ON THE BENEFITS OF A CLASSICAL EDUCATION. In modern times it has been much the fashion to underrate the advantages of a Classical education, and to assert that much time is needlessly spent in acquiring two dead languages; we shall, therefore, proceed to make a few remarks on their utility. For many centuries before and after Christ, nearly every thing valuable in literature was written in these two languages, the Greek and Latin ; many of these compositions have been unsurpassed, some even unequalled, by any production of a subsequent period. Now, since every composition loses a great deal of its interest in a translation, true lovers of literature will desire to be acquainted with the Greek and Latin languages for their own sake; for excellence is rare, and it is worth some trouble to come at the enjoyment of what is excellent. Besides, the ancient authors have been the models of literary excellence for all succeeding ages, and some of the most admired works in modern times, are merely imitations of them. Surely then no one of spirit would be contented with the copy, when he might obtain the original; no one would drink at the adulterated stream, when he might have access to the fountain head. The Greek language is peculiarly valuable to believers in the Christian religion; for in it is written the history of their faith and doctrines. Nor is the Latin destitute of its utility in this respect; for the new Testament abounds in hellenized Latin words, and likewise in allusions to Roman manners and customs; owing to the dominion of that people in the East. In order, then, to be an able Theologian, it is manifestly necessary to be a good Scholar. We are aware that this last mentioned benefit may appear exclusively confined to the students of divinity; we are also aware that the intrinsic value of the dead languages will have little, weight with the advocates for their neglect. Theological study they will call professional, while the beauties of the ancient authors they will regard rather as matters of curiosity, than as practically useful. We shall endeavour, therefore, to point out the more general utility of the dead languages, by showing that they facilitate the acquirement of others, and enable us more fully to understand our own. Every modern linguist knows that the Italian is merely a corruption of the old Latin, rendered more harmonious by its vowel terminations, changed in its inflexions by time, and varied by admixture with other tongues: in the main, it resembles the old original, and many of its words are the same. The French and Spanish languages are likewise rendered easy by an acquaintance with the Latin: the Poles to this day speak a dialect not unlike that of the old Romans. Diffused as Latin was over the whole of Europe, in consequence of the Roman empire, we are so far from wondering at its universal admixture with the European languages, that we should think it strange had any remained wholly free from it. The same reasoning will apply with equal force to the Greek, which had an earlier and even wider diffusion than the Latin, though known less in Europe: the Latin indeed itself was partially derived from a particular Grecian dialect. It would be difficult to calculate how much the knowledge of any one language must assist in the attainment of others; and, clearly, the earlier the period of its existence, and the wider its diffusion, the more important will be its benefit in this respect. The Greek and Latin possess both these advantages; they existed early, and were extensively diffused; nor are there any two others, that are equally calculated to assist the labours of the linguist; whether considered separately, or in connection with one another. We shall now turn to the case of our own language; and we allow that the use of Latin and Greek, as keys of this, is necessarily more limited; for little, comparatively, remains to be learned in the tongue we are accustomed to speak. In ordinary and simple words, a knowledge of the thing expressed is sufficient, nor would our idea of their meaning become more definite or just, from knowing that the corresponding words in Latin or Greek were nearly the same. We find, accordingly, that in words of this kind, the learner of Latin will recognize a Latin word from its similarity to the English, without any reciprocal light being thrown upon the English by the Latin; the boy who knows the meaning of order and virtue, knows it not a whit the more after discovering that ordo and virtus signify the same things. But the case is different with compounds and derivatives; these cannot be thoroughly understood without a knowledge of the languages from which they are borrowed; for their meaning ought to be traced by an analysis of their etymology, and this analysis can only be performed by the Scholar. Such words abound in English, especially in philosophical subjects, in the classifications of botany and other sciences, where the expressions are borrowed almost entirely from the Greek and Latin. To the scientific, in any department, it must be of great service, as an assistance of the memory, to understand the etymology of such expressions; for though the habit of referring to the thing for the explanation of the word may, in time, give a sufficient comprehension of itsufficient, that is, for all practical