But farther, the recurring to the study of ancient authors by busy
professional men in the present day, is an event of such extreme rarity
that it cannot be taken into account in any question of public policy.
The second remark is, that the half-knowledge of the ordinary graduate
is a link between the total blank of the outer world, and the thorough
knowledge of the accomplished classic. I am not much struck by the force
of this argument. I think that the classical scholar, might, by
expositions, commentaries, and translations, address the outer world
equally well, without the intervening mass of imperfect scholars.
Lastly, the Canon puts in a claim for his own cloth. The knowledge of
Greek paves the way for serious men to enter the ministry in middle
life. Argument would be thrown away upon any one that could for a moment
entertain this as a sufficient reason for compelling every graduate in
Arts to study Greek. The observation that I would make upon it has a
wider bearing. Middle life is not too late for learning any language
that we suddenly discover to be a want; the stimulus of necessity or of
strong interest, and the wider compass of general knowledge, compensate
for the diminution of verbal memory.
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