Page:Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History, Volume 1.djvu/854

 840 V. BENCH AND BAR ties, assuming that I well understood Horace. I said noth- ing, but was stung with shame & mortification, for I had forgotten even my Greek letters. I purchased immediately Horace and Virgil, a dictionary & grammar, and a Greek Lexicon & grammar and the testament, & formed my reso- lution promptly and decidedly to recover the lost languages. I studied in my little cottage mornings and devoted an hour to greek and another to latin daily, I soon increased it to two for each tonge in the 24 hours, my acquaintance with the languages increased rapidly. After I had read Horace and Virgil I ventured upon Livy for the first time in my life, & after I had completed the Greek Testament I took up the Iliad, & I can hardly describe at this day * with which I progressively read and studied in the original Livy & the Iliad. It gave me inspiration, I purchased a French Dictionary & grammar & began French & gave an hour to this language daily. I appropriated the business part of the day to law, & read Co. Litt, & made copious notes. I devoted evening to English literature in company with my wife. From 1788 to 1798 I steadily divided the day into five portions, & alotted them to Greek, Latin, law and business, French Sf English. I mastered the best of the Greek, Latin and French classics, & as well as the best Eng- lish & law books at hand & read Machiavel & all collateral branches of English history, such as Libeletines H. 2nd Bacons H. 7th. Lord Clarendon on the great Rebellion, &c. I even sent to England as early as 1790 for Warbertons divine legation Lusiad. My library which started from nothing grew with my growth, & it has now attained to upwards of 3,000 volumes, & it is pretty well selected, for there is scarcely a work, authority or document referred to in the 3 volumes of my commentaries but what has a place in my own library, next to my wife, my library has been the solace of my great- est pleasure & devoted attachment. The year 1793 was another era in my life, I removed from Poughkeepsie to the city of New York, with which I had become well acquainted, & I wanted to get rid of the incum-
 * Words omitted in original.