 | Catalogue of the officers and students of the University of Virginia |  |
COURSE OF INSTRUCTION.
In each School, there are three regular lectures a week; besides
which, there are in most of them extra lectures suited to the several
classes into which the school is divided. The mode of instruction is
by text-books and lectures, accompanied by rigid examinations. The
course pursued in each school, is as follows.
I.—ANTIENT LANGUAGES.
Professor Harrison.—In this school are taught the Latin and
Greek Languages, and Literature, and the Hebrew Language. The
instruction, given by prelections and examinations, comprises the
following subjects:
1. The formation and composition of words, and the laws by which
they are governed.
2. The primary and secondary signification of words and the principles
by which they must be ascertained.
3. Syntax.—The relations which words sustain to each other in a
sentence, are taught at the same time and in connexion with their endings,
the latter serving, with the aid of prepositions, &c., as signs of the former.
The importance of attending to the order in which words are arranged
in a sentence, and of being careful to read the words and members
of a sentence just as they stand in the Latin and Greek authors,
is insisted upon. The other idomatic peculiarities are carefully noticed.
4. Metres and Quantity.—These are objects of constant attention.
5. The Greek and Roman History, Geography, and Literature, are
taught by prelections, and by commenting on portions of the text-books
appointed to be read. These form part of the studies of the senior
classes.
The text-books are:
In the Junior Latin Class:—Horace, Cicero's Epistles ad Diversos,
Terence, and Cæsar's Comment; the last chiefly with a view to
the written exercises. Zumpt's Latin Grammar is referred to. The
student should have Lempriere's Classical Dictionary, new edition by
Anthon, in two vols.; Adams' Roman Antiquities, and the Antient, with
corresponding Maps of the series published by the "Society for the
diffusion of useful knowledge," or the "Æton Comparative Atlas."
In the Senior Latin Class: —Juvenal, Livy, and Tacitus. Of both
Livy and Tacitus the student should have the whole works, so far as
they remain.
In the Junior Greek Class:—Xenophon's Anabasis, a play of Euripides,
or Æschylus, and Herodotus. Buttmann's Greek Grammar, is
referred to;—the `Larger' Grammar of Buttmann, by Robinson, is to
be preferred. Donnegan's Greek and English Lexicon, and Thiersch's
Greek Tables by Patton, are recommended.
In the Senior Greek Class:—Euripides, Sophocles, Thucydides,
and Homer. In the prelections to this class, it is attempted to introduce
the student into the higher departments of grammatical criticism;
references are made to the large Grammar of Matthiæ, and to the annotations
of Porson, Schaefer, Hermann, Erfurdt, Elmsley, &c.
In Roman History, &c.—The students are advised to read the early
part of Hooke's Roman History, with Ferguson's Roman Republic,
Niebuhr's Roman History, and Heeren's Manual: also, Montesquie's
"Grandeur et decadence des Romains," and Dunlop's History of Roman
Literature.
In Grecian History, &c:—The History of Greece published by the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, is the text-book. Reference
is made to Mitford, Gillies, &c. In both Grecian and Roman
History, pains is taken to point out the antient authorities.
In Hebrew:—Biblia Hebraica, edit: Van Der Hooght, by D'Allemand,
London; or the revised edition by Aug: Hahn, Leipsic; which is
better. Stuart's Hebrew Grammar, 3d edition, and Gesenius's Hebrew
Lexicon, by Gibbs: (not the abridgement.)
It is expected of the students of Latin and Greek, that they will read
in their rooms a list of such authors and parts of authors, furnished by the
Professor, as cannot be read in the lecture-room: e. g: Cicero's Epistles
to Atticus, his Orations (selected), and Treatise "de Republica;" Sallust,
Terence, Plautus: Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Demosthenes,
Æschines, Thucydides, &c.
As an essential part of the course, thestudents of each class are required
to furnish regularly, once a week, a written exercise; which consists
in the conversion of Latin or Greek into English, and of English
into Latin or Greek. The exercises are examined by the Professor,
and the errors marked: thus corrected, they are returned to the students,
and the corrections stated and explained in the presence of the
class. For these exercises, the classic authors are used as the text.
The black-board is continually used for the purpose of assisting the
student, by the aid of the eye, in comprehending and retaining the illustrations
given.
II.—MODERN LANGUAGES.
