The foundations of all true learning must be laid in the sound and thorough knowledge of Latin: which  implies study marked by a broad spirit, accurate scholarship, and careful attention to details. Unless this solid basis be secured it is useless to attempt to rear an enduring ediface. Without it the great monuments of literature are unintelligible, and the art of composition impossible…. But the wider question now confronts us, that of the subject matter of our studies….First among such studies I place History: a subject which must not on any account be neglected by one who aspires to true cultivation….For the careful study of the past enlarges our foresight in contemporary affairs and affords to citizens and to monarchs lessons in th eordering of public policy. From History, also, we draw our store of examples of moral precepts.