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Second stage. The six points.

let the master at the first lead and teach the 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; and let the grammar book be ever in the scholar's hand, and also used by him as a dictionary for every present use. 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." And elsewhere Ascham says: "Yea, I do wish that all rules for young scholars were shorter than they be. For, without doubt, grammatica itself is sooner and surer learned by examples of good authors than by the naked rules of grammarians."

§ 8. "As you perceive your scholar to go better on away, first, with understanding his lesson more quickly, with parsing more readily, with translating more speedily and perfectly than he was wont; after, give him longer lessons to translate, and, withal, begin to teach him, both in nouns and verbs, what is proprium and what is translatum, what synonymum, what diversum, which be contraria, and which be most notable phrases, in all his lectures, as-

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Translatum Cum illo principe, sepulta est et gloria et salus

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Diversa

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Contraria.

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Diligere, amare: calere, exardescere: inimicus,
hostis.

Acerbum et luctuosum bellum, dulcis et læta pax.
Dare verba, adjicere obedientiam."

Every lesson is to be thus carefully analysed, and entered under these headings in a third MS. book.

Value of double translating and writing.

§ 9. Here Ascham leaves his method, and returns to it only at the beginning of Book II. He there supposes the first stage to be finished and "your scholar to have come in. deed, first to a ready perfectness in translating, then to a ripe and skilful choice in marking out his six points." He now recommends a course of Cicero, Terence, Cæsar, and Livy which is to be read "a good deal at every lecture." And the master is to give passages put into plain natura English." These the scholar shall "not know where to find” till he shall have tried his hand at putting them into Latin; then the master shall "bring forth the place in Tully."

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§ 10. In the Second Book of the Scholemaster,

Ascham discusses the various branches of the study then common, viz.: I. Translatio linguarum; 2. Paraphrasis; 3. Metaphrasis; 4. Epitome; 5. Imitatio; 6. Declamatio. He does not lay much stress on any of these, except translatio and imitatio. Of the last he says: "All languages, both learned and mother-tongue, be gotten, and gotten only, by imitation. For, as ye use to hear, so ye use to speak; if ye hear no other, ye speak not yourself; and whom ye only hear, of them ye only learn." But translation was his great instrument for all kinds of learning. "The translation," he says, "is the most common and most commendable of all other exercises for youth; most common, for all your constructions in grammar schools be nothing else but translations, but because they be not double translations (as I do require) they bring forth but simple and single commodity and because also they lack the daily use of writing, which is the only thing that breedeth deep root, both in the wit for good understanding and in the memory for sure keeping of all that is learned; most commendable also, and that by the judgment of all authors which entreat of these exercises.”

Study of a model book.

§ 11. After quoting Pliny,* he says: "You perceive how Pliny teacheth that by this exercise of double translating is learned easily, sensibly, by little and little, not only all the hard congruities of grammar, the choice of ablest words, the right pronouncing of words and sentences, comeliness of figures, and forms fit for every matter and proper for every tongue: but, that which is greater also, in marking daily and following diligently thus the footsteps of the best authors, like invention of arguments, like order in disposition, like utterance in elocution, is easily gathered up; and hereby your scholar shall be brought not only to like eloquence, but also to all true understanding and rightful judgment, both for writing and speaking."

Again he says: "For speedy attaining, I durst venture a good wager if a scholar in whom is aptness, love, diligence, and constancy, would but translate after this sort some little book in Tully (as De Senectute, with two Epistles, the first 'Ad Quintum Fratrem,' the other 'Ad Lentulum'), that scholar, I say, should come to a better knowledge in the Latin tongue than the most part do that spend from five to six years in tossing all the rules of grammar in common schools." After quoting the instance of Dion Prussæus, who came to great learning and utterance by reading and following only two books, the Phado, and Demosthenes de

• "Utile imprimis ut multi præcipiunt, vel ex Græco in Latinum vel ex Latino vertere in Græcum; quo genere exercitationis proprietas splendorque verborum, copia figurarum, vis explicandi, præterea imita. tione optimorum similia inveniendi facultas paratur: simul quæ legentem fefellissent transferentem fugere non possunt. Intelligentia ex hoc et judicium acquiritur."—Epp. vii. 9, § 2. So the passage stands in Pliny. Ascham quotes "et ex Græco in Latinum et ex Latino vertere in Græcum," with other variations.

Q. Elizabeth. "A dozen times at the least.”

Falsa Legatione, he goes on: "And a better and nearer example herein may be our most noble Queen Elizabeth, who never took yet Greek nor Latin grammar in her hand after the first declining of a noun and a verb; but only by this double translating of Demosthenes and Isocrates daily, without missing, every forenoon, and likewise some part of Tully every afternoon, for the space of a year or two, hath attained to such a perfect understanding in both the tongues, and to such a ready utterance of the Latin, and that with such a judgment, as there be few now in both Universities or elsewhere in England that be in both tongues comparable with Her Majesty." Ascham's authority is indeed not conclusive on this point, as he, in praising the Queen's attainments, was vaunting his own success as a teacher, and, moreover, if he flattered her he could plead prevailing custom. But we have, I believe, abundant evidence that Elizabeth was an accomplished scholar.

§ 12. Before I leave Ascham I must make one more quotation, to which I shall more than once have occasion to refer. Speaking of the plan of double translation, he says: "Ere the scholar have construed, parsed, twice translated over by good advisement, marked out his six points by skilful judgment, he shall have necessary occasion to read over every lecture a dozen times at the least; which because he shall do always in order, he shall do it always with pleasure. And pleasure allureth love: love hath lust to labour; labour always obtaineth his purpose."

§ 13. A good deal has been said, and perhaps something learnt, about the teaching of Latin since the days of Ascham. As far as I know the method which Ascham denounced, and which most English schoolmasters stuck to for more than two centuries longer, has now been abandoned No one

"Impressionists" and "Retainers."

thinks of making the beginner learn by heart all the Latin Grammar before he is introduced to the Latin language. To understand the machinery of which an account is given in the grammar, the learner must see it at work, and must even endeavour in a small way to work it himself. So it seems pretty well agreed that the information given in the grammar must be joined with some construing and some exercises from the very first. But here the agreement ends. Our teachers, consciously or in ignorance, follow one or more of a number of methodizers who have examined the problem of language-learning, such men as Ascham, Ratke, Comenius, Jacotot, Hamilton, Robertson, and Prendergast. These naturally divide themselves into two parties, which I have ventured to call "Rapid Impressionists," and "Complete Retainers." The first of these plunge the beginner into the language, and trust to the great mass of vague impressions clearing and defining themselves as he goes along. The second insist on his learning at the first a very small portion of the language, and mastering and retaining everything he learns. It will be seen that in the first stage of the course Ascham is a "Complete Retainer." He does not talk, like Prendergast, of "mastery," nor, like Jacotot, does he require the learner to begin every lesson at the beginning of the book: but he makes the pupil go over each lesson " a dozen times at the least," before he may advance beyond it. As for his practice of double translation, for the advanced pupil it is excellent, but if it is required from the beginner, it leads to unintelligent memorizing. I think I shall be able to show later on that other methodizers have advanced beyond Ascham. (Infra, 246 n.)

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