desirous of good things without newfangleness, diligent in painful things without wearisomeness, and constant in good will to do all things well; as I know was in Sir John Cheke, and is in some that yet live, in whom all these fair qualities of wit are fully met together.

"But it is notable and true, that Socrates saith in Plato to his friend Phædo, 'That that number of men is fewest, which far exceed, either in good or ill, in wisdom or folly; but the mean betwixt both be the greatest number.' Which he proveth true in divers other things; as in greyhounds, amongst which few are found exceeding great, or exceeding little, exceeding swift, or exceeding slow. And, therefore, speaking of quick and hard wits, I meant the common number of quick and hard wits; amongst the which, for the most part, the hard wit proveth many times the better learned, wiser, and honester man. And therefore do I the more lament that such wits commonly be either kept from learning by fond fathers, or beat from learning by lewd schoolmasters."

The author proceeds to say that he might here declare "the most special notes of a good wit for learning in a child, after the manner and custom of a good horseman, who is skilful to know, and able to tell others, how by certain sure signs a man may choose a colt that is like to prove another day excellent for the saddle." "And it is a pity," he adds, with keen and indignant sarcasm, "that commonly more care is had, yea and that among very wise men, to find out rather a cunning man for their horse, than a cunning man for their children. They say nay in a word, but they do so in deed; for to the one they will gladly give a stipend of two hundred crowns by the year, and loth to offer to the other two

hundred shillings. God that sitteth in heaven laugheth their choice to scorn, and rewardeth their liberality as it should. For he suffereth them to have tame and wellordered horses, but wild and unfortunate children; and therefore in the end they find more pleasure in their horses, than comfort in their children."

Instead, however, of giving his own opinion as to the true marks of promise in a child, he prefers reporting "the judgment of him that was counted the best teacher and wisest man that learning maketh mention of," namely, Socrates, as his words are recorded by Plato, in the seventh book of his Republic. From what Socrates says, he extracts "seven true notes of a good wit," which he explains in succession.

First, the child must be 'Euquns, that is, "apt by goodness of wit, and appliable by readiness of will, to learning, having all other qualities of the mind and parts of the body, that must another day serve learning." Among such qualifications, Ascham lays great stress upon a comely countenance and a goodly stature; and he laments that fathers, when out of several sons they have one that is lame or deformed, are too apt to put that one to learning, "as good enough to become a scholar." He hints that the civil magistrate ought to interfere to prevent this abuse.

Secondly, the child ought to be Mruwv, which he interprets "good of memory." This he says is "so principal a note, as without it all other gifts of nature do small service to learning." "And though," he adds, "it -be the mere gift of nature, yet is memory well preserved by use, and much increased by order, as our scholar must learn another day in the University. But in a child a good memory is well known by three properties;

that is, if it be quick in receiving, sure in keeping, and ready in delivering forth again."

The third note is that he be

opals, that is, "given to love learning, for though a child have all the gifts of nature at wish, and perfection of memory at will, yet if he have not a special love to learning he shall never attain to much learning." Isocrates," he adds, "did cause to be written at the entry of his school in golden letters this golden sentence, ̓Εὰν ἧς Φιλομαθὴς, ἔσῃ Toλvμang: which excellently said in Greek, is thus rudely in English: "If thou love learning, thou shalt attain to much learning."

Fourthly, the child should be ónovog, that is, should have "a lust to labour, and a will to take pains; for if a child have all the benefits of nature, with perfection of memory, love, like, and praise learning never so much; yet if he be not of himself painful, he shall never attain unto it. And yet where love is present, labour is seldom absent, and namely in study of learning, and matter of the mind."

Fifthly, he must be droog, that is, "glad to hear and learn of another; for otherwise he shall stick with great trouble, where he might go easily forward; and also catch hardly a very little by his own toil, when he might gather quickly a good deal by another man's teaching."

The sixth mark is that he be Znrnròs, that is, "naturally bold to ask any question, desirous to search out any doubt; not ashamed to learn of the meanest, nor afraid to go to the greatest, until he be perfectly taught and fully satisfied."

Lastly the author (employing, however, a word which is not in Plato) enumerates as one of the charac

teristics demanded in the child by Socrates, that he be Paivos, that is, one "that loveth to be praised for well doing at his father or master's hand."

"And thus," he concludes, " by Socrates' judgment, a good father and a wise schoolmaster should choose a child to make a scholar of, that hath by nature the foresaid perfect qualities and comely furniture both of mind and body; hath memory quick to receive, sure to keep, and ready to deliver; hath love to learning; hath lust to labour; hath desire to learn of others; hath boldness to ask any question; hath mind wholly bent to win praise by well doing. The two first of these qualities he considers to be special benefits of nature, yet to be preserved and much increased by discipline. The five last are to be wholly won and maintained by the wisdom and discretion of the schoolmaster. "Which five points," he proceeds, "whether a schoolmaster shall work sooner in a child by fearful beating, or courteous handling, you that be wise, judge.

Yet some men, wise indeed, but, in this matter, more by severity of nature than any wisdom at all, do laugh at us when we thus wish and reason, that young children should rather be allured to learning by gentleness and love, than compelled to learning by beating and fear. They say, our reasons serve only to breed forth talk, and pass away the time; but we never saw good schoolmasters do so, nor never read of wise men that thought so."

In opposition to this doctrine, Ascham quotes from Plato the precept of Socrates, that no learning ought to be learnt with bondage. "And why?" he adds of himself, "For whatsoever the mind doth learn unwillingly with fear, the same it doth gladly forget without care."

He goes on to show that it is expressly of the teaching of children that Socrates in the passage quoted speaks. He then proceeds as follows:-" Fond schoolmasters neither can understand, nor will follow this good counsel of Socrates; but wise riders in their office can, and will, do both; which is the only cause that commonly the young gentlemen of England go so unwillingly to school, and run so fast to the stable. For in very deed, fond schoolmasters by fear do beat into them the hatred for learning; and wise riders, by gentle allurements, do breed up in them the love of riding. They find fear and bondage in schools, they feel liberty and freedom in stables; which causes them utterly to abhor the one, and most gladly to haunt the other. And I do not write this, that in exhorting to the one, I would dissuade young gentlemen from the other: yea I am sorry with all my heart that they be given no more to riding than they be. For of all outward qualities, to ride fair is most comely for himself, most necessary for his country; and the greater he is in blood, the greater is his praise, the more he doth exceed all other therein. It was one of the three excellent praises amongst the noble gentlemen, the old Persians: Always to say truth, to ride fair, and shoot well;' and so it was engraven upon Darius' tomb, as Strabo witnesseth :—

Darius the king lieth buried here,

Who in riding and shooting had never peer."

He next takes up an objection which may be brought against his argument: "Yet some will say that children of nature love pastime, and mislike learning, because in their kind the one is easy and pleasant, the other hard and wearisome. Which is an opinion not so true For the matter lieth not so much

as some men ween.