J „ jjj J / * *» f i 1 the ~ % PRINCETON, N. J. ** Division Lrr. . L.....SJ' J.. Section . A HISTORY OF EDUCATION / ♦ 4 ♦ THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO HISTORY OF EDUCATION BEFORE THE MIDDLE AGES FRANK PIERREPONT GRAVES, Ph.D. PROFESSOR OF THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION IN THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1909 All rights reserved Copyright, 1909, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1909. Reprinted October, 1909. Noriaoob J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.8.A. TO ALBERT ROSS HILL, LL.D. PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PREFACE The present publication is intended to meet the demand for a text-book or reference work that will give a comprehensive account of the history of education before the day of the monastic schools. The_aim has been to present sufficient material to mark the most significant movements, and disclose the underlying principles, without entering into unnecessary detail, or dwelling upon matters but remotely related to the edu¬ cational problems of to-day. While there has been no attempt to adduce exhaustive proof of the various theses maintained, it is hoped that enough has been presented to make them acceptable for the occasion, and to serve as an interpretative basis of further study. An effort has, moreover, been made to see that all interpretations are based upon historical data collected from the sources; and direct quotation of this material has been liberally made throughout. Also, to supply deficiencies in either facts or interpretation and stimu¬ late the student to research or further reading, refer¬ ences to the sources and to collateral works have been given at the end of each chapter. I believe that teach¬ ers should encourage their pupils to use this part of vii Vlll PREFACE the book especially, if for no other purpose than to find a different emphasis and set of generalizations from those of the text, and so realize that no one form of treatment can be considered infallible or final. The point of view and method of presentation in this book have been worked out in the class-room and in extension lectures. While the treatment is not limited to a history of schools and educational methods, a defi¬ nite attempt has been made to center the discussion about the schools and render the subject pertinent and profitable for the teacher of the present and future. It is especially desired that it may prove a stimulus and help to the further study of education. My general attitude is, with Davidson, to regard edu¬ cation as a species of ‘ conscious evolution,’ and to trace throughout the period covered the development of indi¬ vidualism. Accordingly, I have endeavored to point out the traditional forms of expression that have grown up among the various peoples and become fixed by social habit, and the lack of progress that has ensued, until, through some conflict of traditions, the individual is enabled to select a new pathway of expression. By thus adopting a general point of view, I have hoped to bind together all nations and periods in a connected account of world progress. The method of approaching educational history that is recommended in Chapter I was first suggested to me PREFACE IX by a former pupil of Professor Paul Monroe. It closely resembles the plan adopted in the Text-book in the History of Education that has since been issued by that well-known authority. Others, notably Laurie and Williams, seem to have used a similar method more or less consistently, and the idea was outlined and followed to some extent by Schmidt in his Geschichte der Pada - gogik. Experience has shown that, in a more or less modified form, this is a natural and effective procedure. In order to present the education of each period in its proper setting, and show how its ideals arose, a brief account of its political and social history has first been given. Such knowledge, I have found, cannot be taken for granted. I have to acknowledge indebtedness to many persons, including those who have previously written on this range of educational history. Nearly every chapter of the book has been submitted to some authority in the par¬ ticular field, and some of the grosser errors eliminated in this way. Those that remain are probably due to my own carelessness or immunity to advice. Sugges¬ tions on portions of the manuscript have been made by Professors C. A. Ellwood of the University of Missouri, J. H. Breasted of the University of Chicago, A. V. W. Jackson of Columbia University, C. M. Sharpe of the Missouri Bible College, and J. R. Smith and S. C. Derby of the Ohio State University. A wider reading of the X PREFACE manuscript has been made by Professor Jesse H. Cour- sault of the University of Missouri, Professor Arthur E. Davies of the Ohio State University, and Professor William G. Tousey of Tufts College; and their keen, but sympathetic, criticism has been of especial value. I am also indebted to my wife for careful reading of the proof and for timely suggestions. F. P. G. January i, 1909. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE The Study of the History of Education . . . i The Value of the History of Education. How to Study It. PART I NON-PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION CHAPTER II Savages or Nature Peoples. 8 Nature of Primitive Society. Purpose of Primitive Education. Its Organization and Content. Its Method. Summary of Results. CHAPTER III Barbarism or Early Civilization.20 The Movement from Nature to Culture. CHAPTER IV Egypt.22 Historical Development. Effect of the Nile upon Eco¬ nomic Development. Religion and Ethics. Classes of Society and Position of Women. Cultural Development. Education. xi Xll CONTENTS CHAPTER V Babylonia and Assyria. 43 Historical Relations. Social Conditions. Religion and Ethics. Culture. Education. Phcenicia CHAPTER VI • •••••»• 5^ Achievements. Character. Education. China . CHAPTER VII . 55 National Conditions. Religion and Ethics. Culture. Education. CHAPTER VIII India . 77 Effect of Environment. Religion. Social Conditions. Education. CHAPTER IX Persia . ........ 91 Natural Influences. Government. Religion and Ethics. Education. CHAPTER X Character of the Earliest Civilization . . .104 Transitional Stage. Restricted Ideals. Occupational Content. Memory Method. Sacerdotal Organization of Schools. Static Results. CONTENTS Xlll PART II THE BEGINNINGS OF INDIVIDUALISM IN EDUCATION CHAPTER XI Israel and Jud^a (The Jews) .no Survey of Jewish History and Religion. Development of Israelite Religion. Educational Ideals. Pre-exilic Education. Post-exilic Education. Educational Method. Effect of Jewish Education on Progress. CHAPTER XII Sparta and Athens (The Greeks).138 Physical and Social Factors in the Progress of the Greeks. Outline of Greek History. Education in Pre¬ historic Greece. Older Education of the Historic Period. Spartan Education and Its Aim. Infancy. Boyhood and Adolescence. Youth and Young Manhood. Citizenship. Education of Women. Merits and Defects of Spartan Education. Athenian Education in the Old Period. Childhood. Boyhood. Adolescence. Youth. Citizen¬ ship. Education of Women. Character of the Old Athe¬ nian Education. Athenian Education in the New Period. The Sophists. Reactionary Forces. The Mediators. Socrates. Plato. The Republic. Criticism of The Re¬ public. The Laws. Influence of Plato. Aristotle. The Ethics and The Politics. Criticism of The Ethics and The Politics. Influence of Aristotle. Triumph of Individual¬ ism. Later Greek Education. Philosophical Schools. Rhetorical Schools. Universities. Extension of Hellenic Culture. Survey of Greek Education. CHAPTER XIII Rome and the Roman World.230 Survey of Roman History. Practical Aim of Education in Early Rome. Informal Acquisition of Abilities and XIV CONTENTS PAGE Virtues. Imitative Method of Training. Effect of the Education of Early Rome. Absorption of Greek Culture. Schools of the Hellenized Roman Education. Elementary Schools. Grammar Schools. Rhetorical Schools. Edu¬ cation beyond the Rhetorical Schools. Education of Women. Education Subsidized and Systematized. Decay of Education. Effect of Roman Education upon Civiliza¬ tion. CHAPTER XIV Early Christianity. Beginnings of Individualism among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Larger Ideals of Christianity. Vicious Conditions that Christianity Needed to Reform. The Earliest Christian Education. The Catechumenal Schools. Amalgamation of Christianity with Graeco-Roman Culture. The Catechetical, Episcopal, and Cathedral Schools. Op¬ position of Christianity to the Graeco-Roman Culture. Influence of Greece and Rome upon Christianity. Effect of Organized Christianity upon Society. The Monastic Schools. Summary of Pre-mediaeval Progress. Index . . 299 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION A HISTORY OF EDUCATION EDUCATION BEFORE THE MIDDLE AGES CHAPTER I THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION A well-known philosopher 1 has treated the history of education as an account of the latest stage in the pro¬ cess of evolution. All the development of the universe that had taken place in the stages prior to the advent of man might, he thought, be considered as the result of a sort of unconscious education. Or better, education might be regarded as ‘ conscious evolution,’ — the stage where the process came to completer consciousness of itself and sought to guide itself more definitely. In other words, at this point man might be said to take himself in hand and endeavor to direct his living toward a higher development or * ideal end.’ From such a 1 Thomas Davidson in A History of Education. Cf. Schmidt, Geschichtc dcr PadagogikyYol. I, p. i: “Das Wort Entwicklungverrat dasGeheimnis alles Lebens,” etc. Cf. also Hegel’s view of history as ‘ theophany,’ Phi¬ losophy of History , Introduction, III. B I 2 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION It affords a broad sur¬ vey, and shows t v e impo tance ox tne teacher. point of view, the purpose of education is to help along this latest and highest movement in the working out of the world. The teacher’s function thus becomes the most important of all in society, and the history of edu¬ cation surveys a wider field than any other study in the curriculum. The Value of the History of Education.—This is an inspiring interpretation, but it is hardly necessary to plunge very deeply into speculation or to study the history of education before man’s advent, in order to perceive the dignity and importance of the teaching profession, or to realize the wide range of perspective afforded by a study of educational history. In fact, if the history of education is limited to a record of only typical instances of the moral, aesthetic, and intellectual development of man in all lands and at all periods of civilization, and his efforts to evolve ever higher and more expanding ideals, the student of this subject will find his vision considerably enlarged without reverting to the day of the clod, the plant, the amoeba, or our simian ancestry. No teacher can make a survey of even a limited portion of the development of the educa¬ tional process, which is all that this book attempts, and not find his professional view greatly widened, or fail to appreciate more fully the part which his calling has played in the progress of civilization. How to Study It. — But before beginning to study THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION 3 the educational procedure of even the earliest man, it may be worth while to seek the best avenue of approach to so important a subject. The facts connected with the educational history of any nation or period are found to be so diverse and numerous that one is liable to be lost in the maze unless he holds some silken clew to guide him. If we are to regard education as the grad¬ ual realization of a world purpose, and to consider the history of education as a history of progress in which each nation, period, or theorist described represents some stage in the process or embodies some suggestion of advance or retrogression, the most natural method of procedure is to study each topic from the standpoint of progress. How, then, is progress effected? To understand this, it will be well to see in outline how those social and educational ideals that determine progress are developed. Among every people a number of tradi¬ tional forms of self-expression grow up and gradually come to be accepted without question. Such, for ex¬ ample, are their religion and philosophy, their govern¬ ment and political institutions, their literature, art, and science, and all the other features of their social and economic life. Many influences may be instrumental in shaping these traditions, and, so far as they have affected them, are worthy of some study in determining the traditions themselves. For example, the race, his- To under¬ stand the history of education, one must see how progress is effected. 4 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION tory, geography, climate, and the surrounding peoples usually play the greatest part in the evolution of the traditions of a nation or period, and must be given due consideration. From these racial traditions those which seem to be most valuable are more or less consciously selected as social and educational ideals for the rising generation, who are guided in such a way as to re-live the experience. Thus they may be rapidly brought to the level of the race without being obliged to pass through all the laborious stages of experimentation by which the race has achieved its standing. The more the traditions and ideals that have thus evolved are conformed with, the more firmly they be¬ come fixed as social habits and the more .does progress in these directions cease. Now, in general, these tra¬ ditional ideals last until, through war, commerce, or social contact within the group, there arises a conflict with other traditions formed under different conditions, when mutual destruction is likely to occur. Then the individual, who is always the progressive factor in social evolution as opposed to the conservative force of the group as a whole, is enabled to select a new form of expression from the best elements of the conflicting traditions. Social habit again fixes the new form of expression, and the individual is emancipated only through another mutually destructive conflict. Thus, broadly speaking, each period in the development of THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION 5 civilization is marked by higher forms of expression than the preceding, and society becomes better organ¬ ized and its members more individualized as time goes on. Also, as individuals do become more differentiated in society, there is a greater conflict of habits within the group, and more rapid progress is possible. These social traditions, which also become educational ideals for a nation or period, would, therefore, indicate the stage of development in world progress at which a people have arrived, and the task, in estimating an epoch, is to discover what are its habitual forms of expression. Hence the thread for which we have been looking, that will lead one through the labyrinth of facts in the educational history of a period or people and enable us to classify them best, seems to lie along the way of inquiring the purpose of the education under consideration, for purpose unifies the manifold acts of a people by giving meaning to them. The first step, then, in studying the history of the education of any people should be to trace their edu¬ cational aims, and when these can be established, even if only tentatively, the next move will naturally be in the direction of finding out what attempt was made to realize them. This study of the means of accomplish¬ ing an educational purpose may include an investiga¬ tion of at least three main topics, which are closely connected. In the first place, one should find out And to estimate the development of a period, one must first know its educational aim.; 6 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION then its content , method, and organi¬ zation ; through what accomplishments or knowledge the edu¬ cation under consideration attempts to reproduce in the younger generation the best of the racial experiences. This educational content may consist of a few simple forms of expression, or, if an educational system has been fully developed, of the actual course of study. Then some attention should be given to the method by which the instruction was imparted, although in some instances this may be so informal that one would not at first perceive that any definite procedure was followed. This may involve some study of the spirit, ideals, and preparation of the teachers, and their modes of punishment or reward. Finally, it is of some im¬ portance to understand the organization and material equipment by which the particular type of education was carried out, although it may be that the experi¬ ence to be reproduced is so simple that the youth could learn it through imitative play or active partici¬ pation in the community. When, however, the ideal becomes more complicated and the subjects to be ac¬ quired become more numerous and difficult, regular schools are instituted, and the study of organization may include a description not only of the school sys¬ tem with the management and the hours of attend¬ ance, but also of the buildings or places for holding the schools and an account of the other equipment. When the educational system is fairly understood, both THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION 7 in its purpose and its procedure, the final inquiry will and finally r _ , . q. , the results. naturally be as to its results. Only as its effect upon civilization and the people who employed it is known, can its importance as a guide or a warning at the present day be rightly estimated. But beyond learning and interpreting the facts con¬ nected with the educational purpose of a country, period, or individual, and the way in which the attempt was made to approach this goal, — i.e. the matter , method, and organization of the system, and making some estimate of its results , the student of the history of education has no direct concern. This classification is quite obvious in the earliest types of education, but the more ad¬ vanced the culture, the more complicated does it become. But all historical material, however interesting and valu¬ able in other connections, which does not in some way contribute to these ends, may safely be neglected in this study, as it can throw little or no light upon educational problems of the present, past, or future. PART I NON-PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION CHAPTER II SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES “ One set of savages is like another,” said Samuel Johnson, and this dictum of the eighteenth-century sage has stood the test of modern investigation. The gov¬ ernment, customs, and mentality of all savages have proved to be strikingly similar in their simplicity and crudity. When the human race is yet in its intellectual infancy, which it seems to be in the case of all primitive peoples both of the present day and the past , 1 society is found to be on a comparatively simple basis, and there is little differentiation of thought or occupation. 1 It should be remembered that while there is evidence to show that most civilized countries were once occupied by primitive tribes, savagery is by no means limited to antiquity. There are many instances of arrested social development at the present day, such as the savages of North and West Australia, South and West Africa, Malaysia, Tasmania, Sumatra, and the Brazilian forests, and it is from these living examples rather than from the stone implements and ceremonial objects of the past that we gain our best knowledge of savagery. 8 SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 9 Nature of Primitive Society. — In all primitive society there is recognition of no social tie save that of blood, and the family, clan, and tribe are the highest form of organization of which such peoples are capable. Their affections are, therefore, limited to the members of their clan, although they usually include in this body friendly spirits, especially the ghosts of their ancestors, the ‘ totem ’ animals or wild beasts from which they believe they have sprung, and certain other animals which they have tamed or domesticated. This belief of the savage in the existence of spirits and his inclusion of lower animals in his clan, grow out of that view of the world which is known as animism , and which is peculiar to all savages at their earliest stage. The savage at first attributes a personality to every object, and explains all phenomena of nature as if they were demonstrations of some personal will. Such an idea cannot, with peoples so crude, be the re¬ sult of metaphysical speculation, as has been the case with some similar conceptions 1 of antiquity and modern times. It is due to a simple confusion between animate and inanimate objects. Through such phenomena as dreams, unconsciousness from a blow or other cause, reflections in the water, shadows, swoons, trances, or fancied ghost-seeing, savages come to conceive of the 1 Compare ‘ hylozoism* among the Greeks, and the present-day ‘pan¬ psychism ’ of Royce. The blood tie. Animistic religion and the concept of the * double.' 10 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Totemism. possibility of a separation of the individual from his body, and gradually get to believe that every person has another existence outside his visible corporeal one. This existence can hardly be thought of as a soul, in our sense of the word, for it is not really conceived as immaterial. It is only a kind of more attenuated «double,’ or copy of the body, which exists inside it. The conception is then carried over to the lower ani¬ mals and inanimate objects. Cattle, horses, trees, stones, and weapons are all regarded as possessing a double of this sort. Hence the savage’s possessions, such as his weapons, utensils, dog, horse, or even wife, are often burned or buried with him when he has left this life, that, through their doubles, they may continue to serve or comfort him in the life to come. A further development of animism appears in that worship of animals which characterizes the higher stages of savagery, and is known as totemism. This probably arises, on the one hand, from the close asso¬ ciation of savages with wild animals, and, on the other, from the savage’s conception of animals as personal beings superior, in some respects, to himself. This leads to a superstitious reverence for these animals, to the savage’s naming himself after them, and finally, through a confusion of the name with the animal itself, to the idea that the persons bearing the name of the > totem animal are descended from it. Hence the totem SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 11 animal, as well as all who bear his name, is included in the membership of the clan. A still further outgrowth in savage society, although it may be considered more characteristic of the stage of human development known as ‘ barbarism,’ is the form of religion called ancestor worship} It has already been seen how the totem animal worshiped by the members of a clan is considered their ancestor. Hence, later on in their development when descent comes to be reck¬ oned through fathers , 1 2 nothing is more natural than that human ancestors should come to be worshiped instead of the mythical animal ancestor. Thus the ghosts of ancestors are also included in the clan. This animism, totemism, ancestor worship, and other na'fve explanations illustrate how little ability the primi¬ tive mind has to analyze experience, make abstractions and generalizations, or formulate laws. So it is that while the savage does, to a certain extent, know how to use things, he can understand forces but little or not at all. Not being able to comprehend such a force as fire, his weapons, utensils, and tools are made of stone, wood, clay, bone, horn, ivory, or shell, since Ancestor worship. Inability to understand forces 1 For a detailed account of the various types of primitive religion, see Spencer, Sociology , Vol. I, Pt. I, Chaps. VIII-XXII. 2 In the earliest society, it is held by anthropologists, descent is recorded only through the female parent, largely because the father is often un¬ known. See Deniker, The Races of Man, p. 233. 12 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION or control nature. these can be shaped without its use, as metals cannot be . 1 Since the implements that the true savage is able to manufacture are so crude, and because he cannot, through a want of abstract thought in other directions, understand or anticipate the future, he does not practice agriculture to any extent, and is largely confined for his subsistence to hunting and fishing and gathering the natural products that are at hand. In fact, the chief characteristic of savages is their inability to control nature, and they are, therefore, because of this bondage, often spoken of as ‘ nature peoples/ They are on this account inclined to be nomadic, for after they have exhausted the fruits of the earth and the game in one place, they are obliged to seek them in another. In consequence, they dwell in caves, tents of skin, or rude huts, and their arts are limited to making clothes of wool and skins, roughly shaped utensils for domestic use, and implements for hunting and fishing and sometimes for war. Purpose of Primitive Education. — Because the life and thought of savages are so crude and undeveloped, % histories generally give little or no account of the l Food must at first have been eaten raw, and while there is evidence for believing that man early learned to use fire for cooking, it seems that he was much later in smelting metals for tools and weapons. See Starr, First Steps in Human Progress , Chaps. I—III. SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 13 educational process among the most primitive peoples. Nevertheless, the very simplicity and uniformity of the organization, method, and content of savage education, by constituting an instructive contrast to later complexi¬ ties, and affording a means of interpreting them, form a natural starting-point for studying the history of education, and would seem to be worthy of some consideration . 1 Although primitive education is almost unconscious of its own aim, and cannot be said to possess any genuine ideals, political, social, or moral, it must tend to afford a training in two different directions. The aim of a primi¬ tive people is the satisfaction of immediate wants, and the young savage must be taught the occupations of his race, in order that he may provide himself with the necessaries of life, — food, clothing, and shelter. This constitutes his practical education. On the other hand, his religion is likewise viewed as a means to a satisfac- « tion of these physical needs. If the mystic powers are appeased, they will serve rather than thwart his purpose. He must, therefore, also receive a theoretical training in learning how to deal with the unseen. He is shown by the medicine-man, exorcist, priest, or whatever the 1 Dewey, in his Interpretation of Savage Mind (Psychological Review , Vol. IX, p. 217 ff.), makes it clear that the present tendency to interpret primitive mentality with civilized mind as a standard, and so in negative terms, has prevented us from grasping the genetic significance in the process of mental development. Aims to satisfy immediate wants (practical education), 14 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and deal with the un¬ seen (theo¬ retical ed¬ ucation). The family is the means of practical education, interpreter of the invisible may be called, how to explain or interpret nature, how to propitiate the ‘spirits’ or powers, which, it has been seen, are believed to reside in every person, animal, and object, and how to conduct the worship of the totem animals or the human ances¬ tors. It may be noted in passing that these explana¬ tions and ceremonials of the medicine-man, crude as they are, were the first expressions of that tendency from which all forms of human philosophy, religion, and science have developed . 1 Furthermore, the growth of such training has made possible all our progress in practical education. Its Organization and Content. — Since the racial expe¬ rience at which primitive education aims is so simple, the youth can acquire it largely in imitative play or by participation in the activities of the community. Hence no schools are needed, and the means of carrying out their education, at least as far as the practical side is concerned, is through the family, or the clan, which is only a larger group supposed to be bound by the ties of kinship, and which constitutes the social unit in savagery. Through these institutions the young savage is taught to obtain the necessaries of life. Individuality is as yet at a minimum, since the same forms of expression are carried on by all. The only l For the evolution of the theologian, philosopher, and scientist from the medicine-man, see Spencer, Sociology , Vol. Ill, Pt. VII, Chap. VI. SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 15 division of labor known to the savage is not a distinc¬ tion between individuals, but that between male and female, the stronger sex being the protector and pro¬ vider, and the other caring for the shelter and prepar¬ ing the food and clothing . 1 But even at this crude economic stage, there has been developed some skill in fighting, hunting, and fishing, and in shaping weapons and utensils on the one hand, and in tanning skins, weaving, and possibly cooking on the other, and these arts must be learned by the future men and women of the clan. Outside this practical training, a more conscious and formal means of education, largely theoretical, is usually undertaken by the clan. This is conducted through what is known by anthropologists as ‘initiatory cere¬ monies’ or ‘puberty rites.’ The boys of the clan, at the age of puberty, are definitely instructed by their elders, especially the medicine-men, concerning their relation to the spirits and their totem animals, and acquainted with the religious forms and ceremonies of their people. They are also informed concerning their associations with the other members of their group, such as subordination to elders, relations between the sexes, and the sacredness of the clansman’s obligations, especially loyalty in time of war. Strict silence is 1 An account of the rise of the sex division of labor is undertaken by Thomas in Sex and Society , pp. 123-149. and the pu¬ berty rites of theoretical. ‘Trial and error.’ 16 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION enjoined upon the candidates concerning the informa¬ tion that is communicated, and to impress it upon their minds, and possibly to test their endurance and bravery, they are required to fast for several days before and after the ceremonies, and are usually mutilated in some way. A corresponding initiation is given to the girls of the clan under the direction of the older women. Its Method.—The method of the savage in acquiring his practical education is, to a great extent, that of ‘trial and error.’ The learner blindly imitates, with little or no consciousness, the act of an older member of the family or clan, in hunting or weaving, for example, until he meets with some degree of success, and the right acts are rendered habitual, and the wrong ones eliminated, through the pleasure resulting from successful action. But even in this practical education the young savage must be taught to perform these acts in the exact manner which the experience of the tribe, as interpreted by the exorcist or medicine¬ man, has prescribed as being the only way that will not offend the spirits connected with the object. Summary of Results.—Thus the practical education is somewhat regulated by the theoretical. Theoret¬ ical training, however, is not confined to explaining the procedure of practical education, as we have seen in the case of the initiatory rites, but gives an inter- SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 17 pretation to every experience and problem of life. It prescribes the exact method of conducting one’s self toward the other members of the tribe, and of worship¬ ing or of appeasing the totem animals and the spirits on all sorts of occasions. While this theoretical education is largely in the hands of the medicine-men, under some circumstances the head of the family or clan seems to become the teacher. Neither the priest nor the patriarch, however, assigns to those under his guidance any reason for the procedure he prescribes. As in practical education, the whole matter is mostly one of unconscious imitation. Thus in all things the savage lives merely from hand to mouth. His social organization is undeveloped, he is absolutely incapable of abstract thought, his re¬ ligion is superstitious and crude, his occupations are largely limited to securing the products of nature that are at hand, and the education he receives is imitative and fixed. Because he has not developed sufficiently to analyze the conditions about him and pass general judgments upon them, or to treasure his results in a written language, literature, and historic records, he has little idea of the past or future, and is practically tied to the present. Therefore, looking upon his phys¬ ical and social surroundings as unchanging through all time, he seeks no control over nature, and secures his education, both practical and theoretical, by follow- The savage is tied to the present. c and no de¬ velopment of individuality exists. 1 3 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION ing the example of the tribal exorcists and elders. Since he is completely bound down by nature and the customs of the society in which he lives, the habitual forms of expression are the same for all savages of the same sex, and no real development of individuality exists. The welfare of the individual is never even considered, except as a member of the clan. Such a training must be conspicuously non-pro¬ gressive. Not until people have come to see beyond the present and control their environment to some ex¬ tent, do they reach to even a slight degree of culture or civilization. They remain savages, or children of nature. SUPPLEMENTARY READING Brinton, D. G. Basis of Social Relations. Brinton, D. G. Races and Peoples. Chamberlain, A. F. The Child. A Study of the Evolution of Man. Chap. VIII. Davidson, T. A History of Education. Bk. I, Chap. III. Deniker, J. The Races of Man. Chaps. V-VII. Letourneau, C. Idevolution de Veducation dans les diverses races humaines. Chaps. II—VIII. Lubbock, J. Prehistoric Times. Chaps. I and XII-XV. Monroe, P. Text-Book in the History of Education. Chap. I. Morgan, L. H. Ancient Society. Pt. I, Chaps. I—II, and Pt. II, Chaps. I—II. Spencer, H. Principles of Sociology. Vol. I, Pt. I, Chaps. V— XXVI, and Vol. Ill, Pt. VII. SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 19 Starr, F. Some First Steps in Human Progress. Chaps. I, II, XII, XIII, XXI, XXII, XXIV-XXVI. Thomas, W. I. Sex and Society. Especially pp. 55-172. Tylor, E. B. Anthropology. Chaps. I, IV-XII, and XIV. Tylor, E. B. Primitive Culture. Chaps. II and XI-XVIII. Tylor, E. B. Researches into the Early History of Mankind. Chaps. VII-X. CHAPTER III Barbarism as a transitional stage. Similarity among Oriental nations. BARBARISM OR EARLY CIVILIZATION The Movement from Nature to Culture. — The prog¬ ress of the human race from nature to culture — sav¬ agery to civilization — is very gradual, and the dividing line is difficult to draw. To make the process clearer, and also for the convenience of classifying a number of peoples who have evidently passed beyond most of the characteristics of savagery and yet can hardly be called civilized, many ethnologists 1 and historians rec¬ ognize the stage known as ‘ barbarism.’ Whether we use the term ‘barbarism’ or not, it is easily seen that there are many and varied nations which fall under the head of this transitional stage. While, however, they represent several races and a large number of influences, the most typical have all been located in the Orient, and their social character¬ istics are sufficiently alike to justify treating them in a single group. Their similarity in educational pro¬ cedure has appeared so great to some writers, that they suggest the omission, in studying, of all these 1 Compare Tylor, Anthropology, p. 24; Morgan, Ancient Society, Chap. I; etc. « 20 BARBARISM OR EARLY CIVILIZATION 21 nations save one, or actually limit their treatment to a single nation as typical of all . 1 It has, however, seemed well to describe here briefly, in their historical order, the more important peoples of barbarism, or early civilization, and afterward endeavor to sum up their common characteristics. The diversities, after all, are worthy of some consideration, as each seems to emphasize more strongly than the others some pecul¬ iarity of barbarism, and it would be difficult to state what nation should be made the type. If, however, it is felt that these systems are of little value in a general history of education, the attention can easily be confined to Egypt as historically the most obvious type of transition, and the final statement of features in common 2 may be used as a sufficient summary of the other nations. 1 See Monroe, Text-book in the History of Education; Seeley, History of Education, p. 5; and the remarks of A. O. Norton in School Review , Vol. XII, p. 823. 2 See Chap. X. CHAPTER IV EGYPT Historical Development. — Egypt furnishes us with abundant evidence of the early day at which she passed beyond the stage of savagery. Thousands of Egyptian manuscripts, monuments, and mummies, pre¬ served by the dry air and sand, by solidity of structure, or care in embalming, witness the extent to which her civilization was developed tens of centuries before the earliest epochs in Greece. The history of this ancient country extends from the days before the * dynasties/ 5000 b.c., down to its decline and final conquest by the Persians in 525 b.c., after which the identity of its civilization was lost. It passed through a number of periods in its development, each of which is fairly dis¬ tinct in its characteristics, but there is an underlying unity throughout the entire history of ancient Egypt. The social, political, and intellectual conditions of each epoch are clearly implicit in the one just before it, and up to the beginning of the period of decadence there is a constant growth in all the marks of its peculiar civili¬ zation. 22 23 EGYPT Effect of the Nile upon Economic Development. — The interest which the Egyptians showed in various lines of development, and the extent to which they carried them, were determined in large measure by the peculiar topog¬ raphy of the country. The statement of the old Greek traveler, Herodotus, that “ Egypt was the gift of the river,” is true in a wider sense than he intended it. It is obvious that geologically Egypt is the product of the Nile. Every year, after the snow has melted and the spring rains have set in, the river reaches its height and appears like a vast lake. Then it gradually recedes and leaves behind a rich deposit of black mud, which it has gathered from the mountains in the south. The natural fertility of such a soil, increased by the evenness and warmth of the climate, has caused Egypt, from the days of the youthful Joseph, and even before, to be known as a land of steady and plentiful crops. The Nile was largely instrumental also in determin¬ ing the industrial and intellectual characteristics of the people. The Egyptians found it necessary to regulate its waters in order to secure the best results. They had to construct irrigation canals, to conduct the river at its flood into reservoirs and then out into the fields wher¬ ever it was most needed. Their most striking feat of this sort occurred early in their history, when they re¬ claimed an arid tract called Fayum, 1 some seven hun- 1 It is not certainly known whether the original flooding of the Fayfim was effected by natural or artificial processes. The lake of historic times Fertility of the soil. Skill in engineering. 24 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Homo¬ geneity and isolation of the people. dred square miles, by constructing a canal through the limestone hills. They also invented devices to raise the water from the canals to the level of the more distant fields as the Nile gradually receded. Other difficulties, such as the arrangement of dikes and the location of landmarks, must have been overcome, and Egypt was thus forced by her river to become the mother of en¬ gineering. By affording a means of transportation the Nile was of great assistance to trade and industry, and likewise enabled the Egyptians to become more homogeneous. It furnished a roadway seven hundred and fifty miles long, which connected all parts of the country. They were able to float huge blocks of stone down from the quarries of the south, thus facilitating greatly the prog¬ ress of architecture, and other intercourse between the various communities was active. This must have done much to moderate the local differences and jealousies that would naturally exist in a country so long and straggling. As a whole, however, Egypt was quite isolated from the rest of the world. Although she had easy access to the Mediterranean, there were no harbors on the Delta, while the Red Sea, which led to the Indian Ocean and the East, was distant three or four days’ journey through called Moeris was pushed back by retrenchment walls, and its eventual destruction was due to the decay of the embankment through neglect. EGYPT 25 the desert, and the ‘cataracts’ of the Nile made it difficult to approach the countries south of Egypt. Similarly, outside influences were slow in affecting the Egyptians, as whatever foreigners found their way in from Asia, Libya, or Nubia, were so few at any time that they were easily assimilated. 1 Their long seclusion had its effect in developing a unique type of civilization, with cultural products peculiar to themselves. Religion and Ethics. — The religious conceptions of the Egyptians, also, were affected by their natural sur¬ roundings. Their earliest deities were the Sun ( Re 2 ), who was universally popular, and the Nile ( Hapi\ toward which they usually faced their temples. A myth that became fully as widespread as that of Re dealt with Osiris (Sun), his sister-wife, Isis (Dawn), and his hostile brother, Set (Darkness). Other cults connected with the sun, such as those of Horns , Amoit, and Aten y sprang up, but nearly every locality differed in the names, attributes, and powers that it assigned to the sun god. When the gods of the various districts were gradually identified and their names made inter¬ changeable, the Egyptian theogony became hopelessly Worship of the Nile and the sun. 1 The Egyptians, however, learned to use to the utmost their meager facilities. As early as 2900 B.C. they had commerce with Syria and other countries on the Mediterranean. By the time of the Empire (1600- 1100 B.c.) they had communication with most of the known world, and were in turn largely modified in their customs and progress, especially through Semitic influence. 2 Pronounced Ray . 2 6 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Rise of henotheism. Belief in future life. Prudential ethics and the outside sanction. involved. From this condition it was apparently extri¬ cated by the development of a henotheism, with Re, or some other god, as the head of the hierarchy. Although the Egyptians never became acute in their meditation and reasoning, the more enlightened may thus have come to conceive of God as one, though worshiped under many aspects, and to interpret the various myths in a metaphorical sense. The religion of the common people, however, was much lower. They regarded cer¬ tain animals not merely as symbols of the gods, but as actual deities, and eventually worshiped them. Yet belief in a future existence was universal. A small statue of the deceased was set up in the tomb as an habitation for his ka, or double, and the body was mummified, that the ka might one day return and revivify it. While this life after death was, in the old¬ est period, viewed as uneventful and sad, before long its nature was supposed to depend upon the judg¬ ment passed upon one at his trial before Osiris in the Lower World. If it were favorable, he might be al¬ lowed to dwell in the pleasant fields of Aarii , or share in the life of the sun god. On the whole, however, the religion of the Egyptians was viewed as a means of propitiation, that their prac¬ tical needs might not be interfered with, and it had little effect upon conduct. If we may judge from the Confessions before Osiris , the Book of the Dead , the EGYPT 2 7 Aphorisms of Ptah-hotep , and other moral works that have been found, their ethical doctrines were prudential and sordid. Personal conduct was prescribed largely as a key to success; friendship was considered useful, but not a matter for devotion; the grosser crimes and vices were forbidden, but self-sacrifice and purity were not enjoined; and dealings with the gods were described as compacts. “Sacrifice,” says a maxim of Ani, “for God looks on the offerer, but he neglects those who neglect him.” Moreover, as in the case of all moral systems that are imposed by some outside sanction rather than developed from within, the ethics of the Egyptians became a veneer under which lay much vain¬ glory, hypocrisy, and immorality. Classes of Society and Position of Women. —As would be expected in so religious a country, the priesthood finally became the controlling element in Egypt. It possessed most of the wealth and learning, and held many of the political offices. Before the differentiation of the professional priest, the sacerdotal class performed the functions of not only priests and prophets, but of many professional people, such as lawyers, doctors, embalmers, 1 architects, and scribes. By the time of the Empire (1600-1100 b.c.), however, the military class, which was made up of all types of soldiery, in¬ cluding the complement for the navy, became nearly 1 An important profession in Egypt, ranking as a sort of medical specialty. ft Privileges of the sacer¬ dotal and military classes. 2 8 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Kindly treat¬ ment, but subordina¬ tion of women. equal to the sacerdotal in privilege. Both classes were exempt from taxation, and from their number came the king. The rest of the people, who composed the in¬ dustrial class, were obliged to support these higher classes, construct the public works, and carry all the other burdens of state. Yet they had definite rights guaranteed them by law. While the classes were well separated early in the history of Egypt, their number and relative importance varied from time to time. Distinctions grew up espe¬ cially within the industrial class. At no time, however, was the division between classes absolutely fixed, and no real caste system prevailed. While a son generally followed the occupation of his father, he might through education rise into a higher class. Also in the social position allowed to women, Egypt was more advanced than most Oriental countries. As a rule, a man had but one wife, who was recognized as ‘ mistress of the household,’ and, if we may judge from statuary, was treated with great affection. Ptah-hotep gravely advises: “ If thou art successful and lovest the wife of thy bosom, fill her stomach and clothe her back. Make glad her heart during the time thou hast.” The kings and some wealthy men had concubines, but even then the women were not veiled or immured. Women were allowed some education, although it never extended beyond the rudiments. EGYPT 29 Cultural Development. —The advance for which Egypt has been most famed was in architecture. This also was closely connected with religion, and seems to have consisted mostly of temples and tombs, as there are few evidences of domestic or palatial buildings to be found. The temples were at first rude structures of wood or wicker, but before long were built of stone, and continued to increase in number and magnificence. The climax was reached in the later Empire through the completion by Ramses II of the temple of Amon, or ‘ Hall of Columns,’ at Karnak, “ the greatest of man’s architectural works,” the elaborate temple at Luxor, 1 the temple cut from the living rock at Abu Simbel, and the Ramesseum, or mortuary temple of the monarch on the plain of Thebes. The Egyptian temples were grand in conception and massive in proportions. 2 The great structure at Karnak is judged to have been a quarter of a mile long, with a main entrance of 379 feet, which would make it more than twice the size of St. Peter’s at Rome. But the de¬ velopment of architecture in these enormous buildings was limited, for they were all of practically the same conventional type. They were intended not merely as 1 Karnak was begun in the Middle Kingdom, and Luxor probably so. 2 Karnak depends upon mass for its effect, but Amen-hotep Ill’s col¬ onnades at Luxor depend upon form. Contrary to the general impression, Luxor exhibits much greater architecture than Karnak. The ‘climax’ was reached in the Eighteenth Dynasty. Advance in architecture. Conven¬ tionality of temples, 30 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION tombs, and pyramids. sanctuaries, but as monuments to the sovereigns who built them. In front of the entrance gateway stood twin colossal statues of the monarch, together with a pair of obelisks bearing in hieroglyphics a glorification of his victories and achievements. The gateways were always flanked with towers, and, as luxury grew, the entrances were increased to two or three, which were often separated by avenues of sphinxes. Owing to the solemn prominence connected by the Egyptians with the thought of death, the tomb domi¬ nated even the temple. Diodorus said, “ The Egyptians call their houses hostelries, on account of the short time during which they inhabit them, but the tombs they call eternal dwelling-places.” In the earliest days the tomb was only an oblong pile of stones to protect the body which had been placed below in a chamber hollowed out of the rock. But the tomb was also used as a place where the friends of the deceased could make offerings to his ka and recite a ritual. So, while remaining of the same type architecturally, it soon became a vast structure of stone, sometimes having as many as thirty chambers. It contained a species of conventional chapel, which was adorned with scenes from the life of the deceased. The pyramids, of which remains of seventy or more still exist, are the most impressive of all Egyptian struc¬ tures. They should, however, be considered achieve- EGYPT 31 ments of engineering rather than of architecture. One 1 of them is 755 feet square at the base, and rises to a height of 481 feet. It is faced on all four sides with limestone blocks so beautifully joined as to appear like a single surface. The pyramids were erected as tombs for the royal mummies, and, except for differences in size and material, are all alike. The temples and tombs of the Egyptians were adorned with paintings, reliefs, and statuary. As their painting was done in outline only, it was the same in principle as the relief in their sculpture, except that it was more rapid, cheaper, and less durable. A king’s tomb, which was always supposed to be carved in relief, if left unfinished, often had the design completed in painting by his successor. Besides this lack of development, the outline, whether painted or in relief, was thoroughly formulaic. All figures had as far as possible to make every part of the body appear in profile, and they were all supposed to face toward the right, with the further foot and arm in advance. This always gives a stiffness and unnatural¬ ness to Egyptian figures ; and where the artist was obliged to face his figure toward the left and simply reversed the design, the effect is sometimes ludicrous. 1 The three ‘great pyramids’ are those of Khtifu (Cheops) and his immediate successors in the Fourth Dynasty, and are located at Gizeh, almost north of Memphis. Formalism of painting and sculpture. 32 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Develop¬ ment of crafts. Practically every picture, too, had its typical method of representation, which the artist was required to follow. During the Empire a realistic school of artists flourished to some extent, but was eventually crushed out. Egyptian statuary also was bound by social custom. The two classes of works that have been found,— portrait statues for the inner chambers of the tombs, and decorative statues of gods, kings, and sacred animals for the temples, have but two types of representation. Although their portraiture reveals the first emergence of individuality, until the time of the Empire the treatment of details, with the exception of the face, is generally as stereotyped as that of the position. In other technical lines the Egyptians showed much practical skill, if we may judge from pictures and descriptions that have come- down to us and objects that have been found. At an early day they learned to make bricks and mortar from the mud of the Nile. They worked granite and other stone of the greatest resistance, made the sharpest details, and gave a finish¬ ing polish. The smelting of metals was understood by them. They manufactured glass as early as the First Dynasty; and their skill in glazing beads, amulets, bowls, and vases, so as to resemble the most costly gems, and in preparing enamels for the work of the goldsmith, has commanded the admiration of modern experts. They invented a potter’s wheel and baked the EGYPT 33 clay in a stove, but their product, though durable, was not of a high order. The papyrus was manufactured by them into paper, mats, ropes, sandals, and boats, and they were dexterous in weaving and coloring baskets, mats, and clothing. Their fine white linen was famous. In the sciences, too, the Egyptians made considerable progress. Skill in engineering was forced upon them by irrigation problems, and the erection of the pyramids, the obelisks, and the supporting columns of the temples. This knowledge was purely practical and was discovered empirically. The mathematics underlying it was not a genuine science. Their methods in arithmetic were cumbrous, and small account was taken of fractions. In geometry, so necessary for surface measurement, there was little theory, although their procedure was accurate enough for practical results. Astronomy must have been developed early as a means of calculating the Nile s annual overflow and marking religious festivals. However, while they devised the calendar of 365 days more than four thousand years before Christ, they con¬ tinued to believe in ‘lucky ’ and ‘unlucky’ days, accord¬ ing as they were connected with various mythological events. Their knowledge of medicine, which on the empirical side was not inconsiderable, was likewise con¬ fused with incantation, superstition, and disgusting com¬ pounds. 1 The Egyptians also held music, both sacred 1 Putrid meat, lizard’s blood, swine’s teeth, and dung were often ingredients. D Empiricism of the sciences. 34 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Literature was stereo¬ typed and stilted. Education was priestly, practical, and professional. and secular, in high esteem, but the rules for its com¬ position were prescribed and rigid. The literature of the Egyptians was extensive. Be¬ sides the works on religion, morals, and practical pur¬ suits, they wrote fairy tales, travelers’ stories, novels, school books, letters, lyrics, and hymns to the gods and kings. While these works were the first in the history of literature to disclose the development of the individual, from a modern point of view they seem stereotyped, lacking in wit and description, and forced and stilted in style. The fiction is uninteresting and licentious. The hymns, except, perhaps, that of Amen-hotep IV, are lacking in devotional spirit, and consist largely of hyper¬ boles and conventional phrases without much meaning. The school books are in the form of an ‘instruction’ from some wise ruler or teacher to his son or pupil. One of the most interesting is that found in the Sallier papy¬ rus, in which the wise Dauuf thus describes to his son the advantages of the literary life : “ Give thy heart to learning and love her like a mother, for there is nothing that is so precious as learning,” and so on. As a rule, these instructions struggle after a fixed style and harp tediously on the same ideas. Education. Its Purpose. — The education of the Egyp¬ tians has been variously spoken of as ‘priestly,’ ‘prac¬ tical,’ or ‘professional.’ From the foregoing account of their history, life, and customs can be seen the signifi- EGYPT 35 cance of each of these terms as descriptive of the forms of expression at which their education aimed. Inasmuch as the sacerdotal class possessed the learning, did the imparting, and dominated the state, the education of the times may well be called priestly. Again, education, which was always highly esteemed, was considered im¬ portant entirely because of its practical value. It was intended simply to equip one with some professional skill that was in demand, such as that of the engineer, architect, physician, scribe, soldier, musician, or artisan, and thus help him to lead as happy a life as possible in this world, and secure the good-will of the gods in the life to come. It was also indispensable to office, and might enable one to attain a higher position in life than that of his father. “ The ignorant man, whose name is unknown,” according to one papyrus, “ is like a heavily laden donkey; he is driven by the scribe.” And another advises, “ Set to work and become a scribe, for then thou shalt be a leader of men.” The idea of a liberal educa¬ tion, however, never impressed itself upon the Egyp¬ tians. Such a notion as the search after truth for its own sake, without utilitarian motive, or the idea of edu¬ cating for good citizenship or manhood, still awaited a time when people allowed freer play to individuality. Its Organization and Content. — School life began as soon as the child passed out of infancy, at five years of age. School hours lasted half the day. The state did Elementary education was possible for all, 36 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION while higher education at the temples furnished training for the scribes, \ not provide an educational system for the masses, but teachers were always to be had, and at a reasonable price, so that any clever boy might obtain a training in the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic. In the chief cities of the various districts, more ad¬ vanced instruction leading to the different professions could be obtained at the temples. The chief colleges were at the temples of Ptah at Memphis, Re at Heli¬ opolis, and Anion at Thebes. During the early days boys of good family were often educated at the court with the sons of the king, and later the various depart¬ ments of administration came more and more to educate the candidates for their respective official positions. Education was always for a specific profession, and very seldom did a young man change to some other line than that for which he had been trained. The most general profession was that of the scribe. It was the first step on the ladder of learning, and the beginning of official advancement. While scribes were not needed because of the illiteracy of the people, there was a wide field for the profession. There were sacred manuscripts and official documents to be copied, estates and storehouses to be managed by those who under¬ stood accounts, and military, civil, royal, and priestly offices that needed skilled administration. The notarial, or lower-class scribe, after receiving an elementary education, usually secured his special training through EGYPT 3 7 apprenticeship in an office, where he learned to write the proper forms and legal documents, and to acquire the hieratic, or cursive, handwriting. One who was ambitious to become a scribe of the higher class went to a temple college, and here, besides learning the hiero¬ glyphic, the hieratic, and, during the later Empire, the still more abbreviated demotic, writing, he was trained in ethics, philosophy, and good manners, and studied law and administration. In addition to the attainments of the scribe as a basis, each of the other professions had a specific training of its own at the temple colleges. The architects learned, besides mathematics and mechanics, much that was of a sacred or historic nature. The physicians were taught crude anatomy and physiology, the use of remedies and incantations, and in some cases received special training on various organs, such as the eyes, brain, teeth, and intestines. The priests were given a thorough ground¬ ing in the old religious documents, ritual and cere¬ monies, law, mathematics, astronomy, and astrology, and all the other learning of the times. Its Method. — Not much is known concerning the methods of teaching in Egypt, but considerable time must have been spent in learning the hieroglyphs. The Egyptians had reason to be proud of these char¬ acters, which were of their own invention, and were, in spite of their complexity, very easy to read; but the architects, physicians, and priests. Memoriter and imitative methods of teaching. 3 » A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Corporal punishment. acquisition of some five hundred or one thousand char¬ acters was no small task for the memory. During the early Empire, too, the hieratic also came into use and had to be learned. The schoolboy at first imitated with a stylus upon a wooden tablet the copy that had been set for him. As soon as he could write, he was pro¬ moted to transcribe or write from dictation upon papyrus passages from some poem, story, religious work, school book of the type called an * instruction,’ 1 or some other good literature. By this means the pupils improved their calligraphy and style. Their literary training must have been carried on largely by imitation, as no vestige of a grammar or lexicon has yet been discovered in Egypt. Large numbers of their copy books, how¬ ever, have been found in rubbish heaps. These books are easily distinguished by the master’s corrections, in¬ dicated upon the upper edge of the pages. On the reverse side of the papyrus are often found bills for invoices of corn, business letters, and other practical work, written by the pupils. Any further instruction consisted, as has been seen, in learning a profession, also through memory and imitation from the priests at one of the temple colleges or from one of the higher officials of a governmental department. Learning by such methods must have been tedious, and discipline had to be severe. A pedagogical maxim 1 See p. 34. EGYPT 39 of the time was, “A boy’s ears are on his back; he hears when he is beaten.” Reprimands were also used as a corrective, and a youth could be punished by con¬ finement to the temple for three months. Influence of Egyptian Education and Culture upon Civilization. — A great deal has been said, especially in ancient times, about the * learning of the Egyptians.’ 1 In comparison with other nations of their time, this fame was undoubtedly deserved. The needs of the country and their isolation from other nations forced a higher development, and they contributed greatly to the advancement of civilization and education, but their achievements should not be exaggerated. The limitations of their activities can easily be seen. Engineering and the other sciences, while appearing for the first time in history, were at the empirical stage, and were, in most cases, somewhat mixed with supersti¬ tion. The industrial arts, as well as painting, relief, and sculpture, had not received much development, with the exception of their glazed work and enameling, and there was an inclination to follow stereotyped rules. Even their grand architecture, with all its elaborations, was in the main conventional and fixed. Similarly, while their thoughts and history were recorded, and they were the first people to have a large and varied literature, it is repe¬ titious and tiresome, and the style is prescribed and stilted. Great ad¬ vance for the times, but limited in de¬ velopment. 1 Compare Acts, VII, 22. 40 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Again, while the Egyptians held to a rude belief in immortality, and in the case of the priesthood at least had begun to regard God as one, their religion never rose beyond a personification of natural forces at the best and a species of animal worship at the worst. Their profound religious awe, while an advance on the superstitions of animism, totemism,and ancestor worship, must not be mistaken for an outcome of philosophy or analytic thought. Likewise, their religion seldom bore any intimate relation to conduct, 1 and their teachings were largely prudential and imposed in the form of precept without any appeal to one’s inner light. As a result of the dominance of their superstitious religion, although the classes of society were not organ¬ ized as an iron-clad system, such as sometimes occurs at this stage of development, they were so arranged as to suppress the individual and give practical control to the politico-religious priesthood. Similarly, women were held in subjection. They were not regarded as the slaves or toys of men, as in some countries of antiquity, but they were not allowed much freedom or intellectual training. The type of education which prevailed among the Egyptians was the result of the social stage they were in, and was, in turn, somewhat calculated to perpetuate it. By means of education the professions were to be 1 At one period, however, religion must have had a close connection with conduct to have given rise to the elaborate confession in the Book of the Dead. EGYPT 41 handed down, and with them the class distinctions that were connected. The teaching class, however, had not yet been differentiated from the priesthood, although it was recognized that instruction could no longer be carried on in the family. Their method, while some¬ what more conscious than mere imitation, did not recog¬ nize individuality and was not yet a matter of genuine rationality. Their complex system of writing and their body of traditions required a tremendous effort of mem¬ ory to learn, which prevented an intellectual develop¬ ment of more value. With this system of education, great advancement was impossible for Egypt. She produced, to be sure, through the commerce of the Phoenicians, considerable effect upon the art, learning, and religion of the Greeks and other later peoples, and thus contributed her share to the world’s progress. But while in many of the fun¬ damentals hers was the earliest civilization, it was, after all, but the first link in the chain. New ideals and forms of expression were needed before civilization could con¬ tinue its onward march. Some effect upon progress through the Phoenicians and the Greeks. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Diodorus, Bk. I; Eusebius, Fragments; Herodotus, Bk. II; Manetho, Fragments ; Plutarch, Isis and Osiris ; Strabo, Bk. XVII. 42 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION II. Authorities Breasted, J. H. A History of the Egyptians. Brugsch-Bey, H. Egypt under the Pharaohs (translated). Edwards, Amelia B. Pharaohs , Fellahs , and Explorers. Erman, A. Life in Ancient Egypt (translated). Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Hamitic Races. Maspero, G. FArcheologie Egyptienne. Maspero, G. The Dawn of Civilization in the East (translated). Petrie, Flinders. History of Egypt. Petrie, Flinders. Religion and Conscience in Ancient Egypt. Rawlinson, G. The Story of Ancient Egypt. Renouf, P. Le P. The Origin and Growth of Religion as Illus¬ trated by the Religion of Ancient Egypt. Schmidt, K. Geschichte der Padagogik , Vol. I, Chap. I, pp. 194- 250. Wilkinson, J. G. The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians. CHAPTER V BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA Historical Relations. — The history of Babylonia must have begun a little after 3000 b.c. 1 Her empire, how¬ ever, came before that of Egypt, for from 2300 to 1600 b.c., beginning with the reign of the famous Hammu¬ rabi, Babylonia had extended not only over all the Euphrates-Tigris district, but throughout Syria. Dur¬ ing the rule of the Kassite kings, however, the country was greatly weakened, and the city of Assur revolted and eventually developed into the kingdom of Assyria. Then for several centuries Babylonia and Assyria were on terms of equality and diplomacy, broken more or less by short wars for supremacy, but Assyria gradually rose to preeminence, until in the tenth cen¬ tury she had begun to extend her sway over Babylonia and the other surrounding nations, and by 670 b.c. possessed the greatest empire known until that time. However, her splendor faded rapidly. Before the close of the century the mighty empire fell to pieces under 1 Recent discovery has at last settled the age of Babylonian civilization. Its earliest monuments do not extend back to 3000 B.C. See Breasted, A History of the Egyptians (second edition), pp. viii, 419 ff., and 443. 43 44 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Babylonia and Assyria are comple¬ mentary in their history. Predomi¬ nance of the sacerdotal class. the joint attack of the Medes and her southern province, Babylonia, which was at that time dominated by the fierce Chaldeans. Chaldean Babylonia then enjoyed a brief period of restored magnificence, but in 538 b.c. the Medes, now combined with the Persians, completely crushed their former ally. Thus Babylonia and Assyria seem to be complemen¬ tary in their history, which lasts from 3000 to 538 b.c. They may well be considered together, especially as Assyria borrowed the Babylonian learning without making any important contribution in return. The Babylonio-Assyrian civilization was, as a whole, quite similar to that of Egypt, which has been described at length, and therefore, while of great historic importance in itself, will not need an extended account here. Social Conditions. — The classes of society in Baby¬ lonia and Assyria were about as distinct as in Egypt, and the influence of the priests, who also constituted the judges, scribes, librarians, teachers, authors, and other professional men, was almost as pervasive. They ranked, with the nobility, next to the king, and while Babylonia, and even more Assyria, attached greater importance to military affairs than did Egypt, the soldiers never reached the social dignity of the priest¬ hood. The common people seldom owned land and were never allowed any part in public affairs. Since, however, both countries were very accessible, and found BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 45 it desirable to exchange their agricultural products and manufactures for the stone, wood, and metals they lacked, their commerce expanded early, and the impor¬ tance of merchants, tradesmen, and artisans increased until they were almost equal in rank with the privileged classes. Certainly society never stratified into castes. Also women were treated with more consideration than in most Oriental nations, but, as in Egypt, a wealthy man might have concubines, and women were com¬ pletely under the control of their husbands. Religion and Ethics. — The Babylonio-Assyrian reli¬ gion was as crude as the Egyptian in its formulation. At the earliest period it consisted in a worship of arbi¬ trary spirits, who could be exorcised by formulae. While these demons evolved into gods who typified * great natural forces, such as the sun, moon, and stars, and the rain, storm-wind, and watery deep, it was still be¬ lieved necessary to get into harmony with them through astrology and magic. At first, as in Egypt, each Baby¬ lonian city had its own temples and gods, but gradually, as the cities were unified, a pantheon with a supreme god was organized. This chief deity was Bel of Nippur until Babylon rose to prominence and made Mcirdiik supreme. Assyria accepted the pantheon, but placed her own god, Ashur , at the head. Probably, as in Egypt, through this henotheism, the priesthood and more intelligent people came to believe in a single Subordina¬ tion of women. Nature worship, henotheism, 4 6 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and cere¬ monial ethics. Science was empirical and super¬ stitious ; supreme being, of whom the other gods were merely aspects, and, without giving up their augury and magic, dimly apprehended the ideas of sin, penitence, and dependence on God. This led to some moral aspira¬ tion, but unfortunately they were still unable to distin¬ guish between ceremonial and ethical transgressions, and fear remained their moral motive. Superstitious observances continued to cloak cruelty, treachery, and sensuality. Their idea of the future life was generally less hopeful than that of the Egyptians. Except in the Gilgamesh Epic> they described the abode of the dead as dark and dreary. Culture. — In their other intellectual activities the Babylonio-Assyrians were likewise defective. They achieved much in science, but altogether empirically and with a curious admixture of superstition. Both countries were covered each spring with a rich alluvial deposit from the Tigris and Euphrates, and, as in Egypt, the inhabitants were compelled to become skilled in all forms of engineering. Similarly, arith¬ metic, geometry, and mechanics made some progress, but were entirely practical. They had a complicated numerical system, compounded of the decimal and sexa¬ gesimal, and crude measures of length, area, capacity, and weight, derived from handbreadth as a standard. Geometry was used, but largely for mapping out the heavens in augury. They made many astronomical I BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 47 discoveries, such as the movements of the heavenly bodies, the calendar year, and the calculation of eclipses, invented the signs of the zodiac, and named the points of the compass and several constellations, but astronomy had not yet evolved from astrology, and they used this knowledge mainly for horoscopes and divination. In their theory the earth was an inverted bowl with the edges resting on the waters; mankind dwelt upon the outside and the dead within the crust; while above was the heaven, another bowl, on the under side of which moved the heavenly bodies. Likewise, medicine could not become a genuine science with them, for they attributed all diseases to evil spirits, and while some real remedies were discovered by chance, their treatment often consisted in magic. The architecture and art of the Babylonians and Assyrians, although comparatively advanced, inclined toward conventionality. While in their palaces and temples technical skill is shown, these structures are now famed for their immense size rather than for variety and beauty. Because of the scarcity of stone, they were always of brick, and were built upon a rec¬ tangular platform of the same material some forty feet above the ground. The temples were of the ziggurat type; that is, they consisted of a tower of several sto¬ ries, each smaller than the one beneath. The palaces, especially those of the Assyrian monarchs at Nineveh architecture and art were con¬ ventional ; 48 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and litera¬ ture, though somewhat advanced, was repe¬ titious and formulaic. during the empire, were more elaborate, having halls and galleries lined with sculptured alabaster, but even these were all rectangular, one story in height, and after the same general plan. The Babylonio-Assyrian art, which consisted largely of bas-reliefs and sculpture, was more varied and accurate in detail, and showed greater strength and freedom than in any other Ori¬ ental country, yet it savored of stiffness and naturalism. In the arts and crafts, especially baking bricks and pottery, engraving hard stones, weaving woolen cloths and rugs, and, during the Kassite period, coloring glass, these people were also expert, but generally conventional. To judge from the number of libraries of clay books that have been excavated, literature was highly es¬ teemed by both countries. Probably each city of any size had its own library, and that of Assurbanipal (668-626 b.c. ) at Nineveh contained books by the tens of thousands. As might be expected, much of this literature was religious and scientific. Numerous prayers, hymns, rituals, and even religious epic poems, including the Gilgamesh , which contains in its eleventh book the prototype of the Hebrew account of the Deluge, have been discovered. Cosmogonic narratives also, among them a Creation Epic similar to the story in Genesis, have in large part been preserved. Sev¬ eral collections of the science of the day, such as the BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 49 Illumination of Bel in seventy-two books, have likewise been recovered. Assyria furnishes especially historical inscriptions and an account of the diplomacy between the two countries from 1450 to 700 b.c., known as the Synchronistic History of Assyria and Babylonia. Also royal proclamations, official letters, tribute lists, judicial decisions, and systems of laws, especially the famous Code of Hammurabi , give us historical knowledge from the early days of Babylonia down. Reading books, grammars, and lexicons mark the emphasis on education. While this literature shows some development of imagery and diction, and at times even rhythm and meter, it is made up, in general, of short, simple sen¬ tences, filled with imitation, repetition, and formulaic expressions, and consists largely of bare realism. Dur¬ ing the Chaldean period it degenerated into great elab¬ oration and artificiality without any new thought. Aim of Education. — The educational aim of such a people, as in Egypt, was necessarily practical in the narrow sense of the word, for it was intended only as a preparation for the various professions. As this professional training was limited to the sacerdotal class, including the scribes, the system may also be described as priestly. Organization and Content. — Practically nothing is known concerning the schools in which the elements Practical and priestly education. Elementary and higher education. 50 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Memorizing and imita¬ tion. Their culture was absorbed by the Phoenicians, were taught, but the opportunities to obtain this train¬ ing must have been numerous and widespread. The higher education was given in colleges connected with the temples, although the great libraries must also have furnished a means of study for all who were ambitious. A wide range of technical subjects, such as engineer¬ ing, mathematics, astronomy, divination, natural sci¬ ence, medicine, architecture, art, literature, and history, must have been taught. Method. — Teaching seems to have been largely con¬ ducted through memorizing and imitation. The Baby- lonio-Assyrian writing, which consisted of cuneiform, or wedge-shaped, characters, was, like the Egyptian, ‘ideographic’; that is, it had a separate sign for every idea. When they had learned the characters, the pupils imitated the copies set them on slabs of fine clay, which were then sent to the potter to be baked. Many tablets with school exercises on them have been found in Babylon. The methods used in the higher education must have been similar. The identity of the teachers of the elementary work, who were probably, numerous, and gave their instruction individually rather than by classes, is unknown. Of course the priests taught the higher work. Influence upon Progress. — It will be seen that, al¬ though the Babylonio-Assyrian civilization and educa¬ tion were connected with considerable development, BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 51 progress in these countries was subject to limitations Greeks, and Israelites similar to those in Egypt. Conventions controlled their activities, and individuality was largely disre¬ garded. The most evident contributions appear in their influence upon the Phoenician arts and com¬ merce, upon the epic and other literature of the Greeks, and in those legendary conceptions which, purified of their polytheism, the Israelites used as a means of teaching profound religious truth. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Harper, R. F. Assyrian and Babylonian Literature. Harper, R. F. Code of Hammurabi. Hilprecht, H. V. Excavations in Assyria and Babylonia. J astro w, M. A Fragment of the i Dibbara ’ Epic. Sayce, A. H. Records of the Past. Especially Vol. I, Chaps. I, V-VIII; and Vol. II, Chaps. VII-IX. II. Authorities Goodspeed, G. S. A History of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Hastings, J. A Dictionary of the Bible. Articles on Assyria, Babylonia, Races of the Old Testament, and Semites. Hilprecht, H. V. Recent Research in Bible Lands. Pp. 43-95. Jastrow, M. Religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Semitic Races (2). Maspero, G. The Dawn of Civilization in the East. Sayce, A. H. Babylonians and Assyrians : Life and Customs. Sayce, A. H. The Origin and Growth of Religion , as Illustrated by the Religion of the Ancient Babylonians. Smith, W. R. Lectures on the Religion of the Semites. CHAPTER VI PHCENICIA Arts and crafts, navi¬ gation, and the phonetic alphabet. Of the other Semitic nations of the Ancient Orient, the Phoenicians and Israelites are of especial interest to the history of education, because of their influence upon civilization. The history of the Israelites lasted until so much later, and their culture was so superior to that of the other Semites, the nation is treated else¬ where 1 with countries of a higher type. But Phoeni¬ cia’s development was of a lower order. Achievements. — Phoenicia itself consisted of a nar¬ row strip between the Lebanon mountains and the Mediterranean less than two thousand square miles in area, but its permanent colonies, which extended over all the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean and Aegean even to Spain, made up an empire of no mean dimensions. This widespread settlement and the influence of the Phoenicians were due to the extent of their commerce and manufactures, in which they sur¬ passed all ancient peoples. They were, like all com¬ mercial people, shrewd. and ingenious; and, while i 1 See Chap. XI. 5 2 PHCENICIA 53 somewhat lacking in originality, they borrowed the arts and crafts of the lands they visited. Thus they took from Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria their archi¬ tecture, sculpture, and bas-reliefs, textiles, glass-making, mining, ornamental metallurgy, gem-engraving, and ivory-carving, and improved somewhat upon them. They also greatly developed the science of navigation, and spread throughout the known world the systems of weights, measures, and money they had taken from the Babylonio-Assyrians. The greatest debt owed to them, however, is for the phonetic alphabet. While the Egyptians and others had long before invented a method of expressing speech in written form, it re¬ mained for the Phoenicians, from the demands of their commercial life, to shorten the process and reduce the ideographs to an alphabet. Character. — On the other hand, they had all the worst faults of a people absorbed in materialism and money-getting without moral ideal. They were luxuri¬ ous, sensual, cruel, crafty, hypocritical, and treacherous. The ‘ Punic faith ’ attributed to Carthage, Phoenicia’s greatest colony, by the Romans, was not merely a hostile slur. Their mythology and religion were con¬ nected with the sun, moon, and other nature divinities, as in Egypt and Babylonia, but they rejected even the small spiritual element which they might have obtained from the priesthood of those countries. Their religious Materialistic and treach¬ erous in nature. * 54 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Industrial and de¬ praved. Dissemi¬ nated arts and science, but had a negative ef¬ fect ethically. rites were disgusting, and at times included even the sacrifice of their own children. Education. — Little is known of their formal educa¬ tion, but from the character of their civilization it would naturally be industrial and commercial in aim. In a country where writing was so universal, there must have been schools in which all young people could learn to read and write, and there was probably some means of imparting their arts and sciences to those who could take a higher training. Their ethical teaching must have been most depraved. Effect upon Civilization. — Besides extending naviga¬ tion and inventing the phonetic alphabet, the Phoeni¬ cians improved on the other arts and sciences of Egypt and Babylonio-Assyria, and disseminated them through¬ out the world. They must, however, have failed to make any allowance for the initiative of individuals. As far as their religion, ethics, and character are con¬ cerned, their influence was bad; and they have little to teach us now, except the destructive effect of a purely industrial education and absorption in commer¬ cial success. SUPPLEMENTARY READING Hastings, J. A Dictionary of the Bible. Article on Phoenicia. Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Semitic Races (3). Rawlinson, G. The Story of Phoenicia. Sayce, A. H. The Ancient Empires of the East , Chap. III. CHAPTER VII CHINA National Conditions. — A type of transitional civiliza- its great size and tion, differing widely from that of the Semitic nations, is population, found to the east of them among the Mongoloid peoples that go to make up the Empire of China. This nation extends over a territory almost twice the size of the United States, and contains a population fully five times as large. The country is very unfavorably situated for isolation, intercourse with other nations, and such outside relations as it has had, especially on the west, have been of so unpleasant a kind as to crowd it back upon itself. As it possesses a remarkable diversity of climate and a wide range of products, it has been able to keep itself quite independent of foreign nations. Chinese scholars claim great antiquity for their country, and age. even dating its origin back millions of years to the first man, who is said to have sprung from chaos. While the history of China is known with accuracy only from the seventh century before Christ, there is some reason to accept the implication in the Book of Historical Docu¬ ments, edited by Confucius, that there was a sort of gov- 55 56 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Effect of teachings of Confucius. ernment by 2357 b.c. 1 Although the system of educa¬ tion was not instituted in exactly its present form until 617 a.d., 1 it would seem that, practically speaking, Chinese civilization and educational procedure have not, until recently, altered in their type for more than three thousand years. During the last decade there have been most sweeping changes in the way of introducing West¬ ern education and culture, and a veritable renaissance is going on at the present day. But while it may not be long before China is among the leading civilized na¬ tions, results are as yet comparatively meager, and the spirit of the past largely abides. About the seventh century before Christ, owing to a series of weak sovereigns, there was a century or more of great degeneracy and civil disorder. Through a widespread feudal system, the nobles became practi¬ cally independent of the throne, and for a time the country was in a state bordering on anarchy. This 1 Opinions among European scholars are divided. On the one hand, the entire oldest history, including that of Confucius himself, has been denied; on the other, the most insipid tales leading back to the third millennium B.c. have been taken as fact. Chavannes and Hirth place some confidence in the accounts of the destruction of the Shang dynasty by Wu-Wang (1122 B.C.), but assign the lives of the earliest emperors to the legendary period. The Chinese statement that public schools were established under the Emperor Ti-k’u (2432-2363 B.c.) deserves little confidence, and the foun¬ dation of the imperial college and other schools in the twelfth century B.C. is also open to some question; but it is certain that the Chinese have taken a great interest in schools throughout their history. CHINA 57 condition was at length relieved through the influence of the teachings of Confucius, who had endeavored throughout his life to restore the ideas and customs of his ancestors. As a prefect he instituted these reforms within his own province, and was at first fairly success¬ ful; but he soon met with the frequent fate of reform¬ ers, and was obliged to flee and remain in exile until almost the day of his death. Afterward, however, he came to be regarded as a sort of Chinese Messiah, and his writings, which are everywhere used as a guide to life and conduct, are considered sacred. The works in which his doctrines can be found are the Five Classics and the Four Books} The former were collected 2 by him from writings of the past, except in the case of the last book, which was of his own authorship. Of the latter, which are in the nature 1 The five King (‘ Classics’) are (i) the Shu, or Book of Historical Documents, covering the period from 2357 to 619 B.C.; (2) the Shih, or Book of Poetry, which contains 305 odes, ranging in date from the eighteenth to the sixth centuries B.C. ; (3) the Yi, or Book of Changes, an enigmatic and symbolic work on moral, social, apd political themes; (4) the Li, or Ritual Books, composed of three sets of imperial laws; and (5) the Hsiao , or Classic of Filial Piety, which seems to be an effort of Confucius to con¬ struct religion on the basis of the virtue of filial piety. The four Shu (‘Books’) are (1) the Lun Yu, or Discourses and Conversations of Con¬ fucius with his disciples; (2) the Works of Mencius; (3) the Ta Hsio, or Great Learning; and (4) the Kung Yung, or Doctrine of the Mean, which was peculiarly a Confucian addition to the philosophy of the past. 2 Probably they were colored somewhat by his own ideas, although he declares that he is a mere transmitter of the doctrine of Yao and Shun. 53 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION of exposition, one book was written by him, the second was contributed two centuries later by his disciple Mencius, and the other two are statements of his teachings by still later disciples. Many other com¬ mentaries have constantly been produced, to declare and illustrate his teachings. Custom is the Religion and Ethics. — Confucius was too absorbed in Ultimate Principle, the practical reformation of morals to speculate on the nature of the Deity. However, while he formed no conception of a living, personal God as the source of authority, he could hardly be considered an atheist. He and his disciples recognized an Ultimate Principle, Supreme Order, or Heaven, which lay outside daily life and apart from men, and existed from everlasting to everlasting. “What Heaven has conferred,” he declares, 1 “ is called nature : an accordance with this nature is called the path of duty.” Thus Chinese religion defines ‘ nature ’ as a manifestation of the work¬ ing of the great Ultimate Principle, but in reality it means whatever is sanctioned by the usage of many generations and especially authorized by Confucius. So, to the Chinese, truth is what has been agreed upon in the past; and virtue is a knowledge and observance of fixed ideas and customs. Thus, with them, morality becomes purely a matter of knowledge; and their ethical system, which appears in the form of dogmatic 1 The first sentence of the Kung Yung. CHINA 59 precepts, with no appeal to reason, is the result of tradition, and is altogether formal. Many of these moral aphorisms are lofty, but the underlying basis is necessarily prudential and sordid. Under such a system, individuality is crushed, and originality is largely lost Socially, this Supreme Order of Confucius is be¬ lieved to be expressed in the family relationship. In consequence, this institution is treated with the greatest reverence, and the head of the family is endowed with absolute powers. His wife and children must render him implicit obedience in all things, so that women are practically slaves of their husbands. Moreover, the state is supposed to be a development of the family, and the emperor at its head is treated as 1 the father of the nation.’ He is to be obeyed without question, and has absolute control of the life and death of his subjects. Hence the fourth of the Confucian Classics 1 declares : “ When nothing is left incomplete or improperly dis¬ charged ; this is what is called perfection. There is a fundamental agreement between a loyal subject in the service of his sovereign and a filial son in the service of his parents. In the supernal sphere there is a compli¬ ance with the repose and expansion of the energies of nature ; in the external sphere, a compliance with the rulers and elders; in the internal sphere, the filial 1 See the Li, Bk. XXII, 2. and the eth¬ ical system is traditional and formal. Absolute control of the father in the family, and of the emperor in the nation, is part of Con¬ fucianism. Numerous rites and ceremonies are pre¬ scribed. 60 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION service of parents : — all this constitutes what is called perfection. ” With so stereotyped a society and moral code, it is not surprising that religious observances in China are also thoroughly formal. The Classic quoted from above prescribes the exact moral and social acts that are to be performed each day by both family and state, declaring that “ of all the methods for the good ordering of men, there is none more urgent than the use of ceremonies.” Connected with the abstract pantheism and intellectual ethics of Confucius, there is a yearly ceremonial per¬ formed by the state as a whole in the person of the emperor-father, 1 and his various provincial representa¬ tives. It is intended to honor Nature and acknowledge the dependence of man upon the Supreme Order. The family idea of Confucianism is also carried out in a formal worship of ancestors, which, however, is partly / the outcome of a fear that these spirits of the departed might, if neglected, visit wrath upon their descendants. But besides these and other features of Confucianism, which is the state religion, though professed only by the better educated people, an idolatrous form of Buddhism, 2 and a still more degenerate Taoism, 2 made up of in¬ cantations, exorcism, and spiritism, are adhered to by 1 See footnote on p. 65. 2 See Sacred Books of the East y edited by Max Muller, Vols. XIX, XXXIX, and XL. CHINA 61 the masses generally. These cults, however, do not conflict, but have tended to amalgamate with the older religion, which had shaped the Chinese character long before the others entered the field. Culture. —The language and literature of the Chinese have remained quite as undeveloped as their religion and social order. The language consists of monosyl¬ lables, 1 and is completely analytic and juxtapositive. There are no distinct parts of speech and no inflections; and the grammatical relations and meaning are indicated by position in the sentence, and by combinations with qualifying words, assisted by tone and accent. There is no alphabet, and the written characters have been modified but little from the original ideographs. The literature of China consists largely of the nine sacred books and numbers of commentaries upon them by later writers. The subject-matter 2 of these works consists for the most part of preceptive systems of morals and ceremonials, barren annals and history, and various types of lyric poems, together with interpretative ex¬ planations. Their literature has been greatly hindered by their early activity in this direction, of which they are extremely proud. The language in which this classic literature is written differs so much from the colloquial as to be practically a foreign tongue. 1 This, however, is possibly due to the decay of the original dissyllabic and trisyllabic forms. 2 See footnote I on p. 57. Language is analytic and juxtapositive, literature is barren and formulaic, 62 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and the de¬ velopment of science, art, and the crafts has been handi¬ capped. Because of the Chinese opposition to anything new, there has never been any real philosophic speculation, or any development of physical or biological science among them. The few theories they have invented are almost as devoid of fancy as they are of accuracy. Chinese artists have shown much delicacy of touch in carving fans and card-cases, but while most of their work is pretty, it is cramped and out of proportion. Painting and sculpture have not advanced much beyond rude imitations of nature, and they pay little attention to perspective or shading. From the seventh century a.d. they have made beautiful porcelain, and, from their earliest history, mirrors of bronze, and have at all times woven mats, chairs, and baskets from rattan; but all their patterns are imitative and little subject to change. The Purpose of Education. — Thus every influence connected with the history of the Chinese has conspired to make them a most conservative people. The isola¬ tion of their geographical position, the sufficiency of their natural products, and the national habit that has re¬ sulted from such vast numbers of people following a definite bent for thousands of years have done much toward creating an inherent opposition to progress. The preservation of the past has become the great essential, and all originality is regarded as impious and unpatriotic, CHINA 63 Naturally, the educational aim is a reflection of their social ideals. As far as it is conscious, the purpose of education is to maintain conditions as they have always been, and, by means of literary training of a most stereo¬ typed order, to reduce to uniformity a numerous and heterogeneous people. It is not intended to advance the individual or social welfare of the people, but to en¬ able the pupils to pass examinations upon certain defi¬ nite requirements fixed for centuries past. Hence the Chinese system has often been referred to as the most perfect type of static , ancestor , family , or formal education. Means of Education. — The means for providing this training is ingenious. The administration of a school system for some four hundred million people might easily be felt to be too cumbersome for any state to undertake. At any rate, the Chinese Empire has not attempted this, but it does encourage all private en¬ deavors by limiting eligibility for every national position of trust and dignity to the educated, and it allows to practically all classes the privilege of securing an educa¬ tion and competing for these honors. Yet, while schools exist everywhere, and no boy is excluded from rising to the highest office under the empire, the attendance is smaller than it should be. This is because the only real value of Chinese training is to enable one to pass examinations leading to offices of profit and honor, and Intended to maintain conditions as they have been. No national system, but private schools en¬ couraged. 64 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Twofold or¬ ganization : (i) Elemen¬ tary schools; the educated man is actually unfitted thereby for any other employment, except teaching, without loss of prestige. So only one pupil in twenty passes beyond the elementary work, and but a small fraction of these remains long enough to secure even the lowest degree. Except in the case of a few wealthy families, where the training is entirely private, girls are not allowed any education beyond the household arts and fitting deport¬ ment, and women cannot compete at the examinations. Such a school system is necessarily ineffective, in spite of its apparently being so general. The organization of education is twofold, and con¬ sists of a system of schools and a set of examinations. The schools, which are usually concerned with ele¬ mentary training only, are seldom held in buildings designed for the purpose. The master’s own dwelling or that of some wealthy patron, an old pagoda or temple, or even a shed, is ordinarily used as a school- house. The schoolrooms are, as a rule, far from attractive. In them are generally a study-table and armchair for the teacher, and a picture or altar of Confucius in one corner of the room. The boys bring their own tables and chairs or stools, and provide them¬ selves with books, paper, pencils, and India ink. Much ceremony is practiced, and is, doubtless, necessary to keep alive any respect under such bare surroundings. When a pupil first goes to school, about the age of seven, he CHINA 65 is dressed in festal garb with a tasseled cap. As soon as he has entered the room, he prostrates himself before i the picture of Confucius, 1 and then with almost equal reverence he bows to the teacher. Thereafter, he be¬ gins every morning of his school life with these two ceremonies. Dr. Martin tells us : “ In no country is the office of teacher more revered. Not only is the living instructor saluted with forms of profoundest respect, but the very name of teacher, taken in the abstract, is an object of almost idolatrous homage.” As the tasks are most severe, school hours last from sunrise to five in the afternoon, with an intermission from ten to eleven for luncheon ; and school is in ses¬ sion practically throughout the year. Thus the school¬ boy, being excluded from all companionship with those of his years, becomes the veriest drudge. While students are generally obliged to continue their work beyond the elementary grades by themselves, a few academies for higher training have been founded under private auspices, or through the endowment of wealthy men and public officials. These academies prepare for the government examinations, which com¬ prise the higher part of the scholastic organization, and 1 On the last day of 1906 Confucius was, by imperial edict, raised to the same rank as Heaven and Earth, who are worshiped by the emperor alone. This action is supposed to have been taken in deference to the increasing number of Christian students, who object to bowing to Confucius. (2) Exami¬ nation sys¬ tem for higher work, 66 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION are more distinctively Chinese. From the ranks of the successful are filled the various offices of the empire, and in this way the order of the government and of society is preserved without change. After two pre¬ liminary, or, as as we might say, ‘ entrance ’ examina¬ tions, there are tests of three grades, each of which, with degrees, if passed, leads to a degree. An idea of the precise and formal character of these examinations, and the way in which those who succeed are rewarded, can be gained with a fair degree of accuracy 1 from the tabu¬ lated outline on pages 68 and 69. Those who have attained the doctor’s, or ‘ fit for office ’ degree, may take a fourth and final examina¬ tion, and, upon passing it, become life members of the Han-lin Yuan (‘forest of pencils’), or Imperial Acad¬ emy. The members of the Han-lin are the official poets and historians of China. They virtually serve as the emperor’s cabinet, and, although as such their educational prerogatives are only advisory, other offices of great importance are also granted them. Sometimes the emperor designates the one who most distinguishes himself in the final examination as the literary leader of the nation, and this man is held in great reverence by all as the very flower of their genius. There is no age limit for any of the examinations, 1 Authorities differ in their descriptions, and the details are too numer¬ ous to be given in full. CHINA 67 and not infrequently a youth has undergone the ordeals at the same time with his father, and even his grand¬ father. During the entire time of an examination the candidates are locked up in cells, and are not allowed to leave under any circumstances. Even their meals are eaten there. The strain under which they labor must be tremendous; and often serious illness, or even death, results. The examinations, however, are not always conducted honestly, for, despite a vigorous searching of the candidates beforehand, small editions of the sacred books, or essays prepared in advance, are some¬ times smuggled into the examinations in their sleeves, and officials have been known to be open to bribery. Subject-matter of the Course. — The entire course of study in the Chinese schools may be divided into three grades. In the first, or elementary period, the pupils learn the most important characters in the language and commit the nine sacred books to memory. The characters, as has already been indicated, do not repre¬ sent sounds, but ideas, and a different symbol is used for every word. There are, therefore, fully thirty thousand ideographs, although only about five thousand appear in the Five Classics and the Four Books. In acquiring these characters, some six or seven schoolbooks 1 are com- 1 The first schoolbook, or primer, is the San-tsz King, or Trimetrical Classic , from which the pupil acquires some five hundred symbols. It re¬ ceives its name from the fact that it is rhythmically constructed, having three In the ele¬ mentary period, the most im¬ portant char¬ acters are learned and the sacred books com¬ mitted. 68 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION EXAMINATIONS FOR DEGREES IN CHINA First Second Third Place held . . . County seat 1 Provincial Cap¬ ital 1 Capital of the Empire Number of cen- ters. 252 18 1 How often . . . Twice every three years Every three years Every three years Length of ses- sion. One day and one night Three sessions of three days each Thirteen days Presiding officer Provincial ex- Two examiners The Han-lin aminer from the (Imperial Nature of the Han-lin Academy) examination Number of can- Two prose es¬ says, and one poetical, on themes from the sacred books Five or six es¬ says on each of the first two days; and five ques¬ tions on the history and economics of China, for the third day • didates . . . 500 to 2000 4800 to 10,000 Number that pass. About 1 in 35 2 One in 120 2 A larger propor¬ tion than in the two other ex¬ aminations CHINA 69 EXAMINATIONS FOR DEGREES IN CHINA — Continued First Second Third Degree received 1 Flourishing ‘ Promoted i Fit for Office.’ Talent.’ Cf. Scholar.’ Cf. Cf. our i Doc- Other distinc- our i Bache¬ lor’ our 1 Master ’ tor’ tions .... Gilt button on cap Gilt button of higher order on cap, a couple of flag- staffs before the gate, and a tablet on the door Privileges . . . Chief place at Privileges of May claim acoun- banquet and the first de- ty magistracy funerals; gree; but at once; from spared all toil also sure of their numbers through sup- an office after are filled all port of rela- a year or two, the higher civil tives; may and sooner, and educa- obtain sub¬ ordinate offi¬ cial position, though no right to ex¬ pect it 3 if influence enough tional offices 1 China is divided into 18 provinces, and these are subdivided into 252 counties and 705 districts. The preliminary examinations are held in the districts, and the tests for the degrees are conducted at the centers of the larger divisions. 3 The examination is repeated, if too large a proportion pass on the first occasion. * See especially Smith, Village Life in China, pp. 132-133. 70 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION In the second period, the books are translated; mitted before the sacred books are taken up. All of these texts, including the nine sacred works, are in¬ tended at this stage simply to give a command of the characters, and no attention is paid to meaning. Even if the ancient literary language were understood, the subject-matter is treated in far too condensed and abstract a fashion for a boy to comprehend. During this period also the pupils learn to write, although without any relation to what they are reading. Arithmetic, which is very necessary to them in calcu¬ lating their exceedingly small currency, is never taken up in the school, but must be acquired afterward in the course of practical business. This elementary period of education, which lasts some five or six years, usually represents the limit for most boys who go to school at all. In the second stage the nine sacred books are trans¬ lated into more modern Chinese, although at first no explanation is given by the teacher. Later, commen- charactersto each line, and it treats of a number of duties and the rules for study. Following this comes the Pih Kio Sing, or Century of Surnames, from which they learn some four hundred family names. The 7 'sien Tsz- wan, or the Essay of a 7 'housand Characters, is studied next. In this the characters are arranged in two hundred and fifty columns of four symbols each, so as to secure rhyme and rhythm, but without much regard to con¬ tinuity or sense. There are also used the Yiu Hioh Shi-tieh , or Odes for Children, the tractate on Filial Duty, called the Hiao King , and finally, the Siao Hioh , or Juvenile Instructor , all of which contain moral ideas in the form of story or precept. CHINA 7 1 taries are taken up, and the meaning made clear. The third period is occupied with the writing of essays and poems after the style and thought of the Five Classics and other fixed models. These latter stages of educa¬ tion last indefinitely, as they may continue until the student passes the governmental examinations, — or finally dies in the attempt. Method of Teaching. — The Chinese methods of teaching are formal in the extreme. They are based upon mere memorizing and exact imitation. While each teacher has charge of from twenty to forty pupils, the instruction is not by classes, but by hearing of in¬ dividuals. The words of the lesson are read out by the teacher and repeated in concert by the pupils, each of whom has a book open before him, until they can pronounce a line without assistance. Every one then shouts out the line until it is fully impressed upon his mind, when he hands his book to the teacher, turns his back, and rapidly repeats this portion in a shrill voice without any idea of the meaning. After all have com¬ mitted the line, the next one is taken up in the same way. Of this method of teaching, Dr. Smith dryly re¬ marks : “ Every Chinese regards this shouting as an indispensable part of the child’s education. If he is not shouting, how can the teacher be sure that he is studying ? And as studying and shouting are the same thing, when he is shouting, there is nothing more to be and in the third, essays are modeled after them. The boys memorize books by shouting, 72 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and learn to write by tracing; while higher education is obtained by committing lectures and phrases. Teachers are unskilled, desired." Writing is learned by Waving the teacher’s copy under the paper and tracing it with a brush until some facility is obtained. The pupils then imitate the copy without tracing until they can finally draw the characters from memory. The easiest symbols are learned first, and the writing is gradually made smaller as skill is acquired. The higher education in explaining the sacred books and in essay writing is similarly crude in method. Ex¬ planatory lectures on the Five Classics and the Four Books are given at the private and public academies, and are largely committed to memory. Prose and verse composition on the topics discussed are also written at frequent intervals. These essays cannot show any originality, but must employ the thought, style, and meter of the sacred books or of certain dis¬ tinguished scholars whose productions are memorized for this purpose. 1 Such a method would be about equivalent to requiring our American schoolboys to produce compositions after the style and subject-matter of Wyclif or Chaucer. No examinations or licensing of teachers, or super¬ vision of their work, is attempted by the government. The elementary schools are generally taught by those who have obtained only the first degree and have as yet 1 The slow and stereotyped fashion in which composition is learned is more fully described by Martin in his Lore of Cathay , pp. 293-294. CHINA 73 found no official opening, or often by those who have failed to secure even this distinction. We are, there¬ fore, not surprised to learn from an eminent authority 1 that “To the enormous oversupply of school-teachers it is due that one of the most honorable callings is at the same time one of the most ill-paid.” In the higher work, however, where the salaries are much better, even the ‘doctors ’ are, as a matter of preference, some¬ times engaged. With methods so poor, it is not sur- anddisci- prising that an artificial stimulus is necessary, or that hlTsh! 5 the bamboo is frequent and merciless in its appli¬ cations. Results of Chinese Education. — Thus every feature of the social and intellectual life of the Chinese has in the past stamped them as non-progressive. While they have not been altogether as stationary as sometimes de¬ scribed, and at present are introducing European civili¬ zation at a most surprising rate, their advancement in the past has been in spite of themselves. The chief tenets of the prevailing religion are the maintenance of an unchanging order and a static system of ethics. The worship of antiquity and ancestors, and the formal ceremonial, together with the family ideal of govern¬ ment at home and in the state, are natural outgrowths. The rules for conduct are prescribed, and must be committed to memory. In consequence, moral judg- 1 Smith, Village Life in China , pp. 73-74. 7 4 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The Chinese are bound to the past, and individuality is sup¬ pressed. merits are not well developed with them, and often no distinction is made between an accidental and an in¬ tentional lapse. The Chinese are sober, industrious, and thrifty; but beneath the surface of their fine ethical precepts, they are often vain, cunning, 1 servile, and immoral. Their education is the product of this society, and is subject to the same limitations. While all boys are allowed to obtain school privileges, and it is possible for any one who can pass the first examination to secure social standing and an official position, because of the time and money needed to secure it and its worthless¬ ness to one who fails at the examination, education is not common among the masses of the people. So, although the nominal opportunities offered prevent the formation of any definite system of castes, and may help to keep the people contented, the social order is in reality largely predetermined by an aristocratic edu¬ cation. Not only does this training tend to bind so¬ ciety to the past, but it more directly prevents progress by suppressing individuality. The subjects offered are purely literary and must be learned after a stereotyped fashion. Even the ruling of the paper, the formation of the symbols, and their exact position is prescribed. Mental training, therefore, consists mostly in the devel- 1 Commercially, however, the Chinese have a reputation for formal honesty. Most of the cashiers in the Japanese banks are Chinamen. CHINA 75 opment of retention, and the more important powers of analysis and reasoning are neglected. The pupils are forced to load their minds with numerous details, and to make unessential distinctions. Failing to do this, they are severely punished. Little attention is given to anything that might foster initiative and originality, or fit the pupil for concrete living, except in so far as he obtains from his education certain rules for practi¬ cal conduct, or through it secures the right to an offi¬ cial position. No training in calculation, geography, science, manual arts, or other subjects needed in actual life, is afforded. Thus Chinese society and education have remained of much the same type throughout their history. In them the past is continually preserved, and progress is forbidden. As a result, the Chinese Empire has already endured for several millennia, and if outside influences were not interfering, it would continue in its way indefi¬ nitely. Where no change is permitted, stability is an easy matter; but it may be doubted whether perma¬ nence without progress can be accounted real existence after all. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Muller, Max. Sacred Books of the East , Vols. Ill, XVI, XIX, XXVII, XXVIII, XXXIX, XL. No initiative or originality, or training for concrete living is possible. 76 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION II. Authorities Douglas, R. K. China. Douglas, R. K. Eurofe and ihe Far East , Chaps. I—VIII. Hirth, F. The Ancient History of China to the End of the Chdu Dynasty. Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Uro-Altaic Races, Chap. I. Martin, W. A. P. The Chinese; Their Education , Philosophy , and Letters. Martin, W. A. P. The Lore of Cathay. Especially Bk. IV. Monroe, P. A Text-Pook in the History of Education , Chap. II. Smith, A. H. Chinese Characteristics. Smith, A. H. Village Life in China. Especially Chaps. IX, X, and XII. Williams, S. Wells. The Middle Kingdom. Especially Vol. I, Chap. IX. CHAPTER VIII INDIA Effect of Environment. — The Aryan nations, which will now be viewed, were by nature more emancipated from superstition and bondage to the past than the other countries belonging to the transitional stage of culture. The strength of their intellect was largely due to the in¬ vigorating surroundings amid which they were origi¬ nally placed. The cradle of the Aryan race, according to the view now prevailing , 1 is generally regarded as Europe rather than Asia, but those characteristics which more commonly mark the European Aryan did not sur¬ vive in that branch of the family that went south and dispossessed the aboriginal tribes of India. The ener¬ vating climate of this great peninsula, the chronic lassitude of the older inhabitants, and their own inactivity eventu¬ ally had its effect upon the Aryan conquerors. They must have entered India somewhere about 2000 b.c., and for nearly eight hundred years they preserved their peculiarities to a greater or less extent. In the earliest 1 However, the recently discovered cuneiform material in Asia Minor tends to show the Asiatic origin of the Iranians, and hence of the Aryans. The Aryans in India. 77 78 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Mystic philosophy of Brahman' ism. portions of their sacred writings, the Vedas, their thought so closely resembles the primitive form of the Persian religion, which never lost its Aryan vigor, as very clearly to suggest a common origin. During this early period they evidently worshiped the various powers of nature, especially Agni, the Fire, and Indra y the Thunder-storm , 1 and their religion was without an element of weakness or inaction. Religion. — Gradually, however, the debilitating cli¬ mate, together with various other causes, led to the formulation of Brahmanism, with its mystic philosophy, which is almost the opposite pole of the Aryan individ¬ ualism and activity. The old Vedic gods and the sac¬ rificial ceremonies were retained, but it was held that nothing except Brahma , the one universal spirit, really exists. Whatever else appears to have separate exist¬ ence, even the earlier gods, is in reality identical with that spirit; and while men seem to be temporarily allowed an individuality of their own, they should seek an ultimate reunion by absorption into the great eternal spirit. With this is joined the belief in metempsychosis , or transmigration of souls. It was held that every creature must be repeatedly reborn in various forms until he is purified of all desires; and thus, by gradually doing away with activity and deeds, he becomes united with Brahma, or pure existence. 1 See Tiele, History of Ancient Religions , p. 113, INDIA 7 9 This pantheistic conception was, however, reserved for the Brahmans, or priestly class, who had grown into a hierarchy, and kept intensifying the lines between the castes. The masses were taught only a polytheistic worship, which, although based upon Vedic beliefs, em¬ bodied the fetishism of the older inhabitants, and multi¬ plied sacrifices and ceremonies, and so eventually degen¬ erated into an absurd idolatry. As a reform, Buddhism arose about 500 b.c., although it did not become a real rival to Brahmanism for two centuries and a half. It was founded by Gautama , more often called Buddha, 1 who, being himself only the son of a warrior, and not a Brahman, taught disregard of caste distinctions. It also insisted upon the uselessness of sacrifices, ceremonial, and prayers, and held that the goal of life was a com¬ plete extinction of desire, which would result in a state known as Nirvana. This is equivalent to self-annihila¬ tion, rather than absorption into the world-spirit. Feel¬ ing the hollowness of this transitory world, the Bud¬ dhists advocated monastic life in the forests. Such a negative ideal of life, together with the Bud¬ dhist substitution of an atheistic belief for the older pantheism, enabled the Brahmans about 500 a.d. to crush the schism completely. By the thirteenth cen¬ tury of our era, Buddhism had been altogether exiled to 1 Gautama has been known as Buddha (‘the enlightened one’) among Europeans. Buddhism arose as a reform from ceremonial and class distinctions; but was crushed, and united with Brahman¬ ism. 8o A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The four castes, Ceylon, Burmah, Siam, Thibet, China, Japan, and other places, or had lost itself in the modified form of Brah¬ manism known as Hinduism. Since then, education in India has consisted almost entirely of a training in Hindu principles and lore . 1 Social Conditions. — A Hindu boy’s whole situation in life, including the education that he receives, depends upon the occupation of his father, for the people are divided into hereditary classes, or ‘castes.’ As a result of the prominence of the religious element in their civilization, the priestly caste, or the Bvahinancis y which also embraces all those skilled in law, medicine, , architecture, music, legislation, and other learning, is the highest. It outranks that of the Kshatriyas , or warriors, which includes all those engaged in the admin¬ istration of the country. The honor attached to leisure by the religion of the Hindus has caused those who carry on the industries to be looked upon as inferior to the former two classes. The third caste is, therefore, that of the Vaisyas , which is composed of merchants, farmers, and other employers of labor. The fourth, or lowest of all, including all outcasts, is looked upon as ‘unclean,’ and it comprehends, under the name of 1 Great Britain, the present ruler of India, has transplanted there a com¬ plete school system of her own type, and the various Christian churches, the Mohammedans, and the Parsis have interested themselves more or less with education; but the most influential factor is still decidedly Hinduism, and with its peculiarities alone are we concerned here. INDIA 81 Sudras , the serving class and all menials. Numerous subdivisions 1 are also made within the castes, especially the third and fourth, and many former distinctions have now disappeared. Outside the social order altogether are the Pariahs , who, with the Sudras, are probably de¬ scendants of the original inhabitants. The Brahmanas seem to be of pure Aryan extraction, and the second and third castes of various degrees of mixed blood. But the first three castes are sometimes grouped together as Ary as, or nobles born, as distinguished from the serving class, the Sudras. A man may marry a woman of a lower caste than his own, but not of a higher. So one may fall into a caste below, but he cannot rise. Neither wealth nor other success in life, nor any amount of philanthropy or exhi¬ bition of any virtues, can lift him a single notch beyond the point at which his family has been for centuries. Loss of caste by one person in a family will degrade all the rest. But the Brahmans have never been able, since the influence of Buddhism was felt, to place so strict an interpretation upon the caste system; and it is now generally admitted that even the lowest orders may sometime attain to absorption in Brahma. All the castes are also allowed to know a little of the pantheistic teachings. Eventually, with the growth of humanity, the caste system must altogether disappear, but, for a 1 See Code of Manu, X. G and the Pariahs. 82 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION \ Woman is supposed only to minister to man, and bear chil¬ dren. long time to come, it is likely to be the curse of India, and to mark its system of education. In such an organization of society, it is not surprising that woman is not held in proper esteem. It is true there have been some notable exceptions at all times, like the wife of Rama , the legendary prince of ancient India, whose memory is worshiped as the ideal type of womanhood; and there are instances cited in which poetesses composed Vedic hymns, and a woman dis¬ cussed philosophic questions. But woman s position in India has generally been to minister to the comfort and pleasure of man, and to bear children. The ancient laws tell us: “In childhood, a female must be sub¬ ject to her father, in youth to her husband, and in widowhood to her sons ; a woman must never be inde¬ pendent. Though destitute of virtue, or seeking pleasure elsewhere, or devoid of good qualities, a husband must be constantly worshiped as a god by a faithful wife. While a campaign is being vigorously waged by Christian missions against various revolting practices, yet even now, in keeping with the Hindu code, girls are in their infancy 1 still sold for wives, a gross polygamy is allowed , 2 and perpetual widowhood 3 of a degrading sort is still prevalent. The position of women in much of Hindu society is little above that of slavery. 2 Ibid., Ill, 12-13, and IX, 85-86. 8 Ibid., V, 160-164, and IX, 65. 1 Manu, IX, 88. INDIA 83 Aim of Education. — Thus, ever since Brahmanism and brooding reflection first controlled the Hindus, the aim of education has been to prepare for the life to come and absorption into the Infinite, rather than for achieve¬ ments in this life. The chief object is to fill the pupils with the tenets of their religion, and to teach them how to carry out its injunctions. Incidentally, education is intended to preserve the caste system commanded by Hinduism, and to keep all within the sphere of their occupation. The three upper castes are nominally sup¬ posed to gain a knowledge of the sacred works, but, outside the Brahmans, custom dictates that not many take advantage of the opportunity. The warriors are expected to pay more attention to martial exercises, and the industrial caste to acquire through apprenticeship the arts necessary for its hereditary occupations. The Sudras have been allowed to receive no education at all, and it has at times been even deemed a crime punishable with death to let them learn anything. It is intended that women shall remain uneducated, and it is consid¬ ered a reproach to them even to know how to read or write, as they might thereby be tempted to neglect their domestic duties. So, throughout Hindu educa¬ tion, mental development for its own sake is entirely unknown. Means and Content. — All of the castes, however, ex¬ cept the Sudras, may now learn reading, writing, and Preparation for the life to come. Elementary subjects and traditions are 8 4 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION learned at home, and later in local schools. Higher edu¬ cation is car¬ ried on at Brahmanic colleges, ♦ the elements of arithmetic, together with the special requirements and religious observances suited to each caste. They receive this training to some extent from the laws, traditions, and customs of the country through the medium of the family; but also in a more formal way from the elementary schools, which are a modern institution. These schools are held in each village under the trees in the open air, or, during bad weather, in covered sheds; and besides the subjects mentioned, since the early centuries of the Christian era, the pupils have been taught fables, parables, and allegories. The best known collection of these stories is the Pancha- tantra . The higher education, from about 1000 b.c., has largely been carried on in Brahmanic colleges called Parishads . These were originally conducted by three Brahmans, but the number has gradually been increased until twenty-one are considered the ordinary corps of instruction. Even before these institutions were founded, however, during the Vedic period, higher schools for the study of the religious works and practices were held at the houses of the teachers or at the dif¬ ferent royal courts. There are now also private schools that are not necessarily for Brahmans, in which the tuition may be paid for by services. When a Brahman has attained a complete education, he has committed to memory various sacred books. INDIA 35 The chief of these is the work known by the collect¬ ive name of Veda (‘ knowledge ’). It includes four manuals, each of which is also called Veda . 1 These Vedas are arranged as rituals for the four orders of Brahman priests, when engaged in sacrificing. To each of these metrical portions are appended various prose writings 2 which are intended as commentaries on the hymns and prayers and on their application to the sacrifices. “ Every Brahmanic family,” writes Professor Bhandarkar,in the Indian Antiquary , “is devoted to the study of a particular Veda; and the domestic rites of the family are performed according to the ritual de¬ scribed in the Sutra connected with that Veda.” From the different commentaries on the Veda has been drawn the nucleus for metrical books of laws, like the Code of Manu , which is a collection of traditional customs; and for philosophical and scientific works, such as the six Angas on Phonetics, Etymology, Meter, Astronomy, Grammar, and Ceremonial respectively. In all this hereditary knowledge of the Hindus, which has been a natural fruit of their contemplative life, the Brahman may also be instructed. The learning that 1 These are (i) Rigveda, a collection of the earliest hymns; (2) Sama- veda, and (3) Yajurveda, which are largely made up of verses from the Rigveda, the one consisting of chants and the other of prayers and ritual; and (4) Alharaveda, a composite collection, popular rather than hieratic in its character. 2 I.e. the Brahmanas, Sutras, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. by commit¬ ting the Vedas and works drawn from the commen¬ taries. 86 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Pupil com¬ mits by sing¬ ing aloud. has'been handed down in this way is not inconsiderable. To the Hindus we are indebted for our numerical nota¬ tion, often wrongly attributed to the Arabs. During the fifth century after Christ they invented an algebra superior to that of the Greeks, although they were prob¬ ably assisted by the work of the latter. They early learned how to calculate eclipses and find the location of planets by means of tables. They seem also to have had some knowledge of medicine. By 300 a.d. they possessed a treatise on rhetoric, and had worked out a logic two centuries before the time of Aristotle; while in the science of grammar, as early as the fourth cen¬ tury b.c., they were so far advanced that the Western world first learned what philology was when the study of Sanskrit was opened to Europe a hundred or more years ago. To complete his course of study has always taken the young Brahman from eight to twelve years; and he may, if he undertakes the entire range of Hindu knowledge, spend a lifetime in the work. 1 Method of Teaching. — Since all learning has been preserved by oral tradition, it is not remarkable that 1 We learn from Apastamba-sutras , I, 2, 12: “He who has been ini¬ tiated shall dwell as a religious student in the house of his teacher, for forty-eight years (if he learns all four Vedas), for thirty-six years, for twenty-four years, for eighteen years. Twelve years (should be) the shortest time.” Max Muller (Origin of Religion , p. 156) shows that at present a student requires fully eight years to learn the various sacred books. INDIA 87 practically the only method of instruction, even since writing has been used, is a memoritcr one. Even the later texts are so written as to be easily committed. The alphabet and some ten or twenty pages of the text are taught before any explanation is given. The teacher pronounces two or three words at a time, which the pupil repeats after him; and, when two or three verses have been read, they are sung aloud by the boy until he has committed them. Each lesson consists of 125 to 175 verses. The higher education is imparted in a similar way. Writing is learned by practicing the teacher’s copy on the sand with a stick, then on palm leaves with a stylus, and finally on plane leaves with ink. The teachers are always Brahmans, and, to teach even the elementary work, are required to pass through the complete course of higher study. 1 Naturally they are treated with the greatest respect. 2 They are not directly paid for their services, 3 but collect ‘ presents ’ from the parents, especially the wealthier men. It is considered a grave offense to study the sacred works without an authorized instructor. 4 Older students, however, are often used by the master to teach the younger pupils, and it was from India that the idea of the * monitorial’ system was first obtained by Andrew Teachers are treated with the greatest respect. 1 Max Muller, Origin of Religion, p. 154. 8 Rid., Ill, 15. 2 Manu, II, 191-208. 4 Rid., II, 242. 88 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Discipline. Most of the people are uneducated, and even the Brahmans have only traditional learning; hence there has been little progress or ambition. Bell, and others before him. Although individuality is entirely neglected in this system of sheer memory, dis¬ cipline, owing to the unassertiveness of the pupils, is mild, except in very serious cases, when a pupil may be beaten upon the back with a rope or a split bamboo. 1 Effect upon Hindu Character. — Thus education in India is based upon a gloomy religious belief and the rigid caste system accompanying it. The Hindu boy is impressed with the unreality and wretchedness of this life, and is enjoined to escape from it as soon as possible through reflection and inactivity. He also learns to regard members of the other castes not merely without sympathy, but with positive hatred. In consequence, education has been forbidden to ninety-eight per cent of the population, 2 and, as far as it does exist, it is a mere stuffing of memory. It is as little concerned with real mental culture as it is with training for manhood or citizenship. Also, as has been seen, while the Brahmans have handed down much traditional learning, it is blended with superstition, and new knowledge of any sort is barred. All science and inventions are naturally beside the mark when emphasis is laid chiefly on the life to come, and it is known that 1 Manu, VIII, 299-300. 2 There is, however, a remarkable stir in education to-day. The Gaikwar of Baroda first introduced free and compulsory education throughout his state, and other rajahs are following his lead. INDIA 89 no amount of advance in methods, implements, and mental development can make the slightest change in one’s position during the present life. The Hindus * still plow with sticks of wood, as their remotest an¬ cestors did, and their wonderful soil fails to produce a tithe of what it might. Their crops are harvested and threshed by devices equally antique. They bake their bricks, work their metals, and weave their cloth with appliances that might have seemed crude to the early Egyptians. In fact, they still live in the first, rather than the twentieth, century. Similarly, the Hindus have, until recently, been greatly lacking in ambition, self-reliance, and personal responsibility, and have never come to any feeling of solidarity or national unity. They have cultivated the passive virtues, — patience, resignation, gentleness, peaceableness, and docility, and they are polite, respectful toward their parents and elders, and obedi¬ ent to authority; but they have accomplished little for themselves or civilization, and have been conquered by one nation after another. The Macedonian Greeks, the Mohammedans, the Turkomans and Mongols, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British have succes¬ sively been masters of their land. To them progress, prosperity, and patriotism are foreign ideas. Despite all the Hindu’s fineness of intellect and his idealistic religion, India seems typically ‘ barbarian.’ 90 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Muller, Max. Sacred Books of the East . Vols. I, II, VII, VIII, X, XIV, XVII, XX, XXII, XXV, XXVI, XXIX, XXX, XXXII, XXXVI, and XXXVIII. II. Authorities Dutt, R. C. Ancient India. Dutt, R. C. The Civilization of India. Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Edtication. The Aryan Races (A). Letourneau, C. Devolution de Veducation. Chap. XIV, A and B. Muller, Max. The Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by the Religions of India. Ragozin, Z. A. Vedic India. Sayazi, Rao. Articles on Education by his Highness the Maharaja Gaikwar of Baroda. Taylor, H. O. Ancient Ideals. Tiele, C. P. Outlines of the History of Religions (translated). Chap. IV, I and II. Williams, M. M. Brahmanism and Hinduism . CHAPTER IX PERSIA Natural Influences. — The Persians seem to have had much the same origin as the Hindus. The environment into which they moved, however, was far different, and they never lost the energy and aggressiveness of the Aryan. Instead of the enfeebling climate of India, with its prolific soil and dreamy inhabitants, they met with the stern conditions of a barren country and war¬ like peoples, and were spurred to greater activity by the bracing air of their surroundings. They came to dwell on the high table-lands, hedged on all sides by still loftier mountains, south of the Caspian Sea, and east of those Semitic countries at whose development we have already glanced. Although their country was grooved with many productive valleys, and was extremely fertile on the north as it sloped toward the Caspian, as a whole it was an arid land, and required a constant struggle to yield the barest living. Thus the Persians were soon tempted to prey upon the wealthy civilizations to their west, especially since these countries had been over¬ come by luxury and sloth. 91 Stem con¬ ditions produced a warlike people. 92 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION who ab¬ sorbed all the surrounding nations. i An excellent organization was formed in the provinces, About 550 b.c. the Persians absorbed their relatives, the Medes, who had themselves already (606 b.c.), in conjunction with the Chaldean Babylonians, come into possession of Assyria. Bactria and Elam had also been amalgamated with Persia, and Cyrus, king of the com¬ bined countries, set out to extend his empire. After conquering Lydia (545 b.c.), which had previously re¬ duced most of Asia Minor, the Medo-Persians turned against their former allies, the Babylonians, who were attempting to stay their progress, and easily overcame them (538 b.c.). Cyrus died a few years later (530 b.c.) while reducing the Scyths. His son and successor, Cambyses, carried the Persian conquest into Egypt, where he, too, met with death (525 b.c.). The next sovereign, Darius, cousin of Cambyses, pushed his way into northern India (520 b.c.), and carried on aggres¬ sions in Thrace (515 b.c.), where the Persians came into close contact with the Greeks, and were led into the struggle (500-479 B.c.) which ended so disastrously for themselves. Out of this, too, grew the conquests of Alexander (336-323 b.c.), and the final downfall of if the Persian Empire. Government. — But for some time Persia ruled over the largest empire the world had known. Darius dis¬ played much wisdom as a statesman. He followed the Assyrian plan in dividing his dominion into ‘ provinces,’ but greatly improved upon it. Each of the twenty PERSIA 93 provinces was placed under a satrap , or governor, appointed by the Great King to act in his stead. This viceroy had as his assistants a civilian secretary, with a council, and a general, commanding an army. While the Persians insisted on firmly maintaining their rule and crushing any rebellion with great severity, they granted complete local autonomy. Each province was required to pay tribute in proportion to its means, but was allowed absolute freedom in its customs and re¬ ligion. Under such a centralized government these warlike nations were really better able to preserve and advance their civilization than if they had each been entirely independent. The administration at home was equally wise and and at home, strong. It was organized as a bureaucracy, and 'had seven tribal princes, seven judges, and various other officials who administered affairs, under the Great King. The laws were just and humane. In consequence, practically all within the Persian Empire came to feel a personal responsibility for its welfare, and, in spite of the way in which their dominions were spread out and separated by impassable mountains and unnavigable rivers, for a long space of time there remained a sense of national unity and a willingness to work together. Religion and Ethics. — As might be expected from Militant and the national characteristics, the religion of the Persians, rdfgioiT Mazdeiswt , was a militant one. It recognized two 94 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Zoroaster introduced spiritual conceptions, antagonistic spirits, Ahura-Mazdah} or Ormazd (* Lord Wisdom ’), the omnipresent and omniscient creator and nourisher of all mankind, and Anra-Mainyu> or Ahri- man (‘ Enemy Spirit ’), who arose from the conflict of forces when Ormazd created the universe, and was the source of all things evil in the world. It was believed, however, that Ahriman was inferior to Ormazd, and would eventually be vanquished by him. This spiritual conception seems to have been formu¬ lated first about 600 b.c. by a reformer named Zara- thushtra , or Zoroaster, as he is now commonly called. Somewhat before his day there existed a primitive wor¬ ship of natural forces 2 not unlike the Vedic. The earlier belief remained, but the good elements were treated as ministering angels of Ormazd, and the evil as subordinate demons of Ahriman. The chief good angels were thought to be the divinities of fire and light. 2 Holy fires were consequently tended by an hereditary priesthood called the Magi , and the sun was worshiped by all. Light, however, was regarded by the more advanced merely as emblematic of truth, wisdom, virtue, and 1 Compare the warrior deity, Ashur, whom the Medes may have adopted while in captivity to the Assyrians, 2200—800 B.C., and later iden¬ tified with Mazdah. The Medo-Persians gained much from their contact with Semitic peoples. 2 Compare Agni and Indra, p. 78. See also Sayce, The Ancient Em¬ pires of the East, pp. 256-257. PERSIA 95 purity. Hence men were urged, by overcoming evil impulses and desires, and by extending the power and civilization of their native land, to enter the contest of life on the side of light, and aid Ormazd in his ultimate victory over Ahriman. Professor Tiele says of Mazde- ism: “ The whole life of the believer is a constant conflict with evil, in which, as is universal in an¬ tiquity, little difference is made between physical and moral evil. Agriculture, likewise, and the care of clean animals and plants are powerful means of weakening the kingdom of impurity. But the love of truth, also vigilance and activity, are weapons which win the vic¬ tory in this contest.” But, as in most of the other barbarian countries, the but the higher ideals were held only by the most intelligent Zinedthe people; and while they determined the general condi- worship of tion of religion and society, were not at all understood forces, by the masses, who largely retained the original wor¬ ship of natural forces. Yet even in this case there was no suggestion of idolatry, if Herodotus 1 is to be cred¬ ited, when, before describing the more overt ceremonies of the Persians, he says : “ It is not their practice to erect statues, temples, or altars, but they charge with folly those who do so; because, as I conjecture, they do not think the gods have human form, as the Greeks do.” 1 1, 131- 9 6 ■A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Virtues that were inculcated. Moreover, a belief in bodily resurrection was gen¬ erally held by the Zoroastrians. At death a man’s good deeds were supposed to be weighed against the evil, and if the good prevailed, he was sent to the ‘Abode of Song,’ where dwelt Ormazd and the saints; but if the evil surpassed the good, he was cast into the ‘ Lower World,’ to be tortured by demons. Should the bal¬ ance stand even, a period of second probation was allowed him. It was believed, however, that even the wicked would in the end be purified and counted among the blessed. Clearly Mazdeism was an ethical religion and gave some value to personality and the desire to work out one’s own salvation. The chief virtues, as would be expected in a religion of light and individual respon¬ sibility, were truth, justice, gratitude, courage, and self- control. There were naturally no castes, except pos¬ sibly in the case of the hereditary tribe of priests, the Magi. While, according to Herodotus, 1 polygamy and concubinage were common, women were held in higher esteem than with most Orientals, and the Persians were naturally domestic. Children rendered a willing obedi¬ ence, and the family tie was held to be sacred. It was believed that he who slew a parent must be a change¬ ling or a bastard, for it was hardly to be supposed that one’s own legitimate offspring could act in this way. 2 l I, 135. 2 See Herodotus, I, 137. PERSIA 97 The Zoroastrian ideas of religion are found in the The zend- sacred books known as the Zend-Avesta (‘ The Law and sacred’ ° f Its Interpretation ’). Although Mazdeism began to creep books ’ into the old nature worship possibly about 900 b.c., it was not made a definite system before the time of its great prophet, Zoroaster, whose Gathas (* Psalms ’) contain the most exalted and spiritual thoughts of the religion. The Zend-Avesta as a priestly code was hardly formulated into a canon until a hundred years or so after his time. 1 In its present form it does not date earlier than the third or fourth century of our era, and it has probably been affected somewhat by Greek philosophy, and possibly also by Judaism and Christianity. There remains but a small portion 2 of the original work, containing, perhaps, one tenth the material in our Bible. These Zoroastrian scriptures 1 The Greeks, however, speak of Zoroaster’s having composed a million verses, and the Zoroastrian tradition itself asserts that there were two archetype copies of the Avesta, written on twelve thousand parchments, and that these two copies were destroyed by Alexander. 2 The Avesta was neglected during the Greek (336-250 B.C.) and the Parthian (250 B.C.-226 A.D.) dynasties, but under the Sassanian mon- archs (226-652 A.D.), who restored Mazdeism, about one third of the original text was recovered. It was, however, even more scattered by the conquest of the Mohammedans (652 A.D.), who have ever since been in control of Persia. The remaining portions of the work have been preserved by the few thousand adherents of Zoroaster that still live in Persia, chiefly in Yazd and Kirman, and by the nearly one hundred thou¬ sand Parsisy who are scattered through India, and more fully represent Zoroastrianism. H « 98 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Military pur¬ pose. Religious training was given at home; may be divided into six parts. 1 The first four contain litanies and hymns of praise of greater or less impor¬ tance, the fifth 2 is a collection of religious rules and legends, and the sixth consists of a set of fragments and glosses. Most of the Avesta, except the Gathas , or its oldest psalms, is simple in thought and style. The metrical parts have considerable merit, but the prose is generally tiresome and lacking in spirit. The Aim of Education. — The Persian ambition, how¬ ever, was not literary or scholastic. Under the circum¬ stances it was but natural that they should strive prin¬ cipally to produce a nation of soldiers, with all that implies in the way of physical education and training in valor and other virtues. Its Organization and Content. — Until he was five, the young Persian was trained at home by the women. According to Herodotus, 3 his father never saw him, in order that he might not be grieved if the child should die in infancy. During this period the boy was sup¬ posed to be completely unmoral, and was not expected to distinguish between right and wrong, but simply to obey the directions given him. Girls were at no time allowed anything further than domestic training. At five the boy’s formal education began. Through the family he was inducted into the national religion 1 I.e. Yasna, Visperad , Yashts , and a group of Minor Texts. 2 Vendidad. 8 I, 136. PERSIA 99 and its observances. Unless he belonged to the wealthier classes, this haphazard knowledge, except possibly apprenticeship training in some occupation, constituted his entire education. The more aristocratic boys, however, after this had some military training. Possibly something not unlike the rigorous plan of the Spartans was in vogue in Persia. 1 Boys may have been exposed to hardships of all sorts in their daily living as a preparation for war¬ fare. They were probably also given a careful physi¬ cal and ethical training. 2 In the open courts before the palace of the Great King or one of his satraps, it is said that they learned horseback riding, and shooting the bow, casting the sling, and throwing the javelin. It has been given as an instance of their skill that they could jump on or off the horse, or hit their mark, when the animal was going at full speed. On the other hand, they were taught to speak the truth, 3 and cultivate justice, gratitude, courage, purity, and self-control. By means of their national traditions, they were inspired to 1 The Cyropcedia (‘ Education of Cyrus ’) of Xenophon professes to describe this education, but we cannot put full confidence in its account. It is generally considered a story intended to laud the Spartan system of education, and pictures it in Persia as the ideal training. Modi describes it as a mixture of facts and fiction rather than merely a ‘political romance.' In either case, its statements should be verified before they are accepted. 2 Herodotus, I, 136. 8 The importance of truth is emphasized again and again in the great cuneiform inscription of Darius on the Behistan Rock in western Persia. and possibly physical and ethical, 100 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and military training by the state. They were taught by example and imitation. noble deeds, while by instruction in the prayers, myths of the gods, and other religious doctrines of Mazdeism their moral life was fostered. Other than in this indirect way, they probably received no literary or intellectual edu¬ cation. Reading and writing were scarcely taught at all. At fifteen, it has been supposed, the boys were con¬ sidered youths, and began their secondary education, which was even more specifically military. This brought them for the first time into the service of the state, and the event was attended with important religious cere¬ monies. The boy was bound with the sacred girdle as a protection against the demons of Ahriman; he recited a ritual from parts of the Avesta, and swore to maintain the law of Zoroaster. The Magi alone required a higher education. This must have consisted in the study and explanation of the sacred writings, and may have included a limited training in philosophy, astrology, medicine, law, and finance, so that they were able to become advisers to the Great King and his satraps. Method. — Since there was no intellectual education save this given the Magi, there was no opportunity for any real method in teaching. What there was must have been very informal. In the case of military train¬ ing, it consisted largely in consciously imitating the example of men of dignity and good repute at the various courts. The moral education came from pre- PERSIA IOI cept, example, and the traditions of the nation, and was impressed by constant practice. Results. — Of all the nations in the transitional stage, the Persians, as a consequence of their educational system, probably furnish the closest approach to a regard for individuality. Their religious conceptions, which have so close a connection with the educational, show almost as large an ethical element as those of Israel, which is to be classed among the nations that first tended to recognize personality in their education. Although the same intensity of moral sentiment and the compulsion of the sacerdotal law were not felt by the Persians, for that very reason, perhaps, they were freer in their moral judgment and less in bondage to hide¬ bound legalism than the Jews. On the other hand, while the Persians had no real caste system, their priest¬ hood was hereditary, women were not educated, and, as education existed mostly for the sake of occupation, the great mass of the people, who were not allowed to enter the army, received but little training of any sort. The government, too, was thoroughly despotic. These latter characteristics, together with the natural lack of geographical unity in the nation, contributed not a little to the downfall of Persia. As long as mili¬ tary achievements were going on, the people at home and in the various provinces felt that they were part and parcel of a great empire, and no oppression was In Persia was the highest de¬ velopment of individual¬ ism among transitional nations. Downfall of Persia oc¬ curred when military achieve¬ ments ceased. 102 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION noticed. But when the Persians came into possession of the entire Eastern world, with its great wealth and high culture but low morals, they were overpowered by vanity, luxury, and idleness, and dissensions and discord arose. The size and heterogeneity of the coun¬ try and the remoteness of the various parts afforded an excellent opening for corruption and intrigue. The majority of the people had never been taught to under¬ stand the lofty religion fully, and even with those who did, it became debased through contact with grosser beliefs and through the loose living of its adherents. The Persian education, too, which fitted them for war¬ fare and physical endeavor, despite its ethical elements, had neglected to prepare them for the arts of peace and the enjoyment of leisure, and left them unequal to the moral strain. Degeneration was rapid, and at the first onset of the vigorous Macedonians, the great empire burst into fragments, and left practically no impress on civilization. Persia, which might have proven the first type of Aryan progress, was forced to hand over the torch to the Athenian Greeks. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Muller, Max (editor). Sacred Books of the East. Translated by various scholars. Vols. IV, V, XVIII, XXIII, XXIV, XXXI, and XXXVII. PERSIA 103 II. Greek Authorities Herodotus, Bks. I and II; Strabo, Bks. XI and XV; Xeno¬ phon, Anabasis, Bk. I, and Cyropcedia, especially Bk. I, Chap. II. III. Other Authorities Jackson, A. V. W. Persia , Past and Present. Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Aryan Races (B). Letourneau, C. Eevolution de Veducation. Chap. XIV, C. Rawlinson, G. The Origin of Nations. Pt. I, Chap. VI. Rawlinson, G. Religions of the Ancient World. Chap. III. Rawlinson, G. The Seven Monarchies of the Ancient World. Vol. II, Media and Persia. Sayce, A. H. The Ancient Empires of the East. IV and V. Tiele, C. P. Outlines of the History of Religions (translated). Chap. IV, II. Vaux, W. S. W. Persia. CHAPTER X The Oriental peoples had begun to control nature; CHARACTER OF THE EARLIEST CIVILIZATION Transitional Stage. — It can be seen from the fore¬ going account of certain typical peoples in the barbarian stage, that, while they differ much in details among themselves, certain common tendencies appear through¬ out their education and their civilization in general. A study of their ideals, together with the way in which they were carried out, and of the results, makes it evi¬ dent that, although superior to primitive conditions, their civilization had not yet attained to the level of later times. Their advance over savagery is revealed in their growing ability to analyze experience and to make generalizations that were impossible for the primitive mind. They must have obtained some insight into nature and learned to formulate her laws. The use of fire became generally understood, and the metals were molded into weapons, utensils, and tools. They no longer wandered over the face of the earth in search of sustenance, but settled down and depended more or less upon agriculture. The sciences sprang up, and art, architecture, and handicrafts began to appear. A 104 CHARACTER OF EARLIEST CIVILIZATION 105 division of labor naturally followed, and the blood tie of clan and tribe was gradually displaced by the rela¬ tionship of kindred occupations. Restricted Ideals. — However, with the exception of the Semitic nations, whose more advanced civilization imposed itself upon all with whom they came in con¬ tact, without being much affected in return, these peoples were largely isolated, and by an imperceptible selection of satisfactory activities, traditional forms of expression gradually grew up. After these had been conformed with sufficiently to fix them as social habits, they became ideals for education as well as for society in general. Thus, although social organization had become much more complex, the educational ideal, as in savagery, may be described as the satisfaction of immediate needs. While among primitive tribes education was the same for all individuals of the male sex, it had now, because of the division of labor that had grown up, become more differentiated and fitted for specific pro¬ fessions. In this way arose class distinctions, which in India at least were hardened into hereditary castes. All of these nations intended that young people should be educated according to the position in society they desired, expected, or, among the Hindus, were required to fill. They seem never to have realized the importance of but had class distinctions, and opposed the develop¬ ment of the individual. io 6 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Education consisted in training for the occupa¬ tion one was to follow. the individual as the progressive factor in civilization. They supposed that all innovations were opposed to the welfare of the social group, and made a special effort to suppress the individual by every agency possible. Education was never regarded as a universal right or of universal value. It did not aim, apparently, to make the perfect man or citizen, but to maintain conditions as they had existed in the past. Occupational Content. — Thus it came about that the industrial classes, who were engaged in the common¬ place task of furnishing means of subsistence for all the people, and to some extent the warriors, who guarded the nation, received little education beyond reading, writing, and apprenticeship in the occupations they were to follow. Similarly, women were allowed no edu¬ cation at all except that which would aid them in their chief function,— keeping the home. While those who entered the sacerdotal class did secure some knowledge of the arts, sciences, and various learned professions, this was to be used merely for practical purposes, or for convincing the masses of the influence of the unseen in the providing of these immediate needs. Memory Method. — This professional knowledge would seem to have been largely traditional and was insured against any change by being embalmed in the sacred books of the various countries. The method of teaching it naturally required a memorizing of the CHARACTER OF EARLIEST CIVILIZATION 107 symbols in the text rather than a realizing of the mean¬ ing of these symbols as part of the pupil’s life. Instruc¬ tion did not consist in mere imitation, with practically no consciousness, as among primitive peoples, although it must have come very close to that line in China and India, and it nowhere became genuinely rational. No effort was made to give a reason for the customs and traditional knowledge that were taught. Individuality was ignored, and all were taught alike, irrespective of interests and capabilities. When individual instincts revolted at this procedure, corporal punishment forced them to submit. Sacerdotal Organization of Schools. — Obviously, with this development of education, the training could no longer be accomplished through imitative play or by participation in the activities of the group. The family and the clan had, therefore, to yield to the school as a medium. Both elementary and higher schools were gradually instituted. Education, however, seems to have retained some connection with the priesthood, as, from the nature of the subject-matter, higher educa¬ tion, except in China, was largely conducted at priestly colleges, and the teachers did not become separated from the sacerdotal class. Static Results.—The effect of such an organization of society and education was that it rendered progress practically impossible, as all innovations were discour- While the method was not merely imitative, it was memori- ter and never genuinely rational. Elementary and higher schools were instituted, but the latter were largely for the priest¬ hood. Thus they allowed no freedom to the individ- ual, and were in bondage to the past; and progress was rendered practically impossible. I08 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION aged. This was seen not only in the immobility of the political, social, and other external conditions of the countries, but in the products of their inner life. Al¬ though their religion was of a much higher order than the crude animism and totemism of the savage, and its more advanced speculations approached monotheism, it was bound down by superstition and ceremonial. It had little effect upon their ethics, which were, for the most part, preceptive and prudential. Their art, archi¬ tecture, and handicrafts, while sometimes developed to a marked degree, especially among the Semitic peoples, were stiff and conventional. Although they produced considerable literature, it was stilted, repetitious, and formulaic. What science there was appears to have been traditional and mixed with charms and super¬ stition. So, while these nations in the transitional stage had largely overcome the primitive enslavement to nature and the necessities of the present, they allowed no freedom to the individual , and were subservient to the conventions of their society. They were completely in bondage to the past. Education with them, as with the primitive tribes, may well be described as non-progressive. They appear, however, to represent a definite step in the evolution from nature to culture. Although they had obtained some control over nature, with them the process of evolution had not yet become CHARACTER OF EARLIEST CIVILIZATION 109 quite conscious of itself, and man had not come to strive for a realization of what he believed to be ideal in this process. Later on, society will be found to look to the future rather than the past, and to make a self-conscious attempt to promote human develop¬ ment in accordance with its remote ideal progressively revealed to thinking men. PART II THE BEGINNINGS OF INDIVIDUALISM IN EDUCATION CHAPTER XI ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) The Hebrews, or at least that portion of them known as the Israelites, while classed among the nations of the Ancient Orient, deserve a separate treatment, because their history continued so much longer, and the stage of culture at which they arrived was so much higher in type. Survey of Jewish History and Religion. — According to the record, these people first appeared in a migration of tribes that started from the east side of the Euphrates, 1 under the chieftainship of one Abraham, about twenty- three hundred years before Christ. They eventually arrived in the land of Canaan, now called Palestine. After some centuries of nomadic life in this country, a portion of the Hebrews, 2 known as Israelites, or de- 1 I.e. ‘Ur of the Chaldees.’ See Genesis , XI, 28 and 31. 2 Hebrew probably meant ‘ dweller on the other side.’ IIO ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) III scendants of Jacob, the reputed grandson of Abraham, wandered with their flocks and herds by successive migra¬ tions into the pasture lands of Goshen, or northeastern Egypt. This was probably during the reign of one of the later Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings, who were possibly themselves of Semitic origin. 1 Within the land of the Pharaohs they continued their own pastoral pursuits, clan institutions, and language, until there arose a new dynasty and “a king over Egypt which knew not Joseph,” who sought to deprive them of everything distinctive of their nationality, and force them into a degrading serfdom. From this desperate situation they were delivered introduction by the leader Moses. This hero introduced among of Jehovah, them the conception of Jahweh , or Jehovah, as a national deity who would protect his people if they were righteous. Having inspired them with this idea, he seized the opportunity during a series of scourges in Egypt to lead out some two million of them across the Red Sea into the desert of the Sinaitic Peninsula. This brought them just south of Canaan and near to the other people of Hebraic origin, — the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites. At first the Israelites were held back by the vigorous 1 The whole question of Israel’s abode in Egypt is one of peculiar diffi¬ culty, and there is a wide variety of opinion among scholars regarding it. The racial relationship of the Hyksos is also very uncertain. 112 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The judges. Canaanites from proceeding further, and were obliged to remain in the desert for some forty years. During this time the national feeling was further developed; and Moses, possibly aided by the priesthood, exercised legislative and judicial functions on the authority of Jehovah. From the decisions and advice obtained in this way, traditions were rapidly built up and transmitted as the Thorah (‘ Law ’), although probably not committed to writing for many centuries. In the course of time the older generation was replaced by a hardier one born in the desert, and during a quarrel between their kindred tribes and the Amorites they were able to cross the Jordan. After many small wars Canaan was conquered by the Israelites and partitioned among the Twelve Tribes some thirteen or fourteen hundred years before Christ. While dwelling in this land, for two or three centuries there was little community of feeling, and dissensions were common. “ Every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” although at times there arose local chiefs, or ‘judges,’ some of whom attained to a greater or less degree of intertribal recognition. Their internal quarrels, however, were finally pacified by their common resistance to the Philistines, who had overwhelmed the Israelites, and carried off from the shrine at Shiloh the ‘ark,’ or sacred symbol of Jehovah. For this reason, too, a war-chief became necessary, and, through the ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 1 13 offices of the judge Samuel about 1095 b.c., a gigantic The kings, and impetuous Benjamite named Saul was chosen king and general. This warrior soon unified the undis¬ ciplined tribes and decisively defeated their various enemies. The selection of a king did not constitute the only service of Samuel in drawing the nation together. He perceived that the religious and patriotic enthusiasm en¬ gendered by the pressure of the Philistines might be used for the restoration and development of the religion of Jehovah. He organized into regular ‘ schools’ the The proph¬ ets. ‘ prophets/ or bands of fanatical devotees of the national God, which in Israel, as among other Eastern peoples, were in the habit of traveling through the land in a state of emotional excitement. At various centers these re¬ ligious revivalists were gathered together and dwelt in crude huts of their own erection. Their spiritual insight was systematically trained by a course of religious and lyric instruction, and they in turn diffused among the common people a knowledge of the essential truths of the religion of Jehovah. Thus during the following five centuries much was done through these schools of the prophets to develop the national religion and further unite the nation. Saul, however, deprived by death of Samuel’s guid- Degeneracy ance, gradually degenerated, and was succeeded by ofthekings ’ David, a Judahite. This king recovered the ark, and, A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 114 and the division of the kingdom. The exile. Foundation of Judaea. placing it in Jerusalem, did much toward securing per¬ manency of religious and political conditions. In the reign of David’s son, Solomon, the long-planned temple was built, science and literature were advanced, com¬ merce and wealth were largely increased, and much was accomplished for the internal administration. The king himself, however, succumbed to luxury and indulgence; and under his weak son, Rehoboam, in 930 b.c. the ten northern tribes revolted, and formed the kingdom of ‘Israel,’ with Samaria as the capital. The two tribes that remained loyal to the house of David became known thereafter as the kingdom of * Judah.’ This disruption eventually led to the downfall of both kingdoms. Israel, from its position, was constantly under the burden of warfare, and was finally overrun by Assyria in 720 b.c. Its inhabitants were deported and thus became ‘ the ten lost tribes.’ Judah was rendered more stable through its isolated position and the influ¬ ence of its prophets, who continually sought to keep the kingdom out of the swirl of international politics. But in 586 b.c. Jerusalem was stormed by the Chaldean Babylonians, the temple was destroyed, and the people deported to Babylon. After the Persian conquest of Babylonia, the trans¬ planted inhabitants of Judah and their descendants were allowed in 536 b.c. to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. However, not much was accom- ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 115 plished toward the culture of the religion of Jehovah until the new immigration under Ezra and the arrival of Nehemiah as governor nearly a century later. Then there was founded a religious state known as Judaea, 1 which, while under the nominal protectorate of Persia, left the real power in the hands of the high priest and his council of priests, scribes, and elders. 2 Through this polity was produced a new movement in the religion of Jehovah. Probably during the reign of Josiah, just before the Babylonian exile, the tra- ditional rulings known as the Thorah were written down. While the people of Judah were in captivity, this code was the means of holding them distinct. Many additions, especially from the teachings of the prophets, were made during the exile; and when Ezra, supported by Nehemiah, promulgated the Law upon their return, it must have contained the main stock of the present Pentateuch. Many amendments were afterward made, but from this time it became the magna charta of Judaism. With its publication revelation was supposed to be complete. The prophets had now disappeared, leaving behind a rich inheritance of ex¬ alted utterances, and the scribes became the recognized authority in matters of religion under the name of 1 Since then these people have been known as Jews rather than Israelites. 2 The Sanhedrim , which arose under the Maccabees, may have been an outgrowth of this Council. The scribes and their works. Later history. Il6 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Sopherim (‘ Scripture scholars ’). Before the captivity their duties had been mostly clerical, but they now interpreted and administered ‘ the Law and the Prophets/ and added to them by their commentaries. Their works were finally collected and are known as the Talmud} They include the Mishna (‘repetition’), which is the oral law that had been handed down as distinguished from the Thorah, and affords an account of various ceremonies and ordinances, and the Gemara (‘supplement’), which is composed of interpretations of the Mishna. These works have for the Jews an importance second only to that of the Scriptures. Meanwhile, Judaea as a state continued its existence for a few centuries longer. In 323 b.c., upon the death of Alexander, who had conquered Persia, Judaea for nearly a century came under the sovereignty of the Ptolemies. Then for another hundred years it writhed under the rule of the Syrians; but, after a struggle of a quarter of a century, it was able to set up an independ¬ ent religious state under the Maccabees (142-64 b.c.). However, through sectarian quarrels, Rome was en¬ abled to reduce Judaea to a dependency, and, after various insurrections, in 70 a.d. Jerusalem was taken and the temple again destroyed. Since then, the Jews, 1 There are two Talmuds, called the ‘ Palestinian ’ and the * Babylo¬ nian ’ respectively, after the place of their compilation. They differ in minor respects only. ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 117 deprived of political existence, have spent their energy- on the culture of their religious patrimony. Although scattered throughout all lands and nations, and univer¬ sally oppressed, they have through all these centuries preserved their identity and strength by the force of their long history, remarkable traditions, regard for education, and lofty religious conceptions. Development of Israelite Religion. — While the Israel¬ ites made a great advance over previous religions, in that Jehovah was from the beginning conceived to some extent as a god of ethical attributes, who preferred righteousness to sacrifice, yet the real development of their religious ideas was of very gradual growth. As already indicated, their religion was probably given its distinctive form by Moses, and was most effective during the great emergency of escaping from the Egyptian bondage and settling in Canaan. The conception of Jehovah probably existed before this time, but possibly as of a deity belonging to one or more Israelitish tribes,— at least, it was much less developed than with Moses. There is some evidence also of the existence of poly¬ demonism, if not polytheism, in the pre-Mosaic religion, and traces even of animism and totemism seem to sur¬ vive from an earlier time in the Mosaic rites and wor¬ ship themselves. 1 Certainly neither religious reflection 1 Sacrifice must be regarded as a gift of food to the god, and a com¬ munion with the deity by partaking of the same flesh or being sprinkled Mosaic and pre-Mosaic conceptions. Henotheism. 118 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION nor moral principles could have been present, except in embryo, before the time of the exodus; and for a long time after the introduction of the religion of Jehovah, custom was the all-prevailing influence. Even the religion of Moses should be described as a henotheism rather than a monotheism, for probably Jehovah was still regarded as one god among many, although the most powerful. He was simply the ‘ God of Israel/ the protector and de¬ liverer of his people, and the only one who could claim their gratitude, obedience, and worship. Nor did the religion of the Israelites become an absolute monotheism for a long time after their settlement in Canaan. As Israel came to participate in the agri¬ culture and viticulture of the Canaanites, they saw no inconsistency in adopting also the various Ba’als, 1 that presided over the several districts. In course of time, as the people of Canaan were subdued more and more, Ba’al was gradually repudiated by the Israelites, and his property and functions absorbed by Jehovah. However, they appear to have seen no reason why the Canaanites should not worship him. For a similar reason, the erection by Solomon of shrines in honor of with the same blood; and a similar idea underlies the ‘ covenant,’ where the contracting parties walked between pieces of the animal laid opposite each other. Circumcision, too, is customary even at the initiatory ceremonies of savages as a sign that the youth has entered among the warriors of the tribe. * These Ba’als were identified with Dionysus by the Greeks. ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 119 Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, and other deities, to please his foreign wives, was probably regarded rather as unpatriotic than sacrilegious. And even the prophet Micah, as late as the eighth century, recognized the existence of other gods, though subordinate, when he said: “ For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.” 1 Moreover, for many centuries the Israelites had an anthropomorphic, if not lower, conception of God. Jehovah was described as of human form, and his presence was made concrete by images and even symbolized by the bulls of Jeroboam at Bethel and Dan. Also mention was made of the existence of demigods, — ‘ sons of gods,’ 2 — who consorted with mortal women; while ‘ angels ’ were viewed as a sort of intermediate being between God and man. The transformation of these narrow conceptions and the real development of Israelite religion came about largely through the instrumentality of the prophets. Although they were laymen, in their fidelity to Jehovah and their zeal, they far outstripped the professional priesthood. At first they supported the throne, although, as in the case of Samuel, Nathan, and Elijah, Anthropo¬ morphism. Loftier con¬ ceptions of the prophets. 1 Micah, IV, 5. 2 Genesis , VI, 4, and Job, I, 6. These conceptions were probably im¬ portations from foreign sources, as Egypt or Persia. 120 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION they never hesitated to rebuke the king when they felt that he had sinned. But as the religious degen¬ eracy, especially of the northern kingdom, grew, they came to oppose the rulers openly, as well as the beliefs, tendencies, and customs of the times. They did their best to awaken the consciences of the people to nobler conceptions and loftier morality; and prophesied the downfall of the kingdoms, if the Israelites did not obey the laws of Jehovah in deed and spirit, and reject Ba’alism. Elijah especially fought most strenuously the coordination or identification 1 of Jehovah with Ba’al. In the ridicule he heaped upon the prophets of Ba’al, 2 he went far beyond the henotheistic position and completely denied the existence of other gods than Jehovah. Other prophets also declared that “Jehovah is the only true God, and beside him there is none ; ” and while they described him nearly always as working for his own people, they taught that all nations would eventually be brought within his plan of salvation for the world. Again, while the prophets resorted occasionally to anthropomorphic descriptions, there is in them no trace of the original naive belief in a human form, and they 1 The reaction from this inconsistent syncretism produced such extreme individuals as the Nazarites, who insisted upon abstinence from the use of wine, as savoring of the Ba’al cult, and the Rechabites, who went so far as to protest against all civilization with agriculture in it, and even tried to revive the nomadic life of the desert. 2 I Kings , XVIII, 17-40. ISRAEL AND JUDAEA (THE JEWS) 121 waged a ceaseless warfare against the use of images. These they felt to be unworthy of his universality and his superiority to restriction in space or time. Through them he was invested with all the qualities of morality and holiness. However, with the return from the Babylonian cap¬ tivity and the growing prominence of the scribes, there was a descent from the lofty teachings of the prophets. As the Mishna and the Gemara expanded, the religious life of the Judaeans more and more became one of for¬ mal observance. Ceremonial, legal dicta, and other prescriptions rapidly multiplied and flourished. For¬ mal obedience to the Law remained, but it took on more of the character of a business contract with the Deity, in which each party was obligated to fill his own part, although even in this a moralizing tendency was ap¬ parent. Thus, beginning with Moses, the religion of Jehovah grew and expanded. Through all its stages, — the formulation of priestly tradition, the spiritual develop¬ ment of the prophets, and the formal interpretations of the scribes, it emphasized the moral law, and gener¬ ally regarded God as an Infinite Being in personal touch with man. 1 The people of Israel were probably not 1 The later Judaism hardly regarded God as in contact with man. In fact, God was highly transcendent, so that intermediaries were con¬ sidered necessary between God and the world. Hence arose their Formalism of the scribes. Summary of religious development. 122 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Religious and moral aim. the first to grasp the henotheistic conception, as can be seen from the history of other Oriental peoples, and possibly the Hindus and Zoroastrians at least may be said to have anticipated them in attributing the char¬ acteristic of universality to their deity; but they cer¬ tainly were the earliest people to develop monotheism, and to grasp the conception of God as a self-existent, moral personality in vital relations with his people. Educational Ideals. — Thus it can be seen that through¬ out all periods of their history the Jews had ingrained in them the conception of God as the preserver and law¬ giver of his people. This was accompanied by the belief that to act in harmony with the Divine will was the highest duty of man. All law, civil and ecclesiastical, was, in consequence, regarded simply as the expression of the will of Jehovah, and no dis¬ tinction was ordinarily made between patriotism and religion. The chief aim of education, therefore, was religious and moral . As early as Deuteronomy the command appears: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them * angelology,’ borrowed from Persian and other sources, and the apothe¬ osis of the Thorah and of the Mentra (‘ word ’) of Jehovah. See Schiirer, History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. ISRAEL AND JUDAEA (THE JEWS) 123 diligently unto thy children.” 1 The building of charac¬ ter was looked upon as the one goal to be achieved, and but little stress was placed upon knowledge of any sort except as it achieved this end. So from the first the pupils were trained preeminently in that * fear of the Lord,’ which ‘ is the beginning of wisdom ’; 2 and, as traditions developed, this came to include an acquaint¬ ance with ritual and ceremonial duties. In keeping with their moral aim, the Jews strove also to make their training practical. “ Not learning, but doing, is the chief thing,” declares the Mishna, 3 and their education always contemplated a preparation for the concrete duties of life in matters of trade and occupation, as well as of religion and ceremonies. Pre-exilic Education. — Until after their exile there was no public means of education among the Jews. Children were taught in the family by their parents. During their earliest childhood both sexes were under the mother’s care; but later, boys accompanied their fathers to the field or workshop, while the girls remained at home with their mothers. Thus, through the family, was given that religious and ethical instruction which is especially characteristic of the Jews. The boys and girls alike learned the history of their own people and of God’s dealings with them, the different codes of the 1 Deuteronomy, VI, 5-7. 2 Proverbs, IX, 10. See also I, 7. 3 Aboth, I, 17. Family as the means. 124 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Schools of the prophets. Pentateuch, the beautiful lyrics of the Psalms, and the wisdom of the Proverbs. Also at the appropriate time their parents explained the significance of their re¬ ligious observances, such as the festival of the Pass- over, .commemorative of their escape from Egypt, and that of the Pentecost, which celebrated the reception of the decalogue on Mount Sinai. At the same time with this ethical and social training, and as part of it, every boy was fitted for the practice of a trade through his father; and the girls were taught such arts as cooking, weaving, and clothes-making, in the home by their mothers. Facilities for formal schooling practically did not exist before the Babylonian captivity. Reading and writing were at first not taught at all, but some knowl¬ edge of these rudiments may have been given in the larger cities after the founding of the kingdom. Also, when the Israelites were well settled in Canaan, pos¬ sibly tutors were sometimes employed by the wealthy, just as Solomon was instructed by the prophet Nathan; but, as a rule, such elementary education as they had was carried on by the parents. Higher education was scarcely known until after the exile. Even the priesthood and scribes were limited to a certain knowledge of law, and of historical and judicial literature. In the schools of the prophets, besides theological interpretation and the law, they appar- ISRAEL AND JUDAEA (THE JEWS) 125 ently learned only the arts of sacred music and poetry, whereby they were to be stimulated to greater ecstasy, and were instructed in the compilation of maxims, nar¬ ratives, and annals. It has been claimed that they were taught some mathematics and astronomy, to mark off the religious festivals, but this is very doubtful. Post-exilic Education. — During their captivity the Jews had an opportunity to see schools for higher training, which were well developed in Babylon. These were, however, intended only for the priesthood and aristocracy; but the extension of such opportunities to all classes, which was effected upon their return, origi¬ nated distinctly with the Jews. But even with them, while there was theoretically no distinction in classes, the degree of culture customarily obtained by the priest, prophet, scribe, and lay aristocracy was greater than that of the ordinary man. This provision for a higher education was probably made shortly after the return of Ezra by the rebuild¬ ing of the Temple and the foundation of synagogues. These latter institutions were originally not places of worship, but of religious instruction. In order that the Thorah, which had now been promulgated and accepted by the people, should be generally studied and read, systematic exposition and instruction by such qualified teachers as the scribes were necessary. After the third century b.c., the scribes gave this instruction within the Higher schools. 126 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Content of the higher course. Elementary schools. porticoes of the Temple also, and sometimes in their own homes or those of wealthy patrons. A little later, when elementary schools had also been established at the synagogues, this college of the scribes came to be known as Beth hcLwi-Midvcish House of Instruc¬ tion’); and in Jerusalem every scribe of note had a following of his own. The teaching at these colleges was intended for those who wished to make a deeper study of the Law, and was advanced in character. It was given the youth after the reading, writing, and other elementary edu¬ cation had been furnished at home. It consisted, if we may judge from the Proverbs, of instruction in such virtues as prudence, temperance, chastity, truthfulness, charity, and diligence, and in disputations concerning the interpretation of the Law, the ritual, and other prescrip¬ tions. Possibly it was influenced also by the educational ideals of the times, especially of the Greek schools; and afforded a training in mathematics, astronomy, geography, and such other sciences as were known, and in foreign languages, especially Greek, which, after Hebrew, stood highest of all literature in the estimation of the Jews. In the second century before Christ the public ele¬ mentary school began to grow up, and in the end became the most prominent feature of the Jewish education. After the spread of Greek ideas, such an institution was naturally started in Jerusalem as pre- ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 127 paratory to the higher education of the scribes. This school, however, was probably also taught by scribes, and was in close connection with the synagogue, which had now been established even in every village. It was generally held in a room of the synagogue, or in the house of the scribe who was teaching it. The famous scribe, Simon be?i Shetach (‘ Simon, son of Shetach ’), had attendance at these schools made compulsory upon all children in Jerusalem as early as 75 b.c. ; and, in 64 a.d., the requirement was extended by Josne ben Gemala (‘Joshua, son of Gamaliel’) to every province and town. That the training might be effec¬ tive, Joshua also required that, after the number of pupils in a school had passed beyond twenty-five, the teacher must be given an assistant; and when it ex¬ ceeded forty, two teachers must be employed. Rich and poor alike might attend these schools without a fee, but the wealthy probably paid a special school tax. After the fall of Jerusalem, these elementary schools, now known as ‘ rabbinical ’ 1 schools, became of the utmost importance, as they were the great means of preserving the faith of the Jews, wherever they wan¬ dered in their dispersion. A well-known maxim of these people was : “A town without schools and school children should be destroyed.” 1 About the time of Christ the scribes came to be called Rabbi (‘ mas¬ ter’), and soon displaced the priests altogether. Held in connection with the synagogue. Made com pulsory in all towns. 128 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Internal organization. Content of the elemen¬ tary course. In the first elementary schools the children stood or sat upon the ground and faced the teacher, who was seated a little above them, also upon the ground. Later on, benches, and even stools and cushions, were introduced. The pupils sat in front of the teacher, in order that, in keeping with the words of Isaiah, 1 they might watch his face as he spoke. The school hours lasted all day with the exception of a short recess at noon, although possibly games were interspersed or the monotony was varied by the recitation of parables and legends from the Mishna. School was held every day, except on the Sabbath and on feast days. When the children came to school at six years of age, they had already learned from their parents select Proverbs and verses from the Psalms, and had been taught the significance of the various religious ceremonies. Between six and ten they were taught reading and writing, mostly from the Pentateuch as text, and a little arithmetic. Especial attention was given to correct pronunciation and due reverence in reading. Then, until they were fifteen, the teacher explained the Mishna or oral law to them; and if their studies were continued beyond this in a synagogue, they consisted, as already seen, in a discussion and criticism of the Gemara, and embraced all the subjects necessary to throw light upon the interpretations. Besides these 1 Isaiah , XXX, 20. ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 129 religious and literary studies, all pupils, rich or poor, were obliged to learn some handicraft. “ As it is your duty to teach your son the Law, teach him a trade,” reads the old maxim. This was partly for the sake of breadth, but it was largely intended as a recreation and rest. Girls must have been trained as well as boys, for Education it is well known that the mothers of Judaea have ofgirls * always been of great importance in educating the family. Probably the training was more emotional than intellectual,— ‘to fear God and keep his com¬ mandments.’ Although girls were taught to read, the deeper study of the Thorah was not encouraged, and the domestic arts, dancing, and music largely took the place of science. Educational Method. — The method of learning in the Jewish elementary schools was not unlike that of other Oriental peoples. Frequent repetition was re¬ quired for the purpose of committing a text and obtaining a distinct pronunciation, and the loud tone in which this was done suggests the memorizing of the Chinese and Hindus. The Jews, however, had learned to make a practical appeal to various memories through the different senses,—to the visual memory by reading, the motor by pronouncing and writing, the auditory by hearing, and the musical by singing, the portions to be committed. It was realized that much K 130 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Appeal to memory assisted by mnemonics. Pedagogical wisdom. care should be exercised in the beginning, as what is learned then remains in the mind ‘ like ink on fresh paper/ Also many mnemonic helps were at all times used to impress the memory. Catchwords, symbols, numerical groupings, and other devices were invented. The most ingenious of these was probably that of the ‘Athbash/ by which the initial words of lines or verses in a passage were so arranged with consecutive letters of the alphabet as to be easily recalled . 1 The Jews also had sufficient practical knowledge of psychology to realize that different types of mind must be approached by different methods. The Tal¬ mud recognizes four classes of pupils, the ‘ sponge, who absorbs everything; the ‘ funnel/ who retains nothing ; the ‘sieve/ who catches the illustrations, but lets the main argument slip by; and the ‘winnow/ who fans away the illustrations, but holds the more solid portion. Much other good pedagogical advice can be found in their sacred literature, although, with the memoriter method in vogue, it may be questioned whether some of these recommendations were not rather ideal than realized in practice. For example, Rabbi Akiba’s advice that “the teacher should strive to make the lesson agreeable by clear reason ” is hardly compatible with the system of literal memorizing. However, the statements of the Talmud that, in pre- 1 The whole of Lamentations was constructed after this plan. ISRAEL AND JUDAEA (THE JEWS) 131 senting a lesson, the teacher should be careful not to digress and so confuse the pupil, that he should not assign too much at one time, and that pauses should be periodically given that the pupil might have time to rest his mind and digest the matter, seem to be sensible suggestions which could very well have been applied. Also the use of various rites as object lessons 1 | to arouse inquiry leading up to an explanation is known to have been very successful in religious instruction; and the general advice to the teacher to pique the curiosity of the pupil by asking odd ques¬ tions may also have produced good educational results. Writing was taught by following the copy on a wax Methods in , writing and tablet with a stylus, and when the pupil was more 3 -d- higher edu- vanced, on papyrus or parchment with a pen. The cai higher education was nominally conducted in the form of a disputation, but was, nevertheless, rather dogmatic in character, and the final dictum of the teacher was literally memorized. Some of the inter¬ pretations must have been very artificial. Every line of the sacred literature was given a microscopic examination by the scribes, and frequently a very far-fetched mean¬ ing 2 was read into it. All teachers were held in high esteem, as they were Esteem for teachers. the interpreters of truth and morals, and were largely 1 See Exodus , XII, 24-28; XIII, 5-10 and 14-16; Joshua, , IV, 6-8. 2 See Farrar, History of Interpretation , Lecture II. 132 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Their quali¬ fications. Rigorous discipline. looked upon as the mouthpieces of Jehovah. Disrespect toward them was treated as irreverence and severely punished. The Talmud says: “You should revere the teacher even more than your father. The latter only brought you into this world; the former indicates the way into the next.” On the other hand, much was required of them. For the sake of morality a teacher had to be married, and he was expected to be able, experienced, and not too young. “ Instruction by a young teacher,” declares the Talmud, “ is like sour grapes and new wine; while by an old teacher, it is like ripe grapes and sweet wine.” Many bits of advice are also given the teacher concerning his education, * • piety, self-control, and veracity. Although the teachers usually combined their profes¬ sion with the practice of some trade, probably they were often compensated, except in the higher subjects. No definite fee was paid, but probably presents, espe¬ cially from the wealthier pupils, were given them. The discipline of the Jewish schools must, from the nature of the subject-matter and the methods of teaching, have been rigorous. Corporal punishment is constantly advised in the Proverbs , 1 although wise reproof is recognized as better on some occasions . 2 After the pupils were old enough to make an appeal to 1 Proverbs, XIII, 24; XIX, 18; XXIII, 13-14; etc. 2 Ibid., XVII, 10. ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 133 their honor effective and have their pride hurt by a whipping, the form of punishment was not so severe. Where corporal punishment was used at all with older boys, it was applied not with the rod, but with the thong of a sandal. In Talmudic times, especially after the advent of Christ, discipline became much milder, but chastisement was still recognized. A new type of bor¬ rowed interest was also added in the shape of various rewards, such as sweetmeats and dainties, which were used as a stimulus to good conduct. Effect of Jewish Education on Progress.—Thus the education of the Jews was the typical religious and moral training of antiquity, and through it they became the religious people par excellence. As soon as he was old enough to understand, even before his formal train¬ ing in the schoolroom, every Jew had ingrained in him the idea of Jehovah as a God of moral attributes, who is in touch with man and requires of him righteous conduct as the ground of approval. Human person¬ ality he learned to regard as a reflection of the Divine. Such conceptions of God, man, righteousness, and duty are easily seen to be far nobler than any that had previously been formulated among the other peoples of the Orient. Through them a new factor, the develop¬ ment of moral personality, was introduced into education. Even the extensive ceremonial and overelaboration of the Law introduced through the scribes could not Religious and moral, despite the ceremonial. 134 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Literature limited to re ligion, altogether destroy the spirit underlying the formalism. While the Law has always been obeyed in all respects as an absolute authority, and so has become an external sanction rather than an appeal to reason and the inner light, it has been a moral law, filled with high principles, and could not altogether fail as a stimulus to moral action for any, while to a few moral geniuses in every generation it has been the inspiration of loftiest motives. It is this ideal and content alone which distin¬ guishes the education of the Jews from that of all other Oriental nations. In the organization of education, they do not compare favorably with China or India. For a thousand years they had no such institution as a school, and it was not until a few centuries before their extinc¬ tion as a nation that they founded any real public schools. Elementary education did eventually become universal among them, but that was only six years prior to the fall of Jerusalem. Their methods, while apply¬ ing some very clever pedagogical devices, were almost as largely memoriter and imitative as those of barbarian peoples, and the discipline accompanying them was in¬ clined to be severe until late in their educational history. The objective products of this type of education are illustrative of its merits and defects. The literature was naturally limited to an expression of the Jewish idea of God’s dealings with the world, and the devotion that should go out to him from the pious soul. Art ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) . 135 and science were almost entirely unknown, except as and art and science they threw light on some religious festival or custom, almost un- On the other hand, the effect of their religious and known ’ educational ideals has always been seen in the beauti¬ ful family life and other social relations of the Jews, but their J family life Women were never held in degradation among them, was beautiful, as often among the other Oriental peoples, but were generally shown esteem; children were treated with kindness and thoughtful care; while reverence toward father and mother was one of the virtues first taught to the Jewish child. Thus through their high concepts of God and of Their edu- cation has human obligations, the Jews have been held together preserved through centuries of trials and persecutions, and have found their religion and education a comfort and a con¬ solation in the midst of them all. No other Oriental nation of their day has remained, but the Jew with his moral discipline is with us yet. Had their ethical ideals been kept clear of excessive ceremonial, formal¬ ism, and narrowness of view, and developed as in the days of the prophets, they might indeed have become * the light of the world.’ As it is, they gave birth to the great religion which was needed to emancipate them from the bondage of form and restricted vision , 1 l A most remarkable attempt to give the Jewish religion this uni¬ versality was made by Philo the Jew in the first years of the Christian era. This seems also to be the aim of the advanced wing of Judaism to-day. 136 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and which has made its resistless way to all nations. This result, however, was not accomplished until con¬ tact with the Graeco-Roman civilization had enlarged the horizon of philosophy and religion. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Josephus, Old Testament, Talmud. II. Authorities Cornill, H. H. History of the People of Israel. Gelder, H. Die Volksschule des Juifs. Gratz, H. H. History of the Jews. Hastings, J. A Dictionary of the Bible. Articles on Education, History of the Israelites, and Religion of the Israelites. Hosmer, J. K. The Jews , Ancient , Medieval, arid Modern. Kent, C. F. A History of the Hebrew People. Kittel, R. A History of the Hebrews. Kohler, Deutsch, and Jacobs. Jewish Encyclopedia. Article on Education. Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Semitic Races, B. McCurdy, J. F. History , Prophecy , and the Monunients. Marcus, S. Die Padagogik des Israelitischen Volkes. Marcus, S. Zur Schul-Padagogik des Talmud. Marti, K. Religion of the Old Testament. Montefiore, C. G. The Origin and Growth of Religion as Illus¬ trated by the Religion of the Ancient Hebrews. Peters, M. C. Jtistice to the Jew. Renan, E. History of the People of Israel. ISRAEL AND JUDAEA (THE JEWS) 137 Robertson, J. The Early Religion of Israel. Sayce, A. H. The Early History of the Hebrews. Schurer, E. History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. Simon, J. Eeducation et instruction des enfants chez anciens Juifs. Smith, H. P. Old Testament History. Smith, W. R. The Prophets of Ancient Israel. Spiers, B. The School System of the Talmud. Strassburger, B. Geschichte der Erziehung und des Unterrichts bei den Israeliten. Wellhausen, J. Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels. CHAPTER XII SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) Of all people in ancient times, or, as some believe, in all history, the Greeks have had the greatest influence upon civilization. Certain it is that they not only gave a wonderful impetus to educational theory and practice in their own time, but ever since then the world has had constant recourse to Greek thought for inspiration and counsel. In some respects their development of indi¬ viduality was superior even to that of the Jews, and in any account of educational history they are worthy of extended notice. Physical and Social Factors in the Progress of the Greeks. — Both the natural and the spiritual environ¬ ment of Greece favored the development of lofty and original ideals. The mild and even climate tended toward happiness and equanimity, and the bracing air was stimulating to thought. The coast line was broken by many gulfs and bays, and its almost unlimited har¬ borage proved most hospitable to commerce. Happily, this was especially true of the eastern coast, so that Phoenicia and other advanced countries were enabled to bring in with the wares of the Orient its arts and 138 SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 139 civilization. Thus every physiographic and social fea¬ ture combined to make old Greece broad-minded and eager to adopt from foreign countries such ideas as would improve her society and laws. Outline of Greek History. —But let us see what is meant by ‘ancient Greece.’ We find that old Greece,— or Hellas, to use her proper name, was not a single nation, but was made up of an aggregation of states on the southeast peninsula of Europe and on those adjacent islands to which the population had overflowed. The various states of Hellas, largely as a result of topog¬ raphy, were never really unified into a confederacy, except in small groups and for short periods of time . 1 The mountain ranges with which the entire peninsula is covered, or the Mediterranean itself, isolated the dif¬ ferent centers from each other, and, by making connec¬ tion between them difficult, prevented the rise of any great likeness of thought or sentiment. The states, in consequence, varied considerably in character, govern¬ ment, social conditions, and even in the dialect spoken. Community of interest appeared only when they banded together to repel a common foe, such as the Persians, or gathered upon stated occasions at the great national games, such as the Olympic, Isthmian, and Nemean. 1 Some attempt at a complete confederation was made toward the end of Greek history in the formation of the Aitolian and Achaean leagues, but these were unsuccessful and short-lived. Effect of the isolation of the Greek states. 140 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Sparta and Athens. Prehistoric period. The most important and typical states were Sparta and Athens, and, as they will amply illustrate the evo¬ lution of educational theory and practice in Greece, attention will here be largely confined to them. In fact, the really distinctive contributions that Hellas made to civilization grew up in Athens alone from about the middle of the fifth century onward. Athens before that time, and Sparta throughout her whole history, were controlled by an education that was at best but little beyond that of the Orient. This type of training is of importance here simply as it throws light upon the development of those social products that are typi¬ cal of the Greeks, and from which modern culture has sprung. The accounts of earliest Greece are mythical, and extend back, as nearly as can be estimated, to at least the twelfth or thirteenth century before Christ. This prehistoric period includes the Tribal Age, when the Greeks were in the nomadic stage; the Mycenean Age, when, through contact with the Orient, they learned to build cities and practice agriculture; and lastly, the Epic Age, which seems to bring them a little further toward civilization. While not much is known of actual events during the prehistoric period, we can, from the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, and from excavations at Mycenae, Argos, and Cnossus, gain some knowledge of how the Greeks lived at the time. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 141 Really authoritative records, however, can be said to date only from the first Olympiad, 776 b.c. During historic times Sparta seems to have been the first of the Greek states to become prominent. This was due to her military system of education, which in turn arose as the result of social conditions. Somewhere about the eleventh century the Dorian tribe, to which Sparta belonged, had pushed aside the primitive inhabitants from their homes in the Peloponnesus, and had taken their place. Thus the citizens of Sparta, while in their own land, dwelt in the midst of hostile people. In the surrounding towns and country were the periceci (‘dwel¬ lers around ’), who were free, but paid large taxes for the use of their lands, and largely supported the Spartans. Then there were the helotes (‘ captives ’), who had been taken in war, and were forced to remain in serfdom and do all the menial work for the citizens. So it came about that there were in all about two hundred and fifty thousand of the subject people to not more than nine thousand Spartans; and the latter were constantly men¬ aced by an uprising of the conquered tribes, as well as by attacks from the outside. These dangers were aggravated by the notorious slothfulness in military matters into which they had fallen. To guard against this, it became necessary for the entire body of free Spartans to organize themselves into a citizen army, and arrange for a system of education Origin and effect of a military system in Sparta. 142 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Athenian development. that would produce a race of warriors. A statesman named Lycurgus, in whom they had great confidence, was selected to formulate a code of laws that should be binding on all and would transmute the desired ends into national habits. This was probably as early as the middle of the ninth century, but the scheme of educa¬ tion remained in vogue almost without change until the Greek states lost their independence. Although toward the end the system degenerated somewhat, during the early days it gave Sparta a decided advantage, espe¬ cially as the other states tended to neglect military training; and by the middle of the seventh century she had become the leading state of Greece. Meanwhile, in the north, Athens had been greatly de¬ veloping in intelligence and polity. The monarchy was eventually displaced by an aristocracy in 753 b.c. Then the oppression of this type of rule was gradually re¬ moved from the people through the publication of the laws by Draco (621 b.c.), the freeing of the masses by Solon (594 b.c.), and the crushing of the nobles by Pi- sistratus and his sons (560-510 b.c.), until finally it was possible for Clisthenes (510-508 b.c.) to declare the most thoroughgoing democracy in all history. As a result of his reforms, every matter of importance was settled in the public assembly by vote of all the citizens; public officers were chosen by ballot, or even by lot, so high was the general intelligence; and the people were SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 143 annually permitted by a secret vote known as ostracism 1 to exile any man, however aristocratic, whose presence was felt to be inimical to the general welfare. Under such circumstances, Athens came rapidly to self-consciousness, and, feeling her superiority to Sparta, eagerly sought occasion to prove it. The opportunity presented itself in the outbreak of the Persian wars in 500 b.c. In the course of the three expeditions (492, 490, and 480-479 b.c.) that Persia made against Greece and in which the Persians were so thoroughly repulsed, Athens displayed the greatest wisdom and valor, and stood preeminent in defense of the entire country. Toward the close of the contest with Persia (479 b.c.), she became the head of the alliance known as the Con¬ federacy of Delos , which was formed at this time to prosecute the war. Gradually the allies of Athens were reduced to subjects; and, under the influence of Peri¬ cles, an imperial policy was formally adopted, and the treasury removed from Delos to Athens in 454 b.c. The culmination of Athenian prosperity is seen in the enlightened period called the Age of Pericles , from the leading statesman of the time. This great leader felt justified in expending the funds of the Confederacy of Delos to beautify the city with architecture, sculpture, and painting; and soon became known as a patron of art and literature. As a result, these cultural features Supremacy of Athens. The Peri- clean Age. 1 From the ostrakon (* tile ’)> upon which each ballot was inscribed. 144 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Peloponne¬ sian War and the he¬ gemony of Sparta. came to flourish as never before in the world’s history. On the Acropolis and other heights arose the most beau¬ tiful temples, such as the Parthenon, the Erechtheum, and the Theseum. These and other structures were adorned by the marvelous statues of Phidias and Myron, and the lifelike paintings Of Polygnotus. Nearly all types of literature also go back to this period for their origin. The ‘father of history,’ Herodotus, and the most illustrious of ancient historians, Thucydides, and the graphic Xenophon appeared ; the great trio of tragic writers, Aischylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and the most famous of comic dramatists, Aristophanes, pro¬ duced their masterpieces ; and a period of enlightenment in philosophy dawned with the sophists and Socrates. 1 Industries and commerce were also extended, and a re¬ markable development in politics and practical affairs took place. This was the day of Cimon, Themistocles, Aristides, Cleon, Nicias, and Alcibiades, as well as of Pericles. However, the political supremacy of Athens before long came to an end in the conflict with Sparta known as the Peloponnesian War (431-404 b.c.). This strug¬ gle was inevitable from the intense rivalry of the two great states, but it was begun and continued through a 1 The impulse given to culture in Athens did not altogether cease with the Age of Pericles, as such names as Plato (427-347) and Aristotle (386- 322), Demosthenes (384-322) and Praxiteles (born about 392), indicate. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 145 number of more immediate causes. At first Athens was decidedly successful, but, owing to her grasping selfishness, she was at length completely humiliated, and Sparta once more obtained the hegemony. But at the height of Spartan power, the Thebans in 379 b.c. shook off the oligarchy established in their city by Sparta, and eight years later overcame the Spartans themselves and ravaged their country. While the The¬ bans, after the death of the leader Epaminondas (362 b.c.), could not maintain their leadership, Sparta was never able to regain her prestige. It now became obvious that no single city could hope to rule Greece, and for a time all the states were quies¬ cent. During this brief season Athens was perhaps the most considerable of the Hellenic states; she was com¬ mercial and wealthy, and peace suited her. But a for¬ eign foe soon threatened Athens and the rest of Greece in the person of Philip, king of Macedon. By military achievements and intrigue this warrior gradually made his way into Greece, until in 338 b.c. he overwhelmed the combined armies of Athens and Thebes at Chae- ronea. The next year he had himself elected com- mander-in-chief of all the Greek forces for an expedi¬ tion against Persia, but he was shortly assassinated, and the conquest of the Orient (334-323 b.c.) was left for his brilliant son, Alexander, to achieve. Greece remained a dependency of her northern neigh- Rise and fall of Theban power. Macedonian conquest. Roman rule. 146 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION t Simple con¬ ditions in prehistoric society. bor until the great world power of Rome arose. In three wars (215-167 b.c.) Macedon herself was then slowly overcome by the Romans. While at first this looked like an emancipation for Hellas, her territory, too, was eventually invaded by Rome, and in 146 b.c. she became a Roman province under the name of Achaia. But while the political independence of Greece had passed, her intellectual conquest of the world had, as will be seen, but just begun. Education in Prehistoric Greece. — But before discuss¬ ing the world dominance of Greece, we must view the development of her system of education while she was unconsciously preparing to become schoolmistress of the world. To begin with, a general picture of prehistoric society and education may be obtained from Homer. In these days social conditions seem to have been very simple, and but little beyond those of the primitive stage. The people had already settled in rudely fortified towns, but their organization was tribal, and their king was but a sort of chief who held his office not so much through heredity as by virtue of his physical and mental quali¬ fications. He did not scorn to perform pastoral, agri¬ cultural, or industrial duties, if necessary, and he mingled freely with his people. In the council every free-born head of a family was allowed full liberty of expression and a vote. Thus, whatever training was given the youth of this SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 147 primitive period must have been intended to fit them for practical life. This ideal is obvious throughout Homer, and is, perhaps, most succinctly stated in the well-known speech of Phoenix to Achilles: — u Peleus, the aged knight, from Phthia sent Thee, yet a boy, to Agamemnon’s aid, Unskilled as then thou wert in cruel war And martial councils, where men also gain A great renown, — he sent me with thee, charged To teach thee both, that so thou mightest become In words an orator, in warlike deeds An actor.” 1 The ordinary aim of education, then, was twofold, — to make the pupil wise and eloquent in council, strong and courageous in battle. It could not have included any literary, scientific, or artistic elements. In fact, there were as yet no real schools, either ele¬ mentary or higher, and, with the exception of Achilles, no one is mentioned as having a specific teacher. The training was obtained through actual life in the family or community. The young people learned how to sat¬ isfy the wants of nature, — food, clothing, and shelter,— from their parents, and acquired their other activities by following the example of the adults whom they met. Where some living man would not serve the purpose, the example of an ideal person such as Odysseus, the 1 Iliad\ IX, 438 ff., Bryant’s translation. Practical nature of prehistoric education. Training obtained through actual life. 148 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Imitative, but some¬ what ra¬ tionalized method. Evidence of the germ of individu¬ alism. embodiment of wisdom and craft, or Achilles, the model of bravery and action, was presented. It should be noted that while the method of teaching was that of imitation, it was imitation of a living or a per¬ sonal example rather than of some precept embalmed in sacred books as in the Orient. It was more rationalized, and gave some opportunity for the selective element of personality to enter in. It is this imitation of an example not fixed and stereotyped, but with possibilities of growth, that is evidence of the leaven which eventually enabled Greece to rise above all previous peoples in civilization. Even at this early period there can thus be seen the germ of the ideal to free the individual from complete subserviency to the social whole. Moreover, through¬ out the times depicted by Homer, while the welfare of the group is obviously the prime object of each member of society, every one has a voice in deciding what action is most to the common interest. Tradition and custom still hold sway, but they already have to be of a reason¬ able type to be accepted, and are constantly subject to the modification of individuals. Older Education of the Historic Period. —When Greek history actually becomes authoritative, the tribal organ¬ ization of the prehistoric period seems to have given way completely to that of the city-state, into which the tribes had been amalgamated. So the social bond is no longer even nominally the tie of blood, but owner- SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 149 ship of land in the same community ; and the central virtue and aim in life have more explicitly become serv¬ ice to the state. While even at the first the duties of the individual were not definitely laid down, and he was allowed some personal development, every one was expected to expend almost his entire energy, and surrender his life, if necessary, in promoting the welfare of the state. This ideal is apparent in the two leading systems of education, — the Spartan and the Athenian. Spartan Education and Its Aim. — Sparta, which pos¬ sessed the earliest education of which we have extended information, is the most complete illustration of this type. Its social and political conditions, as has already been pointed out, 1 made it necessary to produce a race of hardy warriors and patriotic citizens; and strength, courage, and obedience to the laws were held as the aims of education. The Spartan educational system was intended to serve the state, and it was supported and controlled by the state. It is the one recorded in¬ stance of a complete system of moral and social educa¬ tion in a socialistic state. Infancy. — State control began with birth, The in¬ fant was immediately inspected by a council of elders, who decided whether he was strong enough to be allowed to live. If he were sickly or deformed, he was 1 See pp. 141-142. Exposure of sickly or deformed infants, and strict train¬ ing of the strong. A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The boys lived in common, 150 exposed to die in some wild glen of Mount Taygetus, 1 unless adopted by the perioeci or the helots. If he appeared promising enough, he was formally adopted by the state and left with his mother for rearing until he was seven years of age. He could not be swaddled, lest his limbs should be checked in growth; and he had to be left alone in the dark and not permitted to scream, that he might from the first become hardy and learn self-control. Boyhood and Adolescence. — At seven the Spartan boy was put in charge of a state officer called th z pee do 7iomus (‘boy trainer’). With the aid of certain assistants, this official supervised the life and education of all the Spar¬ tan youth. The boys ate and slept in common in public buildings not unlike present-day barracks. Here they were divided into squads and companies, which were in charge of the older and stronger boys, and were classi¬ fied according to their ages into three groups. Accord¬ ing to Plutarch, “ Of the boys he who showed the best conduct and most courage was made captain of the company. The others kept their eyes always upon him, obeyed his orders, and underwent patiently whatever punishments he inflicted; so that their whole education was an exercise of obedience.” 2 The life of the boys during this training was one of 1 In earlier days he was cast down a precipice of the mountain. 2 Lycurgus , XVI. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 1 5 1 continual hardening and discipline. They slept without covering, at first upon pallets of straw, and after fifteen upon rushes, which they plucked from the banks of the Eurotas, as they were not allowed the use of a knife. They went without shoes winter and summer; and after they became twelve years of age their entire dress consisted of a single garment. They were given little food, that they might learn to endure hunger; but to school them in craft for purposes of war, they were per¬ mitted to forage for additional food. If, however, they were detected in the act by any one, they were con¬ sidered in disgrace and at once handed over to the assistants of the psedonomus for a severe whipping. The more direct training consisted of a graded course in gymnastics. The exercises began with running, jumping, and ball playing; but as the boys grew older, they were trained also in throwing the discus, casting the javelin, wrestling, and boxing. They were occasion¬ ally allowed to engage in the pancratium (‘ a complete combat ’), a contest in which any means of overcoming one’s antagonist, even by kicking, biting, scratching, or gouging, was permitted. These events were carried on in the open air and in the presence of any who wished to attend, so that they were subject to the criticism, favorable or otherwise, of the entire city. Thus a con¬ testant would suffer anything, at times even death, rather than fail to exert himself to the utmost. The and had a rigorous regimen and severe physical training. 152 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Intellectual and moral education at a minimum. Conversation of older men at the table, intention, of course, was not to make athletes or promote beauty or dexterity, but simply to toughen the boys and cultivate qualities of value in warfare. Dancing supple¬ mented the gymnastic training. This, too, did not aim at developing grace and skill, but a patriotic and reli¬ gious spirit, for it consisted mostly of war dances, some¬ times in full armor and following out military evolutions, and sacred dances in honor of the gods. The boys often gave exhibitions of dancing and gymnastics at various religious festivals, especially those in honor of Apollo. The Spartan boys, however, received little that could be strictly accounted an intellectual or moral education. While teachers of reading and writing may have existed, these accomplishments did not ordinarily form part of the training. The laws of Lycurgus and selections from Homer, which had been set to music, and other songs that they chanted in the simple and dignified Doric measure, were seldom written down, but were committed to memory. This music must, like the dancing, have afforded some religious and patriotic inspiration. The young Spartans obtained further ethical and in¬ tellectual training by listening to the conversation of the older men at the meals or in the street, and by being at all times subject to approval or disapproval for their conduct. In this way they learned respect for their elders, honesty, and self-control. The boys were them- SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 153 selves also often required by the youth in charge of the common table to sing a song or give a concise and sen¬ sible answer 1 to such a general inquiry as “ Who is the best man in the city ? ” or “ What do you think of this action ? ” or some similar question put to test their powers. The boy whose answer proved unfitting or too wordy had his thumb bitten by the youth in charge; and this official in turn was sometimes judged after the meal by the older men present, and punished if his decisions were not considered wise. 2 A more specific means of moral training was the selection of some particular boy as a comrade by every male adult. This, Plutarch tells us, was a perfectly honorable attachment, and where two or three chose the same lad, instead of provoking jealousy, it only drew them nearer together through mutual interest and friendly rivalry in strengthening the boy’s character. 3 Youth and Young Manhood. —When a youth reached eighteen, he began his distinctive study of warfare. For the first two years he was known as a melleiren (‘bud¬ ding youth ’), and was trained in the use of arms and skirmishing. He was given a rigorous examination and com¬ radeship with elders. Training in use of arms, 1 Several instances of such brief, incisive answers are given in Plutarch’s Lycurgus. They are characterized even to-day by the term ‘ laconic.* See especially Lycurgus , XIX-XX. 2 See Plutarch’s Lycurgus , XVIII. 8 The adult was usually held responsible for his protege’s conduct, and might even be fined if the boy misbehaved. See Lycurgus , XVIII. 154 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and real military life. Control of the state even after maturity. Women were trained similarly to every ten days, and had his courage and physique tested by being whipped before the altar of Artemis Orthia. Plutarch tells us that these scourgings were so severe that death not infrequently resulted. 1 At twenty the young Spartan became an eiren (‘youth’), and his training was practically that of real military life. He regularly entered the army and took the oath of loyalty to Sparta. For ten years he lived upon the coarsest of fare, practiced hunting and swimming, and was set to guard some border fortress. Citizenship. — When the Spartan reached thirty, he was considered to have entered manhood. He then became a member of the public assembly and was required to marry at once. But even then he had no home, and could visit his wife only clandestinely. Until late in Spartan history, he was still obliged to eat at the common tables with the boys, 2 and to spend much of his time in observing their education. Not only was every citizen expected to correct any boy or youth he found acting improperly, but it was considered dis¬ graceful if he did not establish a specific relationship with some particular youth. He also continued in mili¬ tary service. Education of Women. — The education of Spartan women was very similar to that of the men. While 1 See Plutarch’s Lycurgus , XVIII. 2 For further details, see Plutarch’s Lycurgus, XXIV. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 155 the girls were allowed to live at home, they were trained in running, jumping, hopping, throwing the discus, hurling the javelin, and even wrestling, in a regular course. Dancing and singing were also taught the girls, and on certain public occasions they joined with the youths in choral dances and hymns in honor of the gods. The aim was, of course, to enable them to become the mothers of sturdy sons, and to hand down a religious and patriotic spirit to them. Merits and Defects of Spartan Education. — Thus, while the laws of Lycurgus, unlike the sacred books of the Oriental nations, consisted of broad principles rather than specific precepts, and so admitted of the development of some individuality in working out de¬ tails, they were shaped entirely with reference to the welfare of the state. “ The Spartans,” said the exile to Xerxes, “ are the best of all men when fighting in a body; for, though free, yet they are not free in all things, since over them is set law as a master, which they fear much more than your subjects do you .” 