The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-10-04
/, The classics are Hard.

The CIdsSfCS Il 1A~A
There is no royal road to anything
easy. Through difficulties TO the
worth having. What comes easy goes
stars has ever been the pathway or
the worlds great ones. AS soda-"ateF
siIlabub do not make strong muscles'
so do snap courses IN cOIlese Ian "
nrod1ce strong-minded men. We need
attn and Greek because they are
hard. They should be kept in the cur
riculum for this very reason.
2. They Develop Style.
The modern day pupil cannot write
q good theme or composition because
his thoughts are poor and meagre and
his vocabulary limited and unliterary.
These w fundamental defects can be
remedied no way so we'll as by the
study of masterpieces in a foreign IAN
guage. The English teachers best
ally 70. the teaching Of composition Is
the classics. Nor does this influence
of the classics on style cease with the
end Of our school days; it continues to
be a powerful moulding, beautlfylng
and developing force ire.
8. They Teach Word Meaning.
Above sixty per cent OF all the
words in the English language are or
classical origin. The man VINO THINKS
anything except the simplest, most
primary thoughts must use words or
Greek or Latin p~arentage, and 50 the
man who knows his classics has a
dictionary close at hand and ready
for reference at any time. James Rus
sci Lowell said he missed the mean
ing Of his first English word when he
consulted his English rather than his
Latin dictionary.
4. They Are AntidOtes for HeFeSy..
This is true eau the man VINO
knows well what the world has done
in the past, who knows the expert
ments those Of other days have tried,
49, 49, NC % which thaV q r.
rived, will not be easily swept Off his
feet by every new proposal. Men who
have been sobered by deep drinking
from the perennial fountain Of classic
al culture are not SO likely to act the
butterfly, as are those who have had
a more varied browsing in the sciences
and modern languages. knowledge
of antiquity sobers h judgment, acts
as a ballast for life's voyage. Heretlcs
have ever been men Of shallow intel
lect and poor training.
5. They Develop the Judgment.
Othe studies also discipline the
Judgment in a small way, but the
classics train and develop it perma-
nently. The w~elI-rounded man needs
training in judgment and training IN
affairs. The latter must follow the
former or reserve natures process. In
a Latin eriOdic sentence OF one nun
dred words what a vast opportunity
" a vi IN oo1oAN ~>AA
rendering it into English he must as
siduously weigh and measure and COM
pare and contrast and balance and ex-
ercise selection and make choices at
every stage of his work that he may
be sure he is properly interpreting the
sentence before him. 1t will be Well
to remember that those who have ris-
en- highest in the professions and dis
tinguished themselves on behalf OF
their fellows come up through Latin
and through Greek"
6. They Promote Civilization and
Culture.
Culture is the sum of the attain
ments and achievements of a people
at a time, material mental and hpirit-
ual. Or as Matthew Arnold put 1t,
sit is knowledge Of the best that has
been said. done and left in the his
tory Of the world And it is advanced
and fostered by comparison, by con-
trast, by contact with ideas and ideals
dissimilar to those of everyday life.
When We know how the ancients solv-
ed certain problems and the attendant
results, we are in a position to know
how to act today, profiting of course
by their experience. The man who
does not study the classics has lost
the best means Of acquiring knowl-
edge of his experience.
What interests us in Latin and
Greek is the antique and profitable
part they play in the development Of
the human life. We do not agree with
the deVotees of the new education the
possibility Of serving this life by the
discipline Of the sciences. We af-
firm simply that the humane life is
most largely generated by keeping be-
fore US the models Of those in whom
this life most abounded and that of
these models the best and largest part
is presented to US in the litrature Of
Greece m Rome.
MUST KNOW HOW TO FARM.