1 THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS . LIBRARY • 370 ie6e no.25-37 Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. A charge is made on all overdue books. University of Illinois Library M i $ i§ wv :'• JUN -9 I3!i5 *w 15 is M32 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN Issued Weekly Vol. XXI March 10, 1924 No. 28 [Entered as second-class matter December 11, 1912, at the post office at Urbana, Illinois, under the Act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at the special rate of postage provided tor in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized July 31, 1918.] EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH CIRCULAR NO. 26 BUREAU OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH COLLEGE OF EDUCATION NOTES ON THE TEACHING OF LATIN IN HIGH SCHOOLS by H. J. Barton E. L. Clark Helen Pence and Others THE UBRMT OF THE FEB 7 1925 yNIVERSlTY OF ILLINOIS PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA 3 ^0 Prefatory Note The material for this circular was prepared under the direction of a committee appointed by the Latin section of the High School Conference held at the University of Illinois, November, 1922. The members of the committee are as follows : Professor H. J. Barton, University of Illinois. Miss Harriet L. Bouldin, Springfield High School. Miss Mima A. Maxey, University of Chicago High School. Mr. George A. Whipple, Evanston High School. Miss Laura B. Woodruff, Chairman, Oak Park High School. This circular relating to the teaching of Latin is pub- lished by the Bureau of Educational Research in accord with its general policy of giving through its publications helpful information and suggestions to teachers and school admin- istrators. It should, however, be understood that this circular does not represent the work of the Bureau of Educational Research and full credit for its preparation should be given to the committee named above. Walter S. Monroe, Director Bureau of Educational Research. January 9, 1924. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/notesonteachingo26bart P 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1 . TERMINUS AD QUEM 7 By H. J. Barton, University of Illinois 2. METHODS OF SELECTING FRESHMEN AT NORTHWESTERN UNI- VERSITY 11 By E. L. Clark, Northwestern University 3. THE AMERICAN ACADEMY IN ROME 13 By Helen Pence, Evanston Township High School 4. LATIN PROSE COMPOSITION 19 By Fay Miller, Belleville High School 5. STATE FAIR EXHIBITS 21 By Harriet L. Bouldin, Springfield High School 6. NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS 22 Notes on the Teaching of Latin in High Schools TERMINUS AD QUEM H. J. Barton Let Aristotle begin. — "The object also which a man sets before him makes a great difference." Let D'Arcy Thompson continue.— "Diogenes to be busy like the rest of his fellow citizens rolled his tub up and down in the market place." And let Edward Thring con- clude.— "Before any teaching can begin, the teacher must know what has to be taught and the pupil must know that he can get it." And my justification for these quotations is to bring before our teachers of Latin, especially those who are new to the profession, the necessity of having a definite understanding of what they are to seek, the goal, the terminus ad quern. It is a conservative statement that the average teacher of Latin, when beginning the work, is with- out such a goal unless it be to teach as some favorite teacher taught or perhaps to finish such and such a book in a given time. These are goals to be sure but poor ones. But even so, instruction in first-year Latin and in other years as well has two objectives, although the fact is not realized. The first and by far the most stressed is mastery of grammatical construc- tions; the second is facility in translation. Neither is exclusive but the former, as it first claims attention and is moreover the easier objective, can easily be so loved that the teacher rolls his gerund stone up and down in the class room, day after day, as Diogenes did his tub in the streets. It is a difficult matter to realize how much time is given to this pastime, although we are not as great sinners as our fathers were. "Parsing" they called it and it was considered all important. I quote from a text of Professor Harkness. — "In parsing a word, 1. Name the part of speech to which it belongs. 2. Inflect it, if capable of inflection. 