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 BROTHER AZARIAS' ESSAYS. 
 
 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 With Preface by His EMINENCE, CARDINAL GIBBONS. 
 
 " Cloistral Schools." 
 
 " The Palatine School." 
 
 " Mediaeval University Life." 
 
 " Universi.y Colleges, Their Origin and Methods." 
 
 " The Primary School in the Middle Ages." 
 
 " The Simultaneous Method in Teaching." 
 
 " Beginnings of the Normal School." 
 
 "M. Gabriel Compayre as an Historian of Pedagogy. 
 
 ESSAYS PHILOSOPHICAL. 
 
 With Preface by the Kt. Rev. John J. Keane. 
 
 'Aristotle and the Christian Church." 
 " The Nature and Synthetic Principle of Philosophy." 
 " Symbolism of the Cosmos." 
 " Psychological Aspects of Education." 
 " Ethical Aspects of the Papal Encyclical on Labor." 
 
 ESSAYS MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 With Preface by the Kev. BkotHEK JUSTIN. 
 
 " Literature, Its Nature and Influence." 
 
 "Religion in Education." 
 
 " The Sonnets and Plays of Shakespeare." 
 
 " Culture of the Spiritual Sense." 
 
 " Our Catholic School System." 
 
 " Our Colleges." 
 
 " Church and State." 
 
 Cloth, Price Per Volume, $1.50.
 
 ESSAYS 
 
 EDUCATIONAL 
 
 BY 
 
 BROTHER AZARIAS 
 
 Of the Brothers of the Christian Schools 
 
 WITH PREFACE BY 
 
 His EMINENCE CARDINAL GIBBONS 
 
 / 3 ^0 8 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 D. H. MCBRIDE & CO. 
 
 JAN 1905
 
 Copyright, 1S96, 
 
 BY 
 
 D. 11. :iIcBRIDE & CO.
 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 ^^'HIS new edition of the lectures of Brother 
 ^-^ Azarias, delivered at Plattsburg in July, 1893, 
 is an interesting history of the growth and develop- 
 ment of educational institutions under the guiding 
 hand of the Church. 
 
 Who that is acquainted with the writings of 
 Brother Azarias need be assured of the treat in 
 store for him in this volume? 
 
 In classic style, with an ease and grace that 
 spring from a thorough knowledge of his subject, 
 he sketches with a master's hand the efforts of our 
 forefathers in the attainment of learning and the 
 methods they adopted to accomplish their laudable 
 object. 
 
 To many it will be a surprise to learn that the 
 education of the young was a matter of great solici- 
 tude to the bishops and priests of the so-called Dark 
 Ages. 
 
 Brother Azarias shows that primary schools were 
 established and maintained, not by taxation, but by 
 the self-denying efforts of teachers and the voluntary 
 contributions of the people. 
 
 This volume contains a fund of knowledge in 
 detail. It manifests a large reading, a retentive 
 
 d (^)
 
 vi PREFACE. 
 
 memory and power of condensation, without, how- 
 ever, the affectation of learning, the cumbersomeness 
 of erudition, or the indistinctness of a too concise 
 diction. 
 
 The book would prove useful and interesting to 
 the students and professors in our colleges, semina- 
 ries and monasteries, and I hope it will meet the 
 welcome it deserves. 
 
 " ( c^ 
 
 Ci^^t^
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Cloistral Schools 3 
 
 The Palatine School 39 
 
 Medi^«:val University Life 49 
 
 University Colleges; Their Origln ano Their 
 
 Methods 105 
 
 The Primary School in the Middle Ages . . . .171 
 
 The Simultaneous Method in Teaching .... 207 
 
 Beginnings of the Normal School ....... 243 
 
 M. Gabriel Compayre as an Historian of Pedagogy 263 
 
 (vii)
 
 eteisTRAii seH00i2S 
 
 (1)
 
 " ^ <al -
 
 ¥/ 
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS.' 
 
 L 
 
 E name this book omy to call attention to the 
 character of its statements. They are many 
 of them wild and misleading, We are told, for 
 instance, that the cause of deficiency in the civiliza- 
 tion of the Chinese is to be found in the fact that 
 their whole education was a system of memorizing. 
 This is news indeed. But it is an assertion that is 
 likely to go unchallenged. Few of Mr. Johonnot's 
 readers interest themselves in the complex machinery 
 of Chinese education. Then the author starts off 
 with what he calls the monkish method of memoriz- 
 ing. What that method was, he does not tell us; 
 instead, he lays before us what he considers a tooth- 
 some piece of information. 
 
 l>r) Here is the sweet tid-bit on which our public- 
 
 -^ school teachers have been chewing for the past ten 
 
 ^ years : 
 
 'J "The effort of the monkish teachers was as 
 
 much directed to the exclusion of such knowledge 
 as did not directly suggest their views and authority, 
 as it was to promulgate that of the opposite kind. 
 The school did little or nothing to banish ignorance 
 from the people. Science was interdicted by the 
 
 ' American Ecclesiastical Review. 
 
 " Principles and Practice of Teaching" by James Johonnot. 
 New York, D. Appleton & Co. 1881. 
 
 (3)
 
 4 ESSA7-S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Church as opposed to religion. ' For centuries,' 
 says Hallam, *to sum up the account of ignorance 
 in a word, it was rare for a layman of whatever rank 
 to know how to sign his name.' '" 
 
 It is indeed difficult to hold one's soul in peace 
 under the provocation of such reckless writing. 
 Does Mr. Johonnot know that Hallam's assertion 
 has been thoroughly refuted by Maitland in his 
 " Dark Ages " ? But it is clear that the light which 
 Maitland has thrown upon this period has shone in 
 vain for Mr. Johonnot. 
 
 Now, we have not far to go to find an opposite 
 teaching. Since Hallam wrote and Maitland wrote 
 men are in a position to know better. They can 
 make at the present day no more sweeping asser- 
 tions concerning the Middle Ages than they can 
 concerning the nineteenth century. We pick up 
 the latest magazine that comes upon our desk, and 
 we read : 
 
 "If the fourteenth century village was less ill off 
 than we are apt to imagine it in regard to the medi- 
 cines of the body, it appears that the training of the 
 mind was less absolutely non-existent in the rural 
 class than it has been our habit to assert. Many of 
 the laborers on the farms of Bonis could sign their 
 names, though probably their science in writing 
 ended there. But every tenant farmer in an age 
 when the accounts of tenant and landlord were 
 peculiarly complicated, was obliged to know a 
 certain amount of bookkeeping; doubtless the 
 steward was often more learned than his lord. 
 Hedge-schools were common ; in every consider- 
 able village, if not in every hamlet, there was a 
 
 ' "Principles and Practice of Teaching," p. 170.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 5 
 
 school-master, appointed generally by the patron of 
 the village-living." ' 
 
 This is history ; this is truth. It is the outcome 
 ot painstaking research. But we dare say, the myth 
 of Hallam's rare layman who could sign his name 
 will continue to pass down upon the tide of preju- 
 dice until Macaulay's forthcoming New Zealander 
 shall label it in some future museum with his sketch 
 of the ruins of St. Paul's. But in the meantime we 
 ask ourselves in all earnestness: How comes it that 
 we find disseminated among our public-school teach- 
 ers, as knowledge, as clear-cut information, statements 
 so reeking with ignorance and prejudice and bigotry? 
 Why is it that the intelligence of this respectable 
 body must be insulted by such gross, unhistorical as- 
 sertions? Surely, of all men, should educators be 
 familiar with the latest and most accurate word in 
 history, in literature, or in science. 
 
 Note how Mr. Johonnot groups all mediaeval edu- 
 cation under the one heading "monkish," and then 
 brushes it away with a single sweep of his pen. Has 
 it occurred to him — does he know — the number and 
 variety of schools that existed in the early and middle 
 ages? There were rural schools; there were episco- 
 pal schools ; there were cathedral schools ; there were 
 grammar schools; there were cloistral schools;. there 
 were the early seminaries, the colleges, the palace 
 school, and the university. Thus do we find the 
 monastic school only one out of many. However, 
 
 ^ The Fortnightly Review, December, 1890. Art., Rural 
 Life in France in the 14th Century, by A. Mary F. Robin- 
 son (Madame James F. Darmstetter).
 
 6 ESSJ}\S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 since the author unwittingly called attention to the 
 education given by the monks, it may be of interest 
 to examine the methods followed and the education 
 imparted in the cloistral schools. 
 
 II. 
 
 ^ Cloistral schools begin with the establishment of 
 monastic institutions. We find them flourishing un- 
 der Pachomius at Tabenna in the first half of the 
 fourth century. The doors of his monastery were 
 open to children as well as to men. Lessons were 
 given three times a day to those whose education was 
 deficient. All were required to be familiar with the 
 Psalter and the New Testament. Each house con- 
 tained its own library. Three times a week did a 
 brother, set apart for the purpose, explain at length 
 the truths and mysteries of Faith. Catechumens 
 were also instructed at stated times. The rules en- 
 ter into such details as give us insight into the edu- 
 cational methods of the East. Should the aspirant 
 to religious life not know how to read he shall be 
 sent to a brother appointed to teach, and standing 
 before him, he shall learn with all thankfulness. Af- 
 terwards he shall learn to write letters, syllables, 
 words and names, and he shall be compelled to read 
 whether he will or no. None shall be permitted to 
 remain in the monastery who has not learned to read 
 and who does not know some of the Scriptures — at 
 the very least the Book of Psalms and the New Tes- 
 tament.' 
 
 ' " Regula S. Pachomii," cap. 139, 140.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 7 
 
 As on the banks of the Nile, so was it in the mon- 
 astery at Bethlehem.' And in the latter half of the 
 fourth century, St. Basil organized similar schools in 
 Caesarea. So great was the reputation of this saint 
 as an educator that the magistrates of the town urged 
 him to direct their public school ; and when he de- 
 clined, the people assembled in a body and besought 
 him to comply with their request. But Basil had 
 another field of labor, into which he threw all his en- 
 ergies." In the fifth century, Lerins under St. Hon- 
 oratus became a nursery of learning and piety. There 
 St. Eucherius had his two sons educated, the oldest 
 being scarcely ten years when, in 410, he entered.^ 
 There St. Loup kindled the torch that he afterwards 
 brought to Troyes. In the monastery of Our Lady, 
 outside the walls of this city, he established a school 
 that became famous. In like manner does the chiv- 
 alric and large-hearted St. Martin of Tours establish 
 schools near Poitiers, and at Marmoutier, near Tours. 
 
 Then, at the beginning of the sixth century, we 
 come upon a celebrated school of nuns at Aries, un- 
 der the guidance of St. C^saire. Their rules require 
 that they be instructed, and that they devote not less 
 than two hours daily to reading.' There are no less 
 than two hundred of them, and they become re- 
 nowned for the beautiful workmanship they produce 
 in copying manuscripts both sacred and profane.' 
 
 ' Mabillon, "Etudes Monastiqvies," Paris, 1691, p. 11. 
 
 2 Fleury, " Hist. Eccles.," iii., liv. xiv., p. 545. 
 
 ' " Lerins au V^ Siecle," par Abbe Goux. 
 
 * " Regula S. Csesarii," xvii.,Ed. Migne, t. 67. col. 1109. 
 
 ^ " Vita S. Ctesarii," cap. v. 44.
 
 8 BJSSA } \S ED U CA TI ON A L . 
 
 From the sixth to the eighth century these cloistral 
 schools flourished. But the one who organized them, 
 as he did all monastic life in the west, was St. Ben- 
 edict. 
 
 We will not enter upon an account of his life. 
 It is too well known. Suffice it to say here that to 
 St. Benedict the civilized world owes a debt of grati- 
 tude of which it can never be quit. He established 
 a rule that was for his day and generation a marvel 
 of wisdom. In this rule, manual labor seems to 
 predominate ; but a glance at the temper and spirit 
 of the times will show how thoughtful this great 
 man was in giving out-door occupation to strong 
 natures but ill-suited to pore over books. As time 
 wore on, and men grew more civilized, and the desire 
 for mental culture became more general, the monks 
 were found equal to the emergency; and so their 
 influence spread from clime to clime, till all lovers of 
 learning hold them as blessed in memory as they 
 are blessed in name. 
 
 True it is that the rules of St. Benedict say 
 comparatively little about study, but it were false 
 reasoning to conclude therefrom that all study was 
 proscribed. Within the limitations of the strictest 
 rules there is always freedom of action on many 
 unnamed things according to times and places. And 
 when Benedict recommends his brothers to write in 
 a style brief, simple, and modest,' he presupposes 
 that those brothers pursued preliminary studies. 
 And so they did in fact, v During his own lifetime 
 Benedict took the young sons of the Roman nobility 
 
 ' Rule, chap.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 9 
 
 and educated them. These children were trained 
 up to their fifteenth year with the youths whose 
 parents had consecrated them to the service of God. 
 Then they made choice either to remain and enter 
 the novitiate or to withdrav/ into the world. Already, 
 in the fifth century, we see the effects of this 
 religious grounding upon men living in the world. 
 
 Thus Sidonius, singing the praises of Vectius, a 
 distinguished military oflficer, says: 
 
 " He reads frequently in the Holy Scriptures, 
 especially at his meals, thus partaking at the same 
 time of food of the soul and food of the body. He 
 often recites the Psalms, still oftener sings them." ' 
 
 Later, Eginhardt, the biographer of Charlemagne, 
 tells us that that great monarch had some one to 
 read to him during his meals ; among the subjects 
 mentioned are ancient history and the works of St. 
 Augustine, especially that saint's masterpiece, " The 
 City of God." 
 
 Herein is a new ideal of greatness already estab- 
 lished. St. Chrysostom, noting the great benefit of 
 this religious education, thus exhorts parents : 
 
 " Do not withdraw your children from the desert 
 before the time. Let the principles of holy discipline 
 be impressed upon their minds, and virtue take root 
 in their hearts. Should it take ten or even twenty 
 years to complete their education in the monasteries, 
 be not troubled on that account. The longer they 
 are exercised in this gymnasium, the more strength 
 they shall acquire. Better still, let there be no fixed 
 time, and let their culture have no other term than 
 the ripening of the fruits thereof."^ 
 
 1 See Fauriel, " Histoire de Gaulo Moridionolle," i., p. 404. 
 ^"Adv. Persecut. Monach." lib. iii., ca]!. 16.
 
 10 BSS.i ]\S EDlCATIOXAf.. 
 
 This is a remarkable passage, showing the pre- 
 vailing custom of the East and also the extensive 
 course of education that must have been given in 
 those monasteries. Indeed, Pope Syricius is so im- 
 pressed with the order and discipline of the cloistral 
 schools, that he strongly recommends priests to be 
 ordained from candidates chosen almost exclusively 
 from the monasteries.' 
 
 III. 
 
 /" To understand the rule of Benedict and the writ- 
 ings of the early Fathers as regards literary culture, 
 we must remember that the training of the intellect, 
 as well as the training of the hand, were not for their 
 own sake. They were simply means to an end. It 
 was the disciplining and the developing of the whole 
 man towards something higher. It was the growth 
 of soul towards perfection. All else was made subor- 
 dinate to this aim. He who enters upon this course 
 must be a willing candidate. "According as one 
 advances in the way of piety and faith, the heart 
 expanding and becoming more generous, one runs 
 in the way of the commandments of the Lord by a 
 sentiment of love and an ineffable meekness." ' 
 
 Therefore, manual labor is not ordained for its 
 own sake ; it is simply laid down as an antidote to 
 laziness, and seemingly as a means by which the 
 intellect becomes freshened for study. Thus we are 
 told that, laziness being the enemy of souls, the 
 
 ' " Svr. Pap. Ep. i. atl Ilimerium Tarracon "., Ilardoiiin, 
 p. 857- 
 
 ■^ Preface of St. Benedict to Rules.
 
 CL OIS TRA L SC//OOL S. ^ \ 
 
 brothers shall give certain times to manual labor, 
 and certain other times to the reading of holy things. 
 They shall labor from the first hour of the day to 
 the fourth, and from the fourth till nearly the sixth 
 they shall devote to the reading of holy things. 
 Ignorance is not only a shame, it is very injurious 
 for religious men. We should not be degenerate 
 children of those Fathers of the Church so illustrious 
 in every species of doctrine. 
 
 But discipline and a method simple and easy for 
 all are indispensable in order to acquire science. If 
 anybody is desirous to read in particular, he may do 
 so, provided he incommodes nobody. In winter, 
 having risen from the table, the brothers shall devote 
 the remaining time to reading or learning the Psalms. 
 At the beginning of Lent a book shall be given to 
 each brother, that he may read it from beginning to 
 end. The whole of Sundays shall be passed in read- 
 ing, except by those having offices and particular 
 occupations. A brother shall be appointed to see 
 that the time assigned for reading and study is so A 
 employed, and not otherwise.' Even casual visitors 
 to the monastery must not leave without having the 
 bread of life broken to them. And so, one of the 
 points observed in receiving visitors is that a 
 brother shall sit before them and shall first read 
 some passage from Holy Writ, and he shall after- 
 ward receive them with all possible graciousness."^ 
 A beautiful custom this, sowing the seeds of many 
 a rich harvest. 
 
 ^ Rules, chap. 48 
 '■^ Ibid., chap. 53.
 
 12 ESSAl'S EDrCATIONAL. 
 
 Such was the intellectual side of the rule of St. 
 Benedict. Dom Morel, commenting upon it, says: 
 
 " The reading that St. Benedict gives us as a fruit- 
 ful remedy against laziness, comprises also study ; and 
 of both reading and study, as of manual labor, we 
 should say that they must needs be of such a nature 
 as to belong to our state, otherwise they would not 
 guard us against idleness or loss of time." ' 
 
 It was in this spirit that Benedict insisted that 
 the brothers should not lose time upon mere works 
 of the imagination. He considered sufficient time 
 spent on them during the period of preparatory study. 
 Hence the solid character of the work done by those 
 men from Cassiodorus down to Dom Gueranger and 
 Cardinal Pitra. Peter the Venerable has clearly and 
 beautifully expressed the Benedictine spirit of study 
 and writing in the following words: 
 
 " We cannot always plant or water ; we must some- 
 times abandon the plow for the pen, and instead of 
 working fields we must turn up the pages of holy 
 letters. Scatter upon paper the seeds of the word 
 of God, which in harvest time, that is, when your 
 books are finished, shall nourish your famished read- 
 ers by the abundance of its fruits, and with celestial 
 bread shall banish the immortal hunger of their souls. 
 Thus will you become a silent preacher of the holy 
 word; while your lips shall be mute, from your hand 
 shall resound a powerful voice among many people, 
 and after your death the merit of your works shall 
 be all the greater before God in proportion as their 
 life shall be the more durable." " 
 
 ' "Meditations siir Ic Rc,i^lc de S. Bt-noit." Paris, 1752, 
 p. 512. 
 
 '' "Acta Ordin. S. Bcncd." Sa-c. v., ]>ref. ohscrv. x. An- 
 tiquar. lalujr.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 13 
 
 With the advance of civilization the Benedictine 
 studies broadened, and Benedictine labors in the lit- 
 erary field grew apace. Grammar, rhetoric, and phi- 
 losophy had their respective places in the program 
 of the advanced student. His profane readings he 
 learned to sanctify by prayer and mortification and 
 the practice of obedience. In this lay the secret of 
 the strength and great influence of the Benedictines. 
 It is with permissible pride that the erudite and in- 
 defatigable Mabillon could write: 
 
 "Almost alone, the order of St. Benedict, for 
 several centuries, maintained and preserved letters 
 in Europe. There were no other masters in our 
 monasteries, and frequently the cathedral schools 
 drew theirs from the same source. It is only to- 
 wards the end of the tenth and beginning of the 
 eleventh century that secular clerics begin to teach." ' 
 
 The masters were carefully chosen. Benedict laid 
 stress upon three qualifications to be considered in 
 electing a dean; namely, "his person, his wisdom, 
 and his doctrine ;" ' and commentators agree that the 
 word " doctrine " here includes learning. In the Rule 
 as it was in vogue one hundred years after Benedict's 
 day we read : "At hours appointed for reading the 
 young religious shall be instructed by a skilful mas- 
 ter." ' We are told that St. Ferreol dispensed the 
 abbot from all manual labor, that he might have 
 time to study whatever he should teach his re- 
 ligious." It was his duty to see that the master 
 
 1 '* ;^tudes Monastiques," p. 135. 
 
 "^ Rules, chap. 20. 
 
 ^ Mabillon "Etudes Monastiques,"' p. iS. 
 
 ^ Chap. 50.
 
 14, ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 was equal to his position. He should devote three 
 hours a day to the school of the professed brothers. 
 He decided what studies each should pursue, accord- 
 ing to respective talent, taste, and inclination. 
 
 Those teaching in the classes, or pursuing special 
 studies and researches, were exempt from manual 
 labor and the night-offices; but they rose for their 
 devotions at four in the morning. If it is noticed 
 that a teacher is brutal or incompetent, he is to be 
 removed at once and replaced by another of mature 
 age, who shall be distinguished for his experience, 
 and shall have given proof of certain meekness of 
 character. From the master let us turn to the 
 schools. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The primary aim of the monastic school was to 
 prepare candidates for the recruitment of the relig- 
 ious life. This it was that gave tone and color to 
 studies and discipline. This was the uppermost idea 
 with St. Basil when he was drafting the rules and 
 regulations of these schools. In fact, he puts the 
 question: 
 
 "Should there be a master to instruct secular chil- 
 dren ?" 
 
 And he answers that under certain conditions sec- 
 ular children may be admitted. 
 
 "The Apostle has said : 'And you, fathers, provoke 
 not your children to anger, but bring them up in the 
 discipline and correction of the Lord. ' If parents 
 bringing their children here do so in this spirit, and 
 if those receiving the children so offered can rear 
 them in the discipline and correction of the Lord,
 
 CT.OISTRAL SCHOOLS. 15 
 
 let US observe the precept contained in tiiese 
 words: 'Suffer little children to come unto me, 
 for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.' But be- 
 yond this end and this hope I deem that it would 
 not be agreeable to God, or convenient for us, or 
 really useful." ' 
 
 Basil received orphans into his schools, and also 
 children from the hands of their parents before wit- 
 nesses. He must have received girls as well as boys, 
 for the great doctor lays stress on their being kept 
 apart. 
 
 Benedict ordained a solemn ceremony to accom- 
 pany the offering of a child to the service of God. 
 The child's hand, together with the offering accom- 
 panying the child and the written promise in which 
 the parents testified that they freely, of their own 
 accord, without coercion of any kind, devoted this 
 child to the service of God as a religious, were all tied 
 together in the altar-cloth or veil." The abbot or 
 o,ne deputed by him received the child as a sacred 
 trust, to guard and protect against all evil and to 
 bring up in the fear and love of God. But, as has 
 already been seen, besides children so consecrated to 
 religious life, and the orphans of which St. Basil 
 speaks, there were children placed within the shadow 
 of the sanctuary to shield them from temptation and 
 confirm them in religious discipline and a knowledge 
 of their religion ; these might afterwards honorably 
 return to the world. In this way were St. Maurus and 
 St. Placidius brought up by St. Benedict from their 
 
 1 «» RegulaBrevius Tractatae," Intcrrog. ccxcii. 
 ^ Rules, chap. 59.
 
 16 ^^-.S-.ir.S- EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 youth with many other children of the first families 
 of Rome.' 
 
 These children had a rule of their own. They 
 had their hours for study and play, for rising and 
 retiring ; they sang in the choir and became gradually 
 accustomed to the discipline of religious life. Bene- 
 dict devotes a chapter to the manner in which old 
 men and children should be treated. The brethren 
 are commanded to have due regard for their feeble- 
 ness. They must not observe rigorous fasts, and 
 must eat more frequently. But we can best learn 
 the spirit and scope of monastic schools from their 
 great organizer, the large-minded Basil. 
 
 Boys are admitted when five or six years old. 
 They should be kept apart from the older members 
 of the community, by whom they should always be 
 edified; "for," he adds, " he who is intellectually a 
 boy is not to be distinguished from him who is a 
 boy in years." " He would have their playgrounds 
 so situated that in taking exercise and recreation 
 they could not disturb the older members of the 
 community. Their diet should be substantial and 
 suited to their age and strength. For the daily 
 prayers they were permitted to join the ancients ; 
 but they were exempt from the night-offices. 
 
 Basil felt that the touchstone of all education is 
 the formation of character. On this point he enters 
 into details as minute as they are instructive. Does 
 the boy quarrel with his companions? Let him be 
 
 * Mahillon, "Etudes Monastique," p. 65. 
 ''■ " RcpjuljE Fiipius Tractiita'," Interrog. xv. Patrol, Migne, 
 31, col. 952.
 
 C/.O/S 7A\l /. SC //()() /.S. 17 
 
 punished properly, and let both then make up. Does 
 he eat or drink out of time? Let him fast the 
 greater portion of the day. Has he lied, or uttered 
 words of pride or vanity, or violated the rules 
 seriously ? Let him be chastised by abstention from 
 food and by silence — e^ ventre et silentio castigetur. 
 Has he been eating immoderately or been otherwise 
 unruly at meals ? Let him be removed from the 
 table, and notice how the others eat with all the 
 politeness prescribed by the rule. A boy is angry 
 with a companion. Let him apologize to that com- 
 panion, and even wait upon him for some time, 
 according to the gravity of the fault ; " for the 
 continuance of this state of humiliation stifles the 
 last spark of anger in the soul, while, on the con- 
 trary, a state of superiority disposes the soul for 
 this vice." The faults of the child should always be 
 corrected with paternal indulgence and with mod- 
 erate language, and the mode of punishment should 
 be according to the measure of the delinquency. 
 Basil did not permit every master to administer pun- 
 ishment indiscriminately. There was one set apart 
 for that duty, and for all serious faults the child was 
 brought to him. This whole system of discipline 
 tended to self-control.' 
 
 His rules for study are no less admirable. Indeed, 
 his conception of the youthful intellect is such as 
 would unqualifiedly approve itself to any modern 
 educator. The key to all success lies in controlling 
 the power of attention in the child. In order to 
 repress wandering of the mind, he would have all 
 
 ' Ibid. XV. 2. 
 K. E.— 2
 
 / 
 
 18 BSSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 the child's time filled with one occupation or another. 
 And he counsels the master to ask the boys from 
 time to time where their minds are, and of what they 
 are thinking. He likens the mind of the child to 
 soft wax, which may easily be moulded. It must be 
 a constant study of the master to preserve the pupil's 
 mental elasticity. With this view the master should 
 question frequently and give rewards for composi- 
 tions and exercises in memory, " in order that they 
 may give themselves to study as a recreation of the 
 mind, without fear and without repugnance." 
 
 The subjects studied were at first the elements of 
 / grammar and rhetoric. At an early age the children 
 were made familiar with Scriptural words and phrases. 
 Instead of poetic fables of pagan times, they were 
 taught "to narrate the admirable facts of sacred his- 
 tory and the sentences of the Book of Proverbs." 
 In these early days, when the lines were sharply 
 drawn between Pagan and Christian, that upon which 
 greatest stress was laid was the religious training of 
 the child. All else was subservient. The public 
 schools of ancient Greece and Rome were disappear- 
 ing before the light of Christianity ; parents sought 
 a more moral atmosphere for their children, and, 
 knocking at the door of the monasteries, they be- 
 sought for them the refuge and the religious training 
 that could only be found in those asylums of prayer 
 and study. 
 
 What parents desired, and the sentiment with 
 which the Church responded to their desire, may be 
 best expressed in the charge of a bishop of Metz to 
 those ecclesiastics having the care of children :
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 19 
 
 " Let these children reared or instructed in con- 
 gregations be so well guarded by ecclesiastical disci- 
 pline that their fragile age, inclined to sin, may not 
 find an outlet for a single fault. Let a brother of 
 irreproachable conduct be given them to watch over 
 them and to instruct them in the spiritual sense of 
 the Scriptures. Let them all be assembled in the 
 same hall, under the authority of a master of age and 
 experience, capable of giving them advanced lessons 
 and good example ; or, in case he does not teach, let 
 him be in position to hold supervision over them.' ' 
 
 Jonas, a bishop of Orleans, writes a treatise for 
 the laity, which the Benedictine D'Achery calls a 
 " golden book." It is a practical treatise on the use 
 of the sacraments, on the mutual duties of husband 
 and wife, of parents and children, and on such spir- 
 itual topics as death, judgment, and the like. A 
 chapter is devoted to the instruction of children ; 
 but the only point on which the good bishop lays 
 stress is that from their tenderest years children be 
 taught the necessary truths of their religion." 
 
 But we must not imagine for a moment that Cat- 
 echism was at any time the sole subject taught in the 
 cloistral schools. The grammar of those days, for 
 instance, covered a wider field than the mere techni- 
 calities now attached to the name. However, we 
 find that St. Basil anticipated modern times in an- 
 other respect. Much is spoken and written at pres- 
 ent concerning manual training and the formation of 
 trades-schools. Now, it so happens that, as a matter 
 
 ' " Spicilegium " Acherii, t. i., p. 574. 
 
 2 "Spicilegium", pp. 258-323. Jonre Aurelianensis Epis- 
 copi Libri tres de Institutione Laicali. Jonas lived in the reign 
 of Charles the Bald.
 
 20 BSSAi'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 of course, and as something essential, without which 
 education would be incomplete and monastic life 
 would experience a want, Basil regulated for a cer- 
 tain number of trades to be learned and practised. 
 Children should begin to learn some one or other as 
 soon as they are able. Among those recommended 
 are: weaving and tailoring within certain limitations; 
 architecture, wood-work and brass-work, and above 
 all, agriculture.' Surely, the school training of 
 skilled hands in all these trades is not to be de- 
 spised. 
 
 But even though the regulations are silent, we 
 can elsewhere find indications that the teaching im- 
 parted in cloistral schools was both thorough and 
 practical. The student of old books bearing upon 
 history and literature — and what printed volume 
 does not tell an interesting story to him who has the 
 secret of reaching the heart of a book? — is familiar 
 with the book of formulas prepared towards the end 
 of the seventh century by the Monk Marculf, by 
 command of Landi, Bishop of Paris, It contains 
 royal charts and formulas of wills, deeds, transfers, 
 and the like, such as it behooves a practical business 
 man to be familiar with. Now, Marculf is careful 
 to tell us that he wrote these formulas not for the 
 learned, but with a view " of exercising children who 
 are beginners." " I have done," he adds, "as best I 
 could with simplicity and clearness, in order that 
 good will may profit of it." 
 
 In the seventh century Irish monks overran the 
 Continent, introducing a taste for Greek and mathe- 
 
 ' " Regiila; Hreviiis Tractatiu," Iiileriot^. xxxviii.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 21 
 
 matics, and initiating the young brothers into their 
 beautiful style of copying and illustrating manu- 
 scripts. Moengall brings Irish studies, Irish methods 
 and Irish enthusiasm to the cloistral schools of St. 
 Gall's, and under his direction discussions in gram- 
 mar and philosophy were carried on with a degree 
 of subtlety that would have rejoiced Dante's own 
 master in the rue de Fouarre. 
 
 The course of study in the monastery of St. 
 Hilary of Poitiers extended over seven years. From 
 the lips of St. Achard we learn something of the 
 working of a cloistral school in his day. He was 
 blessed with a master " of such great doctrine and 
 sanctity, that in living with him one had no thought 
 but for wisdom, no action but for justice." Old 
 and young were assembled in the same room. At 
 the beginning, the child was not compelled to learn. 
 He was placed on the front bench, where he listened 
 to the older pupils reciting their lessons. When 
 Achard's teacher, Ansfrid, asked him what he was 
 most desirous of learning, the boy replied : " First, 
 the things pertaining to God ; afterwards, I shall 
 learn the elementary branches of study." ' During 
 the first two years the youth learned only such 
 things as were calculated to open and quicken the 
 intelligence. The master exercised all his ingenuity 
 in giving an elevated and spiritual turn to the most 
 trivial things. The next five years were devoted to 
 the usual courses of trivium and quadrivium. The 
 
 ^ " De rebus ruralibus," — what is taught in the rural .scIiool.>i. 
 This is the construction Cardinal Pitra gives to these words. 
 " Vie de S. Leger."
 
 22 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 principles of Canon Law were included in the course 
 at Poitiers.' 
 
 The method was practically the same in the 
 schools attached to all the Benedictine monasteries. 
 The daily routine of school life followed by Ecg- 
 berht, brother of the King of Northumbria and 
 Bishop of York, has been handed down to us. No 
 doubt it was that pursued by his old master, Beda. 
 The traditions of Jarrow were transferred to York. 
 
 " He rose at daybreak," we are told, " and when 
 not prevented by more important occupations, 
 sitting on his couch, he taught his pupils successively 
 till noon. He then retired to his chapel and cele- 
 brated mass. At the time of dinner, he repaired to 
 the common hall, where he ate sparingly, though he 
 was careful that the meat should be of the best kind. 
 During dinner an instructive book was always read. 
 Till the evening, he amused himself with hearing 
 his scholars discuss literary subjects. Then he re- 
 peated with them the service of Complin, after 
 which each knelt before him and received his bless- 
 ing. The students afterwards retired to rest."' 
 
 Among the pupils so taught was Alcuin. He has 
 left us an account of his studies pursued under the 
 learned Albert. He says: 
 
 "The learned Albert gave drink to thirsty minds 
 at the fountain of the sciences. To some he com- 
 municated the art and the rules of grammar; for 
 others he caused floods of rhetoric to flow; he knew 
 how to exercise these in the battles of jurisprudence, 
 and those in the songs of Adonia; some learned from 
 him to pipe Castalian airs and with lyric foot to strike 
 the summit of Parnassus; to others he made known 
 
 ^ Ozanam, "Etudes Germaniques," ii., p. 541. 
 ' " Vita Alcuini," p. 141,
 
 CLoisTRAF. scuoor.s. 23 
 
 the harmony of the heavens, the courses of the sun 
 and the moon, the five zones of the pole, the seven 
 planets, the laws of the course of the stars, the mo- 
 tions of the sea, earthquakes, the nature of men, and 
 of beasts, and of birds, and of all that inhabit the 
 forest. He unfolded the different qualities and com- 
 binations of numbers; he taught how to calculate 
 with certainty the solemn return of Easter-tide, and 
 above all, he explained the mysteries of the Holy 
 Scriptures." * 
 
 This course Alcuin afterwards carried out when 
 organizing the educational system of Gaul. He made 
 all human knowledge a basis on which to build up 
 Holy Writ. 
 
 "Despise not human sciences," wrote he, "but 
 make of them a foundation; so teach children gram- 
 mar and the doctrines of philosophy, that, ascend- 
 ing the steps of wisdom, they may reach the summit, 
 which is evangelical perfection, and while advancing 
 in years they may also increase the treasures of 
 wisdom." ^ 
 
 And in another place he speaks of improving the 
 memory by " exercise in learning, practice in writing, 
 constant energy in thinking, and the avoidance of 
 drunkenness, which is the bane of all serious study 
 and destroys alike the health of the body and the 
 freshness of the mind." " In the course of studies 
 
 ' De Pontiff. Eborac, 143T-1447. 
 
 ••' Ep. 221. 
 
 ^ "Alcuini Opera Omnia," p. 1346. Ed. Duchesne, Paris, 
 1617. There is a fragment of this dialo,e;ue between Charle- 
 matjne and Alcuin in the Vatican Library (Codex Vat. Lat. 
 4162), very old and well-thumbed. I have transcribed portions 
 of it containinc variations from the printed copy. It might 
 have been part of the very copy that Alcuin had presented to 
 Charles. The fragment is bound up with other fragments, the 
 first beginning with an explanation of the Athanasian Creed,
 
 24 BSSAl'S EDUCATIOXAr.. 
 
 mapped out by Charlemagne for the episcopal and 
 monastic schools of his dominion are mentioned read- 
 ing, the study of the Psalter, arithmetic, plain-chant, 
 and writing; and he further ordains that there be 
 placed in the hands of the pupils correct and ap- 
 proved Catholic books. One of Alcuin's chief merits 
 was that he made strenuous efforts to procure cor- 
 rect copies of the various text-books required, and 
 especially of the Holy Scriptures. The Scriptorium 
 which he established and supervised at Tours became 
 world-renowned for the accurate and elegant work 
 done in it. 
 
 When he retired from court to the monastery, he 
 organized and directed the studies, and he thus de- 
 scribes the labor of love in which he was engaged : 
 
 " I apply myself in serving out to some of my 
 pupils in this house of St. Martin's the honey of Holy 
 Writ; I essay to intoxicate others with the old wine 
 of ancient studies; one class I nourish with the deli- 
 cate fruits of grammatical science; in the eyes of an- 
 other I display the order of the stars." ' 
 
 Alcuin's own works are a good criterion of the in- 
 tellectual level of his day. They comprise treatises 
 on theology, lives of saints, a book on the liberal arts, 
 works on rhetoric, logic, grammar, orthography, arith- 
 metic, and a hand-book of school-method. " 
 
 An examination of the lives of saints from the 
 fifth to the twelfth century reveals to us the fact 
 that in the cloistral schools youths were taught read- 
 ing, writing, arithmetic, grammar, logic, the principles 
 of versification, liturgic chant, the Old and the New 
 
 ' Ep. xxxviii. 
 
 ^ See Duchesne's edition of 1617, or the Migne edition.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 'jr, 
 
 Testament, theology, sometimes canon law, and later 
 on Aristotle. There was a difference of opinion as 
 to the extent to which the ancient classic authors 
 should be cultivated. Some, like Alcuin, following 
 in the footsteps of St. Jerome, taught the ancient 
 classics extensively enough ; others, like St. Owen, 
 declared against their introduction beyond what was 
 barely requisite to illustrate grammatical rules. 
 
 " Even though the teachings of the Church," says 
 the saint, " should have at their disposal the charm 
 of profane eloquence, they should fly from it, for the 
 Church should speak, not to lazy philosophic sects, 
 but to the whole human race. Of what use are gram- 
 marians' disputations, which seem more suitable to 
 throw down than to build up?" * 
 
 But his reasoning will not hold. Certainly Charle- 
 magne did not agree therewith. He would see every 
 priest and every monk use classic and graceful lan- 
 guage, so that all who would hear them, charmed 
 with the science that their reading and singing would 
 reveal, might leave rejoicing and thanking God.' 
 Banish all profane learning, and you banish the tools 
 and implements with which to cultivate religious 
 learning. Thereafter it will not be long before the 
 broad joke of Rabelais becomes a literal truth : 
 
 " Je n'^tudie point de ma part," says Frere Jean. 
 " En notre abbaye, nous n'^tudions jamais, de peur 
 
 1 " Vita S. Eligii," Prologus. Migne Patrol, t. 87, p. 439. 
 See Ozanam, '• Etudes Germaniques." pp. 458 sqq. Ozanain 
 thinks the saint was di^nouncing the quibhHiig methods of the 
 Toulouse school of grammarians. But unless the whole is a 
 mere flourish of rhetoric, the saint would also cor.demn to obliv- 
 ion all classic authors. 
 
 2 " Capitularies."
 
 26 ESSyi 1 'S ED U CA TI ON A L . 
 
 des auripeaux,' Notre feu abbe disoit que c'est 
 chose monstrueuse voir un moine sgavant." " 
 
 But the cloister school had its hours for play and 
 rest as well as its hours for study. Having examined 
 the methods and the matter taught, let us look at 
 the students in their amusements. Now it so hap- 
 pens that we have ready at hand a picture of a cele- 
 brated cloistral school in the tenth century. The 
 picture is skillfully drawn, and brings home to us 
 very clearly that those were other days than ours, and 
 they had other manners and customs, that cannot be 
 judged by our standards. But it brings the period 
 so much nearer to us that I shall not curtail an es- 
 sential detail. 
 
 We are in the celebrated monastery of Saint 
 Gall's. It is the year 992. Don't be frightened by 
 that noise, those shouts of joy that you hear. It is 
 the feast of the Holy Innocents, and the scholars are 
 celebrating the anniversary of a visit made by the 
 Emperor Conrad in 913. The monarch had on that 
 occasion instituted three days holiday for the younger 
 students. The door of the recreation hall opens ; a 
 prelate appears ; it is the Abbot Solomon, who has 
 recently been made bishop. Immediately the more 
 roguish boys put their heads together and concoct a 
 plan ; for there exists a custom that the students can 
 lay hands on every stranger coming to the school, 
 and keep him prisoner till he redeems himself. It is 
 this custom that the boldest among them wish at pres- 
 ent to put into execution. But a difificulty exists. 
 
 ' Ear-aches. 
 
 ■^ "Gargautua," liv. i., chap, xxxix.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 27 
 
 The prelate is also the abbot of the monastery ,and as 
 abbot he believes himself above molestation. But 
 he has been reckoning without the logic of the young 
 dialectitians. " Let us capture the bishop," say they, 
 "and leave the lord abbot." He yields to their hu- 
 mor. They take him and place him in the profes- 
 sor's chair — in magistri soluim. 
 
 The bishop submitted, and addressing the boys, 
 said : " Since I take the place of your master I have 
 the right to use his privileges ; take off your jackets, 
 to be punished." The pupils were amazed, but they 
 obeyed at once, asking, however, that they be per- 
 mitted to redeem themselves as they were wont to 
 do with their professor. " How is that ?" asked the 
 good abbot. Thereupon, the little ones began to 
 speak to him in Latin as well as they could ; the me- 
 dium ones addressed him in rhythmic language, and 
 the most advanced in verse. Each class defended it- 
 self as best it could and so pleased the new bishop. 
 " What evil have we done to you," says the middle 
 class ; " that you should harm us ? We appeal to the 
 king, for we have acted only within our right." ' The 
 versifiers by the mouth of their poet said : "We did 
 not dream of being punished, since you are a new 
 visitor."^ The abbot then rose, rejoicing to find 
 that studies which had always flourished at Saint 
 Gall's were still held in honor, and embraced and 
 kissed every child as he was in his shirt — ojunes, ita 
 
 * Qiiid tibi fecimus tale ut nobis facias male : 
 Appellamus regem, quia nostram fecimus legem. 
 
 ^ Non nobis pia spes fuerat cum sis nevus hospes, 
 Ut vetus in pejus transvertere tute velis jus.
 
 28 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 lit crant in lincis, cxsiirgcns ainplcxatus ct osculatus 
 — and said : "While I live I shall redeem myself, and 
 shall reward such assiduity." He added that he had 
 the chief brothers to assemble before the door, and 
 he decreed that in future all the scholars and their 
 successors should have meat on the holidays insti- 
 tuted by the emperor, and that they be served dur- 
 ing these days with dishes and wine from the abbot's 
 own cellar. The chronicle adds that the custom 
 continued to be faithfully observed long afterwards.' 
 
 V. 
 
 Monastic schools varied in number and in effi- 
 ciency with different countries and with different 
 epochs. They flourished greatly from the sixth to 
 the ninth century. This educational period has 
 been characterized as the Benedictine period. The 
 Benedictine monks controlled all the schools. The 
 smaller monasteries confined themselves to elemen- 
 tary instruction; the larger ones, in addition, taught 
 the higher branches. The Council of Aix-la-Chapelle 
 decreed in 817 that those youths aspiring to the 
 religious life — oblati — should be taught in a school 
 apart from those who were to return to their homes. 
 But both schools had the same lessons and frequently 
 the same teachers.'' In the eighth century Charle- 
 magne gave a new impetus to learning. But wars 
 and dissensions soon undid the good work. 
 
 ^ Eckehardus Jun. : " De Casihus Monasterii S. Galli." 
 Ed. Goldast. t. i.,p. 21. 
 
 ''■ " Histoire Litteraire de France," t. In ., \>. 231.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 29 
 
 Already, in 830, the Deacon Florus bewails the 
 decline of learning. 
 
 " Formerly," he says, " we saw but one prince 
 and one people ; law and the magistrate ruled every 
 town. . . . Throughout, youths learned the Holy 
 Volume ; the hearts of children expanded beneath 
 the influence of letters and arts. . . . Now is all 
 the boon of peace destroyed by cruel hates."' 
 
 Not that efforts had not been made both by 
 Louis the Pious and Charles the Bold to encourage 
 schools. The latter, especially, surrounded himself 
 with learned men, and we are told that he was wont 
 to exhort the abbots to consecrate all their efforts 
 to the education of children, and he loved to see the 
 brothers give gratuitous instruction, with the view 
 "to please God and St. Martin."'' These efforts 
 were of slight avail. 
 
 The ninth century set in darkness. The tenth 
 opened up an era of warfare and bloodshed and rav- 
 agings, and on the ruins began the building up of a 
 new order of things. It is the beginning of the epoch 
 of feudalism. During the two following centuries 
 there was much ignorance. Here and there, away 
 from the scenes of warfare and depredation, the lamp 
 was kept lighted, and monks labored in silence at 
 the work of writing chronicles and preserving and 
 copying manuscripts. But they are the exception. 
 Synod and Council of that period, especially in France, 
 bewail the darkness. The Council of Troslei, held in 
 909, in all sadness speaks of Christians who lived to 
 
 ^ " Carmina de Divisione Imperii," i. Ed. Migne, t. 119, 
 col. 257. 
 
 ^ l^c Chevricrs, p. 82.
 
 30 ESSAl'S EDUCAT/OXAL. 
 
 old age ignorant of their creed and not knowing the 
 Lord's Prayer. It also tells of abbots, who, when 
 asked to read, scarcely knowing a word in their abe- 
 cediary, might reply, ''Ncscio literas." ' We are else- 
 where told of a prelate who gave no time to study, 
 and who only knew how to count the letters of the 
 alphabet on his fingers; in other words, who had the 
 merest rudiments of knowledge.' In Italy letters 
 flourished more extensively. Pope Eugenius II. in 
 826 confirmed the laws of Charlemagne and Louis, 
 and gave a new impetus to the study of letters in 
 this classic land.^ Ratherius, bishop of Verona — he 
 was consecrated bishop in 931 — speaks of three or- 
 ders of schools from which priests may be ordained. 
 He tells us that he will ordain no young man who 
 will not have studied letters either in the episcopal 
 schools, or in some monastery, or under some learned 
 master." In Spain, also, during this long night, there 
 were flourishing schools, and science was advancing. 
 Gerbert {d. 1003) studies under the guidance of 
 his uncle at Vich, and brings back so many new edu- 
 cational improvements that he is regarded by the 
 ignorant as a dangerous man. He introduced an 
 abacus that simplified greatly the science of arith- 
 metic. He made important discoveries in astron- 
 
 ' Bibliotheque de Cluny, p. 150. 
 ^ ¥a studiis quern nee constrinxerit una dierum ; 
 Alphabetuni sapiat, digito tantiun nuineiare. 
 
 " Adalberonis Carmen ad Robertum Regem 
 Francorum," v. 49, 50. 
 'See Tiraboschi " Storia della Lett. Ital.,'" t. vii., lib. iii., 
 cap. xvii., xxiii. 
 
 *".Synodica ad Presbyteros," § 13. Migne, t. 136, cul. 564.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 31 
 
 omy, and explained the heavens and the earth by 
 means of globes. He simplified the science of music, 
 "so that," remarks Odo of Cluny, "children could 
 learn in three or four days an ofifice that it formerly 
 took experienced singers years to master." 
 
 Fulbert {d. 1028) was another light who had many 
 brilliant disciples. "Ah ! " exclaims Adelmann, " with 
 what moral dignity, and solidity of thought, and 
 charm of language he explained to us the secrets 
 of a profound science." 
 
 Lanfranc (1005-1089) carried to Bee the learning 
 of Italy. The torch that he kindled illumined 
 France, His school was thronged with youths from 
 all parts of Europe. He taught without fee ; such 
 offerings as were made went to the building up of 
 the monastery. Before he became known in England 
 as a great statesman and the counsellor of William 
 the Conqueror, he had won the esteem of thousands 
 whose studies he directed. On occasion of his visit 
 to Rome, Pope Alexander H. rose to meet him, 
 saying : " I show this mark of deference to Lanfranc, 
 not because he is archbishop, but because I had sat 
 under him with his other disciples in the school of 
 Bee."' And the indefatigable Ordericus Vitalis can- 
 not find words in which to express his eulogy of 
 this great light : 
 
 " Forced from the quiet of the cloister by his 
 sense of obedience, he became a master in whose 
 teaching a whole library of philosophy and divinity 
 was displayed. He was a powerful expositor of 
 difficult questions in both sciences. It was under 
 
 'See William of Malmesbury, " Antiq. Libr.," p. 324.
 
 32 BSSA } \S EDI- CA TI ON A L . 
 
 this master that the Normans received the first rudi- 
 ments of literature, and from the school of Bee 
 proceeded so many philosophers of distinguished 
 attainments, both in divine and secular learning. 
 His reputation for learning spread through- 
 out all Europe, and many hastened to receive lessons 
 from him out of France, Gascony, Brittany, and 
 Flanders. To understand the admirable genius and 
 erudition of Lanfranc, one ought to be a Herodian 
 in Grammar, an Aristotle in dialectics, a Tully in 
 rhetoric, an Augustine and Jerome and other ex- 
 positors of the law and grace in Sacred Scriptures.'" 
 
 And of Anselm (1034-1109) the successor of 
 Lanfranc — his successor in the school and successor 
 in the see of Canterbury — the same author is no less 
 eulogistic : 
 
 " Learned men of eminence," he says, " both 
 clergy and laity, resorted to hear the sweet words of 
 truth that flowed from his mouth, pleasing to the 
 seekers of righteousness as angels' discourses, . . . 
 all his words were valuable and edified his attached 
 hearers. His attentive pupils committed to writing 
 his letters and typical discourses ; so that, being 
 deeply imbued with them, they profited others as 
 well as themselves to no small degree."^ 
 
 Nor was this learning confined to the priors. The 
 same trustworthy witness bears testimony to the 
 general culture of the monks of Bee : 
 
 " The monks of Bee," he says, "are thus become 
 so devoted to literary pursuits, and so exercised in 
 raising and solving difficult questions of divinity, and 
 in profitable discussions, that they seem to be almost 
 all philosophers ; and those among them who appear 
 
 ^ "Hist. lucl.," lib. iv., cap. vii. 
 "^ Ibid., ciij). xi.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 33 
 
 to be illiterate, and might be called clowns, derive 
 from their intercourse with the rest the advantage 
 of becoming fluent grammarians." ' 
 
 From this great seat of learning went forth monks 
 into all parts of France and England, to light up the 
 dark ways. 
 
