A New Discovery of the Old Art of Teaching School, Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
How to make children of the ſecond Form perfect in the Rules of the Genders of Nouns, and of the Preterperfect tenſes, and Supines of Verbs, contained in Propria quae maribus, Quae genus, and As in P…aeſenti; and how to enter them in writing, and ſpeaking familiar and congruous Latine.
THe general courſe taken in teaching the Rules of the Genders and Nouns, and Conjugating Verbs, is, to make children to patter them over by heart, and ſometimes alſo to construe and parſe them; but ſeldom or never are they taught the meaning of a Rule, or how to apply it readily to the words they meet with elſewhere.
The volubility of the Verſe doth indeed help ſome quicker wits for more ready repeating of them; but others of more ſlow pace, (that learn better by underſtanding what they ſay) are apt to miſcall every word in their Leſſon, becauſe they cannot tell what it meaneth; and let them, take never ſo much pains about it, very little of what they are to learn, will ſtick in their memories.
Some therefore have decryed this patching of Rules into a cobling verſe; others have thought it better to denote the Genders of Nouns, and the Preterperfect tenſes of Verbs by the Terminations of the firſt words, and ſome have quite altered theſe Rules by expunging ſome words, and inſerting others, which they thought might better agree with them; But for my part, I like his judgement well, that ſaid it was impoſſible for any Grammarian to make better Rules then theſe in Propria quae maribus, and As in praeſenti; for though in ſome things they may be faulty, as Quae genus is in very many, yet (as Mr. Brinſley ſaith of the Accidents) a wiſe Maſter is not to ſtand with his children about mending of it, but only to make them understand the Rules, as they are ſet down in the Book, which that they may well do, I propound this expedient.
1. Let them for Fore-noon Leſſons begin with Propria quae maribus, and then proceed to As in praeſenti, leaving Quae genus to the laſt, becauſe it is of leſſe uſe, and harder for children to underſtand.
2. In getting theſe Rules at firſt, let them read them all diſtinctly over, and take notice of the Titles or Heads, and mark out the moſt general Rules, which they may learn before any of the reſt; And to make them the better to underſtand themſelves, you may allow them an Engliſh Propria quae maribus, &c. which they may compare all along with that in their Grammar, and if at any time you perceive they do not well apprehend the meaning of a Rule, do you illuſtrate it by inſtancing ſome words, that they have had in their Vocabulary, or elſewhere. This will make them ſomewhat ready to turn to any Rule.
3. At the next going them over, they will be able to ſay four or ſix lines at a time, memoriter. And then you may let them get all before them, and make them after they have ſaid a Leſſon by heart, to conſtrue it by the help of a Construing-book, and to decline every Noun, and Conjugate every verb, by the help of the Indexes annexed to the Propria quae maribus, &c. Engliſhed, and explained.
4. You may exerciſe them in this manner, by repeating more and more at a time, till they can decline Nouns, and conjugate Verbs, and apply the Rules readily to them; & having thus gained them, you may keep them, by dividing the whole into ten parts, according to the Common-place Heads; thus, the Firſt may be at Propria quae maribus, &c. De Regulis generalibus Propriorum, De Regulis generalibus Appellativorum, De prima ſpeciali Regula, & ejus exceptionibus Maſculinis, Neutris, Dubiis, & Communibus. The Second at Momen …reſcentis penultima, &c. Syllaba acuta ſonat, &c. De ſecunda ſpeciali Regula, & ejus exceptionibus Maſculinis, Neutris, Dubiis, & Communibus. The third at Nomen creſcentis—Sit gravis, &c. De tertia ſpeciali Regula & ejus exceptionibus Faemininis, Neutris, Dubiis, Communibus, & de Regulis Adjectivorum generalibus. The Fourth at Quae genus, de variantibus genus, de defectivis caſu, Aptotis, Diptotis, Triptotis, & Vocativo carentibus. The Fifth, at Propria cuncta notes, &c. de defectivis numero, plurali, & ſingulari. The Sixth, at Haec quaſi luxuriant, &c. de Redundantibus. The ſeventh at As in praeſenti, De Simplicium verborum praeterito primae, ſecundae tertiae, & quartae Conjugationis. The eighth, at Praeteritum dat idem, & de Compoſitorum verborum praeteritis. The ninth, at Nunc ex praeterito, &c. De Simplicium verborum, & Compoſitorum Supinis. The tenth, De Praeteritis verborum in OR. De geminum praeterium habentibus, De neutro paſſivi, De verbis praeteritum mutuantibus, de praeterito carentibus, & de Supinum raro admittentibus. If you adde theſe ten to the twenty parts in the Accidents, they may run over the whole thirty in ſix weeks; ſaying every morning one, except on Saturdays, which are reſerved for other occaſions. Their Noon-parts may be in the larger Vocabulary (which is commonly printed with the grounds of Grammar, in an eaſie entrance to the Latine Tongue, in which they may peruſe a whole Chapter at once, and afterwards ſtrive who can tell you Latine for the moſt things mentioned in it. And if at any time the words be not ſo obvious to their underſtanding, becauſe (perhaps) they know not the things which they ſignify; do you tell them what the thing is, and explain the word by another that is more familiar to them.