3. Give its gender, number, case, voice, mood, tense, per- son, etc. 4. Give its syntax and the rule for it." This program as a whole should be labeled "A device in retarda- tion," that is, if followed for any length of time. With the exception of the requirement in the first three words of number four, there [7] is nothing called for that the student has not found out as he has translated the short sentence where the form was found. Cui bono? As to the syntax, there is a reason since there is no certainty, even after a considerable time, that the case syntax is understood, and the same remark is true of the uses of the subjunctive. But for the rest cui bono? What good to any unless it is the chief aim of the study of Latin to wrap up each word with its proper label and deposit it in the proper file. A Latin recitation that centers around such exercises has for a very short time the advantage of novelty but soon becomes stupid and worthless. Facility in translation is the real objective, the ability to read with fair facility a Latin author and to appropriate the Roman spirit. "The letter killeth but the spirit giveth life." We think of it only in the domain of religion but it is just as true in acquiring a language. In securing this facility, something of the gerund stone method must be employed now and then, there will be short excursions into English so that our students can see that we are still talking Latin, various devices for arousing interest will be employed, we shall write Latin but all to the end that we can read Latin, and shall be careful not to do the Diogenes act. At this point a lover of the gerund stone method rises to ask how this facility can be acquired without much, yes very much of grammatical drill. And the answer is that there must be a good deal in the aggregate but so judiciously distributed as not to squeeze all the joy out of the work, and in turn, I would like to ask why we are so distrustful of the ability of our students to read simple connected Latin, after ten lessons spent in preparation, except the fact that we did not begin the study that way. And it is a real delight for a student, after a few preparatory lessons, to read a few pages of such stories as the Bad Boy, or The Dirty Ditch. Why? Because he feels that he is getting somewhere, he is arriving. Such reading matter is not great literature to be sure but quite as much in keeping with his mental condition as extracts from the Gallic War. Then our class may prepare for another advance by a few addi- tional lessons, then more stories. In this way our young Romans are acquiring forms and along with them, they are experiencing the joy of having these forms function in the ability to read Latin. Again, they are arriving at the real goal. [8] This should be, as I see it, the aim of all Latin teaching. Doing thus, a first year book, is not something to be completed in a year but one to be used when needed. Some parts are needed for the first year, some for the second, some for the third, as forms and construc- tions not previously learned are met. It is an armory to which we go for the weapons we need. But surely there is no need to put on a helmet and a breastplate and to grasp the pilum and strap on the gladius to our side when the weapons we need are only venabula. And there is some danger that the various devices lately intro- duced in Latin instruction, our charts, our percentages of Latin living again in English, our pictures, our slides, may cause us to forget so that we will not keep the terminus always in view. All these devices are excellent, provided a new incentive is given to travel along the via Latina, without stopping too long or too often to admire the flowers by the way; there is some danger that we learn much about Latin instead of learning to read Latin. Seneca's advice is pertinent, "Modum tenere debemus." And beyond this goal which I have described as "fair facility" in reading Latin comes in view yet another terminus which, as Latin teachers, we should seek to reach. It is the constantly increasing ability in our students to read Latin with ease. Each succeeding year ought to give our young Romans a considerably larger facility in this particular. "Ease" is a comparative term. No one pretends, if honest, that difficulties in translation should vanish but, on the other hand, increased speed and accuracy should be seen in our students from year to year. Some is secured but not enough. Considering the four years of the high school course as a race track, after the first quarter which is expected to be slow, each succeeding quarter should be faster — a good deal faster than the preceding. What is true of the high school is also true of the college. My observation and experi- ence lead me to assert that the gain in ability to translate, possessed by college Juniors and Seniors, is far less than should be expected. What is the reason? It is my hope that the investigations of the Classical League will give us light, for I can not for a moment, bring myself to believe that this is a normal condition. It is my hope that such bulletins as this published by the College of Education will give us help. When the assignment for the day has been finished, should the teacher say, — "Now we will read at sight," a look of despair is the usual reaction. Why should it? And is it our fault? And has this [9] experience thrown any light on the question raised of increased speed with added years of Latin study? A former President of Illinois once said to me, — "The way to learn how to speak