Chapter C: L. S. C. Work (1)

By REV. J. H. VINCENT, D.D., SUPERINTENDENT OF INSTRUCTION.

Will local circles please report to Miss K. F. Kimball, Plainfield, N. J., as well as to THE CHAUTAUQUAN? Please attend to this.

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Persons desiring graduates’ badges in the C. L. S. C. should address Mrs. Rosie M. Baketel, Methuen, Mass., as she has now entire charge of Mrs. Burroughs’ business.

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The _Saturday Union_, published in Lynn, Mass., contains a C. L. S. C. column. The number for February 2 has an original Chautauqua song, and a column and a half of questions and answers in Political Economy. The questions are by Rev. R. H. Howard, A.M. This is an advance movement, and will undoubtedly help our cause.

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Will all members take notice not to send letters, postals or papers to me at Hartford, Connecticut? My personal postoffice address is Drawer 75, New Haven, Conn.; Miss Kimball’s address is Plainfield, N. J. Letters addressed to me at Plainfield are forwarded.

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The _Alma Mater_, the new bi-monthly to be sent to all recorded members of the C. L. S. C. at Plainfield, N. J., will contain original answers by Dr. William M. Taylor, of the Broadway Tabernacle, New York City; Dr. John Hall, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City; John Wanamaker, Esq., of Philadelphia; Dr. R. M. Hatfield, of Chicago, Ill.; Dr. Joseph T. Duryea, of Boston, and Prof. J. W. Dickinson, of Boston, written expressly for this number of the _Alma Mater_, to the following question: “What advice do you give to a person who has had but little school opportunity since he or she was fifteen years of age—a person busy in mechanical, commercial or domestic duties much of the time, who complains of a very poor memory, and desires to improve it—how may such person improve the memory?”

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The Rev. Dr. A. M. Fairbairn, principal of Airedale College, Bradford, England, who was announced to give a course of lectures on the “History of Philosophy” at Chautauqua last summer, but who was detained at home by business connected with the college, writes to Dr. Vincent under date of January 29, 1884, as follows: “I intend, all well, to be with you in August; the latter part of the month will be most convenient for me. The subjects the same as before stated. Sincerely yours, A. M. Fairbairn.”

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Persons desiring copies of the Chautauqua Songs or of the Sunday Vesper Service may procure them of Miss K. F. Kimball, Plainfield, N. J., at the rate of $2.00 per 100 copies each, postage paid.

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There are some members of the class of 1887 who have not yet returned the blank form of application. Such blank should be filled at once and forwarded to Miss K. F. Kimball, Plainfield, N. J.

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The badge of the C. L. S. C. furnished by Mr. Henry Hart is not in any sense an official badge, nor does the C. L. S. C. receive any percentage from the sale of the same. This has been offered, but not accepted. The badges furnished by Mr. Hart are very beautiful. This is all that the officers of the C. L. S. C. can say.

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_Alma Mater_ is the name of our new bi-monthly communication to be sent from the C. L. S. C. office at Plainfield to all members of the Circle whose annual fees are paid. The first number will contain some valuable hints on “Memory,” “The Laws of Memory,” etc., by prominent educators. The second number of _Alma Mater_ will contain a very ingenious study in English—a series entitled “Where the every-day words come from.” Communications to the members of the Circle which have heretofore been printed separately, as well as the memoranda, will be published in the _Alma Mater_. All members whose names are recorded at Plainfield, and whose annual fees are paid, will receive _Alma Mater_.

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To all recorded members whose annual fees are paid will be forwarded in March an envelope containing a _petite_ calendar for ’84, a most humorous, brilliant and effective tract on evolution entitled “Saw-mill Science,” a copy of the “Sunday Vesper Service,” specimens of the new and brilliant C. L. S. C. envelopes, and a copy of the little tract entitled “Memorial Days.”

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_Our Alma Mater._—The contributions to this magazine are copyrighted, and are not designed for publication anywhere else than through this medium.

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A correspondent kindly criticises a statement in the “Outlines of Roman History,” on page 68, in which it speaks of Polycarp as being in Rome in 240. Assuming that this is 240 A. D., he says: “Now what Polycarp do you mean? Not the disciple of John, who was afterward Bishop of Smyrna, for, according to Prof. R. W. Hitchcock, the church historian, and other excellent authorities, Polycarp suffered martyrdom between the years 166 and 167 A. D.” We referred the question of our critic to an expert in such matters, and this is the reply: “In all the authorities I find mention of but one Polycarp, the Disciple of John and Bishop of Smyrna, and his death is given as either 168 or 169, but they add that it is uncertain. As to the Polycarp mentioned by your critic, I feel sure that there is a mistake, and Polycarp of Smyrna is meant, who did visit Rome during the controversy about the celebration of Easter, probably about 140 A. D. With dates it is easy to make a slip of a century, and probably this was the trouble in this case; certainly there is no mention of a Polycarp in Rome as late as 240.”

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The Chautauqua University is gradually developing its courses of study. The preparatory and college courses in German, French, Latin, Greek and English are already announced. A practical department has also been recognized, and a corresponding class in connection with a technical school for draftsmen and mechanics is now in full working order. The lesson papers prepared by Profs. Gribbon and Houghton are divided into eight series of about twelve lessons each, treating upon the following topics: First series, free-hand drawing; second, mechanical drafting; third, fourth and fifth, geometry applied to carriage construction; sixth, miscellaneous problems in carriage construction; seventh, review tables useful in carriage construction; eighth, miscellaneous lessons. Young men, apprentices, journeymen, and others desiring to take this course, should correspond at once with George W. Houghton, Esq.