Their After-noons Leſſons on Mondayes and Wedneſdayes, may be in Qui mihi, which containeth pretty Precepts of good manners, much befitting children to obſerve, and which are ſo common in every mean Scholars mouth, that a childe would bluſh to ſeem ignorant of them. In getting this,
1. Let them repeat two diſtichs at once memoriter, and if withall, you let them get the Engliſh verſes anſwerable to the Latine, and printed with the Grounds of Grammar, they will fix the Latine better in their memories.
2. Let them conſtrue the Leſſon Grammatically, and to help themſelves in that more difficult work, let them make uſe of the conſtruction made them at the end of their Conſtruing-Book.
3. Let them read the Latine in the Grammatical order, and ſometimes into meer Engliſh, and then let them parſe every word according to that order, giving the Rules for the Genders of Nouns, and the Preterperfect tenſes, and Supines of verbs; and applying thoſe of Concordance and Conſtruction, as they come in their way.
4. To exerciſe them in true writing, it were good if they had a little paper-book, wherein to write firſt the Latine, and then the Engliſh diſtichs at full length, which they may ſhew, when they ſay their Leſſon.
5. To finde them ſome employment after the Leſſon, you may give them ſome eaſie dictate out of it to turn into Latine; ſometimes by way of Queſtion and Anſwer, and ſometimes more poſitively; thus, What ſhall that Scholar do that deſireth to be taught? He ſhall conceive the Maſters ſayings in his minde. Quid faciet ille diſcipulus, qui cupit doceri? dicta praeceptoris animo ſuo concipiet, or thus; A boy that is a Scholar, and deſireth to be taught, ought to conceive the Maſters ſayings in his minde, and ſo as to underſtand them well-Puer qui diſcipulus eſt & cupit doceri, dictae praeceptoris animo ſuo concipere debet, atque ita ut eadem recte intelligat. And this you may cauſe any one of them to read, and let the reſt correct him in any word he hath made amiſſe, and be ſure they can all give a rule for what they do.
After they have repeated theſe verſes of Mr. Lilies ſo often over, that they can ſay them all at once pretty well by heart, they may continue their Afternoons Leſſons in Cato, ſaying two or three Diſtichs at once, according to the directions already given in the Preface to that Book in Engliſh and Latine verſe; and when they have gone thorow a book of it, let them try amongſt themſelves who can repeat the moſt of it by heart, as we ſee Corderius did ſometimes exerciſe his Scholars, as it appeareth by his Colloquies.
Now foraſmuch as ſpeaking Latine is the main end of Grammar, and there is no better expedient to help children in the ready exerciſe thereof, then frequent peruſal of Vocabularies for common words, and Colloquies for familiar phraſes, and ſuch as are to be uſed in ordinary diſcourſe; I think it very convenient to make uſe of Pueriles Confabi latiunculae, both in Engliſh and Latine, on Tueſdayes and Thurſdayes in the Afternoons inſtead of Leſſons, thus,
1. Let them read a whole Colloquie (if it be not too long) at once both in Engliſh and Latine, not minding to conſtrue it verbatim at the firſt going it over, but to render the expreſſions wholly as they ſtand, and are anſwerable one to another, and this will acquaint them with the matter in the book, and enable them to read both the Languages more readily.
