primroses of nobility, the young Duke of Suffolk and Lord Henry Malavers," who, he says, were two such examples to the court for learning, as our time may rather wish than look for again." At St. John's College, Cambridge, also, he commemorates Sir John Cheke and Dr. Redmayn as having, in his time, done more by their example than the good statutes of the college themselves did "to breed up learned men, of whom there were so many," says he, "in that one College of St. John's, at one time, as I believe the whole University of Lovain, in many years, was never able to afford."

He then proceeds: "Present examples of this present time I list not to touch; yet there is one example for all the gentlemen of this court to follow, that may well satisfy them, or nothing will serve them, nor no example move them to goodness and learning.

"It is your shame (I speak to you all, you young gentlemen of England,) that one maid should go beyond you all in excellency of learning and knowledge of divers tongues. Point forth six of the best given gentlemen of this court, and all they together show not so much good will, spend not so much time, bestow not so many hours daily, orderly, and constantly, for the increase of learning and knowledge, as doth the Queen's Majesty herself. Yea I believe, that beside her perfect readiness in Latin, Italian, French and Spanish, sho readeth here now at Windsor more Greek every day than some prebendary of this church doth read Latin in a whole week. And that which is most praiseworthy of all, within the walls of her privy chamber, she hath obtained that excellency of learning to understand, speak, and write both wittily with head and fair with hand, as scarce one or two rare wits in both the Universities have in many years reached unto. Amongst all the benefits that God hath blessed me withal, next the knowledge of Christ's true religion, I count this the greatest, that it pleased God to call me to be one poor minister in setting forward these excellent gifts of learning in this most excellent Prince; whose only example, if the rest of our nobility would follow, then might England be, for learning and wisdom in nobility, a spectacle to all the world beside. But see the mishap of men; the best examples have never such force to move to any goodness, as the bad, vain, light, and fond have to all illness."

"Take heed, therefore, ye great ones in the Court, yea though ye be the greatest of all, take heed what ye do, take heed how ye live, for as you great ones use to do, so all mean men love to do. You be indeed makers, or marrers of all men's manners within the realm."

Returning from this digression, the author states the sum of what he has hitherto delivered to be, "that from seven year old to seventeen, love is the best allurement to learning; from seventeen to seven-and-twenty, that wise men should carefully see the steps of youth surely staid by good order, in that most slippery time, and specially in the court;" and he then proceeds as follows:

"Sir Richard Sackville, that worthy gentleman of worthy memory, as I said in the beginning, in the Queen's privy chamber at Windsor, after he had talked with me for the right choice of good wit in a child for learning; and of the true difference betwixt quick and hard wits; of alluring young children by gentleness to love learning; and of the special care that was to be had to keep young men from licentious living; he was most earnest with me to have me say my mind also what I thought concerning the fancy that many young gentlemen of

England have to travel abroad, and namely to lead a long life in Italy. His request, both for his authority and good will toward me, was a sufficient commandment unto me to satisfy his pleasure with uttering plainly my opinion in that matter. 'Sir,' quoth I, 'I take going thither, and living there, for a young gentleman, that doth not go under the keep and guard of such a man as both by wisdom can, and authority dare rule him, to be marvellous dangerous." * * "But to my matter; as I began plainly and simply with my young scholar, 80 will I not leave him, God willing, until I have brought him a perfect scholar out of the school, and placed him in the University, to become a fit student for logic, and rhetoric, and so after to physic, law, or divinity, as aptness of nature, advice of friends, and God's disposition shall lead him."

IL THE READY WAY TO THE LATIN TONGUE.

We shall commence an abstract of the Second Book of the Schoolmaster, by introducing the opening passages of the First, which were omitted in their place, as belonging more appropriately to the subject matter of this:

"After the child hath learned perfectly the eight parts of speech, let him then learn the right joining together of substantives with adjectives, the noun with the verb, the relative with the antecedent. And in learning farther his syntaxis, by mine advice he shall not use the common order in common schools for making of Latins, whereby the child commonly learneth, first, an evil choice of words (and 'right choice of words,' saith Cæsar, 'is the foundation of eloquence,') then a wrong placing of words, and, lastly, an ill framing of the sentence, with a perverse judgment both of words and sentences. These faults, taking once root in youth, be never, or hardly plucked away in age. Moreover, there is no one thing that hath more either dulled the wits or taken away the will of children from learning, than the care they have to satisfy their masters in making of Latins.

For the scholar is commonly beat for the making, when the master were more worthy to be beat for the mending, or rather marring of the same, the master many times being as ignorant as the child what to say properly and fitly to the matter.

Two schoolmasters have set forth in print, either of them, a book of such kind of Latins, Horman and Whittington. A child shall learn of the better of them that which, another day, if he be wise and come to judgment, he must be fain to unlearn again.

