ful for the study of the Acts of the Apostles (Travels of St. Paul) and of the Crusades. Books I-IV should be read with maps, and with the plans of battles drawn on paper or on the blackboard. If this is done, and the reading is not too slow, the boys will take a real interest in the clear and simple narrative of battles and marches through the countries of hostile tribes. Boys delight in warfare and travels. – Whether the Memorabilia should be read is questionable, as a better picture of Socrates will afterwards be given in Plato's works. After the Anabasis selections may be read from the Cyropaedia and the Hellenica.
Herodotus, the "Father of History", as Cicero styles him, is a most attractive author. He seems not to have been read in the colleges of the Old Society. In modern times, in many plans of study, he receives more attention; some selections may well be read, especially such stories as have been taken into the literatures of all civilized nations. In their original garb they will exercise a special charm on account of their naive character.
Thucydides, the "Father of Pragmatic and Political History," wrote the history of the first part of the Peloponnesian War. He ranks very high as historian, being distinguished for critical spirit, accurate research, and severe impartiality. His style is concise, often so concise as to degenerate into obscurity. This conciseness and the depth of thought make him a difficult author for young students. In the highest class, choice passages may be read: v. g. the plague in Athens, the funeral oration of Pericles. Demosthenes was an ardent admirer of the harangues of Thucydides, and the two great Roman historians, Sallust and Tacitus, have taken him for their model.
