9u 
 
 ^> 
 
 «"^ ^^„o. 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-S) 
 
 A 
 
 
 r/i 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 '-a 
 
 •^ 1^ 12.2 
 
 III 
 
 ^ lis lllllio 
 
 U ill 1.6 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WIST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, NY. MS80 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
■^ 
 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHIVi/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Hittoricai l\/licroraproductions 
 
 Institut Canadian da microraproductions hittoriquas 
 
 1980 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibliographically unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 13 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 I I Covers damaged/ 
 
 Couverture endommagde 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaur^e et/ou pellicul^e 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 I I Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes gdographiques en couleur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Reli6 avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La reliure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distortion le long de la marge int^rieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas 6t6 filmdes. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires suppl^mentaires; 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet exemplaire qui sent peut-Atre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvtmt exiger une 
 modification dans la methods normale de filmage 
 sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. 
 
 I I Coloured pages/ 
 
 D 
 D 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 D 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est filmA au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 
 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommagies 
 
 Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 Pages restaur^es et/ou pelliculdes 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 Pages d6color6es. tacheties ou piqudes 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages ddtachdes 
 
 Showthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 I I Quality of print varies/ 
 
 Qualitd indgaie de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary material/ 
 Comprend du matdriel suppldmentaire 
 
 I I Only edition available/ 
 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totaiement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc., ont 6t6 film6es d nouveau de fa9on d 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 10X 
 
 
 
 
 14X 
 
 
 
 
 18X 
 
 
 
 
 22X 
 
 
 
 
 26X 
 
 
 
 
 30X 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12X 
 
 
 
 
 16X 
 
 
 
 
 20X 
 
 
 
 
 24X 
 
 
 
 
 28X 
 
 
 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
tails 
 ( du 
 odifier 
 une 
 mage 
 
 The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanlcs 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 National Library of Canada 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 L'exemplaire filmA fut reproduit grAce d la 
 g6n6rositA de: 
 
 Bibliothdque nationale du Canada 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettetd de l'exemplaire film6, et en 
 conformity avec los conditions du contrat de 
 fiimage. 
 
 O' Iginal copies in printed paper covers nre filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprim^e sont fiimds en commen^ant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 derniAre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'iliustration. soit par le second 
 plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont filmts en commen^ant par la 
 premiere page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'iliustration et en terminant par 
 la derniAre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol — ^ (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la 
 dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbole —^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbole V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, le^t to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre 
 filmis A des taux de reduction diffirents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre 
 reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmi A partir 
 de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche d droite, 
 et lie haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la mAthode. 
 
 irrata 
 to 
 
 pelure, 
 nd 
 
 n 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 

 'f' ^ a ^ T 
 
 fT'^^JJIll^lt'W If 
 
 
 
 THB 
 
 PROGRESS OF CLASSICAL LEARNING 
 DURING THE PR^ENT CENTURY. 
 
 A LECTUBE 
 
 DBUVXRKDA8AN INSTAlXATIOM-AODlUtSS 
 
 ■T nn 
 
 RIV. PROFB880R IfAOKBRRAS^ M.A., 
 
 HUl «r 9iMM't VUvmlly, 
 aBOBtlff,lMr, 
 
 BUHO mmmuiiTT oat. 
 
 KINGSTON: 
 1867. 
 
 iii 
 
 MMilMlli 
 
••■■1 
 
THE 
 
 PROGRESS OF CLASSICAL LEARNING 
 DURING THE PRESENT CENTURY. 
 
 A LECTURE 
 
 DSUVESEDASAN INSTALLATIONADDBBSS 
 
 BT THK 
 
 REV. PROFESSOR MAGKERRAS, M.A., 
 
 IN THB 
 
 Oonvoettim HsU <tf Qomb's XTnivenity, Kingitoii, 
 on Oet. 16, 1867, 
 
 BKNO DNIVIBBITT DAT. 
 
 KINGSTON: 
 
 1867. 
 
■WPW 
 
f lie yrognss tA Clsssiotl f tantmji 
 Immj) t||t frtstnt ^eKtoi. 
 