There is a way touched in the first book of Cicero de Oratore, which wisely brought into schools, truly taught, and constantly used, would not only take wholly away this butcherly fear in making of Latins, but would also with ease and pleasure, and in short time, as I know by good experience, work a true choice and placing of words, a right ordering of sentences, an easy understanding of the tongue, a readiness to speak, a facility to write, a true judgment both of his own and other men's doings, what tongue soever he doth use.

The way is this: After the three concordances learned, as I touched before, let the master read unto him the Epistles of Cicero, gathered together and chosen out by Sturmius for the capacity of children.

First, let him teach the child cheerfully and plainly the cause and matter of the Letter: then let him construe it into English, so oft as the child may easily carry away the understanding of it; lastly, parse it over perfectly. This done thus let the child, by and by, both construe and parse it over again; so that it

may appear that the child doubteth in nothing that his master taught him before. After this, the child must take a paper book, and sitting in some place where no man shall prompt him, by himself, let him translate into English his former lesson. Then, showing it to his master, let the master take from him his Latin book, and pausing an hour at least, then let the child translate his own English into Latin again in another paper book. When the child bringeth it turned into Latin, the master must compare it with Tully's book, and lay them both together; and where the child doth well, either in choosing or true, placing Tully's words, let the master praise him, and say, 'Here you do well;' for I assure you there is no such whetstone to sharpen a good wit, and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.

But if the child miss, either in forgetting a word, or in changing a good with a worse, or misordering the sentence, I would not have the master either frown, or chide with him, if the child hath done his diligence and used no truantship therein; for I know by good experience, that a child shall take more profit of two faults gently warned of, than of four things rightly hit; for then the master shall have good occasion to say unto him, 'Tully would have used such a word, not this; Tully would have placed this word here, not there: would have used this case, this number, this person, this degree, this gender; he would have used this mood, this tense, this simple rather than this compound; this adverb here, not there; he would have ended the sentence with this verb, not with that noun or participle,' &c.

In these few lines I have wrapped up the most tedious part of grammar, and also the ground of almost all the rules that are so busily taught by the master, and so hardly learned by the scholar in all common schools, which after this sort the master shall teach without all error, and the scholar shall learn without great pain; the master being led by so sure a guide, and the scholar being brought into so plain and easy a way And therefore we do not contemn rules, but we gladly teach rules, and teach them more plainly, sensibly, and orderly than they be commonly taught in common schools. For when the master shall compare Tully's book with the scholar's translation, let the master at the first lead and teach his scholar to join the rules of his grammar book with the examples of his present lesson, until the scholar by himself be able to fetch out of his grammar every rule for every example, so as the grammar book be ever in the scholar's hand, and also used of him as a dictionary for every present This is a lively and perfect way of teaching of rules; where the common way used in common schools, to read the grammar alone by itself, is tedious for the master, hard for the scholar, cold and uncomfortable for them both.

use.

Let your scholar be never afraid to ask you any doubt, but use discreetly the best allurements you can to encourage him to the same, lest his overmuch fearing of you drive him to seek some misorderly shift, as to seek to be helped by some other book, or to be prompted by some other scholar, and so go about to beguile you much, and himself more.

With this way of good understanding the matter, plain construing, diligent parsing, daily translating, cheerful admonishing, and heedful amending of faults, never leaving behind just praise for well doing, I would have the scholar brought up withal, till he had read and translated over the first book of Epistles chosen out by Sturmius, with a good piece of a comedy of Terence also.

All this while, by mine advice, the child shall use to speak no Latin; for, as Cicero saith in like matter, with like words, Loquendo, malè loqui discunt; and

that excellent learned man G. Budæus, in his Greek commentaries, sore complaineth, that when he began to learn the Latin tongue, use of speaking Latin at the table and elsewhere unadvisedly did bring him to such an evil choice of words, to such a crooked framing of sentences, that no one thing did hurt or hinder him more all the days of his life afterwards, both for readiness in speaking, and also good judgment in writing."

Upon the subject of speaking Latin, the author admits that if children could be brought up in a house or a school in which the Latin tongue was properly and perfectly spoken, then the daily use of speaking would be the best and readiest way to learn the language. But in the best schools in England he contends that no such constant propriety of expression was to be heard. If the object therefore be that the scholar shall learn not only to speak Latin, but to speak it well, our author's opinion is that he will best acquire this faculty by use of writing.

