Page images
PDF
EPUB

AMERICAN

ANNALS OF EDUCATION.

JUNE, 1839.

ART. 1.-ASCHAM, MILTON, AND LOCKE ON CLASSICAL EDUCATION.

THE FIRST BOOK FOR THE YOUTH

AFTER the childe hath learned perfectlie the eight parts of speach, let him then learne the right joyning together of substantives with adjectives, the nowne with the verbe, the relative with the antecedent. And, in learning further his syntaxis, by my advice, he shall not use the common order in common scholes, for making of Latines: whereby the childe commonly learneth, first, an evill choice of wordes, (and "Right choice of wordes, saith Cæsar, is the foundation of eloquence;") then a wrong placing of wordes; and, lastlie, an ill framing of the sentence, with a perverse judgment, both of words and sentences. These faultes, taking once roote in youth, be never, or hardlie, plucked away in age. There is a waie, touched in the first booke of Cicero de Oratore, which, wiselie brought into scholes, truly taught, and constantly used, would not only take wholly away this butcherlie feare of making of Latines, but would also with ease and pleasure, and in short time, as I know by good experience, worke a true choice and placing of wordes, a right ordering of sentences, an easy understanding of the tonge, a readiness to speake, a facilitie to write, a true judgment,

both of his owne, and other men's doinges, what tongue soever he doth use.

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

First, let him teach the children, cherefullie and plainlie, the cause and matter of the letter: then let him construe it into English so oft, as the childe may easilie carrie awaie the understanding of it: lastlie, parse it over perfitelie. This done thus, let the childe, by and by, both construe and parse it over againe; so that it may appear, that the childe doubteth in nothing that his master taughte him before. After this, the childe must take a paper booke, and, sitting in some place, where no man shall prompte him, by himself, let him translate into Englishe his former lesson. Then shewing it to his master, let the master take from him his Latin booke, and, pausing an houre at the least, then let the child translate his own Englishe into Latine againe, in an other paper booke. When the childe bringeth it, turned into Latin, the master must compare it with Tullie's booke, and laie them both togither: and when the childe doth well either in chosing, or true placing of Tullie's wordes let the master praise him, and saie, "Here ye do well." For I assure you, there is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good witte, and encourage a will to learninge, as is praise.

But if the childe misse, either in forgetting a worde, or in chaunging a good with a worse, or misordering the sentence, I would not have the master either frowne or chide with him, if the childe have done his diligence, and used no trowardship therein. For I know, by good experience, that a childe shall take more profit of two faultes gentlie warned of, than of four things rightlie hitte. For then the master shall have good reason to saie unto him, "Tullie would have used such a word, not this; Tullie would have placed this worde here, not there; would have used this case, this number, this person, this degree, this gender; he would have used this moode, this tense, this simple rather than this compound; this adverbe here, not there; he would have ended this sentence with this verbe, not with that nowne 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 busielie taught by the master, and so hardlie learned by the scholar, in all common scholes; which, after this sort, the master shall teach without all error, and the scholer shall learne without great paine, the master being led by so sure a guide, and the scholer being brought into so plaine and easie a waie. And therefore we do not contemne rules, but we gladlie teache rules; and teach them more plainlie, sensiblie, and orderlie, than may be commonly taught in common scholes. For when the master shall compare Tullie's booke with his scholer's translation, let the master, at the first, lead and teach his scholer to joine the rules of his grammar booke with the examples of his present lesson, untill the scholer, by himselfe, be able to fetch out of his grammar every rule for every example; so as the grammar booke be ever in the scholars hand, and also used of him as a dictionarie for every present use. This is a lively and perfite waie of teaching of rules; where the common waie, used in common scholes, to read the grammar alone by itselfe, is tedious for the master, hard for the scholer, colde and uncomfortable for them both. Let the scholer be never afraid to ask you any doubt, but use discretelie the best allurementes you can, to encourage him to the same, lest his over much fearinge drive him to seeke some misorderlie shifte; as to seeke to be helped by some other booke, or to be promted by some other scholer, and so go about to beguile you much, and himself more.

With this waie of good understanding the matter, plaine construinge, diligent parsinge, dailie translatinge, cheerful admonishinge, and heedefull amendinge of faultes; never leavinge behinde juste praise for well doinge, I would have the scholer brought up withall, till he had read and translated over the first booke of the Epistles chosen out by Sturmius, with a good piece of a comedie of Terence also.

As you see your scholar to goe better and better on awaie, first with understanding his lesson more quicklie, with parsinge more readilie, with translatinge more spedilie and perfitlie than he was wonte; after giving him longer lessons to translate, and, withall, begin to teach him, both in nownes and verbes, what is Proprium, and what is Translatum; which Synonymum, what Diversum; which be Contraria, and which be most notable Phrases in all his lecture.

As,

[blocks in formation]

Your scholar then must have the third paper booke; in the which, after he has done his double translation, let him write, after this sort, four of those forenamed six, diligentlie marked out of every lesson.

Abjicere obedientiam.

[blocks in formation]

Or else three, or two, if there be no more; and if there

be none of these at all in

order, but write these:

some lecture, yet not omitte the

S Diversa nulla,

Contraria nulla, &c.

This diligent translating, joined with this heedeful marking, in the foresaid epistles, and afterwards in some plaine oration of Tullie, as Pro lege Manilia, Pro Archia Poeta, or in those three Ad C. Col. shall worke such a right choice of words, so streight a framing of sentences, such a true judgment, oth to write skilfullie, and speake wittelie, as wise men shall both praise and marvell at.

If your scholar does misse sometimes, in marking rightlie these foresaid six things, chide not hastilie, for that shall both dull his witte, and discourage his diligence, but monish him gentlie; which shall make him both willing to amende, and glad to go forward in love and hope of learning.

After that your scholer, as I sayd before, shall come indeede, first to a readie perfitness in translating, then to a ripe and skilfull choice in marking out hys sixe points: as,

1. Proprium,

2. Translatum,'
3. Synonymum,
4. Contrarium,
5. Diversum,
6. Phrases.

Then take this order with him, read dayly unto him some booke of Tullie; as the third booke of epistles chosen out by Sturmius; de Amicitia, de Senectute, or that excellent epistle, containyng almost the whole first booke, ad Fratrem ; some comedie of Terence, or Plautus. But in Plautus, skilfull choice must be used by the master, to traine his scholer to a judgment, in cutting out perfitelie over old and unproper wordes. Cæsars Commentaries are to be read with all curiositie, wherein specially (without all exception to be made either by friend or foe) is seene the unspotted proprietie of the Latin tonge, even when it was at the highest pitch of all perfitenesse; or some orations of T. Livius, such as be both longest and plainest.

These bookes I would have him read now a good deale at every lecture; for he shall now use daily translations, but only construe againe, and parse, where ye suspect is any nede yet let him not omitte in these bookes his former exercise, in marking diligentlie, and writyng orderlie out his six pointes and for translating, use you yourselfe, every second or thyrd day, to chose out some epistle ad Atticum, some notable common place out of his orations, or some other part of Tullie, by your discretion, which your scholer may not know where to find; and translate you yourselfe, into plaine naturall English; and then give him to translate into Latin againe, allowing him good space and tyme, to do it both with diligent heede, and good advisement.

Here his witte shall be new set on worke; his judgement, for right choice, trewlie tried; his memorie, for sure reteyning, better exercised, than by learnyng anything without the booke; and here how much he hath profited, shall plainlie appeare. When he bringeth it translated unto you, bring you forth the place of Tullie; lay them together, compare

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »