FOURTH CLASS. COLLINS. ODE TO FEAR. Afternoon Paper. "In earliest Greece, to thee, with partial choice, "Yet he, the bard who first invoked thy name, ODE TO THE PASSIONS. "But thou, O Hope! with eyes so fair, What was thy delighted measure? Still it whispered promised pleasure, And bade the lovely scenes at distance hail ! Still would her touch the strain prolong, And from the rocks, the woods, the vale, She called on Echo still through all the song." RASSELAS. "Wherever I went, I found that poetry was considered as the highest learning, and regarded with a veneration somewhat approaching to that which man would pay to angelic nature. And yet it fills me with wonder, that, in almost all countries, the most ancient poets are considered as the best whether it be that every other kind of knowledge is an acquisition gradually attained, and poetry is a gift conferred at once; or that the first poetry of every nation surprized them as a novelty, and retained the credit by consent which it received by accident at first; or whether, as the province of poetry is to describe nature and passion, which are always the same, the first writers took possession of the most striking objects for description and the most probable occurrences for fiction, and left nothing to those that followed them but transcription of the same events, and new combinations of the same images. Whatever be the reason, it is commonly observed, that the early writers are in possession of nature, and their followers of art; that the first excel in strength and invention, and the latter in elegance and refinement." 1. "In earliest Greece, to thee, with partial choice, The grief-ful muse addrest her infant tongue." What is the meaning of " partial choice" and " addrest her infant tongue"? Why does the Poet say "earliest" Greece? 2. "For not alone he nursed the poet's flame, But reach'd from virtue's hand the patriot's steel." 3. "Though gentle pity claim her mingled part, Yet all the thunders of the scene are thine." In what does Pity" claim her mingled part"? What are 4. "But thou, O Hope! with eyes so fair, What was thy delighted measure"? State in your own words the Poet's reply to this question. 5. "O Music! sphere-descended maid, Friend of pleasure, wisdom's aid." "the Explain in what sense Music is the "friend of pleasure," and in what sense it may be called "wisdom's aid." 6. "Wherever I went I found that poetry was considered as the highest learning," &c. 7. 66 What reasons are given by Dr. Johnson in this paragraph to account for the fact that in almost all countries the most ancient poets are considered as the best? Are there any other reasons? Give the meaning of the following clauses. Approaching to that which men would pay to angelic nature." "Knowledge is an acquisition gradually attained, and poetry is a gift conferred at once." "The province of poetry is to describe nature and passion." C 8. "It is commonly found that the most ancient writers are in possession of nature, and their followers of art; that the first excel in strength and invention, and the latter in elegance and refinement." Explain this passage, and give illustrations of it from the history of English Poetry. MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 10 A. M. TO 1 P. M. 1. What is meant by laws of mind? Name some of the most general of these laws, and explain how they are ascertained. 2. State briefly the principal causes which have retarded the progress of mental science. 3. Mention the different senses in which the word "Reason" is used; and distinguish between Intuition and Reasoning. 4. What according to Stewart is the essential distinction between the axioms and the definitions of Geometry, and how does he illustrate this distinction? 5. What is meant by Fundamental Laws of belief? What analogies or coincidences are traceable between them and the axioms of Geometry? 6. Define the term Abstraction. In what way are general terms formed? Explain the nature of the aid they afford in general reasoning. Thursday, September 18, 1851. 2 TO 5 P. M. 1. Stewart remarks, that in order to arrive at a general conclusion in Mathematics and the other sciences, two different processes of reasoning are necessary. Explain them. 2. The field of mathematical demonstration being limited entirely to hypothetical truths, whence arises the extensive utility of mathematical knowledge in physical researches and in the arts of life? 3. After telling us that "laws, in their most extensive signification are the necessary relations which arise from the nature of things, and that in this sense all beings have their laws;" Montesquieu proceeds to remark, "that the moral world is far from being so well governed as the material; for the former, although it has its laws, which are invariable, does not observe these laws so constantly as the former." Point out the fallacy contained in the above passage. 4. Distinguish between the logical and the popular meaning of the word Probability. 5. Explain the difference between the evidence of experience and that of analogy; and show that there are two kinds of general notions essentially different from each other. FOR THE FOURTH CLASS. 10 A. M. TO 1 P. M. 1. Explain clearly the object of Mental Science. 2. What is the origin of our knowledge of facts relative both to matter and mind? 3. What are the primary objects of vision? How do we acquire our notions of distance and magnitude? 4. Define Reflection. To what heads would you refer the knowledge which we derive from this source? 5. What are the principles by which a man of cultivated mind is influenced in receiving upon testimony statements which are rejected by the vulgar as totally incredible? 6. What are the evils likely to arise from much indulgence in works of fiction? 2 TO 5 P. M. 1. Define Reason. Explain and illustrate the distinction between intuitive and discursive reasoning. 2. What is meant by First Truths? Upon what evidence do they rest, and by what characters are they distinguished? 3. Explain the meaning of necessity as applied to the operation of moral causes. 4. What are the elements into which any particular piece of reasoning may be resolved. 5. State briefly the rules to be observed in deducing a general principle. History. ARNOLD'S LECTURES. Morning Paper. 8. Were the revolutionary party in France consistent in magnifying the names of Brutus and Cato? 9. Is the popular party always a movement party? Support your answer by examples. 10. What does Arnold mean when he says "it is a fatal error in all political questions to mistake the clock"? Illustrate it by the great quarrel between the Guelfs and Ghibelines. 11. What were the principles of the three great parties in England at the close of the sixteenth century.? 12. Why was the cause of revolution more popular in France than in England? 13. Shew that there was no inconsistency in the popular party in England supporting the war of 1703 and opposing that of 1793. 14. Shew by examples the necessity in an historian of an earnest craving after truth and utter impatience not of falsehood merely but of error. Afternoon Paper. 1. Where does Arnold place the commencement of modern history, and why so? 2. "Well might Niebuhr protest against the practice of making quotations at second-hand instead of going to the original source." Illustrate this remark from the mistakes into which three celebrated modern writers have been led from one garbled extract. 3. "I wished to give an example of what I meant by a real and lively geography," &c. Describe Italy in this manner. 4. Shew that the general tendency of the last three centuries has been to consolidate small independent states into large kingdoms. 5. Trace the "centres of action and resistance" in Europe during the last three centuries. 6. Does history justify the belief of an inherent superiority in some European nations over others? 7. On what grounds does Arnold advocate the expediency of a standing army? |