A DEMONSTRATION HOW THE latin Tongue May be learned WITH Far greater ease and speed then commonly it is.  
LONDON, Printed for J. S. at the Mitre within Temple-bar. 1669.   

A DEMONSTRATION, &c.  
NOtwithstanding that this Nation abounds with Schools well endowed, and Schoolmasters excellently qualified, yet hundreds continually go to School divers years to no purpose at all; The Reason whereof is, because the method in most places is bad, and the discipline in many places far worse. In former times children learnt latin by way of Recreation, and as they did their Mother Tongue, least poring on hard Rules should crack their brains, impair their health, and make them to nauseate all kind of knowledge: And he that taught did not also correct them( the Parents reserving that power to themselves) least passion, malice, or something worse should cause extravagancy in inflicting the punishment. Now though it cannot be thus in these dayes, yet an easier and speedier way would save them a great deal of time and trouble and smart, and such a way is here proposed.  
First, Let the Grammar be reduced into one sheet; which may be done by setting down the Paradigmes of the Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, &c. and artificially couching the Rules in the very English, Situation, Repetition, Character, Mark, and Alteration of some principal word; as for example,  
1. By Englishing Sui of himself, and Suus his own, is saved that Rule, Sui et Suus reciproca sunt, h. e. semper reflectuntur, &c. By Englishing the Cases thus, Campus, a field; i, of; o, to; um, I buy, I sell, I see a field, is saved that Rule, Nom. praecedit, Accus. sequitur verbum: Also, by Englishing Ille that and Quis what, many difficulties are avoided which naturally follow upon the Englishing the one he, and the other who.  
2. By placing the nouns thus in their Scheme, M. us, er: F a; N. um i, ae, i, M. o, on, er, or: F. do, go, s, x: N. a, ar, al, &c. is, is, is. M. us†, F. es; N. u ûs, ei, u are saved all the Rules of Propria quae maribus; such as vary from the Scheme being better noted elsewhere, and those in us, er, a, es, of the middle Declension being sufficiently distinguished from such as end so of the other Declensions, by having the Gen. case in is always set down with them: Also by placing the Verbs thus in their Scheme.  
Voc o. em. are abam. arem. — avi. averim. avisse. averam. avissem. — abo. avero. — ans. aturus. atum, andus, atus, atu.  
are implyed those many Rules about the derivation of some Tenses from others.  
3. By repeating the Voc. Case, e, er, a, um, &c. and the Accus. Neuter of the Middle Declension a, ar, al, &c. is implyed that Rule, Voc, idem est cum Nom: Item Accus. in Neutro genere: By repeating Sui, Sibi, Se, is shown that the Plural number thereof is the same as the Singular: Also, by repeating the Terminations of the Substantives together is shown the formation of Adjectives, us, er,— a,— um.  
4. By setting down obsolete words in the old black Letter, is implyed that they are out of use: and by Adverbs, Conjunctions, &c. having the first Letter a small one is signified their being such; that so they may not be taken for Substantives or Adjectives.  
5. By thus marking ... quoque... autem,... quidem, &c. - {que}- ne,- ve, is signified that the former are used only after some other word, and the latter joined to some other word. By thus marking— demno,— lecto,- hibeo; — liteo,— igo,— imo,— culco,- sulto, is shown that those Verbs are used only in Composition; and by Consequence all the Rules about divers Verbs changing their first Vowel into e, i, u, are saved. By thus marking co- col- con- di- dif- dis- is shown that those and the like Prepositions are used only in Composition. Also, by marking a Verb thus o* it is distinguished from a Verb of the First Conjugation, and shown to be of the Third; that so the very Termination of the Verb may show its Conjugation, as that of the Noun did its Declension: If any in o, eo, o*, jo, vary from the common Scheme; they likewise( as was said of the Nouns) are better noted else-where; as are also such as are irregular in their Perfect or Supine.  
6. By changing the Gerund to a kind of Substantive, thus, Gen. Aman-di of loving, Abl.- do, in with, by loving, &c. are implyed all the Rules about them: Also, by changing the signification of Obedio, Impero, Noceo, and the like, so as to make them signify, I yield obedience. I give command, I do hurt, are saved all the Rules about such kind of Verbs governing a Dat. Case.  
In like manner all the Rules whatsoever, saving three or four, may be cryptically infused into the Learner; and thousands there are who can understand a notion as put to them in such a practical manner, who can never comprehend it as set down by way of Rule: Rules, together with Definitions, Divisions, and critical Observations, wherein consists the Art of Grammar( invented long after Language was spoken, and therefore not absolutely necessary to the attaining thereof) may better be learnt afterwards out of lily a little altered; who for many weighty reasons is not to be laid aside.  
