University of Virginia Library

XX. Academic Schools

In the chapters that immediately precede, an account
has been given of the entrance requirements and also of
the college and graduate departments. What were the
studies embraced in these departments, to which admission
was gained in the manner already described?
We will consider the several schools in sequence, beginning
with those pertaining to the languages, both ancient
and modern.

The first in order now, as formerly, was the School
of Latin. On the threshold of the Ninth Period, 1904,
it was said of the work of this school that it found its
logical place in the Virginian system of public education
by taking up the study of the language at the point where
that study had left off in the high school. In other
words, the pupil admitted to the School of Latin was
presumed to have spent at least four years beforehand
under a competent teacher in a public high school in
acquiring a knowledge of Roman pronunciation,
quantity, and accent; in being drilled in grammar and
prose composition; and in mastering the elementary
reader, the campaigns of Caesar, and the easiest orations
of Cicero, the Metamorphoses of Ovid, and the Aeneid
of Virgil. The standard course of reading in the high
school seems to have been four books of Caesar, six

orations of Cicero, and six books of Virgil. In 1914,
the proposition came before the Board of Public
Instruction to curtail these requisites. Professor FitzHugh
opposed the suggestion. "Under the prevailing
system," he said, "seventy-nine per cent. of the Virginian
students passed successfully our seventy per cent.
standard, while the record showed a steady improvement,
from year to year, in the Latin preparation, under
the stimulus of the standard requirement. The records
show that, since the establishment of the full standard
for admission to Latin A (the lowest grade) in the University,
there has been a marked improvement in the
preparation of Latin students entering the University
of Virginia from public high schools widely scattered in
the State."

In the four courses in Latin pursued in the University,
in 1904–05, the general topics covered were the language,
literature, and life of the Romans. The final course
was designed for graduates only. By 1907–08, there
had been an enlargement in the scope of the studies for
the benefit of undergraduates and graduates alike,—
more advanced ground was now taken in all courses, and
more subjects added, so that not a phase of the three
great primary divisions remained neglected. The lyric,
the epic, the dramatic, the historical, the biographical,
and the philosophic side of the literature; the public, the
religious, the mythological, the artistic, the cultural side
of the life; the character and structure of the language
in its different ramifications,—all were subjected to an
exhaustive exposition.

During many years, the Hertz collection of classical
texts had been stored away unutilized in a garret of the
Rotunda. This was known to be the richest collection
of its kind to be found in the South; and yet it had

served no practical purpose owing to its inaccessibility.
For lack of its aid, the work of the School of Latin had
been seriously crippled. By the session of 1913–14, this
choice library had been fully classified, catalogued, and
shelved in the classical seminary adjoining the lecture-room
of the Schools of Latin and Greek.

An acute need was felt about 1911–12 for classical
scholarships which would enable the most promising
students in the School of Latin to undertake an advanced
course without leaving the University of Virginia. A
costly stereopticon was now regularly used by the head
of the school, in the course of his lectures, in illustration
of classical art and life, while plaster-casts of several of
the most beautiful statues of the Roman and Greek
civilizations had been bought and put in place in Cabell
Hall for public exhibition. There was now an increasing
desire for the acquisition of a museum of classical art,
and the establishment of a school of archaeology. Partly
through the influence of the University, the Classical
Association of Virginia and the Richmond Society of
the Archaeological Institute of America had been successfully
organized. The Classical Association formed
an integral section of the State Teachers Association,
and through that connection, it was able to stimulate the
interest taken in the ancient languages in the public
schools. The leading American students of archaeology
were drawn to Virginia by the Richmond branch of the
Archaelogical Institute for the purpose of delivering
lectures; and several of them spoke on that subject at
the University, under the auspices of the School of
Latin.

At the beginning of the Presidency, the studies belonging
to the School of Greek were arranged as
follows: there was one course intended for beginners

only; succeeded by a second course, composed of easy
Attic prose and elementary grammar and exercises; and
by a third course, composed, in its turn, of prose somewhat
more difficult, together with exercises and instruction
in literature, history, and meters. These three
courses were designed for the benefit of undergraduates
only. For undergraduates and graduates, there was a
fourth or advanced course which covered certain works
of Demosthenes, Thucydides, Aeschylus, Sophocles,
Aristophanes, and the lyric poets; and also included the
study of meters and syntax. The fifth course was intended
only for graduates who had determined to give
their time up to perfecting themselves in classical scholarship.
In addition to these five courses, there were four
special ones which continued during a half-session.
They may be described as follows: selected readings
(1) from the entire province of Greek literature in the
order of its historical growth; (2) from Greek orations,
for the elucidation of grammar and artistic form and
style; (3) from the Attic drama; and (4) from the
great poets, to throw light on music, rhythm, meter,
and structure. A course in private reading was also
prescribed for each class in this School.

In June, 1912, Richard Henry Webb, a graduate
of the Universities of Virginia and Harvard, was elected
to fill this professorship. "The primary object of the
courses open to undergraduates," he said, in taking up
the duties of his chair, "is to enable the student to read
and appreciate the masterpieces of Greek literature.
The study of grammar will not be treated as an end in
itself; but the ability of the student to construe his
authors satisfactorily will be constantly tested. In
order to obtain a knowledge of the broader aspects of
ancient life, collateral reading in English on various

subjects will be assigned for outside work; and questions
based on this reading, will be included in the examinations."

The first course was designed to satisfy the needs of
students who wished to gain, in a short time, a working
knowledge of the Greek language, either as an aid to
the study of other languages, history, and theology, or
with a view to a more extended acquisition of Greek itself.
But it was not intended to supplant the lessons of
the secondary schools in the same tongue. During the
session of 1914–15, the ground covered by the instruction
in the School of Greek was embraced in seven courses.
Two of these were taught by an assistant; the remainder,
by Professor Webb. Twenty-three students were enrolled
in the school in 1912–13; twenty, in 1913–14,
thirty-seven, in 1914–15 and fifty-one, in 1915–16.

During the session of 1904–05, the study of the
modern tongues was assigned to two schools: the School
of Teutonic Languages and the School of Romanic
Languages. The former school embraced the courses
in English grammar and etymology; English literature
previous to the advent of Shakespeare; and the German
language and literature. One course in English was
designed primarily for undergraduates, its object being
to lay a broad foundation for the intelligent study of
the tongue on both its historical and its literary side.
For undergraduates and graduates, there was the same
course in a more specialized form, and with greater
stress laid on the historical aspects of the language.
The course designed for graduates only was still further
specialized. English literature previous to Shakespeare
was now exhaustively presented, and also English
philology,—with a review of Gothic, Old and Middle
English, Old and Middle High German, Old French

phonology and grammar, and the principles of comparative
grammar and syntax.

The German courses were designed for both graduates
and undergraduates. They began with elementary
grammar, reading, composition, and exercises; passed
on to a course that assured a broader view of the philological
and literary aspects of the language; and closed
with the study of the tongue on the historical side, an
examination of the masterpieces of German literature,
and the presentation of the salient characteristics of
German life. There were five special courses for graduates,
ranging from those in Middle High German, and
in epic and lyric poetry, to those in Old High German
and Gothic. In 1915–16, there were three German
courses for undergraduates: the first, which was for
beginners, treated of grammar and prose composition,
—with a particular stress on pronunciation
and simple conversational expression; the second was
confined to readings of prose texts illustrative of modern
German life and thought, and grammatical and conversational
exercises and composition; the third bore
upon the history of German literature,—with conversational
exercises and composition themes also.
There was a second general course for undergraduates
and graduates. In its first section, the instruction was
conducted in the German tongue. The subject of the
second section related to historical grammar,—with selected
readings from Goethe. The third general course
was designed for graduates, and seems to have been limited
to candidates for the degree of doctor of philosophy.

During the incumbency of Professor Harrison, the
chair of Teutonic languages was taught with unsurpassed
efficiency in the field of English philology, which, until
1908, remained associated with this chair. The breadth

and thoroughness of his knowledge of this province,
as well as of the romance of word and language history
was extraordinary. His attention was less engaged with
German as a living, spoken tongue. In the advanced
courses, fruitful instruction was given by him in etymology
and historical grammar; and extensive parallel
reading in classical German was required. He was especially
interested in the Germany of the Romanticists,
but less so in the various phases of more modern periods.
The method followed by Professor William H. Faulkner,
who succeeded him, was in harmony with the one which
had been adopted by Professor R. H. Wilson in the
conduct of the associated School of Romanic Languages.
The aim has been to impart a practical mastery of the
German tongue for scientific and literary study as well
as for enjoyment. Attention has also been given to the
interpretation of the economic, political, and literary
history of the second half of the nineteenth century
down to the year 1914. In the advanced courses, particular
emphasis is laid on the classical period of the
literature, and on lyric poetry, ballad poetry, and the
drama.

In the School of Romanic Languages, the subjects
taught were the Old French and the modern French,
Spanish, and Italian languages. To the Old French
and Italian respectively one course was assigned; to
Spanish two; and to modern French, three. The first
course in the latter province of instruction was elementary
enough for beginners. In 1907–08, the second
course treated of the subject of the novel, the drama,
and the lyrical poetry of the nineteenth century; the
history of French literature; and the character of the
subjunctive mood. The third course gave an interpretation
of modern French prose; dwelt upon the tendencies

of modern French fiction; and described the place
of France in civilization.

The first course in the Spanish tongue at this time
was also designed for beginners who wished to undertake
the study of the language either from a cultural
or a practical point of view. The second course touched
upon the characteristics of the drama and novel of
modern Spain; analyzed the verb; and offered exercises
in composition and dictation as a means of perfecting
knowledge of the language. In Italian, one course was
laid down which required no previous study of the
tongue. From elementary grammar, the pupil passed
to a series of graded texts, the mastery of which enabled
him to read the printed language. The works of Dante,
Petrarch and Boccaccio, among the earlier authors, and
the works of the most distinguished modern writers, were
examined in turn, and the history of Italian literature
inquired into.

By the session of 1912–13, some of the courses in the
School of Romanic Languages had been altered in several
particulars. It is not necessary to dwell on these
in detail. A new feature of importance, however, was
a course in South American literature, introduced prior
to the session of 1910–11. In this course, special attention
was directed to the study of conversational Spanish,
and to the character of the spelling and punctuation
employed in the countries of South America, together
with their colloquial and idiomatic constructions. A
course in the Portuguese language was added in 1911–12.
The object of these studies was to equip the student
for trade adventure in the Southern republics. Three
sessions afterwards (1914–15), Adjunct Professors
Bardin and Hundley delivered a series of lectures on
the general character of South America,—its physical

geography, native races, and the like. The history of
the conquest, the colonial epoch, and the revolutionary
era, were also included in this new course, with a full
account of the growth of commerce on that continent
and of the increase in its manufactures, and also with
a description of its existing universities.

Professor Richard H. Wilson, who had charge of
the school of Romanic Languages, laid his principal
stress on the practical command of these several tongues;
and by making eclectic use of all the modern methods
of teaching modern languages, inspired his pupils with
a keen interest in the living ones. Taking the present
as the starting point, he led them back to the past along
many profitable avenues. He, as well as his colleague,
Professor Faulkner, also favored the division of large
classes into small teaching sections. The establishment
of beginners' courses in both schools also constituted
an innovation. All these improvements were made
feasible by the increase in the number of instructors.