Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-04
ReviewsPlea fOrTeaching
More Modern Languages


In taking exception to the claim of
Prof. Magoffin that rs per cent of Eng
lish words are of classic origin, I did
not expect to start a debate, but in your
issue of the goth ultimo Mr. William
D. johnson claims to have discovered
1853 words in my 500-word letter that
are of Latin and Greek origin. Any
one can see that that falls far short of
indorsing the claim of Prof Magoffin.
( ! do not wish to prolong discussion of
a question that has already been set
tied so far as this country is concerned.
I made the special point that in view
OF the marked increase in the number
Of subjects which must be dealt with
in our educational system, the study of
Latin and Greek is out of place. The
time is happily past here when the
young scholar was forced, even at the
point Of the rod, to wade through Cae-
sar, Cicero and Virgil, to say nothing
Of Greek fire." before entrance to COL
lege. To drive home this point, the
interested reader Is invited to consult
Bulletin No. IS of the United States
Bureau Of Education, entitled 1.-THE
ments, is1s-1sSas Under the f head Of
Summary and Conclusions" this bulle-
tin states that the percentage of educa-
tional institutions not requiring Latin
increased from So in 1918 to rs in 1922;
that about 10 per cent required Greek
in 1913, and in 1922 only 2 per cent
AT this rate the vanishing point is in
sight for classic language study as a
requirement for entrance into the COL
leges and universities of the United
States. It Is reported that even in
France more French and less Latin is
required, and the French are said to be
paying more attention to German
studies than formerly.
Mr.. johnson would not throw old
things into the discard; he does not
wish to see the paintings of Leonardo
da Vinci and Raphael ignored. will
go farther and say that the sculpture
OF Phidias and Praxiteles, the music of
Palestrina, Bach and Beethoven, the
"Oration on the Crown by Demos
themes, the "Iliad" of Homer, the
Divine Comedy of Dante, don
Quixote" by Cervantes, and the paintings
above referred to have never been sur
passed in their line and perhaps never
VIII be. But who wants to see them
forced on the rising generation to the
exclusion OF the newer arts and ideas?
Would Mr.. johnson like to see Mona
Lisa" or the Madonna" flashed on the
screen In all our theaters to the exclu-
sion OF other pictures? OF course there
should be opportunity and encourage
ment for all who, by reason of taste or
professional requirement, wish to pursue
classic studies, but there is no use try
ing to turn back the clock of time and
public taste to demand knowledge of
Latln ana Greek as a requisite to COL
lege entrance here. 1t cannot and should
not be done.
But 1t is time to pay more attention
to the study Of modern languages. in
our American schools. The mastery of
the vocabularies and grammars of Ger
man, Spanish and French will give our
students all the mental exercise they
need In those lines. No spelling books
are needed in these languages, as Is
unfortunately the case in English; they
are pronounced as written. Thousands
OF natives of these countries are here
to converse with. Germany has staged
wonderful comeback in commerce as
well as In the arts and sciences, and 1t
Is worth while to learn German to keep
track Of their textbooks, to say nothing
OF the marvellous treasures Of German
song and story. And we are beginning
to realize how important is the Spanish
to us in q practical and the French in
an eSthetic sense. Not always can we
rely upon our natural resources and
good fortunes to keep a place in the
sunshine: we must keep track of these
world languages for what they can
teach and bring us. Even Russian and
italian are more important to us than
Greek and Latin. Russian is "a fusion
Of sweetness and force; the student
who can read the writings of Pushkin
and Lermontoff In the original has a
source Of intellectual delight not sur
passed In the domain of literature;
Italian Is verbal music itself, and Span
ish Is like the dark-eyed senorita who !
itspS 1t--a charm personiled.
LINDSAY s. PERKINS