H I Ml
UNIVERSITY" OK Nf HHA55JCA
LIBRARY
LINCOLN. NEBKA3KA
V
.,., .. . .. j
Hesperian Student.
For. a.
Univernlty of Nebraska.
jro a
MJMM
NOVUM Mlill,
Qui non Iroilolf. Doflolt.
1872.
KmcrMoiihn: IVoiihciinc.
A little paragraph is going the rounds
of the newspapers to the effect that Emer
Hon says a man Is a fool who bothers him.
self to study Latin and Greek, when he
can get hold of translations of the an
cient classical writers.
Emerson in his time has said some good
things, and also as many foolish things
as almost any other m.u living. 'Shis
remark of his uhout classical study, is to
lie put down as among his silliest. For
see: if it is not worth while to study the
ancient languages in order to master the
ancient literature, it cannot be wortli the
trouble to learn the, modern languages
in order to master modern literature.
Tolerable translations can be had of
almost all good foreign books, so that .no
one is any longer forced to acquire other
languages than his. own, except for com
mercial purposes. Hut commerce is of
the earth earthy. It. is not necessarily car
ried on .by persons of cultivation; and
the study of modem languages for the
sake of pecuniary gain, is a thing so ut
terly mechanical, that it is to be rated
with blacksmithingnndcarpentcry. One
reason why I haw always felt contempt
for the study of German by so American tjicfajtluit' the .church. uf God along the
is, that it Is done not tor llic sake oi u;c . ,.,, f time even to this hour. But, on
to disparage them than T. Hut tlfe study
and attainment of the practical will not
supply the need of the Bplrltiml and the
rcsthctical. Of this, no one Is a better
illustration than Emerson himself. He
would bo a nobody to-day but for his
long familiarity with Plato and the phi
osophers. He derived his transcendent
alism in part from them. Lie has been
a careful student of the treasures In lan
guage all his life. For Hitch a man to
decry the classics and proclaim the ripe
equality of translations is bald-faced and
shabby. lie knows better. He knows
that he is doing violence (o the habit of
his own life. We should be amazed at
his antagonism to the classics if the rea
son w;is far to seek. Hut his purpose is
patent.
Emerson belongs to the numerically
increasing school of free-thinkers. He
dislikes orthodox faith and reverence of
the past, and therefore would discard
from the scheme of modern education
whatever best promotes, those qualities.
The classics have been found to induce
love of ancient authors, love of ancient
models, reverence of -the great names and
great deeds of other days, and n habit of
conservatism in thought that has borne
parlance of the world of letters has never
yet called a person "learned" who was
not familiar with the Greek and Latin
languages and their priceless literature,
however much he might know about
practical sciences and inventions. For
the mere scientist need bo a person of
cultivation only in specialties. He may
be cunning to contrive mc"chanical tools,
and to detect resemblance or lack of re
semblance In soils nnd stones, and yet
lack all deep, elaborate and elegant culti
vation. It will be a sorry day for civil i-
Tlio Chapel.
Since the opening of the University, a
little more than a year ago, there has been
much said by the students and ' others
concerning its advantages and opportuni
ties. But there is one branch, or rather mode,
of instruction in general affairs, which
seems to have received but little attentio i,
though I think it is not from .1 want ot
appreciation. I refer to the short talk or
'lecture or cnll.lt-what-you.pluase, which
tlwk fMi rtrtl 1m rviifiia 1 trfitrr ti-itin nn hi
zation if the educational experience oft J e
two thousand years shall over be discard- c l"10 ' , ...
,..i .. .... .1.1. i i I From these lectures, winch are on van-
Ull (la l lllllljl UUDVW11I, (Wilt sljvtr
and easy methods a little German,
a little French, a little book-keeping, and
a little music be substituted for the
noble processes that have fashioned all
that mankind have thus far been much
accustomed to reverence.
I can add interest to this brief article
in no better way than by quoting a pas
sage from Dean Stanley's life of Thomas
Arnold, of Rugby. If any one man aove
all others is entitled to speak authorita
tively about the best modes of education,
it is Dr. Arnold. His very great ability,
jous subjects, may be derived a groat
amount of useful and interesting knowl
edge. In fact, by a proper contemplation
I of the principles held up before us ;tc
j these times, u course of life may be laid
out, whicliV if strictly adhered to, would
. fit a man for almost any desired position.
