23S "E D U C 
ftudied the Greek, and uiiderftood it, had they not been 
led aftrav in their you ! h by that powerful incitement to 
indolence, a collateral tranjlation. 
To the ufe of tranflations, and to the various modes of 
facilitating puerile (Indies, we may venture to attribute 
the decline of folid learning, and of that juft tafte which 
the ancient models tended to eftablifh. Together with 
tranflations, it would be wife to banifh thefe editions in 
which the order of conftrutlion is given on the fame page 
with the text. It tends vaftly to enervate the mind, by 
rendering exertion unneceffary. The molt unexception¬ 
able method of rendering the daffies eafy to the younger 
fcholars, is to fubjoin, as is fometimes pradtifed, a voca¬ 
bulary at the end of the volume. Even the interpreta¬ 
tion in ti e editions in vfum Ddphini , which are univer- 
fally ufed, tends rather to corrupt the ftyie, and to vitiate 
the tafte, by drawing off the attention from the elegant 
language of a Virgil, to tire bad Latin of a modern com¬ 
mentator. The young Undent cannot therefore too early 
be taught to exert his own powers, and to place a modeft 
confidence in their operation. This will increafe their 
native vigour, and give him fpirit to extend them as far 
as they will go on every proper emergency. Accuftomed 
to depend upon him felt, he will acquire a degree of cou¬ 
rage neceffary to call forth that merit which is often rii- 
niinifhed in value to its diffident poffeffor, and totally loft 
to mankind. The little fuperftcial learning of him who 
has been ufed to tiie facilitating inventions, may be com¬ 
pared to a temporary edifice, built fora day; while the 
hard-earned knowledge of the other may be faid to re- 
femble a building, whole foundations aie deep and ftrong, 
and equally to be admired for dignity and duration. 
It is agreed on all hands, that no faculty of the mind 
is capable of more improvement than the memory, and 
none more in danger of decay by difufe. Every practice 
which tends to (Lengthen it, (hould be encouraged and 
continued ; and it is therefore a very judicious inftifution 
in our grammar fchools, obferved from the earlieft times, 
which obliges the fcholars to commit large portions of 
the beft daffies to memory. That the talk is laborious, 
is no valid objection. Labour (Lengthens both the mind 
and body ; and what is acquired by labour, will not eafily 
be loft. The impreffion it makes is deep and lading. 
■But, in truth, it is not fo laborious a ta(k to a boy as it 
may appear to a parent, or to any other adult, who has 
had neither experience nor obfervation in this depart¬ 
ment. The memory of boys in general is abundantly 
capacious. If it is not filled with valuable furniture, it 
will be crowded with lumber. It will be the repoJitory 
of trifles, of vanities, and perhaps of vices. How much 
more defirable, that it fhould be ftored with fine fenti- 
■ments and beautiful didion, feleded from the nobleft 
writers whom the world ever produced! Honour, fpirit, 
liberality, will be acquired, by committing to memory 
the thoughts and words of heroes and of worthies, who 
eminently (hone in every fpecies of excellence. Its efiefts 
in poli(hing and refining the tafte, are too obvious to be 
called in queftion. There are abundant inftances of its 
peculiar influence in embellifhing the mind, and giving 
it a gracefulnefs which no other ornaments can fupply. 
As foon, therefore, as the grammar is perfectly learned 
by heart, the paffages of the beft claflics, conftrued as a 
leftbn on the day, fhould be given as a talk to be learned 
manoriur at night. Habit will render it no lefs eafy than 
it is beneficial. 
It cannot be denied, that nature has made a difference 
in difpenfing the power of retaining ideas. If we may 
believe fome accounts, (lie has fometimes formed prodi¬ 
gies in this fpecies of excellence. Muret relates, that 
he recited words to the number of thirty-fix thoufand, 
fome of them without meaning, to a young man, who re¬ 
peated them all-immediately, from the beginning to the 
end, and from the end to the beginning, in the fame or¬ 
der, without a moment’s hefitation or a ftngle miftake. 
