ABSTRACT
John Locke’s choice of subjects to be studied is pragmatic. His practical approach saves him from erroneous doctrines of ‘formal training’ or ‘training the mind’. He is very much alive to the practical value of skill in the use of the English language. In condemning the exercise of writing Latin verses, he objects to writing poetry of any kind. He clearly had a ‘thing’ about poetry. Locke seeks to diminish this emphasis. He advises teaching, not by grammar rules, but by oral methods or the use of interlinear translations. He realized that the detailed study of grammar should come only after a working knowledge of the language has been acquired. It is interesting to note that, notwithstanding Locke’s great emphasis on the empirical approach to truth, and his demand that belief should be based on evidence, he also held that there are limits to the reach of human reason, and consequently an element of mystery in all truth.