i Let us notice for a moment some of the
things spoken of at different times. Li
the first place, in starting out in life we
should have some definite and high pur-
ipose in view; we should aim at the very
highest and strive earnestly and faithfully
to reach it. But if we arc contented with
German literature, but for the sole pur
pose of helping to get a living: with no
other end in view than German trade and
German votes. This, of course, is not
the other hand, the sciences being sub
ject of experiment and sometimes of
demonstration, render the mind more
open to doubt, and to religious, social and
... ... . . . ll
noble; is not a lotty aim; uui is a orcau ; political empiricism. Tlic war of science
nnd butter expedient. It is just a trap to j Ugaiii8t the classics h a part of the con
catch Hies; and that is all. i ili'ct of science with faith; of the earth
But to be of permanent value, language j wilh the 8pifit. of (!ie practical and tern
must be studied as a science and for the prary with the permanent and supernal,
discipline of the human spirit. The n belongs to a scheme to elevate reason to
thought derived to modern cultivation by ,thc thron(, of worship; to make science
examination of the roots of Greek and ' God Iwtca,i 0r tiw Crucified One. It Is
Latin words, hurpasses that derived from lU lhe ba8e of a philosophy ,i,at seeks to
all other sources. Translations drfVclope ' discredit whatever it cannot see and ana
very little deep, close thinking; nor dohyze; that would throw off allegiance to
hey give the real llavor of an author's i an ti,at contulnn the doctrine and rever
personality. once ot the past. And so it would race
Lulu push the Emersonian proposi- i OVer th(. ,.u83jC8 nm tJlt. iotty morulity
tion a step further. Why study the math-j,,!' ,i. mv;li:tti time as fast as it can;
ematicH any more than the classics, it Would take them at a jump in trnnsla
good keys can be had ? Why bother over tmitt Mu discourage any long abiding in
knotty and troublesome problems in Al- venerable historic halls,
gebra, Calculus, or Natural Philosophy, The advocates of (his scheme are
if somebody else can be found to do our ,.ruclly indifi'crent to the narrowness and
work for us, and put down their processes j coarseness to which they would condemn
in figures and demonstrations that we can i ti,e human mind. Dirty facts facts
easily comprehend r Some will say be- j about coal, and iron, and the mud of the
cause mathematics are practical, and; earth, and the manure that excites Lie
have to be applied in the strain of life. J energies of vegetation these they would
But this is a bread and butter argument. I constitute into an entire collegiate curric
Iiiq Trm ir iivnni'li.iif'n liia nwiut iilinnilimt
"" fa !"" " "" .,'ll l.J.w. ...wl ., ,..iutn .. n,l,,l
success, give weight to all he utters; and D,"U' """" """ " """" " ""
we are more than likely to become small
and contemptible ourselves A mean,
narrow-minded man is despised as soon
as he is known, and great eccentricity is
but slightly removed from insanity.
The above thoughts formed the basis ot
one of these lectures, and from them we
Arnold whs a Liberal of amazing stom
ach.
His biographer says "That classical
i studies should be the basis of intellectual
teaching, lie maintained from the firHt.
'The study of language,' he said, 'seems
to me as if it was given for the very pur
pose of forming the human mind in
wuitli. (mil flu. flrnilr nnd T.jitin Inn.
J ' ,i . .i ,. 'tion of n noble life, n strong and noble
guages, m themselves so perfect, and at . . '
' the same time freed from tig Insuperable
dilliculty which must attend any attempt
' to teach boys philology through the me
dium of their own spoken language, seem
the very instruments by. which this is to
be eflected." He became as he grew
see the necessity of having in the founda-
iTiirnrKn intrntlinr wit.li nnnn mid froiinrnns
It has nothing to do with that cultivation
which goes with a well-trained and beau
tlful spirit through this world and away
on among all the eternities beyond. Be
sides, very few of those 'who make mathe
matlcs a specialty ever find occasion for
any practical use of their knowledge,
beyond measuring cord-wood, and estima
ting the monthly amouiit to be paid the
grocer and the hired help. A few become
Engineers, but how very few ! There ir.
food discipline in the mathematics and
the sciences, nno" no one is less inclined
ulum. Or, if they would add anything
to ascertained facts, it would be only
their own wild theories about monkeys
that change to men by slipping off their
tails, nnd about bones found in Swiss
caves that they assert to bo more ancient
than the present' race of men. (There
can be little doubt that those bones are
no older than the return of the homeless
Helvetii who were "driven back by Julius
Ciesar.) :
Uoretofirc ripe classical scholar hns
ahuy. been esteemed '"learned." The
impulses.
At another time "Enthusiasm" was the
theme. Very little can be accomplished,
: either in our studies here or in the affairs
of life without enthusiasm; and if it is
. wiSs1sil r iwlli-k miitAun infk itt lftttf
older "more and more a convert" to the - "J 0uu.bFu...,-, .,,.,,,
necessity of training boys to write Latin chuul l V ,,c n-Bpr iir ot sue
verse. "It was not knowledge," he said, CC83- Again we are kindly advised and
but the means of gaining knowledge, that instructed to keep our minds free from
he had to teach;" that is, not the ultimate, Prejudice, and to let our judgment incline
or even the relative facts of science,, but ' to benevolence and charity. Think ill of
the best methods of appreciating and ol,u frmn mtirtJ projutlice, for if we are
weighing truth, beauty, nnd goodness. ' continually thinking meanly of others
Of such an opinion, too, was Coleridge. wo lire aPl to ,,ecomo mean, "delves.
For myself, I have no patience with But the most Important ot th-.e princi
the modern attempt to deity ucience. It PK if 1 V be "owed t judge, !?
began In the llery day of the French Hcv- curacy.
oliittnn. nnd nrolmhlv will continue to
the end of tho world. It was inaugur- au must be accurate in his culeul itious
ated to deprive the spirit of man of Its ' or he makes a failure. The builder iri
faith, its conviction of sin, it sense of ing a. contract must be accurate in
the need of our Lord's Atonement, and of ' estimates or he Is liable to loss. And
that cheerful hope that has consoled so1 ho to other things. We should culti
many a bed of death. Ite aims are mail- vate this habit now at school, lu learning
cious4 its means paltry and degrading, our lessons, and in the use of words while
. Wherefore, as classical studv has moulded writing or speaking, uiai u may u uu
T ' V
Than this there are lcs things
more essential to success. The business
the best and greatest men in the world's
history so far, (and even fashioned the
men of science who decry it,) it seems to
me unwise to abandon it for systems of
which all that can be said is, they are
easier, less disciplinary, partially uncer
tain, and wholly material. O. C. D.
In our minds that accuracy is a ntcemty.
And thus It goes on. Every morning
now and choice thoughts are brought for
ward which are worthy the careful atleri.
tion of all the students, and which materi
ally add to the usefulness of the institu. '
lion.
