his bold surrender of
the classical exclusiveness.

The proposal was facilitated by the existence of professors of French
and German in the Queen's Colleges, In the English and Scotch Colleges
endowments are not as yet provided for these languages; although it
would be easy enough to make provision for them in Oxford and Cambridge.

In favour of this alternative, it is urged that the classics, if entered
on at all, should be entered on thoroughly and entirely. The two
languages and literatures form a coherent whole, a homogeneous
discipline; and those that do not mean to follow this out should not
begin it. Some of the upholders of classics take this view.

4. More thorough-going still is the scheme of complete bifurcation of
the classical and the modern sides. In our great schools there has been
instituted what is called the _modern side_, made up of sciences and
modern languages, together with Latin. The understanding hitherto has
been, that the votaries of the ancient and classical side should alone
proceed to the Universities; the modern side being the introduction to
commercial life, and to professions that dispense with a University
degree. Here, as far as the schools are concerned, a fair scope is given
to modern studies.

As was to be expected, the modern side is now demanding admission to the
Universities on its own terms; that is, to continue the same line of
studies there, and to be crowned with the same distinctions as the
classical side. This attempt to render school and college homogeneous
throughout, to treat ancient studies and modern studies as of equal
value in the eye of the law, will of course be resisted to the utmost.
Yet it seems the only solution likely to bring about a settlement that
will last.

The defenders of the classical system in its extreme exclusiveness are
fond of adducing examples of very illustrious men who at college showed
an utter incapacity for science in its simplest elements. They say that,
by classics alone, these men are what they are, and if their way had
been stopped by serious scientific requirements, they would have never
come before the world at all. The allegation is somewhat strongly put;
yet we shall assume it to be correct, on condition of being allowed to
draw an inference. If some minds are so constituted for languages, and
for classics in particular, may not there be other minds equally
constituted for science, and equally incapable of taking up two
classica