Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1891-04-18
COMMUNICATIONS.
The study of Latin.

To the Editor OF the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
It has been my intention for long time
to express my opinion about the incom-
plete, and, of course, useless study of La
tin which they do in this country in order
to enter any of the scientific schools.
I am fond lover of the language of Vir-
gil and Cicero; first because it was the Ian
guage of my ancestors; and second because
it ia one Of the main doors to the study of
modern languages.
No one can deny the help which thor
ough study of Latin affords to a student,
even in studying English. But do they
study it long enough to receive any help
from its This is the question propose to
myself.
We know for true fact that in order to
be able to understand and appreciate any
| thing, we must be thoroughly, deeply &C
quainted with it.
When first came over to this country,
two years ago,I Immediately began to study
English without the help of teacher, as
my financial means were very limited to
hire one. After 6 Or months of hard
| study and continual intercourse with Eng
glish speaking people, I was able to STAN
| mer it a little bit, and with the help of the
| natural language, the motions, I could
make myself understood. I started to read
one of Sir Walter Scott's novels, s'The
Monastery" as it had been recommended
| to me for good reading exercise. With
the help of dictionary-on such occasions
my. most faithful companion-I went
| through it in about two months. But I
ask myself: Did I appreciate and under
| stand Sir Walters worke Did it help me
any in my study of the English language!
No sir; it only created confusion in my
mind; chaos.
Now, as it results from the catalogue Of
Yale university, the Latin required to en-
ter the scientific department can be easily
learned in one year. They only require
simple exercises in t1anslating English in
to Latin, together with few rules of gram
mar and the translation of six books of
| Caesar.
lam sure that when student is through
with the translation of the commentaries
of the Gallo war, he knows just as much
| about Latin as know about Hebrew. He
| is perfectly unable to recognize forms, nor
| can he account for anything. The con-
| struction, which is the principal thing in
Latin, is entirely strange to him; and to
translate a chapter he has to spend two
hours at least with the continual help of a
| vocabulary. After he has entered college,
| he doesn't go on with his Latin, but he drops
| it forever; and 30 good bye to all the time
| he spent to acquire that little knowledge
| of Latin which he had before entering col
! lege. After or months he has entirely
| forgotten everything about it, and he is
not even able to decline Rosa.
"Parturiens mons ct tnascetur ridiculus
mus"
It is not necessary for young man who
intends either to become civil or me-
chanic engineer to study Latin Mathe-
mates and modern languages should be his
chief study.
In Europe they have separate courses.
Over there, if a young man intends to de-
| vote himself eithersto medicine, or to law,
or to pharmacy, he has to 60 through the
classical course, which is of years of gym
nasial schools and years of lyceal schools
before entering what they call university.
If he intends to become either O military
man or a mechanical or civil engineer, or a
business man, he has to go through the
technical schools where they devote all
| their time to the study of modern langua-
ges and mathematics.
AS have already stated I am not against
the study of Latin at all, nay, rather, I
should recommend it; I am only against
the incomplete and therefore useless course
which they do before entering college.
Should they continue to study it during
the remaining three years of the scientific
course, then it would be of some use to
them, but as they do at present, I think it
only an unjustifable loss of time
leave the comments to you and to my
fellow students. Yours respectfully,
JOSEPH SPINETTO