Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 December 1892 — Greek. Learning. [ARTICLE]

Greek. Learning.

No observant tonrisl. can have visited Greece, writes a correspondent, without being struck with the vast number of so-called intelligent -proletarians who are to be met with at every street corner —men who know their “Illiud " and Odyssey ” off by heart, men who have mastered the secrets of astronomy and metaphysics, have a doctor’s diploma in their pockets, and know every art science conceivable, except the art of making an honest dinner. The fact is that education of all kinds is gratuitous in Greece—elementary, middle schools, and universities hospitably throw open their doors and sity of Athens numbers about- 2,009 students, the bulk of whom are as poor as church mice,for every family —even that of the indigent peasant, whose larder is lean and whose roof leaks lamentably—considers it the proper thing to send at leastone son to the University. This is one of the cheapest luxuries the kingdom affords—quite as cheap as tho comedies of Pa liament. Fees there are pone; and as for the problem of keeping soul and body together and paying the mercenary huckster Tor the midnight oil, it is much more easily solved than in any other country on this side ot the Atlantic. The student who aspires to be a doctor simply takes service as gardner, waiter, messenger, runner—iu a word, crawls into any crevice in the social edifice.in the hope that there’s “ a gude time coinin’ " for him yet. A triumph over the difficulties of science against enormous odds is not a whit more difficult to tho sanguine Greek than are victories—prospective for tbe nonce- over Turk, Tartar and Bulgarian. Every year the University of Athens lets loose about 900 full-fledged ‘’doctors” upon society. who stalk about the highways and byways of life, like the sophists of old, ready Vi lend themselves to any cause or enterprise, however and rarely finding enough to still their cravings. Now-, M. Trieoupis feels that this is a serious evil, and lie means to end it or mend it at. once by bringing in a bill to tax intermediate and higher education. Tiie pupil of the preparatory grammar school will, when this bill becomes a law. have to pay 25 drachmas a year (IA-jj, when he advances to the gram - mar school twice that sum, and at the University from 100 to 150 drachmas a year, in addition to fees for examination und promotion, 'lliis is killing two birds with one stone, if we can trust the roseate views of the. minister,who anticipate' an addition tQ the revenue of 1,500,000 drach: mas a yearLyom this tax—not a very ’considerable sum, Tt ts true, but a yery welcome addition to a State purse which, like the Irishman's coat, seems made chiujiy of holes aud fresh air. _ The Emperor of Annam, who has been menttoned So often in the foreign papers recently, has 200 wives, each of whom, with her servants, live in a house in the palace garden, which is surrounded by & great wall’