College Teaching Part 44

[60] Reprinted in revised form from _College Sons and College Fathers_, Harper and Brothers.

XX

THE TEACHING OF THE CLa.s.sICS

=Significance of recent criticisms of the teaching of the cla.s.sics=

Methods of teaching are determined to a large extent by appreciation of the objects to be attained. If teachers make clear to themselves just what they wish to accomplish, they will more easily develop the means. The storm of objection now rising against the study of the Cla.s.sics indicates clearly that there is a general dissatisfaction with the result of this study. There is a striking unanimity on this subject among persons of widely different talent and experience, of whom some are still students, while others are looking back upon their training in school and college after years of mature life. Their adverse criticism is all the more significant because often expressed with obvious regret. Some, who have had unusual opportunities for observation, state their opinion in no uncertain language. For example, Mr. Abraham Flexner, in his pamphlet "A Modern School," on page 18 says: "Neither Latin nor Greek would be contained in the curriculum of the Modern School--not, of course, because their literatures are less wonderful than they are reputed to be, but because their present position in the curriculum rests upon tradition and a.s.sumption. A positive case can be made out for neither." The president of Columbia University, in his Annual Report for 1915-1916, page 15, speaking of the "teachers of the ancient cla.s.sics," says: "They have heretofore been all too successful in concealing from their pupils the real significance and importance of Greek and Latin studies." Such criticisms, however, do not prove that the study of the Cla.s.sics cannot accomplish all that its advocates claim for it, but only that it is not now accomplishing satisfactory results.

Undoubtedly there are various causes for a depreciation of cla.s.sical studies at the present time. Other subjects, such as mathematics, are suffering from a similar disparagement. In recent years interest has centered more and more in studies designed to develop powers of observation, give knowledge of certain facts, or provide equipment for some particular vocation, to the neglect of those which discipline the mind or impart a general culture. It is certainly important, therefore, to consider the relative values of these various studies.

To do so it is desirable to examine the aims of cla.s.sical teaching and the methods by which these aims may be realized; for it is at least possible that the widespread dissatisfaction with this teaching is due not so much to the subject itself as to defects and insufficiency in the methods employed.

=The present aims of cla.s.sical teaching=

Not all teachers of the Cla.s.sics agree in all respects as to the aims of their teaching. Certain aims, however, are common to all the cla.s.sical departments in American colleges. These are:

1. To train students, through the acquisition and use of the ancient languages, in memory, accuracy, a.n.a.lysis and logic, clearness and fluency of expression, and style.

2. To enable certain students to read with profit and enjoyment the masterpieces of Greek and Latin literature.

3. To impart to certain students a knowledge, as complete as possible, of the cla.s.sical civilization as a whole. To a complete knowledge of this civilization belongs all that the ancients possessed or did, all that they thought or wrote, whether or not any particular part of it had an influence upon later times or is, in itself, interesting or valuable now. All parts alike are phenomena of the life of these ancient peoples and so of the life of the human race.

4. To impart a knowledge and understanding of the thoughts and ideas, the forms of expression, the inst.i.tutions, and the experiences of the ancients, in so far as these are either actually valuable in themselves to the modern world or have influenced the development of modern civilization.

Besides these aims which are common to all, there are certain others less generally pursued by cla.s.sical teachers in this country. Among these are:

5. To make students familiar with "the Greek (and Latin) in English,"

i.e. with the etymology and history of words in our own language which had their origin in or through Greek or Latin.[61]

6. To trace the influences of the cla.s.sic literature upon modern literature and thought.[62]

7. To train those who expect to teach the Cla.s.sics in pedagogical methods, and to familiarize them with modern pedagogical appliances.[63]

8. To teach the language of the New Testament and of the Church Fathers.[64]

The cla.s.sical departments of some colleges also give courses in Modern Greek[65]: such courses, however, belong properly to the field of Modern Languages.

Now it is by no means certain that all of these aims properly concern all cla.s.ses of students. On the contrary, every one would doubtless agree that those described under Nos. 7 and 8 do not concern the average student of the Cla.s.sics. It is also a debatable question whether it should be the aim of cla.s.sical teaching to give all cla.s.sical students some knowledge of the cla.s.sic civilization as a whole; whether, for example, Aristophanes and Plautus, however important these authors may be for a complete understanding of the ancient life and literature, are worth while for all cla.s.sical students alike. It is far more important, however, to determine whether, in that which seems to many persons the chief business of a cla.s.sical department, all who study the masterpieces of the ancient literatures should be taught to study them in the original language.