in public is to speak in public;" adopting his suggestion, we might say that the way to learn how to read Latin is to read Latin. Explaining this some- what cryptic remark, it seems to me that the present evidence points to a much larger use of sight reading as the means to attain this second goal. And to reach both goals, we ought, with Ulysses "to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." [10] METHODS OF SELECTING FRESHMEN AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY E. L. Clark Selection at Northwestern University is largely on an experi- mental basis. Effort is being made to obtain and evaluate data by which the selective process may take place before matriculation, in- stead of after it. We want to avoid the wasteful method of taking one, two, or even three or four semesters of the student's time to ascertain that he is unqualified to profit sufficiently by the type of college work offered here. The procedure now used is to give all students entering the University for the first time the Scott Company Mental Alertness Test as the first step of registration. The use of these test scores is stated by President Walter Dill Scott in a memorandum dated Sep- tember 20, 1923. In part President Scott says: "It is the judgment of the Committee on Entrance that students who were in the lower quarter of their class in high school are not able to carry the work of our freshman year. They are of the opinion, however, that certain high-school students are in the lower quarter not because of their lack of ability, but because of some such acci- dental circumstances as moving, sickness, etc. Accordingly, appli- cants who are in the lower quarter are required to come in advance and to present evidence as to their ability to carry the work of our freshman year. One factor in this evidence is the ability to secure a score in the mental alertness test as high as the average of the fresh- man class of last year. "The mental alertness tests at Northwestern are not used to eliminate applicants; they are used to select for entrance those whose previous academic records were not good, but who are believed to have ability sufficient to carry college work satisfactorily." Experience shows that below a certain score no one succeeds, but the percentage of students receiving this score is small. The test does select those who have almost no chance of doing good work, but it does not tell with much accuracy those who will do well in college. Much more indicative of scholastic success in college is the stand- ing obtained in high school; especially is this true if the student has [11] attended one of the large high schools which furnish many of our freshmen. Students who were in the first quarter of their high-school class almost never fall to the fourth quarter of the college class and those who were in the fourth quarter in high school never rise to first quarter in college. In the Class of 1923 there was only one stu- dent from the fourth quarter of the high-school class who had made below average on the mental test, who succeeded in graduating, and her high-school course had been broken by a change from a small country high school to one of the large city schools. On the basis of these two factors, mental tests and high-school record, we hope to be able to eliminate more of the potential failures. The old method of depending entirely upon classroom marks to elim- inate the "unfits" is too wasteful. [12] THE AMERICAN ACADEMY IN ROME Helen Pence To anyone whose good fortune has taken him to the Janiculum Hill, the highest point in Rome, especially on a glorious October day, or on one of the indescribably clear and balmy days of an Italian spring, it is unnecessary to say more, to insure an appreciation of the beauty of the site of the American Academy in Rome, than that it is on the Janiculum, near the Porta San Pancrazio, which adjoins the ancient Porta Aurelia. There is a superb view from the Janiculum, a view starred in Baedeker — the ultimate test of value to the average American traveler. One may see from this one point the Alban Hills to the south and east, with the lovely crested top of Monte Cavo, the Sabine and Volscian Hills to the east with the rugged peak of Monte Gennaro, and to the north, if the day is clear, the jagged line of Soracte, alluring in its charm, even though the most ardent and farsighted classicist must admit its failure to achieve the "stet nive candidum" tradition. Within this circle of outlying hills, with the stretches of open campagna at their feet, lies the richly colored city, with its palaces of warm, golden tans, the dark green cypresses and stone pines on the Palatine, the Aventine, and the Pincian Hills, and everywhere glimpses of ruins of fine old Roman masonry, whose presence gives to Rome dignity and an enviable but inimitable posi- tion among the cities of the western world. This is essentially the view which the student so fortunate as to live in the main Academy building