Gass. Book. / JL2- LATIN AND PRACTICAL LIFE THE RELATION OF LATIN TO PRACTICAL LIFE CONCRETE ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE FORM OF AN EXHIBIT FRANCES ELLIS SABIN Head of the Department of Latin in the Oak Park and River Forest Toivnship High School ASSISTED BY LOURA B. WOODRUFF PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR CHICAGO, 1913 V ^ x V Copyright 1913 By Frances Ellis Sabin All Rights Reserved Published August 1913 Composed and Printed By The University of Chicago Press Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 'Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem Quam quae sunt oculis subiecta fidelibus.' — Horace, Ars Poetica, 11. 180-181 CONTENTS Outline 3 Latin and — I. The English Language .......... 5 II. English Literature; Training in English Expression; Teachers of English 17 III. The Romance Languages; Language-Study in General . 33 IV. Mental Training 45 V. Art 49 VI. The Sciences 57 VII. The Professions . 63 VIII. Roman Civilization as a Basis for Our Own .... 83 IX. Other Ways in Which the Study of Latin Makes the World More Interesting 101 Appendix : Some Common Objections to the Study of Latin 116 Letters to High-School Boys and Girls 119 The Larger Meaning of the Term "Practical" as Applied to Educa- tion 122 What It Means Not to Know Latin 125 PREFACE In these days of confusion as to the real ends of education and con- tention as to the meaning of terms employed in defining them, one fact at least is clear and beyond any question of dispute, namely, that the modern world is insisting upon a definite answer from educators as to the value of various studies now in the curriculum of schools and col- leges. It is asking from teachers in clear and unmistakable terms such questions as these, "Of what use is your subject? "What is its bearing upon the affairs of practical life?" And however foolish the questions may seem and despite the difficulties of answering them in terms of the "practical" — a word that has as many meanings as there are ideals of life — every teacher must be ready to respond. The supporters of vocational studies looking directly to commercial ends have long had their answer ready, and in a form so striking and concrete that the modern world has no difficulty in understanding it. For various reasons, also, teachers of the sciences, history, English, mathematics, and modern languages have had comparatively little difficulty in convincing the world that their subjects are useful. But the task has been harder for the teacher of the classics, not because he had a less "useful" contribution to make to the cause of education, but because it lent itself less readily to definition in terms which the man in the street would regard as in any sense "practical." And so in many cases he has not answered it at all, preferring rather to take the attitude of the pagan worshipers at Ephesus who met the claims of the new religion by gathering around the statue of their goddess and shouting in the ears of the Christians, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians! " without stopping to answer the questions, "Just how is she great ?" "What can she really do for those who follow her ? " The writer has felt for a long time that failure to give a direct answer in a striking and concrete form to this question, "Is there any relation between the study of Latin and practical life?" or as the high-school boy puts it, "What's the use of Latin anyway?" has been at the basis of much of the discontent concerning Latin. The Exhibit as outlined in the following pages was begun as a pedagogical experiment to prove or disprove this theory. It took the present form because of the assump- tion that a few concrete illustrations arranged in a way to strike the eye and to hold the attention are better than any number of abstract statements ineffectively presented. Because of the wealth of material and the many sides from which the question may be viewed, it has been difficult in many cases to select matter for illustration. In general the writer has kept in mind the needs and interests of the average high-school boy and girl. However, many other points and devices for illustrating them will at once occur to the skilful teacher as being quite as much worth while as those chosen. It will be noted that the testimony of classical teachers has been almost entirely disregarded in favor of that from other sources. While the Exhibit as a whole is concerned with Latin, it has been impossible in many cases to separate it from Greek. Hence the latter term appears in several of the headings and in some of the illustrative matter. As regards the spirit of the Exhibit, the writer has aimed to keep it entirely free from any invidious reflection on other subjects of the curriculum. Nothing is further from the purpose of the Exhibit than to extol Latin at the expense of other studies, nor is it to be understood that all the advantages claimed for the study of Latin are the exclusive possession of that study. The author cannot adequately express her gratitude for the kindly appreciation and material assistance of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South in promoting the publication. She is especially indebted to Mr. Frank J. Miller, one of the editors of the Classical Journal, and to the following committee appointed by the Association at its meeting in Cincinnati in April, 191 2, to consider plans for putting the Exhibit in printed form: Benjamin L. D'Ooge, Ypsilanti, Michigan, chairman; Walter Hullihen, Sewanee, Tennessee; Frank J. Miller, Chicago; Moses S. Slaughter, Madison, Wisconsin; and H. L. Senger, Cincinnati, Ohio. The author also wishes to express her thanks to Mr. Arthur Cheno- weth of the Oak Park High School for very material assistance in first preparing the Exhibit and for hearty sympathy in the work of publica- tion. Oak Park, III. May 26, 1913 DIRECTIONS REGARDING THE PREPARATION OF THE EXHIBIT AND SUGGESTIONS AS TO ITS USE PREPARATION OF THE CARDS The purpose of this handbook is to afford material for making an Exhibit which shall answer in concrete form the high-school boy's ques- tion, "What's the use of Latin ?" While it may be useful as a summary in graphic form of the ways in which a classical education touches practical life, its primary end is pedagogical. The main point throughout is not so much to afford new information, as to present information already known through abstract statements, in so striking and concrete a form that it will arouse the interest of the student and hold his attention. In the preparation of such an Exhibit the present handbook is designed to contain the material necessary for filling out the sixty cards sent with it, as well as suggestions in the form of footnotes as to the sources of other material. In most cases, for the purpose of rounding out the subject and serving the needs of maturer students who may wish to investigate the subject at greater length, it will supply more material than the teacher will be able to transfer to the cards. While each page, then, technically represents a card in the Exhibit, it will often be found neces- sary to select only parts of the material, omitting the rest entirely or mounting it in typewritten form. The blank cards sent out with the sixty printed ones will, of course, allow much liberty in extending the illustrative matter. Additional cards, also, may be secured at any large paper house, such as Dwight Brothers Paper Company, 626 South Clark Street, or Bradner, Smith & Co., 175 W. Monroe Street, Chicago. In selecting material for illustration, the teacher should be governed very largely by the personal interests of pupils and the needs of the com- munity. In some cases it may be better to disregard the illustrative devices of the handbook and to work out the idea with original material, in the preparation of which both teacher and pupil co-operate. The more personal the Exhibit can be made, the greater, of course, will be its suc- cess. It is this obvious principle of pedagogy as well as the question of expense which has suggested the plan of furnishing only the headlines of the cards, instead of having them printed in full. Care should be taken to see that the letters used in printing the cards are large enough to be seen easily from any part of the room and that they are in accord with the scheme adopted in the headlines. The printing may be done by rubber stamps. 1 SIGNS Because of the extent of the material and the fact that success is as much dependent upon a clear and logical scheme for the arrangement of the cards upon the wall as it is upon the material itself, a certain num- ber of signs, printed in letters from 2 to 3 in., will be essential to dis- tinguish the different divisions of the subject. These may be printed by hand or may be made more easily from gummed paper letters fur- nished by the Dennison Paper Company, 62 E. Randolph Street, Chicago. Following is the list of signs which are most important: 1. The title of the Exhibit (4 in. letters). 2. The nine divisions of the subject given in the Outline (2 in. letters). 3. The headings of the various professions under VII, Law, Medicine, Engineering, the Ministry, Journalism, Business, the Statesman, the Woman at Home, Architecture (2 in. letters). 4. Such subdivisions under II (especially A and B), VIII, and the Appendix as seem necessary to a clear presentation of the matter selected. METHOD OF DISPLAYING THE CARDS The cards, arranged in logical order under the headings of the signs, may either be pinned or attached by hooks to mosquito netting hung from the molding of the room. (Small hooks suitable for this purpose may be obtained from the Dennison Paper Company, referred to above.) SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE USE OF THE EXHIBIT Inasmuch as the Exhibit is designed to appeal to the intelligence of the student, and is not in any sense a "show" for his amusement only, some definite plan for its careful study should be worked out by the teacher. For example, the student may be asked to prepare a paper upon the different points of the Exhibit, or a test may be given with the understanding that the result will be an important factor in making up the grade for the month. In any case, sufficient time should be given for careful observation, and an opportunity afforded for a discussion of the leading points. Students should be encouraged to bring in material during the rest of the year and to start scrapbooks for a collection of their own. The Exhibit should reach as many people as possible in the community, and it is suggested that every opportunity be afforded to the public to inspect it. 1 Rubber stamps may be secured from The Art Sign and Price Marker Company, 19 E. South Water St., Chicago (see inclosed catalogue). The following sets are offered to purchasers of the Exhibit at greatly reduced rates: Nos. 2, 3, 4, 120 at $1 . 50; Nos. 255, 256, 257 at $0.85; Nos. 258, 460, 461 at $1.00. Parcel postage is not included in this price. OUTLINE I. Latin makes the English language more intelligible. II. Latin and Greek are of supreme value to the mastery of literary English. III. Latin is the foundation of French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Roumanian. It is also a good basis for the study of language in general. IV. Latm affords excellent mental training. V. Latin and Greek are essential to an intimate knowledge of art and decorative designs in general. VI. Latin and Greek words form a large part of the termi- nology of science. VII. Latin contributes more or less directly to success in the professions. VIII. Latin illuminates textbooks of Roman history and gives a deeper insight into that great civilization from which our own has inherited so largely. IX. Other ways in which the study of Latin makes the world about us more interesting. I LATIN MAKES THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE MORE INTELLIGIBLE LATIN HELPS US TO SEE THE REAL MEANING OF SOME OF OUR WELL-KNOWN ENGLISH WORDS Carbuncle comes from the Latin word carbo, which means a live coal. Secretary comes from secretarius, which means a keeper of secreta or secrets. Trivial comes from trivialis, which means belonging to the crossroads — tres viae — or public streets, hence commonplace. Exonerate comes from exonerare, which means to free from a burden — ex, from, and onus, a burden. Rival comes from rivalis, which means dwelling by the same brook — rivus — and contending for the right to use it. Cardinal comes from cardo, a hinge, hence it means of fundamental importance. Detriment comes from deterere, which means to rub or wear away. Tent comes from tendere, to stretch, hence it is a shelter made of some strong material stretched over poles. Lieutenant comes through the French from locus, r place, and tenere, to hold, hence it means an officer who supplies the place of a superior in the latter's absence. Fine comes from finis, end, hence it means a sum of money paid so as to make an end of a transaction, suit, or prosecution. Discursive comes from discurrere, to run to and fro, hence it means passing from one thing to another, digressive. Manicure comes from manus, hand, and curare, to care for, hence it means a person who takes care of people's hands. Candidate comes from candidatus, which is derived from candidus, white. The Roman candidate was accustomed to wear a clean white toga when canvassing for votes. 6 LATIN IS THE KEY TO THE MEANING OF MANY UNUSUAL ENGLISH WORDS a veridical story Veridical, from the Latin verus, true, and root appearing in dicere, to say — truthful. a clamant evil Clamant, from clamare, to cry out — demanding notice. the African littoral . . . Littoral, from litus, seashore, coast. a gregarious person . . . Gregarious, from grex, herd, and arius, belonging to, a person who likes to be where the crowd is. nugatory results Nugatory, from nugae, trifles — insig- nificant. a minatory voice Minatory, from minari, to threaten — threatening. a mellifluous voice . . . Mellifluous, from mel, honey, and fluere, to flow — smooth and sweet. matutinal meal Matutinal, from matutinus, of the morning — morning . a punitive expedition . .Punitive, from punire, to punish, made for the purpose of inflicting punishment. alimental recompense . . .Alimental, from alere, to nourish — nourishing. pursuit of pulchritude .Pulchritude, from pulchritudo, beauty — beauty. concoctive powers Concoctive, from concoquere, to cook together, to ' digest — digestive. recondite meanings . . .Recondite, from recondere, to conceal — hidden, secret. tenebrous thoughts .... Tenebrous, from tenebrosus, dark — dark, gloomy. mentioned with obloquy Obloquy, from obloqui, to speak against — censure. a recalcitrant voter . . . Recalcitrant, from recalcitrare, to kick back — showing repugnance or opposi- tion. 7 THIS ENGLISH DICTIONARY SHOWS BY ITS COLORING THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF WORDS OF CLASSICAL ORIGIN IS VERY LARGE "The fact that what is called a complete English dictionary contains three Latin or Greek derivations to one word from a Saxon or any other Gothic source, shows us that to the edu- cated man the livest part of his language, so far as science and the higher order of things are concerned, is the Latin and Greek contingent." — Dr.W.T. Harris, late Commissioner of Education, article on What Kind of Language Study Aids in the Mastery of Natural Science? "The School Bulletin," December, 1907. "Two-thirds of the words which we have at our command (that is, the words found in a dictionary) are Latin; while, in our ordinary daily speech, half the words we use outside of what we may call the "small change" of language, such as and, we, to, on, of, are Latin. The little boy who says in the street, 'please give me a cent, Mister,' is speaking just one-half Anglo-Saxon English and one-half Latin English ('give,' 'me,' and 'a' have come down from Anglo-Saxon and 'please,' 'cent,' and 'Mister' from Latin)." — -William Gardner Hale, Professor of Latin, University of Chicago, Introduction to "A First Latin Book." "There is no doubt that if we were to include all compounds and all scientific terms .... the Graeco-Latin element of words in our dictionary enormously outnumbers the Teutonic." — Sir James Mur- ray, Editor of the "New Oxford Dictionary." Letter to author, February 3, 19 13. Note. — Color the pages of this book red and green to represent your idea of the approximate proportion of words of classical origin as compared with those from other sources. THE FOLLOWING UNDERLINED WORDS IN THESE ENGLISH WRITERS SHOW HOW MUCH OUR LANGUAGE IS INDEBTED TO LATIN Burke "You imagined, when you wrote last, that I might possibly be reckoned among the approvers of certain proceedings in France, from the solemn public seal of sanction they have received from two clubs of gentlemen in London, called the Constitutional Society and the Revolution Society." — "Reflec- tions on the French Revolution." Addison "The first and most obvious reflections which arise in a man who changes the city for the country are upon the different manners of the people whom he meets with in those two different scenes of life." — "Sir Roger de Coverley." Shakespeare "Cassius, be not deceived: if I have veiled my look, I turn the trouble of my countenance Merely upon myself. Vexed I am Of late with passions of some difference , Conceptions only proper to myself." — -"Julius Caesar." Milton "For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them." — ' ' Areopagitica . ' ' Macaulay "Johnson came among them the solitary specimen of a past age, the last survivor of the genuine race of Grub Street hacks ; the last of that generation of authors whose abject misery and whose dissolute manners had furnished inexhaustible matter to the satirical genius of Pope." — Essay on "Boswell's Life of Johnson." George Eliot "In that far off time superstition clung easily round every person or thing that was at all unwonted, or even intermittent and occasional merely." — "Silas Marner." "The American Magazine" "The National Republican Convention was called to meet in Minneapolis, June 7, 1893. There was no serious contest for presidential nomination." "The Atlantic" "Dreams usually occur in the morning, and are normally a product of light sleep, representing the gradual reinstatement of consciousness after the earlier and more profound slumber." "The Chicago Tribune" "While the safeguarding and improvement of the lake water take place, a heavy percentage of the people make use of water that is handled commercially by large concerns in this city of Chicago and elsewhere." "The Chicago Daily News" "It is not definitely settled, according to good authority, that Mr. Bryan will -sit with the national committee as proxy for the State of Nebraska." Robert Hichens "Evidently she had infected him with an intention similar to her own. She went on, still hearing the step, turned the corner and stood face to face in the strong evening light with the - traveller."— ""The Garden of Allah." "The Chicago Record-Herald" "New Mexico, the forty-seventh state to enter the Union ceased to be a territory at 1:35 p.m. today, when President Taft signed the proclamation of statehood." WHY NOT LEARN THE MEANING OF THE ROOT WORD AND THUS AVOID THE NECESSITY OF USING THE ENGLISH DICTIONARY SO OFTEN? Drawing of a tree with video, see, printed at its roots and such English derivatives as the following printed on its branches: visible, visage, visor, vision, vista, visual, provi- dent, evident, visit, etc. Drawing of a tree with patior, suffer, printed at its roots and such English derivatives as the fol- lowing printed on its branches : compassion, passive, impassive, compatible, impatience, patient, passion, etc. Drawing o: a tree with venio, come, printed at its roots and such English derivatives as the following printed on its branches: uneventful, event, inventor, eventual, invent, advent, adventitious, adventure, inventory, etc. ii Note. — The freshman Latin class of the high school may well be intrusted with the preparation of this part of the Exhibit. WORDS WHOSE MEANINGS ARE BEST EXPLAINED BY A KNOWLEDGE OF THE CLASSICAL CHARACTERS FROM WHOSE NAMES THEY ARE DERIVED AUGUST HERCULEAN VOLCANO Picture of Augustus Picture of Hercules Picture of Vulcan JULY PANIC MERCURIAL Picture of Julius Caesar Picture of Pan Picture of Mercury IRIDESCENT PHAETON CHIMERA Picture of Iris Picture of Phaethon Picture of the Chimaera MARTIAL JANUARY MUSEUM Picture of Mars Picture of Janus Picture of the Muses ATLAS CEREAL FATALIST Picture of Atlas Picture of Ceres Picture of the Fates 12 Note. — For sources of illustrative material, see p. 50. