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sentiment to appeal to the mind of the very young. Caesar may no doubt be made interesting to a boy or girl of twelve by a skilful teacher with the aid of maps and pictures. But, after all, the Gallic War can never be what it was never meant to be, a child’s book. The ideal “Reader,” which should be the centre of instruction during the early stages of a young pupil’s course, should be really interesting; simple and straightforward in regard to its subject matter, modern in setting, and as classical as may be in form—a book which the pupil may regard with benevolent feelings, not with mere “gloomy respect,”^[1] as worth knowing for its own sake. It should be well illustrated with pictures, diagrams, and maps, provided always that the illustrations are to the point, and such as are really felt to be needed to explain the text and make it live. “Modern in setting,” for otherwise the book will not appeal to the young mind; yet there is much justification for the demand made by many adherents of the newer school that the subject matter of any school book dealing with a foreign language should be closely associated with the history and the manners and customs of the people who spoke or speak the language. Possibly the two demands are not irreconcilable; the subject matter may be historical and national, but the point of view from which it is regarded may be modern. For English pupils learning Latin the reconciliation ought to present little difficulty; but nearly every great nation of Europe has its points of contact with Rome, and therefore its opportunities of constructing Latin Readers which are national in more senses than one. On the modern side they may be patriotic in tone, and inspired by that love of nature which appeals so directly to the youthful mind; on the ancient side they may be historical and instructive in the narrower sense of the term. And the illustrations should also have this two-fold character; they should include subjects both ancient and modern,

1. Lord Rosebery in his Rectorial Address at Glasgow, 1900.