make progress with as little delay as possible. Now foreign terms must necessarily be explained before they are understood, and, even when explained, are not properly understood, but are thought to have no meaning apart from their technical signification. In addition, they are difficult to remember. On the other hand, if the vernacular terms are used, it is only necessary to point out the object designated by each term. In this way we wish to remove all delays and difficulties from the path of this elementary instruction. (2) Besides this, we wish to cultivate and improve the vernacular languages, and this is to be one, not by imitating the French, who incorporate Greek and Latin words that the people cannot understand (for which practice Stevin blames them), but by expressing our meaning in terms which can be understood by everybody. Stevin41 gave the same advice to the Belgians (Geog. bk. i.), and carried it into effect in his work on mathematics.
13. But it may be objected that all languages are not rich enough to supply suitable equivalents for Greek and Latin terms; that even if this were done, the learned would not relinquish their use; and, lastly, that those boys who are going to learn Latin had better begin at this stage, and so avoid the necessity of learning fresh technical terms later on.
14. I reply: If any language be obscure, or insufficient to express necessary ideas, this is the fault, not of the language, but of those who use it. The Romans and Greeks had originally to form the words that are now in use, and these words seemed so obscure and so rude that their authors were uncertain if they could ever serve as a vehicle for thought. But now that they are universally accepted they prove sufficiently expressive. As an illustration of what I mean, take the terms “essence,” “substance,” “accident,” “quality,” “quantity,” etc. No language, therefore, need lack words unless men lack industry.
15. As for the second objection; let the learned retain their own terms. We are now seeking a way by which the
