ARTICLE VI.

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.

LETTER FROM REV. B. SCHNEIDER, AINTAB, SYRIA, MARCH 26, 1862.

IN passing through Oorfa, supposed to be the ancient Ur of the Chaldees, we examined some excavations in the environs of the city. These were evidently tombs, and apparently family tombs. They are exceedingly numerous; the high rocks, surrounding the city to the west and south, being full of them. They all have the same general form and size, and are always in the side of a hill, and the excavation is made horizontally, so that by stooping a little at the entrance you can walk right into them. On your entrance you find a room some twelve or fifteen feet long and nearly as wide, and perhaps eight feet high; and at the right and left side and at the further end there are niches in the wall, just large enough to receive a full-grown human body. The generality of them have only these three receptacles for the dead, but occasionally there were side rooms, entered from the central one, of the same form and size, in each of which there were again three such niches or sarcophagi. In two or three there were images carved over these niches. In one it was the image of a Roman warrior, in a reclining position, with a female standing at his feet. Both figures were in a tolerably good state of preservation. In a second were two similar images, though not very distinct; and in a third, two angelic figures and one of an eagle. In a fourth there was an inscription over one of the niches, in rather large characters. A copy of it was once sent to Dr. Robinson by the Rev. Mr. White; but it could not be deciphered.

That these excavations were tombs, seems not only probable from their form, but is positively proved by our observations. One of them had been opened quite recently, and we found the remains of human bones still in the niches. We handled parts of the skull and other portions of the human frame, and found also small pieces of glass. These we conjectured to have been pieces of the tear bottles, often deposited with the dead in ancient times. I have seen a perfect one of these bottles, taken from a similar tomb on the banks of the Euphrates; and, again, in the island of Cyprus I once had some beautiful ones shown me, made from translucent marble.

One feature of these tombs interested us particularly. It was a semicircular groove outside of the entrance to the left, and of such a size as to receive a large round stone, which was evidently used to close the entrance. Whenever the tomb was to be opened, this stone was rolled to the left into this groove, especially made for its reception; and when it was closed again, it was rolled back before the entrance or door. At one of them, brought to view by removal of the earth only a few days before our examination, we found the stone actually standing before the entrance, so as to preclude our ingress. It was of the size and thickness of a common mill-stone, large and heavy, standing perpendicularly right in front.

These tombs are all expressly hewn out of solid limestone rock; and those recently opened appear as fresh as though the excavation had been made within quite a recent date.

Was not the tomb in which Christ was laid, in all probability, precisely like those here mentioned? In Matt. xxvii. 60, it is said: "He laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed." In Mark xvi. 3, 4, is is

said of the women who were on their way to the sepulchre : " And they said among themselves, 'Who shall roll us away the stone from the sepulchre'....... for it was very great." When we saw the size and weight of the stone above mentioned, we could not at all wonder that these females felt themselves unable to roll it away, being so large and heavy. Rolling seems a much more proper word than moving or raising; for the round stone, standing perpendicularly before the door, must be rolled away, and not lifted or moved, to secure an entrance. With tombs like those we saw, before our mind the whole account of the opening of a tomb out of a rock, and closing it by means of a large circular stone, and of the men's entering it (not going down into it), and of a “young man sitting at the right side,” is perfectly natural and consistent, and just what the circumstances require.

The only possible objection to the idea that Christ's tomb was like these, arises from the expression in Matt. xxviii. 2, where it is said the angel "rolled back the stone, and sat upon it." But the expression ékáŋto èñávw avtov may not necessarily imply that he sat down upon it, as we usually understand the phrase; but simply that the angel having rolled away the stone, took a position by the side of it, and leaned against it. The word àwoxUAIW is translated rolled back in Matthew; but it could not be rolled back unless it was a stone precisely of the kind we saw; but, considering it of that nature, no word could have expressed the act more truly, as is readily seen: it was rolled back into this semicircular groove, made expressly for it, and not rolled off from a grave beneath the surface of the ground.

