FOREWORD:

IN a former book, called Lord of the World, I attempted to sketch the kind of developments a hundred years hence which, I thought, might reasonably be expected if the present lines of what is called "modern thought" were only prolonged far enough; and I was informed repeatedly that the effect of the book was exceedingly depressing and discouraging to optimistic Christians. In the present book I am attempting - also in parable form - not in the least to withdraw anything that I said in the former, but to follow up the other lines instead, and to sketch - again in parable - the kind of developments about sixty years hence which, I think, may reasonably be expected should the opposite process begin, and ancient thought (which has stood the test of centuries, and is, in a very remarkable manner, being " rediscovered " by persons even more modern than modernists) be prolonged instead. We are told occasionally by moralists that we live in very critical times, by which they mean that they are not sure whether their own side will win or not. In that sense no times can ever be critical to Catholics, since Catholics are never in any kind of doubt as to whether or not their side will win. But from another point of view, every period is a critical period, since every period has within itself the conflict of two irreconcilable forces. It has been for the sake of tracing out the kind of effect that, it seemed to me, each side would experience in turn, should the other, at any rate for a while, become dominant, that I have written these two books.

Finally, if I may be allowed, I should wish to draw attention to my endeavours to treat of the subject of " religious persecution," since I strongly believe that in some such theory is to be found the explanation for such phenomena as those of Mary Tudor's reign in England, and of the Spanish Inquisition. In practically every such case, I think, it was the State and not the Church which was responsible for so unhappy a policy; and that the policy was directed not against unorthodoxy, as such, but against an unorthodoxy which, under the circumstances of those days, was thought to threaten the civil stability of society in general, and which was punished as amounting to treasonable, rather than to heretical, opinions.

ROBERT HUGH BENSON . ROME, Lent, 1911.

INTRODUCTION

On his deathbed, an apostate priest slips into a coma and is given the grace to see the world in a different light. Through this revelation, he discovers the abundant errors in Modernism - the very errors that had led him from the Catholic Faith.

In this novel, Msgr. Robert Hugh Benson gives us a stunning blueprint for the Social Kingship of Christ. With this blueprint, let us then prayfor the knowledge, strength and courage to see that this heavenly plan is fulfilled.

St. Pius X, Pray for Us

PROLOGUE

GRADUALLY memory and consciousness once more reasserted themselves, and he became aware that he was lying in bed. But this was a slow process of intense mental effort, and was as laboriously and logically built up of premisses and deductions as were his theological theses learned twenty years before in his seminary .There was the sheet below his chin; there was a red coverlet (seen at first as a blood-coloured landscape of hills and valleys) ; there was a ceiling overhead, at first as remote as the vault of heaven.

Then, little by little, the confused roaring in his ears sank to a murmur. It had been just now as the sound of brazen hammers clanging in reverberating caves, the rolling of wheels, the tramp of countless myriads of men. But it had become now a soothing murmur, not unlike the coming in of a tide at the foot of high cliff - just one gentle continuous note, overlaid with light shrill sounds. This too required long argument and reasoning before any conclusion could be reached; but it was attained at last, and he became certain that he lay somewhere within sound of busy streets. Then rashly he leapt to the belief that he must be in his own lodgings in Bloomsbury ; but another long slow start upwards showed him that the white ceiling was too far away.

The effort of thought seemed too much for him. it gave him a sense of inexplicable discomfort. He determined to think no more, for fear that the noise should revert again to the crash of hammers in his hollow head ...

He was next conscious of a pressure on his lip, and a kind of shadow of a taste of something. But it was no more than a shadow: it was as if he were watching some one else drink and perceiving some one else to swallow. ...Then with a rush the ceiling came back into view: he was aware that he was lying in bed under a red coverlet; that the room was large and airy about him; and that two persons, a doctor in white and a nurse, were watching him. He rested in that knowledge for a long time, watching memory reassert itself. Detail after detail sprang into view: farther and farther back into his experience; far down into the childhood he had forgotten. He remembered now who he was, his story, his friends, his life up to a certain blank day or set of days, between him and which there was nothing. Then he saw the faces again, and it occurred to him, with a flash as of illumination, to ask. So he began to ask; and he considered carefully each answer, turning it over and reflecting upon it with what seemed to him an amazing degree of concentration.

" ...So I am in Westminster Hospital," he considered. " That is extraordinarily interesting and affecting. I have often seen the outside of it. It is of discoloured brick. And I have been here. ..how long ? how long, did they say ? ...Oh! that is a long time. Five days! And what in the world can have happened to my work ? They will be looking out for me in the Museum. How can Dr. Waterman's history get on without me ? I must see about that at once. He'll understand that it's not my fault. ...

" What's that ? I mustn't trouble myself about that ? But - Oh ! Dr. Waterman has been here, has he ? That's very kind - very kind and thoughtful indeed. And I'm to take my time, am I ? Very well. Please thank Dr. Waterman for his kindness and his thoughtfulness in enquiring. ...And tell him I'll be with him again in a day or two at any rate. ...Oh! tell him that he'll find the references to the thirteenth-century Popes in the black notebook - the thick one - on the right of the fire-place. They're all verified. Thank you. Thank you very much. ...And. ..and. ..by the way. .. just tell him I'm not sure yet about the Piccolomini matter. ...What's that ? I'm not to trouble myself ? , ..But. ..Oh! very well. Thank you. ...Thank you very much."

There followed a long pause. He was thinking still very hard about the thirteenth-century Popes. It was really very tiresome that he could not explain to Dr. Waterman himself. He was certain that some of the pages in the thick black notebook were loose; and how terrible it would be if the book were taken out carelessly, and some of the pages fell into the fire. They easily might! And then there'd be all the work to do again. ...And that would mean weeks and weeks. ...

Then there came a grave, quiet voice of a woman speaking in his ear; but for a long time he could not understand. He wished it would let him alone. He wanted to think about the Popes. He tried nodding and murmuring a general sort of assent, as if he wished to go to sleep; but it was useless: the voice went on and on. And then suddenly he understood, and a kind of fury seized him.

How did they know he had once been a priest ? Spying and badgering, as usual ! ...No: he did not want a priest sent for. He was not a priest any more; not even a Catholic. It was all lies - lies from the beginning to the end - all that they had taught him in the seminary. It was all lies ! There! Was that plain enoug h? Why would not the voice be quiet ? ...He was in great danger, was he ? He would be unconscious again soon, would he ? Well, he didn't know what they meant by that; but what had it to do with him? No, he did not want a priest. Was that clear enough ? ... He was perfectly clear-headed; he knew what he was saying. ...Yes; even if he were in great danger. .. even if he were practically certain to die. (That, by the way, was impossible; because he had to finish the notes for Dr. Waterman's new History of the Popes ; and it would take months.) Anyhow, he didn't want.a priest. He knew all about that: he had faced it all, and he wasn't afraid. Science had knocked all that religious nonsense on the head. There wasn't any religion. All religions were the same.There wasn't any truth in any of them. Physical science had settled one half of the matter, and psychology the other half. It was all accounted for. So he didn't want a priest anyhow. Damn priests! There! would they let him alone after that ? ...

And now as to the Piccolomini affair. It was certain that when Aeneas was first raised to the Sacred College. ...

Why. ..what was happening to the ceiling ? How could he attend to Aeneas while the ceiling behaved like that ? He had no idea that ceilings in the Westminster Hospital could go up like lifts. How very ingenious! It must be to give him more air. Certainly he wanted more air. ...The walls too. ...Ought not they also to revolve ? They could change the whole air in the room in a moment. What an extra- ordinarily ingenious. ..Ah! and he wanted it. ... He wanted more air. ...Why don't these doctors know their business better ? ...What was the good of catching hold of him like that ? ...He wanted air ...more air. ..He must get to the window! ...

CHAPTER I

THE first objects of which he became aware were his own hands clasped on his lap before him, and the cloth cuffs from which they emerged; and it was these latter that puzzled him. So engrossed was he that at first he could not pay attention to the strange sounds in the air about him; for these cuffs, though black, were marked at their upper edges with a purple - red line such as prelates wear. He mechanically turned the backs of his hands upwards; but there was no ring on his finger. Then he lifted his eyes and looked.

