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

that he can read, almost witbon. hesitation. nearly
one hundred pages contained In the First German
Book" Ii to any this statement should appear, In.
credible. We would remind him of an Incident which
the pious John Newton Relates Of himself that while
on board Of n slave ship, he read Horace from begin.
ming to end without a Grammar or Dictionary. or I'M
derstanding n word of Latin when he began, He mnllc
tho poet interpret himself. And this Is the philusv-
ply Of Prof. W0rman's method, with tho assistance
VI illustrations addressed to the eye.
Finally, on this branch Of our subject, II Greek or
Latin were made tho medium of Intercourse between
professor and student the advantages Of the New
Method wonll be largely increased. 1t would be
rendered still more interesting and instructive. The
hours of patient toll which the student has devoted to
the preparation Of his lesson, lnAst dctract somewhat
from It's novelty. He has made Himself perfectly ia
miliar with 1t. In oil. its details. He is prepared to
translate the most difficult sentences Iinpromptu. eth.
or ut his seat, or at the blackboard. This thorough
preparation. which shnn:d DO insisted on as inrlispen-
sable, Is sometimes attended with u feeling of sn,ic-
ty, Since 1t Is rrorerb;al that the full SOUL lou,hrtf
an hontyc"inb." Besides, there Is q vagr,r INN essIon
on the mind Of the student that his ttsShas been &C.
complishet; that 81 far rs that lesson is concerned, 10
has nothing more to learn, the recitation being n mere
inriil. AND 1t IL bnt fair to ndd that the professor
himself Is no stranger to this feeling But II he adj
dressed the student In Latin, the attention of both
would he Immediately aroused, and all sense Of cnpui
dlssilated: Atthe same time, the recitation would be
still more Instructive. If as we have endrnvored tn
snow, TO write Latin Is so important, how much more
10 SPEAK III To make III conversational medium; to nd
dress the student in that noble language which once
IN the Roman forum from tho lips of the
immortal Tully!
Is there such a result attainuble! We have m hes.
itation In giving an affirmative answer. In Arnuld's
Greek and Latin Prose Composition, VIC hare the
cue OF Ariadne, which will inf libby lead to such q
result. 1t is attained without difficulty, in teaching
the Modern Languages, and, with n corresponding
rif"rt, why should 1t not be In this case? And most
a~ssuredly 1t Isl contamination dcvoutly to 10 wish.
ca. II would lead to a revelation In the study OF
GrreS and Latin rs taught in our American colleges
and univs rsilirs. They would IN hunger be regarded
O: dead iangungrs, but instinct with life. The study
III the classics would gain he pursued with IS much
arh"r and enthusiasm as ut the Revival Of Letters
ana Inc s"lntary effects would be apparent In the pull.
pit, at The bar, in III" editors sanctum, and In our
halIs OF Congress. Such O result would mike the
New Method complete, as nearly perfect IS any work
Of human ingenuity can be.
The New Method, 1t Is hardly necessary to Md, does
%,!,D p sx,SnrS tho reading Of Greek and
tr"ry, the masterpieces Of ancient lit
erature are read with greatly increased lnterest. The
CRITICAL study OF the language has given the youth n
kecner relish for the intellectual banquet spread be-
lore him In the Pnges Of Homer aud Virgil. lie he
g'n' TO appreciate the curiosa jciicftas, or exquisite
drlicacy Of thought and expression which character
lies these masters Of style, and can almost hrar the
roar OF the Sea In the poluphiosboio thalasscs Of
inc l"rinrr, or the w~histIing Of the winds In the sibl.
lahts Of tho latter:
OHa thtUc NOtu'QUB TuUnL CrcOerQuc prOcc llS
AIrtcus, ct vas tos rUlvunt ad littorn fuctus.
In Erskinc College, the Greek and Latin Prose
Composition alternatrs with III. critical examination
of some ancient anthor. 1t Is possible that the stu.
dent may not read 50 many pages, hut he reads with
much greater intelligence and appreciation q benefit
for which We think, he Is indebted to tho Prose- Com.
position.
liut what Of the New Method Of pronunciation !
In the Arsi place. It Is a misnomcr to call It new. In
the Trnctate IN Education, which We have quoted $50
oNrn, Mitch indicates q preference for the Italian
especially In the VUwrls, for We Englishmcn being
far nnrthrrly, do not open our mouths In the cold al r
wide enough to grace q southern tongue, but are OBJ
served by all nations to speak exceeding cluse and In.
ward 81 that to smatter Latin with an English month
is rs I'll a hearing MS law French" In Pope's Duncinl
there is Nh amusing passage which stowo that the
philologitts Of that day mnotcd, with NO little interest,
the important question, whether We should give up
Cicero to G or X" We object then to calling It new,
but have no objection tO the thing its.lf. Ifany body
" Silt TO give up Cicero to K, We shall not complain.
Bur, dnoto tudo. we have with Milioa, n decided
preference tor the ltalinn as the standard OF prnnui.
citation. In this respect, there is considerable latitude
In Erskino College but a student Is never allowed to
mnke q false quantity. He must not say uudikd, M
ereld, accenting the Hrst on the antepenult, aud the
second on the penult, under penalty Of our sore dis.
pleasure.
