3 i6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



was agitating the nations to their very foundations, that it was ameli- 

 orating the lot of man, increasing hi,s power, and dealing remorse- 

 lessly with old ideas, the fictions and fallacies of the past ! 



Can we wonder, then, that those who were growing up in the 

 midst of these marvels should not only contrast the activity by which 

 they were surrounded with the stagnation of preceding centuries, but 

 should demand to be made acquainted with the power that was thus 

 opening a new world before their eyes ? Very soon it became appar- 

 ent that there was no provision in the existing educational establish- 

 ments, the universities and colleges, for this unexpected state of 

 things. These were, to be sure, good enough to initiate a bench of 

 boys into the method of translating an ode of Horace or a few 

 lines of Sophocles, but something more substantial than that was 

 wanted now. 



This was the true cause of that influence which began to be felt in 

 America about 1840. Every reflecting person saw that a change in 

 public education was imperative ; nay, more was impending. Con- 

 fronted by the vigor of modern ideas, the system that had come down 

 from the dark ages was seen to have become obsolete. 



In addition to these influences, there was another at which we must 

 for a moment glance. Let me, in a few words, sketch its history. 



The peninsula of Italy was separated from the rule of the Greek 

 emperors in the eighth century, mainly in consequence of the icono- 

 clastic dispute. Partly through the stress of circumstances, and 

 partly as a matter of policy, the Latin language was brought into 

 such prominence that it was supposed to contain all the useful knowl- 

 edge in the world. In "Western Europe, at the close of the fourteenth 

 century, Greek was totally forgotten. 



But when it became clear that Constantinople would be taken by 

 the Turks, many learned men fled to the West, bringing with their 

 language precious classical manuscripts. As it was feared, however, 

 by the dominant authority that knowledge and opinions of an un- 

 suitable kind might thus be introduced, Greek obtained a foothold 

 with much difficulty, and it was only by the aid of Florence, Venice, 

 and other commercial towns of Upper Italy, that after a struggle it 

 made good its ground. The Latin had now a successful rival. 



A century later brings us to the culmination of the Reformation. 

 Its literary issue was an admiration of the language of that much- 

 enduring, that immortal race to whom the Old Testament is so largely 

 due. As had been the case with Greek, so now Hebrew passed from 

 a condition of neglect to one of extravagant exaltation. It was be- 

 lieved to have been the original language of the human race, a con- 

 viction that proved to be a great stumbling-block to the progress of 

 learning. There were thus three classical languages, each having its 

 own paramount claim. 



In 1784 the Royal Asiatic Society was instituted in Bengal, One 



