634 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of the Scotch universities, proves that the classics are compatible with 

 a very tolerable scientific education, they will need to be curtailed if 

 every one of the fundamental sciences, as Mill urged, is to be repre- 

 sented at a passable figure. 



In the various new proposals for extending the sphere of scientific 

 knowledge, a much smaller amount of classics is to be required, but 

 neither of the two languages is wholly dispensed with. If not taught 

 at college, they must be taken up at school as a preparation for entering 

 on the Arts curriculum in the university. This can hardly be a per- 

 manent state of things, but it is likely to be in operation for some time. 



2. The remitting of Greek in favor of a modern language is the 

 alternative most prominently before the public at present. It accepts 

 the mixed form of the old curriculum, and replaces one of the dead 

 languages by one of the living. Resisted by the whole might of the 

 classical party, this pi-oposal finds favor with the lay professions as 

 giving one language that will actually be useful to the pupils as a 

 language. It is the very smallest change that would be a real relief. 

 That it will speedily be carried we do not doubt. 



Except as a relaxation of the gripe of classicism, this change is not 

 altogether satisfactory. That there must be two languages (besides 

 English) in order to an Arts Degree is far from obvious. Moreover, 

 although it is very desirable that every pupil should have facilities at 

 school or college for commencing modern languages, these do not rank 

 as indispensable and universal culture, like the knowledge of sciences 

 and of literature generally. They would have to be taught along with 

 their respective literatures to correspond to the classics. 



Another objection to replacing classics by modern languages is the 

 necessity of importing foreigners as teachers. Now, although there 

 are plenty of Frenchmen and Germans that can teach as well as any 

 Englishmen, it is a painful fact that foreigners do oftener miscarry, 

 both in teaching and discipline, with English pupils, than our own 

 countrymen. Foreign masters are well enough for those that go to 

 them voluntarily with the desire of being taught ; it is as teachers in 

 a compulsory curriculum that their inferiority becomes apparent. 



The retort is sometimes made to this proposal "Why omit Greek 

 rather than Latin? Should you not retain the greater of the two 

 languages ? This may be pronounced as mainly a piece of tactics ; 

 for every one must know that the order of teaching Latin and Greek 

 at the schools will never be topsy-turvied to suit the fancy of an in- 

 dividual here and there, even although John Stuart Mill himself was 

 educated in that order. On the scheme of withdrawing all foreign 

 languages from the imperative curriculum, and providing for them as 

 voluntary adjuncts, such freedom of selection would be easy. 



3. Another alternative is to remit both Latin and Greek in favor 

 of French and German. Strange to say, this advance upon the pre- 

 vious alternative was actually contained in Mr. Gladstone's ill-fated 



