we

or λaμnρós ó ñλios, which I make him re- | wisely begin, and with books we end." peat, and feel when he repeats it that This observation from a classical it is identical in English with "The teacher in our great English schools sun shines," or "The shining sun. may seem natural enough; but it is I then say to him, ópās ròv λаμжρòv λov | nothing the less false. The words "Do you see the bright sun?" and which we read in old Greek and Latin make him say in reply, ópw ròv žλưv ròv books are no doubt dead symbols, but λаμжрóν. This you may say is mere par- they are symbols of sound, and to feel rot work, and very cheap. All lan- their force fully we must give them guage learning is to a great extent voice. If they are not alive now as mere intelligent parrot work; but the living organs of national expression, point here is to bring out from an intel- we must make them alive; we cannot ligent learner the question, "Why did read them with mutual intelligence you say hos with a final s in the first without making them alive; a Cicerosentence, and when you appealed to nian sentence will lose all its grand me if I saw the bright luminary you swell and stately dignity if not prowere talking about, you gave the word nounced; and if they must be spoken, a final n? We don't do that in En- all the arguments in favor of the conglish." "No, not generally," I would versational method in the case of living reply ; "but we say I and me, he and languages apply equally to the dead. him, she and her; and that exactly for By speaking them they become more the same reason. In the one case, intimately a part of ourselves ; with a final s, the object is the agent, handle them as a workman handles his and in the other case, with final n, I am tools, and shake hands with them as the agent, and the object is the object; friend shakes hand with friend. In and this example shows in practical studying Hebrew or Sanscrit, if I could working the whole mystery of the rule find no man to speak to, I would speak in the Latin grammar,” A verb signify- to myself; as indeed I did when studying actively governs the accusative; and ing Latin at Aberdeen some seventy in this fashion, from step to step, and years ago as a raw lad. No man spoke from step to rule, a wise teacher, with to me in Latin, not even the learned practice always preceding, can give a Dr. Melvin in learned Marischal Colpractical command of the whole range lege; but I declaimed Cicero to myself of grammatical forms, as consecutively in my own room, and hurled forth his as step after step leads to the top of the eloquent denunciations against conhouse in climbing a ladder. After the spiracy and treason with as much point mystery of the accusative case, the im- and precision as if I had a very Catiline mediate object of verbal action has bodily before me. To this excellent been explained, a secondary object habit of self-instruction in rhetoric I may come in, as in dòs rýv bíbhov τ adeλp attribute, in no small degree, the com"Give the book to your brother," plete mastery of that tongue of lawyers and the dative case receives its sanc- and rulers which I achieved at an early tion and its explanation in a chain of period of my life; and though in later grammatical sequences open to the years I breathed more the atmosphere meanest capacity. But some one may of Plato than of Cicero, I may safely perhaps interpose here, and say, "All say that, though I might have lost hold this prominence given to living dia- of Latin, Latin never lost hold of me. logue is very well in the case of living On writing and composition, in aplanguages, which are studied for the propriating a foreign language, a single sake of pleasant intercourse with the sentence will suffice. It is always an living, but in the case of dead lan- admirable correction of the looseness guages, where we have neither a Cicero that is apt to be tolerated in the purely nor a Demosthenes to hear speaking, conversational style, and claims its or to speak to, we learn for the sake of place as the natural complement of reading books, and with books we grammar, just as reading does in refer

ence to observation; only it must distinguished writers of what we call never be allowed to forget that, like modern Greek; though, properly reading, it is the servant and not the speaking, it has no more right to be master of the living soul, the living called modern Greek than the English eye, the living ear, and the living tongue.

