ions 4 sinorum. and sat down in despair on the
banks II the beautiful Rhine. AS the reoult of the
old method. the student (n the phrascnl"gy Of the
Pilgrims pro.rcs.) was sometimes fl %'nnderinc IN
tho Slough Of Drspond, anon tumblinr down tie Hi
Difficulty, and, finally, bound hand and f"ot In the
castle Of Giant Despair. But In the l'ngnagc" OF Mil
ton. whose prophetic vision anticipated the Improve
lnents Of A later a.c. the New Method conducts him
to q hillside, aud prints out "thc right path II y vir-
tuolls and noble education; lnborious, indeed, Mt the
first ascent, but else 50 smooth, so green, 6" iUll Of
CuOuiy ~ OSDcCt anu InelnltnuSb OUUub IN cNcTS olut
that the harp Of Orpheus was not more charming"
Another striking advantage OF the New Method
over the old, Hes in the fnct that the lesson. or prnsis,
is always designed to illustrate some specific princi-
then excinpliRcd In q Model Sentence, after which
the student is required to translate into Greek or
Latin a duzrn or more sentences. oil In Illustration OF
TINT particular paint. His attention Is thus called to
IL again and agAin: and he must be "impenetrubly
DUR indeed, (as was worry unjmstly said OF Gold
smith by one Of his ~tcachers.) II this constant repcti-
ton makes M impr- ssion an his crnninnh,-l"r In
the language Of tn, p"et, "GuHd cdrGt ldptacnl,
non Vi sed suepe caiendo." According to the
method formerly employed, he repeated hIe1nonter
soIno two or three pages Of the Grammar, then read q
chapter of Caesar. or m Ode of Horace, or r passage
from Homer, without any definite purpose, or te1n,i-
nus al qucm. To borrow an illustration from 4 favOritc
Author, tho natural result was thnt the student too
often bore a striking resemblance to the figure Of It.
George on overwhelmingly mounted but making
no progress. The lesson Of to-day was q duplicate
of the last; and this humdrum process was continued
from week to week. from month to month, and from
year to yenr, until the stomach Of the master, rs well
as OF the scholar. rcvolted at this "lenten entertain.
imcnt." this cran.be repctitd, or stale cabbage, OF
the Roman sttrist.
The improved method, on the contrary, makes a
change of programme every day. Instead OF n wenrl.
some inonotony, there Is always An "ShiIsrating sense
of novelty, accompanied with q conviction that tho
study Of the ancient classics is n mine Of intellectual
possible, VIC apprehcnd TO exhaust the patience Of orr
RESPECTED audience; mud we shall. therefore. notice
only one other advantage peculiar to this method.
Recalling" says the oracular Lord Verulain. 'makes
4 full man. conversation II ready man, and writing Ill
rxsct man," a knowledge II books supplies food
for Thought, social intercourse givtsfuency Of speech;
but to think and speak accurately, frequent use must
be made Of the pom. AS Cicero has tersely expressed
It, Afagister dicendi styitH. This capital advantage
Is secured 10y the method which we 80 strenuOnsly nd.
Tocate. The blackboard is q sine qua ',on. Or indis.
pensablc adjunct The student not only reads and
speaks the language, (and we have already insisted on
the great Importance OF the latter but, rs In the pal
ace Of Belshnzzar, no traces the the mystic characters
ON the wall, to be scanned by the critical eye Of his
professor: and sometimes tile Interpretation Is, "1e-
kel, thou art weighed In the balances, and thou
art found wanting" Neither should we overlook the
mechanical facility which he thus acquires in writ
ing Greek. He soon lcurns to form his Alpha, Beta.
Cana, as rapidly and easily as the letters Of the
English alphabet, and with q skill and beauty which
would have excited the admiration Of some old aman.
ucnSis.
But. It may be asked, arc there no objections to
this method which you 80 highly eItol? Wo do not
hesitate to answer in the affirmative, but In the ian.
suase of the counting-room, We deny. most strenu.
ously, that they constitute an offset. "There are OBJ
i.ctions against n pleHum," says the celebrated Dr.
johnson, and objections against q r0cuuru, and yet
one Of them must he true" IL no method Of teach
Inc were adopted, not absolutely free from objections,
our Superintendent Of Education would Rrd his Of
Ace II sinecure. II tie student is incorrlgib.y dull or
idlc. this method will not make him n scholar, for the
yrry obvious reason, If you will indulge us In n very
homely illustration, that It Is impOssiblc ITO make n
silk purse out Of . sow's ear" II he expects his
classrmate to do the work for him, or resorts to any
other subterfugc for the purpose OF avoiding labor.
which is the price Of excrllencc, the New Method wi
be as Intellectual as the old. Those who have had any
experience In teaching the languages need not be in
formed that one OF the most serious obstacles In the
way of success, Is the use Of TRANSACTIONS. The stu
dent soon discovers that a translation is