To keep us still alive. My father warns us, once Whence we may ask for help and whither turn Our course. So much of the beauty of Virgil is connected with the rhythm of his verse that as much as possible of the text of the review lesson should be read each day. After the mechanics of scansion have been explained, little time should be spent on formal scansion, but much upon the rhythmical reading of the text. The teacher will find that he can secure good results by reading passages himself and having them repeated by the pupils. III. LANTERN SLIDES The General Extension Division of the University has the following series of slides which will be sent to any teacher on application: 1. Caesar's Helvetian Campaign, a series of sixty slides accompanied by explanations. 2. A series of one hundred slides on the following subjects: the Pompeian house, household furniture, the trades, writing material and manuscripts, coins.12 3. A series of seventy-six slides on the following subjects: Rome and the Campagna, the Roman forums, mythology in marble and bronze.12 A number of volumes upon almost any phase of classical antiquity may be borrowed from the general library of the University upon application. If a school desires to purchase slides, a set upon Virgil may be obtained from the Records of the Past Exploration Society, Washington, D. C.; and slides having to do with Caesar from George R. Swain, Lockport, Illinois. IV. BOOKS FOR GENERAL READING The following list of books that have appeared in recent years. will be found helpful and suggestive for general reading: 12 Send for descriptive catalog to the Director of the General Extension Division, University of Minnesota. Gugliemo Ferrero: The Greatness and Decline of Rome, 5 volumes13 Ancient Rome and Modern America13 The Women of the Caesars1 The works of this brilliant Italian historian have aroused a remarkable general interest in the study of Roman history. Many of Ferrero's hypotheses are scarcely warranted by the facts as we know them. Some of his broader generalizations are, however, profound and his work is destined to change in some respects the general conception of Roman history. Frank Frost Abbott: The Common People of Ancient RomeTM William Stearns Davis: The Influence of Wealth in Imperial Rome V. MEANS FOR AROUSING INTEREST IN LATIN Many teachers have found that the formation of Latin Societies for the discussion of topics connected with the study of Latin and for social intercourse have proved helpful in keeping up interest in the study of Latin. Various articles have appeared in the Classical Journal's bearing upon this subject. The production of easy Latin plays has proved a valuable adjunct to the work of Latin departments in the high school. The most available material for this is the small volume entitled, Two Latin Plays, Paxton, Ginn & Co. Other collections are Cothurnulus, Three Short Latin Historical Plays, Arnold, and Easy Latin Plays, Newman, both published by George Bell & Sons, London. The following books are recommended as aids in arousing an interest on the part of the pupil in the study of Roman times: Boissier, Cicero and His Friends. New York: Putnam. These three works published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. 14 New York: Century Co. 15 The last two published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, Society and Politics, 1909; Common People, 1911. 16 New York: Macmillan Co., 1910. 17 E. g. Latin Clubs and Their Programs, January, 1915. 8 This is the official publication of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Membership ($2.00) in the Association includes a year's subscription to the Journal. Address Esther Friedlander, Vice-President for Minnesota, South High School, Minneapolis, Minnesota. A. J. Church, Roman Life in the Days of Cicero. New York: Macmillan, 1883. A. J. Church, The Burning of Rome, Macmillan, 1891. W. S. Davis, A Friend of Caesar, Macmillan, 1900. Edward Bulwer Lytton, Last Days of Pompeii. Pelisson, Roman Life in Pliny's Time. Philadelphia: Miller. Henryk Sienkiewicz, Quo Vadis. Emile Thomas, Roman Life Under the Caesars. Putnam, 1899. VI. PEDAGOGICAL AIDS It becomes ever more incumbent upon the Latin teacher to formulate clearly in mind his ideas as to the value of his subject, particularly its content value, as the theory of formal discipline is abandoned more and more by our guides in pedagogy. A Latin teacher should be able to feel convinced, and argue if need be, that a pupil who has studied Latin for four years and has afterward forgotten it to the extent of being unable to construe an easy sentence, always retains as a result of this study a clearer idea of the value of words in his own idiom, some more adequate conception of the laws of language, and, if he has been properly taught, a something that has developed into a more chastened taste evinced not merely in his attitude toward literature and art, but in his judgment upon matters of everyday life. The University of Michigan has issued through the Macmillan. Company a volume entitled Latin and