Part 8

All theis be vsed, and commended, but in order, and for respectes: as person, habilitie, place, and tyme shall require. The fiue last, be fitter, for the Master, than the scholer: for men, than for children: for the vniuersities, rather than for Grammer scholes: yet neuerthelesse, which is, fittest in mine opinion, for our schole, and which is, either wholie to be refused, or partlie to be vsed for our purpose, I will, by good authoritie, and some reason, I trust perticularlie of euerie one, and largelie enough of them all, declare orderlie vnto you.

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¶ Translatio Linguarum.

Translation, is easie in the beginning for the scholer, and bringeth also moch learning and great iudgement to the Master. It is most common, and most commendable of all other exercises for youth: most common, for all your con- structions in Grammer scholes, be nothing els but translations: but because they be not double translations, as I do require, they bring forth but simple and single commoditie, and bicause also they lacke the daily vse of writing, which is the onely thing that breedeth deepe roote, buth in y^e witte, for good vnderstanding, and in y^e memorie, for sure keeping of all that is learned. Most commendable also, & that by y^e iudgement of all authors, which intreate of theis exercises. Tullie in the person of L. Crassus, whom he // 1. de Or. maketh his example of eloquence and trewe iudgement in learning, doth, not onely praise specially, and chose this way of translation for a yong man, but doth also discommend and refuse his owne former wont, in exercising Paraphrasin & Metaphrasin. Paraphrasis is, to take some eloquent Oration, or some notable common place in Latin, and expresse it with other wordes: Metaphrasis is, to take some notable place out of a good Poete, and turn the same sens into meter, or into other wordes in Prose. Crassus, or rather Tullie, doth mislike both these wayes, bicause the Author, either Orator or Poete, had chosen out before, the fittest wordes and aptest composition for that matter, and so he, in seeking other, was driuen to vse the worse. Quintilian also preferreth translation before all other exercises: yet hauing a lust, to dissent, from // Quint. x. Tullie (as he doth in very many places, if a man read his Rhetoricke ouer aduisedlie, and that rather of an enuious minde, than of any iust cause) doth greatlie commend Paraphrasis, crossing spitefullie Tullies iudgement in refusing the same: and so do Ramus and Talæus euen at this day in France to. But such singularitie, in dissenting from the best mens iudgementes, in liking onelie their owne opinions, is moch misliked of all them, that ioyne with learning, discretion, and wisedome. For he, that can neither like Aristotle in Logicke and Philosophie, nor Tullie in Rhetoricke and

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Eloquence, will, from these steppes, likelie enough presume, by like pride, to mount hier, to the misliking of greater matters: that is either in Religion, to haue a dissentious head, or in the common wealth, to haue a factious hart: as I knew one a student in Cambrige, who, for a singularitie, began first to dissent, in the scholes, from Aristotle, and sone after became a peruerse Arrian, against Christ and all true Religion: and studied diligentlie Origene, Basileus, and S. Hierome, onelie to gleane out of their workes, the pernicious heresies of Celsus, Eunomius, and Heluidius, whereby the Church of Christ, was so poysoned withall. But to leaue these hye pointes of diuinitie, surelie, in this quiet and harmeles controuersie, for the liking, or misliking of Paraphrasis for a yong scholer, euen as far, as Tullie goeth beyond Quintilian, Ramus, and Talæus, in perfite Eloquence, * Plinius // euen so moch, by myne opinion, cum they Secundus. // behinde Tullie, for trew iudgement in teaching Plinius de- // the same. dit Quin- // * Plinius Secundus, a wise Senator, of great tiliano // experience, excellentlie learned him selfe, a liberall præceptori // Patrone of learned men, and the purest writer, in suo, in ma- // myne opinion, of all his age, I except not trimonium // Suetonius, his two scholemasters Quintilian and filiæ, 50000 // Tacitus, nor yet his most excellent learned Vncle, the Elder numum. // Plinius, doth expresse in an Epistle to his frende Epist. lib. 7, // Fuscus, many good wayes for order in studie: Epist. 9. // but he beginneth with translation, and preferreth it to all the rest: and bicause his wordes be notable, I will recite them.