of the present day has to be called modern English. It is merely the With regard to Greek, I have a spe- living Greek language of the living cial remark to make that I hope may Greek people, as English is the living at no distant period bear some notable, English language of the living English practical fruit. Greek is commonly people. It is a fashion of treating the spoken of as a dead language. This is a noblest language which our schools gross mistake. It never was, and, under have transmitted to us equally contrary the historical influences by which it has to the principles of scientific philology, been transmitted to our times, never the comity of nations, and the maxims could have been, a dead language. As of plain common sense. The true way a living language it has a right to be to make young Englishmen and Scotstreated as Italian, French, and German men familiar with Greek would be to are, according to the historical tradition send them to the land where it is of its own orthoepy and the living spoken, to Athens, where, in converse practice of the living members of the with the politicians, literary and compeople who speak it. But John Bull mercial men of that beautiful metrophas not chosen to treat the Greeks like olis, a lad of common diligence will gentlemen; he supposes them not to acquire a firmer hold of the language exist, and treats their language as a of Plato and the Apostle Paul in five choice classical delicacy, to be boiled months, than our dainty scholars often up for native British nurture, with the do in as many years; and this is a seasoning of the English academical consummation which I piously hope soup. Latin also, the majestic organ that the members of the General Asof the masculine character of the Ro-sembly of the Church of Scotland, by mans, he has long treated in this way, the proposed creation of an annual though now under the influence of a travelling fellowship, at no distant learned classical philologer, the late Professor Monro of Cambridge, he is There is only one other point, of no beginning to be more than half small importance in the teaching of ashamed of this barbarism. But if his languages, on which, in conclusion, I Anglified Romānos for Romawnos, and feel myself called on to say a word his regina, with English long "i," viz., the practical bearing on school for regeena, were an unpardonable education of the science of philology, offence against the laws, not only of or the philosophy of language, in its Latin, but of European and Asiatic present advanced state. A knowledge vocalization, his treatment of Greek is of the general laws of comparative doubly bad; for it not only perverts the philology will enable the teacher of whole vocalic genius of that noble languages to bring to the aid of the tongue, but it treats the accent, though mere memory, so dominant in the acstanding before him in every word of quisition of language, four powerful every Greek book which he uses, as allies - dramatic construction, intellecnon-existent, and without ceremony tual deduction, imaginative association, says yaboç instead of ayatos, according and historical descent. That the draboth to the markings of the Alexan-matic or imitative element has worked drian grammarians two hundred and powerfully in the formation of human fifty years before Christ, and the prac- speech will be plain enough from the tice of the whole Greek people from inspection of any dictionary; such Demosthenes and Plato, through that words as hash, smash, and dash, could long series of Byzantine writers to never have been invented to signify Koraes, Rangabe, Bikelas, and other their contraries, the outflow of smooth

period may see their way to realize.

Greek, and the German Ey. In the same way, the Greek warp, and the German Vater, and the English father, pass by a regular process of attrition into the Gaelic athar, pronounced aur.

and fluid and gentle forces. Closely | is suddenly undermined by a gush of allied to the vocal expression of out- violent rain from the south-west, and ward forces is the expression of in- falls down, shattered, into the glen; ward feelings by the same medium; there it remains, broken into countless there is evidently a certain dramatic splinters, and washed by many floods propriety in the words groan and howl, for long years, till at last it is borne and roar and wheeze, as vocalizing the down by the winter waters to the seainward feelings whose presence they shore, and there, after many summers' indicate. Then when expressions of bleaching, is gathered up by a few the simplest form are created in this rambling schoolgirls as smooth white fashion, the teacher can show how a pebbles. This is exactly what takes fair family of kindred sounds will grow place with language. Partly from the from them as naturally as the branches seductive force of music, partly from from the stem, the leaves from the whim, and partly from pure carelessbranches, and the blossom from the ness and loose haste, the fibre is taken buds of the tree. The student under out of the wood; and so, from the old such teaching will soon learn to make Greek avyov, which survives in the Euwords for himself; to know before-glish egg, you have the softened ovum hand what a word should be, that in Latin, the vocalized dov in classical according to the familiar laws of the language aptly expresses a certain modification of meaning in the root; and in this way he will recognize in what, to an unexercised learner would be a new word, merely an old familiar I have only one other observation term in a new attitude or with a new to make on the utility of a knowledge dress. So much for intellectual deduc- of philological science in the practical tion. But association also has its teaching of languages, and it is this. grand field in the formation of a rich Whatever disadvantages, in the way vocabulary, as any one may see in the of natural growth and self-expansion, comparison which lies at the root of all mixed languages may lie under as comwords transferred from their primary pared with language of a homogeneous physical to their secondary intellectual type, like the primrose that gems the significance; as in Greek ovviκa, I sent meadow, or the birch that graces the together, karahaμbávw, I take you down, glen, there is one point of superiority and knìorapai, I stand upon it, all natu- which belongs to a mixed language rally take words from the sphere of specially as such, and with which, in casual perception to express an anal- this respect, no most perfect, purely ogous holding or taking of the thing by original language can compete. Wheran intelligent action of mind. Then, ever the speaker of a mixed language as to historical descent, the well-trained goes, he cannot avoid finding part of student will have no difficulty in seeing his own familiar stock in the new how an elder in an old Jewish tribe acquaintance. Now English is in a (Judges viii. 14) in the course of ages notable degree a mixed language in gradually became a Presbyterian min- this sense, being made up, as everyister in the Scottish Church, and how body knows, of Norman-French - that the Tónоç or kind old grandfather of is, Gallicized Latin-and Anglo-Saxon, an old Greek family was in the course or Teutonic, with no scanty enlargeof ages transformed into the tyran-ments taken directly from pure Latin nical head called pope of the Christian and pure Greek. It is extremely diffiChurch in Rome. Another illustration of the historical significance of language may be taken from the physical world. That nose of white quartz which looks out from the granite cairn

