riod, they were so scarce as to be in the hands of only the wealthy and the noble, and a very few volumes would have brought a price equal to the purchase of a good estate.

Q. To what was the scarcity of books in ancient times to be ascribed?

A. To the great labour and expense of copying or transcribing them, which rendered every copy almost as costly as the first.

Q. What was the consequence of this scarcity?

A. A great deficiency of learning among all except the wealthier classes of society, as no others possessed the means of purchasing books.

Q. To what is the great abundance of books now owing?

A. To the invention of printing, which happened early in the fifteenth century.

Q. Where and by whom did this take place?

A. The cities of Strasburg, Haarlem, and Mentz, have all preferred their claim to this distinguished honour; and Coster, Faustus, Schoeffer, and Guttemberg, have all been named as the inventors.

Q. What is the cause of such uncertainty? A. It probably, is, that the inventor in this case, as in many others, has been frequently confounded with the improver.

Q. What benefits has the invention of printing produced?

A. It has multiplied books, cheapened knowledge, and given an entirely new aspect to society.

CHAPTER V.

Of Composition.

Q. What do you understand by the term Composition, as applied to language?

A. Such selection and arrangement of words, in speech or writing, as render them fit to express to others our thoughts or opinions upon any subject.

Q. Is the term ever employed in any other sense?

A. It is frequently used in reference to mu

síc, painting, and architecture, as well as writing or discourse.

Q. What is the origin and strict meaning of the word?

A. It is formed from the two Latin words, con, together, and positio, a placing, and literally means a placing together.

Q. How comes it from this definition to possess its present signification?

A. Because in composition we place words together for the purpose of expressing our thoughts and ideas.

Q. Is composition an important acquirement?

A. Perhaps the most so of any, as upon it mainly depend the spread of knowledge and the enlightening of the world.

Q. Has it any other advantages?

A. It is a source of very refined pleasure, and of much mental improvement, to those who practise it.

Q. What are the chief requisites for attain. ing accuracy in composition?

A. A thorough knowledge of grammar, and of the signification of words, with a constant perusal of the best authors.

Q. How are these best attained?

A. By close study and application, but, particularly, by constant attention to the manner of expressing our ideas, whether in speaking or writing.

Q. What effect has close attention to one's manner of speaking and writing upon his own mind?

A. It tends to produce close and accurate thinking, for thought and speech mutually assist each other.

Q. What are the requisites for attaining great eminence in composition?

A. Next to study, already mentioned, the greatest requisites are, genius and taste.

CHAPTER VI.

Of Genius.

Q. What do you mean by Genius?

A. Some considerable degree of mental superiority, or a person of distinguished talents. Q. Can you recollect any other signification that it has?

A. It is frequently used to denote a particular bias or bent of the mind towards any pursuit, art, or science; as, when we say, such a one has a genius for music, for painting, for mathemathics, &c.

Q. But what is the strict import of the term? A. When properly applied, it denotes that particular faculty of the mind, by which a man is enabled to invent, or discover, or at least produce, something new.

Q. Can you mention any whom you would consider men of genius in this sense of the term?

A. Archimedes, Newton, Franklin, and Watt, were men of this class, because they were distinguished both for their inventions and discoveries,

Q. When is it that an author may be considered a man of genius?