CHAPTER XXXIII

OF THE THINGS REQUISITE BEFORE THIS UNIVERSAL METHOD CAN BE PUT INTO PRACTICE

1. There is no one, I imagine, who, after a careful examination of the question, will not perceive how blessed would be the condition of Christian kingdoms and states if they were supplied with schools of the kind that we desire. We must therefore see what is necessary in order that these speculations may not remain speculations, but may be realised in some definite form. Not without reason does John Cæcilius Frey express his surprise and indignation that throughout so many centuries no one has ventured to reform the barbarous customs of our schools and universities.

2. For more than a hundred years much complaint has been made of the unmethodical way in which schools areconducted, but it is only within the last thirty that any serious attempt has been made to find a remedy for this state of things. And with what result? Schools remain exactly as they were. If any scholar, either privately or in school, embarked on a course of study, he found himself a butt for the mockery of the ignorant or the malevolence of the ill-disposed, or finally, being unable to obtain any assistance, found his endeavour too laborious, and gave it up. Thus all efforts have hitherto been in vain.

3. We must therefore seek and find some way by which, with God’s assistance, motive power may be supplied to ​the machine that is already sufficiently well constructed, or at any rate can be constructed on the foundations which exist, if the obstacles and hindrances that have hitherto been present be wisely and firmly removed.

4. Let us isolate and examine these obstacles.

(i) There is a great lack of methodical teachers who could take charge of public schools and produce the results that we have in view (indeed, with regard to my Janua which is already used in schools, a man of great judgment has written to me complaining that in most places one thing is lacking, namely, suitable men to use it).

5. (ii) But even if teachers of this kind existed, or if they could all perform their task with ease by using time-tables and forms all ready prepared for them, how would it be possible to support them in each village and town, and in every place where men are born and brought up in Christ?

6. (iii) Again, how can it be arranged that the children of the poor shall have time to go to school?

7. (iv) The opposition of pedants, who cling to old ways and despise everything that is new, is greatly to be dreaded, but for this some remedy can easily be found.

8. (v) There is one factor which by its absence or its presence can render the whole organisation of a school of no avail or can aid it in the highest degree, and that is a proper supply of comprehensive and methodical class-books. Since the invention of printing, it has been an easy matter to find men who are able and willing to make use of it, who will supply the funds necessary for the printing of good and useful books, and who will purchase books of this kind. Similarly, if the subsidiary apparatus necessary for comprehensive teaching were provided, it would be easy to find men to employ it.

9. It is evident, therefore, that the success of my scheme depends entirely upon a suitable supply of encyclopædic class-books, and these can be provided only by the collaboration of several original-minded, energetic, and learned men. For such a task transcends the strength of one man, and especially of one who is unable to devote his whole ​time to it, or who may be imperfectly acquainted with some of the subjects that must be included in the comprehensive scheme. Moreover, if absolute perfection be desired, one lifetime is not sufficient for the completion of the work, which must therefore be entrusted to a collegiate body of learned men.

10. But it is impossible to call such a body into existence unless it be supported and financed by some king or state, while to ensure success a quiet and secluded spot and a library are necessary. In addition, it is essential that no one offer any opposition to such a goodly plan for glorifying the Creator and benefiting the human race, but rather that all prepare to work in harmony with the grace of God, which will be communicated to us more liberally through these new channels.

11. Therefore let your zeal blaze forth when ye hear this wholesome counsel. O dearest parents of children, into whose charge God has entrusted His most precious treasures, those made in His own image, may ye never cease to entreat the God of Gods that these efforts may have a successful issue, and by your prayers and solicitations to work upon the minds of powerful and learned men. In the meantime, bring up your children piously in the fear of God, and thus prepare the way for that more universal education of which we have spoken.

12. Do you also, O instructors of the young, whose task it is to plant and water the tender grafts of paradise, pray with all earnestness that these aids to your labours may be perfected and brought into daily use as soon as possible. For since ye have been called that “ye may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth” (Isaiah li. 16), what can be more pleasing to you than to reap as rich a harvest as possible from your labour? Therefore, let your heavenly calling, and the confidence of the parents who entrust their offspring to you, be as a fire within you, and give you and those who come under your influence no rest until the whole of your native land is lit up by this flaming torch.

​13. Ye men of learning, to whom God has given wisdom and keen judgment that ye may be able to criticise such matters as these and improve them by your counsels, see that ye delay not to assist the sacred fire with your sparks, nay, rather with your torches and with your fans. Let all consider that saying of our Christ: “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what will I if it is already kindled?” (Luke xii. 49). If He wish His fire to burn, woe unto him who, when he has the opportunity of bringing fuel to the flames, contributes nothing but the smoke of envy, malevolence, and position. Remember the reward that He promises to His good and faithful servants who employ the talents entrusted to them in such a way that they gain others, and the threats that He utters against the slothful who bury their talents in the earth (Matt. xxv. 25). Therefore, let not your own knowledge suffice you, but use all your strength to further the instruction of others. Be guided by the example of Seneca, who says: “I wish to communicate all that I know to others”; and again: “If knowledge were given me on the condition that I should keep it to myself and not share it with others, I should refuse it” (Epist. 27). Do not, therefore, withhold instruction and wisdom from the Christian people, but rather say with Moses: “Would God that all the Lord’s peoples were prophets!” (Num. xi. 29). The reformation of the Church and of the state is comprised in the proper instruction of the young; and shall we, who know this, stand idle, while others put their hand to the work?

14. May we all, with one accord, be moved to promote such a worthy object in every possible manner by advising, warning, exhorting, reforming, and in every way furthering the work for God and for posterity. And let no one think that he is not called upon to act in the matter. For though a man may be naturally unsuited to be a schoolmaster, or may be fully engaged by his duties as a clergyman, a politician, or a physician, he makes a great mistake if he think that he is on that account exempt from the common task of school-reform. If he wish to prove his devotion to ​his calling, to him who calls him, and to those to whom he is sent, he is bound not only to serve his God, his Church, and his country, but also to train up others to do so after him. Socrates has been praised because he employed his time in educating the young instead of holding some public office. “It is of more use,” said he, “to train men who can govern, than to govern oneself.”

