New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-11-20

effective on the fring-line of life? Your bed and
board don't count for they would have their equals
in what feasts and feather-heds he left behind at
home Your athletics don't count, for every health
result they offer would find prompt attainment
were the boy involved with pillow pile of cord
wood for spaces even with those spent in the gym
nasiun The benefit, if it exists must Turk in what
IS given his intellect. And | ask again In eX
change for that one-eleventh of his whole remaining
capital of years what does the boy take?'
''You will not deny, ." observed the educator acrl-
rnoniously THAT the student gets finished educaton2
1T might be complained, returned the barbarouS
one that you too much limit the term education
in its definition y man might know how to look
for and discover gold mine, and then open and work
and market his vein of saffron wealth. If that
all you'd call him ignorant. Wanting that gold
knowledge he still to read Homer in the original
Greek you would allow his claim to education One
might be wise enough and of such deft, ingenious
hand as to build and sail ship around the globe.
If that to he the measure of his requirement
YOU would write him ignorant. On the other hand,
missing those boat abilities he capable of sky
high mathematics, and able to translate CieSar and
Sal,,st and Vergil he you would coin and Crcu
late him of education To put 1t hlunty,
and remembering the so-caled classical courses OF
your school of what is Latin Greek to
who lines of law or medicine or commerce or
engineering literature trades which grapple more
with the physical bring down his daily bread.
Greek and Latin" gasped the educator, and he
looked the horror priest of Ind would feel at despite
done his idols "Of what use is 1t to teach Latin
and Greek?
Not teach; study | can when | remember
your college worth twenty millions property,
discern profit from their teaching. But why should
study them!
why. even in your own business of writing. "
cried the educator, their study is of immense inn
portance To know Latin and Greek is i'll most
instances know the derivation of wOrdS-ot the
actual English words you use.'
And why should that be important: Laying
aside the fact that both Latin and Greek, when all
is said only way houses the trail of tongues
| must still point out that the derivation of word
derivation of potato to him who eats. Why should
the banqueter burn with mad concern to whether
Colorado Bermuda gave some particular potato
birth? 1t has eliminated with him. potato and
the interest of Luculus pushes fart her atIed
And of words. Their ancestry only OF imaginary
Importance; surely it isn't worth one-eleventh of
ones life The exploration of ones own ancestry,
worth one year of life And is to give five
wears locate the protitleSs head waters OF word:
There is a maxim of the law: when the reason
ceases law ceases (CeSSat rdOHeS ceSSdt i. The
colleges would know nothing of this aphoris
They continue chart their of study by the
dusty, musty, university examples OF two hundred
years ago Do they know why. say in the years of
Queen Anne the colleges adhered so savishly Latin
and Greek? 1t because almost the worlds whole
literature was buried in those languages
In for example, the year I7o4 what there of
literature extant in English OF the dramatsts
Shakespeare, Jonson and of Others. OF the
poets. Chaucer with his Tales, " Spenser with his
"Faerie Oueene " Sidney with his Sweetenrd muSh of
"Pembroke's Arcadia There were Waller Suck
ling Lovelace and dozen Others of the lovesic
There the political poets. such Dryden and
Butler; and the heavy fellows like Milton OF prose
there lived little besides being for part of
that fantastical school to which the antithetical