 Having been elected to the chair of 
 Classical Literature in this Institution, I 
 desire to acknowledge my sense of the 
 honour thusconferred upon me — an honour, 
 heightened by the circumstance that this 
 University, to whose Professorial staff I 
 have been appointed, is my Alma Mater. 
 This circumstance, while it yields honour, 
 entails responsibility. May it be my suc- 
 cessful attainment, as it shall ever be my 
 strenuous endeavour, to advance the useful- 
 ness and increase the fame of this scat of 
 learning, to which I owe so much — to fill 
 with lustre to the College and profit to her 
 Students the Department entrusted to me, 
 which has been so ably presided over since 
 the foundation of the College ! Custom 
 requires that I should deliver an Inaugural 
 Address. The subject which I have chosen, 
 as appropriate to the occasion, is the Pro- 
 gress of Classical Learning during the pre- 
 sent Centui^. 
 
 This progress has been varied, widely 
 extended, steadily maintained. There un- 
 fortunately prevails an opinion which 
 claims numerous adherents, that Classical 
 learning is a riereotyped study. Such per- 
 sons imagine that, because Greek and 
 Latin are tUad languages, our fathers knew 
 about taem as much as we can possibly 
 know — that no additional light can be 
 thrown upon their origin, structure, his- 
 tory, and connections — that their deepest 
 mysteries have already been explored and 
 their darkest recesses have been fully dis- 
 closed — that the subjects which engaged 
 the attention of a class in this Department 
 at the close of last century remain still the 
 same, without addition to their number, 
 
enlargement of their scope, or increase of 
 zest to the interest which they awaken in 
 the breasts of ingenuous youth. The pre- 
 valence of this opinion we believe to be the 
 main cause, which has prompted ihe de- 
 termined attacks that have of laU; years 
 been made to dislodge this branch of learn- 
 ing from the prominent position it has for 
 a^es occupied in a liberal and Colle- 
 giate education. Whence has arisen this 
 idea among those who claim to be Utilita- 
 ians — to be, par exceUmce, practical men in 
 regard to the studies that form the staple 
 of Collegiate instruction ? These imagine 
 that the Classical Professor whally occupies 
 his students' time in elucidating the mean- 
 ing of the authors whose works engage 
 their attention — that he confines himself to 
 the literature of these aiicicnt nations — that 
 his sole aim is to improve the mind and cul- 
 tivate the taste and enrich the imagination 
 by expatiating un Homer's stately numbers 
 and Horace's lyric beauties, on the thrilling 
 oratory of Cicero and electric eloquence of 
 Demosthenes, on Aeschylus' impassioned 
 grandeur and Plato's philosophic simplici- 
 ty ; and that on these themes he exhausts 
 the traininff capabilities, the educating 
 powers of his Department. That good 
 grounds for such a conception were furn- 
 ished by the methods of instruction too 
 commonly pui'sued therein two generations 
 ago, we u'ankly admit. Nay more, the 
 line of defence generally adopted by the 
 advocates of this branch of learning, in 
 confining themselves to the advantages re- 
 sulting from an intimate acquaintance with 
 the literary stores accumulated by these 
 highly civilized and polished nations, and 
 restricting their arguments to this one as- 
 pect of the question, has encouraged this 
 erroneous idea. It further obtains counte- 
 nance trom the name attached to this Pro- 
 fessorship in most of our Universities. The 
 chair of " Classical Literature" is an ana- 
 chronism in the present day. This name 
 covers only half ot the subjects which it is 
 
