McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXVIII · Part 7: Lessons LXI-LXX: Brutus and Cassius to Hayne

74. What Constitutes a State? (Sir William Jones)

Goal: Your student reads a short ode and explains its answer to its own question.

⏱ About 25 minutes · 7 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, or the scan beside this guide
  • A notebook and pen
  • A dictionary

What's in the book

An author note on Sir William Jones, then his ode answering the question "What constitutes a state?"

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Before reading, find these words in the selection and look up any your student does not know: constitutes, battlement, moated, endued, sovereign.

  2. About the author

    The book says Sir William Jones (1746-1794), son of an eminent mathematician, graduated from Oxford, became learned in Eastern literature, studied law, and in 1783 was made a judge of the Supreme Court in Bengal. It praises his learning, upright life and Christian principles.

  3. Read it aloud

    Read the opening together:

    What constitutes a state?

    Not high-raised battlement or labored mound,

    Thick wall or moated gate;

    Then the answer:

    Men, high-minded men,

  4. Talk about it

    SayList the things the poem says do NOT make a state.

    SayWhat does make a state, according to the poem?

    SayWhat part does "sovereign Law" play in the answer?

    SayDo you agree? What would you add?

  5. Tell it back

    Your student explains the poem's question and answer in plain prose.

  6. Copywork and memory

    Copy and learn the first three lines and "Men, high-minded men,".

  7. Write (optional)

    Write a paragraph answering the question "What makes a good country?"

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