xvii (847 A). “In other things, too, _grammatica_ imitates nature; for the precepts of _poetica_ set forth the habits of nature and exact of the craftsman in this art that he follow nature—to that degree, indeed, that the poet shall not depart from the footprints of nature, but apply himself to stick to them in manner, gesture, even word. Moreover the theory is to be kept not only in feet or tenses, but in ages, places, seasons,[22] and other details beyond our present purpose; for all these come from the workshop of nature. Indeed, _poetica_ stays so close to the things of nature that many have refused to include it in _grammatica_, asserting that it is an art in itself, pertaining no more to _grammatica_ than to _rhetorica_,[23] though so far related to both as to have precepts in common. Let them snarl about this who will. I will not keep up the dispute; but under favor of them all I think that _poetica_ is to be assigned to _grammatica_ as to the mother and nurse of its study.... Either _grammatica_ will hold on to _poetica_, or _poetica_ will be turned out from the number of the liberal disciplines.” xviii-xx. _Grammatica_ deals both with precision and with imagery, both with denotation and with connotation. It includes letters, syllables, phrase, sentence-form, punctuation, figures, metric—everything that can be taught verbally. xxi-xxiii. It has occupied persons no less eminent than Cæsar and Cicero. It is a practical guide to utterance and to learning. The objection derived from Seneca is insufficient. For the practise of philosophy and of virtue the important approaches are reading, teaching, meditation. Of these the root and foundation is _grammatica_. xxiv. Actually the _prælectio_ is vindicated by such a _grammaticus_ as Bernard of Chartres.[24]