now made to embrace. With more appro- 
 priateness might it be termed the chair of 
 " Classical Languages and Literature," as 
 an insight into the structure of the former 
 is as essential an clement of the course of 
 instruction which it imparts as a know- 
 ledge of the range and character of the 
 latter. Taking our stand on what ia, and 
 looking back to what was, we maintain 
 that in scarce a department within 
 the whole compass of^ letters and sci- 
 ence has more activity been manifested 
 — has greater progress been realized — 
 have more substantial and brilliant suc- 
 cesses been achieved. During this cen- 
 tury, so pre-eminently distinguished by the 
 gigantic strides with which knowledge has 
 advanced in every walk, Classical learning 
 has not lagged behind its competitors — has 
 in its progress kept abreast with the other 
 branches that claim to form the higher 
 education of our youth. It hath caught 
 the spirit of this Inductive age, and,- as 
 we shall presently sec, asserts its right to be 
 considered one of the excKt sciences. Were 
 the shade of a Professor, with whom 70 
 years ago the Eton Grammar was the stand- 
 ard of authority, and Scapula the ultimate 
 source of appeal, now to revisit his haunts 
 beside the Molcndinar or the Cam, he 
 would gaze with well-nigh as riveted an 
 interest on our Jelf and Liddell — on Bopp 
 and Muller, as on the locomotive that with 
 demoniac shriek burstb from the tunnelled 
 hill, or the electric wires that convey intel- 
 ligence from hemisphere to hemisphere 
 with the rapidity of thought. Philology 
 has now established it^iclf among the sci- 
 ences as firmly as geology, botany, or zoo- 
 logy. Though with cosmopolitan range it 
 embraces all languages within the scope of 
 its studies, yet it bestows its critical re- 
 searches mainly ujion the Greek and Latin. 
 With searching acumen it investigates the 
 ground work and forms of other ancient 
 tongues, chiefly to obtain materials where- 
 with to shed light upon the structure of 
 
thoM. It lays down as its prime postulate 
 that a thorough mastering of the classical 
 tongues — that an intimate acquaintance 
 with the mysterious subtleties of their 
 framework is valuable not onlv as a mean 
 to an end, but as an end itself. While it 
 is of consequence to penetrate these shells 
 in order to reach the kernel which they 
 contain — to feast upon the literature which 
 they embody ; a close examination of the 
 composition of these shells will amply re- 
 pay attention. If wo would realize the 
 full value of a study of the Classics as an 
 Bdueatimal instrument, it behoves us to re- 
 gard this not simply as a 1^ to open up 
 the precious repositories of thought and 
 eloquence stored up by the giant minds of 
 the most intellectual and polished nations 
 of the old era ; but as a study worthy of 
 being pursued for its own sake, for the 
 mental training which it supplies, for the 
 insight which a tracing of the development 
 of tuese languages from an obscure rise to 
 a powerful and brilliant zenith, and thence 
 on to a rapidly waning decline, affords us 
 into the successive processes of national 
 culture and thought and taste indicated 
 thereby. Doubtless many devote them- 
 selves to Natural Philosophy or the Natu- 
 ral Sciences because of wnat they term the 
 practical utility of these branches — because 
 the knowledge thus acquired they can con- 
 vert at a future period in some of the pro- 
 fessional or mechanical walks of industry 
 into bank bills and gold. But if our colle- 
 ges are to be regarded not as mere appren- 
 tiee 8hop$, wherem a youth may obtam the 
 rudiments of that avocation wherein he 
 intends to pursue lifers monotonous strug- 
 gle to earn bread by the sweat of his face 
 or brain ; if they are to be viewed in the 
 higher light of mental gymruma, wherein 
 his mental powers may be strengthened 
 and developed — wherein bone and muscle 
 and nerve may be imparted to his reason- 
 ing faculties — wherein he may be indoctri- 
 nated in those principles which must guide 
 

 him in his investigationg after truth ; 
 wherein he may be moulded to those habits 
 of research and trained to that accuracy of 
 perception as well as vigor of grasp which 
 effectively enable him to explore to purpose 
 every department of knowledge; if for 
 these and kindred ends such Training In- 
 stitutions as this exist, then we claim for 
 the Classics as taught in the present age a 
 foremost place in these Bdueational appli- 
 ances. Why has so prominent a position 
 been accorded to Mathematics in every 
 programme of University studies ? Not 
 because a familiar acquaintance with such 
 dry truths as that " the angles of a triangle 
 are together equal to two right angles" pos- 
 sesses in itself a pteuniary value, but be- 
 cause as an Educational instrument it has 
 an untold worth ; inasmuch as it trains the 
 mental powers to exactness, as it teaches 
 the reason in establishing an elaborate and 
 complex argument to build fro*n premises 
 surely laid to a solid conclusion, again to 
 make this the foundation of another storey, 
 and so on to successive elevations, until at 
 length it crowns the structure with the 
 cope-stone, whence may be had a clear and 
 extensive view over the domain of truth. 
 In the same rank as a training medium, as 
 an elevating lever must a position be assign- 
 ed to the study of the Classical tongues, 
 pursued in the manner in which it has 
 been in our higher seats of learning during 
 the past fifty years. On what plea rests 
 this claim ? In the classical room special 
 attention is now devoted to the investiga- 
 tion of those root-sounds which form the 
 basis of the Greek and Latin languages, 
 and their expansion through successive 
 ages until they attained to the copiousness 
 and refinement cliaracteristic of their full 
 maturity in their Periclean or Augustan eras. 
 The laws which governed this develop- 
 ment ; the influences which operated m 
 this transforming process, as illustrated by 
 the analogies found to prevail in other an- 
 cient tongues, are being brought to light 
 
