interfere with the scientific anatomy of language on the principles of comparative philology, as now practised by all thorough-bred teachers, a practice which, when not prematurely protruded, or pretentiously paraded, must certainly be regarded as one of the most notable advances recently made in school tactics. In conclusion, I have only to return my sincere thanks to those gentlemen who have performed for me faithfully the fretful duty of revising the Greek of the dialogues. A work of this kind, however carefully executed, will no doubt contain some errors, which it will require no microscope of the curious critic to detect; but after passing through the hands of such accomplished scholars as Professor Lushington of Glasgow, Professor Geddes of Aberdeen, Dr. Clyde of the Edinburgh Academy, Dr. Donaldson of the High School, Edinburgh, the Rev. F. W. Farrar, Head Master of Marlborough College, and Mr. W. Merry of Lincoln College, Oxford, my Greek may reasonably be expected to have been well weeded of any of those modernisms and linguistic slips which might give just cause of offence to a scientifically trained teacher.

OPINIONS

OF

CELEBRATED SCHOLARS AND THINKERS

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COLLOQUIAL AND DESCRIPTIVE

METHOD IN THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGES.

"In omnibus fere minus valent præcepta quam experimenta. 66 Omnem sermonem auribus primum accepimus.

"Excitat qui dicit spiritu ipso, nec imagine et ambitu rerum sed rebus incendit. Vivunt enim omnia et moventur, excipimusque nova illa et nascentia cum favore et solicitudine.

“Scribendo dicimus diligentius, dicendo scribimus facilius.”— QUINCTILIAN.

"Ad linguæ cognitionem plurimum habebit momenti, si inter bene loquaces educetur puer. Fabulas et apologos hoc discet libentius, ac meminerit melius, si horum argumenta scite depicta pueri oculis subjiciantur, et quicquid oratione narratur, in tabulâ demonstretur. Idem æque valebit ad ediscenda arborum, herbarum, et animantium nomina, præsertim eorum quæ non ita passim obvia sunt, veluti rhinoceros, tragelaphus, onocrotalus, asinus Indicus, elephantus.

"Scis bonam eruditionis partem esse scire rerum vocabula. Hic supra modum peccatur a grammaticis vulgaribus, quorum vitio fit ut adolescentes post multos annos in grammaticâ contritos vix norint ullius arboris, piscis, volucris quadrupedis aut leguminis verum nomen."-ERASMUS.

"Omnis lingua usu potius discitur quam præceptis: id est audiendo, legendo, relegendo, imitationem manu et linguâ tentando quam creberrime.

"Instituendi erunt varii de rebus discursus, quos formâ dialo

gistica concipi quatuor hæc suadent: primum nihil est homini naturalius colloquio, quo sensim sine sensu perduci potest quocunque: secundo colloquia excitant animum, foventque attentionem, idque ob quæstionum et responsionum varietatem, eorumque varias occasiones et formas, intermixtis subinde quæ oblectant. Tertio serviunt dialogi cum rerum impressioni firmiori, tum repetitioni (etiam inter discipulos ipsos privatim) faciliori. Denique quia potior vitæ nostræ pars colloquio constat, eleganter compendioseque ad eam manu ducitur juventus, si res non solum intelligere sed et de illis expedite disserere consuescat."-AMOS COMENIUS.

"Sane pueriles animi mire capiuntur narratiunculis et picturis. Figura singula monstrentur, explicentur: quarum occasione sylvam vocum Latinarum addiscere licebit."--GERARD JOHN Vossius.

"For their studies, first, they should begin with the chief and necessary rules of some good grammar, and WHILE THIS IS DOING their speech is to be fashioned to a distinct and clear pronunciation, as near as may be to the Italian, especially in the vowels. For we Englishmen, being far Northerly, do not open our mouths in the cold air wide enough to grace a Southern tongue, but are observed by all other nations to speak exceeding close and inward, so that to smatter Latin with an English mouth is as ill as learning as law French."-JOHN MILTON.

"If you will consider it, Latin is no more unknown to a child when he comes into the world than English, and yet he learns English without master, rule, or grammar; and so might he Latin too, as Tully did, if he had somebody always to talk to him in this language."-JOHN LOCKE.

"Why should the old practice of conversing in Latin and Greek be altogether discarded?"-PROFESSOR JOWETT.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

I. ORTHOEPY.

As language consists of articulate sounds, and all sounds are addressed to the ear, it is of the utmost importance in learning a language to educate that organ accurately from the very first, so that the learner, as he goes on to perfection, may have no bad habits to unlearn, and may not, contrary to nature, be forced to master rules as mere abstract truths never to be applied in practice. In training the ear to the accurate reception of Greek sounds, three things are to be attended

to

1. The proper sounds of the letters, specially of the vowels, in which the musical value of language mainly resides.

2. The quantity of the syllables; that is, the length of time occupied in the enunciation of the syllables. This again depends mainly on the vowels, in pronouncing which the breath may either be cut sharply off, which makes a short vowel, or drawn out to a greater length, which makes a long vowel.

A