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From the Albany Knickerbocker.

TELEGRAPHIC EDUCATION. It has been sagely considered by some of our modern philosophers that one's ideas are composed of something analogous to the electric fluid; and that the months and years of time and study formerly appropriated to education, were so appropriated on the same principle that the foot pad or donkey was considered once the most expeditious means of forwarding correspondence. Since, however, we have found the means of sending news round all creation before Time shoulders his scythe of a morning, the school boy becomes impatient of the years of educational drilling required heretofore to give him an ordinary education. The old plan of putting pupils into the ocean at first to scour the coast in search of the mouth of rivers, and then compelling them to paddle up stream against the current and rapids till they find the source, is about considered as commencing at the wrong end. Some years ago a Yankee came among our Dutch population, offering to teach the English grammar in a month's time to any person of common sense, so that they could read and write correctly; a class was formed and after going through the course seemed satisfied that the teacher had done all that he promised. Yesterday this gent presented himself again in town after an absence of ten years, with a large blank book bound in red morocco, containing apparently several thousand subscribers' names to a grammar he has just published, which, he says, will enable one to learn the languages so as to read them understandingly, and write them correctly in a short time. We were among the faithless, and turned to his subscription book to see what scholars had countenanced him by their subscription, when we found the presidents and about all of the professors of Union and Hamilton Colleges, besides a large number of others, whose literary reputation have made their names familiar to us, had subscribed for his book.

Among these were William H. Seward, Millard Fillmore, Hamilton Fish, Luther Bradish, John A. Dix, Gideon Hawley, A. C. Flagg, T. Romeyn Beck, Peter Bullions, Alonzo Crittenton, Robert Murray of Queens county, Kingston, John Van Buren, Silas Wright, Jr., J. V. L. Pruyn, and others, including nearly all the regents of the University of the State of New York, and more than five hundred graduates from the colleges.

A few general principles, said Mr. Barrett, the gentleman spoken of, will show you how to analyse any language and understand it; there are not so many different words in a language as jople imagine, but the different terminations and combinations convey the different meanings. Take, for instance, the word convocaveris, said he, and separate it into its different parts -con-voc-av-eri-s, con is a preposition and means together, voc is the root of the word and means called, ar merely denotes the

first conjugation, eri means mayst have, and s signifies thu; now translate, commencing where you left off, and you find it reads, thou mayst have called together. Now you have the word analysed. and understand its parts, which will make a multitude of other words by different combinations and terminations, and each of those words you can understand by knowing the rules by which they are composed, and the meaning of their parts.

After this brief explanation, we were satisfied that Mr. Barrett's system of teaching language is the only one extant, calculated to free the student from an adverse current and an eternal quarantine; and waft him onward with a gentle tide to the desired haven of the most consummate knowledge of grammatical erudition.

BARRETT'S GRAMMAR. I would take pleasure in adding my name, as a teacher, in recommendation of this work, were it not that it had already received the sanction of many men of influence and learning. The author of these "PRINCIPLES OF GRAMMAR," has, evidently, investigated thoroughly the philosophy of language, and his work, as it respects the English and Latin, is the first departure from that stereotyped code of arbitrary rules which has constituted the dry text in our schools and colleges; and which has been but a poor blind guide in introducing the pupils to the laws of these dialects. What the German philologists have accomplished for the Greek, Mr. Barrett has effected for the Latin and English; namely, to define the principles which underlie them, and with these to construct a philosophical arrangement which shall be true to the facts involved in their origin and growth, and to the laws of thought. He would teach the pupil to prosecute his study of a language as a naturalist would an examination of the functions of an organized beinga plant, or an animal. That, as in a tree, the root, the branch, or the fruit can sustain no separate existence nor answer a purpose, except as united, the one to the other, in the unity of the general life of the tree; so the noun, the verb, the adjective, &c., can have no separate existence or import, save as united by syntax into an expression of any particular idea; and which relation gives to each word its name and use. From the diction "one word belongs to another" as his point of departure, he proceeds to exhibit the relations, and all the relations which can be obtained among the parts of speech, the limits of the modification of nouns, and of verbs, in conforming to the conditions of number, person, gender and case, &c.; that a word is never a noun or other part of speech in virtue of its separate technical meaning; but by having the syntax of such part of speech, and from the fact of its occupying a certain position in the organic abode of a sentence. ABNER BENEDICT, A. M.,

Late Principal of Essex Co. Academy Vt.