=Teaching from the originals only=

No one doubts that cla.s.sical departments should provide courses on the ancient literature in the original, or that the aesthetic qualities of a literature can be _fully_ appreciated only in the original language.

Some people, however, maintain that every literary production is primarily a work of art, and consequently that its aesthetic qualities are its most essential qualities: that to teach the cla.s.sical literature through the medium of translations would be aiming at an imperfect appreciation of its most essential qualities, and would also divert students from the study of its original form. Yet in most colleges courses on painting and sculpture are given through the medium of photographs, casts and copies, and no one questions the value and effectiveness of such courses, or doubts that they tend to increase the desire of the students to know the originals themselves.

Similarly courses on Greek literature in translations are given at many American colleges, for example at Bucknell, California, Colorado, Harvard,[66] Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Lafayette, Leland Stanford, Michigan, Missouri, New York University, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Syracuse, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington University, Wesleyan, and Wisconsin: courses in Latin literature in translations at California, Colorado, Kansas, Leland Stanford, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington University. Besides these there are courses at some colleges on Greek or Roman Life and Thought,[67] or Life and Letters,[68] or Civilization,[69] most of which do not involve the use of the ancient languages on the part of the students. For example, at Brown courses which require no knowledge of the ancient languages are given in both Greek and Roman "Civilization as Ill.u.s.trated by the Literature, History and Monuments of Art."[70] Harvard also offers courses ent.i.tled "A Survey of Greek Civilization" and "A Survey of Roman Civilization, Ill.u.s.trated from the Monuments and Literature," in which a knowledge of the ancient languages is not required.

In deciding the question here at issue it is essential to distinguish between the different kinds of literature. The value of certain literary productions undoubtedly consists chiefly in the aesthetic qualities of their form; that is, the excellence and influence of these productions depends upon the particular language actually used by the author. Such works of literature lose very much in translation, and it may be a.s.serted with some reason that they lose their most essential qualities. It may well be doubted, therefore, whether any one can derive great pleasure or benefit from the study of the poems of Sappho or the odes of Horace, for example, unless these are studied in the original. The value of other literary productions, on the other hand, lies partly in their form and partly in their content, or in their content alone. It is quite a different question, therefore, whether one may derive a satisfactory pleasure and benefit from a translation of the _Agamemnon_ of aeschylus or Thucydides' _History of the Peloponnesian War_, of Lucretius or Tacitus, to say nothing of such books as Aristotle's _Const.i.tution of Athens_.

=Teaching only from cla.s.sical texts=

There is another and still more important question connected with the theory of cla.s.sical teaching, namely whether all cla.s.sical courses should be based upon or begin with the study of some cla.s.sical text.

Some are of the opinion that it is the business of cla.s.sical teachers to teach the Greek and Latin languages, and the literatures in these languages, and that anything which cannot be taught best through the study of some portion of the cla.s.sical literature in the original should be taught by some other department of the college. Consequently in some inst.i.tutions courses on ancient literature in English translations are given by the English Department,[71] courses on Greek and Roman History, Archaeology, and Philosophy by the Departments of History, Archaeology, and Philosophy, respectively, courses on the Methods and Equipment of Teaching the Cla.s.sics by the Department of Pedagogy.

Others, less extreme in their views, hold (_a_) that any study of the Greek or Roman civilization apart from the original ancient literature would be vague, discoursive, and unprofitable, and in particular that a discussion of a literature or of literary forms without an immediate, personal acquaintance with this literature or these literary forms in the original would not be useful, and (_b_) that such courses would have little permanent value for the students because it would not be possible to compel the students to make much effort for themselves.

Quite the opposite opinion on this most important question is held by those who believe (_a_) that the study of the Cla.s.sics should not be confined to those who are now able, or may in the future be expected, to read the ancient literature in the original, (_b_) that there are some things even about the ancient literature and civilization which can be taught more effectively without the loss of time and the division of attention involved in reading the ancient authors in the original, and (_c_) that in courses such as those dealing with ancient history ancient books on these subjects, either in the original or in translations, cannot properly be used as textbooks for the reason that, quite apart from their errors and misconceptions, these books do not contain, except incidentally, those phases of the ancient life which are the most interesting and valuable to the modern world. Such persons consider that the attempt to convey an appreciation of the ancient literature through those limited portions of it which can be read by the students in the original is necessarily ineffective. They hold that to appreciate any literature one must study it as literature,--i.e., as English literature should be studied by English students, French literature by French students,--and that literary study of this sort properly begins where translation and exegesis leave off. And finally, they maintain that the effort to give students a lively knowledge of ancient life or ancient history through the ancient texts is precisely like the effort to ill.u.s.trate ancient life by ancient works of art; e.g., to give a student an idea of an ancient soldier by showing him an ancient picture of a soldier. Such ill.u.s.trations convey instead the impression that ancient life was both unattractive and unreal, that the study of it is childish and unpractical.[72]

