The Grammar School, Chapter 15
CHAP. XV.
The manner of examining and correcting Exercises.
Spoud.
HAuing thus gone through the principall exercises of writing;Examining exercises neuer to be omitted. I pray you let me heare your iudgment, for the examining of such exercises, and the best manner of performing it:Though tedious yet profitable. for I finde it a matter very tedious and troublesome.
Phil.
Howsoeuer it be tedious,Neglect of exmining brings carelesnesse in schollars. yet it is such a matter as would neuer be omitted, no more then the giuing of exercises; nor to be slightly passed ouer, so much as time and oportunity will permit. For when the schollar knoweth that his exercise must be strictly examined, it will make him more carefull in performing thereof, and contrarily; and it will be a great helpe to bring him sooner to perfection.
For the manner of doing it;
1 The Master ought heedfully to obserue those speciall faults,1 Masters to obs…rue generall faults. wherein his schollars doe most vsually slip; and to acquaint eueryevery one, not onelyonly with the generall, but also with his particular, to warne them of them.
For example;Wherein schollars do most commonly slip. I hauehave found my schollars to misse most in these: through want of Dipthongs. Incongruity in their Concords. In the vse of the two chiefe rules of the Relatiue Qui, quae quod. Ablatiue case absolute. Apposition▪ Coniunctions to couple together like cases, moodes and Tenses. Nominature case after the Verbe, &c. The Accusatiue case before an Infinitiue Moode.
Also that they will oft hauehave a Synchesis, Synchesis.or a disordered confusion of their wordes;Hyperbaton to be auoided. and sometimes they will vse hyperbaton: which is a further fetching or carrying of some wordes, whereby a sentence is obscured; and the schollar forgets himselfe before he come to the end of his sentence, and so writes false Latine. Long Periods are therefore to be auoyded as much as may be.
2 The Schollars are to be called vponupon,☜ to reade ouer their exercises in the naturall or Grammaticall order,2 To reade ouer their exercises first in naturall order. so as they construe: and then they may see presently how the wordes doe hang together, both for agreement, gouernement, and sense, and where the faults of Grammar are.
3 That besides their rules, they be able presently to parallele or proue each phrase and construction,☜ by the like example in Grammar,3. To parallele each thing by examples. or by a like phrase out of Tully, or other Authours: and what they know not, to seeke out; to the end that they may be able to iustifie eueryevery word, euen where they hauehave read it, so much as may be.
4 The higher schollars to looke to elegancie,☜ and finenesse of phrase and Composition;4 To looke to elegancy and finenesse of Composition. and so to bee reading their exercises ouer and ouer, stil correcting and amending them, neuer thinking an exercise well enough, vntill no fault can be found,Neuer to think any exercise laboured enough▪ in Latine, propriety, composition, matter; no nor in the least tittle. The schollar is herein to imitate the curious painter, who is still amending and bettering his picture, to drawe all into admiration; that his Theames, Verses, Orations may be as the harpe of Orpheus, to draw all the hearers or readers after them.
5 To appoint aduersaries to take one anothers exercises,☜ and to see whether of them can finde the moe faults:5 Aduersaries to note faults in one anothers exercises. and if you will, to set vnderneath, how many faults either of them findes; and so to giuegive them to the Master, or to themselues first to correct, then to the Master.
6 Afterall,☞ the Master is carefully to reade ouer eueryevery ones exercise,6 The maner of examining by the Master. so much as leasure will permit; and by questions to make themselues to finde where the errour is: as but asking; Doe we say thus or thus? and to cause them to amend it of themselues by giuing a like example▪ And in the meane time, to make some little line vnderunder the phrase or word, or peece of the word or syllable wherein the errour is, that they may amend it after in their bookes. And for all correcting of translations in Latine, to doe it by comparing their exercise with the Authour; and so exercises of imitation, to see who commeth next to the example.
7 In examining exercises in the highest fourmes (as in Theames,☞ Declamations,7 Special faults in the youngest fourmes. Verses, Orations, and the like) besides the faults against Grammar, the diligent Master should obserue, first, all barbarous phrases, or Poeticall phrase in Prose, or contrary: secondly, Tautologies, or oft repetitions of the same thing or words: thirdly, want of transitions; that is, of fit bonds or phrases, whereby to passe elegantly from one point to another; so as they might be more easily vnderstood: fourthly▪ harsh composition: fiftly, lacke of matter: sixtly, want of elegancy in Tropes and Figures; and so like elegancies noted in Grammar.
7 To hauehave a diligent eye that the schollars do forthwith correct their exercises,☞ so noted out vntounto them:7 Care that they do correct their exercises forthwith. and to this end he is oft to looke in their bookes, whether they hauehave corrected their former exercises; and to vse sharpe reprehension or correction for that carelesnes, to make them to looke to that aboue all. For there is nothing wherein their negligence is more intollerable, nor for which the Master shal be more censured, when their parents, or others who be learned▪ shall looke into their bookes,8 This to be …o…e by others … of and reade ouer their exercises, and there to find them vncorrected.
8 If at any time the Masters occasions permit not so much time, yet to see that it be performed by the Vsher or some of the highest schollars, and the number of faults noted.
Spou.
But what if there should be 30. or 40.☜ in a fourme (as it may be in the greater schools;How to do for correcting where there are very many in a fourme; and where time will not permit to correct all. especially amongst the lower fourmes) how would you do to examine all their exercises in a morning, but you shal hinder your selfe & them frō many other things, wth you must of necessity performe?
Ph.
In such cases we must yeeld to necessity, & vse the best policy we can; as in that exercise of translating into Latin, to cause som 3. or 4. whom you most feare,In exercises of translations. to pronounce their exercises, or to reade or construe thē out of the translation; you to looke vponupon the exercises, as they are pronouncing, & cause them to shew how they must be amended: so al the rest to correct theirs, according as they heare those corrected: if any be found carelesse to correct so, that he be surely corrected: and this is the best helpe which I know in this behalfe.
So likewise where you giuegive them a Theame to make Verses ex tempore: Verses ex tempore.or vponupon som smal meditation, as those which are to be brought each morning, or at one of the clocke, when time will not permit to peruse the writing of eueryevery one; yet to cause eueryevery one to pronounce the Verses which he hath made: and as they pronounce, to shew them their faults, and then cause them to correct them after. Thus hauehave I shewed you my iudgement also for examining of exercises.