He was seated on some kind of raised chair beneath a canopy. A carpet ran down over a couple of steps beneath his feet, and beyond stood the backs of a company of ecclesiastics -- secular priests in cotta, cassock and biretta, with three or four bare-footed Franciscans and a couple of Benedictines. Ten yards away there rose a temporary pulpit with a back and a sounding- board beneath the open sky; and in it was the tall figure of a young friar, preaching, it seemed, with extra- ordinary fervour. Around the pulpit, beyond it, and on all sides to an immense distance, so far as he could see, stretched the heads of an incalculable multitude, dead silent, and beyond them again trees, green against a blue summer sky.

He looked on all this, but it meant nothing to him. It fitted on nowhere with his experience; he knew neither where he was, nor at what he was assisting, nor who these people were, nor who the friar was, nor who he was himself. He simply looked at his surroundings, then back at his hands and down his figure.

He gained no knowledge there, for he was dressed as he had never been dressed before. His caped cassock was black, with purple buttons and a purple cincture. He noticed that his shoes shone with gold buckles ; he glanced at his breast, but no cross hung there. He took off his biretta, nervously, lest some one should notice, and perceived that it was black with a purple tassel. He was dressed then, it seemed, in the costume of a Domestic Prelate. He put on his biretta again.

Then he closed his eyes and tried to think; but he could remember nothing. There was, it seemed, no continuity anywhere. But it suddenly struck him that if he knew that he was a Domestic Prelate, and if he could recognize a Franciscan, he must have seen those phenomena before. Where ? When ?

Little pictures began to form before him as a result of his intense mental effort, but they were far away and minute, like figures seen through the wrong end of a telescope; and they afforded no explanation. But, as he bent his whole mind upon it, he remembered that he had been a priest-he had distinct memories of saying mass. But he could not remember where or when; he could not even remember his own name.

This last horror struck him alert again. He did not know who he was. He opened his eyes widely, terrified, and caught the eye of an old priest in cotta and cassock who was looking back at him over his shoulder. Something in the frightened face must have disturbed the old man, for he detached himself from the group and came up the two steps to his side.

What is it, Monsignor ? " he whispered- I am ill. ..I am ill ...father," he stammered. The priest looked at him doubtfully for an instant - "Can you. ..can you hold out for a little ? The sermon must be nearly-"

Then the other recovered. He understood that at whatever cost he must not attract attention. He nodded sharply.

" Yes, I can hold out, father; if he isn't too long. But you must take me home afterwards."

The priest still looked at him doubtfully. " Go back to your place, father. I'm all right. Don't attract attention. Only come to me afterwards."

The priest went back, but he still glanced at him once or twice. Then the man who did not know himself set his teeth and resolved to remember. The thing was too absurd. He said to himself he would begin by identifying where he was. If he knew so much as to his own position and the dresses of those priests, his memory could not be wholly gone.

In front of him and to the right there were trees, beyond the heads of the crowd. There was something vaguely familiar to him about the arrangement of these, but not enough to tell him anything. He craned forward and stared as far to the right as he could. There were more trees. Then to the left; and here, for the first time, he caught sight of buildings. But these seemed very odd buildings-neither houses nor arches - but something between the two. They were of the nature of an elaborate gateway.

And then in a flash he recognized where he was. He was sitting, under this canopy, just to the right as one enters through Hyde Park Corner; these trees were the trees of the Park; that open space in front was the beginning of Rotten Row; and Something Lane -- Park Lane - (that was it !) - was behind him.

Impressions and questions crowded upon him quickly now - yet in none of them was there a hint as to how he got here, nor who he was, nor what in the world was going on. This friar! What was he doing, preaching in Hyde Park ? It was ridiculous - ridiculous and very dangerous. It would cause trouble. ...

He leaned forward to listen, as the friar with a wide gesture swept his hand round the horizon.

"Brethren," he cried, "Look round you! Fifty years ago this was a Protestant country, and the Church of God a sect among the sects. And to-day - to-day God is vindicated and the truth is known. Fifty years ago we were but a handful among the thousands that knew not God, and to-day we rule the world. 'Son of man, can these dry bones live?' So cried the voice of God to the prophet. And behold! they stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. If then He has done such things for us, what shall He not do for those for whom I speak ? Yet He works through man. 'How shall they hear without a preacher?' Do you see to it then that there are not wanting labourers in that vineyard of which you have heard. Already the grapes hang ready to pluck, and it is but we that are wanting. ...Send forth then labourers into My vineyard, cries the Lord of all."

The words were ill-chosen and commonplace enough, and uttered in an accent indefinably strange to the bewildered listener, but the force of the man was tremendous, as he sent out his personality over the enormous crowd, on that high vibrant voice that controlled, it seemed, even those on the outskirts far up the roads on either side. Then with a swift sign of the cross, answered generally by those about the pulpit, he ended his sermon and disappeared down the steps, and a great murmur of talk began.

But what in the world was it all about, wondered the man under the canopy. What was this vineyard ? and why did he appeal to English people in such words as these ? Every one knew that the Catholic Church was but a handful still in this country .Certainly, progress had been made, but. ..

He broke off his meditations as he saw the group of ecclesiastics coming towards him, and noticed that on all sides the crowd was beginning to disperse. He gripped the arms of the chair fiercely, trying to gain self- command. He must not make a fool of himself before all these people; he must be discreet and say as little as possible.

But there was no great need for caution at present. The old priest who had spoken to him before stepped a little in advance of the rest, and turning, said in a low sentence or two to the Benedictines; and the group stopped, though one or two still eyed, it seemed, with sympathy, the man who awaited him. Then the priest came up alone and put his hand on the arm of the chair . "Come out this way," he whispered. "There's a path behind, Monsignor, and I've sent orders for the car to be there."

The man rose obediently (he could do nothing else), passed down the steps and behind the canopy. A couple of police stood there in an unfamiliar, but unmistakable uniform, and these drew themselves up and saluted. They went on down the little pathway and out through a side-gate. Here again the crowd was tremendous, but barriers kept them away, and the two passed on together across the pavement, saluted by half a dozen men who were pressed against the barriers - (it was here, for the first time, that the bewildered man noticed that the dresses seemed altogether unfamiliar) - and up to a car of a peculiar and unknown shape, that waited in the roadway, with a bare-headed servant, in some strange purple livery , holding the door open.

" After you, Monsignor," said the old priest.

The other stepped in and sat down. The priest hesitated for an instant, and then leaned forward into the car .

" You have an appointment in Dean's Yard, Monsignor, you remember. It's important, you know. Are you too ill? "

" I can't. ...I can't. ..." stammered the man.

" Well, at least, we can go round that way. I think we ought, you know. I can go in and see him for you, if you wish; and we can at any rate leave the papers."

" Anything, anything. ...Very well."

The priest got in instantly; the door closed; and the next moment, through crowds, held back by the police, the great car, with no driver visible in front through the clear-glass windows, moved off southward.

II

It was a moment before either spoke. The old priest broke the silence. He was a gentle-faced old man, not unlike a very shrewd and wide-awake dormouse; and his white hair stood out in amass beneath his biretta. But the words he used were unintelligible, though not altogether. unfamiliar .

" I. ..I don't understand, father," stammered the man.

The priest looked at him sharply.

" I was saying," he said slowly and distinctly, " I was saying that you looked very well, and I was asking you what was the matter."

The other was silent a moment. How to explain the thing! ...Then he determined on making a clean breast of it. This old man looked kindly and discreet-

" I. ..I think it's a lapse of memory," he said.

"I've heard of such things. I... don't know where I am nor what I'm doing. Are you.. ..are you sure you're not making a mistake ? Have I got any right-? "

The priest looked at him as if puzzled.

" I don't quite understand, Monsignor. What can't you remember ? "

" I can't remember anything," wailed the man, suddenly broken down. " Nothing at all. Not who I am, nor where I'm going, or where I come from. ...What am I? Who am I ? Father, for God's sake tell me."

