With this waie, of good vnderstanding the mater, plaine
construinge, diligent parsinge, dailie translatinge, cherefull
admonishinge, and heedefull amendinge of faultes: neuer
leauinge behinde iuste praise for well doinge, I would haue the
Scholer brought vp withall, till he had red, & translated ouer y^e
first booke of Epistles chosen out by _Sturmius_, with a good
peece of a Comedie of _Terence_ also.
All this while, by mine aduise, the childe shall vse to speake
no latine: For, as _Cicero_ saith in like mater, with like wordes,
_loquendo, male loqui discunt_. And, that excellent // Latin
learned man, _G. Budæus_, in his Greeke Com- // speakyng.
mentaries, sore complaineth, that whan he began // _G. Budæus._
to learne the latin tonge, vse of speaking latin at the table, and
elsewhere, vnaduisedlie, did bring him to soch an euill choice of
wordes, to soch a crooked framing of sentences, that no one
thing did hurt or hinder him more, all the daies of his life
afterward, both for redinesse in speaking, and also good iudge-
ment in writinge.
In very deede, if children were brought vp, in soch a house,
or soch a Schole, where the latin tonge were properlie and
perfitlie spoken, as _Tib._ and _Ca. Gracci_ were brought vp, in
their mother _Cornelias_ house, surelie, than the dailie vse of
speaking, were the best and readiest waie, to learne the latin
tong. But, now, commonlie, in the best Scholes in England,
for wordes, right choice is smallie regarded, true proprietie
whollie neglected, confusion is brought in, barbariousnesse is
bred vp so in yong wittes, as afterward they be, not onelie
marde for speaking, but also corrupted in iudgement: as with
moch adoe, or neuer at all, they be brought to right frame
againe.
Yet all men couet to haue their children speake latin: and
so do I verie earnestlie too. We bothe, haue one purpose: we
agree in desire, we wish one end: but we differ somewhat in
order and waie, that leadeth rightlie to that end. Other would
haue them speake at all aduentures: and, so they be speakinge,
to speake, the Master careth not, the Scholer knoweth not,
what. This is, to seeme, and not to bee: except it be, to be
bolde without shame, rashe without skill, full of words without
witte. I wish to haue them speake so, as it may well appeare,
that the braine doth gouerne the tonge, and that reason leadeth
186 _The first booke teachyng_
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