 But the simple enumeration of all the cloistral 
 schools that history mentions in the darkest period 
 would take hours. Among others, there was the 
 school of St. Benedict on the Loire, which was fre- 
 quented by more than five thousand pupils, each one 
 of whom upon withdrawing was required to present 
 the monastery with two manuscripts.'' There was 
 the monastery of Hildesheim. Under Bernward its 
 school became famous. Bernward himself was one 
 of the most remarkable men of his day. His activity 
 seemed to know no other limit than his power of 
 endurance. He was always questioning, or writing, 
 or engaged in manual labor ; never idle. He was 
 skilled in the mechanic arts. An expert joiner and 
 blacksmith, and a good architect, he taught these 
 things to the students of the seminary himself. He 
 also copied and illuminated manuscripts.' 
 
 Meinwerk, a disciple of Bernward, established a 
 celebrated school at Osnabruck. Idamus {ci. 1066) 
 inherited his genius, piety and learning, and con- 
 tinued to make the school famous. The course of 
 studies was extensive, and the discipline severe. 
 Even parents were forbidden to visit the students. 
 
 1 Ibid., cap. xi. 
 
 '^ Chateaubriand, "jStudcs Ilistoriqiics," t. iii., [i. 144. 
 ■' " Vita S. Bornwardi," § 2, 3, Mabilion. p. i8i. 
 E. E.— 3
 
 34 ESSyll'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 lest they might distract them in their studies.' In- 
 deed, throughout all the mediaeval schools the disci- 
 pline was severe. The birch was considered indis- 
 pensable as a medium of instruction. The younger 
 pupils were subject to the closest vigilance day and 
 night. Withal, the students were treated with a 
 paternal care and tenderness that was not unfre- 
 quently pathetic. 
 
 With the twelfth century dawned a new era. 
 There is an upward movement of the people. The 
 Crusades help to break down the barrier of caste. 
 There is a general fermentation of thought. Schools 
 become secularized. Men run hither and thither, 
 devoured by a thirst for knowledge that no known 
 source seems sufficient to satiate. The period of 
 scholasticism has set in. Men, in their eagerness to 
 dispute, break down the barriers dividing the diverse 
 subject-matters they should teach. Under pretence 
 of teaching grammar they are found to be indoc- 
 trinating their pupils in some philosophical subtlety. 
 These are the men whom Hugh of St. Victor's criti- 
 cises as indulging in a perverse custom: "When 
 grammar is their subject, they discuss the nature of 
 syllogisms ; when treating of dialectics they will oc- 
 cupy themselves with the inflection of words."' 
 
 St Victor's was one of the great centers of learn- 
 ing in the twelfth century. William of Champeaux 
 brought thither some of the fires of Bee, and Anselm 
 of Laon took thence that bright flame that attracted 
 
 ' Theiner, "Histoire des Institutions d'Education Eccldsi- 
 astiques," p. 173. 
 
 '^ " Eruditionis Didascalicse," lib. iii., cap. vi.
 
 CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 35 
 
 even the genius of an Abclard. The master-hand of 
 Hugh has sketched for us a beautiful picture of stu- 
 dent Hfe in this monastery. It is too valuable to 
 leave unquoted : 
 
 "Great is the multitude and various are the ages 
 that I behold — boys, youths, young men, and old 
 men. Various also are the studies. Some exercise 
 their uncultured tongues in pronouncing our letters 
 and in producing sounds that are new. Others learn 
 by listening at first to the inflections of words, their 
 composition and derivation ; afterwards they repeat 
 them to one another, and by repetition engrave 
 them on their memory. Others work upon tablets 
 covered with wax. Others trace upon membranes 
 with a skilled hand diverse figures in diverse colors. 
 Others, with a more ardent zeal, seem occupied with 
 the most serious studies. They dispute among 
 themselves, and each endeavors by a thousand plots 
 and artifices to ensnare the other. I see some who 
 are making computations. Others with instruments 
 clearly trace the course and position of stars and the 
 movement of the heavens. Others treat of the 
 nature of plants, the constitution of man, and the 
 quality and virtue of all things." ' 
 
 This represents the kind of work that has been 
 done for centuries in the larger cloistral schools. 
 Hugh's account is almost literally that which we 
 have seen Alcuin give of his own school-days. But 
 as the cloistral school led to the decline of the 
 episcopal school, and in a great measure superseded 
 it, even so did the university lead to the decline of 
 the cloistral school. 
 
 1 "De Vanitate Muiidi," lib. i., D. i-ol. 707, t. iii., Mii^iie 
 Ed. — Cf. John of Salisbury, "Metaloo;." lih. ii., oa]!. x.
 
 THE PALATINE SCHOOL 
 
 (37)
 
 THE PALATINE SCHOOL. 
 
 ^^HE palatine school is of earlier origin than the 
 ^^' day of Charlemagne. There was a palace school 
 in the Merovingian court in which the children of 
 the king and the chiefs were educated. 
 
 "From the time of the first race of our kings," 
 says Crevier, "we find traces of a school held in their 
 palace where noble youths were instructed in what- 
 ever letters and knowledge their positions required." 
 ("Hist, de rUniversitc de Paris," t. i., p. 26). 
 
 It was an ancient German custom, mentioned by 
 Tacitus ("Germania," xiii.), to have the sons of the 
 various subordinate chiefs recommended at the court 
 of the ruler and brought up with the sons of the 
 king. They were presented and adopted with cere- 
 mony. The custom became the source of feudal 
 power. ■ These youths attached themselves to their 
 chief and followed him with unswerving loyalty to 
 battle, to exile, to victory, even to death. 
 
 Christianity stepped in. and here, as elsewhere, 
 sanctified the custom. As we have found the school 
 attached to the church and the cloister, even so do 
 we find the palace school become identified with the 
 royal chapel. Indeed, the school is called the chapel, 
 and the chapel gets its name from the capclla of St. 
 Martin of Tours. 
 
 The first chaplain was Aptonius, who lived under 
 Clovis (481-51 1), and who may be regarded as the
 
 40 ESSAi:S EULCATJONAL. 
 
 father of the palatine chapel. (" Gallia Christiana," t. 
 ii., col. 979). Henceforth this school becomes the 
 centre whence radiates the light of learning in France. 
 The light does not always shine with equal brilliancy. 
 Fifty years elapse before we come across another emi- 
 nent chaplain, Mererius, or Mercarius. (Ibid., ocl. 974.) 
 
 The names of the great men who Christianized 
 France — all of whom came forth from that palace 
 school — would fill a volume. We mention St. 
 Remy, who baptized Clovis ; Waast and Deo- 
 datus, his chatechists ; Gormer of Toulouse, who 
 learned all the Scriptures in three years ; Cesarius 
 of Acles, the learned monk of Lerins, who taught 
 his people how to sing hymns in church in Greek. 
 
 The sons of Clovis continued the good work. 
 Under Theodoric, the master, was Saint Gall, grand- 
 uncle of Gregory of Tours, who charmed Theodoric 
 by his singing, to such an extent that Theodoric 
 could not be separated from him. 
 
 Under the fostering care of Childebert and the 
 pious Ultrogotha and her sister, Swegotha, the 
 school flourished. Childebert is known as the first 
 Merovingian king who was familiar with the Latin. 
 Fortunatus calls him " the priest-king, the crowned 
 cleric ; another, Melchisedech, victor of peace, glory 
 and rule of pontiffs." This prince gathered learned 
 men from Rome and Constantinople, from England 
 and Ireland. Symposiums were held in the gardens 
 of the court. There those two Bretons, Hermel 
 and Hervanion, sang daily, and their sweet voices 
 made them favorites with the king. Hervanion, or 
 the little Herv^", was learned in many languages, a
 
 THE PA L . J TINE S CI I OOL. \\ 
 
 perfect musician, and composed several ballads and 
 poems. There the young shepherd, Patrocles, dis- 
 played his wonderful gifts — Patrocles, who, unknown 
 to his parents, attended the schools, and became 
 such a prodigy of learning that Mummion intro- 
 duced him to the palatine school. There was the 
 laureate of the court, Venantius Fortunatus, who 
 lifts the veil and permits us to see the school life 
 beneath the clouds of those stormy days. 
 
 Gregory of Tours finds learning in decay. But 
 from the time of Clotaire the palace school can be 
 clearly traced. Among the abbots of the palace and 
 the camp ; among the chaplains and the arch-chap- 
 lains, we can discern the school in which St. Leger 
 and his disciples lived and labored. 
 
 There was Betharius of Chartres, — a noble Ro- 
 man, who after having been nourished in the schools 
 established by Boethius and Cassidorus became dis- 
 tinguished as an eminent teacher — and Clotaire II. 
 following the advice of Queen Fredegunde named him 
 arch-chaplain of the royal chapel — which position al- 
 so made him head of the school. (" Acta T. Betharii," 
 Boll. Aug. 2.) He was succeeded by Rusticus, who 
 had acquired in the Roman schools the purest and 
 best traditions of Christian education. Rusticus 
 modeled the school more after the monastic form. 
 His school became a seminary whence emanated 
 venerable bishops and saints to govern the church of 
 France. 
 
 Rusticus was succeeded by Sulpitius whose influ- 
 ence upon the youths of the palace was far-reaching. 
 Their lives were passed in the most rigid austerity.
 
 42 BSSAl'S EDUCATIOXAL. 
 
 Beneath their rich garments they wore hair shirts, and 
 many of the brightest became clerics or religious — 
 callings, which, up to that time had been considered 
 beneath the profession of arms. You may remember 
 the exclamation of St, Clothilde in regard to her 
 grand-children : '" I would rather see them dead than 
 tonsured !" 
 
 I. What were the studies pursued? There were 
 grammar, dialectics, rhetoric ; there were the more 
 special studies of Roman law, national customs and 
 traditions, models of Gallo-Roman eloquence and 
 even of the vernacular Gallo-Frankish idiom. The ver- 
 nacular tongues were already attracting attention and 
 we find the rhetoricians distinguishing between the ar- 
 tificialness of Greek, the circumspect measure of Lat- 
 in, the splendors of the Gallic tongue, and the pomp of 
 the English. (Don Pitra, " Vie de S. Leger," pp. 32, 
 33.) History occupied a large place in the course. 
 Under this head was included a study of the great 
 national epics. (" Vita S. Wandsegisiti," No. 2, S. ii., 
 13th ed.) Christian dogma and Christian philosophy 
 also found their place. It was the school of superior 
 studies — where privileged youths finished after 
 private studies at home and in the schools of the 
 grammarians — whither they resorted from all parts 
 of Gaul. 
 
 Remember that at the period of which we now 
 treat there was no hereditary nobility ; honors were 
 distributed according to merit, and the youth who 
 passed through his course with most satisfaction and 
 had submitted to the rigid discipline of the school 
 was most likely to be honored by the king.
 
 THE PALATINE SCIIOi)L. \\\ 
 
 We can easily conceive the great educational in- 
 fluence of this school upon the fierce Germanic 
 nature. It reconciled him to the study of letters ; 
 it gave him a taste for the arts of peace ; he became 
 more polished. 
 
 Under the long and brilliant reigns of Clotaire 
 and Dagobert, Merovingian royalty becomes Byzan- 
 tine in its splendor and style. The etiquette of the 
 old courts is introduced. Religious ceremonies are 
 carried out with all possible pomp. Especially mag- 
 nificent was the celebration of Easter in one or an- 
 other of the one hundred and fifty Merovingian 
 towns to which the court migrated yearly. (Naudet, 
 " Memoires de ITnstitut.," t. viii., p. 404.) 
 
 The palatine school had an obscure beginning in 
 the sixth century, grew to be great under Clotaire 
 II., then declined under the management of Varim- 
 bert,who busied himself in quarreling with the monks 
 of St. Medard in Soissons ; grew into significance 
 under the illustrious S. Ouen, Bishop of Rouen, who 
 saw three generations pass under his hands. 
 
 Then came Leodegar, or Leger, called to court 
 of Queen Bathilde. Under his management and 
 counsels the school became once more thoroughly 
 organized. It flourished under Pepin the Short, and 
 we read of Abelard, cousin of Charlemagne, that he 
 was educated with the pupils of the palace in all 
 human science, and heard the same lessons with the 
 emperor. (Leon Maitre : " Les Ecoles Episcopales 
 et Monastiques " i, p. 35.) 
 
 Then came the school of Charlemagne. Here 
 we must distinguish. Mention is made of an Acad-
 
 44 BS'SJ }-S EIU'CATIONAL. 
 
 emy in which nearly all his court took part — as- 
 sumed name: Toulouse. This was not the palatine 
 school. That school was distinct, and contained 
 not only the youths as found in the earlier schools, 
 but others who were preparing for holy orders. 
 Thus, the chronicler of San Gall tells how Charles 
 upon returning from an expedition, had all the 
 pupils whom he confided to Clement of Ireland 
 brought before him and classified according to their 
 proficiency and diligence, cautioning the sons of the 
 nobility that unless they studied as well as the 
 poorer youths, they need expect but scant favors at 
 his hands. (D. Bouquet, t. v., p. 107. Mon. Sang. 
 Chron. 1. i.) 
 
 It has been questioned whether the palace school 
 was permanent, or whether it accompanied the court 
 from place to place. I am of opinion that the 
 school went wherever the court settled. The chap- 
 lain was also the custodian of the sacred relics that 
 were an inseparable portion of the royal equipage. 
 When Archbishop Augilran was made arch-chaplain, 
 he was dispensed from diocesan residence by Pope 
 Adrian, which is additional evidence that the school 
 traveled with Charlemagne. Alcuin also complained 
 of his frequent journeyings when he had charge of 
 the school. 
 
 Under Charlemagne, the order in which the 
 teachers instructed was somewhat as follows: 
 
 I. Alcuin. — He was the great light of the 
 school under Charlemagne. He brought with him 
 the best literary traditions of England, as handed 
 down from the venerable Bede through Egbert of
 
 THE PAT.ATINE SC//()()E. 45 
 
 York. He was possessed of the best and ripest 
 scholarship of his day. At court he not only organ- 
 ized schools, but he aided Charlemagne in his wise 
 legislation. Retiring to the monastery of Tours in 
 his old age, he there established a scriptorium that 
 became famous for the neatness and accuracy of the 
 work it sent out. You will find a fair account of 
 Alcuin's pedagogical work in the monograph of 
 Prof. West. In recommending the book, I feel it 
 my duty to call your attention to both its merits 
 and its defects. His scriptorium — vellum, purple 
 gold-quaritch. 
 
 2. Clement of Ireland. — Alcuin found fault 
 with his theories and his methods. Even then race 
 prejudice asserted itself. Theodolfe, Bishop of 
 Orleans, was also opposed to him. 
 
 3. Claudius, afterwards Bishop of Turin. 
 
 4. Aldric, who was a disciple of Alcuin in 
 Tours, and pupil of Sigulf, and afterwards Archbishop 
 of Sens. 
 
 5. Amalarius SymphoniuS, also a disciple of 
 Alcuin, and raised to the archiepiscopal see of 
 Lyons. 
 
 Under Charles the Bold, the palace school became 
 distinguished about the year 842. An ancient writer 
 thus bears witness to its excellence : " His court be- 
 came a palaestra for all departments of learning. 
 And so, all the leading men in the kingdom sent 
 thither their children to be formed in human and 
 divine science. (See Crevier, "Hist, de I'Univ. de 
 Paris," t, i., p. 42.) At the head of the school 
 was John Scotus Erigena, the translator of the
 
 46 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 pseudo Dyonysian writings and whom Roger Bacon 
 praised as a clear-headed commentator of Aristotle. 
 His doctrines were regarded as tainted, and Du Bou- 
 lay quotes a letter purporting to come from Pope 
 Nicholas I. asking Charles not to allow Erigena to 
 remain at the head of the school in Paris, lest, the 
 bad grain mingling with the good grain, all should be 
 spoiled. ("Hist. Univ. Par.," t. i., p. 184). However, 
 let me add, the authenticity of this letter has been 
 doubted. {^Rev. des Qiiestiojis Historiques, Oct., 
 1892.) 
 
 Irish scholars continued to govern the school even 
 after the death of Charles and the disappearance of 
 Scotus Erigena. Thus, under Louis the Pious, Man- 
 non, who afterwards withdrew to the monastery at 
 Condate, raised the tone and standard of the school 
 so well that we find Radbod coming all the way from 
 Utrecht to attend his lessons. 
 
 The last master of the school of whom we find 
 mention is St. Remi of Auxene, who died in 908. 
 The palatine school became lost in oblivion there- 
 after.
 
 MEDIEVAL dNIVERSlTY LIFE 
 
 (47)
 
 MEDIEVAL UNIVERSITY LIFE.' 
 
 K,ATHER Denifle's book on the origins of the 
 ^ universities is epoch-making. The learned 
 Dominican, as sub-archivist of the Vatican library, 
 has utilized to their full extent the rare and excep- 
 tional advantages at his disposal. To the extensive 
 materials that lay at his hand he brought to beSr 
 vast learning and marvelous patience. No document 
 seems to have escaped him ; he allows nothing in 
 the document that he handles to pass unchallenged. 
 He has an eye for the most minute details. Indeed, 
 it is in grasping the whole meaning of a phrase or 
 sentence that he has been enabled to correct so many 
 illusions in which the historians of all our universi- 
 ties have been living. His method is purely ana- 
 lytical. He leaves very little to inference. He 
 makes no statement that is not based on a docu- 
 
 ^ American Catholic Quarterly Rer'iexv. 
 
 " Die Entstehung der Universitaten des Mittelalters bis 
 1400." Von P. Heinrich Denifle, aus dem Predigerorden, 
 "Unterarchivar des HI. Stuhles. Berlin. 1885. 
 
 " De I'Organisation de I'Enseignement dans I'Universit^ 
 de Paris au Moyen Age." Par Charles Tluirot. Paris. 1850. 
 
 " Essai sur I'Organisation des Eiudes dans I'Ordre des 
 Freres Prccheurs au Xllleme et au XlVenie Siecle " (1216- 
 1342). Par G. Douais. Paris. 1884. 
 
 " Monumenta Franciscana. 2 vols. Rolls Series. Vol. i. 
 edited by |. S. Brewer, London, 1858; vol. ii. edited by Richard 
 Ilowlett, 1882. 
 
 E. E-4 ("'•')
 
 50 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 ment, or that is not backed up by ample proof. His 
 familiarity with the literature of the subject of uni- 
 versities in all its details enables him to go behind 
 the polish of the sentence and lay finger upon the 
 very text that the author had in mind when stating 
 his propositions. He forthwith discusses and settles 
 the authoritative value of the work drawn from. 
 This is the perfection of critical acumen. 
 
 And inasmuch as our historians of universities 
 have been living in a fool's paradise concerning the 
 origin and formation of those institutions, Father 
 Denifle has his hands full in correcting, refuting, re- 
 jecting, and discussing the statements of his prede- 
 cessors. His book in every page bristles with argu- 
 ment. It is a book that shall henceforth be indis- 
 pensable to the student of history. No man can 
 ignore it and presume to write upon mediaeval times. 
 The three agencies that moulded the Middle Ages 
 into their characteristic shape and gave them life 
 and being were the Papacy, the Holy Roman Em- 
 pire, and the University of Paris. Each wielded a 
 far-reaching influence, the full extent of which few 
 historians have been able to measure. Therefore do 
 we most cordially thank Father Denifle for the 
 scholarly volume he has given us, and we hope 
 and pray that he be spared the health and 
 strength to finish the other volumes that are to 
 follow. 
 
 Prior to Father Denifle's great book the only woi k 
 that attempted to remove the history of the Univer- 
 sity of Paris out of the domain of romance in which 
 Du Boulay had placed it was the slender volume of
 
 MEDI^^VAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 51 
 
 M. Charles Thurot. Every student of education since 
 1850 has found the book invaluable in giving him for 
 the first time a correct notion of the organization of 
 the University of Paris. Even the search-light of 
 Father Denifle's acumen, while pointing out a mis- 
 take here and there, approves of the main conclu- 
 sions of the author. When Thurot went astray he 
 was generally misled by placing too great confidence 
 in Du Boulay. 
 
 M. I'Abbe Douais did for the Dominicans what 
 Thurot did for the University of Paris. He for the 
 first time mapped out for the general reader the whole 
 complex organization of study under which the Do- 
 minicans passed. His book is a valuable contribu- 
 tion to the history of pedagogics. It is largely 
 based upon original documents. The book is 
 timely, for men are now beginning to appreciate 
 the influence of the mendicant orders upon the 
 Middle Ages. 
 
 In like manner, the " Monumenta Franciscana" 
 gives us insight into the foundations of the Francis- 
 cans in London and Oxford. The first volume in- 
 cludes the chronicle of Thomas Eccleston, the letters 
 of Adam Marsh, and a short register of the Minorites 
 in London. The second volume contains a fragment 
 of Thomas Eccleston's treatise on the advent of the 
 friars, the rule of St. Francis, the statutes of the ob- 
 servant Franciscans, and other valuable records bear- 
 ing upon the order. Noteworthy is the respectful 
 tone in which the introductions to these volumes are 
 written by the late Professor Brewer and Mr. Richard 
 Howlett. These writers were not Catholic, but no
 
 52 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Catholic could be more zealous in defending the prac- 
 tises and customs of the friars; none could be more 
 considerate in making allowance for time and place. 
 Father Denifie is outspoken in his denunciation 
 of the synthetic method as applied to history. He 
 must be analytical or nothing. He is convinced that 
 naught but unsatisfactor)/ results can be reached by 
 the synthetic method.' But we should distinguish. 
 For purposes of investigation and verification, the 
 analytical is the only proper method ; but results hav- 
 ing been reached, there is always place for the syn- 
 thetic method. The material having been tested, it 
 may be safely employed to build up with. There- 
 fore, under leave of Father Denifle, we shall make a 
 short study of school-life in the mediaeval universi- 
 ties, in the course of which we shall attempt to re- 
 construct that life as contemporaries reveal it, and 
 as it appears to our view. We shall first consider the 
 organization of a university. 
 
 I. 
 
 The oldest mediaeval universities of which we 
 have cognizance are those of Paris and Bologna. 
 The origin of each is buried in the mists of the past. 
 Bologna became' famous as a school of law; 
 students flocked thither from all parts ; in the 
 course of time it possessed an autonomy of its own. 
 Pope and emperor endowed it with certain rights and 
 privileges, and forthwith it loomed before us as a 
 great university. So it was with the University of 
 
 ' " Einlcitung," xxiii.
 
 MEDIyEVAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 53 
 
 \ 
 
 Paris. For half a century before it became recog- 
 nized as such, we find it to have been a great intel- 
 lectual centre, made famous by the brilliant teachings 
 of William of Champeaux, Abelard and Peter Lom- 
 bard. The masters became organized into a scholas- 
 tic guild. But the university can be traced to no 
 one school, or no combination of schools as its 
 source.' The teachers of that day supplied an edu- 
 cational want ; the schools of Paris thus became cen- 
 ters of instruction which grew apace with the con- 
 course of students and teachers. 
 
 " They had practical ends," says Laurie ; " their 
 aim was to minister to the immediate needs of soci- 
 ety. . . . They simply aimed at critically expound- 
 ing recognized authorities in the interests of social 
 wants. It was the needs of the human body which 
 originated Salerno ; it was the needs of men as related 
 to each other in a civil organism which originated 
 Bologna ; it was the eternal needs of the human spir- 
 it in its relation to the unseen that originated Paris. 
 We may say, then, that it was the improvement of 
 the profession of medicine, law and theology which led 
 to the inception and organization of the first great 
 schools."^ 
 
 To the inception, perhaps, yes; to the organiza- 
 tion, decidedly no. The University of Paris was not 
 organized from the schools of St. Victor's, or St. Gene- 
 vieve's, or any combination of these with other 
 schools. There is extant no record of a definite act 
 by which one might say, " Here is the charter of 
 incorporation ; here is the decree of organization." 
 
 1 This point has been settled forever by F. Denifle, "Entste- 
 hung der Universitiiten," pp. 655 seq. 
 
 2 "Rise and Constitution of Universities," pp. 109, no.
 
 54 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The guild spirit was abroad and permeated all 
 trades and professions. The masters were no excep- 
 tion. When their guild looms into prominence, it 
 receives recognition ; but it is only by decree of 
 pope or emperor — and of pope chiefly — that 
 its degrees become entitled to universal respect. 
 Thus, long after the guild of masters in Paris had 
 become recognized, it remained under the jurisdic- 
 tion of the chancellor of the cathedral of Notre 
 Dame. It was out of the struggle between the chan- 
 cellor and the masters that the university grew into 
 a corporate existence. 
 
 The chancellor of Notre Dame had been an im- 
 portant factor in educational matters up to the be- 
 ginning of the twelfth century. He held absolute 
 sway over the students of all Paris ; he dispensed 
 licenses ; he was the students' civil and religious 
 judge; he had the power of excommunication.' He 
 became high-handed and abused his power. He 
 exacted exorbitant fines ; he had a dungeon of his 
 own, and imprisoned arbitrarily. 
 
 The popes and their legates, in order to diminish 
 this power, granted various privileges to students 
 and masters. Thus Innocent III., who had been 
 himself a student in Paris, and had been witness of 
 the chancellor's tyranny and of the long train of 
 evils that followed in its wake, legislated in order to 
 break it down. In 1208 he authorized the teachers 
 to be represented by a syndic ; in 1209 he bestowed 
 upon them the right to take oath to observe such 
 rules as they deemed proper and useful to impose 
 
 ' Bulseus, " Hist. Univ. Paris.," vol, iii., p. 44.
 
 MEDIJEVAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 55 
 
 upon themselves as a body. In 1213, he restricted 
 the chancellor's judicial powers by forbidding him 
 to refuse a license to teach, to anybody recom- 
 mended by the masters. This act is regarded as the 
 charter of the university.' In this manner did His 
 Holiness constitute masters and students into a 
 true corporation. 
 
 Six years later — in 1219 — Pope Honorius III. 
 forbade the chancellor to excommunicate masters 
 and students in a body, without the authorization of 
 the Holy See.' The kings of France were no less 
 generous in the privileges and prerogatives that 
 they granted the masters and students of Paris. 
 All this legislation fostered the growth of the uni- 
 versity, while it crippled the authority of the chan- 
 cellor. 
 
 But the death-blow was given to that authority 
 when the masters and students abandoned the 
 shadow of the cathedral and, flocking to the left 
 bank of the Seine, found refuge in the depen- 
 dencies of the abbeys of St. Genevieve and St. 
 Victor. In 12 13 no school belonging to the univer- 
 sity stood outside the island of the city.' In 12 15, 
 the papal legate, Robert de Cour^on, regulated in 
 regard to the study of theology that no one should 
 teach it who was not thirty-five years old, who had 
 not devoted at least eight years to study in the 
 schools, and who had not in addition attended a 
 
 1 Thurot, "De I'Organisation de I'Universite," p. 12. 
 
 2 Not anv member of the University, as Thurot puts it. 
 "De rOrgan'isation," p. 12. 
 
 3 Denifle, "Die Entstehung der Universitiiten," p. 662.
 
 56 BSSAl^S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 theological course of five years.' This shows that 
 Paris had already a school of theology, and that 
 dialectics were regarded as simply a preparation for 
 the higher branch. 
 
 In 1 216, the first year of the papacy of Honorius 
 III., who took an abiding interest in the rising uni- 
 versity, a school was opened under the jurisdiction 
 of the chancellor of St. Genevieve's. The chancel- 
 lor of the cathedral regarded this as an encroach- 
 ment upon his rights, and refused to regard as valid 
 any license or diploma signed by the chancellor of 
 St. Genevieve's. The quarrel was settled by Pope 
 Honorius III. in a brief to the bishop and chancel- 
 lor of Paris, in which it was ordered that any licen- 
 tiate of the chancellor of St. Genevieve's be admitted 
 to teach upon the same footing with a licentiate of 
 the chancellor of Notre Dame. This gave new 
 impetus to the schools on the left bank of the Seine. 
 Students continued to flock thither. Between 1219 
 and 1222 the largest exodus to Mount St. Genevieve 
 took place. 
 
 ' Bulaeus, vol. i., p. 82. Thurot mistook the reading of 
 this text in his essay. 
 
 UNIVERSITIES. 
 
 Addenda: Rome encouraged studies in a more substantial 
 manner than by privileges. Students and profess<^rs who held 
 benefits were dispensed from residence, and permitted to enjoy 
 the revenues of such benefits. Du Boulay, "Hist. Univ. 
 Par.," ii., p. 2, 570. 
 
 REGENTS. 
 
 Addenda: The Regent Master of Arts held a disputation 
 on each of the first forty days after his inception. During 
 that time he was not permitted to wear boots; instead, it was 
 regulated that he wear heelless shoes, known as " pynams," 
 later on, as " slop-shoes." " Man. Acad.," p. 450. I>vte, "A 
 Hist, of Oxford," p. 218.
 
 MEDI^^ VA L UNI VERS I T 1' L IFE. 57 
 
 About 1227 the schools of theology and law 
 were transferred to the same side. Thenceforth, 
 the abbot of St. Genevieve's assumed a certain 
 amount of jurisdiction over the university, and, 
 finally the chancellor of St. Genevieve's shared the 
 administration with the chancellor of Notre Dame 
 and the rector of the four nations. Thus was the 
 University of Paris — the Latin Quarter — cradled 
 on the island beneath the shadow of Notre Dame. 
 Thus did it grow into a corporate existence out of 
 the struggles of the masters to rid themselves of the 
 thraldom of the chancellor. 
 
 Once only did the papacy fail in sustaining the 
 university in this struggle. The incident will throw 
 light upon mediaeval university life. About 1221 the 
 university had a seal engraved as the essential at- 
 tribute of its corporate autonomy. The chapter of 
 Notre Dame took umbrage at this act as a novelty 
 not to be tolerated and brought the case before the 
 papal legate then residing in Paris. The legate placed 
 an injunction upon any further use of the seal until 
 the case should have been properly tried and decided. 
 Before the decision was arrived at, the seal was used, 
 and in 1225 the legate decided in favor of the chap- 
 ter of Notre Dame, broke the seal and forbade, under 
 penalty of excommunication, the formation of an- 
 other. 
 
 This decision raised a storm. The scholars and 
 masters rose up as one body ; they besieged the house 
 in which the legate dwelt, and caused him to flee to 
 some place of safety. It was only in 1246 that the 
 university afterwards obtained from Pope Innocent
 
 58 ESS ATS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 IV. the right of holding and using a seal. In the 
 meantime the four nations had each its seal, and any 
 document requiring the sanction of the whole uni- 
 versity was stamped with the four seals conjointly. 
 While examining these seals in the beautiful volume 
 of Vallet de Viriville we are reminded that the patrons 
 of the university were the Blessed Virgin, St. Cathe- 
 rine, St. Nicholas and St. Andrew.' 
 
 Speaking of the four nations reminds us of the 
 fact that they, no more than the pre-existent schools, 
 were the elements out of which the university was 
 directly formed. They came after that formation. 
 The university grew simply out of the association 
 of the professors of the four disciplines: theology, 
 law, medicine, and arts.'' The four nations were 
 so many guilds modeled after the Saxon guilds of 
 an earlier age. The division was more artificial 
 than spontaneous. It grew out of the peculiar rela- 
 tion of things in the Middle Ages. Youths flocking 
 to a centre of learning from all parts of the world 
 found themselves among strangers, exposed to every 
 kind of imposition. Until it was otherwise legislated 
 for, and even thereafter, these youths were charged 
 exorbitant prices for lodging, board, books, service, 
 and clothing. 
 
 True, the university from the hour of its incep- 
 tion undertook to protect the students against the 
 exactions of the townspeople. Thus, the price of 
 lodgings was to be fixed by sworn arbitrators, half 
 
 ^ See the images of those saints on the first seals in " His- 
 toire de I'lnstruction Publique en Europe," pp. 129-135. 
 *J)enifle, " Entstehung," p. 131.
 
 MEDIEVAL UNIVERSITY- LIFE. 59 
 
 appointed by the town and half by the city ; ' but 
 there were many other things in regard to which the 
 students required protection, and of which the uni- 
 versity could not or would not take cognizance. 
 Hence the necessity of their forming themselves into 
 associations for mutual protection. The natural di- 
 vision was according to nations and provinces. 
 
 Oxford had two nations, the North and the South ; 
 the students of Bologna were divided into Transal- 
 pine and Cisalpine ; those of Paris were divided into 
 four nations. The last-named were organized some- 
 where about 1219. They were composed of all the 
 scholars included in the licentiate, together with the 
 Masters of Arts.'* The four nations were known as 
 the French, which included the Italian, Spanish and 
 Greek students; the Picardians, which included the 
 students of the northeast and the Netherlands; the 
 Normans and the English, which included those of Ire- 
 land, Scotland and Germany. Later on, we find Fran- 
 ciscan students in the university so numerous that 
 for convenience sake they were divided into nations. 
 Such a division was well calculated to bring about a 
 simplification of general management and superin- 
 tendence. Each of the four nations had its own hall 
 and its own rights and privileges as a corporate body. 
 It had its procurator, and, as has already been re- 
 marked, its seal distinct from that of the university, its 
 common purse, its patron saint, and its Masses.^ 
 
 1 "Story of the University of Edinburgh," by Sir A. Grant, 
 i., p. 5. Gregory IX. obtained this concession from Louis IX. 
 in 1244. 
 
 ^ Denifle, " Entstehung," p. 131. 
 
 ' Thurot, " De I'Organisation de I'Enseignement," p. 22.
 
 50 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Members were addressed according to the nation 
 under which they were enrolled. Those of the French 
 nation as Honoraiida Natio Francice, Gallorum or Gal- 
 licana ; those of Picardy as Fidelissima Picardorum, 
 or Picardica ; those of Normandy as Vcneranda 
 Normanoriim or Normanice ; and those of Germany 
 as Constant issima Germanoru^n or A llemanics Nat to. ^ 
 In consequence of the wars between England and 
 France antipathy to England was shown at an early 
 stage of the university by expunging that name and 
 substituting Germany instead. The national spirit 
 waxed strong with the growth of each organization. 
 Party spirit ran high among the nations. Public fes- 
 tivities were frequently occasions for public rioting. 
 
 Each nation vied with the others in celebrating 
 the feast day of its patron raints, with the religious 
 solemnities of which were mixed up the most worldly 
 and profane rejoicings. They were made the occasion 
 of illuminations, masqueradings, balls and cavalcades. 
 
 As each nation sought to excel in display, mem- 
 bers of the other nations endeavored to spoil the 
 celebration. They were attacked while walking in 
 procession. A decree of Oxford University prohibited 
 the nations from going to church or to the public 
 places in a body, dancing or shouting with masks 
 over their faces, or to march anywhere with garlands 
 of leaves or flowers on their heads under penalty of 
 excommunication, and if persisted in, of imprison- 
 ment." Not only did each nation seek to rival the 
 
 * Vallet de Viriville: "Ilistoire de I'lnstruction Publique 
 en Europe," p. 134. 
 
 ^ "Munimenta Academica," p. 18.
 
 MEDI^^VAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 01 
 
 others in pomp and show, but each to a certain 
 degree despised the others, and attached thereto a 
 nickname of opprobrium that was considered charac- 
 teristic. 
 
 The Englishman was a drunkard and a leech ; the 
 Frenchman was proud, effeminate and decked out 
 Hke a woman ; the German, furious and obscene; the 
 Norman, vain and boastful ; the Poitevin, a traitor 
 and a spendthrift ; the Burgundian, stupid and bru- 
 tal; the Breton, light and changing; the Lombard, 
 miserly, cowardly and avaricious ; the Roman, sedi- 
 tious, violent, and quick at blows; the Sicilian, cruel 
 and tyrannical ; the Brabantine, a man of blood, an 
 incendiary, a brigand; the Flenring, a glutton, a 
 prodigal, and soft as butter.' The hurling of such 
 epithets soon led to blows. Even the religious or- 
 ders became tainted with the race-spirit. We read 
 that the superior of the Dominicans in Oxford ob- 
 jected to the receiving of subjects from other nations 
 in the convent of that place, for which he was de- 
 posed in general chapter and subjected to a severe 
 penance for several years." 
 
 There was one common enemy in relation to 
 whom all the nations in all the universities were 
 united as one man. That enemy was the town. 
 The students were so protected by papal and royal 
 decrees that they could behave most outrageously 
 with the greatest impunity and escape chastisement. 
 
 1 Jacques de Vitry : "Historia Occidentalis," cap. vii., p. 
 278. Archbishop Vaughan erroneously mentions the Picards 
 in this quotation. Jacques de Vitry does not use the word. 
 
 ^ Martene and Durand : "Thesaurus Anecd.," t. iv., 1730, 
 1731-
 
 62 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The university became the spoiled child of kings and 
 popes. The young men had no respect for person 
 or property. They compelled the passers-by to give 
 up their purses, and spent the booty so acquired in 
 the taverns with the vilest company of men and 
 women. No townsman or townswoman was safe in 
 their hands. No matter how great their crime, if 
 taken into custody by the civil authorities the whole 
 university was up in arms and suspended all lessons 
 till the culprits were released.' There was never a 
 peace between town and gown ; there was merely an 
 armistice ; the feud was only smouldering when it 
 was not open. Affrays not infrequently ended in 
 the plundering of houses, and even in murder. 
 
 A characteristic incident that occurred in 1381 
 in Cambridge, when the country was in a state of 
 intense excitement, is told by Mr. J. Bass Mullinger : 
 
 "At Corpus Christi all the books, charters and 
 writings belonging to the society were destroyed. At 
 St. Mary's the university chest was broken open, and 
 the documents which it contained met with a similar 
 fate. The masters and scholar.-, under intimidation, 
 surrendered all their charters, muniments and ordi- 
 nances, and a grand conflagration ensued in the 
 market-place, where an ancient beldame was to be 
 seen scattering the ashes in the air, as she exclaimed, 
 'Thus perish the skill of the clerks !'" ^ 
 
 These instances might be multiplied at will. 
 
 The nations soon grew beyond the mere pur- 
 poses of discipline that seemed to have been the 
 
 ' For instances see Dii Bouliiy, " Hist. Univ. Paris," t. v., 
 PP- 97. H5. «3o; t. vi , p. 490. 
 
 '^ "History of the University of Camhridj^c." " Epochs of 
 Church History," p. 20.
 
 MEDIyEVAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 03 
 
 primary object of their formation. The prominence 
 that they acquired in avenging injuries done any 
 member of their guild, whether by legal process or 
 otherwise, gave them a voice in the administration 
 of the university. Their proctors were received 
 with the dignity and honor becoming representatives 
 of bodies so powerful. They elected officers ; they 
 prescribed studies ; they were foremost in repelling 
 every attack made upon the rights and privileges of 
 the university by chancellor or bishop. They 
 elected a common head who became known as the 
 rector. In 1249 they agreed that this election shall 
 be by means of the four proctors.' The rector was 
 taken exclusively from the faculty of arts. At first 
 elected for a month, afterwards for six weeks, he 
 was by statute of 1278 elected for three months. In 
 the beginning he was only the common head of the 
 nations. Denifle says: "If the rector was only 
 head of the nations, and these were not identical 
 with the university, it is self-evident that the rector 
 was not head of the university."^ 
 
 As we have seen, the nations soon became the 
 most formidable, the most active and the most 
 aggressive elements in the university. Towards 
 1300 the faculties of law and medicine were subject 
 to the rector of the four nations; towards 1350 the 
 faculty of theology fell under his jurisdiction, and 
 he then became head of the whole university.^ 
 Father Denifle considers the office to have been a 
 
 ^ Bulseus, " Hist. Univ. Paris," vol. iii., p, 222. 
 2 "Entstehung," p. 107. 
 * Denifle, Ibid., p. 132.
 
 64 £SSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 superfluous one throughout the whole career of the 
 university.' Be this as it may, the day of the 
 rector's installation was one of great rejoicing. It 
 was celebrated by a solemn procession, in which the 
 religious orders residing in the Latin quarter joined 
 the members of the university. His jurisdiction 
 was supreme, extending to all schools, ofificers and 
 trades under the university. He was held in 
 great honor and esteem ; was frequently called into 
 the councils of the king, and in procession walked 
 side by side with the Bishop of Paris as his peer. 
 He was custodian of the treasury and the archives 
 and controlled the Pres-aiix-clercs. He gave letters 
 of scholarship to masters and students, conferred on 
 them the privileges of the gown, and received from 
 them in return the oath of perpetual obedience, no 
 matter the dignity to which they might afterwards 
 arrive.' He was addressed in French as Messire, or 
 V Amplissime ; in Latin as Amplissime Rector, or 
 Vestra Aviplitudo^ 
 
 The revenue of the rector came out of the sale of 
 parchment which was controlled by the university. 
 The market was permitted only in three places, 
 namely: in a hall of the convent of the Mathurins, 
 at the fair of St. Laurent and at that of St. Denis. The 
 rector sent out his four sworn dealers in parchment 
 to count and tax the bundles brought in for sale by 
 the outside merchants. The tax being levied and 
 
 * " Entstehunp^," p. 693. 
 
 ''■ Vallet de Virivillc, "Ilistoirc dc I'liistruction publique 
 en Europe," p. 125. 
 
 * Ibid., ]). 134.
 
 MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSITY' LIFE. 05 
 
 gathered, after the tradesmen by appointment of the 
 king, those of the bishops and the masters and schol- 
 ars had made their purchases, the merchants were 
 free to sell to whom they would.' In 1292 there 
 were nineteen dealers in parchment in Paris, twelve 
 of whom lived on the street then known as des Ecri- 
 vains, now called de la Parclieviincric? 
 
 The great event in this connection was the fair 
 held at St. Denis. From 1109 it was customary for 
 the people headed by the bishop and many of the 
 clergy of Paris, to go in procession to the open plain 
 of St. Denis in order to venerate a portion of the 
 true Cross. 
 
 The relic was exposed, prayers were said, sermons 
 were preached and solemn benediction was given. 
 The exposition of the Holy Cross lasted nine days 
 during which these devotions were repeated. Mer- 
 chants took occasion of the throngs to expose their 
 wares, and the plain of St. Denis during this season 
 became also a place of chaffer — a fair — indictum.^ 
 As late as 1429 the religious character was still kept 
 up, for we find that June 8th of that year the bishop 
 and clergy went to St. Denis in order to preach a 
 sermon and give benediction of the Holy Cross.' 
 
 Early in the thirteenth century St. Denis became 
 the chief market for parchments. The rector of the 
 university recognized it as such, and rode in state to 
 the fair, and had his seal impressed upon all the 
 
 ^ Crevier, "Histoire de I'Universite," t. ii., p. 130. 
 "^ A. Franklin, "La Vie privee d'Autrefois, Ecoles et Col- 
 leges," p. 94. 
 
 ^ Whence I'endit — lendit — Land it. 
 
 * Le Beuf, •' Histoire du Diocese de Paris," t. iii., p. 283. 
 E. E.— s
 
 66 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 parchments required during the year.* It was the 
 occasion of a general holiday for the university. 
 The students started from St. Genevieve's, and rode in 
 procession to the grounds amid the astonishment of 
 the townsfolk. No sooner had they set foot on the 
 ground than they abandoned themselves to all kinds 
 of disorder. It was a pilgrimage of voluptuousness 
 in which innumerable excesses were committed.' In 
 following the doings of the rector we are getting a 
 further glimpse of mediaeval university life. His was 
 a unique position in that life. To attain the goal of 
 his ambition, his nation — and every nation had its 
 own candidate — set on foot intrigues in which they 
 exhausted their ingenuity; there was rivalry open 
 and secret; there were bribings and threatenings; 
 masters and scholars became excited ; violence and 
 quarrelling were frequent, ending sometimes in 
 murder.' Disorder and turmoil preceded the attain- 
 ing of the office; disorder and turmoil accompanied 
 the celebrations connected with the holding of the 
 office; disorder and turmoil succeeded to the going 
 out of office. This excitement — this constant seeth- 
 ing of brain and vibration of nerve — enters into the 
 very life of the university. 
 
 It was out of all this turmoil that the university 
 grew into life and being, under the fostering care of 
 church and state. The privileges that both church 
 
 ^ Le Beuf, Ibid., p. 269. 
 
 ' Vallet de Viriville, loc. cit., p. 172. A full description — 
 a description that we dare not reproduce — written between 1290 
 and 1300, has been published in the valuable work of Le Beuf, 
 " Histoire du Diocese de Paris," p. 259. 
 
 * Thurot, " De I'Organisation," p. 32.
 
 MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 67 
 
 and state conceded were the vital principle of her 
 existence. "A university without privileges," says 
 Du Boulay, " is a body without a soul.'" Loo'king 
 back upon her growth, we find her cradled in the 
 sanctuary of Notre Dame, then nourished into full 
 development as an organism, independent of the 
 state, with her own autonomy and with power to 
 make her own laws. She drew her vitality from the 
 Holy See. The same is true of Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge. It is amusing to note how jealously Oxford 
 watched Paris. Whatever privilege Paris received, 
 Oxford claimed, as being on a par with her sister 
 Studiuni. Nay, if some of the doctors in Paris were 
 given a benefice or made bishops, forthwith Oxford 
 sent a deputation to Rome asking for an equal share 
 in the bounty of the Holy See. 
 
 As science is free as truth, even so were these 
 mediaeval universities secure from all control. This 
 complete liberty was the secret of their success. 
 Scholars and masters enjoyed immunity from civil 
 jurisdiction, and were answerable for their behavior 
 only to fellow-members. In this respect, the Uni- 
 versity of Paris stood alone, a power great and unique 
 in the world, ranking in prestige and influence with 
 the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, Doctrinal 
 heresies lurked and grew within the precincts of 
 this and other universities ; immorality was at times 
 rampant among students and professors, but withal, 
 as children of the Church, encouraged and protected 
 by the popes, they were Catholic in their spirit and 
 
 Hist. Univ. Pari.s," vol. i., p. 95.
 
 68 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 in the general tone of their teachings. " Privileged 
 and well-beloved daughters of the Church," says 
 Wimpheling, " they endeavored by their fidelity and 
 attachment to render to their mother all that they 
 owed her." ' So long as they remained docile to the 
 Church, they flourished ; the moment they were secu- 
 larized and became mere tools in the hands of unscru- 
 pulous governments, they fell from their high and 
 exceptional standing. This is their history in a nut- 
 shell. 
 
 II. 
 
 Such was the outward showing of a oediaeval 
 university as witnessed in its highest type. Its 
 inner life was more varied and interesting. Let us 
 again confine ourselves to Paris or to its models. 
 The University of Paris was an intellectual center 
 through which passed numerous currents of human- 
 ity from every part of Christendom — all devoured 
 by a thirst for knowledge that could scarcely be 
 satisfied. There was scarcely a class or condition of 
 men that was not to be found in a mediaeval univer- 
 sity. The rich were there, and in their eagerness to 
 acquire knowledge forgot that they were rich, and 
 neglected to surround themselves with the luxuries 
 and comforts that wealth might have purchased. 
 The poor were there, and were not ashamed of their 
 poverty. Prince and peasant, lordly cardinal and 
 struggling clerk, sat on the same floor listening to 
 the same lecture. Boys of twelve were there ; a 
 statute had to be passed excluding those under that 
 
 * "De Arte Impressorio," p. 19.
 
 MEDI^-EVAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 69 
 
 age. Men of thirty were there ; " at the age of 
 thirty or forty," says Le Clcrc, " the student at the 
 university was still a scholar."' Professors in one 
 department of letters were to be seen, after deliver- 
 ing their own lectures, seated in the same hall with 
 their pupils studying the same matter. " This gave 
 to the professorship," says Janssen, " a lively, ani- 
 mated and youthful emulation ; to the student a 
 dignity and an influence, traces of which we meet 
 with everywhere in the constitutions of the uni- 
 versities,'"' 
 
 Before assisting at a lesson, let us acquire some 
 idea of the attainments of scholars and masters. Stu- 
 dents began the university course at an early age. 
 Having learned reading, writing and the elements of 
 Latin grammar, they started to study logic at the 
 age of twelve, and from fourteen upward they were 
 in position to submit to the examinations and carry 
 on the disputations that were requisite before receiv- 
 ing any academic distinction. 
 
 The first was that of determinant. In order to 
 receive the distinction of determinant, the student, 
 after his second year's course, applied for examina- 
 tion. This examination was severe. Immediately be- 
 fore Christmas, the candidate sustained, in presence 
 of the school, an argument or dispute on some ques- 
 tion of morals against a regent. Finally, there was 
 the crowning test, in which he disputed daily, till 
 the end of Lent, in the school of his nation, rue 
 de Fouarrc. Remember that these disputes were 
 
 * "Hist. Litt. de la France au XlVeme Siecle," i., p. 269. 
 
 * " Geschichte," i., p. 74.
 
 70 BSSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 carried on by boys not older than fifteen or sixteen 
 years. In 1472 the Lenten disputes were suppressed, 
 and the degree of bachelor was substituted for that 
 of determinant. If successful, the candidate received 
 a certificate showing that he had read the following 
 works : 
 
 1. " The Introduction " of Porphyry in the trans- 
 lation of Boethius. Porphyry wrote the book as an 
 introduction to the "Categories" of Aristotle, a 
 work also translated by Boethiu?. It was through 
 this book that the question of Nominalism and 
 Realism assumed such vast proportions during the 
 Middle Ages. 
 
 2. "The Categories " of Aristotle. 
 
 3. The book on " Interpretation," which was the 
 only part of Aristotle's writings taught before the 
 ninth century in the translation of Boethius. It is 
 generally known under its Greek title, " Periher- 
 menias." 
 
 4. "The Syntax" of Priscian. This contained 
 books xvii. and xviii. of Priscian's Grammar, and was 
 known as the " Priscianus Minor." Priscian (flor. 
 500) was the standard grammarian of the Middle 
 Ages. 
 
 5. An ordinary or an extraordinary course in the 
 "Topics" and " Elenchi " of Aristotle. These 
 books had been translated by James of Venice be- 
 fore 1 1 28.' 
 
 6. The determinant should, in addition, have 
 followed during two years the course in dogmatics, 
 
 ^ Am. Jourchiin, " Rccherchcs Critiques sur les Traductions 
 d'Aristole," p. 58.
 
 MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 71 
 
 and should have assisted at, and taken part in, the 
 disputations. 
 
 The course here given is of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury. In the fifteenth century there was a general 
 revolt against the scholastic system, and morals and 
 rhetoric received a more prominent place. In 1452 
 the rules of versification were made a recognized part 
 of the course, and in 1457 the study of Greek was 
 added. But, looking at the programme of studies 
 here laid down, it must be said that it was heavy 
 work for youths not older than fifteen or sixteen. 
 