cult for an Englishman to speak, even in common colloquy, a single sentence without using some word of a purely Latin physiognomy; and in the higher sphere of scientific knowledge and lit

erary culture it is absolutely impossible | cover some three or four columns of a for an educated man to avoid using big folio dictionary, I would give him a terms which, to a linguistically trained week for the search of all the ologies, ear, are as like to any form of Teutonic cracies, isms, and archies that he could speech as the temple of Theseus or the come across, and then I should submit Parthenon in Athens is to Durham or them to a public dissection, and behold Peterborough Cathedral. In practice with pleasure how the young philologer the accomplished handler of our mixed would stare. What an array! Theoltongue will find it to his advantage to ogy, demonology, anthropology, apolmake a twofold use of Greek: (1) in ogy, philology, amphibology, geology, giving to the speakers of our tongue a archæology, tautology, theism, atheism, perfect mastery of that higher platform polytheism, baptism, schism, chrism, of the language which, for many pur- archæism, logic, rhetoric, grammar, poses, they cannot avoid using; (2) in geography, chemistry, oxygen, hydrogiving instruction in Greek to a people gen, hydropathy, mathematics, physics, who can easily be made to understand therapeutic, antiseptic, diagnosis, bronthat, in learning the language of Plato chitis, rheumatism, gastric, pharmacy, and St. Paul, they are only restoring to homeopathy, endemic, nomadic, police, an esteemed classical friend the com- politician, church, ecclesiastic, syplete grace of the vesture of which the nod, oligarchy, aristocracy, monarchy, vulgar English tongue had only known | bishop, archbishop, patriarch, monasto appropriate a part. In reference to tery, monk, deacon, presbyter, arthe first point I would have no hesita- chitecture, mausoleum, necropolis, tion in saying that, in every English necromancy, maniac, astronomy, gasschool above the very lowest platform tronomy, orthodox, heterodox, heretic, the learner should be made perfectly cathedral, idolatry, mariolatry, pope, familiar with the Greek letters, a mat- demon, devil, dynasty, demagogue, ter of the easiest acquisition, in such dimity, diabetes, diaphragm, dithyramb, fashion as to be able, with the help of dactyl. Here are already more than a dictionary, to find out the signifi- half a hundred Anglicized Greek words cance of all the "lang-nebbit words" kicked out at random from a chance with which our scientific terminology memory, which when he hears well abounds. And in addition to this, may the Hellenic tyro exclaim: where inclination and leisure on the "Greek they say is a difficult language, side of the teacher combine, it might but only, as I plainly see now, to those be of great service in a country like who are too dull, through a thin disScotland, of Bible-reading Christians, guise, to greet an old friend in his true to introduce the habit of learning a dress and his native attitude." verse of the New Testament once a week in the original language.

From The Fortnightly Review.

A NOTE ON IBSEN'S "LITTLE EYOLF."