" Monsignor, be quiet, please. You mustn't give way. Surely---,"
" I tell you I can remember nothing. ...It's all gone. I don't know who you are. I don't know what day it is, or what year it is, or anything--" He felt a hand on his arm, and his eyes met a look of a very peculiar power and concentration. He sank back into his seat strangely quieted and soothed. " Now , Monsignor, listen to me. You know who I am "-(he broke off). " I'm Father ]ervis. I know about these things. I've been through the psychological schools. You'll be all right presently, I hope. But you must be perfectly quiet--" " Tell me who I am," stammered the man. " Listen then. You are Monsignor Masterman, secretary to the Cardinal. You are going back to Westminster now, in your own car. "
" What's been going on ? What was all that crowd about ? " Still the eyes were on him, compelling and penetrating.
" You have been presiding at the usual midday Saturday sermon in Hyde Park, on behalf of the Missions to the East. Do you remember now ? No! Well, it doesn't matter in the least. That was Father Anthony who was preaching. He was a little nervous, you noticed. It was his first sermon in Hyde Park."

" I saw he was a friar," murmured the other.

" Oh! you recognized his habit then ? There, you see; your memory's not really gone. And. ..and what's the answer to Dominus vobiscum ? " " Et cum Spiritu tuo."

The priest smiled, and the pressure on the man's arm relaxed.

" That's excellent. It's only a partial obscurity. Why didn't you understand me when I spoke to you in Latin then ? "

" That was Latin ? I thought so. But you spoke too fast; and I'm not accustomed to speak it."

The old man looked at him with grave humour .

" Not accustomed to speak it, Monsignor! Why-" (He broke off again.) " Look out of the window, please. Where are we ? "

The other looked out. (He felt greatly elated and comforted. It was quite true; his memory was not altogether gone then. Surely he would soon be well again !) Out of the windows in front, but seeming to wheel swiftly to the left as the car whisked round to the right, was the Victoria Tower. He noticed that the hour pointed to five minutes before one.

"Those are the Houses of Parliament," he said. "And what's that tall pillar in the middle of Parliament Square ? "

" That's the image of the Immaculate Conception. But what did you call those buildings just now ? "

" Houses of Parliament, aren't they ?" faltered the man, terrified that his brain was really going.

" Why do you call them that ? "

"It is their name, isn't it ? "

"It used to be; but it isn't the usual name now."

" Good God! Father, am I mad ? Tell me. What year is it ? "

The eyes looked again into his.

" Monsignor, think. Think hard."

" I don't know. ...I don't know. ...Oh, for God's sake!..." " Quietly then. ...It's the year nineteen hundred and seventy-three."

" It can't be; it can't be," gasped the other. " Why, I remember the beginning of the century ."

" Monsignor, attend to me, please. ...That's better. It's the year nineteen hundred and seventy-three. You were born in the year - in the year nineteen hundred and thirty-two. You are just forty years old. You are secretary and chaplain to the Cardinal - Cardinal Bellairs. Before that you were Rector of St. Mary's in the West. ...Do you remember now ? "

" I remember nothing."

" You remember your ordination ? "

" No. Once I remember saying Mass somewhere. I don't know where."

" Stay, we're just there." (The car wheeled in swiftly under an archway, whisked to the left, and drew up before the cloister door.) " Now, Monsignor, I'm going in to see the Prior myself and give him the papers. You have them ? "

" I. ..I don't know."

The priest dived forward and extracted a small despatch-box from some unseen receptacle.

" Your keys, please, Monsignor."

The other felt wildly about his person. He saw the steady eyes of the old priest upon him.

" You keep them in your left-hand breast pocket," said the priest slowly and distinctly.

The man felt there, fetched out a bundle of thin, flat keys, and handed them over helplessly. While the priest turned them over, examining each, the other stared hopelessly out of the window, past the motionless servant in purple who waited with his hand on the car-door. Surely he knew this place. ...Yes ; it was Dean's Yard. And this was the entrance to the cloister of the Abbey. But who was " the Prior," and what was it all about ?

He turned to the other, who by now was bending over the box and extracting a few papers laid neatly at the top.

" What are you doing, father ? Who are you going to see ? "

" I am going to take these papers of yours to the Prior-the Prior of Westminster. The Abbot isn't here yet. Only a few of the monks have come."

" Monks! Prior! ...Father!"

The old man looked him in the eyes again-

" Yes," he said quietly. " The Abbey was made over again to the Benedictines last year, but they haven't yet formally taken possession. And these papers concern business connected with the whole affair - the relations of seculars and regulars. I'll tell you afterwards. I must go in now, and you must just remain here quietly. Tell me again. What is your name ? Who are you ? "

" I. ..I am Monsignor Masterman ...secretary to Cardinal Bellairs."

The priest smiled as he laid his hand on the door .

"Quite right," he said. " Now please sit here quietly, Monsignor, till I come back."

III

He sat in perfect silence, waiting, leaning back in his corner with closed eyes, compelling himself to keep his composure.

It was, at any rate, good luck that he had fallen in With such a friend as this - Father Jervis, was it not ? - who knew all about him, and, obviously, could be trusted to be discreet. He must just attend to his instructions quietly then, and do what he was told. No doubt things would come back soon. But how very curious this all was about Hyde Park and Westminster. He could have sworn that England was a Protestant country, and the Church just a tiny fragment of its population. Why, it was only recently that Westminster Cathedral was built - was it not ? But then this was the year seventy-three ...and. ..and he could not remember in what year the Cathedral was built. Then again the horror and bewilderment seized him. He gripped his knees with his hands in an agony of consternation. He would go mad if he could not remember. Or at least- Ah! here was Father Jervis coming back again.

The two sat quite silent again for a moment, as the car moved off.

" Tell me," said the priest suddenly, "don't you remember faces, or people's names ? "

The other concentrated his mind fiercely for a moment or two.

"I remember some faces-yes," he said. " And I remember some names. But I cannot remember which faces belong to which names. ...I remember. ..I remember the name Archbishop Bourne; and. ..and a priest called Farquharson-"

"What have you been reading lately ? ...Ah I forgot. Well; but can't you remember the Cardinal ...Cardinal Bellairs ? "

" I've never heard of him."

" Nor what he looks like ? "

" I haven't a notion."

The priest again was silent.

" Look here, Monsignor," he said suddenly, " I'd better take you straight up to your rooms as soon as we arrive; and I'll have a notice put up on your confessional that you are unable to attend there to-day. You'll have the whole afternoon - after four at least - to yourself, and the rest of the evening. We needn't tell a soul until we're certain that it can't be helped, not even the Cardinal. But I'm afraid you'll have to preside at lunch to-day."

" Eh? "

" Mr. Manners is coming, you know, to consult with the Cardinal ; and I think if you weren't there to entertain him---"

Monsignor nodded sharply, with compressed lips-

" I understand. But just tell me who Mr. Manners is ? "

The priest answered without any sign of discomposure.

" He's a member of the Government. He's the great Political Economist. And he's coming to consult with the Cardinal about certain measures that affect the Church. Do you remember now ? "

The other shook his head.

" No."

" Well, just talk to him vaguely. I'll sit opposite and take care that you don't make any mistakes. Just talk to him generally. Talk about the sermon in Hyde Park, and the Abbey. He won't expect you to talk politics publicly."

" I'll try."

The car drew up as the conversation ended; and the man who had lost his memory glanced out. To his intense relief, he recognized where he was. It was the door of Archbishop's House, in Ambrosden Avenue ; and beyond he perceived the long northern side of the Cathedral.

" I know this," he said.

" Of course you do, my dear Monsignor," said the priest reassuringly. " Now follow me: bow to anyone who salutes you; but don't speak a word."

They passed in together through the door, past a couple of liveried servants who held it open, up the staircase and beyond up the further flight. The old priest drew out a key and unlocked the door before them; and together they turned to the left up the corridor, and passed into a large, pleasant room looking out on to the street, with a further door communicating, it seemed, with a bedroom beyond. Fortunately they had met no one on the way.

" Here we are," said Father Jervis cheerfully. " Now, Monsignor, do you know where you are ? "

The other shook his head dolorously.

" Come, come; this is your own room. Look at your writing-table, Monsignor; where you sit every day ."