1 Their educational system served well its purpose of creating strong warriors and devoted citizens, but it failed to make for the highest manhood. The Spartans for centuries excelled all the rest of Greece in courage, endurance, and self-control; their women were virtuous, active, and high-spirited; and the youth showed a the men, and had much influence. Subordina¬ tion to the state, and failure to make for the highest manhood. 1 Herodotus, VII, 104. The country remained stable, but at the expense of progress. 156 A HISTORY^ OF EDUCATION heroism under pain and privation, and an obedience to their elders, that became a model for many philoso¬ phers and moralists. Yet they failed to recognize that harmony and balance which was the underlying ideal of the Athenian education, and they lacked entirely in all the finer traits of human nature. They developed practically no art, literature, or philosophy. Their education did result in great military achieve¬ ments and in keeping the country stable, while it re¬ mained in force. But the entire system was based on a state morality rather than on individual responsibility, and as soon as the Spartan was removed from his own country and was no longer subject to this outside sanc¬ tion of the law, his ethical life was completely disrupted. After the Peloponnesian War, when the hegemony of Greece passed from Athens to Sparta, the latter showed herself quite unequal to the task of leading, since she lacked both in moral strength and adaptability to the new situation. Moreover, stability is purchased too dearly when accomplished at the expense of progress. Even during the period of her supremacy, Sparta pro¬ duced little that tended to promote civilization. She has left to the world nothing but examples of heroism and foolhardiness alike, as illustrated in the case of Leonidas and his three hundred warriors, who, even when betrayed and deserted by their allies, calmly met death rather than break the cast-iron laws of their 157 SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) l country by a wise retreat. Sparta may occasionally have proven an inspiration, but never an enlightenment. Had the Greeks paused with her development, they would have made no great contribution to civilization beyond that of the Orient. Our chief interest in Spar¬ tan education is, therefore, because of the way in which it leads up to the culture of Athens. Athenian Education in the Old Period. — For many centuries Athenian education, like that of Sparta, aimed primarily at promoting the welfare of the state without much consideration of individual interests. But the view-point of Athens, even at first, differed consider¬ ably in its angle, and its range was much broader. Her citizens were to be trained for peace much more than for war, and education in the spirit of Athenian institu¬ tions, as well as a course in physical training, was given her boys. Her constant effort was to make well- balanced men. Every one had his place in the service of the state, but it was felt that he could fill it best by securing the most complete development personally. For that reason, while the Athenian curriculum re¬ sembled that of Sparta, there was a marked difference in purpose and in the relative importance attached to the various subjects; and even the earlier education at Athens demands a separate treatment. Childhood. — The more liberal spirit of Athens is made apparent in the fact that the state did not as Old Athenian education considered state welfare of prime importance, but felt that personal de¬ velopment was neces¬ sary for this. Life and education of 158 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION the child was controlled by the father rather than the state. Boys went to school in the care of a slave. completely control the life and education of the young as in Sparta. The method of their rearing was not as rig¬ orous, or so definitely prescribed. While the newly born were often exposed, this was because the father, rather than the state, felt that the child would not be a credit to him, or that his family was already large enough. The mother, and not the state, had nominal charge of the boy, as well as the girl, until he was seven, although the real care devolved upon the slave nurse. By listening to nursery-rhymes, folk-lore, and stories about gods or heroes from Homer and Hesiod, and memorizing them, there was early cultivated within him the germ of that imagination and poetic feeling for which Athens became famous. Boyhood.—At seven the boy was sent to school in the care of a slave known as the pcedagogus (‘ boy leader’), who carried his lyre and other school appur¬ tenances. This functionary was ordinarily one who was unfitted for other duties by age or other physical disability, but he had complete oversight of the boy’s morals. The youngster was expected to obey him, and he could enforce his discipline with whipping, if neces¬ sary; but it may well be imagined that his youthful charge had but little respect for him. It would seem from this intrusting of the child to the moral care of slaves, such as the nurse and pedagogue, that Athens, while broader than Sparta in its training, was less strict about habit formation in early life. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 159 The training in these schools to which the Athenian boys first went, was not, as in Sparta, provided by the state or altogether under state control. But any father who failed to provide his boy with an education could not, by the laws of Solon, in his old age claim support from his son. Education was mandatory, but individual responsibility was encouraged. So the schools were generally private ventures, and were held in houses or rooms provided by the teachers, or possibly, in some instances, rented to them by the state. All schools were, however, subject to state supervision, probably through the Council of the Areopagus. The exact course that the boy should take and the length of time he should remain in school were matters also to be de¬ termined by his father, although the state required in general that every one should be taught gymnastics and ‘music.’ These subjects he learned in two different elementary schools, — the palcestra (‘wrestling ground’), for physi¬ cal training, and the didascaleum (‘teaching place’), or ‘ music ’-school. The palaestra seems to have been simply an open space covered with sand, having a race¬ course on it, and may sometimes have been connected with the didascaleum, after the fashion of the modern schoolyard or playing fields. While school hours lasted the entire day, from early in the morning until almost sunset, as so much of the course consisted in Schools were private, and of two kinds: (i) the palaestra, for physical training; 160 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION physical exercise and ‘ activity * studies, and holidays in honor of the gods were frequent, the work was prob¬ ably not as strenuous as in Sparta. The instruction in the palaestra was given through the pczdotribes (‘ boy kneader ’), who had assistants to anoint the pupils with oil and scrape them after the exercise was over. As in Sparta, the course was graded, and besides simple calisthenics and ball-playing, the pentathlurn (‘ fivefold contest ’),! which included run¬ ning, leaping, throwing the discus, casting the javelin, and wrestling, formed the staples of the curriculum. Boxing was not allowed until the boys were older, lest they might be permanently disfigured. The purpose of this physical training in Athens dif¬ fered from that in Sparta. As might be expected, it did not aim to serve the state by creating a race of soldiers, but to cultivate ease and grace of bearing, adroitness, and strength, and so to heighten the morals and intelligence of the future citizens. Running and jumping were intended to develop the lower limbs, endurance being especially cultivated by long runs, and concentration of energy by sprints and all varieties of jumping; the discus and the javelin afforded special training for the eye-and-arm adjustment, and the former especially aided that poise and symmetry which com- 1 It is questionable whether these games were organized enough to be known by this term before the time of the ‘ new ’ education. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) l6l posed the Athenian ideal of beauty ; 1 while all these objects were furthered by wrestling, and the moral quality of self-control strengthened in addition. Naturally, intellectual, aesthetic, and moral education was more specific in Athens than Sparta. The effort to furnish this was first made through the didascaleum , where the study was of ‘ music/ which was said to be for the culture of the soul just as gymnastics was for the body. ‘ Music/ however, had a broader scope than is now intended. It included all that came under the patronage of the nine muses, — literary subjects, as well as musical in the narrower sense. At length, when various lyric, elegiac, and other poems, as well as the epic, had come to be recited to musical accompaniment, the memory became overtaxed, and it was necessary for the musicians who used them to commit them to writing. Consequently, no distinction was made between musical and literary training, and both were furnished by the same teacher, the citharistes (‘ lyre-player ’), or ‘ music’- master . 2 As elements of the literary training, reading and writ¬ ing were studied. After the boy had learned his letters by tracing them in sand, he was taught to copy verses and selections from well-known authors, at first upon and (2) the didascaleum, for intellec¬ tual training. At the didas¬ caleum were taught read¬ ing, writing, and litera¬ ture, 1 This canon of the human figure is embodied in the familiar discobalus of Myron, which is still preserved in the Vatican museum. 2 Later, the term grammatistes (‘ teacher of letters ’) was used to desig¬ nate the instructor in literature and rhetoric. M 162 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and music. wax-tablets with a stylus, and later upon parchment with pen and ink. “ In the works of the great poets,” says Plato, “ are contained many admonitions, and many tales, and praises, and encomia of ancient famous men, which he is required to learn by heart, in order that he may imitate or emulate them and desire to become like them.” 1 The writing lesson of one day served for the reading of the next; so that if the copy appeared illegible, the boy had his own carelessness to blame. As punctuation and accents had not yet been invented, and a passage was written without spacing between the words, the younger boys seem to have been obliged to have the teacher separate the words and clauses before they began to read. And the older boys must have found it something of an intellectual test to divide the writing mentally, and read with the distinct¬ ness and expression that was required of them. Instruction in music proper, until the fifth century, consisted in learning to chant religious or patriotic poems, and gradually to accompany one’s self on the seven-stringed lyre. Only the strong, simple, Doric airs were used, and anything like professional skill was tabooed as being unworthy of a liberal training. These lyrics were taught the b6ys, “ in order that they might learn to be more gentle, harmonious, and rhythmical, and so more fitted for speech and action; for the 1 Plato, Protagoras , 325 D. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 163 life of man in every part has need of harmony and rhythm.” 1 It was necessary for the pupils to under¬ stand the rhythm and melody, that they might bring out the meaning of the poem, and the older boys were often required to improvise an accompaniment that should express the theme. Thus music constituted an intellectual and ethical, as well as an aesthetic, training. There was one other subject in the elementary curriculum at Athens, — dancing. This is difficult to classify. It might well be considered under either gymnastics or music; and, as a fact, while the instruc¬ tion probably took place in the palaestra, it was con¬ ducted by the citharist. One object seems to have been, as in music, to express the meaning of some poem and arouse a patriotic and religious spirit. The dancing consisted in a rhythmical swaying of the entire body, expressing by a sort of pantomimic ballet the sentiment which was at the same time sung in words and accompanied on the lyre by a musician. Thus dancing was intended to train the whole being, — body and soul. It seems to have been a point of contact be¬ tween two seemingly diverse branches of education, and made apparent their essential relation and harmony. This programme of elementary education in Athens was much richer in possibilities than would appear from the fewness of subjects. Until the fourth century it 1 Plato, Protagoras , 326 A. Dancing was a point of contact between physical and intellectual education. Value of the content was greater than it seems. 164 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Methods of teaching were not much de¬ veloped. contained practically no arithmetic or other mathematics, but left these to be acquired in practical life; drawing also was not added until later; and none of the other elements that now seem necessary appeared there as separate subjects. But the material read and memo¬ rized, sung and danced to, was filled with valuable ex¬ perience and moral teaching, and the explanations and interpretations given by the teachers had to bring in all the learning of the times. Expositions of Homer and Hesiod, Tyrtaeus, Aleman, and Sappho, Theognis and Solon, in bringing out the inspiration of a noble litera¬ ture, would require a considerable range of information concerning religion, ethics, politics, and social life, and could easily be correlated with any study in our curricu¬ lum to-day. The moral, aesthetic, and general cultural value of these studies must have been far greater than would be suggested to the modern educator from the meagerness of the course. On the whole, however, teaching had received as yet but little development in Athens. The pupil learned to write by imitating the copy of his teacher. Reading was taught by the alphabetic, rather than the phonetic, method; and the boys repeated the letters and poems after the teacher, and sang or read them in concert. This memory work was carried on with little idea of the meaning, although it was afterward explained to the pupils. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 165 Nor were there any qualifications for becoming a schoolmaster, and teachers were, in consequence, not much esteemed. 1 In discipline, too, the appeal was made to extraneous motives, either fear of punishment or hope of reward. Rivalry, which played so important a part in all phases of Greek life, must have been largely depended upon in Athenian schools. Adolescence. — At fifteen the Athenian boy, if he belonged to the wealthier and more cultured class, en¬ tered what might be considered his secondary education. Most of this was carried on at one of the exercising grounds in the thick groves just outside Athens. These were called gymnasia , 2 and the teachers came to be known as gymnastce . Unlike the palaestra and the di- dascaleum, these institutions were maintained at state expense. The course consisted largely of physical training of a more advanced character; the features of iThis may, however, have been due in part to the fact that the ele¬ mentary teachers, both psedotribes and citharists, charged a fee, as the Athenians could not conceive of a proper relation between teacher and pupil that did not exist purely from mutual regard. Compare the Athenian estimate of the sophists, p. 174. 2 Two of these had been established early in the sixth century by Solon: the ‘ Academy ’ on the northwest in the valley of the Cephissus, intended for Athenians of pure blood, and under the protection of Athene; and the ‘ Cynosarges,’ on the east at the foot of Mount Lycabettus, for those of mixed blood, which had Heracles as a patron. Plato afterward taught at the Academy, while the Lyceum, which was not founded until the time of Pericles, and was near the river Ilissus, became the seat of Aristotle’s lectures. Secondary education in the gymnasia. 1 66 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The youth was now given much liberty, al¬ though re¬ sponsible to his father and the Areopagus. the palaestra were continued, but made more severe, and certain more vigorous exercises were added. The running was now done in armor, and wrestling became rougher and more complicated. It was also supple¬ mented by boxing, and the pancratium was sometimes allowed. Swimming and hunting were engaged in out¬ side the gymnasia, although the latter could not possess the same allurements that it did in the more sparsely settled and hilly country about Sparta. At this stage the boy passed from the surveillance of the pedagogue, but was still under the care of his father or guardian, who continued to be responsible for his conduct. The adolescent was also subject to the Coun¬ cil of the Areopagus, which could punish him severely for any breach of morals, and each gymnasium was under the strict supervision of a state official known as the'jfl- phronistes (‘ regulator ’), or censor of morals. Such care was necessary, as this was a critical period in the boy’s life. He had been given a sudden access of liberty, which he might at first be tempted to abuse. He was now allowed to go wherever he wished, — into the agora , the courts, or the theater, as well as the gymnasium; and became acquainted with public life through first¬ hand contact. So, too, while he was given no direct instruction of an intellectual character, not even in po¬ litical science, yet at this most impressionable period he learned, through informal intercourse with his elders, SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 167 to discuss and converse, and acquired a knowledge of ethics and of civic and social affairs that fitted him well for the duties of citizenship. Youth. — At eighteen the young man finished his secondary education and was presented by his father as a candidate for citizenship. If it could be shown that he was legitimate and born of Athenians of pure blood, and was up to the physical, intellectual, and moral stand¬ ards, his name was entered upon the register of citizens, and he was publicly introduced by the king-archon. He was then armed with spear and shield by his father, or, if his parent had perished in battle, by the state, and was permitted at the shrine of Aglaurus to take the oath of loyalty to the gods, state, and traditions of Athens. 1 The youth now came directly under the laws of the state, but he was considered a novice, and did not share in civic affairs. During this period he was known as an ephebus (‘ youth ’) or cadet, and for two years continued his education with a course in militia duties. The first 1 The oath ran as follows: “ I will never disgrace these sacred arms, nor desert my companion in the ranks. I will fight for temples and public property, both alone and with many. I will transmit my fatherland, not only not less, but greater and better, than it was transmitted to me. I will obey the magistrates who may at any time be in power. I will observe both the existing laws and those which the people may unanimously here¬ after make; and, if any person seek to annul the laws or set them at naught, I will do my best to prevent him, and will defend them both alone and with many. I will honor the religion of my fathers. And I call to witness Aglaurus, Enyalius, Ares, Zeus, Thallo, Auxo, and Hegemone.” Ephebic, or cadet training. 168 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Even after citizenship, education continued through en¬ vironment. Women were trained only year the ephebus spent in the neighborhood of Athens. Here he led the usual life of a soldier; he slept in the open air, drilled, and garrisoned the city, and might at any time be called upon for active service. At the end s' of a year he took a public examination- in the use of arms and was then transferred to some fortress on the frontier, where he acted as a sort of rural police and ac¬ quainted himself with the topography of Attica. After another year he took the examination for citizenship called dokimasia , and when he passed, became a full- fledged citizen. Citizenship. — But even with the attainment of citizen¬ ship, the education of the Athenian did not cease. Throughout the rest of his life he was constantly sur¬ rounded by the means for a liberal training. The drama, architecture, sculpture, and art of ancient Athens everywhere furnished him with noble ideals toward which to struggle; and the civic problems, re¬ ligious festivals, and literary contests all stimulated him to intellectual and aesthetic efforts of the highest sort. While the Athenians were not, like the Spartans, bound by state regulation to eat in common or assist in the education of the youth, they endeavored always to ad¬ vance the state by the quality of their manhood and citizenship. Education of Women. — The education of women was purposely neglected by the Athenians. They felt, as SPARTA AND ATHENS (TPIE GREEKS) 169 did the Spartans, that education existed only for prac¬ tical activities ; but unlike their great rivals, they held that men alone should take part in public life, and so only their sex required specific training. Woman, whose duties of wife and mother lay entirely within doors, needed no knowledge beyond ordinary skill in household affairs; and those who possessed any in¬ tellectual attainments were necessarily regarded as wanting in moral sense and conduct. Character of the Old Athenian Education. — Hence, in the rights of women and in habit formation among chil¬ dren, Athens was excelled by Sparta; but upon the whole, the Athenian education was far superior to the Spartan in allowing more opportunity for individual development. Except in general principles, the laws did not interfere with the parents in the details of educat¬ ing their children, and private life was not altogether crushed out. The course admitted of a more rounded education than that of Sparta, and was rich in intellec¬ tual, aesthetic, and moral content. During youth and manhood especially, the Athenian was given great lati¬ tude in the development of his character, and had every opportunity to secure a liberal training. Consequently, while Athens for many years retained a kind of state morality and was somewhat dependent upon tradition, elements of individualism and some development of personality were manifest in her education even at an in house¬ hold affairs. More oppor¬ tunity for individual development than in Sparta, but so great a similarity that both systems were included under ‘ old ’ Greek edu¬ cation. Factors in the change to the new ideals. 170 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION early day. Where Sparta educated preeminently for military service and citizenship, Athens endeavored to train for manhood, that the more efficient citizen might thereby result. Nevertheless, until about the middle of the fifth century b.c., despite wide divergences in ideals and details of accomplishment, Athenian education re¬ sembled the Spartan in its purpose, organization, and content. For that reason, the early history of Athens is usually grouped with that of Sparta throughout as representative of what Aristophanes called the ‘ old' education, where personality was given less recognition, and the individual was subordinated to the good of the whole. This characterization is, of course, in contrast to Greek education in the ‘ new * period, which is repre¬ sented by Athens alone. Athenian Education in the New Period. — This new type of education may in some measure be considered a natural evolution from the old. The gradual rise of broad democratic ideals and the opportunities arising from the supremacy of Athens, culminating in the enlightened Periclean age, which have already been sketched, 1 seem to be a legitimate outcome of the old concept of developing the individual for the sake of the state, and a move toward strengthening the demand for an education that should more adequately recognize the 1 See pp. 143-144. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) interests of the individual. To this extent, the old theory of education appears to have committed pro¬ gressive suicide. But as the result of the Persian wars, a decidedly revolutionary tendency was also at work in Athenian society and was probably more effective in producing the transition in ideals and practice. The extended conflict with a powerful people from the Orient, possessing a well-organized but widely dif¬ ferent body of traditions, the political and commercial intercourse with a variety of other states and nations, which ensued from the formation of the Athenian Empire and the social contact with foreigners from every land that were thronging the streets of Athens, resulted in an interchange of customs and ideas that greatly broadened the views of the Athenians, stimu¬ lated their intellectual activity, and led to a reconstruc¬ tion of their practices and beliefs. A growing familiar¬ ity with new traditions and activities brought about a toleration of them and a comparison with the old, with the inevitable rejection of any portion of either that could not stand the test. Certain conditions seem especially symptomatic of this break-up of old traditions, and are characteristic of the increased emphasis upon the individual. In theol¬ ogy, the stories about the old gods and their rather arbitrary control of the world were replaced by more scientific attempts at an explanation of nature. Philos- Changes in theology, philosophy, and literature especially resulted. 172 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Confusion in society was evident. Individual¬ ism was re¬ flected in education. ophy also shifted the emphasis of its search after ulti¬ mate reality from nature to man. The content of literature showed the change in a similar way. It came gradually to concern itself with more human in¬ terests, such as are contained in the dramas of Euripides, rather than with such stern old notions of duty and fate as appear in the Prometheus of ^Eschylus or the CEdipus Tyrannies of Sophocles. As a natural concomitant of this rapid transition, society seems for a time to have been completely dis¬ rupted. The old was shattered, and while new ideals were being constructed, a groping ensued. While the latitude given the individual was destined, as always, to produce progress in the long run, and was of great ultimate service to the world, more immediately a low ebb in morals at Athens resulted. If we can rely at all upon Aristophanes, even after his witty exagger¬ ations have been properly discounted, it would seem that children became impudent, cunning, and impure; wives turned shrewish, extravagant, and unfaithful; husbands neglected their duties as householders and citizens in a search for disreputable and dishonest gain; slaves became disobedient, lazy, and disloyal; skepticism and license were rampant, and confusion was general. It was individualism run riot. Education especially reflected the conditions of the period. Its ideals became more and more individual- SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 173 istic. The times demanded a training that would pro¬ mote the happiness of the individual with little or no consideration for the welfare of the state as a whole. The old education seemed narrow and barren of content; and there arose a desire for all sorts of knowledge that might contribute to one’s advance¬ ment, whether it increased his usefulness or not. Skill in debate and public speaking was especially sought, because of the unusual opportunity for personal achievement in politics. The Sophists.—To meet these demands, a new set of teachers, who called themselves sophistcz (‘wise men ’), came into prominence. They were generally colonial Greeks 1 who had acquired much knowledge and experience through wide travel. Hence they were able to view the traditional Athenian education from the outside and detect its inability to adapt itself to the new situation. They especially professed to be competent to prepare young men for a career of glory and profit, and some of them even claimed to teach any subject whatsoever, or how to defend either side of an argument successfully. This, together with the want of modesty implied in the name they had assumed, was quite opposed to the Athenian notion of integrity 1 The new tendencies arose in the colonies, where the first conflict of traditions naturally took place. From these points of unsettled con¬ ditions the sophists emigrated to Athens. The sophists, who pro¬ fessed to pre¬ pare young men for a career, were in disrepute. Character of their teaching. 174 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and proper balance of mind; and they further offended the national sense of propriety by charging a fee for their services. 1 In consequence, the orthodox citizens of Athens were very suspicious of these ‘foreign’ tutors, but it must not be concluded that the sophists as a class were wanting in character. While there were undoubt¬ edly charlatans among them, as is likely to be the case with any new movement, their number, neverthe¬ less, also included many worthy men, such as Protag¬ oras of Abdera, so much admired by Socrates, and Gorgias of Leontini, who rendered such distinguished service to oratory. Most of these teachers afforded their pupils as thorough a course in natural science and political and economic problems as was possible at the time, and trained them honestly and carefully in rhetorical presentation. Sometimes, to be sure, especially in later days, the sophistic discipline con¬ sisted in acquiring superficial information and bon mots , and memorizing set speeches upon a variety of topics; and, with even the best of the sophists, mere form, pretentious argumentation, and word quibbles 2 played an important part, and instruction, rather than a training in moral habit, became characteristic of their education. 1 See footnote on page 165. 2 Prodicus of Ceos was especially famous for his distinctions between synonyms. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 175 The effect of this teaching was naturally felt most strongly by the adolescents in the gymnasium stage of education. These young men were ambitious to distinguish themselves in politics, and the physical training which had hitherto dominated the course in the gymnasium could not be of much service for states¬ manship. Consequently, this kind of development was abandoned for the study of grammatical and rhetorical subtleties; and, as Aristophanes phrases it, the youths became narrow of chest and glib of tongue. When¬ ever a sophist appeared in the street, the agora, or the house, the young men crowded about him to borrow from his store of experience and wisdom, and acquire his method of argument. But the influence of the sophists also extended some¬ what to the ephebic and younger citizens, and the new ideals likewise reacted on the lower schools. The ex¬ ercises of the palaestra were no longer intended to secure the proper balance and endurance, that better citizens might be made, but for the sake of the glow of health, or for obtaining such form and grace as would impart aesthetic pleasure. The rigor of the training was greatly abated, and warm baths replaced the cold plunge that had formerly braced their sinews. The literary work in the didascaleum, besides epic poetry, which was now considered out of date, came to include the reflective and didactic poems of Simonides, The- Its effect felt by those in the gym¬ nasium especially, but also by the ephebes, the younger citizens, and those in the lower schools. 176 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Extreme in¬ dividualism of the sophists. ognis, Archilochus, and others, who aimed at teaching morals in aphoristic form; and much fruitless discus¬ sion concerning their meaning was carried on. Music was now taught, not so much to stimulate patriotism or to foster intellectual attainments for the sake of the state, as to enable the performer to secure pleasure or exhibit individual skill. Instead of the old patriotic and religious songs sung to the simple Doric airs and accompanied upon the seven-stringed lyre, there were introduced complicated instruments of all sorts, requir¬ ing much skill, rhythms like the Lydian and Phrygian, which pleased the ear and were difficult in execution, and other musical novelties. All this inroad upon the time-honored curriculum % shows how fully the sophists embodied the individual¬ ism of the times. In all matters they represented the unlimited inquiry and discussion that was going on, and the consequent subversion of Athenian tradition and civilization. While the sophists criticised, they made no effort to stay the disintegration, and offered nothing to take the place of the old that was being destroyed. Their attitude was purely negative. Al¬ though they held no body of doctrine common to them all, they were generally at one in their position of extreme individualism. They often went so far as to insist that there could not safely be any universal cri¬ teria in knowledge or morals; that no satisfactory SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 1 77 interpretation of life could be made for all, but that every fact and situation should be subject to the judg¬ ment of the individual. No doubt the formula attrib¬ uted to Protagoras, “ Man (i.e. the individual) is the measure of all things, both of the seen and the unseen,” would have expressed the attitude common to most of them. Thus the sophists were only carrying to its legitimate conclusion the complete reaction from the old ideal of subordination of the individual to the state; and, while their doctrine of individualism was temporarily con¬ nected with much social disorder, it was prophetic of a higher civilization. Destruction must sometimes pre¬ pare the way for reconstruction, when social conditions become too hard and fast. As a body, the sophists were earnestly, though perhaps unconsciously, striving to close the period of unreflective acceptance of tradi¬ tion, and awaken within every one a sense of individual responsibility. While others were required to rebuild the social and ethical structure, theirs was the first step toward moral freedom. Reactionary Forces. — Meanwhile, the conservative System of element in society was making its usual attempt to Pythagoras * adjust the unsettled conditions by suggesting a return to the old. Various schemes had been advanced, even before the sophists had come into prominence. The plan most completely worked out, both in theory and N i 7 8 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION yEschylus, Aristopha¬ nes, Xenophon, and others. practice, was that of Pythagoras (about 580-500 b.c.). He formulated a socialistic system in opposition to the growing individualistic tendency as early as the latter half of the sixth century. Adopting an analogy from the ‘ harmony ’ of the celestial bodies and from the relation of the powers in the individual to each other, he arranged a definite hierarchy in society, so that each member should have his proper place, and complete harmony and social order should ensue. Similarly, he planned an educational scheme for the harmonizing of the individual; his reproductive power was to be subor¬ dinated to nutrition through gymnastics, nutrition to sensation by music, and sensation to reason by means of arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. Under this system Pythagoras organized a religious brotherhood with certain ascetic and superstitious rules, which for a time proved very successful in Magna Graecia, and eventually became the prototype of many fixed social schemes. As the influence of the sophists began to be felt, other representatives of the reactionary movement also ap¬ peared. The aristocratic party naturally held to the old order of things, and advocated a return as the only remedy. Also ^Eschylus (5 2 5 — 45 ^ B - c -)> ‘father of tragedy,’ attempted to preserve the traditional mythol¬ ogy by interpreting it in an ethical sense, and became the greatest exponent of the old system of institutional SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 179 morals in Greece. In comedy, that matchless caricatur¬ ist of Athens, Aristophanes (about 445-380 b.c.), used his plays as a vehicle to parody the new conditions and contrast them unfavorably with the old. Then, in the Cyropczdicty or Education of Cyrus , Xenophon (about 43°-370 b.c.) advocated a complete reversion to the ideal of subserviency to the state. Under the guise of de¬ scribing the training of a Persian prince, he practically presented the old Greek plan of education, partly as it was in vogue at Athens, but mostly as in Sparta. On the practical side, Pericles endeavored to bring the Athenians back to an absorption in the welfare of the state by beautifying Athens in every way, and by inter¬ esting them in public exhibitions, and, when these efforts failed, he appealed to their patriotism by involving them in the Peloponnesian War. The Mediators. — But the social process can never move backward, and a reconstruction on some higher plane is needed if the effects of destruction are to be overcome. Some plan to harmonize the interest of the individual with that of society had to be devised. The method of obtaining this desideratum was the problem set themselves by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. As in the case of the sophists, they recognized that the tradi¬ tional beliefs and sanctions, including the gods, the old social order, and the former ideals and content of educa¬ tion, had been outlived, and that the individual could i8o A HISTORY OF EDUCATION How Soc¬ rates differed from the sophists. not find truth and morality through an institutional sys¬ tem of ethics. At the same time, they felt that the ex¬ treme individualism of the sophists was too negative a basis upon which to build. Without a more socialized standard of knowledge and morality, they saw that life could not be satisfactorily interpreted. Thus philos¬ ophy began as a means of better social expression. Socrates. — This mediating effort was begun by Soc¬ rates (469-399 b.c.), the homely and abstemious philos¬ opher, who taught contemporaneously with the sophists. While he started with the formula of Protagoras, he maintained that the ‘ man ’ indicated thereby was not the individual man. That is, there is a body of truth com¬ mon to the intelligences of all men, and “ man is the measure of all things ” only so far as the knowledge by which he judges of the truth has this universal validity. It is not the peculiar view of any individual that repre¬ sents the truth, but the knowledge that is the same for every one. The former, which the sophists considered * knowledge,’ Socrates held to be only ‘ opinion,’ and de¬ clared that the reason men think so differently is because they see but one side of the truth, and do not understand the significance of their own thoughts. He differed from the sophists, then, in emphasizing in man not his mere peculiarities, as tested by his sensations, impulses, and feelings, but rather his rational, and so universal, self. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) l8l Socrates also believed that every one could get at this universal knowledge by stripping off the individual differences and laying bare the essentials upon which all men are agreed. He conceived it to be the mission of the true philosopher to enable the individual to do this, and, accordingly, he endeavored to train the mind of those with whom he came in contact, so that they could form valid conclusions. He felt it necessary to teach them to think rather than load them with ready-made information. Realizing that the ‘ pouring in ’ process of the sophists in their lectures could never be effective, he adopted the plan of development through informal conversation. This method of Socrates has been known as dia¬ lectic (‘ conversational ’), and was twofold in nature. As the first step, Socrates thought it necessary to dispel the undue assurance of the person he was teaching by a process called irony (‘ dissembling ’). He encouraged the individual to make a definite statement of his belief, which he took as a starting- point in the search for truth. Then, through a set of clever questions, he caused the person to develop his thought, until either a self-consistent conclusion was reached, or the individual became so involved in manifest contradictions or an actual reductio ad absnr- dum , that he was forced to admit that his view had been hastily formed, and was mere ‘ opinion,’ after His ' dia¬ lectic ’ method: (i) irony 182 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and (2) maieutic. Moral aim of Socrates in this theory of knowl¬ edge. Value of his method. all. 1 In the latter case, the person was put in the proper frame of mind to continue the pursuit of truth. In thus developing the logical implications of a person’s position, whether they led out to truth or error, he used a procedure that he called maieutic (‘ midwifery ’). In this, by means of questions, he caused the individual to see that the opinion he had first expressed was but a single phase of the universal truth, which he had thus helped him to develop or ‘give birth to.’ Through this method of developing knowledge, Soc¬ rates strove to harmonize the individual welfare with that of the social group. His aim was not so much to fit the individual for immediate practical success as to teach him how to live with his fellows. Accordingly, he applied his doctrine of universal knowledge within each person especially to morals, and made the accomplish¬ ment of right living come through the development in consciousness of universal truth. He, therefore, made morality consist in right knowledge, as did Plato after him ; and both left it to Aristotle to make the necessary distinction between the knowledge of an action and the impulse to perform it. In estimating the value of this method of eliciting knowledge, it is easy to see that it would work well in the formulation of ethical principles, 1 since this is within 1 For a good example, read the account of his interview with the youthful and ambitious Euthydemus in Xenophon’s Memorabilia, Bk. IV, Chap. II. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 183 the reason of every individual, however unlearned. But it should also be noted that not everything was, or could be, drawn from the inner consciousness of the individual interrogated, but that Socrates himself contributed much to the progress of the discussion. Nevertheless, this furnishing of content, which is clearly necessary in all studies that are not purely schematic, does not interfere with the value of the Socratic method for efficient teaching. If a method arouses and holds the interest of the pupil, he may, without losing an iota of mental activity, be told many facts outright along the lines upon which his curiosity has been excited, especially if he cannot be expected to know them. 1 The So¬ cratic method contains the germ idea of all modern pedagogy. But however valid the view of Socrates, it resulted in the death of its promulgator. He was hated alike by the individualistic sophists, whose shallow and negative opinions he was continually exposing, and by the con¬ servative believers in the old traditions and institutional morality, who felt that Socrates was atheistic and im¬ moral, and the most dangerous among the sophists. Through the traditionalists, Athens was persuaded to give him the hemlock; and thus destroyed the man that 1 This, however, does not seem to be understood by those educators who state, or imply by their practice, that it is wrong to furnish the pupil with any information whatsoever, under the impression that by the Socratic method he should ‘ discover ’ everything for himself. Results of the Socratic teaching. 184 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Plato and his philos¬ ophy. might have been her savior. 1 The spirit of Socrates, however, continued to live, and what he saw but dimly became clearer as time went on. While it was too late to redeem Athens, his vision remained a great force in the progress of thought. Plato.—The rather vague formulations of Socrates were accepted by his pupil, Plato. Like many others, such as the Cynics and Cyrenaics, who made the most diverse interpretations from the somewhat inchoate statements of this master, Plato attempted to develop the thought of Socrates. He desired to build upon it a complete and fixed system for society, and thus arrest the disintegration that was going on. He continued the work of Socrates, 2 but modified it in some important respects. To understand how this occurred will require a brief account of Plato’s life and work. Plato (427-347 B.c.) differed greatly in his attitude toward life from the democratic Socrates. He was by birth and temperament a natural aristocrat; and never mingled indiscriminately with all people, as did his teacher. He was not, however, out of sympathy with the masses, but his social position may have affected his estimate of their intelligence. After the death of Soc- 1 See Plato’s Apology, which gives Socrates’ estimate of the causes of his accusation and condemnation. 2 In fact, Plato represents Socrates as the chief expounder in practically all his dialogues, except The Lazos. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 185 rates, he left the state, and, becoming better acquainted through travel with the various philosophic movements of the times, he not only enlarged the character of his master’s ethical teachings, but greatly broadened the scope of philosophy itself. Thus he came to plan an ideal state in which there should be more exalted prin¬ ciples, and practice should be in harmony with the highest possible theory. The Republic. —Plato’s description of the ideal state is found especially in that one of his dialogues known as The Republic . In this work, he starts with the avowed object of investigating the nature of justice. Finding it difficult to analyze in the case of the indi¬ vidual, he proposes to examine it on a larger scale in the state as a whole. 1 To accomplish this, he under¬ takes to describe the evolution of a model state and the relations between its inhabitants. He shows I10W7 in society, one industry or occupation after another is dif¬ ferentiated until a special class known as ‘ guardians ’ is set aside to protect the state and add to its territory. These guardians are to be separated from the indus¬ trial classes on the basis of physical prowess and their intellectual and moral endowments, and to be given a suitable education. Apparently he assumes that those who are incapable of becoming guardians should not receive any education beyond apprenticeship. In de- 1 Bk. II, 368. Evolution of classes in the model state. Elementary education to be similar to that in vogue, but with important reforms. 186 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION scribing the course of study that the guardians are to take first, Plato naturally follows the education in vogue for boys up to eighteen years of age, in the home and at the palaestra, didascaleum, and gymnasium at Athens, but even here, at the start, he would undertake social regulation, and insists upon some rather important re¬ forms. “ Our first duty,” he says, “ will be to exercise a censorship over the authors of fables, selecting their good productions, and rejecting the bad. And the selected fables we shall advise our nurses and mothers to repeat to their children, that they may thus mold their minds with the fables, even more than they shape their bodies with the hand.” 1 So he claims that the literary element of the home and school training should be purified of all accounts that lower the character and dignity of the gods or the heroes of the past, or that would tend to create a fear of death. Likewise, music should be confined to the simple patriotic and religious melodies of the Dorians, and to instruments that are not difficult to play. In the matter of gymnastic train¬ ing, temperate living should be included; and it should be a moral, rather than a physical discipline, since “ the two arts of music and gymnastics are not really de¬ signed, the one for the training of the soul, the other for the training of the body, but the teachers of both have in view chiefly the improvement of the soul.” 2 1 Bk. II, 377. 2 Bk. Ill, 410. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 187 From this group of guardians are eventually to be selected the ablest and most prudent as magistrates of the state. The rest are to be regarded as their auxili¬ aries. This division is to be determined upon while the guardians are passing through the ephebic or cadet period of education that was customary in Athens 1 be¬ tween eighteen and twenty. They are to live in camp in a frugal and hardy way, enforce the laws, and repel the enemies of the state, if necessary. 2 Those who show themselves capable of further education are to be selected for magistrates, while the others are to be relegated to the auxiliary class. At this point 3 Plato seems to have completed his search for justice in the state as a whole. This virtue, he declares, exists for the state, when each class attends to its own business; when the magistrates, in whom is the wisdom of the state, guide both the auxiliaries or soldiery, who possess the courage and so defend the state, and the industrial class, whose only virtue is temper¬ ance and whose function is to produce. This arrange¬ ment he now claims to verify by comparing the state to the individual, declaring that justice exists in the individual when his reason, located in the head, which corresponds to the magistrates in the state, controls his spirit, lodged in the breast, and his passions, seated in 1 See pp. 167-168. 2 Bk. Ill, 415-417. 3 Bk. IV. Secondary education by means of cadet training. Analogy of the state with the individual. Rule of the philosophers is necessary. Higher edu¬ cation for the philosophers, 188 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION the abdomen, whose counterparts are the military and industrial classes respectively. Plato’s proposition, then, as he soon makes more ex¬ plicit, is to intrust the entire control of the government to the magistrates, whom he now calls ‘philosophers,’ for “Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world be imbued with a sufficient measure of gen¬ uine philosophy, — that is, unless political power and phi¬ losophy be united in the same person, . .. there will be no deliverance for cities nor yet for the human race; neither can the commonwealth that we have now sketched in theory ever till then grow into a possibility, and see the light of day.” 1 This class alone is capable of abstract thinking, and so possesses real knowledge or universal truth, while the other classes content themselves with mere opinion. This real knowledge Plato describes as coming to the philosophers through a vision of the ‘ideas,’ 2 which he depicts as existing outside conscious¬ ness in a world by themselves and as being the arche¬ types from which all visible objects are molded. 3 The philosophic class, therefore, requires an educa¬ tion that will enable them to acquire the habit of specu- 1 Bk. V, 473. 2 Elsewhere (. Phadrus , 246 ff., Meno , 80 ff., etc.) he more fully develops this doctrine. He holds that in a previous existence the soul lived in the incorporeal world and beheld the ‘ ideas/ or pure forms of reality, and that a ‘ recollection ’ of this vision is produced by a perception of similar corpo¬ real things for those in whom the philosophic impulse exists. 3 Bk. VI. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 189 lative thinking, or, in Plato’s terms, “ will turn the eye of the soul from the sensuous to the real.” So Plato is now obliged to invent a new course of study for the purpose, as Greek education did not extend beyond the ephebic period or the twentieth year. This additional course, he declares, shall also be graded, in order that a further test of intellectual and moral qualities may be made. Arithmetic, plane and solid geometry, music, and astronomy, are to occupy the first ten years of the course. These subjects, however, are not to be studied for calculation or practical purposes of any sort, but entirely from the standpoint of theory or the universal relations underlying them, since only thus can they fur¬ nish a capacity for abstract thought or a vision of the ideas. 1 After this, at thirty, those who show themselves capable of the study of * real existence,’ or dialectic, go on with this subject for five years longer. It then becomes the duty of these highest philosophers to go out into society and guide it until they have reached the age of fifty, when they are to be allowed to retire. 2 Their remaining days are to be spent in study and reflection, which is to be regarded as the highest life of all. 3 1 Bk. VII, 522-531. This seems to be the beginning of the theory of * formal discipline.’ Plato’s contention is that the precision of mathe¬ matics would train one to be exact in judgment about practical affairs in general. See p. 196. 2 Bk. VII, 532-534. 3 Bk. VII, 539-540. consisting of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy; and of dia¬ lectic for the most capable. A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Education of women similar to that of men. How Plato differed from Socrates. 190 In this state, as Plato shows in a digression 1 from the main narrative, women are to receive a similar edu¬ cation to that of the men, even to the extent of wres¬ tling unclad in the palaestra. This is because women are to have the same functions in the state as men. “ In the administration of the state neither a woman as a woman, nor a man as a man, has any special function, but the gifts of nature are equally diffused in both sexes; all the pursuits of men are the pursuits of women also, and in all of them a woman is only a weaker man.” Women, then, are also to be philosophers, soldiers, or workers according to their ability. In order that they may be freed from the cares of housekeeping and mother¬ hood, all living is to be in common, 1 and the children that are born are to be reared in a state nursery, unless they are undesirable, when they are to be exposed. Criticism of The Republic. — In examining this ideal republic, it is first to be noted that Plato hardened the distinction which Socrates made between opinion and real knowledge; and, by a new interpretation, gave the latter an existence of its own outside of consciousness. Also, where Socrates, who constantly mingled with the people, found the basis of this universal truth in every one, Plato, possibly influenced by his aristocratic tend¬ encies, and by his contact with the Pythagorean com- 1 Bk. V as far as 473, which contains his argument for community in wives, children, and property. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) munity, declared that only one class of people, — the most intellectual, could attain to a vision of the ideas, or real knowledge. And since, like Socrates, he failed to discriminate between the cognitive and volitional, and so identified knowledge with virtue, it seemed to him that the philosophers should guide the conduct of all. Hence his ideal state became a sort of socialistic aris¬ tocracy or oligarchy of intelligence, and, in a way, seems to be a return to the old principle of subordinat¬ ing the individual to the state. Certainly in his desire to overcome the baneful effects of the extreme individualism of the times, Plato tended to depreciate the products of democracy in Athens. Nor could he realize that, while under a government of this sort there are abuses to be guarded against, and it takes a long time for the average person to reach the level of the most intelligent, yet progress, though slow and uncertain, is sure, and is accompanied by no Water¬ loo defeats. 1 In some specific details also Plato seems to have been unable to rise above the most conservative thought of his times. He permits slavery, and provides no education for the industrial class; family life is abandoned; and he sanctions outright the cruel practice of exposing children. 1 Plato feels, however, that while his republic is difficult of institution, so much so that it may have to be established by force ( Republic , VII, 540), when once it has been put into effect it will never be overthrown ( Critias , pp. 120-121). See also pp. 192-193. Aristocratic and con¬ servative tendencies in Plato. 192 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Progressive features of The Republic . Why The Republic had no immediate effect upon education. Yet The Republic cannot be regarded as a reversion. The scheme advocated at least enables each individual to do that for which he is by nature best fitted; and, while he is to be pushed into his niche in life, rather than allowed to find it, to some extent self-realization is made compatible with social service. Moreover, the reason for allowing a special training and control to one class is not mere enjoyment or gratification of despotism, but because this form of government and this educa¬ tion are considered necessary to enable all classes to fulfill the function for which they are best fitted. And although women are to serve the interests of the state without regard to their own desires, they are not held to be either the slaves or the toys of men, and are allowed the same education as far as they can take it. But, as a matter of fact, while most inspiring, and of the greatest importance to the development of thought in the long run, The Republic had practically no imme¬ diate effect upon education or any other institution of Athens. It was regarded as the visionary conception of a great mind removed from the life of the times. Instead of taking cognizance of the actual conditions of society, it was artificially, though very poetically, based upon a false analogy. Society is not an organ¬ ism like the human body, and the members of it cannot be knitted together in such a way as to become one. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 193 The Republic quite neglects human will 1 as a factor in society, and assumes that men can be moved about in life like pieces upon the chessboard. Plato fails to see, too, that each individual really possesses all human characteristics. The artisans have reason, and the philosophers have appetite. A human being is not a man unless all these function in him. But even if all this were the case, the treatise provides no way for an evolution from the current conditions, but plunges society immediately into the new regime. Plato makes Socrates say that, while this scheme may not be fea¬ sible, the object is to have society approach it as nearly as possible, and this can be achieved by the one change of giving all control to the philosophers. He does not, however, make it clear how this step can be brought about, except to say that every one above the age of ten must somehow be removed from the city. 2 And if it be further granted that this order of things could be established at once, Plato puts the ban upon all innova¬ tion or change, and so closes the door to progress. The Laws. — In fact, despite the suggestions in this Reversion to perfected order of affairs, social disorder steadily con- tinued to increase, and Plato himself eventually realized that The Republic was impracticable, and that society 1 For the place of will in Plato’s psychology, see Mary Hay Wood’s thesis on Plato's Psychology in Its Bearing on the Development of Will (London, 1907). 2 Bk. VII, 541. See, however, footnote on p. 191,, o 194 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION How Plato has in¬ fluenced thought and practice in general. could be reformed only through the forces that built it. So in his declining years, 1 without denying The Republic as ideal, he wrote the dialogue known as The Laws , which was almost as much of a reversion to old traditions and ideals as the doctrine of Pythag¬ oras or the theology of ^Eschylus. In it he welded together elements from the educational systems of Sparta and older Athens. He replaced the archetypal ideas of The Republic with a pantheon of astronomical gods; the philosophers were supplanted by the priests of these gods, an hereditary ruler, a superintendent of education, and various other officials; their mystic vision of the ideas gave way to intelligence or common sense ; and the course of study reached its height with the sub¬ ject of mathematics, while dialectic was not mentioned. Influence of Plato. — Thus the efforts of Socrates, as continued by Plato, to obtain the benefit of the growing individualism for society and education without disrupt¬ ing them, had seemingly come to naught. Neverthe¬ less, Plato has had considerable influence upon the thought and practice of men since the Greek period. The ideal society, where everything is well managed and every one is in the position for which nature intended him, has ever since the day of The Republic been a favorite theme for writers, as witness the Utopia 1 The Laws is generally considered to be the last dialogue written by Plato, but this is questioned by some authorities. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 195 of More, Bacon’s New Atlantis, and the more modern Looking Backward of Bellamy. At times, more or less disastrous attempts to realize these ideals have been made, as in the case of Brook Farm, the Oneida Per¬ fectionists, and a variety of socialistic and communistic colonies. However, even if impracticable for the time, an ideal may yet be of value, as Plato intimated, if it affords us an advanced goal for our efforts. On the other hand, while Plato’s comparison of the state to a human organism has in some ways proved most illumi¬ nating for writers on social subjects, like Hobbes and Spencer, it has led them into strange fallacies, and is responsible for such phrases to-day as ‘ social body,’ ‘body politic,’ or ‘social organism,’ and the various scientific and philosophic errors that have grown out of such implications. In more specific movements Plato has also left his impress upon the world of thought. The contempla¬ tive life of the philosophers, removed from the organi¬ zation of the state, but inspiring and controlling it, as depicted in The Republic, and afterward made more definite through the ‘ intellectual virtue ’ commended by Aristotle, was the progenitor of a variety of extra-social schools of philosophy. These in their turn prepared the way for an understanding of the mission of Christianity, when it was established, as an institution outside the state, but endeavoring to bring the latter up to its own More specific influence of Plato: upon Christianity, monasticism, mysticism, and mediae¬ val realism; 196 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and upon the monastic course of study, and the doctrine of * formal discipline.’ loftier ideals. So, too, the regimen recommended for these isolated philosophers, together with a similar prac¬ tice among the Jews and in the discipline of Pythagoras, may be held somewhat responsible for ‘ monasticism ’ and ‘ asceticism ’ in mediaeval times. It is also apparent that the doctrine of * mysticism,’ which started in the early Church, but has somewhat survived in present-day theology, is a revival of the mystic vision of the ideas, which was retained in Neoplatonism. Likewise, the notion of the ideas as the ‘ real ’ things was adopted by Anselm and other mediaeval realists, and died hard before the onslaught of nominalism and conceptualism. Again, in the matter of content, Plato’s approval of the music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy of Pythag¬ oras, and his adoption of dialectic from Socrates, when combined with the grammar and rhetoric of the soph¬ ists, furnished the monastic schools with their trivium and quadrivium . Possibly, too, it may be held that the whole notion of ‘ liberal ’ studies, and so the doctrine of ‘formal discipline,’ reaffirmed especially by Locke, goes back to Plato’s idea that the subjects in the special course for philosophers should never be studied from a practical point of view; but Aristotle’s claim in his Politics that professional skill should never be attained in music or other subjects, and particularly his division of the mind into faculties in his Psychology , seem more clearly the ancestors of this long-lived educational error. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 197 As a whole, it is evident that Plato has been a factor in educational theory and practice that cannot be over¬ looked, and The Republic will always remain a master¬ piece of general literature and a great educational classic, even though both his theoretical and practical treatises failed to harmonize individualism with the old traditions. Aristotle. — A more practical attempt to unify the new with the old in Greek society and education was made by Aristotle (386-322 b.c.), the pupil, and later the rival, of Plato. He came to Athens from Macedon, where his father was the court physician. Partly from his father and the scientific schools of Macedon, but more from his study under Plato in Athens, he obtained an excellent training, which is observable in the way he approaches his problems. Fortunately, the lectures of Aristotle survive in his treatises, as he spent his literary activities in preserving his notes in the form of books, instead of writing dialogues as did Plato. In conse¬ quence, while his works lack the imagery and polish of Plato, they treat their subjects much more systematically. Aristotle waited until his ideas were fully matured before beginning to put them into final form, as he intended to maintain a consistent point of view through¬ out a complete system of thought. This encyclopaedic work could not be finished within the dozen years of life left to him, and many of the treatises he wrote have Aristotle’s life and works. 198 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The sum- mum bonum is activity of soul in accordance with virtue. since been lost, but sufficient material has come down to us to mark him as one of the greatest minds the world has ever known. He gave the first real impulse to biology, physiology, physics, mechanics, and psychology; his Poetics was the first attempt at a science of aesthetics ; and his treatises on logic, metaphysics, ethics, and poli¬ tics hold their own among the greatest works ever pro¬ duced on the subjects. The Ethics and The Politics. — Aristotle’s ideas on edu¬ cation are contained in The Ethics and The Politics , the one describing how the individual must discipline himself in life, and the other, what social and economic conditions in the state are most favorable for reaching this end. In The Ethics he begins by inquiring what is the greatest good or the ‘ end ’ of human action, and declares that, while practically all men hold that this end is 4 happi¬ ness,’ 1 they differ greatly in the content they assign to the term, and that it should, therefore, be more carefully analyzed. He then continues: — “ Probably the best way to arrive at a definition will be to ascertain what is the peculiar function of man, for, as with a flute-player, sculptor, or artisan, and, in fact, any one who has a definite function or course of action, his goodness or excellence seems to lie in this function, so it would seem to be with man, if he has a 1 I.e. eudaimonia (‘good fortune’), from which a school of ethical philosophy called ‘ eudsemonism ’ is derived. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 199 definite function. . . . What, then, can this peculiar function of man be ? It is not mere life, for apparently man has life in common with the plants, and we must, therefore, exclude nutrition and growth. Next, there is also sensation; but this, too, man appears to share with horses, cattle, and all other lower animals. There remains, then, what may be called the practical life of a being which possesses rationality. But this rationality has a twofold meaning; it is rational partly in the sense of being obedient to reason, and partly in the sense of exercising reason and intelligence. This practical life may, accordingly, be spoken of in two ways, — (from the standpoint of habit or activity), but the life of activity seems to be the better way to conceive of it. The func¬ tion of man, then, is activity of soul in accordance with reason, or at least not independent of reason. More¬ over, it has been seen that the functions of a certain person and of such a person when he is good in his subject, are the same in kind, so that his excellence is only a goodness in addition to his function; for example, it is the function of the harpist to play the harp, and of a good harpist to play it well. So if the func¬ tion of a man is activity of the soul in accordance with reason, and of a good man it is such activity of a good and noble kind, it must be true that the greatest good of man is activity of soul in accordance with virtue.” 1 1 Bk. I, Chap. VII, §§ 8-12. 200 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The soul is rational and irrational, and the virtues are intellectual and moral. Moral virtue is tested by the ‘ relative mean.’ Having come to this conclusion, Aristotle finds it necessary to analyze ‘soul’ and ‘virtue.’ The soul he separates into two parts, — the irrational and rational. The former of these is then divided into nutrition and growth, which are completely without reason, and the impulses and desires, which may or may not be con¬ trolled by reason. In so far as they do yield to reason, they are to be classed with the rational part of the soul. Similarly, virtues are to be distinguished as intellectual, such as wisdom, intelligence, and pru¬ dence, which belong to the rational soul, and as ‘ moral,’ such as liberality and temperance, where the desires are controlled by reason, and right action has arisen from habit. The moral virtues are discussed before the intellectual, since the formation of moral habits is regarded as the first step toward the unimpeded activity of the reason, and so to the attainment of the higher or intellectual virtues. While man by nature does not possess these moral virtues, he may in early life be impressed by instruction and form moral habits through repeated acts of obedience. The rational principle that is to be applied by the trainer of the child in the formation of moral habits is found in Aristotle’s ‘ relative mean.’ According to this doctrine, an impulse becomes a virtue, if held to the mean and so compelled to avoid the ex¬ tremes of excess and deficiency. For example, — SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 201 “ He who flees and is afraid of everything, becomes a coward; while he who fears nothing at all, but goes boldly against everything, becomes rash. In like manner, he who indulges in the enjoyment of every pleasure and refrains from none is intemperate, but he who shuns all, as do the dull and boorish, becomes an insensate sort of person.” 1 In this same way he discusses at length all the other virtues. Intellectual virtue, then, which belongs to the rational soul proper, is the outgrowth of moral virtue, and the possession of it has in turn the function of determining the relative mean, the observance of which characterizes moral virtue. The highest of all virtues, therefore, is that of the speculative life, which is found in the philosopher. This virtue is declared in the last book to be that of the gods, for they cannot be supposed to demean themselves with any other activity than speculation. The philosopher, therefore, is nearest to the gods, who are preeminently happy, and is also most beloved by them on that account. 2 But moral virtue, which is secondary, can be attained by all persons, even those who are not capable of becoming philosophers. Aristotle thus makes virtue consist primarily in bringing the impulses into harmony with reason, and finds the idea not in a supersensuous world, but within 1 Bk. II, Chap. II, §§ 5-6. Philosophic speculation is the highest of all virtues. How Aris¬ totle differed from Plato. 2 Bk. X, Chap. VIII, §§ 8 and 19-20. 202 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The Politics continues The Ethics. the experience of all. In this way he welds the dualism that Plato created between sensation and reason. So, too, The Ethics erases the division line between theory and practice that seems to exist in The Republic, although Plato maintains that the two should never be separated. 1 While with Aristotle, as with Socrates, the greatest good is virtue, with the former this does not consist merely in knowledge, but in a tendency to express one’s self in rational action. Even the highest intellectual virtue or speculation, although it seems to be clearly connected with the vision of the universal truth in Plato, is the result of activity, fpr philosophy is not held to make one virtuous, except as he puts it into practice. Aristotle thus unites theory and practice by making clearer the distinction between the cognitive and the conative or volitional aspects of consciousness. Aristotle, however, saw that the moral excellence of the individual can be reached only in the life of the community. “The state,” said he in The Politics, “ is a creation of nature, and man is by nature a political animal. ... He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must 1 See p. 193* Aristotle holds that real existence is not separate from the phenomenal world, but finds its realization in it. His doctrine of * entelechy ’ (entelecheia) is this self-realization of the essence ( dynamis ) in the actual ( energeia ). SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 203 be something more or less than a man,—either a god or a beast; he is no part of a state. A social instinct is implanted in all men by nature.” 1 So Aristotle’s Ethics should be regarded as introductory to, though correlative with, his Politics. In this second work he discusses first the origin and meaning of a * state ’ and a ‘ citizen.’ He shows that the state grew out of material needs, but is continued for the sake of the life of reason. Nevertheless, he defends slavery in the state on the ground that some races are so inferior by nature as practically to be born slaves; and holds that the industrial classes should be excluded from citizenship, since they have no leisure in which to practice virtue or perform political duties. Here, also, before describing the perfect state, he makes a critical analysis of Plato’s Republic and Laws, 2 and analyzes the organization of many other states, both ideal and actual. 3 He concludes that, while a 1 Bk. I, Chap. II, §§ 9 and 14. 2 His purpose in this analysis, however, is to show the foundation for his ideal state in that of Plato. 3 These analyses and comparisons of governments are found in Book II. It was in keeping with the inductive method of Aristotle that, before formulating any theory of the state, he wrote out the consti¬ tutions of one hundred and fifty-eight states, that he might see whether his hypotheses covered the facts. The manuscript of his Constitution of Athens was accidentally discovered in some rolls of papyrus, and acquired by the British Museum in 1890. Aristotle’s model state is theo¬ retically a monarchy; but, because of the possi¬ bility of deteriora¬ tion, a de¬ mocracy is to be preferred. 204 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Education in the model state must not be purely practical. monarchy is theoretically the best type of government, yet, because of the probability of the king’s deteriorat¬ ing into a tyrant, the form most likely to be exercised for the good of the governed and least liable to be perverted is the democracy. 1 Since, however, it is the expedient rather than the best government, it should be as little democratic as possible, and the power of the people should be minimized wherever it can be done without their perceiving it. 2 Aristotle then 3 investigates the most fitting life for this model state. He holds as a general proposition that the ideal state, like the ideal individual, is the one which leads a life of virtue, and thus attains happiness. Passing to details, he considers at length the best natural and social conditions for a state. His final topic among these practical considerations is the proper education for the state, to the end that the citizens may be made virtuous. But since virtue is of two kinds, moral or practical, and intellectual or speculative, and the former is merely the stepping-stone to the latter, the education needed for the virtue of the state must not, like that of Sparta, be purely a training for war and practical affairs. It must be primarily intellectual, since war should exist only for the sake of peace, and business for the sake of leisure. 1 See Bks. Ill and IV. 2 Bk. VI. 3 Bk. VII. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 205 To mark off the periods of education, Aristotle again examines the nature of the soul. As in The Ethics, he divides it into the irrational and the rational, but to the former he here assigns only the impulses and desires. Nutrition and growth are now considered functions of the body. From this division it appears that “As the body is prior in order of generation to the soul, so the irrational is prior to the rational. The proof is that anger, will, and desire are implanted in children from their very birth; but reason and understanding are developed as they grow older. Wherefore the care of the body ought to precede that of the soul, and the train¬ ing of the impulsive side of the soul ought to come next; nevertheless, the care of it must be for the sake of the reason, and the care of the body for the sake of the soul.” 1 The development of the body Aristotle wishes to start even before birth, by having the legislator “consider how the frames of the children whom he is rearing may be as good as possible, and make marriage his first care,,— at what age his citizens should marry and who are fit to marry.” 2 Also he deems it necessary to sanc¬ tion the usage of his time of exposing all deformed or weakly children; and he goes so far as to recommend abortion for those who would prevent an excess of children. However, his advice 3 concerning the food, 1 Bk. VII, Chap. XV, §§ 9-10. 2 Bki V II, Chap. XVI, § 1. 3 Bk. VII, Chap. XVII, §§ 1-2. Periods of education. Bodily training. 206 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Education of the irrational soul: gymnastics, clothing, and exercise of the children that are to be reared, is much more humane, and in many respects very sensible, even according to modern hygiene. He also holds that the child’s games should not be vulgar, tiring, or riotous; and care should be taken that he hear no improper stories or language, and see no indecent pictures. For this reason, boys should come in contact with slaves as little as possible, and should not be allowed to attend satirics or comedy. The training thus far traced is a preparation for the formal schooling, which is to last from seven to twenty- one, and is divided into two periods by puberty. Educa¬ tion should be public, Aristotle claims, as in Sparta, for it is the business of the state to see that its citizens are all rendered virtuous . 1 However, he has previously maintained that the industrial classes have no need of education, since they are not citizens , 2 and that women, since they are radically different from men, are to be limited in the scope of their training . 3 The course of study that he follows is largely the same in content as that in use at Athens, although he recommends some reforms. He discusses gymnastics as a continuation of the bodily training, and the need of music and literary subjects for the irrational soul; x Bk. VIII, Chap. I, §§ 3-4. Compare Bk. V, Chap. IX, §§ 11-12. 2 Bk. Ill, Chap. IV, §§ 11-12, and elsewhere. 8 Bk. I, Chap. XIV, § 15. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) but with Aristotle even gymnastics is intended for self- control and beauty of form, and so also has to do with training the irrational soul. The making of neither ath¬ letes nor warriors should be the object, since excessive training exhausts the constitution, and martial education is brutalizing, as the history of the Spartans clearly shows. Not until three years after puberty, therefore, should hard exercise and forced dieting begin. During the intervening years the youths are to devote them¬ selves to reading, writing, music, and drawing. These literary subjects are not to be taught merely literary for utilitarian reasons. " Children should be instructed sub j ects ’ in reading and writing not only for their usefulness, but also because many other sorts of knowledge are acquired through them. With a like view they may be taught drawing, not to prevent their making mistakes in their own purchases, or in order that they may not be imposed upon in the buying or selling of articles, but rather because it makes them judges of the beauty of the human form.” 1 Music is discussed by Aristotle at considerable and music, length. It may be used for relaxation or for intel¬ lectual enjoyment, but higher development is its special purpose. Music inspires us, he claims, with the most vivid imitations of real emotions. “ Some melodies make men sad and grave, like the mixed Lydian; 1 Bk. VIII, Chap. Ill, §§ n-12. 208 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Education of the rational soul. others enfeeble the mind, like the relaxed harmonies; others produce a moderate and settled temper, which appears to be the peculiar effect of the Dorian; the Phrygian inspires enthusiasm.” 1 Since melodies that afford pleasure are connected with noble ideas, and those which give us pain are joined to debased ideas, the study of music “ cultivates the habit of forming right judgments, and of taking delight in good disposi¬ tions and noble actions.” Another moral effect of music, he declares later , 2 is that it produces katharsis (‘ purification ’). He explains this term in another treatise , 3 which shows that his meaning here is that music, by arousing in us pity and fear for humanity at large, lifts us out of ourselves and affords a safe vent for our emotions. He maintains that children should be taught to play and sing themselves, since “ it is difficult, if not impos- * sible, for those who do not perform to be good judges of the performances of others,” but they should not seek the skill of a professional, for this would be un¬ worthy of a gentleman. He also condemns as immoral the flute and several other instruments, “ which are intended only to give pleasure to the hearer, and re¬ quire extraordinary skill.” Such was the training for the body and the impulsive or irrational side of the soul. How Aristotle would i Bk. VIII, Chap. V, § 22. 2 Bk. VIII, Chap. VII, § 3. 3 Poetics , VI. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 209 have advised that the education of the rational soul should be carried on, can only be surmised, for the treatise breaks off suddenly at this point, possibly through his unfulfilled intention to return to it at some later day. But he elsewhere 1 declares that the citizens should exercise practical functions of two sorts : (1) active service, civil and military, which must be carried on by young and vigorous men; and (2) advisory duties, which would require the matured wisdom of elderly men; and that the very oldest of all, since they have had most experience with divine things, should become the priests of the state. But he could hardly have been satisfied with merely a practical training. It is not improbable, from his position in The Ethics and else¬ where, that the citizens, as a means of further efficiency after twenty-one, were to be given a higher training in mathematical sciences and dialectic not unlike that advocated by Plato. And it is likely that, from his own predilections, he would also have added some physical and biological science to the earlier part of this course. Criticism of The Ethics and The Politics. — Thus Aris¬ totle, like Plato, endeavored to work out the harmonizing of individual with social interests by the creation of an ideal state. The greatest good for man, he claimed, depends upon the realization of his peculiar function of rationality, but the state may be so shaped as to 1 Bk. VII, Chap. IX, §§ 4-9. p Why The Politics failed to harmonize the individ¬ ual and the state. 210 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION afford the most complete exercise of this faculty. The state is both means and end; it produces the proper type of individual through its training, and is itself shaped by the acts of these individuals. Hence through¬ out The Politics, as in The Republic and The Laws, a large importance is attached to the function of education in the state. Nevertheless, the state of Aristotle, like that of Plato, failed to answer the demand of the times. While it was much less visionary and nearer the actual condi¬ tions than The Republic, and was not so hard and fast as to preclude absolutely the introduction of improve¬ ment and change, it could not recognize the significance of individualism. The day of the small isolated states of Greece, with their narrow prescriptions for patriotism and social order, had passed forever. While Aristotle seems to feel this vaguely in declaring that the ideal state is a great empire holding broad and diverse in¬ terests and having a large-minded monarch at its head, he failed to perceive how rapidly the era of exclusive¬ ness was fading away, and so hoped to achieve some reform by departing but little from existing conditions and reading a sort of philosophy into them. It is this partial bondage to his times and his lack of imagination that account for his defense of slavery and insistence upon the inferiority of barbarians, the dis¬ franchisement and lack of education for the industrial SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 211 classes, the subordination of women, and the exposure of children. For this reason, his educational system made practically no advance beyond that of Plato, and there were no forces within the state to put into effect the reforms that he did recommend. Influence of Aristotle. — Consequently, the work of Aristotle was a failure for the time being. His treatises had little or no effect upon society, and the school of the Peripatetics, which he founded, did little toward developing his philosophy and science. They largely confined their efforts to collecting and interpreting the master’s works, and completing them by a combination of the fragments. Early in the third century all his writings were carried to Asia Minor by the head of the school and hidden in a vault to avoid destruction. There they lay for nearly two centuries, when they were taken to the library at Alexandria , 1 and later were brought to Rome. The ideas of Aristotle, however, were not destined to be without results. While his immediate influence in general was little felt, and the direct effect of his teach¬ ings upon education in particular was small, his philo¬ sophic and scientific treatises have since been considered of great value, and the method that he formulated has been most important in the development of civilization, especially in the Middle Ages. Instead of trying to 1 See p. 220. Little im¬ mediate effect of Aristotle. Later in¬ fluence through his method, 212 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION his logic and other sciences, and his terminology. find truth in a mystic world beyond the senses through an appeal to the individual consciousness, as did Plato, Aristotle investigated the conditions of the objective world and sought to check on the hypotheses he formed by an appeal to the historic consciousness of the race. Thus he regularly sought confirmation of his theories in the statements of the philosophers, the masses, and other exponents of social inheritances. He believed that whatever is attained by the method of introspection, as was seen in the case of the dialectic of Socrates , 1 must be formal and lacking in content. Thus he came to set aside dialectic in favor of the inductive method. As a result, through the use of this method, he not only started, or made the first important contributions to, a number of sciences, as was stated at the beginning of this account, but in his Organon he also formulated the laws of thought itself. While he accomplished much less in working out induction than deduction, practically nothing has been added to formal logic since his day. Logic was regarded by him not as a separate science, but as introductory to all sciences; and, for this reason, his philosophy and science were universal in nature, and he may be considered the father of the whole progressive search for truth. Also, as instruments to assist in fashioning the vari¬ ous sciences, Aristotle forged a complete system of ter- 1 See p. 183. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 213 minology, which has been of great value in philosophy and natural science alike ever since his day. Through his efforts to systematize thought were created such pairs as ‘matter’ and ‘form,’ and ‘mean’ and ‘extreme,’ and such convenient expressions as ‘ end ’ in the sense of purpose in view, ‘ final cause,’ ‘ principle,’ and ‘maxim,’ and the common psychological term of ‘habit’ and the now outworn ‘ faculty.’ In definite historical movements also Aristotle’s in¬ fluence has been apparent. His part in preparing the way for Christianity through accustoming people to the idea of an inspirational body outside society, and his responsibility for the doctrine of ‘formal discipline,’ have already been touched upon in summarizing Plato. But a more important effect of Aristotle’s ideas has been that upon the formulation of doctrine in the Christian Church. After Greek learning had been banished from Europe through the Emperor Justinian in 529 a.d., Aristotelianism took refuge in the East. Eventually, through the spread of Mohammedanism, which had largely absorbed the doctrine of Aristotle, it became generally popular in the twelfth and thirteenth centu¬ ries and threatened to overthrow Christianity. There¬ fore, Aristotelianism was at first bitterly opposed by the Church ; but, finding it impossible to suppress it, the Church finally decided to adopt it and clothe her own doctrine in it. The greatest of the schoolmen, such as Influence upon histor¬ ical move¬ ments : organization of Christian¬ ity; formal discipline; and Chris¬ tian doctrine, after the spread of Mohammed¬ anism. 214 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Failure of Aristotle to reconcile the old with the new order. J Alexander of Hales, Albertus Magnus, and Thomas Aquinas, began to study it, and soon made it the effect¬ ive weapon of the Church by reducing all human knowl¬ edge to a finished Aristotelian system with theology at the top. The doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church are consequently decked in an Aristotelian garb to-day. The introduction of Aristotelianism, however, also en¬ couraged the use of reason, and so indirectly led to both the Renaissance and the Reformation. Triumph of Individualism. — But the irenic attempt of Aristotle was fruitless. While his measures were more practical and scientific than those of Socrates and Plato, and far more progressive than the ideals of Py¬ thagoras, Aeschylus, and Xenophon, he likewise failed in the attempt to reconcile with the old and settled order the ever-expanding movement toward individual¬ ism. Thus all efforts to control the tendencies of the time were vain. Through the instrumentality of the sophists, the traditional religion and morals had been disrupted, and the masses were unable to grasp the rational moral teachings that were intended to take their place. Corruption in politics and social life, due to the prosperity of Athens, when combined with the denial of every norm of conduct, continued to under¬ mine the foundation until, before long, it tottered and fell. The terrible misfortunes of the Peloponnesian War and the conquest of the Greek states by Philip of Macedon SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 215 were only symptomatic of the complete collapse of cor¬ porate life and the inability to reconstruct it successfully. Later Greek Education. — With the downfall of the polity of Athens, what national pride had remained was lost. All possibility of social unity disappeared, and philosophy no longer considered the individual from the standpoint of membership in society. It was occupied no further with the harmonization of the individual and the state, but concerned itself with the welfare of the individual and the art of living. In¬ dividualism was completely triumphant, and education was considered simply as a means to personal develop¬ ment or happiness, without regard to one’s fellows. The new theories of life and education were formulated by philosophers or schools of philosophy that kept them¬ selves far removed from society. Where formerly the philosophers had sought a practical ideal for expression in life, the intellectual activity itself now became their ideal. Philosophy had begun as an effort toward secur¬ ing better social expression, but now the mere pleasure of speculating was sufficient. So any means may tend to harden and become an end in itself. Philosophical Schools. — This tendency is noticeable even as early as the foundation of the schools at the Academy and Lyceum, two well-known gymnasia, where Plato and Aristotle respectively had taught. 1 The mem- Later Greek education shows indi¬ vidualism. Individ¬ ualistic tendencies in the philo¬ sophical schools. 1 See footnote on page 165. 216 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION bers of the latter were commonly known as Peripatetics, from their founder’s habit of carrying on his discussions while walking to and fro. But individualistic ideals are much more apparent in several post-Aristotelian schools, such as the Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics. The Epi¬ cureans considered individual pleasure the goal of life, and while their founder, Epicurus (341-270 b.c.), and his earlier followers, did not mean thereby the pursuit of sensual pleasure, it eventually came to this. With Sto¬ icism, instituted by Zeno (340-265 b.c.), and given a more scientific trend by Chrysippus (280-209 b.c.), the end to be sought was freedom from desire and external wants, and so immunity from the disturbances and trivi¬ alities of the world. True satisfaction, the Stoics claimed, lay within the individual mind, and on the basis of this they developed the loftiest ethical code before the time of Christ. When their activities were trans¬ ferred to Rome, they included most of the great mor¬ alists among their adherents. Skepticism, on the other hand, was a complete reaction from the long period of speculation, and represented an absolute distrust of all reason. Pyrrho (365—275 b.c.), the first skeptic, main¬ tained that, since a final decision concerning external things is out of the question, one should take refuge in ignorance and indifference. This was more indi¬ vidualistic and anarchistic than even the doctrine of Protagoras. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 217 None of these ‘schools’ could be so termed in the sense of offering an education, but rather in the mod¬ ern usage of a group of adherents to certain teachings. They were merely sects, and did not, through their suc¬ cessive heads, make any serious attempt to construct doctrines beyond those of their founders. They spent their energy, for the most part, in interpreting, elabo¬ rating, and lauding the original teachings. The result was a stereotyped dogmatism and a descent from the heights of philosophy. And yet for several centuries these philosophic schools, especially the Stoic and Epi¬ curean, held sway. Rhetorical Schools. — But sects of this character were not the only outcome of the teaching of the sophists. These schools, as has been seen, came about gradually from th^ speculative tendencies of the sophists as de¬ veloped through certain famous philosophers, but there also grew up more directly from their efforts to train young men in rhetoric and public speaking a multitude of rhetorical schools, in which a formal study was made of oratory and the knowledge of the day. Their pro¬ fessed object was to make successful men of the world, and they laid little claim to teaching anything solid or profound, much less to forming any philosophic habits. They succeeded in spreading a popular education among a people that had lost all hope of political life and had found their highest means of expression in polite society. Lack of originality. Origin of rhetorical schools. 218 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Isocrates and his school. Later schools of rhetoric. One of the earliest of these schools, and the most rep¬ utable and influential of all, was that of the florid Isoc¬ rates (436-338 b.c.). He had been a pupil of Socrates, but became distrustful of the value of abstract specula¬ tion as a means of making the thoughtful man and efficient citizen. Accordingly, he started to prepare young men for public life through a study of rhetoric and the prudential philosophy of the world. As he was a man of large political interests and general culture, the training he afforded was broad and rational, except for its attitude toward philosophy and science. He be¬ lieved that eloquence is the product of the virtuous soul, and that a beautiful style is the handmaid of virtue in the individual and of justice in the state. Hence he held that the entire higher education should be linguistic and literary. In this way he helped the philosophers make Athens a great literary center. But the rhetorical schools soon degenerated into nar¬ row and formal methods. The later rhetoricians at¬ tempted to hasten oratorical training and preparation for life by teaching their pupils ready-made speeches and dialogues together with isolated pieces of informa¬ tion. The students thus acquired a certain glibness and a superficial knowledge of questions of the day in addition to the mere technique of oratory. Neverthe¬ less, these schools flourished for several centuries and closely rivalled those of the philosophers. SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 219 Universities. — From these two classes of schools, the philosophical and the rhetorical, the fame of Athens spread rapidly, and from the fourth century before Christ onward the numbers of young men from all over the civilized world who came there to study steadily in¬ creased. In Athens itself the old ephebic training was gradually modified so as to allow the youths to attend courses of one or more philosophers or rhetoricians in the intervals between their active duties, and about the time of the Macedonian conquest the whole physical training was first narrowed to a single year and then made optional. About the same time the intellectual education was made compulsory. Thus from the union of physical and intellectual training sprang a regular in¬ stitution or university, which the Athenian youths were compelled to attend, and to which students from outside might come. As many of the latter had received but little preparation for the work, there arose a number of private teachers as dependent or subordinate officers of the university. Before long, the Hellenic world boasted other univer¬ sities, such as those at Rhodes, Pergamon, Alexandria, and Rome. Nevertheless, Athens, until almost 300 a.d., remained the chief intellectual center of civilization. It afforded the best opportunities for philosophical, scien¬ tific, literary, grammatical, and rhetorical work, and continued to attract students from all parts of the Roman Develop¬ ment of the University of Athens. 220 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Alexandria and her university. Its intellec¬ tual pro¬ ductions : Empire. But the tendency of higher education there was toward the study of rhetoric alone; and, while great teachers like Isocrates had been able to maintain the union between education and real life, even after style rather than knowledge had become the object, artificial¬ ity grew apace, and decay finally resulted. In consequence, some time during the third century after Christ, Alexandria displaced Athens as the center of culture, and her university became the leading one of the world. This university had grown out of the museum and library founded about 300 b.c. by the Ptolemies. These institutions were maintained in pur¬ suance of the policy of Alexander to make of his name¬ sake a city of predominant influence in the Greek world. Here were collected the most remarkable sets of Greek, Egyptian, Babylonio-Assyrian, and Jewish manuscripts that had ever been known; and here the most distin¬ guished scholars of the day lectured on philosophy, letters, and science. About the library and museum gathered the various philosophic sects to study and dis¬ cuss, and the doctrines promulgated were not limited to Greek thought, but included beliefs from Egypt and the Orient. Hence it was naturally here that the higher abstract Greek philosophy united with the more concrete beliefs of the Orient, including especially Zoroastrianism, Juda¬ ism, and Christianity. Thus there flourished at this SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 221 center the various systems of religious philosophy known collectively as ‘ Hellenistic,’ such as Neopytha- goreanism, Neomazdeism, Philonism, Gnosticism, and Neoplatonism. Consequently, it was at Alexandria that the more liberal of the Christian fathers, Pantsenus, Clement, and Origen, started their school. But science was equally well represented with philosophy and theology. Considerably before Alexandria had be¬ come preeminent in philosophy, there had been developed at the same center the Ptolemaic theory of the universe, which held until the days of Copernicus. Other noted investigations, like those of Euclid in geometry, some of those of Archimedes in physics, of Eratosthenes in astronomy and physical geography, and, much later, of Diophantus in algebra, also bear witness to the intellectual activity of this university. However, much formalism and fruitless commentaries also emanated from here, as they did from all the other academic centers in Hellenistic times. Extension of Hellenic Culture. — It can be seen, how¬ ever, from the very extensiveness of mental activity after the Macedonian conquest, that the downfall of Greek society and national life had only prepared the way for a larger intellectual influence. As Alexander had extended his yoke over one Eastern country after another, he had carried with him all the culture of Greece, and within a century of his death the whole ‘Hellenistic* philosophy, and scientific investigation. Hellenizing of the Orient. 222 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Continuation of Greek culture by the Romans. Its expand¬ ing ideals. Orient seems to have been saturated with Greek ideas. These are noticeable first in externals, such as the Greek palaestrae, gymnasia, theaters, stadia, and baths that appeared in every portion of the East. But soon the deeper culture, — the literature, philosophy, art, and learning, became common throughout the Orient; and Greek customs, institutions, and education were in¬ grained everywhere. Similarly Rome, which had come somewhat into con¬ tact with Greece before conquering her, had been tinctured with Greek life and learning; and, after her absorption of Macedon and Hellas, she fell under the spiritual thrall of the subjugated people. After 146 b.c. the history of Greek civilization and education was speedily so amalgamated with the Roman that it can scarcely be distinguished from it, and Greek thought was by this means further spread throughout the world. The Greek philosophical and rhetorical schools were continued in Rome, Roman youths made up a great body of the attendance at the universities of Athens and Alexandria, and the Roman emperors did much for the support and extension of the work in these institutions of learning. Survey of Greek Education. — But before following the continuation of Greek education and culture among the Romans, it may be well to take a bird’s-eye view of the development of this training in the land that gave SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 223 it birth. The history of Greek education is a record of ever-expanding ideals. It portrays a gradual elevation of the individual from bondage to nature or convention to freedom of expression and complete realization of the self, although this resulted in an extreme reaction toward the satisfaction of the individual without regard to society, and the downfall of Greek independence. Each stage in this educational development was accompanied by corresponding social and political con¬ ditions, and was characterized by definite ideals. In the prehistoric times the people were still somewhat bound by the blood-tie and the worship of gods representing natural forces. Their morality was that of the com¬ munity ; and the aim of education, while more elastic and advanced than that of primitive man, and, in some respects, of the barbarian peoples, was to fit the youth for the practical life of war and the council. Even during the older historic period, when the city- state had been generally organized, and the ownership of land had become the social bond, education had service to the state as its only purpose. While in Sparta this ideal was based more upon principles than upon precepts like those of the Orient, and at Athens it was felt that the best personal development would be of most assistance to the social whole, in the one state, education included practically no literary, scientific, or artistic development, and in the other the intellectual 224 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION portion of the curriculum was still rather formal and prescribed. These older historic times also resembled the Orient somewhat in having a pantheon of gods, and rising gradually to henotheistic conceptions. During the ‘ new ’ period the development of Athens was made manifest by a greater recognition of per¬ sonality, which enlarged the culture and prosperity of the state. The old traditional theogony was replaced first by ethical interpretations of the gods, then by investigations into the physical nature of the universe, and finally by attempts at metaphysical interpretations of matter and mind. The old sanctions were disrupted, and confusion resulted. Extreme individualism became the order of the day, and the aim of education was to secure happiness for the individual, with little regard to the welfare of the state. This destructive influence of individualism, the best minds of the times, both con¬ servative and progressive, endeavored to stay, but with¬ out success. Even philosophic speculation soon be¬ came an end in itself rather than a means to social improvement. All efforts toward a return to the old, or a harmonization with the new, failed; and the gradual disintegration of the state that had been going on was soon made manifest at the onset of Philip. The citizen and the man had been hopelessly sundered, and the aim of the philosophical and rhetorical schools that existed after Aristotle was purely to secure the happi- SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 225 ness of the individual apart from society. Yet it was the political downfall of Greece that enabled her to spread her ideal of individualism throughout civilization, and give a broader impulse to progress. Corresponding to the enlarged ideals, the content of Advance in Greek education was constantly expanding, and far out- [*j method stripped that of the Orient or Judaea. At first the cur- and ( 3 ) or -’ . . . . , „ , gamzation of riculum consisted simply of the attainment of skill in education, practical pursuits; but gradually it came to include a wide range of gymnastic, literary, musical, scientific, and philosophical subjects without regard to their immediate utility, and, with Plato and Aristotle, on the strength of their very remoteness from concrete living. Thus philosophical speculation was to be engaged in for its own sake, and not as a means of improving society. The method of teaching, too, which in the early days was merely imitation of a living example or of an heroic embodiment of the proper ideals, became more elaborate as time went on, and made clear the reason underlying each concrete act and habit. Although during the pre¬ historic period there was no formal means of training the youth, education soon organized into regular schools for the different stages, and culminated in the founda¬ tion of universities. In this way it came about that the Greeks more than any other ancient people showed the world the advan¬ tages of individualism. From their history we may Greek con¬ tributions to progress. Q 226 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION learn that only by permitting variations in the social, as in the biological, world, can there be evolved and fixed new types that will answer to changed conditions, and so allow growth and progress without the intervention of conflict or cataclysm. Through the Greeks it has thus become evident that the individual should not only not be suppressed, consciously or unconsciously, but should be encouraged, if the social welfare is to be con¬ sulted and social progress to go on. From these people has developed the principle that the expression of the individual is essential to real stability and progress alike. As specific illustrations of this principle, Greece has furnished us with examples of individualism that have been the source of much development since. On the intellectual side, she first recognized that the truth should be sought for its own sake, and that knowledge should no longer be connected merely with theology and largely limited to the priesthood. Hence arose the idea of a society not controlled by a sacerdotal class, and to this is due the real debt that civilization owes to Greek science and philosophy. On the emotional side, through the medium of the fine arts, — sculpture, music, painting, and poetry, the concrete expression by the in¬ dividual of some general truth, ideal, or experience, also culminated with this people. From the Periclean age on there was permitted in these arts the highest degree of individualism known to the ancient world. Similarly, SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 22? from this country also came the first encouragement of volitional expression, as can be seen in her ideas of moral freedom and responsibility, and the search for principles of conduct not based on any stereotyped system, but upon reason. Naturally enough, all these forms of expression grew up in connection, on the insti¬ tutional side, with the first instances of political individ¬ uality, as found in the self-governing states of Greece. But this was the first extensive essay at individualism, and it can hardly be supposed that it was completely successful. Inasmuch as the industrial class was allowed neither the franchise nor education, foreigners were despised as inferiors, and slavery was sanctioned, some nine-tenths of the male population of Athens must have been absolutely excluded from the rights of indi¬ vidualism. While women were kindly treated, they were always regarded as subordinate to men, and only those of questionable reputation were ever outside the household. Children had absolutely no rights of their own, but were held subservient to the interests of the state or their parents, and might be exposed when they were deformed or supernumerary. Moreover, the Greeks never obtained a complete con¬ ception of personality, as, with the exception of the later Stoics, they never approached the moral conscious¬ ness of the Jews. Their ethics consisted mostly in a counterbalancing of the rights of individuals, and not the Limitations of the times. 228 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION comparison of self with a superior self through a divine ideal. Consequently, the future life with them was, except for the great philosophers, a conception but little more developed than with the Orientals. However, it is well that all worth living for was not worked out at once, and that social evolution did not close with the Greeks. It is sufficient that one people and age should have given to civilization so many lofty ideas concerning what a free man should be and what education best befits him. Whatever their achievements may have been, the Greeks should be credited with the greatest impulse to progress, for they started the belief in the necessity of individualism, and so furnished the first real dynamic conception of life. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Aristophanes. The Clouds and The Frogs. Aristotle. Ethics , Politics , and Poetics. Herodotus. Books VI and VII. Homer. Iliad and Odyssey. Isocrates. Against the Sophists and On the Exchange of Estates. Plato. Apology , Critias , Crito, Gorgias , Meno , Phcedo , Phcedrus , Protagoras , and Republic and Laws. Plutarch. Lycurgus and Moralia (especially The Nurture of Children ). Thucydides. Books II, VI, and VII. Xenophon. Hellenica , Cyropcedia , (Economicus , and Memorabilia. Also Monroe’s Source Book of the History of Education (Greek and Roma?i Period ). SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 229 II. Authorities Adamson, J. E. The Theory of Education in Plato' 1 s Republic. Becker, W. A. Charicles. Scene First and Excursus on Education. Blumner, H. Home Life of the Ancient Greeks. Chap. III. Bosanquet, B. The Education of the Young in Plato's Republic. Bryan, W. L. Plato the Teacher. Pp. 181-409. Burnet, J. Aristotle on Education. Butcher, S. H. Some Aspects of Greek Genius. Pp. 1-84. Capes, W. W. University Life in Ancient Athens. Davidson, T. Education of the Greek People. Freeman, K. J. Schools of Hellas from 600 to 300 B.C. Grote, G. History of Greece. Keller, A. G. Homeric Society. Lane, F. H. Elementary Greek Education. Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Hellenic Race. Mahaffy, J. P. Greek Life and Thought. Chap. XIII. Mahaffy, J. P. Old Greek Education. Mahaffy, J. P. Social Life in Greece. Chaps. IX-XI. Monroe, P. Text-book in the History of Education. Chap. III. Nettleship, R. L. Theory of Greek Education in Plato's Republic. Seymour, T. D. Life in the Homeric Age. Tucker, T. G. Life in Ancient Athens. Chap. IX. Wilkins, A. S. National Education in Greece. Zeller, E. Plato and the Old Academy. Zeller, E. Socrates and the Socratic Schools. CHAPTER XIII ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD The Kingdom. The name of Rome is still suggestive of power and organization. These characteristics seem to have been innate; but the significance of Roman development to the history of progress and education was largely due to the fact that, in her spread over the civilized world, the Eternal City amalgamated the Greek civilization with her own. Until then her ideals of life, while effective in conquest, had been narrow and little adapted to the development of individuality or a cosmopolitan civili¬ zation. Unconsciously realizing the need of broader ideals, she absorbed those of Greece. But Rome could not be Hellenized without making some contributions to the result from her own genius, and for that reason it is important to learn something of Roman civilization and education, crude as they were, before they came into contact with Greek culture. Survey of Roman History. — At the time of its alleged foundation, 753 b.c., Rome probably consisted of a federation of Latin clans on the Palatine and adjacent hills. It was governed by a war-chief or king, who was 230 ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 231 also judge and high priest in times of peace; a senate, composed of the heads of the three hundred clans; and a popular assembly, made up of all freemen capable of bearing arms. These came to be known as patres (‘ fathers ’) or patricians, in distinction to the plebs (* people ’) or plebeians, who had afterward settled in Rome, and were not represented in the assembly. After about two hundred and fifty years the kings were expelled (509 b.c.) and most of their power trans¬ ferred to two consuls elected for one year and to the aristocratic senate. As the plebs had no part in the government, almost immediately a struggle to secure recognition began, and continued with little intermission for two and a quarter centuries. Some reforms were gradually secured by the plebeians, the most important of which was the revision and codification of the laws in 451 and 450 b.c. by decemvirs elected for the purpose. The resulting code included the laws concerning prop¬ erty, political rights, and religion, that had been previ¬ ously approved by the senate and assemblies. Until then the laws had been known and administered exclu¬ sively by the patricians, but they were at this time cut upon bronze tablets, set up in the market-place, and ever afterward known as the Twelve Tables. Notwithstanding this extension of popular rights, the senate remained the real force, as the assembly was un¬ wieldy, and the magistracies divided their powers and The Re¬ public and the struggle of the plebs. The Twelve Tables. 232 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Extension of Roman dominion. Changes in society, and establish¬ ment of the Empire. were brief of tenure. This caused the senate to feel a responsibility for the preservation of the state, and pro¬ duced a stability and continuity of policy that made pos¬ sible large conquests, and eventually the Empire. Even during her internal struggles Rome gained the hege¬ mony of the Latin tribes, and soon extended her sway over the rest of Italy. Then, in the second quarter of the third century b.c., she began to advance beyond the peninsula. In the three Punic wars (264-241, 218-202, and 149-146 b.c.), the Romans not only conquered, but exterminated their rival, Carthage; they humbled Macedon and divided her Hellenic kingdom (197 and 168 b.c.) ; conquered Asia Minor (190 b.c.) and Illyricum (167 b.c.); and reduced Greece to a province (146 b.c.). Thus supremacy over the entire Mediterranean coun¬ try was obtained, and great social changes began to appear in Rome. The religious faith and the old stern ideals of duty and training gradually broke up, and in their place ideas of religion and philosophy, harmony and culture, were introduced from Greece. A new set of patricians, who obtained their position by wealth rather than descent, sprang up. The power of the senate, and with it the old purity and patriotism, van¬ ished ; and the last century of the Republic was filled with struggles centering about great individuals, — the Gracchi, Marius and Sulla, Pompey and Caesar, An¬ tony and Octavius. The old representative constitution / ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 233 could not stand the strain, and gave way. In 48 b.c. Julius Caesar was made perpetual dictator, and would have become monarch, had not his ambition been evi¬ dent and led to his assassination. The opportunity was thus left to his successor, Octavius; but not until 27 b.c. did the latter lay aside the exceptional powers that he had assumed four years previously as imperator (‘ dicta¬ tor’), and become emperor in real earnest with the title of ‘Augustus.’ Even then he preserved all the old republican forms, but while magistrates continued to be elected, their powers and those of the senate were gradually assumed by the emperor. While Rome was undergoing such a political and moral transition, the Greek influence had started that brilliant period of letters known as the Age of Augus¬ tus. This development reached its height in the last years of the Republic, while the old Roman ideals were still somewhat in force. Much literature, especially history and oratory, was produced. These were the days of Caesar, Sallust, Nepos, and Cicero. Also poetry was not lacking, as the philosophic verse of Lucretius, the lyrics and elegies of Catullus, the epic and bucolics of Vergil, and the odes, satires, and epistles of Horace, bear witness. Philosophy was likewise produced by Cicero, a striking work on education by Quintilian, and a whole encyclopaedia of knowledge by Varro. In fact, while the Romans could not equal their Age of Augustus. 234 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Decline of Rome. Greek models in quality, they far surpassed them in quantity. Despite this intellectual flowering, Rome was declin¬ ing, although for almost two centuries the decay is not at all apparent. On the contrary, during the reign of the Twelve Caesars, her empire was greatly extended; while much peace and prosperity resulted from the rule of the Five Good Emperors, who succeeded them. To¬ ward the end of the second century a.d., however, political conditions became most unstable, and the emperors put aside all pretense of observing the con¬ stitution. Although reforms were later introduced by Diocletian (284-305 a.d.) and Constantine (312- 337 a.d.) which delayed the final downfall, from this time on corruption was widespread. The emperor had become a complete despot, except as far as a large and extravagant army dominated even the throne; a bureaucracy controlled the government; the court was sunk in all the luxury and vice of the Orient; and tax officials and governors cheated and ground down the provinces. Through bribery and favoritism, men were raised to senatorial rank. This class had now, of course, no political functions, although it was ex¬ empt from taxation and had many other privileges. It was self-indulgent, and blind to the sufferings of the less fortunate, and deaf to their needs. Roman citizenship, formerly sought so eagerly and so proudly ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 235 claimed, now came to be regarded as a misfortune, and something to be avoided, if possible. Those who remained among the cunales , or ordinary class of citi¬ zens, had to support the government, municipal and imperial, and the army. To escape from these bur¬ dens, Romans that could not attain senatorial rank entered the army, the monasteries, or clerical positions in the Church, or enrolled themselves as serfs of some great estate. Dissolution was not long delayed. In 395 a.d. the sons of Theodosius divided the Empire into two dis¬ tricts, nominally for the convenience of administration, but really because of radical differences in type of civilization. The Roman or Western division came gradually under the control of German tribes that invaded it, and finally, in 476 a.d., the German leader, Odovaker , or Odoacer, deposed the youthful Romulus Augustulus, and had the imperial purple sent to the emperor at Constantinople as a sign of the reunion of the empire. Odoacer himself, however, became king of Italy, and the real power of the Western empire was thereafter in the hands of the Germans. Italy was never fully recovered; and while the Eastern or Greek division of the empire continued until Constan¬ tinople was taken by the Turks in 1453 a.d., the days of ancient Rome and the Roman world had passed forever. Odoacer becomes king of Italy. 236 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Voluntary subordina¬ tion of the individual to the state. Utility, rather than har¬ mony or grace, ap¬ pealed to the Roman. Practical Aim of Education in Early Rome. — Obvi' ously, a people with such an environment, traditions, and history as the Romans would have a very different set of ideals in life and education from the Greeks. In the early days they were animated almost entirely by an intense patriotism, reverence for law, and love for military life, and felt that each citizen was bound to merge his identity in that of the state. In the sur¬ render of individuality they were, to be sure, not unlike the Spartans, although they believed that this subordi¬ nation should be brought about voluntarily rather than by compulsion of law and state organization. But with such a love as theirs for mere material achievement, the Athenian ideal of a full and harmonious develop¬ ment of one’s whole nature could scarcely be expected to make any appeal. They looked not for harmony, proportion, or grace, but for stern utility. All the aesthetic pleasures and the finer sides of life were held in contempt by them, and they regarded the Greek thinkers as mere visionaries. They showed none of the youth and impulsiveness that was characteristic of the Athenians, but were sedate, grave, stern, and serious. Their education was, accordingly, practical, prosaic, and utilitarian. Informal Acquisition of Abilities and Virtues. — Until the Greek institutions began to be adopted, there were practically no schools in Rome, and it was much later ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 237 before anything approaching a public school system came into existence. At first, education consisted simply of a practical training in certain abilities and virtues that were bound up in the Roman ideals and every-day life. The chief means for obtaining this education was the home, which was the most important of old Roman institutions. In striking contrast to the Spartans and theorists like Plato, the family was regarded by the Romans as almost sacred, and the power of the father (patriot, potestas) often extended beyond the maturity of the son or the marriage of the daughter. While the wife was subordinate to her husband (in manu eius), her author¬ ity within the family was scarcely less than his, and she exerted a great influence upon her boys as well as upon her girls. The traditional picture of Cornelia, the mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, is a graphic illustration of this. In early life the boys and girls alike were given a physical and moral training by the mother, but, as the boy grew older, he went more in the company of his father, and learned efficiency in life informally through his example and that of other older men. In a similar way the girl was trained at home by her mother. If the boy belonged to a patrician family, he might acquire much knowledge concerning Roman custom and law by seeing his father receive the clientes (‘ de- The home as the chief means of education. 238 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Reading, writing, and literature were also learned through the family. pendents ’) each morning and give them advice and aid. He could likewise learn a great deal from the older men at the banquets to which he went with his father. 1 He might also receive an apprenticeship training from his parent or some other older man in the profession of soldier, advocate, or statesman. In case he was born in a less exalted station, he would accompany his father dur¬ ing his daily duties at the farm or the shop, and so learn the occupation of his parent. 2 The Roman girl, whatever her social status, stayed at home with her mother, and was trained in morals and the domestic arts, especially spinning and weaving wool for the family clothing. Through their parents the children probably learned also whatever reading and writing would be necessary for them in every-day life. They also committed to memory stories of prominent men of the past, ballads, and martial and religious songs. 1 After the codification of the Twelve Tables , the national laws had especially to be memorized by the young Romans. Physical training was secured mostly by games, which were largely in imitation of future occupations. Gymnas¬ tics were employed only as a training for.war; the 1 According to Cicero ( Tusculanae Disputationes , I, 2, 3) and Varro (quoted by Nonius, p. 77), at the banquets, where the boys often accom¬ panied their fathers, each guest was required to sing a song in praise of the old heroes. 2 Industrial life was not, as in Greece, considered a disgrace, and did not deprive one of his citizenship. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 239 Athenian ideal of athletics for the sake of grace and ease would have appeared absurd to the old Romans. The literature, music, and dancing of the Greek curric¬ ulum seemed similarly unpractical; and all humanities, learning, and art were scorned as subject-matter for education. Culture for its own sake was an ideal quite foreign to the Roman. The usages of religion at home and in public did Training was much toward furnishing a training for the youth. The Lbtatarf faith of the Romans was of a very practical order, and religious consisted largely of requirements and observances. observance s. Almost every activity or portion of an activity in life, as plowing, sowing, reaping, gathering the harvest, vintage, or fruits, was presided over by some deity whom it was necessary to propitiate when engaging in it. So birth, marriage, and death had special di¬ vinities, who must be worshiped at the proper times. Even Jupiter, their chief deity, was regarded only as a generalization of Roman manhood, as was Juno of the womanhood of Rome, while Mars, their next greatest god, was a personification of war. This can hardly be considered a lofty religion; in fact, it was little beyond the ceremonies of primitive people, but it was associated with their morals and kept their consciences active. The ethical system, to be sure, was of an institutional sort, but it sanctified family ties, patriotism, and duty, and recognized the sacredness of oaths. 240 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The Lares and Penates, and the Ves¬ tal Virgins. Religion as a state affair. The first contact the Roman boy had with religion was at home in the offerings to the Lares and Penates , who typified the unity of the family. The Lares, or spirits of departed ancestors, were considered the pro¬ tectors of the family estate; while the Penates, or deities of the household, guarded the provisions and stores of the family. The shrine was at the hearth, where was placed the image of the chief Lar (‘ lord ’) between two Penates. Sacrifices were made to these divinities each morning by the head of the family as priest, and special exercises were held upon the occa¬ sion of birthdays, marriages, the assumption of the toga virilis (‘ garb of manhood ’), which marked arrival at maturity, and upon the return of a member of the family that had been long absent. Moreover, the gens (‘clan’) was regarded merely as a larger family, and had a common altar and sacrifices; and the state was similarly considered a union of clans with sacrifices and ceremonies in common. The priestesses known as the Vestal Virgins acted for the whole state. They guarded the public hearth, which, with its fire that was never allowed to die, was located in a temple representing an atrium , or the main room of a Roman house. Religion in early Rome was, therefore, not,an individ¬ ual matter, but a means of holding together family and state. Originally the king was the chief priest; and, ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 241 after the Republic was established, a pontifex maximus was appointed to represent the state. All priests were, in general, regarded as civil functionaries rather than as members of a sacerdotal class, and religious observ¬ ances became a species of training in citizenship. Thus education in early Rome was practical, and, to a great extent, occupational. It was calculated to pro¬ duce efficiency as fathers, citizens, and soldiers. It consisted in training the youths to be healthy and strong in mind and body, and sedate and simple in their habits; to reverence the gods, their parents, the laws, and the institutions; and to be courageous in war, and familiar with the traditional agriculture, or the con¬ duct of some business. Hence the virtues for which they struggled and which constituted the abstract ma¬ terial of their training, were pietas , which included the observance of filial duty and patriotism as well as worship of the gods ; constcintia , or stability of character ; gravitas , signifying seriousness and dignity; the valorous quality of fortitudo or virtus, and the practical business virtue of prudentia} Imitative Method of Training. —The method of their education clearly was not through instruction, but in¬ formal training. Definite abilities and virtues were 1 Clarke adds to this list of desirable virtues, pudor (‘modesty’); while Monroe includes honestas (‘fair dealing in all economic relations’). All these ideals are largely inferred from the laws on the Twelve 7 ables. R Abstract virtues at which Ro¬ man educa¬ tion aimed. Living ex¬ ample was followed. 242 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Their train¬ ing was effective for a small state, but required the Hellenic ideals when the Romans had spread over Italy. inculcated by means of imitation. “ Long is the road through precepts; short and effective, through exam¬ ples,” is Seneca’s epigrammatic way of approving the Roman method. While, however, it consisted in follow¬ ing a living example that was perfectly possible of attainment, and in this way gave more play to person¬ ality than the literal obedience to the sacred books of the Oriental training, it does not compare with the method of assimilation in the Athenian education, which came through the media of literature, music, and art, and permitted of so much latitude. Neither did the Roman method include any subsequent explanation of the acquisitions, as the Greek training did, and so lacked largely in rationality. Effect of the Education of Early Rome. — This edu¬ cation of the early Romans produced a nation of warriors and loyal citizens, but it inevitably tended to make them calculating, selfish, overbearing, cruel, and rapacious. They never possessed either lofty ideals or enthusiasm. Their training was best adapted to a small state, and became unsatisfactory when they had spread over the entire peninsula. With their conquest of Italy, the golden age of valor and stern virtue largely departed, and they began unconsciously to seek a more universal culture. While such a people regarded the Greeks as visionary, just as the Greeks looked upon them as barbarians, they felt ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 243 instinctively that only by absorption of the Hellenic ideals could their cosmopolitan ambitions be carried out. On the other hand, it was through the organi¬ zation which the Romans were able to furnish, that the great ideals formulated by the Greeks were des¬ tined to be rendered effective and become a matter of value and concern to civilization ever since. Absorption of Greek Culture. — The gradual infiltra¬ tion of Greek culture into Rome must have begun very early. Even before the foundation of the city there were Hellenic colonies in Sicily and Magna Graecia, and in the middle of the fifth century the decemvirs are said to have gone to Greece for advice concerning their code of laws. 1 Not, however, until the spread of Hellenism through the conquests of Alexander in the latter half of the fourth century could the Romans have come into extensive contact with the Greeks. Even then, although commercial and diplomatic intercourse must have increased im¬ mensely, and the expanding power of Rome was necessitating a larger type of civilization, the Greek influence does not seem to have been very great. But after the humiliation of Carthage in the third century, and, still further, the downfall of Macedon in 168 b.c., Greek ideals must have made considerable headway. This is evidenced by the encouragement given to Crates of Mallos, a Stoic philosopher, who 1 See p. 231. The Romans began early to absorb the Greek culture, 244 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION but not until the middle of the second century was the opposi¬ tion to Hellenism really removed. came to Rome in 167 b.c. as an ambassador, and, being detained by an accident, 1 was persuaded to lecture to the Roman youth; and by the crowds that flocked to hear Carneades, the Academic, and Diony¬ sius, the Stoic, a dozen years later. Suetonius tells us further of a number of other Greek teachers in Rome about this time. It is supposed, too, that Cato’s treatise, De Liberis Educandis (‘How Children should be Educated’), shows that the stern old censor felt that the Greek innovations were getting too influen¬ tial, and thought it necessary to protest against them by emphasizing the old practical training for a farmer, warrior, orator, or advocate. Finally, with the death of Cato in 148 b.c., and the conquest of Greece two years later, the last barrier to Hellenism may be considered to have been removed. Greeks came over to Rome in large numbers, and intro¬ duced more and more their philosophy, religion, art, science, and education. It became obvious that the Ro¬ mans could not successfully rival or oppose the Greek culture; and, -as no other seemed cosmopolitan enough to suit their purpose, they began rapidly to accept it. There followed a rapid adaptation of Greek ideals, both in intellectual and political life. By the beginning of the first century, if we may judge from Cicero’s statement that the old training had completely disappeared during 1 See Suetonius, De Grammaticis, II. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 245 his early life, this transformation must have become complete." How thoroughly it was accomplished is well illustrated by comparing the old simple training advo¬ cated in the educational work of Cato with the treatise of Varro On the School Sciences , which seems to have included all the Greek studies, — grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy, as well as medicine and architecture. This new type of education may be said to have remained almost unmodified until toward the end of the second century a.d., when, as previously recounted, 1 the Roman Empire began most rapidly to deteriorate. Hence, during the last century before Christ and the first two centuries of the present era, a new type of Hellenized education had come to prevail in Rome, in marked contrast to that which was indigenous. Schools of the Hellenized Roman Education. — The absorption of the Greek learning and culture was largely aided by the fact that Rome had no distinct educational institutions of her own, except possibly the rude elemen¬ tary school called the Indus , and she was, therefore, the more readily influenced by those of the Greeks. A fairly complete and scientific account of all these schools of the time can be found in Quintilian’s De Institutions Oratoria (‘On the Principles of Oratory’). In spite of the title, this work is not limited to a description of pro- Rome had practically no schools of her own, and readily adopted those of the Greeks. 1 See pp. 234-235. 246 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION If Rome had elementary schools in early times, they were supplemen¬ tary in purpose. Old practical content gradually fessional training, but treats all stages of education. This treatise, with De Grammaticis (‘ On the Grammar¬ ians ’) and De Rhetoricis (‘ On the Rhetoricians ’) by Suetonius, Cicero’s De Oratore (‘ Concerning the Ora¬ tor’), and the vituperative Dialogus de Oratoribus (‘ Dialogue on the Orators ’) by Tacitus, furnishes most of our information concerning the Hellenized Roman education, as well as a description of the educational institutions of the period. Elementary Schools. — Elementary schools may well have existed before the process of Hellenization even began, but this is doubtful. The assumption is largely based upon Livy’s 1 account of the seizure of Virginia while on her way to school. Dionysius 2 similarly describes the occurrence, and the tradition may have had some foundation. If the Indus (‘ play ’ or * exercise ’ 3 ), as the elementary school was called, did exist as far back as this first century of the Republic, it must have been intended simply to supplement the more informal training of the home. From the name given it, the early Romans would seem to have considered it some¬ thing of a diversion and not a necessary part of the regular education. Whenever they did originate, these schools probably taught at first only reading, writing, and rudimentary 1 Bk. Ill, 44. 2 Bk< xi, 24. 8 Compare ‘ ludus gladiatonus,' * ludus militarist ‘ ludus jidicinust etc. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 247 calculation, as in the home, through the medium of historical anecdotes, ballads, religious songs, and the Twelve Tables. Hence they were sometimes known as the school of the litterator (‘teacher of letters’). But, as the Greek influence crept in more and more, the literary content was somewhat extended. About the middle of the third century b.c., Livius Andronicus translated the Odyssey into Latin; and a number of epics, dramas, and epigrams were composed after Greek models about the same time, or a little later, by Naevius, Ennius, Pacuvius, Plautus, and Terence. The effect of this stimulation of Latin literature is seen in the gradual introduction of parts of these works into the curricula of the ludi, and the eventual displacement of the Twelve Tables about the beginning of the first cen¬ tury b.c. by the Latinized Odyssey of Andronicus. In this elementary education the Roman boys were taught first the names and alphabetic order of their letters, without learning anything with regard to their significance or even shape. This method is sensibly criticised by Quintilian on the ground that it “ hinders their recognition of the letters, as, while they follow their memory, they do not fix their attention on the forms of the letters. ... It will be best for children, therefore, to be taught the appearances and names of the letters at once, as they are taught those of men.” 1 became more literary. Methods of teaching reading, writing, and calculation. 1 Bk. I, I, 25. 248 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION After learning their letters, the pupils seem to have committed all the possible combinations in the way of syllables, and were then taught reading and writing by means of exercises dictated by the master. This was because books were scarce and expensive 1 until toward the close of the second century b.c. After that time a large number of slaves were employed as copyists, and each boy was enabled to have his own book. When they had learned to read, special attention was given to clear and correct pronunciation, even to the extent of practicing the boys on difficult combinations of words, 2 and to intelligent expression. 3 Writing was usually taught by copying and tracing on wax-tablets with a stylus, while the hand was at first guided by the teacher. 4 Some¬ times bits of parchment were also used for practice. The calculation taught was but rudimentary, as the Roman numerals were very cumbrous; and it was learned by counting on the fingers, or by means of pebbles, and, after the pupils had some facility, with an abacus on which pebbles or sand had been placed. 5 Eventually their sums were also worked upon wax- tablets. There seem to have been special teachers of arithmetic, who sometimes taught in schools of their own, although generally also in the regular ludi. 1 Books would have been much more rare, had it not been for the speed with which skillful slaves were able to copy them. 2 Quintilian, Bk. I, I, 37. 3 Quintilian, Bk. I, VIII, I. 4 Quintilian, Bk. I, I, 27. 5 Persius, 1, 131. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 249 Thus the elementary education remained somewhat Memoriter J character of memoriter and imitative. The pupils generally repeated the methods , , ., ,, , j and severity their letters and syllables aloud until they had com- t ^ e ^j s _ rnitted them. As a reenforcement of interest under cl P lme * these circumstances, it is not surprising that discipline was severe. The rod ( ferula or virgci ), the lash ( sen- tica or lorum ), and the more brutal whip ( flagellum ) are mentioned as if in frequent use in the Roman schoolroom; and throughout Latin literature scnool- masters have such suggestive adjectives connected with their names as scevus (‘ ferocious ’), iracundus ( iras¬ cible’), acerbus (‘harsh’), clamosus (‘bawling’), and plagosus (‘fond of blows’). So Juvenal declares that he, like others, has ‘ flinched from the rod 1 at school, and a more telling method of punishment is shown in a fresco of Herculaneum, in which one boy appears on the back of another with his legs held by a third, while the master beats him on the bare back. While corporal punishment probably remained throughout Roman history the orthodox method of securing atten¬ tion, in the time of Augustus a milder type of extra¬ neous interest was introduced, when rewards in the shape of books, or even pastry, began to be offered. Theory, too, was in advance of practice, for Quintilian, the great educationalist of the times, says: I by no means approve of corporal punishment, though it be 1 “ et nos ergo manum ferulse subduximus,” Satires, 1, 15* 250 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Qualifica¬ tions, re¬ muneration, and social status of the teacher. The pceda- gogus. a received custom, and Chrysippus 1 makes no objec¬ tion to it. fust, because it is a disgrace, a punish¬ ment for slaves, 2 and an affront; secondly, because, if a boy’s disposition be so abject as not to be amended by reproof, he will be hardened even to stripes; and lastly, because, if one who regularly exacts his tasks be with him, there will not be the least need of any such chastisement.” 3 Under these conditions, elementary teaching could hardly be recognized as a profession, and the social standing of the teacher was low. No license or quali¬ fications were required to teach in the elementary schools, and the remuneration was very small. The work was undertaken largely by slaves or freedmen. The Greek custom of having the boy accompanied to and from school by a slave soon came to be imitated by the Romans. This functionary was sometimes called p(zdagogns> but often the Latin name of pedise- qims (‘attendant’) or custos (‘guardian’) was used. The purpose, as in Athens, was to look after the manners and morals of the boys; but, while the slave was more carefully selected than in Greece, he was too often one that was incapacitated by age or physical disability. Usually Greek or Syro-Greek slaves filled 1 The greatest formulator of Stoic doctrine. 2 Compare Plutarch, De Liberis Educandis, XII. 3 Quintilian, Bk. I, III, 14. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 251 the role, and besides attending to the character of their charges, they often taught them a little conversational Greek. When their duties had been satisfactorily com¬ pleted, these slaves were not infrequently manumitted. These elementary schools had but poor material equipment. They were not held in regular school- houses or in buildings intended for educational pur¬ poses, but in a single room of a building put to other uses, or in a sort of booth or veranda ( pergula ), which was roofed in, but open at the sides. Good illustra¬ tions of the structures were found in the frescoes at Pompeii. The pupils sat on the floor, or, if the school were on the street, upon stones, and rested their tablets upon their knees. The schools were quite bare of adornment. School began very early in the day. “What right have you to disturb me, abominable schoolmaster, cries Martial, “object abhorred by girls and boys alike? Before the crested cocks have broken silence, you be¬ gin to roar out your savage scoldings and blows.” 1 The hours often lasted, too, until nightfall, with only a short intermission in the middle of the morning for a luncheon. There were, however, no home lessons, and the holidays for religious and public festivals, as well as every nundince (‘ninth day’), or market day, were numerous. Probably also there was a consider- 1 Martial, Epig.> Bk. IX, LXVIII. Material equipment ot the schools was meager. School hours were long, but holi¬ days were numerous. Secondary education was more literary than that of the ludi. 252 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION able bieak in the hottest season, 1 and no attendance during the harvest and vintage. Grammar Schools. A higher training was given in the secondary or ‘grammar’ 2 schools. These were undoubtedly of Greek origin, and were taught by a grammaticus (‘grammarian’) or litteratus (‘liberally educated ). “ The appellation of grammaticus ,” Sue¬ tonius states, “was borrowed from the Greeks; but at first the Latins called such persons litterati And then he continues: “Some distinguish between a lit - tciatus and a httcrator , as the Greeks do between a grammaticus and a grammatistes, applying the former term to men of real education, the latter to those whose pretensions to learning are moderate.” 3 Evi¬ dently the grammar schools gave more of a literary training than the ludi, but it is difficult to say exactly where the work of the litterator ended and that of the litteratus began. For example, the grammaio- didascaleum , which was opened by Spurius Carvilius 4 as eai ly as 230 b.c., was probably not a real grammar school, although it may have gone somewhat beyond the ordinary elementary work. 1 Martial, Epig., Bk. X, LXII. ~ term * s usecl here, as in England, or during the early days of the American colonies, of a secondary school; and must not be confused with the ‘grammar’ schools of the United States to-day, which constitute the higher elementary schools. 3 De Grammaticis , IV. 4 See Plutarch, Qucestiones Romance , 59. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 253 Probably the grammar schools were differentiated gradually from the elementary. Grammatici, who taught their pupils to speak and write Greek, began to appear. At first the language was used merely for practical purposes, and no idea of the literature was given, but it was soon extended so as to include a study of the greatest works, especially Homer, as in Greece itself. During the second century Crates 1 of Mallos gave instruction, and some twenty other gram¬ matici started schools at Rome. They embodied great improvements in method, and insisted upon wide learn¬ ing as necessary for the understanding of the poets. Up to this time secondary education had not existed for the masses, and even the aristocratic had to secure it at home through Greek tutors. By the beginning of the first century Latin grammar schools began to arise, as the Latin language had be¬ come well fixed, and Rome possessed considerable litera¬ ture of her own. The first was that of Lucius yElius Praeconinus, sometimes called Stilo (‘ the penman ’), 'who is said to have had Cicero among his pupils. The young Roman attended both the Greek and the Latin grammar school. As regards the order of attendance, Quintilian says: “ I prefer that a boy should begin with the Greek language, because he will acquire Latin, which is in general use, even though we tried to pre- Gramm ar schools taught Greek literature. Latin grammar schools. 1 See p. 244. The gram¬ matical and literary courses in these schools. 254 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION vent him; and because at the same time he ought first to be instructed in Greek learning, from which ours is derived. Yet I should not wish this rule to be so super- stitiously observed that he should for a long time speak, or learn, only Greek, as is the custom with most people; for hence arise many faults of pronunciation, which is viciously adapted to foreign sounds, and also of lan¬ guage, in which, when Greek idioms have become in¬ herent by constant usage, they keep their place most pertinaciously, even when we speak a different tongue. The study of Latin ought, therefore, to follow at no long interval, and soon after to keep pace with the Greek .” 1 While the head of each grammar school determined his own curriculum, and the state did not interfere in any way, the schools were quite uniform, since the teachers, when not Greeks themselves, had been trained by them, or had their course approved by them. The effort of these schools was to secure a mastery of the language and correctness of expression through famil¬ iarity with the best Greek and Latin authors. The curriculum consisted, according to Quintilian, of ‘the art of speaking correctly,’ and ‘the interpretation of the poets ’; 2 or, in other words, of a training in gram¬ mar and literature. Grammar, which, with the practical Romans, composed the larger part of the course, must 1 Bk. I, I, 12-14. Compare Bk. I, IV, i. 2 Bk> I? IV> 2> ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 255 have included all the philology that was known at the time, phonetic changes, and derivations, as well as drill on the parts of speech, inflections, syntax, and prosody, and practice in composition and paragraphing. Literary training was obtained by writing para¬ phrases of the authors, both through abbreviation and expansion of the original; by textual and literary criticism; by commenting on the authors; and by exercises in diction and verse-writing. The commen¬ taries included not only interpretation of meaning, but explanations of the allusions to ancient mythology, re¬ ligion, history, and geography. Hence great learning was expected of the grammaticus, and Quintilian says: “ It is not enough to have read the poets only. Every kind of writer must be studied, not only on account of the history contained in them, but also for the lan¬ guage ; for words often derive their rights from the authorities that sanction them. Further, grammar can¬ not be complete without a knowledge of music, as we have to treat of meters and rhythms ; nor if a man is ignorant of the stars can he understand the poets, who, to pass over other points, so often use the risings and settings of constellations as indications of time. Nor can the teacher of literature be ignorant of philosophy, not only because of many passages in almost all poems derived from a close and exact knowledge of the prob¬ lems of nature, but also because of the poems of Em- Exercises in the literary training. 256 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Authors read. Text-books on grammar. pedocles in Greek, and Varro and Lucretius in Latin, who have taught the doctrines of philosophy through verse.” 1 The authors that furnished the material for literary criticism were mostly poets. Cicero tells us: “ We (Romans), who have all our learning from Greece, read and learn these works of theirs (i.e. the poets) from our childhood; and look on this as a liberal and learned education .” 2 Homer was generally read for the in¬ spiration of his theme and the loftiness of his style. Hesiod, with his prudential ethics and practical sense, naturally appealed to the Romans, while various dram¬ atists, and epic and lyric writers, are advised by Quin¬ tilian . 3 Among the Latin poets Vergil stood first. Shortly after his death, his works were introduced into the curriculum, and soon took the place of the Ho¬ meric poems. During the Empire there was a reaction against the old poets, and Horace, Lucan, and Statius were given prominent places in the curriculum of the grammar schools. Although there early appeared Latin treatises on grammar for schools, such as those of Praeconinus and Lucilius, no text-books suited to pupils existed through¬ out the Republic. Consequently, some Greek text, es¬ pecially that of Dionysius of Thrace, was adopted by 1 Bk. 1, IV, 4. 2 Tusc% Dis p' y B k. 11, xi, 27. 8 Bk. I, VIII, 5-11. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 257 the grammaticus. The first Latin grammar for schools must have appeared early in the first century of the Christian era. It was written by Palaemon, the teacher of Quintilian, who probably embodied the substance of it in his own treatise. After this many other texts were produced. Toward the close of the Republic there was a tend¬ ency to keep the boys longer in the grammar schools and encroach upon the field of the higher training of the rhetorical schools by exercising them in declamation on ethical and descriptive topics. Quintilian 1 complains of this as bad pedagogy, since the pupils undertook ora¬ tory before they were ready, and neglected the more solid preparation of linguistic and literary drill for the sake of a precocious display. Their productions, how¬ ever, were often fairly good, as a definite method of writing the declamations was laid down for them. It consisted of some seven steps, beginning with a praise of the writer or man of prominence who had furnished the theme, and closing with a hortatory peroration. The grammar schools included other studies from the Greek learning, but gave them a practical bearing. As arithmetic had previously been studied to enable them to make business calculations, now geometry was learned for the sake of mensuration, and astronomy to enable them to form a calendar. A crude geography was also Encroach¬ ment of the grammar schools upon the rhetorical curriculum. Other studies in the secondary curriculum. S 1 Bk. I, I, 24-25. 258 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Method of study and discipline. sometimes studied for practical purposes. Likewise, music was taken up from the standpoint of rhythm and meter, to secure the proper intonation in oratory. It was not studied as an art or for playing an instrument, but for chanting the simple melodies of the Roman re¬ ligion. For a long time there was no training in gym¬ nastics, as this was believed to contribute to idleness and immorality , 1 and encroach upon one’s time and strength ; 2 and, until the time of Nero, no athletic festivals were held. Some exercises for the sake of health and strength were at length added to the curriculum, but they were adapted mostly to military training. Dancing was more violently opposed, and even Cicero implies that he who dances must be either crazy or drunk . 3 In spite of this criticism, it is probable that dancing appealed to the youth and was found useful as a means of exercise and improvement of the carriage. Thus, with the ex¬ ception of the literary training, most of the subjects in secondary education were studied superficially and en¬ tirely from a utilitarian standpoint. The attitude of the pupils in learning the literary sub¬ jects was quite passive. The passages were read first by the teacher and then by the pupils. The teacher probably marked the ictus in every foot of the verse by 1 Cicero, De Republic^ IV, 4. 2 Seneca, Episiulae , XV. 3 “ Nemo enim fere saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit.” See Cicero, Pro Murcna , VI, 13. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 259 snapping his fingers or stamping his foot. After the reading an interpretation was given, which the pupil was obliged to take down verbatim in his note-book. Expla¬ nations, often trivial and pedantic, of all incidents and allusions were made by the teacher, and the text and style were critically examined. A commentary of Pris- cian on the first dozen lines of Vergil’s ALneid , which is still extant, shows rather accurately in what this literary training must have consisted. With such a burden of memorizing, it is not surprising that the brutal discipline of the elementary schools was largely continued in the secondary. The accommodations for the grammar schools, how¬ ever, were much superior to those of the elementary. The schoolhouses were generally additions to larger buildings, and opened on the street. They were fur¬ nished with benches for the pupils and a higher seat for the teacher, and were often adorned with paintings and sculpture, especially portraits or busts of authors and scenes from history or mythology. Rhetorical Schools. — About the time of the conquest of Greece by Rome, a higher education through the foundation of schools of rhetoric or oratory began to grow up. This completed the Hellenization of the Roman training. Suetonius says: “Rhetoric also, as well as grammar, was not introduced amongst us till a late period, and with still more difficulty, inasmuch Material equipment. Develop¬ ment of Greek and Latin rhetor¬ ical schools, in spite of opposition. 260 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION as we find that, at times, the practice of it was even prohibited. In order to leave no doubt of this, I will subjoin an ancient decree of the senate as well as an edict of the censors.” 1 Then he gives the senatorial decree of 161 b.c., which banished all Greek philoso¬ phers and rhetoricians, and the edict of Gnaeus Domitius Ainobarbus and Lucius Licinius Crassus, issued in 92 b.c., disapproving of the schools of the Latin rhetoricians. Rhetoric would thus seem to have been imported during the second century to Roman soil from the Greek rhetorical schools, which had resulted 2 from the sophistic training. It “ gradually manifested itself to be a useful and honorable study, and many persons devoted themselves to it both as a means of defense and of acquiring a reputation.” 1 The first Roman to attain distinction from public speaking through the study of rhetoric was Porcina, who flourished during the latter half of the second century and was looked to as a model by the Gracchi. As also indicated in the passage from Suetonius, Latin rhetorical schools, such as those of Plotius and Blandus, appeared during the first century b.c. as a sort of continuation of the declamation in the grammar schools, but were shallow as compared with those of the Greeks. In spite of this and the disapproval of the censors, the movement sur¬ vived, although rhetorical schools of either sort were not 1 De Rhetoricis , I. 2 See 217-218. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 261 at all common until the time of the Empire. Only the first families availed themselves of this education, and the schools were patronized mostly by those who intended to become orators and statesmen. But while these schools afforded a legal and forensic training, and were decidedly professional as compared with the cultural work of the grammar schools, they were by no means narrow, if one may judge from the descriptions of Cicero and Quintilian. 1 These au¬ thors hold that the orator is not to be merely a pleader at the bar, but should take an interest in all public matters. Fluency, eloquence, and an acquaintance with law and history will not suffice for him; he must have these qualifications, but he must also possess wide learn¬ ing, grace, and culture, a knowledge of human emotions, * good judgment, a good memory, and, above all, virtue. He is simply a philosopher, who, through preference and special fitness, is engaged in practical affairs. So these schools of rhetoric, besides a knowledge of the technique of oratory, furnished a linguistic, literary, and scientific education of broad scope, and even a training in philosophy, especially Stoicism. They thus covered all the subjects later included under the Seven Liberal Arts, — grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic, and music, arith¬ metic, geometry, and astronomy, although, as would be 1 See Cicero, De Oratore , Bk. I, V-VI, and XIV; Quintilian, Bk. II, XXI, and Bk. XII, I. Cultural as well as pro¬ fessional content. 262 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Method of training in oratory. expected, these studies were all given something of a practical turn. Music, Quintilian shows, will help the orator with his gestures, collocation of words, and in¬ flections of the voice; geometry aids him to determine boundaries in lawsuits; and dialectic assists him in argument and the detection of fallacies; while as¬ tronomy enables him to understand the movement of the heavenly bodies, and not be misled by super¬ stition. 1 From Cicero 2 we may gather something of the method employed in the technical training in rhetoric. It seems to have consisted first of exercises in declamation on ethical and political subjects. These themes were in¬ tended to bring out the fine distinctions of which Roman law and ethics were capable, and much ingenuity was « shown in inventing instances where legal or moral principles would come in conflict. After this, more advanced work, accompanied by lectures, was engaged in. The students were given practice in three types of speeches: deliberative, which considered what ought to be done under given circumstances; judicial, in which the pupil assumed the role of an advocate for the plain¬ tiff or defendant; and panegyric, in praise or censure of some one. Attention was given to all the various factors in making a successful oration : the matter; ' • 1 See Quintilian, Bk. I, X, 22, 37, and 46. 2 De Oratorc, Bk. I, XXXI-XXXIV. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 263 arrangement into exordium, statement, argument, ampli¬ fication, and rebuttal; the style; accuracy in memoriz¬ ing; and dignified and graceful delivery. The Roman youth that received a rhetorical educa¬ tion usually began when he laid aside his boyhood dress, the toga prcetexta , to assume the garb of man¬ hood, or toga virilis , that is, at about the age of sixteen. The length of time that he studied depended largely upon his ability and the school to which he went, but it seems to have been usually a matter of two or three years. Education beyond the Rhetorical Schools. — Besides the training of the rhetorical school, many of the wealthy homes of Rome had a philosopher attached, with whom the youth of the family came in contact and learned much informally while still in school. Moreover, when the young man had completed his course at a rhetorical school, he might, if he were very ambitious, go to the university at Athens, Alexandria, or Rhodes. Soon other universities sprang up at Rome and elsewhere throughout the Empire. Alexandria had a second museum added to it by Claudius in 54 a.d. In 408 a.d. Theodosius II increased the number of professors and strengthened the university at Constantinople, which was known as the Capitolium. In Asia Minor a num¬ ber of universities arose. The Greek influence caused most of these institutions to be located in the East, but Age for rhetorical training. Some of the wealthy families kept a philosopher to train their youth. University training. 264 A: history of education Origin and work of the universities. Women were often given considerable training, although they had not equal privileges. the flourishing university at Massilia 1 was an exception to the rule. Many of these Roman universities found their nucleus, somewhat as Alexandria did, in one of the many libraries that were started with books brought from the sacking of Greece and Asia Minor, and were added to after the Roman literature itself began to come to its zenith. The university of Rome was one of these. It sprang from a library founded by Vespasian in the Temple of Peace about 75 a.d., and half a century later, through the addition of professors and a splendid building, Hadrian organized it into the Athenceum . Here at first courses in liberal arts, especially grammar and rhetoric, were given; and, somewhat later, professional work in law, medicine, architecture, and mechanics was added. There was, however, no effort at philosophic speculation or scientific investigation. Education of Women. — After the early days women were given a great deal of liberty and often had con¬ siderable culture. The girls probably attended the same elementary schools as the boys. Women were not, how¬ ever, able to obtain equal opportunities with men, and generally had to secure any higher training through ' tutors at home, or possibly, after marriage, from their husbands. Nevertheless, the attitude of the times was very liberal. Musonius, who wrote in Greek upon edu- 1 Now Marseilles. ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 265 cation, and fragments of whose work appear in the Anthology of Stobaeus, took special interest in the edu¬ cation of women, as the following quotation shows : — “ The philosopher (after referring to the analogy fur¬ nished by the identical training received by both the males and females of two of the species of animals em¬ ployed by men to render them active service, — horses and dogs) asks whether men ought to receive any special education and training superior to those allowed to women, as if both alike should not acquire the same virtues, or if it is possible for the two sexes to attain the same virtues other than by the same education. ... If any one asks me what science is to preside over this in¬ struction, I shall reply that, as without philosophy no man can be rightly instructed, so neither can any woman.” Education Subsidized and Systematized. —Thus through the gradual adoption of the institutions of the Greeks, Roman education became thoroughly Hellenized. Al¬ though all the types of schools spread everywhere throughout the empire, there was no real public school system, except as the government gradually came to subsidize the schools and so acquire control. This was accomplished in various ways, — by contributing to school support, paying the salaries of certain teachers or granting them special privileges and distinctions, or offering scholarships to a given number of pupils. Thus Julius Caesar, who intended to inaugurate a universal Recommen¬ dations of Musonius. Imperial aid to the schools through salaries, scholarships, and privi¬ leges. ¥ 266 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION empire, granted the franchise to all foreign teachers al¬ ready in Rome, and offered it to any others who should come; and Augustus, in banishing foreigners from Rome, made an exception in favor of teachers. Vespa¬ sian (70-79 a.d.), however, established the first real endowment of education by paying salaries of one hun¬ dred sestertia ($4000) from the imperial treasury to each Greek rhetorician in Rome, Quintilian probably being the first to receive the benefit. Throughout the second century, this policy was con¬ tinued, especially by Hadrian; extended by Antoninus Pius to the provinces; and enlarged by Marcus Aurelius, who, in addition, granted a public salary to two rhetori¬ cians and two teachers of philosophy in each of the four schools at Athens. Trajan also gave scholarships to five thousand children. Besides paying salaries, Antoninus Pius exempted from taxation, both imperial and munici¬ pal, and from army service and support of the soldiery a given number of philosophers, rhetoricians, and gram¬ marians in all cities, somewhat in accordance with their size. Even the later emperors paid great attention to the extension of educational privileges. During the reign of Alexander Severus (222-235 a.d.) many schools and scholarships were founded. Constantine in three differ¬ ent decrees (321-333 a.d.) extended considerably the privileges of teachers, and thereby laid the foundation ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 267 for the special rights afterward granted the clergy. Gratian (3/8—383 a.d.) went still further in subsidizing education, and offered to give a like amount with each municipality toward the salaries of the grammarians and rhetoricians in each of the seventeen capitals. His coadjutor and successor, Theodosius, gave the profession its final advancement by raising the most distinguished of the rhetoricians to the rank of count. In this way the control of the schools came more Control of and more into the hands of the imperial government. h/thf 00 ' 5 Julian the Apostate, shortly after becoming emperor (361 cm P eror> a.d.), demanded the right to pass upon all teachers; and it was at length promulgated by Theodosius and Valen- tinian in 425 a.d. that the emperor was the sole authority entitled to establish schools, and that a penalty would be exacted from any one else assuming this prerogative. Decay of Education. — Before this control had been Anachro- established, however, Roman education had greatly ditTonoT" deteriorated. With the political and moral decay of educatlon - the empire previously 1 described, education declined correspondingly. It became a mere form and mark of the aristocracy. It was a necessary qualification for entering the senatorial class, which was now com¬ posed mostly of the favorites of the emperor or of merely wealthy men. Thus education had lost its real purpose. There was no longer any occasion for a train¬ ing in oratory, as the emperor controlled all the func- 1 See pp. 234-235. 