LANGUAGE AND THE ENGLISH CIVIL SERVICE. 16 1 



bands of a distinct examiner. I would still allow merit for a literary 

 examination in French, German, and Italian, but would strike off the 

 languages, and let the candidate get up the literature as he chose. 

 The basis of a candidate's literary knowledge, and his first introduc- 

 tion to literature, ought to be his own language ; but he may extend 

 his discrimination and his power by other literatures, either in trans- 

 lations or in originals, as he pleases ; but the examination, as before, 

 should test the discrimination and the power, and not the vocabulary, 

 of the languages themselves. 



In order to do full justice to classical antiquity, I would allow the 

 present markings to continue, at the rate of 500 for political institu- 

 tions and history, and 250 for literature. Some day this will be 

 thought too much ; but political philosophy or sociology may become 

 more systematic 'than at present, and history questions will then take 

 a different form. 



In like manner, I would abolish the language-examination in 

 modern languages, and give 250 marks for the literature of each of 

 the three modern languages French, German, Italian. The history 

 would be taken as modern history, with an adequate total value. 



The objections to this proposal will mainly revolve themselves 

 into its revolutionary character. The remark will at once be made 

 that the classical languages would cease to be taught, and even the 

 modern languages discouraged. The meaning of this I take to be, 

 that, if such teaching is judged solely by its fruits, it must necessarily 

 be condemned. 



The only way to fence this unpalatable conclusion is to maintain 

 that the results could not be fully tested in an examination as sug- 

 gested. Some of these are so fine, impalpable, and spiritual in their 

 texture, that they cannot be seized by any questions that can be put, 

 and would be dropped out if the present system were changed. But 

 results so untraceable cannot be proved to exist at all. 



So far from the results being missed by disusing the exercises of 

 translation, one might contend that they would only begin to be ap- 

 preciated fairly when the whole stress of the examination is put upon 

 them. If an examiner sets a paper in Roman law, containing long 

 Latin extracts to be translated, he is starving the examination in law 

 by substituting for it an examination in Latin. Whatever knowledge 

 of Latin terminology is necessary to the knowledge of law should be 

 required, and no more. So, it is not an examination in Aristotle to 

 require long translations from the Greek; only by dispensing with all 

 this does the main subject receive proper attention. 



If the properly literary part of the present examinations were 

 much of a reality, there woidd be a nice discussion as to the amount 

 of literary tact that could be imparted in connection with a foreign 

 language, as translated or translatable. But I have made an ample 

 concession, when I propose that the trial should be made of examin- 



VOL. XII. 11 



