LANCINGS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1919. A UNIVERSITY CHANGE.

Free Lance, Volume XVIII, Issue 971, 27 February 1919, Page 8

LANCINGS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1919. A UNIVERSITY CHANGE.

Non-Compulsory Latin.

Hese shal the Press the People'sright maintain Unawed by principle and unbribed by gain j. Hare patriot Truth her glorious precepts drawl Pledged to Religion, Liberty,and Law

PINION S will necessarily differ very much as to the wisdom of the University Senate's decision, by a majority of one, that Latin shall no longer he a compulsory subject for the " matric." examination which is the entrance to the arts course. On the one side it will be contended that the day is past when the study of Latin and Greek should be deemed of paramount importance. Also that a knowledge of, or a nodding acquaintance—for the latter is what the majority of graduates really attain —with certain ancient classics is of no practical use in life and that classical study involves a waste of valuable time. Such Latin and Greek authors as people may desire to study, they point out, are available in translations, and it is better say to read the Lang and Leaf prose translation of the "Odyssey.", North's Plutarch, Connington's Virgil, and Gilbert Murray's Euripides, than plough through the originals with constant references to Liddell and Scott or Smith. On the other hand, it is undesirable to neglect Latin, for it plays an important part in scientific terminology, and must always remain one of the best foundations of literary style. A grounding in Latin tends to the production of eloquent oratory and a rich and refined vocabulary for writers, -x- ■* * *

There is, too, a certain danger of the New Zealand arts degree losing, in other countries, if not here, some of its value as a proof of a liberal education. There is such a thing as making things too easy for our students. Already it is an open question whether the system of taking certain subjects one year and others another year, of passing examinations in stages is, in practice, an improvement upon the oldfashioned method. The great thing to be aimed at by our secondary sdhools authorities is the encouragement of students to attain breadth as well as depth of knowledge. The modern tendency is to bring education into closer touch with the realities of life, to be more practically useful to the individual and to the community.

At the same time we hope the day will never come when the love of literature as literature, and of knowledge and culture generally, not for their after-life value in £ s. d. but for the pleasure and solace they can bring to the mind, will cease to be a factor in our university system. If Latin is to go as a compulsory study, we trust that those who discard it will turn to the study of French, the richest and purest of all modern languages, and that the claims of our own noble Eng lish language and literature, that most splendid heritage of our race, to special attention will still make strong

appeal to tlie student. This is the day of the scientist, but the scientists will never, we hope, drive the humanities out of the educational, and especially, the university field.