8 
 
 and firmly established. Derivatives, whose 
 name is legion, are being traced back to a 
 few original stocks. No study more brac- 
 ing or interesting than to pursue the same 
 stem- letters through the various languages 
 that compose what is now termed the 
 great Aryan famdy, as these are being 
 brought to the surface by philological ex- 
 plorers, and find that these symbols repre- 
 sent fundamental ideas precisely identical. 
 While our Lexicons are being revolution- 
 ized by the results of these researches, a 
 process similar and equally sweeping, is 
 changing the aspect of our Grammars. 
 Mediate relation of subordinate to principal 
 words is l)eing resolved into immediate de- 
 pendence. The infiections found in old 
 Asiatic tongues are seen to throw light on 
 the forms which modify the speech of the 
 great European nations of the ancient 
 world. Terminational syllables are thus 
 discovered to spring from pronominal af- 
 fixes, by means of which a people in their 
 primitive state of rudeness express their 
 ideas of relation. To these philological 
 researches the strictest Inductive reasoning 
 must be applied. In pursuing these analo- 
 gies caution must be exercised against rash 
 or hasty conclusions. Apparent harmonies 
 must not be confounded with real connec- 
 tions. By no more invigorating or fasci- 
 nating exercise can the mind be formed to 
 habits of exact thought, accurate percep- 
 tion, and keen analysis. 
 
 Here arises the question — to what source 
 can we trace the impetus which has 
 thus been given to philological research ? 
 To what operating caupe does the Clas- 
 sical Department owe this activity and 
 progress? Mainly to that knowledge of 
 ancient Asiatic tongues, which was first 
 introduced into Britain at the close of 
 the last century, and is now so gen- 
 erally diffused among European scholars. 
 Foremost among these explorers into the 
 sacred literature of Eastern nations was Sir 
 William Jones, one of the most accomplish- 
 
9 
 
 ed of that host of able and useful men 
 which the world owes to the old East India 
 Company. He and other kindred spirits 
 of ardent genius and speculative mind 
 made themselves acquainted with Sanscrit, 
 in which was preserved the literature of 
 the Brahmins, and Zend, the tongue in 
 which the Persians embodied the creations 
 of their fancy amid the dark ages of a re- 
 mote antiquity. The former was ascertained 
 to have been a fully equipped language — 
 to have embalmed productions that still 
 survive the decay of time centuries before 
 the Christian Era, centuries even before 
 Homer sang or Hesiod wrote. The Vedas, 
 or Bible of the Brahmins, appear to have 
 Ijeen composed within a very few years of 
 the time when Moses l^equeathed the Pen- 
 tateuch as a Testament to the children of 
 Israel. So far as known, it is thus, not 
 indeed the parent of languages, but the 
 eldest sister of that large stock which con- 
 stitute what is called the Aryan, or Indo- 
 Germanic family of tongues. Acquaintance 
 with this elaborately constructed and per- 
 fectly developed tongue was facilitated by 
 the aid of Grammars, composed by native 
 authors, and marked l)y exact analysis as 
 well as minute examination of details. A 
 close investigation of its root-characters 
 and forms of inflection disclosed tlie inti- 
 mate relation which connected it with 
 Greek and Latin— revealed the amount of 
 light which it was capable of throwing on 
 the origin, construction, and development 
 of these. From this discovery may be 
 dated the rise of those new l)ranches of 
 learning. Comparative Lexicography and 
 Comparative Grammar. Nor is the task 
 wholly left to a few antiquarians to trace 
 back the pedigree of that multifarious 
 mass of words which compose a Latin or 
 Greek I/ictionary through perhaps long 
 lines of descent to a comparatively few 
 original stems. It now to a certain ex- 
 tent forms part of the regular class work. 
 Numerous indeed are the words which 
 
