Who sets language policy today? Who made whom the grammar doctor? Lacking the equivalent of l'Académie française, we English speakers must find our own way looking for guidance or vindication in source after source. McGuffey's Readers introduced nineteenth-century students to "correct" English. Strunk and White's Elements of Style and William Safire's column, "On Language," provide help on diction and syntax to contemporary writers and speakers. Sister Miriam Joseph's book, The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric, invites the reader into a deeper understanding--one that includes rules, definitions, and guidelines, but whose ultimate end is to transform the reader into a liberal artist.
A liberal artist seeks the perfection of the human faculties. The liberal artist begins with the language arts, the trivium, which is the basis of all learning because it teaches the tools for reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Thinking underlies all these activities. Many readers will recognize elements of this book: parts of speech, syntax, propositions, syllogisms, enthymemes, logical fallacies, scientific method, figures of speech, rhetorical technique, and poetics. The Trivium, however, presents these elements within a philosophy of language that connects thought, expression, and reality.
"Trivium" means the crossroads where the three branches of language meet. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, students studied and mastered this integrated view of language. Regrettably, modern language teaching keeps the parts without the vision of the whole. Inspired by the possibility of helping students "acquire mastery over the tools of learning" Sister Miriam Joseph and other teachers at Saint Mary's College designed and taught a course on the trivium for all first year students. The Trivium resulted from that noble endeavor.
The liberal artist travels in good company. Sister Miriam Joseph frequently cites passages from William Shakespeare, John Milton, Plato, the Bible, Homer, and other great writers. The Paul Dry Books edition of The Trivium provides new graphics and notes to make the book accessible to today's readers. Sister Miriam Joseph told her first audience that "the function of the trivium is the training of the mind for the study of matter and spirit, which constitute the sum of reality. The fruit of education is culture, which Mathew Arnold defined as 'the knowledge of ourselves and the world.'" May this noble endeavor lead many to that end.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
The Trivium is a highly recommended and welcome contribution to any serious and dedicated writer's reference collection. -- Midwest Book Review
About the Author
Sister Miriam Joseph (1898-1982) earned her doctorate from Columbia University. A member of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Sister Miriam was professor of English at Saint Mary's College from 1931 to 1960. She was also the author of Shakespeare's Use of the Arts of Language and many articles on Shakespeare and on the trivium.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
241 of 243 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is as much fun as I've had from a book in quite some time, even though the subject matters (grammar, logic, rhetoric) are usually thought of as serious if not outright grim.
The book was originally written for first-year students at college in the 1930s and 40s. It is simply amazing how much knowledge the teacher could assume from her students and build on. Fortunately, the current edition has been copiously footnoted for us. These and other updatings occasionally give an anachronistic flavor to the material, but more often highlight its timelessness.
After introductory chapters on the liberal arts and on language, two chapters on grammar (which are not dull summaries of long-familiar rules - in the 1930s these could be taken as given) lead smoothly into several chapters on logic, ending with a fine chapter summarizing fallacies. This material will be challenging, but a lot of fun, and for the most part presented with great clarity. (I have to admit, however, that after repeated readings I still do not understand why John is a rabbit.) Along the way you get to meet Barbara Celarent. The book concludes with a sadly brief chapter on composition and reading (i.e., rhetoric) which I wish I had read many years ago. An appendix gives a brief biography of the author, a nun who taught for many years at Saint Mary's College (South Bend). A lecture by Mortimer Adler crystallized her interest in the trivium.
Highly recommended - a 6-star book if ever there was one.
102 of 103 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I wholeheartedly recommend this book; however, it's probably so different from anything you were taught in school that it might be difficult to incorporate anything into your writing style.
I was never taught logic in school--either high school or college. Thus, I found the sections on logic very interesting. The author describes every logical argument you could think of in detail, and (the editor) provides examples for most. Not easy reading, though--I found myself having to go back and re-read/study portions routinely.
As an aside, I think this book, unintentionally, does a lot to point out the failures of modern government-controlled schools. The "trivium" should be taught to all grade-school students.
131 of 137 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Deftly edited by Marguerite McGlinn, The Trivium: The Liberal Arts Of Logic, Grammar, And Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph Rauh (1898-1982) is a "user friendly" guidebook to better understanding the structure and usage of the English language. Individual chapters address everything from syllogisms, to common linguistic fallacies, to hypothetical and disjunctive propositions, and more. A superbly presented and accessible guidebook The Trivium offers a solid grounding for writers of all degrees of experience and background in fiction, nonfiction, as well as especially academic writing where the interpretations and literal truth of linguistic expression is under an exacting scrutiny. The Trivium is a highly recommended and welcome contribution to any serious and dedicated writer's reference collection.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Trivium: Logic, Grammar, Rhetoric
Very good book, explains the Trivuim well. You may need to read it a few times to get used to all of the concepts
Published 6 days ago by ProffesorWaffle
A Fascinating Book 45 Years Later
By chance I ran across Sister Miriam Joseph's 'The Trivium' listing here on Amazon--and was pleasantly surprised to see that her classic had been resurrected from oblivion. Read more
Published 27 days ago by J. Imhoff
trivium liberal book review
You really need to read this book! It's an excellent incite into communication. If expressing yourself clearly and understanding others is what you are looking then this is the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by lily
Invaluable Resource for Parents and Teachers
Contrary to what some may think, this book is far from being outdated and is in fact invaluable for parents who take an active interest in the education of their children. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Elizabeth Arundel
Great book, arrived damaged
The book is great: a concise introduction to logic and its related disciplines. It contains more material than most university graduates and post-graduates (esp. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Vic
Interesting lessons from a time capsule
I have been looking through this fascinating book for several days, and I am convinced that it gives me a good view into the classic education of Catholic children. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Geoff Puterbaugh
Tedious but rewarding
I ordered this book alongside Farnsworth's "Classical English Rhetoric," as it was the top recommendation from Amazon for that book and reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Coketown
A seminal textbook
Sister Meriam Joseph put this book together to provide an updated version of the trivium.
If you didn't have a supplemental elementary Latin and Greek education, or a... Read more
If you didn't have a supplemental elementary Latin and Greek education, or a... Read more
Published 13 months ago by MathewStory
WORTH A RE-WRITE
Bauer's "The well-trained mind" provides a roadmap for the Trivium from grades 1 to 12, but does not really explain the transition from Grammar to Logic to Rhetoric. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Semper Cerberus
Missing lessons from our education.
This book has been quite an experience. It is effectively a lesson book from the beginning. Methodically building from the most basic premises as the trivium is developed as you... Read more
Published on April 15, 2010 by Scott Picken
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