384 Public Instruction. 



the results of this trial was verified on the 28th of Septem- 

 ber 1822 by the inspectors of the Academy of Paris, who 

 in conformity to the special desire of the Rector, gave it 

 the most scrupulous and severe examination. They de- 

 clared in their report, that the pupils knew and could em- 

 ploy, without having recourse to the dictionary, about 7000 

 latin words ; that the whole system of latin terminations, 

 comprising the nouns of number and invariable words, were 

 completely familiar to them ; that they knew and could re- 

 produce methodically all the fundamental rules of Syntax ; 

 that they could translate with exactness, not only the Epi- 

 tome, Phmdrus, and Cornelius jVepos, entirely, as well as one 

 third of Quintus Curtius, but also from the French version 

 of these different authors, they could re-produce the latin 

 texts with surprising sagacity, making with equal facility and 

 precision, the grammatical and syntactical analysis of these 

 texts. 



The first part of the method of M. Ordinaire compre- 

 hends three sections. 1st. Preparatory exercises on the 

 radical and latin terminations necessary to enable the pu- 

 pil to comprehend and to translate the classic authors. 

 2. Exercises in translation accompanied with grammatical 

 analyses, together with the recomposition of the latin texts 

 Vvithout which the pupils acquire with great difficulty just 

 notions of the character and genius of the latin language. 

 3d. Exercises in themes which can only be useful, when by 

 the preceding exercises the scholar has obtained a sufficient 

 share of preliminary knowledge to render his composition 

 effective. 



At the examination on the 16th June last, at which the 

 Rector of the Academy of Paris presided, the more ad- 

 vanced pupils whose period of study, deducting all vaca- 

 tions, was 16 months, not only translated with correctness 

 and rapidity, difficult latin texts upon which they had no 

 preparation, but they turned into latin almost without the 

 help of a dictionary, and with as much correctness as intel- 

 igence, French texts which required a thorough knowl- 

 edge of all the rules of Syntax. The rector and examiners, 

 among whom was the learned M. Burnouf, expressed the 

 highest satisfaction with the results of this investigation. 

 They were not less struck with the uniformity of the knowl- 

 edge acquired by the numerous pupils whom-they interro- 

 gated, than with the cheerfulness and pleasure which the 



