The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-12-10

BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE
Discussion of Matter of Interest to All Coll
lege Men,


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
dignity of astrology.
With the Renaissance In the fifteenth
century came great changes In the edu-
cational world. The rediscovery OF the
literatures OF ancient Greece and Rome
and the consequent enthusiasm which II
aroused for the humanlties and which
swept over Europe with incredible rapid
! fly, not only established places for Latin
and Greek among the ARTS" but also
resulted in making the classics almost
the only ARTS" taught in the schools.
The classical curriculum fastened upon
European nations by Sturm and Ascham.
was given almost worldwide sovereignty
by the Jesuts. America, as was natural
followed the example OF England. and
enthroned the classics. No more powerful
influence has appeared in educational his
tory than that OF the humaniSs, with
whom scholarship derived through the
study OF the ancient classics became the
ideal, the summum bonum, and In fact the
solum bonum, OF education 1t Is this
ideal that has determined the Significance
of the b. A. degree for hundreds OF years.
A bachelor OF arts, UP till very recent
times, has been little more than bach
elor OF the classics. The requirements
T for this degree were fixed before many
studies which we are acquainted were
born. The modern languages and llters-
lures, including English, the natural
sciences, and the historical and socio-
logical studies were, for the most part,
If not altogether, either unknown or con-
fined to the contributions OF the old
Greeks and Romans. To this day 1t is
said that. "if there is any branch of
learning in no way connected with Aris-
totle and Plato. which is lectured on at
Oxford, 1t is an oversight tremendous
has been the power of tradition. The b.
a. graduate Of Harvard In the early days
had spent four years engaged chiefly IN
classical study, and had complied with the
following conditions for graduation which
are quoted from the records of that in
stitution: Every scholar that on proc.
is found able to read the original OF the
Old and New Testament land translate)
into the Latin and to resolve them log
ically. withal being of Cody life and con.
Hersation, and at any public act hath the
appreciation OF the overseers and the
master OF the college, is fitted to be dig
nited with his first degree" OF course
the preparation demanded for entrances
into college was along classical lines
Henry Dunster, Haryard's first president,
formulated admission requirements as
follows: Whoever shall be able to read
Cicero or any other such like classical
author at sight, 0t Is refreshing to see
this sensible provision for election). and
make and spell true Latin in verse and
prose, sue ut AUNT Marte and decline
perfectly the paradigms of nouns and
verbs in the Greek tongue; let him then,
and not before, be capable of admission
into college" AS late as 1856 the required
study of Greek and Latin occupied at least
two-hfths OF tho Harvard students time
great majority of American colleges
ana universities at the present time re-
quire candidates for the B. A. degree to
be trained In Latin and Greek both before
ana aifer entering upon college or uni
versity studies. In the report of the United
states commissioner of education for
1867 there Is given tabulated state
ment OF the b. A. degree entrance re-
quirements of 432 colleges and universl-
Ties. Latin is required by 400 of these
institutions both Latin and Greek by
dls, modern language by sixty A mod
ern language is made optional with
Greek. IL Is required by forty-three Sure
~ no further proof is necessary to show
now strong is the hold the classlcs have
upon the traditional degree of a liberal
education.
1t is worthy of note. however, that the
classical requirements have lost much of
.uelr rlgor In their golden age the
Di"asics represented almost the entire cur
rlculum. Before election of studies was
known. tho four year curriculum exacted
OF the student study of Latin and Greek
throughout his college career. Examina-
lion OF the b. A. degree requirements now
IN vogue in this country reveals the fact
that emphasis Ia laid upon the classics
before, rather than after the students on
trance into college. 1t is safe TO assert
that none OF Our leading institutions re-
qulre the four-year study of either Latin
or Greek in college, the great majority
neing satisfied II for one year. or at most
Two years. the student shall experience
the Joys ana SORROWS incident to classical
instruction. Even In oxford university
the requirements have been marvelously
changed, indeed revolutionized, fhr in
that Oldest OF English universities there
are now as many as seven avenues to the
y. a. degree. which Is conferred upon men
completing satisfactorily the work of any
one OF ihese schools Literae humoniores,
mathematics, modern history. theology.
jurisprudence. natural science and or-ss.s'
tai studies. Within any one of these
schools there is also an almost indefinite
hummer OF options There are, of course.
what may be termed entrance require
ments with respect to the classics. hut /
they are by no means severe. the Creek
texts OF Mark and John. four books OF the
Anabasis and four books of Caesar being
considered sufficient In Harvard the b.
a. degree can be granted to one even
though during his collegiate course no
may not have studied tho classics sin
gle hour Harvard. nevertheless. still re-
Ialns classical requirement for entrance
Ihese facts Just now presented Justify
the conclusion that the colleges have. TO
n largo extent, broken with their tradi-
tiohs and have, to some degree Mt least.
adjusted their curriculum to meet the de-
mands OF new social order but they also
prove that, while the influence of the
classics has waned. 1t IS yet powerful in
the regulation OF graduation require
ments. There are fewer than a half
dozen reputable American institutions in
which tho classics. In some form or an
other. are not absolutely prescribed in all.
or nearly all. the courses leading to pure
ly academic degrees.
~
Being germane to this discussion. the
inquiry is now raised: Why has our typi-
cal college course. which was inherited
from Oxford and Cambridge, and which
was built upon the traditional tripos OF
Greek. Latin and mathematics. been sub
jected to 80 great changesg In the first
place. as successful men In the various
professions began to achieve renown in
The world OF culture also, even though they
had not received the traditional scholastic