Miraculous, and even incredible, as this may appear, 
A T 1 O N. 
Muret tells us, there were innumerable witneffes to fire 
truth of the fadt, and mentions many names of refpeefa- 
ble pei fons who were prefect at the repetition. Many 
other inftances might be felefted from authors of allowed 
veracity; but they are i'o different from that which falls 
within the experience of mankind in general, as fcarcely 
to gain credit. If they are true, they afford encouraging 
motives for the cultivation of a faculty, which has fome¬ 
times been advanced to fo high a degree of perfedfion. 
In giving great attention to the cultivation of the me¬ 
mory, there is danger left it fhould be overladen with mi¬ 
nute objects ; a circumftance highly injurious, efpecially 
in the courfe of education. Let it therefore be confidered, 
that a good memory, according to a fimilitude of Erafmus, 
refembles a net fo made as to confine .all the great fifti., 
but to let the little ones efcape. 
With refpedt to learning Greek, it is often thought to¬ 
tally fuperfiuous : yet it is a language that contributes 
greatly to adorn the gentleman, while it is effenti.d in a 
fcholar. It will infallibly lead him to the fountain-head 
of claffical information. It will enable him to judge of 
compofition with tafte. It will point out to him, with pre- 
cifion, the meaning of many words in the Englidi language, 
which are daily ufed, and of far the greater number of 
technical terms in every art and fc-ience. The Greek au¬ 
thors are indeed fo celebrated, and have been fo univerfall.y 
read, that one would think no man of letters, who poffelfes 
fenfe and fpirit, would voluntarily forego the opportunity 
of learning Greek, in order to perufe them in their native 
language. Homer has always kept his place as the nobleft 
writer whom the.world ever produced. They who think 
they (hall aifeover his tranfeendent excellence in any 
tranffation, are greatly deceived. The prefent age is too 
much dilpofed to pu-rfue compendious methods of edu¬ 
cation, which terminate in external and (hallow attain¬ 
ments. And, .unlefs a timely check is given, the next 
age will be led to negleft folid improvements dill more 
than the prefent; for, as folid improvements become lefs 
generally underftood, they will be lefs generally efteemed. 
When a proper knowledge of the grammar has been 
acquired, and the declenfions of the nouns and pronouns, 
and the formation of the verbs, are once learned, the 
fcholar fhould begin to read one of the chapters in St. 
John’s Gofpel in the Greek Teftament. The Greek of 
this evangelift is remarkably eafy, and, when ten or twelve 
chapters (hall have been carefully read, let the (indent 
begin St. Luke, whofe Greek is allowed to be better than 
St. John’s. When the greater part of St. Luke (hall have 
been read, and its grammatical conftruflion and its parti¬ 
cular words analyfed, let the fcholar begin fome work of 
Xenophon, Hill repeating a portion of his grammar every 
morning. This will foon pave the way to Demofthenes 
and Homer; and when thefe are once underftood, which 
with diligence and good abilities, may be very foon ac- 
complifhed, the fcholar will be able'of himfelf to pur- 
fue his ftudies in the Greek language, as far as he may 
choofe to proceed. The pleafure he will feel when once 
he enters deeply into the fine authors of ancient Greece, 
will lead him to prefer them to all others. He will then 
find, that the preference given to them by all preceding 
ages, is not the effeft of mere partiality; but is derived 
from their native excellence, and from the opportunity 
thereby afforded of enlarging and ennobling the human 
mind. 
There are many who acknowledge the excellence of 
the Greek language., that are deteired from the purfuit 
of it by ideas of its difficulty. This arifes from its being 
a very copious language; and becaufe it requires much 
and various reading, to gain a competent knowledge of 
the primitive or radical words. Yet the Greek roots 
have been computed not much to exceed three thoufand. 
It is alfo a language-which abounds in compounds and 
derivatives, the meaning of which may.be eafily known 
by knowing the (imple and original words. He who has 
acquainted himfelf with a linall number of the mod iifeful 
radicals. 