 It may seem strange to us that boys of that age 
 could carry on such disputes. The precociousness 
 of the youth of those days is a fact that has been 
 frequently commented upon. Tiraboschi called atten- 
 tion to it, and Janssen gives several instances in the 
 fifteenth century, in which extraordinary things are 
 told of studious youths. Adam Potken (1490) read 
 the " Eclogues of Virgil and the Orations of Cicero " 
 to pupils ranging from eleven to twelve years of age. 
 John Eck (b. i486) completed all the Latin classics 
 from his ninth to his twelfth year. At the age of 
 thirteen he entered Heidelberg, and at fifteen re- 
 ceived from Tubingen the degree of Master of Arts. 
 John MuUer, the celebrated mathematician, matricu- 
 lated in the University of Leipzig at the age of 
 twelve, and in his sixteenth year received his Mas- 
 ter's degree from the University of Vienna.' Multi- 
 plicity of subjects and multiplicity of text-books tend 
 to weaken the intellectual grasp of the modern 
 
 * Janssen, "Geschichte," pp. 59, 60,
 
 72 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 student. In those mediaeval days, when the student 
 had few notes and less books to fall back upon, hav- 
 ing listened to his lessons attentively and retained 
 them carefully in memory, he became more self- 
 reliant, and, if possessed of a fair share of talent, 
 could hold his own in disputation. 
 
 The determinant had certain privileges and cer- 
 tain duties. He was entitled to wear a cape and to 
 assist at the masses of the nations. Every Friday 
 he was obliged to discuss grammar with the backward 
 boys. He was liable to be called upon as assistant 
 teacher and give special or cursory lessons. This led 
 to abuse ; for we find from the statutes of Oxford 
 that determinants, upon receipt of a bribe, were given 
 to neglect the ordinary lessons and devote themselves 
 exclusively to the cursory lessons. He furthermore 
 presided over the disputations of the younger stu- 
 dents, reviewed the whole question under discussion, 
 noticed the imperfections or fallacies in the argu- 
 ments advanced, and then pronounced his decisions 
 or determinations in the scholastic forms." His duty 
 at other times was to dispute logic daily, except Fri- 
 day, when he disputed grammar, and the first and 
 last day of his determination, when he disputed ques- 
 tions in morals and dogma. 
 
 The hours for determining were from 9 to 12 and 
 from I to 5.^ In the meantime, after the first prin- 
 cipal test, the determinant continued his studies till 
 he had completed his twenty-first year, when he was 
 
 1 Anstey, "Munimenta Academica," i., p. 87. 
 '■* Ibid., p. 246.
 
 MEDI.^ VA L UNI VERS I TV L IFE. 73 
 
 of age to become a licentiate, or one having the in- 
 herent right to teach. He should also have made 
 public reading in some school, of a book of Aristotle 
 during a whole year. 
 
 For the grand act of inception there was long 
 and severe preparation on the part of the intellec- 
 tual athlete, and when the event arrived it was 
 accompanied by great excitement and turbulence. 
 The ceremony was held in the hall of the nation 
 under which the aspirant was ranked. The aspirant 
 went from school to school, inviting each master in 
 person." Invitations of most elaborate designs were 
 sent out to distinguished persons, and were fre- 
 quently accepted. Charles VIII. of France was 
 present in 1485 at the sustaining of a thesis. It 
 was the ambition of every bachelor and his friends 
 to have a brilliant gathering, and they resorted to 
 every means to attain their object. This ambition 
 went to the extent of making it customary to drag 
 in every passer-by, will-he, nill-he, in order to have 
 a large audience. Statutes were enacted forbidding 
 the practice, under pain of excommunication and 
 imprisonment." 
 
 The mode of disputation did not vary. The 
 theses had been announced some time before. The 
 conclusions were beautifully inscribed on the invi- 
 tations that had been sent out. The hour having 
 arrived, let us enter the hall. The master is seated 
 upon a platform, in a large armchair. The candi- 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 433. 
 
 '^ Vallet de Viriville " Hist, de I'Education Publique," 
 P- 137-
 
 74 ESS A rS EDVCA TI ON A L . 
 
 date for inception stands before him. The first 
 thesis is announced, the young bachelor repeats the 
 proposition, divides it up into its various headings 
 and explains each as best he can. It is not per- 
 mitted to interrupt him, according to the statutes; 
 but on this point the statutes are frequently broken. 
 He is not long speaking when an opponent under- 
 takes to pick flaws in his arguments, formulating 
 all his objections in the mould of the syllogism. 
 The defendant takes up the objections, resolves 
 them into their component parts, discusses separ- 
 ately their affirmative and their negative sense, 
 throws his argument into the syllogistic form, now 
 distinguishing in regard to the use of terms, now 
 denying the major or minor premiss, now calling 
 attention to the employment of an undistributed 
 middle term. As the debate grows warm, the 
 dialectic skill and acumen of each shine forth. The 
 opponent takes hold of the last distinction made 
 by the defensor, and actually places him upon the 
 horns of a dilemma. The audience cheers. The 
 defensor is staggered ; only for a moment, however. 
 He retorts the dilemma upon his wily objector and 
 routs him, amid the clamor of the students. An- 
 other takes up the cudgels and attacks the thesis 
 from his point of view. Again, there are dis- 
 tinctions and syllogisms and dilemmas as before. 
 And so, "amid loud clamor on the part of the 
 audience, and on the part of the combatants, great 
 shaking of the head and stamping of the feet, and 
 extending of the fingers, and waving of the hands, 
 and contortions of the body as though they w-ere
 
 MEDI^^VAL UNIVBRSITV LIFE. 75 
 
 crazed,"' the work goes on for hours, during whole 
 days, and even weeks. Be it remembered that a 
 written essay or thesis was in those days something 
 unknown among students. Everything was car- 
 ried on orally.'' At last, after a severe struggle, the 
 successful bachelor becomes an inceptor. Here, by 
 the way, is the origin of our word " commence- 
 ment " as applied to the closing exercises of a 
 college. 
 
 The disputation concluded, the newly-made incep- 
 tor takes oath to observe the statutes and also that 
 he is provided with a school in which to read.^ Forth- 
 with the biretta is placed on his head and he gives his 
 inaugural lecture. If it is a candidate who incepts as 
 a master in grammar, the beadle presents him with a 
 birch and a ferule, with which he publicly flogs a boy 
 within the precinct of the school. He pays the beadle 
 for providing the birch and the boy for submitting to 
 the flogging." Then comes the feasting incident to in- 
 ception, from which none are exempt. Even members 
 of religious orders are obliged to give in money the 
 average cost of a banquet. ("Mun. Acad.," p. 564.) 
 The oflficers and the invited guests are arranged in 
 order of precedence by the chancellor, or rector, or 
 proctor of the nation. Presents consisting usually 
 of silk or kid gloves, or of a scarlet hood were made 
 to the officers and the distinguished guests. 
 
 * Peter Cantor, " Verbum Ahbreviatum," cap. v., p. 34. 
 •^ Thurot, "De I'Organ. de I'Universite," p. 88. 
 
 ' Mun. Acad., p. 414. 
 
 * See Mullinger, " History of the University of Cambridge," 
 i., p. 344.
 
 76 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Benificed persons licensed to read " The Sentences" 
 at Oxford were obliged by statute to give robes to 
 the officers just as the bachelors gave them. ( " Mun. 
 Acad.," ii., p. 237.) These ceremonies were frequently 
 accompanied by scenes of disorder and even of vio- 
 lence. The statutes of Oxford decreed that on ac- 
 count of such scenes no one on the occasion of the 
 banquet should stop the free ingress and egress of 
 any master or his servants to or from the hall or tent 
 or other place in which the graduating feast is held, 
 and that no one except the servants of the univer- 
 sity, or the host, shall enter the said hall or tent un- 
 til the masters who have been invited shall enter with 
 their servants, and, after they shall have sat down, no 
 one else shall sit down except by the appointment 
 of the chancellor, and each in proper order according 
 to his rank ; and furthermore it is decreed that no one 
 shall beat the doors, tables, or roof, or throw stones or 
 other missiles so as to disturb the guests, under pen- 
 alty of imprisonment, excommunication and a fine of 
 twelve pence.' So great became the abuse, that ulti- 
 mately all these costly rejoicings were abolished. 
 
 The inceptor's next step was to apply for the 
 master's degree. This was done as follows: Upon 
 application the inceptor received from the chancel- 
 lor a book on which he was to be interrogated. After 
 mastering the volume he returned to obtain a day in 
 which he might present himself for examination. 
 Upon the day named he appeared before a jury of 
 several masters presided over by the chancellor, and 
 
 ' *' Muniincnta Acadeniica," i., pp. 308, 309.
 
 MEDIyF^VAL UNIVERSITY LIFE. 77 
 
 after a searching examination he was declared admit- 
 ted to the honor sought, or was postponed for an- 
 other year. Furnished with ecclesiastical approba- 
 tion, he came before the members of his faculty and 
 received at their hands the master's cap. Once made 
 master, the inceptor was required to teach while pur- 
 suing his own studies in theology, in medicine, or in 
 civil or canon law. 
 
 "The fact," says Mr, J. Bass Mullinger, "that 
 each Master of Arts, in turn, was called upon to take 
 part in the work of instruction is one of the most 
 notable features in the mediaeval universities. His 
 remuneration was limited to the fees paid by the 
 scholars who formed his auditory to the bedells, and 
 was often consequently extremely small. When once, 
 however, he had discharged this function, he became 
 competent to lecture in any faculty to which he might 
 turn his attention, and .... when studying either 
 the civil or canon law, theology or medicine, might 
 be a lecturer on subjects included in his own course." ' 
 
 Here we leave the master teaching philosophy 
 and pursuing his studies in the professional courses, 
 in order to consider another element that enters into 
 the formation of the university, and though the co- 
 operation of that element was never cordially wel- 
 comed, it none the less contributed largely to the 
 university's development and prestige. 
 
 ni. 
 
 Two religious orders that had sprung into ex- 
 istence about the same time with the universities 
 soon became identified with them and exercised 
 
 ' "A History of the University of Cambridge," p. 28.
 
 78 £SSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 over them a deep and an abidint^ influence. These 
 were the Franciscans and the Dominicans. Erase 
 from the records of both Paris and Oxford the 
 names of the learned men furnished by these orders, 
 and you extinguish the greatest lights, the most 
 dazzling glories, of mediaeval thought. There is a 
 void that nothing can supply. Had these men not 
 lived and labored as they did, the whole trend of 
 modern thought would run differently. The Do- 
 minicans were the first religious order admitted to 
 membership in the university of Paris, and with 
 time became the leaders of thought. 
 
 The Franciscans, during almost a century, guided 
 the destinies of Oxford. Oxford was the nursery 
 of the order. From the time when Richard Muliner 
 gave the corporation a house and piece of ground 
 for their use, and Brother Agnello, coming up from 
 London, caused to be built a decent school, in 
 which he induced Robert Grosscteste to deliver 
 lectures, and the future eminent Bishop of Lincoln 
 brought that school into high repute — from that 
 time the Gray friars became a power in the univer- 
 sity.' They made rapid strides in study, in dispu- 
 tation and in teaching. The most eminent men in 
 England considered it an honor to lecture under 
 their auspices. Under the able administration of 
 Adam Marsh, the Gray friars achieved a world- 
 wide reputation for learning. Let one who has 
 made a thorough and a loving study of them speak, 
 though he was not of their visible communion, and 
 
 Monumenta Franciscana," vol. i., pp. 17, 549.
 
 MEDI^^VAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 79 
 
 to all appearances died not a member of their 
 household. Professor Brewer says : 
 
 " Lyons, Paris, and Cologne were indebted for 
 their first professors to the English Franciscans in 
 Oxford. Repeated applications were made from 
 Ireland, Denmark, France and Germany for Eng- 
 lish friars; foreigners were sent to the English 
 school, as superior to all others. It enjoyed a repu- 
 tation throughout the world for adhering the most 
 conscientiously and strictly to the poverty and 
 severity of the order; and for the first time since 
 its existence as a university, Oxford rose to a posi- 
 tion not even second to Paris itself. The three 
 schoolmen of the most profound and original genius, 
 Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus and Occham, were 
 trained within its walls. No other nation of Chris- 
 tendom can show a succession of names at all com- 
 parable to the English schoolmen in originality and 
 subtility, in the breadth and variety of their attain- 
 ments." ' 
 
 This unstinted tribute is not exaggerated. 
 
 That the Franciscans should achieve such great- 
 ness as a learned body is all the more remarkable, 
 when it is remembered that Francis of Assisi, in 
 making poverty his bride and the chief glory of his 
 Order, had intended that poverty of spirit should 
 extend to deprivation of intellectual food. He 
 dreaded the influence of learned doctors upon his 
 friars. He did not intend to create an order of stu- 
 dents; his sole object was to form simple men in the 
 mould of nature's own simplicity, detached from 
 everything in life, and, most of all, from self, burning 
 with love of God and zeal for their neighbor ; men 
 
 1 " Monumenta Franciscana," i., preface, Ixxxi.
 
 80 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 of the people, in touch and sympathy with the 
 people, living amongst the poorest upon the fare of 
 the poorest, going into pest-houses and nursing the 
 sick, waiting upon lepers, loving whatever was loath- 
 some in humanity, seeking and cherishing whatever 
 was abandoned or whatever others shrank from ; men 
 free as truth. In moulding such men, he was laying 
 the deepest and most solid foundation on which to 
 build up the noblest intellectual superstructure. 
 
 The spirit for study, the craving for knowledge, 
 a spirit and a craving that have never been sur- 
 passed, filled the very atmosphere of the thirteenth 
 century. No body of men, with such noble aspira- 
 tions as those possessed by the disciples of Assisi,' 
 could resist the inspiration of the hour, or keep pace 
 with the progress of humanity, without utilizing one 
 of the most God-like gifts bestowed upon man — his 
 intellectual endowments. 
 
 ^ As early as 12 17, the Franciscans were installed 
 in Paris, and it is not many years before we find them 
 thoroughly equipped for educational purposes. In 
 a short period they grew to be thousands. They 
 provided for their own subjects a school of grammar, 
 a school of rhetoric, a school of logic, and a fourth 
 school for the study of the "Sentences" of Peter 
 Lombard and the " Physics" of Aristotle. The hall 
 for their advanced students was not excelled by any 
 in the university. Their method was that of the 
 university. They held two lectures in the morning — 
 one on dogmatic theology, the other on particular 
 
 * See Luke Wadding, "Annales Minoruni," t. i., p. 248.
 
 MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 81 
 
 issues requiring explanation. In the afternoon there 
 was a lecture on Holy Scripture, and from four to 
 five the friars held open disputation, in which any 
 comer was free to join.' In their rules of prayer 
 and missionary labor, and in devoting themselves to 
 healing the ailments of body and soul, they acquired 
 a training and received a special formation that the 
 university could not give. 
 
 Their educational influence was many-sided. 
 Mingling with the people, they cultivated the lan- 
 guage of the people, and helped to fix the forms of 
 our modern tongues; as nurses of the sick, they com- 
 pounded medicines and learned the healing proper- 
 ties of plants; as missionaries, they traveled among 
 many peoples, shrewd observers of men and man- 
 ners and customs;' as instructors of the people in 
 the truths of their religion, they organized companies 
 to enact, and enacted themselves, at times, in the 
 ancient miracle-plays, the great truths of our holy 
 religion ; as disciples of their saintly founder who 
 loved all things in nature, who called the sun his 
 brother and welcomed death as his sister, they also 
 looked upon bird and beast, flower and tree, with 
 kindly and observant eye, and learned to respect and 
 reverently investigate the phenomena of nature ; and 
 so it happens that Roger Bacon makes his "Opus 
 
 le 
 
 1 Vaughan, " St. Thomas of Aquin," pp. 228, 229. 
 
 ^ See the Itinerary of Blessed Odoric of Pordenone, in th 
 "Acta Sanctorum," under January 14th. From this book, and 
 from the account of the Franciscan friar, Carpini, concerning 
 the Tartars, Sir John Mandeviile lilchcd all that is truthful in 
 his so-called "Travels." See "Encyclopaedia Britannica," 
 new edition. 
 
 E. E.— 6
 
 82 ESSA1\S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Majus" the forerunner of the " Novum Organum" 
 of his namesake of four hundred years later; in the 
 domain of art, the tender devotion that they incul- 
 cated for Mary Immaculate inspired the school of 
 art which flowered into the Madonnas of Raphael. 
 
 The Dominicans were established with the for- 
 mal purpose of occupying themselves with books 
 and studies rather than with the singing of anti- 
 phons and responsories,' for their sole mission was 
 to preach the doctrines of Christianity and to refute 
 heresy. Their courses of instruction were accord- 
 ingly thoroughly organized from the beginning. 
 In each convent, four officers were charged with the 
 studies : the prior, who looked after the general 
 conduct and the spiritual and physical wants of the 
 young brothers ; the lector and sub-lector, who 
 taught in the schools ; and the master of studies, 
 who was always with the brothers, taking part in 
 their exercises, presiding over their repetitions, as- 
 sisting at their examinations, and even, at times, 
 explaining the lesson. 
 
 In the fourteenth century, to these were added a 
 cursory reader and a chief lector. The youthful 
 aspirant to the order was admitted at the age of fif- 
 teen, and was supposed to be instructed in all the 
 preliminary branches of education. His novitiate, 
 which lasted three years, was divided between study, 
 spiritual exercises, and manual labor. The novitiate 
 passed, the novice went through a three years' course 
 of logic and rhetoric ; his whole course in logic should 
 
 ' Theodosia Drane, "Christian Schools and Scholars," vol. 
 ii., p. 59.
 
 MEDT^-EVAL UNIVERSITY' TAPE. 83 
 
 extend to five years. This was known as the Stu- 
 diuni artimn. It corresponded to the course pur- 
 sued in the university for a bachelor's degree. Its 
 method was comprised in the three traditional 
 words: lectures, study, disputation — Icgendo, stu- 
 dendo, ac dispiitajido. The lector explained the text 
 of the grammar, rhetoric, or logic, which the stu- 
 dent had in hand ; the student immediately with- 
 drew to learn the lesson. Later, all assembled, and 
 there were repetitions and colloquies or discussions 
 in circles of students of the same capacity. There 
 were semi-annual examinations, and formal disputa- 
 tions were carried on from time to time. By these 
 micans the student was prepared for the grand act 
 of disputation. 
 
 The young Dominican then passed to the course 
 of ethics and physics, provided he was adjudged 
 "tried, instructed and of good health,'" for to none 
 other was the course given. The course was known 
 as the Studiiun natiiralium. It extended over two 
 years till 1372 when it was made thereafter a three 
 years' course. It comprised natural philosophy, 
 ethics, mathematics and all the sciences of that day. 
 The treatises of Aristotle were pressed into service 
 rapidly as they were translated. It was the course 
 in which the genius of Albertus Magnus was watered 
 and bloomed into flower and leaf and ripened into 
 fruitful and suggestive thought in scientific matters ; 
 and how ereat Albertus Maernus was in the domain 
 
 ^ Provincial chapter of^Montpelier, held in 1271. See G. 
 Douais, "Organisation des Etudes chez les Freres Precheurs," 
 p. 69.
 
 84 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 of natural science only a Poucher and a Humbolt 
 can adequately tell. Even in that age Albert made 
 permanent contributions to physical science.' St. 
 Thomas availed himself of this course so well that 
 he was afterwards able to speak to the students of 
 ■the University of Paris upon the construction of 
 aqueducts and machinery for raising and conduct- 
 ing water — de aquaruvt conductibus ct ingeniis cri- 
 gendis — as well as expound the " Timaeus" of Plato." 
 
 From this course the student passed to theology. 
 The Studium TheologicE lasted three years. It dif- 
 fered from the previous course in that there was no 
 exemption from its curriculum. The subject was 
 so vast and so profoundly was it studied, it was never 
 completely mastered. No member was too old or 
 too learned to say that there was nothing more for 
 him to acquire. Hence, all were required to follow 
 the course. "The Friar Preacher," says Douais, 
 "whether student or professor, assisted at the les- 
 sons in theology with the two-fold intent of not for- 
 getting what he had already learned and of adding 
 to his stock of knowledge."^ 
 
 Here, also, the method of teaching was in many 
 respects similar to that pursued in the university. 
 A text-book was read and commented upon by the 
 lector. For a long time the "Sentences" of Peter 
 Lombard was the text. Later, the commentaries 
 
 'See Echard, " Scriptores Ordinis Pr;cdicatorum," t. i., 
 pp. 162-1S3. 
 
 ^ Bulaeus, "Hist. Univ. Par.," t. iii, p. 408. 
 
 •^ " Or<rani.sation des Etudes chez les I'rercs Precheurs," 
 P- 75-
 
 MEDI^^VAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 85 
 
 were carefully written before being delivered to the 
 students. Lessons were given every day except feast- 
 days. The customs of the order recognized three 
 kinds of lessons: the public or ordinary lesson at 
 which all assisted ; the private lesson given to back- 
 ward students, and the extraordinary or cursory les- 
 sons similar to those of the university, generally 
 imparted by bachelors without being seated in the 
 master's chair. There were repetitions, colloquies 
 and disputations as in the philosophy classes. Only 
 a doctor in theology was permitted to preside over 
 the disputations. The times for disputation were 
 Advent and Lent. The rule rigidly insisted that all 
 the brethren be present at these exercises, and it was 
 only after the disputation that they were permitted 
 to go out to preach. 
 
 Humbert Romanus, one of the generals of the 
 Order, in calling attention to the defects against 
 which the students should guard, throws further 
 light upon the mode of conducting the exercise. 
 He is unsparing in his censure of those friars, even 
 though they be doctors, who presume to speak at all 
 times in a light, flippant vein, without proper prep- 
 aration, or without sufficient ability to discuss their 
 themes. He is no less severe upon those who pre- 
 serve an obstinate silence during the whole time of 
 the exercise, whether through laziness, or timidity, 
 or dread of defeat. Som.e debated well, but their 
 vanity was continually cropping out ; in season and 
 out of season they aired their knowledge when holy 
 and learned men would have blushed to name the 
 authors that they read. Some there were who
 
 86 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 simply sought to get the better of the argument, re- 
 gardless of truth ; others lacked precision and clear- 
 ness, while not a few were obscure and diffuse. 
 Even the most penetrating minds, at times, became 
 lost in minute distinctions that were vain and use- 
 less.' These disputations among the doctors in the- 
 ology were not conducted merely with a view of 
 sharpening the wits, or carrying on an intellectual 
 joust, or as a display of talent. Their aim was higher. 
 It was for the search after truth, the probing of truth, 
 the more complete expression of truth. 
 
 We have not yet exhausted the educational 
 resources of the Dominicans. The order had in 
 reserve other courses of discipline. Each province 
 was obliged to have two special schools for the 
 more gifted of its subjects.'' These schools were 
 intended solely for those young friars whose apti- 
 tude gave promise of their becoming lectors one 
 day. The friars were sent thither after pursuing 
 the ordinary three years' course in theology. A 
 doctor in theology, having under him a sub-lector, 
 w-as placed in charge of each school. In 1290, a 
 lector was appointed to teach special courses in 
 exegesis and other biblical studies. These schools 
 were known as the Studia Solevinia. The method 
 of instruction pursued in them was the same as that 
 pursued in the lower course. The studies were sim- 
 ply broadened and deepened. Those pursuing them 
 
 1 "Expositio rt'fiula; B. AiigusUni," Biblioth. niiinicip. de 
 Toulouse, MS., 417 (I. 402, fo. 147b.), quoted bj Douais, loc. 
 cit., p. 79- 
 
 "^ Douais, loc. cit., p. 127.
 
 MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 87 
 
 were not permitted to remain longer than three 
 years. 
 
 Nor was this all. In certain centers, schools 
 of higher study were established. They were 
 called Studia Generalia. They were no mere novices 
 in learning who were sent up to these schools. 
 They were men who had been teaching for years, 
 and who now resumed their studies with the inten- 
 tion of winning the doctor's cap and of perfecting 
 themselves in special branches. These schools 
 were established in Paris, Oxford, Bologna, Naples, 
 Montpelier and other university centers. Those 
 who assisted at the course instituted in Paris did so 
 with the view of becoming profound theologians ; 
 those who attended the course in Bologna had in 
 view chiefly the study of civil and canon law ; those 
 who went to Barcelona intended to become skilled 
 in the sciences of the Moors and versed in the 
 Arabic and Hebrew languages. 
 
 The discipline of these houses was severe. There 
 was no vacation as in other schools ; the courses 
 were profound, and were carried on without inter- 
 mission during the whole three years that they 
 lasted. None but brothers of approved health and 
 tried powers of endurance, with a constitution 
 equal to the great strain, were admitted to take up 
 these courses. They were men who had already 
 given evidence of their intellectual prowess as pro- 
 fessors of philosophy, theology, Sacred Scriptures, 
 or even as priors. Peter Lombard's book of " Sen- 
 tences " was read through each year; there was also a 
 complete course of biblical studies, besides the special
 
 88 ESSAt'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 branches that predominated in each school. Here 
 the friars made a more profound study of the philo- 
 sophical and theological errors of the day — and the 
 very air was reeking with such errors — as well as of 
 the Sacred Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church. 
 
 The professors of the school were picked men. 
 The superior called them together from all parts of 
 Christendom. Once a week they held a solemn 
 dispute. Such a dispute — deep, thoughtful, search- 
 ing — must have been quite a contrast with the 
 wranglings daily going on in School street at Ox- 
 ford or the rue de Fouarre at Paris. After fifteen 
 years of study — not counting the years spent be- 
 sides in teaching or preaching on the mission — 
 these men must indeed have become well equipped 
 to proclaim truth and meet error, no matter the 
 guise under which it should appear. In connection 
 with this solemn and learned body of men dis- 
 cussing the great issues of their day one image fills 
 the mind. It is that of the magnificent tribute 
 which Raphael paid to the Real Presence in his 
 sublime picture, La Dispnta. There has the artist 
 painted the very men who took part in such solemn 
 discussions. And though Duns Scotus and Dante 
 were more at home in the halls of a Franciscan 
 convent, still wx' meet there the familiar faces of 
 Albert and Aquinas. 
 
 We should never grow weary of repeating the 
 fact that the greatest glory of the Dominican Stu- 
 diuin, indeed of the mediaeval university, is 
 Thomas Aquinas. There was no principle of hu- 
 man reason that he did not lay bare ; there was no
 
 MEDI^^VAL UNIVERSITY LIFE. 89 
 
 problem in physical or metaphysical science that he 
 did not grapple with and find a solution for; there 
 was no prevailing error that he did not attack and 
 pursue to its last lurking place. The very construc- 
 tion of the propositions in his most scientific work, 
 the "Summa Theologiae," the very words in which he 
 formulates objections, are understood only in the 
 light of the history of contemporaneous error. He 
 fought no windmills ; he set up no men of straw in 
 order to knock them down. He dealt with living 
 issues. He was in touch with his age upon all its 
 intellectual wants and aspirations. When ponder- 
 ing over his marvelous pages, let us not forget that 
 while much is due to the transcendent genius of 
 their writer, much also is due to the admirable con- 
 servative method and rigid intellectual discipline of 
 the Order in which that genius was moulded. 
 
 A student once asked Thomas the best method 
 of becoming proficient in science. The rules laid 
 down by the Angelical Doctor are few and simple 
 and to the point, and reflect the serenity of his own 
 life. They bespeak a rare habit of mental cautious- 
 ness. They may be summarized as follows : 
 
 " Pass from the easy to the difficult ; be slow to 
 speak and equally slow to give assent to the speak- 
 er; keep your conscience clear; do not neglect 
 prayer; be amiable towards everybody, but keep 
 your own mind ; above all things avoid running 
 about from one school to another ; let it be your 
 delight to sit at the professor's feet;' be more 
 
 1 There is here a play upon words that cannot be repro- 
 duced : Sellam frequentare diligas, si vis in cellam vinariam 
 introduci,
 
 90 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 concerned to hoard in memory the good things said 
 than to regard the person speaking ; strive to un- 
 derstand what you read, clearing your mind of all 
 doubts as you go along ; eagerly seek to place what- 
 ever knowledge you can get hold of in the deposi- 
 tory of your mind ; find out what you can do, study 
 your limitations, and do not aim higher than your 
 capacity permits."' 
 
 These are golden words to be cherished by every 
 student. 
 
 Such suggestions were especially valuable in 
 those days. The spirit of university life was catch- 
 ing, and that spirit was a wild and lawless one. 
 
 "The professors in great part," said Archbishop 
 Vaughan, "were reckless adventurers, a sort of wild 
 knight-errants who scoured the country in search of 
 excitement for the mind and money for the pocket. 
 The students were, in the main, disorderly youths 
 living in the very center of corruption, without con- 
 trol, loving a noisy, dissipated life in town. . . . 
 They would rollick and row, and stream in and out 
 of the schools, like swarms of hornets, buzzing and 
 litigating and quarreling with one another, upset- 
 ting every semblance of discipline and order." * 
 
 The picture is not overdrawn. It is merely a 
 garbled transcript from the accounts left us by John 
 of Salisbury, and Cardinal Vitry. " The distin- 
 guished traits," says Leclerc, " of this student life, 
 the memories of which have survived with singular 
 tenacity, were poverty, ardent application, and turbu- 
 lence." ' The students were as riotous in intellectual 
 
 ' "Opusculum," Ixi. Opp. t. xvii., p. 338. 
 ''■ "Life of St. Thomas of Aquin," p. 206. 
 • '* "fitat des Lettres au XIV. Siecle" (see the whole pas- 
 sage), i. 269-271.
 
 MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSITY LIFE. 91 
 
 matters as many of them were licentious in morals. 
 No subject was too sacred for their curiosity ; 
 there was no truth they were not prepared to 
 challenge. The masters were bold and unscrupu- 
 lous in their treatment of the holiest doctrines. 
 Nay, so fond of novelties were they, that they were 
 known to pay scholars to receive their strange 
 teachings. The Franciscans and Dominicans, in 
 the first fervor of their formation, every member 
 filled with the spirit of charity and zeal, conserva- 
 tive and orthodox in their teachings — more espe- 
 cially the Dominicans — were a standing rebuke to 
 the masters and scholars who were given to novel- 
 ties and unwilling to mend their ways. Even the 
 better class of university men looked askance at the 
 coming among them of these religious. They were 
 regarded as intruders. The prejudice extended from 
 the university to the court. The laureate of St. Louis 
 attacked the Dominicans. "They preach to us," he 
 says, "that it is sinful to be angry and sinful to be 
 envious, whilst they themselves carry on war for a 
 chair in the university. They must, they will, ob- 
 tain it. . . . The Jacobins are persons of such 
 weight that they can do everything in Paris and in 
 Rome." ' 
 
 But the members of the university were not con- 
 tent with words. They attempted to boycott the 
 religious. "The masters and scholars of the rival 
 schools would not permit young men to attend the 
 
 ' " Oeuvres Completes de Rutebcevif," t. ii., p. 251. The 
 Dominicans were called Jacobins because their convent was on 
 the St. Jacques,
 
 92 ESSAVS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 lectures of the Dominicans, nor allow the young 
 Dominicans to be present at secular disputations 
 and defensions."' 
 
 The spites and jealousies that were arrayed 
 against them found voice in the pamphlet — "Lat- 
 ter Day Perils" — of William of St. Amour. It 
 was a trumpet blast calling forth all the pent-up 
 feelings that men had been nursing against the 
 friars. We shall not enter into the details of this 
 controversy. Suffice it to say that Thomas Aquinas 
 was deputed to reply to the scurrilous tract, and he 
 did so with all the calmness, scientific precision, and 
 delicate sense of justice that characterize his works 
 above those of his contemporaries. He met the 
 issue in his own direct and simple manner. He 
 asks: "Can regulars be members of a college of 
 secular masters?" and replies that they most un- 
 doubtedly can, since the function that seculars and 
 regulars exercise as teachers is based upon that which 
 is common to both, namely, to study and teach. 
 
 "The function of teaching and learning," to use 
 his own words, " is common to seculars and to re- 
 ligious men ; whence there is nothing to forbid 
 religious men from being associated with seculars 
 in the same function of study and teaching,^ even as 
 men in diverse conditions compose the same body 
 of the Church, inasmuch as they all agree in unity 
 of faith." 
 
 ' Vaughan, " Life of St. Thomas of Aquin," p. 250. 
 
 ^ " Opusculum," i., cap. iii. 0\). xvii., p. 11, ed. Parma. 
 The same subject is discussed in tiie " Summa Theologian," 
 2a, 233. Qiiaest. 187, 1S8. For a detailed account of the con- 
 troversy see Vaughan, " Life of St. Thomas of Aquin," pp. 
 208-367.
 
 MEDIyE VA L UNI VERS I T T L IFE. 93 
 
 More regularly organized than the university it- 
 self, these religious schools had a staying influence 
 upon her students, her professors, and her courses 
 of study. 
 
 IV. 
 
 We shall now descend to the university schools, 
 and from the various side-lights that have been 
 thrown upon them endeavor to catch a glimpse of 
 the manner in wdiich masters and scholars live and 
 act therein. Throughout this intellectual seething 
 mass, there are schools giving instruction in the 
 whole gamut of learning contained in the Trivium 
 and the Quadrivium. Here is a class of youths 
 studying grammar. In the Middle Ages, grammar 
 included literature and composition as well as the 
 technical rules of construction. It covered the 
 whole of the humanities. Hraban Maur defines 
 grammar to be " the science of interpreting poets 
 and historians, and of writing and speaking cor- 
 rectly." ' 
 
 John of Salisbury, who resided in Paris in the 
 latter half of the twelfth century, thus describes the 
 method pursued by his teacher, one of the most 
 competent in his day : 
 
 " Bernard of Chartres, not confining himself to 
 grammar, threw in a thousand observations during 
 the reading of his lesson, on the choice of words and 
 of thoughts, as well as on the variety and the pleas- 
 ingness of style. . . . He cultivated carefully the 
 memory of his pupils by obliging them to recite — 
 some more, some less — the most beautiful passages 
 
 1 " De Inst. Cier.," lib. iii., cap. i8.
 
 94 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 from the historians and poets commented upon in 
 class ; and he always questioned them upon the 
 lesson of the previous day. He exhorted them to 
 confine their readings to what was good and edify- 
 ing, and gave them a daily exercise to compose in 
 prose and verse." ' 
 
 This is an admirable method ; it cannot be im- 
 proved upon even to-day, after the intervening 
 experience of seven hundred years. Bernard of 
 Chartres was an ideal teacher. In the following 
 century the grammarians were not so painstaking. 
 Both masters and scholars were impatient to tread 
 the mazes of logical disputation ; in consequence, 
 we find a falling off in the matter of style. " The 
 youths of the universities, but ill-furnished with 
 books, and be it said, but ill-disciplined, passed 
 through the grammar classes rather unprofitably. 
 They remained in them the least possible time, 
 being attracted by the ever increasing vogue of 
 Aristotle." ' 
 
 We enter one of these grammar schools. The 
 scholars are all in one room. Here is one coming 
 from the master after reciting his lesson and having 
 had his exercise corrected. He goes to his place, 
 procures his tablets, a pen and ink and some parch- 
 ment, and, seating himself at a long table running 
 through the centre of the room, transcribes the cor- 
 rected exercise upon a small sheet of parchment. 
 The lettering is small and cramped ; the words are 
 
 * " Metalogicus," lib. i., cap. xxiv., col. 854, Mi<;ne cd. 
 ' Ch. Daniel, S. J., " Des Etudes Classiques," chap, vi., 
 p. 138.
 
 MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSITY LIFE. 95 
 
 abbreviated. You would like to know the meaning 
 of the line inscribed in this manner : 
 "Tityre t p r s t f." 
 
 The teacher has been alluding to Virgil, and this 
 is evidently a shorthand report of some line in that 
 author's works. Here it is ; the word Tityre gives 
 the clue : 
 
 " Tityre, tu patulse recubans sub tegmine fagi." 
 
 The youth next to him is taking notes in logic. 
 He is evidently quoting an extract from Occham's 
 logic in the following condensed form : " Sic hie e 
 fal sm qd ad simplr'' Here is the text : " Sicut 
 hie est fallaeia seeundum quid ad simplieiter!" ' The 
 less the scholars placed upon parchment, the more 
 they engraved their lessons upon the tablets of 
 memory. Moreover, paper and parchment were 
 expensive commodities in those days and were, 
 therefore, to be sparingly used. Even as late as 
 1502 the amount of paper assigned to each scholar 
 for the purpose of note-taking was three sheets a 
 week.* 
 
 Let us pass to another school. This is the 
 Place Maubert — which shall long continue to em- 
 balm the name of Albert the Great. That dingy, 
 humid street in the neighborhood is the street that 
 Dante has made immortal in his great poem ; it is 
 the rue de Fouarre.' It is not an inviting street to 
 enter. From early morning it is the busiest and 
 noisiest thoroughfare in Paris. The students regu- 
 
 ' Vaughan, " Life of S. Thomas of Aquin," p. 199. 
 ^ Pasquier, " Recherches sur la France," t. i., p. 920. 
 ^ " Paradiso," x., 136-138.
 
 96 ESSAi'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 late their rising by the bells of the neighboring 
 churches. The mass-bell of the Carmelites, whose 
 convent you may notice on Place Maubert, gives 
 the first signal at five o'clock. An hour later Notre 
 Dame strikes Prime.' Then the student who boards 
 out quits his den, and descending the stairs care- 
 fully, takes his shortest course through the by-ways 
 and alleys to the rue de Fouarre. He enters one 
 of these low, ill-ventilated halls, with a damp, heavy 
 smell. The master is seated on a stool ; it being a 
 winter morning, three or four candles spread a dim 
 light through the heavily laden air, and the stu- 
 dents, seated upon small trusses of straw, take notes 
 of the lecture read by the master.^ We already 
 had a glimpse of a school of arts ; then let us pass 
 to a school of theology. 
 
 The room is also low and dingy ; the light is 
 inadequate. There are no benches; but here and 
 there are some blocks, and there is an abundance of 
 straw. The master sits in a large chair raised on a 
 platform. The chair has a high, straight back and 
 arms, and can easily seat two. He who is beside 
 the master is an aspirant for the licentiate. But 
 the master predominates over the aspirant and over 
 the school.^ Now, note the method pursued. It 
 is composed of two parts : the reading and expla- 
 nation, and the disputation. All teaching is done 
 orally. " The act of instructing by the living voice," 
 
 * Bulyeus, " Hist. Univ. Paris," t. iv., p. 413. 
 
 * Alfred Franklin, " La Vie privee d' Autrefois; 6coles et 
 Colleges," p. 16S. 
 
 * D'Assailly, "Albert le Grand," p. 186.
 
 MEDI^^VAL UNIVERSITY' LIFE. 97 
 
 says Vincent of Beauvais, " possesses I know not 
 what hidden energy, and sounds more forcibly in 
 the ears of a disciple as it passes from the mouth 
 of a master." ' The master was at first accustomed 
 to speak altogether without a manuscript; later in 
 the history of the university, he read or dictated 
 from his manuscript a commentary upon the text. 
 But when, in 1354, Cardinal d'Estouteville reformed 
 the university, he reverted to the practice of com- 
 menting without manuscript. Indeed, the teacher 
 was placed under oath not to read from a written 
 commentary upon the text under discussion, lest 
 he might cease to prepare his lessons properly. 
 
 The master is now prepared to give his lesson. 
 The " Sentences " lies open on his lap ; the students 
 are seated around in groups ; some are kneeling 
 upon one knee with tablets in hand, prepared to 
 take notes ; some few have their own text-book, but 
 the majority are content with getting a glance at 
 the copy in the hall for their use. The master first 
 reads a proposition from the Lombard. In a sub- 
 dued voice and familiar tone, slightly ascending," he 
 discourses upon the proposition, the scholars in the 
 meantime, as rapidly as possible, in that species of 
 shorthand which we have already been inspecting, 
 writing down the explanation. Hear how neatly 
 he gives the reason for each division of the text, for 
 each paragraph, for each sentence, for the terms 
 employed, and note how clearly he makes the 
 
 ^ "Speculum Doctrinale," lib. 1., cap. 37. 
 '^ " De Disciplina Scholarium," cap. v., Migne ed., vol. 
 Ixiv., col. 1234. 
 E. E.-7
 
 98 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 consequences to flow therefrom. The master having 
 ended his explanation, the students compare notes 
 and settle upon the sense and the very words of the 
 discourse that they have heard. Some teachers, 
 more careful than others, in order to avoid mis- 
 understanding, or a garbled version of what they 
 had said, dictate their explanations. In 1492 it was 
 made a general rule that the shorter morning class 
 be devoted to dictation.* However, in the thir- 
 teenth century, the master whose lessons we are 
 attending was content with explaining the text by 
 a running commentary, leaving the students to 
 carry away from the lesson as much as they could 
 or as they cared to reproduce. The following was 
 the method set down in the Oxford statutes : 
 
 "The masters shall read the text in order; then 
 they shall explain it fully and openly as the matter 
 requires. The explanation being duly arranged, 
 they shall afterwards choose notable passages from 
 the text to be remembered. Lastly, they shall raise 
 points for discussion, but only such as naturally arise 
 from the text, so that no prohibited matter be 
 taught." ' 
 
 However, the chief element of university train- 
 ing was not the lecture ; it was rather the disputa- 
 tion. Master disputed with master before the 
 students ; the master disputed with his scholars ; the 
 scholars disputed with one another under the su- 
 pervision of a determinant who was present to re- 
 press quarrels, correct errors, prevent disputes from 
 
 ' Du Boulay, "Hist. Univ. Par.," t. v., p. 808. 
 ^ "Muiiimenta Acadeniica," vol. i., p. 288.
 
 MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 99 
 
 degenerating into personalities, and mark the in- 
 dolent ones refusing to take part in the debate. The 
 exercise was at times abused by teacher and pupils. 
 Propositions were discussed apart from their con- 
 nection ; distinctions were made and divisions and 
 subdivisions were entered into with a degree of 
 ingenuity that only such practice as was then prev- 
 alent could achieve. This process of dialectic re- 
 fining was carried to the farthest extremes. 
 
 Thus Stephen Langton, who is known in history 
 as the champion of English liberties, was previously 
 known in Paris as a student whose work was no less 
 solid than brilliant ; one of the most enlightened 
 expounders of the Scriptures, and a powerful 
 preacher, with a strong musical voice that could 
 reach any audience. Even Stephen Langton could 
 not resist the prevailing practice of refining thought 
 and seeking a new meaning for simple words. And 
 so we find him taking a well-known love ditty of his 
 day, — Belle Aaliz mains sen leva, — and with a view 
 of turning bad into good, writing a commentary 
 upon it, giving it an allegorical and spiritual sense.' 
 Each professor sought to excel his rival in logical 
 distinctions, divisions and subdivisions. Each stu- 
 dent vied with the other to pick flaws in his argu- 
 ments ; each sought to overwhelm the other and 
 confuse his mind by subtle distinctions beyond his 
 grasp. There was no exemption. 
 
 ^ He makes Alice the Blessed Virgin, and thus speaks of 
 the name : 
 
 Hoc enim Aalis dicitur ab a, quod est sine, et lis, litis; 
 quasi 5/'«f //Vr, sine reprehensione. — "IJibliothcque Nationale " 
 MSS., lat., 16,497.
 
 100 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 In Oxford, in 1396, a certain friar from Ireland 
 having omitted a single disputation in his year of 
 opponency was refused permission to read "The 
 Sentences." ("Mun. Acad.," p. 236.) No other 
 road was open to the winning of honors ; therefore 
 should each be on the alert to answer every objec- 
 tion with all the vim possible. Should one refuse 
 to take part in the debate, his silence would be im- 
 puted to ignorance or arrogance.' Disputation was 
 the great field of triumph, and in consequence the 
 greater part of the day was spent in disputation. 
 
 What was the daily regulation of university 
 life ? We may outline it as follows : The first lesson, 
 as has been seen, was given in the morning early. 
 The students then withdrew and arranged the 
 matter of the last lesson, or prepared for the next, 
 until the hour for dinner, which was generally at 
 ten o'clock. At noon they carried on disputations, 
 which, from the hour, were known as meridionals. 
 At five there were repetitions of lessons and confer- 
 ences, during which the scholars recited and 
 answered questions put by the master. On Satur- 
 days they had recapitulations and repetitions of the 
 lessons given during the week. These were solemnly 
 carried out under the supervision of the chief master 
 of the school. 
 
 There has been preserved for us a daily regula- 
 tion of college life in Cambridge, which, though 
 mentioned by Lever in the sixteenth century, runs 
 back among college traditions as far as the memory 
 
 ' "De Disciplina Scholarium," cap. iv., Migne ed., 
 col. 1234.
 
 MEDIAE VA L UNI VERS! T T L IFE. 101 
 
 of man goeth. We shall put it in the words in 
 which Cardinal Newman expressed it: 
 
 The student " got up between four and five ; 
 from five to six he assisted at mass and heard an 
 exhortation. He then studied and attended the 
 schools till ten, which was the dinner hour. The 
 meal, which seems also to have been a breakfast, was 
 not sumptuous; it consisted of beef in small messes 
 for four persons,' and a pottage made of its gravy 
 and oatmeal. From dinner to five p. m., he either 
 studied or gave instruction to others, when he went 
 to supper, which was the principal meal of the day, 
 though scarcely more plentiful than dinner. After- 
 wards, problems were discussed and other studies 
 pursued till nine or ten, and then half an hour was 
 devoted to walking or running about, that they 
 might not go to bed with cold feet, — the expedient 
 of heat or stove for the purpose was out of the ques- 
 tion.'" 
 
 But we are here trenching upon college discipline 
 and college methods in the universities, a subject 
 that shall claim our attention in another article. In 
 the meantime, let us beware of losing sight of the 
 true proportions of mediaeval universities in our 
 eagerness to pry into details concerning them. 
 Looked at in their historical setting, they stand out 
 among the greatest creations of the spirit of Chris- 
 tian truth. They were the institutions of highest 
 culture, the centres whence radiated the latest word 
 in science and the most advanced wave of thought. 
 
 ^ " A penny piece of beef amonp; four," is Lever's expres- 
 sion. Sermon preached at Paules Crosse, Arber's Reprints, 
 
 vol. iii., pp. 121, 122. 
 
 ^ "On Universities," pp. 330, 331.
 
 dNIVERSlTY eOl2l2EGES: THEIR ORI= 
 GIN AND THEIR METHeDS 
 
 (103)
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES: THEIR ORIGIN 
 AND THEIR METHODS.' 
 
 n 
 
 I. 
 
 COMPAYRE concludes the preface to his 
 new volume in the following words : 
 
 "I trust also, that the literary dictionaries of the 
 future, if they should grant me a place in their 
 pages, will have the goodness when they mention 
 my name to follow it with this notice : Gabriel 
 Compayre, a French writer, whose least mediocre 
 work, translated into English before being printed, 
 was published in America." 
 
 We shall add to this notice : The book of which 
 M. Compayre seems to be so proud is called "Abe- 
 lard," and yet all that the author has to say about 
 Abelard is confined to twenty-five pages. The book 
 really covers the same ground as Mr. Laurie's work, 
 "The Rise and Constitution of Universities," and 
 is therefore misnamed. The subject was one upon 
 which the author could make a particularly bright 
 book. 
 
 ^ "Abelard and the Orip;in and Early History of Universi- 
 ties." By Gabriel Compayre. New York. 1893. " La Sor- 
 bonne, ses Origines et sa Bibliotheque." Par Alfred Franklin. 
 Paris. 1875. " The University of Cambridge, from the Earli- 
 est Times to the Royal Injunctions of 1535." By J. Bass 
 Mullinger. Cambridge. 1873. " A History of the University 
 of Oxford, from the Earliest Times to the Year 1530." By H. 
 C. Maxwell Lyte. London. 1886. "De Studiis Literariis 
 Mediolanensum." Auctore Joseph Antonio Saxis. Milan. 1729. 
 
 (105)
 
 106 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Abelard's life, his teachers, his contemporaries, 
 the schools in which he studied, the schools in 
 which he taught, his pupils and his disciples, his 
 doctrines, his methods, his persecutions, his influ- 
 ence — here is matter enough for so many interesting 
 chapters, in which the author need not go over the 
 ground so well tilled by the classic work of M. 
 Remusat. This is the kind of book we had a right 
 to expect from the title. And we fail to see the 
 intimate connection between Abelard and the Uni- 
 versity of Paris which the author would establish. 
 Abelard is in no sense its founder. He was to no 
 greater extent its forerunner than was his teacher, 
 William of Champeux. Abelard was a brilliant 
 meteor who crossed the welkin of the twelfth cen- 
 tury, throwing around him a lurid glare, awaking 
 minds and creating excitement ; restless, active, 
 superficial, pretentious, bold, with sharpened intel- 
 lect and a perennial flow of language. But in no 
 sense can the university be traced to him. Had he 
 never lived the university would have grown into 
 corporate existence scarce a day later. There were 
 scholastic disputations before his day ; he may have 
 systematized them more than formerly, but he did 
 not create them. His learning was not at all com- 
 mensurate with his fame. 
 
 M. Compayre may be a good professor ; he cer- 
 tainly is not an apt scholar. When in 1877 he 
 wrote the first book that brought him into noto- 
 riety — " Histoire Critique des Doctrines de I'Educa- 
 tion en France Dcpuis le Scizieme Siecle " — he 
 showed no less a decided proclivity to draw from
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. 107 
 
 sources that confirmed his prejudices, than great 
 repugnance towards any authority at all favorable 
 to the school or the system he would condemn. 
 This method of quotation at second-hand led him 
 into very questionable company. He accepted in- 
 formation from sources the most valueless, and in 
 consequence was led into blunders that would 
 shame a schoolboy. Witness the following asser- 
 tion concerning the Jesuits : 
 
 " In metaphysics they suppress some of the 
 questions the most interesting and the most essen- 
 tial, as for instance all that regards the existence 
 of God and the nature of His attributes." ' 
 
 How came he to make this statement? He 
 found a misrepresenting translation of the Constitu- 
 tions and Declarations of the Jesuits with a hostile 
 appendix, containing garbled extracts from the 
 rules of this distinguished body, and among others, 
 he read these words : In metaphysica questiones de 
 Deo et Intelligentiis pr^tereantur. Now in a footnote 
 M. Compayre avers that he has before him two 
 complete editions of the " Ratio Studiorum." 
 Had he opened either of them, he would have 
 found a prohibition to touch upon those questions 
 concerrring God and His angels in metaphysical 
 discussions, which depend wholly or in great meas- 
 ure upon revelation, and which therefore belong 
 to the domain of faith.' Pere Daniel called his 
 
 1" Hist. Crit.," t. i., p. 196. 
 
 ^/« Metaphysica, questiones de Deo ct Intelligetitiis, qucB 
 omtiino ant magnopere pendent ex veritatibus divina fide rev- 
 elatis, proctereantur.
 
 108 ESSAIS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 attention to this and other blunders only a little 
 less glaring.' 
 
