mass of easy Latin from which he may acquire reading, as distinct from construing, Latin. If, at the end of two years’ work,[1] the pupil has acquired this, together with the fundamentals of Latin grammar, he will have spent his time to some purpose, and will be in a position to begin the study of a classical author and of the more difficult parts of the grammar with some hope of a happy issue. Or if, on the other hand, he drops the study of Latin at this point, he will still have acquired a working knowledge of the language up to a certain level. This is an aspect of the matter on which I desire to lay some stress. There are many schools, or modern sides of schools, in which only a limited amount of time can be devoted to Latin; and the problem is how can that time be spent so as to produce the most profitable result. It is my hope that the present book may contribute to the solution of this problem.
It is not my intention that an equal amount of time and attention should be bestowed on all the sections of the text. Some of them (marked with a †) are unnecessary from the purely grammatical point of view; they exist for the purpose of carrying on the story and providing material for rapid reading; and where time presses they may be translated by the teacher to the class. The exercises and conversations are intended to be used as the needs of particualr classes may demand. For translation into Latin alternative passages are given, from which the teacher may select what best suits his purpose. Some of them may be worked on paper, some viva voce, some may be omitted altogether. I have thought it better to give too much rather than too little.
One of my young friends who was learning from this book made a critcism of it which will probably pass through the minds of other readers. “The Romans,” he said, “knew nothing of South Africa.” Exactly; but it is possible that the best
- ↑ It is intended that Ora Marítima and Pro Patria shall occupy one year each.