Vtile in primis, vt multi præcipiunt, ex Græco in Latinum, & ex Latino vertere in Græcum: Quo genere exercitationis, proprietas splendorque verborum, apta structura sententiarum, figurarum copia & explicandi vis colligitur. Præterea, imitatione optimorum, facultas similia inueniendi paratur: & quæ legentem, fefellissent, transferentem fugere non possunt. Intelligentia ex hoc, & iudicium acquiritur._

Ye perceiue, how Plinie teacheth, that by this exercise of double translating, is learned, easely, sensiblie, by litle and litle, not onelie all the hard congruities of Grammer, the choice of

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aptest wordes, the right framing of wordes and sentences, cumlines of figures and formes, fitte for euerie matter, and proper for euerie tong, but that which is greater also, in marking dayly, and folowing diligentlie thus, the steppes of the best Autors, like inuention of Argumentes, like order in disposition, like vtterance in Elocution, is easelie gathered vp: whereby your scholer shall be brought not onelie to like eloquence, but also, to all trewe vnderstanding and right iudgement, both for writing and speaking. And where Dionys. Halicarnassæus hath written two excellent bookes, the one, de delectu optimorum verborum, the which, I feare, is lost, the other, of the right framing of wordes and sentences, which doth remaine yet in Greeke, to the great proffet of all them, that trewlie studie for eloquence, yet this waie of double translating, shall bring the whole proffet of both these bookes to a diligent scholer, and that easelie and pleasantlie, both for fitte choice of wordes, and apt composition of sentences. And by theis authorities and reasons am I moued to thinke, this waie of double translating, either onelie or chieflie, to be fittest, for the spedy and perfit atteyning of any tong. And for spedy atteyning, I durst venture a good wager, if a scholer, in whom is aptnes, loue, diligence, & constancie, would but translate, after this sorte, one litle booke in Tullie, as de senectute, with two Epistles, the first ad Q. fra: the other ad lentulum, the last saue one, in the first booke, that scholer, I say, should cum to a better knowledge in the Latin tong, than the most part do, that spend foure or fiue yeares, in tossing all the rules of Grammer in common scholes. In deede this one booke with these two Epistles, is not sufficient to affourde all Latin wordes (which is not necessarie for a yong scholer to know) but it is able to furnishe him fully, for all pointes of Grammer, with the right placing ordering, & vse of wordes in all kinde of matter. And why not? for it is read, that Dion. Prussæus, that wise Philosopher, & excellent orator of all his tyme, did cum to the great learning & vtterance that was in him, by reading and folowing onelie two bookes, Phædon Platonis, and Demosthenes most notable oration peri parapres- beias. And a better, and nerer example herein, may be, our most noble Queene Elizabeth, who neuer toke yet, Greeke nor Latin Grammer in her hand, after the first declining of a nowne and a verbe, but onely by this double translating of

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Demosthenes and Isocrates dailie without missing euerie forenone, and likewise som part of Tullie euery afternone, for the space of a yeare or two, hath atteyned to soch a perfite vnderstanding in both the tonges, and to soch a readie vtterance of the latin, and that wyth soch a iudgement, as they be fewe in nomber in both the vniuersities, or els where in England, that be, in both tonges, comparable with her Maiestie. And to conclude in a short rowme, the commodities of double translation, surelie the mynde by dailie marking, first, the cause and matter: than, the wordes and phrases: next, the order and composition: after the reason and argumentes: than the formes and figures of both the tonges: lastelie, the measure and compas of euerie sentence, must nedes, by litle and litle drawe vnto it the like shape of eloquence, as the author doth vse, which is red. And thus much for double translation.

Paraphrasis.

Paraphrasis, the second point, is not onelie to expresse at Lib. x. // large with moe wordes, but to striue and contend (as Quintilian saith) to translate the best latin authors, into other latin wordes, as many or thereaboutes. This waie of exercise was vsed first by C. Crabo, and taken vp for a while, by L. Crassus, but sone after, vpon dewe profe thereof, reiected iustlie by Crassus and Cicero: yet allowed and made sterling agayne by M. Quintilian: neuerthelesse, shortlie after, by better assaye, disalowed of his owne scholer Plinius Secundus, who termeth it rightlie thus Audax contentio. It is a bold comparison in deede, to thinke to say better, than that is best. Soch turning of the best into worse, is much like the turning of good wine, out of a faire sweete flagon of siluer, into a foule mustie bottell of ledder: or, to turne pure gold and siluer, into foule brasse and copper. Such kinde of Paraphrasis, in turning, chopping, and changing, the best to worse, either in the mynte or scholes, (though M. Brokke and Quintilian both say the contrary) is moch misliked of the best and wisest men. I can better allow an other kinde of Paraphrasis, to turne rude and barbarus, into proper and eloquent: which neuerthelesse is an exercise, not fitte for a scholer, but for a perfite master, who in plentie hath

