Imatges de pàgina
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standing thereof; and if to these you add Sir Francis Bacon's little book De Sapientiâ veterum, Natales' comes, and Verderius's Imagines Deorum, Lexicon Geographicum, Poeticum, et Historicum, and the like, fitting to be reserved for your scholars' use in the school library, it will invite them like so many bees to busy themselves sucking up matter and words to quicken their invention and expression; and if you would have those in this form acquainted with variety of Latin verses, and how to change them one into another, you may sometimes exercise them in Buchanan's Psalms, and partly out of Vossius's, partly out of Mr. Lloyd's Grammar lately printed, you shall find sufficient store and several kinds of verses to delight and profit them withal.

Whereas Wits' Commonwealth is generally imposed upon young scholars to translate out of English into Latin, and I observe it very difficult to be done by reason of the many uncouth words and mere Anglicisms that are in it, concerning which they can not any way help themselves by common dictionaries or phrase-books, I have thought good to frame an alphabetical index of every English word and phrase therein contained, with figures pointing to the chapter and verse where it is used, and showing what Latin or Greek expression is most proper to be made in that place.

And this I would have annexed to that useful book, that by help thereof the scholars may of themselves be able to translate those pretty sentences out of English into Latin orderly composed, and afterwards with the same ease out of Latin into Greek. If the stationers do not accord, that they may be printed together, know that the Index may be had single by itself, as well as the book, and he that buyeth the one can not well be without the other; they are both so necessary and nearly related to one another.

They in this form may learn the Assembly's lesser Catechism in Latin and Greek, which is elegantly translated into those languages by Doctor Harmar. Thus then in short, I would have them employed: 1. In reading out of the Latin Testament every morning, till they be able to go on with the Greek, which may then take place. 2. In repeating a grammar part every Thursday morning. 3. In learning rhetoric when they have done that. 4. Camden's Greek Grammar on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for morning parts. 5. In using Terence on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for forenoon lessons. 6. In Janua Latina Linguæ for afternoon parts on Mondays and Wednesdays. 7. In some of Sturmius' or Textor's Epistles on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and Shirley's Introductorium after Praxis ended. 8. In Ovid de Tristibus on Mondays and Wednesdays in the afternoon for the first, and in Ovid's Metamorphosis for the second half year. They may translate four verses every night out of Wits' Commonwealth, and say lessons on Saturdays in the Assembly's Catechism; and by the diligent improvement of these books to their several uses, they may first become perfectly ready in the Latin and Greek grammar, and the elements of rhetoric. 2. They may get copy of words and learn to know their derivations and differences, as also how to vary phrases. 3. They may gain the right way of double translating and writing a puro Latin style. 4. They may be helped in their invention and easily taught to make all sorts of English and Latin verses, and to write familiar and elegant epistles upon all occasions; for the performance of all which works, though more than ordinary care and pains may seem to be required in the master, and a great deal of study and diligence may be thought to be exacted of the scholars

above what is usual in many schools, yet a little experience will evidence that all things being orderly and seasonably done, will become easy and pleasing to both after a very little while. And if the master do but consider with himself and inform his scholars that they shall all ere long reap the sweet of their present labors, by a delightful and profitable perusal of the choicest authors, both Greek and Latin, whom as they must strive to imitate, so they may hope to equal in the most noble style and lofty strains of oratory and poesy; it will encourage them to proceed so cheerfully that they will not be sensible of any toil or difficulty, whilst in a profiting way they pass this form and endeavor to come to the next, which we intend to treat of in the following chapter.

II.-How to teach scholars in the fifth Form to keep and improve the Latin and Greek Grammars, and Rhetoric. How to acquaint them with an Oratory, style and pronunciation. How to help them translate Latin into Greek, and to make Greek verses, as they read Isocrates and Theognis. How they may profit well in reading Virgil, and easily learn to make good themes and elegant verses with delight and certainty. And what Catechisms they may learn in Greek.

Though it may seem a needless labor to prescribe directions for the teaching of the two upper forms, partly because I find more written concerning them than the rest, and partly because many very eminent and able schoolmasters employ most of their pains in perfecting them, every one making use of such authors and such a method as in his own discretion he judgeth best to make them scholars; not to say that the scholars themselves, (being now well acquainted with the Latin and Greek Grammar, and having gotten a good understanding (at least) of the Latin tongue, by the frequent exercise of translating and speaking Latin, and writing colloquies, epistles, historical and fabulous narratives and the like, besides reading some school authors and other helpful and profitable books, will be able in many things to proceed without a guide, addicting their minds chiefly to those studies which their natural genius doth most prompt them to, either concerning oratory or poetry; yet I think it requisite for me to go on as I have begun, and to show what course I have constantly kept with these two forms, to make them exactly complete in the Greek and Latin tongues, and as perfect orators and poets in both as their young years and capacities will suffer; and to enter them so in the Hebrew as that they may be able to proceed of themselves in that holy language, whether they go to the university, or are otherwise disposed to some necessary calling, which their parents or friends think fitting for them.

