may take that fructe of this labor, that his worthie Grauntfather purposed he should haue done: And if any other do take, either proffet, or pleasure hereby, they haue cause to thanke M. Robert Sackuille, for whom speciallie this my Scholemaster was prouided. And one thing I would haue the Reader consider in readinge this booke, that bicause, no Scholemaster hath charge of any childe, before he enter into hys Schole, therefore I leauing all former care, of their good bringing vp, to wise and good Parentes, as à matter not belonging to the Scholemaster, do appoynt thys my Scholemaster, than, and there to begin, where his office and charge beginneth. Which charge lasteth not long, but vntill the Scholer be made hable to go to the Vniuersitie, to procede in Logike, Rhetoricke, and other kindes of learning. Yet if my Scholemaster, for loue he beareth to hys Scholer, shall teach hym somewhat for hys furtherance, and better iudgement in learning, that may serue him seuen yeare after in the Vniuersitie, he doth hys Scholer no more wrong, nor deserueth no worse name therby, than he doth in London, who sellinge silke or cloth vnto his frend, doth mise or bargaine was. Farewell in Christ. A The first booke for the youth. Fter the childe hath learned perfitlie the eight partes of speach, let him then learne the right ioyning togither of substantiues with adiectiues, the nowne with the verbe, the relatiue with the antecedent. And in learninge farther hys Syntaxis, by mine aduice, he shall not vse the common order in common scholes, for making of latines: wherby, the childe Cic. de of wordes commonlie learneth, first, an euill choice of wordes, (and right choice of wordes, saith Caesar, is the foundation of eloquence) than, a wrong placing and lastlie, an ill framing of the sentence, with iudgement, both of wordes and sentences. These faultes, taking once roote in yougthe, be neuer, or hardlie, pluckt away in age. Moreouer, there is no one thing, that hath more, either dulled the wittes, or taken awaye the will of children from learning, then the care they haue, to satisfie their masters, in making of latines. Making of For, the scholer, is commonlie beat for the making, whẽ the master were more worthie to be beat for the mending, or rather, marring of the same: The master many times, being as ignorant as the childe, what to saie properlie and fitlie to the matter. Two scholemasters haue set forth in print, either of them a booke, of soch kinde of latines, Horman and Whittington. Horman. ton. A childe shall learne of the better of them, that, which an other daie, if he be wise, and cum to iudgement, he must be faine to vnlearne againe. I. De Or. There is a waie, touched in the first booke of Cicero De Oratore, which, wiselie brought into scholes, truely taught, and costantly vsed, would not onely take wholly away this butcherlie feare in making of latines, but would also, with ease and pleasure, and in short time, as I know by good experience, worke a true choice and placing of wordes, a right ordering of sentences, an easie vnderstandyng of the tonge, a readines to speake, a facultie to write, a true iudgement, both of his owne, and other mens doinges, what tonge so euer he doth vse. The waie is this. After the three Concordances learned, as I touched before, let the master read vnto hym the Epistles of Cicero, gathered togither and chosen out by Sturmius, for the capacitie of children. The order of teaching. First, let him teach the childe, cherefullie and plainlie, the cause, and matter of the letter: then, let him construe it into Englishe, so oft, as the childe may easilie carie awaie the vnderstanding of it: Lastlie, parse it ouer perfitlie. This done thus, let the childe, by and by, both construe and parse it ouer againe: so, that it may appeare, that the childe douteth in nothing, that his master taught him before. After this, the childe must take a paper booke, and sitting in some place, where no man shall prompe him, by him self, let him translate into Englishe his former lesson. Then shewing it to his master, let the master take from him his latin booke, and pausing an houre, at the least, than let the childe translate his owne Englishe into latin againe, in an other paper booke. When the childe bringeth it, turned into latin, the master must compare it with Tullies booke, and laie them both togither and where the childe doth well, either in chosing, or true placing of Tullies wordes, let the master Two pa per bokes. Children learne by prayse. praise him, and saie here ye do well. For I assure you, there is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good witte and encourage a will to learninge, as is praise. But if the childe misse, either in forgetting a worde, or in