15. O learned scholars, I beseech you not to despise these suggestions because they originate with one less learned than yourselves. Remember the saying of Chrysippus: “Many a market-gardener has spoken to the point. Perchance an ass may know what you do not.” And of Christ: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and ye hear its voice, but know not whence it comes or whither it goes.” In the sight of God I protest that it is not by any overweening confidence in myself, or by a desire for fame or for personal advantage, that I am impelled to advertise these ideas of mine. It is the love of God and the wish to improve the condition of humanity that goad me on, and will not suffer me to keep silence when my instinct tells me what should be done. Therefore, if any oppose my efforts, and hinder the realisation of my ideas instead of aiding it, let him be assured that he is waging war, not against me, but against God, against his own conscience, and against nature, whose will it is that what is for the common good be given over for the use of all men.

16. To you also I appeal, Theologians, since it is in your power to be the greatest assistance or the greatest obstacle to my designs. If you choose the latter course, the saying of Bernhard will be fulfilled: “That Christ has no bitterer enemies than His followers, and especially those who hold the first place among them.” But let us hope that your actions will be worthier, and more suited to your calling. Remember that our Lord charged Peter to feed not only His sheep but also His lambs, enjoining him to take especial care of the latter (John xxi. 15). This is a reasonable injunction, since shepherds find it easier to feed sheep than to feed lambs, which have still to be moulded ​by the discipline of the flock and the staff of the herdsman. Surely a man betrays his ignorance if he prefer unlettered hearers! What goldsmith does not try to procure the very purest gold? What shoemaker does not try to obtain the finest leather? Let us likewise be children of light and wise in our generation, and let us pray that schools may supply us with as many educated hearers as possible.

17. And suffer not envy to enter into your hearts, O servants of the living God, but rather lead others to that charity that envies not, seeks not its own advantage, and thinks no evil. Let envious thoughts arise if others originate schemes that have never entered into your minds, but be content to learn from others; in order that (as Gregory says) all, being full of faith, may praise God, and may be instrumental in spreading the truth.

18. But to you, in particular, do I direct my prayers, ye rulers and magistrates, who, in God’s name, preside over human affairs. To you, as to Noah, it has been entrusted from on high to build an ark for the preservation of the Word of God in this terrible deluge of disasters (Gen. vi.) It is your duty, as it was that of the princes of old, to aid in the building of the sanctuary, and to see that no obstacle be placed in the way of the artificers whom the Lord has filled with His Spirit and has taught to devise ingenious plans (Exod. xxxvi.) You, like David and Solomon, should summon architects to build the temple of the Lord, and should supply them with the necessary materials (1 Kings vi.; 1 Chron. xxix.) You are those centurions whom Christ will love if you have loved His little ones, and erected schools for them (Luke vii. 5).

19. For Christ’s sake, for the sake of our children’s salvation, I beseech you to listen to me. This is a weighty question, and concerns the glory of God and the salvation of mankind. Well do I know how much you love your country. If a man came to you and promised to tell you how all your towns might be fortified at a slight cost, how all your youths might be instructed in the art of warfare, how your rivers might be made navigable and be filled ​with merchant-vessels, in short, how your state might be brought to a higher pitch of prosperity and security, you would give, not only your careful attention, but your heartiest thanks as well, to him who showed such solicitude for your welfare. And now, what is far more important than any of these things has been shown you, namely, the real and never-failing method by which a supply of such men may be secured, men who, by discoveries such as I have indicated, can be of immense service to their country. With truth did the sainted Luther write, when exhorting the cities of Germany to found schools: “Where one ducat is expended in building cities, fortresses, monuments, and arsenals, one hundred should be spent in educating one youth aright, since, when he reaches manhood, he may induce his fellows to carry out useful works. For a good and wise man is the most precious treasure of a state, and is of far more value than palaces, than heaps of gold and of silver, than gates of bronze and bars of iron.” Solomon also is of the same opinion (Eccles. ix. 13). If then we acknowledge that no expense should be spared in order to give one youth a thorough education, what can we say when the gate is opened to the universal education of all, and to an unfailing method by which the understanding may be developed? when God promises to shower His gifts upon us? when our salvation seems so near at hand that His glory dwells with us on earth?

20. Open wide your gates, O princes, that the King of glory may come in (Psalm xxiv.) Give to the Lord glory and honour, ye sons of the mighty. May each one of you be like David, who sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty one of Jacob: “Surely I will not come unto the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids; until I find out a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob” (Psalm cxxxii.) Stay not to consider the expense. Give to the Lord, and He will repay you a thousandfold. He who says, “The silver is mine and the gold is mine” (Haggai ii. 9), can demand this as a ​right, yet of His mercy He adds (when exhorting the people to build His temple): “Prove me now forthwith if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. iii. 10).

21. Do Thou, therefore, O Lord our God, give each one of us a joyful heart to serve Thy glory as best he may. For Thine is the grandeur, the power, the glory, and the victory. All that is in heaven and in earth is Thine. Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom; Thou art over all princes. Thine are the riches, and Thine is the glory, the might, and the power; Thou canst glorify and magnify whatsoever Thou pleasest. For what are we, who have but received Thy gifts from Thy hands? We are but strangers in Thy sight as were our fathers. Our life on earth is but a shadow and passes away. O Lord our God, all that we do to the honour of Thy name, comes from Thee. Give to Thy Solomons a perfect heart that they may do all that tends to Thy glory (1 Chron. xxix.) Strengthen, O God, that which Thou hast wrought for us (Psalm lxviii. 28). Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory upon their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish Thou, the works of our hands upon us (Psalm xc. 16). In Thee, O Lord, have I trusted, let me never be confounded. Amen.

CHAPTER XXXII

OF THE UNIVERSAL AND PERFECT ORDER OF INSTRUCTION

1. We have now spoken at length on the necessity of reforming schools and on the methods by which this reformation can be effected. It will not be amiss if we give a brief summary of our ideals and of the means we have proposed for their realisation.

2. Our desire is that the art of teaching be brought to such perfection that there will be as much difference between the old system and the new, as there is between the old method of multiplying books by the pen and the new method introduced by the printing-press; that is to say, the art of printing, though difficult, costly, and complicated, can reproduce books with greater speed, accuracy, and artistic effect, than was formerly possible; and, in the same way, my new method, though its difficulties may be somewhat alarming at first, will produce a greater number of scholars and will give them a better education as well as more pleasure in the process of acquiring it, than did the old lack of method.

3. It is easy to imagine how impracticable the first attempts of the inventor of printing must have appeared, in comparison with the simple use of the pen; but the event showed of what great use the invention was. For, firstly, by means of a printing-machine two youths can now produce more copies of a book than could have been written by two hundred in the same time.

​Secondly, manuscript copies differ in the number and size of their pages, and the individual lines do not correspond to one another; while printed copies are as like to their original as one egg is like to another, and this is a great advantage.

Thirdly, it is impossible to tell if manuscripts are correct without revising them and comparing them accurately with the original, and this is a laborious and wearisome task. But in the case of printed books the correction of one proof ensures the accuracy of thousands of copies. This would seem incredible to any one unacquainted with printing, but is nevertheless true.

Fourthly, only firm and stiff paper is suitable to write on, but printing is possible on thin and flimsy paper, or on linen.

Finally, it is possible for men who are unable to write to be the most excellent printers; since it is not with their fingers that they carry out the operation, but by means of skilfully arranged type that cannot err.

4. Similar results might be obtained if this new and comprehensive method of teaching were properly organised (for as yet the universal method exists only in expectation and not in reality), since (1) a smaller number of masters would be able to teach a greater number of pupils than under the present system. (2) These pupils would be more thoroughly taught; (3) and the process would be refined and pleasant. (4) The system is equally efficacious with stupid and backward boys. (5) Even masters who have no natural aptitude for teaching will be able to use it with advantage; since they will not have to select their own subject-matter and work out their own method, but will only have to take knowledge that has already been suitably arranged and for the teaching of which suitable appliances have been provided, and to pour it into their pupils. An organist can read any piece of music from his notes, though he might not be able to compose it or to sing or play it from memory; and a school-master, in the same way, should be able to teach anything, if he have ​before his eyes the subject-matter and the method by which it should be taught.

5. Pursuing this analogy to the art of printing, we will show, by a more detailed comparison, the true nature of this new method of ours, since it will thus be made evident that knowledge can be impressed on the mind, in the same way that its concrete form can be printed on paper. In fact, we might adapt the term “typography” and call the new method of teaching “didachography.” But this conception we will analyse at length.

6. The art of printing involves certain materials and processes. The materials consist of the paper, the type, the ink, and the press. The processes consist of the preparation of the paper, the setting up and inking of the type, the correction of the proof, and the impression and drying of the copies. All this must be carried out in accordance with certain definite rules, the observance of which will ensure a successful result.

7. In didachography (to retain this term) the same elements are present. Instead of paper, we have pupils whose minds have to be impressed with the symbols of knowledge. Instead of type, we have the class-books and the rest of the apparatus devised to facilitate the operation of teaching. The ink is replaced by the voice of the master, since this it is that conveys information from the books to the minds of the listener; while the press is school-discipline, which keeps the pupils up to their work and compels them to learn.

8. Any kind of paper can be used, but the cleaner it is, the better it will receive the impress of the type. In the same way, our method can deal with any class of intelligence, but succeeds best with talented pupils.

9. There is a great analogy between the type and the class-books (that our method requires). Firstly, the type have to be cast and polished, before books can be printed; and in the same way the necessary apparatus must be provided before we can begin to use the new method.

10. A considerable quantity of type is required to ​print a whole work, and the same thing holds good of class-books and teaching apparatus; since it is irritating, tedious, and fatal to good teaching to begin and then to be compelled to leave off through lack of the proper appliances.

11. A well-managed printing-press is supplied with all kinds of type, and is thus equal to every demand that can be made upon it; and, similarly, our class-books must contain everything necessary for a thorough education, that there may be no one who by their aid cannot learn whatever should be learned.

12. The type are not left in confusion, but are neatly arranged in boxes that they may be ready to hand when needed. Similarly, our class-books do not present their subject-matter to the pupil in a confused mass, but split it up into sections, allotting so much to a year, a month, a day, and an hour.

13. Only those type which are needed at the minute are taken from the type-cases; the rest remain undisturbed. Similarly, no books but those intended for his class should be given to a boy; others would only confuse and distract him.

14. Finally, type-setters use a straight edge which helps them to arrange the words in lines, and the lines in columns, and prevents any part from getting out of place. In the same way the instructors of the young should have standard or model to aid them in their work; that is to say, guide-books should be written for their use, and these should tell them what to do on each occasion, and should preclude the possibility of error.

15. There will, therefore, be two kinds of class-books, those that contain the subject-matter and are intended for the pupils, and guide-books to assist the teacher to handle his subject properly.

16. As we have already remarked, it is the voice of the teacher that corresponds to the ink used in printing. If it be attempted to use type when they are dry, nothing but a faint and evanescent mark is made on the paper, in ​contrast to the firm and almost indelible impression that results when they have been inked. Similarly, the instruction that boys receive from books, those dumb teachers, is obscure and imperfect, but when it is supplemented by the voice of the teacher (who explains everything in a manner suitable to his hearers), it becomes vivid and makes a deep impression on their minds, so that they really understand what they learn and are conscious that they understand it. Again, printing-ink differs from writing-ink, since it is made, not with water, but with oil (indeed, those who want a very superior ink, use the finest oil and the best charcoal); and, similarly, the voice of a teacher who can teach persuasively and clearly should sink like oil into the pupils’ minds and carry information with it.

17. Finally, the function of the press in printing is performed in schools by discipline, which is in itself sufficiently powerful to ensure that no pupil shirk his studies. Every sheet of paper that is to form part of a book must pass through the press (hard paper needing more, and soft paper less pressure); and, similarly, whoever wishes to learn at a school must be subjected to its discipline. There are three grades of discipline: firstly, perpetual watchfulness; for since we can never put implicit faith in the diligence or innocence of boys (are they not Adam’s brood?) we must keep them continually under our eyes. Secondly, blame, by which those who leave the beaten path must be recalled to the way of reason and obedience. Finally, punishment, which must be employed if exhortation have no effect. All discipline, however, must be used with prudence and with no other object than to induce the pupils to do all their work well.

18. I said that certain processes were necessary, and that these had to be carried out in a certain definite manner. This point deserves a brief investigation.