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONTAINS A LARGE NUM- BER OF ACTUAL LATIN WORDS WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN CHANGED SINCE THE TIME OF THE ROMANS census hiatus interim - honor -— dictum horror -ultimatum ^humor superior igjnoramus inferior maximum consul minus actor minimum agitator moderator animal murmur cantata orator conservator papyrus ^dictator par doctor pauper error pendulum emeritus plus --exterior -senior fabricator sinister ^fungus simulacrum genus —-terminus -gymnasium victor 13 HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT THE NAME OF ALMOST EVERY MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVENTION IS COINED FROM GREEK OR LATIN, AND THAT THE NUMBER OF NEW WORDS THUS ADDED TO OUR LANGUAGE IS INCREASINGLY LARGE? DIRIGIBLE DICTAPHONE AUTOMOBILE (picture) (picture) L. dirigo, direct PULMOTOR L. dicta, words G. auros, self G. <£ve'w sound L. mobilis, movable CALCUMETER INCUBATOR (picture) (picture) (picture) L. pulmo, lung L. calculo, reckon L. motus, movement or calculate G. fxirpov, measure L. incubo, brood over Microphone Telautograph Photogravure Hectostat Autophon Hectograph Binocular Cyclometer Thermophone Electrometer Other Examples Barometer Micrometer Electroscope Dynamometer Locomotive Magnetometer Hydrometer Stereotype Mimeograph Telegraph Graphophone Phonograph Electrophorus Photometer Pedometer Telephone Seismograph Pantograph Stereopticon Lactometer 14 Note. — To show how this practice is extended in the business world, collect such advertisements as these from the newspapers: Dermophile Underwear, Aerolux Porch Shades, etc. LATIN HELPS ONE TO SPELL CORRECTLY IN ENGLISH culpable L. culpa temporal L. temporis original L. originis separate L. separatus receive L. receptus accelerate L. acceleratus imperative L. imperatus necessity L. necessitas difficult L. difificilis facility L. facilis calendar L. kalendarium beneficial L. bene success L. successus similarity L. similis Mediterranean L. terra laboratory L. laborare portable L. portare incredible L. incredibilis Caesar L. Caesar pessimist L. pessimus aeroplane .L. aer adolescent L. adolescens derelict L. derelictus 15 THE LATIN STUDENT UNDERSTANDS THESE VERY COMMON ABBREVIATIONS IN OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE: A.B Artium Baccalaureus, Bachelor of Arts. A.C*. Ante Christum, before Christ. Ad. lib. Ad libitum, at pleasure. A.D Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord. Ae Aetatis, of age. A.M Ante meridiem, before noon. A.M Artium Magister, Master of Arts. B.Sc Baccalaureus Scientiae, Bachelor of Science. CI Confer, compare. D Denarius, penny. D.D Divinitatis Doctor, Doctor of Divinity. E.g Exempli gratia, for example. Et al Et alii, and others. Etc Et cetera, and the rest, or and so forth. Fee Fecit, he or she did it. H.e Hoc est, this is, or that is. lb., Ibid Ibidem, in the same place. Id Idem, the same I.e Id est, that is. Incog Incognito, unknown. In loc In loco, in its place. Q.E.D Quod erat demonstrandum, which was to be proved. Q.l Quantum libet, as much as you please. Q.v Quod vide, which see. Scil Scilicet, namely. St Stet, let it stand. Ult Ultimo, of last month. Viz Videlicet, namely. Vs Versus, against. Ignorance of the above sometimes places one in a very un- pleasant position, as is shown in the following story related by Miss Mendenhall of the New York Public library: "The other day a student came into the library for help on a list of references in history which he was to read before writing a thesis. He said, ' I have found most of the books in the Columbia library, but there is one author I can't find anywhere, and I have spent a good deal of time looking. He has a strange name and I have never heard of him as a historian, but he has written a good many of the books on my list; his name is "Ibid."'" — "The Dial," September i, 191 2. [6 II LATIN AND GREEK ARE OF SUPREME VALUE TO THE MASTERY OF LITERARY ENGLISH A. LATIN AND GREEK ACQUAINT US WITH COUNTLESS ALLUSIONS TO CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY IN ENGLISH LITERATURE EXAMPLES OF REFERENCES TO MYTHOLOGY IN ENGLISH POETRY: "Such strains as would have won the ear Of Pluto to have quite set free His half -regained Eurydice." —Milton, "L'Allegro," 11. 148-50. "The Niobe of Nations! There she stands, Childless and crownless, in her voiceless woe." —Byron, "Childe Harold," Canto IV, 703-4. "Melted to one vast Iris of the West." —Byron, "Childe Harold," Canto IV, 240. " Foot-feather' d Mercury appear 'd sublime Beyond the tall tree tops." —Keats, " Endymion," Bk. IV, 333-34- "Dulcet-eyed as Ceres' daughter, Ere the God of Torment taught her." —Keats, "Fancy," 11. 81-82. "Then, Goddess of the silver bow., begin." — Dryden, "The Secular Masque," 1. 26. 11 A little Cyclops with one eye Staring to threaten and defy." —Wordsworth, "To a Daisy," 11. 25-26. "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand ? " — Shakespeare, "Macbeth," Act II, sc. ii, 60-61. " That orbed maiden with whitefire laden, Whom mortals call the Moon." —Shelley, "The Cloud," 11. 45-46. Note. — For illustration of classical allusion, see Karl Harrington, "Live Issues in Classical Study" (1910), pp. 20-36; also E. L. Miller's article, The Greek in English, "Classical Weekly," IV (1910), 34-36. Paste other selections from English poetry with the classical references conspicuously underlined in red. SOME OF THE MANY ENGLISH POEMS ON CLASSICAL SUBJECTS, OR WITH A LATIN TITLE: "A Hymrrto Artemis" by Maurice Hewlett "Niobe" . " Walter Savage Landor "Endymion" " John Keats "Lamia" " John Keats "Epic of Hades" " Lewis Morris "Ulysses" " Stephen Phillips "Lament of Adonis" . "Sir Edwin Arnold "Echo" " Christina Rossetti "Alexander's Feast" " John Dryden "Oenone" . " Alfred Tennyson "Tithonus" " Alfred Tennyson "Cynthia's Revels" " Ben Jonson " Enceladus " " Henry W. Longfellow " Arethusa" ..." Percy B. Shelley "Hymn to Proserpine" " Algernon Swinburne "Comus" " John Milton "Ixion" " Robert Browning "Venus of Milo " " Edward R. Sill "Persephone" " Jean Ingelow " Actaeon" " Alfred Noyes "The Sirens" " Andrew Lang 19 Note. — The argument will be more striking if students co-operate in securing as complete a list as possible by consulting the indices of poetical works to be found in any large library. Such a typewritten list is a revelation to one who has never realized the extent to which our poetry is saturated with classical influence. Current maga- zines also furnish many examples. ONLY AN INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF CLASSICAL LITERATURE CAN GIVE ONE THE FEELING NECES- SARY FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF EVEN THESE VERY MODERN POEMS: In Memoriam Leo: A Yellow Cat "If, to your twilight land of dream, — Persephone, Persephone, Drifting with all your shadow host, — • Dim sunlight comes with sudden gleam, And you lift veiled eyes to see Slip past a little golden ghost, That wakes a sense of springing flowers, Of nestling birds, and lambs new-born, Of spring astir in quickening hours, And young blades of Demeter's corn; For joy of that sweet glimpse of sun, O goddess of unnumbered dead, Give one soft touch, — if only one, — To that uplifted, pleading head! Whisper some kindly word, to bless A wistful soul who understands That life is but one long caress Of gentle words and gentle hands." — "Atlantic Monthly," January, 1913. Arcades Ambo "See yon glad lover piping there To Amaryllis sweet ? He hears the hum of golden bees Soft murmuring in the blossoming trees; He hears the tinkling of the bells Where feed his flocks in grassy dells; From out his lithe throat, glad and strong, He breathes a lover's joyous song, And pours it at her feet. Mark you this lover, thin and white, Beneath these somber skies ? He sees a narrow, paven street At whose high top tall factories meet; He hears the shrill, metallic roar That shakes the trembling wall and fl6or. She toils beside him. He lifts high His passionate heart, with voiceless cry, To her young, patient eyes. Arcadians both — young Corydon At dalliance in the grassy grove, And he, with drudgery wan and worn, Whose soul is big with pain and love." — Helen Coale Crew, "The Outlook," January 27, 1912. CIRCLE OF APPRECIATION OF ENGLISH POETRY This is your "blind spot" as regards the appreciation of English poetry if you do not understand the literature and mythology of Greece and Rome; that is, the black represents the amount which has no meaning for you. This is perhaps the reason why you do not "like" poetry. Note.— The size of this "blind spot" is, of course, arbitrary. EXAMPLES OF REFERENCES TO MYTHOLOGY IN ENGLISH PROSE: "This is a Janus-faced fact." — "Atlantic Monthly." "Certainly in this Exhibition .... there is nothing that should send the critic, Cassandra-like, out to shout perdition from the housetops. "—"Architectural Record," March 1913, p. 230. "Mrs. Keith continued in the role of Ganymede until the ruby liquid was in the glasses." — Editorial, the "Chicago Tribune." "Had some Rhadaminthine arbiter of his destiny compelled him to choose " — William Locke, "Glory of Clementina." "Gentlemen, Mr. Montague Skinner, the Fifth Avenue Narcissus, one of the leaders of Metropolitan fashions." — Owen Johnson, "The Tennessee Shad." "He suddenly conceived the idea of single handed matching his wits against the Hydra despotism." — Owen Johnson, "The Eternal Boy." "When I awoke, I saw Mulvaney — leaning on his rifle at picket, lonely as Prometheus.' 1 — Rudyard Kipling, "The Courting of Dinah Shadd." "He seemed to see her like a lonely rock-bound Andromeda with the devouring monster Society careering up to make a mouthful of her." — Edith Wharton, The Custom of the Country, "Scribner's Magazine," January, 1913. "That the elective system was a great advance on the edu- cational Procustes-bed system which preceded it, I do not for a moment deny." — Charles Francis Adams, "Some Modern College Tendencies," p. 117. "The publication of this book exposed the Achilles heel of the South." — A. M. Simons, "Social Forces in American His- tory." Note. — As a proof that classical allusions are not confined to the English classics alone, collect the many references to be found in newspapers, novels, and current magazines. ISN'T IT ALTOGETHER LIKELY THAT IF YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE LATIN AND GREEK REFER- ENCES YOU WILL HAVE A TENDENCY TO AVOID BOOKS WHICH CONTAIN THEM? BUT BY SO DOING YOU WILL BE DEPRIVED OF MUCH OF THE BEST ENGLISH LITERATURE FROM CHAUCER TO THE MIDDLE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY A glance at this letter of Charles Lamb's shows you how necessary a knowledge of Latin is if you really want to under- stand it: "I express myself muddily, capite dolente. I have a dulling cold. My theory is to enjoy life, but my practice is against it. I grow ominously tired of official confinement. Thirty years have I served the Philistines, and my neck is not subdued to the yoke. You don't know how wearisome it is to breathe the air of four pent walls without relief, day after day, all the golden hours of the day between ten and four, without ease or interposition. Taedet me harum quotidianarum formarum, these pestilential clerk-faces always in one's dish. Oh for a few years between the grave and the desk ! — they are the same, save that at the latter you are the outside machine I dare not whisper to myself a pension on this side of absolute incapacitation and infirmity, till years have sucked me dry; — Otium cum indignitate. I had thought in a green old age (Oh green thought!) to have retired to Ponder's End (emblematic name, how beautiful!), in the Ware Road, there to have made up my accounts with Heaven and the company, toddling about between it and Chesh- unt; anon stretching, on some fine Izaak Walton morning, to Hoddes- don or Amwell, careless as a beggar; but walking, walking ever till I fairly walked myself off my legs, dying walking! The hope is gone. I sit like Philomel all day (but not singing), with my breast against this thorn of a desk, with the only hope that some pulmo- nary affliction may relieve me." — Letter to William Wordsworth. 23 Note. — Mount passages from the prose of Milton, Burke, Carlyle, Macaulay, Goldsmith, Addison, Disraeli, etc., with classical references underlined. THE KNOWLEDGE OF MYTHOLOGY GAINED THROUGH LATIN SOURCES IS MORE INTIMATE AND MORE LASTING THAN THAT GAINED THROUGH ENGLISH ALONE; THEY SHOULD BE STUDIED TOGETHER The original sources often contain many personal touches, omitted in the ordinary textbook of mythology, which add very greatly to the interest of the story. For example, by com- paring the accounts of " Atalanta's Race" as given in Ovid and Gayley's "Classic Myths," or the story of the Trojan Horse, as given in Virgil and Gayley, it will be seen not only that much has been omitted in the latter but that these very passages are the ones that contribute most to the vividness and charm of the story. (Ovid's description of the Race of Atalanta placed beside that given in Gayley's "Myths," with the parts of the story found in the Latin and omitted in the English underlined in red, and the passages of the Latin that are more vividly related than they are in the English, underlined in green.) II (Virgil's description of the Trojan Horse, and side by side with this, with corresponding passages opposite, the account as given in Gayley, showing how much of the story is left out in the English rendition, and how much less vividly the details that are not omitted are related.) In answer to this question put to him by a student, " Do you feel that the study of Ovid and Virgil should form a back- ground for a high-school student's study of such a book on Mythology as your 'Classic Myths'?" Mr. Charles Mills Gayley, author of Gayley's "Classic Myths," writes as follows: "It is a thousand times better for a student to read the Virgil and the Ovid in the original with my 'Classic Myths' than to read the 'Classic Myths' without a first-hand knowl- edge of the original." — Letter to student, February 12, 1913. Note.— Substitute Ovid's "Atalanta's Race," or "Pyramus and Thisbe" for a part of the work in the Cicero year in order to allow the student to realize the above statement from his own experience. In connection with the latter, read Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" to show that the enjoyment of the "Pyramus and Thisbe" incident is keener than it would have been without the Latin original. B. LATIN AND GREEK EXPLAIN THE TECH- NIQUE AND SPIRIT OF MANY POEMS AND MUCH OF OUR PROSE GENERAL STATEMENTS "The modern literatures have so grown up under the influence of the literature of Greece and Rome that the forms, fashions, notions, wordings, allusions of that literature have got deeply into them, and are an indispensable preparation for understanding them." — Matthew Arnold, "The Great Prophecy of Israel's Restoration," p. ix (Macmillan and Co., 1872). "The thorough study of English Literature, as such — litera- ture, I mean, as an art, indeed the finest of the fine arts, is hopeless unless based on an equally thorough study of the litera- ture of Greece and Rome. When so based, adequate study will not be found exacting either of time, or labor. To know Shakespeare and Milton is the pleasant and crowning consum- mation of knowing Homer and Aeschylus, Catullus and Vergil. And upon no other terms can we obtain it." — E. T. Palgrave, University of Oxford, Province and Study of Poetry, '*Macmil- lan's Magazine," LIII (1886), 334. "Every great English writer of prose or poetry from the time of King Alfred to the time of Alfred Tennyson has — almost without exception — been schooled in the Latin language, has known well some of the Latin masterpieces, and, consciously or not, willingly or not, has written under the influence, some- times indistinct, sometimes overmastering, of the Latin models." — Dr. S. P. Sherman, Professor of English, University of Illinois, English and the Latin Question, " Home and School Education." 25 THESE FORMS OF LITERATURE WERE CREATED BY THE GREEKS AND ROMANS; ONLY ONE WHO IS FAMILIAR WITH THE SOURCES CAN THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THEM: LYRIC POETRY HISTORICAL WRITING Examples from Herbert, Carew, Suckling, and Lovelace A selection from Gibbon's "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" Alcaeus Sappho Catullus THE ODE Thucydides Herodotus Tacitus Livy PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING Examples from Prior and Gray A selection from John Stuart Mill Sappho Pindar Horace Catullus TRAGEDY Plato Aristotle Seneca Marcus Aurelius COMEDY A selection from Shakespeare's Tragedy of "King Lear" A selection from Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors" Aeschylus Euripides Sophocles Seneca THE EPISTLE Aristophanes Plautus Terence THE FABLE Selections from Dryden and Goldsmith A selection from John Gay's "Fables" 26 Horace Pliny Aesop Phaedrus THE ESSAY THE NOVEL Selections from Lamb and Bacon A selection from Scott's Novels Isocrates Cicero Tacitus EPIC POETRY Petronius TALES OF ADVENTURE A selection from Milton's "Paradise Lost" A selection from Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" Homer Virgil BIOGRAPHY Homer Lucian SATIRE A selection from BoswelPs "Life of Samuel Johnson" A selection from Pope's "Essay on Man" Plutarch Suetonius PASTORAL POETRY Lucilius Horace THE EPIGRAM Selections from Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh William Watson's "Epigram on Browning" Theocritus Virgil THE ELEGY Asclepiades Meleager Martial THE ORATION Selection from Dryden's "On the Death of a Very Young Gentleman" Selection from Edmund Burke Tyrtaeus Solon Simonides Propertius Isocrates Lysias Demosthenes Cicero 27 Note. — Mount the above selections sources in typewritten form beneath. from English literature with the classical C. THE STUDY OF LATIN AND GREEK DE- VELOPS POWER IN THE USE OF ENGLISH TRANSLATION AFFORDS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY PRACTICE IN THE USE OF PRECISE AND VIGOROUS ENGLISH Because a Latin word often has many meanings and shades of meaning in English, it is sometimes a very difficult matter in translating to choose the right one. For example, the very common word "magnus" does not always mean "great," but, as the following diagram shows, has a very large number of meanings whose choice calls for a keen literary sense and a feeling for exactness in the use of words. The exercise of this critical faculty may be made a very practical training in the way of English expression. 28 Note. — The above illustrations of the various meanings of "magnus" are taken from an article in the Classical Journal, February, 1910, by H. C. Nutting, entitled "The Translation of Latin." In the same way work out the meanings of "res" and "ratio." OPINIONS AS TO THE VALUE OF TRANSLATION FROM GREEK OR LATIN AS A TRAINING IN ENGLISH EXPRESSION: Macaulay thus testifies to the value of the exercise of trans- lation in the training of the great English orator, William Pitt: "But the classical studies of William Pitt .... had the effect of enriching his English vocabulary and of making him wonderfully expert in the art of constructing correct English sentences. His prac- tice was to look over a page or two of a Greek or Latin author, to make himself master of the meaning and then to read the passage straight forward into his own language It is not strange that a young man of great abilities, who had been exercised daily in this way during ten years should have acquired almost unrivalled power of putting his thoughts without premeditation into words well selected and well arranged."