Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-11-21
THE STUDY OF GREEK.

Prof George Merriam before Yale Alumni Association
may say that made fair use of my oppor
tunlties-fOr ranked, in Greek, in the first half
dozen OF my class. Two years after graduation
was appointed to tutorship, and for year
and half taught Demosthenes to the sophie
mores Now, what working knowledge of
Greek did acquire through all this process?
Inere was never time when could read an
average half page of prose Greek without the
use OF lexicon. There was never time when
1 could read so simple an author as Xenophon.
except slowly and toilfuy. For any purpose Of
familiar use. of enforced literary enjoyment,
Plato and ThucydideS Homer even and far
more the great tragic pOets are and always
have been sealed books to me. lean read and
enjoy PlatO-in Jowett's translation. / canread
a little of the Greek Testament-especially when
l have the English text on the opposite mage
How many Of you, l wonder, who listen to
me-Of you who all gave in effect two of the
best years of your youth to the study of Greek,
have to-day, or have ever had, the ability to
read the easiest Greek author at sjoht2 For
my own part l do not for an instant consider
the time spent on Greek as wasted am sure
owe much to its training in close application
In mental eXactitude, in nicely of thought and
expression. Something I owe to even that re-
mote contact enjoyed with the freshness of
Homer. the grandeur of Eschvlus, the inspira-
ton of Plato. l acknowledge an especial debt
10 the instructor who taught me to appreciate
the cOnsummate blending OF passion and art in
the oratiOns of Demosthenes. Not lightly would
forego all that gained from these sources
But have to ask, was all this worth the cost?
My years at Yale fell just at the time when
American history was in the tremendous climax
OF the civil war. But when / was graduated in
1864, l believe l could have passed better ex-
animation in the history Of Athens or of Rome
than OF my own nation. l am confident could
n better account
PelOpOnnessian wars than of our own war of the
revolution. could have told vastly more of the
SIX Legendary kings of Rome than of the first six
governors OF Plymouth or of Massachusetts bay.
L knew something about the constitution of
ancient Athens. but could not have explained
the opposing theories of Jefferson and Hamil-
ton, or defined the WilmOt prOvisO. From col
lege. again. carried away some slight rudiment-
airy knowledge of French-by no means enough
to read French newspaper or to converse. OF
German, or of any other modern language, l
had no knowledge whatever. And to-day / see
the boys of the coming generation going through
the same process. 1t is Latin, Greek, Mathe-
Observation-Disclosures, Latin, Greek No time
tor history; small time for French and German;
no knowledge given, no aptitude trained, save
through the medium of the printed page.
Must it be so forever? May we not say at least
thus much: If mental discipline requires that
the boy or girl study mathematics for five or six
years, be 1t so! If discipline and knowledge of
the foundations of English require six or seven
years of Latin. be 1T go! But at least let the
line of obligatory study Of the dead languages
be drawn at Latin.