A working knowledge of the many fashions of speech so much needed as obvious, nay, indispensable to traveler or missionary, will be gained most quickly and thoroughly, it should be premised, from books of two-fold character,--(1) namely, from grammars and dictionaries of the several idioms, based on scientific rules of philology; then (2) from devotional works--books of Christian piety, very numerous in the Philippines, as are religious manuals, prayer-, sermon-, and confession-books, whereof titles abound in Retana, all pretty much from the busy pen of missionaries themselves, to whose zeal and ability in the instruction of their brown and black many-tongued wards is due largely, nay, wholly, whatever of humanizing, Christian character is found in Malaysia, as in fact is true also in other countries now civilized and enlightened, albeit once barbarian. In his latest bibliography, [11] where the number of published works in each of the twenty-seven dialects of the Philippines is set down by Retana, you will observe from a study of his lists, that though in many dialects there are no grammars so entitled, or other scientific aids to learning a given idiom, yet there are many works of religious cast printed therein,--hand-books of practical religion, which you will find useful beyond measure to linguists. Since from these prayer-books, wherein are set down plainly the simplest and commonest rules of Christian ethical conduct, you can easily gather a working knowledge of the language itself, as the missionary who composed them was careful to put matters of every-day interest in the plain, every-day speech of the islanders. Before closing this brief digression on manuals of piety, I must observe what will prove very useful, I judge, to the scholar, that with works of the first class, as grammars and dictionaries, is to be associated on shelf and desk a goodly number of works of another class--books and treatises that bear the name Arte = Aids to Learning, whereof you will encounter very many in Retana. The Arte of a given dialect, as will be found true also in a measure for grammars and other school-manuals, will be recognized as a compendium of not only literary rules, but of many practical maxims of daily life, whereby the pupils are urged not only to correct speech, but to upright conduct as well through sobriety, piety to the Supreme Being, obedience to rulers, respect for parents and fellows, according to the noblest ideals of refined Christian manhood and womanhood. Thus, with grammar were taught ethics; with politics, religion.