— Biography of William Pitt, Whitehall Ed. of "Mis- cellaneous Works of Lord Macaulay," VII, 121. "It is still an open question whether any direct method of teaching English really takes the place of the drill in the niceties of style that can be derived from translation, especially the translation of Latin; whether a student, for example, who rendered Cicero with due regard for the delicate shades of meaning would not gain more mastery of English (to say nothing of Latin) than a student who devoted the same amount of time to daily themes and original compositions."— Irving Babbitt, "Literature and the American College," p. 242. "Translation compels us to such a choosing and testing, to so nice a discrimination of sound, propriety, position and shade of mean- ing, that we now first learn the secret of the words we have been using or misusing all our lives, and are gradually made aware that to set forth even the plainest matter as it should be set forth, is not only a very difficult thing calling for thought and practice, but an affair of conscience as well."— James Russell Lowell, Study of Modern Languages, "Latest Literary Essays," p. 140 (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1892). 29 SOME OF THE STRONGEST CHAMPIONS OF LATIN ARE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH "To the serious student of English some acquaintance with Latin is not merely convenient, not merely valuable, but quite literally indispensable. At every onward step toward the mastery of his own language and literature, he must use his Latin lamp if he have one, or stumble and go astray in the dark ness if he has not .... a man may as well try to reach Eng- land without a boat as to attain proficiency in English without Latin." — -Dr. S. P. Sherman, Professor of English, University of Illinois, "English and the Latin Question," a pamphlet pub- lished by "Home and School Education." "As a teacher of English I have found students trained in Latin better than others for at least two obvious reasons: Until very lately, and I should say still, hardly anybody has written in the English language memorably who has not studied Latin at school; and nothing but a tolerable familiarity with Latin roots can prevent stupid misuse of words derived from Latin, such as 'prominent identity.' History and common sense, then, combine to make Latin the only sound foundation of literary English." — Barrett Wendell, Professor of English, Harvard University. Letter to student, March 10, 1013. "We like to have our girls trained in the classics. There is an observable fineness of fibre and intellectual discrimination in students so trained." — Head of the English Department in a leading college for women. Quoted in Latin as a Practical Study, by Albert S. Perkins, "Classical Journal," April, 1913. 30 "Every English-speaking student should, give himself at 'least one year's honest trial in the study of Latin. Latin is the best available training in general grammatical concepts. The grammatical dexterity slowly acquired through Latin study is of direct and immediate use in English. Latin also widens English vocabulary and makes for accuracy and truth of state- ment. Latin literature furnishes the key to the understanding of the great body of English literature. The ideas embodied in Latin literature are the ideas that engaged the attention of those who wrote English literature up to very recent times. Acquaintance with some of these ideas in the language in which they were originally expressed enables the student to get the right feeling for them." — J. V. Denney, Professor of English, Ohio State University. Letter to author, February 10, 1913. "I am the fullest believer in the study of Latin for him who seeks the best sort of education. So far as my own observation has gone, whenever the acceptance or rejection of the language has lain in the choice of students, those taking it have invari- ably included far the larger proportion of the best students. It is one of the best instruments to train educated men. It will even train them to make money, which some people seem to regard as the main object for which education was devised." — T. R. Lounsbury, Emeritus professor of English, Yale Uni- versity. Letter to student, January 29, 1913. 31 Ill LATIN IS THE FOUN- DATION OF FRENCH, ITALIAN, SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, AND ROUMANIAN. IT IS ALSO A GOOD BASIS FOR THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE IN GENERAL LATIN IS NOT A "DEAD" LANGUAGE; IT HAS ONLY CHANGED ITS NAME Map of the Roman Empire in the first cen- tury a.d., showing the extent to which popular Latin was at one time spoken. " Popular Latin has never ceased to exist. It is the language of France, Spain, Italy, Roumania, and all the Romance coun- tries of today. Its history has been unbroken from the found- ing of Rome to the present time." — Professor Frank Frost Abbott, "The Common People of Ancient Rome," p. 73. "Their original progenitors (Roumanian) were a colony of Roman soldiers established on the banks of the Danube by the Emperor Trajan in a.d. 106. Their language descends from the rustic Latin of these soldiers, and in spite of long isolation, surrounded by Slavonic tongues, it retains its Latin characteris- tic to a remarkable extent, so much so that anyone reasonably familiar with Latin will be able to read a Roumanian newspaper with but little difficulty."— Kenneth McKenzie, "National Geographic Magazine," December, 1912. "In our Romance department here we should not think of accepting a student for graduate work who has not studied Latin. For intelligent advanced study of either the languages or the literatures, it is indispensable, and the wider and deeper the Latin preparation, the better the chance that the student will develop into a sound and effective Romance scholar." — Edward C. Armstrong, Professor of Romance Languages, Johns Hop- kins University. Letter to author, May 14, 1913. 34 Note. — A Roumanian newspaper called "Amicul Poporului" may be obtained at 1505 Girard St., Chicago. THE FACT THAT LATIN IS THE BASIS OF SPANISH, ITALIAN, AND FRENCH ACCOUNTS FOR THIS STRIKING SIMILARITY: Latin Spanish Italian French English fructus fruta frutto fruit fruit infans infante infante enfant infant i difficilis dificil difficile difficile difficult honor honor onore honneur honor gloria gloria gloria gloire glory generalis general generale general general natura natura natura nature nature vestibulum vestibulo vestibolo vestibule vestibule flos flor fiore fleur flower animal animal animale animal animal fatalis fatal fatale fatal fatal pars parte parte partie part rosa rosa rosa rose rose praeparare preparar preparare preparer prepare sermo sermon sermone sermon sermon 35 THE BLACK SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE OF WORDS IN ITALIAN, FRENCH, AND SPANISH WHICH A LATIN STUDENT DOES NOT NEED TO LOOK UP IN THE DICTIONARY Italian, at least 90 per cent (probably more) 36 Spanish, at least 90 per cent (probably more) Note. — For Italian, see F. Diez, "Grammatik. der romanischen Sprachen," 1882, p. 63; "mochte noch nicht der zehnte Teil ihrer Stammworter unlateinisch sein." For French, see Brunot in Petit de Julleville's "Histoire" (I, x), who says the percentage is "more than 90." THE UNDERLINED WORDS ON THIS PAGE FROM A FRENCH MAGAZINE, SHOW THE EXTENT TO WHICH FRENCH IS INDEBTED TO LATIN: La Guerre Italo-Turque— La Question des Dardanelles " En toute chose il faut considerer la fin," a dit le bon La Fontaine . Ce tres sage conseil est difficile a suivre dans les affaires de la politique, car la fin ne s'y decouvre jamais long- temps a l'avance. Mais quand on s'embarque dans une grosse entreprise, il faut au moins considerer "la suite." II est mani- fest^ aujourd'hui que le gouvernement italien s'est engage dans 1' affaire tripolitaine sans prevoir, ni l'etendue des difficultes qu'il rencontrerait pour s'etablir dans sa conquete, ni l'obstination de la Turquie a maintenir ses droits sur la derniere province qu'elle possedait en Afrique. ' Le contraste entre la bonne organisation militaire de I' expedition, la brillante activite de la flotte italienne, l'emploi judicieux des forces mises en mouvement, et l'absence d'un plan d'action tenant compte d'eventualites qu'on devait tenir pour probables, reste inexplique. Ce contraste est d'autant plus frappant que l'ltalie ayant choisi son heure et se sachant a l'abri des entreprises de son adversaire, avait, tout en preparant rouverture des hostilites, le loisir de songer aux moyens par lesquels elle y mettrait fin. Cependant, apres plusieurs mois d'hesitation cedant a la pression de rppinion publique enervee par de si longs retards, le cabinet de Rome s'est decide, d'abord a faire une sorte de demonstration contre les defenses de KumlCaleh, a l'entree des Dardanelles, le 18 avril dernier, puis a s'emparer successivement des lies de l'archipel des Sporades meridionales, situe entre les Cyclades (qui sont grecques) , la Crete et l'Asie mineure, Rhodes, la principale, a ete occupee sans resistance serieuse, le 4 de ce mois . Dans les journees suivantes, le. pavilion italien a ete arbore sur les lies Tasos, Karpathos, Naxos et une demi douzaine d'autres. Le 19 avril, un cuirasse et un torpilleur avaient bom- barde Samos, abattu le drapeau turc, et y avaient coule un yacht, mais sans effectuer de debarquement. L'ile de Samos etant une principaute autonome, ne dependant guere que nominalement de la Turquie, ces exercices de tir etaient au moins in utiles. — " Revue des Francais," May 25, 1912, pp. 12-13. 37 Note. — These words fall under the three classes given in the plan of the 'Dictionnaire General," e.g., I, du latin; II, derive du latin; III, emprunte du latin. LATIN SIMPLIFIES MANY POINTS IN FRENCH GRAMMAR I. Note the Similarity in the Present Tense of the Verb "To Be": Latin French Singular Plural Singular Plural ego sum nos sumus je suis nous sommes tu es vos estis tu es vous etes ille est illi sunt il est ils sont II. The Gender of Nouns, a Very Troublesome Point in French Grammar, is robbed of its difficulty for the Latin student, because masculine and feminine Latin nouns retain their genders in French, while Latin neuters are regularly masculine. — "French Grammar," S. 301, Fraser and Squair. LATIN FRENCH murus, m, wall mur, m. liber, m., book livre, m. iustitia, injustice justice, f. manus, f., hand main, f. corpus, n., body corps, m. verbum, n., word verbe, m. III. Latin Constructions Are Very Common in French DATIVE OF REFERENCE Latin transfigitur scutum Pulloni, Caes., "B.G.," V, 44 Pullo's shield is pierced ("to Pullo") French lis se lavent les mains They wash their hands ("to themselves") PARTITIVE GENITIVE Latin quicquam negoti, Caes., "B.G.," II, 17 any difficulty ("anything of difficulty") French Je n'ai pas de livres / have no books ("I have not of books") 38 THE UNDERLINED WORDS IN THIS ITALIAN DOCU- MENT ARE ALL OF LATIN ORIGIN; NOTICE THAT THE PERCENTAGE IS VERY LARGE PROCLAMATION OF THE ITALIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE ITALIANS OF AMERICA ON THE OCCASION OF THE EARTHQUAKE IN DECEMBER, 1908 "Italiani di America: I disastri di Calabria e di Sicilia devono accomunare gli animi nostri in un pensiero di amore per la grande Madre antica, orbata di tanti suoi figli, in un pensiero di solidarita coi fratelli afflitti da tanta sventura. Membri di una vasta famiglia, dimostriamo coi fatti che la disgrazia dei nostri connazionali e da noi sinceramente e pro- fondamente sentit a. Non vani compianti, ma efficaci soccorsi si richieggono. L'ltalia sopporto altre prove dolorose e risorse. Cosi anche questa volta, merce il volere intelligente e concorde del POpolo e del suo Augusto Sovrano, corso, come sempre, in doloroso pellegrinaggio, sui luoghi piu colpiti, l'ltalia trionfera delle cieche forze della natura. E proprio dei forti lo attingere dalla calamita, nuove energie. Sulle rovine di Messina e di Reggio fioriranno ben presto citta piu prospere e piu. belle. II Popolo Italiano puo essere colpito, non abbattuto. Intanto se nel momento piu grave alcunche puo lenire l'acerbazione del nostro dolore, valgano a cio le simpatie del mondo civile, valga la generosa fratellanza che ci dimostra il gran Popolo Americano. In alto i cuori." L'Ambasciatore di sua Maesta. "Washington, D.C., 30 Decembre, 1908." 39 THESE MUSICAL TERMS COMING THROUGH THE ITALIAN ARE CLEAR TO A LATIN STUDENT: A sheet of music with the Italian words and the Latin from which they have come, given in parallel columns. Italian Latin English opus opus a musical work a tempo tempus in time moderato moderatus moderately agitato agitatus agitated legato ligatus smoothly connected dolce dulcis soft and smooth grazioso gratiosus smoothly allegro alacer lively con spirito cum spiritu with animation f. (forte) ff. (fortissimo) fortis fortissimus firm (and loud) very loud mf. (mezzo forte) medius and fortis moderately loud accel. (accelerando) accelerare accelerating rit. (ritardando) retardare retarding cresc. (crescendo) crescere with increasing vol- ume of tone decresc. (decrescendo) decrescere with decreasing vol- ume of tone dim. (diminuendo) deminuere with abatement of tone da capo de capite from the head or be- ginning 40 Note. — To show the importance of Italian for the music lover, post programs of such concerts as those of the Thomas Orchestra of Chicago; also some pages from the catalogue of the Victor Record Company (Chicago, 111.), giving the titles of famous operas, etc. IT IS NOT ONLY ENGLISH LITERATURE THAT IS DE- PENDENT ON A KNOWLEDGE OF THE CLASSICS FOR ITS FULL MEANING, BUT FRENCH AND ITALIAN AS WELL The following illustrations from the "Inferno" show that the greatest poem in the Italian language, Dante's "Divine Comedy, " is saturated with the influence of Virgil: i. The idea of the journey to the lower world is taken from Virgil. Dante thus testifies to the fact that Virgil is his master: " honor and light of the other poets ! May the long study avail me and the great love which has made me search thy volume! Thou art my master and my author; thou alone art he from whom I took the fair style that has done me honor!" 2. Virgil himself is Dante's guide. 3. Ninety-five of the characters whom Dante meets are classical. 4. The topography is partly classical, e.g., the rivers Ache- ron, Styx, Phlegethon, and Cocytus, the city of Dis, etc. 5. The category of sins resembles that of Virgil. 6. Many details of the journey are like those given by Virgil, e.g., the meeting with Charon, Cerberus, Minos, the Furies, the Harpies, etc. 7. The style is often strikingly similar to that of Virgil. 41 Note. — Such French writers as Racine offer abundant illustrations of this point. A LATIN STUDENT NEED NEVER BE HUNGRY IN SPAIN; HE CAN READ THIS BILL OF FARE: Spanish Latin English ostras ostreae oysters huevos ova eggs carne caro, carnis meat vaca vacca beef pescado piscis fish polio pullus chicken puerco porcum pork pan panis bread- fruta fructus fruit uvas uvae grapes nueces nuces nuts sal sal salt vino vinum wine helados gelidus ices melon melo melon dulces dulces candies agua aqua water queso caseum cheese 42 OBSERVE THE STRIKING SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE LATIN AND THE SPANISH OF THE APOSTLES' CREED Latin Credo in Deum, Patrem om- nipotentem, Creatorem coeli et terrae. Et in Jesum Christum, Filium ejus unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus; descendit ad inferos: tertia die resurrexit a mortuis: ascendit ad coelos, sedet ad dextram Dei Patris omnipotentis : inde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communi- onem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen. Spanish Creo en Dios Padre, Todo- poderoso, Criador del cielo y de la tierra. Y en Jesucristo, su unico Hijo, nuestro Sefior, que fue concebido por obra del Espiritu Santo. Y nacio de Santa Maria Virgen. Padecio debajo del poder de Poncio Pilato. Fue crucifkado, muerto y sepultado. Descendio a los infiernos. Al tercer dia resucito de entre los muertos. Subio a los cielos. Esta sentado a la diestra de Dios Padre Topodero- so. Desde alii ha de venir a juzgar a los vivos y a los muertos. Creo en el Espiritu Santo, la Santa Iglesia catolica, la comun- ion de los Santos, el perdon de los pecados, la resurrection de la carne y la vida perdurable^ 43 LATIN HELPS ONE IN LEARNING GERMAN Because learning Latin grammar is only learning the prin- ciples of grammar in general, the study is of assistance in acquir- ing almost any well-developed language. While it is of course especially helpful in learning the Romance languages, it forms a very good basis also for the study of German which resembles it in being highly inflected. OPINIONS OF PROMINENT GERMAN TEACHERS ON THE VALUE OF LATIN FOR THE WORK OF THEIR DEPARTMENT "In general I may say that the thorough scholarly study of Latin Grammar will certainly be of great advantage to the student of Ger- man."— Max Winkler, Head of German Department, University of Michigan. Letter to student, March 14, 1913. "You ask whether in my opinion the study of Latin would be of actual benefit to a University graduate student just entering on the study of German. I answer "yes" most emphatically. The help afforded in this respect by a previous study of Latin is of great value whether on the grammatical, the literary, or the artistic side of the study of German Language and Literature." — Henry Wood, Profes- sor of German, Johns Hopkins University. Letter to author, May 2 1 , IQI3- "I believe strongly in the utility of Latin Latin does help German but then German also helps Latin." — Calvin Thomas, Department of Germanic Languages, Columbia University. Letter to student, March 14, 1913. 44 IV LATIN AFFORDS EXCELLENT MENTAL TRAINING TRANSLATION FROM LATIN AND THE WRITING OF PROSE DEVELOP HABITS OF MENTAL ACCURACY THAT HELP IN ANY WALK IN LIFE K 1 Part of speech ? Z H ■ Case? c t" 1 ■ Why? t -1 < ■ Number? C/l en M | Gender ? H | Comes from what ? > 2 HH ■ Meaning? H | Part of speech? H HI | Case? Q Number? a *J | Gender ? « K3 ffi W | Agreement ? en a w 2 n | Comes from what ? | Meaning? § 3 3 en ^i | Part of speech? O | Degree? > W ° 5 W | Case ? B H H Number? > 3 < Q I Gender? s > en | Agreement ? | Comes from what ? 53 ^ 1-1 en | Meaning? CD M > r. 21 ti EL >l nT 2; en P- > X > cr hi 1— ( W t-t en h p < hj | Part of speech? t -1 S ^ ►i B Mood? | Person ? r- 1 > | Number? g | Voice? > | Tense? H C 2 | Comes from what ? a H | Meaning? g c w en H > O 46 Note. — This illustration should take the form of a chart six feet long with the squares above the words in various colors to indicate the different points. In connec- tion with the subject of Latin and mental training, see the " Nature of Culture Studies" by Professor R. M. Wenley, University of Michigan, reprinted in chap, iv of F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education." LATIN DEVELOPS THE CRITICAL SENSE AND A FEEL- ING FOR RELATIONS, A TRAINING WHICH IS OF THE GREATEST POSSIBLE VALUE "Ability to write decent Latin prose, with dictionary at elbow, simply cannot be acquired without at the same time inducing the kind of mental organization which at length enables a man to go anywhere and do anything, as a great general .... phrased it. And I draw the proof from my own experience. The most effective masters of the 'positive' sciences known to me personally are invariably the men who have first acquired the mental organization which the culture studies confer; of this fact they are quite aware themselves. A creed was impressed upon them in these early years; not simply work, and still work, but work in a certain fashion. They gained connective processes; thereafter the rest is, not only easier, but immensely more efficient." — R. M. Wenley, Head of Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan, "Nature of Culture Studies" (quoted on p. 71 of F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education"). "But this truth appears clearly — namely, that if we think of the study of language not merely as the search for a tool, but the striving for a bracing exercise of the mind and a discipline of the perceptive and reasoning powers, the classical courses offer a robuster training than can be got by the ordinary boy out of any modern grammar." — Article, Utility and Discipline, "The Nation," January 23, 1913. 