Page:The Sources of Standard English.djvu/449

12

Wright — continued. This work is intended to supply the pupil with an easy construing book, which may at the same time be made the vehicle for instructing him in the ''rules of grammar and principles of composition. The notes profess to'' ''teach what is commonly taught in grammars. It is conceived that the'' pupil will learn the rules of construction of the language much more easily from separate examples, which are pointed out to him in the course of his reading, and which he may himself set down in his note-book after some scheme of his own, than from a heap of quotations amassed for hint ''by others. “The Notes are abundant, explicit, and full of such grammatical'' and other information as boys require.” —. “This is really,” the says, “what its title imports, and we believe that its general introduction into Grammar Schools would not only facilitate the progress of the boys beginning to learn Latin, but also relieve the Masters from a very considerable amount of irksome labour . . . . a really valuable addition to our school libraries.”

''The following points in the plan of the work may be noted: — 1. The'' ''pupil has to deal with only one construction at a time. 2. This'' construction is made clear to him by an accumulation of instances. 3. As all the constructions are classified as they occur, the construction ''in each sentence can be easily referred to its class. 4. As the author'' thinks the pupil ought to be thoroughly familiarized, by a repetition of instances, with a construction in a foreign language, before he at&shy;tempts himself to render it in that language, the present volume contains ''only Latin sentences. 5. The author has added to the Rules on Prosody'' in the last chapter, a few familiar lines from Ovid's Fasti by way ''of illustration. In a brief Introduction the author states the rationale'' ''of the principal points of Latin Grammar. Copious Notes are appended,'' to which reference is made in the text, from the clear and rational method adopted in the arrangement of this elementary work, from the simple way in which the various rules are conveyed, and from the abun&shy;dance of examples given, both teachers and pupils will find it a valuable help to the learning of Latin.