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There are many persons who are taking up the Chautauqua Spare-minute Course, which is a course of readings, short, practical, simple, attractive, in biography, history, literature, science, and art. This course is printed in twenty-one Home College Series and in two numbers of the Chautauqua Text-Book Series. They cost in one package $1.00, sent by mail. The reading in this course can be carried along steadily, and, after a while, one who has prosecuted the course will find himself well along in the C. L. S. C.

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The following pleasant little domestic picture comes from New Hampshire: “I can not thank you enough for what the C. L. S. C. has done for us all. You should see us some evening now. We sit around the table, every one interested in some C. L. S. C. books. Even my little boy of seven years will tease me to read aloud to him, and nearly every evening this month gets his dumb-bells, and wants to go through gymnastics with me.”

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Members must not return memoranda to the Plainfield office until all the reading for the year has been completed.

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A White Seal will be given all graduates of ’84 who read the following: “The Hall in the Grove,” “Hints for Home Reading,” and the following numbers of the “Home College Series” (price 5 cents each): No. 1, Thomas Carlyle; 2, Wm. Wordsworth; 4, Longfellow; 8, Washington Irving; 13, George Herbert; 17, Joseph Addison; 18, Edmund Spenser; 21, Prescott; 23, Wm. Shakspere; 26, John Milton. Address Phillips & Hunt.

OUTLINE OF C. L. S. C. READINGS.

APRIL, 1884.

The Required Readings for April include the second half of Prof. W. C. Wilkinson’s “Preparatory Latin Course in English,” Chautauqua Text-Book No. 16—Roman History and the Required Readings in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

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_First Week_ (ending April 8).—1. “Preparatory Latin Course” from “Fifth Book,” page 167 to the first paragraph on page 202.

2. Readings in French History in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

3. Sunday Readings for April 6 in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

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_Second Week_ (ending April 15).—1. “Preparatory Latin Course” from the first paragraph on page 202 to the “Georgics” on page 236.

2. Readings in Art in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

3. Sunday Readings for April 13 in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

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_Third Week_ (ending April 22).—1. “Preparatory Latin Course” from the “Georgics,” page 236 to the middle of page 272.

2. Readings in Commercial Law and American Literature in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

3. Sunday Readings for April 20 in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

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_Fourth Week_ (ending April 30).—1. “Preparatory Latin Course,” from the middle of page 272 to the end of the volume.

2. Readings in United States History in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

3. Sunday Readings for April 27 in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

LOCAL CIRCLES.

Now that Longfellow’s Day is gone, we have no Memorial Day until April 23rd. So many and so delightful are the ways of celebrating Shakspere’s, that it is to be hoped that every circle will do something extra. To read from Shakspere, to have an essay on his life, another on his characteristic as a writer, and a scene from a play, all followed by an elaborate supper, is the usual order. Do something new this time. Try Shaksperean tableaux—an evening of them, with music, is delightful. If the expense of the “properties” needed for successful tableaux is too heavy, dispense with the supper, and let the cost of butter, sugar, eggs, the meats and fruits, be contributed for buying an apparatus which, once owned, will always be ready for use. Get Mr. George W. Bartlett’s little book on parlor plays, published by Dick & Fitzgerald, New York, and with little expense you will be able to prepare an excellent arrangement for the tableaux which in Shakspere are “as thickly strewn as leaves in Vallambrosa.” Or, if you wish to be strictly literary, take one character as Hermione, or Portia, or Cornelius, and read everything that has been said on it. Study one character thoroughly. Try a Shaksperean carnival. Do something fresh. Do not fall into the danger of wearing out the pleasure of Memorial Days by monotony of program. There are an infinite variety of means for brightening and freshening, not only special occasions, but the ordinary ones as well. One of the most entertaining devices we have had comes in a breezy letter from =Titusville, Pa.=, a place about fifty miles from Chautauqua, where there is an excellent circle of fourteen members. Our friend writes: “We make it a point to commit our text-books to memory and recite from them; but aim to bring in all the outside information possible, and to present and draw out ideas suggested by our books, rather than simply to recite over what we have been reading in them. In Greek history we found Adams’s Historical chart very useful. By close study of various authorities we extemporized a model of Athens, on a round table with green spread. My writing desk served as the Acropolis, and paper bunched up under the cloth, as Mars’ Hill, the Pnyx, etc. Out of the children’s blocks we erected the various buildings, while Noah’s wife, clad in gilt paper, and mounted on a spool, rose in calm majesty from behind the Propylea. A slate frame, with pasteboard porch on one side, decorated with paintings, represented the Agora and Stoa Poecilé, and in the street of the Tripods a cologne bottle received great admiration as the choragic monument of Lysicrates. Wavy strips of paper suggested the rippling Ilyssus and Céphisus, while a wall of brown paper encircled the whole. Outside the city limits, under the shadow of Lycabettus (brown paper with clay coating on the summit,) on one side, and about a mile out on the other, flower pots with drooping vines brought to mind the classic groves of Aristotle and Plato; while the street leading through the Ceramicus to the Academic shades of the latter, was lined on either side with chalk pencil monuments to the illustrious dead! This attempt met with so much favor that I was prevailed upon to repeat it, substituting for the blocks cardboard models quite characteristic of the Parthenon, Erechtheum, etc., while the Theater of Dionysius, the Odeum of Jupiter, Cave of Pan, steps to the Propylea, and the Bema of the Pnyx, were done in clay. The hard names, in this way, soon became familiar, and each object served as a sort of peg upon which to hang a good amount of Grecian history and mythology. After reading, as a sort of finish, Mark Twain’s account of his midnight visit to Athens, we were quite possessed with the fancy that we, too, had been actual sight-seers in that wonderful city.” Everybody that reads this will undoubtedly feel as we do, that we would like to go back and read Greek history over again, for the sake of building up Athens; but why can we not utilize the idea when we read the voyage of Æneas this month in the “Preparatory Latin Course”? And when we come to English history why not build a London? Plans like the above for interesting circles must be supplemented by plans for keeping the members at work, a matter especially difficult in large circles. In a late issue we called attention to the program plan used at =Union City, Ind.= The secretary has kindly sent us an outline of their method, which we are sure will be useful: “We prepare and have printed a neat program for four months, giving the places and times of holding meetings, specifying the different exercises, with those who are to carry them out. These programs cost each of us about fifteen cents each, and enable us to have about five apiece. Each person knowing his duty, prepares for it from the beginning and no excuse for non-performance of duty is left except unavoidable absence, etc. Our experience for this year renders it certain that the circle can no longer get on well without our printed programs.”