purposes, yet the drudgery of acquiring this knowledge must be exceedingly irksome, and the knowledge itself precarious and unsatisfactory. The study of Botany consists almost entirely in a knowledge of its terms, and can only be interesting to those, to whom the nomenclature is rendered familiar by an acquaintance with the languages from which it is derived; hence, we have often been astonished at the perseverance of some female votaries of this science, who can repeat you a whole vocabulary out of Linnæus, and give the proper name of every flower and herb in the garden, without attaching a correct idea to any single name whatever. There is another advantage in classical knowledge, which every literary man is able to appreciate; this is, that in reading some of our earlier authors, we meet with obsolete or uncommon words, which the scholar immediately comprehends, while the unlearned must have recourse to the dictionary. That verbal knowledge which is acquired by habit, fails the reader in these cases, and the same man, who, without any classical learning, is aware of the meaning of perambulation and extemporaneous, is ignorant of the meaning of tolutation and autoschediastic. Such words are frequently occurring in Hudibras, in the writings of Barrow, Taylor, and Milton; names which, without mentioning others, are alone sufficient to give a value to any thing which throws light on their phraseology. But the advantage enjoyed by the scholar in reading English authors is not confined to words only, but extends to the sense and spirit of their writings. Most of our best authors were men who had received a classical education, and hence they abound in classical allusions, which presuppose in the reader an acquaintance with the facts alluded to, and, without this, are unintelligible. As, then, obsolete words must be sought for in a dictionary, so these facts must be learned in explanatory notes; and the tediousness of either operation is sufficiently evident. Besides, half the pleasure in such allusions consists in their immediate recognition, and consequently an immediate sympathy with the sentiment of the writer; and no one is fully qualified to enjoy a book, who does not come to its perusal possessed of every information requisite for understanding it. To be compelled to consult notes upon every occasion, is not only disagreeable in itself, but, by interrupting the attention, and diverting it from the tenour of the subject, confuses the ideas of the reader, and consequently diminishes his enjoyment. It may be urged that, all necessary information may be obtained by reading common histories of Greece and Rome, which are to be met with in our own language. This we deny; it is necessary not only to know historical events, but to have explored the treasures of ancient literature, whether history, biography, philosophy, or poetry; and we sincerely pity the man, who, in order that he may enjoy the authors of his own country, is compelled to wade through translations of the ancients. We shall not here enlarge on the impossibility of preserving in a translation the sublimity of a Homer or Lucretius, the wit of an Aristophanes, or the eloquence of a Demosthenes; we are now considering the readers of them as reading them only for a certain purpose, viz., in order to arrive at the information contained in their works. We assert, then, that either they must read some of our finest authors at a great disadvantage, or must be contented to peruse translations of the Greek and Latin works. Now the chief objection raised against a classical education is, that it is a loss of time; when, however, we consider the labour to be gone through by the uneducated in consulting notes and dictionaries, in reading modern histories of Greece and Rome, and translations of their authors; when we reflect on the uninteresting nature of such reading, and consequently how difficult it must be to retain the information so gained, and how necessary to repeat the perusals often, we shall find that, beside the comparative unprofitableness of this labour, the quantity of actual time lost by it would not be inconsiderable. We now come to the last points we shall urge in favour of a classical education, viz., the discipline of the mind, the formation of taste, and cultivation of classical feeling. Any severe process of discipline, we believe, is useful as an exercise of the mental faculties; but the studying the laws of grammar, investigating etymologies, and solving intricacies of construction, give a peculiar habit of accuracy to the mind, nearly as much, perhaps, as mathematical study. Besides, in mathematical study there is less exercise of ingenuity; such is the certainty of the reasoning, that, in mounting the ladder, we have only to tread cautiously, and see that no false step be taken: in reading the physical discoveries of those that have gone before us, we have little need of original observation, of making inductive conclusions, of arguing from analogy and probability, all which are required in grammatical investigation. Grammar is the philosophy of language, and the study of it is useful as preparatory to similar researches of a more important kind: and the same mind, which is capable of developing a grammatical system, in all its complications, will be found equally fitted for