This text is part of:
Table of Contents:
Click on a word to bring up parses, dictionary entries, and frequency statistics
1 Celeberrimi, & c., “ I, first of all men, have taken care that the life of the most celebrated George Washington, first president of the United States of America, presented with Latium (clothed with Latinity) for the use of universities, should be written. ”
2 Civitatum, & c., “ I endeavored to advance the literature of the United States of America, by imparting to youth a taste for reading the life of a great man, written in a foreign language. ”
3 Juvenes, & c., “ I wished that the youth of our country should read a life, written in Latin, of the greatest man which the earth ever produced. ” Nostrates, comes from the patrial or gentile pronoun nostras.
4 Ludis, &c., “ schools; ” the noun ludus is used for a school, by the best authors: by ludus literarius, is meant, a college, or, perhaps, rather, a grammar-school.
5 Callere, “ to know perfectly, ” (according to rule,) the Greek and Roman languages: the verb calleo is used by Horace in this sense; “ Legitimumque sonum digitis callemus et aure. ” “ And we understand a legitimate sound by our fingers, and ear; ” which good classic scholars can do even at this day. An inaccurate pronunciation of Greek and Latin should be avoided.
6 Doctoribus, &c., “ the teachers of those languages. ”
7 Americanos, &c., “ it cannot be denied, that the Americans possess enough of genius, to understand, very well, any language or science. ”
8 Desunt, &c., (scilicet, homines,) “ but yet (men) are now wanting, almost everywere, who can teach those languages correctly. ”
9 Docendo, &c. “ in teaching others those languages. ”
10 Docendo, &c. “ in teaching others those languages. ”
11 Promovere, &c., “ which can promote or advance them, ” (the languages.)
12 Me, &c., “ I by no means affirm that I am more learned than others, or more excellent in any science. ”
13 Scitu, “ to be known; ” the latter supine from the verb scio, “ I know, ” governed by the adjective noun utilia.
14 Ex quo, (scilicet, spatio,) “ from which period; ” since.
15 Illâ, &c., (scilicet, versione,) “ as those books, that wanted, ” (a translation.)
16 Unguem, &c., “ I was ordered to learn perfectly, ” (by heart,) to my nail ten times pared, (that is, exactly,) a metaphor taken from an examination of the works of statuaries and workers in marble.
17 Evasi, &c., (“ I came off, ”) “ I became tolerably skilled in those languages. ”
18 Crumenâ, &c., “ my purse failing: ” that is, my finances becoming limited.
19 Doctorum, &c., “ and I carefully followed the footsteps of other teachers, far excelling me in learning and experience; ” doctorum, in this passage, comes from doctor, a teacher.
20 Causa, &c., “ the principal cause of the ignorance of the learned languages, appears, indeed, to me, to consist in this, because boys, all along from the beginning, are not accustomed to speak and write nothing but in Latin. ”
21 Discipulos, &c., “ they would permit their scholars to utter or write nothing, but what is worthy of Cicero or Sallust. ”
22 Confiteor, &c., “ I most willingly acknowledge, that this complaint (although it proceed, for the most part, from the illiterate) is in a great measure, truc. ”
23 Attamen, &c., “ but notwithstanding (this concession) the sooner a boy can speak Latin, and write Latin exercises, (it is,) assuredly, the better. ”
24 Sermo, &c., “ the discourse and conversation of all teachers and professors, who are to treat of the literature of the Romans, in our public colleges, should appear altogether Roman, not that of foreigners. ” (See what has been said on civitate donare, in former notes.)
25 Collegiorum, &c., “ but the trustees of our colleges, in electing, &c., ” the noun collegium is compounded of the inseparable preposition con, together, and lego, I collect. Now, it cannot come from the present tense of colligo, because the second syllable, le, would in that case, be short; but from the perfect tense, collegi: as nouns in the Greek language are derived from different tenses of verbs.
26 Jam, &c., “ all along from the commencement. ”
27 Inter, &c., “ at the time of reciting, ” during their recitations.
28 Earumque, (scilicet, partium,) “ their mutual connexion, ” &c.
29 Earumque, (scilicet, partium,) “ their mutual connexion, ” &c.
30 Qui, this relative accords with the number of eorum, and consequently requires decernunt, to be in the plural.
31 Eis, &c., (scilicet, linguis,) “ can use them, ” (the learned languages.)
32 Paucis, (scilicet, verbis,) “ in few words; ” concisely.
33 Americanos, &c. “ it is very certain that the Americans are altogether equal to Europeans in genius, ” (native talents.）
34 Usus, &c., “ therefore, (that is, in consequence of this equality to Europeans, in point of natural capacity,) a longer experience and practice of speaking, writing, and reading, are only wanting. ”
35 Nostrates, “ the youths of our country. ” Nostras, is what grammarians usually call a patrial or gentile pronoun.
36 Annum, this counsel of commencing the study of the learned languages, at ten years of age, and of prosecuting collegiate pursuits, till the twentieth year, is warranted by the soundest experience.
Francis Glass. Washingtonii Vita. New York. Harper & Brothers. 1842.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.