 Now, to what degree has M. Compayre profited 
 by this lesson? Let the reader judge from the fol- 
 lowing extract : 
 
 " Thomas Aquinas had composed the ' De 
 regimine principum,' and the ' De eruditione prin- 
 cipum.' His disciple, Gilles de Rome, Archbishop 
 of Bruges, who was tutor to Philip the Fair, also 
 followed Aristotle in politics."* 
 
 True it is that both the volumes here named are to 
 be found among the collected books of the Angelical 
 Doctor, but it is generally considered that only two 
 books of the first-named have been written by 
 Thomas, while the latter work is now universally 
 attributed to the pen of Peraldus, or William of 
 Perault. Where has M. Compayr^ picked up the 
 information here so loosely expressed? Surely not 
 from the works themselves. Even the " Histoire 
 Litteraire " loosely written as it is in regard to these 
 books, would have enlightened the author and 
 guided his pen to greater accuracy. 
 
 Later on, we shall refer to them for another pur- 
 pose than to express a platitude about the " Poli- 
 tics" of Aristotle. There is not a clause or phrase 
 in the paragraph from which we quote that does not 
 betray complete ignorance of the subject treated. 
 Now, why will M. Compayre to-day, as sixteen years 
 ago, accept such inferior material and impose it on 
 his readers as something worthy of their intelli- 
 
 ' " Les Jcsuites Inslituteurs de la Jeunesse Franyaise." i8So. 
 '"Abelard," j). 290.
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. 109 
 
 gence? After the wholesome lesson of Pere Daniel 
 one would think that he would be more cautious. It 
 is just such paragraphs as this that render M. Com- 
 payr^'s book unworthy of a permanent place in 
 literature, and undeserving of the niche he so mod- 
 estly looks for. However, the author could not 
 write an altogether worthless book, nor could he be 
 dull if he tried. 
 
 And when one begins to realize that one is read- 
 ing a book not on Abelard, but on the mediaeval 
 universities, one finds much to admire and commend 
 in the sketch. The style is picturesque and bril- 
 liant ; the outline is clearly traced ; the whole sub- 
 ject is cleverly handled. One is enabled to form a 
 fair conception of the mediaeval university life from 
 a perusal of the book. In this regard and to this 
 extent may the book be commended. The ordinary 
 reader may not observe the note of triumph with 
 which the author records every step towards the 
 secularization of the university; he may pass over 
 the antipathy to celibacy that is evinced through 
 the pages of the little work; he may forget that the 
 author has overlooked, or treated inadequately, the 
 influence of the religious orders upon university life ; 
 and when he has finished the perusal of the book, 
 it may never occur to him that the very elements 
 which the author ignores or belittles are the soul of 
 the universities. With the extinction of these ele- 
 ments began the decay of the universities.
 
 110 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 II. 
 
 Turn we now to university college life. It brings 
 us a step nearer to modern school life. With thead- 
 / vance of the thirteenth century lawlessness grew more 
 and more among university students. They were im- 
 posed upon, in spite of ordinance and statute, by the 
 townspeople with whom they boarded ; they were fre- 
 quently in the hands of Jews paying exorbitant in- 
 terest on moneys loaned ; they were daily exposed to 
 become the victims of lewd men and women who were 
 continually on the watch for new victims. Theirs was 
 2, in many instances a life of hardships that was sus- 
 tained chiefly by the buoyancy of youth and an in- 
 satiable thirst for knowledge. In the meantime, the 
 regular clergy had schools of order and discipline in 
 which youths were well cared for and jealously 
 shielded from the trials and temptations that were 
 constantly assailing the student quartered upon the 
 town. The shining lights of their respective orders 
 lectured in the university and attracted around them 
 youths who from admiring their professors came to 
 love their life of peace and quiet and religious disci- 
 pline, and ultimately sought admission as members. 
 These youths were generally of bright promise and 
 good family. And so, Carmelite and Augustinian, 
 Franciscan and Dominican — especially the last two — 
 gathered into their novitiates the flower of mediaeval 
 youth. Men dreaded sending their sons to Oxford 
 lest they become friars. 
 
 In 1358, it was enacted that if any mendicant friar 
 shall induce or cause to be induced any member of
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. \\\ 
 
 the university under eighteen years of age to join the 
 said friars, or shall in any way assist at their abduc- 
 tion, no graduate belonging to the cloister or society 
 of which such friar is a member, shall be permitted 
 to give or attend lectures in Oxford or elsewhere for 
 the ensuing year.' Richard Fitzralph, Archbishop of 
 Armagh, who bore the friars no more love than did his 
 disciple, John Wyclif, tells how the friars of Oxford 
 carried off an Englishman's son, then under thirteen 
 years, and how the father was not permitted to speak 
 to his boy except in the presence of the friars. The 
 father was then in Avignon, bringing the case to the 
 notice of the pope.* But long before this note of 
 alarm was sounded religious cloisters were the only 
 havens of security amid the turmoil of university life. 
 Not that the need of safeguarding ^e student 
 was not felt by the authorities, but^all the universi- 
 ties in their early days were poor. Neither Paris nor 
 / /Oxford up to the middle of the thirteenth century 
 possessed a building that it could call its own. 
 The schools and halls w^ere rented, or were granted 
 by the religious orders, or even by the townspeople. 
 The ofificial dinners of the Masters of Arts were 
 given at the common taverns of the town. So, at 
 Oxford in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries 
 the Faculty of Arts used to assemble in the Church 
 of St. Mildred, while degrees were granted and other 
 secular business was, by sufTerance, transacted in 
 the Church of St. Mary the Virgin.^ 
 
 ^ "Munimenta Academica," i., p. 205. This statute was 
 afterwards repealed. Cooper, "Annals," i., p. 109. 
 
 * "A History of the University of Oxford," p. 174. 
 
 ' Lyte, "A History of the University of Oxford," p. 98.
 
 112 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Still, even at the dawn of university life, we dis- 
 cern traces of efforts made to assist and protect 
 poor youth. ;There is a tradition that the Danish 
 College was established as early as 1030, with endow, 
 ment for one hundred and thirty poor clerks. In 
 1 187, Robert de Dreux, brother of Louis VII. of 
 France, founded in Paris a house of prayer and a 
 house of studies under the patronage of St. Thomas 
 of Canterbury. Again, we read that in 11 80, Joce 
 of London, on his return from Jerusalem, endowed 
 a room in the Hotel Dieu, in which eighteen stud- 
 ents might be lodged. The college was afterwards 
 transferred to the square of Notre Dame, still re- 
 taining its name of Maison des Dix-Huits.' The 
 primary object of these and similar institutions was 
 simply to afford shelter and protection to the schol- 
 ars. There was no intention of making them institu- 
 tions of learning. Indeed, we may trace their begin- 
 ning to the hostel in wdiich certain licensed masters 
 w^ere wont to keep students at moderate terms. 
 
 "The hostel of the English universities in former 
 times," says Mullinger, " may be defined as a lodg- 
 ing house under the rule of a principal, whose stud- 
 ents resided at their own cost. ... It offered no 
 pecuniary aid, but simply freedom from extortion, 
 and a residence where quiet w^ould be insured and 
 some discipline enforced ; advantages, however, of 
 no small rarity in that turbulent age.'"' 
 
 Then hostels or inns were comparatively few and 
 wholly inadequate for the numbers that flocked to 
 
 ' Lebeuf, "Histoire de la Villeet tout Ic Diocese de Paris," 
 t.ii., pp. 129, 130. 
 
 * "The University (if Caml)ridc:e," i., p. 217.
 
 UNIVERSTTT COLLEGES. 113 
 
 the universities. It was but in the beginning of the 
 fifteenth century that Oxford was in condition to 
 forbid clerks from lodging in the houses of laymen." 
 
 In the meantime, it became evident that, while 
 the mendicant orders were flourishing and absorb- 
 ing the best talent in the universities both among 
 masters and students, the secular clergy were decay- 
 ing. How else could it be, considering the dangers 
 to which youths were exposed upon their entrance 
 into university life? Take those who flocked to 
 Paris. They were badly lodged and poorly fed ; their 
 clothes and books were exposed to pillage; usually, 
 at an early stage of their entry into Paris they were 
 relieved of their money. In spite of the vigilance 
 of the of^cers of the nation under which their names 
 were inscribed, they were cheated, robbed, imposed 
 upon at every turn. The townspeople regarded 
 them as legitimate prey." Designing men and 
 women pursued them, and set snares for them, and 
 made them victims of their wiles till the last penny 
 was extracted. 
 
 Many a fond father, in his desire to see an apt 
 son become a learned clerk on the road to prefer- 
 ment and distinction, impoverished his family that 
 the favored son might have sufficient means to live 
 in Paris, and to find that son return one day rich in 
 well-bought experience, but poor in all else. Rute- 
 beuf describes such a typical j^oung man. His 
 father sells some of the patrimony in order to equip 
 
 * Lyte, "A History of the University of Oxford," p. 69. 
 
 * Ch. Jourdain, "Excursions i travers le moyen age," p. 
 249. 
 
 E. E— 8
 
 114 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 him for the university. The youth goes to Paris, 
 falls into bad company, is soon rid of all that he 
 had brought with him — even his ambition to study 
 — and his " money gone and his clothes worn out, 
 he has to start life anew." 
 
 " Ces argens faux ct sa robe usee; 
 Or tout est a recommencer." ' 
 
 Such experiences set men thinking. Why could 
 not the poor youths struggHng under so many dif- 
 ficulties to enter the secular priesthood find some of 
 that shelter and care that was so lavishly bestowed 
 upon the candidates for religious life? This ques- 
 tion occupied the mind of Robert Sorbon, the pious 
 and learned confessor to Louis IX. In 1256, with 
 the assistance of the saintly king and of several 
 wealthy ecclesiastics about the court, he founded an 
 institution in which youths aspiring to the secular 
 priesthood might be housed and fed and their studies 
 superintended. This institution was from the be- 
 ginning especially designed for a nursery of theology. 
 Burses were established for sixteen students, four 
 from each nation. These youths led a life of econ- 
 omy and regularity. Everything in and about the 
 house was poor. "Poverty," says Crevier, "was 
 the peculiar attribute of the house of Sorbonne, 
 and for a long time it preserved the reality with the 
 title."" Under royal sanction and papal blessing the 
 institution flourished, and when Robert died, in 1274, 
 
 ^ " Le Dis de I'Universite de Paris," t. i., p. 185. The same 
 experiences are still bought at the same price. See Alphonse 
 Daudet's "Sappho." 
 
 '^ " Histoire de I'Universite de Paris," i., pp. 494, 495.
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. 115 
 
 the Sorbonne had already become the headquarters 
 of the faculty of theology.' 
 
 The regulations that Robert drew up and applied 
 during the twenty years that he governed the insti- 
 tution prove his wisdom and practical good sense. 
 They remained in vogue until in 1790, the Sorbonne 
 went under in the catastrophe of that year. Robert 
 established a preparatory school, and the students 
 were admitted to the college only after receiving 
 their bachelor's degree, maintaining a thesis called 
 after the founder, a Robertine, and obtaining a 
 majority of votes after three ballotings. 
 
 There were two classes of members — the guests 
 and the fellows. The guests — Jiospitcs — were pro- 
 vided with every facility for study, but they took 
 no part in the administration of the house. They 
 were permitted to study in the library, but were not 
 entrusted with the key. They were obliged to 
 leave, in order to give place to others, as soon as 
 they had received the doctor's degree. The fellows 
 — socii — had more privileges. They shared in the 
 administration of affairs. Absolute equality reigned 
 among them. Those who were rich paid to the 
 establishment a sum equivalent to the amount re- 
 ceived by the bursars. The prior was chosen from 
 among the youngest fellows, and he remained one 
 year in charge. From amongst the most ancient 
 four seniors were chosen. Their duty was to man- 
 age difificult affairs and maintain ancient customs. 
 The fellows met once a month to discuss all matters 
 of administration. Robert placed the Sorbonne 
 
 ' A. F. Franklin, " La Sorbonne," p. 16.
 
 116 ESSATS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
 but from the fourteenth century we find its patron 
 saint to have been St. Ursula.' 
 
 The pious founder appreciated the value of a good 
 library in those days when books were scarce and ex- 
 pensive. " He was careful," we are told, "to collect 
 in his college all books necessary for theologians and 
 to install a library.'"' At his death he bequeathed to 
 the college all his books, including the splendid folio 
 Bible inscribed in 1270 and supposed to have been 
 presented to him by Louis IX.' In 1289 the library 
 was properly organized. It was divided into two 
 parts. One was called the large library — 7nagiia li- 
 braria — and included the works which were the most 
 frequently made use of; these were chained, and rare 
 and exceptionable were the occasions when it was 
 permitted to remove them. The other part was 
 called the little library — parva libraria — and con- 
 tained all duplicates and works rarely consulted, 
 which might be loaned upon a deposit of a certain sum 
 of money or any article of sufficient value to cover 
 the cost of the book. In 1290 the whole library con- 
 tained 1017 volumes, among which is the "Romance 
 of the Rose," the only book in French mentioned. 
 A beautiful feature of charity in those days was the 
 bequeathing of libraries for the use of poor students. 
 Thus we read that Gerard d' Abbeville, in 1270, be- 
 queathed not only to the students of the Sorbonne 
 
 * Lebeuf, " Ilistoire dc la Ville et du Diocese de Paris," 
 t. i., pp. 240, sqq. 
 
 ' Ladvocat, " Dictionnaire Ilistorique," Art., Sorbon. 
 
 "Tliis is now No. is^^iy ainone; the MSS. fonds Latin, in 
 the Bibliothc-que Nationale.
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. II7 
 
 but to all lettered seculars his theological works. 
 In the following year, Stephen, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, left his books to the Church of Notre 
 Dame with the intention that they be placed at the 
 disposition of poor scholars who should find use for 
 them in pursuing their studies.' 
 
 The counsels that Robert left the students were 
 no less valuable. They were unearthed not many 
 years ago, and as they throw light upon college life 
 in that day it may not be amiss to condense them : 
 
 "The scholar," he says, "who would study with 
 profit should observe the following rules: First, to 
 dedicate a certain hour to a specific piece of reading. 
 Secondly, to fix attention upon what he is about to 
 read, and not to pass lightly to something else, 
 * There is,* says St. Bernard, ' the same difference 
 between reading and studying as exists between 
 a host and a friend, between a greeting exchanged 
 on the street and an unalterable affection.' Thirdly, 
 to extract each day from our reading some thought, 
 some grain of truth, and to engrave it on the 
 memory with special care. Fourthly, to write out 
 an epitome of what one has read, for the words not 
 confined to writing fly like dust before the Avind. 
 Fifthly, to confer with one's companions in the dis- 
 putations or in familiar conversation. This practice 
 is even of greater service than reading, because it 
 results in clearing up all doubts and the obscurities 
 that may have remained after reading. Nihil pcr- 
 fccte scitur, nisi dcnte dispiitationis finiatur. Sixthly, 
 to pray. In point of fact, prayer is one of the best 
 means of learning. St. Bernard teaches that read- 
 ing should excite the affections of the soul, and that 
 it should be a means of elevating the heart to God 
 without interrupting study." 
 
 1 Franklin, "La Vie Privee," p. 84.
 
 118 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 This pious doctor cautions young men against 
 wasting their time upon trifles. His words throw 
 light upon one of the greatest weaknesses of medi- 
 aeval university life. 
 
 "Certain scholars," he says, "act like fools. 
 They put forth great subtlety in trifles and prove 
 themselves void of intelligence in important mat- 
 ters. In order to make it appear that they have 
 not lost their time, they form thick volumes of 
 parchment filled with blank pages and have them 
 covered in elegant red skin binding. They after- 
 wards return to the paternal roof with a sackful of 
 science that can be stolen by robbers, devoured by 
 rats and worms, or destroyed by fire or water." 
 
 With his eye upon that class of students who do 
 not put their knowledge to good use, he also says : 
 
 " Grammar forges the sword of the Word of 
 God ; rhetoric polishes it ; finally, theology makes 
 use of it. Some there are who unceasingly learn to 
 make that sword, to sharpen its edges, and by dint 
 of whetting to wear it all away. Others keep it 
 entirely confined to its scabbard ; when they would 
 draw it forth they find that they have grown old, 
 the iron has rusted, and they can no longer effect 
 anything. As for those who study solely with the 
 intention of reaching high places in the Church, 
 they are greatly deceived, for they scarcely ever 
 attain the objects of their ambition." ' 
 
 These counsels were solid and timely. They left 
 their impress upon the college. A certain number 
 of doctors applied themselves exclusively to the 
 solution of cases of conscience. W^ith practice came 
 skill, and in the course of time people from all 
 
 ' "Bibl. Nat. MS. Lat.," 15,971, fol. 197, Sijrj. ; Le ioy de 
 la Marche, "Le Treizieme Siccle," pp. 50-52,
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. HO 
 
 parts of Europe were wont to send delicate cases 
 for solution, and thus did the Sorbonne come to be 
 regarded as the greatest authority in Christendom 
 in solving moral problems. It was consulted by 
 king and pope. 
 
 During the latter half of the thirteenth century, 
 colleges multiplied. In 1262, Walter de Mcrton, 
 then Lord Chancellor of England under Henry III,, 
 obtained a license to assign certain manors for the 
 maintenance of clerks studying in the schools of 
 Oxford.' His main object was to secure for the 
 secular priesthood the academical benefits which 
 the religious orders were so largely enjoying. " He 
 borrowed from the monastic institutions the idea of 
 an aggregate body living by common rule, under a 
 common head, provided with all things needful for 
 a corporate and perpetual life, fed by its secured 
 endowments, fenced from all external interference, 
 except that of its lawful patron." * Thus was Mer- 
 ton the first to achieve for the secular priesthood in 
 Oxford what Robert of Sorbon succeeded in doing 
 for the same order in Paris. The motives actuating 
 these founders were the same ; the regulations en- 
 forced are alike in many details. 
 
 At Merton, as in the Sorbonne, the students 
 were to be thoroughly grounded in the liberal arts 
 and in philosophy before being permitted to study 
 theology or canon law. Theology is the main ob- 
 ject of the foundation of Merton as well as of the 
 
 ' Lyte, " A History of Oxford University," p. 73. 
 2 Edmund, Bishop of Nelson, •' Sketch of tlie Life of 
 Walter de Merton," p. 22.
 
 120 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Sorbonne ; but in Merton a few were permitted to 
 study canon law and as much civil law as was 
 needed to throw light upon the canons. Poor boys 
 of the founder's kin, to the number of thirteen, 
 received a free preliminary education in which they 
 were to be qualified for scholarships. " While he 
 provides for a good liberal education, and a general 
 grounding in all subsidiary knowledge, he jealously 
 guards his main object of theological study both 
 from being attempted too early by the half-edu- 
 cated boy, and from being abandoned too soon for 
 the temptations of something more profitable." ' It 
 is designed that one of the fellows shall make a 
 special study of grammar, that he shall devote him- 
 self expressly to that subject, "that he shall be pro- 
 vided with all the necessary books, and shall regu- 
 larly instruct the younger students, while the more 
 advanced students are to have the benefit of his 
 assistance when occasion may require."^ 
 
 Other portions of the statutes were evidently 
 inspired by monastic rules. Each scholar was sub- 
 jected to a year's probation before becoming a 
 permanent member of the society.^ A spirit of 
 fellowship and equality was cultivated. The stu- 
 dents wore a uniform. All dined and supped 
 together while one of them read an edifying book 
 in Latin. They had a share in government and 
 management. The eldest in a dormitory was known 
 as the dean, and presided at the rising and retiring. 
 
 ' Bishop of Nelson, " Life of Walter de Merton," p. 22. 
 ^ Mullinger, "The University of Cambridge," p. i68, 
 " Statutes, ,Ed. Percival, p. 20.
 
 UNivERsrrr colle(;bs. 121 
 
 Three of the fellows acted as bursars, and five as 
 auditors of accounts. Three times a year there was 
 a general scrutiny of conduct, when the behavior of 
 each inmate was minutely examined and all griev- 
 ances were ventilated. Should any scholar accept 
 a benefice or enter a religious order, he was obliged 
 to vacate his place.' All were required to attend 
 the communications of benefactors three times a 
 year. 
 
 In 1280 the bequest left by William of Durham, 
 was employed to establish University Hall, and 
 other benefactions enabled the Hall to own a library 
 from which books might be borrowed. The disci- 
 pline was severe. Disputations were held in the 
 house as well as in the schools. No book was lent 
 out of the house without a deposit of more value 
 than the book, and consent of all the scholars. The 
 scholars were allowed to use a common seal. It 
 was enjoined upon them to live honestly as clerks, 
 in a manner befitting saints, not fighting, not using 
 scurrilous or foul language, nor reciting, singing or 
 willingly hearing songs or tales of an amatory or in- 
 decent character, not taunting or provoking one 
 another to anger, and not shouting so as to disturb 
 the studies or repose of the industrious." 
 
 The statutes of BalHol, given in 1282, breathe the 
 same spirit, and no doubt were suggested by the 
 Franciscan confessor of Dermguilla. The principal 
 was elected by the scholars from among themselves. 
 
 > Lyte, " Hist. Oxford," p. 78. 
 
 ' " Munimenta Academica," Statutes of William of 
 Durham, i., pp. 56-61.
 
 122 £SSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The scholars were to attend lectures daily and hold 
 fortnightly disputation in their own house. They 
 were to attend services in the parish church on Sun- 
 days and hear the sermon. If the weekly allowance 
 were not sufficient the richer scholars were levied 
 upon to make up the deficiency, and should any 
 grumble they were expelled. The food that re- 
 mained after a meal was to be given to some poor 
 scholars.' 
 
 The Sorbonnc in Paris and Merton in Oxford 
 were the types after which all mediaeval colleges 
 were erected. But it took three hundred years 
 to mature the collegiate system. It was only 
 about 1550 that it became predominant. The col- 
 lege of Walter de Merton was for some time looked 
 upon with suspicion, as a dangerous experiment. 
 In the meantime, there were established boarding- 
 houses for students having no burses, but able to 
 pay their way. 
 
 Laymen at first rented chambers from the rector 
 of the university, and prepared some students in 
 private. Finding the practice lucrative, they en- 
 larged their field of operations. These houses be- 
 came very numerous and were known as pedagogics. 
 They were encouraged and were considered far bet- 
 ter than the miserable, dingy, close, ill-ventilated 
 holes and dens into which students were thrust by 
 the townspeople in various parts of the city. But 
 with time the pedagogics abused their position. 
 They neglected the moral and religious training of 
 the youths confided to them, regarding them as 
 
 > Lyte, 2, 86.
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. 123 
 
 simply so many sources of income. Gerson accused 
 these men of crass ignorance, negligence and immor- 
 ality. Through fear of losing their pupils they 
 would not correct and punish them. They took no 
 pains to form their boarders to practices of piety and 
 decorum. These youths were as great strangers to 
 the doctrines of Christianity as pagans themselves ; 
 they behaved badly in church, even to the extent of 
 annoying the preacher by interruptions, mockeries, 
 hisses and whisperings.' 
 
 Cardinal d'Estouteville, when reforming the Uni- 
 versity of Paris, was severe upon this class of men. 
 He forbade them to run to the inns»and taverns in 
 order to recruit their houses, and he would have them 
 cease speculating upon the food and accommoda- 
 tions of the students, ruling at the same time " that 
 they ask only a just and moderate price for provis- 
 ions according to their kind and season, and that 
 the food be served up clean and wholesome."' In 
 the latter organization of the university we distin- 
 guish three classes of students, i. There were the 
 students boarding outside ; two usually occupying 
 the same room, and frequently the same bed. These 
 were known as martinets — the chamberdekyns of Ox- 
 ford — and were looked after by the regent. 2. 
 There were the students under the pedagogues ; 
 these were called cainerists. 3. There were the col- 
 lege students who boarded with the principal and 
 were known simply as boarders. Those elderly 
 
 > " Opera, ^' t. i., p. no. Letter written about the year 
 1400. 
 
 2 Du Boulaj, " Hist. Univ, Paris," t. v., p. 572.
 
 124 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 students who passed from school to school and from 
 branch to branch, seeming to have no definite aim 
 in pursuing their studies, and indeed no other aim 
 in life than to live and die students of the univer- 
 sity — shiftless fellows without the ambition of ex- 
 celling in anything — were called ^rt/crZ/rj-.' In Eng- 
 land, as the number of colleges increased the hotels 
 declined, and were either merged in the colleges or 
 disused." 
 
 III. 
 
 The colleges were at first regarded with suspicion, 
 but as their numbers increased they became the ob- 
 ject of special solicitude on the part of the univer- 
 sity authorities. In Paris, the rector was in duty 
 bound to visit each college at least once a month. 
 After the seventeenth century, when the university 
 was losing all hold upon the colleges, these visits 
 became less frequent. But when they did occur 
 they were made the occasion of great rejoicings for 
 the students. " If the rector enters a college," says 
 Pasquier, " there is no telling the joy with which he 
 is welcomed and the acclamations with which he is 
 received, evidences of the honor and respect in 
 which he is held.'" On these occasions the rector 
 made his visitation in state walking through the city 
 clothed in his scarlet cloak, preceded by two beadles 
 bearing silver maces, and followed by Masters in Arts 
 marching two by two in procession. 
 
 ' Etienne Pasquier, " Rccherchcs sur la France," liv. ix., 
 chap., xvii. 
 
 ^ Robert Potts, " Liber Cantabripiensis," p. 177. 
 
 ^ " Recherches sur la France," liv. ix., chap. 22, t. i., p. 937.
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. 125 
 
 Cardinal d'Estouteville, in 1452, empowered the 
 rector to convoke the four nations in order to elect 
 four regents to whom he might delegate this mission 
 of visiting the colleges, inns, and pedagogics, and 
 whose duty it was to ascertain the morals, disci- 
 pline, teaching, and food of each, and with the aid 
 of the bishop to reform whatever called for reforma- 
 tion.' 
 
 It were a long and tedious task to trace the story 
 of the relations of the colleges with their university. 
 Suffice it to say that these colleges were established 
 rather as places in which poor scholars were supplied 
 with board and lodging than as schools for purposes 
 of instruction. The principal at first conducted the 
 students to the lecture hall of the professor, and led 
 them back to the college in a body. Here, with the 
 aid of assistants, he superintended their studies, 
 started disputations, occasionally heard the scholars 
 recite, and thus profitably filled that portion of the 
 day which was not spent in attending lectures. 
 But seeing that this passing to and fro was an occasion 
 of disorder and entailed considerable loss of time, 
 the masters, as soon as students became numerous 
 enough, at first privately lectured in the colleges. 
 These lectures afterward became recognized by the 
 university authorities. " We do not exactly know," 
 says Du Boulay, " when this practice began ; it is 
 generally thought that the College of Navarre, which 
 was reformed in the year 1464, was the first to open 
 its gates to these public professors of letters." " 
 
 1 Bulaeus, " Hist. Univ. Par.," t. v., p. 570. 
 
 2 «» Hist. Univ. Par.," in loc cit.
 
 126 ESSAl^S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 And so these institutions grew from their first 
 lowly and unpretentious beginning to be themselves 
 centres of light. Their daily regulation will give 
 clearer insight into college-life than could a lengthy 
 description : 
 
 At 4 o'clock, rising. The students were awakened bj a 
 member of the philosophy class, who went around the dormi- 
 tory to arouse those who gave a deaf ear to the bell, and to 
 ligiit the candles at the season when candles were needed. 
 
 At 5, the same member saw that the scholars were placed 
 in order around the halls. During the hour from 5 to 6 the 
 regents gave their first lesson. 
 
 At 6 o'clock, breakfast, which consisted of a small piece of 
 bread. After breakfast there was rest, but no recreation. 
 
 From 8 to lo, the principal lesson of the morning. 
 
 From lo to ii, discussion and argumentation. 
 
 At II, dinner, accompanied by reading of the Bible or lives 
 of the saints. The chaplain said the prayers before and after 
 meals, made mementoes of benefactors, and added thereto pious 
 exhortations. The principal took up the work, gave admoni- 
 tions, distributed praise or blame among the students, and 
 announced the pimishments and corrections determined upon 
 the evening previous. 
 
 From 12 to 2, revision and interrogation regarding the 
 morning's lessons. 
 
 From 2 to 3, repose, when there was public reading of some 
 poet or orator — 7ie diabolus Jiojninem iiiveiiiat otiosinn. 
 
 From 3 to 5, the principal lesson of the afternoon. 
 
 From 5 to 6, discussion and argumentation upon the lesson 
 just attended. 
 
 At 6, supper. 
 
 At 6.30, questionings upon the lessons of the day. 
 
 At 7.30, complin and benediction. 
 
 At 8 in winter and 9 in summer, bedtime. 
 
 Masters and pupils authorized to do so might 
 keep the candle burning till 11 o'clock. The wild 
 and unrestrained manners of the students became 
 softened by theatrical representations within the 
 colleges, and by outdoor sports and promenades. 
 In the afternoons of Tuesdays and Thursdays the 
 students were given free time, when they were per-
 
 I'XIVEBSITl- COLLEGES. 127 
 
 mitted to walk to the Pres-aux-clercs. Long prome- 
 nades into the countn- were made with great pomp 
 and ceremony. Besides the Landit, there were 
 certain annual ones that were carefully obser\-ed. 
 Such were the promenades of Notre Dame des 
 Vignes, Xotre Dame des Champs, and a grand 
 promenade in May, when the students, upon their 
 return, assembled before the door of the rector and 
 there planted a tree. 
 
 From the regulations here given there were vari- 
 ations. Thus, in the College of St. Barbe, free time 
 was given only after the principal lesson of the after- 
 noon had been gone through.' In other schools the 
 whole of Thursdaj' was given to recreation.' Feast 
 days were numerous, but they were not idled away. 
 They w ere passed in devotions and in studies out- 
 side the university programme, according to the 
 taste of each student. No leave of absence was 
 granted upon the feast days. An often-mooted ques- 
 tion was what constituted senile Avork for a student 
 on Sundaj-. Burand de Champagne, in the begin- 
 ning of the fourteenth centur}-, decided that schol- 
 ars were not permitted to make complete copies of 
 their notes nor to hire out their labor by transcrib- 
 ine for others, but thev might enter notes of lessons 
 to preserve the memorj- of them, as well as of ser- 
 mons taken down with the stylus.' The students 
 were allowed to go home during the month of 
 
 1 J. Quickerat. •' Histoire de Sainte Barbe," t. i- ch. x.. pp. 
 83 sqq. 
 
 * Noel du Fail, " CEuvres,*' t. ii., p. 1S6. 
 
 ' " Histoire Litteraire de la Franc©," vol. xxx., p. 302.
 
 128 £SSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 September. This period was the vintage-time — les 
 vcndanges. The term " vacation " was confined to 
 the three summer months, during which the supe- 
 rior courses and examinations of the university were 
 suspended. 
 
 The tuition in the colleges was a variable quan- 
 tity, and was regulated according to certain statutes 
 of the university. It depended greatly upon the 
 vintage and harvest. Each year it was definitely 
 fixed by the rector, the deans of the four faculties, 
 the principals of the colleges, and two Parisian 
 merchants.' Another statute authorized the pro- 
 fessors to receive from each scholar, without the 
 exacting or naming of any amount on their part, 
 five or six gold crowns towards the end of the 
 school-year.'' In the month of June, during the 
 feast of Landit, each scholar offered his regent a 
 lemon, upon the rind of which the golden crowns 
 were arranged, the whole being placed in a crystal 
 vase filled with sweetmeats.' At one time the 
 pupils of the whole school, supplied with this offer- 
 ing, marched in great pomp to the playing of fife 
 and the beating of tambourine, and with formal 
 ceremony presented them to the regents; but the 
 custom was abolished in 1600.'' 
 
 Few of the masters and regents were overbur- 
 dened with wealth. The colleges, with rare excep- 
 tions, retained the primitive spirit with which they 
 
 ' Statutes, art. 67. 
 
 ^ Statutes, art. 32. 
 
 ^ Franklin, "La Vie Privee d'Autrefois," p. 216. 
 
 * Hazon, " Eloge Hist, do I'Universite de Paris," 1771.
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. 129 
 
 were established. They continued to be sheltering 
 schools for poor youths, conducted under the aus- 
 pices of religion, and the impress of poverty re- 
 mained stamped upon their rules, the food given 
 and the customs handed down. Mr. Lyte, speaking 
 of Oxford, says: "In its corporate capacity, the 
 University was undoubtedly poor, and it had 
 scarcely any funds applicable for general pur- 
 poses." ' The principal and his assistants, in many 
 of the Parisian schools, lived on a pittance of three 
 or four sous a week, and were obliged to resort to 
 other means to eke out a living. When Sir Thomas 
 More, through reverse of fortune, found himself 
 obliged to economize, he wrote to his wife : " But 
 my counsel is that we fall not to the lowest fare 
 first ; we will not, therefore, descend to Oxford 
 fare." Oxford fare was the type of poor living. 
 Poor scholars were wont to receive from the Chan- 
 cellor a license to beg." And Sir Thomas describes 
 them, with bags and wallets, singing Salve Regma 
 at rich men's doors. The poor students of Mon- 
 taigu College went to the neighboring Chartreux 
 Convent for their breakfast, awaiting their turn to 
 be served with the other indigents. It is to be ob- 
 served that not all college students were obliged to 
 beg. There were two classes in every college, the 
 rich, who paid for their maintenance, and the poor, 
 who worked and begged for it. The meal of the 
 junior students consisted of stale bread with half 
 an ounce of butter, a plate of vegetables, half a 
 
 ' " A History of the University of Oxford," p. 97. 
 2 " Munimenta Academica, " ii., p. 684. 
 E E— 9
 
 130 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 herring, or an ^^%. The larger students, by reason 
 of their age and prolonged labor, were allowed one- 
 third of a pint of wine, a whole herring or two eggs, 
 and a small piece of cheese or some fruit. They 
 were never given meat.' The rigorous discipline 
 and extreme abstinence practised in the College of 
 Montaigu was proverbial, and intellect and appetite 
 became equally keen with the name : 
 
 " Mons acutus, ingenium acutum, dentes acuti." 
 
 Erasmus could not find words severe enough 
 to stigmatize the inhuman treatment and unwhole- 
 some food that shattered his constitution and en- 
 feebled him for life, while a student in this college.'' 
 Rabelais has no kind words for the same institu- 
 tion and its sparrow-hawks. Ponocrates denounces 
 the cruelties practised thus: "Criminals and con- 
 demned murderers are better treated." And he 
 ends in this emphatic manner : " If I were King of 
 Paris I would set fire to the place and burn up both 
 principal and regents for permitting such inhuman- 
 ity before their eyes." ^ Francion, in 1630, is no 
 less severe as regards the fare doled out in the 
 College of Lisieux. He considered the swineherds 
 of his native town better nourished. "Withal," he 
 says, " we were called gourmands, and we should 
 put our hand in the dish each after the other. 
 Those who ate sparingly were the favorites." In- 
 deed, Francion's whole description shows that he 
 
 ' Fdlibien, " Histoire de Paris," t. iii., p. 731. 
 
 ''■ Dialogue, " Flesh and Fish." 
 
 ^ " Gargantua, " liv. i., chap, xxvii., pp. 119, 120.
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. 13] 
 
 had fallen into the hands of a seventeenth century 
 Squecrs.' 
 
 But in order to be understood, mediseval manners 
 and customs are to be looked at with other eyes than 
 those of the nineteenth century. Francis of Assisi, 
 in making poverty his bride, idealized that virtue.'' 
 His disciples sanctified and exalted begging and 
 caused men to respect poverty. There was no hu- 
 miliation in being poor; there was no personal degra- 
 dation in asking an alms. Students no more lost 
 their self-respect in begging for the house, or in doing 
 menial service for their instructors, than did the page 
 in waiting upon his master. This broad and elevated 
 view of poverty established a brotherhood of feeling 
 that inspired the better off to extend a helping hand 
 to those less favorably circumstanced. The bursars 
 of the college distributed their leavings to the poor 
 scholars of their nation. Masters gave their pupils 
 cast-ofT clothes and shoes.' This thoughtfulness ex- 
 tended to their holidays. In 12 14, the commonalty 
 of Oxford agreed to pay fifty-two shillings yearly for 
 the use of poor scholars, and to give six hundred and 
 fifty of them a meal of bread, ale, and pottage, with 
 one large dish of flesh or fish on St. Nicholas Day.* 
 The poor students themselves resorted to many make- 
 shifts that they might be enabled to pursue their 
 studies. Sometimes they copied books and transcribed 
 
 ' See A. F. Franklin, " La Vie Privee d' Autrefois; Ecoles 
 et CoUep^es," pp. 223, 224. 
 ''■ " Paradise," xi., 64-100. 
 ' " De Disciplina Scholarium," cap. iv. 
 ♦"Anthony .^i Wood," i., p. i>^5.
 
 132 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 notes ; sometimes they swept and garnished the rooms 
 of a rich companion or an instructor to whom they 
 attached themselves ; sometimes they kept their lodg- 
 ing-house clean and orderly. Boys with good voices 
 sang from door to door. This was the custom, even in 
 Luther's day.' 
 
 The cost of instruction was in proportion to the 
 pecuniary resources of each student. He who 
 affirmed under oath that he had only sufficient to pay 
 the expense of board and lodging was charged noth- 
 ing for instruction. The education of youth ranked 
 among the works of mercy, and indigent scholars 
 were often thought of in men's last will and testa- 
 ment. Chests or funds were established for their 
 temporary reliefo Whoever borrowed money from 
 the chest established by the Countess of Warwick, in 
 1293, was obliged to say the Paternoster thrice in 
 honor of the Holy Trinity, and the Ave Maria five 
 times in honor of the Blessed Virgin,'^ It must be 
 said of the University of Paris, along the line of its 
 whole career that there was a conspicuous lack of 
 economy and forethought in money matters. Just 
 as the bursars threw all surpluses into a common fund 
 for the poor scholars, even so the excess of receipts 
 over expenses was distributed among masters and 
 bedels, and frequently drunk in the taverns." Of 
 course, in these matters, as in all else, there were ex- 
 ceptions; there were students who thought only of 
 
 ^ Sclimidt, "Jean Sturm," p. 39. 
 ^ " Munimenta Acadcmica," i., p. 63. 
 
 3Bul«us, "Hist. Univ. Par.," iv., 674; Thurot, " De I'Or- 
 ganisation," 27.
 
 UNI VERS irr colle(;es. 133 
 
 dress and display, and there were masters who ex- 
 torted money from their students. 
 
 The discipline, the exercises and pastimes of col- 
 lege life in its good and its bad aspects have been 
 faithfully sketched by Rabelais in his terrible satire.' 
 The colleges continued the traditions of the univer- 
 sity schools in the observance of their holidays, 
 games, amusements and customs. The newcomers 
 into the college — bejaunes — were severely handled 
 by the old pupils. They were terrorized into the 
 performance of acts the most ridiculous or most 
 dangerous, as suited the whims of their persecutors. 
 Our modern hazing is a relic of these mediaeval days. 
 In Germany the custom of formal initiation was 
 somewhat in the following manner : The freshman 
 was seized, arrayed in a garment of coarse stuff, and 
 upon his head was placed a cap with horns or ass's 
 ears. His companions then chased him around, 
 and, having caught him, they pretended to clip his 
 ears with shears, shave him with an axe and stab 
 him with augurs of wood, in order, as an ancient 
 author puts it, that the new student may learn to 
 suppress the horns of vanity, smooth away the 
 rough corners of his nature, and clear the ways 
 to his intellect. The paraphernalia was afterwards 
 deposited in the centre of the hall, to indicate 
 that the student had now cast from him all those 
 evil habits which made him like unto the brute. 
 His hair was then cut. An enormous ear-pick was 
 pointed towards his temple, to indicate that he 
 should listen only to wise and discreet discourses. 
 
 ^ "Gargantua," liv. i., chaps, xvi-xxiv.
 
 13-4 £:SSA i'S EDiCA TIONA L 
 
 A wild boar's tooth was extracted by means of long 
 pincers; the operation was intended to show that 
 the student should keep clear of calumny and slan- 
 der. His hands and nails were cleansed, as an em- 
 blem to avoid all quarrels. A black beard was 
 painted on his face, as an image of his entering 
 upon the years of manhood and a warning to him 
 to throw aside the things of childhood. A chorus 
 was sung over him as an emblem of the harmony in 
 which he should live. He went on his knees before 
 those assisting at the ceremony, as a token of re- 
 spect for authority. The horns having been taken 
 off and laid aside symbolized the fact that the stu- 
 dent was changed and rose up a new man. He was 
 then given the wine of gaiety and the salt of wis- 
 dom. Here ended the initiation, after which the 
 student was received by his companions to the new 
 life of study.' This mode of initiation was one of 
 universal practice in the early days of university 
 life; indeed, the tradition of it may be traced back 
 to pagan times. St. Gregory Nazianzen speaks of 
 a similar ceremony practiced in Athens in his day, 
 in order, as he tells us, to take the pride out of the 
 young men and render them docile.^ 
 
 Before me lies an old engraving representing the 
 process of initiation. The imprint is of 1666, but 
 the scene was at least three hundred years old. Spec- 
 tators are seated apart. Two subjects are upon the 
 
 ' A. G. Strobel, "Ilistoire du Gjmnase Protestiint dc Stras- 
 bourg." Appendix, No. 8, p. 133. 
 
 '^ See Colin de Plancy, " Dictionnaire Fcudale," t. i., pp. 
 
 57, 5H-
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. 135 
 
 floor awaiting the good pleasure of their torturers. 
 The horned caps are thrown to one side. A would-be 
 executioner stands over them with a battle-axe lifted 
 up in the act of striking. Behind this man is a youth 
 subjected to some other stage of the initiation ; in 
 the background others are represented as being led 
 into the hall, each accompanied by his executioner 
 holding a mace.' In all these rites and ceremonies 
 masters united with students. They were one in 
 study, one in play, one even in the disorders that arose 
 from time to time.'^ In this manner may we catch a 
 glimpse of mediaeval college life far more instructive 
 and suggestive than that revealed by charters and 
 statutes. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Cardinal Newman sums up the relations of col- 
 leges to universities in the following words : 
 
 "At first universities were almost democracies; 
 colleges tended to break their anarchial spirit, intro- 
 duced ranks and gave the example of laws, and 
 trained up a set of students who, as being morally 
 and intellectually superior to the members of the 
 academical body, became the depositories of acad- 
 emical power and influence."^ 
 
 In proportion as the colleges became more per- 
 fect, the university began to decay. Some trace the 
 decline as far back as 1380. Disintegration set in 
 very rapidly after the Renaissance. The ecclesiasti- 
 cal character of the university diminished, and it 
 
 1 Ritas Dcpositionis Argentinae, apud Petrum Aiihry, 1666. 
 
 2 Thurot, "De I'Organisation de I'Universite," p. 39. 
 
 3 " Historical Sketches, Universities," pp. 221, 222.
 
 136 BSSAJ-S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 grew more secular. In 1452, Masters in Medicine 
 were dispensed from celibacy ; in 1600, Doctors in Law 
 attached to the university were permitted to marry. 
 The Jesuits succeeded so admirably in perfecting the 
 college system that at their door may safely be laid 
 the chief cause ^of the decline of the University of 
 Paris. By the end of the seventeenth century they 
 had purchased twelve of its colleges. About 1764, 
 twenty houses of the university were closed because 
 they were not self-sustaining.' 
 
 Already in the seventeenth century murmurs 
 began to arise concerning the decline and the ineffi- 
 ciencies of the universities. In 1602, there appeared 
 in England an appeal to Parliament to reform the 
 Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, A copy of 
 this petition now lies before me. It is signed 
 J. H., and in all probability is written by the An- 
 glican bishop, Joseph Hall.' The author is whole- 
 sale in his condemnation of university studies, uni- 
 versity methods and university results. 
 
 " I could never yet," he tells us, "make so bad 
 an idea of a true university as that it should serve 
 for no nobler end than to nurture a few raw strip- 
 lings come out of some miserable country school, 
 with a few shreds of Latin, that is as unmusical to 
 a polite ear as the gruntings of a sow or the noise of 
 a saw can be to one who is acquainted with the laws 
 of harmony. And then, possibly, before they have 
 surveyed the Greek alphabet, to be racked and tor- 
 tured with a sort of harsh, abstracted, logical no- 
 tions, which their wits are no more able to endure 
 
 > " Thurot," p. 131. 
 ' 1574-1656.
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. 137 
 
 than their bodies the strapado, and to be deHvered 
 over to a jejune, barren, peripatetic philosophy suited 
 only (as Descartes says) to wits that are seated be- 
 low mediocrity. . . . And then as soon as they have 
 done licking of this file to be turned to graze in finer 
 ethics, which perhaps, tells them as much, in harder 
 words, as they had heard their mothers talk by the 
 fireside at home."' 
 
 This is the sum of knowledge that Hall finds in 
 the universities of his day. Evidently the spirit of 
 Bacon and Descartes is abroad. 
 
 What does he expect? What would he have? 
 Here is his conception of what a university should be : 
 
 " I have even expected from an university, that 
 though all men cannot learn all things, yet they 
 should be able to teach all things to all men, and be 
 able either to attract knowing men from abroad out 
 of their own wealth or at least be able to make an 
 exchange." "^ 
 
 He finds the universities lacking in chemistry, in 
 anatomy ; there are no masters to make a thorough 
 examination of old tenets, or to review old experi- 
 ments and traditions ; none to make a survey of an- 
 tiquities or solemn disquisition into history ; there is 
 an absence of all ready and generous teaching of the 
 tongues. All these deficiencies he would have sup- 
 plied, "not by some stripling youngster, who per- 
 haps understands that which he professes as little as 
 anything else, and mounts up into the chair twice or 
 
 1 "An Humble Motion to the Parliament of Enp:land Con- 
 cerning: the Advancement of Learning: and Reformation of the 
 Universities." By J. H. London: Printed for John Walker, 
 at the Starre in Popes-Head Alley, MDCH., pp. 25, 26. 
 
 ■■'Ibid., p. 27.
 
 138 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 thrice a year to mutter over some few impertinences, 
 but by some staid man of tried and known abilities in 
 his profession." ' 
 
 He thinks the university schools " have not yet 
 arrived to the exactness of the Jesuit colleges." 
 Lord Bacon's estimate of the same colleges was no 
 less favorable. In all that regards the instruction of 
 youth, he says, "we must consult the classes of the 
 Jesuits, for there can be nothing better,"' He be- 
 seeches parliament to reduce "those friar-like lists of 
 fellowships " into a fewer number, and those retained 
 "to be bestowed upon men excellent in their partic- 
 ular endowments and peculiar for some use or other so 
 that the number of the professors might increase."^ 
 He suggests the combining of all the colleges thinly 
 scattered and poorly patronized up and down the 
 land under one or other of the great universities; 
 that there be greater freedom of the press and that 
 two copies of every new book go to the public 
 library ; that all medals, statues and other antiqui- 
 ties at the time public property or confiscate to the 
 crown go to the university museums ; finally, that 
 learned foreigners be duly honored and encouraged 
 to make their homes in the universities.^ 
 
 An anonymous writer of the same period, evi- 
 dently intimate with the workings of the University 
 of Paris and anxious for its welfare, sends out a 
 similar cry of warning and bewails the evils he 
 
 ^Ibid., pp. 27, 28. 
 
 * " De Aup;mentis Scientiarum," lib. v., cap. iv. 
 'Ibid., p. 29. I have modernized the spelling of these 
 quotations. 
 
 < Ibid., pp. 30, 31.
 
 UNIVERSirr COLLEdES. 139 
 
 would see remedied. He is opposed to any in- 
 fringement of the old order. He does not like to 
 see the colleges monopolize university instruction. 
 
 " There are," he tells us, " sixty-three colleges or 
 high schools in the University of Paris. These 
 were not originally established for boarders, nor 
 in order that the arts may be taught in them, 
 as is done to-day, but to feed and maintain 
 certain scholars whom the ancients called bursars. 
 These attended public lectures in the rue de 
 Fouarre." ' 
 
 He would see them return to the old custom. The 
 regents are no longer adequately compensated. He 
 tells us that the Jesuits brought about this ruinous 
 system of gratuitous instruction, "and even the 
 Jesuits do not teach gratuitously since they secure 
 such good endowments for their colleges."" He 
 would, therefore, gladly see them expelled from 
 Paris, and hints at what he considers the proper 
 mode of treatment for them, by calling attention to 
 the fact that " Carlo Borromeo took from the Jes- 
 uits the seminaries that he had instituted in the 
 diocese of Milan."' He bewails the fact that 
 neither among themselves have the masters the 
 proper spirit, nor over their pupils have they the 
 same influence as of olci ; and if they are to do good 
 as formerly they must reform their present mode of 
 living and in submission to the statute of Septem- 
 ber 20, 1577, go back to commons. 
 
 ' " Memoires pour le Re,e;lement de I'Univcrsite, MDLX." 
 in the " Bibliotheque Nationale," 1073, 24, 115-2130, p. 2. 
 ^Ibid., p. 3. 
 "Ibid., p. 6.
 
 140 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The anonymous author finds fault with the man- 
 ner in which the students are treated in some of the 
 colleges. He has no good word for the harsh dis- 
 cipline to which the students of Montaigu College 
 are subjected. He advocates the reduction of their 
 number to a third of what it then was, so that 
 they be better fed and better clothed, and that 
 they wear " a dress more civilized and respectable 
 than that they now wear." He bewails the neglect 
 of lessons upon the holidays and fast-days. He 
 says : 
 
 " Twenty-five or thirty years ago lessons were 
 taught in the university on feast days and on Sundays, 
 from nine to ten in the morning, and from four to 
 five in the afternoon, and on the feasts of the Apostles 
 there were public declamations — usance qiiil est 
 necessaire remcttre^ * 
 
 The regents he finds derelict in duty : 
 
 " Each regent should watch in turn over the 
 scholars at play, in order to see that they behave with 
 modesty and reserve, that they speak only the Latin 
 tongue, and that they salute politely all who pass 
 through the ground." 
 
 He is dissatisfied with the preparatory schools of 
 the university. They are not doing their duty, they 
 are not grounding the children sufificiently. He tells 
 us that there are thirty such schools in Paris, that 
 the masters of them are frequently ignorant, and 
 that they persist in carrying the children into other 
 fields of study rather than confining themselves to 
 the rudiments. In consequence, he complains bit- 
 terly of the difficulty of unlearning children what 
 
 ' Ibid., p. 21.
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. \\\ 
 
 they had been badly taught, and above all of cor- 
 recting habits of erroneous pronunciation.' 
 
 Such a foundation can support only a poor su- 
 perstructure. And what solidity can be found in 
 institutions the principals of which are elected, not 
 through merit, but as the result of canvassing and 
 intrigue.'^ Such was the state of affairs among the 
 colleges of the University of Paris in 1610. Here 
 we part company with the annoymous author, grate- 
 ful for the glimpse he gave us into the causes that 
 led to the disintegration of that wonderful structure. 
 