Along with the plans and suggestions come cheery reports of how the circles everywhere are growing and spreading. Mrs. Fields, the secretary of the Pacific coast C. L. S. C., writes us: “It has been quite negligent in the secretary of this branch not to have reported long ere this the growing interest and increased numbers of Chautauquans on this coast, and especially in California. Perhaps one reason of this remissness has been the very fact that every mail has brought to the aforesaid secretary letters of inquiry concerning C. L. S. C., which must be answered sometimes quite at length; or applications for membership, which must be acknowledged, registered and forwarded to headquarters; or letters from faithful old members with words of cheer and renewal of fees, all of which certainly should be replied to in the secretary’s most cordial style. We have five hundred and forty new members this year and two hundred old members have renewed their allegiance. If, as is generally the case, the old members continue to renew to the very end of the year, we may hope for a list of nearly a thousand names before next July, as the record of this year’s students.”

The circle at =Knoxville, Tenn.=, Monteagle Assembly, in which we all became so interested by their rousing letter in THE CHAUTAUQUAN of November last, has written us a characteristic bit of experience, which we quote: “The dark, rainy nights of January are rather discouraging, but we keep at work. One rainy night, on our arrival at the parlors we found no light, and out of a membership of thirty-three but three were present. We had one visitor, whose words I quote: ‘I had no idea they would hold a meeting, but they were not at all disconcerted. The whole program, prayer, minutes, lesson and music, was carried out as though the number present was fifty instead of three.’ The result? The _visitor_ became a _member_, saying, ‘that’s the kind of society I wish to join.’ I wish to state, however, that so small an attendance is quite exceptional.”

Another circle whose history offers us some wise suggestions is that of =Syracuse, N. Y.=, the home of the new secretary of the Chautauqua Assembly, Mr. W. A. Duncan. Indeed, Mr. Duncan has the honor of having founded this circle, which dates back to the inauguration of the C. L. S. C. The city has fine public schools and its university is well known for its able professors and superior apparatus; the circle has been wise enough to use the material within its reach. It secured Prof. Rollins, of the high school, as its first leader; for three years he conducted a circle of fifty. His successor, the Rev. Mr. Mundy, brought to them a large knowledge of art, gained by travel and study. When they came to science, again they chose a leader particularly fitted by taste and profession to lead them through geology and astronomy. This plan of selecting leaders who are skilled in certain studies is very advantageous. The enthusiasm and knowledge of a specialist in a branch must always remain superior to that of the one who has only given a little attention to the subject. In spite of excellent leaders and earnest members, their numbers did fall off a little last year. A class graduated and they did not secure new members to supply the deficiency. The plan they followed for a re-awakening was excellent. Returning from Chautauqua last summer they held a public meeting and explained the plan of the C. L. S. C. and its benefits. That night brought them several new names. Then they secured Dr. Vincent for the next week to give them a sketch of the aims and methods of the organization. At the next regular meeting the secretary received the names of forty-two members of the class of ’87. The circle is certainly to be congratulated for its proximity to so much local talent and still more for its enterprise in utilizing it so diligently. The neighboring circle of =Troy, N. Y.=, continues to maintain its enviable standing under the leadership of Rev. H. C. Farrar. His indomitable energy and perseverance are felt along all the lines. The plan of presenting subjects in three minute essays is being tried with interest and profit at their monthly meetings.

All of the old circles show a steady growth. At =Claremont, N. H.=, “Minerva Circle,” organized a year ago with a membership of ten, has grown to twenty; the “Atlantis,” of =Lynn, Mass.=, commenced its second year in October last with a membership of eighteen, an increase of ten; the year-old circle of =Pittsfield, Mass.=, has gained thirty members since its organization in February of 1883.

Since 1881 a little “Pentagon” of ladies has been meeting in =Greenwich, Ct.= A member writes of their circle: “Although composed of particularly busy people, we have the conviction that we have been patient over our hindrances, punctual in attendance and persevering in the work. We have run the scale of questions and answers, topics, essays and memorial readings, but prefer, on the whole, the conversational plan as being best adapted to bring out individual thought.”

=Cambridgeboro, Pa.=, has an interested circle of twelve members, and =Blairsville=, of the same state, reports twenty, with a prospect of an increase.

=New London, Ohio=, claims that their circle, organized one year ago last September, and now numbering twenty, might with propriety be called the incomparable.

At =Hennepin, Ill.=, there is a circle of fourteen ladies now reading the second year of the course.

A lady writes from =Marion, Ind.=: “We have great reason to congratulate ourselves upon the deep and constantly growing interest felt in our circle, and which is plainly manifested not only by our own members, but by those who do not belong, away off here in the very center of Hoosierdom.” This “deep and growing interest” is the unfailing result of earnest work in the C. L. S. C., and how can it be otherwise when the idea continually develops new phases? The experience of the circle at =Little Prairie Ronde, Mich.=, that “each year the C. L. S. C. unfolds new beauties, awakens new incentives for more earnest action, calls to the foremost the very best of kindliness and cheer, and incites to diligence, research and thought,” is universal.