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good choise, in copie hath right iudgement, and grounded skill, as did appeare to be in Sebastian Castalio, in translating Kemppes booke de Imitando Christo. But to folow Quintilianus aduise for Paraphrasis, were euen to take paine, to seeke the worse and fowler way, whan the plaine and fairer is occupied before your eyes. The olde and best authors that euer wrote, were content if occasion required to speake twise of one matter, not to change the wordes, but rhetos, that is, worde for worde to expresse it againe. For they thought, that a matter, well expressed with fitte wordes and apt composition, was not to be altered, but liking it well their selues, they thought it would also be well allowed of others. A scholemaster (soch one as I require) knoweth that I say trewe. He readeth in Homer, almost in euerie booke, and speciallie in Secundo et nono Iliados, not onelie som verses, // Homerus. but whole leaues, not to be altered with new, // {2. but to be vttered with the old selfe same wordes. // {IL. { He knoweth, that Xenophon, writing twise of // {9. Agesilaus, once in his life, againe in the historie // Xenophon. of the Greekes, in one matter, kepeth alwayes the selfe same wordes. He doth the like, speaking of Socrates, both in the beginning of his Apologie and in the last ende of apomnemoneu- maton. Demosthenes also in 4. Philippica doth borow his owne wordes vttered before in his oration de Chersoneso. He doth the like, and that more at large, in his // Demost- orations, against Androtion and Timocrates. // henes. In latin also, Cicero in som places, and Virgil in mo, do repeate one matter, with the selfe same wordes. // Cicero. Thies excellent authors, did thus, not for lacke // Virgilius. of wordes, but by iudgement and skill: whatso- euer, other, more curious, and lesse skilfull, do thinke, write, and do. Paraphrasis neuerthelesse hath good place in learning, but not, by myne opinion, for any scholer, but is onelie to be left to a perfite Master, eyther to expound openlie a good author withall, or to compare priuatelie, for his owne exercise, how some notable place of an excellent author, may be vttered with

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other fitte wordes: But if ye alter also, the composition, forme, and order than that is not Paraphrasis, but Imitatio, as I will fullie declare in fitter place. The scholer shall winne nothing by Paraphrasis, but onelie, if we may beleue Tullie, to choose worse wordes, to place them out of order, to feare ouermoch the iudgement of the master, to mislike ouermuch the hardnes of learning, and by vse, to gather vp faultes, which hardlie will be left of againe. The master in teaching it, shall rather encrease hys owne labor, than his scholers proffet: for when the scholer shall bring vnto his master a peece of Tullie or Cæsar turned into other latin, then must the master cum to Quintilians goodlie lesson de Emendatione, which, (as he saith) is the most profitable part of teaching, but not in myne opinion, and namelie for youthe in Grammer scholes. For the master nowe taketh double paynes: first, to marke what is amisse: againe, to inuent what may be sayd better. And here perchance, a verie good master may easelie both deceiue himselfe, and lead his scholer into error. It requireth greater learning, and deeper iudgement, than is to be hoped for at any scholemasters hand: that is, to be able alwaies learnedlie and perfitelie

{Mutare quod ineptum est: {Transmutare quod peruersum est: {Replere quod deest; {Detrahere quod obest: {Expungere quod inane est.

And that, which requireth more skill, and deaper conside- racion

{Premere tumentia: {Extollere humilia: {Astringere luxuriantia: {Componere dissoluta.

The master may here onelie stumble, and perchance faull in teaching, to the marring and mayning of the Scholer in learning, whan it is a matter, of moch readyng, of great learning, and tried iudgement, to make trewe difference betwixt

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{Sublime, et Tumidum: {Grande, et immodicum: {Decorum, et ineptum: {Perfectum, et nimium.

Some men of our time, counted perfite Maisters of eloquence, in their owne opinion the best, in other mens iudgements very good, as Omphalius euerie where, Sadoletus in many places, yea also my frende Osorius, namelie in his Epistle to the Queene & in his whole booke de Iusticia, haue so ouer reached them selues, in making trew difference in the poyntes afore rehearsed, as though they had bene brought vp in some schole in Asia, to learne to decline rather then in Athens with Plato, Aristotle, and Demosthenes, (from whence Tullie fetched his eloquence) to vnderstand, what in euerie matter, to be spoken or written on, is, in verie deede, Nimium, Satis, Parum, that is for to say, to all considerations, Decorum, which, as it is the hardest point, in all learning, so is it the fairest and onelie marke, that scholers, in all their studie, must alwayes shote at, if they purpose an other day to be, either sounde in Religion, or wise and discrete in any vocation of the common wealth. Agayne, in the lowest degree, it is no low point of learnyng and iudgement for a Scholemaster, to make trewe difference betwixt

{Humile & depressum: {Lene & remissum: {Siccum & aridum: {Exile & macrum: {Inaffectatum & neglectum.

In these poyntes, some, louing Melancthon well, as he was well worthie, but yet not considering well nor wiselie, how he of nature, and all his life and studie by iudgement was wholly spent in genere Disciplinabili, that is, in teaching, reading, and expounding plainlie and aptlie schole matters, and therfore imployed thereunto a fitte, sensible, and caulme kinde of speaking and writing, some I say, with very well louyng, but not with verie well weying Melancthones doinges, do frame them selues a style, cold, leane, and weake, though the matter be neuer so warme & earnest, not moch vnlike vnto one, that had a pleasure, in a roughe, raynie, winter

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