47 THE MOST "PRACTICAL" TRAINING YOU CAN HAVE FOR SUCCESSFULLY MEETING THE EXPERIENCES OF LIFE IS ONE THAT DEVELOPS CONTROL OF YOUR WILL, e.g., THE POWER OF VOLUNTARY ATTENTION The very derivation of the words for the two kinds of atten- tion, voluntary and involuntary (L. volo, e.g., involving will, and L. in and volo, e.g., not involving will), shows that the power of voluntary attention is altogether more valuable than the power of involuntary attention, if, as President Butler of Columbia University says, training of the will is the chief end of education. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE TWO KINDS OF ATTENTION Voluntary Involuntary Things which are not especially Things which require no effort of interesting to you in themselves and the will in the way of attention because which therefore require a real effort they have an absorbing interest for of the will to accomplish: you: i. Taking care of the furnace, i. Building a flying machine, cutting the lawn, washing the a boat, etc. dishes, etc. 2. Driving an automobile 2. Practicing at the piano 3. Watching the circus or a 3. Sewing — especially mending striking show of any kind 4. Getting a hard lesson which 4. Studying anything which you would rather not get especially appeals to your interest "The practical aim of a general education, I have said, is such a training as shall enable a man to devote his faculties intently to mat- ters which of themselves do not interest him. The power which enables a man to do so is obviously the power of voluntary as dis- tinguished from spontaneous attention. It is precisely this faculty of voluntary attention which education, in the largest sense, can most surely cultivate That faculty clearly distinguished the college student of 30 years ago from the flabbier students of today. And that faculty, I believe these famous masters of it ... . gained largely from that elder system of education to which they had been forced to submit. Now no one, I equally believe, can gain it to any- thing like the same degree from rnethods as yet devised by apostles of the kindergarten." — Barrett Wendell, Professor of English, Harvard University, "The Privileged Classes," pp. 171-73. V LATIN AND GREEK ARE ESSENTIAL TO AN INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF ART AND DECORATIVE DESIGNS IN GENERAL AN UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF THE MASTERPIECES OF GREEK AND ROMAN ART MAY COME THROUGH ENGLISH SOURCES; HOWEVER, THE COLLEGE MAN WITH A CLASSICAL TRAINING IS IN A POSITION TO KNOW THEM MORE INTI- MATELY The Latin senior in high school understands these pictures better than one who has not read Virgil: The Fates Jupiter Juno Venus Cupid Neptune Mercury Laocoon 5° Helen of Troy Paris Ulysses Hector Note. — In the same way mount such pictures as Guido Reni's "Aurora" or the classical paintings of Maxfield Parrish (appearing from time to time in Collier's Weekly) ; also illustrations in general of famous masterpieces of Greek and Roman art. The following firms supply inexpensive prints: Perry Pictures: Flanagan Co., 521 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago; Brown's Pictures: Thomas Charles Co., 125 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago; The University Prints: University Bureau of Travel, Boston, Mass.; Blue-prints — Earl Thompson Co., Syracuse, N.Y. THE MODERN WORLD STILL CONTINUES TO EXPRESS CERTAIN IDEAS IN TERMS OF GREEK AND ROMAN THOUGHT AS IS SHOWN IN THESE DECORATIVE DESIGNS AND PICTURES: XAR&lRS RAGTIME BAND TWO-STEP RVING BERLI MUSIC — represented by Pan and his pipes 5i Note. — For the pipes as a symbol for literature, see the Houghton Mifflin trade-mark. Cover of the "Novelty News," 1912 Cover of the "Outlook" or "Harper's," 1912 TRADE, represented by Mercury god of commerce CIVILIZATION, represented by the torch Cover of the "Century," Around-the-World Number, September, 191 1 Cover of "Nineteenth Century," 1913 TRAVEL, represented by Mercury god of travelers BROAD-MINDEDNESS, repre- sented by the head of Janus facing in two directions Poster of the Exposition in Rome, summer of 191 1 ; also cover of "Poetry," 1013 Cover of the "Outlook" September 23, 191 1 52 POETRY, represented by Pegasus, the horse of the Muses ABUNDANCE, represented by the horn of plenty Advertisement of Men's Clothing in the "Chicago Daily News," October 13, 191 2 Cover of Illinois Theatre program, Chicago, 111. MANLY BEAUTY, represented by Apollo The DRAMA, represented by Greek and Roman masques Advertisement of Borden's Eagle Brand Con- densed Milk, New York Cartoon by McCutcheon in the "Tribune' for May 24, 1913 SUPREMACY, represented by the eagle, the bird of Zeus LOVE, represented by Cupid Poster of the Automobile Show, Chicago, February, 191 2 Cover of "Literary Digest," 1911 SWIFTNESS, represented by Mer- cury, the winged messenger of the gods WISDOM and LEARNING, repre- sented by Athena 53 A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF MAGAZINE ARTICLES HAVE CLASSICAL DESIGNS AT THE BEGINNING OR END WHICH BEAR DIRECTLY UPON THE MEANING OF THE ARTICLE; YOU WILL ENJOY THEM MORE IF YOU ARE ABLE TO PERCEIVE THIS RELATION MUNICIPAL NON-PARTIZANSHIP IN OPERATION WHAT HAS BEEN SAVED AND GAINED IN NEW YORK IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF MAYOR GAYNOR'S ADMINISTRATION BY JAMES CREELMAN IN considering Mayor Gaynor's dem- of the people The faults of the State onstration of the possibilities of mu- governments are insignificant compared nicipal government divorced from national vvith the extravagance, corruption, and or State politics, and free from the control mismanagement which mark the adminis- THE RODS AND THE FASCES A Roman symbol for the authority of the government ("Century Magazine," June, 191 1). OTHER EXAMPLES A shepherd boy playing his pipes as a decorative device for an article entitled "Memories of a Musical Life" ("Century Magazine"). Themis, goddess of justice, with the scales, as a heading to an article entitled "Violence in the Woman Suffrage Move- ment" ("Century Magazine"). The wings and caduceus of Mercury, god of travel, for an article entitled "The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers" ("Century Magazine"). 54 GREEK MOLDINGS, ORNAMENTS, AND DESIGNS IN GENERAL ARE VERY COMMON AS DECO- RATIVE DEVICES City Hall, Chicago 111., or almost any public building Greek moldings on modern buildings Cover of the "Outlook," July 27, 1912 Greek borders on magazines, etc. Advertisement of Russwin Builders' Hardware in the Greek style in the "Architectural Record," March, 1913 Classical designs in ornamental iron work, etc. Lamps in the Northwestern Railway Station, Chicago, 111., or almost any public building of similar design Lamps of classical design 55 Note. — Post such illustrations from magazines as the "Yale Lock," or similar advertisements in the "Architectural Record." Richly ornamented ceilings of theatres, etc., also furnish much illustrative material, and the interior decorations of many private houses afford a surprisingly large number of examples in this connection. PUBLIC MONUMENTS ARE OFTEN CLASSICAL IN DESIGN The Lincoln Memorial Building at Lincoln, Neb. Memorial to James McNeil Whistler at West Point, N.Y. "Century Magazine," March, 1908 Statue of the Sleeping Endymion on the grave of William Henry Rinehart in Baltimore, Maryland. "Cen- tury Magazine," August, 191 2 The Henry Chase Lea Memorial at Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. "Architectural Record," March, 1913 56 VI LATIN AND GREEK WORDS FORM A LARGE PART OF THE TERMINOLOGY OF SCIENCE LATIN AND GREEK ARE THE KEYS TO THE MEANING OF THE TERMS IN PHYSIOLOGY Did You Know: That there are more than 200 bones in your body, every one of which has a Greek or Latin name ? That in science you are known as homo sapiens ? That you cannot sneeze without using 55 pairs of muscles with Greek or Latin names ? That the tendon of Achilles enables you to stand on tiptoe ? That the orbicularis oris is absolutely indispensable in whistling ? That you are the possessor of eight bicuspids? That the sartorius is the longest muscle in the body, and that it enables tailors to sit cross-legged ? That the risorius is one of 12 laughing muscles, and the platysma one of the (only) six grieving muscles? That your sister's piano-playing is largely a matter of the flexores digitorum sublimes et flexores digitorum profundi? That if your trabeculae carneae should slacken, it would mean speedy death for you ? That you who wear glasses are victims of myopia, hyper- metropia, presbyopia, or astigmatism? That Adam's apple is the thyroid cartilage — whatever Eve's may have been ? That the olecranon process is the true name of your "funny" bone? That the two sides of your body would not w T ork together except for the pons Varolii ? That you could not have the toothache without the nerve trigeminus, nor be seasick without the vagus nerve ? That there are people who, like the donkey, can use the attrahens auris, retrahens auris, and attolens auris? That without the orbicularis oculi you could not go to sleep tonight ? 58 Note. — Hang this above a skeleton with the Latin names attached to each bone. IT IS EASIER TO REMEMBER THE MEANING OF THESE TERMS IN PHYSICS IF YOU UNDERSTAND GREEK AND LATIN; OTHERWISE YOU ARE APT TO FOR- GET THEM ENTIRELY, OR AT ANY RATE TO CON- FUSE THEM Heat conduction, from Latin conduco, lead, transference of heat from molecule to molecule. Heat convection, from Latin conveho, carry or convey, con- veyance of heat by movement of large masses of liquid carried from one point to another. Centrifugal force, from Latin centrum, center, and fugio, flee, tendency to move away from the center of a rotating mass. Adhesion, from Latin ad, to, and haereo, cling, a force binding the molecules of one substance to those of another. Cohesion, from Latin cum, together, and haereo, cling, a force binding molecules of the same kind together. Capillary tubes, from Latin capillus, hair, tubes resembling hairs. Aqueous, from Latin aqua, pertaining to water. Tensile strength, from Latin teneo, hold, strength of forces holding together certain molecules. A calorie, from Latin calor, heat, a heat unit. Ductibility, from Latin duco, draw, power of being drawn out into thin wire. Permeability, from Latin per, through, and meo, go, power of allowing magnetism to go through such a substance as soft iron. The metric system is easy if you remember that these Greek and Latin prefixes are added to the standard units, meter, liter, and gram (also Greek), to produce the multiples and sub- multiples : deka, ten deci, tenth hecto, hundred centi, hundredth kilo, thousand milli, thousandth 59 THE TERMS USED IN ZOOLOGY ARE LATIN AND GREEK; KNOWLEDGE OF THEM SAVES BOTH TIME AND ENERGY The Scientific Names of All Animals Are Latin or Greek, as: ' man (homo sapiens) rabbit (lepus) horse (equus) lion (leo) cat (felis) tiger (tigris) dog (canis) goat (capra) mouse (mus) sheep (ovis) fox (vulpes) pig (sus) The Branches and the Various Classes of the Animal Kingdom Have Names of Classical Origin, as the Follow- ing Examples Show: Branches, i. porifera, from porus, pore, and ferre, to bear. 2. vermes, from vermis, worm. 3. mollusca, from molluscus, soft. 4. vertebrata, from vertere, to turn, change Classes, 1. gregarinida, from grex, herd. 2. rotatoria, from rota, wheel. 3. annulata, from annulus, ring. 4. tunicata, from tunica, tunic. In the Following Table, Which Expresses the Zoologi- cal Position of the Cat, the Words of Latin Derivation Are Italicized: Kingdom of Animals; Sub-kingdom or Branch, Vertebrata; Class, Mammalia; Order, Carnivora; Family, Felidae; Genus, Felis; Species, Felis domesticus; Variety, Angorensis; Individual, a single Angora cat. 60 THE TERMINOLOGY OF CHEMISTRY IS . CLASSICAL Derivation of names of the common chemical elements: aluminum, from alumen, alum. argon, from dpyo's, lazy, inert. arsenic, from arsenicum, arsenic. barium, from /fopus, heavy. bromine, from /8/scoyu.os, evil odor. cadmium, from cadmia, calamine, zinc. calcium, from calx, limestone. carbon, from carbo, coal. chlorine, from xA«pos, greenish yellow. chromium, from xP&<;, light, and £/o«>, carry, bear. platinum, from plata, a thin plate of metal. silicon, from silex, a flint. silver; symbol Ag from Latin argentum, silver. sulphur, from sulphur, sulphur, brimstone. tin; symbol Sn from Latin stannum, tin. radium, from radius, ray. manganese, from magnes, magnet. Professor Bauer, the distinguished chemist of Vienna, once said: "Give me a student who has been taught his Latin grammar and I will answer for his chemistry." 61 BOTANICAL TERMS ARE LARGELY LATIN AND GREEK The Four Sets of Floral Organs Have Names of Latin Derivation a) the sepals (calyx, husk, shell), from sepalum, leaf. b) the petals (corolla, little crown), from petalum, petal. c) the stamens, from stamen, warp, thread. d) the carpels, from carpellum, fruit. The names of many of our common flowers are of classical origin, as: chrysanthemum, from xp v<7 ° <: > gold, and avOefiov, flower. cypress, from cupressus, cypress tree. dandelion, from dens, tooth, and leo, lion. geranium, Latin from yepdviov, from ye'pavos, crane. lily, from lilium, lily. nasturtium, from nasus, nose, and torquere, to twist. pansy, from pensare, to weigh, ponder. rhododendron, from poSoSevSpov, rose tree. rose, from rosa, rose. violet, from viola, violet. The meaning of such botanical processes as the following is clear from the derivation of the terms: desiccation, from desiccare, to dry up. germination, from germinare, to sprout. pollination, from pollen, dust. transpiration, from trans, across, through, and spirare, to breathe. 62 Note. — Paste the index pages of the school Botany with the terms from Greek and Latin underlined in red and green; or brightly colored pages from a seed catalogue with the scientific names given in connection with the flowers. VII LATIN CONTRIBUTES MORE OR LESS DIRECTLY TO SUCCESS IN THE PROFESSIONS LAW OPINIONS OF PROMINENT LAWYERS AS TO THE VALUE OF A CLASSICAL TRAINING FOR THE WORK OF THEIR PROFESSION "A lawyer must needs study uninteresting old statutes, dry and ancient blue books, stupid, antiquated ordinances, early black-letter precedents, to find out what the law is and what his client's rights are. Unless he can study alertly, patiently, and discriminately all these uninteresting, hard, and dry sources of the law and bases of rights, he will never reach the higher walk of his profession. Many men have natural aptitude for this. Many men have such superior ambition and industry that they will learn how to do this work when the neces- sity for it overtakes them. Of them we do not speak. But for the average youth who aims to become a lawyer there is great need that he be given special training in the interpretation of documents which are uninteresting, hard, and dry. He will have no end of it to do in his profession. He should conquer this preliminary difficulty before he enters upon his work. And while hard work for hard work's sake is a solecism, hard work in something worth while, for the strength and skill to be gained thereby, is the essence of all dis- ciplinary education. And this applies to the study of the classics by the would-be lawyer." — Merritt Starr, of the Chicago Bar. "Latin and Greek in American Education," by F. W. Kelsey, pp. 127-28. "In my opinion, everyone entering upon the profession of law should be a proficient Latin scholar." — John J. Healy, formerly state's attorney for Cook County, Illinois. Letter to author, January 10, 1913. ". . . . Preparation for the law should be made by the study of such subjects as will train a man to acquire easily and rapidly, and to think logically and independently. And, in my judgment, the subjects, the study of which tends to the development of these qualities, are those which require of the student strenuous, pains- taking, and persistent effort for their mastery. If I could regulate the preparation of law students, I would eliminate from the course all predigested and specially prepared foods, and I would give the young man something that would demand earnest effort on his part to assimilate I am frank to say that the young man who has a thorough old-fashioned classical and mathematical preparation for college is, in my judgment, much better fitted for the study of law than is the man who, during four years in college, has dissipated his 64 energy and weakened his power to think clearly and logically by desultory and pointless work in ' snap ' courses that require little or no' effort on his part. "For the prospective lawyer there can be no better discipline than that which comes from the discriminating effort involved in careful translation. The lawyer's professional life must largely be devoted to the interpretation of legal instruments; and the greater his skill in the use of language and in discovering shades of meaning, the greater his effectiveness." — H. B. Hutchins, president of the University of Michigan, "Latin and Greek in American Education," by F. W. Kelsey, pp. 143-44. See Appendix, p. 1 19, for a letter from George W. Wickersham, Attorney- General of the United States. 65 A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF LEGAL TERMS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BODILY FROM THE LATIN non obstante verdicto notwithstanding the verdict pro tempore for the time being actio in personam personal action non assumpsit he did not undertake alibi presence elsewhere cum testamento annexo with the will annexed ipso facto by the fact itself ab initio from the beginning per curiam by the court amicus curiae friend of the. court per se by itself pro forma as a matter of form mala fides bad faith bona fides good faith mala prohibita prohibited by law mala in se wrong in itself lex loci contractus place of contract res gestae the subject-matter res judicata the matter has been decided narr or narratio the declaration in a cause lex scripta the written law lex non scripta the unwritten law 66 MANY WRITS, i.e., PAPERS IN WRITING ISSUED BY THE COURTS, DERIVE THEIR NAMES FROM THE LATIN, AND A KNOWLEDGE OF IT ENABLES ONE TO UNDERSTAND INSTANTLY THE PURPOSE OF THE WRIT The writ of capias: This is a writ issued to a sheriff, or other officer, commanding him that he take (ut capias) the body of a person and hold him subject to order of court. There are various kinds of capiases, e.g. : capias ad respondendum — a writ issued to take and bring the defendant before the court to answer. capias ad testificandum — a writ to bring a disobedient wit- ness before the court to testify. capias ad satisfaciendum — a writ issued after judgment to take and hold the party named therein for the satis- faction of the judgment rendered. writ of subpoena — a writ requiring a person to appear at a certain specified time and place, or pay a penalty (sub poena), or suffer punishment for default. subpoena duces tecum — a writ commanding a person to appear in court and bring with him (ut duces tecum, "that you bring with you") certain designated docu- ments or things. writ of fieri facias — or fi fa, as it is commonly called — a writ of execution commanding the sheriff to cause to be made of the goods and property of the defendant the amount of the judgment rendered against the defendant. retorno habendo — a writ issued in favor of a defendant com- manding the sheriff to cause the plaintiff to "make return" to the defendant of personal property which the plaintiff had wrongfully replevied from him. 67 Note. — Watch the newspapers for the many illustrations of the above as they are quoted in actual cases. Mount these to make clearer the connection with practica affairs. 1 I LATIN MAXIMS ARE NOT INFREQUENTLY QUOTED IN LAW COURTS Caveat emptor. Qui facit per alium, facit per se. In iure causa proxima, non remcta, spectanda est. Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas. Aequitas agit in personam. Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum. Lex non curat de minimis. Qui prior est in tempore potior est in iure. Qui sentit commcdum, sentire debet et onus. Ignorantia legis neminem excusat. OTHER EXAMPLES TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH No one is bound to do that which is impossible. No one is obliged to accuse himself. He pays twice who pays promptly. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff. The lesser is included in the greater sum. The intention of the party is the soul of the instrument. An ambiguous answer is to be taken against the party who offers it. 68 MEDICINE MEDICINES AND REMEDIES IN GENERAL ARE APT TO HAVE NAMES COINED FROM LATIN OR GREEK The scientific or Latin designation of a drug is the same the world over, while the common name may vary, even in different sections of the same country. The medical student, well prepared in Greek and Latin, has an advantage over one who has not studied these languages. Druggists' labels from catalogue of drugs or from bottles on the shelves of the drug store These labels show you that the names of drugs are coined from Greek or Latin. SUCH NAMES AS THE FOLLOWING EXPLAIN TO THE CLASSICAL STUDENT THE CHARACTER OF THE MEDICINE : A stimulant, from Latin stimulo, to arouse or incite. A sedative, from Latin sedo, to quiet. A narcotic, from Greek va.pKWTiK.6s, benumbed. Morphine, from Greek Mopfavs, son of the god of sleep. "You cannot understand the language of medicine unless you know some Latin, so work hard at it: the time spent will never be regretted." — William Osier, Regius Professor of Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, England. Letter to student, May 23, 1913. 69 Note. — It is interesting to notice that patent medicines and remedies often have classical names, e.g., Omega Oil, Cuticura Soap, etc. NOTICE THAT THE DISEASE WHICH MAKES YOU SICK HAS A LATIN OR GREEK NAME anaemia, from di/, without, and windpipe, and ms, inflammation. meningitis, from /x^viyt, a membrane, and m?, inflammation. phthisis, from fydUiv, to pass or waste away. neuralgia, from vtvpov, nerve, and aAyos, pain. asthma, from aa6/xa, short-drawn breath. jaundice, from galbinus, yellowish. fever, from febris, fever. typhoid, from Tvu>8r)<; (™<£os, cloud, stupor arising from fever). hydrophobia, from iJSwp, water, and <£o/3os, fear (a symptom of canine madness). diphtheria, from Si<£0epa, leather, a false membrane forming in the throat. "It not infrequently happens that an earnest medical student comes to me with the statement that he cannot find a certain word — "galactotoxis- mus," for instance — in his dictionary. If such a student had had a funda- mental training in Greek, he would not have needed to consult a dictionary in order to ascertain the meaning of this word. Besides, I am of the opinion that the best dictionary, frequently consulted, cannot give to "one wholly ignorant of Greek the correct, clear, and full appreciation of the meaning of such a word as "sitotoxismus" as comes unsought to the one versed in Greek " — Victor C. Vaughan, Dean of the Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Michigan, "School Review," June, 1906, p. 392. "I have been asked to express my opinion regarding a knowledge of Latin and Greek by the medical man. My answer is that it has been a constant wonder to me how anyone can undertake the study of medicine without previously acquiring these languages, and that anybody should advise a student that he can get along without the key to a Latin and Greek terminology is to me astounding. For with a fair working knowledge of Latin and Greek the student of medicine has his pathway made much easier; his machinery is lubricated at every point, while without such help his life is a hard uphill climb." — James H. Jackson, M.D., Madison, Wis. 70 ENGINEERING OPINIONS OF MEN WHO ARE EMINENT IN THEIR PROFESSION AS TO THE VALUE OF A CLASSICAL TRAINING FOR THE WORK OF THE ENGINEER: "Education is not the learning of a trade or profession but is the development of the intellect and the broadening of the mind For ages the classics, comprising the study of the Latin and Greek languages and the literature of these languages, have been the founda- tion of all education, but in the last two generations they have been more and more pushed into the background by the development of empirical science, and its application, engineering. It is my opinion that this neglect of the classics is one of the most serious mistakes of modern education, and that the study of the classics is very impor- tant and valuable, and more so in the education of the engineer than in most other professions, for the reason that the vocation of an engineer is specially liable to make the man one-sided." — Charles F. Steinmetz, General Electrical Company, Schenectady, N.Y.j quoted from an article in "The American Institute of Electrical Engineers," XXVIII (1909), 1103 f. "The study of engineering demands definiteness and concise- ness of thought As a means of inculcating ideas of exactness, the study of Greek and Latin is 'facile princeps.'" — H. C. Sadler, Professor of Engineering, University of Michigan. "There is nothing in which engineers of today are so lacking as in the ability to express their thoughts; and there is nothing that will so surely give one such an ability as the translation from a foreign tongue; .... Nor can one properly understand English without an understanding of the Latin Grammar, I believe, though he should study it until he were gray. There are features of language which the study of English in itself does not bring out, and which cannot be brought out until one goes back to its parent tongue; and it is in these distinctions of meaning that the engineer must ultimately become versed Take such simple words as "affect" and "effect." I venture to say that 95 per cent of the students of the senior class of this University who have not had a classical training will fail to distinguish the difference between those two verbs; and yet the difference is quite essential, and it is especially essential to the engineer." — Gardner S. Williams, Professor of Engineering, Univer- sity of Michigan, quoted in F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education," p. 116. 71 Note. — See "Classical Journal" for November, 1912, containing the opinion of Dean M. E. Cooley of the University of Michigan on the above question. THE MINISTRY THE MINISTER MUST BE FAMILIAR WITH BOTH THE LANGUAGE AND THE THOUGHT OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS The New Testament was written in Greek and the writings of the early church were in Greek or Latin. Latin was the only ecclesiastical language during the middle ages, and it still remains the official tongue of the Catholic church. Moreover, the Christian religion arose in a world whose intellectual life was Greek and Roman. The minister who is familiar with the thought of those times has a great advantage over one who is not a classical scholar. OPINIONS OF EMINENT TEACHERS REGARDING THE NECESSITY OF A CLASSICAL TRAINING FOR MINISTERS: "The man who looks forward to the ministry ought to take the broadest and strongest college course which is possible. .... I believe that Latin and Greek ought to be studied by such men through the whole four years of their college course." — A. D. Mackenzie, President of Hartford Theological Seminary, in F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education," p. 169. "Apart from the absurdity of a man's dealing in any pro- found way with a book whose language he is ignorant cf, it ought to be remembered that practically all learned commen- taries are unreadable to the man who does not know Hebrew and Greek Whatever place is given to other methods of train- ing for special work, Latin and Greek will remain as a necessary part of the equipment of the theological scholar." — Hugh Black, Professor at Union Theological Seminary, New York, in F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education," pp. 184-S5. 72 Note. — Paste pages from the Greek and Latin testaments to aid realization of the above statements. Collect illustrations from Sunday-school lessons of features which a knowledge of classical life makes more intelligible. A list of hymns with Latin titles is also interesting. JOURNALISM OPINIONS OF LEADING JOURNALISTS REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE OF A CLASSICAL TRAINING A LETTER FROM MR. PAUL ELMER MORE, EDITOR OF " THE NATION," JANUARY 5, 1912: " Certainly .1 regard the ability to read Virgil and Homer as one of the most enduring luxuries a man can take from school into the world It has seemed to me in my editorial work that I have often observed the beneficial results of classical training in the orderliness of mind of contributors and the ill effects of its absence. I am more and more convinced every year that there is nothing that can take the place of the disci- pline of Latin and Greek." "In a recent address at Madison, Wis., Dr. Talcott Williams of the school of Journalism of Columbia University, emphasized the importance of the study of the ancient classics and uttered a warning against the neglect of these bulwarks of the old educa- tion." — "Wisconsin State Journal," May 13, 1912. M. Francis Maynard, editor of the Figaro, one of the leading papers of France, prepared himself for his brilliant editorials from day to day by reading the classics. " The most successful and competent French journalist of his time really thought that a constant perusal of the great classics was the best prepa- ration for his work in journalism. From them he drew his inspiration; they taught him to write; they were his com- panions day and night." — Mr. George W. Smalley, "Studies of Men," p. 361 (Harper and Bros., 1895). "A striking proof of what can be done by the scholar in journalism was given by the career — unhappily cut short by fever during the siege of Ladysmith — of Mr. G. W. Steevens, who went on the daily press after win- ning several high distinctions in classics at Oxford. In his accounts of the Diamond Jubilee procession, of the Dreyfus court-martial, .... he beat the descriptive reporter on his own ground, while he could deal adequately with literary and philosophical subjects which the mere reporter could not even approach. His skill in the craft of the special correspondent so im- pressed itself upon his contemporaries, that a London literary weekly, commenting on the lack of any notable descriptions of the coronation of the present King, remarked that 'the absence from among us of the late G. W. Steevens was severely felt.' " — Herbert W. Horwill, The Training of the Journalist, "Atlantic Monthly," January, 1911. 73 LETTERS FROM EDITORS OF LEADING AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS: "Your inquiry of March 5 can be answered, I think, in only one way by any person who has taken a college course. A knowledge of Greek and Latin, but especially of Latin, is emphatically of 'prac- tical' value to anyone who hopes to make a living by writing the English language. The 'Record-Herald' appreciates what you say about classical illustrations in its editorial columns. The real value of knowing Greek and Latin, however, is not in enabling one to make learned references but in the power it gives to use simple words with aptness and a nice appreciation of their shades of meaning. Any college man who has become a writer will tell you that in this respect he finds even his half forgotten scraps of Latin useful every day of his life. Training in Latin also is of permanent value as a help in understanding the grammar of our own language. Most of our everyday words come from the Anglo-Saxon; these are of the first importance, but we learn them in childhood. Most of our scholarly or technical words come from the Latin, and these can be learned best by becoming acquainted with the original roots. Both kinds are necessary. A person can make a living, of course, and even be quite happy, without knowing a word of Latin or Greek; but nothing can so surely give a full appreciation and mastery of our own beautiful language as a knowledge of the tongues from which it is derived." — Edwin L. Shuman, Literary Editor, "Chicago Record- Herald," March 17, 1913. Letter to a student. "I am very strongly myself for the humanities in education, and feel that my classical training was a very great advantage. But I know that good writers come up under other systems." — Rollo Ogden, Editor of the "New York Evening Post." Letter to student, March n, 1913. 74 Note. — The above letters will be more effective if posted in connection with the actual copies of the papers. BUSINESS THE BOY WHO HAS HAD A THOROUGH TRAINING IN LATIN, HAS A VERY GOOD EQUIPMENT FOR SUC- CESS IN THE BUSINESS WORLD A LETTER FROM DAVID B. FORGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL CITY BANK OF CHICAGO, ILL., JANUARY 3, 1913: "In reply to yours of the 6th instant I would say that I know of nothing more useful to a business man than to be master of his own mother tongue, and as Latin is the proper foundation for accurate knowledge of English, I am thoroughly in favor of the teaching of Latin to our high-school boys." Mr. Forgan thus expresses his idea of the kind of training that is really "practical" for success in the business world: "If a boy is to achieve great success he will need a well-trained mind. A mind trained to concentrated study, to careful analysis of the subject in hand, and to be content with nothing short of the com- plete mastery of it, is the best equipment for business life a young man can possess." — "Chicago Tribune," 1912. A LETTER FROM H. B. THAYER, PRESIDENT OF THE WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, NEW YORK, MARCH 1 8, 1913: "In reply to yours of the 13th instant, it has always been my opinion that the chief value of education is not in what is left in the memory, but is in the training of the mind and that either in business or in the professions, a general training of the mind should precede specialization. The comparison between education and the plough- ing of a field is an old one but a good one. Education prepares the mind for the work of after life as the ploughing prepares the field. Different kinds of studies as mathematics, languages, and philosophy furnish different kinds of training. In my opinion they are equally valuable. Of what is left in the mind or memory the simple processes of mathematics are, of course, essential in all walks of life. In busi- ness or in the professions, on account of the large number of words in ordinary use derived from the Latin, such a knowledge of Latin as is retained is very valuable. In my opinion the study of Latin to the extent that it is carried on in a high school is of more practical benefit than many of the studies of the common schools." 75 THE INTELLIGENT BUSINESS MAN WILL ANTICIPATE THE TIME WHEN HE NO LONGER NEEDS TO MAKE MONEY. A LIBERAL EDUCATION IN HIS YOUTH WILL PREPARE HIM TO SPEND HIS LEISURE WITH PLEASURE AND PROFIT "The great and legitimate aim of a business man is to make money, to provide for himself and his family But when a man has reached the goal of his desires, when he has made his pile and desires to enjoy it, then comes the time for making the real and only balance sheet. Then he must ask himself, ' What are my resources, now that I have everything that money can buy? What are my spiritual and intellectual assets?'" — James Loeb, formerly of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., New York, in F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education," p. 217. "The young man looking forward to the happy life of an educated man, expecting to enjoy in his own home some of the fruits of his education, not merely to make money out of it, should be led to realize how common it is for business men, to say nothing of those in the professions, to regret that they cannot enjoy the best literature even in their own language." — Karl Pomeroy Harrington, "Live Issues in Classical Study," p. 16. One of the most unfortunate aspects of the tendency to start business too early is that it gives a boy no chance to develop tastes for fine things which will prove a source of relaxation and pleasure to him later. 76 THE TESTIMONY OF A SUCCESSFUL MAN OF AFFAIRS AS TO THE PRACTICAL HELP HE HAS DERIVED FROM HIS CLASSICAL EDUCATION A "Classical Foundation" as a "Practical Equip- ment for Life's Journey" may to the "practical" man sound too absurd even to laugh at. And yet so strenuously active and wide-awake and unvisionary a person as Mr. James 0. Fagan, railroad man, telegraph operator, traveler in two hemi- spheres, and "self-made" (as the saying goes) from boyhood, deliberately acknowledges his supreme indebtedness to classical study as the groundwork of his training for the work he was to find to do in the world. In the August instalment of his Auto- biography of an Individualist in the "Atlantic Monthly," dwelling on that part of his storm-and-stress period that was passed at East Deerfield, Massachusetts, he says: "In present- ing an argument, stating a case, or pleading a cause, other things being equal, I always attributed my intellectual advantage to the fact that in my youth I had received a thorough drilling in Latin and Greek, while my companions as a rule, in my line of life, had not. As a simple, practical equipment for life's journey, what may be called my classical foundation seems to me now to be worth all the other features of my school education put to- gether." — "The Dial," September, 1912. 77 THE STATESMAN IS IT NOT SIGNIFICANT THAT THE DESTINIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY HAVE BEEN GUIDED FOR CENTURIES, AND ARE GUIDED STILL BY MEN WHO OWE MUCH TO GREEK AND LATIN? Picture of the House of Lords from the Supplement to the "Illustrated London News," January 29, 1910 British Lords who are practical men of affairs and at the same time classical men. Picture of the House of Parliament A very large percentage of the members of Parliament are graduates of Oxford or Cambridge, and almost their whole educa- tion is based on Greek and Latin. Government appointments in England and the Colo- nies are based on competitive examinations in which Greek and Latin play an important part. Men so chosen control the affairs of the British Empire. 78 Note. — -Make a list of prominent English, German, and French statesmen and men of affairs whose training has been classical to post in connection with the above. Gladstone and James Bryce are, of course, striking examples. "The Illustrated London News" and current magazines in general furnish abundant illustrative material. ARCHITECTURE THE BEST TRAINED ARCHITECTS KNOW THAT A KNOWLEDGE OF CLASSICAL BUILDING IS ESSEN- TIAL TO THEIR SUCCESS, AND WHILE THIS MAY BE GAINED WITHOUT GREEK OR LATIN, IT IS UNDOUBTEDLY TRUE THAT SUCH COLLEGE COURSES IN ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY AS A CLASSICAL STUDENT MUST PURSUE BROADEN AND DEEPEN THE KNOWLEDGE HE GAINS THROUGH ENGLISH SOURCES "There can be no question that a thorough knowledge of the architecture of the Greeks and the Romans is vital to every modern architect. We can hardly imagine any education in art or architec- ture worthy of the name that does not commence with a study of these ancient forms which are still unexcelled for dignity, purity, proportion, and refinement."— George B. Post and Sons, Architects, New York City. Letter to student, February 3, 1913. "In answer to your letter of May 13, we write to state that in our opinion the value of classical studies cannot be overestimated. The Committee on Education of the American Institute of Archi- tects is on record as recommending that the study of Latin be required as a preparation for the profession of architecture. The best archi- tectural schools in the country accept only holders of the degree of A.B. as candidates for entrance." — McKim, Mead and White, architects, New York. Letter to student, May 17, 1913. 