Calendar: 1876-1877 Page 595

GENERAL LITERATURE AND SCIENCE 595 can never perish even were we to cease from its study But neglect of the new cuts us off from the ever-flowing stream of contemporaneous thought and life fed too as it is from distant fountains in the ancient hills II The habit of contradicting into which young men -and young men of ability in particular -are apt to fall is habit extremely injurious to the powers of the understanding would recommend to such young men an intellectual regimen of which myself in an earlier period of life have felt the advantage and that is to assent to the two first propositions that they hear every day and not only to assent to them but if hey can to improve and embellish them and to make the speaker little more in love with his own opinion than he was before When they have little got over the bitterness of assenting they may gradually increase the number of assents and so go on as their constitution will bear it and have little doubt that in time this will effect complete and perfect cure Contrast the two languages English and French in their syntax with reference to inversion in prose and poetry the use and place of personal pronouns the use of the subjunctive mood Write any twenty idiomatic expressions frequently used in French Explain any two French historical sayings I'ut the following extract into modern French without omitting the accents LES MOUTONS DE PANURGE Soubdain je ne sfay comment le cas feut subit je n'eus loisir le considerer Panurge sans aultre chose dire jecte en pleine mer son mouton criant et bellant Tons les aultres moutons crians et bellans en pareille intonation commencearent soy jecter et saulter en mer apres la file La foulle estoyt qui premier sanlteroyt apres leur compaignon Possible n'estoit les en guarder Comme vous savez estre du mouton le naturel tou jours suyvre le premier quelque part qu'il aille Aussi le dicte Aristoteles lib de Histor anim estre le plus sot et inepte Ρ Ρ