And first, I most heartily entreat those (especially that are my loving friends and acquaintance) of my profession, whose years and experience are far beyond mine, that they would candidly peruse and kindly interpret what I have written, seeing I desire not by any means to impose any thing too magisterially upon them or others, but freely to communicate to all men what I have for many years kept private to myself, and hath by some (whose single judgment may sufficiently satisfy me) been importunately thus given to the press; and if in any particular I seem to them to deviate from or fall short of what I aim at, viz., a facilitating the good old way of teaching by grammar, authors, and exercises, I shall take it as a singular token of love that they acquaint me with it, and if by this rush-candle of mine they please to set up their own tapers, I shall rejoice to receive greater light by them, and be ready to walk in it more vigor

ously. In the interim I go on with my discovery touching the fifth form, which I would have employed in this manner:

1. Let them and the form above them read daily a dozen verses out of the Greek Testament before the saying of parts.

2. Let them reserve the Latin and Greek Grammars and Elementa Rhetorices for weekly parts, to be said only on Thursday mornings, and so divided that they may be sure to go over them all once every quarter. By this means they will keep them in constant memory, and have more time allotted them for perusing authors and dispatch of exercises. You must not forget at every part to let them have your help of explication of the most obscure and difficult places before they recite, and after they have recited to make such diligent examination as that you may be sure they understand what they learn.

And to make them more fully acquainted with the accents and dialects of the Greek tongue, you may (besides those few rules in their grammår) let them daily peruse a chapter in Mr. Franklin's little book De Oporovias, which is excellently helpful to young Græcians, and when they grow stronger, that Appendix de Dialectis at the end of Scapula will be worth their reading and observing. It would be good sometimes to make them compare the Latin and Greek Grammar together, and to see wherein they agree and wherein they differ, but especially in the rules of syntax, and for this purpose Vechneri Hellonexia will be of excellent use.

And as I have directed before how scholars should have a commonplacebook for the Latin grammar, so I do here also for the Greek desire that after it is learnt, it may be drawn into a synopsis, and that digested into commonplace heads, to which they may easily refer whatever they read worth noting out of any Greek grammar they peruse. And that they may more freely expatiate in such books, it were good if they had Mr. Busby's Grammar, Cleonard, Scotus, Chrysolora, Ceporinus, Gaza, Urbanius, Caninius, Gretserus, Posselii Syntaxis, and as many as can be gotten, both ancient and modern, laid up in the school library, to collect annotations out of, as their leisure will best permit; and you will scarce imagine to what exactness a boy will attain, and what a treasure of good notes he will have heaped up in these two years' time, if he be moderately industrious, and now and then employ himself in collecting of his own accord; and I may add that scholars of any ordinary ingenuity will delight more to be doing something at their book, which they well understand, than to be trifling and rambling up and down about idle occasions.

3. Forasmuch as it is usual and commendable to bring on children towards perfection in the Greek tongue, as they proceed in oratory and poetry in the Latin, I think it not amiss to exercise these two forms in such authors as are commonly received and may prove most advantageous to them in all these; yet herein I may seem to differ from some others, that instead of grammar parts, (which I reserve to be constantly repeated every Thursday) I would have this form to learn some lively patterns of oratory, by the frequent and familiar use whereof, and the knowledge of the histories themselves to which they relate, they may at last obtain the art of gallant expression, and some skill to manage future affairs, it being requisite for a scholar, more than any man, to be expert in speaking and doing.

At first therefore for morning parts on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I would have them exercised in Apththonius, (if it can be gotten, as I desire it

may be reprinted) both in Greek and Latin. Out of which book I would have them translate the fables and themes (so as to finish at least one every week) into pure English, and to repeat them (being translated) in both languages, that by that means they may gain the method of these kinds of exercises and inure themselves to pronunciation. When they have gone over them, they may next translate Tully's six Paradoxes, and pronounce them also in English and Latin, as if they were their own. And afterwards they may proceed in those pithy orations which are purposely collected out of Sallust, Livy, Tacitus, and Quintus Curtius, having the histories of their occasions summarily set down before them. And of these I would have them constantly to translate one every day into English, beginning with those that are the shortest, and once a week to strive amongst themselves who can best pronounce them both in English and Latin. I know not what others may think of this task, but I have experienced it to be a most effectual mean to draw on my scholars to emulate one another who could make the best exercises of their own in the most rhetorical style, and have often seen the most bashful and least promising boys outstrip their fellows in pronouncing with a courage and comely gesture; and for bringing up this use first in my school, I must here thank that modest and ingenious gentleman, Mr. Edward Perkins, who was then my usher, for advising me to set upon it. For I found nothing that I did formerly to put such a spirit into my scholars and make them, like so many nightingales, to contend who could pádisa yiéws most melodiously tune his voice and frame a style, to pronounce and imitate the forementioned orations.

