The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1883-11-15

.uI .f .. H...I pyfE0 Our,
JY.m...U.rg. N. Worth Gnzstie
FL. tI....lmYI .,.. lltefateuf,a a.
Hr.0r0r .Hu.'II " ofthc classics
aV.. rr.... U.. ... o many sturdy
b.,t..D.. Vf.'. flth Greek Who
f.....r ..a ma. u. re Spanish Ian
gu...H. moro # r.'. Every year
a....II. l.D.... ".l loser oommun'
..r... ..... U... 1 business and
.... .. .., .. 81, Industrious
,ouug .r,4ow, VINO can roll OFT the liquid
Cas.Hlltu rs easy E-d'h will find him
ss,r aduirebly ctrcaulHaHcGd, etc." The
q z.tto IS prc-emiu.nuy r'gpt os far as It
goes. bgl 10 does not goo Gar enough. What
ilfrue Of The practical uzoiuiues5 or the
Spanish tongue is true oIrle German Ian
gl7eo as vel, IN our growing rglai. nsvi'h
Germauy. The Same IS appAcaoe 10
France We have no business mr.
Is1e.ai relations wish Greece ror
with Rome which require in the least that
we Euog either Gree k or La!n. French is
spoken extensively ia both these counties
AS well as throughout Europe. A thor
! Tough Latin ard Greek l,ugu'S. To1ld fare
not halt so well as w0uld good
English or French or German t..kar IN any
mar. Of Italy or OF Greece. The old argu'
menl that we ought to know those deed
languages because so many OF the English
roots and words are derived from them is
about equal to the logic thai would require
ma to know tho analysis and
composition Of water because so
much of the nutrment Of life IS derived
from that liquid. An Episcopal minister
| friend of ours, fell into financial embar-
rassment some years ago, and a colored
deputy sheriff in Louisiana notihed MIN
that be had writ of fieri fscias to serve
n, him. The good man did not know
what was meant. He afterwards informed
us that he instantly ran through his MIND
this translation, ''facias' equals cause
than - and "fieri" equals "to be DONE"
Bnt he was no wiser whatever for all THIS
The pewlv-installed colored deputy, how
ever, who had never opened Lahn DOOR,
eompreKended precisely what was mean,
and in few moments the accomplished
and Latin.learped divine was astonished at
witnessing all his property under seizure.
The hest instructed of us in the "classlcs'
are often and nearly always at loss 10 oe-
cipher even the PHYSICIANS prescriptions.
OF inst so little avail, therefore, is our
knowledge of the dead to aid us in mean
logs of the living languages. The years lost
in the studying of the roots might well in
deed be exchanged for months to be devoted
to the study of the dictionary or tn" spe'ier
and definer." As for the mental exercise"
argument, who will say that chemical anal
vses. cumulative and qualitative, opening
up splendid fields for fresh and daily inVes-
tigations, are not infinitely to be preferred
because of their practical utilities, rs well
as rigid attention required. So, too, OF ge-
ology and mineralogy, in this mining age.
So, too, of engineering, civil and mining;
and. for sooth,, of all the NAH
ematics. We learn how CESAR
built bridge across the Rhine,
and it took us weeks to learn about
it, but we are profoundly ignorant OF the
mode of constructing bridges to-day. And
this IS only illustrative Of what we mean.
But we are advised it is proper for educa'
tors to study and be informed about the
classics" But why, if we prove their un-
desirableness, compared with other and
better studies for the pupil, should the
tutor be burthened with them' AS for
"literateurs," the day is gone forever when
the journalist will head his Articles
or interlard and sandwich his sentences
with Greek or Latin quotations. Ana
what ia true of the journalist is getting to
be equally true of the writer and reviewer
in the magazine. Sandals and sabots were
good enough in their day, and so we're pow
dered wigs and knee-breeches and shoe
buckles with our forefathers. But all these
affectations were OF the past, and are no
more forever. And just so will soon be the
story of the ''classics" in the schools