or in the women's apartment across the way at the beautiful Villa Aurelia, the home of the Director of the Academy, has con- stantly within his range of vision. It is no wonder that he suddenly realizes that the year is over and that the accomplishments gleaned through library research are alarmingly meager. Even the less lucky "visiting student" who generally lodges at a great distance and is more or less at the mercy of the Janiculum trams which run at quite incalculable intervals, can be consoled, when the power suddenly stops and the car comes to an abrubt halt, by the beauty of the view; unfortunately the frequent failure of the elec- tricity in the "lift" service of the tall apartment houses of Rome is not relieved by such compensations for the victim. When one grows [13] weary of the habits of the tram and is not prevented by the weather, the climb up the hill from that Trastevere by the shorter route, with its secluded steps, has two glorious open places where the view quite justifies a pause, without the necessity of an apology for one's lack of breath. It is quite possible to glean definite and interesting facts about the American Academy in Rome from the compact little bulletin published annually by the office in New York (101 Park Avenue), but since there are few people who actually do send for catalogues and bulletins, in spite of good intentions, perhaps a few details about the working of the School itself may not be out of place. The Amer- ican School of Classical Studies was founded in 1895 as a separate institution, and not until 1913 did it become a part of the group now known under the name of the American Academy in Rome, a com- bination of the Academy of Fine Arts (Sculpture, Painting, Architec- ture, Music, Landscape Gardening) and the School of Classical Studies. The Academy of Fine Arts does not itself offer a course of study, but the lectures and trips of the School of Classical Studies are open to the Fellows of the Fine Arts School and many of the lec- tures, especially those given by the invited lecturers from outside, are planned to meet the needs and interests of both schools. In the School of Classical Studies two Fellowships are offered annually, the conditions for competition being clearly stated in the annual announcement of the school. Those who attend at their own expense and do the regular work of the school, are popularly known as "visiting students," and are subject to definite eligibility require- ments. They are "expected to have at least a bachelor's degree from an approved American university or college, or an equivalent degree from a foreign institution of learning." Moreover, as in American graduate departments in the classics, they should have "the ability to read ordinary Greek and Latin prose at sight and to use French and German as instruments of research." And to those who wish to do research in Italian Archaeology, an elementary knowledge of Italian, which the bulletin refers to as "very useful," might almost be called essential, since all the reports of the excavations made by the Italian government are available to the student only through a reading knowledge of Italian, and since much unpublished infor- mation, obtainable only through lectures or through conversation with the Italian specialists themselves, depends upon a moderate under- standing of spoken Italian. It is only fair to add that, far from in- [14] creasing the burden of the year's work, this study of Italian and its constant use in reading and conversation is one of the most valuable and pleasurable features of a year in Italy, and does more than any other single factor to give one an insight into the character and his- tory of the Italian people. There are a number of colleges and universities in America which contribute annually #250 each, toward the support of the school, and the student who is so fortunate as to come from one of these contributing colleges is exempt, as are also the Fellows, from the annual tuition charge of #100. It is a matter of regret that, up to the present time, the names of only three state universities, Cali- fornia, Michigan, and Wisconsin, appear upon this list of about twenty-five schools, and this condition is reflected in both student and faculty lists. The school is deserving of better support from American state institutions. The library collection, housed in a room of exquisite design, is excellently selected in view of the limited funds available, but is inadequate for the needs of intensive research and is in need of additional contributions. The student living quarters of the Academy (for men, in the large main building, and for women, in one wing of the Villa Aurelia) are limited, being designed to accommodate only the Fellows of both schools, but if there happens to be extra space, an occasional visiting student is accommodated on the grounds, the preference being given ordinarily to those who hold Fellowships from individual American colleges. A pleasant