19. If a certain number of copies of a book is to be printed, that number of sheets is taken at once and printed from the same block, and from each successive block, from the beginning to the end of the book, the same number of ​sheets, and neither more nor less, is printed; since otherwise some copies of the book would be imperfect. In the same way, our didactic method lays it down as an essential condition that the whole school be given over at one and the same time to the teaching of one master, that from beginning to end all the scholars be subjected to a graduated course of instruction, and that none be allowed to enter after the session has once begun, or to leave before it is finished. In this way it will be possible for one master to teach a large number of pupils, and for all the pupils to learn every branch of knowledge thoroughly. It will therefore be necessary for all the public schools to open and to close at the same time (it suits our method best if the schools open in autumn rather than in spring), in order that the task allotted to each class may be completed each year, and that all (except those wanting in intellect) may be brought up to a certain standard at the same time, and may enter the next class together. This is an exact analogy of the method used in printing when all the copies of the first page are printed first, then those of the second page, and so on.

20. The better class of books are divided into chapters, columns, and paragraphs, and have spaces on their margins and between their lines. Similarly, our didactic method must have its periods of toil and of rest, with definite spaces of time set apart for honest recreation. The tasks are mapped out for each year, month, day, and hour, and if these divisions are duly observed no class can fail to reach the necessary standard at the end of the session. There are excellent reasons why the hours of public instruction should not exceed four daily, of which two should be before, and two after mid-day. On Saturday the two afternoon hours may be remitted, and the whole of Sunday should be devoted to divine service, so that we have thus twenty-two hours weekly and making allowance for the holidays) about a thousand hours yearly. How much might be taught and learned in this time, were it only methodically employed!

​21. As soon as the type has been set up, the paper is flattened out and laid ready to hand, that nothing may impede the process of printing. Similarly, a teacher should place his pupils in front of him that he may see them and be seen by all. This we have already shown in chap. xix. Problem 1.

22. The paper is damped and softened, that it may be better fitted to receive the impression of the type. Similarly the pupils in a school must continually be urged to attend, as we have already explained.

23. When this has been done, the type are inked, a distinct impression may be taken from them. Similarly, the teacher makes the lesson vivid by means of his voice, reading it over and explaining it, that all may understand.

24. The paper is then put into the press, one piece after the other, that the metal type may impress their form on each and every sheet. Similarly, the teacher, after he has explained a construction, and has shown by examples how easily it can be imitated, asks individual pupils to reproduce what he has said, and thus show that they are not merely learners, but actually possessors of knowledge.

25. The printed sheets are then exposed to the wind and are dried. Similarly, in school, the intellects of the pupils are exposed to the bracing influences of repetition, examination, and emulation, until it is certain that the lesson has been thoroughly learned.

26. When they have passed through the press, the printed sheets are all taken and arranged in order, that it may be seen if the copies are complete and without defects, and are therefore fit to be bound, sold, and used. The same function is performed in schools by the examination at the end of the year, when the progress of the pupils, and the thoroughness and comprehensiveness of their training, are investigated by the inspectors; the object being that these latter may certify that the subjects appointed have been properly learned.

27. So far we have confined ourselves to generalities, reserving our detailed investigation for a more suitable ​occasion. For the present it is sufficient to have shown that our discovery of didachography, or our universal method, facilitates the multiplication of learned men in precisely the same way that the discovery of printing has facilitated the multiplication of books, those vehicles of learning, and that this is greatly to the advantage of mankind, since “the multitude of the wise is the wisdom of the world” (Wisdom vi. 24). And, since our desire is to increase the sum of Christian wisdom, and to sow the seeds of piety, of learning, and of morality in the hearts of all who are dedicated to God, we may hope for the fulfilment of the divine prophecy: “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah xi. 9).

CHAPTER XXXI

OF THE UNIVERSITY

1. Our method does not really concern itself with University studies, but there is no reason why we should not state our views and our wishes with regard to them. We have already expressed our opinion that the complete training in any of the sciences or faculties should be reserved for the University.

2. Our ideal scheme is as follows:

(i) The curriculum should be really universal, and provision should be made for the study of every branch of human knowledge.

(ii) The methods adopted should be easy and thorough, that all may receive a sound education.

(iii) Positions of honour should be given only to those who have completed their University course with success, and have shown themselves fit to be entrusted with the management of affairs.

We will briefly give some details on each of these points.

3. If its curriculum is to be universal, the University must possess (1) learned and able professors of all the sciences, arts, faculties, and languages, who can thus impart information to all the students on any subject; (2) a library of well-selected books for the common use of all.

4. The studies will progress with ease and success if, firstly, only select intellects, the flower of mankind, attempt them. The rest had better turn their attention to more ​suitable occupations, such as agriculture, mechanics, or trade.

5. Secondly, if each student devote his undivided energies to that subject for which he is evidently suited by nature. For some men are more suited than others to be theologians, doctors, or lawyers, just as others have a natural aptitude for and excel in music, poetry, or oratory. This is a matter in which we are apt to make frequent mistakes, trying to carve statues out of every piece of wood, and disregarding the intention of nature. The result is that many enter on branches of study for which they have no vocation, produce no good results in them, and attain to greater success in their subsidiary pursuits than in those that they have chosen.

A public examination, therefore, should be held for the students who leave the Latin-School, and from its results the masters may decide which of them should be sent to the University, and which should enter on the other occupations of life. Those who are selected will pursue their studies, some choosing theology, some politics, and some medicine, in accordance with their natural inclination and with the needs of the Church and of the state.

6. Thirdly, those of quite exceptional talent should be urged to pursue all the branches of study, that there may always be some men whose knowledge is encyclopædic.

7. Care should be taken to admit to the University only those who are diligent and of moral character. False students, who waste their patrimony and their time in ease and luxury, and thus set a bad example to others, should not be tolerated. Thus, if there is no disease, there can be no infection, and all will be intent upon their work.

8. We said that every class of author should be read in the University. Now this would be a laborious task, but its use is great, and it is therefore to be hoped that men of learning, philologers, philosophers, theologians, physicians, etc., will render the same service to students as has been rendered to those who study geography by geo​graphers. For these latter make maps of the provinces, kingdoms, and divisions of the world, and thus present to the eye huge tracts of sea and land on a small scale, so that they can be taken in at a glance. Painters, also, produce accurate and life-like representations of countries, cities, houses, and men, no matter of what size the originals may be. Why, therefore, should not Cicero, Livy, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Tacitus, Gellius, Hippocrates, Galen, Celsus, Augustine, Jerome, etc., be treated in the same way and epitomised? By this we do not allude to the collections of extracts and flowers of rhetoric, that are often met with. These epitomes should contain the whole author, only somewhat reduced in bulk.