The “Centenary Circle,” of =Minneapolis, Minn.=, has long been a leading one. It is by no means lagging—a late letter reports them as fifty strong—their graduates reading the seal courses, the Memorial Days all celebrated, and a big delegation contemplating a visit this summer to Chautauqua. That, has a genuine ring, particularly the reading for seals by graduates. Hold on to your reading habits.

The first and only circle to report an observance of College Day was the “Alden,” of =Marshalltown, Ia.=, where it was recognized by a large gathering of Chautauquans and their friends. Marshalltown has been faithful in reporting all their meetings. They have the western enterprise, but we believe =Sioux Falls, Dak.=, ranks first in that quality. The following explains why: “We have an interesting circle here. We hold meetings weekly, and they are interesting and profitable. We purpose to double or treble our circle next year. We have sent you reports of our circle for THE CHAUTAUQUAN, but you have failed to notice us. We have decided to _Flood_ you with letters till you notice the C. L. S. C. in the largest and most beautiful city in southeastern Dakota.” We shall only be too glad to receive such stirring letters.

A few circles have reported lectures. From =Seward, Neb.=, where there is a circle of sixteen, the secretary writes that they have had a lecture on Emerson, a reading by Prof. Cumnock, Chautauqua’s favorite of last year, and that they are expecting others. =Salt Lake City, Utah=, had the pleasure of hearing Bishop Warren last fall in his lecture on “The Forces of the Sunbeam.” The circle in this city numbers thirty-seven, and is composed of ministers, teachers, business men and housekeepers; that they have caught the spirit of our work is very evident, for they write us that many of their number have in joyful anticipation the time when the long distance that separates them from home and friends shall be paved over, and they shall be permitted to join the number of those who pass beneath the Arches of Chautauqua.

We have received this month (February) reports of thirty new local circles. =Salem Depot, N. H.=, has organized a circle of fifteen members; =West Medway, Mass.=, one with a membership of a dozen; =Somerville, Mass.=, has a class of thirty-five reading the course, fifteen of them have joined the C. L. S. C. as members of the class of ’87; two villages of Massachusetts, =Amesbury= and =Salisbury=, have united their members in one organization. Their membership at present is twenty-one, consisting mostly of beginners of 1887, a few of 1885 and 1886, and of local members. At =Madison, Conn.=, there is a circle which traces its organization to the interest of a lady who had taken up the reading alone. She writes: “January last I began the work of the C L. S. C. and finished the year alone, but decided that another year should find a circle in our village, if my powers of persuasion were worth anything. I had no difficulty in forming a small circle, some members of which have since basely upbraided me for not telling them of it before.” They have named their circle after the pleasant and capable office secretary of the C. L. S. C., the “K. F. K. Circle,” and true to their allegiance, suggest that the local circles ought to see to it that she and her aids have a building which could have C. L. S. C. suitably inscribed on _any_ part of its front, instead of meekly abiding in a hired house. Some day we may expect this.

=New Haven, Conn.=, the home of Dr. Vincent, organized, in October last, “The Woolsey Circle,” so called in honor of their eminent fellow townsman, ex-President Woolsey, of Yale College.

A new circle called “Washington Heights” is reported from =New York City=.

At =Bethel, N. Y.=, they started off last October with thirty members, while from =Buffalo=, same state, a friend writes: “We have a wide awake circle here, the membership of which has increased from six to twenty since October 1st, when the circle was organized.” This circle has found “review evenings” of great service to them. After finishing a subject they devote one evening to a review, securing a leader competent to answer all their questions and settle their disputes; thus for the review of Biology they secured Dr. Kellicott, of the Buffalo Normal School, who kindly answered all questions, and with the aid of his microscopes, explained much that before had been obscure.

From =Lisle, N. Y.=, we have word of a circle of nine.

=North East, Pa.=, has a newly organized circle, among whom are several yearly visitors at Chautauqua; =Newville=, of the same state, reports a flourishing circle of nine members; from the class of ’87 in =Allegheny, Pa.=, we have received the program of the services held by them on February 10, special Sunday. It is particularly good. This circle is following one plan which deserves more attention from all circles. They are giving a good deal of attention to singing the Chautauqua songs, devoting a portion of each evening to practice.

=Plainfield, N. J.=, the place which enjoys the honor of being “the headquarters of the C. L. S. C.,” was without a local circle for several years, though many individual readers have pursued the course. Last fall the Rev. Dr. J. L. Hurlbut invited those who wished to form a local circle to meet at his residence. The result was a houseful of people, and a circle which has met fortnightly since, and now numbers forty-five members. A friend writes us from there: “We allow no ‘associate members’ (persons not connected with the general C. L. S. C.) and none who will not attend regularly and take active part. For every meeting Dr. Hurlbut prepares a program of fifteen topics selected from the fortnight’s reading, and assigned to the various members. The program is printed by the ‘hectographic process,’ and distributed to all the members at the meeting in advance of its date. We take a recess in the middle of the evening’s exercises for social enjoyment and conversation, and afterward generally listen to a vocal or instrumental solo, and a reading from one of the members. At the close of the evening the critic dispenses his delicate attentions, his motto being ‘with malice toward all, and charity toward none.’ On Sunday evening, February 10, we held the Chautauqua Vesper Service in one of the largest churches, filled with an audience which participated in the responses. We regard our relation to the C. L. S. C. as among the most pleasant, and our circle as one of the best in the land.”