and convenient arrangement has been made this year whereby non-resident visiting students may be served luncheon in the Academy dining rooms. The program of instruction varies from year to year because of the large variable element in the make-up of the faculty. At pres- ent the Professor-in-charge of the School of Classical Studies is appointed for only one year, but there is a movement on foot to make this a permanent appointment, as is the scheme in the Ameri- can School in Athens. There is another annual professorship, and both of these positions are usually held by professors on leave of absence from American institutions. For the year 1922-1923, Pro- fessor Tenney Frank, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University, was Professor-in-charge, and for the present year, 1923-1924, Professor John Carew Rolfe, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, holds the position. The annual professorship was held last year by Pro- fessor Grant Showerman of the University of Wisconsin, who had [15] been at the Academy the previous year as a visiting professor, and who this past summer, 1923, was Director of the first Academy Summer School; this year it is held by Dr. Louis E. Lord of Oberlin College. There are also two permanent professorships occupied at present by Professor C. Densmore Curtis, Associate Professor of Archaeology and Editor of Publications of the Academy, and Pro- fessor Albert W. Van Buren, Librarian and Associate Professor of Archaeology. Travel in Italy, done for the most part under the general super- vision of the Academy, is, with the exception of the work in the topography of Rome, the part of the program which usually has the greatest appeal to the student whose constitution and equipment are equal to the strain of rough travel and often inclement weather. In the autumn and early winter there are almost weekly excursions to the historic sites of Latium and Etruria, under the direct supervision of Academy professors. Last year Academy trips were made to the Aqueducts and the Appian Way, the Alban Hills and lakes, Lanuvium, Ostia, Palestrina, and to Corneto, Cerveteri, and Veii in Etruria; and in addition to these main excursions other expeditions were made by smaller groups to Segni, Velletri, Civita Castellana and Soracte, Nepi, Sutri, Viterbo, Tusculum, Tivoli, Subiaco, Capua, Benevento. Early in March, those whose fortitude had been tried and proved achieved two trips requiring the greatest possible endurance in both lungs and shoes, the expedition to Cori, Norba, and Ninfa, and the ascent of Monte Gennaro (4170 feet), with a descent almost as tortuous but made delightful by the vistas of the lovely valley of the Licenza, the so-called site of the Sabine farm of Horace. The atti- tude of the American student toward the conveniences of travel, in the course of a year of chiefly third-class travel in Italy, goes through the subtlest changes. One begins with a slightly supercilious and contemptuous air and an almost uncontrollable longing for American Pullmans and diners, and one ends by choosing, when there is a choice, third-class compartments, with their benches of honest wood, shared with friendly Italian peasants, always so frankly curious and naively entertaining. Nor are we the only observers. As we returned by train one night from one of our rough walking trips, our shoes covered with mud, we heard a peasant say in Italian which he sup- posed we did not understand: "They are Americans — they always go everywhere on foot, and always laugh." [16] The climax of the school year is the trip to Greece which comes in the spring when the winter program of the School of Classical Studies is over. The air is full of the bustle of preparation, and last year the excitement was increased by vague, mysterious rumors, constantly whispered about, of the typhus epidemic in Greece and of the necessary or advisable preventives. The bolder spirits were not terrified by these rumors, nor by the official warnings of prospective hardships, and submitted with Spartan courage to the inoculation- vaccination ordeal, the rigid prerequisite of the coming expedition. The expenses of the trip last year were remarkably small, due in part to the extremely advantageous rate of exchange, and in part to the reduction in rates possible in party travel managed upon a cooperative basis. The spring program of travel usually includes a visit of two weeks to Naples and Pompeii, and last year a stop at Taranto broke the journey from Naples to Brindisi, our point of embarkation for Greece. The sail from Brindisi to Patras by the Greek steamer takes about thirty hours and one is apt to reach the harbor in the early morning and be forced to land before dawn. Consequently it is in a very dull and sleepy state that one is likely to experience the anticipated thrill of touching the soil of Greece. The party last year, under the guidance of Mr. Van Buren, went from Patras to Olympia by train, and after spending