the process of moral or metaphysical analysis. There is more scope for this exercise of the mind in learning a foreign tongue, than in our own; in the former, we have only grammatical laws to depend upon, and are accordingly obliged to sift them; our own we know practically, without learning it by rule, and few, therefore, will take the pains to analyze it grammatically. The Greek and Latin languages are excellent specimens of a beautiful and perfect system, especially the former; their laws, though numerous and complex, are ascertained with certainty, and easily remembered; and that variety, which renders them so difficult at first, besides that it gives ample room for exertion of the thinking powers, becomes a source of increased delight to the reader when the difficulties are overcome. It is true that deep grammatical inquiry falls not to the lot of every scholar; but the taste and polish which results from classical instruction, and which contributes so much to form the gentleman, is acquired by most boys who have gone through the ordinary routine at Eton, Winchester, or any of our best public schools. This effect is chiefly to be attributed to the following cause, that in reading authors in another language, we are obliged to be more careful and attentive, to dwell longer upon every sentence, and be sure we understand it. Thus we become imbued with the style, and familiarized with the beauties of the author, and the labour required at first leaves a more lasting impression on the memory. Many a boy, who by nature had little taste for beauty of composition, has acquired an artificial one by these means, and by a compulsory reading of Homer and Virgil, has learned to appreciate and enjoy Milton. The effect so produced is slow; for taste, like every other habit of mind, is gradual and imperceptible in its formation, and will vary according to the quickness or slowness of the boy's perception. The most essential thing is, that the taste formed be good, and for this must have a good literature on which to form it. better adapted for this purpose than the Greek and Latin, none more valuable both in matter and style, possessing more variety, or more excellence in every department. We have sound history and morality conveyed in a pleasing and chaste diction; we have master-pieces in oratory and poetry, humourous and poignant satire, just and elegant criticism. For the cultivation of taste it is sufficient to make a good selection from the best authors; the preceptor should take care that what is read by his pupils be read well and effectually. It is his duty to call their attention to the most striking passages, to explain in what the beauties consist; to make them learn by heart fine pieces of eloquence and poetry, and exercise their powers of composition in imitating various styles: these things are done, we believe, in every school throughout the kingdom. If we look to the usual operations of the human mind, we may remark, that a good effect is seldom produced on it in any one particular, without being communicated, in some degree, to the general character, and to every relation of life. So it is with the formation of literary taste; it tends to humanize the character, and create a taste for purer and more dignified pleasures; it gives refinement of feeling and delicacy of sentiment, and cultivates the best properties of our nature. There are many, no doubt, who, with classical instruction, possess natural good taste and great mental powers, and these men are apt to despise the advantages they either have not possessed, or have neglected. But let them remember, that they might have improved by this despised system of education, their taste might have purpose we Now we know of none been refined, and their intellect expanded, and that to depreciate a course of study they have not gone through, is like the man who should pronounce on the merits of a dish he has never tasted. Besides, all men are not like themselves; the many are those who require artificial training, and who gain every thing by it. We know by experience, that two members of the same family often turn out very different characters, according to the different modes of their education; and this too in cases where there was little or no difference in the natural ability of each. The uneducated boy has remained ignorant and illiterate, while the scholar has acquired a love of letters, and increased means of enjoying them; has had his perception sharpened, his judgment matured and strengthened, and life and energy given to those faculties, which would otherwise have lain dormant and inactive. [47] THE RISING OF THE DEAD. His work is done-and weary Death They have slept their sleep, the hosts of earth, The thunder-voice has spoken, The high command is said, The tomb is burst, its bonds are broken, The earth is rife with their thronging hum, From the sea and the land they come, they come : Each from his dark recess, From the plain and from the wave, They come, they come, the numberless- The babe of a day and the hoary seer, None slumber now-THE DEAD are here. Where are the crests of gold? Here are the buried kings of old, All, all, are equal-all earth's sons, The summoning is o'er; "Tis past-that solemn peal, And lowly on each thronged shore, And the worlds are hush'd till the word be said, [19] |