The colored American., 1899-12-02

subject matter ls man as opposed 10
matter; "studies that concern them
selves With the record Of human mo
tIves, human thoughts. human as piTa
tions and human achievements" In
other words, litersture history, and
language have the largest claim on the
time and effort OF the students in the
secondary and in the higher stages OF
culture Higher education, then, is in
large measure a study of civilization
through one or all Of these subjects-its
purpose is not merely 10 examine the
modern phases of civil zation, but to
trace its thread as they extend back
and are rooted into the past.
OF the Roman contribution to elvIli-
Zation, a teac her says: Romsn history
is the great central gsnglion by which
the history of the world is connected; ;
Rome handed to US the civilization OF
Greece, gave US community Of thought
and Ideals, rules US today 10 civil and
eccle. .iastical law. Hence Roman his
tory lives in the present and must be
taught ~ The above states sments very
clearly indicate that there can be no
genuine study of the problems OF nod
ern civilization until ne have studied
the character and spirit OF those peO-
pies with whom all the essential prob
Of our civi ZatiOn originated. Greece
stands frat OF all as the center of beau
ty, giving original impulse and direc-
tion TO those forms which appeal To the
highest qualities Of the soul. All that
is most beautiful in lite ature and art,
as well as the highest stan dards OF Cul-
Iure and taets may be traced to the re
fining IL fiuence Of the Greeks. The
%, st finished literary productions of
4, = r.. Nsr
Iish, German, FreE ch, or Italian are
based upon Greek models. One finds
it impossible, except Ia a superficial
way. to enjoy, appreciate, and under
stand he greateet productions Of mod
ern literature, unltss he is familiar With
the Greek souIoes of which they are
limitations.
II does not exsggerate matters at all
} to say that il is Impossible To estimate
the value Of the Roman contTibu Ion 10
our civilization, in the way of practi-
cal farms II We are indebted TO Greece
for the Fl pesG models in almost every
kind of art, We owe a greater debt to
, Rome for teaching Us legal. ecclt sia tI-
cal aud political forms. The GreciaD
ciVi iZatlous stand for beauty the RO-
man, Ior force; Greece showed what
heights could De obtained by the human
intellect, and taught all nations which
followed d her the meaning Of liberty !;
Rome showed what could be accom-
plis NED by irresistible force and how to
govern ii nations by law; Greece left
maHy models IN art, in Architecture, and
IN poetry; but Rome left TO the great
nations On Europe the moulds IN which
10 fOFR their three most substantial
fac Ors language, laws, religion. Every
student OF IaBguse readily recognizes
) in the French, The Spanish, other RI
man languages Of Europe the modern
peIpetiatIon Of he popular Latin in
vocabulary structure and often in form
The old Roman law forms the basis OF
the civil code Of all the Latin races of
Europe and America. The Roman
Church governing the entire Catholic
world by its vigorous and extensive
ecclesiastical pOlity simnly fleets the
spirit aud methods of ancient political
Rome. No enc who recognizes the
deIiyaiiVe character If our modern
ciVIIizs ion will hesitate to grant th 4
il is DOihIng short OF imperative that
students in the higher education " nose
duty il is TO investigate the problems
Of art, literature, scIs nee, government,
and philosophy should be well &C.
qusinted with the people who first at
lacked and in many cases most sue
cessfu.ly solved these problems
he then discussed the question
whether such acquaintance eau De So
cured through the medium of the so
called tIau latioDs apart from the study
of the Latin and the Greek Ian gusges,
concluding that the experience f schOl
ars, the testimony Of educators, and
The action Of a discerning public JUS
titled an answer emphatica ly in the
negative.
The objection may be raised that
only a small percentage of the stu
dents who pursue the study If clas-
CO in the secondary schools ever
60 to college or through their study of
social problems ever have occasion 70
C insult classical SOURCES. We answer
this Dy saying that it is not urged that
the humsnistIc study OF the ancient
languages Is the only value to be found
in Them, but that tVsn If a pupil puf-
sues the udy OF Latin on Y one or two
years, he receives greater amount Of
mental discipline, and of training in
the use OF his own language than he
would receive from the study OF any
other subject for the same penOd Of
time. The discipline and training in
judgment n hIch a boy must receive In
applying the principles aid facts Of
Latin grammar In order to find out the
meaning of passage in NepOs or Ovid
cannot fail TO stand MIN IN good stead
hen he attacks the problems Of every
day life. The present commissioner of
education, recognized authority on
pedagogic questions, even goes so far
as 10 say that "Of hundred boys, fifty
OF VIII Jm had studied Latin for a period
OF six months. while the other ff,y had
never studied Latin at sll, the fifty
with the smattering Of Lain would
possess some slight impulse toward
snalylng the legal and political view of
human life, and surpass the other fifty
Ia this direction. Placed on a distant
frontier, with the task of building q
new civilization, the fifty with The
smattering OF Lain would furnish law
makers and political rplers, legislators,
and builders of the state"
| There "a another Dhasa of oIasEical