Greek in American Education. In addition to the general discussion of this subject by specialists in the field of classical learning, papers are included written by men engaged in the teaching and practice of various protessions, medicine, engineering, law, theology, and other lines of work, in which they express their appreciation for the help rendered them by the study of the classical tongues and their views as to the utility of these studies for their particular line of work. It is not to be expected that such articles will affect to any appreciable extent the number of those selecting Latin in the high school, but the papers will repay a careful reading. The most suggestive and valuable is that entitled, The Case of the Classics, by Paul Shorey. The University of Colorado has lately published a volume1 13 1 Apply to the Registrar, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, for a copy of University Bulletin, No. 9. on the same lines. It is taken for granted that all teachers are acquainted with the Sabine Collection of charts and the accompanying pamphlet entitled, The Relation of Latin to Practical Life. The pamphlet described may be secured by writing to Frances E. Sabine, 419 Sterling Place, Madison, Wisconsin. Every teacher is strongly advised to secure one. If he does, he will probably not be content until his school has worked up a series of the charts. Those that have a direct bearing upon the English are the most valuable and the most easily prepared. Attention is called to an article which appeared in the Classical Journal of October, 1914, entitled, Latin as a Vocational Study in the Commercial Course. The plea that Mr. Perkins makes for coöperation on the part of Latin teachers, and assistance in the type of Latin courses he outlines, is well worth the careful consideration of every teacher of Latin. Whenever possible, teachers should exert their influence to have this work inserted in the commercial curriculum and assist in forming such Latin courses as will be most helpful for this particular line of work. Whether they be adopted, or if adopted be successful, will depend largely upon whether they are wisely planned. In working out such courses, the teacher should not feel bound in any way to follow the stereotyped course in Latin or bound by the methods that prevail there. On the general subject of Latin and the Latin Teacher,20 The Teaching of Latin and Greek,21 by Bennett, is still the best book available. In this work a reasonable list of books helpful to the high school teacher and pupil may be found. Mention has been made of the Classical Journal22 in the course of these remarks. No teacher who has any ambition to keep informed on the progress of his subject should be without this publication. There is scarcely a number that does not contain at least one article bearing directly upon the Latin work of the high school. 20 Consult also Monroe's Cyclopedia of Education, article, Latin. 21 American Teachers' Series, New York; Longman. 22 See page 10. VII. A CONSERVATIVE GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY The chief fault in bibliographies compiled for high schools is that they are usually too extensive and discourage the attempt to secure even a modest list of books bearing upon the Latin work in the high school. This is the fault, for example, of that prepared by Meades and published by the Michigan Schoolmasters' Club (Macmillan, 10 cents), which, however, it would be well to consult if a wider choice is desired. Every Latin teacher should be familiar with the standard school Latin grammars, Allen and Greenough, Bennett, Gildersleeve, Hale and Buck, Harkness, and others; also with the standard school-texts of Caesar, Cicero, and Virgil. It is more difficult to keep one's self informed as to beginning books, for they are so numerous and new ones are constantly appearing. The brief reviews and announcements of new text-books in the classical periodicals may be consulted. Attention is called to the fact that publishers are usually glad to send copies of newly appearing text-books to teachers for examination. As remarked before, the selection given in Bennett and Bristol is judicious but somewhat out of date. The following titles will form a list that will prove adequate for all ordinary high-school work in Latin: LEXICON Harper's Latin Dictionary. New York: American Book Co. $6.50. GRAM MARS Gildersleeve-Lodge (larger edition). New York: University Publishing Co. $1.20; or G. M. Lane (revised edition). American Book Co., 1903. $1.50. ANTIQUITIES Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities (one vol. ed.). New York: American Book Co. $6.00. ROMAN LIFE AND MANNERS vol.). Friedländer, Roman Life and Manners under the Early Empire (four London: Rutledge. $6.00. W. A. Becker, Gallus or Roman Scenes in the Time of Augustus. New York: Longmans, 1876. $1.00. Samuel Dill, Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius, 2 ed. New York: Macmillan, 1905. $2.50. ARCHAEOLOGY Mau-Kelsey, Pompeii, Its Life and Art. New York: Macmillan, 1902. |