t
one-third of the existing population of the earth, with a view to the
extension of commercial enterprise, and to the profits and benefits
which may legitimately accrue therefrom. The second is precisely that
object in pursuit of which we apply ourselves so steadily to the
literatures and civilisations of Greece and Rome.

Sir Richard Jebb, in his essay on "Humanism in Education," points out
that even less than a hundred years ago the classics still held a
virtual monopoly, so far as literary studies were concerned, in the
public schools and universities of England. "The culture which they
supplied," he argues, "while limited in the sphere of its operation,
had long been an efficient and vital influence, not only in forming
men of letters and learning, but in training men who afterwards gained
distinction in public life and in various active careers."

Long centuries had fixed so firmly in the minds of our forefathers a
belief, and no doubt to some extent a justifiable belief, in the perfect
character of the languages, the literatures, the arts, and some of the
social and political institutions of ancient Greece and Rome, that a
century or so ago there seemed to be nothing else worth the attention of
an intellectual man. The comparatively recent introduction of Sanskrit
was received in the classical world, not merely with coldness, but with
strenuous opposition; and all the genius of its pioneer scholars was
needed to secure the meed of recognition which it now enjoys as an
important field of research. The Regius Professorship of Greek in the
University of Cambridge, England, was founded in 1540; but it was not
until 1867, more than three centuries later, that Sanskrit was admitted
into the university curriculum. It is still impossible to gain a degree
through the medium of Chinese, but signs are not wanting that the
necessity for such a step will be more widely recognised in the near
future.

All the material lies ready to hand. There is a written language, which
for difficulty is unrivalled, polished and perfected by centuries of the
minutest scholarship, until it is impossible to conceive anything more
subtly artistic as a vehicle of human thought. Those mental gymnastics,
of such importance in the training of youth, which were once claimed
exclusively for the languages of Greece and Rome, may be performed
equally well in the Chinese language. The educated classes in China
would be recognised anywhere as men of t