9. Epitomes of this kind will be of great use. In the first place it will be possible to obtain a general notion of an author when there is no time to read his works at length. Secondly, those who (following Seneca’s advice) wish to confine themselves to the works of one writer (for different writers suit different dispositions), will be able to take a rapid survey of all and to make their choice in accordance with their tastes. Thirdly, those who are going to read the authors in their entirety will find that these epitomes enable them to read with greater profit, just as a traveller is able to take in the details of his journey with greater ease, if he have first studied them on a map. Finally, these abstracts will be of great use to those who wish to make a rapid revision of the authors that they have read, as it will help them to remember the chief points, and to master them thoroughly.

10. Summaries of this kind may be issued both separately (for the use of poor students and those who are not in the position to read the complete works) and bound up with the complete works, that those who wish to read them may get an idea of the subject-matter before they begin.

11. As regards academic exercises, I imagine that public debates, on the model of a Gellian society, should be of great assistance. Whenever a professor delivers lectures on any subject, works which treat of that subject, ​and these the best that exist, should be given to the students for their private reading. Then the morning lecture of the professor should serve as the subject for an afternoon debate, in which the whole class may join. One student may ask a question about some point that he does not understand, and may point out that in the author which he has been studying he has found an opinion, backed by reasonable arguments and opposed to that of the professor. Any other student may then rise (some forms of order being observed), and may answer the question raised; while others may then decide if the point has been properly argued. Finally the professor, as president, may terminate the discussion. In this way, the private reading of each student will be of use to the whole class, and the subject will be so impressed on their minds that they will make real progress in the theory and practice of the sciences.

12. This practice of dissertation may be the means of fulfilling my third wish, that public posts of honour be given to none but the worthy. This result will be obtained if the appointment to these posts depend not on the decision of one man, but on the unanimous opinion of all. Once a year, therefore, the University should be visited by commissioners appointed by the king or by the state, just as the Latin-School is examined by its masters. The industry of the professors and students can thus be tested, and the most diligent of the latter should receive a public recognition of merit by having the degree of doctor or of master conferred upon them.

13. It is most important that everything be conducted with perfect fairness, and therefore, instead of allowing the academic degree to be won by a disputation, the following plan should be adopted. The candidate (or several at once) should be placed in the midst. Then men of the greatest knowledge and experience should question him and do all they can to find out what progress he has made, both in theory and in practice. For example, they may examine him on the text of the Scriptures, of Hippocrates, ​of the Corpus Juris, etc.; asking him where such and such a passage occurs, and how it agrees with some other passage? if he knows of any writer who holds a different opinion, and who that writer is? What arguments he brings to bear, and how the contradictory views may be reconciled? with other similar questions. A practical examination should then follow. Various cases of conscience, of disease, and of law should be submitted to the candidate, and he should be asked what course of action he would pursue, and why? He should thus be examined with regard to a number of cases, until it is evident that he has an intelligent and thorough grasp of his subject. Surely, students who knew that they were to be publicly examined with such severity, would be stimulated to great industry.

14. There is no need to say anything about travel (to which we assigned a place in this last period of six years, or at its conclusion), except to remark that we are at one with Plato, who forbade the young to travel until the hot-headedness of youth had passed away, and they were sufficiently versed in the ways of the world to do so with advantage.

15. It is scarcely necessary to point out how useful a School of Schools or Didactic College would be, in whatever part of the world it were founded. Even if it be vain to hope for the actual foundation of such a college, the desired result might still be brought about, existing institutions being left as they are, if learned men would work together, and in this way seek to promote the glory of God. These men should make it the object of their associated labours to thoroughly establish the foundations of the sciences, to spread the light of wisdom throughout the human race with greater success than has hitherto been attained, and to benefit humanity by new and useful inventions; for, unless we wish to remain stationary or to lose ground, we must take care that our successful beginnings lead to further advances. For this no single man and no single generation is sufficient, and it is therefore essential that the work be carried on by many, working together ​and employing the researches of their predecessors as a starting-point. This Universal College, therefore, will bear the same relation to other schools that the belly bears to the other members of the body; since it will be a kind of workshop, supplying blood, life, and strength to all.

16. But we must return to our subject and say what remains to be said about our schools.

CHAPTER XXX

SKETCH OF THE LATIN-SCHOOL

1. In this school the pupils should learn four languages and acquire an encyclopædic knowledge of the arts. Those youths who have completed its whole curriculum should have had a training as:

(i) Grammarians, who are well versed in Latin and in their mother-tongue, and have a sufficient acquaintance with Greek and Hebrew.

(ii) Dialecticians, who are well skilled in making definitions, in drawing distinctions, in arguing a point, and in solving hard questions.

(iii) Rhetoricians or orators, who can talk well on any given subject.

(iv) Arithmeticians, and (v) geometricians; both on account of the use of these sciences in daily life, and because they sharpen the intellect more than anything else.

(vi) Musicians, both practical and theoretical.

(vii) Astronomers, who have, at any rate, mastered the rudiments, such as the knowledge of the heavenly bodies, and the calculation of their movements, since without this science it is impossible to understand not only physics but also geography and a great part of history.

2. The above are commonly known as the seven liberal arts, a knowledge of which is demanded from a doctor of philosophy. But our pupils must aim higher than this, and in addition must be:

​(viii) Physicists, who know the composition of the earth, the force of the elements, the different species of animals, the powers of plants and of minerals, and the structure of the human body, and who, besides knowing these things, can apply them to the various uses of life. Under this head is thus comprised a part of medicine, of agriculture, and of other mechanical arts.

(ix) Geographers, who are well acquainted with the external features of the earth, and know the seas, the islands that are in them, the rivers, and the various kingdoms.

(x) Chronologers, who can fix periods of time, and trace the course of the centuries from the beginning of the world.

(xi) Historians, who possess a fair knowledge of the history of the human race, of the chief empires, and of the Church, and who know the various customs and fortunes of races and of men.