The Grammar thus reduced to a Sheet children must thoroughly and perfectly get by heart, by degrees, and one thing after another, viz. First, the first sort of Nouns and Verbs, together with short Sentences drawn up on purpose, and consisting only of easy words of that first sort, as Stomachus, Rosa, Affirmo; then the next sort of Nouns and Verbs, together with Sentences fitted to them; and so the rest in order.  
Next, let all the common words, and after that the common Phrases, especially such wherein there is any difficulty( viz. words of an unusual derivation or changing their signification in composition, and Phrases grounded on some History, custom, &c.) be reduced into certain Sentences, after this or the like manner.  
Ubi ignavi equicessant trahere aut traxisse plaustra, ibi sedulus auriga adhibet stimulos.  
Where the lazy horses do cease to draw or to have drawn the Carts, there the diligent Carman applieth pricks.  
Meus filius exercet se benè, bis per-oravit, ter disputavit tanquam praeditus( 1.) ratione; et dum monui ut redderet( 2.) rationem disputationis, reddidit;  
My Son doth exercise himself well, twice he hath declaimed, thrice he hath disputed as endued with Reason; and when I admonished[ him] that he should render an account of the Disputation, he hath rendered[ it.]  
Xenocrates caseolus ad Graecas Calendas placebit helluoni; scholars Commons will never please a Glutton.  
Portasti litteras Bellerophontis, proinde abiturus es ad corvos; You have made a Rod for your own Back, and so you are like to be ruined.  
By the first sort of these Sentences, especially if there be joined a little Dictionary drawn up on purpose, the Learner shall at once know the Root and Head of each word, and( not only the Gender, Declension, and Conjugation from the Termination, as was said, but also) the quantity of each Syllable, and the irregularities of it, and also its divers significations; For, Equi, and Stimulos must be Substantives in us, Cessant and Per-oravit must be Verbs in o; Adhibet, Exercet, and Monui, must be Verbs in eo, they cannot be otherwise: Again, the middle Syllable of trahere and redderet must be short, because they come from Verbs that are noted in the Dictionary to be of the Third Conjugation,[ traho*, reddo*] and the middle Syllable of Sedulus, Ad-hibet, and Stimulos, must be short, because they are so noted in the Dictionary, sedŭlus,— hĭbeo, stimŭlus; As for long Syllables they need no noting, for if a Syllable be not short it must be long: Again, Traho must make Traxi, and Reddo Reddidi; because[ traxisse] is to have drawn, and[ reddidit] he hath rendered. Lastly, Ratio is plainly shown to signify sometimes Reason, and sometimes an account: as for quâ ratione, it is a Phrase, so is hâc, illâ and nullâ-ratione; all the significations of that word( as indeed of any word in the latin Tongue except seven) may be reduced to two:[ To make out every particular at large, and prevent or answer all Objections is not the business of this Paper.]  
By the latter sort of Sentences the Learner will understand any Phrase whatsoever; and so be able to go through the Authors: which Authors now are easy to him, the two grand obstacles being by this time removed; viz. the meeting with all the difficulties of the latin Tongue at once in every line, and the not knowing what to make of a word or Phrase, as it occurs: When he hath red and digested all or most of the usual Authors, he will be able to turn any latin into English, and also any English into latin; because being well seen in both Languages, he knows the proprieties of each, and will not render[ Quid tibi vis?] What wilt thou to thee? but What wouldst thou have?[ Nihil moror quid objicis,] I do tarry nothing, but I do not matter what thou objectest; nor He saw but three,[ ille serra said trees,] but[ vidit tantum trees;] I do as well as thou,[ Facis ut puteus ut tu] but[ tam been valeo ac tu.] And thus may be avoided the Learning of almost infinite and unintelligible Rules, the continual turning over Dictionaries, the tedious using of Smetius, the endless cunning of a thousand Particles, the getting by heart whole volumes of Phrases, the daily blundering over and piercing of Lessons, the difficult and irksome making of latin for many years together; And so with the good leave of that stupendous Vertuoso and giant in knowledge, the latin Tongue is not altogether so unfit to be the universal Language, as he is pleased to reckon it.  
By this method for some years Gentlemen have been directed how by their own industry to gain or recover the latin Tongue in the space of few months; it is now( with due submission to the Judgments of the Ingenious Clergy and Gentry) proposed as a means of unspeakable ease both to Schoolmasters and scholars; and in some Cases 'tis abundant satisfaction to the Inventors, to have only proposed a matter, however prejudice, custom, or Ignorance may for some time hinder its reception.  
The like short course may also be taken for the Greek Tongue, and for divers Arts and Sciences; whereof more may be said hereafter, when this proposal already made is encouraged.  
A.B. Z.W. Second Door from somerset House, Jan. 18. 1669.  
FINIS.