The Classics

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THE CLASSICS

Technology is in; the Classics are out; or are they? It is superflous perhaps even irreverent, to suggest that without the Greeks and their Roman successors, technology would be nowhere, not even in name. Is it wise to remove the base on which our Western civilization grew, which has given the West its lead over the rest of the world, and an influence it now often seems all too ready to disown? But nonetheless it is a truism to note that we are where we are because of our past, and we ignore it at our peril.

All this seems remote from the problem under discussion—to learn Latin and Greek, or not? It is unfortunate that to an increasing number of boys the opportunity to learn Greek is denied. The language is not taught, for instance, in any school under the enlightened protection of the Hertfordshire County Council. These remarks are therefore largely limited to Latin, because Latin concerns more boys than Greek; but they apply equally well to both subjects.

It is no bad thing that teachers of Latin have been forced to re-think seriously their aims, methods, and approaches. Timetable pressures in schools and university entry requirements have contributed to this necessity. Examination Boards have in some cases, but by no means all, taken note of these moves. The Nuffield Trust has endorsed a project in Cambridge. What does it amount to? Paradoxically the clock has been, in one way put back. Dr. Rouse at the Perse School in Cambridge some fifty years ago pioneered the Direct Method. The kernel of this method is now incorporated in the teaching programme published by the Nuffield Project. The systematic study of language methods since Rouse has improved on the material he collected, as he would have been the first to agree and approve. Our aim is now to teach boys to read Latin fluently and quickly Gone forever, thank goodness, is the grind of sentences to translate the grammar and syntax recently learned, such inspired thoughts as "The daughters of the queen love roses", to illustrate the first declension and conjugation. After 1969 translation into Latin is no longer required at the Ordinary Level examinations of the Oxford and Cambridge Joint Board. It is not compulsory now at Advanced Level, nor for Oxbridge scholarship examinations. Sic transit gloria. But it is no great loss. The corpus of Latin literature was rarely enriched by these efforts. The scope of examinations has been widened considerably to encourage the reading of texts, not in isolation, but in relation to their background and contemporaries with a critical eye. This is a step in the right direction. But there are dangers; that a boy will be encouraged to be superficial and expected to run before he can walk. In so doing, his knowledge of the language may be impaired.

Let us read Latin, and more Latin, learn to appreciate what the Romans had to say as well as how they said it. The latter is still wonderfully important. No Penguin can match Virgil in his native tongue. 1984 is not all that far away. Let us hope it is not the prelude for a darker Age than that which tried in vain to destroy the Classics before, and failed. Laus Deo. P.G.C. 39