Humanity Heart of Classics.

(We invite all men in the University to submit communications on subjects of timely interest, but assume no responsibility for sentiments expressed under this head.)

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:--

Mr. R. F. Palmer's letter in the CRIMSON of March 17 is interesting but subject to dispute. His scientific division of the ways in which classics should be taught appears somewhat obscure and doubtful. Why may not a student follow more than one point of view in reading an author if that author deserves such a consideration? When a man climbs a mountain, whether he is a botanist, a geologist, or a mere climber, he must have one look at the vegetation, another at the ground, and another at the vistas about him. If he fails to appreciate any of these three realities about him, he may still remain a good geologist, or a good botanist, or a good seer; but he is certainly missing a great deal which if he could get he would make his life fuller, his science deeper, his poetry fine. In other words, he would thus contribute more towards completing his humanity.

Now humanity is just what constitutes the heart of the classics, and humanity is a composite thing. For this reason, good teaching and full appreciation of the classics is somewhat difficult. If, however, we were to follow Mr. Palmer's suggestion of "unscrambling" the classics, we would be only creating another chaos. Specialization in a certain field is, of course, of importance for the graduate student. But I cannot see how an undergraduate can enjoy Virgil without learning to appreciate the language, the rhythm, the imagination, the patriotic fervor, and the human characteristics of the great poet, whose vitality cannot be extinguished even by the wave of our modernism. We must not make Tacitus merely an object of linguistic or literary or historical study to a man who reads him for the first and, probably, for the last time, simply because Tacitus is great in all these fields and to omit one of them is to belittle the author. After all, even if scrambled eggs do not suit our taste, we must use some salt or pepper or bread or fire to go with them. A raw egg is hardly palatable to the average man. ARISTIDES E. PHOUTRIDES.