2. At a ſecond going over, let them conſtrue it Grammatically, and then take any phraſe or ſentence in the preſent Leſſon, and make ſuch another by it, changeing either the words, or ſome of their Accidents, as the preſent occaſion requireth; ex gr. As they ſay in the ſingular Number: God ſave you, Salve, Sis ſalvus, jubeo te ſalvere, or ave; ſo make them ſay in the plural number, God ſave you, Salvete, ſitis ſalvi, jubemus vos ſalvere, or avete. So likewiſe when they can ſay, I thank you, Habeo tibi gratiam, or habetur tibi a me gratia, let them imitate, and alter it by ſaying, We thank your Father. Habemus Patri tuo gratiam. My Mother thanks you, Sir. Mater habet tibi gratiam, Domine; or Habetur tibi, Domine, a matre mea gratia.
When they have gone this book ſo often over, as to be well acquainted with its phraſes, Let them proceed to Corderius Colloquies, which they have alſo in Engliſh and Latine, and which they may conſtrue Grammatically, and cull the phraſes out of it, to make uſe of them, in common ſpeaking Latine.
Let them have a little paper-book, wherein to gather the more familiar phraſes, which they finde in every Leſſon printed in a different character, and let them by often peruſal at ſpare times, and bearing them alwayes about them, get them ſo readily by heart, as to be able to expreſſe themſelves in Latine by them upon any meet occaſion. And this way of exerciſing them to ſpeak according to their Authours expreſſions from their firſt entrance upon Latine, is the beſt expedient that can be taken to avoyd Angliciſmes, which otherwiſe they are very prone to, ſo long as they are directed only by Grammar-Rules, and enforced to ſeek words in the Dictionary, where commonly they light upon that which is moſt improper.
And that they may now do ſomething of themſelves by way of night exerciſe, let them every evening tranſlate a verſe at home out of the 119. Pſalm, which I conceive is the moſt eaſie for the purpoſe of making the three Concords, and ſome of the more neceſſary Rules of conſtruction familiar to them. In making their Tranſlations,
1. Let them be ſure to write the Engliſh very fair and true, obſerving its juſt pauſes, and let them alſo make the like notes of diſtinction in their Latine.
2. When they come to ſhew their Latines,
1. Let one read and conſtrue a verſe.
2. Let another tell you what part of ſpeech every word is, as well Engliſh as Latine, and what the Engliſh Signes do note.
3. Let the reſt in order give you the right Analyſis of every word one by one, and the Rules of Nouns and Verbs, and of Concordance, and Conſtruction. And becauſe theſe little boyes are too apt to blur and ſpoyle their Bibles, and to make a wrong choyce of words out of a Dictionary, which is a great maime and hinderance to them in making Latine (and cauſed Mr. Aſcham to affirm, that making of Latines marreth children) I think it not amiſſe to get that Pſalm, and ſome other Engliſhes printed by themſelves, with an Alphabeticall Index of every word which is proper for its place. Right choyce of words being indeed the foundation of all eloquence.
On Saturdayes, after they can ſay the Lords Prayer, the Creed, and the ten Commandements in Engliſh and Latine, they may proceed to the Aſſemblies Catechiſme, firſt in Engliſh, and then in Latine, or the like. This ſecond form then is to be exerciſed,
1. In repeating the Accidents for morning parts.
2. In ſaying Propria quae maribus, Quae genus, As in praeſenti, for Fore-noon Leſsons.
3. In reading the larger Vocabulary for Noon parts.
4. In learning Qui mihi, and afterwards Cato, for Afternoons Leſsons on Mondayes and Wedneſdayes, and Pueriles Confabulatiunculae, and afterwards Corderii Colloquia on Tueſdayes, and Thurſdayes. And
5. Tranſlating a verſe out of Engliſh into Latine every evening at home, which they may bring to be corrected on Fridayes, after all the weeks Repetitions ended, and return written as fair as poſſibly they can write, on Satturday mornings, after examinations ended. And thus they may be made to know the Genders of Nouns, and Preter-perfect tenſes, and Supines of Verbs, and initiated to ſpeak and write true Latine in the compaſſe of a ſecond yeare. So that to children of betwixt ſeven and nine years of age, in regard of their remedileſſe inanimadvertency, I allow two whole years to practiſe them well in the Rudiments or Grounds of Grammar, in which I would have the variation of Nouns and Verbs to be ſpecially minded, for till they be very ready in thoſe, their progreſs in other things will be full of uncertainties, and troubleſomely tedious, but if thoſe be once well got, all other rules which have not (perhaps) been ſo well underſtood, will more eaſily (as age increaſeth) be better apprehended and put in uſe.