10 
 
 claim descent from some of these primitive 
 characters. From these have sprung 
 families, whose connection with each other 
 is so remote that it requires close examina- 
 tion to detect that in the far distant ages 
 they had a common progenitor. Moreover 
 a critical analysis of these fundamental 
 sounds — of these radical characters — dis- 
 closes the fact that the leading ideas which 
 form the principal stock-in-trade of every 
 nation in the early stages of its history are 
 represented in these ancient Asiatic and 
 European tongues by almost identical cha- 
 racters and sounds. To a certain extent 
 scholars have succeeded in unfolding these 
 primitive stocks, which, limited in number 
 and simple in essence, constitute the germs 
 of language. Whether they shall be able 
 to go even a stage beyond this and discover 
 what gave birth to these— what led the 
 grey fathers of the several races of men to 
 adopt these vocaliles as the outward repre- 
 sentatives of certain thoughts and feelings 
 — is a problem for the future. The process 
 of reducing these countless derivatives to a 
 small number of primitives has been won- 
 derfully simplified ; but, whence sprang 
 these originals, we may never clearly ascer- 
 tain. Even into tins domain speculative 
 research, having raised the curtain of mys- 
 tery, has entered ; but as yet has brought 
 forth results exceedingly unsatisfying. 
 Thence these explorers have reached forth 
 to us dogmatic assertions,bold speculations, 
 brilliant fancies ; but these, we fear, cannot 
 stand the test of keen, cold criticism and 
 practised inductive reasoning. 
 
 From an examination of tlie Sanscrit 
 much light has l)een thrown on the laws 
 which govern the development of language, 
 and which arc found to apply in a special 
 degree to those studied in the classical 
 room. Scarce any literary pursuit more in- 
 teresting than to trace the operation of the 
 processes of assimilation, weakening, and 
 expansion which occur in transforming the 
 coarse, strong, guttural, and sibilant sounds 
 
11 
 
 that obtain in the early periods of the 
 growth of a language to the rounded, 
 delicate, polished, and mellifluous expres- 
 sions which mark the zenith of its fulness 
 and refinement. In carrying out these in- 
 .vestigations it has been found that what at 
 one time were deemed essential letters of 
 the root are not such, and have thus to be 
 eliminated as epenthetic, as incorporated 
 into the structure at a later era. The same 
 process of research has also been applied 
 to the inflectiom which these radical sym- 
 bols have been made to assume so as to 
 express their various relations— the different 
 aspects in which they had to present them- 
 selves. These declension-terminations and 
 verb-tenses have been resolved into their 
 original forms through the successive 
 changes which they had undergone in the 
 development of the language. For in- 
 stance, in the case of Greek (the Grammar 
 of which was based on the forms found to 
 prevail at the period of its highest culture) 
 as Homer's works, which were written 
 some centuries before this period, were 
 formerly taught in our seats of higlier 
 learning, the forms and terminations difler- 
 ent from those laid down in the (irammar 
 which iiboinul therein were set down simply 
 as Epic ami Aeolic or Ionic j)eculiarities, 
 without any attempt l)eingmade tocxijlain 
 how these differences came to pass. Now 
 these are clearly elucidated and distinctly 
 set forth. They are discovered to have 
 been the normal features of the (Jreek lan- 
 guage in Homer's time, and the process by 
 which these idioms of its early history 
 were transformed into the subsequent cha- 
 racteristics of the Attic Era is minutely 
 expounded. What at one time were held 
 to be insoluble anomalies in the conjugation 
 of verbs are now satisfactorily accounted 
 for. The sweeping revolution that has passed 
 over our Classical Grammars and Diction- 
 aries within the pust 40 or 50 yearT was 
 lately remarked upon to me by an able 
 scholar, as he dwelt upon the vast changes 
 
12 
 
 and marked improvements that had taken 
 place in teaching the Classics since his Col- 
 legiate days, spent in one of the leading 
 Universities or Europe. 
 