The other looked at it eagerly and yet vaguely. A half-written letter, certainly in his own handwriting, lay there on the blotting-pad, but the name of his correspondent meant nothing to him; nor did the few words which he read. He looked round the room - at the bookcases, the curtains, the prie-dieu ...And again terror seized him.

" I know nothing, father. ..nothing at all. It's all new! For God's sake! ..."

" Quietly then, Monsignor. It's all perfectly right. ... Now I'm going to leave you for ten minutes, to arrange about the places at lunch. You'd better lock your door and admit no one. Just look round the rooms when I'm gone - Ah ! "

Father Jervis broke off suddenly and darted at an arm-chair, where a book lay face downwards on the seat. He snatched up the book, glanced at the pages, looked at the title, and laughed aloud.

" I knew it," he said; " I was certain of it. You've got hold of Manners' History. Look! you're at the very page."

He held it up for the other to see. Monsignor looked at it, still only half comprehending, and just noticing that the paper had a peculiar look, and saw that the running dates at the top of the pages contained the years 1904-1912. The priest shook the book in gentle triumph. A sheet of paper fell out of it, which he picked up and glanced at. Then he laughed again- " See," he said, " you've been making notes of the very period-no doubt in order to be able to talk to Manners. That's the time he knows more about than any living soul. He calls it the ' crest of the wave,' you know. Everything dated from then, in his opinion."

"I don't understand a word--"

" See here, Monsignor," interrupted the priest in mild glee, " here's a subject to talk about at lunch. Just get Manners on to it, and you'll have no trouble. He loves lecturing; and he talks just like a history-book. Tell him you've been reading his History and want a bird's- eye view."

Monsignor started.

"Why, yes," he said, " and that'll tell me the facts, too."

" Excellent. Now, Monsignor, I must go. Just look round the rooms well, and get to know where things are kept. I'll be back in ten minutes, and we'll have a good talk before lunch as to all who'll be there. It'll all go perfectly smoothly, I promise you."

IV

When the door closed Monsignor Masterman looked round him slowly and carefully. He had an idea that the mist must break sooner or later and that all would become familiar once again. It was perfectly plain, by now, to his mind, what had happened to him; and the fact that there were certain things which he recognized, such as the Cathedral, and Hyde Park, and a friar's habit, and Archbishop's House - all this helped him to keep his head. If he remembered so much, there seemed no intrinsic reason why he should not remember more.

But his inspection was disappointing. Not only was there not one article in the room which he knew, but he did not even understand the use of some of the things which he saw. There was a row of what looked like small black boxes fastened to the right-hand wall, about the height of a man's head; and there was some kind of a machine, all wheels and handles, in the corner by the nearer window, which was completely mysterious to him.

He glanced through into the bedroom, and this was not much better. Certainly there was a bed ; there was no mistake about that; and there seemed to be wardrobes sunk to the level of the walls on all sides ; but although in this room he thought he recognized the use of everything which he saw, there was no single thing that wore a familiar aspect.

He came back to his writing-table and sat down before it in despair. But that did not reassure him. He took out one or two of the books that stood there in a row - directories and address-books they appeared chiefly to be - and found his name written in each, with here and there a note or a correction, all in his own handwriting. He took up the half-written letter again and glanced through it once more, but it brought no relief. He could not even conjecture how the interrupted sentence on the third page ought to end.

Again and again he tried to tear up from his inner consciousness something which be could remember, closing his eyes and sinking his head upon his hands, but nothing except fragments and glimpses of vision rose before him. It was now a face or a scene to which he could give no name; now a sentence or a thought that owned no context. There was no frame at all - no unified scheme in which these fragments found cohesion. It was like regarding the pieces of a shattered jar whose shape even could not be conjectured. ...

Then a sudden thought struck him; he sprang up quickly and ran into his bedroom. A tall mirror, he remembered, hung between the windows. He ran straight up to this and stood staring at his own reflection. It was himself that he saw there - there was no doubt of that - every line and feature of that keen, pale, professorial-looking face was familiar, though it seemed to him that his hair was a little greyer than it ought to be.

Introduction

Designing Your Own K-12 Classical Curriculum

WHEN I BEGAN homeschooling fourteen years ago, I read many "how to" books and articles. One of the articles was "The Lost Tools of Learning", by Dorothy Sayers. It was very impressive. The most impressive of the many things Miss Sayers said was that the goal of education should be to teach children how to think; we want them to learn the art of learning. Then they will be equipped for life; whether or not they learn all the subjects possible in school, they will be able to learn any subject when it becomes necessary or desirable, if they know how to learn.

In fact, she goes on to say, learning subjects in school is of very secondary importance. What matters is the method of learning. Miss Sayers then directs our attention to the Trivium and Quadrivium of a classical education.

When I read this, I agreed immediately and wholeheartedly with what she said about learning the art of learning. But I was not clear enough about teaching or the development of children to understand how the method of the Trivium should fit into my curriculum. I set aside, you might say "lost", the "Lost Tools ofLeaming" and proceeded to experiment on my six children, particularly my oldest child, and the children of some (rash) friends and neighbors. You will be relieved to know that my three oldest children, at any rate, have survived. Two of them are presently attending Thomas Aquinas College, where my eldest daughter graduated this spring!

My experiments were surprisingly fruitful. I began to write various grade-level curricula and share them with friends. Eventually I was asked to give conference talks to help others design their own curricula. While preparing for those talks, I reread "The Lost Tools of Learning" and discovered that the particular advice of Miss Sayers with respect to the Trivium of the classical curriculum was exactly what I had stumbled on by trial and error! What she suggests from an understanding of medieval education I came to by using what worked. In this book I hope to introduce you to a method that will help you construct your own classical curriculum, a curriculum that will teach your children how to think and not just accumulate facts. It will not be something you accomplish all at once, but this method will guide you in incorporating different skills and courses at appropriate ages. The method first involves thinking clearly and in some detail about what you want to achieve in the education of your children.

The first step in constructing your curriculum is to do some background reading. There are a number of books available that will help you clarify what you want to achieve educationally in your homeschool. "The Lost Tools of Learning" should certainly be read. For the Children's Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, is very good. I recommend it highly to all parents, not only to homeschoolers. It presents a view of what education is and how to achieve it in away that will encourage lifelong learning. Homeschooling lor Excellence, by Micki and David Colfax, gives you a good look at a successful homeschool family and much valuable advice. Raymond Moore's books remind one that in some cases late is better than early, and Marva Collins' book Marva Collins' Way tells of her experiences teaching children; it also gives great lists of materials that she thinks work well. Catholic Education: Homeward Bound, by Kimberly Hahn and Mary Hasson, and Catholic Homeschooling, by Mary Kay Clark, are specifically Catholic books on homeschooling in general. All of these books are useful, not only for general information, but also because they give some knowledge of methods and list materials that have been found to work with children.

The second step is to acquire lists of other people's curricula. I recommend the curriculum lists of Seton Home Study, Our Lady of the Rosary, Kolbe Academy, Calvert Correspondence Course, and your own state's general requirements. Designing your own curriculum involves seeing what other people have used successfully.

Once you have acquired all this information, you will need to reduce it from a potential to an actual curriculum. This is where you use the background reading you have done. Think about the cause of causes, the end. Ask yourself; "What do I want for my children? What do I want them to achieve academically? Where are their interests? And what are their capabilities?"

This is the heart of designing your own curriculum, classical or otherwise. You need to be explicit about the ends you want to achieve. I would like to tell you about my own goals so that you can see an example of ow defining those goals will direct your choice of curriculum, giving you a plan to be implemented over the course of a number of years. Perhaps some of my reflections will also help you in more particular ways, by suggesting materials or methods that will be useful to you in designing the curriculum that fits your particular homeschooling situation.

While I was designing my curriculum I knew that I wanted ultimately what we all want, the eternal salvation of my children. Academically I wanted a truly Catholic intellectual formation. I hoped to instill a lifelong love of learning and to give my children the tools to pursue that learning.

More proximately, I wanted my children to be able to go to an academically excellent Catholic college and do well there. The ultimate end would more likely be achieved this way. Further, I was concerned that they receive a classical education at college, one that would incorporate the seven liberal arts and the disciplines to which they are ordered, philosophy and theology .This kind of education is discussed in the essay by Dorothy Sayers that I mentioned earlier, "The Lost Tools of Learning".