two days at Olympia went, again by train, to Kalamata. Here the party divided, some going by train and automobile to Sparta, others on foot over the mountains, through the beautiful Langada Gorge. After a day at Sparta and the quaintly picturesque hill town of Mistra, we pro- ceeded to Nauplia, by way of Tegea, and from Nauplia made expe- ditions to Tiryns, Epidaurus, Argos, and Mycenae. From Mycenae our route took us to Corinth, where we stopped for a night and spent the following morning climbing Aero-Corinth and studying the ruins of old Corinth. The train journey from Corinth to Athens is over a route of exquisite beauty, across the canal bridge, along the Isthmus, and around the Bay of Salamis. There is no need to enumerate the delights of a stay in Athens. The courtesy and hospitality of the faculty and students of the American School in Athens added much to our comfort and pleasure, and the value and interest of the work in Greek Archaeology was enhanced by the stimulating lectures of Mr. Hill and Mr. Holland of the American School, on the Acropolis, and of Mr. Blegen of the American School and Mr. Wace of the British School, at the National Museum. The stay in Athens, about [17] ten days in all, was broken after the first week by two glorious days at Delphi. Here the Academy party broke up into smaller groups, some going to Thessaly, some returning directly to Athens, but the greater number going on foot over the mountains through Arachova into Boeotia, whence after stopping one night at Livadia and spend- ing a morning at Chaeronea and Orchomenos, they returned to Athens for a final visit of three days before sailing for Brindisi from Piraeus. Our preliminary warning of hardships to come was quite justified, and yet Greece gains a subtle hold upon the traveler which can make him forget such inconvenient and unpleasant things as the slow and jerky trains, the miserable hotels, and the scarcity of water, and remember only the loveliness and color, "the stony hills and salt Corinthian blue." The advantages which the Academy offers to the teacher of the classics seem fairly obvious and are quite generally admitted without argument, but what is not so commonly considered and yet seems to me quite as obvious, is the tremendous stimulus it affords to the teacher of history. The Academy needs no advertising among those at all familiar with its scope, method, and results, but it is only through the hearty cooperation of American colleges and universities that its active influence can be continued and increased. [18] LATIN PROSE COMPOSITION Fay Miller Latin composition in the first year seems to me a simple subject because I know so few ways of teaching. I should like to be told many more. The one wrong way, I should think, would be to correct papers prepared outside of class, thus encouraging copying. A good method, but one that cannot be used every time because of the burden of correcting it lays upon the teacher, is to have the pupils copy the translated sentences on the board from their papers, give attention while the class corrects the mistakes, and then, without assistance from book or paper, write in Latin a revised version pre- pared by the teacher. These changed sentences, of course, illustrate the same constructions and employ the same vocabulary as the original ones. Another method is to write the English sentences on the board before class and have the pupils add the Latin translation. A few pupils, however, by some remarkable gift of remembering nonsense syllables, can make one hundred on such a recitation with- out understanding the work at all. In addition to the sentences, our book gives questions to be answered, and some suggestions for orig- inal work to be translated in class by other pupils. In teaching Cicero I am much in need of help. Does any one know of a composition book in which the order of constructions is based on the needs of the pupils instead of on what the author con- siders the logical arrangement? Upon beginning Cicero my pupils need some lessons on constructions rarely occurring in Caesar, such as conditions, but the course of study requires that they have a series of lessons on uses of the genitive and ablative that never have bothered them in translation. We have no rest from Cicero and Catiline for the lessons are based on the text. Isn't that both a source of boredom and a death blow to literary appreciation? The pupils' work is on the very same subject as Cicero's, and I strongly suspect that they think it is inferior to his only in point of length. There is a possibility of relief: the quiz on the fifth and last day of composition week may be in the form of a story. This must be told in such a way that it contains several examples of the constructions taught during the week. The pupils are told any words which [19] they have not had. One may get ideas for stories from such books as Collar's "Gradatim," Nutting's "Reader," and D'Ooge's "Easy Latin for Sight Reading." This