Excerpt from Primary Lessons in Language and Composition This little volume is the first of a two-book series on Language and Composition. Tn it the subject is treated without the technicalities of grammar. In the second, or "Advanced Lessons," grammar will be used as a means of criticism and a labor-saving apparatus in the use of terms. The thought I have kept constantly in view while writing is best expressed in the following words from Dr. Bain: "Now the schoolmaster may allow the accumulation of sentence types to proceed silently with the reading lessons, or he may do something expressly to quicken the process of stamping them on the memory. I assume that the age of Grammar has not yet arrived; and hence the science of sentences is not entered upon. That age is, nevertheless, drawing near; and there may, conceivably, be a preparation for it, not to say a certain amount of independent tuition having the same fina result, although not in the same complete form." As empirical knowledge should, indeed must, always precede scientific knowledge - as direct observation must go before the more complex operations of reasoning - as qualitative analysis must be the forerunner of quantitative analysis, so a knowledge of the proper use of language-forms - both words and sentences - should precede their scientific study. The only question is as to the amount of precision, of complexity, and of technicality to be given to the study. Of complexity and technicality, it has been my object to give it as little as possible; of precision, as much as possible. To train young children in the proper use of the words that belong to a child's vocabulary, and to give them facility in the use of such sentence forms as they can readily imitate and employ, have been my chief objects. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.