79 THESE MODERN PUBLIC BUILDINGS HAVE STRIKING CLASSICAL FEATURES: New York City Post-Office — "Architectural Record," March, 1913 The Museum at Berlin. The Madeleine at Paris. The Union Railway Station at Washington. The Capitol at Washington. The City Hall and Courthouse at Chicago. The Exchange at Brussels. Palace of Fine Arts at Geneva. Girard College at Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Railway Station at New York. Courthouse at Indianapolis. The State Education Building at Albany, New York. The Northwestern Railway Station at Chicago. "It is upon the Roman practice that all subsequent European systems of decorative building have been founded, except the lightest and slightest — the wooden framed houses of mediaeval Europe and those of modern America and their like. Apart from fortifications and from structures built by engineers without artistic intention, there is not a single form of building in masonry since the 5th century which has not been developed from the practice of the imperial builders."— Russell Sturgis, "The Appreciation of Architecture," p. 55. 80 I Note. — Mount pictures of the above or of similar buildings, to be found in almost any city. THE WOMAN AT HOME IS A TRAINING IN GREEK AND LATIN "PRACTICAL" FOR THE GIRL WHO IS PREPARING FOR A LIFE IN THE HOME? Yes. It is even more important for her than for a boy, because competition in the business world is so keen in America that the average business man of today has almcst no time for reading outside the daily paper and a few magazines. It is the wife and mother, then, in the average well-to-do family, who has the leisure for looking after the literary training cf her children and the cultivation of their tastes for the finer things of life. For such duties she will need the most liberal education. And just as it would be a mistake for her to omit from her prepara- tion such practical matters as learning how to cook, sew, and the details of housekeeping generally, it would be a much greater mistake to neglect the preparation for meeting the higher needs of herself and her children. "If the study of Latin gave only training in the power of concentration, I should think it of great practical value for a woman. The distractions of modern life, the numberless demands upon the time and thought of the earnest woman, whether her life is lived within the home or outside of it, make this mental habit invaluable. "I might add that Latin is a 'practical subject' because of the help which it gives as preparation for other studies, such as French, Italian, English and History. It seems to me one of the 'basic' subjects, a good foundation for the education of any woman in whatever sphere her life may be lived. " — Mary E. Woolley, President of Mount Holyoke College. Letter to student, April n, 1913. 81 VIII LATIN ILLUMINATES TEXTBOOKS OF ROMAN HISTORY AND AFFORDS A DEEPER INSIGHT INTO THAT GREAT CIVILIZATION FROM WHICH OUR OWN HAS INHERITED SO LARGELY THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR MODERN CIVILIZATION GO BACK TO CLASSICAL TIMES "All the great intellectual impulses begin in Greece; the modern world only grows crops from the Greek seed. All the great political ideas come from Greece or Rome; the very notions of law and empire are theirs, and without them a mod- ern empire is only an organized horde, like Gengis Khan's, or an organized shop, a gigantic trust, greed, blocd, and iron. All poetry and philosophy has its roots there. Your very books and newspapers are full of allusions to Greece and Rome: cut them out and it would be like a world without the electric force." — Dr. W. H. D. Rouse, Cambridge University, England, in "Classical Weekly" for January n, 1913, IV, 82. "The History of Greece and Rome is the foundation of our modern culture in almost every direction. To understand our own life, our own ideas of state and law, of world and human tasks, of knowledge and art and philosophy, we must turn to those nations which influenced mcst strongly the whole further development of mankind." — Hugo Miinsterberg, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, "Psychology and the Teacher," p. 294. "Notice first, then, that culture studies link man principally with the past; their roots strike deep into history. Rome attached the glorious heritage of centuries; Carthage, Syra- cuse, Athens, Thebes, Sparta, Alexandria, Jerusalem, were swallowed successively. Then she proceeded to annex the hopes of the future — Gaul, Spain, Germany, Britain. On these she stamped her language, her laws, her institutions, for a mil- lennium; thus we, their latest heirs, live bosomed in her still. Try as we may, we cannot rid ourselves of the long, triumphant list of emperors, popes, kings, jurists, philosophers, theologians, ecclesiastics, and saints who led mankind always within the framework of her civilization. Nay, in proportion as we attempt to shake her off, to free us from all knowledge of the tongue that preserves her unmatched achievement, we dedicate ourselves once more to a new barbarism, different in degree, mayhap, from that of our blue-clayed ancestors, but nowise different in kind." — R. M. Wenley, "The Nature of Culture Studies," quoted on p. 63 of F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education." THE INFLUENCE OF ROMAN LAW IS STILL FELT IN THE MODERN WORLD ROMAN LAW IN EUROPE "The influence of the Roman law has been continued in modern times in Europe through the Code Napoleon which was based in part on the law of southern and eastern France which was Roman by- direct descent. Through this Code the Roman influence has been perpetuated in central and southern Europe generally, especially in Holland, Belgium, a part of Switzerland, in Italy, Spain and France." —Clifford Moore, Professor of Latin at Harvard University. Letter to student, January 10, 1913. ROMAN LAW IN AMERICA "Although the Romans held Britain from the first century to the beginning of the fifth, the Roman civilization was practically swept off the face of the earth by the coming of the Anglo-Saxon in 449 and afterward. There is therefore practically no Roman law in the present English law that has had a continuous existence on English soil from the time of the Roman occupation From the time of the Conquest, however, there have been frequent infusions of Roman law into English law through the influence of the lawmakers, the decisions of the courts and the writings of scholars, and this process is still going on both in England and America. In the early part of the last century, when hatred of England was so strong in this country, the American frequently borrowed from the French (modern Roman) law to aid them in their decisions. An interesting case of such borrowing from Roman or Romanic sources is found in Nebraska vs. Iowa, 143, U.S. 359, decided in February 1892. (See any large city library or law office.) .... The most important point of contact of the two systems for Americans is in our own Louisiana and in our island dependencies, Porto Rico and the Philippines. The laws of Mexico, of Central America and of all of the South Ameri- can states are direct derivatives of the classical Roman law. ^ Any trouble that we may have with these countries which would bring us into their courts would necessarily have to be settled in accordance with the rules of their modernized Roman law." — Joseph H. Drake, Professor of Roman Law, University of Michigan. Letter to student. January 5, 1913. : "The great service rendered by the Romans was the way in which they worked out a very complex and refined system of law which has been in many countries the base of legal development and legal practice ever since."— Hon. James Bryce, formerly British ambassa- dor to America. Letter to student, January 10, 1913. 85 CERTAIN FEATURES OF ROMAN RELIGION STILL SURVIVE IN A MORE OR LESS CHANGED FORM i. The plan of the Christian cathedral with the nave and side aisles is derived from the Roman basilica (the exchange and law courts in ancient Rome). 2. Certain Christian festivals show traces of Roman influ- ence. For example, the ritual procession around the fields, called "beating the bounds," which survives in some parishes in England, is really a survival of the Roman festival of the Ambarvalia. The Carnival, also, a festival preceding Lent which is celebrated with much merry-making in some countries in Europe, has many points of contact with the Roman Satur- nalia. 3. In some cases the early Christians, while changing the name and nature of a Roman festival that was popular with the masses, retained its date for a festival cf their own. This is illustrated by the fact that they selected the feast day of Aurelian's Sun god as the day for the celebration of the birth of Christ, who, as they pointed out, was the true sun of righteous- ness. 4. Ceremonial processions, bearing many points of resem- blance to those that may still be seen in some cities in Europe, were a feature of some of the Roman religious cults as was the use of holy water and incense. 5. The vestments worn in some churches of today are sug- gestive of Roman times; so, also, is the custom of making votive offerings and the wearing of amulets. Note. — This point may be illustrated at length. See especially Warde Fowler's "Roman Festivals." MANY FEATURES OF LIFE IN ITALY, SICILY, FRANCE, SPAIN, AND MEXICO ARE SURVIVALS FROM CLASSICAL TIMES An Italian kitchen A shop in Rome This Italian kitchen does not differ from one at Pompeii This Italian shop very closely resembles those of ancient Rome A street shrine in Italy A Spanish house This street shrine to the Virgin is like those erected in Rome to the Lares Compitales This house built about an open court has features closely resembling those of the Roman house Garden of Villa d'Este at Tivoli, Italy A Spanish bull ring This Renaissance garden with its fountains and villa reminds one of Roman days The shape of this bull ring is like that of the Roman amphi- theatre S7 Note. — Mount pictures of the above or other pertinent matter. Any classical student who has traveled in these countries will have no difficulty in thinking of countless illustrations of this point. MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES IN THE MODERN WORLD OF INTERESTING SURVIVALS FROM CLASSICAL TIMES: THE SHAPE AND NAMES OF CERTAIN ENGLISH TOWNS Chester (L. castra, camp), in England, is still encircled by walls which follow those of the ancient Roman camp upon this site. OTHER EXAMPLES The shape of our theatre and amphitheatre. The circus and its procession. Our printed letters and our handwriting (see Frank Frost Abbott's "Common People of Ancient Rome," chapter entitled ''Forms of the Letters of Our Alphabet, pp. 234 f.). Our calendar. The Olympic games: the stadium; such events as the Marathon race; athletic cups; trophies, etc.) see "Illustrated London News" for August, 191 2). Symbols for English money: £, pound, from Latin libra, pound; s, shilling, from Latin solidum; d, penny, from Latin denarius (see F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education," p. 31). THESE PROBLEMS OF TODAY WERE LIVE QUESTIONS IN ROME: Copyright by John T. McCutcheon THE HIGH COST OF LIVING McCutcheon in the " Chicago Tribune," April 8, 1913. (See Abbott's "Common People of Ancient Rome," pp. 145 f., for a popular account of Diocletian's efforts in this connection.) Election of candidates by direct vote of the people Relation between business and politics Government control of public utilities Maintenance of the army and navy Graft in the business world Methods of taxation Corruption in politics The race problem The labor problem Capital punishment Foreign relations Lawlessness Suffrage Class privilege Eugenics Divorce Education Religion Immigration Guglielmo Ferrero, an Italian professor of Roman history, considers that ancient Rome and America of today have many points in common. In the "Atlantic" for July, 1910, he writes as follows: "Now I think that a journey to the New World is, above all, intellectually useful to a historian of the Ancient World, and that in order to understand the life and history of Greek or Roman society, it is quite as useful, if not more so, to visit the countries of America as to visit Asia Minor or North Africa." 90 Note. — Paste illustrations of the above from articles and cartoons in newspapers and magazines. A typewritten account of parallels from Latin literature will be effective in bringing out the similarity. For an illustration of this method see the treatment of the topic "suffrage" on the following page. WHEN YOU READ THESE SPEECHES CONCERNING SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN, DELIVERED IN ROME IN THE SECOND AND FIRST CENTURIES B.C., YOU WILL ALMOST THINK YOU ARE READING THE MODERN NEWSPAPER A Speech Delivered in the Senate by Cato on the occasion of a vigorous protest on the part of Roman women to a law limiting expense in dress, when, as Livy, the Roman historian, says, the matrons could be kept at home neither by persuasion, nor by a sense of modesty, nor by the authority of their husbands. They blocked up all the streets of the city and the approaches to the Forum, impor- tuning men as they came down to the Forum to vote for the restoration of their rights. "Are your ways more winning in public than in private and with other women's husbands than your own ? And yet not even at home ought you to concern yourselves with the laws which are passed or repealed here. Our fathers have not wished women to manage even their private affairs without the direction of a guardian; they have wanted them to be under the control of their parents and their brothers and their husbands. We, by our present action, if the gods permit it, are letting them go into politics even; we are letting them appear in the Forum, and take a hand at public meetings and in the voting booths Pray, what will they not assail, if they carry this point ? Call to mind all the principles governing them by which your ancestors have held the presumption of women in check, and made them subject to their husbands. Though they have been re- strained by all these, still you can scarcely keep them in bounds. Tell me, if you let them seize privileges and wrest them from you one by one, and finally become your equals, do you think you can stand them ? As soon as they have begun to be your equals they will be your superiors."— Frank Frost Abbott, "Society and Politics in Ancient Rome," pp. 46-47. Note.— "Two of the tribunes had announced their intention to veto the repeal bill and in their final tactics the Roman women seem to have antici- pated political methods which are not unknown today. They beset the doors of these officials in a solid phalanx, and did not give over their demon- stration until the tribunes promised not to oppose them." 91 Speech Delivered in 43 b.c. by Hortensia, a Prominent Suffragist, when an edict was passed requiring fourteen hun- dred of the richest women to make a valuation of their prcperty and to contribute for the needs of a civil war such portion of it as would be required. "Let war with the Gauls or Parthians come and we shall not be inferior to our mothers in zeal for the common safety; but for civil wars may we never contribute, nor even assist you against one another Why should we pay taxes, when we have no part in the honors, the commands, the state-craft, for which you contend against one another with such harmful results?" — Frank Frost Abbott, "Society and Politics in Ancient Rome," pp. 49-50. Note. — "When Hortensia had thus spoken the triumvirs were angry that women should dare to hold a public meeting when men were silent .... and they ordered the lictors to drive them away from the tribunal, which they proceeded to do until cries were raised by the multitude outside, and the triumvirs said they would postpone till the next day the considera- tion of the matter." 92 THE POLITICAL CORRUPTION OF TODAY IS STRIK- INGLY LIKE THAT OF ROME IN THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC Copyright by John T. McCutcheoii (McCutcheon in the "Chicago Tribune") SUSPENDED POLICE OFFICIALS OVER WHOM HANGS THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES 93 Note. — Post such articles as The Lorimer Case in Ancient Rome by Guglielmo Ferrero in "Hearst's Magazine" for September, 1912, and the many illustrations of the point to be found in any American newspaper. The Cicero text read in high school affords abundant material for an effective' comparison with modern conditions. IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN CERTAIN FEATURES OF ROMAN AND AMERICAN METHODS OF ELECTIONEERING I. The honest candidate made every legitimate effort to win the favor of voters just as the honest modern candidate does, while the unscrupulous one attained his end in much the same fashion as does the corrupt politician cf tcday. II. Our political posters are not different in spirit frcm those found at Pompeii and are often similar in expression. Compare, for example, the following posters: P-FVR-II-V-V-B-O-V-F Publium Furium duumvirum, virum bonum, oro vos, facite. "Make Publius Furius duum- vir, / beg of you • he's a good man." ROOSEVELT-JOHNSON Will you help elect them ? Found at Pompeii (ist century A.D.). Used in (1912). our recent campaign Such statements as these, easily paralleled tcday, were often expressed about the candidate: dignum re publica, worthy of public office. iuvenem probum, an upright young man. hie aerarium conservabit, he will be the watchdog of the treasury. et ille te faciet, (elect him) and he will do as much for you. III. Our campaign speeches are strikingly similar in spirit to those of Cicero and Catiline. A Roman politician, for example, would be quite at home in reading some of the speeches of the recent campaign in which personal invective was a conspicuous feature. In this connection see news- papers and magazines for summer of 191 2 ; also an arraign- ment of Hearst by Secretary Root in the "Chicago Tribune" for November 2, 1906. 94 Note. — See chapter on Municipal Politics in Pompeii, in Abbott's "Society and' Politics in Ancient Rome"; also F. W. Kelsey's "Pompeii." HUMAN NATURE HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE THE TIME OF THE ROMANS; THIS ANCIENT AND THIS MODERN POLITICIAN WOULD HAVE NO DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER Senator La Follette point- ing out his services to Wis- consin in bringing about certain reforms. (McCut- cheon in the "Chicago Tribune," December 29, 1911.) Copyright by John T. A/clutch cieCROS ^TRONflEfT CHRo The consul Cicero pointing out his services to Rome in freeing it from the conspiracy of Catiline. 95 Note.— See the Letters of Theodorus by S. Maurice Low in "Harper's Weekly," May 25, I9i2,f or a humorous comparison between Cicero and Roosevelt. THE MODERN WORLD MAY PROFIT MUCH BY THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ROMANS; IT CANNOT AFFORD TO DISREGARD THE LESSONS THEY LEARNED "A sober reflection on the history of the ancient republics might put us on our guard against many of the dangers to which we ourselves are exposed." — Irving Babbitt, "Literature and the American College," p. 171. "Moreover, I believe that the deeper one has delved into the past, and particularly the past as represented by Greece and Rome, the keener will be his interest in the coming lot of his fellow-men.- .... The Greeks faced many of our problems and have much to tell our own generation as it stands before the door of tomorrow." — Fred B. R. Hellems, "The Dial," March 1, 1913, pp. 176-78. "They [the classics] contain a body of human experience and tried wisdom by which we may still guide our steps as we stumble upon the dark ways of this earth For, frankly, if a man is not convinced that the classics contain a treasure of practical and moral wisdom which is imperatively needed as a supple- ment to the one-sided theories of the present day, and as a corrective of much that is distorted in our views, he had better take up some other subject to teach than Greek or Latin." — Paul Elmer More, The Paradox of Oxford, "School Review," June, 1913. 