It is rather perplexing to know what myths to give the child when he
first enters school and through the first four or five years of his
school life. The taste and culture of the teacher have much to do with
this. But whatever is given, give it as it is written without deforming
it by having it adapted to suit the years of the boy. He can understand
many things of which the teacher is not aware. Take it directly from
"The Age of Fable," and at the start remove all difficulties of telling
by drilling on the pronunciation of proper names. Then let the boy learn
the myth through the ear and tell it fluently and exactly. While doing
this, the art that is so closely woven with Greek myths must become
familiar also. The boy must be able to recognize such works as
"Aphrodite of Melos," "Apollo of the Belvidere," "Diana of Versailles,"
"The Faun of Praxiteles," "The Laocoön Group," and "Niké of
Samothrace." The refining influence that comes through them is not easy
to explain, but it comes. Take it for what it is worth, as you take the
myths themselves. And at no time should the teacher seek for
philosophical arrangement and interpretation, that at best is merely a
confusion of words, or moralize on something that is purely dramatic
instead of didactic. The myths are stories and should be used as
stories.
A reasonably good list to use for this kind of drill work in, say the
first four grades, is the following, to be learned in the order written:
"Latona and the Frogs," "Arachne," "Niobe," "Midas and the Golden
Touch," "Apollo and Daphne," "Pandora and her Box." "Narcissus," "Ceres
and Proserpine," "Ulysses and Polyphemus," "Dædalus," "Æolus,"
"Philemon," "Vulcan," "Cyparissus and the Stag," "Arion," "Ulysses and
the Sirens," "Callisto and Areas," "Ariadne's Thread." "Io and the
Gadfly," "Perseus and Medusa," "The Wooden Horse," "Phaeton," "Pygmalion
and Galatea," "Æsculapius and Apollo," "Jason and the Golden Fleece,"
"The Death of Hector," "Cupid and Psyche," "Ulysses and Penelope,"
"Pegasus," "Orpheus and Eurydice," "The Labors of Hercules," "Admetus
and Alcestis." After mastering these stories, the boy will be ready to
read for himself.
Let him first read Hawthorne's "The Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys,"
and then the companion volume, "Tanglewood Tales for Girls and Boys; a
Second Wonder-Book." These are indispensable. Then he must read a good
edition of Kingsley's "Heroes; or, Greek Fairy Tales for My Children."
That is a delightful book, despite its deplorable tendency to preach.
Now he is ready for that charming continuous tale, Lamb's "Adventures of
Ulysses," which of course he must own and keep near at hand. He can now
take up and learn the second most valuable work he can own as a student
of literature, Bulfinch's "Age of Fable." Of course it is understood
that Palgrave's "Golden Treasury" is to be the first most valuable one.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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