In some of them the methods are distinctly in
advance of ours.
Much has been written of late years in the course of educational
discussions as to the value of classical studies in education. As the
best authorities are not yet in agreement among themselves it would be
obviously out of place to add anything here on the subject. But the
controversy principally belongs to classics in boys' schools; as to the
study of Latin by girls, and in particular to its position in Catholic
schools, there is perhaps something yet to be said.
In non-Catholic schools for girls Latin has not, even now, a great hold.
It is studied for certain examinations, but except for the few students
whose life takes a professional turn it scarcely outlives the
school-room. Girl students at universities cannot compete on equal terms
with men in a classical course, and the fact is very generally
acknowledged by their choosing another. Except in the rarest
instances--let us not be afraid to own it--our Latin is that of amateurs,
brilliant amateurs perhaps, but unmistakable. Latin, for girls, is a
source of delight, a beautiful enrichment of their mental life, most
precious in itself and in its influence, but it is not a living power,
nor a familiar instrument, nor a great discipline; it is deficient in
hardness and closeness of grain, so that it cannot take polish; it is
apt to betray by unexpected transgressions the want of that long,
detailed, severe training which alone can make classical scholarship.
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