=Camden, N. J.=, has also recently formed the “Bradway Circle” of thirty-two members. This circle has a novel way of managing its session, which may furnish a suggestion to some one wanting a new idea. After their general exercises and transaction of business they separate into two classes for the study of some subject selected at the previous meeting by the members of the class. After devoting about half an hour to the separate classes, they again unite into one general class for the discussion of some topic.

We are very glad to welcome into our midst two new circles from the South, one at =Salem, N. C.=, of thirty-eight members, and another at =Atlanta, Ga.= At the January meeting of the Salem circle the exercises were on “Germany,” and as most of the members understand the language of that country, part of the exercises were in German. A very pleasant feature of their program was an account of the customs, traits and people of the country as they appeared to one of the members who had lately traveled through that land.

Our space forbids our giving long accounts of the new circles in the West. In =Illinois= there is a new class of thirteen at =Janesville=, and another at =Jacksonville=, a place famous among its neighbors as “the Athens of the West.” It contains no less than five excellent institutions of learning, and yet they find a place for the C. L. S. C. At =Litchfield, Mich.=, is another new circle, and from the college town of =Appleton, Wis.=, the president writes: “It was considered impracticable at first, in view of college and other literary societies in the town, to start a C. L. S. C. These objections soon vanished. We have a most enthusiastic circle of thirty-eight members, including two college professors and wives, a physician, a clergyman and wife, and several graduates of this and other colleges.” =Iowa= reports three new circles. From =Fairchild= the secretary writes: “We have a most enthusiastic circle of twenty-five members. At our opening in October we thought one meeting a month sufficient, but as we warmed up we multiplied them by two, and last week we doubled them again, so that now we meet each week. You see this interest compounds more rapidly than that on most other investments.” If one still imagines that the C. L. S. C. is in any sense denominational in its tendency, let him read the experience of one of the members of the new class at =Grundy Center, Ia.=: “I had a little prejudice once against the course, as I thought that it would naturally run into Methodist channels; but I have outgrown that. As a matter of fact, of our fifteen enrolled members eight are Presbyterians and four Congregationalists; but as members of the C. L. S. C. we are entirely unconscious that we belong to any denomination.” At =Belle Plaine, Ia.=, there is a circle of fifteen ladies; at =Clarksville, Mo.=, one numbering fourteen. Kansas reports two new circles, one at =Wyandotte=, where in a month they increased from four members to twenty-one; and another of twenty members at =Sabetha=, including the professor of the high school, and the teachers in the community. =York, Neb.=, has lately organized a circle of fifteen members.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

FIFTY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON PREPARATORY LATIN COURSE IN ENGLISH—FROM PAGE 167 TO END OF BOOK.

By A. M. MARTIN, GENERAL SECRETARY C. L. S. C.

1. Q. Of what is the Fifth Book of “Cæsar’s Commentaries” mainly one unbroken record? A. Of disasters to Cæsar’s armies, barely retrieved from being irreparable.

2. Q. With what episode does this book begin? A. The last expedition, on Cæsar’s part, to Great Britain.

3. Q. After Cæsar’s return to Gaul, what did the poor harvests compel him to do with his legions for the winter? A. To distribute them to different points.

4. Q. What chance did this seem to offer to the natives? A. To fall on the Roman camps simultaneously and overpower them one by one.

5. Q. By whom was one legion commanded that was destroyed by the Gauls under Ambiorix? A. By Titurius Sabinus.

6. Q. What lieutenant of Cæsar again encounters the Nervii, and is with difficulty rescued by Cæsar? A. Cicero, a brother of the great orator.

7. Q. With what account is the Sixth Book largely occupied? A. With an account of the ineffectual efforts of Cæsar to capture Ambiorix.

8. Q. In the narrative of the Seventh Book, who becomes the head of the last and greatest confederate revolt of Gaul against Rome? A. Vercingetorix.

9. Q. After the final defeat and surrender of Vercingetorix, what was his fate? A. He was taken to Rome and there beheaded.

10. Q. By whom was the Eighth Book of the “Commentaries” written? A. By Aulus Hirtius, one of Cæsar’s lieutenants.

11. Q. What does this book relate? A. The incidents of the last Gallic campaign.

12. Q. How did Cæsar raise his legions and wage war? A. On his own responsibility. His wars were mostly personal wars, and had no sanction of government.

13. Q. What do Cicero’s writings form? A. What has been finely called a library of reason and eloquence.

14. Q. What is the amount of reading in “Cicero’s Orations” required for entrance at most colleges? A. The four orations against Catiline, and two or three others variously chosen.

15. Q. From what oration of Cicero does our author first give an extract? A. His oration for Marcus Marcellus.

16. Q. What was the occasion of this oration? A. The pardon by Cæsar of Marcellus, who had fought for Pompey against Cæsar in the civil war, and was now living in exile.

17. Q. What gave rise to Cicero’s orations against Catiline? A. The Catiline conspiracy, which contemplated the firing of Rome and the death of the Senate, as well as the personal and political enemies of the conspirators.

18. Q. How many are there of these orations against Catiline? A. Four.

19. Q. Where were the first and last delivered? A. In the Senate.

20. Q. Where were the second and third delivered? A. In the Forum, to the popular assembly of citizens.

21. Q. What English clergyman and author has written a tragedy entitled “Catiline”? A. George Croly.

22. Q. What is the subject of the fourth speech delivered in the Senate? A. The disposal of the conspirators then in custody.

23. Q. By what name are fourteen of Cicero’s other orations known? A. The “Philipics.”

24. Q. Against whom were the “Philipics” directed? A. Mark Antony.

25. Q. What was the fate of Cicero? A. He was assassinated by the command of Antony.

26. Q. Next to the “Iliad” of Homer, and hardly second to that, what is the most famous of poems? A. The “Æneid” of Virgil.