96 Note. — -Work out some concrete illustrations from Roman life of experiments and ways of thinking from which the modern world might well profit. THESE ROMANS WHOM WE READ ABOUT IN HIGH- SCHOOL LATIN HAVE MESSAGES FOR THE MOD- ERN WORLD. WHY NOT MAKE USE OF THEIR EXPERIENCE AND SO AVOID MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES ? caesar's message The secret of success is to see clearly what you want and then to stick to it until you get it 'no matter how much hard work it takes. A man ought to be careful, too, about deciding what he "wants." I wasted some time myself in looking around, but I finally decided that there was more real satisfaction in reforming the Roman State than in anything else, so I tried to get the reins into my own hands. America needs a strong executive just as much as did the Rome of my day. CICERO'S MESSAGE Love of money and power destroyed the Roman Republic. You Americans are in danger of the same disaster. virgil's message There's nothing any more worth while for any man than to be willing to sacrifice his own private happiness for the sake of the common good. We Romans made a mistake in forgetting this. We also forgot that such qualities as courage, honesty, respect for authority, loyalty to family and friends, and rever- ence for religion were the foundations of character and that no state could flourish very long without them. 97 WIDE READING IN THE CLASSICS GIVES A PERSPEC- TIVE FOR A CORRECT JUDGMENT OF THE PRES- ENT. MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT THIS IS THE MOST "PRACTICAL" FEATURE OF A CLASSICAL TRAINING "Without a knowledge of the thought of Greece and Rome, you cannot estimate the thought of your own or any other generation, because you do not know how to distinguish its peculiar quality from the common inheritance." — Paul Shorey, The Case for the Classics, "School Review," November, 1910, p. 612. "The average American has come to have an instinctive belief that each decade is a gain over the last decade, and that each century is an improvement over its predecessor; the first step he has to learn in the path of culture is to realize that the advance in civilization cannot be measured by the increase in the number of eighteen story buildings. The emancipation from the servitude to the present may be reckoned as one of the chief benefits to be derived from classical study." — Irving Babbitt, "Literature and the American College," p. 165. " A man who does not understand Latin is like one who walks through a beautiful region in a fog; his horizon is very close to him. He sees only the nearest things clearly, and a few steps away from him the outlines of everything become indistinct or wholly lost. But the horizon of the Latin scholar extends far and wide through the centuries of modern history, the Middle Ages and antiquity." — Schopenhauer. Note. — See Zielinski, "Our Debt to Antiquity," pp. 165-66. TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THIS PAST CIVILIZATION DEPENDENT UPON THE STUDY OF LATIN? CAN IT NOT BE OBTAINED WITHOUT IT? The knowledge of this ancient civilization while not depend- ent upon the study of Latin, is undoubtedly more lasting and more significant to the man of classical training who has read the original sources as well as the English. For any intimate acquaintance with the thought and the life of the people, any thorough appreciation of the influence of Greece and Rome, requires a considerable period of time for the leisurely absorp- tion of the details and such close association with them as the effort of translation throughout the years of high school and college entail. Very few people in America today are willing to pay the price in time and effort for such an intellectual and spiritual possession. In no other way, however, can the full significance of Greece and Rome be realized. And even though one cannot go far enough to assure himself of an ability to read the originals with ease, or even though he may have lost the power he once had, the fact that he is able to read the English translations with intelligence and feeling, brings him an income of pleasure and profit much greater than that of the man who has never made the acquaintance of the original. 99 THE ACCOUNT OF THIS ANCIENT WORLD GIVEN IN ROMAN HISTORIES IS MUCH MORE VIVID TO ONE WHO READS THEIR PAGES WITH A BACKGROUND OF CLASSICAL STUDY HANNIBAL As he appears to one who has read about him in English sources only As he appears to the college man who has read the Latin account in Livy as well as the English sources Note. — Caesar, Cicero, and many other characters prominent in high-school Latin, may be used as examples of the above point. This illustration will be more effective if the class has been trained to watch for the many sidelights on human nature in connection with the reading of the Latin text. IX OTHER WAYS IN WHICH THE STUDY OF LATIN MAKES THE WORLD ABOUT US MORE INTERESTING ABILITY TO READ LATIN INSCRIPTIONS WILL ADD MUCH TO THE PLEASURE OF THE INTELLIGENT TRAVELER Such inscriptions as the above are very common in Europe EXAMPLES OF INSCRIPTIONS WHICH TRAVELERS FIND: On the Tomb of Pope Leo XIII at Rome: Ecclesia ingemuit, complorante urbe universa. "The church mourned, while all the city lamented." On the monument in Switzerland called the "Lion of Lucerne": Helvetiorum fidei ac virtuti. "To the loyalty and bravery of the Helvetians." On a sun dial in an old garden in Europe: Horas non numero nisi serenas. "I number only sunny hours." On a bronze tablet in Oxford College, England, set up in memory of the men killed in the South African war: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country." Over a door in Dantzic, Germany: Hospes, se tibi pulsanti ianua pandit. "Guest, the door opens at your knock." On a French tomb: Fortuna, infortuna, forti una. "Good fortune or bad fortune, one and the same thing to a brave man." Note. — The new post-office in New York has this inscription taken from the Greek of Herodotus 8. 98: "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." THESE SEALS ARE MORE INTERESTING TO ONE WHO CAN READ LATIN: UNITED STATES COLORADO E pluribus unum Nil sine numine "One composed of many" "Nothing without God" NEW YORK MAINE Excelsior Dirigo "Higher" "I direct" ARKANSAS KANSAS Regnant populi Ad astra per aspera "The people rule" "To the stars through diffi- culties" VIRGINIA DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Sic semper tyrannis Justitia omnibus "Ever thus to tyrants" "Justice for all" WEST VIRGINIA IDAHO Montani semper liberi Esto perpetua "Mountaineers are always "Let her endure forever" freemen" CONNECTICUT NORTH CAROLINA Qui transtulit, sustinet Esse quam videri "He who transplanted, sus- " To be rather than to seem " tains" 103 Note. — -In the same way, make a collection of university seals, coats-of-arms, mottoes for well-known societies, etc. MANY OBJECTS IN NATURE SUCH AS FLOWERS, TREES, ANIMALS, THE STARS, ETC., HAVE INTER- ESTING STORIES FROM THE GREEK CONNECTED WITH THEM FLOWERS The Hyacinth (story) The Violet (story) TREES The Laurel (story) The Pine (story) STARS Orion (story) The Great Bear (story) Leo (story) 104 Note. — For these stories see Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits, and Plants by Charles M. Skinner, or any text on classical mythology. The accounts in typewritten form should be pasted below the pictures. Students can co-operate very largely by preparing the paintings and drawings. IT IS A MISFORTUNE NOT TO BE ABLE TO READ THE MANY LATIN MAXIMS AND QUOTATIONS FAMILIAR TO EDUCATED MEN " 'Yankee supremacy,' Calderon admits, 'had been excellent, but an irresponsible supremacy is perilous. Quis custodiet custodem?» he asks." "Who will guard the guardian?" ("Chicago Tribune"). "I find myself, in short, an old-fashioned person, not quickly adaptable to the times in which I live; and though I have been so duly chastened by my juniors as only rarely and in secret to reveal myself as a laudator temporis acti, still it is difficult or impossible for me to reach the flying goal of being up-to-date." "A praiser of times past" ("Atlantic," March, 1913). "Yet nil admirari as Horace says; but I forgot for the moment that one of the habits I have been trying to unlearn is that of extem- poraneous and unverified quotation, especially from the Bible or from the classics, which I find in particularly bad form at present." "To be astonished at nothing" ("Atlantic," March, 1913). "Harsh things will be said of such of them as are not already dead and therefore immune under the rule de mortuis nil nisi bonum. We ought rather to be glad that they have helped us to meet a blue Monday with a smile." "Say nothing of the dead save what is good" ("Chicago Tribune"). OTHER EXAMPLES Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes: "I fear the Greeks even when bearing gifts." Carpe diem: "Seize the present opportunity." Noli me tangere: "Don't touch me. " Odi profanum vulgus: "I hate the common crowd." Herculem ex pede : " From his foot, one can judge a Hercules." De gustibus non est disputandum: "One should not dispute about tastes." Caveat emptor: "Let the purchaser beware." Audaces fortuna iuvat: "Fortune helps the bold." Festina lente: "Make haste slowly." Nil mortalibus ardui est: "Nothing is hard for men." Tot homines quot sententiae: "So many men, so many opinions." 105 SUCH SHORT LATIN PHRASES AS THESE ARE IN DAILY USE: magnum bonum . . . . a great good prima facie . . at first sight modus operandi . . . . method of working bona fide . . .in good faith obiter dictum .... . . .a thing said by the wav sub rosa . . .under the rose, privately inter nos . . . between ourselves ad nauseam . . .to disgust or satietv ad unguem . . .to the nail, exactly alter ego . . . another self in medias res .... . . .into the midst of things brutum fulmen . . . . . . a harmless thunderbolt casus belli . . . that which causes war crux . . . a cross, puzzle, or difficulty cui bono? .... . to what end? cum grano salis . . . . . . with a grain of salt Dei gratia . . . bv the grace of God Deo volente . . . God willing disiecta membra. . . . . scattered remains ex cathedra . .from the chair or seat of authority — an authoritative utterance facile princeps .... . .easily pre-eminent, indisputably the first horribile dictu . . . . .horrible to say mirabile dictu .... . .wonderful to sav in situ . . in its original situation in toto . . in whole, entirely ipse dixit . .he himself said it, a dogmatic assertion ante bellum . . before the war post mortem . . after death sic passim . .so everywhere viva voce . . orally sine die . .without a day being appointed vox populi the voice of the people 1 06 LATIN PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT PART IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF TODAY There are more than 300,000,000 people in the Catholic church, all of whom sing hymns in Latin, listen to a Latin ritual, and use Latin prayers. There are 500,000 priests whose use of Latin in the ritual averages two hours a day. Many of these speak Latin. Moreover, since Latin is the official language of the church, all formal documents, correspondence, and edicts are written in this language. It was not an unusual thing under the late pope, Leo XIII, to see one of his Latin letters in our newspapers. Here are some verses from a very famous Latin hymn: DIES IRAE Dies irae, dies ilia! Solvet saeclum in favilla, Teste David cum Sybilla. Quantus tremor est futurus, Quando iudex est venturus, Cuncta stricte discussurus! Tuba mirum spargens sonum Per sepulcra regionum, Coget omnes ante thronum. Mors stupebit, et natura, Quum resurget creatura Iudicanti responsura. Liber scriptus proferetur, In quo totum continetur, Unde mundus iudicetur. Iudex ergo cum sedebit, Quidquid latet, apparebit, Nil inultum remanebit. Quid sum miser tunc dicturus, Quem patronum rogaturus, Cum vix iustus sit securus ? Rex tremendae maiestatis, Qui salvandos salvas gratis, Salva me, fons pietatis! Recordare, Iesu pie, Quod sum causa tuae viae; Ne me perdas ilia die! Iuste iudex ultionis, Donum fac remissionis Ante diem rationis! Ingemisco tanquam reus, . Culpa rubet vultus meus: Supplicanti parce, Deus! Qui Mariam absolvisti, Et latronem exaudisti, Mihi quoque spem dedisti. Preces meae non sunt dignae, Sed tu bonus fac benigne Ne perenni cremer igne ! Inter oves locum praesta, Et ab haedis me sequestra, Statuens in parte dextra. Confutatis maledictis, Flammis acribus addictis, Voca me cum benedictis! Oro supplex et acclinis, Cor contritum quasi cinis, Gere curam mei finis! — Tommaso di Celano, d. 1255 107 Note. — Any person familiar with the ritual of the Catholic church will at once think of many concrete illustrations of this point. THESE STRIKING ADVERTISEMENTS ARE BASED ON THE MYTHS OF GREECE AND ROME; THE BUSINESS WORLD ASSUMES THAT EVERYONE KNOWS THESE STORIES: # CHICAG- Mercury, the messenger of the gods, famed for the swiftness of his flight 1 08 Note. — See also the advertisements of the Commonwealth Edison Electric Light Company, Chicago; O'Sullivan's Heels; the Goodyear Tires, etc. " The standard by which all other makes are measured" THE ATLAS E2BILAN2 CEMENT CO. 30 BROAD ST., NEW YORK Morris Bld^ Philadelphia. Pa Corn Exch Bank Bld^ Chicago III III Tflf white -&\ ATLAS fejiSBf S Architectural Record, March 1913 Atlas, the Greek hero who held the world upon his shoulders MAKES FOUR SLICES OF TOAST IN TWO MINUTES. Can be used on any GAS RANGE or HOT PLATE Vulcan, the smith of the gods, who was always associated with fire OTHER Atlas Trunk Co. Janus Vacuum Bottle Hercules Stump Puller Invisible Hooks Cement Stone Machine Ajax Tires Ajax Motor Apollo Piano Vulcan Wax Melter Diana Lead Pencils Diana Stuft Confection EXAMPLES Vesta Matches Nectar Tea Midas Metal Polisher Phoenix Fire Insurance Co. Venus Lead Pencil Venus Sandal Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes, "If Venus had arms" Athena Underwear Athena National Biscuit Co. Dryad Cane Furniture Prometheus Plate Warmer 109 YOU CANNOT SEE THE POINT OF THESE CARTOONS WITHOUT A KNOWLEDGE OF CLASSICAL MYTH- OLOGY if WOODRdW WltSON Donahey, in "Cleveland Plain Dealer" k4 Turkey in Wonderland Turkey (observing Phoenix rising from its ashes) — "That's a trick every bird ought to know. Wonder if I'm too old to learn it?" — "Punch" (London). Note. — Make a collection of the many humorous pictures bearing on classical matters to be found in current magazines and newspapers. THE CLASSICAL MAN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR HAS A KEEN ENJOYMENT IN SUCH POEMS AS THE FOLLOWING: THE LINKS OF ANCIENT ROME* By Payson Sibley Wild and Beet Leston Taylor AUGUSTUS FIT CUPIDUS SCIENDI (C II K) "Nuper, Octavi, dixisti iturum Te mecum olim et campos visurum Ubi libentes iam ludimus ilia Altivolante, durissima pila. Die mihi, vetule, saltern spectare Nonne nunc vis, si nondum ten- tare?" Frustra cum Imperatore locutus, Impedimenta ac fustes indutus, Abii atque quaesivi amicos Qui iam profecti ad agros apricos. Sed vis discesseram fessus orando, Cum Caesar, fessus et ipse negando, Talia reddit adstantibus fando: " Bella, Rapinae, Incendia, Caedes, Carmina, Litterae, Templa et Aedes, Quae sunt res publicae, graves et durae, Illis furentibus nihil sunt curae; Immo pol VINUM, MULIERES, CANTUM, Non tantum diligunt, antea quan- tum! Namque novicius lusus dam- NABILIS Nescio quis, et, ut dicunt, mirabilis Fascinavisse videtur sodales Quondam carissimos contubernales. Earn rem omnem non facio flocci; Sum studiosior comici socci, Amo picturas moventes vel PON- TEM, AUGUSTUS BECOMES C2K MAECENAS: "Octavius, I've often heard you say That you'd cut out the work some sunny day, And have a look at our new country club. Why not this aft, old top ? Put on a sub; Come down and watch us shoot a round of golf, Whether you stay to play or stay to scoff." "Nix on that golf stuff," said the Emperor, And so to prod him further I fore- bore. Grabbing my clubs I chucked them in my car, And made the two miles to the links in par; While Caesar, peeved at having stood me off, Let go the following remarks on golf : AUGUSTUS : "War, glory, statecraft, and the Muses Nine No longer charm these golf-mad friends of mine; Wine, skirts, and song have also lost their hold Beside this strange new game that, I am told, By old and young and wise and foolish played is — For which I would not give a hoot in Hades. Me for the play or moving picture show. *From the Diary of Maecenas, according to the testimony of the authors, a fragment which seems to prove that the game of golf had its origin in the reign of Augustus. Cupidus nunquam per vallem aut montem Pilulam at.bam sequendi in fontem! "At cantilenam eandem cur cano; Nura decet ipsi mentiri tyranno ? Hue automovens vehiculum ferte! Quid-iNEL agant comperiam certe." A hand at bridge or any game with go; But chasing white pills round a vacant lot Is my idea of entertainment, not. " But here I am, singing the same old tune. I've really not much on this after- noon, And can, as old Maecenas said, knock off And watch him shoot a hole or two at golf. My motorcycle, boy ! I'd like to see Just wotinel this d. f. game may be." II AUGUSTUS UTITUR LINGUA VULGARI SED LUDUM DISCIT Pilam expuleram aggere primo, Cum Imperator iam illitus limo, Clamans "Quid! Istoc est totum?" apparet, Atque observat dum pila volaret Pedes per caelum ad terram ses- centos. "En," inquit, "sane homunculos lentos, Qui quot diebus exercent iam du- dum Effeminatum eiusmodi ludum! "Quam putris ictus hie proximus erat! Talis ut aegre peritus pol ferat; Tu imbecillus es, hercle, Maecenas; Quid fluit tibimet, quaeso, per venas ? 'Atavis edite regibus' — quippe; Hoc enim luderet ludo Xantippe! Si non potuero longius sphaeram Quam tu impellere, causam turn quaeram. Clavam da mihi; ostendam, sceleste, II AUGUSTUS INDULGES IN STRONG LANGUAGE, BUT DECIDES TO LEARN THE GAME I whaled the ball two hundred yards or more — A screamer — when up wheeled the Emperor, Exclaiming, as he watched the sphere sail off, "Ye gods! Is that the total sum of golf! Weaklings and mollycoddles, what a shame To waste your time on such a baby game! "And you, Maecenas,' Son of An- cient Kings' (As Flaccus boy satirically sings In his last book, 'A Line-o'-Verse or Two'), Is that the best, old scout, that you can do ? A stroke most ladylike! Why, on my soul, I'd back Xantippe for a ball a hole! "Say, if I couldn't slam that piffling pill Ego ut faciam. Omnes adeste!" Ita locutus, tenac'iter prendit Clavem et statim ad aggerem tendit. Spuens confestim in mediam manum Pectore scelus anhelans profanum, Agitat baculum sat negligenter; S-s-s-t! ferit sphaeram (ut putat) valenter. At tamen haece immobilis iacet, Atque Augustus attonitus tacet. Puer cachinnat, qui saccum ferebat, Temporis tamen momento silebat, Nam ululatum iam Princeps tolle- bat: "Stulte damnate, ad usque AVERNAM volo tu eas gehennam infern- am!" Turn ridens "Oculos," inquam, "attollis; Pilula ilia est, minime follis." "Istud pro di immortales excide! Si placet, eris dum mortuus, ride! Heus, vespertilio, caece, ausculta: Quae tibi faciam ea sunt multa. Ego et tu exercebimus soli — Pilam amittere edepol noli!" Nos modo caudas gallorum mar- tini, Modo lagenas arcessimus, vini. — By courtesy of the "Chicago Tribune" and Over the crest of yonder fir-clad hill I'd go jump in the Tiber. Here, I say, Give me that mallet! Caddy, stand away!" Preluding thus, the Top Card took his stance, Giving the "pill" a quick, contemp- tuous glance, Then swung the driver with terrific force, And — missed the ball a foot or two, of course. A caddy snickered, then discreetly blew, And Caesar after him the driver threw, With certain objurgations, warm and tinglish, That look less rude in Latin than in English. I laughed and said, "You see, it takes some skill: You didn't keep your eye upon the pill. The striking surface, you'll observe, is small; It's not, Octavius, a soccer ball." "Aw, cut that out, for love of Mike!" said he. . "Laugh if you will — I grant it's one on me. Son of a bat! " — he called the nearest caddy — ■ "We'll learn this game alone. Come on, my laddie; And if you lose this new ball in the rough What I will do to you will be enough!" So off they went, while we the club bar found, And ordered dry martinis all around. the "Brothers of the Book." 113 ANSWERS TO SOME COMMON OBJECTIONS TO THE STUDY OF LATIN i. "It's too hard" Perhaps it's not so hard as you think. Perhaps you are lazy and do not like to do anything that does not immediately interest you and so calls for an effort of your will. Anyone who has had much experience in life will tell you that very few things that are really worth while come easily. Do you know Herbert Spencer's famous definition of education: "to accus- tom myself to do the thing I know I ought to do at the time when I ought to do it, whether I feel like doing it or not" ? 