Central High School - Central Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

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The Central Hi on SonooL Monthly Volume flint June, Nineteen $unbreb anb €igfjt dumber iiint Pape Three Wf)p Urtubp £reefe ? Why study Greek? What good will it do you? Why not study a modern language or science? You will forget your Greek in a few years. These questions are frequently put to a student of Greek. We admit that very few ‘students study Greek, that the modern languages and sciences are studied with great enthusiasm; but why not study Greek? The pupil who chooses a science or modern language chooses that which will give immediate results, money or ornament. Is money to be the aim of the twentieth century civilization? Will a man’s dollars benefit the world? But the pupil who wishes to raise the standard of living, to uplift his fellowmen, looks to a more permanent and more valuable result to life. This pupil chooses Greek as a foundation for further education. He realizes the good obtained by studying the language of the most gifted race the world has ever cherished,—for what other race can boast of a literature created quite without models, complete in all its forms, in many unsurpassed, in some still unequaled? He chooses Greek for the mental training it affords. He knows that no other language has the virtues and all the virtues that Greek has; he knows that no other study will produce the results desired and obtained through the study of Greek. He knows that, “Greek is Greek, there is no Greek but Greek, and Greek is its prophet.” The student who has really studied Greek cannot and will never forget it. The study of Greek is a great educational instrument. It develops the intelligence. It is a key to history; it is necessary for a study of the New Testament; it promotes exact thought and a philosophic mind; it gives an understanding for scientific terminology. Do we not owe our science, our mathematics, geometry, astronomy, geography, anatomy, and medicine to the ancient Greeks ? What learned profession has not a vocabulary derived from Greek stems? How many times is a member of the English class forced to turn to a Greek mythology for a better understanding of his text? How many times is he compelled to say, “That comes from a Greek word...........” but what is that Greek word and what connection has it with the English? Is not tlie •study of Greek then the “royal road” to the study of English? The student who elects Greek studies the ancient religion of a race whose method was inquiry, whose aim was to understand and express; he studies their art, history, civil and domestic life, their science of warfare. The architecture and sculpture of Greece together with the Homeric verse still remain unsurpassed. Has any artist since the time of Zeuxis been able to deceive his rival by the

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Page Four perfectness of his art, as Parrhasius did Zeuxis? With a knowledge of Greek literature one can better understand Greek art. The laws and government of ancient Greece are studied by statesmen of to-day. What piece of English literature can surpass the pathetic scene described by Homer of Hector's leave-taking of his wife and little son? Xenophon in his Anabasis has shown the world what should be the tactics of a retreat; how to command a rear guard; and the flexibilities of Greek tactics. Lieut.-Col. Dodge says, “More tactical originality has come from Xenophon’s Anabasis than from any dozen other books. .. .. After twenty-three centuries there is no better military text-book than the Anabasis. Through the study of Greek the student becomes acquainted with some of the world’s best literature. Professor Jebb says, “Of all the things which the Greeks created, their own language was the most beautiful.” In Greek were written some of the best epic and lyric poetry. The most nearly perfect drama we have was written in Greek. Great skill is shown in handling all oratorical arguments. In all Greek literature there is a pervasive humor, a “delicate irony, and stateliness of narrative.” Why did the Greek boy learn his Homer by heart? Why do you reach out your hand with eagerness for the English translations of Homer? Why have the Iliad and the Odyssey been preserved through more than two thousand years? Because to quote Dr. John Ira Bennett of Union College, “Greek books are fresh and vigorous; they came from life and they have life eternal.” You admit the superiority of Greek over other languages, then why not study Greek ? There are three ways to study a language: first, with reference to the subject, to make use of it later; second, with reference to the form, that is grammatically and analytically; third, with reference to the grace of expression. The first two ways give mental discipline, the third culture. Yes, Greek is hard because, of its various and diverse ways of expression and similarity of forms and its fulness of inflection. In Greek there is an optative mood, a middle voice, an aorist tense, a dual number, all of which are not found in Latin. With this fulness of inflection the Greeks made many fine distinctions of meaning, which cannot be expressed so clearly in any other language. Although many forms are very much alike, Greek syntax is simpler than the syntax of Latin. With a close observation of forms, translating becomes an art when the translator understands translation must make sense, for Greek is logical and expresses an idea exactly as it is to be conveyed; it is exact and can mean omy one thing. The study of Greek is a means of accurate expression and clear thought. Is this not something our country longs to develop in her citizens? Since Greek civilization has influenced our civilization, has given an inspiration for our religion, our literature, since it has enriched the resources in the use of our own language, since Greek literature, art, science of warfare is still unsurpassed and considered worthy to be a model, since “everything that moves in this world of ours, save only the blind forces of nature is Greek in its origin,” is Greek not worth studying, gentle reader, though “the immortal gods placed toil in the path to excellence and though the road to it is long ana steep ?” Mary Hathaway Bolles, ’08.