Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1886-04-16
ROSEBURG REVIEW
FRIDAY. APRIL, 16, 1886.

strictly phllosophlcal grounds, that
he letters of word, or syllable be-
;ome transposed permanently for reas
IONS that, in some cases, seem almost un-
Now, it isself-evident that
n the root "g-o-g-u-e" the "u" and
i'g" have been thus transposed, that its
original spelling was "g-o-u-g-e."
Further, it is self-eveident that the syl-
able originally ended with the letter
''r, and that after long use 1t was drop
ped the same principal that all of our
most common verbs, adjectives, etc be-
come bv long familiar usuage, more or
less irregular and fragmentary in
form. Taking this philosophical, ETY.
mologlcal view of the subject, the
word in full was originally "peda-
gouger" or "boy-gouger. Now, were
l to stop here you would all freely ac-
knowledge the luminousness of your
conception of the word "pedagogue,'
and the Invaluable service that the
sience Of etymolOgy has rendered you
in attaining that conception, but I
have more etymology to bring to bear
upon the subject, especially the root
''gogue."
There are weightly reasons in favor
of a different derivation of the syllable
"gogue." These reasons lead me to in
fer that it is quite possible that the syl-
liable had originally in place of the ''g"
the letters "f;;" that these letters ac-
cordingly to the laws of euphony be-
came in time changed to "g" hard.
The word would then have been "ped-
afogue," or "boy-fouge." Again the
laws Of etymology seem to have set
aside the terminative silent "ue," sub
stitutlng therefore the syllable "erP
giving us the word "pedafogger'' or.
"boy-fogger" the "g" being doubled
according to the laws Of euphony. I
must confess my preference for the lat
ter derivation Of the syllable ''gogue," ;"
if for no other reason than its superior
chronological ingenuity. Ths word
pedagogue was doubtless applied as an
epithet of distinction to some of the
remote ancestors Of the profession, who
manifested superior skill in rousing the
energies of youth by a judicious exhi-
bition of muscle. I have spoken Of
'Ye Ancient Pedagogue" genus as ex-
tinct. 1t is extinct wherever the spirit
of progress, civilization and refinement,
has penetrated. Perhaps in the dim
shadow regions outlying the world of
progress, he may still linger with his
birchen rod and Daboll-his summo
bona Of farming and government.
A half century since the common
schools of the country, almost without
exception, were in no fattering condi-
tion. Scholarship, experience, fitness
for the work of the school room were
not the considerations that usually de
cided the choice of teaching. They
kept school because they could get {
dollar or two more month than fol
cutting cord wood. Certificates were
granted to those who could read, write
and cppher to the rule of three. Anc
last but not least to the one who coulG
jerk the big boys out of their number
9's" and leave the boots standing or
the floor, undisturbed by the sudden
departure of the owner. Tie order oi
the school-room was simple, and primi
tive, reading, writing, and spelling
interspersed with the loud halleujah'l
of some urchin jubilant under inspira
ton of the switch.
The only classes were in reading and
spelling; the only object in their for
nation being to acquire accuracy in
'toeing the mark" Ye pedagogue
usually passed around the room two or
three times day to show the big boys
and girls how to do their sums. Read
ing was an interesting process. When
the word Of command was given, the
pupils at the head went into spasns
He bent his leg, coiled it about the
) other, twisted his neck, dropped his
head to one side, Topped his off ear,
cooked the opposite eye, clutched the
book vigorously at the angle of exactly
45 degrees, with one hand punching
the first letter, of first word, Of the frsI
line, with the index finger of the other
After these preliminary steps were
taken, he filled his lungs, opened hi
mouth wide and irregular and seizeo
upon each letter in turn, with a success
sion of monotonous, unearthly, diabol
ical howls, till the perspiration oozet
at every pore, and his lungs collapsed
But spelling was the great exercise o
the school 1t consisted in taking th,
words letter by letter, holding oyer eacl
an "Irish wake, "1then on tiptoe, witt
mouth SO extensive that the part of tn
head above became peninsula, tn,
word was pronounced. But the in
tellectual part of process consisted il
"toeing the mark" This mark was {
most interesting object, when orna
mented with the pedal wealth of tn,
school-room. For clustered about i
were little toes, and big toes, clear
toes and dirty toes, sound toes and sor,