English Composition: A Manual of Theory and Practice (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from English Composition: A Manual of Theory and Practice

IT is not too much to say that, for a very long time, the soundness of the theory which assumes that the long and laborious study of the dead languages of Greece and old Rome, must needs result in a know ledge of the living tongue of England, has been taken for granted. But, surely, actual experience has taught us, on the contrary, that, to acquire a work ing knowledge of a language by any method, other than the simple plan of studying the language itself, is (in fact) a thing impossible.

The educational authorities of France and Germany have already arrived at this conclusion; and their school curriculum provides carefully graduated methods of instruction, ranging from the elements of the national tongue, to a complete system of the theory and practice of composition therein; methods which (as every teacher knows) do indisputably achieve their end: that of enabling the pupil to speak and to write his own language with facility, correctness, even with elegance. And, in so far as I have been able to adapt certain points in these methods to a different genius and tradition, I have been glad to borrow them.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.