 The University of Paris had begun to decline in 
 power and influence long before. In the beginning 
 of the sixteenth century while there was slight 
 diminution in the number of her students, a marked 
 change was passing over her spirit. Her prestige 
 was on the wane. She had ceased to be the sem- 
 inary of Christendom and was simply a national in- 
 stitution.' The causes of this decline were both 
 local and general. In the fourteenth century uni- 
 versities were multiplied in nearly every country in 
 Europe. Each nation, sometimes each province 
 or district possessing its own university, naturally 
 students stayed at home and, with few exceptions, 
 availed themselves of the universities established at 
 their doors. The old-time severity exercised in the 
 distribution of academical honors became relaxed 
 and forthwith the degrees from. Paris lost their 
 primitive significance and were in consequence less 
 
 ^ Ibid., p. 22. 
 ' Ibid., p. 23. 
 ■* "Thurot," p. 2.
 
 112 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 eagerly sought. Finally, during the sojourn of the 
 popes in Avignon, ecclesiastical dignities were 
 showered upon the professors, -vvho thereupon 
 threw up their positions and their studies, and in 
 consequence the work of the university was gener- 
 ally done by inferior men.' Then, as now, it is true 
 that personal worth and personal influence are the 
 chief factors in determining the character and pres- 
 tige of college or university. Now, as then, a great 
 educator, or a great body of educators, can establish 
 themselves in a barn and attract crowds, while the 
 noblest architectural structures, with the most im- 
 proved modern school-furniture, may proudly raise 
 their spires, and yet, if directed by incompetency or 
 mediocrity, they will be passed by, or will be patron- 
 ized by that class of parents which judges the merits 
 of a school by the picture upon its prospectus. 
 
 V. 
 
 Let us go behind this college life and note the 
 guide books by which the masters were directed in 
 their teachings. We are accustomed to consider ped- 
 agogy a modern science. But let us not be deceived. 
 In those mediaeval days there were wholesome studies 
 of methods. Then as now, masters considered the 
 ways and means by which best results might be 
 reached. 
 
 The manual of the thirteenth century most in 
 vogue was a small work in seven chapters, known as 
 
 ^ The first Rotulus Nominandorum was sent in 1316 to 
 John XXII. See Prof. Shirley's introduction to " Fasciculi 
 Zizaniorum," p. 11.
 
 UNIVERSiri' COLLEGES. 143 
 
 " De Disciplina Scholarium,'" and attributed to Boe- 
 thius, but not written till the University of Paris had 
 been fully established. The book is quoted by Roger 
 Bacon in 1627.' The name of Bocthius rendered it 
 popular and gave it a prescriptive standing that it 
 might have never otherwise attained. Still there is a 
 goodly share of sound advice running through its 
 pages. 
 
 The unknown author would have instruction con- 
 tinuous, uninterrupted, riveted in the brain by fre- 
 quent repetition until the verses of the poets and the 
 sentences of the philosophers find a fixed place in the 
 memory. The master should not be content with 
 the teaching of mere words, which makes sophists, 
 nor with purely mental activity which develops the 
 judgment and originates science, but he should also 
 with both of these combine common usage that comes 
 with habit. Science without practice is of small 
 avail, whereas practice without science availeth 
 greatly. He should be erudite, afTable, strict, grave, 
 and careful without arrogance.' The scholar should 
 always be subject to the master, for only he who 
 knows how to obey knows how to govern himself. 
 This submission has a threefold character; attention 
 in practice, docility of mind, and good will of the 
 soul ; the student should ever be attentive to listen, 
 docile to understand, and ready to retain. It be- 
 hooves the master to understand his scholars and di- 
 rect each according to his talents ; the obtuse mind 
 
 1 "Patrologia Latina," vol. Ixiv. 
 
 - In the "Opus Majus." 
 
 •■' "De Disciplina Scholarium," cap. vi., col. 1235.
 
 144 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 to mechanics, the mediocre to politics, the acute to 
 philosophy.' Masters and scholars should constitute 
 one family, and if the master is obliged to adminis- 
 ter corporal punishment it must be with permis- 
 sion of the parent. In all that has been here tran- 
 scribed very little can be improved upon after an 
 experience of six centuries. 
 
 The Carmelite, William Whetely, made a careful 
 study of this little volume, and according to its 
 principles during five and twenty years directed the 
 schools of Stamford, and under his efiflcient man- 
 agement Stamford grew to such prominence that it 
 was considered a rival of Oxford and Cambridge. 
 The historian of Stamford says of the Carmelite 
 convent : 
 
 " Certain it is this convent was as happy in the 
 famous men it produced, as their schools and house 
 itself were remarkable for the strictness of their 
 discipline." ^ 
 
 Whetely wrote an elaborate commentary upon 
 the manual attributed to Boethius, whence Leland 
 calls him " Boctianus." The commentary is still 
 extant in manuscript in Pembroke College Library, 
 Cambridge. ^ 
 
 A voice out of the same age, speaking to us from 
 Brescia, the voice of a judge learned in the law, 
 Albertans Albertani (circa 1250) among some moral 
 prosings discusses the subject of education with the 
 
 ^ Ibid., cap. v., col. 1233. 
 
 ''■ Peck, " Academia Tertia Anp;licana," lit. vii'., p. 44. 
 ■^ See J. Bass Mullinger, " University of Cambridge," pp. 
 637. 638.
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. ]45 
 
 practical sense of a man of affairs. In a tract titled 
 " Of Speaking and of Silence" — De Lotjuendi et 
 Taceiidi Modo — the author lays down the requisites 
 for study (cap. xi.). According to him there are 
 three essentials that enter into the acquisition of 
 knowledge, namely, doctrine, use, and exercise, and 
 practical application. The mind is afterward aided 
 by forcible thoughts on doctrine, which should be 
 committed to memory ; by constant reading, by 
 writing, and by chewing and masticating the science 
 that one learns. While studying one should over- 
 look or despise no science, no written document; 
 one should never feel ashamed to learn from any 
 person that can give information, and finally one 
 should not despise others because one has become 
 familiar with some science.' 
 
 Another manual of pedagogy is the treatise " De 
 Eruditione Principum," from the pen of William P^- 
 rault, who was contemporary with Thomas Aquinas. 
 He died about 1275. For a long time his book was 
 attributed to St. Thomas, and is still to be found in 
 all the printed editions of his works." Echard proved 
 conclusively that the treatise belongs to Peraldus.^ 
 The work is divided into seven books. The first is 
 made up of moral reflections considered suitable 
 to a young prince. It dwells upon the vanity of 
 
 1 See an analysis of this little work by Vicenzo di Giovanni 
 in " Nota," published at Palermo, 1874. A copy of the work 
 itself is to be found in the Mazarin Library. See also Ever- 
 ardo Micheli, " Storia della Pedap:of?ia Italiana," pp. 79, 80. 
 
 2 " Opusculum," XXXVII., vol. xvi., Parma edition, 1865. 
 ^ " Scriptores Ordinis Praedicatorum," i., pp. 131-136. 
 
 Paris. 1719. 
 E. E.— 10
 
 146 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 worldly riches, praise and glory, and the risks, mis- 
 eries and responsibilities that accompany earthly 
 power, and inculcates clemency, piety, wisdom and 
 the other qualities becoming his earthly power and 
 true nobility.' The second treats of the relations of 
 the prince towards God and the Church. It dwells 
 upon the faith, hope, charity and the fear of the 
 Lord that should possess him. It lays stress on the 
 rules and motives urging one to the love of God and 
 of one's neighbor ^ The third unfolds the care the 
 prince should take of himself. While engaged and 
 occupied with others it behooves him not to neglect 
 his own interior life. He may possess all knowledge 
 of men and things, but not knowing himself he 
 would only be building upon a ruinous foundation. 
 He is not wise whose wisdom does not extend to 
 the attaining of his own salvation. In his every act 
 he should ask himself, " Is it lawful? Is it expedi- 
 ent? Is it proper?" He should frequently enter 
 into himself and ask himself who he is, what he is, 
 and what manner of life he leads. He proves him- 
 self stronger in overcoming himself than in conquer- 
 ing an army.^ The fourth book treats of a prince's 
 relations with others. It shows the misfortunes and 
 temptations to which princes are exposed when sur- 
 rounded by designing and currupt men ; it lays 
 stress upon the necessity of wise counselors, and 
 having honest men at the head of affairs, of being 
 above the acceptance of rewards, of doing justice 
 
 ^ " S. Thomas Opera," vol. xvi., p. 391-403. 
 "^ Ihid., p]x 400-414. 
 * Ibid., pp. 414-422.
 
 UNIVEIiSITl' COLLEGES. 147 
 
 by the poor and never coveting whatever may be 
 theirs.' 
 
 The fifth book is the most important. It is com- 
 posed of sixty-six chapters, and may be regarded as 
 a complete treatise upon education. Peraldus lays 
 down the elementary principle that parents owe it to 
 their offspring as a primary duty, the lacking in 
 which were inexcusable, to see that they are educated. 
 This discipline is not merely one of words; it must 
 also be a training by means of the whip — nee 
 suffieit tit eriiditis verbortini, imnio neeessaria est 
 etiam disciplina verbcriun. The child is taken from 
 his tender years and his dispositions are studied and 
 his habits are formed accordingly. The advantages 
 of bearing the yoke of the Lord from the days of 
 youth are clearly laid down. Five things are required 
 on the part of the master; namely, that he be en- 
 dowed with fair talent, that his life be upright and 
 honorable, that he be possessed of knowledge accu- 
 rately acquired and well digested before instructing 
 others, that he be possessed of an eloquent manner 
 of imparting information, and that he have experi- 
 ence as a teacher. The instruction imparted by an 
 experienced teacher has five qualities ; it is plain and 
 simple so as to reach the feeblest intelligence ; it is 
 imparted in the fewest possible words ; it is useful; 
 it is presented in such a variety of lights as to ren- 
 der it agreeable ; and the subject-matter is neither 
 too long draw^n out nor too rapidly passed over. 
 This is a valuable pedagogical chapter* upon the 
 
 ' Ibid., pp. 422-427. 
 
 2 Ibid., cap. ix., pp. 431, 432.
 
 148 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 form and method of teaching. No less instructive 
 is the succeeding chapter upon the qualifications of 
 a good student. 
 
 The good student should be of good life. Pride, 
 anger, envy, sloth, gluttony, love and hatred are all 
 impediments in the way of learning. The good stu- 
 dent endeavors to overcome every deadly vice. He 
 prays much ; for wisdom being a gift of God, he con- 
 stantly beseeches the Divine Source for an abun- 
 dance thereof. He brings humility to his studies, 
 especially to all studies concerning Holy Writ. 
 This humility leads him to that honest love of truth, 
 possessing which he is not ashamed to confess igno- 
 rance when he does not know, and is ever ready and 
 willing to learn. As he who receives from everybody 
 becomes all the richer, so he who learns from every- 
 [^/body becomes all the wiser., ,The good student ever 
 cherishes the fear of God m his heart. This fear, 
 which is the beginning of wisdom, leads him to walk 
 carefully in the right way, and guards him against 
 error, presumption and negligence -in study. He is 
 meek, ever receiving instructions, especially the les- 
 sons of the sacred Scriptures, with docility. He is 
 diligent in his studies ; for he who hastily passes over 
 the words of a text does not perceive all its meaning 
 or appreciate all its beauty. Here the student is 
 cautioned against that curiosity which would sacri- 
 fice the important for the trivial; against fickleness 
 and instability in reading ; against quarrelsome dis- 
 putations and verbal hairsplittings. 
 
 The good student is methodical. Where there 
 is an absence of method, there may indeed be hard
 
 UNIVEJiSirr COLLEGES. \.\{) 
 
 work, but there is very little progress. He is per- 
 severing in his studies ; this is the essential condi- 
 tion of all advancement. Perseverance has been 
 called the mother of the arts, negligence the step- 
 mother of all learning. Another requisite, very es- 
 sential for youths, is continued practice. The un- 
 used iron rusts. Hence the value of disputations 
 amicably conducted; they polish and sharpen intel- 
 lects. Furthermore, the good student impresses 
 upon his memory whatever he reads ; otherwise his 
 labor would be in vain. What avails it that the dog 
 catches the game, if forthwith he lets it go ? Water 
 easily receives impressions, but to no purpose, since 
 it does not retain them. The mind discovers wis- 
 dom, the memory preserves it. Intellectual slow- 
 ness may be aided by assiduity, and defective mem- 
 ory improved by frequent repetitions and taking 
 notes. The scholar should ever regard his teacher 
 with esteem and respect and be towards him sub- 
 missive and affectionate. Finally, he should be 
 careful to thank and glorify God for the talents and 
 the knowledge with which he has been favored.' 
 
 The remainder of the book is devoted to the 
 discipline of youth as regards behavior, clothing, 
 food and drink, marriage and virginity. The author 
 dwells upon the temptations to which young men 
 are exposed ; the puerilities that they should avoid ; 
 the virtues that the}' should practice, especially pa- 
 tience, humility and obedience. He commends 
 matrimony and speaks in glowing terms of the love 
 and esteem that should mutually exist between 
 
 1 Ibid., cap. X., pp. 433, 434.
 
 150 ESSAIS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 husband and wife. But he pleads most earnestly 
 for freedom of action among those young men who 
 would lead a life of celibacy and serve God in a re- 
 ligious order. Several chapters are devoted to the 
 education of daughters. They should not be al- 
 lowed to gad about, should never be idle, and should 
 devote themselves to study. They should be 
 brought up chaste, humble, pious, meek and re- 
 served, and their virtue carefully guarded. They 
 should prize goodness and moral worth above phy- 
 sical beauty and consider the spiritual adornments 
 of the soul superior to those that set forth the 
 beauty of the body. The honor of widowhood is 
 commented upon; the state of virginity is lauded 
 and shown to be far above that of matrimony; its 
 beauty is compared to the lily and its efficacy and 
 special glory are extolled.' 
 
 Of the remaining books little need be said. The 
 sixth is devoted to the relations of the prince to his 
 subjects. The author begins by picturing the mag- 
 nitude of the evil an impious prince can inflict upon 
 his subjects, and the punishment he is liable to incur. 
 Afterwards the blessings that accompany the reign 
 of a good prince are eloquently depicted. The sev- 
 enth and last book is devoted to the relations of the 
 prince to his enemies, and to the various duties be- 
 longing to a military life. The only recognized 
 avenues to honor and position in those days were 
 the military and the clerical life. So it is here stated 
 that " as in the body of the Church the clergy con- 
 stitute the brain, so the military organization is the 
 
 1 Ibid., pp. 427-466.
 
 UNIlERSm- COLLEGES. 151 
 
 hand . . . from the clergy it has direction and 
 accordingly owes the clergy protection.'" Here ends 
 this remarkable treatise on education from the pen 
 of William P^rault. Petit-Radel, after giving a very 
 inadequate account of the book, says with truth : 
 " We can praise the lucid style, the wise maxims, 
 the noble and beautiful sentiments, the good order 
 in details, that pervade the work."" The recognition 
 of P^rault as a great educator and an eminent writer 
 is a tardy act of justice. 
 
 Another Dominican who preserved the educa- 
 tional traditions of the Dominicans in his writings, 
 and still more with his pupils in the school-room, 
 was Fra Bartolomio da San Concordia (i 262-1 347), 
 of whom the Pisan chronicle speaks in terms of ad- 
 miration as a teacher. The highest tribute the 
 chronicle pays him is this : that while he stimu- 
 lated genius he did not neglect youths of mediocre 
 talent ; that he was accessible to all ; that he com- 
 municated what he had learned without distinction 
 and without pretension ; and so well did he succeed 
 that the most unpolished minds went forth from his 
 school so carefully instructed that their skill seemed 
 to be natural and their efficiency to come from art. 
 Besides conducting the studium of his convent, he 
 established a school of oratory and poetry for the 
 laity. In his " Ammaestramenti degli Antichi," he 
 gathered together about two thousand passages 
 
 'Ibid., cap. iii., p. 472. 
 
 ■^"Histoire Litteraire de la France," t. xix., p. 315. See 
 " Bibliothek der Katholischen Padajjojiik," vol. iii., p. 212. 
 Also Von Ketteler, "Die Pflichten des Adels," Mainz, 1868.
 
 152 IHSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 from one hundred and twenty different authors, and 
 through the quotations he has interspersed his own 
 beautiful and practical suggestions. There is little 
 that is new in his method, but when treating of the 
 natural dispositions of soul and body, of the actions 
 that lead the way to virtue, of studying and teach- 
 ing, and of the mode of speaking, he says things that 
 every student of pedagogy might read with profit.' 
 
 Another volume breathing the spirit of St. 
 Thomas, and written in the same key-note with 
 that of Perault, is the " De Regimine Principum " 
 of Egidius Romano of the Colonna family (1241- 
 13 16). Egidius, though an Agustinian, had sat at 
 the feet of the Angelical Doctor for several years, 
 following him from chair to chair. He afterwards 
 became general of the Augustinians and Bishop of 
 Bourges. Having been charged with the education 
 of the Dauphin of France, w'ho was afterwards 
 known as Philip the Fair, he wrote this treatise on 
 the education of a prince. The book was written 
 before 1285. It is divided into three parts : the first 
 treating of self-government, or morals; the second 
 of government of the family, or economics; and the 
 third of civil government, or politics. The second 
 part includes the subject of education. Felix La- 
 jard pronounces it "a complete treatise on educa- 
 tion, physical, intellectual, and moral, adapted to 
 the different ages of the child from the cradle up."' 
 Going over the same ground that P(^rault cultivated, 
 and going over it in the same spirit and according 
 
 ' See Milanese, " Storia della Pedagogia," vol. ii., p. 1491. 
 ^ "Histoire Litteraire de la France," t. xxx., p. 521.
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. 153 
 
 to the same principles, it naturally follows that the 
 same ideas are enforced in the work of Gilles. The 
 author begins by laying stress upon the care and 
 prudence with which the parent should guide the 
 steps of the child in the path of truth and virtue. 
 He dwells upon the love between father and son, 
 which love should be the principle of obedience on 
 the part of the son. He afterwards speaks of the 
 instruction that should be imparted. The first and 
 most essential is everything pertaining to religion, 
 then good habits and good manners, then correct- 
 ness of speech, and finally science. He goes through 
 the gamut of the Trivium and Quadrivium, and adds 
 thereto, as essential for the education of a prince, 
 metaphysics, theology, politics and ethics. Nor 
 must we conclude from this elaborate programme, 
 that the truly learned author — Doctor Fundatissimus 
 he was called in his own day — was an impracticable 
 theorist. He discriminates. He says: 
 
 "The sons of princes should know enough of 
 theology to confirm them in their faith; they should 
 know well the moral sciences in order to learn 
 therefrom how to govern themselves and others. 
 From certain sciences they should know all that is 
 necessary for their moral development ; from gram- 
 mar, enough to understand the idioms in which the 
 truths of religion and morality are taught ; from 
 rhetoric and dialectics, all that can render their in- 
 tellects prompt to apprehend, and give them facility 
 of expression; from music, whatever can aid good 
 manners. For the other sciences a slight acquaint- 
 ance is sufficient."' 
 
 1 " De Regimine Principuni," p. 310.
 
 154 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The teacher should possess three essential quali- 
 ties : he should be learned in the science of philos- 
 ophy ; he should know all matters that man can and 
 ought to do, and he should be good and upright in 
 his life. He should teach children how to speak, 
 how to listen and how to see. Rules are laid down 
 regarding eating and drinking and all the wants of 
 the human body, and great caution is given concern- 
 ing the avoidance of bad company. The author 
 divides the educational period of life into three 
 parts : first, from birth to the seventh year ; second, 
 from the seventh to the fourteenth year ; third, from 
 the age of fourteen upward. He then lays down, 
 even to minute details, all that is requisite for the 
 development of the body, the instruction of the 
 mind and the education of the heart in each stage of 
 growth. Above all, is it recommended that the 
 teacher study the bent of the child's mind, and see 
 that it follows that bent in a special manner. Here- 
 in Egidius agrees with the unknown author of the 
 teacher's manual that had been attributed to Boeth- 
 ius. From this principle it follows that those who 
 have a taste for reading and study and science should 
 be afforded every facility to pursue their studies, 
 while those who have no inclination for books should 
 be exercised in arms, that they also be able to ben- 
 efit their country. Finally, in the last chapter the 
 author treats of the education of girls, and therein 
 lays greater stress upon their being adorned with 
 every virtue than upon their being learned in every 
 science ; he sets his face against dancing, public 
 promenades and loitering on the porches ; instead,
 
 UNIVERSITl' COr.T.EC.ES. 155 
 
 he would have them simple and modest, always oc- 
 cupied, and gracious and becoming in their manners. 
 This book was translated by Henri de Gauchi, at the 
 request of Philip, for the benefit of his people, and 
 it thus became popular at an early day.' Thomas 
 Ouleve embodied the chief portion of the work in 
 his poem "The Governail of Princes." 
 
 But it was not only Dominicans who gave us in- 
 sight into the methods of teaching practised in those 
 days. There were Franciscans who were not less 
 alive to the wants of the day. Take Roger Bacon 
 (i 2 14-1292), He saw deeply and clearly into the 
 reality of things and the value of systems. He dis- 
 tinguished between what was solid and substantial 
 in the studies and teachings of his day and the mere 
 varnish and veneering that was frequently substi- 
 tuted for real knowledge. He does not conceal his 
 impatience when in presence of what he considers 
 mere pretension. Throughout his writings he keeps 
 up a constant fusilade against his contemporaries. 
 He finds fault with the groundwork given to boys in 
 his day. He assures us that thousands of boys en- 
 tered the Mendicant Orders unable to read their 
 psalter or their Latin grammar, and that forthwith, 
 without other preparation, they were set down to 
 the study of theology. And then, even in the study 
 of theology, he found Peter Lombard held in greater 
 esteem than the Sacred Scriptures. Indeed, he was 
 disgusted at seeing how men abandoned the study 
 of theology for the more lucrative study of civil 
 law. " Every first-rate man," he says, " having an 
 
 1 " Histoire Litteraire de la France," t. xx.\., p. 531.
 
 156 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 aptitude for theology and philosophy, betakes himself 
 to civil law, because he sees that civilians are honored 
 by all prelates and princes." He may be ignorant of 
 theology and canon law, but he is held in higher es- 
 teem than the master of theology and sooner elected 
 to ecclesiastical dignities. 
 
 Bacon had no sympathy with the roundabout 
 methods by which, at great expense of money and 
 time, a small modicum of knowledge was acquired. 
 He avers that in one year he could teach a promis- 
 ing boy all that it takes the schools twenty years to 
 impart. He discourages the study of light literature 
 and considers the moral writings of Seneca and the 
 Vulgate a better training for young men than the 
 amatory poems of Ovid. He regards the method of 
 teaching geometry as needlessly long and tedious. 
 He bewails the paucity of good mathematicians. He 
 would apply experiment and mathematical calcula- 
 tions to physics. Natural science does not depend 
 upon authority, but upon experiment as the only 
 sure road to certainty. He advocated as the key to 
 all knowledge the careful study of languages and of 
 mathematics. Did men know the languages better 
 there would be more precision in thought. Mathe- 
 matics purges the intellectual vision and fits the 
 learner for the acquirement of all knowledge, for 
 mathematics is the connecting link between all the 
 sciences.' Logic he did not consider so important ; 
 for we know it naturally, and even the uneducated 
 syllogize.^ He goes back to the workings of the 
 
 ^ "Opus Tertium," p. 37. 
 ^ Ibid., p. 102.
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. 157 
 
 human mind, and considers the obstacles that stand 
 in the way of acquiring human knowledge. 
 
 " In the way of acquiring truth," he says, " there 
 are four stumbling blocks which impede all wisdom 
 whatever and scarcely permit anybody to arrive at 
 true wisdom. They are : the force of weak and un- 
 worthy authority, prolonged custom, ignorant popu- 
 lar opinion, and the hiding of one's ignorance by the 
 semblance of knowledge."* 
 
 Thus, out of the stray remarks running through 
 the works of this great but too outspoken Francis- 
 can might one construct a whole methodology far in 
 advance of his day and generation. 
 
 Another eminent man who, for the instruction and 
 edification of master and pupil, wrote in Latin verse 
 a little treatise on school-life, was Bonvicino da Ripa. 
 His is one of the most honored names in Milan. He 
 had been set down as a Dominican,^ and it had been 
 surmised that he was a Franciscan ; but he was 
 neither; his monument tells us that he was a dis- 
 tinguished member of the Third Order of Humiliati.' 
 In May, 1291, we find him assisting at a general 
 chapter of his Order. The old chroniclers speak 
 highly of him as an eminent teacher in the Palatine 
 school, in Legnano, where he erected a hospital, and 
 in Milan. In addition, he was the first to estab- 
 lish in Milan and the surrounding district the pious 
 custom of recalling the memory of the Incarnation 
 at the ringing of the bells, as his eulogist expresses 
 
 1 " Opus Majus," lib. i., p. 2. 
 
 2 Echard et Quetif, "Script. Ord. Praed.," t. 1., p. 419. 
 ■^ Argclati, " Bibliotheca Scriptorum," t. ii., p. 187.
 
 158 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 it,' in the words of his epitaph : "qui primo fecit pulsari 
 companas ad Ave Maria Mediolani et in comitatu." 
 That same epitaph adds: " Dicatur Ave Maria pro 
 anima ejus."^ Let us not forget the pious bequest. 
 Bonvicino was courteous, generous, devoted to the 
 noble work of educating youth. Though he wrote 
 Latin in a style that Sassi compliments, he was none 
 the less an enthusiastic cultivator of the Italian, 
 which he sought to polish, and in which he wrote, 
 among other things in verse, a little book laying 
 down the rules of courtesy and good behavior for 
 children. These rules have been edited by Mr. 
 Michael Rossetti, and published by the Early Eng- 
 lish Text Society. 
 
 Let us now glance at the poem "De Vita Scholas- 
 tica."^ The pious author begins by stating that he 
 would place in the hands of every student the keys 
 by which in the pursuit of his studies he may best 
 unlock the gate of wisdom. The edition of the poem 
 from which the abstract is made, is subdivided under 
 various headings. Now, the first key the author 
 would place in the student's hands is the fear of the 
 Lor-d. He lays stress upon an active faith which is 
 based on this fear. "The devil believes, but he is 
 wanting in this living faith." The poet next coun- 
 sels the student so to control his thoughts and in- 
 tentions that whatever he learns shall be for the 
 honor of God. It is the part of wisdom to be dis- 
 
 ^ Sassi, "De Scudiis Literariis Mediolanensium," Milan, 
 1729, p. 94. 
 
 ^ Argelati, loc. cit. 
 
 ' "Fratris Bonvicini Mcdiolanensis Vita Scholastica," 
 Brixiae, 1585.
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. 159 
 
 creet in the use of the tongue. One should never 
 slander ; never deceive ; never be vain ; never boast- 
 ful ; never flattering; never false ; never indulge in 
 proud prating.' 
 
 The author next dwells upon the observance of 
 humility and the avoidance of pride. He would have 
 the student fly from jealousy; would have him 
 grateful for favors, and forgiving of injuries; he 
 would have him make all studies subservient to the 
 glory of God and the salvation of his soul. The 
 poet here tells the legend of that Master Serlon of 
 Paris, whose disciple took undue pleasure in soph- 
 isms and undue pride in his power of logical dispu- 
 tation, and who, terrified at the apparition of this 
 disciple damned for his vanity, and wearing a cloak 
 of sophisms which crushes him to earth and con- 
 sumes him, forthwith becomes converted and retires 
 to a monastery, saying: I leave frogs to their croak- 
 ing, rooks to their cawing, and things of vanity to 
 the vain, and henceforth I pursue that logic which 
 fears not the Ergo of death — 
 
 " Linquo coax ranis: croc corvis: vanaque vanis, 
 Ad logicam pergo : qua; mortis non timet Ergo.;' 
 
 Another section of the poem exhorts the student 
 to avoid luxury, and that vice of sodomy which was 
 then prevalent among masters and students, and for 
 which Dante placed his own teacher in hell. The 
 student is counseled to be abstemious in eating 
 and drinking, and is cautioned against gluttony, 
 
 1 " Lingua tibi non sit detractrix : suhdola : vana : grandis ; 
 adulatrix: falsa: superba loquax," p. 3.
 
 160 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 the wearing of delicate clothing and sleeping in 
 a bed that is too downy and comfortable ; against 
 games of chance; against frequent balls and dances; 
 against avarice and cupidity; against extravagance 
 in giving, the student knowing always to whom he 
 gives. He should regulate his senses, and fix his 
 thoughts upon heaven that they may become wor- 
 thy of heaven and filled with goodness. Stress is 
 laid upon avoiding bad company, upon being charita- 
 ble towards all, especially one's companions; the 
 duties to be performed morning and evening, the 
 the prayers to be said ; upon making the sign of the 
 cross when one eats or drinks; upon the love and 
 reverence due to father and mother; upon prayer 
 to the saints and the frequent hearing of mass — ut 
 videas Christuvi virgine matre natum. 
 
 Nor doe9 Bonvicino overlook the teacher's du- 
 ties.' To be worthy of his position, the first thing 
 the master should do, " If he would control his pu- 
 pils, is discreetly to correct his own defects." He 
 is to avoid all vanity, and perfect himself in his 
 studies. The master who is lacking in sound learn- 
 ing, is preparing to live dishonestly. He should be 
 discreet in correcting, nor be easily overcome by 
 anger. Where peace and discipline are united, there 
 are studies properly conducted. Such is the sub- 
 stance of this rare book." 
 
 We shall find summed up in the writings of Dante 
 what was best in the educational methods of that 
 
 ' Incipit liber secundus de Regimine Magistrorum. 
 ^ The volume from which I took this sketch is in the Maza- 
 rin Library, Paris.
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. MW 
 
 day. Dante (1265-1321) was born and raised in a 
 republic in which education was general. According 
 to Villani, fully i2,ooo children out of a population 
 of 90,000, which Florence then contained, attended 
 school. Of these, the large majority received only 
 an elementary training ; the girls, at an early age, 
 learning from their mothers all the various household 
 duties, and the boys apprenticed to the trades of 
 their fathers, who transmitted to them that skill 
 which made Florence so famous. Seven hundred 
 young men received the higher education. The very 
 spirit of the arts was scholastic in Dante's day. You 
 read the story in the oratory of Orsanmichele, in 
 which each art with its masterpiece receives a crown ; 
 you read it in the chapters of Santa Maria Novella, 
 in Gaddi's painting of the Trivium and Quadrivium; 
 you read it in Giotto's sculpture of the same subject 
 upon his marvelous campanile. Here was the at- 
 mosphere in which Dante's boyhood and early man- 
 hood were passed. 
 
 It is the mission of the poet to reflect in his work 
 the predominant, all-pervading spirit and views of 
 his age. Now, in his day, the universities were the 
 controlling element in thought, in art, in politics, 
 moulding the thinkers and rulers of the age both in 
 church and state. But Dante was a life-long stu- 
 dent. He traveled from land to land and from 
 school to school, and sat patiently and humbly at 
 the feet of masters, imbibing whatever knowledge 
 they could convey. He disputed in public. His 
 bright eye and strong, sombre, reserved features at- 
 tracted the attention of fellow-students as he wended 
 
 E. E.— II
 
 162 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 his way, absorbed in his own thoughts, through the 
 rue de Fouarre, and entered the hall in which Sig- 
 ier was holding forth.' Tradition has it that he was 
 no less assiduous a frequenter of School street in 
 Oxford. He has left us no distinct treatise on edu- 
 cation, but he who embodied all the science of his day, 
 who was supreme in teaching so many other lessons, 
 could not be silent in regard to pedagogy. From his 
 writings a whole volume of rules and principles bear- 
 ing upon education might be gleaned. In "II Convito" 
 he expresses himself fully on the different ages of 
 human growth and development ; speaks of obedi- 
 ence as an essential requisite for the child ; after his 
 father he should obey his masters and his elders.* He 
 should also be gentle and modest, reverent, and eager 
 to acquire knowledge ; reserved, never forward ; re- 
 pentant of his faults to the extent of overcoming 
 them. As our soul in all its operations makes use of 
 a bodily organ, it behooves us to exercise the body 
 that it grow in grace and aptness, and be well or- 
 dained and disposed in order that the soul may 
 control it to the best advantage. Thus it is that 
 a noble nature seeks to have a sound mind in a 
 sound body.^ 
 
 Dante is as faithful a disciple of St. Thomas 
 Aquinas as is Gilles of Rome. He holds with the 
 Angelical Doctor that the soul was made to know 
 truth, to love and possess the good, and to enjoy the 
 beautiful. The heart was created for the good. All 
 
 ^ "Paradiso," x., 136-138. 
 
 2 "II Convito," Tratt. iv., cap. 24. 
 
 ^ Ibid., cap. 25.
 
 UNIVERSITT COLLEGES. 163 
 
 indistinctly apprehend the good towards which the 
 soul aspires and in which it would rest : 
 
 " Each one confusedly a good conceives 
 Wherein the mind may rest, and longeth for it; 
 Therefore to overtake it each one strives."^ 
 
 Elsewhere he beautifully likens the soul seeking 
 the good to the traveler in a strange land going from 
 door to door expecting that each house he enters 
 will be the inn in which he is to take lodgings ; even 
 so does the soul turn its eyes now upon one thing, 
 now upon another, and because its knowledge is 
 limited and fragmentary, and it sees not things in 
 their true light, it not infrequently accepts as a 
 great good that which in reality is very small and 
 insignificant.'' 
 
 As the heart seeks the good, so does the intel- 
 lect seek the true. The intellect was made for truth 
 and rejoices in possession of the truth: 
 
 " And thou shouldst know that they all have delight 
 As much as their own vision penetrates 
 The Truth, in which all intellect finds rest."^ 
 
 So also does the soul rejoice in the contemplation 
 of the beautiful. But, as there are different degrees 
 of goodness, so are there different degrees of beauty. 
 The spiritual beauty of religious dogma and doctrine, 
 for instance, as explained in the science of theology 
 — she who " betwixt truth and mind infuses light" ^ 
 — and symbolized in Beatrice, is far above beauty 
 
 1 '< Purgatorio," xvii., 127-129. 
 - " II Convito," Tratt. iv., cap. 12. 
 ^ " Paradise," xxviii., 106-108. 
 * " Purgatorio," vi., 46.
 
 164 BSSA rS ED UCA TIONA L . 
 
 that appeals to the senses, and so absorbs the soul 
 that it turns aside from all earthly forms of the fair. 
 Here is how the poet expresses this truth : 
 
 "Then by the spirit that doth never leave 
 Its amorous dalHance with my lady's looks, 
 Back with redoubled ardor were mine eyes 
 Led unto her: and from her radiant smiles, 
 When as I turned me, pleasure so divine 
 Did lip;hten on me, that whatever vail 
 Of art or nature in the human flesh. 
 Or in its limned resemblance, can combine 
 Through greedy eyes to take the soul withal, 
 Were to her beauty nothing." * 
 
 But man's senses and the faculties of his soul are 
 developed for other purposes than that of self-grati- 
 fication. Since he is made for society, and society 
 requires various duties, various functions, various 
 aptitudes in the arts and sciences and the diverse 
 walks of life, then is it in the nature of things that 
 there should be among men diversity of talents. 
 This is the teaching of Aristotle : 
 
 "Whence he again : ' Now say, would it be worse 
 For men on earth were they not citizens?' 
 'Yes,' I replied; 'and here I ask no reason.' 
 
 'And can they be so, if below they live not 
 
 Diversely unto offices diverse?' 
 
 ' No, if your master writeth well for you.' "'•^ 
 
 Upon this principle, based upon the nature of 
 man as a social being, Dante builds up the great 
 pedagogical truth that natures should not be forced 
 into grooves for which they are unfitted ; that in the 
 
 * "Paradiso," xxvii., 88-97, Gary's tr. 
 '^ " Paradiso," viii., 1 15-120.
 
 UNIVERSnr COLLEGES. 165 
 
 choosing of a state of life one's tastes and inclina- 
 tions should be consulted ; that it were unwise to 
 compel one with a love for study and retirement to 
 assume the career of arms, or one whose tastes are 
 for outdoor life and industrial activity to confine 
 himself to books. He would have him with a me- 
 chanical turn of mind devote himself to a trade ; him 
 with a bent for science devote himself to scientific 
 pursuits ; him fond of books and reading devote 
 himself to a life of letters, and so on with other tal- 
 ents and other callings. In this manner will the de- 
 signs of Providence be best carried out and most 
 good accomplished. To this effect spake Charles to 
 the poet : 
 
 *' Evermore nature, if it fortune find 
 Discordant to it, like each other seed 
 Out of its region, maketh evil thrift, 
 And if the world below would fix its mind 
 On the foundation which is laid bj nature. 
 Pursuing that, 'twould have the people good. 
 But you unto religion w-rench aside 
 Him who was born to gird him with a sword. 
 And make a king of him who is for sermons: 
 Therefore your footsteps wander from the road."^ 
 
 But the whole poem recognizes the necessity of 
 education. Dante in his own person represents hu- 
 manity. He is unable to extricate himself from the 
 dark wood or to overcome the many obstacles that 
 beset his way without the guidance of Virgil, whom 
 he calls his master'^ and his pedagogue.' Even so, 
 
 Ubid., 139-149- 
 
 2 "Inferno," i., 85. 
 
 '" Purgatorio," xii., 3.
 
 1G6 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 humanity cannot of itself get out of the wood of 
 error and vice and ignorance and prejudice without 
 the aid of a master who will guide it safely and 
 reveal to it the knowledge of things in heaven and 
 on earth. With the schoolboy and with humanity 
 the road to progress and liberty is through a severe 
 tutelage. 
 
 The Franciscans made the language of the peo- 
 ple the vehicle of spiritual thought. Dante in a 
 happy hour made that language the medium of the 
 highest philosophical thought and fixed its structure 
 as a classic form of expression for all time. From 
 that memorable twelfth day of August, in the year 
 1373, when the citizens of Florence petitioned the gov- 
 ernors of the Republic "to make provision for the 
 choosing of a man learned, capable and well-versed 
 in the doctrine of the ' Divina Commedia,' to read 
 and explain the said poem every day not a holiday 
 during the year," and the governors selected Boc- 
 caccio; and Bologna, Pisa, Ravenna, Piacenza, and 
 other cities, following the example of Florence, es- 
 tablished chairs for the study of Dante — from that 
 day Dante became the schoolmaster of Italy, keep- 
 ing alive the fire of patriotism, accustoming the peo- 
 ple to the sublimest truths sung in noblest verse, and 
 through good and bad fortune ever keeping before 
 the Italian mind such a high standard of thought 
 that whoever was familiar with Dante was possessed 
 of an education far more complete than that imparted 
 by Homer to the Greeks of old. There were inter- 
 vals when the study of Dante was neglected, still the 
 nation owning such a classic might become extinct,
 
 UNIVERSirr COLLEGES. 107 
 
 but it could not continue to live and neglect the pre- 
 cious lessons contained in that priceless treasure. 
 Dante is no longer the educator exclusively of Italy; 
 he is fast becoming the schoolmaster of the most cul- 
 tured among the other nations of Christendom. In 
 taking leave of Dante we shall also take leave of col- 
 lege life and college methods as they existed when 
 the college was still in touch with the university.
 
 THE PRIMARY SCHOOL IN THE 
 MIDDLE AGES 
 
 (169)
 
 THE PRIMARY SCHOOL IN THE MIDDLE 
 
 AGES. ' 
 
 I 
 
 THE Abbe Alain has made a specialty of the his- 
 tory of education prior to the Revolution of 
 1789 in France. The volume before me is one 
 among several from his pen. It is not only a com- 
 pendious summing up of the labors of others in the 
 same field ; it is also based upon original research, 
 and has brought to light facts and figures that may 
 not be ignored. The learned Abbe is indefatigable. 
 The amount of reading that has gone into any of 
 the least chapters of this modest book is sufficient 
 voucher for the conscientiousness of the work 
 done. The book will prove a revelation to many 
 readers. 
 
 Time was, and that not very long ago, when men 
 were convinced that in France primary education 
 began after the Revolution. They could see noth- 
 ing previous to that epoch but an ignorant people, 
 deprived of all educational facilities for their chil- 
 dren. That there was primary education, and gra- 
 tuitous primary education prior to 1789, is still to 
 
 ^ Educational Revie-u. 
 
 " L'Instruction primaire en France avant la Revolution, 
 d'apres les Travaux recents et des Documents inedits," par 
 I'Abbe Alain. Paris: Librairic de hi Societe Bibliographique, 
 1881, pp. xvi., 304. 
 
 (171)
 
 172 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 many an unknown fact. Nonetheless is it true, nor 
 will it be denied by any person presuming to know 
 aught of the history of education in Europe. The 
 spontaneous enthusiasm with which men, in different 
 parts of France, found themselves working upon this 
 subject is in itself quite phenomenal. I cannot un- 
 dertake to make a complete record of the books that 
 have been produced, teeming with scholarship and 
 all unanimous in their results, but I will glance at 
 a few of the more important works. 
 
 The first, to my knowledge, to let in light on the 
 subject of the education of the people, was the 
 erudite Director of the National Library of Paris, M. 
 Leopold Delisle. In his learned essay, called "Etudes 
 sur la Condition de la Classe Agricole, et I'Etat de 
 I'Agriculture en Normandieau moyen age" (Evreux, 
 1857), he dwelt upon the intellectual status of the 
 peasantry of Normandy, and from original sources 
 proved that people to have been well cared for as 
 regards education. This was a side light, revealing 
 an unexpected state of affairs. The book is a 
 model of its kind, and has been largely so utilized 
 in France. 
 
 The next author to deal with the subject was M. 
 Fayet. In 1858, he read before the Scientific Con- 
 gress of France his first memoir on the state of prim- 
 ary education in Auxerre during the past centuries. 
 On the same occasion we find a similar memoir 
 from the pen of M. Quantin.' Since that time M. 
 Fayet has been indefatigable in collecting docu- 
 
 1 " Conjires Scientifique de France," 156 Session, tenu a 
 Auxerre en 1858, t. ii., pp. 115, 130.
 
 PRIMARl' SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AGES. 173 
 
 ments throwing additional light on the subject, 
 and he has written some other valuable works con- 
 cerning it.' 
 
 In 1868 M. Maggiolo read at the Sorbonne his 
 important essay, "De la Condition du Maitre d'Ecole 
 en Lorraine avant 1789." Since then he has issued 
 papers and volumes, all bearing on the question of 
 primary education ; but the main results of his in- 
 vestigations are to be found in valuable articles of 
 his scattered through the pages of Buisson's "Diction- 
 naire de Pedagogic." 
 
 Other works on the subject began to multiply with 
 astonishing rapidity, and they furnish a striking ex- 
 ample of what may be achieved when method and 
 scholarship and untiring research are brought to 
 bear upon a disputed or ill-understood issue. Thirty 
 years ago, men might inform you concerning the 
 Colleges of the Jesuits, or the Oratorians in France 
 during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but 
 on the state of primary education, or whether it had 
 existence at all prior to the Revolution, they were 
 in total darkness. To-day, he would be a very dar- 
 ing or very ignorant man who would assert, in pres- 
 ence of an intelligent audience in any part of the 
 civilized world, that there was no primary education 
 before the end of the eighteenth century. It was 
 with the sole view of refuting this assertion that the 
 whole library of educational literature just referred 
 to was produced. 
 
 1 Among others, we may mention " Les ^colcs de la Bour- 
 gogne, sous I'Ancien Regime," Langres, 1875; " Reoherches 
 historiques et statistiques sur les Communes et les Ecoles de la 
 Hautc-Marne," Paris, 1879.
 
 174 ESSA7'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 There is scarcely a province in France in which 
 archives have not been overhauled ; and facts and 
 figures of all kinds have been pressed into service, 
 and made to reveal results as astonishing as they 
 were unlooked for. I shall not attempt an exhaus- 
 tive enumeration of them. Beaurepaire has unfolded 
 in three volumes the history of public instruction in 
 the diocese of Rouen before 1789.' Ouantin did the 
 same for the department of the Yonne." De Char- 
 masse gave us invaluable documents bearing on the 
 state of education in the ancient diocese of Autun.^ 
 Babeau brought to light the state of education in 
 in the department of Aube.* Armand Ravelet, the 
 brilliant editor of Le Monde of Paris, in the intro- 
 ductory portions of his history of Blessed John Bap- 
 tist de la Salle, summarized such of these as had 
 been published at the time of writing, and added new 
 matter, the result of his own research.^ These are 
 but a few of the many works that I might quote. 
 They have all been utilized to the best advantage by 
 the Abb6 Alain. 
 
 ^ " Recherches sur riiislructiiMi piiblique, dans le Diocese 
 de Rouen, avant 1789." Evreux, 1872, 3 vols., 8vo. 
 
 ^ " Ilistoire de I'lnstruction primaire avant 1789, dans 
 les Pays formant le Departement de I'Yonne," Auxerre, 1874. 
 
 ^ •' l£tat de I'Instruction primaire dans I'ancien Diocese 
 d'Autun pendant les XVIIe et XVIIIe Sieclcs," Autun, 187 1 ; 
 second edition, Paris, 1878. 
 
 * " L' Instruction primaire dans les Canipa^nes avant 
 1789," Troyes, 1875. 
 
 ^ " Histoire du Venerable J. B. de la .Salle, Fondateur de 
 I'Institut des Freres des Ecoles Chrctiennes," Paris, 1874. 
 Leon Gautier has made further additions to this portion of 
 Ravelet's work in a new edition, which he editetl in French 
 and which was afterward translated into Enclish by the late 
 Kathleen O'Meara.
 
 PRIMARY SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AGES. 175 
 
 I shall now endeavor to give some idea of the 
 primary school in the Middle Ages as we find it out- 
 lined in such works and documents as have been 
 mentioned. 
 
 II. 
 
 There is no time in the history of the Christian 
 Church when schools did not exist, now of one 
 kind, now of another. Even down in the catacombs 
 we find next to the little chapel the schoolroom for 
 the catechumens, where they had their own teach- 
 ers, distinct from those who gave instruction to the 
 faithful.' In the East we need only mention the 
 schools of Edessa and Alexandria. We have seen 
 that wherever monastic institutions were estab- 
 lished, schools flourished. Then there w^ere the 
 episcopal school, the cathedral school, the parish 
 school, the burgh school, the rural school, schools 
 attached to the hospitals for the poor, — all of which 
 flourished at one or other time during the Middle 
 Ages, throughout Christendom. 
 
 In the graphic pages of Gregory of Tours (539- 
 593), we read accounts of poisonings, murders, wars, 
 intrigues at the royal court, while Chilperic is dis- 
 cussing Arianism and writing bad verses. But even 
 in those lawless days there are indications that 
 schools abounded. Chilperic turns grammarian and 
 adds to the alphabet. Gregory says of him : 
 
 " He sent orders to all the towns in his kingdom 
 that the new alphabet be taught the children and 
 
 'Padre Marchi, " Monunicnli cklk' Arti Chiisliane I'riini- 
 tive nclla Mc'troy)oli del Christianesiino," Rome, 1.S44, ]i. 172.
 
 176 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 that all books formerly written be effaced by the 
 pumice stone, and written anew." ' 
 
 Again, Guibert of Nogent, born about 1065, 
 writing of education in his day, says : 
 
 " Somewhat before this time, and even since, 
 there was so great scarcity of schoolmasters that 
 hardly a single one could be seen in the country, 
 and not many in the large towns ; and even these 
 were so backward in learning that they could not 
 be compared with the class now (mo) to be found 
 in the country schools." 
 
 He witnesses a general revival of learning, — " see- 
 ing how on all sides men give themselves zealously 
 to the study of grammar, and the ever-increasing 
 number of schools renders knowledge easy of access 
 to the rudest men."^ From this time on evidences 
 of the existence of the rural school become more 
 frequent. 
 
 M. Simeon Luce, in the course of his historical 
 researches, feels bound to notice its existence in the 
 fourteenth century. He says : 
 
 '' It is a grave mistake to imagine that there 
 were no primary schools. Mention is made of rural 
 schools in all the documents, even in those in which 
 we would least expect to find it, and we can scarcely 
 doubt that during the most stormy years of the 
 fourteenth century most villages had their masters, 
 teaching children reading, writing, and some arith- 
 metic." 
 
 Elsewhere the same author places before us a 
 little scene, which she represents as occurring in 1377, 
 
 1" Histoire," V., 45. 
 
 •^ " History of the Crusades," Preface.
 
 PRIMARY SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AGES. 177 
 
 that brings home to us the schoolmaster of that dis- 
 tant day finding difficulty in collecting his dues. 
 Tassin de Loitre, such is the master's name, after 
 drinking wine in the tavern of one Thomas D'Aunoy, 
 refuses to pay. "And why not?" asks the hostess. 
 "Because," replies Tassin, "you keep a cleric at 
 my school for whom you owe me more than forty 
 pence."' 
 
 In the thirteenth century out of a popula- 
 tion of 90,000 in Florence, we find 12,000 children 
 attending the schools, a ratio of school attendance 
 as large as existed in New York City in the year of 
 grace 1893. A statute of the diocese of Rouen, is- 
 sued in the year 1230, reads: "Let the clergy fre- 
 quently exhort their parishioners to be careful and 
 exacting in sending their children to school." 
 
 James Grant bears witness to a like multiplicity 
 of schools in Scotland : 
 
 " Our burgh schools," he says, " were not created 
 by an act of Parliament ; they had their origin in 
 connection with the church, or were called into 
 existence by the people themselves ; but in what- 
 ever way they were founded, undoubtedly, toward 
 the end of the fifteenth century, schools were planted 
 in every considerable town in Scotland ; and the 
 memorable Act of 1496, which has been so fre- 
 quently quoted, assumes the existence of schools 
 enough for supplying the people with knowledge of 
 art, 'jure,' and 'perfect Latin."" 
 
 ' "Histoire de Bertrand dii Gucsclin ct i^on Epoqiic : La 
 Jeunesse de Bertrand (1320-1364)," p. 15. 
 