chaunging a good with a worse, or misordering the sentence, I would not haue the master, either froune, or chide with him, if the childe haue done his diligence, and vsed no trewandship Ientlenes therein. For I know by good experience, that a childe shall take more profit of two fautes, ientlie warned of, then of foure thinges, rightly hitt. For than, the master shall haue good occasion to saie vnto him. N. Tullie would haue vsed such a worde, not this: Tullie would haue placed this word here, not there: would haue vsed this case, this number, this person, this degree, this gender: he would haue vsed this moode, this tens, this simple, rather than this compound this aduerbe here, not there: he would haue ended the sentence with this verbe, not with that nowne or participle. etc. In these fewe lines, I haue wrapped vp, the most tedious part of Grammer: and also the ground of almost all the Rewles, that are so busilie taught by the Master, and so hardlie learned by the Scholer, in all common Scholes which after this sort, the master shall teach without all error, and the scholer shall learne without great paine: the master being led by so sure a guide, and the scholer being brought into so plaine and easie a waie. And therefore, we do not contemne Rewles, but we gladlie teach Rewles and teach them, more plainlie, sensiblie, and orderlie, than they be commonlie taught in common Scholes. For whan the Master shall compare Tullies booke with his Scholers translation, let the Master, at the first, lead and teach his Scholer, to ioyne the Rewles of his Grammer booke, with the examples of his present lesson, vntil the Scholer, by him selfe, be hable to fetch out of his Grammer, euerie Rewle, for euerie Example: So, as the Grammer booke be euer in the Scholers hand, and also vsed of him, as a Dictionarie, for euerie present vse. This is a liuely and perfite waie of teaching of Rewles: where the common waie, vsed in common Scholes, to read the Grammer alone by it selfe, is tedious for the Master, hard for the Scholer, colde and vncumfortable for them bothe. Let your Scholer be neuer afraide, to aske you any dout, but vse discretlie the best allurements ye can, to encorage him to the same: lest, his ouermoch fearinge of you, driue him to seeke some misorderlie shifte: as, to seeke to be helped by some other booke, or to be prompted by some other Scholer, and so goe aboute to begile you moch, and him selfe more. With this waie, of good vnderstanding the mater, plaine construinge, diligent parsinge, dailie translatinge, cherefull admonishinge, and heedefull amendinge of faultes: neuer leauinge behinde iuste praise for well doinge, I would haue the Scholer brought vp withall, till he had red, & translated ouer ye first booke of Epistles chosen out by Sturmius, with a good peece of a Comedie of Terence also. Latin All this while, by mine aduise, the childe shall vse to speake no latine: For, as Cicero saith in like mater, with like wordes, loquendo, male loqui discunt. And, that excellent learned man, G. Budæus, in his Greeke Com- speakyng. mentaries, sore complaineth, that whan he began G. Budæus. to learne the latin tonge, vse of speaking latin at the table, and elsewhere, vnaduisedlie, did bring him to soch an euill choice of wordes, to soch a crooked framing of sentences, that no one thing did hurt or hinder him more, all the daies of his life afterward, both for redinesse in speaking, and also good iudgement in writinge. In very deede, if childrē were brought vp, in soch a house, or soch a Schole, where the latin tonge were properlie and perfitlie spoken, as Tib. and Ca. Gracci were brought vp, in their mother Cornelias house, surelie, than the dailie vse of speaking, were the best and readiest waie, to learne the latin tong. But, now, commonlie, in the best Scholes in England, for wordes, right choice is smallie regarded, true proprietie whollie neglected, confusion is brought in, barbariousnesse is bred vp so in yong wittes, as afterward they be, not onelie marde for speaking, but also corrupted in iudgement: as with moch adoe, or neuer at all, they be brought to right frame againe. Yet all men couet to haue their children speake latin: and so do I verie earnestlie too. We bothe, haue one purpose: we agree in desire, we wish one end: but we differ somewhat in order and waie, that leadeth rightlie to that end. Other would haue them speake at all aduentures: and, so they be speakinge, to speake, the Master careth not, the Scholer knoweth not, what. This is, to seeme, and not to bee: except it be, to be bolde without shame, rashe without skill, full of wordes without witte. I wish to haue them speake so, as it may well appeare, that the braine doth gouerne the tonge, and that reason leadeth |