The Leodiensian.

SYSTEM OF LEARNING LANGUAGES.

Men had long been accustomed, till within the last quarter of a century, to consider the acquisition of languages, and more especially the Latin and Greek, as a department of study only to be adventured on by those who could afford, not only to throw away years upon them, but to devote the spoil of a constitution to the labour. The initiated have, indeed, we confess, with a few commendable exceptions, done their endeavours, unintentionally perhaps, to encourage this deception, and to present to the contemplation of the beginner, an entrance, like that fabled one of the infernal regions, guarded by grim spectres and arrayed in more than mortal terrors.

The day is past, when it was believed that Latin could not be learned, save by Latin rules. There are a few who still proceed on this principle-a principle, by the bye, of the same sort with the philosophy of that wiseacre, mentioned by Hierocles, who maintained that since every man was in danger of being drowned, no one ought to go into the water, before he had learned to swim-but most of us have, at length, discovered that Latin may be learned as well by English rules. There is, nevertheless, a risk to run, and another error to be avoided. When men have found out the fallacy of one system, they are too apt to rush into the opposite

extreme-often an equivalent and sometimes a more serious evil. It is in this manner that certain proposers and supporters of new systems of education have fallen into an error, equally subversive of the facility of learning languages, and more alarming in its nature than the former one, in that it is far more flattering and seductive. Our grandfathers made this matter too serious and appalling: the danger with us is, lest by endeavouring too much to facilitate the means we should lose sight of the end, and soothe ourselves with the credit of what in reality we do not enjoy. It has been hitherto, we agree, too toilsome a journey, and it behoves us to shorten the way as much as we are able, keeping in mind, that from the distance of the object, the length cannot be arbitrarily bounded, though the path may be levelled, and strewn with the flowers of enticement. Perhaps our attention could not be better directed than towards rendering all branches of education more amusing, and freeing them from that disgust, which either associated ideas, or harshness and temerity of preceptors have unfortunately too frequently generated: yet all such designs ought to be qualified with that ne quid nimis which is equally applicable to all human aims and systems; nor should we, in our highest flights of improvement ever lose sight of that not less true than poetical precept

Medio tutissimus ibis.

Universal experience has convinced, that to acquire a critical, nay even a tolerable knowledge of the grammatical structure and idiomatic expression of any language, it is essentially requisite not only to translate, but to write it with accuracy. We, therefore, defy Mr. Hamilton, or his supporters, to produce a single pupil who has learned Latin or Greek properly (we will not say so far as perfectly) or grammatically on his system. We do not deny that they may be enabled to read and understand nineteen pages out of twenty in these languages, but we resolutely assert that they will

be unable to write a thought or translate a sentence into them. We do not make this declaration rashly, but from observation; we do not make it out of any illwill to Mr. H. personally; if he believes in the efficacy of his system himself, his endeavours are commendable-if not, he is a man of considerable shrewdness and sagacity. But it is a much easier matter to find fault than to rectify. We pretend not to deny that our judgment may be fallacious, yet we will give our opinion of the most practicable and expedient way of learning a language, in which the main point to be regarded is, to do it with as much celerity as possible, without forgetting that it ought to be learned correctly.

Begin with the grammar-but learn along with each grammar lesson, a portion of some easy Latin Author, from an English translation rendered as literally as possible, with this limitation, that the sense be not injured, or unnecessarily perverted. Each word of this should be taken separately, except where the concord or government is so intimate as to render a separation prejudicial either to the English, or to the pupil's idea of the grammatical construction; we allude more particularly to the adjective and substantive, the preposition and its case: take for example-recordatio praeteriti doloris- -we would have it; recordatio the recollection praeteriti doloris of past grief: there are only two other ways:-1st. recordatio the recollection praeteriti of past doloris grief. 2d. Recordatio the recollection praetiriti of past doloris of grief: the former of these two methods gives no idea of the concord; the latter mutilates the English. Any other harshness we would avoid by occasionally explaining in a note;-but our meaning will be better understood by the specimen from Caesar, we have subjoined. With respect to the grammar-we do not know one (sufficiently compendious) that is exactly as we could wish-perhaps, upon the whole, Valpy's is the best that at present exists. For the translation, it should be from some writer of the Augustan age or thereabouts: we have a decided objec

tion to the Latin Testament, inasmuch as it gives as just an idea of that language, as the diction of a Monsieur who had lived six months in London would of our own. This plan we would pursue until we knew something of the construction, or what is usually termed, the syntax of the language. We should then proceed to translate of ourselves, and write exercisesat first, short and simple sentences, enlarging as we became more capable, but without having any Latin words given us, or the sentences classed under distinct rules; trusting to our own recollection of concords, &c. both in grammar and the translation.

In a short time we should be surprised, if we had not previously been assured of the expediency of the system, at the real progress we had made. Though we have considered our system as applied to Latin only, it is evidently the same with respect to other languages.

SPECIMEN.

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres: quarum unam incolunt Belgae ; aliam Aquitani; tertiam, qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana, dividit. Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae: propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate Provinciae longissime absunt: minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant, atque ea, quae ad effoeminandos animos pertinent, important; proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt.

TRANSLATION.

Omnis Gallia all Gaul est is divisa divided in tres partes into three parts: quarum of which Belgae the

Belgians incolunt inhabit unam one (part); Aquitani the Aquitans aliam another: qui (they) who ipsorum lingua in their own language* appellantur are called Celtae Celts, nostra in ours Galli Gauls, tertiam the third. Omnes hi all these differunt differ inter se among themselves, lingua in language, institutis in customs, legibus in laws. Flumen Garumna the river Garumna dividit separates Gallos the Gauls ab Aquitanis from the Aquitans, Matrona et Sequana the (rivers) Matrona and Sequana a Belgis from the Belgians. Omnium horum of all these Belgae the Belgians sunt are fortissimi the bravest: propterea because quod that absunt they are distant longissime farthest a cultu from the refinement atque and humanitate civilization Provinciae of the (Roman) province: que and mercatores merchants minime least saepe often commeant trade ad eos to them, atque and important import ea those (things), quae which pertinent tend ad effoeminandos animos to effeminate (men's) minds: que and sunt they are proximi nearest Germanis to the Germans, qui who incolunt dwell trans Rhenum beyond the Rhine, quibuscum with whom gerunt they carry on bellum war continenter continually.

D.

Literally :—Lingua in the language ipsorum of themselves,