4. Their forenoon lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays may be in Isocrates, and to make them more attend the Greek,

1. Let them (at first especially) translate every lesson by way of interlineary writing according to the grammatical order.

2. Let them parse the whole lesson in that order, and give you the variation and derivation of the most difficult nouns and verbs throughout, and the rules of syntax and of the accents.

3. Let them pick out the phrases and more elegant words as they go along, and write them in a paper book, and transcribe what sentences they meet withal into their commonplace-book. After they are well entered, you may cause them to translate the Greek into elegant Latin, and on Fridays, when they come to repeat, to render their own Latin into Greek, which they should endeavor to write down very true and fair without any help of their author, who is then to be thrown aside, but afterwards compared with what they have done. Three quarters of a year (I conceive) will be sufficient to exercise them in Isocrates, till they get a perfect knowledge of etymology and syntax in Greek, which they will more easily attain to, if out of this author (especially) you teach them to translate such examples most frequently as may serve to explicate those rules which are not to be found in their Latin grammar, and very seldom occur in the Greek one, which they commonly read. And then you may let them translate a psalm out of English into Latin, and out of Latin into Greek, and compare them with the Septuagint Psalter. Afterwards you may give them some of Demosthenes' Sentences or similies, (collected by Loinus), or of Posselius' Apothegms in Latin only; and let them turn them into Greek, when they have done which, you may let them see the authors, that by them they may discover their own failings and endeavor to amend them.

Their lessons then for the fourth quarter on Mondays and Wednesdays should be in Theognis, in which most pleasing poet they may be taught not only to construe and parse, as formerly, but also to mind the dialects, and to prove and scan, and to try how to make hexameter and pentameter Greek verses, as they formerly did Latin ones, out of Ovid de Tristibus. And here I must not forget to give notice to all that are taken with this author, that Mr. Castilion's Prælectiones (which he sometimes read at Oxford, in Magdalen College, and Mr. Langley, late schoolmaster of Paul's, transcribed when he was student there) are desirous to see the light, were they but helped forward by some stationer or printer that would a little consider the author's pains. I need give the work no more commendation than to say that (besides Mr. Langley who wrote it long ago) Mr. Busby, Mr. Dugard, Mr. Singleton, and some others of note, have seen the book, and judged it a most excellent piece not only to help young scholars in the understanding of Theognis, but also to furnish them with abundant matter of invention, and to be a precedent to students in the universities whereby they may learn to compose such kind of lectures upon other poets, either for their own private recreation or more public reading. Screvelii Lexicon Manuale will be very useful to this form for parsing their lessons; and Garthii Lexicon (which is annexed to it), Rulandi Synonymia, Morelii Dictionarium, Billii Locutiones, Devarius de Græcis particulis, Posselii Calligraphia, for translating Latin into Greek; but nothing is more available to gain a good style than a frequent imitation of select pieces out of Isocrates and Demosthenes, and translating one while out of the Greek into Latin, and another while out of Latin into Greek.

5. For forenoon lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I make choice of Justin as a plain history, and full of excellent examples and moral observations, which for the easiness of the style the scholars of this form may now construe of themselves, and as you meet with an historical passage that is more observable than the rest, you may cause every one of them to write it down in English as well as he can possibly relate it without his book, and to turn it again into good Latin. By this means they will not only well heed the matter, but also the words and phrases of this smooth historian. And after half or three quarters of a year, you may make use of Caesar's Commentaries or Lucius Florus in this manner, intermixing some of Erasmus' Colloquies now and then for variety's sake.

6. Their afternoon parts on Mondays and Wednesdays may be in Janua Linguarum Græca, translated out of Latin by Theodorus Simonius, which they may use as they formerly did the Janua Latina Linguæ, viz., after they have construed a chapter and analyzed some harder nouns and verbs, you may let them try who can recite the most Greek names of things and tell you the most Greek words for one Latin word, and show their derivations and differences and the rules of their several accents. And to acquaint them the better with all the Greek and Latin words comprised in that book, you may cause them at every part to write out some of the Latin index into Greek, and some of the Greek index into Latin, and to note the manner of declining nouns and verbs, as the dictionaries and lexicons will show them.

7. Virgil, the prince and purest of all Latin poets, doth justly challenge a place in school-teaching, and therefore I would have him to be constantly and thoroughly read by this form on Mondays and Tuesdays for afternoon lessons. They may begin with ten or twelve verses at a lesson in the Eclogues, which

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