=Note.=--(1) The assertion is often heard that the ancient languages supply a permanent standard by which to judge of the progress and the decay of modern languages; also that the ancient classics must be regarded as furnishing the models for purity and beauty in style. These and similar contentions are undeniably correct, and carry the greatest weight, but they are unpedagogical. They embody the absolute requirement, but not that which younger pupils need for _their_ culture; and the large majority of those who are fitting themselves for official positions cannot afford to make themselves guardians of language and style. They must take language as it is, and acquire the manner of expression which is adapted to the world of affairs. Those higher cares belong to authors, but no one is educated for authorship.
(2) It is a familiar notion that the difficulty would diminish if the ancient languages were begun later, that then the ability to learn would prove greater. On the contrary, the older the pupil the stronger the tendency of his thought-mass toward exclusion. Memory work must be introduced early, especially where its usefulness depends wholly on the acquisition of facility. It is essential to begin early in order to make it possible to proceed slowly and to avoid unpedagogical pressure. Four hours a week of Latin do not hurt a healthy, bright boy, provided his other tasks are arranged with pedagogical correctness. To put modern languages first would be to put the cart before the horse. Useful enough, however, are single French and English expressions relating to everyday life. They will be of service in acquiring the pronunciation; but a few phrases do not constitute the teaching of a language.
[37] Bennett and Bristol, “The Teaching of Latin and Greek,” Longmans, Green & Co., New York, 1900.
279. The manner of teaching the ancient languages, where they are regarded as a matter of necessity or conventionality, no account being taken of pedagogical considerations, need not be discussed here. It must rather be admitted at once that no pedagogical means whatever exist, whereby those who live with their interests strictly confined to the present could be brought to acquire, with genuine sympathy, the content of the works of antiquity.