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Article ON THE ADVANTAGES OF CLASSICAL KNOWLEDGE. ← Page 4 of 9 →
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On The Advantages Of Classical Knowledge.
arr veS t ? , * / ** % * *&> ^ CVei y reason * ° believe s , Xfn ~ the / tefest excellence . With regard to architecture and sculpture , indeed , we have been more fortunate ; for of these arts t re some ™ i uaWe remains which have escaped from the det ^ tT llTu ° the n ° rthern nati 0 ns ' and SU 1 ™* tl ^ baneful Ce Mahometan superstitionFrom those remains
SS f . much advantage has been derive d , and from the study of them the progress . f , S f be . ° g « atly accelerated . Architectural geniuf has doubtless been assisted b y the valuable works of Vitruvius ; and the stupendous ruins of ancient grandeur , though they now only serve to give a faint idea of their former glory , have certainly been imitated as models of convenience and tasteThe art of scul which is
. pture , capable not only of adorning- a palace or a theatre , but of producino- excellent moral effects , by representing in a forcible manner the vices , or perpetuating the virtues of mankind , was well known among the Greeks , from whose statues in the Vatican much of the merit of modern artists is derived . The knowled ge of the ancients in geography is evident from the writings of Strabo and Pansanias . Their skill in medicine is acknwled
generally ged , and the works of Hippocrates and Galen are not yet expelled from the schools cf modern . practitioners . The Greeks not only excelled in the polite arts , but ' also in most of the . abstract sciences : mathematics and geometiy were " li « , g } f , / "' the sem in ™ es of education , and considered as the bandies of philosoph y . It is to their writings on these subjects that the modern indebted for
s are the grand superstructure of science which has been raised on their foundation . But the improvement of science is neither tiie only nor the most important advantao-e which results from the expansion of classical learning ; advantages of a more refined nature , both in the formation of general character and in the determination of particular conducthave proceeded from the intro
, - duction of the literature of Greece and Rome . Before that period the comparative state of knowled ge and civilization was , undoubtedly at a very low ebb , and since that time , every region in which ancient learning has obtained , has risen with rapidity to power and estimation x
. _ Hence it is that Europe , though the smallest quarter of the globe is of more importance than all the wide extension of the luxuriant plains of Asia , and the trackless wilds of Africa . To what source are we to attribute these advantages r To any particular ability in the inhabitants , or to local and contingent circumstances ? There are it is presumedin all nationscertain similar
, , principles which actuate mankind to the performance of certain similar actions ; and since it does not appear that Europeans in a state of ignorance and barbarity exhibited marks of genius superior to other nations in corresponding situations , it may be inferred the advantages they possess are certainly owing to local and contingent circumstances . " Had the natives of Europe been at an early period placed in the desarts of Arabia , in all probability their manners had been purely Eastern , and their knowledge of moral and natural science the same as that possessed by the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Advantages Of Classical Knowledge.
arr veS t ? , * / ** % * *&> ^ CVei y reason * ° believe s , Xfn ~ the / tefest excellence . With regard to architecture and sculpture , indeed , we have been more fortunate ; for of these arts t re some ™ i uaWe remains which have escaped from the det ^ tT llTu ° the n ° rthern nati 0 ns ' and SU 1 ™* tl ^ baneful Ce Mahometan superstitionFrom those remains
SS f . much advantage has been derive d , and from the study of them the progress . f , S f be . ° g « atly accelerated . Architectural geniuf has doubtless been assisted b y the valuable works of Vitruvius ; and the stupendous ruins of ancient grandeur , though they now only serve to give a faint idea of their former glory , have certainly been imitated as models of convenience and tasteThe art of scul which is
. pture , capable not only of adorning- a palace or a theatre , but of producino- excellent moral effects , by representing in a forcible manner the vices , or perpetuating the virtues of mankind , was well known among the Greeks , from whose statues in the Vatican much of the merit of modern artists is derived . The knowled ge of the ancients in geography is evident from the writings of Strabo and Pansanias . Their skill in medicine is acknwled
generally ged , and the works of Hippocrates and Galen are not yet expelled from the schools cf modern . practitioners . The Greeks not only excelled in the polite arts , but ' also in most of the . abstract sciences : mathematics and geometiy were " li « , g } f , / "' the sem in ™ es of education , and considered as the bandies of philosoph y . It is to their writings on these subjects that the modern indebted for
s are the grand superstructure of science which has been raised on their foundation . But the improvement of science is neither tiie only nor the most important advantao-e which results from the expansion of classical learning ; advantages of a more refined nature , both in the formation of general character and in the determination of particular conducthave proceeded from the intro
, - duction of the literature of Greece and Rome . Before that period the comparative state of knowled ge and civilization was , undoubtedly at a very low ebb , and since that time , every region in which ancient learning has obtained , has risen with rapidity to power and estimation x
. _ Hence it is that Europe , though the smallest quarter of the globe is of more importance than all the wide extension of the luxuriant plains of Asia , and the trackless wilds of Africa . To what source are we to attribute these advantages r To any particular ability in the inhabitants , or to local and contingent circumstances ? There are it is presumedin all nationscertain similar
, , principles which actuate mankind to the performance of certain similar actions ; and since it does not appear that Europeans in a state of ignorance and barbarity exhibited marks of genius superior to other nations in corresponding situations , it may be inferred the advantages they possess are certainly owing to local and contingent circumstances . " Had the natives of Europe been at an early period placed in the desarts of Arabia , in all probability their manners had been purely Eastern , and their knowledge of moral and natural science the same as that possessed by the