The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-11-27
THE Classics ~ SECONDARY
EDt CtrION.
\. c. Br-Ioa IN ne Nn,',.-f, c,niu'g,

~
Tn. reason why hslisy- the esiucationai
situation with regard to th. classics has
changed IN the last hfty wears l. this Inc
whole world seems Ia nv" to have undergone
great awakening l believe that IN th"
days 10 com. this lISt century Wall ne r.
gar,icd "a T"nai-sanC" infinitely more
important than Ih. medieval Renaissance"
Ia the old Renaissance IN" world awokc 10
a sense of poetry and b.autv and tn be
lief m ideas In ,hr last century the world
has awakened 10 "A much larger thing. So
larg" that can find np word for ~ Ihe
old Ren1t~-InC" made humanity interested
IN itself ~" new Renaissance" has mad. men
Interest ted IN IA" schema of things, of which
humanity - but small part. Science. or
rather the scientific method, has r"N"lu-
tom. ed thought by substituting inN"~t-
CATION for in,uiron The result has been
an immense accession ~ problems sub
verstVr and constructive. an absolutely
unlimited InpuiSi INVERNESS. m" extension
"r the individual horizon into ia" social
horizon. a belief Iu tn" Importance OF eva
d"nC". and many other novel conditions.
rh" iucreaS. Of books and Journals al the
facilities ~ communication, IN" invention
Of tel" phol" and Telegraph. haV" tended To-
put All humanity into an almost appalling
my fapp-ttIon The result ~ n seems TO me.
entirely - chang" all the conditions "l
education. and ~ make ~ absolutely essen
tial to communicate. I will NOT say .ncy-
CloIE"dlC know ledge. but u wholly different
kind of knowledge" \ we'll educated man.
" seems =" me. must now haV" some
knowledge Of science. III history. Of geog-
ruphv IN ia extended sense and al modern
literature u - % tremendous programme.
but to east boys upon the world ignorant
of tn" meaning and IN" -C"p" "i IA" new
ideas seems To mr to forfeit all clam 4" IN"
nam" 81 education Many "f th"s" ideas
nr- Simple enough i'm reality. bat m" t"rnl-
nology 81 them must h" understood u
u IN" want - 'lrATu">' uf Thought ihai re
tlrd~ Intrll gent progress lar NOR. than any
ignorance Of literary 'anun-
Now "a system oi classical sducntipn. IN ~
j. Of any value at all and do not deny ,ta
value seems tn me tn demand TIA. whole
Of an aNCrlg" hdS = tim" and thought.
, Their - something =" 10" said Tor making
a hoy really familiar v.th Gr""N ideas and
Roman methods. hU' unless q certain stag"
- reached classical -tudv becomes a mer"
,"rturlng kind IL gymna-tic- believe
that the tru" Tor monopoly - past No one
| hopes u eject science and French. history
and geography. from the curriculum And
/ tr retain classical studies a. "a part Of the
curriculum appears =" me like retaining u
couple ~ mice. 10 nibhl" at rhrr-'''
And then there - a further point The
,la--icist- plead nor IN" retention of classics
"
tur" No one - NOR" profoundly ConV need
than myself ~ tho VITAL necessity Of keep
ing VA. literary element IN "dGcdtIon. and
N 10 IA rhr interests ~ literature that plead
/ fnr their withdrawal hold that N" tim"
now allotted 30 the study ~ classical lit"rh-
turr in H." con."st.d curriculum - tim" not
. gwen 10 literature. but Withdrawn from u
! Ifr vrrr po-Sih" ~ The i'm" ~ IA" disposal
II teachers ana hv ANY method. to Civ"
bow that s.u~.. 81 familiarity with IA" Ian
glag. and literary Ndi'i"- ~ i'r""k or Latin
. which j. essential iu an intellectual enjoy
mcn' I should saw that ~ might b" adNi~-
: ubl. tn rritin uu. ~ m" two though am
| mol even certain II mat IN" difficulty -
/ a worry crucial on" Prom 'h' point Of view
; ~ literature Gr-,-k hiss incompatible. ad-
p ,nn'nge- an m" other hand, Latin - 50
+ closely involved win ~" very trNtur" "t
our own and ~ most modern languages
/ that IN -.'"rnS impossible - eject ~ " the
. ,Il-~lrt-t- could ,omhlu" FOR either Greek
I or Latin. and frankly abandon 'he other.
