THE FIRST BOOKE FOR THE YOUTH.

AFTER 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 commonlie learneth, first, an euill choice of wordes, (and right choice of wordes, saith Casar, is the foundation of eloquence) than a wrong placing of wordes and lastlie, an ill framing of the sentence, with a peruerse iudgment, both of wordes and sentences. These faultes, taking once roote in yougthe, be

Cic. de

Cla. or.

neuer, or hardlie, pluckt away in age. Moreouer, there is no one thing, that hath more, either dulled

> Making of

Lattines marreth

Children.

the wittes, or taken awaye the will of children from learning, than the care they haue, to satisfie their masters, in making of latines.

For, the scholer, is commonlie beat for the making, when 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

Horman

Whittington. Whittington.

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.

1 De Or.

There is a waie, touched in the first booke of Cicero de Oratore, which, wiselie brought into scholes, truely taught, and constantly 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 order of

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. First, let him teach the childe, cherefullie and plainlie, the cause, and matter of the letter: then, let teaching. 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

Two paper
bokes.

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 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.

Children
learne by
prayse.

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 therein. For I know by good experience,

that a childe shall take more profit of two fautes, ientlie warned of, then of Ientleness in foure thinges, rightly hitt. For teaching. 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 worde 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 have 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 glad