july— sept. 1857.] The Study of Living Languages, 2%$ 



tinct and shallow impressions of them, because such things are 

 always forgotten and have to be learnt over again.. This is the 

 grand reason why such enormous time is wasted in this study. 

 A man attempts so much at once that every thing is partially 

 learnt and forgotten probably at least a hundred times over. He 

 begins with a book containing hundreds, more likely thousands of 

 words and long sentences involving innumerable rules of grammar, 

 and before he gets to the end of it has learnt in a sort of way and 

 forgotten every word in it and every expression over and over 

 again, and has probably in the end thoroughly apprehended and 

 acquired a familiar knowledge of not one twentieth part of the 

 words he has met with. He perhaps makes lists of the words 

 that he meets with and learns many hundreds by heart at once, 

 but he has no useful knowledge of one in twenty of them. No 

 word is effectually known till it is so thoroughly familiar, that it is 

 ready in his mouth at any moment, without the slightest effort of 

 memory, and till it can be used in a considerable variety of ex- 

 pressions ; in fact, till it is just to the student like one of the 

 words of his native tongue, and so wrought into his mind that it 

 cannot be forgotten again. It may however often appear that 

 time would be gained by adopting some plan which would endan- 

 ger the soundness of the foundation, and in this case such a plan 

 must be rejected. 



The third great principle is ; To have such a syttem as shall en- 

 courage people, both to commence upon and go through with the 

 study of Native languages. It is of exceeding importance to en- 

 courage all persons, whatever their situations or occupations are, 

 when remaining for any time however short or uncertain in such 

 countries, to make themselves acquainted, as far as possible, with 

 the language of the people. Numbers at present never attempt it, 

 solely because the usual mode of study cuts them off from all hope 

 of ever attaining to the smallest useful knowledge of it, without 

 such an expenditure of time and labour as they are afraid to en- 

 counter or their circumstances absolutely prevent. A system which 

 shall afford some useful results to every one who enters upon it, 

 and those in some degree proportioned to the time and labour ex- 