(xii) Moralists, who can draw fine distinctions between the various kinds of virtue and of vice, and who can follow the one and avoid the other. This knowledge they should possess both in its general form and in its special application to the life of the family, of the state, and of the Church.

(xiii) Finally, we wish them to be theologians, who, besides understanding the principles of their faith, can also prove them from the Scriptures.

3. When this course is finished, the youths, even if they have not a perfect knowledge of all these subjects (indeed at their age perfection is impossible, since experience is necessary to complete the theoretical knowledge that they have acquired, and the sea of learning cannot be exhausted in six years), should, at any rate, have laid a solid foundation for any more advanced instruction that they may receive in the future.

4. For the curriculum of six years, six distinct classes will be necessary, the names of which, starting from the lowest, might be as follows:—

(i) The Grammar class.

(ii) The Natural Philosophy class.

(iii) The Mathematical class.

​(iv) The Ethics class.

(v) The Dialectic class.

(vi) The Rhetoric class.

5. I presume that no one can raise any objection to my placing grammar first, since it is the key of all knowledge; but to those who are always guided by custom it may seem strange that I have placed real studies before dialectic and ethics. No other arrangement, however, is possible. It has already been shown that the study of facts must precede that of their combinations, that matter logically precedes its form, that this is the only method by which sure and rapid progress can be made, and that we must therefore learn our facts by observation before we can either pass a sound judgment on them, or enunciate them in well-turned phrases. A man may have the whole apparatus of logic and of eloquence at his fingers’ ends, but of what value can his investigation or his proof be, if he be ignorant of the objects with which he is dealing? It is as impossible to talk sensibly about matters with which we are not acquainted as it is for a virgin to bring forth a child. Things exist in themselves, and are quite independent of their relation to thought and to speech. But thought and speech have no meaning apart from things, and depend entirely upon them. Unless it refers to definite objects, speech is nothing but sound without sense, and it is therefore absolutely necessary to give our pupils a thorough preliminary training in real studies.

6. Though many have held the contrary opinion, it has been conclusively shown by learned writers that the study of natural philosophy should precede that of ethics.

Lipsius,⁴² in his Physiology, bk. i. chap. i., writes as follows:—

“I am distinctly in agreement with the distinguished authorities who hold that natural philosophy should come first. Its study is productive of great pleasure, stimulates and retains the attention, and forms a suitable introduction to ethics.”

7. It is open to argument whether the Mathematical ​class should or should not precede the Natural Philosophy class. It was with the study of mathematics that the ancients commenced the investigation of nature, for which reason they gave them the name of “The Sciences”; while Plato forbade those who were ignorant of geometry to enter his Academy. Their reasons for holding this view are easy to understand, since the sciences that deal with number and quantity make a special appeal to the senses, and are therefore easy to grasp; besides, they make a powerful impression on the imagination, and thus prepare the mind for studies of a more abstract nature.

8. All this is very true, but we have some other considerations to take into account: (1) In the Vernacular-School we advised the education of the senses, and the development of the mind through their means, and as our pupils have by this time been through a course of arithmetic they can scarcely be considered quite ignorant of mathematics. (2) Our method advances step by step. Before proceeding to complex problems of magnitude, we should deal with bodies in the concrete, and thus prepare our minds to grasp more abstract notions. (3) The curriculum of the Mathematical class, as drawn up by us, embodies most of the arts, and these cannot be thoroughly mastered without some knowledge of natural philosophy. But indeed, if others suggest a different order, and justify their preference by theoretical or practical reasons, I have no wish to gainsay them. My own view is opposed to theirs, and I have given my reasons for it.

9. As soon as a fair knowledge of Latin has been acquired (by the aid of the Vestibulum and the Janua, which are to be used in the first class), the pupils should be instructed in the science of first principles, commonly called metaphysics (though in my opinion it should be called prophysics or hypophysics, that is to say, ante-natural or sub-natural). For this science embraces the primary and the most important principles of existence, dealing with the essential hypotheses on which all things depend, their attributes, and their logical differences; and ​includes the most general definitions, axioms, and laws of nature. When these are known (and by my method the task is an easy one), it will be possible to learn particulars and details with little effort, since, in a way, they will already be familiar, and nothing will be necessary but the application of general principles to particular instances. Immediately after this grounding in first principles, which should not occupy more than three months (for they will be speedily learned, being principles of pure reason and easily grasped by the mind), we may proceed to deal with the visible universe, that the marvels of nature (already set forth in the prophysic) may be demonstrated more and more clearly by particular examples. This will be supplied by the Natural Philosophy class.

10. From the essential nature of things we proceed to the more exact investigation of their accidental properties, and this we call the Mathematical class.

11. The pupils must next investigate man himself, viewed as a free agent and as the lord of creation. They must learn to notice what things are in our power, what are not, and how everything must submit to the inflexible laws of the universe.

This they will learn in the fourth year, in the Ethics class. But this must not consist of an historical course or of a mere statement of facts, as in the Vernacular-School. The reasons which underlie each fact must be given, that the pupils may acquire the habit of concentrating their attention on cause and effect. All controversial matter, however, must be carefully excluded from these first four classes, since we wish this to be reserved for the fifth class that follows.

12. In the Dialectic class, after a brief training in the laws of reasoning, the pupils should go over the whole field of natural philosophy, mathematics, and ethics, and carefully investigate any weighty points that are usually discussed by learned men. This gives an opportunity for explaining the cause and the nature of the controversy, for distinguishing between the thesis and the antithesis, ​and for showing by what arguments, real or plausible, either may be controverted. The mistakes of the opposite side should then be exposed, and the cause of error and the fallacy of the arguments employed should be clearly shown; while, if there be an element of truth on both sides, the conflicting arguments may be reconciled. The utility of this process will be great, as it will not only comprise the recapitulation of facts already known, and illustrate those that are less familiar, but will at the same time teach the art of reasoning, of investigating what is unknown, and explaining what is obscure, of simplifying ambiguity, limiting statements that are too general, defending the truth with the weapons of truth, unmasking falsehood, and setting in order facts that are confused.

13. Last of all comes the Rhetoric class. In this the pupils should be taught to make an easy and profitable use of all that they have hitherto learned, and here it will be seen that they have learned something and have not spent their time in vain. For, in accordance with the saying of Socrates, “Speak, that I may see your character,” we must train them to speak well, now that we have taught them to think accurately.