There was a time when the excellence of liberal arts education was generally recognized; it was the education every informed person in ti Western civilization received. Even now in homeschooling circles such an education is usually aimed for, sometimes under the title of liberal arts and sometimes not. Whatever it is called, what is desired is that each child be formed well in all the most important intellectual areas. Most of us want our children to study mathematics and English, science and religion, whatever our own special interests might be. I will talk in more detail about what is involved in such an education because I think most of us use something like this in detemrining our educational goals. Most proximately, I wanted to teach the appropriate disciplines at the right ages for each child to reap the maximum benefit.

In the light of the ultimate end, I knew that first importance must be given to spiritual formation. This would mean that the Church would have to be at the center of our lives as a family. We would go to daily Mass whenever possible, say the family Rosary and talk about the faith and its practical applications on a daily basis. While this is not an aca- demic goal, it has an academic corollary .Our curriculum would always, at all levels, teach the doctrine of the faith clearly. After all, you cannot apply what you do not know.

Further, I wanted to instill an attitude about learning that would lead to real interest in all parts and aspects of God's creation. I wanted my children to think that a new book or a new subject or a new project would be likely to be interesting. And I wanted them to get the best out of their scholastic endeavors, even when the material or the teaching might have some flaws. I thought, and I still think, that the best way to achieve this is to have that attitude yourself. Talk to your children about their academic work. Conversation with you is the most formative part of their intellectual life.

I think our family has succeeded in this. I do not mean that my children always think that this or that particular project is the most fun they could possibly be having. What they do think is that it is worthwhile, something they are glad to have done when it is finished, because they learned from it.

A case in point comes to mind. Not long ago, I had my ninth graders read The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane. It is an introspective book and not all that easy to read. There was a certain amount of complaining about the book as we read and discussed it. However, when we finished the book, I asked my two children what they thought about using it for their siblings. "Was it worth reading?" Both children said yes. My son said he learned something about how to deal with fear that he was glad to know, and my daughter said she found the war discussions interesting! (It is not the kind of thing she ordinarily reads.) I was happy that even though it was not simply enjoyable for them, they were able to get something valuable from reading and discussing it.

I also knew I wanted a curriculum that would demand a certain amount of rigor, something challenging enough to be stimulating. At the same time I knew that I would have to be careful to ensure some success for each child. Children, like all the res of us, do not like to do what they are not good at.

And finally, I knew that the moral virtues would have to become habits, both in me and in the children, because one has to be disciplined and docile, obedient and willing, to learn well. I found that out in college, when I spent most of my first year learning how to study and learning to get my work done on time. For this reason I do have some deadlines for the children's work, usually for bigger projects like papers. Unlike some teachers, however, I will accept a reasonable excuse, like "But, Mom, while you were writing your talk, I did laundry and made dinner."

Which brings me to the next consideration. It seems to me likely that good Catholic colleges resemble one another in essentials; if a student is well prepared for one, he ought to be well prepared for the others. The curriculum at such a college should include those studies that are called (or used to be called) "general requirements", or liberal arts.

Traditionally, liberal arts education meant the education of a free man. A free man was understood to be one who could direct his own life (and the common life of the community) and live a life of intrinsic and specifically human value (as opposed to the life of an animal or an instrument). The seven liberal arts were the introduction to such an education. These arts comprised the "Trivium": grammar, rhetoric and logic, and the "Quadrivium": arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy. These arts are ordered to the disciplines of philosophy and theology . Such an education is devoted to what is intrinsically worth knowing, for a man and for a Christian, whatever his way of life may be. Thus, to prepare for such an academic program is to prepare for any further leaming one may intend and to prepare for a reasonable and Christian life for those who do not continue on to college.

Any particular interests that a child has can be taken into account as well. That can be done either by emphasizing the area of interest, if it is one of the subjects that ordinarily falls into such a general educational plan, or by adding a somewhat more specialized field. Two of my daughters like history very much, and so I allow them to read more in that area and do papers that deal with some aspect of history .In other words, for them I emphasize something that we would be doing anyway. My oldest son, on the other hand, enjoys computers. That wasn't originally part of my curriculum plan. Because of his interest, however, we do include some time with the computer in his daily work.

In general our curriculum has been designed with a liberal arts education in mind. Miss Sayers, in "The Lost Tools of Learning", directs our attention particularly to the arts of the Trivium: grammar, logic and rhetoric. She points out that two, at any rate, of these subjects are not subjects at all. They are methods of dealing with subjects. Grammar is a subject, in the sense that it means learning about a language, but language is a medium in which thought is expressed. In fact, the whole of the Trivium is intended to teach the tools of learning: methods of thinking, arguing and expressing one's conclusions that will be applied to subjects. Now there must be subjects for these methods to be practiced upon. One cannot learn grammar without learning a language, or learn to argue and orate without arguing and orating about something. But the subjects are of secondary importance until the tools of learning have been refined.

The grammatical stage of learning is the first that follows the acquisition of the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. Once your child can do those, his attention should be turned to the "grammar" of each subject he studies. This entails using his faculties for observation and memory in each subject. Studying the grammar of language means learning an inflected language like Latin and practicing the chants. "Amo, amas, amat" is much like "eeny, meeny, miney, mo". This is what children do naturally at this stage; channel it into something constructive. In the other subjects, memorize. Train the imagination to retain information: fill the memory with a store of rich and varied images.

The next stage of the Trivium, the dialectical or logical, involves the discursive reason. The time to move into this level is when the student is able to appreciate and construct an intellectual argument. It seems to occur at about seventh grade for most children. At this point discussion and analysis become the heart of the curriculum.

The last stage of the Trivium is the rhetorical. This occurs somewhere around ninth grade and overlaps with the dialectical on one end and the movement to subjects as subjects on the other. It seems to be characterized in the student both by the discovery that he needs to know more and by a resulting interest in and capacity for acquiring information. There is a new enjoyment of the poetical in literature, music and art. This combination of information and poetry gives the child an ability to express hirnself in elegant and persuasive language. In other words, he will need to have writing at the center of his curriculum.

In all three of these stages of the Trivium the student must have matter to work upon. The subjects should be chosen with a view to the disciplines of the liberal arts curriculum. In some cases this means doing what disposes the student to these studies; in other cases, it means making a beginning in them. These are the kinds of considerations you make in setting up your curriculum. You say, "I want my children eventually to have this kind of formation. What needs to be done to achieve it? Do I start teaching the subject itself now, or do I do something that will enable them to do that subject well later on?"

In terms of disposing children to these disciplines, there are two ways to go. One is to remove the obstacles to learning. Concentration on areas that might be trouble spots, such as grammar, music and mathematics, would be a good idea. Many who are otherwise good students have trouble with these subjects in college.

Even if one is not planning on a program of schooling that includes Latin in college, there is still a case to be made for studying Latin. Latin is an inflected language, where the endings of the words clearly indicate their function in a sentence. This means that the nature of the parts of speech is seen more clearly in Latin than in English. For this reason it is a good language to use in teaching grammar. It makes English grammar easier to understand.

With mathematics, the children should be skilled enough in all the ordinary operations so that they are able simply to concentrate on what is specifically new and challenging in their college classes. In a traditional liberal arts program, Euclidean geometry is studied. It is a theoretical discipline, well suited to the awakening intellectual power of a new college student. It is better to be able to make these universal considerations unhindered by purely technical difficulties.

Similarly, mathematical astronomy will proceed more smoothly if the operations of mathematics are second nature. For these reasons, our curriculum places emphasis on consistent application of mathematical skills, and I insist every problem be reworked until it is right.

Preparation for the study of music is twofold. Mathematical ratios form much of the basis for discussion in the discipline. Clearly, mathematics is a preparation for this class. But so is the practical knowledge of how to read notes and tell what key a piece of music is in. Therefore, our curriculum includes some music. We use workbooks like Music Reading, Ready to Use Activities Kit, by Loretta Mitchell, and play recorder and piano. Also, because music is a wonderful thing in itself and something children will appreciate if exposed to, we always include music appreciation in the curriculum. There is a nice program called The Music Masters series.

