Congregation at Oxford decided on Tuesday by a small majority
to exempt candidates for honours in natural science and mathematics from the obligation of qualifying in Greek at Responsions. The supporters of the innovation laid stress on the enormous educational waste involved in the existing system, con- tended that the real students and friends of Greek resented the Responsions minimum being extolled as an avenue to mental cultivation, and denied that the exemption would involve the disappearance of Greek from England. Mr. Godley, who defended the status quo in a brilliant speech, quoted Lord Kelvin, Lord Lister, and the President of the Royal Society as testifying to the value of elementary Greek. While fully sharing Mr. Godley's belief in the value of Greek, we agree with the spokesmen of the majority that the study of that language will profit rather than suffer by the removal of an obligation which has done so much to foster the anti-classical reaction.
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