2. "It takes too much time" This depends upon how much you think it is worth and the price in time and labor that you are therefore willing to pay. If you believe in it, you will not grumble at spending a fair amount of time upon it. If you are putting an exorbitant amount upon it, it is likely that you are not well prepared for it and ought to go back, or that you have not really learned how to concentrate your mind when you are studying. 3. "You forget it all, anyway" This really is not an argument against Latin, unless you believe that education is solely a matter of learning facts which may be used in after life. Whether you remember the facts you learn in high school or college, does not really matter. Very few men and women in middle life could pass an examina- tion on the facts of physics, chemistry or mathematics which they studied in school. (Ask the teachers on your faculty how much they remember about the actual facts of work in other departments.) But they may be none the less "educated" people because, while they were receiving "information," they were really going through a process of "formation," e.g., their faculties were being so trained that they can not only acquire knowledge when necessary, but make the most intelligent use of their powers in the various situations of life. 116 4. "It's a 'dead' language; nobody speaks it now" You mean that nobody actually speaks it in the form used by the Romans of Caesar's day. But does anyone today speak the English as it was used in the time of King Alfred ? If you read the Lord's Prayer in the English of that day you could only understand six words. 1 We do not speak the English of Chau- cer's time either. And yet English today is not called a " dead " language. We only say that it has changed greatly since the days of King Alfred and Chaucer. In the same way Latin has changed since the days of Caesar, but in its modern form (now called Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Roumanian — the latter a direct survival of the language of the Roman legions quartered in that country) — it is still 90 per cent Latin. More- over, it is actually spoken to some extent in the Catholic Church of today. It is a much greater fallacy, of course, to say that Greek is a "dead" language when modern Greek is still so largely spoken. 5. "It isn't practical; it doesn't help you to earn money" This sounds as though you thought that only the things which have a money value are worth having. But if you were to make a list of the things in life which are really fine, such, for example, as matters of character — loyalty, bravery, honesty, reliability, right habits of work, etc. — or a liking for beautiful music, a taste for good books, an admiration for great deeds or a reverence for things that are holy, you would at once realize that money plays a very small part, after all, in the real " riches " of the world; for some of the men who have had almost no money have had these treasures. The mere fact, then, that you cannot trade Latin for money, would not be an argument against it except in the case of the boy or girl who is pressed by immedi- ate necessity of earning a living. If you are in this position, you are right about thinking that Latin is not a "practical" study for you. x See Introduction to "A First Latin Book," William Gardner Hale, University of Chicago. 117 1 6. "I haven't time to take much Latin and a little of it isn't worth while" But even a little will help you to guess the extent to which English words are indebted to Latin; it will give you, too, a training in grammatical relations which will help you in English expression and other language work and start you in habits of accurate thinking which are universally valuable; it will make Rome more than a mere name in your mind and will make you better able to profit by reading English translations since you will have some slight knowledge of the original language as a basis for your understanding. 7. "It's easier to read the translation and it's just as good" Do you think the wrong side of a piece of embroidery is as effective as the right, or that you get as much from hearing Caruso on the Victrola as when you listen to him at the opera ? Do you enjoy looking at a photograph of your friend as much as you do seeing him? And yet, except in a few cases, there is about the same difference in vividness between the translation and the Latin original. But you will not realize this until you have learned to know Latin well. 118 LETTERS TO HIGH -SCHOOL BOYS AND GIRLS IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, "IN YOUR OPINION, IS THERE ANY PRACTICAL VALUE IN STUDYING GREEK AND LATIN ? " "In my opinion the study of the Latin language and litera- ture, if pursued in a living way, is an admirable training for the powers of perception, judgment, and imagination. It makes one of the best possible foundations for higher culture or for a pro- fessional education. I think that the change in the conditions and tone of modern life has made classical study not less but more important for everyone who wishes to have a well dis- ciplined and efficient mind." — Henry van Dyke, Professor at Princeton University, February 3, 1913. "I wish sincerely that my engagements made it possible for me to discuss the relation of Greek and Latin to practical life, but it is literally impossible for me to do so. I can only say that I have always felt that Greek and Latin underlay all genuine culture." — Woodrow Wilson, Princeton, N.J., February 5, 1912. "In my judgment, a classical training is as important today in fitting a man for the affairs of life as it has been at any time since the sixteenth century: in some respects, I believe it to be more important." — Bliss Perry, writer and literary Critic, formerly editor of the "Atlantic Monthly," February 5, 1913. "Replying to your favor of 6th instant, I have a very strong belief that a thorough knowledge of elementary Latin is of much practical value to everybody in whatever walk of life he may be engaged. My own observation and experience has confirmed that impression very strongly. As a matter of fact, I very frequently have occasion to regret that I did not keep my own knowledge of the classics more actively brushed up." — George W. Wickersham, Attorney-General of the United States, Washington, D.C., January 18, 19 13. "I can only send you a brief and insufficient reply to your question by telling you a little of my own experience. I am a writer, and naturally have found a knowledge of Latin very useful 119 Note. — Students and teachers should co-operate to secure personal letters from many sources. to me in the study of literature, and for such an acquaintance as I have with literature it is indispensable. I have traveled somewhat in the Mediterranean countries, and there, too, I found my Latin of great practical value. Then, again, in acquiring a knowledge of Italian and French, I found my Latin schooling was like an elementary training for modern Roman languages, and made my mastery of vocabulary, especially, very much easier and more rapid. These are the practical advantages that I have personally experienced from the eight years that, as a boy, I gave in part to continuous Latin study. But, after all, what I most value in the general result is the lifelong pleasure I have had in Latin literature and the sense of indebtedness I feel to the classics for that formative power both over my thought and its expression, which has been insensible in its operation. The classics are a part of my heredity — of my intellectual blood and bone. "But I am only one man, and my profession as a writer sets me rather more apart from the body of educated men than usually happens in life; and, though I think a classical educa- tion great good fortune for a writer and indispensable to anyone who would live much in the past and realize the old tradition of wisdom and beauty in his own life and spirit, yet I should not think a man necessarily lost without it; I think it is the best of all educations for the free soul; but, on the other hand, I do not look on any education as essential to either human dignity or service, and there have been admirable forms of education without Latin. "In brief, I think a classical education most serviceable in forming the mind and tastes of a boy who is to have the happi- ness of an intellectual or artistic life, or of some part in such a life by reading or travel or sympathy; but for technical or vocational training, or for purely commercial ends, and generally for what is sought as a thing of material use, I should not think that Latin mattered. On the other hand, I do not think that either translations, or the modern languages themselves, are a substitute for direct acquaintance with the older training. "So I send you these few words, in lieu of any discussion, just to express my own view, as you ask it, based on my own experience, and observation; but I should be far from wishing to impose my view on others or from seeming to give a decision. You and the other boys who have such matters to decide, must look to your own natures and likes and aims, and then, with the help of older friends, perhaps, do the best you can. Latin is not the bread of life — one can live without it very well; but for the man of letters and for boys of that temperament, it is a good ration in the early barrack-years." — George E. Woodberry, writer, critic, and professor of English at Yale University, February 2, 19 13. "Unless one's estimate of life is entirely upon the basis of dollars and cents, there can be no question as to the advisa- bility of pursuing such studies as tend to culture intellectual development. The study of the classics qualifies one to enjoy the fine things that this, as well as other ages have produced. It is also a useful training in the development of capacity for achievement, which, in short, is the end and aim of all educa- tional instruction." — Herbert E. Hadley, ex-Governor of Mis- souri, April 9, 1913. "Personally, I believe that the striving for immediate ends is a poor conception of education and that we ought to have faith enough to look ahead and educate for the larger life to come. Least of all do I think that young people can be judges of what is advantageous in the long run." — J. M. Taylor, President of Vassar College, May 23, 1913. THE LARGER MEANING OF THE TERM "PRACTICAL" AS APPLIED TO EDUCATION There are two ideas of the meaning of education current today in America. According to one, education should be concerned with immediate usefulness; it should prepare a boy to earn money at once. From this viewpoint the practical studies are those that give him the information which he is to use immediately in his business. These are known as "voca- tional "studies, of which bookkeeping and stenography are examples. According to the other view, education should not be concerned primarily with preparation for earning money, though it must include this ultimately, but rather with the developing of the individual so that he may know how to live as well as how to make a living. Looked at in this way, all studies that tend to "form" a man rather than "inform" him are practical. It is upon this broader idea of the word that the claims of Latin as a practical study mainly rest. However, as this Exhibit shows, it is really practical, to a certain extent, in the narrower sense also. For not only does it not prevent one from making money, but on the contrary, it actually makes his chances better in the long run, while at the same time affording him a training which will make his life apart from his business career far richer and broader that it would otherwise be. "I am profoundly convinced that the only practical educa- tion is the one which aims directly to the training and enlarging of the mind. The most practical gift we, as teachers, can pre- sent to our students by means of which they may be able to win their way in the world is the power of thought. If we can teach our students how to think, we have taught the secret of 'practical' success." — John G. Hibben, President of Princeton University. Letter to student, February 12, 1913. "I will preface what I have to say in regard to the term 'practical' as applied to education with the observation that in each of our conscious moments we are engaged in one of three kinds of activity: namely, those of (1) our work, (2) our social relation, (3) our leisure. Education that does not make an effective workman is defective, but equally so is education that does not produce an intelligent and effective citizen and neigh- bor, and again, equally so is education that does not prepare one to make an appropriate use of his leisure. The term ' practical ' should be interpreted in the light of that observation. It is an obvious mistake to hold that the only practical aims of edu- cation are those that are expressed in economic terms. To put it in another way, the production of a skilled workman is not the only practical end of education." — Nathaniel Butler, Professor in the School of Education, University of Chicago. Letter to author, March 19 , 19 13. "There is no word more grotesquely misused in educational discussion than the word 'practical.' In any proper sense of the term, 'practical education' is that which does most for the enlargement of life by extending its interests, intensifying its powers, and deepening its sympathies. For these ends, the pursuit of historical and literary studies is incomparably more 'practical' than any other. In my opinion, the study of Greek and Latin stands in the very front rank of 'practicability,' and it is enough to make the angels weep to see such things as bookkeeping and cooking and carpentry seriously considered as being of anything like equal importance with classical and other humanities." — William Morton Payne, LL.D., Editor of "The Dial." Letter to student, February 15, 1913. "What kind of education makes people most efficient for general purposes ? Honestly answering this, though I am my- self professor of a radical and practical subject, I am bound to say that purely practical considerations go far to justify the old system of classics and mathematics in comparison with anything newer." — Barrett Wendell, Professor of English, Harvard Uni- versity, "The Privileged Classes," p. 168. 123 A "PRACTICAL" END OF EDUCATION LIES IN ENJOY- MENT OF THE POWER OF THINKING President Meiklejohn of Amherst College in defining the aim of a liberal education says that the man who has been trained to think has a constant source of joy and satisfaction. May this not be quite as "practical" an end of education for the boy removed from immediate necessity for earning money as one that looks mainly to utilitarian ends? He writes as follows: "When the man of the world is told that a boy is to be trained in thinking because of the joys and satisfactions of thinking itself, just in order that he may go on thinking as long as he lives, the man of the world has been heard to scoff and to ridicule the idle dreaming of scholarly men. But if thinking is not a good thing in itself, if intellectual activity is not worth while for its own sake, will the man of the world tell us what is ? There are those among us who find so much satisfaction in the countless trivial and vulgar amusements of a crude people that they have no time for the joys of the mind. There are those who are so closely shut up within a little round of petty pleasures that they have never dreamed of the fun of reading and conversing and investigating and reflecting. And of these one can only say that the difference is one of taste, and that their tastes seem to be relatively dull and stupid. Surely it is one function of the liberal college to save boys from that stupidity, to give them an appetite for the pleasures of thinking, to make them sensitive to the joys of appreciation and understanding, to show them how sweet and captivating and wholesome are the games of the mind. At the time when the play element is still dominant it is worth while to acquaint boys with the sport of facing and solving prob- lems. Apart from some of the experiences of friendship and sympathy I doubt if there are any human interests so perma- nently satisfying, so fine and splendid in themselves, as are those of intellectual activity. To give our boys that zest, that delight in things intellectual, to give them an appreciation of a kind of life which is well worth living, to make them men of intellectual culture — that certainly is one part of the work of any liberal col- lege." — "Amherst Graduate Quarterly," November 191 2, p. 61. 124 WHAT IT MEANS NOT TO KNOW LATIN "But to have had no Latin at all practically means that you do not know the logic or understand the categories of general grammar and those forms of language which are at the same time forms of thought; that you do not know and cannot safely learn from a lexicon the essential and root meanings of English vocables, and can therefore neither use them with a conscious- ness of their prime sensuous force nor guard yourself against mixed metaphor; that you are mystified by the variations of meanings in like Latin derivations in Shakespeare, the Romance languages, and modern English; that you have no historic feeling for the structure of the period which modern prose inherited from Isocrates through Cicero; that the diffi- culty of learning French or Italian is tripled for you, and the possibility of really understanding them forever precluded; that you have no key to the terminology of science and phi- losophy, to law and international law Latin, and Latin maxims, druggists' Latin, botanists' Latin, physicians' Latin; that you cannot even guess the meaning of the countless technical phrases, familiar quotations, proverbs, maxims, and compendi- ous Latin formulae that are so essential a part of the dialect of educated men that the fiercest adversaries of the classics besprinkle their pages with misprints of them ; that you cannot study the early history of modern science and philosophy, or read their masterpieces in the original texts; that Rome is as remote for you as China; that Virgil, Horace, and Cicero are mere names; that French literature is a panorama without perspective, a series of unintelligible allusions; that travel in Italy loses half its charm; that you cannot decipher an inscrip- tion on the Appian way, in the Catacombs, in Westminster Abbey, on Boston Common, or on the terrace of Quebec, or verify a quotation from St. Augustine, the Vulgate, the Mass, Bacon, Descartes, Grotius' On War and Peace, or Spinoza's Ethics, to say nothing of consulting the older documents of English law and institutions, the sources of the civil law, on which the laws of Europe and Louisiana are based, the Monu- menta Rerum Germanicarum, or Migne's patrologia, or reading 125 AUG 20 W13 a bull of the Pope or a telegram of the German emperor; that, not to go back to Milton and the Elizabethans, who are unin- telligible without Latin, you cannot make out the texts from which Addison's Spectator discourses, you do not know half the time what Johnson and Boswell are talking about; that Pope and all of the characteristic writers of the so-called Golden Age are sealed books to you ; that you are ill at ease and feel your- self an outsider in reading the correspondence of Tennyson and Fitzgerald, or that of almost any educated Englishman of the nineteenth century, and even in reading Thackeray's novels; that half of Charles Lamb's puns lose their point; and that when "Punch" alludes to the pathetic scene in which Colonel Newcome cried "absit omen!" for the last time, you don't see the joke. — Dr. Paul Shorey, University of Chicago, in The Case for the Classics, "School Review," November, 1910. 126 Note. — The extensive bibliography of the subject given in footnotes to the above article is invaluable to the classical teacher. m : ■ ■' ...,-V-V *■>?-■...■■■'::> ■':■ ' The Relation of Latin to Practical Life FRANCES ELLIS SABIN c i