14. Therefore, after a preliminary training in the shortest and simplest rules of oratory, they should proceed to put these into practice by imitating the best masters. They should, however, not confine themselves to the subjects that they have already studied, but should traverse the whole field of truth, existence, of human life, and of divine wisdom; that if they know anything which is true, good, pleasant, or useful they may be able to express it in suitable language, or, if necessary, to hold a brief for it. For this purpose they will at this stage be supplied with a mental furniture that is by no means to be despised, namely, a varied acquaintance with the facts of nature, and a good stock of words, of phrases, and of historical knowledge.

15. But of this we can speak more fully elsewhere; that is to say, if it be necessary, since the details will work ​themselves out in practice. We will only touch on one point further. An acquaintance with history is the most important element in a man’s education, and is, as it were, the eye of his whole life. This subject, therefore, should be taught in each of the six classes, that our pupils may be ignorant of no event which has happened from ancient times to the present day; but its study must be arranged in such a way that it lighten their work instead of increasing it, and serve a relaxation after their severer labours.

16. Our idea is that each class should have its own hand-book, dealing with some special branch of history; for example:

In class	i.	An epitome of Biblical history.
	ii.	Natural history.
	iii.	The history of art and of inventions.
	iv.	The history of morals.
	v.	The history of customs, treating of the habits of different nations.
	vi.	The general history of the world and of the principal nations; but especially of the boys’ native land, dealing with the whole subject tersely and comprehensively.

17. As regards the special method to be employed, I will make only one remark. The four hours of daily class instruction should be arranged as follows: the two morning hours should be devoted (as soon as morning prayer has been held) to the science or the art that forms the special subject of the class. Of the afternoon hours the first should be given to history, and, in the second, the pupils should be made to exercise style, declamation, and the use of their hands, in accordance with the requirements of the class.

CHAPTER XXIX

SKETCH OF THE VERNACULAR-SCHOOL

1. In chap. ix. I demonstrated that all the young of both sexes should be sent to the public schools, I now add that they should first be sent to the Vernacular-School. Some writers hold the contrary opinion. Zepper³⁹ (Pol. bk. i. ch. 7) and Alsted⁴⁰ (Scholastic, ch. 6) would persuade us that only those boys and girls who are destined for manual labour should be sent to the Vernacular-School, while boys whose parents wish them to receive a higher education should be sent straight to the Latin-School. Moreover, Alsted adds: “Some will doubtless disagree with me, but the system that I propose is the one which I would wish adopted by those whose educational interests I have most at heart.” From this view my whole didactic system forces me to dissent.

2. (i) The education that I propose includes all that is proper for a man, and is one in which all men who are born into this world should share. All therefore, as far as is possible, should be educated together, that they may stimulate and urge on one another.

(ii) We wish all men to be trained in all the virtues, especially in modesty, sociability, and politeness, and it is therefore undesirable to create class distinctions at such an early age, or to give some children the opportunity of considering their own lot with satisfaction and that of others with scorn.

​(iii) When boys are only six years old, it is too early to determine their vocation in life, or whether they are more suited for learning or for manual labour. At this age, neither the mind nor the inclinations are sufficiently developed, while, later on, it will be easy to form a sound opinion on both. In the same way, while plants are quite small, a gardener cannot tell which to hoe up and which to leave, but has to wait until they are more advanced. Nor should admission to the Latin-School be reserved for the sons of rich men, nobles, and magistrates, as if these were the only boys who would ever be able fill similar positions. The wind blows where it will, and does not always begin to blow at a fixed time.

3. (iv) The next reason is that my universal method has not as its sole object the Latin language, that nymph on whom such unbounded admiration is generally wasted, but seeks a way by which each modern language may be taught as well (that every spirit may praise the Lord more and more). This design should not be frustrated by the complete and arbitrary omission of the Vernacular-School.

4. (v) To attempt to teach a foreign language before the mother-tongue has been learned is as irrational as to teach a boy to ride before he can walk. To proceed step by step is of great importance, as we have seen in chap. xvi. Principle 4. Cicero declared that he could not teach elocution to those who were unable to speak, and, in the same way, my method confesses its inability to teach Latin to those who are ignorant of their mother-tongue, since the one paves the way for the other.

5. (vi) Finally, what I have in view is an education in the objects that surround us, and a brief survey of this education can be best obtained from books written in the mother-tongue, which embody a list of the things that exist in the external world. This preliminary survey will render the acquisition of Latin far easier, for it will only be necessary to adapt a new nomenclature to objects that are already known; while to the knowledge of actual facts may ​be added by degrees that of the causes which underlie those facts.

6. Proceeding, therefore, on the basis of my fourfold division of schools, we may define the Vernacular-School as follows. The aim and object of the Vernacular-School should be to teach to all the young, between the ages of six and twelve, such things as will be of use to them throughout their whole lives. That is to say:

(i) To read with ease both print and writing in their mother-tongue.

(ii) To write, first with accuracy, then with speed, and finally with confidence, in accordance with the grammatical rules of the mother-tongue. These rules should be written in a popular form, and the boys should be exercised in them.

(iii) To count, with ciphers and with counters, as far as is necessary for practical purposes.

(iv) To measure spaces, such as length, breadth, and distance, with skill.

(v) To sing well-known melodies, and, in the case of those who display especial aptitude, to learn the elements of advanced music.

(vi) To learn by heart the greater number of the psalms and hymns that are used in the country. For, if brought up in the praise of God, they will be able (as the Apostle says) to exhort one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to God from their hearts.

(vii) Besides the Catechism they should know the most important stories and verses in the Bible, and should be able to repeat them word for word.

(viii) They should learn the principles of morality, which should be drawn up in the shape of rules and accompanied by illustrations suitable to the age and understanding of the pupils. They should also begin to put these principles into practice.

(ix) They should learn as much economics and politics as is necessary to enable them to understand what they see daily at home and in the state.

​(x) They should also learn the general history of the world; its creation, its fall, its redemption, and its preservation by God up to the present day.

(xi) In addition, they should learn the most important facts of cosmography, such as the spherical shape of the heavens, the globular shape of the earth suspended in their midst, the tides of the ocean, the shapes of seas, the courses of rivers, the principal divisions of the earth, and the chief kingdoms of Europe; but, in particular, the cities, mountains, rivers, and other remarkable features of their own country.