In taking leave of the suljnct, We shall briefly give
the results Of our own experience In studying some
Of the Modern Languages; and in DUNG sn we shall
appeal to that charity, 81 beautifully 'dcscrib, d by an
inspired ~npostIe; one Of whose characteristic is. that
vt thinkcth no svii"-hlways gives credit for the
most generous motive. Soon after bidding ai;eu to
our 1alma Mater, the South Carolina College, we
purchased Il copy Of "Ollendortrs New Method Of
Learning to Read, Write and Speak the Italian"
This We studied privately, with great inter-
est, and. We trust, not without profit. Soon after. We
r. sumrd the study Of the language in Ya'e Col ccc, In
connection with French. The method Of signor Ro'
bert, professor Of Modern Languages. was suhstnn,
TALLY That OF Ollcndo'K These exercises were inter
sI'crsci with conversation, which was mostly In
French. Alter spending five months In this why, we
read In six weeks the Orlando Furio-O, IN Italian epic
in fur large volumes: In two weeks. as well rs VT
ell remember, oil nf Mrtsstnsio. another vuluminou:
poet; IN about the same time, the Inferno of Dante
especially. the terrible inscription over The gate u
he'll, the conclusion Of which Il "All hope abnn don ye
who enter here :" and the opening canto. in which tn
poet represents himsclf rs bcwildcrrd IN n painless
forest, and vainly attempting to ascend o mountain
whose summit. iIlnrnincn by the rays Of the morning
sun, IS guarded by a panther. n lion, and she wolf
from which truly formidable trio he lie rescu. d by thu
nppOrtune arrival Of Virgil. And just bee It occur:
to us that this passage ssa very fine Illustration OF ,ht
difficulties, l,erllrxiiics and di>couragemcnts, whirl
attend the student who follows the old nethnl. Til,
r"s-mhlnncc is 50 perfect that We nsk your permits
sion to quote it:
"In the midway Of this our mortal life,
] found me in u gloomy wood, hstray
MONO lTolp tile pam ulrcCi. ana cen tO Tell,
1twere no easy task. how savage Wild
That forcsr, how robust and rough It's growth,
Which to remember only my disinay
RcIcws In bitterness not far from DEATH"
Carey's Translation.
The New Method Ia. cmphatically la diripiu, ta. Oh
path direct" But to return from THIS digressiUn-
In French we read the Comedies Of MOliere. tn,
Tragedies nf Voluire, and other authors, trnnsiniinl
the Ninth Teoi Of Fcnrlun's Trlcmaqun out of Thu
original into Italian 1T o single lesson. These thing.
ae mentioned rs an illnr tratiUn Of what mny be accom-
plished by o young man nf stndi0us habits and uIil
nary capacity, who takes advantage Of the New
Method. We are conscious Of no other motive, ant
should th0re even seem to be n want Of modcsty, we
are persuaded that al audience so intelligent anu dis
eliminating as that which VIC have the honor to nd.
dress. will give us the benefit Of tho CHI; vaIrous sen.i
mcnt-lIonisoit qui male prnsy, Evil be Il
him that evil thinks" But VIC must bria, thrs,
remarks to 4 close.
MIR. President, The census reveals the surprising
and most gratifying fact That the population nf Sonlt
Carolina is nearly one million. The tide which ba.
been roll ng westward for ~ many years Is arrested
and actually r~eceding. The ~nounta,n is coming t.
MahOInet! Emigration has been changed to iinnli
grafton . o changc Of only one syllable, hut the differ
cace is immense. The immigrants are not nuinrrou,
but 1t Is the advance guard, the baby finger "f the 81.
ant mass Of things to cOilr." We bid IN, III welcurne
whether from New FL gland Or old England, from No
w Scotia. or the land Of Walter Scott. There Il
room for all. Sir, We hnvo Il magnificent country {
climate mild and salubri"rs. n generous soil, yie nins
in abundance two Of the great commercial staples, a.
well rs forests Of "murnuring pine" which speedily
repair the rnyaccs "f :ne plough, afford OH incxhnusti
bile supply OF fuel, and add ihdescribaGle charm to tho
landscape.
But there things are not her glory. They cannot
make her truly great. Whit Is 1t that thrills TIT
heart Mt the very mention Of Scotland 1t Is hel
moral and intellectual GREATNESS; her glorious lIte q
tnre, her colleges ana universities. her poets and phi.
iosoplerr, her Dugald Stewart and Robert Burns, ono
above all, the Great Unknown. Or Wizard Of the
N..tI - g. T.. th., trkno I'D .-k-lk
Ism OF her citizens, TINT hns mnde South Carolini
truly great, q bright particular star In tho galaxy O
States. There ls only one way In which this hunOra
position can be maintained. Her people must he cd
heated. The seeds Of knowledge must be scattered
broadcast from mountain to %seaboard, from the ba.
yannah tn the Wateree.
We are constitulionally sangnine, but, cir, It were
treason to doubt that South Carolina has n gloriou.
future; a future more glorious than Ill her past. Nel
very mist Of tunes will make her great. From the net
tie danger she is already beginning to pluck the flow
er Of safety. "Wlat though the field be lost! All !.
not lost" peace hath her yictUrirs no less rcnown.
cd than WAT" And we have met to.'lay to celebrate
one Of these bluolless victories. South Carolina ap-
precia'rs MS she never did before, tho importance OF
education and we rejoice that she is represented by
one go energetic and .prlblic-spiritrd, so Intelligent
aud devoted, In y word, 80 well qualified tn supcrin.
tend this great and important. interest and we here.
by pledge him our hearty sympathy nnd cooperation.
until every citizen Is redeemed from tho rcprOach OF
ignorance, and the priccl, IS boon Ut education be-.
comes
CAS- broad and general rs the casing air."
Let our Senators and Representatives, whether
State or National. our editors and publishers, our
lawyers and physicians, our farmers and merchants,
the ministers Of Christ, TINT serve tho altar. and above
all, let teachers themselves catch the spirit Of i'm.
In education and South Carolina will
arise from the dust and humiliation Of defeat. and
put ON her beautiful garments, and shine fvrth in
more than her original ~splendor.