=Courses in the ancient languages=

Many cla.s.sical courses are designed primarily to teach the cla.s.sical languages themselves, or to give mental training through the study and use of these languages. Until recently most American colleges required for admission an elementary knowledge of these languages involving commonly at least three years of preparatory training in Greek and from three to five years of preparatory Latin. Now, however, many colleges provide courses for beginners in Greek, some also for beginners in Latin. For example, courses for beginners in Greek are given at Bryn Mawr, University of California, Chicago, Colorado, Columbia, University of North Dakota, Dartmouth, Harvard, Idaho, Illinois, Johns Hopkins, Kansas, Lafayette, Leland Stanford, Michigan, New York University, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Vermont, Washington University, Wesleyan, Williams, Wisconsin, Yale, and elsewhere. Courses for beginners in Latin are given, for example, at the Universities of Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Ordinarily these courses resemble in general plan and method the corresponding courses in secondary schools; but inasmuch as the students are more mature, the progress is much more rapid.

=The "Natural Method"=

In some inst.i.tutions the attempt is made in teaching ancient Greek and Latin to employ methods used by the teachers of modern languages. Some cla.s.sical teachers have even adopted to some extent the so-called "natural" or "direct" method of language teaching[73]: commonly such attempts have not been very successful, and where some degree of success has been attained the success seems due to the personality and enthusiasm of the individual teacher. Others have contented themselves with devoting a part of certain courses to exercises designed to show the students that the cla.s.sical languages were at one time in daily use among living people and were the media of ordinary conversation[74].

Students in such courses commonly memorize certain colloquial phrases and take part in simple conversations in which these phrases can be used. Such methods, skillfully employed, undoubtedly relieve the tedium of the familiar drill in grammar and "prose composition," and may help materially in imparting both a knowledge of the ancient languages and a facility in reading the ancient authors.

An interesting experiment is now being tried at the University of California in a course in Greek for beginners, given by Professor James T. Allen. The description of the course in the university catalogue is as follows: "An Introduction to the Greek Language based upon graded selections from the works of Menander, Euclid, Aristophanes, Plato, Herodotus, and the New Testament. The method of presentation emphasizes the living phrase, and has as its chief object the acquiring of reading power. Mastery of essential forms; memorizing of quotations; practice in reading at sight." This course has had considerable success. More than three hundred students have been enrolled thus far in a period of six or seven years, and some of these have testified that it was one of the most valuable courses they have had in any subject. One of the chief advantages has been that the students, while learning forms and vocabulary, are reading some real Greek, and that of first-rate quality.[75]

=Use of modern literature in ancient Greek or Latin=

Various attempts have been made, especially in recent years, to provide for cla.s.sical students modern stories in ancient Latin, in the belief that modern students will acquire a practical knowledge of the language more readily from such textbooks than from any parts of the ancient literature.[76] The story of Robinson Crusoe was translated into Latin by G. F. Goffeaux, and this version has been edited and republished by Dr. Arcadius Avella.n.u.s, Philadelphia, 1900 (173 pages).

An abridgement of the original edition was edited by P. A. Barnett, under the t.i.tle _The Story of Robinson Crusoe in Latin, adapted from Defoe by Goffeaux_, Longmans, Green and Co., 1907. Among original compositions in ancient Latin for students may be mentioned (1) Ritchie's _Fabulae Faciles_, A First Latin Reader, edited by John Copeland Kirtland, Jr., of Phillips Exeter Academy, Longmans, Green & Co., 1903 (134 pages). (2) _The Fables of Orbilius_ by A. D. G.o.dley, London, Edward Arnold, two small pamphlets, ill.u.s.trated, containing short and witty stories for beginners. (3) _Ora Maritima_, A Latin Story for Beginners, by E. A. Sonnenschein, seventh edition, 1908, London, Kegan, Paul and Co.; New York, The Macmillan Company (157 pages). This is the account of the experiences of some boys during a summer in Kent. (4) _Pro Patria_, A Latin Story for Beginners by Professor E. A. Sonnenschein, London, Swan, Sonnenschein and Co.; New York, The Macmillan Company, 1910 (188 pages). (5) _Rex Aurei Rivi, auctore Johanne Ruskin, Latine interpretatus est Arcadius Avella.n.u.s, Neo-eboraci_, 1914 (Published by E. P. Prentice). (6) F. G. Moore: _Porta Latina_, Fables of La Fontaine in a Latin Version, Ginn and Co., 1915.