Since there are a number of papers required regularly in every college, writing skills are important. It is better to learn these early in one's educational career and then be able to concentrate on the subject matter of one's paper, not having difficulties because of inadequate powers of expression. To acquire facility in writing, the important thing, it seems to me, is that the children write regularly and at some length. In the light of this consideration, I have chosen an area each year in school that involves extensive writing. It is usually religion or history. In the high school years, writing becomes the heart of the curriculum, but for that to happen there should be writing practice from the beginning. I have found that book reports make my children unhappy and tend to deaden their interest in the book they have read, whereas a retelling of it, as for example, a description of the encounter of David and Goliath from the Philistine's point of view, or the story of St. Louis' crusade, is exciting.

Communication skills are very important in college. One needs to be able to speak clearly as well as write clearly. This means that it is helpful to have lots of experience in discussion. This is an area where busy homeschooling moms with pleasant, competent children need to decide firmly to do what is time consuming but very important. Even if your children are able to go off, read their assignments and do their lessons without your help, it is important that they converse with you, important that you guide their understanding of the part of reality they encounter in their reading.

I use both Scripture readings and literature readings for discussion, and I encourage the children to state and defend their answers to the questions I ask. This is easier for them if their reading has been reflective. If they ask themselves some questions as they move through the book, anticipating a discussion where they will need to be able to present the heart of the position, they will be much better readers. I have found that having young children retell the story, and having older children prepare to discuss it, helps to produce reflective reading. It also helps them do better with factual questions.

The other way of preparing for the education at college involves the two disciplines to which the seven liberal arts are ordered. Our curriculum includes certain kinds of background information that will make the theology courses more immediately knowable, allowing the children to get involved right away in the heart of the matter. I have found that the Baltimore Catechism is excellent preparation for theology because it is St. Thomas distilled. Pick a topic, see what the Baltimore Catechism says, and then compare it with the relevant article in the Summa Theologiae. St. Thomas is much more complete, but the basic position is in the catechism. Therefore, it seems to me that using the Baltimore Catechism in the early years makes St. Thomas much easier. One is already familiar with the terms and the general outline of the argument. And the format in the catechism is perfect for little children, who can memorize so much more easily than we can. Once learned, it stays with them for life.

Bishop John Myers said in a recent article, "Memorization of this sort allows a child to have a permanent space in mind and heart set aside for and dedicated to the things of God and of the Church. These essential elements are permanent acquisitions for the child, to refer to wherever he goes. He or she can retrieve them and ponder them from different aspects and in different life settings." Another preparation for theology is a familiarity with Sacred Scripture. St. Thomas and the other Fathers and Doctors of the Church most often use one part of Scripture to clarify and explain what is in another. All their theological works are full of scriptural references. So I have included Sacred Scripture in my curriculum at nearly every level.

And lastly, the more advanced discussions of Catholic doctrine and practice found in books like Of Sacraments and Sacrifice, by Fr. Clifford Howell, and the Fr. John Laux high school series provide a familiarity with the context within which theology must be understood.

Another discipline that I think you can prepare for in some measure is philosophy. Two different approaches help. Some acquaintance with philosophic terms is useful. The Seton Junior and Senior High School Religion courses do this. The other, and more important approach is to provide your child with life experience.

To do philosophy well you need to have the beginning of wisdom, which enables you to make good judgments. Experience is essential and can be gained directly, in the obvious manner of doing many (appropriate) things. This would include natural history. Science has always seemed to me something to be learned in detail later on; in the early years we emphasize natural history. This is a good area for field trips; both the zoo and natural history museums are a pleasant change from school books.

Philosophy can also be prepraed for indirectly by reading good books, both historical and fictional. In our curriculum I have included many books and allowed large chunks of time for reading. There are a number of resources for book lists of varying degrees of excellence. On is Honey for a Child's Heart, by Gladys Hunt, and another is Catholic Authors, both the 4-sight and Crown editions. A Mother's List of Books, by Theresa Fagan, is also very helpful. More specifically hitsorical texts can be found in Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson and the short but first-rate journal In Review: Living Books Past and Present, published by Bethlehem Books. The catalogue of Greenleaf Press also has many interesting texts in this field.

Through an examination of the ultimate end I desired for my children's education, and the more particular end of going to college, a curriculum began to take shape. It would include Latin and English grammar, mathematics, literature, history, music, some philosophy, the Baltimore Catechism, and Sacred Scripture.

We woudl have discussions, and I would endeavor to infuse those discussions with the sense of wonder and reverence for truth that could shape the attitudes of my children toward learning in general. I would require regular papers on subjects that would really be of interest.

Not all of these subjects would be covered every year, and not all would be covered in the same depth, but these would be the disciplines I would incorporate in my program. I would remember the method of the Trivium at each appropriate stage. With such a general plan we could make what we did do each year count int he overall intellectual formation of the children. You do not have to be so anxious abuot finishing each book (though it is certainly good to do so if possible) if you know that all of your efforts are coordintaed and directed to a goal that is larger than accumulated knowledge in an individual subject.

You can see that my reflections on the ends I wanted to achieve guided my choice of subjects and methods. There were still further particular considerations to be made about what level was right for each subject and what method was appropriate. Those judgments can be made by examining the curriculum lists I mentioned earlier and by a certain amount of trial and error.

Additionally, you will need to consider state requirements. To acquire your own state's general requirements, write to your state's department of education. Consult your telephone book. If the department is not listed, you can call your local school district or the library for the address.

There was substantial general agreement among those lists with respect to what subjects were to be taught at what level. I would like to hit the highlights, without going into too much detail.

Virtually all the lists included mathematics, reading, memorization, beginning writing skills and formative stories in the first three grades. This would be the very beginning of the future facility in mathematics, language arts, philosophy and theology that we wanted to achieve. I am inclined to the view that it is better to learn a little really well than a great deal superficially. For this reason I decided to concentrate on a thorough basic formation.

In kindergarten we try to become thoroughly familiar with numbers. We use dominoes, dot-to-dot workbooks, the hundreds chart and even a computer mathematics game or two. I use the A Beka math program in the earliest grades. They have worked very well for us, and my children generally find themselves ready to do the Saxon 65 in fourth grade. I think this is because of the solid, sequential presentation of basic operations. Nevertheless, there are other good mathematics programs, some emphasizing a more manipulative approach, using Cuisenaire rods, for example. Some children need to handle materials in order to learn; others can reason abstractly. Find out which kind of learner you are dealing with, and use the appropriate kind of program. But whatever approach you choose, make sure the operations become second nature.

For beginning reading, in kindergarten, I use Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, by Engelmann, Haddox and Bruner, for about half of the book and then move on to Sound Beginnings, by Julia Fogassy, or The Writing Road to Reading, by Romalda Spalding. The main point about what you select for reading is that it be phonetic in its approach. Using phonics will allow the child to read much more difficult material at an earlier age; It also helps with spelling and Latin. My husband, who has taught Latin for many years, says that all students in his experience who have had trouble reading and pronouncing Latin had been taught to read by the whole word method. He has made an informal study of the subject. When someone consistendy stumbles over Latin pronunciation and his spelling is "original", my husband discreetly asks what kind of reading instruction he has had. In such a case, the answer has never been phonics.

This early schooling is the stage Dorothy Sayers refers to as the "poll-parrot" stage, and it is a good time to begin the memorization of the questions and answers of the catechism. It is also a wonderful opportunity to introduce poetry .We pick a poem, work on it, say it for an obliging friend or relative, and then write it in a notebook reserved exclusively for that purpose. The child may illustrate it or not, depending on his inclination. We usually start with the poems of Robert Louis Stevenson, because they are so accessible to children. Then we move on to more difficult material. Two books, Favorite Poems Old and New and The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum, have good collections of poetry .

The poetry notebook is great fun as the children get older, because they have a book of their own making, filled with the poems they learned all through grade school, and they love it. It also helps them review without coercion, because they get to reminiscing. I leave those notebooks in an accessible place, and every so often one of the children will pick a notebook up and leaf through it. They say, "Oh, I really liked this poem. Do you remember it?" And in that way they review the poems.

