February io, 191 6] 



NATURE 



649 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



{The Editor does not hold himself responsible for 

 opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither 

 can he undertake to return, or to correspond with 

 the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for 

 this or any other part of Nature. No notice is 

 taken of anonymous communications.] — 



Latin as a Universal Language. 



In the notice of Prof, Guido Baccelli in- Nature of 

 January 27, you mention that at the meeting of the 

 eleventh International Congress of Medicine in Rome 

 in 1894 he made a powerful appeal for the introduction of 

 Latin as a universal language all over the world. This 

 proposal seems to me so important and valuable that it 

 should not be passed over with a simple reference, but 

 should, on the contrary, receive the most careful con- 

 sideration, not only from the councils of our univer- 

 sities, from the heads of schools, and from educational 

 authorities in general, but from all business men and 

 all lovers of their country. 



It is generally conceded that the study of Latin is 

 one of the best means of training a schoolboy's brain. 

 But an objection which is daily gaining force is that 

 Latin occupies far too much of a schoolboy's time, and 

 it is given undue prominence in examinations to the 

 exclusion of other subjects of more value. Except for 

 its use as a subject of training, Latin, as at present 

 taught in most schools, is only of use to a few scholars, 

 and the majority of those who have spent several pain- 

 ful years in acquiring it at school find little or no use 

 for it in after-life, and more or less completely forget 

 it. But the case would be very different if Latin were 

 generally taught, not as a dead, but as a living 

 language; as, indeed, it is taught already in a few 

 schools. Just as the boys in the Balearic Islands are 

 baid to have acquired their skill in using the sling by 

 the necessity of bringing down their dinners by it from 

 places out of their reach, so boys caru learn very quickly 

 to speak Latin correctly if they have to ask for their 

 food at table and other things they want in ' that 

 language. 



As is said in your notice of Prof. Baccelli, a very 

 slight alteration in the present curriculum would enable 

 boys to speak Latin, but if it is to be a universal 

 language a mode of pronunciation common to all 

 countries must be employed. I am aware that the 

 Board of Education has succeeded in introducing the 

 reformed pronunciation in the secondary schools con- 

 trolled by it, and that the rules of the Classical Asso- 

 ciation are now widely adopted ; so that the founda- 

 tions of a universal system have been laid. But while 

 boys can learn to speak Latin correctly in school, it is 

 out of school hours that they must learn to speak it 

 fluently. If the head boys in a school could be made 

 to see that they will render valuable service to their 

 country by setting a good example and speaking Latin 

 in the cricket ground, football field, and in talks 

 amongst themselves, the small boys will immediately 

 follow suit, it will become the fashion to talk Latin, 

 and very soon every boy in the school will speak Latin 

 as fluently as he speaks English. But to ^'ain the 

 approval of the boys, Latin ought to bo taught in a 

 different way from what it usually is, and the making 

 of Latin verses should be left out, for though it may 

 be useful in after-life to scholars and literary men it is 

 useless to most others, it consumes a great deal of 

 time, and it is intensely disliked by most boys. Greek 

 should be regarded as a luxury and not as a necessity. 



The need of a universal language has been making 

 itself more and more felt of recent years in proportion 

 as intercommunication between different countries has 

 increased. In order to supplv this want various 

 attempts to frame a universal language have been 



NO. 2415, VOL. 96] 



made, such as Volapuk and Esperanto. Though a cer- 

 tain amount of success has been claimed for both of 

 these, yet neither has attained to anything like the 

 position of a universal language. 



As compared with Dutch or Germans, and especially 

 \yith Russians, Englishmen are, in general, very poor 

 linguists, and I think it is partly in consequence of this 

 that German commerce has, before the war, been suc- 

 cessful in many countries at the expense of the English. 

 When this awful war is over, Germany will again try 

 to oust the English from the world's commerce, and to 

 embroil the present Allies with one another by every 

 means that ingenuity and malice can suggest. Unless 

 Englishmen all learn to speak French, Italian, and 

 Russian, how can the necessary rapprochement be kept 

 up? French and Italian are comparatively easy, but 

 Russian is very difficult, and it may be the most neces- 

 sary of all. Latin may not be taught at present so 

 universally in Russian as in English schools, but if 

 Latin were adopted by the English, French, Italian, 

 and Russian Governments as the recognised medium of 

 intercommuncation there can be little doubt that in a 

 very short time Latin would resume the place it once 

 .held as the language in universal use all over the 

 civilised world. Lauder Brunton. 



Belgian Soldiers in Holland. 



We venture to appeal to men of science to help in 

 the admirable work which is being done by Prof. 

 Antoine, of Louvain, on behalf of Belgian soldiers 

 who escaped with our Naval Division from Antwerp, 

 and are now interned in Holland. 



With the sympathetic approval of the Dutch authori- 

 ties. Prof. Antoine has organised at Harderwijk, in the 

 camp of Zeist, courses of instruction in agriculture and 

 horticulture, and hopes to start a course of forestry. 



Lectures are given in elementary botany, chemistry, 

 and surveying. In addition to these general lectures, 

 special courses are given on general agriculture, 

 diseases of plants, agricultural machinery, book-keep- 

 ing, the elements of zoology, and animal physiology 

 of farm animals. A general course in dairy work, and 

 special courses on the chief branches of horticulture 

 are also to be included in the programme. Three airy 

 and well-lit rooms are available for the purpose of in- 

 struction, but there is a great need for teaching 

 accessories^ — diagrams, models, and collections. We 

 appeal, therefore, to your readers for help in supplying 

 the following requisites : — 



(1) Wall diagrams, botanical and zoological (the 

 latter relating to insects and farm animals). 



(2) An electric lantern and lantern-slides illustrative 

 of natural science and agricultural and horticultural 

 processes. 



(3) Books on British agriculture and horticulture. 

 (4! Surveying instruments. 



(5) Zoological and botanical models and specimens. 



(6) Microscopes, simple and compound, and acces- 

 sories. 



We shall be greatly obliged if those of your readers 

 who are in a position to make contributions will, in the 

 first place, communicate with M. H. van Orshoven, 

 Comit^ OITlciel Beige, 21 St. James's Square, London. 

 S.W. 



With a list of promises before us, we shall be in a 

 position to prevent unnecessary duplication of gifts 

 from those \rilling to help in this good work. Already 

 direct appeal to manufacturers, publishers, and others 

 has resulted in many gifts of samples of feeding-stuffs, 

 fertilisers, seeds, books, diagrams, etc. We may add 

 that at the end of the war, Prof. Antoine proposes to 

 present the collections to the University of Louvain. 



Judging from our own experience, there are few 

 laboratories which do not contain diagrams and appa- 