A series of translations of modern fiction is now being produced under the t.i.tle of The Mount Hope Cla.s.sics, published by Mr. E. P. Prentice, 37 Wall Street, New York City. The translator is Dr. Arcadius Avella.n.u.s. The first of these appeared in 1914 under the t.i.tle _Pericla Navarci Magonis_, this being a translation of _The Adventures of Captain Mago_, or _With a Phoenician Expedition, B. C. 1000_, by Leon Cahun, Scribner's, 1889. The second volume, _Mons Spes et Fabulae Aliae_, a collection of short stories, was published in 1918. The third, _Mysterium Arcae Boule_, published in 1916, is the well-known Mystery of the Boule Cabinet by Mr. Burton Egbert Stevenson. The fourth, _Fabulae Divales_, published in 1918, is a collection of fairy stories for young readers to which is added a version of Ovid's _Amor et Psyche_.

Over these books a lively controversy has arisen between Dr. Avella.n.u.s and Mr. Charles H. Forbes, of Phillips Academy, Andover.[77]

Undoubtedly the translator's style and vocabulary are far from being strictly in accord with the present canons of cla.s.sical Latin. He employs a mult.i.tude of words and idioms unfamiliar to those whose reading has been confined to the masterpieces of the ancient literature which are most commonly studied. On the other hand, the ancient language is made in these books a medium of modern thought.

The stories presented hold the attention, the vividness of the narrative captivates the reader and carries him through the obscurities of diction and of style to a wholly unexpected realization that Latin is a real language after all.

It is a serious question whether students can ever acquire a mastery of a language, or even a sufficient knowledge of it really to appreciate its literature, unless they learn to use this language to express their own thoughts. But it is evident that it is impossible adequately to express modern ideas in the language of Caesar and Cicero. Those who would exclude the Latin of comparatively recent authors such as Erasmus from the canon of the Latin which may be taught, as well as those who confine their teaching to the translation and parsing of certain texts, are raising the question whether the Latin language should be taught at all in modern times.

Naturally less effort has been made to provide for students modern literature in ancient Greek. At least one such book, however, is available, _The Greek War of Independence, 1821-27, told in cla.s.sical Greek for the use of beginners_ (with notes and exercises) by C. D.

Chambers: published by Swan, Sonnenschein and Co.

=Courses in "Prose Composition"=

In nearly all American colleges courses in Greek and Latin composition are given, either as a means of mental training or in order to give a more complete mastery of these languages and a greater facility in reading the literature. In some places, for example at the University of California, a series of courses is given in both Greek and Latin composition culminating in original compositions, translations of selections from modern literature, and conversation in the ancient languages. Courses in Latin conversation[78] are given in other places also, and courses in the p.r.o.nunciation of ancient Greek and Latin.[79]

All such courses belong to the general field of the study of the cla.s.sical languages as distinguished from the study of the literature, history, or any other phase of the cla.s.sical civilization. This branch of language study, of course, includes such purely linguistic courses as those in Comparative Philology, Comparative Grammar, the Morphology of the Ancient Languages, Syntax, Dialects, etc.

=Courses in literature=

The bulk of cla.s.sical teaching in American colleges is devoted to the literature. The great majority of all college courses in Latin and Greek have the same general characteristics.[80] A certain limited portion of text is a.s.signed for preparation. This text is then translated by the students in cla.s.s, and the translation corrected.

Grammatical and exegetical questions and the content of the pa.s.sage are discussed. Most of the time at each meeting of the cla.s.s is consumed in such exercises. Generally lectures or informal talks are given by the instructor upon the life and personality of each author whose work is read, upon the life and thought of his times, upon the literary activity as a whole, and upon the value of those selections from his works which are the subject of the course. Sometimes the students are required to read more of the original literature than can be translated in cla.s.s. Generally some collateral reading in English is a.s.signed. Often the instructor reads to the cla.s.s, usually from the original, other portions of the ancient literature.

The number and extent of such courses in the different inst.i.tutions vary according to the strength of the faculty, the plan of the curriculum, and the number and demands of the students in each. In the main, however, the list of selections from the ancient literature presented in such courses in all the colleges is much the same. Many of these courses deal with one particular author and his works, such as Sophocles, Plato, Plautus, or Horace. Others deal with some particular kind of literature, such as Greek tragedy or oratory, Latin comedy, etc., or with a group of authors of different types combined for the sake of variety.[81]