In Birsdgik, on the Euphrates, and in many other parts of Mesopotamia through which we passed, we saw many of these tombs; and in all cases the form was the same. Many poor families of Koords and Arabs now actually occupy these abodes of the dead as habitations for themselves.

Another object of interest in Oorfa is what we supposed must be the site of the famous school of Edessa. The position is one very favorable and suitable for such an institution, and there is an abundant supply of flowing water. Some parts of the ancient wall are still to be seen, and some remains of marble pillars, scattered about, may have adorned some of the doors and entrances of the building. But the most prominent relic of the edifice is a tower, or steeple, which seems to have been the belfrey. It is square in its form, and the upper part is so constructed as to indicate, very plainly, that a bell was once suspended there, and poured forth its clear tones all over the city. It is now used as a minaret, from which the Turkish muezzin daily calls the followers of the false prophet to their prayers. But Mohamedans do not construct their minarets in that form; but finding it ready-made, they use it for this purpose.

ARTICLE VII.

RECENT GERMAN WORKS ON LIBERAL EDUCATION.

So we designate that whole class of books which discuss the subject of education in the gymnasia. Within a few years past the press has been unusually prolific in productions of this kind. Some of these attack the entire system of classical education, as no longer suited to our times; others defend it, and maintain that it needs no modification; but most of them take middle ground, contending for the study of the classics and, at the same time, for giving increased attention to the sciences. This last class falls into two subdivisions, the one giving more prominence to the study of antiquity than to modern science; the other combining the two in nearly equal proportions. Some of the writers, especially those who are inimical to the classics, are flippant and superficial; and, while they may influence the minds of the uneducated, produce no other effect upon the learned than to arouse them to the effort of making a more thorough refutation. The greater part of the advocates of reform, however, plead for scientific and practical study without proscribing the classics. A majority of all the writers urge the necessity of a reform, not so much by dropping the study of the classics, as by devoting less time to the study of mere words and the cultivation of style, and more to the study of the subjects and facts embodied in Greek and Roman literature. Of these numerous writers we shall notice none who hold extreme views, and only the best of those who occupy their several positions between the two extremes.

One of the most interesting features of all these works is their thoroughly religious and sober character. They are evidently written, not from motives of professional pride, nor as the result of learned leisure, but from motives of humanity, of patriotism, and of profound religious conviction. Twenty-five years ago the great body of the teachers in the gymnasia were of doubtful religious character. Some were avowedly sceptical. By far the greater portion were rationalists. Few went further than to adopt the moral precepts of the New Testament, with a part of its doctrines, and to teach the formulas of the creed, while they undermined all its peculiar doctrines. All this is changed. The most influential men in the gymnasia are now firm believers in Christianity, with its miraculous history and divinely inspired doctrines, and insist on an education that shall be, first Christian, then classical and historical, and finally, patriotic and, in the true sense of the word, practical.

We begin with the small work of Heiland, entitled The End and Aim of a Christian Gymnasium. The first discourse is on the Nature and

Die Aufgabe des evangelischen Gymnasiums nach ihren wesentlichen Seiten dargestellt in Schulreden von Dr. Karl Gustav Heiland, Weimar, 1860.

Objects of a Liberal Education, of which the following are some of the leading thoughts:

