THE TEX T. 30 But (t) many that are first, fhall be laft; and the last ball be first. THE COMMENTARY. 30 (1) A proverbial faying often ufed by Jefus, and in different fenfes. Here it feems to have been occafioned by what Peter faid in ver. 27. and to mean, that many, who came firit, would be no more confidered, than those who came laft, and vice verfâ as in the parable which follows. See ch. xx. 16. In the notes, referring to ancient cuftoms and alluding to claffical authority, our elaborate commentator appears to great advantage as a scholar; as he does likewife in every thing relative to Theology; it were to be wifhed his reflections, as a philofopher, were equally judicious and pertinent. This, however, as we have before intimated, is not the cafe. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had fpit upon his eyes, and (2) put his hands upon him, he asked him if he faw ought. CHAP. VIII. THE COMMENTARY. 24 And he (0) looked up, and 24 (0) Rather, faw again, or faid, (p) Ifee men as trees, walk- received fight, as the word is ren ing. dered in ch. x. 51, 52. To fee Ib. (p) i. e. I fee those walk. If there be here no omiffion in the manufcript nor error of the prefs, the laft reflection is most palpably unphilofophical and falfe. By the patient's immediately diftinguishing men froth trees on his being made to fee, the contrary reflection should have fuggefted itself, viz. That he was not born blind; but muft have acquired the fenfe of fuch diftinction by a prior en joyment H joyment of fight. We fhall give a fpeciinen of the Author's tranflation and comment on St. Paul's Epiftle to the Corinthians, &c. in a future article.. Effays on the Nature and Immutability of Truth, in oppofition to Sophiftry and Scepticism; or Poetry and Mufic, as they affect the Mind; on Laughter, and ludicrous Compofition; on the Utility of Claffical Learning. By James Beattie, LL. D. Profeffor of Moral Philofophy aud Logic in the Marifchal College and University of Aberdeen. 4to. Dilly. In commending this writer's tafte in literature and the fine arts, we must not pass over without reprehenfion his being too palpably biaffed by popular prejudices and his facrificing private judgment at the fhrine of, what the late Mr. Hume exprefly calis, Public Folly. This he does by lavishing encomiums on favorite productions, and paffages in favorite authors; which, by no means, will bear the teft of impartial criticism. In his Effay on the Utility of claffical Learning, we have more than one inftance of this injudicious complacency; notwithstanding his obfervations on the fubject of the Effay in general are pertinent and juft-It has been long the opinion of the moft learned and judicious among the moderns, that an early acquaintance with the ancient claffics is the only foundation of found erudition, and that it is incumbent on thofe, who direct the ftudies of youth, to have this great object continually in contemplation and practice; as a matter of the highest importance; folid learning, and a good tafte in literature conducing both to public and private virtue, and of course, tending to promote in a confiderable degree the honour and profperity of a nation. This opinion, however, Dr. Beattie obferves, has of late years been lofing ground, particularly in the northern part of this ifland: for which reafon he has ftated the peculiar advantages, which attend this kind of ftudy, in order to obviate the prejudices arifen against it. "The objections," fays he, "that are most commonly made to the ftudy of the Greek and Latin authors, may perhaps be reduced to four. It is faid, first," that this mode of education obliges the ftudent to employ too much time in the acquifition of words :-secondly, that when he has acquired thefe languages, he does not find, that they repay his toil:-thirdly, that the studies of a Grammar-school have a tendency to encumber the genius, and confequently to weaken, rather than improve, the human mind--and, laftly, that the claffic authors contain many defcriptions and doctrines that may feduce the underftanding, inflame the paffions, and corrupt the heart." Our author proceeds to obviate all thefe objections. In anfwer to the fir, he obferves, 4 "That "That plan of study must be very bad, where the student's bealth is hurt by too clofe application. Some parents and teachers have thought, that the proficiency of the fcholar must be in proportion to the number of hours he employs in conning his tafk: but that is a great miflake.. Experience proves, that three or four hours a-day, properly employed in the grammar-fchool, have a better effect than nine; and are fufficient to lay within a few years a good foundation of claffical knowledge. Dunces, it is true, would require more time; but dunces have nothing to do with Greek and Latin: For ftudies that yield neither delight nor improvement are not fuperfluous but hurtful; because they mifemploy thofe faculties which nature had destined to other purposes. At the fame time, therefore, that young men are profecuting their grammatical ftudies, they may learn writing, drawing, arithmetic, and the principles of geometry; and may devote the intervals of leifure to riding, fencing, dancing, and other manly exercifes. Idienefs is the greatest misfortune incident to early years; the distempers it breeds in the foul are numberless and incurable. And where children, during their hours of relaxation, are left at their own difpofal, they too often make choice of criminal amusement and bad company. At Sparta, the youth were continually under the infpection. of thofe who had authority over them; their education, fays Plutarch, was one continued exercife of obedience: but it was never faid, that the Spartan youth became torpid, or melancholy, or fickly, from want of amufement. Where-ever there is a fchool, there ought to be, and generally is, a field or area for diverfions; and if the hours that boys in this country fpend with one another, that is, in fauntering, and too often in gaming, quarrelling, and fwearing, were to be devoted to exercife, under the eve of fome perfon of prudence, their fouls and bodies would both be the better for it; and a great deal of time left for the study of many branches of knowledge, befides what is contained in the grammar, and ancient authors. The misfortune is, that we allot too much of their time, not to play, but to idlenefs; and hence it happens, that their claffical studies interfere with other neceffary parts of education. But certain it is, that their ftudies and amufements might be made perfectly confiftent; and the culture of the mind promoted at the fame time with that of the body. If both thefe ends are not always accomplished, and but feldom pursued, the blame is to be laid, neither on the teacher, nor on the things that are taught, but on thofe perfons only who have