27. Q. When and where was Virgil born? A. In 70 B. C., at Andes, near Mantau, northern Italy.

28. Q. What is the first of the three classes of poems of which Virgil’s works consist? A. Bucolics or Eclogues—pastoral poems.

29. Q. What is the most celebrated of these minor poems? A. Pollio, supposed to have been the poet’s friend in need.

30. Q. What famous imitation of the Pollio did Pope write in English? A. “Messiah,” a sacred Eclogue.

31. Q. What is the second class of Virgil’s poems? A. Georgics, or poems on farming.

32. Q. Whom does our author consider in many important respects the best of all of Virgil’s English metrical translators? A. The late Professor John Conington, of Oxford, England.

33. Q. Name two other English translators of the “Æneid”? A. John Dryden and William Morris.

34. Q. Name two American translators of the “Æneid”? A. C. P. Cranch and John D. Long.

35. Q. Of what set deliberate purpose is the “Æneid”? A. A Roman national epic in the strictest sense.

36. Q. Who was Æneas? A. The son of Venus by the Trojan shepherd Anchises.

37. Q. Seven years after the fall of Troy for what purpose did Æneas and his companions embark from Sicily? A. To found a new Troy in the west.

38. Q. In the first book of the “Æneid,” where was the fleet conveying Æneas and his companions driven? A. To the coast of Carthage.

39. Q. By whom were the Trojans received with generous hospitality? A. Dido, the Carthaginian queen.

40. Q. With what are the third and fourth books of the “Æneid” principally occupied? A. With the relation by Æneas to Queen Dido of his previous adventures and wanderings, including an account of the siege and fall of Troy.

41. Q. To what is the fourth book devoted? A. To the sad tale of Dido and her fatal passion for her guest.

42. Q. What is the course of Æneas in this affair? A. He ruins Dido, and under the cover of night deserts Carthage with his ships.

43. Q. What is the fate of Dido? A. She commits suicide, ending her sorrow on the funeral pyre.

44. Q. With what is the fifth book largely occupied? A. With an elaborate account of games celebrated by the Trojans on the hospitable shores of Sicily, in honor of the anniversary of the death of Anchises, the father of Æneas.

45. Q. What is the principal matter of the sixth book? A. An account of Æneas’s descent into Hades.

46. Q. By whom is Æneas accompanied as guide on his visit to the lower world? A. By the Sibyl at Cumæ.

47. Q. What does Anchises, the father of Æneas, relate to his son in Elysium? A. The name and quality of the illustrious descendants who should prolong and decorate the Trojan line.

48. Q. How many books of the Æneid are usually read by students in preparation for college? A. Six.

49. Q. Of what is an account given in the remaining six books? A. The journey of Æneas from Cumæ to Latium, and his adventures there.

50. Q. With what episode does the poem close? A. The death of Turnus, a rival chief, in single combat with Æneas.

CHAUTAUQUA NORMAL COURSE.

Season of 1884.

LESSON VII.—BIBLE SECTION.

_The History of The Bible._

By REV. J. L. HURLBUT, D.D., AND R. S. HOLMES, A.M.

_I. General Periods._—Bible history, according to the common chronology, which we accept, but do not indorse as correct, embraces the events of 4100 years. This may be divided into six general periods, as follows:

_1. The Period of the Human Race_, from the creation of man B. C. 4004 to the call of Abraham, B. C. 1921. During this period the whole race comes under consideration.

_2. The Period of the Chosen Family_, from the call of Abraham B. C. 1921 to the exodus from Egypt, B. C. 1491. During this period the family of Abraham forms the only subject of the history; hence it might be called the period of the Patriarchs.

_3. The Period of the Israelite People_, from the exodus 1491 to the coronation of Saul, B. C. 1095; the period of the Theocracy.

_4. The Period of the Israelite Kingdom_, from the coronation of Saul, B. C. 1095, to the captivity at Babylon, B. C. 587; the period of the Monarch.

_5. The Period of the Jewish Province_, from the captivity at Babylon, B. C. 587, to the birth of Christ, B. C. 4; a period of foreign rule during most of the time.

_6. The Period of the Christian Church_, from the birth of Christ, B. C. 4, to the destruction of Jerusalem, A. D. 70.

_II. Subdivisions._—The general periods may be subdivided as follows:

1. The Human Race into—(1) the early race 4004 B. C. to the dispersion B. C. 2234; (2) the dispersed race, 2234 to 1921.

2. The Chosen Family into—(1) The journeyings of the Patriarchs 1921, to the descent into Egypt, 1706; (2) the sojourn in Egypt, 1706-1491.

3. The Israelite people into—(1) The wandering in the wilderness, from the exodus, 1491, to the crossing of the Jordan, 1451; (2) the settlement in Canaan, from 1451 to the death of Joshua, 1426; (3) the rule of the Judges, from 1426 to 1095.

4. The Israelite kingdom into—(1) The age of unity, from 1095 to the division, 975; (2) the age of division, from 975 to the fall of Samaria, 721; (3) the age of decay, from 721 to the captivity, 587.

5. The Jewish Province into—(1) Chaldean rule, from 587 to the return from captivity, 536; (2) Persian rule, from 536 to Alexander’s conquest, 330; (3) Greek rule, 330 to the revolt of Mattathias, 168 B. C.; (4) Maccabean rule, the period of Jewish independence, from 168 to 37 B. C.; (5) Roman rule, 37 B. C. to 4 B. C.