We, the undersigned having examined some of the students taught by Prof. Barrett, say that they would not only bear an examination for common school teachers in any part of the state, but what is more, they would bear an examination in Grammar in any college in the United States.

JOHN F. McGERRY, President of Emmetsburgh College. SOLOMON SOUTHWICK,

Ex-Regent of the University of the State of New York. Joseph Lancaster was the first, if I mistake not, who simplified our common system of grammar, and rendered it more easy and comprehensive to our youth, at the commencement of their studies, but it more especially belonged to yourself, to lift the veil of obscurity from the old philology of the schools, and establish a new system, which for utility in application, and facility in acquisition, stands unequalled in the annals of elementary literature.

Very Respectfully,

JAMES A. MOTT

Barrett's new Series of Grammars, to which so many of our most illustrious, and highly esteemed Citizens have added their names in testimony of approval, has been entirely revised and corrected, is printed on paper of the best quality, bound in a superior style, and is one of the prettiest books, now for sale in the U. S.

It is delivered to Subscribers, only, at one dollar and ffty cents per copy, payable ON DELIVERY.

THESES.

1. THE ETYMOLOGY of a word depends entirely on its SYNTAX, or relation to another word; hence a word that has no SYNTAX can have no ETYMOLOGY: i. e., before any word becomes a part (of speech) of a sentence, it must be incorporated into that sentence of which it is a part.

2. The CASE of nouns and pronouns is that RELATION or position which they have to another word; therefore, a word having no relation to any other word, is in no case or position whatever; as, nominative, MAN; possessive, MAN's; objective, MAN. Now, the word man, as arranged above, is in no case, neither is it a "part of speech."

3. In translating from one language to another, the (Syntax) RELATION and (Etymology) PART OF SPEECH, remain unchanged.

4. That the ROOT of a word will continue to have the same meaning in all languages into which it may be incorporated, as it had in the original: as, TEST (is,) a witness; FER (0,) bring; (at) TEST; TESTI (mony); TESTI (fy); (re) FER; (pre) FER; (de) FER, &c.

5. The Ancients wrote their language to be read from the right hand to the left, and without spaces between their words; consequently, all Greek and Latin verbs are compounds, and are to be read from the right to the left; after having reduced them to their simple elements, by separating mentally or by spaces, the root, conjugation, mood and tense, number and persons. Splen-d-e-a-t is not a single word, to be read from left to right-LIGHT-GIVE-MAY ---IT; but this word contains five distinct parts, beginning at the right. The first is the person and number, (1, t,) it (2, a,) may (3, e, 2d conj.) (4, d, root, d[o],) give (5, splen,) light.

Etym. Root. Root. 2 c. Sub. pr. 3 s.

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Prep. Root. Inf. pr.
Transi

over go

· re.

to.

NOTE. The man of letters will see, at a glance, the soundness of the position here taken, and that since the languages were confounded at the tower of Babel, (or babble,) no method could be more effectual in perpetuating ignorance, than the common method of translating verbs, from the left hand to the right.

6. Declinable words in the languages of antiquity, consist, generally, of one root and of several terminations:-VID-e-o-in this word, VID is the root, and means see; e, second conjugation, and, as we have not, in English, four conjugations, it can not be translated; and o denotes indicative mood, present tense, first person singular, I see. Aм-av-isse-m-AM, root, av, first conjugation, isse, subjunctive pluperfect, m, first person singular: (m) I (isse)

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