(xii) Finally, they should learn the most important principles of the mechanical arts, both that they may not be too ignorant of what goes on in the world around them, and that any special inclination towards things of this kind may assert itself with greater ease later on.

7. If all these subjects have been skilfully handled in the Vernacular-School, the result will be that those youths who begin the study of Latin or who enter on agriculture, trade, or professional life will encounter nothing which is absolutely new to them; while the details of their trades, the words that they hear in church, and the information that they acquire from books, will be to them nothing but the more detailed exposition or the more particular application of facts with which they are already acquainted. They will thus find themselves all the fitter to use their understanding, their powers of action, and their judgment.

8. To attain this result we employ the following means:—

(i) All the children in the Vernacular-School, who are destined to spend six years there, should be divided into six classes, each of which, if possible, should have a classroom to itself, that it may not hinder the others.

(ii) Specially prepared books should be supplied to each class, and these should contain the whole subject-matter of the literary, moral, and religious instruction prescribed for the class. Within these limits no other books should be needed, and, by their aid, the desired ​result should infallibly be obtained. They should embody a complete grammar of the mother-tongue, in which should be comprised the names of all the objects that children of this age can understand, as well as a selection of the most common phrases in use.

9. These class-books should be six in number, corresponding to the number of the classes, and should differ, not in their subject-matter, but in their way of presenting it. Each should embrace all the above-mentioned subjects; but the earlier ones should treat of them in a general manner, choosing their better known and easier features; while those which come later should draw attention to the less known and more complex details, or should point out some fresh way of treating the subject, and thus excite interest and attention. The truth of this will soon be evident.

10. Care must be taken to suit all these books to the children for whom they are intended; for children like whimsicality and humour, and detest pedantry and severity. Instruction, therefore, should ever be combined with amusement, that they may take pleasure in learning serious things which will be of genuine use to them later on, and that their dispositions may be, as it were, perpetually enticed to develope in the manner desired.

11. The titles of these books should be of such a kind as to please and attract the young, and should at the same time express the nature of their contents. Suitable names might be borrowed from the nomenclature of a garden, that sweetest possession of youth. Thus, if the whole school be compared to a garden, the book of the lowest class might be called the violet-bed, that of the second class the rose-bed, that of the third the grass-plot, and so on.

12. Of the matter and form of these books I will speak in greater detail elsewhere. I will only add that, as they are written in the mother-tongue, the technical terms of the arts should also be expressed in the vernacular, and not in Latin or Greek. For (1) we wish the young to ​make progress with as little delay as possible. Now foreign terms must necessarily be explained before they are understood, and, even when explained, are not properly understood, but are thought to have no meaning apart from their technical signification. In addition, they are difficult to remember. On the other hand, if the vernacular terms are used, it is only necessary to point out the object designated by each term. In this way we wish to remove all delays and difficulties from the path of this elementary instruction. (2) Besides this, we wish to cultivate and improve the vernacular languages, and this is to be one, not by imitating the French, who incorporate Greek and Latin words that the people cannot understand (for which practice Stevin blames them), but by expressing our meaning in terms which can be understood by everybody. Stevin⁴¹ gave the same advice to the Belgians (Geog. bk. i.), and carried it into effect in his work on mathematics.

13. But it may be objected that all languages are not rich enough to supply suitable equivalents for Greek and Latin terms; that even if this were done, the learned would not relinquish their use; and, lastly, that those boys who are going to learn Latin had better begin at this stage, and so avoid the necessity of learning fresh technical terms later on.

14. I reply: If any language be obscure, or insufficient to express necessary ideas, this is the fault, not of the language, but of those who use it. The Romans and Greeks had originally to form the words that are now in use, and these words seemed so obscure and so rude that their authors were uncertain if they could ever serve as a vehicle for thought. But now that they are universally accepted they prove sufficiently expressive. As an illustration of what I mean, take the terms “essence,” “substance,” “accident,” “quality,” “quantity,” etc. No language, therefore, need lack words unless men lack industry.

15. As for the second objection; let the learned retain their own terms. We are now seeking a way by which the ​common people may be led to understand and take an interest in the liberal arts and sciences; and with this end in view we must not speak in a language that is foreign to them, and that is in itself artificial.

16. And lastly, those boys who have to learn Latin later on will find it no disadvantage to know the technical terms in their mother-tongue, nor will it prove any hindrance to them that they praised God in their own language before doing so in Latin.

17. The third requisite is an easy method of introducing these books to the young, and of this we will give a brief sketch in the following rules:

(i) The class lessons should not exceed four daily, of which two should be before mid-day, and two after. The remaining hours of the day may profitably be spent in domestic work (especially among the poor), or in some form of recreation.

(ii) The morning should be devoted to the exercise of the intellect and the memory, the afternoon to that of the hand and the voice.

(iii) In the morning the master shall read over the lesson for the hour several times, while the whole class attends, and shall explain anything that needs explanation in simple language, and in such a way that it cannot but be understood. He shall then bid the boys read it in turn, and while one reads it in a clear voice the rest should attend and follow in their books. If this be continued for half an hour, or longer, the clever boys and at last even the stupid ones will try to repeat by heart what they have just read. For the tasks that are set must be short; not too long for an hour’s lesson, or too hard for the boys to understand.

(iv) No fresh work should be done in the afternoon, but the lessons done in the morning should be repeated. The pupils should transcribe portions of their printed books, and should compete with one another to see who can best remember the morning’s lesson, or who is most proficient in writing, in singing, or in counting.

​18. Not without reason do we recommend that all the pupils copy their printed books as neatly as they can. (1) The manual exercise of copying will help to impress on their minds the matter copied. (2) If the practice be made a daily one, it will teach them to write well, quickly, and accurately, and this will be of the greatest use in the further prosecution of their studies, and in conducting the affairs of life. (3) This will be the surest proof to parents that their children are not wasting their time at school, and will enable them to judge how much progress they are making.

19. We have no space to go into further particulars at present, and will only touch on one more point. If any boys are to learn foreign languages, they should learn them now, at about the age of ten, eleven, or twelve, that is to say, between the Vernacular-School and the Latin-School. The best way is to send them to the place where the language that they wish to learn is spoken, and in the new language to make them read, write, and learn the class-books of the Vernacular-School (the subject-matter of which is already familiar to them).