 To increased acquaintance with the East- 
 em languages, of which we have spoken, 
 may be attributed the rise of Comparative 
 Mythology as well. In this department, 
 however, the decided progress that has 
 marked Comparative Grammar has not been 
 made. Still we have a foretaste of what 
 may be accomplished in this very interest- 
 ing and important region of research. 
 From a careful examination of the various 
 Mythological legends which obtained cre- 
 dence among the Asiatic tribes of antiquity, 
 light is being reflected on those that now 
 enter so largely into our Classical Diction- 
 aries ; and we doubt not it will be clearly 
 found that the same ideas and influences, 
 which corrupt and debase the human mind 
 as it wanders farther and farther from the 
 light of the knowledge of the true God — as 
 it descends more and more deeply into the 
 dark caverns of idolatry and superstition, 
 operate among all nations and in all ages. 
 Hence we may obtain a clue by which to 
 unravel our way through the chief ramifi- 
 cations of these labyrinthine systems, and 
 ascertain the leading motions of the human 
 mind which tended to form these elaborate 
 and complicated structures of religious be- 
 lief. Thus a gleam of insight is afibrded 
 you into the value of these methods of 
 Classical instruction as a mental training. 
 As in Natural Philosophy or the Natural 
 Sciences wo investigate nature, search out 
 her mysteries, bring to light facts, com- 
 pare these one with another, and from 
 these data deduce what we call laws ; so 
 in Comparative Philology we trace out 
 roots and inflections of similar sound and 
 cognate fonn, bring them to the test of a 
 close and comparative examination, dis- 
 cover them to be symbolic representatives 
 of identically the same perceptions and 
 conceptions ; and therein find scope for the 
 
13 
 
 purest forms of Inductive reasoning — 
 thence are enabled to lay down, not as 
 hypotheses, but as solid conclusions, the 
 laws which governed their development. 
 As we survey a wide-spreading tree, with 
 its numerous branches and countless twigs 
 all springing from a single stock, we ob- 
 serve in these the results and evidences of 
 a vigorous life coursing its fibrous channels : 
 so in these manifold inflections, intricate 
 ramifications, and varied processes of word- 
 growth, we delight to study the forthput- 
 tings of human thought in its complex 
 operations. 
 
 Gentlemen ! I desire you to seek in the 
 Classical room three things, as objects 
 sp'^cially deserving of attainment. First, . 
 gain an acquaintance, if not extensive, yet 
 so far as it goes thorough, with the literature 
 of the ancient Greeks and liomans. Well 
 worthy of the profoundest study are the 
 productions bequeathed to us by these 
 noble nations ! In those days and among 
 those peoples were intellectual giants. In 
 their brain-furnaces were forged works, 
 which for massive grandeur, colossal power, 
 and classic elegance have never been excel- 
 led — probably never will be equalled, so 
 long as time endures, in the departments 
 of philosophy and art. Deem not this the 
 language of wild enthusiasm. We give a 
 reason for this opinion. Heaven ordained 
 a special destiny for the Greeks in the his- 
 tory of the world. iJcfore God would 
 provide for the race a Saviour, every op- 
 portunity must be given to man to achievi! 
 salvation for himself. Fair play demanded 
 that he should posses., full facilities for 
 solving this problem. The best appliances 
 must be furnished to him — he must be 
 placed in the most advantageous circum- 
 stances for making the bold experiment — 
 he must be endowed with intellectual 
 abilities of the very highest order and most 
 powerful calibre, so as to ensure to the at- 
 tempt the highest possible chance of 
 success. To that gifted people who drew 
 
14 
 
 their inspiration from the Acropolis and 
 the Academy was entrusted the working 
 out of this redemptive process. The com- 
 mand of Providence to them was to this 
 effect : " By wisdom seek to know God— 
 wisdom of consummate power and perfect 
 refinement you shall have— no ordinary 
 weapons shall be furnished you for the at- 
 tempt — with the most exalted mental gifts 
 you shall be endowed ; so that, if it be 
 within the range of possibility for human 
 wisdom to see and know the only True 
 God, your efforts shall be crowned with 
 success." Giants though they were, they 
 failed to scale the heavens : but the very 
 essays which they made to do so prove 
 them to have been jjossessed of Titanic 
 minds. The mountains of thought 
 which they piled together for this purpose 
 lie scattered around, betokening melancholy 
 failure ; but the Cyclopean massiveness 
 of the remains evidences the calibre 
 of intellect required to compose them. 
 When exploring these precious reposi- 
 tories of thought and learning, let not 
 your ambition be, to run over a large 
 number of books — merely dipping 
 into their contents, satisfying yourselves 
 with those golden veins that appear upon 
 the surface. That object was much prized 
 of old, when the literature, and the litera- 
 ture alone formed the sole subject of 
 study. Now, however, make yourselves 
 masters of a few productions— be at home 
 with a dozen select authors — shoiv your- 
 selves capable of exploring their darkest 
 recesses, and render yourselves familiar 
 with their most perplexing peculiarities. 
 Better a small number of intimate friends 
 than a large circle of superficial acquain- 
 tances. 
 
