The Grammar School, Table of contents
THE CONTENTS IN GENERALL, OF the chiefe points aimed at, and hoped to be effected by this WORKE.
1 TO teach schollars how to be able to reade well, and write true Orthography, in a short space.
2 To make them ready, in all points of Accedence and Grammar, to answere any necessary question therein.
3 To say without book all the vsual and necessary rules, to construe the Grammar rules, to giuegive the meaning, vse, and order of the rules; to shew the examples, and to apply them: which being wel perfomed, will make all other learning easie and pleasant.
4 In the seuerall fourmes and Authours to construe truely, and in propriety of wordes and sense, to parse of themselues, and to giuegive a right reason of eueryevery word why it must be so, and not otherwise; and to reade the English of the Lectures perfectly out of the Latine.
5 Out of an English Grammaticall translation of their Authours, to make and to construe any part of the Latine, which they hauehave learned; to proue that it must be so: and so to reade the Latine out of the English, first in the plaine Grammaticall order; after as the wordes are placed in the Authour, or in other good composition. Also to parse in Latine, looking only vponupon the Translation.
6 To take their Lectures of themselues, except in the very lowest fourmes, and first enterers into construction; or to do it with very little helpe, in some more difficult things.
7 To enter surely in making Latine, without danger of making false Latine, or vsing any barbarous phrase.
8 To make true Latine, and pure Tullies phrase, and to proue it to be true and pure. To doe this in ordinary morall matters, by that time that they hauehave bin but two yeares in construction.
9 To make Epistles imitating Tully, short and pithy, in Tullies Latine and familiar.
10 To translate into English, according to propriety both of wordes and sense: and out of the English to reade the Latine againe, to proue it, and giuegive a reason of eueryevery thing.
11 To take a peece of Tully, or of any other familiar, easie Authour, Grammatically translated, and in propriety of wordes, and to turne the same out of the translation into good Latine, and very neere vntounto the wordes of the Authour; so as in most you shall hardly discerne, whether it be the Authours Latin, or the schollars.
12 To correct their faults of themselues, when they are but noted out vntounto them, or a question is asked of them.
13 To be able in each fourme (at any time whensoeuer they shallbe apposed of a sudden, in any part of their Authors, which the hauehave learned) to construe, parse, reade into English, and forth of the translation to construe and to reade into the Latine of their Authours; first into the naturall order, then into the order of the Authour, or neere vntounto it.
14 In Virgilor Horace to resolue any peece, for all these points of learning, and to doe it in good Latine;
In
Construing to giuegive propriety of wordes and sense.
Scanning the verses, and giuing a reason thereof.
Shewing the difficulties of Grammar.
Obseruing the elegancies in tropes and figures.
Noting phrases and Epithets.
15 So to reade ouer most of the chiefe Latine Poets, as Virgil, Horace, Persius, &c. by that time that by reason of their yeares, they be in any measure thought fit for their discretion, to goe vntounto the Vniuersity: yea to goe through the rest of themselues, by ordinary helpes.
16 In the Greeke Testament to construe perfectly, and parse as in the Latine; to reade the Greeke backe againe out of a translation Latine or English: also to construe, parse, and to proue it out of the same. To doe the like in Isocrates, or any familiar pure Greeke Authour; as also in Theognis, Hesiod, or Homer, and to resolue as in Virgil or Horace.
17 In the Hebrew to construe perfectly, and to resolue as in the Greeke Testament; and to reade the Hebrew also out of the translation. Which practice of daily reading somewhat out of the translations into the Originals, must needes make them both very cunning in the tongues, and also perfect in the textes of the Originals themselues, if it be obserued constantly; like as it is in daily reading Latine out of the translation.
18 To answere most of the difficulties in all Classicall schoole Authours; as, in Terence, Virgil, Horace, Persius, &c.
19 To oppose schollarlike in Latine, of any Grammar question necessary, in a good forme of wordes; both what may be obiected against Lillies rules, and how to defend them.
20 To write Theames full of good matter, in pure Latine, and with iudgement.
21 To enter to make a verse with delight, without any bodging at all; and to furnish with copie of Poeticall phrase, out of Ouid, Virgil, and other the best Poets.
