Representations of Book Culture in Eighteenth-Century English Imaginative Writing by Joanna Maciulewicz

Author:Joanna Maciulewicz
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9783319926094
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

He believes that “there is no great presumption in his attempt, as he means to begin with the very beginning, and to go no farther at the first than any young little school-boy; for he should give himself fair play, by trying his hand with the rudiments, which would no sooner be run over, than the rest would become plain sailing: ‘And if once,’ he adds, ‘I should conquer the mastery of the classics, I shall make but very short work of all the rest’” (Burney 1999, 35). The outcome of the curious experiment is highly disappointing. The effort of studying the classics, as Sir Hugh learns, can only be valuable in that stage of life in which the mind is agile and receptive and the character is malleable. Toiling over an abstruse language in search of amusement and a way to forget about gout is shown as a ludicrous idea. The “disappointment which followed, may be easily imagined; with neither quickness to learn, nor memory to retain, he aimed at being initiated in the elements of a dead language, for which youth only can find time and application, and even youth but by compulsion. His head soon became confused, his ideas were all perplexed, his attention was vainly strained, and his faculties were totally disordered” (Burney 1999, 39; my emphasis). Sir Hugh’s adventure with classical scholarship concludes with his discovery that “knowing Latin and Greek (…) is not worth a man’s while to think of it, after being a boy” (Burney 1999, 42).

The best evidence that classical studies undertaken at an early age can develop virtues useful in further life is the life of Sir Hugh’s brother. A classical education influenced the development of his mind, morals, disposition and economy. Mr Tyrold, “one of the most excellent graduates of his university”, as the narrator describes him, “was respected by the learned for his application, he was loved by the indolent for his candour and kindness of heart. And though his income (…) was so small, he never ran in debt, and by an exact but open economy, escaped all imputations of meanness: while by forbearing either to conceal, or repine at his limited fortune, he blunted even the raillery of the dissipated, by frankly and good humouredly meeting it half way” (Burney 1999, 241). Industry, moderation and kindness are the virtues which Sir Hugh admires and believes to be the benefits of proper education.

The stories of the young students of the classics, however, demonstrate that there is no guarantee that learning will produce the desired effects even if it is undertaken at an early age. Sir Hugh’s nephew, Lionel, does not resemble his father either in his diligence or kindness. He declares that he hates study “most deucedly” (Burney 1999, 243) and explains that he sees himself as “a light, airy spark” and thus has “no manner of natural taste for study, and poring, and expounding, and black letter” (Burney 1999, 241). What discourages him most from the classics

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