6. The Christian Church into—(1) The preparation, from the birth of Christ, B. C. 4, to the baptism of Christ, A. D. 26; (2) The ministry of Jesus, from A. D. 26 to the ascension A. D. 30; (3) Jewish Christianity, from the ascension to the conversion of Paul, A. D. 37; (4) Transition, from Jewish to Gentile, from A. D. 37 to the council at Jerusalem, A. D. 50; (5) Gentile Christianity, from A. D. 50 to the destruction of Jerusalem A. D. 70.

III. We notice next a few of the great events in the periods, beside those already named at their beginning and ending:

1. In the period of the human race—(1) The Fall; (2) The Translation of Enoch; (3) The Deluge.

2. In the period of the chosen family—(1) The Covenant with Abraham; (2) The Selling of Joseph; (3) The Enslavement of the Israelites.

3. In the period of the Israelite people—(1) The Giving of the Law; (2) The Conquest of Canaan; (3) Gideon’s Victory.

4. In the period of the Israelite kingdom—(1) The Building of the Temple; (2) Elijah’s Victory on Carmel; (3) The Destruction of the Assyrian Host at Jerusalem.

5. In the period of the Jewish Province—(1) The Fiery Furnace; (2) Esther’s Deliverance; (3) Ezra’s Reformation.

6. In the period of the Christian Church—(1) The Preaching of John the Baptist; (2) The Transfiguration; (3) The Crucifixion; (4) The Death of Stephen; (5) The Journeys of Paul.

IV. We connect with each period, the names of its most important _persons_:

1. With the first period, Adam, Enoch, Noah.

2. With the second period, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph.

3. With the third period, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samuel.

4. With the fourth period, David, Elijah, Hezekiah.

5. With the fifth period, Daniel, Ezra, Simon the Just, Judas Maccabeus, Herod the Great.

6. With the sixth, John the Baptist, JESUS CHRIST, Peter, Paul.

LESSON VIII.—THE GOLDEN AGE OF BIBLE HISTORY.

This lesson deals with Israel at the time of the Empire. Lack of space forbids more than a general outline. Israel’s history is familiar to every reader of the Bible. Egypt, the Desert, and Canaan; Slavery, Training and War; these words give their geography and history till Joshua’s death. The Theocracy follows; then the kingdom under Saul and David, and then the Empire, or the Golden Age under Solomon the peaceful. We call it the Golden Age because:

_I. It was the time of their widest dominion._—(_a_) For centuries the Israel of possession was not the Israel of promise. Read Deuteronomy 11th chapter, verse 24, for the promise, and the first chapter of Judges for the possession. (_b_) The people were bound by no national feeling. “Every man went to his own inheritance.” The last verse of Judges is a vivid picture of disunion. Under such a condition there could be no such thing as wide and powerful dominion. (_c_) Under David and Solomon the promised boundaries were reached. See 1st Kings, 4:21. Let the student find the extreme northern and southern limits of the Empire of Solomon. (_d_) Immediately after Solomon came disruption, and the loss of portions of the Empire, which were never regained. Read the history of Jeroboam and Rehoboam and their successors.

_II. It was the time of their greatest national wealth, and individual welfare._—(_a_) Read 1st Kings, 10:14-23. (_b_) Read 1st Kings, 4:20 and 25. Brief as is the record in each of these references, there can be no doubt as to the fact recorded. There is no such picture suggested elsewhere, either before or after this period.

_III. It was the time of the production of the finest portion of their literature._—The second book of Samuel, which we have, Ruth, and a large portion of the Psalms, and all the wonderful writings of Solomon belong to this period. This last and greatest king of all Israel seems to have made very large additions to the literature of the people. See 1st Kings, 5:32-33.

Let us note some of the causes of this power and prosperity:

_I. The growth of the people._—The people are said, in Solomon’s reign, to have numbered five millions, or five hundred to every square mile. Compare with our present population. The army was of vast numbers. See Joab’s report, 2d Samuel, 24:9.

_II. The character of the king._—He was (_a_) a statesman; he ignored tribal lines; he recognized the value of extended commercial relations; he opened intercourse with foreign nations, 1st Kings, 4:34; he made a powerful foreign alliance, 1st Kings, 9:16; he built a navy, 1st Kings, 9:26; he attended personally to the affairs of his kingdom, 2d Chron., 8:17; he fortified his outposts, 1st Kings, 9:17-19; he centralized the religious worship by building the magnificent temple at Jerusalem; he built permanent buildings for the seat of the nation’s capital. (_b_) _A lover of Liberal Arts._—He was a poet himself, 1st Kings 4:32. Literature affords nothing more gorgeous in imagery than the Song of Songs; he was famed for his conversational powers; he engaged in conversational controversies with the most noted of his time—see his riddles as preserved in Proverbs 6:6, and 30:15-16-18; he was a lover of architecture—witness his building; he was a lover of music, inherited from his father, and the musical service of the temple was one of its most attractive features.

_III. The character of his court._—All his counselors were men of note. Let the student see what he can find from the Bible as to the worth of his high priest, Zadok; his nearest friend, Zabud; his chief priest, Azariah, son of Zadok; his captain of the guard, Azariah, son of Nathan; his general in chief, Benaiah; his historian, Jehoshaphat; and his grand vizier, Ahishar.

_IV. David’s work._—This was (_a_) a widely extended kingdom; (_b_) a centralized government; (_c_) peace with all the world. His son’s name, _Solomon_, _Shelomoh_, _Peace_.

_V. The country’s external relations._—(_a_) By Ezion-Geber a water route was opened to the far east. Traces of this commerce with India can be found in their language. See Stanley, “Jewish Church,” Vol. I.

(_b_) By Damascus, a land route to the far interior highlands.

(_c_) By the Mediterranean traffic with Spain—in ships of Tarshish.

(_d_) By Tyre, commerce with Phœnicia.