It is at this early stage that the child's broadest views of the world are being worked out. We all want our children to be clear about the difference between good and evil, truth and falsity .I think the things you pick to read to them and that you pick for their early reading are very important for this reason. Fairy tales, where there are clearly good guys and bad guys, are good for children. Books like The Outlaws of Ravenhurst, by S. Mary Wallace, instill a healthy respect for the Eucharist. Tales of King Arthur and his knights teach concepts of nobility and sacrifice. Stories of the saints are very important in these formative years because they present the supernatural end as the most compelling motivation.

History in these first grades seems to me best taught in somewhat the same mode as literature. That is, use materials that emphasize heroism and individual accomplishment. Some of the books in the book lists I mentioned earlier are of this sort. Also, Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans, by Edward Eggleston, is very good. It deals with outstanding individuals and the difference their contributions made to the founding of our country.

We also read Bible stories in this early period. The Children's Bible (Golden Press) is an easy-to-understand version of this genre and has kept the integrity of the stories. Whatever you use, emphasizing the goodness of particular individuals is important.

As I said earlier, science has always seemed to me something best learned in detail later on. The early years should be spent developing a love of nature. The zoo and natural history museums, as well as neighborhood walks, will encourage areal interest in natural history .

I mentioned earlier that for writing we prefer to pick a subject area and concentrate on writing in that area, rather than have writing as a separate subject. We often do Bible history this way, retelling the story after reading it. This exercise seems to strengthen the children's ability to see the story as a whole and to remember it. They like to illustrate their stories, too.

In the middle years, fourth through seventh grade, the child becomes capable of mastering certain subjects and of coping with increasingly difficult material in others. All the lists I have looked at think that grammar should be taught with some rigor in this period. I myself find that sixth grade is the place to work intensely on grammar. Children seem to have matured enough at this point to enjoy parsing and diagramming, which are analytical skills.

Latin is also well suited to this stage. Here, too, it seems that mastery of the fundamentals is most important. Vocabulary and forms can be taught and memorized in fourth and fifth grades, using Memoria Press' Latina Christiana I. Another book, Basic Language Principles through Latin Background, by Ruth Wilson, works well in seventh grade. It consolidates English grammar from the year before and teaches the first conjugation and first and second declensions very clearly. In the earlier years there are some texts that prepare the student for the study of Latin. English from the Roots Up, by Joegil Lundquist, gives a background in both Latin and Greek roots. This text can be used in second or third grade and will be the beginning of a lifetime of interest in words.

With respect to religion in these middle years, I use a combination of things, all of which are ordered to those further goals I have already spoken about. Each year is divided into three parts: doctrine, Church history or Sacred Scripture, and lives of the saints. I continue to use the Baltimore Catechism, moving from the No.1, which I have used in first through third grades, one section per grade, to the No.2, which I use again one section per grade. In addition to the catechism, I use some form of Bible history: Bishop Knecht's Child's Bible History, or Fr. Ignatius Schuster's Bible History, or Sacred Scripture itself, with discussion questions of my own making. In fourth grade, the lives of the saints are also read and reported on, and in fifth grade I use the Faith and Life Catechism Credo: I Believe, which is excellent. In seventh grade I also use a Church history that all of my children have enjoyed, The Story of the Church, by Fr. George Johnson, Fr. Jerome Hannan and Sr. M. Dominica.

For writing in these middle years, the important thing, it seems to me, is that the children write regularly and at some length. Intermediate Language Lessons, by Emma Serl, and Learning Language Arts through Literature have some good ideas for creative writing. Retelling historical events has always been popular in my house. In sixth grade my oldest daughter wrote a history book that she greatly enjoyed, and she has kept it all these years. She read about different ancient civilizations and wrote down what she remembered in a notebook. She illustrated it with maps and made a cover for the front. That project made a major difference in her intellectual life. A friend's child decided to make a play about William the Conqueror. It was six pages, with many battle scenes. His whole family learned about that period of history from his writing effort. It matters more that there are some such writing exercises in your curriculum than that the children are always working on such a project. Pick a subject where you discern a lively interest and make that the focus of your writing curriculum.

Memorization at this stage can be more involved. Speeches from Shakespeare can be learned, and perhaps, with other homeschooling families, whole sections of Shakespeare's plays can be done. There is a book called Shakespeare in the Classroom: Plays for the Intermediate Grades, by Albert Cullum , that edits the plays while retaining the flavor and much of the language and makes it easy for a group of children to put on a Shakespeare play. If you are a purist, you can keep the original language, but use this book as a guideline for cutting down the action. My children recently participated in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was the joint effort of three homeschooling families. It was fun for them, and they still enjoy quoting from the play.

There is a good science textbook series available called Concepts and Challenges in Science. It has clear descriptions and an easy-to-follow format. A more hands-on approach is the Tops series. Each topic is covered by having the child do experiments involving only easily obtained materials. The unit on the balance is one of the more successful courses we have had. All of my older children are quite clear about the balance beam and how it works.

History is a subject that can be fascinating, or it can be deadly dull. Using a textbook with unit tests has a way of engaging the short-term memory and nothing else. What works better is reading a chapter in a history text and then reading other books, real books rather than text-books, that cover that period of history. Then the information seems to come alive and stay with you. Even in the later years, in high school, we have followed the same general procedure with history Books Children Love, by Elizabeth Wilson, and the issues of In Review, published by Bethlehem Books, are both good sources for books of this kind. Also the catalogue of Greenleaf Press has many important texts in this field. We acknowledge the cyclical nature of history teaching and study American history in third, fifth and ninth grades. In fourth grade we study the exploration of the New World. Sixth and seventh grades are given to ancient civilizations, with an emphasis on Greece and Rome. In high school we study ancient history again, in more depth, and European history , concentrating on England and Spain, since these are the two that most directly affect our country.

Ecce Romani is a series of books that incorporates the nature method of teaching Latin and analytic grammar, and it seems to work well at an eighth or ninth grade level. The text encourages learning the vocabulary from context as well as memorizing vocabulary lists. Seton Home Study offers a good Latin program, which I have used for my high school curriculum.

In the later years, we concentrate more on reading well. Our religion, literature, art and science classes all incorporate some discussion of more difficult points, retelling or making a synopsis of major issues, and some factual research-locating the place in the book where the author makes his point. It is in these subjects, about once a week for each, that I spend time with my older children. They do the preparation for the discussion on their own, and they do the other subjects they have on their own. I correct work and tests and discuss with them. I have always tried to work one-on-one with my children only in the areas where they need that kind of instruction.

I have a friend who homeschooled her oldest son through ninth grade. In tenth grade he went to a local high school. His mother watched him anxiously through the first week and then asked, "Josh, how is it?" He said, "It's so unbelievably easy. They tell you everything! I go to algebra class, and they say, 'Watch while I do this problem.' Then they put another one on the board and make sure you know how to do it. Then you do the rest of the problems in class, and they'll answer any questions. School was never so simple before." I think Josh's experience is probably typical for homeschoolers. They are used to working on their own, at least as older students, and figuring things out. They are more independent learners and do not need constant instruction. Our teaching role is more that of guidance and correction. In this role, you should arouse interest in intellectual subjects by selecting good materials. Good literature and challenging texts are your best allies. I have found that a number of the Seton Home Study courses in tenth through twelfth grades are of real help. One is not required to be a full-time student with Seton; one can just select the courses that seem useful.

We have found Seton's English programs for all three years to be outstanding. Their science courses are difficult but can be done. The Saxon mathematics can be done without their program, which simply consists of tests on the material. You can purchase the homeschool packet for the Saxon texts, along with the solution manuals, and do just as well on your own. As I mentioned earlier, Seton has a Latin program that we like, and it is nice to have someone else correcting the tests.

It is a good idea to meet the homeschoolers in your area. It is helpful to have the support of like-minded people. Often in talking over your successes and failures with others you will discover that your difficulty is a common one and, perhaps, that someone has discovered a solution. Or that your success is a solution to someone else's problem. In any case you will know you are not alone. The Catholic Home Educator is compiling a list of homeschoolers across the country. Their address is listed in the back of this book under suppliers.