Professor Blættermann.—The languages taught, in this school, are
the French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Anglo Saxon; and if desired,
will also be taught, the Danish, Swedish, Hollandish and Portuguese
Languages. In each of them, there are two classes, the senior and the
junior, together with a third class for those who wish to qualify themselves
for degrees in this school, as it is required that two degrees be
obtained in modern languages before that of A. M. will be conferred.—
Besides the oral translations in the lecture room, the students are required
to write, as regular exercises out of the lecture rooms, translations
from the foreign language into English, and vice versa. Lectures
on the Literature of each of the nations whose languages are taught,
History, and the political relations of the different civilized nations of the
present day. The text-books used are the principal classics in each
language.
III.—MATHEMATICS.
Professor Bonnycastle.—In this school there are commonly five
classes. Of these, the first junior begins with Arithmetic; but as the
student is required to have some knowledge of this subject when he
enters the University, the lectures of the Professor are limited to the
theory, shewing the method of naming numbers, the different scales of
notation, and the derivation of the several rules of Arithmetic
from the primary notion of addition; the addition namely, of sensible
objects one by one. The ideas thus acquired are appealed to at every
subsequent step, and much pains are taken to exhibit the gradual developement
from these elementary truths, of the extensive science of mathematical
analysis. Lacroix's Arithmetic is the text-book.
In Algebra, the first problems are analyzed with, and without, the use
of letters, to make the student sensible of the advantages of these
signs. In teaching the rules for adding, subtracting, &c., they are
compared with the correspondent rules in Arithmetic, and the agreement
or diversity is noticed and explained. The text-book is Lacroix's
Algebra.
In Geometry, the first elements are taught, and illustrated by the use
of models.
The second junior class continue to read Lacroix's Algebra, and
Bonnycastle's Inductive Geometry. In the latter, they successively
acquire—the theorems of Synthetic Geometry—the theory and
practice of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, with the application of
the latter to Nautical Astronomy—the theory of Projection—and the
theory of Curved lines and Surfaces. Their subsequent studies usually
embrace a portion of the Differential Calculus.
The senior classes continue the Differential Calculus in lessons taken
from Young and from Bonnycastle's Geometry, concluding the course
of pure Mathematics with the Integral Calculus, the theory of which is
taken from Young, and the examples, from Peacock.
There is, moreover, a class of Mixed Mathematics, for such of the
more advanced students as choose to pursue it; which consists of parts
of Venturoli's Mechanics, the first book of Laplace's Mecanique
Celeste, and of the applications of the principles there given to various
problems.
And, lastly, there is attached to this school a class of Civil Engineering;
the construction of draughts and plans—of surveying—and
lastly, of the construction of Roads, Canals, Bridges, and other publc
works.
IV.—NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
Professor Patterson.—The course of lectures in this school is
divided into two parts, each of which is followed by a general written
examination of the students. The first part treats of the properties of
ponderable bodies, and includes Statics, Dynamics, Hydrostatics, Hydrodynamics,
Pneumatics, Crystalization, Molecular and Capillary Attraction,
Strength and Stress of Materials, and Acoustics. The second
part comprises Heat, (including Meteorology and the Steam-engine,)
Electricity and Galvanism, Magnetism and Electro Magnetism, Optics,
Astronomy.
The text-books used are, Lardner and Kater's Mechanics, Lardner's
Hydrostatics and Pneumatics, Brewster's Optics, the Treatises
on Heat, Electricity, Galvanism, Magnetism, and Electro Magnetism,
in the Library of Useful Knowledge, and Herschel's Astronomy.
As the enactments require only an acquaintance with arithmetic in
order to enter this school, mathematical demonstrations, though not
avoided by the Professor, are not required of the students of the general
class. But the candidates for graduation form a separate class,
and are taught the applications of elementary mathematics,, (Algebra
Geometry, and Trigonometry,) to Natural Philosophy. The application
of the higher calculus belongs to the school of Mathematics.
The Apparatus provided for the school of Natural Philosophy is very
extensive and complete, and thus enables the Professor to illustrate
every part of his course by experiments in the presence of his class.
An Observatory, with its appropriate astronomical instruments, is also
attached to this school.
V.—CHEMISTRY AND MATERIA MEDICA.
Professor Emmet.—There are two classes in this school; one of
Chemistry, to which there are lectures given twice a week, and the
other of Materia Medica and Pharmacy, to which is given a lecture
once a week throughout the session.
In the Chemical lectures, all the important applications of the science
to the mechanic arts, agriculture and domestic economy are noticed,
on earths and metals, the appropriate minerals are exhibited and
noticed with reference to the sciences of Mineralogy and Geology.
At the close of the history of inorganic matter, the atomic theory and
the laws of definite proportions are fully explained and exemplified.
