440. To George Coleridge Address: Revd G. Coleridge | Ottery St Mary | Devon by favor of Revd Mr Froude MS. Lady Cave. Pub. E. L. G. i. 196. June 3, 1802. Keswick. My dear Brother I cannot let Mr Froude stay so long in this country without making him the Bearer of a Letter to you from me / especially, since he has given me so much cheerful Information respecting you, & your's, & the rest of my family. I pray God, that you may all continue as well and happy, as you are prosperous. I assure you I was much affected by the zeal & enthusiasm, with which Mr Froude spoke of you, & the Colonel. He seemed to feel as great a pride in your welfare, & high character, as if you had been his elder Brothers, instead of mine. -- Froude is indeed a very amiable, liberal, & well-principled Man; & I sincerely hope, that he will take with him from among us an accession to his real comfort. ----- As to myself, I have little to communicate. My health is much better than it was; tho' I have still very frequent attacks in my Bowels. They are a seditious Crew; and I have need of the most scrupulous attention to my Diet to preserve them in any tolerable Order. The children are both well; and Derwent is, as Froude will no doubt inform you, a thorough Coleridge in his whole Cast. Hartley is more a thing sui Generis -- but he is of a very sweet and docile Disposition, & possesses that, for which, I believe, I was somewhat remarkable when a child, namely, a memory both quick & retentive. -- Mrs S. Coleridge is but poorly / however her Disorder menaces me with no other Event, I suspect, than that of a New Life. -- As to my Studies, they lie chiefly, I think, in Greek & German. (Hartley made me laugh the other day by saying, that Greek Letters were English Letters dried up.) Tho' I have a great prepossession in favour of all ancient usages, (τά ཰ρχαîα κρατείτω) yet I can not but conjecture, that it would be found both a feasible & profitable Scheme to teach Greek first. It seems wrong, that a language containing Books so much more numerous & valuable than the Latin, & in itself so much more easy & perspicuous, should be confined, as to the ready & fluent Reading of it, to a few Scholars. This is owing solely to the Teaching of the Greek thro' the medium of the Latin; whereas, according to my humble Vote, both Greek & Latin should be taught with direct reference to the English. What should we think of a Schoolmaster, who taught Italian thro' the medium of French? -- But you are more likely to have formed -802- correct opinions on this Subject than I. -- I will only add, that at the time of the first Greek Dictionaries there were not Scholars enough in any one Country to take off so large an Edition, as it was necessary to print / they were therefore compelled to render the Greek into the universal Language / But the cause having so wholly ceased, it is pity but that the effect would likewise cease. Gilbert Wakefield was engaged, & had made good progress, in a Greek & English Lexicon / what is become of it, I have not heard. -- I have read Vincent on the Greek Verb -- in my opinion ----πάυτα κóυ¡ς, καྲྀ πάυτα τó μηδέυ -- It is too dull, to say -- πάυτα γέFגως -πάυτα དπυως, would be the aptest Supplement. You have been, no doubt, interested in some measure by the French Concordat. I own, I was surprized to find it so much approved of by Clergymen of the Church / It appeared to me a wretched Business -- & first occasioned me to think accurately & with consecutive Logic on the force & meaning of the word Estabished Church / and the result of my reflections was very greatly in favor of the Church of England maintained, as it at present is / and those scruples, which, if I mistake not, we had in common when I last saw you, as to the effects & scriptural propriety of this (supposed) alliance of Church & State were wholly removed. -Perhaps, you will in some measure perceive the general nature of my opinions, when I say -- the Church of France at present ought to be called -- a standing church -- in the same sense as we say a standing army. -- If the Subject interested you, I would willingly give you my opinions in full, with an historical account of the Objections of the Dissenters, & of the Warburtonian System of defence, which I rather dislike & suspect. Warburton's Faith was, I fear, of a very suspicious Cast. 1 -- You will give my love & Duty to my Mother, of whose health & good spirits I am delighted to hear -- to my Brother James, his wife, & dear & lively family you will remember me with fraternal affection -- & to Edward / -- Above all, let me say how much I should be delighted to see your little ones, & Mrs G. Coleridge -and if I had written half as often as I have thought of you, (earnestly & seriously thought of you) you would have complained heavily of the Postage, & with good reason. -- God bless you, dear Brother, & your's affectionately & gratefully, S. T. Coleridge ____________________ 1 See William Warburton, The Alliance between Church and State, 1736. -803-