New-York tribune., 1908-02-23
CLASSICS TAUGHT
In ENGLISH.
IN TE K ESTING EYpERI-
MENT AT BROU-N.
Stereopticon Viescs Used to HelD
ReUiUe Interest IN .ARcient
History.

History.
Providence. Feb. 22.-There is being tried
here. at Brown University. an experiment in
education that is attracting the attention Of
college and secondary school teachers every
wnsre- II Is al attempt to give student who
knows neither Greek nor Latin that acouaint-
snce with classics which is stil by very many
educators considered necessary TO a we'll round
60 eoucation j is an undertaking that con-
Germs every American community where
school board a superintendent and a high school
principal have constantly to consider the ques-
ton OF Just how much classical instruction may
properly be paid for out Of the public funds
Teachers of the classics in this country have
long been disturbed by the apparent loss of in
terest in their studies and there certainly has
been tendency IN some high schools to discard
Greek in order that the time formerly devoted
TO it might be applied TO more utilitarian sub
3ects-more utilitarian from the twentieth CEN
tury point Of view.
The experiment that is under way al Brown
University consists in teaching the classics in
English. so that a Young who had no
chance TO study them before he came 10 college
and who feels after he gets 10 college as If he
could not spare the time 10 begin the long proc
ess Of learning 10 read them in the original may
get as much benefit as possible from them al
second hand TO speak
The first question raised when this attempt
was started was. What good are Greek and
Latin 10 a modern American any way?' And if
Greek and Latin are considered merely as IAN
guages the answer Is. TO those who Will write
for living. preach, argue in the courts or
otherwise employ language as an implement Of
their calling, very useful: to other Americans,
Of very little use
One very wholesome effect Of the effort
keep the classics alive has been a undermining
OF the way Of teaching them. It is no longer
enough for the instructor to drill his pupils in
the grammar, rhetoric and Versi1cation OF
Caesar Cicero and Virgil or Xenopohon. Plato
and Homer The form is Of less importance
than the substance. though the mental exercise
given 10y mastering the forms j. still appreciat-
ed The student At Brown who tries TO get in
touch with the spirit Of the ancients may do SO
through the medium Of the Greek and Latin
languages. OF he may use translatlons not as
e means Of hOedwukng his instructors but in
classes where the sole endeayOr is TO impart
such knowledge as an English speaking person
can properly acquire Of the Latin essaysts or the
Greek dramatists.
Particularly for those students who have no
gift Of learning langUages-and great many
are so limited by nature-these courses in
classic literature minus the classic tongues are
likely 10 be valuable. The involved periodic
sentences OF Cicero and Demosthenes are no
longer stumbling blocks in the path Of scholar
ship. The Grafton against Ca-aline IS not en-
ployed as e means Of testing industry in the use
Of Latin dictionary.
The inspiration 10 good citizenship, according
to the Brown idea. IS the chief lesson 10 be
learned from the courses in the wisdom Of the
encients. among whom the idea OF the city-state
was DEVELOPED for the first time IN history
Socrates from dusty plaster bust n one corner
Of the lecture hall, becomes kindly, patient
wise old man who understood better than his
fellow citizens the evil Influences that IN time
must break down the structure Of society. The
young American is taught TO know the ancient
Greeks and Romans as living human beings
INST as human as he is whose struggles for lib
ertv. for purity Of government and for better
social conditions were just as real as the same
struggles are in our time
As they are taught through the medium OF the
F-vpIfsb language the classics divide themselves
into literature history and politics The sole
-urnose in all the courses IS TO span the dis
+arce Of twenty centuries and make flesh and
blood out Of the dust Of other days.
one course. for instance deals with the fam
iIv life OF the Romans and another with the
home surroundings Of the Greeks. In iltustra-
zion there are stereopticon lectures bringing
.--a7hicaIIv before the students eyes the facts
ri rre ancient world as depicted in vase paint
snpz srat1a-v and in modern photographs or
famous views. Pictures Of present day hap
r,erfngs have their usefulness, too, for however
-,-rp T-alv NAV have changed in some respects
si,oa Cesar crossed the Rubicon many Of its
rrvsical and ethnic features have persisted.
The PASTURES in which Corydon's sheep nibhled
while their master piped verses for the conster-
nation Of generations Of sch0olboys to come are
,,na1re-ed TO this day and the stereopticon gives
-r;-7rses Of them which make Virgil very real
Views Of e villa built centuries ago but stlI oc-
c7ypied by some wealthy Roman. Of the Oldest
surviving bridge on the Tiber. across which the
t-orley now buzzes. Of the mouth Of the Cloaca
Max;ula- OF Great Sewer. whose construction
dates back into the legendary age Of the Roman
kings. of the outlines of temples, forum and
e-7r1l+heatre which saw the making Of history
:, a. era Of activity whose effects are still felt
throughout the civilized world-these pictures
IF the world OF classical antiquity give vivid
-ees to the impressions OF the American stu
dent who knows no Greek and small Latin,
bDr who wants an intelligent conception Of the
s.L+ 70 modern times to ancient times.