If this small amount of rudimentary Greek were made a necessary constituent of an accomplished English training, the apt scholar would learn with THERE seems to be some prospect of satisfaction that, though a little learn- the production of Ibsen's latest play on ing, as the poet has it, is a dangerous the London stage - a fact which is, thing in the hands of full-grown fools, perhaps, not surprising, although it it may be a very useful thing in the will appeal differently to different hands of persons, whether young or minds. "Little Eyolf" is, from one old, who know how to use it. Then as point of view, quite as worthy of study to the other point- viz., how Greek is as either "Hedda Gabler" or "The to be used in making a young English-Master Builder," while, from the man familiar at the first start, with the conviction that he already knows as much of that noble tongue as would

strictly dramatic standpoint, it will probably be found to be no less effective, as presented, at all events, by Mrs.

Charrington and Miss Robins. Never- | He was a struggling scholar once, theless, it has certain features which brought up with Asta Allmers, whom we do not usually associate with the he had always supposed to be his halfIbsenite drama. It has a more or less sister, the child of the second wife of happy dénouement; it contains at least his father. It turns out that Asta is one stage situation, a piece of tech-nothing of the kind, and that her father nique which the author generally man- is unknown; a fact which sufficiently ages to avoid; while of the principal accounts for the coldness with which personages, Asta Allmers, who is de- her mother had been treated, and signed according to the usual lines of which had frequently been noticed by the advanced, the intelligent, the home- the man who supposed himself to be destroying Scandinavian young woman, her half-brother. Between these two, has apparently certain searchings of as their natures developed, there was a heart half-way through the play which Platonic affection, which here and lead her to abandon her enterprise, and there showed signs of ripening into retire into convenient obscurity with something more dangerous - ignored, Engineer Borgheim. Indeed, there however, on both sides, owing to the appears to have been a decisive mo- peculiar relations of their home life. ment in the construction of this drama At the beginning of the play, Asta has when Ibsen's usually resolute heart discovered in some letters of her dead failed him. The conclusion is not such mother the real truth of her origin, but as we are naturally led to expect from the hero is unaware of it until the end the characteristics of the personages, of the second act, and, although he nor such as we usually associate with finds something more than a vague the curiously pessimistic work of this charm in her companionship, he dewriter. Elements of possible tragedy ludes himself with the idea that it is abound, but they are not permitted to only brotherly affection. Her pet nickdevelop themselves in their logical or name in the old days had been Eyolf, rational course. The hand of destiny because all the names in the family is stayed when it had only done half its began with vowels, and because she work, and, to our surprise, fugitive ought to have been a boy. The struggleams of sunshine begin to irradiate gling student has gained ease and luxthe Scandinavian landscape. ury by a marriage with Rita, who had brought him "the green forests and the gold," to which perpetual allusion is made in the play. When a boy is born to the pair, he naturally receives the name of Eyolf, in order to perpetuate a sort of family tradition. Unfortunately little Eyolf, at a very early stage of his life, tumbles off a table and becomes a hopeless cripple. Neither father nor mother are wholly guiltless in the matter of this accident, for the child had been left to look after itself, owing to preoccupations which are not obscurely hinted at in the course of the play.

In the Norwegian home, close to one of the fjords, with a small town nestling below the cliffs and a little pier running into the sea, Mrs. Allmers is found unpacking the travelling bag of her husband, Alfred Allmers, who has just returned the night before from a holiday in the hills. They have been married ten years, this pair, although it can hardly be said that their union has been productive of much domestic happiness. The man is a dreamer, a visionary, one of those half-baked masculine creations which appear over and over again in Ibsen's plays; a fantastic being, deficient in will, deficient also in Mrs. Allmers is, in fact, not at all the ordinary manliness, hungering for he kind of woman whom a feeble, irresknows not what, dissatisfied for reasonsolute, unheroic creature like Alfred he can scarcely understand, shifting ought to have married. She is a beaufrom one extreme of conduct and as- tiful, full-blooded, sensuous woman, -piration to another at the bidding of passionately attached to her husband, his changing sentiments and emotions. passionately jealous of any thing or