Page:The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius (1896).pdf/373

 already familiar. Those only need be included in which the usage of Greek differs from that of Latin, which is, already known. In this way Greek grammar may be reduced to a few pages, and will thus be both clearer and easier.

15. (vii) The first exercises in a new language must deal with subject-matter that is already familiar.

Otherwise the mind will have to pay attention to words and to things at the same time, and will thus be distracted and weakened. Its efforts should therefore be confined to words, that it may master them easily and quickly. Such subject matter might very well be the Catechism, or Biblical history, or in fact anything that is sufficiently familiar. (Being short, my Vestibulum and Janua might be used; though these are more suitable to commit to memory, while the subjects suggested above are fit for constant reading on account of the constant recurrence of the same words, which will thus grow familiar and impress themselves on the memory.)

16. (viii) All languages, therefore, can be learned by the method.

That is to say, by practice, combined with rules of a very simple nature that only refer to points of difference with the language already known, and by exercises that refer to some familiar subject.

17. Of the languages that should be learned carefully.

As we said at the commencement of the chapter, all languages need not be learned with equal accuracy. The mother-tongue and Latin are the most worthy of attention, and we should all master them thoroughly. This course of language-study may be divided into four ages—