 '■= "History of the Burgli and Parish Schools of Scothmd," 
 
 P- 25- 
 
 E. E.— 12
 
 178 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Babeau, as the result of his researches, finds this 
 state of affairs everywhere throughout France. "Ac- 
 cording to a great number of traditions," he says, 
 " school was as much frequented, if not more so, 
 formerly, than it is to-day."' As early as 1500, in 
 the Middle Rhine province, there were schools every 
 two miles. In the annals of Wesel, under the year 
 1494, there were charges for five teachers " to 
 instruct the youth in reading, writing, figures, and 
 church music." ^ 
 
 Nor were the parents of mediaeval days as indif- 
 ferent to the education of their children as some 
 would lead us to suppose. In the burghs and villages 
 it was customary with fathers, when binding out a 
 young son to learn some trade, or hiring him out to 
 do manual labor, to impose on the master conditions 
 obliging him to send the child to school at certain 
 times and seasons, and to procure him elementary 
 instruction. Thus we read that in 1398 one Jean 
 Milles, in apprenticing his son as servant to a certain 
 William Louvet, stipulates that the master shall find 
 the child in all the necessaries of life ; among others 
 so named are : " eating, drinking, shoes, clothing, 
 and the being kept at school," 
 
 Again, we read that in the year 1399, among the 
 stipulations under which a minor is bound to his 
 uncle for nine years, is one that the latter shall keep 
 him at school during the whole time and shall see 
 
 ^ " L'Instruction primaire dans les Campagnes avant 1789," 
 p. 41. 
 
 ''■ Janssen, " Geschichte des Deutschen Volkes," i., pp. 
 23, 24.
 
 PRIM ART SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AGES. 17<j 
 
 that he be tonsured — /aire avoir coiironnc. ' This 
 solicitude extended to the time when they could no 
 longer look after their education. A customary ex- 
 pression, found in the wills of merchants and artisans 
 of the thirteenth century in regard to a child was : 
 " Volo quod sibi provideatur in scholis.'"^ 
 
 The clergy were equally interested in the educa- 
 tion of the children. In the rural districts they were 
 wont to teach school themselves. And in the eighth 
 century we find a bishop of Modena, when investing 
 one of his priests with an important parish in the 
 city, exhorting him " to be diligent in keeping school 
 and educating the children." ^ A statute of the dio- 
 cese of Rouen, of the year 1230, reads: 
 
 " Let the clergy frequently exhort their parish- 
 ioners to be careful and exacting in sending their 
 children to school, since no one without instruction 
 can be admitted to ecclesiastical benefices.'" 
 
 Dederich Goelde, a Friar Minor, in a catechism 
 which he wrote in 1470, thus speaks of the duties of 
 parents toward their children : 
 
 " Children should at an early age be sent to 
 school, to honorable and worthy teachers, in order 
 that they learn to be respectful and to save them 
 from learning sin and bad habits in the streets." '' 
 
 ^ Tonsure admitted to the benefit of clergy, and was 
 greatly sought after by parents for their children. We read 
 that in the diocese of Rouen, from the Michaelmas of 1465 to 
 the Michaelmas of 1466, there were tonsured 3954 children. Cf. 
 Beaurepaire, " Recherches sur Tlnstruction puhlique dans le 
 Diocese de Rouen, avant 17S9," pp. 53-62. 
 
 ^ Louis Guibert: " Dictionnaire de Pedagogie," Art., 
 Limousin, p. 1594. 
 
 *Cerruti, " Storia della Pedagogia in Italia," p. 95. 
 
 ^ Beaurepaire, op. cit., p. 53. 
 
 ■^Cf. Janssen, op. cit., I., p. 22.
 
 180 ESSA2-S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The Church was ever solicitous to maintain a 
 supply of teachers especially for the primary schools. 
 The Council of Vaison, held in 529, decreed that, as 
 was the general custom throughout Italy, each pastor 
 should have in his house a class of young men study- 
 ing for the priesthood. These young men were also 
 engaged in teaching the small children. And so, in 
 the ninth century, one of the questions to be asked 
 when the bishop makes a visitation of his parish, is : 
 " Whether the parish priest has with him a cleric who 
 can teach school — qiii possit tenere scJiolani — and as- 
 sist him during the divine services." ' 
 
 Riculf, the bishop of Soissons, admonishes his 
 priests that among other things they pay particular 
 attention to the scholars confided to them, and so 
 teach them grammar that they will not destroy its 
 fruit by inaccuracy in their conversation.' The good 
 bishop, in asking his priests to find a method of 
 teaching grammar by which pupils could speak cor- 
 rectly, was giving them a problem that very few of 
 the schoolmasters of the present day have been able 
 to solve. Later on we find the statutes of Troyes 
 decreeing that every parish priest shall have dwelling 
 with him a cleric who shall teach school, and that 
 said priest shall notify his parishioners to send their 
 sons to the church to be properly instructed by this 
 cleric.^ 
 
 ^ Hincman, "Statutes of 852, XI., Acts of the Province of 
 Rheims," I., p. 211. 
 
 ^"Constitutions of the Diocese of Soissons," 889, Art. 
 xvi. 
 
 ^ Statutes of tlie Synod of Troves, beginning of thirteenth 
 centurj, cf. Babeau, o]i. cit., ]>. 8.
 
 PRIMARY SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AGES. 181 
 
 Monasteries also supported a certain number of 
 young clerics with a view of their becoming teach- 
 ers.' And in each large monastery there were gen- 
 erally two schools, one for those intending to enter 
 the service of the Church, and the other for youths 
 who were to continue to live in the world. In 817 
 the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle issued a decree which 
 shows that masters were looked after in those early 
 days. The decree reads : 
 
 " If it should happen that the Brother who shall 
 be charged with the care of the children should take 
 little or no pains to instruct them, or should teach 
 them other things than the subjects they ought to 
 learn, or should have injured them in beating, let 
 such be severely punished and removed from his 
 office, and let this office be committed to some other 
 Brother who shall keep the children innocent by the 
 example of his life, and shall excite them to the per- 
 formance of good deeds." ^ 
 
 In the cities, as early as the eleventh century, 
 chapters took charge of the schools." 
 
 The schoolmaster in the Middle Ages, we may 
 infer, was, up to the fifteenth century, generally a 
 young ecclesiastic or a cleric who dwelt with the 
 pastor, helped him to sing the divine offices, aided 
 him in many ways, and generally acted as sacristan. 
 Flodoard tells us of such a cleric who, in order to 
 study, or for some other purpose, was wont to steal 
 the oil from the lamps burning before the relics of 
 
 1 " Bcaurepaire," op. cit., II., p. 28. 
 
 '^ " Statuts et ReKleinens dcs petites ficoles de Grainmaire 
 de la Ville, Cite, Universite, P'aux-bourgs, et Banlieue de 
 Paris," Paris, 1672, p. 214. 
 
 2 Choron, 2d fascic, p. 54.
 
 182 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 certain saints. His pupils, to whom he was teaching 
 the psalter, informed on him. 
 
 Even when not a cleric, the schoolmaster still 
 performed certain functions in the church. Thus, we 
 read the following articles of agreement, bearing date 
 of July 25, 1699: 
 
 " The said Gaillardet promises to teach reading, 
 writing, cyphering, plain chant . . . and obligates 
 himself to ring the bells when storm, wind, or hail 
 threatens, and to sing at benediction during Advent 
 and Lent."' 
 
 This formula embodies the traditional occupations 
 of the schoolmaster for centuries. A similar docu- 
 ment has been handed down to us from the Catholic 
 days of Scotland. It reads: 
 
 " Master Harry Henryson is taken bound to 
 be the good, true, and thankful servitor of the ab- 
 bot and convent, and their successors, during his 
 lifetime, and to attend to high mass and even-song at 
 the high solemn festival times, with his surplice on." " 
 
 In Paris, the master was expected " to preach on 
 Palm Sunday in the Church of Notre Dame," or to 
 pay out of his own purse for one to replace him.^ At 
 Pavilly, the master and his pupils were wont to at- 
 tend mass on Sundays and solemn feasts in the 
 chapel of the priory, where they chanted, and after 
 mass both master and pupils dined with the prior.* 
 
 ^ L. Maelio, Art., Bour{;;o_c;ne in Buisson's " Dictionnaire 
 de Pedaf^ogie." 
 
 * Grant, "History of tlie Burgli and Parisli Schools of 
 Scotland," p. 23. 
 
 ^ " Memoires de la Societe de I'llistoire de Paris," t. xiii., 
 p. 47. 
 
 * Beaurepaire, op. cit., p. 28. This dinner was called Truce.
 
 PRIM ART SCHOOL FN MIDDLE .K.ES. 183 
 
 The connection of the schoolmaster with singing 
 in the church dates far back. Thus we read that 
 when Charlemagne would change the system of 
 music from the Gallic to the more efficient Roman 
 system, he ordered all the schoolmasters to bring 
 their antiphonaries to the chanters Theodore and 
 Benedict to be corrected. Hence we generally find 
 that the precentor of the cathedral is also the super- 
 intendent of the schools. But we must not for a 
 moment imagine that because of the offices he filled 
 around the church the schoolmaster of mediaeval 
 days was not held in honor. Such offices were not 
 considered to be in any sense degrading. In those 
 ages of faith it was thought an honor to be employed 
 in the humblest manner with anything connected 
 with the worship of God. 
 
 " Men have been amused," says the Abbe Alain, 
 " they have even feigned indignation upon seeing our 
 old schoolmasters both teachers, chanters, and sacris- 
 tans. These good Christians took quite another 
 view of the matter. The humble duties they per- 
 formed in the church were great in their own eyes, 
 and far from making them fall in the estimation of 
 pupils and people they added to their respect." ' 
 
 The General Assembly of the clergy of France, 
 held in 1685, decreed that " the schoolmasters, 
 clothed in their surplices, should be incensed in the 
 church and should hold the place of honor above all 
 the laity, even the aristocracy of the parish."' The 
 
 1 " L'lnstruction Primaire en France avant la Revolu- 
 tion," p. 132. 
 
 ■■' " Collection des Proces-verbaux du Clerge," t. v., pp. 
 602, 603.
 
 184 BSSAIS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 teacher was, according to Merlet, " after the pastor, 
 the man of the parish. He saw the child born ; he 
 added his congratulations to the young couple pledg- 
 ing their love at the foot of the altar; he joined the 
 last prayers uttered over the tomb that was closing 
 down on some departed one." ' 
 
 He was the counselor of families, the confidant 
 of secrets ; when a letter was to be written, to him 
 men and women had recourse. Not infrequently did 
 he exercise some civic function in connection with 
 that of teaching ; now that of notary public, now 
 that of registrar, now that of lawyer, now that of 
 mayor of the town.'' He was held in respect during 
 life, and his memory was cherished after death. Nor 
 was the schoolmistress less esteemed. There is pa- 
 thos in this inscription bearing date of 1687: 
 
 " Catherine Ravign6, schoolmistress, was buried 
 in presence of the chapter assembled, bearing with 
 her the esteem of the whole congregation for her 
 many ofifices of charity done to each and all." ^ 
 
 Moreover, the schoolmaster enjoyed many privi- 
 leges from the state. He was generally exempt 
 from taxation and from military services.^ 
 
 The manner in which he was paid varied with the 
 locality. Sometimes he received a certain stipend 
 from the burghers or the parish. Sometimes he 
 taxed each pupil according to the subject studied. 
 
 * Merlet, iii. 
 
 ^ For these and other instances see Alain, op. cit., pp. 
 144, 145. 
 
 ^ C. Post, "Dictionnaire de Maine-et-Loire," t. iii., p. 379. 
 
 * Babeau, " Le Village," p. 231, sqq.
 
 PRIM ANY SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AdES. 185 
 
 A document of the thirteenth century thus regulates 
 the stipends of a grammarian : The town was to be 
 responsible for the payment of all the younger chil- 
 dren within its limits not studying grammar, and the 
 master should exact from them no salary. From 
 those outside, the sum of five sols was required. 
 Those studying grammar should pay seven sols and 
 six pence ; and the grade extended to twenty sols.' 
 The poor were always enabled to receive instruction 
 gratuitously. 
 
 A decree of the town of Worms in 1260 reads as 
 follows : " No one shall be excluded from the schools 
 on account of indigence." Frequently the master 
 received payment in kind, according to the local pro- 
 ducts. The Abbe Alain, after summing up the 
 results of those authorities who entered into details 
 on the subject, says : 
 
 " All things considered, the position of our 
 ancient educators, as regards ease and competence, 
 was scarcely inferior to that of their important 
 successors in our own days."'' 
 
 III. 
 
 Such was the schoolmaster. What of the school 
 itself? The primary or rural school was at first 
 frequently held in the church, and it was only after 
 a long struggle and reiterated synodal decrees that it 
 became located elsewhere. Thus Reginald of Dur- 
 ham, writing in the twelfth century, assures us that 
 
 ^ Compayre, "Etudes Ilistoriques et Documents in^dits 
 sur I'Albigeois," Albi, 1841, p. 209. 
 
 2 " L'Instruction Primaire," p. 133.
 
 186 ESSAY'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 it was the custom to hold school in the church, and 
 mentions the incident of a boy who thought he 
 would get rid of all his school troubles by throwing 
 the key of the church into a deep pool of the river 
 flowing near by.' The Bishop of Bayeux in 1662 
 forbids the holding of schools in churches and 
 chapels.* If the pastoral residence was large enough, 
 school was held there. The children of all grades 
 were assembled in the same room, and it was only 
 after stringent legislation that the boys were sepa- 
 rated from the girls. In the cities this arrangement 
 was more readily brought about. 
 
 The school books were few. The child had one 
 book containing the alphabet and his prayers in 
 Latin. It was sometimes called the ABC; but 
 because it bore the image of the cross, it was more 
 generally known as the Croix de par Dieu.^ The next 
 book placed in his hands was the psalms and offices 
 for Sunday.' 
 
 " It is undoubtedly to the study of the 
 psalms," says De Charmasse, " made on the school 
 benches, that we must attribute the universal 
 taste which all classes of society in the Middle 
 Ages preserved for the almost daily recitation of the 
 psalter." ^ 
 
 ' James Grant, " History of the Burp;h and Parish Schools 
 of Scotland," \). 5. 
 
 * " Lettre Pastorale," p. 56. The little book on Method 
 attached to this letter is rare and valuable. 
 
 ■' " Croix de j^ar Dieu " is equivalent to " Croix dc parte 
 Del.'' 
 
 ' It was called the "petit Latin," and from its peculiar 
 form the " Lonpuette." Cf. Babeau, op. cit., p. 39. 
 
 ^ " fitat de I'Instruction primaire dans I'ancien Diocese 
 d'Autun," 1878, p. 22.
 
 PRIM ART SCHOOL IN MIDDLE .U.ES. 187 
 
 The child was invariably taught to read Latin 
 before he had learned to read in the vernac- 
 ular. In England the custom was changed during 
 the sixteenth century.' In France this was consid- 
 ered the natural method, inasmuch as the Latin 
 tongue was the foundation of the French. In con- 
 sequence of this method, children were frequently 
 withdrawn from school before they had learned to 
 read in their mother tongue. The custom had 
 begun at a time when Latin was the vulgar tongue.' 
 It was only in the seventeenth century that La Salle 
 succeeded, amid great opposition, in changing this 
 order, and teaching the French first. 
 
 The old arrangement may seem to us a great 
 hardship, but we must remember that we are dealing 
 with a period in which newspapers were not in exist- 
 ence and books were scarce and expensive. Those 
 in the mother tongue were comparatively few and 
 costly. StrolUng bards made the people familiar 
 with the substance of popular song and legend — 
 the romantic literature — that ran side by side with 
 the spiritual and theological writings of the period. 
 Even for those who were taught to read in the ver- 
 nacular, the amount of available reading matter 
 was scanty, and did not extend beyond their cate- 
 chism, with some Bible history, and an occasional 
 pious book. 
 
 In the thirteenth century a code of politeness 
 was added. Advanced pupils were further taught to 
 read charts and manuscripts. We find mention made 
 
 1 Mulcaster, "Positions," p. 31. 
 
 ^ " Essai d'une ficole Chretienne," Paris, 1724, p. 293.
 
 188 BSSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 of prizes given for excellence in the reading of docu- 
 ments.' When the student could decipher old reg- 
 isters and dusty parchments, often set down in writing 
 difficult to read, his education was considered com- 
 plete. The master had nothing more to teach him.' 
 Teachers have been rejected because they could not 
 decipher the deeds, charts and documents of a town- 
 ship.^ Those of my readers who have had any 
 experience in deciphering all such documents cannot 
 fail to respect the intelligence and patience of the 
 teacher or pupil who had become expert at the work. 
 In the seventeenth century pupils were taught to 
 read books printed in the black-letter or Gothic char- 
 acters. Thus, one of the earliest hand-books of ped- 
 agogy says : 
 
 " While they are learning politeness and to read 
 manuscripts, the master shall teach them how to 
 read in some book printed in Gothic letters, show- 
 ing them once a day the characters, ligatures, 
 abbreviations, and capitals in this kind of printing."* 
 
 Arithmetic in the primary school did not extend 
 beyond a knowledge of numeration. Far into the 
 Middle Ages the Roman system of learning figures 
 and letters by means of pebbles was employed.' 
 Alcuin, as well as Isidore, sought rather the mystical 
 meaning of numbers than their practical utility. 
 
 ^ Mapgiolo, " Les Archives scolaires de la Beauce," p. 19. 
 
 ^ Bahcau, " L'Instruction primairc dans les Campagnes," 
 p. 40. 
 
 •'' Serurier, p. 54; "Archives de la Gironde," C. 3282; 
 Alain, op. cit., pp. 168, 169. 
 
 * *' L'Escole Paroissiale," p. 253. 
 
 * Cf. " Etymologia " of Isidore of Seville.
 
 PRIMARY SCHOOL IN MIDDLE ACES. 189 
 
 Only in computations bearing on the ecclesiastical 
 year was any serious use made of them. Even Ger- 
 bert gives only the teaching of Boethius, and though 
 he simplifies the abacus, he does not introduce 
 Arabic numbers, as had been frequently asserted.' 
 
 It was in 1202 that Leonard Febonacci, a mer- 
 chant of Pisa, published his books on arithmetic 
 and algebra, in which he introduced the Arabic 
 figures, decimals, and another modification of the 
 abacus. 
 
 Vincent of Beauvais, one of the most encyclopaedic 
 men of his day, popularized the system. Up to 1581 
 we find no mention of arithmetic in the primary 
 school. 
 
 Mulcaster speaks only of "writing and reading " 
 as the two things which children might easily learn 
 " for religion's sake and their necessary affairs." " 
 An arithmetic published in 1719, in France, contains 
 numeration and the first three fundamental rules. 
 The examples are all in the concrete, dealing with 
 yards of cloth, casks of wine, and the like. The 
 book was then considered a novelty.^ 
 
 Writing was taught in the primary school. But 
 as the schoolmaster was frequently the scribe of the 
 village, and in the employment of his pen found an 
 additional source of income, he was very slow in 
 
 ' Chasles, " Memoires de I'Academie de Science," 1843. 
 
 ^ " Positions," p. 139. 
 
 •* It was called " Instruction nouvelle pour enseigner aux 
 Enfants a connoitre le chiffre et a sommer," Lille, 1719. 
 Resbecq has an analysis of it in his very instructive and valua- 
 ble work, " Histoire de I'lnstruction primaire dans leDeparte- 
 nient du Nord," Paris, 1878, pp. 84, 85.
 
 190 ESS A } 'S ED I ' CA 11 ON A L . 
 
 teaching writing to his scholars, fearing lest they 
 would afterwards supplant him as public scribe.' 
 
 In the fourteenth century writing is but little 
 practiced among the people ; it still belongs to an ex- 
 clusive profession. In the fifteenth century it ceases 
 to be so exclusive, and we find that the bourgeoisie 
 write. In the first quarter of the sixteenth century 
 the signatures of all kinds of artisans begin to appear. 
 At this period also do we find the writing masters 
 organized into guilds, apparently for mutual protec- 
 tion against the encroachments of other teachers. 
 
 By a decree bearing date of July 2, i66i, primary 
 teachers are circumscribed as to the amount of writ- 
 ing they may teach their pupils and prohibited to 
 teach special pupils unless they are licensed to keep 
 a writing school, all being in accordance with a decree 
 made in the year i6oo. And in like manner, the 
 writing masters were forbidden to teach any subject 
 beyond writing, arithmetic, and orthography — "for 
 which purpose only they were permitted to use books 
 in print or in manuscript, without abusing them or 
 using them to teach reading except in the manu- 
 scripts assigned and for the purpose only, without 
 fraud or subterfuge." ° 
 
 It was Jean Baptist de la Salle who broke up 
 this monopoly, about twenty years afterward. In 
 addition, the girls were taught sewing and knitting, 
 and all the children were taught singing. Religious 
 
 ' E. Rendu, " Dc I'fidiu-ation j>opiilairc dans I'Alleniagne 
 du Nord," p. 8. 
 
 2 Cf. Charles Jourdain, " I listoire ile I'llniversitc de Paris," 
 p. 215.
 
 PRIMA Jn- SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AC;ES. 191 
 
 instruction pervaded the school from morning till 
 night. The last quarter of an hour was daily given 
 to Christian doctrine, and on Wednesday and Satur- 
 day afternoons the children were taught the cate- 
 chism of the diocese. Later on, in Paris, as com- 
 plaints Avere made that the children were devoting 
 too much time to catechism lessons, those of Satur- 
 day w^ere transferred to Sunday.' And that teachers 
 be imbued with the spirit of faith and piety, they 
 were expected to read daily in some spiritual book. 
 The precentor of Notre Dame prescribes the follow- 
 ing books : " The Imitation of Christ," " Lives of 
 the Saints," " Introduction to a Devout Life" by 
 St. Francis de Sales ; Catechism of Cardinal Bellar- 
 mine, Catechism of the Archbishop, the Old Testa- 
 ment — especially Proverbs, Wisdom, Ecclesiastes ; 
 the New Testament. This is the spiritual food with 
 which their piety was nourished. In addition, they 
 were recommended to read two valuable works on 
 methods of teaching, " Le Pedagogue Chrestien " and 
 " L'Escole Paroissiale." ' 
 
 Such were the subjects taught in the primary 
 schools of the Middle Ages. Let us not censure 
 them for their limited scope. We find it no better 
 elsewhere. We turn, for instance, to the Moorish 
 primary schools in Spain, and we find the children of 
 the poorer classes learning, in their way, what our 
 Christian children had been learning in theirs. They 
 
 ' " L'Escole Paroissiale," p. 113. 
 
 ' Statuts et Reglements des Petites Ecoles de Grammaire 
 de la Ville, Cite, Universite, Faiix-bours^s et Banlieue de 
 Paris, 1672, Preface.
 
 192 ESSAY'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 are taught reading, writing, and religious doctrine. 
 The child first learns the Arabian alphabet. He is 
 then taught the difference of letters according to 
 punctuation, accentuation, sound, the composition of 
 letters, and the other elements that enter into the 
 study of Arabic words. He is afterward carefully 
 drilled upon pronunciation. Finally he learns to read 
 the Koran, which is for the Arabian the Alpha and 
 Omega of all study. Here his education finishes.' 
 It is evident that the Christian mediaeval primary 
 schools were not always and in all places kept up 
 with uniformity. Nor were these the only schools 
 in which children might learn the elements of 
 knowledge. There were numerous private schools 
 kept by a class of teachers who were known as 
 grammarians. These grammarians seem to have 
 been a restless class, passing from town to town. 
 They were subject to pay a tax.^ Erasmus has 
 pictured them with a pen dipped in gall. He calls 
 them : 
 
 " A race, of all men the most miserable, who 
 grow old at their work surrounded by herds of boys, 
 deafened by continual uproar, and poisoned by a 
 close, foul atmosphere ; satisfied, however, so long as 
 they can overawe the terrified throng by the terrors 
 of their look and speech, and, while they cut them 
 to pieces with ferule, birch and thong, gratify their 
 own merciless natures at pleasure."^ 
 
 * Henrifus MicUieldorpf, " Commentatio de Institutis litter- 
 ariis in Ilisj^ania qiue Arabt-s Auctores liabuenint," Goet- 
 tinpjiE, 1810, p. 53. 
 
 ''■ Choron, " Recherthes Ilistoriqiu's, IJiilktiii de la Societe 
 Archeologique," fascico 2, p. 69. 
 
 '^ " Encomium Mori.TC."
 
 PRIMAR2' SCHOOL IN MI DOLE AGES. 193 
 
 This might have been a scene of frequent occur- 
 rence, and yet there might have been, and no doubt 
 there were, many worthy men belonging to the 
 profession. 
 
 Throughout the Middle Ages the level of edu- 
 cation varied with times and places. The ravages 
 of war, the terrible scourges of plague and famine 
 that devastated whole peoples, were as disastrous to 
 the progress of education as they were to that of 
 life and civilization. The school, being sustained 
 by local enterprise, varied with the fluctuations of 
 local energy. 
 
 What we might call the public school in France 
 was created only in the fifteenth century, reached its 
 highest state of efificiency in the sixteenth century, 
 declined in the seventeenth century, and, under the 
 new impulse given to all primary education by La 
 Salle, revived in the eighteenth century. We are 
 told that during the eighteen years of the reign of 
 Louis XVL more schools, both large and small, 
 were founded and legislated for than during the whole 
 French monarchy in twelve hundred years.' Paris 
 was always a specially favored city as regards edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Independently of the schools attached to 
 churches, eleven masters and one mistress figure in 
 the roll of the land tax levied on the inhabitants of 
 Paris by Philip the Fair, in 1292. In the fourteenth 
 century we find record of forty-one masters and 
 twenty-two mistresses ; in the fifteenth century, 
 
 ^ Boutiot, " Histoire de I'lnstruction publique ct popu- 
 laire a Troyes, pendant les quatre derniers slecles," pp. 7-15. 
 E. E— 13
 
 194 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 there are a hundred ; and at the close of the six- 
 teenth century, the precentor, Claude Joly, enumer- 
 ates no less than five hundred schoolmasters and 
 schoolmistresses. The statutes regulating these 
 schools date back to the year 1357.' It should be 
 remembered that this was the period — from the 
 thirteenth to the sixteenth century — in which the 
 great University of Paris flourished and counted 
 its students by the tens of thousands. 
 
 IV. 
 
 And now, let us take a rapid glance at school life 
 as revealed to us. Then, as now, there was little 
 uniformity in the age at which children were sent to 
 school. The old French romances generally speak 
 of the hero being sent to school and taught to read 
 and write. This is true of Herv^ de Metz.* It is 
 true of Garin, who knew how to read in Romance 
 and in Latin.' Of another hero we are told that 
 " when he had attained his twelfth year he was a 
 full-blown bachelor . . . and had passed four years 
 at school." " 
 
 ^ Ravalet, "Life of Blessed de la Salle," illustrated edi- 
 tion, p. 27. 
 
 "^ Bibliotheque Nationale, MSS. franjaise, 19,160. 
 ^ Le Loherains fut a escoles mis . 
 Bien savoir lire et roman et latin. 
 
 — " Garin le Loherains," L, 179, 180. 
 * C^iant ot xii. ans moult fu biax bachelier 
 D'esches de tauhle fut hien en doctrinez 
 Et a I'ecolle fut bien iiij. ans passez. 
 
 — Bibl. Nat., MSS., fr, 19,160, f. 3, ^ 7.
 
 PRIMARY SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AGES. 195 
 
 Sometimes the hero was fifteen years before his 
 schooling was finished, as was the case with the son 
 of Parisi la Duchesse. ' 
 
 James Melville, of Scotland, born in 1556, tells 
 us that in the fifth year of his age the "grace-buik" 
 was put in his hands at home, but he made little 
 progress in it. At the age of seven he was sent to 
 school at Logie Montrose.'' During the first five or 
 six days the pupil was placed apart from the other 
 scholars and no lessons were assigned him. After- 
 ward he was supphed with his A B C book, which he 
 carried hung to his belt.' He also brought the rod 
 with which he was to be punished.^ The use of the 
 rod was universal. We read of its employment in 
 England in the eleventh century." St. Louis, King 
 of France, when a boy, was beaten with rods once a 
 week." Guibert of Nogent, tells us of the harsh 
 treatment he received, and when his mother, seeing 
 the welts and bruises on his back, wept and said she 
 no longer wished him to learn grammar, he replied 
 that even though he should die he would continue 
 to learn and become a clerk.' All were not equally 
 harsh. 
 
 1 Qviant I'anfes ot quinze ans et compliz et passez — 
 
 Premiers apprist a letres tant qu'il en soi assez. 
 
 — "Parisi la Duchesse," 11.964-65. 
 
 ''■ James Grant, " History of the Burgh Schools of Scot- 
 land," p. 59. 
 
 ^ Bibliotheque Nationale, MSB., fonds latin, 15,955 • 
 Anonymous sermon. 
 
 * Grant, op. cit., p. 61. 
 
 5 Alfric's "Colloquies." 
 
 * Henry Martin, " Histoire de France," 4me cd., t. iv., p. 
 
 133- 
 
 ' "Vita Sua," lib. i, cap. 6.
 
 196 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Bishop Bertram speaks of St. Germanus of Aux- 
 erre as a kind teacher, who not only gave him knowl- 
 edge, but by his prayers led him to the honor of 
 embracing the priesthood. Fortunatus draws a 
 beautiful picture of this same saint in his cathedral, 
 surrounded by the ancients as well as by the youths 
 whom he is training for the priesthood.' Anselm of 
 Bee stands forth pleading for mildness and stoutly 
 protesting against the rod as the sole means of train- 
 ing the child, " Can you by beatings," he says, " form 
 the heart of the child and lead it to good princi- 
 ples?"" But the men of that day and generation 
 believed in the efificacy of the rod as an essential 
 factor in education. 
 
 School opened at half-past seven in the summer 
 months, and at half-past eight in the winter months.' 
 The child was there generally half an hour earlier. 
 On entering, his first act was to say a prayer on his 
 knees." One of those prayers has been handed down 
 to us from the Catholic days in Scotland. It will 
 bear repetition : 
 
 " I thank Thee, heavenly Father, that Thou hast 
 willed that the past night hath been prosperous for 
 me ; and I pray that Thou wilt also be favorable to 
 me this day, for Thy glory and the health of my 
 soul ; and Thou who art the true light, knowing no 
 setting. Sun eternal, enlightening, supporting, glad- 
 
 1 "Carmina," lib. ii., 8. 
 
 * Cf. " Christian Schools and Scholars," vol. i., jip. 41S, 
 419; Choron, fascic. 2, p. 74. 
 
 ^ Rccueil des Ordonnances Synodales du diocese d'Autun. 
 1685. 
 
 * "L'Escole Paroissiale," p. 67.
 
 PRIMART SCHOOL /.Y MIDDLE ACES. 107 
 
 dening all things, deign to enlighten my mind, that 
 I may never fall into any sin, but, by Thy guiding, 
 arrive at life eternal. Amen." ' 
 
 The children began the day's study by assisting 
 at the mass. On their return from the church they 
 took their breakfast. In those days, it was customary 
 for every child to bring not only his own meal but 
 also something for the very poor who had none to 
 bring. 
 
 Now that school has begun it would interest us 
 to know the methods pursued in teaching. There 
 lies before me an old woodcut of the sixteenth 
 century representing the interior of a school. As 
 customs were slow to change, we may take it for a 
 type of the school in the Middle Ages. The teacher 
 is seated iii a large arm-chair, with a low-crowned, 
 broad-brimmed hat on his head and a mantle on his 
 shoulders. He holds in his hand a bundle of rods, 
 and in his lap a large folio lies open. The boy whose 
 lesson he had been hearing stands aside while the 
 master is talking very earnestly to another boy with 
 hat in hand, and we infer that the latter has come 
 late and is to be duly punished. A long table runs 
 down the center of the room, at which the other 
 boys stand in various attitudes with open books 
 before them. There is a low stool destined for the 
 new comers. A small boy has his book laid upon 
 the stool, while he himself is engaged with balls or 
 marbles on the floor. In another engraving, bearing 
 date of 1493, the same low stool is found, and on it 
 sits the same small boy, holding his book out to a 
 
 1 Directory of Aberdeen Schools, cf. Grant, op cit., p. 60.
 
 198 ESSATS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 little terrier as though he would have the dog to 
 read. In this engraving it is evident that the teacher 
 employs exclusively the individual method. He 
 knew no other. Each boy in turn stood before the 
 the teacher, recited or read his lesson, and resumed 
 his seat to give place to another. In the meantime, 
 the remainder of the school was doing as it liked. 
 The assiduous ones were occupying their time in 
 reading or spelling, or arithmetic or writing ; the 
 giddy ones were disturbing the others as far as they 
 might do so with impunity. Much time was lost 
 and only slight results were achieved. 
 
 An anonymous pamphlet, issued about 1680, be- 
 wails the loss of time that is the consequence of 
 this individual method. "In our colleges," he says, 
 "we find pupils of the same capacity placed in the 
 same class ; why is not the same done in our primary 
 schools?"' Another anonymous work, a teacher's 
 manual, advises that children be taught writing at as 
 early an age as possible so that they may have occu- 
 pation, and to avoid disorder while the master is en- 
 gaged with the lessons of each one.^ Still another 
 manual recommends that the more advanced pupils 
 call up their less advanced companions every half 
 hour to recite a lesson — a method "making as many 
 masters as there are pupils." ' On the whole, the 
 
 '"Avis touchant les Petites Escoles." It is to he found in 
 the Bibiiotheque Nationale. 
 
 ^ " Essai d'une Ecole Chretienne," p. vi., chap. 14. ^This 
 
 essay is not to be confounded with the " Conduite de I'Ecole 
 
 Xtienne," a work on the same subject bv Jean Baptiste de la 
 Salle. 
 
 '"L'Escole Paroissiale," Paris, 1654, p. 75.
 
 PRIMA Rl' SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AGES. 199 
 
 individual method was the only one known and ap- 
 plied up to the seventeenth century in the primary 
 school. This led to great waste of time. Jean 
 Baptist de la Salle was the one to revolutionize the 
 whole system of primary teaching by introducing the 
 simultaneous method.' 
 
 With the individual method there was necessa- 
 rily an absence of emulation. During the Middle 
 Ages we meet with few modes of recompense for 
 work done in the primary school. In 1585, we come 
 upon a class of Abecediaries, who, in presence of 
 several wrote the same sentence, and he whose pen- 
 manship was declared best received from the hands 
 of the mayor " two pens and a penknife."^ In more 
 advanced classes books were given as prizes. But 
 the best boy in the school was otherwise honored. 
 And this leads us to consider the sports and recre- 
 ations of the schoolboy of that day. 
 
 I have now before me a most interesting old 
 print, taken from a book of Hours, bearing the date 
 of 1523. The subject is boys coming out from 
 school. Some are flying a hawk; others have hurl- 
 ing-sticks and a ball, and one of this party has fallen 
 down ; others again are testing their strength by 
 standing on one leg and placing the soles of their 
 shoes flat against each other and then pushing till 
 one gives way. Another schoolboy game was this: 
 At one end of an alley-way a suspended stick 
 
 ^ Cf. Andre, " Nos Maitres d'hier : Etude sur les progrcs de 
 rfiducation et sur les Developpements de I'Instructlon popu- 
 laire en France," Paris, 1873, p. 295. 
 
 ''Maggiolo, in Buisson's " Dictionnaire de Pedagogie," i.,
 
 200 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 supports a crown decked with ribbons. At the other 
 end stood the scholars, and each in turn sought to 
 knock down the crown. He whom kick or skill 
 favored received compliments from his companions, 
 and was crowned king of the Nciide. As such he 
 enjoyed many privileges during the year. 
 
 But the game that crowned all other games 
 with medieval students of all grades, from the 
 primary school to the universities, was cock-fight- 
 ing. It was emphatically a schoolboy sport, and 
 had its origin in the school.' The annual recur- 
 rence of the day of Ics joiites de coqs was keenly 
 looked forward to. We find the custom established 
 in London about 1174. We learn that about that 
 time, every Shrove Tuesday the boys were wont to 
 bring their fighting-cocks to the master and during 
 the whole morning they had cock-fighting in the 
 school-room.''' After dinner they indulged in the 
 game of football. In France, on the day appointed, 
 all the students assembled in a large hall. Their 
 birds were fasting, and were nourished with some 
 drops of generous wane. The two first champions 
 were placed facing each other over a plate of oats. 
 They eyed each other for some time and then began 
 to attack. The defeated one was withdrawn and 
 replaced by another. The cock that floored the 
 greatest number is victor ; his master is proclaimed 
 king and is carried through the town in procession 
 amid universal rejoicings. During the remainder of 
 
 ^ Leopold Delisle, "Etudes sur la Classe Agricole en Nor- 
 mandie au Moj^en Age," p. 185. 
 * Fitz Stephen-Pogge.
 
 PRIMARY SCHOOL IX MIDDLE ACES. 201 
 
 the school year he takes the lead in all religious 
 ceremonies and public reunions/ 
 
 In the rural districts and in the poor schools of 
 the towns, where each boy could not afford to keep 
 his own bird, the students indulge in the sport known 
 as " Killing the Cock." In this case the bird was 
 pursued and beaten to death. In many places it 
 was the schoolmaster who, by stipulation, furnished 
 the cocks for the occasion. Thus, in 1282, we find 
 a schoolmaster at Dieppe held indebted for no less 
 than four." In 1353, the schoolmaster of Rameru 
 was bound to furnish his pupils annually with a cock 
 to be thrown at with sticks.^ The practice was con- 
 tinued down to recent days in some of the districts 
 of France — and this in spite of protest and inter- 
 dict on the part of Church authorities. Thus, as 
 early as 1260 we find the barbarous amusement con- 
 demned by the synod of Coprigni, presided over by 
 the Bishop of Bordeaux.* 
 
 A day which the younger children celebrated with 
 great pomp and ceremony was the feast of St. Nich- 
 olas. On that day they chose a bishop from among 
 their number. In many places the honor was re- 
 served for the best and most studious boy. The 
 chosen one was dressed up in gorgeous pontificals and 
 borne in procession to the church with the accom- 
 paniment of fife and drum and violin. He ruled as 
 king of all celebrations during the day, and in honor 
 
 ^ " Histoire de Chateau Theirry," p. 168. 
 
 ''Delisle, op. cit., p. 185. 
 
 'Ibid. cf. Boutiot, op. cit., p. 18. 
 
 * Labbe, " Concilia," xi., c. 800. D.
 
 202 ESSA7'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 of him the children of the school received presents 
 and were feasted. Afterward a play was enacted in 
 which St. Nicholas figured as savior and protector 
 of person and property. He was frequently repre- 
 sented, as in our modern pictures of him, in the act 
 of restoring life to three children. But the playing 
 of this role led to so many abuses that it was sup- 
 pressed by act of parliament, and the schoolmaster 
 permitting naked children to appear on the stage 
 was heavily fined. The saint was also represented 
 as finding stolen goods that had been placed under 
 his protection. Champollion-Figeac brought to 
 light one of those plays dating back to the twelfth 
 century, written by one Hilary, an Englishman, and 
 a disciple of Abelard. It is one at which Abelard 
 himself might have been present. The play is very 
 simple and rude, and is written in a mixture of Latin 
 and French. It had been for centuries the tradition 
 to write comedies, farces, and plays in the Latin 
 tongue. We have now arrived at a point where 
 there is a breaking up of the tradition. Latin is 
 becoming more exclusively confined to the schools. 
 But in the cities and large towns it was still under- 
 stood by the people. 
 
 Few were the boys there present who could not 
 have taken in the whole sense of this play. And 
 what with the robbers carrying off the stolen goods 
 and what with the spectacle of a rude, angry man, 
 loud in words and fierce in gesture, the play must 
 have greatly amused the little ones. Barbarus, 
 who impersonates a rude and ignorant man, confid- 
 ing his treasures to the protection of St. Nicholas,
 
 PRIM ART SCHOOL IN MIDDLE AGES. 203 
 
 places them at the foot of his statue. The treasures 
 are stolen. Thereupon, Barbarus grows furious, and 
 frets and fumes and bemoans his sad lot in having 
 placed his goods in such bad keeping. He goes up 
 to the statue, and with violent gestures tells Nich- 
 olas that he must return the goods or he shall pay 
 for them : 
 
 Mea conpfregavi, 
 
 Tibi commendavi ; 
 
 Sed in hoc erravi. 
 
 Ha ! Nicholas ! 
 Se ne me rent ma chose, tti ol comfarras. 
 
 But words having no effect, he takes a whip 
 and threatens to beat Nicholas if the goods are 
 not forthwith coming. Nicholas goes after the 
 thieves, and induces them to repent of their evil 
 ways ; which they do, and they forthwith make res- 
 titution. In fear and trembling these men bring 
 back the goods to the place from which they had 
 been taken. Barbarus thereupon becomes jubilant : 
 
 Nisi visus fallitur 
 
 lo eti at 
 Tesaurus hie cernitur, 
 
 De si grant merveile en at. 
 
 In a transport of gratitude, Barbarus offers Nicholas 
 all the goods, but Nicholas appears to him and ex- 
 horts him to thank God alone: "Not to me the 
 merit; that belongs to God alone; bless Him and 
 bless the name of Christ." Whereupon Barbarus 
 becomes converted.' 
 
 Hilarii Versus et Ludi." Paris, 1838, pp. 34-39-
 
 204 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 And now that the play is over, let us also return 
 from our short excursion to the primary schools of 
 the Middle Ages. From the close, narrow, badly- 
 lighted, and poorly-ventilated schoolroom of those 
 days, with its dingy walls and low ceiling, we pass 
 into the light, spacious, well-ventilated schoolrooms 
 of our own times. But let us remember that in other 
 days there were other manners, other customs, other 
 standards of comfort, and another order of ideas. 
 Our own progress is only of recent growth and has 
 been very slow. Moreover, the seeds of that growth 
 have been sown elsewhere, as the Abbe Alain has 
 shown by placing within the scope of all the result 
 of researches scattered through many volumes bear- 
 ing especially upon education in the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries.
 
 THE SI^1al2rANEoas methob in 
 
 TEACHINS 
 
 (205)
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD IN 
 TEACHING.' 
 
 j^R. W. T. Harris conceived the happy idea of 
 ^^ editing an international educational series of 
 books on the same plan as the well-known interna- 
 tional scientific series published by the Appletons. 
 This volume of Prof. Painter's is a contribution to 
 the series. We regret that we cannot recommend 
 the volume to our Catholic readers. It is evidently 
 modeled after the " Histoire Universelle de la P^da- 
 gogie " of Paroz. But our recollections of Paroz's 
 volume are that it was far more fair-spoken than the 
 one before us. Had the professor contented himself 
 with translating Paroz, he would have given us a 
 better book. 
 
 In treating Catholic education, he has imported 
 into his work all the bile and bitterness of Raumer. 
 But scant justice is consequently done to the grand 
 role played by the Church and by great Catholic 
 educators in the work of education. If F6nelon is 
 praised, it is because the professor has mistaken him 
 for a Jansenist. We do not accuse the author of 
 deliberately misrepresenting us. In all probability 
 
 ^ American Ecclesiastical Review. 
 
 "Management of Christian Schools." By the Brothers of 
 the Christian Schools. New York, 1887. 
 
 "A History of Education.'- By F. V. N. Painter. New- 
 York, D. Appleton & Co., 1887. 
 
 • (207)
 
 208 BSSA2-S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 he never set foot within a Catholic institution ; still 
 less likely is it that he ever made a careful study of 
 our Catholic schools and their methods. The sources 
 from which he drew were poisoned. 
 
 " It was in the library of the University of Bonn," 
 he tells us, " nearly four years ago, as I sat before an 
 alcove of educational works and leisurely examined 
 the admirable histories by Raumer and Karl Schmidt, 
 that the thought and purpose of preparing this work 
 were first conceived."' 
 
 Later on he acknowledges his indebtedness to 
 these works. Most valuable aids they are to the 
 student of pedagogy, when he has antidotes to coun- 
 teract the bigotry and prejudice pervading them. Pity 
 it was he did not give more attention to Stockl, and 
 the great work of Father Denifle, then just published. 
 
 The author's omissions in treating his subject are 
 conspicuous. He ignores the educational develop- 
 ment of Spain, and yet La Fuente, among others, 
 would have enlightened him upon the great part 
 Spain took in the education of Europe. He has no 
 word upon the educational progress of Italy. A 
 glance at Tiraboschi would have shown him the mag- 
 nitude of Italy's claims as an educator. The smaller 
 works of Everardo Michele, Ceruti, and Milanese 
 would have brought the subject home to him still 
 more directly. 
 
 True, all three are Catholic writers, but we can 
 assure him that they are none the less trustworthy. 
 Even when treating of education in France, the pro- 
 fessor finds no place for the work of Blessed de la Salle. 
 
 ' Preface.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 209 
 
 And yet, in another volume of this same series, we 
 find that educator characterized as follows: 
 
 "A man of progressive, modern thought, he intro- 
 duced, besides normal schools, gradation and object- 
 lessons, and established industrial schools, polytechnic 
 institutes, and reformatories.'" 
 
 Blessed de la Salle is especially identified with 
 the Simultaneous Method. It shall be the purpose 
 of the present paper to trace this method from its 
 first dawnings to its full application by Blessed de la 
 Salle. It is a study that has not been made in any 
 pedagogical work that has come under our notice; it 
 therefore cannot fail to interest the educator. 
 
 First, let us explain what is meant by the Simul- 
 taneous Method. There are three recognized methods 
 of teaching. 
 
 The first is that of hearing and explaining the 
 lesson of each child apart, w^hile the others may be 
 studying. It is called the Individual Method. 
 
 The second is that of having the more advanced 
 pupils in a class to teach the less advanced ones 
 undei the general supervision of the master. This 
 method was brought from India by Bell and was 
 popularized by Lancaster. It is known as the Mutual 
 Method. 
 
 The third is that of grading the children accord- 
 ing to their capacity, putting those of the same 
 capacity in the same class, and having them to use 
 the same book and follow the same lesson under one 
 and the same master. It is the Simultaneous 
 Method. Now, all teaching is done by one or other 
 
 ' Boone: ''Education in the United States," ji. 126. 
 E. E— 14
 
 210 ESSAJ'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 of these methods, separately or combined.' But at 
 the present day, the method most in vogue, and 
 which has best stood the test of time and experi- 
 ence, is that with which the Brothers of the Chris- 
 tian Schools are identified, and which is known as 
 the Simultaneous Method. 
 
 Like all fruitful ideas, the Simultaneous Method 
 is not the exclusive property of any one man. Others 
 discerned its value, and even partially applied its 
 principles, long before Blessed de la Salle made it 
 live in his work. We do not find it in the university 
 methods of the Middle Ages. The mere listening 
 to a lecture, taking notes upon it, and holding dis- 
 putations over it, is far different from the Simul- 
 taneous Method. Nor does it seem to have been 
 followed in the Grammar Schools. 
 
 The Jesuits organized each class in subdivisions; 
 each division being headed by an advanced pupil 
 called a deciirion, to whom the boys recited their 
 lessons at stated times, while the master corrected 
 exercises or heard the lessons of special boys. The 
 whole class afterwards received explanations from 
 the master. Order and discipline reigned. Emula- 
 tion prevailed. The unpleasant picture drawn by 
 Erasmus became an impossibility in their schools. 
 But still this is not the Simultaneous Method. And 
 above all, it only slowly dawned upon the masters of 
 the primary schools to introduce these improvements 
 into their methods of teaching. Theirs was ex- 
 clusively the Individual Method. Each pupil passed 
 in turn before the master, said his lesson, returned 
 
 'See "Management of Cliristuxn Schools," p. 34.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 211 
 
 to his place, and moped, or studied, or amused him- 
 self as best it pleased him or as dread of the birch 
 permitted. 
 
 Such a system necessarily brought with it dis- 
 order and confusion in the school, and led to loss of 
 time on the part of the scholar. The consequent 
 evil was irreparable for the poor child, whose school- 
 days were limited. He quitted school, fortunate if 
 he learned his catechism and how to spell through 
 his Psalter; rarely fortunate if he had advanced suffi- 
 ciently to read in his mother-tongue and to write 
 a letter. The child preparing for college spent 
 seven or eight years endeavoring to learn that 
 which might have been mastered in half the 
 time. 
 
 Mulcaster, in 1589, laid stress upon grouping the 
 children of the same capacity upon the same bench. 
 ("Positions," p. 234.) 
 
 In 1 6 10, the evils of the old system are spoken 
 of in a memorial dealing with the government of 
 the university. It is beginning to dawn upon 
 men's mind that the old way might not, after all, 
 be the best way. This memorial is the first em- 
 phatic protest in France that we have come 
 across against the old way. The memorialist 
 feels the necessity of some method for regulat- 
 ing the studies and the teaching of children, and 
 for preparing youths better for their university 
 course. 
 
 " Since our members," says he, " depend princi- 
 pally upon the primary institutions, just as good 
 health and natural complexion depend upon the
 
 212 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 milk we take in infancy, it is due to the prudence 
 of the magistrate, with the aid and counsel of 
 experts, to provide some method to be used in the 
 education of the children ; for doctrine without 
 method is like a torch under a barrel, consuming 
 itself without giving out a profitable light."' 
 
 He sees no reason why children might not learn 
 in four years all that, in his day, it took them eight 
 or nine to learn. He appeals to experienced teach- 
 ers to devise some means out of this roundabout 
 method, which consumes so much valuable time.* 
 To realize an evil is one thing; to remedy it is 
 quite another. 
 
 The university was too taken up with the 
 struggle for its own existence against the encroach- 
 ments of the separate collegiate system, to occupy 
 itself with elementary schools. The evil grew 
 apace. Elementary education in France reached 
 its lowest degree of confusion during the first half 
 of the seventeenth century.' The numerous wars 
 of this period left little time and less inclination 
 for the cultivation of peaceful pursuits. The eyes 
 of the natural custodians of society were so dimmed 
 by the dazzling brilliancy of the court of the Grand 
 Monarch, they could no longer perceive the evils 
 festering at their own doors. 
 
 ^"Memoires pour le Rcp;lement de I'Universite." i6io. 
 Bibl.Nat. Printed Matter. Paris Universite (Generalites), 
 1073. 24.115-2130, p.17. 
 
 '^ Il)id., 11. 19. 
 
 '^ Boutiot, " Ilistoire de I'lnstruction publiqiie et populaire 
 a Troyes pendant les quatre derniers si&cles.'' Troves 1865. 
 P. 9.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 213 
 
 TI. 
 
 Blessed Peter Fourier (i 565-1640) saw in Chris- 
 tian education the remedy for many of the disorders 
 existing among the poor and the laboring class.' 
 He was a far-seeing man, and anticipated more than 
 one of our modern social improvements. In 1597, he 
 attempted to organize a religious teaching order for 
 boys. But the four young men whom he had brought 
 together for the purpose abandoned him. The work 
 was reserved for another no less worthy. 
 
 However, Peter Fourier was more successful in 
 organizing religious teachers for girls. Providence 
 blessed and fructified his labors in this direction be- 
 yond his greatest hopes. He lived to see all Lor- 
 raine peopled by the Congregation of Notre Dame, 
 which still remains a monument and a witness to his 
 zeal and his enlightened views. He gave this sister- 
 hood a rule and constitution. It was first printed 
 in 1640. The second edition, bearing date of 1694, 
 now lies before us.' Therein the saintly author 
 lays down rules for the management of scholars 
 and methods of teaching such branches as are usually 
 taught in elementary schools. To attempt to trace 
 the history of pedagogy without allusion to this 
 
 ^ Rev. P. Jean Bedel, " La Vie du Rev. Pierre Fourier." 
 Paris, 1666. 
 
