tery.

Alcuin's literary activity was exerted in various directions. Two-thirds
of all that he wrote was theological in character. These works are
exegetical, like the 'Commentary on the Gospel of St. John'; dogmatic,
like the 'Writings against Felix of Urgel and Elipandus of Toledo,' his
best work of this class; or liturgical and moral, like the 'Lives of the
Saints,' The other third is made up of the epistles, already mentioned;
of poems on a great variety of subjects, the principal one being the
'Poem on the Saints of the Church at York'; and of those didactic works
which form his principal claim to attention at the present day. His
educational treatises are the following: 'On Grammar,' 'On Orthography,'
'On Rhetoric and the Virtues,' 'On Dialectics,' 'Disputation between the
Royal and Most Noble Youth Pepin, and Albinus the Scholastic,' and 'On
the Calculation of Easter,' The most important of all these writings is
his 'Grammar,' which consists of two parts: the first a dialogue between
a teacher and his pupils on philosophy and studies in general; the other
a dialogue between a teacher, a young Frank, and a young Saxon, on
grammar. These latter, in Alcuin's language, have "but lately rushed
upon the thorny thickets of grammatical density" Grammar begins with the
consideration of the letters, the vowels and consonants, the former of
which "are, as it were, the souls, and the consonants the bodies of
words." Grammar itself is defined to be "the science of written sounds,
the guardian of correct speaking and writing. It is founded on nature,
reason, authority, and custom." He enumerates no less than twenty-six
parts of grammar, which he then defines. Many of his definitions and
particularly his etymologies, are remarkable. He tells us that feet in
poetry are so called "because the metres walk on them"; _littera_ is
derived from _legitera_, "since the _littera_ serve to prepare the way
for readers" (_legere, iter_). In his 'Orthography,' a pendant to the
'Grammar,' _coelebs_, a bachelor, is "one who is on his way _ad coelum_"
(to heaven). Alcuin's 'Grammar' is based principally on Donatus. In
this, as in all his works, he compiles and adapts, but is only rarely
original. 'On Rhetoric and the Virtues' is a dialogue between
Charlemagne and Albinus (Alcuin). The 'Disputation between Pepin and
Albinus,' the beginning of which is here given, shows both the manner
and the subject-matter of his instruction. Alcuin, with all th