the power of reforming our fchool-difcipline, and want the inclination. At any rate, the blane cannot be laid on the Claffic authors, or on thofe very useful members of a common-wealth, the compilers of grammars and dictionaries. For the faculties of children might be diffipated by idleness, their manners poifoned by bad company, or their health impaired by injudicious confinement, though Greek and Latin were annihilated. It is another abuse of study, fays Dr. Beattie, when the hours of attendance on a Grammar School are all employed in the acquifition of words; but if a child find nothing but words in old authors, it must be owing to the ftupifying influence of an VOL. V. Cc ignorant ignorant teacher. And that by much the greater part of our fchoolmafters are most stupifyingly ignorant is notorious! In maintaining the utility, and even neceffity, of ftudying Grammar in the ancient languages, our author does not mean, however, to decry the French tongue, which, fays he, "I know to be useful to all, and neceffary to many. Far lefs would I infinuate any thing to difcourage the study of our own, which I think the finest in the world; and which to a member of the British empire is of greater importance than all other languages. I only infift on the expediency of improving young minds by a grammatical tudy of the Claffic tongues; thefe being at once more regular and more diversified than any of the modern, and therefore better adapted to the purpose of exerciling the judgement and the memory of the scholar. And I maintain, that every language, and indeed every thing, that is taught children, fhould be accurately taught; being of opinion, that the mind is more improved by a little accurate knowledge, than by an extenfive fmattering; and that it would be better for a young man to be master of Euclid or Demofthenes, than to have a whole dictionary. of arts and fciences by heart. When he has once got a taste of accuracy, he will know the value and the method of it; and, with a view to the fame gratification, will habitually purfue the fame method, both in fcience, and in the general conduct of his affairs:whereas a habit of fuperficial thinking perverts and enervates the powers of the foul, leaves many of them to languish in total inactivity; and is too apt to make a man fickle and thoughtless, unprincipled and diffipated for life. I agree with Rouffeau, that the aim of education fhould be, to teach us rather bow to think, than what to think; rather to improve our minds fo as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men. Not that I would difcommend the acquifition of good principles, and just notions, from whatever fource they are drawn: for indeed the knowledge of the most ingenious man upon earth would be very feanty, if it were all to be derived from himfelf. Nay, as the parent muft in many cafes direct the conduct of the child, before the child can difcern the reasons of fuch direction, I am inclined to think, that fome important principles of religion and morality may with good fuccefs be imprinted on the memory of children, even before they can perfectly understand the arguments by which they may be proved, or the words in which they are expreffed. -But ftill it is true, that a mind prepared by proper difcipline for making difcoveries of its own, is in a much higher state of cultivation, than that of a mere fcholar who knows nothing but what he has been taught. The latter refembles a granary, which may indeed be filled with corn, but can yield no more than it has received; the former may be likened to a fruitful field, which is ever in a condition to bring riches and plenty, and multiplies an hundred fold every grain that has been committed to it. Now this peculiar advantage feems to attend the study of the Claffic authors, that it not only stores the mind with ufetul ufeful learning, but alfo begets a habit of attention, and wonderfully improves both the memory and the judgement." In reply to the fecond objection, viz. that the Latin and Greek languages when acquired are not worth the labour of acquifition; it is a sufficient answer to fay that there never was a man of tafte and learning who would not deny the fact. As to the third objection, viz. that fchool-learning tends to encumber the genius, and, confequently, to weaken, rather than improve the mind. This, our author obferves, opens a wide field for declamation; for who has not heard the learned formality of Ben Jonfon oppofed to Shakespeare's "native "wood-notes wild ;" but, "The prefent objection, as well as the former, is founded on what every man of letters would call a mistake of fact. No perfon who underftands Greek and Latin will ever admit, that thefe languages can be an incumbrance to the mind. And perhaps it would be difficua to prove, even by a fingle inftance, that genius was ever hurt by learning." The effayift proceeds to illuftrate his argument by examples of Spencer, Dryden, Milton, Swift, Pope, Addison, and other modern writers; from all which he infers, that at any rate we may affirm that" without the aid of ancient learning, genius cannot hope to rife to thofe honours to which it is entitled, nor to reach that perfection to which it naturally afpires." -The exceptions, he juftly obferves, are fo few, and fo fingular, that it is unneceffary to infilt upon them. His reflections, on the rationale of the caufe, do him credit, even as a philofopher. "Were we to confider this matter abftractly, we should be led to the fame conclufion. For what is the effect of learning upon a found mind? Is it not to enlarge our stock of ideas; to afcertain and correct our experimental knowledge; to give us habits of attention, recollec tion, and obfervation; and help us to methodise our thoughis, whether acquired or natural, as well as to express them with perfpicuity and elegance? This may give a direction to our inventive powers, but furely cannot weaken them. The very worst effect that Claffical learning can produce on the intelligent mind, is, that it may fometimes transform an original genius into an imitator. Yet this happens not often; and when it does happen, we ought not perhaps to complain. Ingenious imitations may Le as delightful, and as ufeful, as original compofitions. One would not exchange Virgil's Georgic for twenty fuch poems as Hefiod's Works and Days, nor Pope's Eloifa for all the Epiftles of Ovid. The fixth book of the Eneid, though an imitation of the eleventh of the Odyffey, is incomparably more fublime; and the night-adventure of Diomede and Ulyffes, excellent as it is, muft be allowed to be inferior to the epitode of Nifus and Euryalus. Several cantos might be mentioned of the Fairy Queen, the prefervation of which would not compenfate the lofs of The Castle of Indolence: and notwithstanding the merit of Cervantes, I believe there are few Cri Cc 2 |