 ^ " Les vraies Constitutions des Religieuses de la Congre- 
 gation de Nostre Dame." Seconde Edition. A Toul. 1694. 
 At the end of the vohime we read : La presente copie des Con- 
 stitutions . . . a ete fidelement extraite sur son vray original 
 sain et entier, et ecript de sa propre main, et se conforme de 
 mots a autres, par le subscript Notaire Apostolique. Ainsi 
 signe, F. Tabourin.
 
 214 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 remarkable book were an unpardonable oversight. 
 There is wisdom in every line. It ranks by incon- 
 testable right and title the parish-priest of Mattain- 
 court among great educators. We shall note its 
 salient points. 
 
 Therein the principle of Simultaneous Method is, 
 for the first time, clearly stated : 
 
 " The inspectress, or the mistress of class, shall 
 endeavor, as far as it possibly can be carried out, that 
 all the pupils of the same mistress have each the 
 same book, in order to learn and read therein all to- 
 gether the same lesson; so that, whilst one is read- 
 ing hers in an audible and intelligible voice before 
 the mistress, all the others, hearing her and follow- 
 ing this lesson in their books at the same time, may 
 learn it sooner, more readily, and more perfectly." ' 
 
 Read it how we may, it is the principle of the 
 Simultaneous Method whole and entire. And yet, 
 when this great man — who was in advance of his 
 age upon every subject that he touched — entered 
 into details of practice, he lost sight of the principle 
 which he had laid down. In the very next para- 
 graph, it is regulated that the mistress call up two 
 pupils at the time and place them one at each side 
 of her seat. Then, the author continues : 
 
 "The more advanced shall read her lesson; the 
 other shall listen to her, shall correct all the faults 
 she may make, whether in using the wrong words, or 
 in pronouncing badly, or in not making the proper 
 pauses. When she has finished her lesson, the other 
 one shall read hers, and her companion shall likewise 
 correct all her mistakes."" 
 
 ' Ibid., p. iii., ch. xi., sec. 6, p. 54. 
 ''■ Ibid., sec. 7, p. 54.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 215 
 
 These two having read, two others shall come 
 forward, and so on till the class is all heard. And 
 here enters a rule that throws light on the source 
 whence the European peasantry imbibed that gentle- 
 ness and urbanity for which they are noted : 
 
 "According to the number of mistakes she has 
 made, she shall say an Ave Maria for the companion 
 who has corrected her," ' 
 
 Elsewhere in the same chapter we read : 
 
 " If any mistakes are made in reading, and they 
 are not corrected by the companions of the readers — 
 Icurs conipagnes apariees — the mistress shall gently 
 correct them at the time." ' 
 
 The nearest the saintly author comes in practice 
 to the Simultaneous Method is when, speaking of 
 the younger children, he says : 
 
 " In order the more easily to make the very young 
 children profit of the lesson, the mistress shall take 
 four or six at the time, of about equal capacity, and 
 while one is reading, the other five shall follow in 
 their books, saying after her the same words in a low 
 tone." " 
 
 With beginners, he would have the Simultaneous 
 Method practised on particular occasions : 
 
 '• Sometimes they shall be exercised all together, 
 by pointing out to them on a large card, and making 
 them say, all the letters in a syllable and all the sylla- 
 bles in a word." * 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
 * Ibid., sec. 2, p. 52. 
 3 Ibid., sec. 4, p. 53. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 53.
 
 216 ESSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Again Blessed Fourier devotes a special chapter 
 to his method. The chapter is an admirable one. 
 It grades the school into three chief divisions ; ' it 
 assigns special teachers to each bench when there is 
 need for them ; '^ it places pupils of the same capacity 
 on the same bench ; ^ it attempts to inspire at the 
 same time devotion to the Blessed Virgin and an 
 esprit de corps among the pupils of the same bench, 
 by putting each under the patronage of Our Blessed 
 Lady according to her feasts;^ it seeks to create 
 emulation by having a bench of honor and a bench 
 of disgrace/ Here, also, the method that runs 
 through the whole book — the method that is pecu- 
 liar to Blessed Fourier — is distinctly stated: 
 
 ^'■Each mistress shall pair all her pupils, placing 
 them two by t7vo, one with the other ; placing together 
 those most alike, not in age, or quality, or affection, 
 but in knowledge ; in order that they may hear and 
 correct each other, and piously compete for the first 
 place, in recitation of prayers and catechism, and in 
 reading." * 
 
 Such is the method of Blessed Peter Fourier. 
 Sometimes he would exercise a class of beginners all 
 together from large reading cards hung up in a con- 
 spicuous place ; sometimes he would have all those 
 learning to spell to work together under the dicta- 
 
 ' Ibid., chap, vi., sec. 2, p. 19. 
 
 '^ Ibid., sec. 7, p. 20. 
 
 ^ Ibid., sec. 7, p. 20. 
 
 * Ibid., sec. 8, p. 21. 
 
 ^ Ibid., sec. 11, pp. 22, 23, 24. 
 
 ^ Ibid., chap, vi., sec. 10, pp. 21, 22.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 217 
 
 tion of the same mistress ; sometimes he would have 
 the more advanced, when learning to read Latin, 
 brought before the teachers in groups of four or six 
 at the time; always he would have the most advanced 
 pupils heard two by two, each reciprocating the 
 corrections of the others. This is indeed a great 
 improvement upon the Individual Method. 
 
 We are greatly indebted to Abbe Pierfitte ' and to 
 M. G. Du Bois " for having called the attention of the 
 pedagogical world to the rich treasures contained in 
 the "Constitutions." But when they tell us that this 
 is the Simultaneous Method pure and simple, they 
 are calling it that which it is not. Equally great a mis- 
 nomer is it to call the act of two children correcting 
 each other under the eye of a teacher the Mutual 
 Method. The essence of the Mutual Method is the 
 dispensing with the teacher altogether. It is the 
 pupil instructing the pupil. In the method of Peter 
 Fourier it is still the teacher who instructs. The 
 pupil's corrections are only for the purpose of keeping 
 up attention. 
 
 We may well call that method the Reciprocal 
 Method. It is this method we find recommended in 
 the teacher's manual for the city of Paris, the 
 " Escole Paroissiale," edition of 1654: 
 
 "Those who go to the master to read shall present 
 themselves but two at a time. . . . The master 
 shall call the writers to his desk, two by tzvo, to correct 
 their exercises." ' 
 
 ^ Paper read before the Congress of Blois, i{ 
 "^ V U7iivcrs, Dec. 17, 1887. 
 3 ^nie partie, chap. iv.
 
 218 £SSA}'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 III. 
 
 Another thinker and educator, in another part of 
 Europe, about the same time, in the midst of wan- 
 derings and persecutions, sought to solve the problem 
 of educating the greatest number, in the least time, 
 and with the smallest pains. Komensky (i 592-1671)' 
 was an ardent admirer of Bacon, and applied his 
 inductive method to its solution. From the physical 
 world he drew analogies for the intellectual world. 
 This led him to fanciful and extravagant inferences. 
 But he was observant; he learned much from the 
 systems of others, and feared not to borrow from 
 them whatever he considered good and useful. Upon 
 the " Janua Linguarum " of Father Bathe, of the 
 Irish College at Salamanca — a book which had been 
 translated into eight languages by 1629 — he mod- 
 eled, even to the very name, his more popular 
 " Janua Linguarum Reserata."^ From Ratich he 
 learned to unite the study of words with the study 
 of things. From the " Ratio Studiorum " he inserted 
 many a detail of practice and principle in his 
 " Didactica Magna." 
 
 Komensky asks : "How can one teacher suflRce 
 for any number of pupils whatever?" He replies 
 
 ^ Komensky — Comenius — takes his name from his native 
 village of Komna, in Moravia. He suppressed his family name 
 on account of the persecutions to which he was subjected as a 
 Moravian liishop. He held wild philosophic vagaries, which 
 he pretended to draw from the Old Testament. (See Franck, 
 " Dictionnaire des Sciences Philosophiques," Art., Comenius.) 
 
 '^ " Inasmuch as they (the Jesuits) were the prime inven- 
 tors, we thankfully acknowledge it." Preface to Anchoran's 
 translation, 1639. See Quick's " Educational Reformers," pp. 
 63-65-
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 219 
 
 by saying that not only can he suffice, but that it is 
 for the benefit of the class that there be a large 
 number, inasmuch as it excites sympathy and emu- 
 lation.' As the sun sheds its rays upon the whole 
 earth, so should the master instruct his whole class ; 
 each and all, intent of eyes and ears and minds, re- 
 ceiving from him whatever instruction he imparts. 
 Therefore he should not instruct single pupils pri- 
 vately, outside of school-hours, nor publicly in 
 school, but — ovincs siimil ct semel — all together at 
 one and the same time." All of the same capacity 
 should have the same book. All should listen in 
 silence to the master. In order to lessen the fatigue 
 of the master, he should be assisted by decurions 
 in correcting the exercises. That he may control 
 the attention of his pupils, he should frequently 
 question them promiscuously on what has been said.' 
 One teacher, one book, one lesson for all in the same 
 grade : this is an approxim.ation to the Simultaneous 
 Method. Charles Hoole (1610-1666) introduced this 
 method of Komensky into England with most suc- 
 cess." His school was efficient and a model of good 
 order. He attempted to propagate the method 
 in a little work called "The New Discovery of the 
 Old Art of Teaching. "' 
 
 But the method did not take root in England. 
 Indeed, the influence of Komensky was not lasting. 
 
 ^See S. S. Laurie, "John Amos Comenius,"p. 105. Enp;. 
 Ed. 
 
 ^"Didactica Magna," Amsterdam, 1657. Col. 103. 
 
 ^ Ibid., col. 104. His whole method is embodied in chap. xi.v. 
 
 "' "Quarterly Journal of Education," 1867, p. 262. 
 
 * There is a copj of this rare book in the Bodleian Library.
 
 220 ESS A IS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Rousseau and Pestalozzi followed in his track, and, 
 unawares re-discovered many of his principles. 
 " Comenius," says Buisson, "established nothing 
 durable and definite ; he was simply an admirable 
 precursor." ' The only part of his system that has 
 survived, may be summed up in the formula : " Let 
 all things be taught to all." Now this is an educa- 
 tional fallacy. The mind simply stuffed with facts 
 is not an educated mind. The mind so trained and 
 disciplined that it knows how to use its knowledge 
 to purpose and advantage, is alone the truly cul- 
 tured mind.^ 
 
 Mgr. de Nesmond(i629-i7i5), Bishop of Bayeux, 
 independently of Komensky, was working at the same 
 problem of method. In 1672, he distributed among 
 his clergy a " Plan of Instruction and Education for 
 Primary Schools." ^ We have before us, for our use, a 
 beautiful copy, bound in vellum, of the Pastoral and 
 the Method. The Pastoral bewails the absence of 
 schools and the lack of competent masters. It re- 
 cites the strenuous efforts made by the early Fathers 
 and the Councils of the Church in behalf of Chris- 
 tian education. It prohibits the holding of schools 
 in churches and chapels." This was at one time a 
 general custom in country places and villages. 
 
 Next comes the bishop's method. He also would 
 answer to the question : How may large classes be 
 taught in a short time by a single master? He enters 
 
 ' " Diotionnaire do I'cdagogie," Art., Comenius. 
 ^ See S. S. Laurie on Comenius, p. 220. 
 •' "Diet, de Ped.," Art., Nesmond. 
 * Ordonnance 1662, p. 56.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 221 
 
 into SO many practical details, and puts such good 
 sense into all he says, one feels that if he were not a 
 bishop he might have become an eminent educator. 
 In the first place, he would classify all the children of 
 the school. " The master shall divide his school into 
 four or five benches, according to the number and 
 capacity of his scholars." ' He then assigns to the 
 same bench children of the same capacity occupied 
 with the same subject. The division is instructive as 
 revealing an order of things different from that pre- 
 vailing to-day. The most advanced scholars are placed 
 on the first bench, and they are supposed to learn 
 how to read French and manuscripts, and how to 
 write and work arithmetic. In the second bench are 
 placed " those who read passably well in their Hours." 
 The book of Hours contained certain ofifices of the 
 Church in Latin, and the child was to read therein 
 before he had learned to read in his mother-tongue. 
 A few years later, Blessed de la Salle — amid much 
 opposition and many protests from bishops and 
 clergy — introduced the method of teaching the child 
 to read his mother-tongue before reading the Latin. 
 In the next place, to each bench he would assign 
 the same book. 
 
 "We give the same book to each bench," he 
 says, " simply in order that all the children on that 
 bench may receive the same lesson, and when one 
 begins to read, the others may read in a low voice 
 at the same time." "^ 
 
 ^ " Methode pour instruire en pen de Toinps k-s Enfants," 
 P- 59- 
 
 ' Ibid., ]). 60.
 
 222 ESSyll'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 This is a decided improvement on Peter Four- 
 ier's system of reading by twos. Like Komensky, 
 Mgr. de Nesmond goes to the root of the difificulty 
 connected with this method, by showing how the 
 children's attention is to be sustained ; for, he adds 
 in another place, without this attention, " the 
 method would not only be a delusion, but irksome, 
 and even unbearable." ' The means he would adopt 
 is the only rational one: "And in order to oblige 
 those children — who should all have the same lesson 
 and the same book — to read in a low tone of voice 
 what one of their companions reads aloud, it were 
 w^ell sometimes to take them by surprise, and to 
 make those least expecting it continue the lesson. ""■' 
 
 The wisdom of his remarks has not grown old. 
 They are as true to-day as they were in his own 
 day. They apply as well to our class-rooms in 
 America as to the little country schools for which 
 he was legislating. In order to awaken the child's 
 intelligence, he suggests that the master be not too 
 prompt in naming a word over which the child hes- 
 itates, but rather to let the child spell it and make 
 it out for himself.^ He would have the lessons 
 short. ^ It is of great advantage, he tells us, for 
 children to do a little and to do that little well.^ 
 Commence by the more advanced pupils, so that 
 the others may learn from them, and that the 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 65. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 64. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 65. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 66. 
 6 Ibid., p. 68.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 223 
 
 former may be occupied during the remainder of 
 the school-hours in writing and arithmetic' 
 
 The daily regulation is no less instructive. It 
 reveals customs that are gone out of use. School 
 opens at seven in summer and at eight in winter. 
 The scholars bring their breakfast with them. They 
 are taken to mass two by two. Upon returning to 
 the school, they shall say grace before breakfast, 
 standing ; during the meal, one of the more advanced 
 scholars shall make public reading either from the 
 "Lives of the Saints" or some other pious book, 
 unless the master himself should choose to entertain 
 them with their defects or their duties.^ Here the 
 page is lit up with a beautiful trait of Christian 
 charity. It is recommended that a pupil go around 
 with a basket and collect food for the poor scholars 
 having none, taking care that insinuating or flattering 
 children do not deprive themselves in order to gain 
 the good graces of the master or of him making the 
 collection. To this little touch of nature is added 
 this other touch of grace : " And the poor shall say 
 a Pater and Ave for those among their companions 
 who have acted so charitably."' La Salle regulated 
 the matter after a more gentle manner — and one 
 less calculated to take away the merit of the act of 
 charity by vanity or other human motive. The 
 master should see that the pupils bring some break- 
 fast, without, however, forcing them to do so. A 
 basket is placed in the corner for whatever the 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
 ^ Ibid., p. 72. 
 
 ^ Ibid., p. 75.
 
 224 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 children cannot use. This is distributed to the 
 poor children who have come without any breakfast, 
 and the master shall exhort them to pray to God for 
 their benefactors. They must understand, further- 
 more, that if they are allowed to eat in school, " it 
 is that they may learn to eat with wisdom, modesty, 
 and in a becoming manner, and to pray to God before 
 and after their meal." ' All this brings us back to 
 other days, when poverty was generally allied to 
 scholarship. In the fourteenth century we find the 
 children of the College called Bons Enfans going 
 out daily to beg for their sustenance. ° 
 
 In the fifteenth century the poor students of 
 Montaigu College went to the neighboring Carthu- 
 sian monastery to beg their daily pittance with the 
 other indigent poor. We know how mercilessly 
 Rabelais lashes these Montaigu sparrow-hawks — 
 esparviersde Montaigu — as he calls them.^ The spirit 
 of charity and prayerfulness reigned everywhere 
 during these ages of faith, and healed the misery 
 and supplied the indigence of poor master and poor 
 scholar. These things are of the past ; but they are 
 the welding and cementing elements that have made 
 of the past a strong foundation on which to build 
 up the present and the future. This inculcating of 
 charity and gentleness and unselfishness was the 
 refining and educating factor in mediaeval life. 
 
 ' " Conduite des ficoles Chrctiennes," 1720. Chap, ii., art. 
 i., p. 8. 
 
 ''■ " Dit des Crieries de Paris : " 
 
 Les Bons- Enfans orrez crier: 
 Du painl n'cs veuil pas ()iil)lier." 
 
 ^ " Garirantua," li\'. I., cii. 37.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 225 
 
 But we cannot linger over the interesting little 
 book of Mgr. de Nesmond, We have found it a 
 precious landmark in the history of pedagogy. The 
 author groups and classifies the scholars ; with Peter 
 Fourier, he gives those on the same form the same 
 book ; with Komensky, he appoints officers to hear 
 repetition of catechism, serving at mass, and other 
 memory-lessons, while a class is reading before the 
 master; but he has not conceived the Simultaneous 
 Method. 
 
 IV. 
 
 About 1675, Charles Demia, a zealous and enlight- 
 ened priest, founder of the Brethren of St. Charles, 
 drew up rules for the schools of the city and diocese 
 of Lyons.' They run along the same lines as those 
 of Mgr. de Nesmond. The scholars are divided up 
 into bands according to their capacity. The more 
 advanced pupils taught those less advanced. 
 
 " M. Demia," says Ravelet, "had the intuition of 
 the mutual system of teaching ; at least he appealed 
 to the good will of the older pupils, and established 
 among them dignitaries who aided the master.'"' 
 
 In his general remarks upon reading he lays stress: 
 
 " I. That children of the same band be of the 
 same capacity ; 2. that they have the same book, in 
 the same print, and the same lesson ; 3. that each 
 one follow, holding his finger or marker on the word 
 that is being read." ^ 
 
 1 " Reglements pour les Ecoles de la Ville et Diocese de 
 Lyon." 
 
 2 " Histoire du Venerable J. B. de la Salle, " Ed. 1874, 
 p. 64. 
 
 * Buisson, " Diet, de Pedagogie," Art., Lecture. 
 E. E.-15
 
 226 JSSSAIS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 He further introduced a system which Venerable 
 Caesar du Bus had borrowed from the Jesuits, and 
 had appHed to the free schools that he began to 
 establish in 1592 ; namely, that of public disputation 
 among the pupils on all the branches taught — cate- 
 chism, arithmetic, spelling, politeness, and we are 
 told, even " the method of making mental prayer " 
 — those distinguishing themselves receiving clothes 
 or other necessary articles according to their wants. 
 
 In this manner were earnest educators groping to- 
 wards the light, and out of chaos seeking to make 
 order. But these were the exceptional souls of this 
 period. The large majority ran in the old grooves. 
 Small pay-schools multiplied. Even many of the 
 clergy, especially in country places, kept pay-schools 
 for small boys, as a means of subsistence.' It had been 
 decreed by law that no child should be retained in a 
 private school beyond his ninth year completed.^ But 
 the statutes were ignored or defied. Boys were re- 
 tained years beyond their limitations. Professors 
 were engaged for various branches, and the private 
 elementary school soon grew into an academy rival- 
 ing the university colleges. The university com- 
 plained. Its halls were becoming deserted. We find 
 it bringing action at law against that most active, 
 most domineering, and most combative of Precentors, 
 Claude Joly, for licensing so many boarding-schools. 
 In the course of its argument, the university says: 
 
 " Method-mongers, like searchers after the phi- 
 losopher's stone, have always been in vogue, but it 
 
 ' See Bahcau,"La Ville sous I'Ancien Regime," p. 484. 
 "^ Statutes Henri IV., 1598, Art. 10.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 227 
 
 does not seem that they ever succeed. . . . It is 
 safer and more advantageous to have children pass 
 regularly through the ordinary college classes. It 
 may be longer, but it is surer." ' 
 
 The university here alludes to the charlatanism 
 practiced in many of these private schools. Every 
 professor had his nostrum. Some pretended to be 
 able to teach Latin in three months, and in six to 
 have the student competent to interpret all classical 
 authors." Circulars as flaring as any of our own day 
 were issued, announcing wonderful results and ad- 
 vertising for situations for students who should finish 
 with the master." 
 
 In spite of these strenuous efforts to introduce 
 method into primary education, we still find the old 
 disorderly waj's prevailing. In the latter half of 
 the seventeenth century, a voice in Paris cries out 
 against the inhuman discipline to which young 
 
 1 y Factum pour I'Universite de Paris centre M. le Chantre 
 de I'Eglise Cathedrale et ses Permissionaires tenans iScole a 
 Pensions." Seconde Partie, pp. 22 sqq. (Bibl. do I'Uni- 
 versite. H. F. a. u. 9, 1675-1677). 
 
 ^ Jourdain. " Histoire de I'Universite de Paris," p. 240. 
 This, I dare say, was the foible of Ratich, which must have 
 penetrated the schools of Paris about that time. 
 
 * Here is one snatched from oblivion; " L'orthopraphe 
 fran^oise imprimee de puis peu, a rendu nos petits escoliers si 
 S9avnns dans I'orthoe^raphe, qu'ils sont tout j)rets de coml)attre 
 contre les plus fjrands maistres de cet art, mesme avec party du 
 double contre le simple. Le champ de bataille est ouvcrt a 
 tous venans, et a toute heure. 
 
 "Si quelcun a besoin, pour son service, de petits ^ar^ons 
 tout faits et bien instruits dans le Christianisme, bons lecteurs, 
 ecrivains, et parfaits orthographes, nostre escole luy en four- 
 nira a son choix. 
 
 "C'estdans la rue Bourg-l'Abbe a I'cscole de charitc." 
 Bibliotheque Mazarine. 274 A ^^ in-fol.
 
 228 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 children are subjected in the primary schools. It 
 is still another protest against the old, confusing, 
 roundabout manner of teaching a school full of 
 children one by one. It is the voice of an educator 
 — evidently a layman — of forty years' experience, 
 whose labors, he tells us, were found worthy of the 
 approval of gentlemen of the university, of the 
 Jesuit Fathers, and of the professors of St. Nicholas 
 de Chardonnet. It is a memorial pleading for a 
 school in which to apply the same principles that 
 Komensky, Peter Fourier, Mgr. de Nesmond, and 
 Charles Demia had applied — " proposing to my- 
 self," says the author, " no other end than the 
 glory of my God, and asking no other reward than 
 His mercy." ' The voice comes to us out of a mis- 
 cellaneous collection of pamphlets of the seven- 
 teenth century. The collection is a recent acqui- 
 sition of the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris. 
 
 In the midst of schoolboy exercises, by way of 
 translations from French into Latin, a eulogy upon 
 Henry of Matignon in 1658, an account of the can- 
 onization of Peter of Alcantara in 1671, and other 
 tracts, is found this memorial, well Vv^ritten and 
 clearly reasoned, but without name or date. M. 
 Leopold Delislc, Director of the Library, kindly 
 examined the pamphlet for us, and after carefully 
 considering type, style, and matter, came to the 
 conclusion that it could not be of later date than 
 1680. It certainly must have been prior to 1690, 
 for by that time the method of Blessed de la Salle 
 
 »'*Avis touchant Ics Petites ^coles." V>\\A. Nat., (p. Z. 
 320) p. 6.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 229 
 
 was becoming the admiration of the people and the 
 envy of the schoolmasters of Paris. 
 
 The voice that speaks from the pamphlet has the 
 ring of sincerity. After exposing the diflficulties that 
 beset children ir! their first attempts at learning, the 
 anonymous author justly and considerately asks: 
 
 " Were one designedly to oppose the good of chil- 
 dren, and cause them to consume time uselessly and 
 with great trouble, could one have acted otherwise?" ' 
 
 He sees students classified according to capacity 
 in colleges, and he wonders why no one thinks of 
 applying the same method to the elementary school. 
 
 "Why," he asks, "are these little ones deprived 
 of the light, the beauty, the comfort, and all the ad- 
 vantages that order and grading produce?" " 
 
 He pictures the ease with which a great number 
 might be taught by the method in which " one master, 
 one book, and one voice teach." ^ Farther on, in 
 stating his method, the first principle which he lays 
 down is the principle of the Simultaneous Method. 
 
 "The primary school," he tells us, "should be so 
 disposed that one and the same book, one and the 
 same master, one and the same lesson, one and the 
 same correction, should serve for all, so that each 
 scholar would thereby possess his master wholly and 
 entirely, and occupy all his care, all his time, and all 
 his trouble." ^ 
 
 Still, although the principle is clearly stated, when 
 we remember what these little schools were, and how 
 
 1 "Avis," p. 4. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 13. 
 ^ Ibid., p. 13. 
 ^ Ibid., p. 19.
 
 230 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 they contained all grades of scholars, from those learn- 
 ing their ABC out of their primer decorated with 
 the sign of the Cross/ to those reading in manuscripts, 
 we perceive at a glance the impossibility of carrying 
 out this principle under a single master. The anony- 
 mous author does not get beyond the regulations 
 laid down by Charles Demia and Mgr. de Nesmond. 
 They also speak of one book and one master. 
 
 The voice is the voice of a precursor, feeling 
 acutely the wants and shortcomings of his age in 
 educational matters, but unable to remedy them. 
 He advocates strongly public examinations as a 
 means of exciting emulation.' He considers such 
 examinations a powerful corrective upon both 
 teacher and pupil. He feels the necessity of train- 
 ing teachers before allowing them to assume charge 
 of a school : 
 
 "A shoemaker or blacksmith must learn his 
 trade, but young men without experience, and who 
 are themselves studying, are allowed to try their 
 prentice-hand at the expense of those poor little 
 ones." ^ 
 
 At the very time that this cry is going up in 
 Paris, a saintly priest is quietly evolving the solution 
 to all these problems. In 1 68 1, Blessed John Bap- 
 tist de la Salle had organized the Brothers of the 
 Christian Schools, and had given them the Simul- 
 taneous Method of teaching. What Blessed Peter 
 Fourier touched, what Komensky and Mgr. de 
 
 ^ Hence the name to the child's Primer of that day, Croix 
 de par Dieu;" i. e., de parte Dei. 
 "^ "Avis," p. lo. 
 * Ibid., p. 13.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 231 
 
 Nesmond, and Charles Demia had glimmerings of ; 
 what the anonymous memorialist could nowhere 
 find and thought to realize, had become a fact. 
 
 There is no uncertainty about the language of 
 Blessed de la Salle in regard to the method he would 
 have his disciples follow. It is no longer a single 
 master governing a whole school ; it is two, three, or 
 more, according to the number of pupils ; each tak- 
 ing those of the same capacity, and teaching them 
 altogether. In order to give effect to this method 
 he regulates the duty of the masters in their respect- 
 ive classes: 
 
 "The Brothers shall pay particular attention to 
 three things in the school-room : i. During the les- 
 sons, to correct every word that the scholar who is 
 reading pronounces badly ; 2. to cause all who read 
 in the same lesson to follow therein ; 3, to have 
 silence strictly observed in the school." ' 
 
 The pupils follow in the same lesson ; they ob- 
 serve strict silence ; the master, in correcting one, is 
 correcting all : here is the essence of the Simultane- 
 ous Method. Glancing over the pages of the admir- 
 able manual of school management which Blessed 
 de la Salle prepared, we find scattered through them 
 this principle inspiring all the rules of wisdom and 
 prudence in which the book abounds. In one place 
 we read : " All the scholars in the same lesson shall 
 follow together, without distinction or discernment, 
 according as they shall be notified by the master.'"' 
 
 ^ " Regies Communes des Freres des Ecoles Chretiennes." 
 Translation from the MS. of 1718, signed and authenticated by 
 Brother Bartholomew, Second Superior-General. 
 
 ^ " Conduite des Ecoles Chretiennes." Avignon, 1724. 
 P. i., ch. iii., art. i., sec. i., p. ly.
 
 232 BSSAJ'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 On the page following it is said ; " All the scholars 
 in each lesson shall have the same book and shall be 
 given the same lesson." ' A few pages further on 
 we find the same thing repeated : " All shall have 
 but one lesson, and whilst one spells or reads, all the 
 others shall follow, those who spell and read as well 
 as those only reading.'" Again he generalizes the 
 principle for all the lessons : 
 
 " In all the lessons from alphabet-cards, sylla- 
 baries, and other books, whether French or Latin, 
 and even during arithmetic, while one reads, all the 
 others of the same lesson shall follow; that is, they 
 shall read to themselves from their books without 
 making noise with their lips what the one reading 
 pronounces aloud from his book." ^ 
 
 Note the expressions: zV^ <7/////r /r.yjr(7;/j- . . . all 
 the others . . . sJiall folloiv. The four or six pu- 
 pils of Peter Fourier, or the whole bench of children 
 of Charles Demia and Mgr. Nesmond, following that 
 which one is reading, whilst all the others are occu- 
 pied as best they may, is a far different thing from 
 that of the whole class following in silence the one 
 who reads, whilst the master corrects, or has the 
 pupils to correct, the mistakes that are made. In 
 order to sustain the attention of the pupils, the saintly 
 founder would have him who is called upon to con- 
 tinue not to repeat a word or syllable that has been 
 read.* With truth has Matthew Arnold said, in speak- 
 
 1 Ibid., p. i8. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 33. 
 
 ^ Ibid., p. 120. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 10; .see also p. 120.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 233 
 
 ing of this handbook of methods: " Later works on 
 the same subject have Httle improved the precepts, 
 while they entirely lack the unction." ' 
 
 We might quote pages from this precious hand- 
 book, applying the Simultaneous Method to all the 
 details of school life with a precision and directness 
 that bespeak the master-mind. But it is needless. 
 The method has not only been embedded in a book, 
 it has also been embodied in a living organism, that 
 has preserved its traditions with the greatest fidelity, 
 and that still applies them the world over. Because 
 we all of us have been trained according to this 
 method, and see it practised in nearly all our public 
 and many of our private schools throughout the land, 
 and have ceased to find it a subject of wonder, we 
 may be inclined to undervalue its importance. Not 
 so was it regarded in the days of La Salle. Then a 
 Brothers' School was looked upon with admiration. 
 Strangers were shown it as a curiosity worth visiting. 
 It is thus that two merchants of Marseilles are intro- 
 duced into the Brothers' Schools of Avignon. On 
 their return, so highly did they speak of the "dis- 
 cipline of the schools, the piety of the masters, and 
 the novelty of the method,"^ that they induced their 
 townsmen to establish similar schools, which in their 
 turn also became the admiration of all who witnessed 
 their working.' 
 
 ' " The Popular Education of France," London, 1861, p. 15. 
 
 ^ " Ravelet," p. 369. What especially struck the Marseilles 
 merchants was the manner in which a large number of children 
 was taught altogether and at the same time, with very few words 
 on the part of the masters. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 383.
 
 234 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 This method, as practised by the Brothers to-day, 
 is still the same in principle with that taught by their 
 Blessed Founder. The requirements of the present 
 may have enlarged the course of studies ; the accumu- 
 lated experiences of two centuries may have modified 
 some details and added others; but the broad outlines 
 and working principle have remained unchanged. 
 Speaking of the teaching manual of La Salle, Ravelet 
 says with truth : 
 
 " If we take a recent copy of this little book, and go 
 back from edition to edition up to the first type, not- 
 ing in each what has been suppressed or added, we 
 shall be astonished to find how almost alike the latest 
 one is to that emanating from the founder's hands. 
 The rules are the same; the hints and counsels are 
 the same; the expressions, many of them, are the 
 same. In these latter days more stress is laid upon 
 developing the child's intelligence and making less use 
 of mechanical processes. The minds of our children, 
 having in their present environments an earlier de- 
 velopment than those of children formerly, admit of 
 this amelioration; but withal the principle of the 
 method has not changed. La Salle had at first glance 
 discovered all that should be done, and there re- 
 mained but to follow in the path traced out by his 
 genius." ' 
 
 Not that La Salle did not make a careful study 
 of the schools and methods within his reach, and 
 take from them whatever he found good and useful. 
 His was too practical a mind to do otherwise. We 
 are told in the earliest edition of the school-manual 
 that has come down to us — that of 1 724 — how from 
 
 ^ " Ilistoire clu \'L'in.'ral)lf j. 15. dc la Salle," Kil. 1S74, pp. 
 260, 261.
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 235 
 
 time to time hints and suggestions were adopted, 
 according as the work progressed and the Brothers 
 were gaining experience, and his own observations 
 multiplied. In 1708, he writes to Brother Gabriel 
 Drolin in Rome, asking for information concerning 
 the rules, management, and government of the Piarist 
 schools there established by St. Joseph Calasanzio.' 
 In 1 7 14, we find him stopping over at Lyons for sev- 
 eral days, in order to examine the working of Charles 
 Demia's schools.* 
 
 We take in hand the latest English version of 
 Blessed de La Salle's admirable school-manual. We 
 open it at the fifth chapter, dealing with teaching 
 and method. We there find, within the compass of 
 eight pages, as clear, concise, practical, and efificient 
 a body of rules for teaching with method and draw- 
 ing out the intelligence of the child, as can be found 
 in the whole range of the literature of pedagogy. 
 First, we are told what method is, how it is based 
 upon principles, and therefore not arbitrary ; how 
 these principles "are grounded in the subjects to be 
 imparted, and in the intellect to be taught." Then 
 method in teaching is defined "to consist in the 
 selection, arrangement, and employment of means 
 and processes the most fitting to bring the minds of 
 pupils in certain branches of study to a certain degree 
 of development." ' Already the student of Method- 
 ology has opened up to him. a field of speculation on 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 345. 
 
 ^ Ibid., p. 447. 
 
 ^ " Management of Christian Schools," New York, 1887, 
 P- 31-
 
 236 ESSAJ'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 which volumes have been written and fruitful vol- 
 umes still remain to be written. The practical rules 
 for teaching with method are simply and concisely 
 stated. 
 
 "The master who teaches with method observes 
 the following rules : i. He determines the relative 
 intelligence of every child in his class. 2. He adapts 
 his language and explanations to the general capacity 
 of his class, and is careful never to neglect the duller 
 pupils. 3. He makes sure that the pupils know the 
 meaning of the words they employ. 4. He advances 
 from the simple to the complex, from easy to dififi- 
 cult. 5. He makes it a special point to insist greatly 
 on the elementary part of each subject ; not to ad- 
 vance till the pupils are well grounded on what 
 goes before. ... 9. To state but few principles 
 at a time, but to explain them well. ... 10. To 
 speak much to the eyes of the pupils, making use of 
 the blackboard. . . . ii. To prepare every les- 
 son carefully. 12. To place no faulty models or stand- 
 ards before the pupils ; always to speak to them in 
 a sensible manner, expressing one's self in correct 
 language, good English, and with clearness and pre- 
 cision. 13. To employ none but exact definitions 
 and well-founded divisions. . . . 18. To assert 
 nothing without being positively certain of its truth, 
 especially as regards facts, definitions, or principles. 
 19. To make frequent use of the system of question 
 and answer." ' 
 
 Then come twenty rules laid down concerning the 
 mode of putting questions and receiving answers: 
 
 " Every question should be clear, brief, special, 
 and adapted to the capacity of the pupils. . . . 
 Questions should generally begin according to a 
 
 ' "Management of Christian Schools," chap, v., art. ii., 
 PP- 31-33-
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 237 
 
 certain order, so as to retain the connection of all 
 the parts, and lead up to the proper development 
 of the lesson ; in recapitulations, however, this rule 
 might be profitably departed from. . . . The 
 pupils should be taught not to answer too hastily, 
 but to reflect first on the question put to them. . . . 
 When the master gives an answer it should possess 
 the following qualities : it should be brief ; it should 
 be clear and exact ; it should be adapted to the capac- 
 ity of the average, and even of the most deficient 
 pupil ; it should express a complete meaning, inde- 
 pendently of the question." ' 
 
 The rules that we have omitted from these 
 extracts are no less to the point. They all bespeak 
 the same practical good sense. They reveal an 
 intimate knowledge of boy-nature. Written to 
 cover the requirements of men engaged in elemen- 
 tary teaching, the rules of this school-manual stand 
 for all time, and are equally applicable to the teach- 
 ing of higher studies. They are the same rules by 
 which Blessed de la Salle prepared the sons of the 
 noblemen who followed James II. to France for 
 positions of trust in the land of their exile. They 
 are the principles by which, under his supervision, 
 his disciples made the boarding-school of St. Yon the 
 most successful and advanced polytechnic school 
 of its day. They are the principles with which 
 he indoctrinated the young teachers he sent forth 
 from the normal schools which he had established. 
 They prevail to-day in the workshops of St. 
 Nicholas at Paris, and in those of the Catholic Pro- 
 tectory of New York ; in the chemical laboratory 
 1 "Management of Christian Schools," chap, v.. Art. iv., 
 PP- 35-38.
 
 238 ESSArs educational. 
 
 of the Brothers' house at Passy, and in the science 
 room of their college at Tooting ; in their language 
 courses at Cairo, and in their literary and philo- 
 sophic courses at Manhattan. They prev-ail, above 
 all, in the innumerable parish schools that the 
 Brothers conduct the world over. They prevail in 
 all the class-rooms of all the lay religious teaching 
 orders of men and women, who have now more or 
 less modeled their methods upon that of Blessed 
 de la Salle. 
 
 They have become the principles which, I doubt 
 not, are daily inculcated in this hall, and on which 
 all sound teaching is conducted at the present day. 
 
 The Church, in crowning him Blessed, has most 
 fittingly given to popular education a patron. He 
 is the benefactor of the modern schoolmaster. He 
 it was who raised primary teaching out of the ruts 
 of never-ending routine, carried on in the midst of 
 time-honored noise and confusion, and, in giving it 
 principles and a method, made of it a science. He 
 hedged in the dignity of the schoolmaster. He was 
 the first to assert the exclusive right of the master to 
 devote his whole time to his school-work. Prior to 
 him, teachers, if clerics, were ecclesiastics with a 
 varying round of parish-duties to perform likewise, 
 or were students making their own studies for the 
 priesthood ; if laymen, they sang at the public 
 offices of the church, rang the bells and performed 
 the functions of sacristan. Not that such functions 
 were at all considered as degrading. On the con- 
 trary, in those ages of faith it was thought an honor 
 to serve in the house of God in any the most menial
 
 THE SIMULTANEOUS METHOD. 239 
 
 capacity.' Here was the usual formula of agree- 
 ment to which the teacher subscribed : 
 
 " The aforesaid Gaillardet promises to teach read- 
 ing, writing, ciphering, and plain-chant. . . . He 
 also obligates himself to ring the priory bells when 
 storms, tempests, or hail-showers threaten, and to 
 sing in the said priory during Advent and Lent."* 
 
 These terms sound strange to modern ears; but 
 they bring us nearer to, and throw light upon, other 
 times and other customs. The outside services were 
 distracting. They left little or no time for prepara- 
 tion of lessons. Blessed de la Salle, through much op- 
 position and no small persecution on account thereof, 
 withdrew the Brothers from all such distractions. He 
 brought home to them that their calling was one 
 worthy of their whole energy and their undivided 
 attention. "The new institute set out with this 
 thought, that teaching is less a career or instrument 
 of fortune, than that it is the most elevated expres- 
 sion of the spirit of sacrifice and devotedness." ' Nor 
 is this all. 
 
 La Salle broke down the barriers of exclusiveness 
 that confined the schoolmaster to certain subjects, 
 beyond which he dare not go, to the detriment of 
 poor children. Thus, a decree of i66i forbade the 
 teachers of elementary schools to instruct theirpupils 
 in writing beyond the merest elements, without a 
 
 ' Alain, " L'Instruction Primaire avant la Revolution," p. 
 132. 
 
 ^ L. Magc;iolo, Art., Bourgogne, in Buisson's " Diction- 
 naire de Pedagogie." 
 
 ^ De Charmasse, "L'Instruction Primaire dans I'Ancien 
 Diocese d'Autun," p. 41.
 
 240 ESSAIS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 writingmaster's license; while on the other hand 
 writingmasters were also restricted in their subjects.* 
 By ignoring these distinctions, introducing the mod- 
 ern, simple, and more efficient method of writing, 
 and enlarging the whole course of popular instruc- 
 tion, Blessed de la Salle drew upon himself and his 
 disciples the enmity of the writingmasters, and eman- 
 cipated the youth of France from their thraldom. 
 Still more: in making, for the first time in the history 
 of education, the mother-tongue the basis of all in- 
 struction, he appealed to the intelligence of the child, 
 prepared the way for the study of national literature, 
 and opened up to the grown man avenues of knowl- 
 edge and amusement that had hitherto been encum- 
 bered with rubbish. His was the merit of the pioneer. 
 And if to-day the artisan and the workingman, the 
 world over, can read and write and discuss intelli- 
 gently all the political and social issues of the hour, 
 they owe it in great measure to the method of teach- 
 ing completed and perfected by Blessed de la Salle and 
 his disciples, the Brothers of the Christian Schools. 
 ''■ Ch. Jourdain, " Histoire de I'Universite de Paris," p. 215.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE N0RMA12 
 SGHOOli 
 
 E. E.—16 (241)
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE NORMAL SCHOOL.' 
 
 I. 
 
 SOR more than half a century Dr. Henry Bar- 
 ^ nard has been active in sowing broadcast the 
 seeds of educational wisdom. " Declining numerous 
 calls," says a friend and admirer, " to high and lucra- 
 tive posts of local importance and influence, he has 
 accepted the whole country as the theatre of his op- 
 erations, w^ithout regard to State lines, and by the 
 extent, variety and comprehensiveness of his efforts, 
 he has earned the title of the American Educator.'"' 
 He went abroad and studied the educational sys- 
 tems and the educational methods of the various 
 countries of Europe, and returned laden with the 
 experiences of the older civilization. He explained 
 to his countrymen what was being done for all grades 
 of education in France and Germany, in Italy and 
 Austria and Switzerland, and England and Ireland; 
 he brought home valuable documents giving facts 
 and figures and suggesting improvements in methods. 
 Nor did he confine his observations to state institu- 
 tions. He also sat on the benches of the schools 
 conducted by the Jesuits and the Christian Broth- 
 
 ^ " Normal Schools, and other Institutions, Agencies, and 
 Means designed for the Professional Education of Teachers." 
 By Henry Barnard, Hartford. 
 
 ^ John W, Stedman in the Mussaclniscfts Teacher, Janu- 
 ary, 1858. 
 
 (243)
 
 244 ESSATS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 ers, and found much to admire in their educational 
 methods, and without prejudice revealed the secrets 
 of their great success. He went back to the educa- 
 tional traditions of the early Christian schools, and 
 feared not to speak the truth, so far as he knew it, 
 concerning the efforts of the Catholic Church to pre- 
 serve learning and maintain schools during the ages 
 of violence through which she was striving to civilize 
 the barbarians who overran Europe. Pamphlet after 
 pamphlet and volume after volume has he issued, 
 embodying the past and the present of educational 
 reformers and educational schemes, for the study 
 and reflection of American teachers. This was a 
 noble work, and nobly and well, according to his 
 lights, did Dr. Henry Barnard perform it. All edu- 
 cators, knowing the man and his work, knowing the 
 devotedness and the singleness of purpose with 
 which he labored during the past fifty years, will 
 agree that he is worthy of any recognition, no mat- 
 ter how emphatic. 
 
 The present volume on Normal Schools occupies 
 659 closely printed pages. It makes a survey of the 
 workings of teachers' seminaries in Europe and the 
 United States, and gives a rapid historical sketch of 
 their establishment in various countries. We in 
 America borrowed our conception of the normal 
 school from Germany, but the idea was conceived 
 long before Germany had begun to make it a reality. 
 As Dr. Barnard has not traced the origin and growth 
 of the professional school for teachers, it may be of 
 interest to do so and afterwards dwell upon the scope 
 and function of such an institution.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF NORMAL SCHOOL. 245 
 
 II. 
 
 To every thoughtful teacher, in every age and 
 clime, there must have frequently occurred the all- 
 important question, " How can I best convey instruc- 
 tion to my pupils?" And every successful te^icher, 
 after much experimenting and overcoming many dififi- 
 culties, has managed to hit upon the method best 
 suited to his talent and temperament on the one 
 hand, and on the other to the capacities of the chil- 
 dren under his charge. With religious orders, from 
 the days of St. Benedict to the present time, teach- 
 ing has held an important place, and educational tra- 
 ditions embodying the combined experiences of sev- 
 eral successful members were handed down from gen- 
 eration to generation, and acted upon and developed 
 to a certain extent. 
 
 A century after the time of St. Benedict we find 
 the Benedictine Common Rule insisting that the 
 master who instructs the young religious shall be 
 skilful.' Alcuin did much in his day to simplify in- 
 struction ; on one occasion we come upon him giving 
 the Archbishop of York a leaf out of his experience 
 as regards the best method of dividing and grading 
 the classes of a school. Later on, educational tradi- 
 tions are carefully cherished by the Brothers of the 
 Common Life. Both John Sturm and the Jesuits 
 learned from them many points in their systems of 
 instruction. It is amusing to hear Sturm, forgetting 
 
 1 Cap. i. SeeMabillon," Etudes Monastiques,'' Paris, 1691, 
 p. 47.
 
 246 ESS ATS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 the common source, speak of the method of the Jesuits 
 as "a method so nearly hke ours that it appears as 
 if they had copied from us." ' Now, while we would 
 not detract one iota from the merits of Sturm as an 
 organizer and educator, we must confess that we look 
 upon the Jesuits as the legitimate depositaries of the 
 traditions in which Thomas a Kempis was educated, 
 for they were preservers of the faith that inspired 
 "The Imitation," while Sturm was organizing an ad- 
 verse force to destroy that faith. 
 
 Before the close of the sixteenth century the 
 Blessed Peter Fourier of Mattaincourt, who possessed 
 advanced ideas upon every subject to which he gave 
 thought, prepared an admirable school-manual for the 
 Congregation of Notre Dame, which sisterhood he 
 had organized. Alain, speaking of primary educa- 
 tion in France during the two centuries preceding the 
 Revolution, says : " In reality, the first normal schools 
 were the novitiates of the teaching orders established 
 during the last two centuries."* But these methods 
 and traditions did not become public property ; they 
 were confined exclusively to the members of the re- 
 ligious orders possessing them. Lay teachers had no 
 share in them beyond the glimpses they got when re- 
 ceiving instruction as children. Lord Bacon saw the 
 necessity of proper methods of teaching in his day, 
 and wrote: "The art of well delivering the knowl- 
 edge we possess is among the secrets left to be dis- 
 covered by future generations." 
 
 ^ Barnard, "Education in Germany," p. 233. 
 " " L'Instruction Primaire en France avant la Revolution," 
 p. 129.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF NORMAL SCHOOL. 247 
 
 When we undertake to seek in our educational 
 literature the origin of the normal school we are met 
 with vagueness and absence of documents. We turn 
 to Buisson's " Dictionnaire de I'Education." This is 
 on the whole a valuable work. Many of the articles 
 are solid and trustworthy. Many also are mere rub- 
 bish. M. Buisson and some of his co-laborers have 
 their intellectual vision limited by the Revolution ; 
 and so we are told in all seriousness that, in France, 
 " this generous thought is due to the National Con- 
 vention. . . , The history of normal schools dates 
 from the year iii."(i795).' The school established 
 by the Convention was most abnormal. The ablest 
 men in France were installed as professors — that is, 
 such as had escaped the guillotine. But these men 
 had not the least conception of their duties. Lap- 
 lace and Lagrange gave a few lessons in elementary 
 mathematics, and then started off explaining to a 
 bewildered class their most recent mathematical dis- 
 coveries. The Abbe Sicard was named professor of 
 grammar; but he was content to interest his class in 
 the methods by which he taught his deaf mutes. 
 Laharpe made literature the cloak with which to 
 cover his political disquisitions against the Jacobins. 
 And so on with the others. The young men learned 
 anything and everything except methods of teach- 
 ing. The courses have been published, and they are 
 a standing monument to the inefficiency of the work 
 done. Within a few months the school was closed. 
 The Convention, judging from the failure, could not 
 
 1 T. ii.,p. 2,05s.
 
 248 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 appreciate the value of such an institution, and voted 
 against the escablishment of normal schools in each 
 district as chimerical. Fifty years before this vote 
 was taken Hecker had demonstrated the success of 
 normal schools in Stettin and in Berlin. But the first 
 conception of the normal school of which we have 
 any record dates one hundred and fifty years back 
 of the foundation of Hccker's institution. 
 
 III. 
 
 This conception originated with Richard Mul- 
 caster. Mulcaster was for twenty years head-master 
 of the Merchant Taylor's School, an experienced 
 teacher, and a severe disciplinarian, to whom Fuller 
 bears this testimony: "It may be truly said (and 
 safely from one out of his school) that others have 
 taught as much learning with fewer lashes." ' He 
 was favorably looked upon by Queen Elizabeth — his 
 boys played twice before her — and was good-naturedly 
 bantered by Shakespeare.^ 
 
 Edmund Spenser was under him, and imbibed 
 some of his enthusiasm for English literature. Now, 
 in 1 581, Mulcaster published a valuable work on edu- 
 cation, known as *' Positions," ^ in which, through 
 much clumsiness of diction and no small share of 
 
 1 "Worthies," vol. ii., p. 431. 
 
 ^ "I protest the schoohnaster is exceeding fantastical; too 
 too vain; too too vain." — Love's Labor Lost, act v., so. i. 
 
 ^ The full title is: "Positions wherein those primitive cir- 
 cumstances be examined, which are necessary for the training 
 up of children, either for skill in their booke, or health in their 
 bodie." 1581. A facsimile edition of this volume was reproduced 
 by Mr. R. H. Qiiick in 1887. It is from this edition we quote.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF NORMAL SCHOOL. 249 
 
 pedantry, abound many wise suggestions. Among 
 others does he suggest in his own awkward manner, 
 and with apology as though he were too bold in his 
 views, that a way might be found for the establish- 
 ment of a seminary for excellent masters, either with- 
 out or within the universities. He throws the hint 
 out with the hope that the more it is thought of the 
 better it will be liked.' The suggestion was beyond 
 the reach of the educators of his day and generation. 
 All the more credit be his for having conceived and 
 expressed it. 
 
