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Article ON THE ADVANTAGES OF CLASSICAL KNOWLEDGE. ← Page 2 of 9 →
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On The Advantages Of Classical Knowledge.
this essay , as the consideration of its advantages , and the investigation of the sources from which they are to be obtained . Laying it ° down as an axiom , that none but a school-boy reads the classics merely as a task , and that every one who studies them with attention must of necessity receive considerable advantage from their labours and from his own industry :
Nemo reperitur qui sit studio nihil consecutus . QUINTIL . In treating of the benefits which arise from the study of the classics , the subject naturally divides itself into these two considerations : The advantages which classical literature renders to society in general , and to individuals in particular . In the investigation of these divisions many circumstances of an interesting nature will present themselves
, ancl many subjects of importance claim attention ; but to select with judgment , and arrange with perspicuity , requires much skill and ability . The labour bestowed on this essay will be amply rewarded if it tends in the smallest degree to promote that learning which in the present age is but too much disregarded . ' ON THE ADVANTAGES WHICH CLASSICAL KNOWLEDGE RENDERS TO
SOCIETY IN GENERAL . A retrospective view of the state of Europe from the present period ¦ to the Gothic ignorance of the middle ages , will sufficiently point out the benefits which have arisen from the cultivation of letters , and from . the _ revival of the languid remains of ancient learning . This happy . extirpation of rude systems and barbarous mannersforms a period in
, the history of man from which , as radii form a centre , the various branches of knowled ge have diverged . It is to the discovery of the art of printing that we are indebted for the general diffusion of . learning which has so rapidly spread over Europe . It is this art that has preserved the valuable remains of antiquity from the ravaging hand of time , and transmitted the elegant compositions of the Greek
and Roman classics to less perishable materials than waxen tablets , or . the Egyptian Papyrus . After the discovery of this art the minds of men progressively expanded , and their manners gradually refined : the works of the ancients , which before were very scarce , and only to be ¦ found in the libraries of the rich and great , w " ere soon familiar to the lovers of knowledge ; and became the constant study and amusement of the
age . The general dispersion of so many valuable treasures of learning , full of taste and elegance , abounding with the most sublime sentiments , and descriptive of tiie actions of the most illustrious nations , could not fail to excite an ardent desire of obtainino- an accurate knowledge of their beauties , and an extensive acquaintance with the moral and political systems they contained . It was this desire that expelled the gloom of ignorance , and enlivened the walks of science ; that banished superstitious prejudices , and laid open the stores of ancient literature * .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Advantages Of Classical Knowledge.
this essay , as the consideration of its advantages , and the investigation of the sources from which they are to be obtained . Laying it ° down as an axiom , that none but a school-boy reads the classics merely as a task , and that every one who studies them with attention must of necessity receive considerable advantage from their labours and from his own industry :
Nemo reperitur qui sit studio nihil consecutus . QUINTIL . In treating of the benefits which arise from the study of the classics , the subject naturally divides itself into these two considerations : The advantages which classical literature renders to society in general , and to individuals in particular . In the investigation of these divisions many circumstances of an interesting nature will present themselves
, ancl many subjects of importance claim attention ; but to select with judgment , and arrange with perspicuity , requires much skill and ability . The labour bestowed on this essay will be amply rewarded if it tends in the smallest degree to promote that learning which in the present age is but too much disregarded . ' ON THE ADVANTAGES WHICH CLASSICAL KNOWLEDGE RENDERS TO
SOCIETY IN GENERAL . A retrospective view of the state of Europe from the present period ¦ to the Gothic ignorance of the middle ages , will sufficiently point out the benefits which have arisen from the cultivation of letters , and from . the _ revival of the languid remains of ancient learning . This happy . extirpation of rude systems and barbarous mannersforms a period in
, the history of man from which , as radii form a centre , the various branches of knowled ge have diverged . It is to the discovery of the art of printing that we are indebted for the general diffusion of . learning which has so rapidly spread over Europe . It is this art that has preserved the valuable remains of antiquity from the ravaging hand of time , and transmitted the elegant compositions of the Greek
and Roman classics to less perishable materials than waxen tablets , or . the Egyptian Papyrus . After the discovery of this art the minds of men progressively expanded , and their manners gradually refined : the works of the ancients , which before were very scarce , and only to be ¦ found in the libraries of the rich and great , w " ere soon familiar to the lovers of knowledge ; and became the constant study and amusement of the
age . The general dispersion of so many valuable treasures of learning , full of taste and elegance , abounding with the most sublime sentiments , and descriptive of tiie actions of the most illustrious nations , could not fail to excite an ardent desire of obtainino- an accurate knowledge of their beauties , and an extensive acquaintance with the moral and political systems they contained . It was this desire that expelled the gloom of ignorance , and enlivened the walks of science ; that banished superstitious prejudices , and laid open the stores of ancient literature * .