occasional use of a narrative is partly for the purpose of pleasing the pupils, but largely for the sake of amusing the teacher. [20] STATE FAIR EXHIBITS Harriet L. Bouldin No one could pass through the educational exhibit at the State Fair held at Springfield, September, 1923, without realizing that the aims and methods of teaching high-school subjects have changed in recent years. The Latin departments of the Decatur and Springfield High Schools were represented there this year. In the Decatur exhibit a definite color scheme was carried out, and this was especially effec- tive in the Latin display. Beautifully colored pictures were mounted on cardboard and below each was a description written in Latin. This was original composition work. Small posters and charts showed the relation of Latin to other subjects. A number of Latin notebooks representing each year of the course were shown. Springfield had large posters grouped carefully to attract the attention of visitors. They represented original work on the part of the pupils. The value of Latin in gaining a knowledge of English was made clear by various derivative work, posters and cartoons. Other posters showed the relation of Latin words to terms in science, mathematics, and music. One large poster, made by one of the Vergil pupils, represented the journey of Aeneas through the Underworld. Springfield won first place in the educational exhibit and first place in the high-school exhibit. The Latin teachers felt that they had helped to win the favorable decision of the judges. They are already planning for a more extensive exhibit next fall. Why should not the Latin departments of fully a dozen high schools send in exhibits next year? Thousands of people visit the State Fair annually and a large number of them attend the educa- tional exhibit. Here is a chance to advertise our goods. [21] NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS Two Latin Dialogues The following dialogues taken with the author's permission from Professor D'Ooge's "Colloquia Latina" published by D. C. Heath and Co., may prove interesting for Latin Club programs: ANCILLA ET CASSIUS Cassius. (Ante ianuam) Salve! Salve! Ancilla. Quis ante ianuam est? Cassius. Cassius sum, amicus probus domini boni. Estne dominus domi? Ancilla. Dominus domi non est, sed in horto ambulat. Cassius. Me miserum! Estne hortus procul? Ancilla. Ita est, et via longa est et ardua. Cassius. Ambulatne solus in horto? Ancilla. Non solus, sed cum puero Carolo ambulat. Cassius. Sine dubio, hortus pulcher est. Ancilla. Sane, et rosarum plenus est. Nonne rosas amas? Cassius. Valde rosas rubras amo. Ancilla. Eccam rosam rubram quae est ex domini horto! (Rosam Cassio dat.) Cassius. Ago tibi gratias. Vale. FRATER ET SORORCULA Sororcula. Fuistine in ludo, mi f rater, hodie? Frater. Sane fui, mea sororcula. Sororcula. Magister, credo, morosus erat. Frater. Minime. Numquam morosus est, benignus semper, atque hodie fabu- lam gratam discipulis narravit. Sororcula. Itane? Mihi, care frater, fabulam narra. Fruitne de leone? Frater. Minime vero, sed de Iulio Caesare populi Romani claro imperatore. Sororcula. Nonne Caesar bella proeliaque amavit? Frater. Amavit, neque Germanos timebat. Sororcula. Sine dubio, fuit malus vir. Frater. Erravisti, mea sororcula; hostibus quidem malus erat, sed bonus amicis. Multis et magnis proeliis Galliam totam superavit et deinde Sororcula. Haec fabula me non delectat. Narra, amabo te, de leone. Frater. Sero est. Postea de leone narrabo. Optime vale! Word Ancestry 1 There are some long words the ordinary meaning of which almost every one knows, and one of these is "opportunity," but I venture to say that not every one knows the real meaning of this word. 'By Willis A. Ellis, published in the Chicago Daily News. [22] "Portus," in Latin, means "port," "harbor." "Ob" means "in front of." "Opportunus" means "ready to enter the harbor." It is not difficult to see how "opportunity" means an advantageous situa- tion or favorable conditions — those that will enable us to enter our desired port, to accomplish what we are aiming at. A successful candidate for office is likely to be "importuned" by his political followers for the "jobs" which he controls. To importune is to beg insistently, to the point of making oneself a nuisance. A person who is advantageously situated, for whom conditions are op- portune, does not need to importune. One who is reduced to the necessity of becoming importunate in his efforts to gain his wishes may be said to be "out of luck" — he is not in front of his harbor, ready to sail in. Membership in the Classical Association of the Middle West and South If you do not belong to the "Classical Association of the Middle West and South," join at once by sending your name and address, with the yearly membership fee of $2.00, to W. L. Carr, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. Membership in this Association will stimulate your enthusiasm and increase your power as a teacher