The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-06-28
School Exhibit at Zion College Building
Zion Educational Institutions, Held on
June 9th and 9TH
&C. B. W.
Continued from a previous issue)

able to take poem by one of the standard
authors and, without previous study. read
it correctly, giving proper infection, empha-
SIS, expression, pause and punctuation of
words, not forgetting to breathe properly.
The work is easy or difficult to the student
IN proportion as he has previously mastered
the principles.
In the Sixth Grade Longfellow is taken
as the grade poet and not only his produc-
tlonS but his biography is tudied thoroughly.
He is preeminently the best American poet
tor young people. His works invariably are
on the highest moral plane. Perhaps the
chief reason why Longfellows poems are
selected for school work is that every line
IS very simple and easily understood, al
though his writings are of great depth and
scope. Every sentence shows the purest
and simplest diction and yet possesses the
marks of the highest scholarship. This COM
blnation is very rare among writer's or
speakers and is possessed only by master
minds
Lincoln had this quality in marked de-
gree His Gettysburg address, couched in
and simplest diction and yet possesses the
masterpiece. His letter of consolation to a
mother who had lost five sons in the Civil
War, hangs on the walls of Westminster
Abbey as an example of the purest Eng
l1sh diction.
Men of this type can express volume in
few words and they attempt no hourishes.
Many so-called learned men clothe their
thoughts in such high-sounding words and
phrases that no ordinary person can under
stand them. We believe it was Talleyrand
who said that according to his view, lam
guage was intended to convey thought, but
many speakers and writers seemed to think
1t was intended to conceal thought.
In the Seventh Grade, Longfellow's
"Courtship of Miles Standish" is studied as
a classic from every point of view. The
best parts are memorized and the meter and
style are carefully noted
In the Eighth Grade, the work of the
Seventh is duplicated, except that it is more
advanced, developing the finished product.
lhe best classics are studied, such as
Evangellne, by Longfellow, "Enoch Ar
den, by Iennyson and vision of Sir
Launfal," by Lowell.
Special attention is given to the study of
meter Genius and meter are the two Sc
crets of success in poetical work. Thev are
lnseparably welded; one is ineffective with
out the other.
loo much importance cannot be attached
TO the study of meter. One may be ever so
gifted with poetic talent, but if he fails to
observe meter in his verse his work lacks
beauty and rhythm, and nothing more surely
marks the efforts of the untutored novice.
ne crude results of his labor, which, with
the finishing and refining touch of meter
might have scared into the realm of the sub-
lime, remain in obscurity as common dop-
gerel
Inc children in the reading classes take
readily to the study of meter, and it has had
a greater influence in creating within them
love tor poetry than anything else.
lhe highest excellence is ever kept in
view and the work in the reading classes
mas been planned with the special aim Of
bridging the gulf between grade work and
the four years of Preparatory work.
lhe chief object of reading in Zion
oclioolS is to learn to read and interpret the
b1Ole correctly. The teacher and students
have worked harder this year than ever be-
tore with this aim in view. In the Fifth
olxth and Seventh Grades, at least one-third
OF the time has been devoted to Bible read
ny ana study.
lhe most essential thing for Christian
to know, is how to read the Bible intelligent
~, and therefore in Zion it is given the high
est place.
rev people can read the Bible with pro-
per grasp OF It's real meaning While it is
recognized the world over by men of learn
ing as the greatest literary masterpiece ever
written, parts of it puzzle to deoree even
the deepest and most devoted students of
Holy Writ, and it is only by praying God
tor Divine guidance that they can get a true
insight into its. sacred lore. And vet # Is
possible for even the most unlearned child
OF GOD IN the things of this world, through
prayerful study, to divine its truth.
me object of Zion Schools is to dig out the
inside kernel and to get a grasp of the real
meaning of Gods Holy Word.