"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; "and let him translate into Latin again, abiding "in such place, where no other scholar may prompt him. But yet use you yourself such dis"cretion for choice therein, as the matter may be "within the compass, both for words and sentences, of his former learning and reading." - After quoting the names of Cicero, Quintilian, and Pliny, in support of this method, Ascham proceeds: 66 By these authorities and reasons am I "moved to think this way of double translating, "either only or chiefly, to be fittest for the speedy "and perfect attaining of any tongue. And for speedy attaining I durst venture a good wager, "if a scholar would but translate after this sort "one little book in Tully, he should come to a "better knowledge in the Latin tongue, than the "most part do, that spend four or five years in tossing all the rules of grammar in common "scholes," Such are the directions for classical instruction given by the pupil of Sir John Cheke, and the preceptor of Queen Elizabeth, who was pronounced by Sir Richard Sackville, to be "the scholar of "the best master, and also the schole-master of "the best scholar, that ever were in our time." We shall now quote the opinion of another instructor of youth, whose pretensions to the praise of classic learning are equally indisputable. Nearly a hundred years after the composition of Ascham's "Scholemaster," Milton wrote his famous letter to Hartlib, on the subject of Education, in which he complains of the school system in his time being tedious, vexatious, and unprofitable. "First, we "do amiss," he observes, " to spend seven or eight years merely in scraping together so much "miserable Latin and Greek, as might be learned 66 easily and delightfully in one year. And that "which casts our proficiency therein so much be"hind is but time lost, partly in too oft idle vacan"cies, given both to schools and universities, partly in a preposterous exaction, giving the "empty wits of children to compose themes, verses, and orations, which are the acts of ripest judgment, and the final work of a head filled, by long reading and observing, with elegant maxims "and copious invention. These are not matters "to be wrung from poor striplings, like blood out " of the nose, or the plucking of untimely fruit." 66 66 F 66 He then notices, like Ascham, "the ill habit which they get, of wretched barbarizing against the "Latin and Greek idiom with their untutored Anglicisms, odious to be read, yet not to be "avoided without a well continued and judicious conversing among prose authors digested, which they scarce taste; whereas if after some prepa 66 66 66 ratory grounds of speech by their certain forms "got into memory, they were led to the praxis "thereof, in some chosen short book, lessoned tho roughly to them; they might then forthwith pro"ceed to learn the substance of good things, and "arts in due order, which would bring the whole 66 language quickly into their power. This," he continues," I take to be the most natural and most youth spent herein." of grammar, he says: Speaking more particularly "First they should begin "with the chief and necessary rules of some good 66 grammar, either that now used, or any better; "and while this is doing, their speech is to be "fashioned to a distinct and clear pronunciation, 66 as near as may be to the Italian, especially in the "vowels. Next, to make them expert in the use"fullest points of grammar, and withal to season "them, some easy and delightful book of educa"tion should be read to them." Milton saw the same errors still prevailing which Ascham had observed, and he endeavours to correct them by similar means. A shorter time devoted to grammar was one of these: he would have only the chief and necessary rules taught at first; and then, to make them familiar with the useful application of those leading rules, some easy and delightful book should be read to them. They are not to be turned to a dictionary to make out the sense of a passage by ringing the changes upon two hundred meanings of twenty different words but they are to be told the express term for each word in the Latin sentence by the master himself, who is also to explain all difficulties of grammatical construction; so that the master take all the trouble, and the child have nothing but pleasure in his book. Locke succeeds Milton after so short an interval of time, that he may be almost considered his contemporary and coadjutor in the cause of scholastic reformation. This great philosopher takes the same view of the barbarous absurdity of compelling a child to learn the whole grammar, without any relief from intermediate lessons of more interesting character. Like Ascham, he recommends that the pupil should early acquire the art of Latin conversation, if it could be learned from a competent tutor; but he goes even further in the expression of his opinion on this subject : "When I consider what ado is made about a "little Latin and Greek, how many years are 66 66 spent in it, and what a noise and business it "makes to no purpose, I can hardly forbear thinking, that the parents of children still live "in fear of the school-master's rod, which they "look on as the only instrument of education; as a language or two to be its whole business. "How else is it possible that a child should be "chained to the oar, seven, eight, or ten of the "best years of his life, to get a language or two, "which, I think, might be had at a great deal "cheaper rate of pains and time, and be learned "almost in playing? "As soon as he can speak English, it is time for "him to learn some other language. This nobody " doubts of, when French is proposed: and the reason, is because people are accustomed to the right way of teaching that language, which is 66 66 by talking it into children in constant conversa"tion, and not by grammatical rules. The Latin |