There was a time when there was no doubt as to what constituted the bone and sinew of education in the gymnasia. Resting upon the foundation laid by the venerable founders of our churches and schools, the structure of our German erudition rose to a proud eminence, whose apartments were occupied and adorned by philosophers and poets, scholars and artists. Ravished with the new light of classical antiquity, the German mind, sanctified by a Christian faith, entered upon a new career of intellectual and spiritual freedom, and achieved victory after victory in art and science. If the time has gone by in which a knowledge of the classics and education are supposed to mean the same thing; if no one now excludes all other means of culture; it nevertheless remains true, and it cannot be too often repeated in this utilitarian age, that classical studies form the groundwork of a liberal education. From the soil of antiquity spring all the sources of human culture which in a thousand rivulets flow through all the world. In the classical works of the Greeks and Romans are to be sought the grand outlines of literature and art, law and justice, and even morality. Those persons have very narrow views of things, who suppose that the ancient languages are dead, and that the men who spoke them have passed away. Does not experience teach us how soon the immortality of our great men ends, while the suns and stars of that ancient firmament continue to shine in unfading splendor? If we ask our leaders in science and art to what models they look, what examples they follow, from whom they learn nice discrimination, clearness, and order, transparency and beauty of representation, they will uncover their heads, and point you to Thucydides and Tacitus, Plato and Aristotle, Demosthenes and Cicero. Our great poets are not a little indebted to the ancients for their classical elegance. Think of Goethe, that stately tree in the forest of German poets, which taking its root in its native soil spreads its crown of rich foliage out towards Greece. Into that classic home, a sound education will ever strive to lead the youth of our gymnasia, to prepare them for future greatness in literature and artWhile modern authors, by the fulness of their knowledge, and the abstract and scientific arrangement of their materials, are removed from the sphere of thought familiar to juvenile minds, the ancients, by the directness, naturalness, and simplicity of their thoughts, find easy access to such. By the clearness of their ideas, the sincerity of their feelings, the strength of their will, by the symmetry, dignity, and transparency of their language, they have in all ages seized and captivated the hearts of the young.

What the ancients have written on law and justice, on freedom and the love of country, comes not from the speculations of the closet, nor from immature thought, but is the result of varied observation and experience in the forum and in the camp. Hence the clearness of their conceptions, the sobriety of their views, and the soundness of their judgments and feelings. This fresh vitality breathes upon us like the spirit of health, and contrasts strikingly with the sickliness of modern speculations. By the deeds of their

more public life, which were inspired by patriotic sentiment and political integrity, they furnish, for all times, models of political wisdom, patriotism, and civic virtues. To this day the young learn from them obedience to the laws, respect for rulers, the love of country, simplicity and temperance in private life, and modesty and propriety in public life.

Little need be said in regard to the other studies complemental to these. No one questions the value of history, in which the young should learn in what way God educates the human race. That the classical productions of our own literature should be studied, is conceded by all. The importance of the study of mathematics and of the sciences is nowhere denied, though most persons value them for their utilitarian character, rather than for the discipline they give to the mind. The object of a gymnasium is not so much to impart useful knowledge, as to form the character and train the mind. The gymnasium is a school for exercising the mental faculties, so that the pupil may acquire the power of mastering all knowledge, and of fitting himself for any profession. Its motto is not discere, but discere disce. Not varied knowledge, but intellectual vigor, capable of acting in any direction, is its object. In the acquisition of the former the mind may be comparatively passive, or merely receptive, and is in danger of forming habits of superficiality and of coming to hasty conclusions.

The second discourse is on the Formation of the Character, as a chief aim of a liberal education. Antiquity and Christianity are the chief pillars of modern culture. There is no literary culture for us without Greece and Rome; and no education without Christianity, if by education is meant something more than mental development; if it means the subduing of the will, the humbling of human pride, and the regeneration of the soul. On this foundation of "the languages and the gospel," as Luther expresses it, our gymnasia have stood the test of centuries. It is unnatural to put those two in opposition to each other. If an Augustine did not scruple to adorn his "City of God" with ornaments drawn from the ancient poets, historians, and orators; if he found something almost Christian in Plato; if he confesses that by reading Cicero he was led to search for divine truth; if Luther believed that ancient literature was revived for the sake of the gospel, and that the latter could not be maintained in its purity without the former then the fear sometimes entertained that the study of the classics will prove dangerous to Christianity may safely be dismissed as groundless. The earnest religious character of the German mind, its reverence for the Sacred scriptures, long ago put classical studies in their right place in a system of education. As our fathers drank in the spirit of the apostles more than others, so, by their natural aptitude to imbibe all foreign elements of culture, have their descendants appropriated, with singular success, the spirit of ancient literature. In these two elements, classical antiquity and Christianity, are found the sources, so far as culture goes, of all our intellectual greatness. It is from them that the nourishment of our gymnasia is now mainly derived. From these schools have sprung those VOL. XIX. No. 76.

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