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
_the ready way to the Latin tong._ 245
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