Without him and
without the classics, a great part of our literary patrimony is of
little use.
_vi_. IN THE SCHOOLS
Of the place of Horace in the schools and universities of all these
countries, and of the world of western civilization in general, it is
hardly necessary to speak. The enlightened sentiment of the five hundred
years since the death of Petrarch has been enthusiastic in the
conviction that the Greek and Latin classics are indispensable to
instruction of the first quality, and that among them Horace is of
exceeding value as a model of poetic taste and as an influence in the
formation of a philosophy of life. If his place has been less secure in
latter days, it is due less to alteration of that conviction than to
extension of the educational system to the utilitarian arts and
sciences, and to the passing of educational control from the few to the
general average.
III. HORACE THE DYNAMIC
THE CULTIVATED FEW
We have followed in such manner and at such length as is possible for
our purpose the fortunes of Horace through the ages from his death and
the death of the Empire in whose service his pen was employed to our own
times.
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