 Secondly, pursue a study of the Greek 
 and Latin languages for their own sake — 
 as a goal as well as a path — not merely as 
 a mean but an end. While you. regard 
 these tongues as heathen temples, contain- 
 ing enshrined within them jich treasures 
 
16 
 
 and priceless gems, and hence ardently de- 
 sire to secure the key of interpretation that 
 shall lay open to you their contents : 
 equally interesting will you find a minute 
 examination of the foundations on which 
 these temples rest — the materials of which 
 they have been formed — the manner in 
 which they have beeu built. Study the 
 various orders of architecture employed 
 therein — the diflTerent ages in w^hich the 
 several courses successively rose to the 
 cope-stone — and the causes and processes 
 of decay as well. Even though the litera- 
 ture embodied in these languages had been 
 as poor as it is rich — as meagre as it is full ; 
 yet a knowledge of the origin, history, and 
 development of these would well repay the 
 years devoted to this branch of Collegiate 
 Education. Note how a word grows from 
 a simple root of three letters to polysyllabic 
 dimensions. Trace from stem to limb, and 
 from branch to branch, the connection be- 
 tween the primary meaning of a word in 
 its ante-classic period, the rich outgrowth 
 of ideas into which- it has developed in its 
 classic maturity, and the remote significa- 
 tions grafted on it in the post-classic ages 
 of its decay. To observe the Greek genius 
 in the different dialects of word-building 
 is as interesting and instructive as to 
 dwell on their taste in the several orders 
 of architecture that mark their temples, 
 monuments, and theatres. 
 
 In the third i)lace, set yourselves to ac- 
 quire and confirm correct habits of study. 
 The habits, here formed and strengthened, 
 whether good or bad, shall cleave to you, 
 when a knowledge of these tongues has 
 perhaps faded from your memories, or the 
 reading of Cicero ad lihri aperturam has 
 become a thing of the past. Therefore 
 is it of eternal consequence that these 
 habits be such as become true students. 
 Above all things, be accurate. Master 
 whatever you undertake. Touch nothing, 
 unless you resolve to do it well. Thorough- 
 ness is the great requisite of a successful 
 
16 
 
 scholar. Leave no lesson in a Aa//'-finishcd 
 state. Pass from you no task in a slovenly 
 manner. It may l)c little you can accom- 
 plish: l)ut let that little be "perfect in 
 its character. In studying the construc- 
 tion of words guard against hasty 
 inductions. Be not led away by ap- 
 parent analogies and traces of identi- 
 ty between formations, where none really 
 exist or where the relation is far fetched 
 and the connection exceedingly remote and 
 doubtful. Lay deep and wide your data 
 before you found laws and establish general 
 conclusions thereon. 
 
 Gentlemen ! to your Grammars and 
 Lexicons ! These are the mines wherein 
 you must dig and search and re-search. 
 Work them to their fullest capacity, and 
 they will yield gold of the highest value, 
 judged by an Educational standard. 
 Finally, remember that what we all are, 
 such will our Alma Mater be. She is the 
 whole — we are the parts: and the whole 
 will be brilliant or dim according to the 
 lustre emitted by each part. If we prove 
 inefficient, inaccurate, slovenly and careless 
 in the performance of appointed work, 
 Queen's College shall be weighed in the 
 balances and found wanting for the times. 
 If we are earnest, diligent, thorough (and 
 why should we not be such ?), then will our 
 University have a nomen as well as a locus 
 in this Dominion ! 
 
W' 
 
 .jtJStHsisajiiUmJBMixi^'ii .>^.<>^..Si..