The latter part of the course is occupied with the chemistry of organic
substances, and it comprises the history, analysis and properties of each
substance; to which are added general views of the connexion between
Chemistry and the physiology of animals and vegetables.
In the lectures on Materia Medica and Pharmacy, the subjects are
treated in the following order:—The operations of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical
preparations, the effect which the combining of different
substances has on their medicinal properties, the different classifications
of the Materia Medica, and lastly, its several articles treated alphabetically.
There is attached to this school, a very extensive apparatus and a
laboratory, in which the students are occasionally permitted to see the
operations, and to perform experiments. A free use is made of the
black-board in these as in almost all the other classes in the University.
VI.—MEDICINE.
Professor Magill.—The subjects taught in this school are Physiology,
Pathology, Therapeutics, Obstetrics and Medical Jurisprudence.
The last forms a distinct class, and comprehends other students in
addition to those of Medicine A full course of lectures is delivered
on each of the above branches. Dunglison's Human Physiology is the
text-book on that subject; in Pathology and the practice of Medicine,
Eberle's Practice of Medicine is recommended; in Obstetrics, Burns,
or Dewees, or Gooch; and in Medical Jurisprudence, Beck or Ryan.
VII.—ANATOMY AND SURGERY.
Professor Johnson.—In Anatomy, the lectures are delivered from
Subjects, with which the school is regularly supplied. The text-book is
Horner's Special Anatomy. In Surgery, the text-book is Cooper's
First Lines. This and the two preceding schools constitute the Medical
Department of the University; and the candidates for the degree
of "Doctor of Medicine," must pass examination in them all. An
extensive Museum is attached to this department. It possesses
one advantage, at least, over the other Medical Schools in the United
about four.
A full course of lectures in the Medical Department of this University,
is considered as equivalent to a full course in both the Philadelphia
and Baltimore Schools; so that a student with a certificate from this
University of having attended a full course of lectures here, is entitled
to stand for graduation at either of the above named schools, after
having attended all the lectures there delivered for one session only.
VIII.—MORAL PHILOSOPHY.
Professor Tucker.—There are two classes in this school. The
Junior Class studies Rhetoric, Belles-Lettres and Logic, the first half
of the session, and Belles-Lettres and Ethics, the last half.
The Senior, studies Mental Philosophy, the first part of the session,
and Political Economy the last. The examinations are on the Professor's
lectures, Brown's Philosophy, Say's Political Economy, and Adam
Smith.
In the Junior Class, the examinations are on the Professor's lectures,
Blair's Lectures, Campbell's Rhetoric, Stewart's Active and Moral
Powers.
There are also in this school, lectures on logic and general grammar.
IX.—LAW.
Professor Davis.—In this school are taught the Law of Nature
and Nations, the Science of Government, Constitutional Law, the Common
and Statute Law, Equity, and Maritime and Commercial Law.
This school is divided into two classes. The text-books studied by
the junior class, are Vattel's Law of Nature and of Nations, the Federalist,
the Virginia Report of '99, and Blackstone's Commentaries.
Those studied by the senior, are Coke upon Littleton, (Thomas's edition,)
Stephen on Pleading, Starkie on Evidence, (the first vol.) Toller
on Executors, Chitty on Contracts, Bayley on Bills, Fonblanque's
Equity, and Mitford's Pleadings; to which it is proposed to add a treatise
on Commercial and Maritime Law.
On these books, prelections are delivered by the Professor, in which
it is his object to supply what is deficient and explain what is obscure
in the text, to refer in connection with it to the leading cases and authorities,
American and English, illustrative of the topic under consideration,
and generally, to offer such comments as he deems necessary to
its thorough understanding. In these prelections, the statute law of
Virginia and the United States, and its effects on the pre-existing law
nation on the last together with its text.
On government, and on various topics of National, Constitutional and
Municipal Law, not discussed in the text-books, lectures are delivered;
on which, also, the class are examined.
Students not wishing to study Municipal Law, can enter for that portion
only of the junior course, which embraces National Law, Government
and Constitutional Law; which portion, those wishing to study
Municipal Law only, can if they choose omit.
The students of this school have instituted a Law Society, at
the meetings of which the Professor presides. In it, questions connected
with the studies of the school are discussed, fictitious cases litigated
in the form of regular pleadings, and the issues produced decided
in the appropriate mode, and the members exercised in conveyancing
by having to prepare and submit to the Society the necessary deeds to
effectuate supposed agreements, &c.
Religious exercises are performed at the University every Sunday,
by a Minister of the Gospel, residing there, whose services are rendered
on the private invitation of the Professors, Officers and Students.
| Catalogue of the officers and students of the University of Virginia | |