22 So to imitate and expresse Ouid or Virgil, as you shall hardly discerne, vnlesse you know the places, whether the verses be the Authours or the schollars: and to write verses ex tempore of any ordinary Theame.
23 To pronounce naturally and sweetly, without vaine affectation; and to begin to doe it from the lowest fourmes.
24 To make right vse of the matter of their Authours, besides the Latine; euen from the first beginners: as of Sententiae and Confabulatiunculae Pueriles, Cato, Esops fables, Tullies Epistles, Tullies Offices, Ouids Metamorphosis, & so on to the highest. To help to furnish them, with varietie of the best morall matter, and with vnderstanding, wisedome and precepts of vertue, as they growe; and withall to imprint the Latine so in their minds thereby, as hardly to be forgotten.
25 To answere concerning the matter contained in their Lectures, in the Latine of their Authors, from the lowest fourmes and so vpward.
26 To construe any ordinary Author ex tempore.
27 To come to that facilitie and ripenesse, as not onelyonly to translate leasurely, & with some meditation, both into English and Latine, as before in the Sect. or Article, 10. and 11; but more also, to reade any easie Author forth of Latine into English, and out of a translation of the same Grammatically translated, to reade it into Latine againe. As, Corderius, Terence, Tullies Offices, Tullie de natura Deorum, Apthonius. To doe this in Authors and places which they are not acquainted with, and almost as fast as they are able to reade the Author alone.
28 To write fayre in Secretary, Romane, Greeke, Hebrue; as they grow in knowledge of the tongues.
29 To know all the principall and necessarie Radices, Greeke and Hebrue; and to be able to preceede in all the learned tongues of themselues, thorow ordinarie helps, and much more by the worthy helps & meanes, to be had in the Vniuersities.
30 To be acquainted with the grounds of Religion, and the chiefe Histories of the Bible. To take all the substance of the Sermons, for Doctrines, proofes, vses, if they be plainely and orderly deliuered: and to set them downe afterwards in a good Latine stile, or to reade them ex tempore into Latine, out of the English: To conceiue and answere the seuerall points of the Sermons, and to make a briefe repetition of the whole Sermon without booke.
31 To be set in the high way, and to hauehave the rules and grounds, how to attaine to the puritie and perfection of the Latine tongue, by their further labour and practice in the Vniuersitie.
32 To grow in our owne English tongue, according to their ages and growthes in other learning: To vtter their minds in the same both in proprietie and puritie; and so to be fitted for diuinitie, lawe, or what other calling or faculty soeuer they shall bee after imployed in.
33 Finally, thus to proceede togither with the tongues in the vnderstanding and knowledge of the learning, or matter contained in the same. To become alike expert, in all good learning meete for their yeares and studies; that so proceeding still, after they are gone from the Grammar schooles, they may become most exquisite in all kinds of good learning to which they shall be applied.
These things may be effected in good sort, thorough Gods blessing, in the seuerall formes, as the schollars proceede, by so many in each forme as are apt and industrious, onelyonly by the directions following, if they be constantly obserued; If the Maisters being of any competent sufficiencie, will take meet paines; and if the schollars being set to schoole so soone as they shall be meete, may bee kept to learning ordinarily, hauing bookes and other necessary helps & encouragements. That so all schollars of any towardlnesse and diligence may be made absolute Grammarians, and eueryevery way fit for the Vniuersitie, by fifteen yeares of age; or by that time that they shall bee meete by discretion and gouernment. And all this to bee done with delight and certaintie, both to maisters and schollars, with strife and contention amongst the schollars themselues; without that vsual terrour and cruelty, which hath beene practiced in many places, and without somuch as seueritie amongst good natures.
How greatly all this vvould tend to the furtherance of the publique good, eueryevery one may iudge; which yet it will doe so much the more, as the Lord shal vouchsafe a further supply, to the seuerall meanes and courses that are thus begun, by adioining dayly the helps and experiments of many moe learned men, of whom wee conceiue good hope, that they will bee ready to lend their helping hands, to the perfiting of so good a Worke.