The Chronicle LEVIN. SATURDAY, MAY 20, 1918. SCIENCE; ENGINEERING; AND THE CLASSICS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 May 1916, Page 2

The Chronicle LEVIN. SATURDAY, MAY 20, 1918. SCIENCE; ENGINEERING; AND THE CLASSICS.

1 hose tt'JiO' advocate a retention of the Gieek and Latin languages as secondary school subjects viro to.tie commenced. In saving this, we confess +o possessing merely a Shakespearean knowledge of the dead languages 'and ji.s every render of Ben- .J on son knows, iShakespearo kneiv littV? bat in "and Jess Greek). Nevertheless, it seems e'ear to uts that a proper appreciation of litrature and a full ability to write and anialyse English, cannot oome to anyone not possessed of at" least a basic knowledge of 'the two deid languages wo have referred to. And if in the pursuit of knowledge, fcho emancipated schoolboy crowns his adolescence with an acquired V>ve of classical literature, he has done more towards enlarging his viewß and promoting his enjoyment ot life than he would have done by devoting his boyhood studies to what are calledi "the j practical arts." There is, to our mind. I a too-great devotion in these days to the purely commercial side ot education and to flie aftermath of business aggrandisement ; boTfi are desirable in reasonable degree, but neither sho'ir.l be regarded as the acme ot nvan'6 perfection. None the less we must admit that in a moderate degree we hare beon impressed by sonic reasoning yet forth in an article appenring in the journal "Engineering" which criticises the attitude of otne section of the general public in respect of scientific engineering. The journal wc spent of inlers that- in some secondary' school's there is a too-great inclination to "pound the classics" into the heads oi mere children. It is an oI<T complaint —as old as Byron (in "Don Juan") at Vast—for that poet speaks of his latter-day dislike for the Odes of Horace, and attributes His antipathy unpleasant memories of "swat" over Horace's verses imposed upon him when at college: and in his earlier works he refers scathingly to Etonians who

1 'Scarcely skilled an English lino to pen "Scan Greet and Latin with a critic's pen." iSven in these days there may be a too. great disposition, amongst those who "<Jo" still appreciate the benefits of classical research, to overdo the tuition while tho pupils are in their earlier teens. it is this aspect erf tho case that strikes the editor of "Engineering," and on the principle that thf opposition always should bo hoard wo take pleasure in reprinting our contemporary's observations. "Engineering" remarks that "there is not a '/tittle reason for believing that the country would' derive benefit from an Act making it illegal for any schoolboy under 16 years of age to devote more than one hour a week to f«itiu audi another hour to Greek. Those whose tastes lay in classics would have ample time in the two years between l(i and 18 to get up to the standard •necessary for aspirants to classical hqnouns at a university, and the present enormous waste of time, in ihe case nf tho vast majority ol our schoolboys, would foe avoided. in fact, our schools in the past have failed tn provide a genera;! education, but ha.ve been devoted to the attempt to convert every youth into a specialist. Early is indefensible, and a much wider basis lor culture should lie provided than our grammarians are disposed allow. Of course tlii« view will be misrepresented as an attempt to destroy classical culture. Indeed; the vested interests threatened: have already taken alarm and profess to find sufficient explanation of Bun outrages in the widespread state" of scientific knowledge in Germany. This contention, however, ignores the fact that the brutality of the German warrior lias been nortorious for ages, and tho memory of man 'runneth not to i.he contrary. l ' Firoissari, in discussing tho respective merits of the national chivalries af Iris day notes the distinguishing characteristic of the Teutonic knight, and the contemporary letters of a century ago, recently republished., recall the brutality of the Prussi ins in Belgium and in France after Waterloo."