Arma Virumque

(Ed. Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in printed communications. No attention will be paid to anonymous letters and only under special conditions, at the request of the writer, will names be with-held.)

To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

Much has been said in the past few years about the decrease in the number of men concentrating in the classics and literature, but the fault, it seems to me, may largely be laid at the door of the classics department itself. It has failed to recognize that men today are not interested solely in translation and in the discussion of mooted points of philology.

Even the advanced courses in the classics are at present based on translation; much time in the lectures is spent on an exposition of obscure questions about which scholars have debated for centuries. Little or no attention is paid to general critical works on the authors studied or to a development of a true literary appreciation of the works read. It is true that a check-up is necessary to make sure that the translation has been done, but this should not be made the most important part of the courses.

A special examination to test the student in the more or less mechanical process of translation could be held possibly in November or April; or a small part of the final examination might consist of material simply to be translated. The final examinations should, however, be based mainly on literary criticism and discussion rather than on the mechanics of translation and the dialectics of philology. An effort should be made to encourage general reading at sight in Latin and Greek, and to exclude, as much as possible, the laborious work of choosing the most exact English with which to render the original.

The ancient languages should be studied in advanced courses, as modern languages are, if their popularity is ever again to equal that of the modern languages. (Name withheld by request.)