I have some general advice about curriculum that is the result of my own mistakes over the years, which I hope you won't mind my adding. I love curricula, and I am always interested in new products; nevertheless, I've learned to stick with what works. If you have successfully taught your children to read using Alphaphonics, for example, don't abandon it because a friend is ecstatic about Sing, Spell, Read and Write. You already know how to use your program, and it works for you! On the other hand, throw out what does not work; sell it to a friend, it could be just what she needs. Or save it, maybe it will work for your next child. Each family, each child and each teacher is unique. You cannot tell for sure what is going to work for you except by trying it. When you find what does work, thank God for His blessings, and stick with it.

Evaluate your progress and success year by year, not moment by moment. Both you and your children will have ups and downs. Do not throw out good materials or despair of your ability because of a few bad days.

I have found that when those bad days are too frequent over too long a period of time, there are several corrective measures that might be considered. For one, easier materials can encourage success and a positive attitude. Challenge is important, but so is success. The right timing is also very important. Children mature at different rates, and that does not in itself tell you much about innate ability. If you are trying a new concept or subject and it doesn't "take", wait and try again in a few months. I have a friend whose child taught himself to read at the age of three. My son of the same age learned to read when he was five and a half years of age. By the time they were six and a half, there was no difference in their comprehension or reading ability. Another friend had a son who could not read well until he was nine. All three of these boys, by the time they were fourteen, were reading at the same level and read the same material. A late reader may have a certain number of classics to catch up on, but that is no problem.

Aristotle says that virtue is a mean between moral extremes. For example, courage is neither rashness nor timidity but in between the two. I think school curricula should reflect this principle. There is a mean between no workbooks and all workbooks, between fun and drudgery, and between flexibility and firmness.

Lastly, you can probably tell that I like lists. Well, lists can make your school go more smoothly, not just in the yearly planning stage, but in your weekly and daily planning. Once your children can read, make them a list of their work for the week or the day and turn them loose. They can do what is on the list and come to you for help only in difficulties or when they have finished the work that they are supposed to do by themselves and are ready to work with you. And after that, you can be otherwise occupied with. ..laundry, dinner, and all the other things the valiant woman of faith must do.

Curriculum Suggestions

IT IS THE ABILITY to think that is our goal in a classical curriculum; we want our children to acquire the art of learning. It is not the number of facts they are acquainted with that measures educational success, but what they are able to do with the facts: whether they are able to make distinctions, to follow an argument, to make reasonable deductions from the facts and, finally, to have a right judgment about the way things are.

Such a view of education has some practical consequences that are discussed at various stages in this curriculum. At this point it is appropriate to reflect on one of them. The question of what you should expect to do with a child, and what he can do on his own, is important. The main goal of the early school years is to learn the basic skills of reading, writing and simple arithmetic. These are the first tools for any further learning. The subjects you use to acquire and practice these tools are, in a sense, secondary.This is so much the case that the mother of a large number of homeschooling children who is able to do only religion, reading, simple arithmetic and basic letter formation with her youngest grades should not worry that they are educationally neglected. The natural stimulation of a busy household will supply for the other subjects. Once a child can read, he is able to be an independent learner. You should encourage him to take charge of his education where he can. This will foster the ability to learn that you are intending him to acquire. At the same time, classes require supervision and some discussion. Have your child do the reading, preparation and any exercises on his own, with an understanding that he will have some specific time with you to go over what he has prepared. Disciplines that are of particular difficulty for a given child or classes where the method requires the parent's presence should be done when you are going over his other, prepared work. This makes it possible to combine the virtues of different methods of teaching. There is one-on-one instruction with immediate feedback, but there is also self-direction.

This also makes it possible to teach a larger number of classes to more children. Start working with your youngest child first, and when he is fInished with his schoolwork, move on to the next child. Do with each child only what he needs you to do with him. Work with two children together when possible. Multiple classes can be easily taken care of in this way, which is the way the one-room schoolhouse used to work.

Clearly, the first requirement in such a plan is to learn the skills necessary for any further learning. Concentrate on reading well and learning to write, in terms of both letter formation and powers of expression. Spend time acquiring facility in addition and subtraction. If these things are learned well, all the rest of one's schooltime will be much more profitable. For these reasons I do not emphasize science or history in kindergarten, first or second grade.

Even in third through sixth grades, studies will be ordered to the acquisition of a certain kind of formation, where observation, memory, and the beginning of definition are the heart of the curriculum. This formation is more important than the various subjects studied. These will provide material for the formation. Thus, if you begin to be overwhelmed with the chores and duties of a big household and you do not get done all that you would like to do or had planned to do educationally, do not worry about it. Make what you are able to do count by employing the methods appropriate to the stage of formation of your child.

Also, remember that your children learn from you by your conversation and example all day long, every day. Your faith, which informs your life, will inform theirs if they are with you. Your delight in God's creation will communicate to them the wonders God has given us and gratitude for them. It will inspire your children with an interest in learning.

Additionally, in a large family the children must help with the household chores, as a matter of survival. They learn to cook, do laundry and clean. This is great practical education and contributes in its own way to theoretical education, because the children learn about the common good from direct experience. It can also be used by you as a time for discussion; doing laundry or dishes together provides opportunities for conversation that might otherwise be scarce. In such a family the children see the good of the whole as their good; they see themselves as working with you for a common enterprise, as a comrade, rather than as part of a peer group to which adults do not belong. This attitude along with the fact that you get to learn new things (indeed, if you are like me, probably have to learn new things) are the two biggest benefits of homeschooling.

The classical curriculum is thus chiefly concerned with formation. The stages of formation are discussed within this curriculum at the beginning of each section. Though the stages are not rigidly tied to age or grade level, I have chosen to discuss grammar before third, dialectic before seventh and rhetoric before tenth grade. Look at those discussions when you are choosing your curriculum, and think about what stage is appropriate for your child. All of my curriculum suggestions are intended to be flexible. Ideas for fifth grade may work well for sixth or fourth, while art and music suggestions are often applicable in every grade. I offer these suggestions as things that have worked for us at about the grade levels listed.

All of the following text suggestions are just that: suggestions. Since every family and every student is different, there is not any one text that is the only text that will work in any given subject. The texts I mention here have worked well for me and in most cases for a number of other homeschoolers in my area. Nevertheless, what seems to me more important is the general advice and the goals to be achieved. If you know of something better that will achieve these goals, use it and tell me about it!

You will notice in examining these lists that certain areas are not mentioned at all, for example, physical education and penmanship. Still others are the presuppositions of formal learning. Physical skills incorporating large motor development are very important for little children. Learning to skip, ride a tricycle, walk a balance beam and swing on a swing are examples of abilities that should be encouraged. I do not address these skills in my cumculum because I think that you do not need my advice in this area. Give children time and space and a little example, and they will develop these faculties on their own. Homeschooling, because it is such an efficient use of schooltime, leaves much more free time for such play.

As your children grow, participation in recreational programs will exercise physical skills. Soccer, Irish step dancing, baseball, track, swimming and gymnastics are all programs my own children have been involved in through the years.

I will not mention penmanship in what follows because my own approach does not change much through the years. If l address it here, I will have said what I have to say about it. In The Writing Road to Reading, by Romalda Spalding, there is a clear, easy manuscript taught. We use this and practice the letters as they are introduced and used in the text. When the time comes for cursive writing, which can vary radically from child to child, I have used the A Beka third grade cursive text. It is a pretty script, and the exercises are pleasant. Thereafter, at the beginning of each year, or if someone is getting sloppy, we review. I have just seen the Seton penmanship text, and it is very appealing, with Catholic references and attitudes. I plan to order some for next year to have around the house for practice when it is necessary .

Finally, there are certain activities presupposed by the suggestions that follow. Putting together puzzles, following the directions for Lego assemblies, exploring textures and smells, playing simple games with color matches and doing finger plays all involve pre-reading skills and should certainly be done with your children. I would like to point out that most children do these things, at least many of them, on their own, but the guidance of an adult or older sibling will direct a child to a specific skill more clearly.

All resources in this list are followed by a number that indicates which of the suppliers, listed at the end of the book, carries this item.