PREFACE.

How times have changed!

Formerly it was thought that a nation existed only for the sake of its ruler; to-day the belief is that the man at the head of a people is only a first servant.

The schoolmaster of olden time was the ruler of the school; to-day every good teacher considers himself in the service of the students intrusted to his care, and concedes that each of them possesses individuality and has rights that he must respect; he deems it his duty to consider above all things the true interest of those under his charge, and consequently will carefully prepare their way, so as to make it as easy and pleasant as possible, and assist them in attaining their ends with the least loss of strength and time.

It is because of such ideas as those just mentioned that our best teachers have been moved to consider the methods and textbooks in common use, and the mode of improving upon them. The result is that great improvements have been made in all branches of study.

In order to study a language years ago, the student went directly to the works of the best writers, but found that learning in this way was impracticable: those great authors had written for such as knew their language and understood it well—not for those who were to study it for the first time; hence, teachers came to write textbooks containing rules of grammar in connection with sentences to illustrate such rules, and afterward used and applied extracts from the writings of standard authors.

This was a step forward and a better way, because of its greater system; but, though the method proved useful, it was not found easier or more agreeable than the old one.

Famous men have studied and learned languages in both of these ways; but they were men who, on account of their great abilities, would have acquired the knowledge in any other way: many less gifted have also learned languages in these ways; but with what sacrifice of time and strength; what labors they had to endure, and how many of them have had to give up the study!

Must these hardships necessarily be connected with the study of languages? Is there no way to reach the same or even better results, with less difficulty;—are there no means to open education to a still greater circle, indeed to open it to all, to make a common road smooth, easy and agreeable?

The cordial reception given by educators of the best class to my "Studien und Plaudereien," (first series), has led me, in connection with my brother Mr. Menco Stern, to write a second series "Studien und Plaudereien" (im Vaterland).

I earnestly hope this second series may prove as practically useful as the first.

In response to the many inquiries I have received concerning the method of conducting my classes, I will say that

1) I prepare every lesson with the utmost care, taking "Studien und Plaudereien" as basis and guide, at the same time endeavoring to make them as interesting as possible.

2) I have arranged all the important rules of the German grammar so as to teach them from the very first in a certain number of lessons, orally, and give the students a printed German grammar afterward, to review and to perfect their grammatical knowledge; they are thus made to understand, value and even enjoy the study of grammar.

3) In teaching, I make my students understand, speak, read and write, but do not exercise any one faculty or function at the expense of any other.

4) My teaching is always full of life and animation; we do not confine ourselves to books; all there is in this world worth being thought of or spoken about, all that is great, good and beautiful, we draw into the circle of our studies.

5) We speak only German in our German classes.

I wish to repeat here what I have said on many other occasions, that the progress made of late years in teaching of languages is due to a great extent to the powerful impulse given by Prof. Gottlieb Heness, through his valuable observations upon linguistic study, and more especially through his ingenious and admirable rule of teaching a language in its own words, that is: German in German and French in French, and further by showing us clearly how to apply the rules of teaching languages as given principally by Pestalozzi and Diesterweg.

Now a few words about "Studien und Plaudereien" (im Vaterland), second series.

This book will serve a double purpose:—it will be used by the teacher as a basis and guide for instruction, as well as a reader for his students of the second grade, "Studien und Plaudereien," first series, having been used for the first grade.

The present new orthography has been adopted according to "Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis für deutsche Rechtschreibung zum Gebrauche in den preussischen Schulen. Herausgegeben im Auftrage des Königlichen Ministeriums der geistlichen, Unterrichts- und Medizinal-Angelegenheiten."

A list of those substantives which have not been divided in the text, will be found on pages 379 and 380.

The few rules of grammar in the third section I have given in the present form, because they have served me best so arranged. Every teacher may, however, vary them according to his own pleasure and will be right in doing so.

The few rules of elocution in the eighth section which I have selected to be printed, may and should be enlarged orally by the teacher.

The notes will not be found necessary for pupils having teachers, who surely will give them full and exact explanations and derivations of words they do not understand. The plan of this book permits me to give only in the shortest possible way the meaning of some of the new words used in this particular connection. Those students, however, who desire to have the full value of the new words, I refer to Sander's Wörterbuch.—To those who use this book as a means of instruction without a teacher, I recommend also, as I do to my own pupils, any good German grammar they can obtain.

SIGMON M. STERN.

Stern's School of Languages,

New York, August 31st, 1881.