268 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Predomi¬ nance of the Christian schools. tions of government and law; and, while the schools still existed and taught oratory, it was simply as a survival, and they were not intended to furnish a train¬ ing of any value in life. The careful grammatical and literary preparation recommended by Quintilian was more and more shirked. Philosophy and law were no longer taught, and most of the time was spent upon rhetoric, with a modicum of grammar. Vergil was almost the only author read, and his work was analyzed and dissected rather than appreciated. Rhetoric no longer dealt with real life, but aimed at an exhibition in the theater or before a private audience, and consisted of an abundant vocabu¬ lary, superficiality, and glibness. While the gram¬ marians and rhetoricians were still held in high esteem, they contented themselves with mere display. Wander¬ ing lecturers, similar to the sophists, went from town to town, but more for the purpose of entertaining than teaching, and people rushed to hear them declaim, much as moderns flock to hear a popular preacher. Glittering phrases, epigrams, and other artificialities took the place of instruction and argument. Gradually the Christian schools combined with the old Graeco-Roman training, and eventually replaced it. After the fourth century, ecclesiastical education through the episcopal and monastic schools became predominant; and by the middle of the sixth century the monasteries ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 269 were in full control of the situation, and the period we know as the Middle Ages was well under way. Effect of Roman Education upon Civilization. — But the Roman education and civilization had left their im¬ press upon the world. This was accomplished by the practical nature of the Roman, and the amalgamation of this characteristic with the ideals and culture of the Greeks. The Romans were originally trained in certain definite duties and virtues through an informal and imitative education in the home and the activities of life; but when they had become Hellenized and had absorbed the Greek educational institutions, they in turn modified the great ideals presented to the world by the Greeks, and through their practicality supplied the means of carrying out those ends. The Hellenic concepts of intellectual power and aesthetic enjoyment and the Jewish ideal of moral force were made concrete and furnished with institu¬ tions that enabled them to be useful to civilization and progress. Through them the Greek notion of a feder¬ ated government was expanded into that of a universal empire, and the organization that made this possible was elaborated. This practical concept has been influential throughout the world’s history, as can easily be seen from the idea of a reunited empire held by Charle¬ magne, Otto, and Napoleon, and reflected in the titles of the German and Russian monarchs to-day. Similarly, Combination of Roman practicality with Greek ideals, and the effect upon progress. 270 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION the concept of law originating with the Greek philoso¬ phers became in the hands of the Romans a great system of principles that underlies and guides all our present civilization. Roman jurisprudence is the foundation of modern law everywhere. Finally, it was by means of the Roman genius for organization that a de¬ spised religious sect was institutionalized and expanded into the position of the greatest world religion. Through the administrative power of Rome, Christianity became the means of saving Europe from sinking into barbarism, and ever since it has been the schoolmaster of civilization. So if it be true that Judaism furnished the world with its most exalted religious ideals, and from Hellenism came our most striking intellectual and aesthetic con¬ cepts, it is as worthy of note that the institutions for realizing these ideals originated with Rome. Despite the economic and moral decay and the political dis¬ solution that followed closely upon the absorption of Hellenism and the growth of universal empire, Rome’s ideals and social products still stand as monuments in the world’s civilization. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Scattered references to education during the different periods appear throughout the Roman writers, but more extended descrip¬ tions are found in the following works : — ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 271 Aurelius, Marcus. Meditationes. Cicero. De Officiis , De Or at ore, De Republica , Pro Archia , and Disputationes Tusculance . Martial. Epigrammaton, IV, IX, X, and XII. Musonius. See Anthologion of Stobaeus. Pliny. Epistulae. Quintilian. De Institutione Oratoria. Seneca. Epistulae Morales. Suetonius. Divus Augustins, De Grammaticis , and De Rhetoricis. Tacitus. Agricola , Annales , and especially Dialogus de Ora- toribus. The Twelve Tables afford an idea of the content of early edu¬ cation. Monroe’s Source Book of the History of Education (Greek and Roman Period ) should be consulted. II. Authorities 1 4 Becker, W. A. Gallus. Scene First and Excursus on Education. Clarke, G. Education of Children at Rome. Davidson, T. Aristotle. Bk. IV, Chap. II. Davidson, T. Education of the Greek People. Chap. IX. Dill, S. Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius. Dill, S. Roman Society in the Last Century of the IVestern Empire. Jullien, E. Les Professeurs de Litterature dans Vancienne Rome. Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Aryan Races (D). Mahaffy, J. P. The Greek World under Roman Survey. Marquardt, J. Das Privatleben der Romer. Mommsen, T. The History of Rome. Monroe, P. Text-book in the History of Education. Chap. IV. Sandys, J. E. A History of Classical Scholarship , Vol. I (second edition). Thomas, E. Roman Life under the Ccesars. Chaps. IX-XI. Wilkins, A. S. Roman Education. CHAPTER XIV EARLY CHRISTIANITY With these peoples began a con' sideration for ideals and the future, and so for indi¬ vidualism, Beginnings of Individualism among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. — The three great peoples of antiquity, the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, through their civiliza¬ tion and educational practice, jointly made a large contribution to progress. With each are evident the beginnings of a consideration of the future rather than of the past, and an attempt to develop humanity in accordance with ideals rather than traditions. Among the Jews the world’s loftiest conceptions of religion, and of moral personality and responsibility, had their begin¬ ning; out of Hellenism have developed the most ad¬ vanced intellectual and aesthetic ideas that civilization has known; while the means of rendering all these ideals practical and of carrying them into effect sprang largely from the organizing power of the Romans. Through these peoples the value of the individual to progress became evident for the first time in history, and no longer was he held absolutely subservient to the social whole. From this time on society can no longer be described as entirely in bondage to nature or con- vention, or as practically tied to the present or the past. 272 EARLY CHRISTIANITY 273 The emphasis upon individuality and the future has begun. Naturally these first essays were not completely sue- but it cessful. With the Athenians and the Romans, never come uni more than one tenth of the entire population at best versal * could obtain the advantages that paved the way to indi¬ viduality in thought and conduct; and, while Judaea was quite democratic in theory, the proportion of those eligible among her people was not much larger, and the magnitude of her development was obscured by cere¬ monial and formalism. Each of these peoples, too, possessed its own narrow group of traditions, customs, and laws, its own language, and its own gods. While some prophets and philosophers 1 may have caught a vision of the brotherhood of man and the immanence of the divine, such an idea was regarded largely as a dream. With each of the three, all other peoples were considered inferior and beyond the pale. Slavery was widely sanctioned, and, although some possibility of manumission was believed in, it was held that always some people are by nature slaves. Not only were the masses and foreigners disregarded or enslaved; but women, while sometimes kindly treated, were generally regarded as man’s subordinates, and among the Greeks 1 Especially Socrates, in whose teachings, whether he was conscious of it or not, was implicit the conception of the brotherhood of man. See Davidson, The Education of the Greek People, p. 118. T 274 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Christianity recognized the brother¬ hood of man, and gave to women and children their rights, and thus made indi¬ vidualism universal. and Romans it was held that children might be slain or exposed to die at the convenience of their parents or the state. Larger Ideals of Christianity. — The world had need of a wider view and a larger bond of unity. Judaea, Greece, and Rome had to pause after establishing the beginnings of individualism and progress. But new ideals were destined to be found in the principles of Christ, which were first promulgated about this time in an obscure corner of the Roman Empire. These teach¬ ings had their roots in Jewish soil; they recognized the one living God spoken of by the prophets, the faith in humanity, and the joy of heart common to the Israel¬ ites ; but they tended to strip away the ceremonialism and peculiar observances as unessential, and inculcated a broader interpretation of humanity. Without pretense at philosophic statement, Jesus suggested the father¬ hood of God as the basis of human unity. As a corol¬ lary to this lofty conception, with its incumbent ideals of gratitude and love, he taught the brotherhood of all mankind. “ These things I command you,” said he, “that ye love one another.” “Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” This law was destined to obliterate the distinction between bond and free, rich and poor, and under it not only could no social classes consist¬ ently exist within a people, but national lines themselves EARLY CHRISTIANITY 275 would eventually be considered artificial. Similarly, woman would have to be regarded as one half of man¬ kind, and become the companion and equal of man. The sympathetic attitude of the Master toward women, and the respect that he felt should be shown them, appear at all times in his ministry. Again, to those moved by the spirit of Christ, it seemed no longer possible that children should be exposed, slain, or brutally treated, but that they should be considered as the especial gift of God. He expressly declared: “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” Such is essen¬ tial Christianity. While it was not altogether under¬ stood by the primitive Christians, and since their day has often been overlaid with trappings and subject to misconception, through it the road to universal indi¬ vidualism was opened, and full recognition given to personality and the right and need of every one to work out his own salvation. Vicious Conditions That Christianity Needed to Re¬ form. — The actual social conditions amid which the re¬ ligion of Christ was born, and which it was destined to reform, were most degraded. As a result of the transit tion through which it was passing, the Roman world appears 1 to have been sunk in vice and corruption, espe- 1 See pp. 234-235. The Roman virtues were civic, and failed with the rise of the Empire, when Rome became corrupt and immoral. 276 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Other phi¬ losophies and religions were in¬ effective in checking this corruption, dally at its capital. The virtues of the Romans had been civic for the most part, and consisted in patriotism, bravery, and service to the state, and even these ideals largely disappeared with the development of the Empire. There was not much incentive to patriotic service, where the whole power of government was vested in the em¬ peror, and the state existed only as a means of collecting taxes; while the employment of mercenaries prevented the rise of valor and the willingness to sacrifice one's self for the country. The superabundance of slaves shut the citizens out from industrial pursuits, and enabled them to be supplied in their idleness with food and amuse¬ ment. The people naturally fell more and more into vicious tastes and habits, especially as the example set them by the upper classes was most depraved. Divorce became frequent and common to all strata of society; children were destroyed by exposure and infan¬ ticide ; public ceremonials of the most immoral sort, together with the most disgusting wantonness in private, were practiced under the guise of religion ; while at reg¬ ular intervals occurred the bloodiest of gladiatorial shows. To check this widespread depravity, the old state re¬ ligion of the Romans, with its system of legal, institu¬ tional, and parental duties, could no longer prove effect¬ ive. Nor could the Greek thought itself, even the highest, such as Aristotle’s ‘well-being’ and ‘well-doing,’ accomplish much, since it was too intellectual and philo- EARLY CHRISTIANITY 2 77 sophic to make the necessary emotional appeal. On the other hand, the Eastern religions, which Rome had admitted in her easy-going skepticism, were productive of anything but good results. Most of them appealed only to the worst instincts and passions; and while the Persian and Egyptian doctrines, which had become more rational through combination with Greek philosophy, met with many converts, they were too gloomy and bizarre for general acceptance. Judaism, however, es¬ pecially in the Hellenized form given it by Philo, 1 cap¬ tured a large number of proselytes; and, although it was somewhat impaired as a religion by its philosophic development, must have accomplished considerable good. And the Romans themselves must instinctively have felt the need of some regenerating force, as is shown by the developments of Stoicism worked out by Seneca, Epic¬ tetus, and Marcus Aurelius, in which conscience and duty were almost deified. While these concepts also seemed too cold and dead, and could reach only a lim¬ ited class of people, about the time of Christ they had produced a marked effect; and, together with Judaism, they enabled Christianity to enter the Roman world upon a rising tide in morals, and to find a receptive environment. Nevertheless, none of these forces could have accom¬ plished a successful reform in Roman society, without 1 See footnote on p. 135. but Chris¬ tianity made a more 278 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION universal appeal. The earliest education for Christians consisted in their ‘ other¬ worldly ’ manner of living. the stimulus and wider appeal of the Christian teachings. Christianity was the ethical and Universal religion needed as a leaven. Its truths were based on faith rather than understanding, and its appeal was to the instinctive promptings and emotions rather than to the intellect. It appealed to sympathy for one’s fellow-man and the love of an ideal character, as well as to the desire to enter the kingdom, and the emotion of fear lest one miss this everlasting happiness. This made' it democratic, and enabled it to reach the masses as the more philo¬ sophic system of ethics and the various national re¬ ligions could not, for everybody can feel and have faith, even where he cannot understand. It could be grasped and applied to the conduct of all, and it found a large work ready for it. The Earliest Christian Education. — Thus it came about that, while the earliest Christians were without schools of their own and were largely illiterate, their religion itself served as an education. They were practically deprived of intellectual development, but they received moral training of a very high order. The very dishonor and unpopularity of the Christian religion, and the segregation of their church member¬ ship, gave the Christian life itself all the effect of a species of school. The early Christians showed an extreme reaction to the vicious morals of the time, and endeavored to EARLY CHRISTIANITY 279 cultivate in their life the higher ideals that they believed to be inculcated by the teachings of Christ. They had gathered from the statements of the Master that he would soon return and the world would come to an end, and they concerned themselves almost entirely with a preparation for ‘Jerusalem the golden’ and the ‘ life everlasting.’ They had little or no regard for the things of this world. Mundane pleas¬ ures and satisfactions were to be sacrificed for the good of their souls. Hence the ideal of this most primitive education through the Christian life may be described as ‘otherworldly.’ The Catechumenal Schools. — When, however, the Church began to extend itself rapidly, it seemed neces¬ sary to insist upon some sort of instruction as prelimi¬ nary to Church membership. It was also deemed wise to fix a period of probation after the profession of one’s faith in Christ, in order that informers might not be admitted to the services, or the Church dis¬ graced by apostasy or the lapses of those who had not well considered the step. These demands were met by the gradual institution of popular instruction in Christian principles for the Jewish and pagan proselytes, who were known as catechumenoi (‘those caused to hear’). While some effort was made to lift the pupils of these catechumenal schools from the bondage of ignorance, the catechumen was primarily 1 The same ideal was maintained in the schools for catechu¬ mens, which were soon instituted, 280 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION l \ \ and which became the prototype of parochial schools. trained in those things which were needed for his soul’s salvation. Thus the ideal of Christian education re¬ mained prevailingly ‘otherworldly.’ The course in the catechumenal schools was for only two years at first, according to Origen ; but, as the children of believers also came to be trained in this way, it was extended to four. The catechumens themselves were grouped into four grades: (i) those who had just expressed their desire to enter the Church; (2) audientes (‘ hearers ’), who were admitted to part of the worship, but had to withdraw after the read¬ ing of stated passages and the sermon or exhortation; (3) genuflectentes (‘those bending the knee’), who joined in the prayers of the faithful; and (4) electi, who were ready for baptism and full communion upon the next occasion of admission. As time went on, there was a general tendency to remain in the body of catechumens indefinitely, in order that one might not be guilty of sinning after entrance upon Christian life, and to be baptized, and so purified from transgression, only shortly before death. Some of the most famous men of the Church were them¬ selves guilty of this abuse, but it was finally stopped. The instruction of the catechumens was carried on in the portico or some special portion of each church; and consisted in moral and religious teachings, the reading, writing, and memorizing of the Scriptures, together with EARLY CHRISTIANITY 281 some training in early psalmody. The meetings in the church were held several times a week, or even every day, and were supplemented by the strict religious and moral training of the home. The teachers were known as catechists , and were generally the most able men in the Church. This catechumenal instruction became the forerunner of the pa 7 'ochial (‘parish’) schools of to-day. Amalgamation of Christianity with Graeco-Roman The Graeco- Culture. — But while the Christian ideals and training were schools were, developing and crystallizing, the Greek philosophy in its hand^aris^ Roman form was being continued and expanded. This tocratl( = and 0 A 4 worldly. movement has been seen to be very different from early Christianity in its general purpose. It concerned itself chiefly with life in this world. The problem that it attempted to solve was how one should live so as to get the most satisfaction out of life. It had culminated in philosophy and given birth to truths based upon reason. Because only a few could understand it, or possessed the leisure to seek ‘ well-being ’ consciously, the Graeco- Roman movement, as previously noted, was as essen¬ tially aristocratic as the Christian was democratic ; and, since they were organized so as to prepare for the enjoyment of this life, the Hellenized Roman schools may be accounted as ‘worldly’ as the Christian were ‘ otherworldly ’ in their aim. A general feeling of the marked difference in purpose and organization between Christianity and the contempo- 282 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The Greek Fathers at first favored Greek phi¬ losophy, and there was a tendency for Chris¬ tianity to unite with it. The Apolo¬ gists. raneous Graeco-Roman culture was destined to cause an opposition to the pagan learning to spring up among the Christians, and to produce a conflict between ideals in the Christian schools themselves. For some time, how¬ ever, this is scarcely noticeable, especially in the Eastern empire, where it was felt that philosophy was, like Christianity, a search after truth; and, as far as it went, confirmed the Bible. Justin Martyr, as late as the middle of the second century, declared that “ the teach¬ ings of Plato are not alien to those of Christ, though not in all respects similar, for all writers (of antiquity) were able to have a dim vision of realities by means of the in-dwelling seed of the implanted word.” There was even a tendency to unite the two movements. In the earliest days the Christians were closely bound together by a common enthusiasm, and had not found it necessary to organize the Church, or formulate an ex¬ plicit system of doctrine. But as the new religion spread throughout the Roman world, and was com¬ pelled to defend itself against the charges of immo¬ rality, atheism, and treason, the educated converts attempted to set forth the Christian teachings in terms of Greek thought, and to solve speculative problems that had never been considered by Jesus and his disciples. Hence, the first Hellenizing Christians like Justin were naturally Apologists, since their efforts were directed EARLY CHRISTIANITY 283 toward reconciling Christianity with the Graeco-Roman philosophy. In general, these philosophers mingled Stoicism with the teachings of Jesus. They utilized especially the Stoic doctrine of the Logos (‘ word ’), taking it more directly from the combination with Juda¬ ism found in Philo. With Philo this Logos is repre¬ sented as the reason within every man, which is also the reason of God, but the Christian philosophers em¬ phasized more clearly than Philo the personal aspect of the Logos and the position of John that “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Others besides the Apologists, who had previously been Hellenistic philosophers, and naturally continued after becoming Christians to think in those terms, carried the union to such an extent that it seemed for a time as if Christian¬ ity might become a mere intellectual system instead of a religion. The teachings of Pythagoras, Plato, Aris¬ totle, and the Stoics were all more or less amalgamated with those of Christ. Perhaps the most extreme of these philosophic positions within Christianity was that Gnosticism, tendency known as Gnosticism . This movement was a combination of the Hellenized forms of Oriental re¬ ligion with Christianity. It was intended to be a sort of esoteric ‘knowledge,’ 1 which should show the relation of Christianity to other religions and to the universe. In most cases it began with the Platonic doctrine of ideas, 1 1.e. gnosis . 284 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The Alexandrian Christians. and so made a metaphysical distinction between the ma¬ terial world, which was imperfect and evil, and the spirit or God, who was perfect. As this spiritual God could not have created the world of matter from which he was by nature so removed, the Gnostics had to reject the idea that the transcendent Jehovah was the Creator, and, ac¬ cordingly, to modify the Old Testament Scriptures. 1 Likewise, they selected the Gospel of Luke and the writings of Paul from among the contemporary Chris¬ tian documents. In this way, during the second and third centuries, all the Christians at Alexandria, which had become the great center of the various syncretic movements known collectively as Hellenistic philosophy, were influenced by their environment and tinctured with Greek thought. Clement (150-215) held that the Gospels were simply ‘perfected Platonism,’ and that philosophy was a ‘peda¬ gogue to lead the world to Christ; ’ while his pupil, Origen (185-253), carried his admiration for philosophy to such an extent as to maintain that the real spiritual Christianity could be apprehended only through the forms of Greek thought. Ammonius Saccus (165-241) and his pupil, Plotinus (205-270), went even farther and reverted to Hellenism. They are generally considered 1 Hence, too, their formulation of a whole hierarchy of intervening powers, which had emanated from God in a series until one was suf¬ ficiently akin to matter to create the world. EARLY CHRISTIANITY 285 the founders of the school of philosophy known as Neoplatonism. The Catechetical, Episcopal, and Cathedral Schools. — As the Christians came to absorb the Greek philosophy and culture, higher training became a necessity. For more than a century and a half they were unable to obtain any real literary education, except by attending pagan schools, but, with a view to affording higher instruction for Christian teachers and leaders, a sort of theological, or ‘catechetical’ school, was gradually organized at Alexandria during the latter half of the second century. It had no building of its own, and the students met at the teacher’s house, but they were able to take advantage of the facilities of the University of Alexandria. In addition to their theological training, the pupils were allowed to study all types of Greek philosophy, except the degrading Epicureanism, and also the classical Greek literature, grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy, and other higher subjects common to the pagan schools, but from a different point of view. Thus the Graeco-Roman and the Christian movements had formed an alliance in education, and in this catechetical school we find a complete union and harmonization of the ‘otherworldly’ ideal with the ‘worldly.’ The founder of this institution was probably Athe- nagoras, one of the Apologists; but it first became of Catechetical schools were or¬ ganized at Alexandria and else¬ where, when Christianity began to amalgamate with Greek philosophy, 286 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION and later became known as episcopal or cathe¬ dral schools. Christianity gradually grew sus- importance under Pantsenus, 179, who had been con¬ verted from Stoicism, and was a man of wide learn¬ ing. He was succeeded by his pupil, Clement, and he in turn by Origen. These last two were among the most noted of the Eastern Fathers in the philosophic interpretation of Christianity, and their school at Alex¬ andria contributed no little to heretical doctrine as well as to Christian theology. Origen was finally expelled for heresy, and opened a new school of the same sort at Caesarea, where he was kindly received. Other catechetical schools then sprang up rapidly at Antioch, Edessa, Nisibis, and elsewhere throughout the East, where the Christians were more sympathetically dis¬ posed toward the Greek philosophy. Before long the catechetical schools came to be used regularly by the bishops in training their clergy, and promotion in the Church began to depend upon having had this education. So these schools came to be an institution in every bishopric at the see city; and thus became known eventually as episcopal (‘ bishop’s ’) schools , or, in the West especially, from their location at the bishop’s church, as cathedral schools. These names, however, are not generally attached to the cate¬ chetical schools until the general foundation of monastic schools in the sixth century. Opposition of Christianity to the Graeco-Roman Cul¬ ture.— However, by the century after the foundation EARLY CHRISTIANITY 287 of the catechetical school at Alexandria, the Christians picious of Greek had begun to grow suspicious of Graeco-Roman culture culture, and the ‘ worldly ’ ideal in education. Even the Eastern Fathers appear to have cooled considerably in their attitude toward philosophy. Basil of Caesarea wrote: “Are we then to give up literature ? I do not say that, but I do say that we must not kill souls. ... If you can unite both advantages, do so by all means; but if not, choose the more precious.” And Chrysostom of Antioch, in the fourth century, says of the Greek learn¬ ing : “ I have long ago laid aside such follies, for one * cannot spend all one’s life in child’s play.” The Western or Latin Fathers seem to have been especially among the bitterly opposed to pagan culture even earlier. Roman western Fathers * Christians could not forget the immorality of those who had been connected with this culture, nor the abuse and insults that these pagans had heaped upon the Christians. They felt, too, that the one great mission of the Church was ethical, and that philosophy was somewhat impertinent. Moreover, the belief that the second coming of Christ was close at hand, and the consequent reaction against all the pleasures of the world, greatly strengthened their disposition to regard learning as of trivial importance. “The simpler-minded,” said Tertullian, somewhere toward the end of the second century, “not to say ignorant and unlearned men, who always form the 288 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION i and all pagan literature was forbidden, and the pagan schools closed. But, as a result of Greek in- majority of believers, are frightened at the Economy (i.e. the philosophic explanation of the Trinity). ” And he elsewhere shows himself so much in sympathy with this view as to ask: “ What resemblance is there be¬ tween a philosopher and a Christian, — between a dis¬ ciple of Greece and a disciple of heaven ? ” A century later, Jerome, the most scholarly of the Christian Fathers and the author of works on a variety of topics, narrates a dream in which his claim to being a Chris¬ tian was rebuked by the Almighty on the ground that no one could be of the faithful and at the same time » ‘a Ciceronian.’ Similarly, Augustine (354-430), who until nearly the middle of his life was a teacher and had written a great treatise on dialectic, later, as an ecclesiastical administrator, condemned the very works that had broadened his mind, and spent much of his energy fighting philosophic heresies. The principle of ‘ authority ’ contained in his City of God and his Con¬ fessions , together with his personal influence, was largely instrumental in bringing about the Council of Carthage (401), at which the clergy were forbidden to read all pagan literature; and so helped to make possible the edict of Justinian (529), by which all pagan schools were closed and the Middle Ages ush¬ ered in. Influence of Greece and Rome upon Christianity. — Nevertheless, in spite of the growth of opposition to EARLY CHRISTIANITY 289 pagan culture and its eventual suppression, primitive Christianity could not endure in its simplicity after it had been in contact with the advanced intellectual con¬ cepts of the Greeks as modified by the organizing genius of the Romans. Both Greece and Rome had left a permanent impress upon Christianity; and, though dead, they yet live in the Christian Church. While the Graeco-Roman culture had been rejected, its influence is seen in the formulation of a system of Chris¬ tian doctrine and the institutionalizing of the Church. Christianity no longer rested solely upon upright con¬ duct and religious fervor. An authoritative creed and a canon of approved writings had begun to appear. During the second century, the nucleus of the Apos¬ tles' Creed developed. It was not at first supposed that the apostles had a common confession, but in time the belief naturally arose that this creed had come down from them through unbroken tradition. By the earliest part of the third century the Church had also selected a canon of sacred writings, which overlapped that of the Gnostics somewhat, but omitted some works and added others. This New Testament was now recog¬ nized as on a par with the Jewish Scriptures, which the orthodox Christians had never rejected, and, taken together, they were considered to make up the Bible , or ‘ book ’ of authority. While creed and canon were not completely shaped for several centuries, both were fluence, Christianity adopted for¬ mal creeds, and selected a canon of sacred writings. U 290 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION In other ways, too, the theology and customs of Christianity were in¬ fluenced by Greek thought and practice. early regarded as final on the ground of being the prod¬ uct of revelation. Henceforth, the assent to a body of doctrine, rather than one’s conduct, became the test of Christian membership. In this way, a century before Augustine, the idea of ‘authority’ appeared; and the Gnostics and other Hellenists were viewed as heretical. But the formulation of Christian doctrine could not stop with the Apostles’ Creed and the Bible. There was much speculation with regard to the person of Jesus. The party of Arius held that Jesus was not ‘ consubstantial ’ with the Father, as was maintained in * the doctrine of Athanasius and his followers. To settle this controversy, a Church council was called together at Nicaea in 325; and, as the result of the defeat of the Arians, a new creed was formed, known as the Nicene Creed , which was perfected during the follow¬ ing centuries. In the Western Church the Apostles’ Creed was preferred, while in the East that of Nicaea prevailed. The Greek influence upon Christianity, however, has not been limited to the production of the Gnostic and other heresies, or to the Gospel of John, the Nicene Creed, and similar orthodox works. It appears through¬ out the theology and customs of the Church. Many other doctrines, especially of the Platonists and Stoics; the Greek tendency to attribute universal validity to their inspired writings, and to interpret them allegori- EARLY CHRISTIANITY 291 cally; and the pomp, ceremonies, and mysteries of the old Hellenic worship, are all more or less apparent in various ecclesiastical tenets and usages. Likewise, the early Christian practice of spontaneous utterance, with the belief that the mouth would be filled by the Holy Ghost, gave way during the fourth century to the Greek custom of careful preparation. The artificial structure, elaborate phraseology, and bid for applause in the preaching of Basil and Chrysostom remind us some¬ what of the later rhetoricians of Hellenized Rome. 1 But Christianity was not modified by Hellenic influ- christian- . . ity was in- ence alone. The Roman concepts of law and admims- fluenced also tration specifically played an important part in reshaping organMon. Christianity. The institution of definite tests, like the creeds and the canon of Scriptures, had been possible only through the Church’s becoming more and more organized on the plan of the Roman civil polity. At first there seem to have been no appointed officials in the Church; the apostles wandered from place to place, the prophets announced, and the teachers taught by no authority save the moving of the divine spirit. Gradu¬ ally the various congregations came to see the need of having officers to administer the funds of the churches, and apparently followed the pattern of the episcopi (‘overseers’) of the pagan benevolent socie¬ ties on the one hand, and of the presbyten (‘elders ) 1 See pp. 218 and 268. 292 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION of the Jewish synagogue upon the other. As the enthusiasm and prophesying of the early days died out, and it became necessary to have regular teachers, it was only natural that the churches should turn to the overseers and elders to perform this function in addition to their stewardship. The names ‘overseer’ and ‘ elder ’ seem to have been used at first inter¬ changeably, but before long the president of the board of elders alone was known as overseer or bishop, and became a sort of superior teacher. Before the end of the second century, bishops were believed to have suc¬ ceeded the apostles in a direct line, and to have a super¬ natural apprehension of the truth. Then the bishops were thought of together as the heads of the Church, and met as a body from the neighboring cities of a given province to approve and defend doctrines. By the third century had begun that powerful organiza¬ tion of bishops, clergy, and laity known as the Catholic (‘ universal ’) Church; and any one selecting a belief out¬ side of that authorized by the Church, such as Arianism, was considered a heretic and debarred from salvation. This federation of the Church seems to have closely paralleled the Roman civil organization, the presbyters and bishops ordinarily corresponding to district and city magistrates respectively. Only a visible head of the entire Church, with a position similar to that of the emperor, was needed to make the comparison complete, EARLY CHRISTIANITY 293 and this was eventually accomplished in 445 through the recognition by Valentinian III of the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, who by the sixth century came to be generally known as the Pope (‘father’). From this time on the terms ‘ Catholic ’ and ‘ Roman ’ became practically synonymous. Effect of Organized Christianity upon Society. — Thus Greek and Roman to-day the genius of both Greece and Rome is given a thought new lease of life through its incorporation in the doc- ^V^und" trine and government of the Christian Church. If one in would find the continuation of Greek philosophy, he Christianity, must look not to the schools of Alexandria, where it ran into a blind alley, but to the theology of Christian¬ ity ; and if he would trace the organizing power of the Romans, he will find the best present illustration not in a mighty empire, which died before the sixth century, and which neither Charlemagne nor Napoleon could revive, but in the living Church of Catholic Christianity. Conversely, it must be admitted that for centuries Christianity has not been the pure unadulterated religion of Christ, and that many of the doctrines and forms of Church government are outgrowths of more ancient thought. Nevertheless, while this substitution of dogma for a free spirit of devotion, love, and service constituted a lowering of standards and a loss to true religion, it seems to have been absolutely necessary, if Christianity were to accomplish its mission. After the traditions of 294 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION The aliena¬ tion of Christianity from the Graeco- Roman culture resulted in the promi¬ nence of monastic schools and a reversion to the ‘ other¬ worldly ’ ideal. the personality of Jesus had somewhat faded, and the enthusiasm had been diluted by the accession of great hordes of converts, especially among the German bar¬ barians, some system of organization and doctrine was necessary to bind the heterogeneous mass together. Christianity was preserved at a lower level, but it was preserved. The Monastic Schools. — Thus it has been seen how the two great movements of Graeco-Roman culture and Christianity arose independently, in time united, and later separated, although after separation each is dis¬ covered to have been influenced by the other. That is to say, as we view the education of premediaeval Chris¬ tianity, we find first that the catechumenal schools illustrate the nature of primitive Christianity, with its ‘otherworldly’ ideal. Then the union of Hellenism and Christianity, — the ‘worldly’ with the ‘otherworldly,’ appears in the catechetical schools. Finally, through the alienation of the Christians from the Greek learning, which culminated in 5 2 9 with the decree of Justinian and the downfall of the pagan schools, the Christian education seems to have been left alone in the field, but to have been somewhat affected by its long associ¬ ation with Graeco-Roman culture. It then found its chief means of expression in the monastic schools; and there was naturally in these in¬ stitutions a tendency to revert to an ascetic or ‘other- EARLY CHRISTIANITY 295 worldly * ideal, and leave intellectual attainments largely out of consideration. The curriculum became fixed and ♦ somewhat barren. It consisted mostly in learning to read and write the Scriptures, sing psalms, work out enough mathematics and astronomy to calculate holy days, together with a mere taste of the old Graeco-Roman culture through the medium of the Seven Liberal Arts. These monastic institutions remained the most impor¬ tant influence in education until the Revival of Learning and a wider educational content appeared. But the discussion of monasticism and the monastic schools be¬ longs rather to the Middle Ages than the period of Early Christianity. Summary of Premediaeval Progress. — It may be well at this point to summarize in briefest terms what prog¬ ress was effected in education before the dawn of modern times. In general, it may be stated that during the day of primitive man no distinction at all was made between society and the individual, and practically all advance¬ ment was impossible, for no one looked beyond the present. With the appearance of the transitional period in the Oriental countries, the individual had begun to emerge, but was kept in constant subjection to the social whole, for man was quite enslaved to the past. As the Jewish, Athenian, and Roman civilizations developed, the beginnings of individualism were for the fiist time revealed, and some regard was had for the future. 296 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION Finally, in the teaching of Christ, there came a larger recognition of the principle of individualism and the brotherhood of man. Owing to the necessity for spreading these enlarged ideals among a barbarous horde of peoples, individualism for a time was forced back, and throughout the Middle Ages the leaven lay hidden in the lump. But in a variety of ways its influence increased during this seemingly dormant period, until, in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, we catch the unmistakable signs of an awak¬ ening. Such a Renaissci?ice (‘new birth ’) was inevitable, for development cannot be permanently arrested, and only through a universal possibility of expression can progress be insured. In the spiritual, as in the biologi¬ cal world, variation is essential. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Christian Fathers: Athanasius, Athenagoras, Basil, Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, Cyprian, Eusebius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Hegesippus, Hippo- lytus, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Jerome, Justin Martyr, Lactantius, Marcion, Minucius Felix, Origen, Polycarp, Tatian, Tertullian, and Theophilus. HellenizedJew: Philo. Neojlatonist: Plotinus. Stoics: Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca. The Apostles' Creed; The New Testament; The Nicene Creed; The Teaching of the Apostles; Epistle of Barnabas. EARLY CHRISTIANITY 297 II. Authorities Addis, W. E. Christianity and the Roman Empire. Allen, A. V. G. The Continuity of Christian Thought. Caird, E. Theology in the Greek Philosophers. Dill, S. Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire. Bk. V especially. Dollinger, J. J. I. Jew and Gentile. Farrar, F. W. Early Days of Christianity. Harrison, Jane E. Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion. Hatch, E. The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian Church. Hausrath, A. History of New Testament Times in the Apostolic Period. Hodgson, Geraldine. Primitive Christian Education. Kuenan, A. Judaism and Christianity. Milman, C. History of Latin Christianity. Bk. III. Neander, A. General History of the Christian Religion and Church. Orr, James. Neglected Factors in the Study of the Early Progress of Christianity. Schurer, E. History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. Taylor, H. O. Ancient Ideals. Taylor, H. O. Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages. Toy, C. H. Judaism and Christianity. Wenley, R. M. The Preparation for Christianity. INDEX Academy, the, 165 (footnote), 215. Achaia, 146. Acropolis, 144. jEschylus, 144, 172, 178. Ahriman, 94. Aim of education. See Purpose. Alcibiades, 144. Alexander, 145. Alexandria, university of, 219 f.; museum and library, 220, 263; Christians at, 284 f.; catechetical school at, 285 f. Ammonius Saccus, 284 f. Amon, 25, 36. Ancestor worship, 11. Andronicus, Livius, 247. An gas, 85. Animism, 9, 117. Anthropomorphism, in Judaea, 119. Apologists, 282 f., 285. Apostles' Creed , 289. Architecture, of Egypt, 29 f.; Baby- lonio-Assyria, 47 f.; Greeks, 143 f., 222. Aristides, 144. Aristophanes, 144, 172, 179. Aristotle, educational theory, 198 ff., 276 f.; influence of, 211 ff. Arius, 290. Art, of Egypt, 31 f.; Babylonio- Assyria, 47 f.; China, 62; Greeks, 143 f- Aryans, 77 f. Assyria, 43 ff.; social conditions, etc. See Babylonia. Aten, 25. Athanasius, 290. Athenagoras, 285. Athens, history of, 142 ff.; education of, 157 ff. Augustine, 288. Augustus, Age of, 233 f. Ba’al, 118, 120. Babylonia, 43 f.; social conditions, 44 f.; religion and ethics, 45 f.; science, 46 f.; architecture and art, 47 f.; literature, 48 f.; edu¬ cation, 49 f. Barbarism, 20 f. Basil, 287, 291. Beth ham-Midrash, 126. Bhandarkar, Professor, quoted, 85. Bible, 289 f. Bishop of Rome, 293. Bishops, 291 f. Blandus, 260. Blood tie, 9. Book of the Dead, 26. Brahmanism, 78 ff. Brotherhood of man, 273, 274. Buddhism, 60, 79 f. Carvilius, Spurius, 252. Castes, in India, 80 f. Catechetical schools, 285 f. Catechists, 281. Catechumenal schools, 279 ff. Cathedral schools, 286. Catholic Church, 292, 293. Cato, 244, 245. Children, in China, 65; India, 80; Persia, 96; Judaea, 135; Sparta, 149 ff.; Athens, 157 ff.; The Re¬ public, 186; The Politics, 205 ff.; Christianity, 275. China, 55 f.; religion and ethics, 58 ff.; culture, 61 f.; education, 62 ff.; effect upon civilization, 73 ff. Christianity, larger ideals of, 274 f.; its universal appeal, 278; amalga¬ mation with Graeco-Roman cul¬ ture, 281 ff.; opposition to pagan learning, 286 ff.; influence of Greece upon, 288 ff.; influence of 299 3 oo INDEX Rome upon, 291 ff.; effect upon society, 293 f. Christian schools, 278, 279 f., 285 f., 294 f. Chrysippus, 216, 250 (footnote). Chrysostom, 287, 291. Cicero, 233, 246, 253, 256, 258, 261, 262. Cimon, 144. Citharistes, 161, 163, 165 (footnote). Classes of society, in Egypt, 27 f.; Babylonio-Assyria, 44 f.; India, 80 f.; Persia, 96. Clement, 284, 286. Cleon, 144. Confessions before Osiris, 26. Confucius, 56 ff. Conscious evolution, education as, 1 f. Constitution of Athens, 203 (footnote). Content of education, 6; in primitive society, 14 f.; Egypt, 35 ff.; Baby¬ lonio-Assyria, 49 f.; Phoenicia, 54; China, 69 ff.; India, 83 ff.; Persia, 98 ff.; transitional people, 106; Judaea, 123 ff.; prehistoric Greece, 146 f.; Sparta, 150 ff.; Athens, 157, 159 ff-; The Republic, 186 ff.; The Politics, 205 ff.; Rome in early days, 237 ff.; ludi, 246 f.; grammar schools, 252 ff.; rhetorical schools, 259 ff.; university, 264; Christian schools, 278 f., 279 ff., 285 f., 295. Corporal punishment, in Egypt, 38 f.; China, 73; India, 88; among Jews, 132 f.; Spartans, 151, 153; Athenians, 165, 166; Romans, 2 49 f -» 259. Corruption, at Rome, 234 f., 245. Council, at Carthage, 288; Nicaea, 290. Crates of Mallos, 243, 253. Curiales, 235. Cyropoedia, 99 (footnote), 179. Dancing, 152, 155, 163, 258. Decemvirs, 231, 243. Degrees, in China, 66 ff. Delos, Confederacy of, 143. Dialectic, 181, 189. Didascaleum, 161, 186. Dionysius, of Thrace, 256 f. Discipline, of schools. See Corporal punishment. Double, conception of the, 9 f. Education, purpose of, 5; matter, 6; method, 6; organization, 6; re¬ sults, 7. Egypt, 22; engineering, 23 f.; reli¬ gion and ethics, 25 ff.; classes of society, 27 f.; position of women, 28; architecture, 29 f.; art, 31 f.; sciences, 33; literature, 34; edu¬ cation, 34 ff. Eiren, 154. Elementary schools, in China, 64 f.; India, 84; Judaea, 126 f.; Sparta, 150 ff.; Athens, 158 ff.; The Re¬ public, 185 f.; The Politics, 205 ff.; Rome, 246 ff. Engineering, in Egypt, 23 f., 33. Entelechy, 202 (footnote). Ephebus, 167 f., 175. Epicureans, the, 216. Episcopal schools, 286. Episcopi, 291 f. Erechtheum, 144. Ethics, in Egypt, 26 f., Babylonio- Assyria, 45 f.; Phoenicia, 53 f.; China, 58 f.; India, 78 f.; Persia, 93 f- Ethics , The, 198 ff. Euripides, 144, 172. Examinations, in China, 65 ff. Exposure of children, 149 f., 158, 191, 205, an, 275. Family, as means of education, among savages, 14 f.; Jews, 123; Greeks, i 47 > i5°> i5 8 » 186, 205 f.; early Romans, 237 ff.; Christians, 278. Five Classics, 57. Formal discipline, 189, 196, 213. Four Books, 57 f. Future, consideration for, 109, 272 f. Future life, belief in, among Egyp¬ tians, 26; Babylonio-Assyrians, 46; Persians, 96. INDEX 301 Gemara, 116. Gilgatnesh, Epic of, 46, 48. Gnosticism, 283 f., 289, 290. Graeco-Roman culture, absorption of, 281 ff. Grammar schools, in Rome, 252 ff. Grammaticus, 252. Greece, history of, 139 ff.; education in, 146 ff.; influence of, upon Christianity, 288 ff. See also Athens and Sparta. Greek culture, absorption of, 221 f., 281 ff., 288 ff. Greek Fathers, 281 ff. Gymnasia, 165, 175. Gymnastae, 165. Hammurabi, 43, 49. Han-lin, 66. Hapi, 25. Hebrews. See Jews. Hellenistic philosophy, 221, 284 f. Helotes, 141, 150. Henotheism, in Egypt, 26; Babylonio- Assyria, 45 E; Israel, 118, 122; Greece, 224. Herodotus, 144- Hesiod, 164, 256. Hieroglyphs, Egyptian, 37 f. Higher education, in China, 65 ff.; India, 84ff.; Judaea, 125 f.; Sparta, 153 f.; Athens, 165 ff., 175 E; The Republic, 189; The Politics, 208 f.; Rome, 259 ff.; early Chris¬ tianity, 285 f. Hinduism, 80. History of education, value of, 2; how to study it, 2 ff. Home, as means of education. See Family. Homer, 140, 147, 152, 164, 253, 256. Horace, 233, 256. Horus, 25. Ideal of education. See Purpose. Ideals, how developed, 3 ff.; how realized, 5 f.; beginnings of con¬ sideration for, 272 f. Ideographs, 37 f., 50, 61. Imitation, as method of education, primitive peoples, 16; Egypt, 38; Babylonio-Assyria, 50; China, 72; India, 87; Persia, 100; transitional peoples, 107; Jews, 131; prehis¬ toric Greece, 148; Athens, 164; Rome, 241 f., 248 f. India, 77 f.; religion, 78 ff.; castes, 80 ff.; education, 83 ff.; effect upon character, 88 f. Individualism, in primitive society, 15, 18; Egypt, 40; Babylonio-As¬ syria, 51; Phoenicia, 54; China, 75; India, 88 f.; Persia, 101; the tran¬ sitional peoples, 105; prehistoric Greece, 148; Sparta, 155; Athens, 157, J 59; of the sophists, 176 f.; Plato, 191 ff.; Aristotle, 209 f., 2x4 f.; the Greeks, 226 ff.; the beginnings of, 272 f.; in Christianity, 274 E Industrial class, in Egypt, 28; in. Babylonio-Assyria, 44 f. Initiatory ceremonies, 15. Irony, of Socrates, 181 f. Isis, 25. Isocrates, 2x8. Israel. See Jews. Jahweh. See Jehovah. Jehovah, 111, 113, 133- Jerome, 288. Jews, history of, no ff.; religion, 117 ff.; education, 122 ff.; effect on civilization, 133 ff. Johnson, Samuel, quoted, 8. Josue ben Gamala, 104. Judaea. See Jews. Justin, 282. Justinian, edict of, 288, 294. Ka, the, 26. Karnak, 29. Katharsis, 208. Lares, 240. Latin Fathers, 287 f. Laws, The, 194. Liberal studies, 196. Literature, of Egypt, 34; Babyloniq- 302 INDEX Assyria, 48 f.; China, 61; India, 85; Persia, 97 f.; Jews, 115 f.; Greeks, 143 f.; Romans, 233 f. Litterator, 247, 252. Litteratus, 252. Locke, 196. Logos, 283. Lucilius, 256. Lucretius, 233, 256. Ludus, 245, 246 f. Luxor, 29. Lyceum, 165 (footnote), 215. Lycurgus, 142, 152. Maccabees, the, 116. Macedonian conquest, 145. Maieutic, 182. Manu, Code of, 85. Martin, Dr., quoted, 65. Matter of education. See Content. Mazdeism, 93 f. Means of education. See Organiza¬ tion. Melleiren, 153. Memoriter method, 38, 50, 71, 87, 129 f., 164, 249. Metempsychosis, 78. Method, of Socrates, 181 f. Method of education, 6; in primitive society, 16; Egypt, 37 f.; Babylo- nio-Assyria, 50; China, 71; India, 86; Persia, 100; Judaea, 129 ff.; prehistoric Greece, 148; Sparta, 150 ff.; Athens, 164; Rome, of early days, 241 f.; ludi, 247; gram¬ mar schools, 258 f.; rhetorical schools, 262 f. Micah, quoted, 119. Military class, in Egypt, 27 f.; Bab- ylonio- Assyria, 44; India, 80; Persia, 91, 98. Mishna, 116. Mnemonics, among Jews, 130. Monastic schools, 294 f. Monitorial system, 87 f. Monotheism, among Jews, 120. Musonius, 264 f. Mycenae, 140. Myron, 144. Natural forces, savages’ inability to control, 12. Nature peoples, 12, 18. Nazarites, the, 120 (footnote). Neomazdeism, 221. Neoplatonism, 196, 221, 285. Neopythagoreanism, 221. New Period, education at Athens, 170 ff. New Testament, 289 f. Nicene Creed, 290. Nicias, 144. Nile, effect on Egypt, 23 f.; as deity, 25- Occupational content, 106. Old Period, education at Athens, 157, 169 f. Organization of education, 6; in primitive society, 14; Egypt, 35 f.; Babylonio-Assyria, 49 f.; Phoe¬ nicia, 54; China, 63 ff.; India, 83 f.; Persia, 98; among transi¬ tional peoples, 107; Jews, 125 ff.; prehistoric Greeks, 147; in Sparta, 150 ff.; Athens, 157 ff.; Rome of early days, 2363.; ludi, 246 f., 251; grammar schools, 252 f.; cate¬ chumen al schools, 280; catechet¬ ical schools, 285. Organon, The, 212. Origen, 284, 286. Ormazd, 94. Osiris, 25. Ostracism, 143. Paedagogus, 158, 250. Paedonomus, 150. Paedotribes, 160. Palaemon, 257. Palaestra, 159. Panchatantra, 84. Pancratium, 151, 166. Pantaenus, 286. Parishads, 84. Parochial schools, 281. Parthenon, 144. Patria potestas, 237. Patricians, 231. INDEX 303 Pedisequus, 250. Peloponnesian war, 144 f. Penates, 240. Pentathlum, 160. Pericles, 143 f., 179. Perioeci, 141, 150. Peripatetics, the, 211, 216. Persia, 91 f.; government, 92 f.; religion and ethics, 93 ff.; educa¬ tion, 98 ff. Persian wars, 143. Phidias, 144. Philip of Macedon, 145. Philonism, 135 (footnote), 221, 276, 283. Philosophical schools, 215 ff. Philosophic class, in The Republic, 188 f. Philosophy, inadequate to check vice, 276 f. Phoenicia, achievements, 52 f.; char¬ acter of people, 53 f.; education, 54; influence upon civilization, 54. Phonetic alphabet, 53. Physicians, in Egypt, 33, 37; Baby- lonio-Assyria, 47. Plato, 184 ff., 215. Plebeians, 231. Plotinus, 284. Plotius, 260. Poetics, The, 198, 208 (footnote). Politics, The, 198, 203 ff. Polydemonism, 117. Polygnotus, 144. Practical education, of savages, 13. Praeconinus, 253, 256. Presbyteri, 291 f. Present, savages tied to the, 17. Priestly class. See Sacerdotal. Primitive education, purpose of, 12 ff.; organization and content, 14 ff.; method, 16; results, 17 f. Primitive society, 9 ff. Progress, premedieval, 295 f. Prophets, schools of, 113, 119 ff., 124 f. Protagoras, 174, 177. Ptah-hotep, Aphorisms of, 27. Puberty rites, 15 f. Purpose of education, 5; in primitive society, 12 ff.; Egypt, 34 f.; Bab- ylonio-Assyria, 49; Phoenicia, 54; China, 62 f.; India, 83; Persia, 98; among transitional peoples, 105 f.; Jews, 122 f.; prehistoric Greeks, 147; in Sparta, 149; Athens, 157; Socrates, 181; Plato, 190 f.; Aristotle, 198; Rome in early days, 236; ludi, 246; gram¬ mar schools, 254; rhetorical schools, 259 ff.; catechumenal schools, 279; catechetical schools, 285; monastic schools, 294 f. Pyramids, in Egypt, 30 f. Pyrrho, 216. Pythagoras, 178 f., 194. Quintilian, 233, 245 f., 247, 249, 253, 2 54, 255, 257, 261, 262, 266, 268. Re, 25. Rechabites, the, 120 (footnote). Relative mean, of Aristotle, 200 f. Religion, in primitive society, 9 ff.; Egypt, 25 f.; Babylonio-Assyria, 45 f.; Phoenicia, 53 f.; China, 58 ff.; India, 78 ff.; Persia, 93 ff.; of Jews, 117 ff.; Greeks, 152, 162, 171; Romans, 240 f.; Christians, 274 f., 277 f. Renaissance, 296. Republic, The, 185 ff. Restricted ideals, 105 f. Results of education, 7; in primitive society, 16 ff.; Egypt, 39 ff.; Bab¬ ylonio-Assyria, 50 f.; Phoenicia, 54; China, 73 ff.; India, 88 f.; Persia, 101 f.; among transitional peoples, 107 ff.; Jews, 133 ff.; in Sparta, 155 ff.; Athens, 169 ff.; Socrates, 183 f.; Plato, 194 ff.; Aristotle, 211 ff.; early days of Rome, 242 f.; later Rome, 269 f. Rhetorical schools, 217 f., 259 ff. Rhodes, university at, 219, 263. Rome, history of, 230 ff.; education in early days, 236 ff.; religion, 239 ff.; influence of Greece upon, 243 ff.; ludi, 246 ff.; grammar 304 INDEX schools, 252 ff.; rhetorical schools, 259 ff.; university, 263 f.; effect of education upon civilization, 269 f.; influence of, upon Chris¬ tianity, 291 ff. Sacerdotal class, in Egypt, 27; Bab- ylonio-Assyria, 44; India, 80; Persia, 94. Sacerdotal organization, 107. Satraps, 93. Savages, chief characteristics. See Primitive society and Primitive education. Schoolrooms, in Egypt, 36; Baby- lonio-Assyria, 50; China, 64; India, 84; Judaea, 125 ff.; Athens, 159 ff., 165; Rome, 251, 259. Science, in Egypt, 33; Babylonio-As- syria, 46 f.; Phoenicia, 53; China, 62; India, 86; among the Jews, 126, 135; prehistoric Greeks, 147; in Athens, 174; Plato, 189; Aris¬ totle, 198; Alexandria, 221; Rome, 245; rhetorical schools, 261 f.; university, 264. Scribes, in Egypt, 36 f.; Babylonio- Assyria, 44; among Jews, 115 f., 121. Seven Liberal Arts, 261, 295. Simon ben Shetach, 127. Skeptics, the, 216. Smith, Dr. A. H., quoted, 71, 73. Socrates, 180 ff.; method of, 181 f. Sopherim, 116. Sophistae, 173 ff.; influence of, 175 f. Sophocles, 144, 172. Sophronistes, 166. Sparta, 141 f., 144 f-J education, 149 ff.; effect upon civilization, i55 ff- Static results, 107 f. Stilo, 253. Stoics, the, 216. Subsidizing of education, at Rome, 265 ff. Suetonius, 246, 259. Synagogues, 125 f. Tacitus, 246. Talmud , 116. Taoism, 60. Teacher, in primitive society, 17; Egypt, 38, 41; Babylonio-Assyria, 50; China, 65, 71 ff.; India, 87 f.; among transitional peoples, 107; Jews, 123 f., 125 f., 127, 131 f.; in Sparta, 150; Athens, 160, 161, 165, 173 f.; Rome, 247, 252 f., 260, 263, 265 ff. Tertullian, 287 f. Theban supremacy, 145- Themistocles, 144- Theoretical education, of savages, 15 f. Theseum, 144. Thorah, 112, 115, 116, 129. Thucydides, 144. Totemism, 10, 117. Traditions, evolution of, 3 f. Trial and error, 16. Twelve Tables, The, 231, 238, 247. Universities, among the Greeks, 219 f.; the Romans, 263 f. Varro, 233, 245, 256. Veda, 85. Vergil, 233, 256, 259, 268. Vestal virgins, 240. Vice, at Rome, 234, 275 ff. Women, in primitive society, 15; Egypt, 28; Babylonio-Assyria, 45; China, 59; India, 82; Persia, 98; among transitional peoples, 106; the Jews, 129; in Sparta, 154 f.; Athens, 168 f.; The Republic, 190; The Politics, 206; Rome, 264 f.; Christianity, 275. 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