4 believe that they could -rtain or" fu' th"
+ recent s..tIun rf ONford ~ Ia" direction ~
. ir" abolition "f compulsory Greek. nud the
. .rtll NOR. tu,uu>i-tnu' acton ~ Cambridge
100 d.uIuifu- Grrrh for entrance. hut
abandoning - Tor pass degrees sem TO
poi'lt 20 'ha REJECTION III Gr""k n a piece
nf policy hci'evr THAT the Cl1~s"~t- ought
. to cnalsSc,. on Latin | will not wish them
success hut do nat rrngno-ricate failure.
/ do not a. all - 81 the oi.'rr subjects tn
~. p.r-.,rItad hut 40 desire that no sub
iect. should be- priv eyed Possibly rh"
deprivation OF priv" NAV b." garde'i
49, a sort Of persecution. hur thai = tnev
i.Il. earnestly t!p-i re- ~. right people IN
lav. tn. upporrluttr of learning creek and
LATIN. nur | also ant tp 80" great ".as
rtrtv Of Alternatives. = very -Emp." core of
s,ur.tl .,.-lrIrtou. rNrurIuE a.. t"hf'abl'
-uhi..r- and fGl pppOrfuunf 80 'lI'Sli'
aptiufI"-
ItN.- Iona: ago hat Matthew Arnold said
no o." Of 'L, reports IA which b" hit"d nI
o.. vote. 80 u.rIoi'oY- lament, that IN" one
'.'l. d.t,I,u,y ia an departments among
..N.ilr,u ...ra- r.iu,atsd ia England Vas
that 'ls. had yp vocabulary OF course
literary .uIurtu"lf ~ ANY Kind J. lmpo~-
-tbls without vocabulary. Their" are per
hrlr- q few elect -pIri'.. hur a very small
percentage. .io take a positive d"
.rf .r tic must, u' uuNuoNn words
George Eliot -p"a-- 81 the curious thrift
vhtrn The. -uund 81 unfamiliar words CAV.
tp Maggie. IIl'lvrr the sam" sort Of pleas
ur,. .- tu.. weapons ~ savage races or tn"
horns OF -'rtug" animals. But this - a
r.,r. artistic, faculty. AMI Tor most children
, word = only interesting IN :" Tar ~ n
eor'ur"~ up an idea. y" one feels more
strongly than myself IN" paramount ne"e-'
-tf sautlgatlpu ti VA tuE 10 h'il WIN q
language not one own. both a. = menia
stimulus and a. a m"U'al rorr"' tive. but
my belief l., that most minds are not elastic
enough 20 Iak" IN NOR" Than 4 ~inAi" ali'T
vocabulary. and that real familiarity viii
one. vocabulary - worth a hundred time
NOR. than an Indi-'Iu'' acquaintance VIII
..,n or rhrr" ,u,-ibI'nu"- would there
, fore. concentrate al oar forces uu On" alien
I,ugrarr do bot myself very much care
What tl., Itug..lg" =, hut ! should per
-nuaIl, 10. dI-uo-"d To- think that u mus
he. French. both from IN" point "i View o
|r.r-t|rlr,. aud ,Uu' "ui'u'" would th"i
t,.,-.. an linguistic ana ht"rarr framing 81
FRENCH and English. and would XIV" %
r.rt.ulfI..- tor ~ pHn-lpu according 10 -pr
,...I attitude 4 " --"Iu- 2" Ice clear ma
p intellectual pressure l- apt =" h'' dangerous
p ,,r a.. the. axe. ~ - and that terwc"n - ana
- there - htII" danger ri mental oNerwor
vnuid ,nu."uf rate all linguistic and LITERARY
atud, I,tuthr axe Of / : on English nndfr"nch
! tng-tN.t with simple history and geography
: arithmetic and elementary ~"i"n'" ana q
thHi aye 1 would begin bifur"ali"n II ~ .
q clear that there j. - linguistic aptitni.
n wotld ,su on po~-ibly {" German u Their" !
both linguistic and literary hptitnd"
: would add Latin ~ S,r""k. "r even both
.H.r.l. Ia omit HfN I,saFFT "A