of Latin by identifying you with your co-workers in the same field and by bringing to you each month "The Classical Journal," which is always full of live interest and helpful suggestions. None of us can afford to miss such advan- tages. The Classical Weekly Any who are interested in "The Classical Weekly," which is published by the Classical Association of the Atlantic States, may receive the same by sending $2.00 to Professor Charles Knapp, 1737 Sedgwick Avenue, New York City. Art and Archaeology "Art and Archaeology," an illustrated monthly magazine pub- lished by the Archaeological Society of Washington, is $5.00 a year. All correspondence should be addressed and all remittances made to Art and Archaeology, the Octagon, Washington, D. C. Service Bureau for Classical Teachers The American Classical League has established at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, a "Service Bureau for [23] Classical Teachers." This step has been made possible by a special fund granted to the League and by the financial assistance of Teach- ers College. The work is in charge of Miss Frances Sabin, formerly Assistant Professor of Latin at the University of Wisconsin. She will be aided by an informal committee of cooperating teachers and other persons throughout the country who are interested in the suc- cess of the undertaking. The aim of such a professional center is to serve as a clearing house for the exchange of ideas on the teaching of Latin and Greek in the secondary schools. The activities which will be associated with it may be roughly classified under the following heads: (1) Collecting and arranging in a form suitable for purposes of inspection and study such material as may prove of value to classical teachers and other persons interested in the study of the classics in the secondary schools. (2) Distributing certain parts of the material listed above. (3) Conducting a Correspondence Department for an exchange of ideas in general with teachers, principals, superintend- ents, and other persons who are interested in the work of the Bureau. Since the enterprise is cooperative in its nature, it is necessary: for the director to enlist the active cooperation of classical teachers. The Outline which follows indicates specific projects in connection with which the Service Bureau needs immediate help. All teachers are urged to participate in the preparation of material as suggested, or in any other undertaking which seems equally important in equip- ping the files. Faulty Translation Do your pupils translate Caesar after the following fashion? Professor Lane of Harvard once said that this would be the result if the average freshman in college were asked to translate a Latin ver- sion of the story of George Washington and the cherry tree: CONCERNING A YOUTH WHO WAS UNABLE TO LIE Being the story of George Washington, translated from the Latin: A certain father of a family to whom there was a sufficiently large farm, moreover a son in whom he especially rejoiced, gave this one for a gift on his birth- day a little axe. He exhorted him greatly to use the weapon with the highest care, lest it might be for a detriment to himself. The youth promised himself to be about to obey. [24] When it was necessary for that one, on account of business, to seek a certain walled town situated not far, this one, the axe having been hastily seized, departs into the garden, about to cut down each most flourishing cherry tree. That one, his home having been resought, inflamed with wrath, the servants being called together, asked who might have been the author of this so much slaughter. All were denying, when this one, running up to that one, "Truly, by Hercules," said he, "0, my father, I am unable to lie; I, myself, cut down the tree with that little axe which thou gavest to me for a present." An Exercise in Forms After a short drill in first declension, the teacher of a beginning Latin class said, "Now let us decline the Latin words meaning 'a long island' in such a way that each one called upon will give the word or syllable following the one last given by the preceding pupil." Kathryn. insula longa insu - Mary. - lae longae insulae longae John. insulam longam insula Robert. - longa Emily. insulae longae Winifred, insularum longarum insulis Walter. - longis insulas longas Charles, insulis longis Jane. (who had been sitting on the edge of her chair and listening eagerly). O, let's do it some more. The Calends, Nones and Ides The three following jingles are helpful: In March, July, October, and May The Nones are on the seventh day. In March, October, July, and May The Ides come on the fifteenth day, The Nones, the seventh, All else besides Have two days less for Nones and Ides. In March, July, October, May, Nones are the seventh, Ides, the fifteenth day; In other months they two days earlier fall. The month's first day the Romans Calends call, And one, then backward count, and you will find The date as offered to the Roman mind. [25] V