After some time when the scholar is found to perform this first kind of exercise with increasing ease and correctness, he must have longer lessons to translate, and must also be introduced to the second stage în the order of teaching; that is to say, he is to be taught to know and distinguish, both in nouns and verbs, what is proprium (literal,) and what is translatum (metaphorical;) what synonymum (synonymous,) what diversum (differing in signification in certain respects;) which words are contraria (opposite in signification to each other,) and which are the most remarkable phrases or idiomatic expressions, throughout the whole passage which forms his lesson. For this purpose he must have a third paper book; in which after he has done his double translation he must write out and arrange what is to be found in the lesson under each of these heads. Should the passage contain nothing certain of them, he ought still to enter the head or title: thus, diversa nulla (no words differing in signification;) contraria nulla (no words of opposite signification,) &c.

"This diligent translating," says the author, "joined with this heedful marking in the foresaid Epistles, and afterward in some plain Oration of Tully, as Pro Lege Manilia, Pro Archia Poëta, or in those three Ad C. Cæsarem (he means those three commonly entitled Pro Q. Ligario, Pro Rege Dejotaro, and Pro M. Marcello,) shall work such a right choice of words, so strait a framing of sentences, such a true judgment, both to write skillfully and speak wittily, as wise men shall both praise and marvel at.

The author in the Second Book proceeds with the subject as follows:

"After that your scholar, as I said before, shall come in deed, first to a ready perfectness in translating, then to a ripe and skillful choice in marking out his six points; as-1. Proprium; 2. Translatum; 3. Synonymum; 4. Contrarium; 5. Diversum; 6. Phrases; then take this order with him: read daily unto him some book of Tully; as the Third Book of Epistles, chosen out by Sturmius; de Amicitiâ de Senectute, or that excellent Epistle, containing almost the whole First Book, ad Q. Fratrem; some comedy of Terence, or Plautus. But in Plautus, skillful choice must be used by the master, to train his scholar to a judgment in cutting out perfectly over old and improper words Cæsar's Commentaries are to be read with all curiosity, wherein especially (without all exception to be made either by friend or foe) is seen the unspotted propriety of the Latin tongue, even when it was, as the Grecians say, in dun, that is, at the highest pitch of all perfectness; or some orations of T. Livius, such as be both longest and plainest.

These books I would have him read now a good deal at every lecture; for he shall not now use daily translation, but only construe again, and parse, where ye suspect is any need: yet let him not omit in these books his former exercise, in marking diligently, and writing orderly out his six points; and for translating, use you yourself every second or third day, to choose out some Epistle ad Atticum, some notable common-place out of his Orations, or some other part of Tully, by your discretion, which your scholar may not know where to find; and translate it you yourself into plain natural English, and then give it him to translate into Latin again, allowing him good space and time to do it both with diligent heed and good advisement.

Here his wit shall be new set on work; his judgment for right choice truly tried; his memory for sure retaining better exercised, than by learning anything without the book; and here, how much he hath profited shall plainly appear. When he bringeth it translated unto you, bring you forth the place of Tully; lay them together, compare the one with the other; commend his good choice, and right placing of words; show his faults gently, but blame them not oversharply; for of such missings, gently admonished of, proceedeth glad and good heed-taking; of good heed-taking, springeth chiefly knowledge, which after groweth to perfectness, if this order be diligently used by the scholar, and gently handled by the master. For here shall all the hard points of grammar both easily and surely be learned up, which scholars in common schools, by making of Latins, be groping at with care and fear, and yet in many years they scarce can reach unto them. * * * * * *

*

When by this diligent and speedy reading over those forenamed good books of Tully, Terence, Cæsar, and Livy, and by this second kind of translating out of your English, time shall breed skill, and use shall bring perfection: then ye may try, if ye will, your scholar with the third kind of translation, although the two first ways, by mine opinion, be not only sufficient of themselves, but also surer, both for the master's teaching and scholar's learning, than this third way is, which is thus:

Write you in English some letter, as it were from him to his father, or to some other friend, naturally, according to the disposition of the child; or some tale, or fable, or plain narration, according as Aphthonius* beginneth his exercises of learning and let him translate into Latin again, abiding in such place where no other scholar may prompt him. But yet, use you yourself such discretion for choice therein, as the matter may be within the compass, both for words and sentences, of his former learning and reading. And now take heed, lest your scholar do not better in some point than you yourself, except ye have been diligently exercised in these kinds of translating before.

a`

I had once a proof hereof, tried by good experience, by a dear friend of mine, when I came first from Cambridge to serve the Queen's Majesty, then Lady Elizabeth, lying at worthy Sir Antony Denny's, in Cheston. John Whitney, a young gentleman, was my bed-fellow, who willing by good nature, and provoked by mine advice, began to learn the Latin tongue, after the order declared in this book. We began after Christmas; I read unto him Tully de Amicitiâ, which he did every day twice translate out of Latin into English, and out of English into

*This book of Aphthonius, now forgotten, was once in great vogue in our schools and on the continent. Among the list of books in Sandwich School box or library (Temp. Eliz. Reg.) was a copy of Aphthonius. There is a short notice of Aphthonius in the Penny Cyclopædia.