 The next allusion made to such an institution oc- 
 curs in the annals of the University of Paris. At 
 the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV. there was 
 found to be a great lack of competent professors for 
 the large number of colleges then existing in Paris. 
 And so we are told that in October of the year 1645 
 the rector, Doumoustier, " occupied with the best 
 means of encouraging vocations for professorships. 
 
 ' We here give this remarkable passage hi all its quaintness 
 of expression : " There were a way in the nature of a seminary 
 for excellent masters in my conceit, if reward were abroad, and 
 such an order might be had within the university : which I must 
 touch with licence and for touching crave pardon, if it be not 
 well thought of, as I know it will seem strange at the first, be- 
 cause of some difficulty in performing the devise. And yet 
 there had never been any alteration to the better, if the name 
 of alteration had been the object to repulse. This my note but 
 by the way, though it presently perhaps do make some men 
 muse, yet hereafter, upon better consideration, it may prove 
 very familiar to some good fantasies, and be exceeding well 
 liked of, both by my masters of the universities themselves and by 
 their masters abroad. Whereby not only schoolmasters, but all 
 other professors also shall be made excellently able to perform 
 that in the commonweal which she looketh for at their hands 
 when they come from the university. ' — " Positions," pp. 236, 
 237-
 
 250 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 proposed to raise at the expense of the university a 
 certain number of poor and promising children, who 
 might afterwards become regents or professors." ' But 
 the suggestion remained fruitless. Doumoustier's 
 was a voice crying in the wilderness. Forty-odd 
 years later another voice is raised, this time in the 
 shape of a petition to Louis XIV., coming from M. 
 de Chennevieres, who styles himself "a priest serving 
 the poor — prcstre servant Ics pauvresy In a rather 
 prolix style this zealous priest advocates the estab- 
 lishment of what he calls seminaries for schoolmasters 
 and schoolmistresses in every diocese of France, for 
 the good of religion and the benefit of the state.* 
 The memorial bears no date, but there is internal evi- 
 dence that it was written after the revocation of the 
 Edict of Nantes. It remained unheeded. 
 
 But when this good priest was indicting his 
 memorial the experiment had already been made. 
 Shortly after Blessed de la Salle had organized the 
 Brotherhood of the Christian Schools, the fame of 
 the schools taught by them in Rheims spread far 
 and wide. Their wonderful method of teaching 
 was the subject of loud encomiums. Several of tlie 
 clergy in the towns and hamlets applied for a single 
 Brother to take charge of their schools. This could 
 not be, as the founder had established the rule that 
 not less than two Brothers teach in any school. Ac- 
 cordingly, he offered to open, under the title of a 
 
 ^ Jourdain, " Histoire de I'Universite de Paris," p. 157. 
 Qi,iintane records the original Archlv. M. Reg. xvii., fol. 361. 
 This MS. is now to be found in the Library of the Arsenal, 
 Paris. 
 
 * Alain, loc. cit., p. 128.
 
 BEGrNNTNGS OF NORMAL SCHOOL. 251 
 
 seminary for schoolmasters, an mstitution in which 
 young men would be trained in the principles and 
 practices of the new method of teaching. The school 
 was opened in 1684. The clergy sent thither intel- 
 ligent and virtuous young men, and Blessed de la 
 Salle soon reckoned twenty-five under his direction.' 
 This was the first normal school ever established. 
 
 About the same time the Due de Mazarin, nephew 
 of the great cardinal, having consulted Blessed de la 
 Salle in regard to carrying out the pious intentions 
 of his uncle, was advised by the servant of God to 
 found a normal school similar to the one then estab- 
 lished in Rheims, for the training of teachers for 
 every town and hamlet upon his vast estates. The 
 duke had visited the Brothers' schools, had admired 
 their methods, and hastened to meet the wishes of 
 Blessed de la Salle. Accordingly, in a deed of con- 
 tract testified to before the notary at Rethel, we find 
 the duke agree to endow seventeen burses in per- 
 petuity for young men " destined to be instructed 
 in the true maxims of Christian pedagogy, as also 
 to read, write and sing well, in order that they may 
 afterwards teach the youth throughout the burghs, 
 villages and hamlets in the Duchy of Mazarin."^ 
 The school was to be directed by two competent 
 Brothers deputed for the purpose by " the aforesaid 
 Sieur de la Salle." ' 
 
 ' " Conduite admirable de Providence envers le Venerable 
 J. B. de la Salle." MS. in Archives of the Regime, Paris. 
 
 ^ Minutes de Me. Mistris, notaire a Rethel. 
 
 3 Minutes de Maitre Aubert, notaire a Renwiz, chef-lieu de 
 canton (Ardennes). See " Vie du Venerable de la Salle," par 
 F. Lucard, t. i.,p. 75.
 
 252 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 This was a certainly noble work, and nobly and 
 generously was it begun. But it was considered so 
 new-fangled a notion, so great a departure from the 
 old ways, so impracticable and unfruitful in its re- 
 sults, that it aroused opposition where opposition 
 should have been least expected. Monseigneur Lc- 
 tellier, the bishop of Rheims, refused to sanction 
 the work. When La Salle and the duke submitted 
 to him their articles of agreement and asked his ap- 
 proval, the good bishop looked at them amazed, and 
 gave vent to his feelings on the subject in memorable 
 words, which history has preserved : "And so you 
 are two fools — Vous etes done deux fotis !" Other 
 influences were brought to bear upon Mazarin ; they 
 prejudiced him against the scheme, and for a time 
 his ardor cooled. The articles of agreement were 
 annulled. But his better judgment again prevailed ; 
 again he sought La Salle. His vast territory ex- 
 tended beyond the jurisdiction of Monseigneur 
 Letellier. The marquisate of Montcornet, also 
 Mazarin's, was in the bishopric of Laon, and the 
 bishop was a friend of both the noble lord and the 
 eminent educator. He entered warmly into their 
 project of establishing a normal school, and gave 
 them sympathy and encouragement in the under- 
 taking. Thereupon new articles of agreement were 
 drawn up. The territory not being so extensive, 
 the number of burses was reduced. The docu- 
 ment goes over the same" ground as the one 
 previously annulled, and bears the date of Sep- 
 tember 22, 1685. We learn from it, furthermore, 
 that La Salle solicited letters-patent for the es-
 
 BEGINNINGS OF NORMAL SCHOOL, 253 
 
 tablishment in Rheims " as well as for the normal 
 school." ' 
 
 Nor were these La Salle's only efforts to estab- 
 lish normal schools. In 1699 he opened one in Paris, 
 in the faubourg St. Marcel. This had attached to 
 it a poor school, in which the young masters were 
 exercised in the practice of teaching under the guid- 
 ance of an experienced Brother. In 1708, he opened 
 another at St. Denis, which was the admiration of 
 Cardinal de Noailles, deeply interested Madame de 
 Maintenon, and caused Louis XIV. to grant the 
 house, as a personal favor, exemption from having 
 soldiers billeted upon it.* 
 
 The course of studies in these institutions included 
 simply the branches taught in the elementary schools 
 for which the teachers were preparing. When, in 1851, 
 the government of France established primary normal 
 schools throughout the kingdom, it laid down prac- 
 tically the same course. Here are both programmes : 
 
 1851. 
 
 Moral and religious instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 Reading. 
 
 Penmanship. 
 
 Elements of the French lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Arithmetic, including legal 
 system of weights and meas- 
 ures. 
 
 Religious music. 
 
 N. B. — In 1865, geography and 
 the history of France were 
 made obligatory in this course. 
 
 1 M. Lepine. "Monographic du Marquisat de Montcor- 
 net." See " Vie du Venerable J. B. de la Salle," par F. Lu- 
 card, 1874, ^pp. 41-46. See also "Annales de Tlnstitut des 
 Freres des Ecoles Chretiennes, t. i., pp. 32-40. 
 
 " '* Annales," t. i., p. 243. 
 
 1684. 
 
 Catechism. 
 
 Reading of printed matter. 
 
 Reading of manuscripts. 
 
 Penmanship. 
 
 Grammar and orthography of 
 the French language. 
 
 Arithmetic, including the sys- 
 tem of weights and measures 
 then in use. 
 
 Plain chant.
 
 254 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Under the guidance of the saintly La Salle the 
 young men possessed an advantage which the state 
 schools could not supply. Their spiritual life was 
 cultivated by prayer, meditation, spiritual reading, and 
 daily conferences. The result was in keeping with the 
 training. The rector of the Seminary of St. Nicholas 
 du Chardonnet bears witness to the merits of four 
 young men who had been trained for his schools: 
 
 "They went forth," he says, "so zealous and so 
 well formed, that if the clergy with whom they were 
 placed had cultivated the good dispositions with 
 which they were animated, they might have estab- 
 lished one of the most useful communities in the 
 province. Both myself and my country are under 
 never-ending obligations to M. de la Salle."' 
 
 Such, in brief, is the story of the establishment of 
 the first normal schools. That which Mulcaster tim- 
 idly alluded to one hundred years before, Blessed 
 John Baptist de la Salle made a living reality. Withal 
 the work of the great educator did not survive. It 
 was the seed sown upon parched earth. It sprang 
 up, soon to be nipped. In the meantime, the neces- 
 sity of preparing teachers for their profession is 
 dawning upon men's minds. As early as 1687 Des 
 Roches established a normal school in Brussels. 
 
 Hermann August Francke, an educator whose 
 name should ever be held in benediction, in 1697 or- 
 ganized at Halle a teachers' class, composed of poor 
 students who assisted him in return for their board 
 and lodging. From this class, in 1704, he selected 
 twelve pupils who gave evidence of " the right basis 
 
 1 " Vie de M. J. B. de la Salic," 1733, t. ii., p. 179.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF NORMAL SCHOOL. 255 
 
 of piety, knowledge, and aptness to teach." These 
 he constituted his Seminarium PrcBccptorum. Their 
 course of training ran through two years, and so 
 great was his success in forming them hundreds 
 flocked from all parts to witness and to study his 
 methods. 
 
 In 1698, Frederick II., Duke of Saxe-Gotha, de- 
 creed that ten of the most experienced teachers in his 
 duchy should assemble promising youths in their 
 houses in order to initiate them into proper methods 
 of teaching. The father of the normal school in 
 Prussia was the eminent educator, Johannes Hecker. 
 A disciple of Francke's, thoroughly imbued with his 
 spirit, he was no less devoted as an educator. He es- 
 tablished his first normal school at Stettin in 1735. 
 
 In 1748, Frederick the Great called him to Berlin, 
 where he established another, and organized the 
 schools of the city upon such a footing that they be- 
 came the admiration of all Europe. The necessity of 
 the normal school is again being felt in France ; and 
 so we find Madame Guillard, a wealthy lady of Dun- 
 kirk, give in 1753 " eight thousand livres to the com- 
 mune of Saint Waast, Pas-de-Calais, for the purpose 
 of founding a novitiate in which might be formed 
 good schoolmasters, whom the boys so sadly need.*" 
 
 The idea spreads. It takes root in Hanover in 
 1757; it becomes transplanted in Brandenburg in 
 1767. Bishop Felbiger is deeply interested in the 
 problem of education. While still a young priest, he 
 hears of the wonders wrought by Hecker in Berlin. 
 
 ^ " Societe des Antiquaires de la Morinie," t. ix., separtie, 
 p. 28.
 
 256 ESSATS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 He visits the Prussian capital in order to see for 
 himself; he sees and is rejoiced ; he finds description 
 to fall short of the reality ; and forthwith the Cath- 
 olic priest sits at the feet of the Protestant educator 
 and learns his methods. In this manner was ce- 
 mented a life-long friendship between kindred souls. 
 He returns to Sagan, and with renewed energy con- 
 tinues the work of regenerating his schools till they 
 become models. 
 
 In 1764 the Royal Board at Breslau, under his ad- 
 visement, decreed the establishment of normal schools 
 in each province, to defray the expenses of which 
 every newly-appointed pastor should pay the first 
 quarter of his revenue ; and furthermore, that every 
 newly-ordained priest qualify himself in a normal 
 school so as to be able to direct and counsel the 
 teachers of his parish ; and till such time as the nor- 
 mal schools are established that he repair to Sagan 
 to familiarize himself with the reformed method as 
 introduced by Felbiger. 
 
 So great was the bishop's reputation as an edu- 
 cator, he was called to Austria by Maria Theresa with 
 the view of reforming the school system of the em- 
 pire. In 1770, he organized a normal school in Vi- 
 enna, with a special course of lectures and practice 
 for teachers, extending over four months. When re- 
 called to his native land, he had left the schools of 
 Austria in a flourishing condition and with a uni- 
 form method — the Simultaneous Method of Blessed 
 John Baptist de la Salle. 
 
 Thus it was that, two centuries from the first sug- 
 gestion of the normal school — one hundred years after
 
 BEGINNINGS OF NORMAL SCHOOL. 257 
 
 the first of its kind had become a reality — this insti- 
 tution came to be regarded, especially among the Ger- 
 man-speaking nations, an essential factor in the work 
 of education. Teaching was placed on a footing with 
 other professions requiring a course of preparation. 
 To-day, throughout the whole civilized world, the 
 normal school is of primary importance. There are 
 one hundred and fifty of them in the United States. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The Rt. Rev. Bishop Spalding has recently advo- 
 cated the estabhshment of Catholic normal schools 
 among us.' It is a want that must be supplied in the 
 near future. He who so successfully sounded the 
 necessity of a Catholic university and labored so ar- 
 duously to see it become a reality, cannot bring his 
 graceful pen or his eloquent voice to bear upon this 
 greater want without evoking enthusiasm and coop- 
 eration in the work. It is only normal schools can 
 give our Catholic teachers the standing and the apt- 
 itude for their profession that will insure them com- 
 plete success. Handicapped, as they are, in so many 
 ways, they need all the encouragement that can be 
 held out to them to enable them to persevere in their 
 noble though ill-paid and greatly slighted profession. 
 
 The day cannot be far distant when every bishop 
 will consider a normal school as essential an institu- 
 tion in his diocese as a seminary for the priesthood. 
 Without a special training in the science of educa- 
 tion, our young men and our young women can rarely 
 
 1 T/ie Catholic World, April, 1890. Art., Normal Schools 
 for Catholics. 
 E. E.— 17
 
 258 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 become efficient teachers. From the lack of this 
 training great injustice is done to our children. You 
 will not let a carpenter attend to your plumbing, or 
 a blacksmith mend your watch, but you will allow an 
 inexperienced teacher, with no knowledge of method 
 in his teaching, with no clear idea of what a teacher's 
 duties are, with no conception of the onerous charge 
 he assumes, to tinker with the intellect and character 
 of your child. You may remedy the damage done 
 by the unskillful artisan, but what human power can 
 undo the injuries inflicted by an ignorant or incom- 
 petent teacher? 
 
 Now, one of the most efficient means of guarding 
 against this disaster is the normal school. There the 
 young teacher will learn how to prepare and how to 
 impart his lessons with method ; how to pass from 
 the simple to the complex, from the easy to the dif- 
 ficult ; how to review subject-matters till they are 
 well known and clearly understood; how to awaken and 
 direct the spirit of observation ; how to put questions 
 that will cause the pupil to think. There he will be 
 initiated into the psychology of education ; he will an- 
 alyze the faculties of the soul ; he will learn how 
 each may best be cultivated, and what subjects are 
 best suited to strengthen and develop each without 
 destroying any of the others ; he will learn how to 
 exercise and improve the memory, how to exercise 
 and improve the judgment and reason, how to exer- 
 cise and improve taste and sentiment — in a word, 
 every sense and every faculty. He will learn how to 
 combine the various groups and orders of studies so 
 as to produce the maximum result with minimum
 
 BEGINNINGS OF NORMAL SCHOOL. 259 
 
 labor to himself and his pupils. He will learn how 
 to economize mental force and energy, how to keep 
 the child's brain in a state never idle and never fa- 
 tigued ; he will learn the limitations beyond which 
 a strain should not be placed upon the youthful mind. 
 Then he will learn the discipline belonging to the 
 class-room ; order, punctuality, cleanliness, carrying 
 out the daily regulation with the greatest exactitude, 
 and other such details as constitute an essential part 
 of education. Therein he will study character and 
 how to build it up ; how to take the various disposi- 
 tions of children ; when to be gentle, when severe, 
 and how to be always firm and uniform and impartial 
 towards his whole class. 
 
 Much of this a clever young man or woman can 
 acquire after some years' experience in the school- 
 room, by closely observing and following the meth- 
 ods of older teachers ; but while the clever young 
 man and clever young woman are gaining the experi- 
 ence, what is becoming of the generations of children 
 passing under them ? Have we ever reckoned the 
 terrible expense at which that experience has been 
 acquired ? Have we counted the lives wrecked be- 
 cause the youthful character was ill-understood ; the 
 numbers who abandoned school with a distaste for 
 books and learning which accompanied them through 
 long years, because teachers did not take the pains, 
 or did not know how, to place before them in a clear 
 and attractive manner the first principles of knowl- 
 edge, and they were obliged to stumble through their 
 lessons with scarcely a single ray of intelligence to 
 light up their befogged minds ; the numbers who
 
 260 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 contracted physical diseases because their teachers 
 knew not how to regulate the air or the temperature of 
 the class-room, or allowed the little chests of younger 
 children to become permanently contracted from 
 stooping over desks or keeping arms folded all day 
 long — have we ever scanned this awful record ? Val- 
 uable experience this of your untrained teachers ! 
 But calculate the holocaust, and then say if normal 
 schools are or are not a pressing want.
 
 M. GABRIEL eeWPAYRE AS AN 
 HISTORIAN OF PEBAGOGY 
 
 (261)
 
 M. GABRIEL COMPAYRE AS AN HISTO- 
 RIAN OF PEDAGOGY/ 
 
 I. 
 M GABRIEL COMPAYRE seems to have given 
 ^ ^' much attention to the subject of pedagogy. 
 He has come to be a recognized authority, even 
 amongst those who do not agree with his views, 
 upon all matters pertaining to education. He has a 
 happy manner of putting things. He writes well. In 
 1876, he gave out in two volumes a book detailing the 
 doctrines and theories of pedagogy — that is, such 
 doctrines and such theories as it suited him to weave 
 out of the original materials — from the sixteenth cen- 
 tury down to the present time. The work was writ- 
 ten with an air of judiciousness that won the approval 
 of the French Academy. M. Greard reported upon it 
 favorably and enthusiastically, and it was crowned. 
 But the judiciousness was only assumed. The small 
 
 ^ American Ecclesiastical Rex'ic-v. 
 
 "Histoire Critique des Doctrines de TJEducation en 
 France." Par Gabriel Compayre. 2 vols. Paris, 1879. 
 
 "The History of Pedagogy," by Gabriel Compayre. Trans- 
 lated, with an introduction, notes, and an index, by W. H. 
 Payne. Boston, 1886, 
 
 " Les Jesuites Instituteurs de la Jeunesse." Par Pere 
 Charles Daniel, S. J., 1880. 
 
 "Lehrbuch der Geschichte der Pedagogik." A. Stockl. 
 Mainz, 1870. 
 
 (263)
 
 264 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 meed of praise sparingly doled out to any man or 
 woman, system, or institution knowingly Christian, 
 was wrung from the author because he was conscious 
 that among his judges were men truly learned and 
 truly critical, who could not be imposed upon by 
 grossly palpable misstatements. Withal, palpable 
 misstatements abound. 
 
 The volume which Mr. W. H. Payne has trans- 
 lated is a later work, and certainly no improvement 
 upon the larger and earlier one. It is simply a con- 
 densation of all the bile and virulence and hatred for 
 everything Catholic therein, but ill concealed beneath 
 a tone of philosophic moderation. It is the expres- 
 sion of extreme partisanship adapted to the audience 
 for which it was prepared. No longer speaking to a 
 dignified body of learned academicians, but address- 
 ing students who are taught to hate clericalism in all 
 its forms ; who are in training to profit by the laici- 
 zation of the schools of France, and supplant relig- 
 ious teachers throughout the land ; who are disposed 
 to swallow any calumny that may be administered to 
 them, and who are still too young and too ignorant 
 to unravel the sophistries into which the true and the 
 false are woven, M. Compayre excels himself in art- 
 ful misrepresentation. His book is superficial, un- 
 truthful to history, and shamefully misleading. It is 
 unfortunate that Professor Payne did not translate 
 some other manual for students. It is even damag- 
 ing to his reputation as a professor of pedagogy that 
 he should have found the book, in aught save the 
 mere technical form, an ideal book. " It represents 
 to my mind," he says, " very nearly the ideal of the
 
 COM PA TRE' S HIS TOR T OF FED A GOG2\ 265 
 
 treatise that is needed by the teaching profession of 
 this country." ' Professor Payne has done the teach- 
 ing profession of America a great wrong in placing 
 in their hands such a tissue of misrepresentation, be 
 it ever so gracefully woven. The teaching profession 
 need not thank him for the boon. A glance at the 
 spirit animating the book will make this clear. 
 
 To begin with : M. Compayr^ is unfair in his 
 mode of presentation. When he would belittle, he 
 closes his eyes to every merit ; he accumulates iso- 
 lated instances and calls them the rule ; he unearths 
 usages dead and buried, and blames those of the pres- 
 ent for them ; he rakes up a scandal here, a tid-bit of 
 gossip there, a random assertion in another place, and 
 upon them grounds some monstrous charge or lays 
 down some general proposition. Where is the sense 
 of fair play in such treatment f Why apply to an insti- 
 tution a different rule of criticism from that we would 
 apply to an individual? Now, he who would know a 
 man thoroughly would not be content with the account 
 his enemies give of him. He would go to his friends 
 as well. Acting otherwise, he would find himself 
 grossly deceived in his conception and estimate of 
 him he would know. Take a man of the most un- 
 blemished character. Let envy, or jealousy, or any 
 other petty passion, or the whisperings of those slimy 
 things of humanity, that besmirch men's good names, 
 blind you to every merit he may possess ; pry into 
 his daily life, and pick out of it all that is weak and 
 imperfect ; dwell upon the divergencies of thought 
 and action that tally not with your own conceptions; 
 
 1 •' History of Pedagogy/' Translator's Preface, p, vi,
 
 20(3 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 pile together the blunders he may have made in a life- 
 time ; attribute to his every action, even that the 
 most indifferent, a sinister motive ; read a malicious 
 meaning in his most innocent expressions, and you 
 can finally succeed in convincing yourself and others 
 that he who may be the most genial of friends and 
 the truest of men is a monster unworthy to breathe 
 the same air and bask in the same sunshine with your 
 noble self. You no longer know the man as he lives 
 and moves among men. Even so is it with an insti- 
 tution. And it is for just such treatment of institu- 
 tions that we attach blame to M. Compayre. 
 
 Take the Society of Jesus. Was there ever a re- 
 ligious order more deservedly the pride and glory of 
 the Church? Its members live and move under the 
 discipline of a well-regulated army in face of the 
 enemy. They are equipped for the guidance of 
 every condition of life. We find amongst them men 
 learned in the sciences; men adept in the arts; men 
 trained in the school of spiritual life. They are the 
 body-guard of the interests of Jesus. They are fore- 
 most in all good works. They seek by preference 
 the post of danger. They are faithful sentinels, 
 never caught sleeping, always on the alert to raise the 
 alarm at the slightest note of danger, invariably the 
 first to be attacked by the enemy. The Order is a 
 marvelous embodiment of science and art, zeal and 
 energy, all moulded under one will and guided by one 
 aim. Great in its history, great in its devotedness, 
 great in the great lights which it has given the Church 
 and the world during the past three centuries, it is 
 above all, great in its filial devotion to the Church
 
 COMPA TRE'S HISTORY OF PEDAGOGY. 267 
 
 and the singleness of purpose with which, at all times 
 and under all circumstances, it seeks the greater honor 
 and glory of God. And yet, we have seen the Soci- 
 ety of Jesus blackened by men ; we have seen it 
 proclaimed in more than one language " that the 
 Jesuits are down-right complete atheists ;" ' we have 
 seen a pope forced to disband the Order and scatter 
 its members to the four quarters of the globe. But 
 we now know that the blackening was the slander- 
 ous work of black hate. It was the penalty paid by 
 successful greatness. 
 
 Now, how does M. Compayr6 speakof the Jesuits 
 as educators? He cannot abide them. He does not 
 find in them a single redeeming trait. Every book 
 that speaks in their praise is studiously ignored ; 
 every passage in their writings, every piece of gossip 
 about their doings, that tells against them, and that 
 he can lay hold of, is deftly woven into his narrative. 
 
 Their method is, in his estimation, false, super- 
 ficial, laying stress upon forms rather than upon sub- 
 stance. "For the Jesuits," he says, " education is 
 reduced to a superficial culture of the brilliant facul- 
 ties of the intellect."'' In their failures and in their 
 successes, they are censured alike. Do they succeed 
 in making college life agreeable to their students by 
 means of sport, fencing, theatricals and other forms 
 of recreation? Be it so ; student life in a Jesuit col- 
 
 ^ The full title of the English version is ; " A truth known 
 to very few, viz : — That the Jesuits are downright complete 
 atheists : proved such and condemned for it by two sentences 
 of the famous Faculty of Sorbonne, well known to be the best 
 divines of all the Roman Catholic party; and by the French 
 bishops and Pope Alexander VII." London: T. Pawks, 1680. 
 
 * "History of Pedagogy," p. 139.
 
 268 BSSA 2 'S ED U CA TIONA L . 
 
 lege is still only prison life with the prison bars gild- 
 ed.' Do they send out their young men polished, 
 refined, accomplished ? Thereupon we are told : 
 " They wish to train amiable gentlemen, accomplished 
 men of the world ; they have no conception of train- 
 ing men."* This sentence has about it an air of epi- 
 grammatic terseness. 
 
 But is it true that, in becoming accomplished, 
 one loses one's manhood ; and if not, is not the ex- 
 pression simply rubbish ? Out of such stuff does M. 
 Compayre manufacture a history of pedagogy. A 
 piece of gossip from Saint Simon is quoted to sus- 
 tain the charge that in disciplining the students they 
 were respectors of persons.' Upon a story told of a 
 young novice who received his mother coldly, this 
 monstrous assertion is built : " The ideal of the per- 
 fect scholar is to forget his parents."* From the an- 
 cient and time-honored rule of all mediaeval college 
 life, that the students be required to converse in 
 Latin, the inference is drawn that the mother-tongue is 
 proscribed, and that the teachers of Voltaire, Bossuet 
 and Moliere despise the French language and French 
 literature.^ Because the Jesuits do not teach in the 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
 ''■ Ibid., p. 145. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 148. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 146. 
 
 *" History of Pedagop;y," p. 144. Amoiif^ the re<;ula- 
 tions of the College of Troyes, bearing date of 1436 — that 
 is, 150 years before the Ratio Studiorum was constructed — 
 there is a rule insisting upon the speaking of Latin and prefer- 
 ring even bad Latin to French. (Boutiot, " Histoire de I'ln- 
 .struction Publique ct Populaire a Troyes," pp. 21, 22.) We 
 cannot forbear recalling here that Fere Force, to whom Vol-
 
 C OMPA 7'RE'S HIS TOR T OF FED A GOGT. 269 
 
 poor-schools, therefore they despise the people and 
 seek to keep them in ignorance ; for, according to this 
 philosopher, " the ignorance of the people is the best 
 safeguard of its faith." ' 
 
 The children of the Revolution are indeed hard 
 to please. To-day they tell us we want to keep the 
 people in ignorance. A hundred years ago, they at- 
 tributed all the ills of France to the fact that we edu- 
 cated too generally. If the University of Paris is 
 brought to ruin, it is due to " the crafty liberality of 
 the Jesuits in teaching the youth."* In 1762, the 
 University of Bordeaux, in a memorial addressed to 
 Parliament, gives as one of the signal causes of deca- 
 dence in attendance "the infinite number of school- 
 masters and heads of boarding-schools."' To the 
 same cause the people attributed the falling off in 
 trades and agriculture. 
 
 "The country would never flourish," said they, 
 " whilst the rectors of schools remained. If the fields 
 lack strong arms, and the number of mechanics di- 
 minishes, and the clan of vagabonds increases, it is 
 because our burghs and villages swarm with schools." * 
 
 taire dedicated his Merope, and of whom he elsewhere wrote : 
 " His greatest merit was to make his disciples love virtue and 
 letters" (Siecle de Louis XIV., " Ecrivains Franfais," p. 48). 
 Pere Poree taught Rhetoric for thirty years in Clermont Col- 
 lege, and among his pupils counted nineteen members of the 
 French Academy (Cretineau-Joly, "Hist, des Jesuites," t. iv., 
 p. 227). 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 155. 
 
 ' " The Jesuits' Catechism, or Examination of their Doc- 
 trine," published in French this present year, 1602, and now 
 translated into English. 1602. B. II., chap, iv., p. 87. 
 
 ' Alain," L'InstructionPrimaireavant la Revolution," p. loi. 
 
 * L. Maggiolo, " De la Condition de I'lnstruction Primaire 
 et du Maitre d'Ecole en Lorraine avant 1789," p. 514.
 
 270 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 La Chalotais fears the Revolution will have no 
 chance of success for the tell-tale reason that educa- 
 tion is too widespread. He says: 
 
 "Are there not too many writers, too many aca- 
 demicians, too many colleges? . . . There were 
 never so many students . . . the people even 
 want to study. . . . The Brothers have suc- 
 ceeded in spoiling everything; they teach children to 
 read and write who should only know how to dig and 
 carry the hod. . . . The well-being of society re- 
 quires that the knowledge of the people does not ex- 
 tend beyond their occupation." ' 
 
 Another child of the Revolution — Voltaire — 
 thanks La Chalotais for these sentiments, with which 
 he is in full sympathy : " I thank you for proscribing 
 study among the laboring class."" And yet, these 
 men are proclaimed the apostles of light, whilst the 
 Jesuits and the Brothers are set down as the abettors 
 of ignorance and paralyzers of brain-force. 
 
 In the same spirit and after the same truly orig- 
 inal method M. Compayr6 discovers and reveals to us 
 that the Jesuits disdain history, and especially the 
 history of France. In a paragraph ominously headed, 
 " Disdain of history, of philosophy, and of the sciences 
 in general," we read : " No account is made of his- 
 tory, nor of the modern history of France." Now, 
 this is a serious charge, and we naturally look for sus- 
 taining proof. M. Compayr6 gives his authority, and 
 gives it in all seriousness. It is a piece of hearsay, 
 anonymously quoted : " History," says a Jesuit 
 
 ^ " Essai d'Education Nationale," 1763, pp. 25, 26. 
 
 * Julep Rolland, " Ilistoire Litteraire de la Ville d'Albi." 
 1879. See also the article of M. Brunetiere in the Revue des 
 Deux Monde, Oct., 1879.
 
 CO MP A TRB'S HIS TOR T OF FED AGOG T. 271 
 
 Father, "is the destruction of him who studies it.'" 
 It matters little to M. Compayr^ which one of the 
 ten thousand Jesuit Fathers now living, or of the 
 ten times ten thousand that have lived during the 
 past three centuries, made use of the imbecile ex- 
 pression. A Jesuit Father has said so ; therefore all 
 the Jesuits hold by it, and teach their pupils to de- 
 spise history. Such reasoning needs no comment. 
 However, we find a charge of the same nature 
 made against the colleges of France generally in the 
 seventeenth century. Louis XIV., through his min- 
 ister Colbert, complains that the students "learned 
 at most only a little Latin, and were ignorant of geog- 
 raphy, history, and nearly all the sciences that avail 
 for business purposes." "^ But so far as the Jesuits 
 are concerned, P^re Charles Daniel, in a very instruct- 
 ive little book, has triumphantly refuted the charge. 
 He has shown how Jesuit Fathers — Sirmond, Petau, 
 Labbe, Du Cange, Baluze — have taken the lead in 
 historical studies ; ' how Jesuit Fathers — Riccioli, 
 Grimaldi, Delisle — advanced geographical and astro- 
 nomical researches;" how Jesuit Fathers — Daniel, 
 Griffet, Bougeant, Longueval, Berthier — unearthed 
 documents bearing upon the history of France, and 
 laid the foundation of the modern school of histori- 
 cal criticism.^ 
 
 ^ "History of Pedagogy," p. 145. 
 
 2 Ch. Jourdain, " Histoiredc I'Universite de Paris an XVII 
 et au XVill Siecle." Paris, 1867, p. 239. 
 
 ^ " Les Jesuites Instituteurs de la Jeunesse Franjaise," 
 chaps, ii., iii. 
 
 * Ibid., chaps, iv., v. 
 
 * Ibid., chaps, x., xi.
 
 272 BSSAl^S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 And after all this had been written in direct refu- 
 tation of M. Compayre's statements, M. Compayr6 
 still repeats the same old story, and Professor Payne 
 has not a word of protest to enter. But we know the 
 source whence M. Compayre has imbibed his inspira- 
 tion. It is from a work which purports to be a trans- 
 lation of the Constitutions and Declarations of the 
 Society of Jesus.' Both the preface and the appen- 
 dices are written in a spirit of hostility. In the former 
 we are told that these rules are the outcome of pious 
 zeal on the one hand, which is the inspiration of the 
 saintly Loyola, and of a thoroughly Machiavellian 
 policy on the other hand, which is the inspiration of 
 the plotting Laynez.^ In the appendices are to be 
 found chapter and page for many of the accusations 
 quoted both in the smaller and the larger work of M. 
 Compayr^.^ It is a book according to his thinking, 
 but it is also a book upon which no man with a rep- 
 utation for historical accuracy could rely, and retain 
 his reputation." 
 
 ^ " Les Constitutions des Jesuites avec les Declarations." 
 Paris, 1843. 
 
 ''■ Ibid., Pref. p. viii. 
 
 ' Cf. " Histoire critique," t. i., p. 196, and "Les Constitu- 
 tions," appendix, in the " Ratio Studiorum," p. 436. Therein 
 is also to be found allusion to the gossip of Saint Simon. 
 
 * It is phenomenal to note the persistency with which fair- 
 minded men instinctively rely upon the avowed enemies of the 
 Jesuits for views and opinions concerning their methods. We 
 have before us a short history of pedagogy, modeled after the 
 French volume of Paroz — "A History of Education," 1887, 
 from the pen of Professor Painter of Roanoke College — and 
 the author sketches the Jesuits' principles of organization ac- 
 cording to the " Provincial Letters " of Pascal (p. 167). Herein 
 he is following Raumer. Further on (225) the Professor names 
 Fenelon among the adherents of Jansenism ! And this is the 
 kind of information our American teachers are given as history.
 
 C OMPA TR^'S HIS TOR T OF PBDA GOGT. 273 
 
 II. 
 
 In proportion as the Jesuits are abused, are the 
 Jansenistsof Port Royal praised.' We will not stop 
 to inquire how far the praise is merited; or whether, 
 had the Jansenists of Port Royal continued docile 
 children of the Church, they would have Cousins 
 and Sainte-Beuves to eulogize them. P^re Daniel 
 has shown how much they borrowed their methods 
 from their Jesuit antagonists. M. Compayr6 is no 
 less enthusiastic over Luther, whom he represents as a 
 great creator of schools and systems." Far be it from 
 us to deprive Luther of the credit of any good act 
 of his life. He did interest himself greatly in schools. 
 He had a just and an exalted appreciation of the 
 schoolmaster. " Were I not a minister," he said, " I 
 know of no position on earth which I would rather 
 hold." ^ But while Luther respected the schoolmas- 
 ter, and gave primary education rules that were only 
 a repetition of what Councils had decreed, he intro- 
 duced into educational matters no new principle. 
 Here is the program of studies for primary schools, 
 which Melanchthon had drawn up, under the eye of 
 Luther, in 1527: 
 
 " The master should explain simply and clearly 
 the Pater, the Creed, the Ten Commandments, and 
 inculcate the principles of politeness. He should 
 teach reading, writing and singing."^ 
 
 ^ " History of Pedagogy," pp. 139 sqq. 
 ^ Ibid., p. 119. 
 
 ^ St6ckl,"Lehrbuch der Gcschiclite der Pedagogik,"p, 2ii. 
 * See E. Rendu, ♦' Ue I'lnstruction Populaire dans I'AlIe- 
 magne du Nord," p. 11.
 
 274 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL.- 
 
 Luther would have boys attend school only two 
 hours, and girls only one hour a day. 
 
 " My idea," he says, " is not to create schools like 
 those we have had, where twenty years were spent 
 in studying Donatus and Alexander without learning 
 anything useful. . . . A boy should pass one or 
 two hours a day at school, and let him the rest of the 
 time give himself to learning some trade in his 
 father's house. ... So also should girls give an 
 hour a day at school." ' 
 
 All this does not show a very high conception of 
 public primary education. He laid greatest stress 
 upon the Latin or secondary schools.' But in all that 
 Luther said or wrote about education, he was only 
 remembering what he had learned in his native town 
 or with his Augustinian masters. He recognized the 
 importance of schools ; he attempted to awake in- 
 terest in them ; but men were too busy with religious 
 controversy, or engaged in wars, to give much heed 
 to his warnings. However, the intellectual activity 
 begotten of the Reformation led both Protestant and 
 Catholic to renewed efforts in behalf of schools. Both 
 parties looked to the schoolroom as the final battle- 
 ground. Both sought to possess themselves of the 
 child and mould its soul into their respective forms 
 of belief. Hence the deep interest evinced in pop- 
 ular education both in Protestant Germany and in 
 Catholic France during the sixteenth century. In 
 
 * " Schrift an die Rathsherren." 1524. 
 
 * Stockl., loc. cit., p. 211. For the school-plan of Luther 
 and Melanchthon, see Dr. Henry Barnard's " Memoirs of Teach- 
 ers and Educators in Germany," pp. 169-172. 
 
 This book is largely a translation of Raumer's " History of 
 Pedagogy."
 
 COMPA TRE'S HIS TOR T OF FED AGOG T. 275 
 
 the seventeenth century interest flagged, and in 
 France the primary schools were in a wretched con- 
 dition when Blessed John Baptist de la Salle came 
 upon the scene and organized his Brotherhood. 
 
 And what has M. Gabriel Compayre to say of these 
 educators of the people? He has, indeed, a kind 
 word for La Salle, and seems to appreciate his great- 
 ness of soul. Withal he shows but little sympathy 
 for the disciples of La Salle. We recognize the ring 
 of his accent. He speaks by the card. He finds 
 fault with the Brothers and their methods, because 
 to find fault with them is the fashion of the hour. 
 They are in the way. The Jesuits were abused for 
 not teaching the children of the people ; the Broth- 
 ers are abused for teaching them the trades, because, 
 forsooth, such industries take bread from the work- 
 ingmen's mouths.' When the Brothers were confided 
 the normal schools of France, it was called a Machi- 
 avellian design. When they established boarding- 
 schools and houses of higherstudies, they were called 
 ambitious and designing. 
 
 No matter what they do, their motives are im- 
 pugned and their actions criticised by the party now 
 dominant. Do Brothers, like the late Brother Oger- 
 ian, dare cultivate the talents that God gave them, 
 and by their writings conquer for themselves an hon- 
 orable position in the domain of letters or science? 
 Forthwith they are censured as men who have stepped 
 outside their sphere, as though educators could be 
 too well informed, or professors too advanced in the 
 
 ^ See Meunier, " Lutte," p. 83. A vile book, which seems 
 to have inspired more than one idea in M. Compayre's works.
 
 276 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 knowledge of their subject-matter.* In their histor- 
 ical text-books do they describe the horrors of the 
 French Revolution in their naked reality ? They are 
 called unpatriotic.^ Do they keep order in school? 
 At once they are set down as repressing the natural 
 feelings of children. 
 
 M. Compayre finds fault with the silence which 
 the Brothers cause to be observed in their classes. 
 How is a teacher to instruct a large class of pupils if 
 he is not sparing in his own words and does not in- 
 sist upon silence on their part ? How can children 
 learn in a class which is a Babel ? All other things 
 equal, he is surely the best teacher who can command 
 order, and whose words are few and to the point. 
 That is the best method by which these conditions 
 obtain. We defy M. Compayr^ to state a better one. 
 But M. Compayr^, like a true philosopher, goes back 
 of the order and silence, and in doing so makes a 
 wonderful discovery. 
 
 " Is there not," he asks, " in these odd regulations, 
 something besides the desire for order and good con- 
 duct — the revelation of a complete system of peda- 
 gogy which is afraid of life and liberty, and which, 
 under pretext of making the school quiet, deadens 
 the school, and in the end reduces teachers and pu- 
 pils to mere machines?"^ 
 
 Unfortunately for M. Compayr^, that which he 
 
 ' Brother Ogerian died at Manhattan College, in 1869. He 
 was greatly esteemed by Agassiz. He was member of the 
 Institute of France, officer of the Academy, and affiliated to 
 many other learned societies. His chief work is the " Histoire 
 Naturelle du Jura," in four volumes. 
 
 * Meunier, loc. cit., p. 24. 
 
 ' " History of Pedagogy," p. 266.
 
 COMPATR^'S HISTORT OF PEDAGOGT. 'iTl'^ 
 
 discovers is of his own hiding. Great is the power 
 of a preconceived notion. To him who holds it, if to 
 none others, it explains all things satisfactorily. That 
 rehgious life is timid ; that it dreads the light ; that 
 it is afraid of life and liberty; that it is palling: here 
 is M. Compayre's preconceived notion, which he has 
 projected from his brain into the order and silence and 
 discipline of the Brothers' class-room. But religious 
 life has none of these fears; religious men have made 
 great sacrifices in their search after the light ; they 
 have died for truth and liberty. And is activity dead- 
 ening? Is it deadening to be about one's duty, do- 
 ing one's task and nothing but one's task? Where 
 does the machine-work enter into a silent and orderly 
 class-room ? 
 
 Suppose for an instant, that, instead of the order 
 and silence now maintained in the Brothers' schools, 
 there were disorder in every class, no regular plan of 
 studies, no text-books ; that the Brother spoke loud 
 and indistinctly, and did not wait for an answer ; that 
 he boxed the boys' ears right and left ; that he ran 
 about the class like a madman, with no necktie, with- 
 out a coat, and his long shirt-sleeves hanging down 
 over his loosely waving arms and hands. Suppose 
 this picture given of La Salle or any of his disciples, 
 would M. Compayr^ find in it aught to admire? 
 Would he have words of commendation for the Broth- 
 ers? Well ; the picture we have drawn is no cari- 
 cature ; it is the faithful description of a loving dis- 
 ciple. It is the portrait that Ramsauer has left of his 
 master, Pestalozzi.' And yet M. Compayr^ finds in 
 
 ^ See Oscar Browning, " Educational Theories," pp. 156, 157.
 
 278 £SSA2^S EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Pestalozzi the alpha and omega of educational per- 
 fection. 
 
 It is true that in the hands of an unscrupulous 
 teacher, who would take the least possible trouble 
 with his class ; who would not interest himself in the 
 wants of each pupil ; who would therefore not give to 
 his lessons the thorough and persistent preparation 
 that they demand, the Simultaneous Method might 
 become a piece of mere machine-work. But what 
 evidence or authority has M. Compayr^ to infer that 
 the teaching of religious men and women is of this 
 unscrupulous character? As men and women, they 
 know, as well as their censor, that it is a duty and 
 obligation for them to prepare the lessons they give, 
 well and thoroughly, even though it be the tenth or 
 the twentieth time that they impart the same lessons. 
 As religious men and religious women, this duty is 
 doubly binding. No teacher worthy of his sacred 
 calling — and there is not in this world among human 
 callings a more sacred one than that of moulding souls 
 to higher and better things — will give his pupils to 
 drink from the stagnant pool when he can control the 
 running waters of knowledge. 
 
 Professor Payne, not content with the amount of 
 misrepresentation made in the original work, adds his 
 share. He says : 
 
 "The scarcity of teachers and the abundance of 
 pupils led to the expedient of mutual and simultane- 
 ous instruction. Whilst this method is absolutely 
 bad, it was relatively good." ' 
 
 This is a rather meagre account and a totally false 
 * " History of Pedagogy," p. 277.
 
 compatrS's history of pedagogy. 279 
 
 estimate of one of the greatest discoveries of modern 
 times ; for as such do we look upon the Simultaneous 
 Method. It is this method that has made popular 
 primary education a possible thing. It has enabled 
 us to reduce instruction to a science. It has drawn 
 order out of chaoso It is the only method used the 
 world over at the present day. It is the only method 
 Professor Payne himself makes use of in his daily 
 lessons. Even M. Compayr^ has here been forced to 
 admit its importance. Speaking of its introduction 
 by Blessed de la Salle, he says : 
 
 " It was also an important innovation to renounce 
 individual instruction — which was given by the 
 teacher in a low voice, in the midst of a turbulent 
 class, to pupils called up one after another — and to 
 substitute therefor the only method of teaching ap- 
 plicable to public instruction ; namely, the Simultane- 
 ous Method.'" 
 
 This is a candid admission. M. Compayr6 con- 
 siders the simultaneous the only method of teaching 
 applicable to public instruction. M. Compayr^ is 
 now speaking the language of common sense and 
 sound educational experience. But how shall we 
 characterize the language of Professor Payne, when 
 he calls this same method '* absolutely bad"? We 
 shall leave master and man to settle the difTerence, 
 
 III. 
 
 We find many other statements to quarrel with in 
 this book of misrepresentation, but we have said 
 enough to show the animus of the author. After all, 
 
 i"Histoire critique des Doctrines de I'Education en 
 France," t. ii., p. 333.
 
 280 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 we seem to have abandoned the subject of pedagogy 
 entirely into the hands of our non-CathoHc brethren. 
 In Turin, in Rome, in Florence — in all the state uni- 
 versities throughout Italy — in all the leading universi- 
 ties of Germany and France — in Cambridge, England, 
 and the Johns Hopkins, America — we find chairs of 
 pedagogy, and the professors are active, and the work 
 they put forth is, in some respects, admirable. How 
 few — if any — of our Catholic universities have a chair 
 of pedagogy ? How few are aware of the vast pro- 
 portions to which education, as a science, has grown 
 within the past two or three decades ? 
 
 As a science, education is based upon psychology 
 and moral philosophy. Now, anybody knowing the 
 modern drift of these two subjects can easily infer 
 what distorted pedagogical theories may be con- 
 structed upon a psychology without the human soul 
 and an ethics without God. And yet, what are we 
 doing to counteract these irreligious views, applied to 
 the young intellect where they are calculated to effect 
 a most radical change? Will the Buissons and the 
 Compayres continue to write our histories, and for- 
 mulate our theories of pedagogy ? Children of the 
 Revolution, they find all excellence, all modern prog- 
 ress, all educational reform growing out of that ter- 
 rible upheaval. Inimical to the Church, they can see 
 nothing good come out of Nazareth. 
 
 Aspects of things taken from such a vantage- 
 ground must needs be distorted. History written in 
 such a spirit, becomes woefully misleading. To us 
 Catholics it is a matter of profound regret that the 
 field of pedagogy in the United States should begin
 
 COMPATRM'S his tor 2' OF PEDAGO(;r. 281 
 
 to be cumbered with such briars and thorns. It is 
 our own fault. The past is ours, but we treat it shame- 
 fully. We neglect it ; we let its sacred memory be en- 
 veloped in a growth of rank weeds, that hide or efface 
 its noble records ; we permit its deeds to be misrep- 
 resented, its honor to be stained, its glory to be tar- 
 nished ; and scarcely — or if at all, in feeble accents — 
 do we enter protest. We allow our enemies to 
 usurp ground that by every right and title should 
 be ours. 
 
 In the whole domain of pedagogy, what Catholic 
 works in the English language are within our reach? 
 They are easily named. There is that admirable 
 work of Theodosia Drane, a Dominican Nun. It is 
 called " Christian Schools and Scholars." ' It is charm- 
 ingly written, and is well calculated to give an exalted 
 idea of the work of the Church in the education of 
 Europe. But it is mainly literary rather than peda- 
 gogical. 
 
 We have the " Life of Bernard Overberg," trans- 
 lated from the German of Krabbe, by the humble 
 Passionist, the Hon. and Rev. George Spencer.* 
 There is a Protestant version prepared by Schubert, 
 who simply re-wrote Krabbe's book, omitting the 
 Catholic portions; this has also been translated. 
 Overberg (i 754-1 826) was a devoted priest, rector of 
 the Seminary of Munster, and head of the Normal 
 School. He was one of the greatest educators of 
 his day. Father Spencer's life is an ennobling vol- 
 
 ^ Published, in two volumes, by Longmans, Green & Co., 
 London. 
 
 ^ Derby, Richardson & Son, 1844.
 
 282 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 ume, calculated to fire every teacher with love and 
 zeal for the education of youth. It is out of print. 
 
 Another work is called "The Spirit and Scope of 
 Education.'" It is a translation from the German 
 of Dr. Stapf. It is written in the spirit and accord- 
 ing to the noble ideal that Overberg held of the 
 teacher's mission. It is highly philosophical in its 
 treatment of the relations of teacher and pupil ; its 
 psychological analysis is natural and simple ; above 
 all, it is imbued with a truly Catholic tone. But the 
 book is also out of print. 
 
 Rosmini left, in a fragmentary state, the first part 
 of a great work on education. Like everything to 
 which the saintly philosopher of Rovereto put a 
 hand, this work was planned on a scale of vast pro- 
 portions. Had the author completed his design, we 
 should have a monumental work, showing the evolu- 
 tion of intelligence from infancy to maturity, under 
 a guiding hand, through all grades of education. In 
 the first part of this book, dealing with the child, 
 he anticipated Froebel in many respects, and excelled 
 him in others. This volume has been faithfully trans- 
 lated ; for this we may thank a Protestant lady and 
 a Protestant publishing house.'' We also have an 
 English version of the first part of Dupanloup's work 
 on education. It is called " The Child," ' and though 
 lacking the depth of Rosmini's work on the same 
 subject, is none the less suggestive reading. 
 
 ' Published in Edinburgh by Marsh and Beattie, 1837. 
 
 2 "Rosmini's Method in Education," by Mrs. William 
 Grey. Boston. D. C. Heath & Co. 1887. 
 
 3 Published by the Catholic Publication Society, New York.
 
 COMPATRE'S HISTORY OF PEDAGOGY. 283 
 
 We still require a history of methods. Perhaps 
 the one that would give most satisfaction, and would 
 be a valuable acquisition to the library of every Cath- 
 olic teacher, would be a translation of Stockl's " Lehr- 
 buch der Geschichte der Pedagogik." Now that 
 Dr. Stockl is becoming better known to English read- 
 ers through the elegant translation that Father Fin- 
 lay of Dublin is giving them of his " History of Phi- 
 losophy," this other supplementary work should be 
 all the more welcome. Only by means of such works 
 can we make right the falsifyings of slanderous books 
 like those of M, Gabriel Compayr^.
 
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