SUNDAY-SCHOOL SECTION.

LESSON VII.—THE TEACHING PROCESS.—ADAPTATION.

There are certain heresies of common speech. One is, that a man can be only what he is born to be. Apply it to the teacher’s art and it is a heresy. The majority of men and women can become teachers if only they will be at pains to become familiar with the secrets of the science, study with care the best models in books, and as often as may be come into contact with the best living teachers. There is such a thing as _the teaching process_. We outline some needful steps in that process. _The first is adaptation._ By it we do not mean the adaptation of the lesson to the pupil; that belongs to the teacher’s preparation. We mean _adaptation of the teacher to the pupil_; such a coming together of teacher and pupil as shall cause them to agree, be in harmony, _fit to_—that is, be adapted to each other. This adaptation must be,

1. _In the matter of knowledge._ The teacher knows much more than the pupil. His knowledge is his treasury. From it he draws in his work as a teacher. That which he draws must be fitted to his pupil’s want, else it is valueless. He must therefore learn what the pupil knows, and work along the line of that knowledge. In such a process they become companions, and the teacher can lead the pupil almost at will. With adaptation of knowledge—progress: without it—nothing.

2. _In the matter of personality._ The teacher and pupil who meet but once each week, must meet on the plane of a common personality, or their meeting will be vain. This is something finer than adaptation of knowledge to knowledge. It is adaptation of heart to heart. It makes teacher and pupil for the time of their intercourse in class absolutely one. Teacher and pupil forget that either one or the other, no matter which, is either rich or poor, well or ill dressed, old or young, graceful or awkward, wise or ignorant, clever or stupid, and remember only that each is the other’s hearty friend. This is one of the highest possible acquirements of the teacher’s art, and the one who possesses it has the gift of soul-winning.

3. _In the matter of thought._ As the former is the secret of soul-winning, this is the secret of soul-feeding. The average scholar is a poor thinker. He thinks that he thinks, but his is not his teacher’s thinking. It is the ploughing of the ancients. It only scratches the surface of the soil: and the human heart is too hard and barren to be made productive of divine fruit by any such process. This essential goes deeper than the other two. Its burden is to answer how shall the pupil be brought to think on Bible themes as the teacher thinks. This is the teacher’s most difficult problem. Its solution is possible through community of thought, or an adaptation of the teacher’s way of thinking to the pupil’s way of thinking.

The three essentials enumerated are possible,

1. Through a close and intimate acquaintance with the pupil. (_a_) _Socially_; (_b_) _religiously_; (_c_) _literarily_; (_d_) _in business relations_; (_e_) _Biblically_. Let the student give a reason why knowledge in these particulars would bring teacher and pupil together.

2. Through personal sympathy with the pupil in (_a_) cares; (_b_) hopes; (_c_) fears; (_d_) temptations; (_e_) joys; (_f_) pursuits. Let the student give an illustration showing how adaptation of person to person could be produced by such sympathies.

3. Through occasional study with the pupil of the appointed Bible lesson—to show how (_a_) to select the most available part for study; (_b_) to arrange it harmoniously; (_c_) to outline it; (_d_) to show its relations to other scriptures; (_e_) to trace its historic connections; (_f_) to understand its obscure allusions or phrases. Let the student show that adaptation of thought to thought or mutuality of thought would result from such study.

LESSON VIII.—THE TEACHING PROCESS—APPROACH.

A second needful step in the teaching process is _approach_: not the approach of teacher to pupil simply, _but of the teacher to the lesson_ in the act of teaching. This can therefore be no part of the teacher’s preparation. For this step there is no uniform law. Each teacher’s approach must be his own. What is successful with one will not be with another. An exact copying of methods will be of no avail unless circumstances are exactly alike.

Approach may occupy a large or small portion of the time allotted for teaching. A teacher may be twenty-nine minutes of his half hour making his approach, and in the remaining one minute flash the lesson straight into the center of the pupil’s soul. A teacher may reach his lesson in one minute and spend the whole remaining time in pressing it home to his pupil’s hearts.

Imagine a Sunday-school hour. Picture: A new teacher for the first time with a class. Boys—six; age, fourteen years; unconverted; one dull, one stubborn, one restless, the rest mischievous. Opening exercises finished; lesson read; superintendent announces “Thirty minutes for the lesson.” The teacher alone with the class; four things press on that teacher with a mighty force:

1. _Self I._ Untaught in teaching, and the center for a circumference of eyes.

2. _Need._ The power of the word _must_ was never felt before so fully. Here is a lesson to be taught, and the thoughts in the teacher’s mind can only shape themselves into these two words: “_I must_.”

3. _Immediateness._ _Now._ Minutes become small eternities, while the cordon of eyes draws closer. “_I must now, at once, teach_ this lesson,” but

4. _How?_ After all it becomes a mere question of knowledge. There are three elements which enter in to make the answer—

1. How to prepare for the lesson work, making necessary a study of the (_a_) necessity, (_b_) nature, and (_c_) methods of preparation.

2. How to plan the conduct of the lesson, a step which costs (_a_) earnest thought, (_b_) fixed purpose, (_c_) persistent effort, and (_d_) patient prayer.

3. How to perform. This makes necessary a fertile brain and a ready tact. The actual step-taking on the line of a well-prepared plan consists in (_a_) using good illustrations; (_b_) in attracting attention to noticeable things in the text; (_c_) in exciting curiosity to find things not on the surface; (_d_) in asking right questions; (_e_) in using elliptical readings; (_f_) in working out topical outlines; (_g_) in concert responses, and (_h_) in map drawing.

All these are steps toward the real lesson which the teacher would bring to his class.

EDITOR’S OUTLOOK.

FOUNDER’S DAY.