Literature.—Church, Bacon; Macaulay, Essays; Spofford, Library of Historical Characters; Lord, Beacon Lights; Montagu, Life of Bacon; Barnard, English Pedagogy; Quick, Educational Reformers; Williams, History of Modern Education; Laurie, Life and Works of Comenius; Comenius, Orbis Pictus; Barnard, Journal of Education; Milton, Tractate on Education; Pattison, Milton; Fowler, Locke; Leitch, Practical Educationists; Gill, Systems of Education; Schwegler, History of Philosophy; Courtney, John Locke; Vogel, Geschichte der PÄdagogik; CompayrÉ, History of Pedagogy; FÉnelon, Education of Girls; Azarias, Philosophy of Literature; Monroe, Comenius.

BACON[86] (1561-1626)

But little is known of the early years of Francis Bacon, but it is probable that he was well trained, as his father was a man of good education, and the boy was able to enter Cambridge when only a little over twelve years of age. His father was for many years Lord Keeper of the Seals, and this brought Francis in contact with court life, where his precocity made him a favorite with the queen. He thus early acquired that taste for the court, by which he climbed to the height of his ambition only to fall therefrom in ignominious defeat.

He remained at Cambridge only about three years. Lord Macaulay sums up the result of Bacon's university experience in the following words: "Bacon departed, carrying with him a profound contempt for the course of study pursued there, a fixed conviction that the system of academic education in England was radically vicious, a just scorn for the trifles on which the followers of Aristotle had wasted their powers, and no great reverence for Aristotle himself."[87]

Some think that thus early, while not yet fifteen years of age, Bacon began to formulate that inductive system which made him a great benefactor of the human race. There seems to be but little proof of this; and, if it be so, he laid it aside until near the close of his life, and devoted himself to politics. After leaving Cambridge, he went abroad with the English ambassador at Paris, with whom he served until the death of his father compelled his return to England. Unexpectedly finding that his patrimony was gone, he began a career at the bar, and rose step by step, amid many discouragements, until he reached the height of his ambition, the Lord High Chancellorship of the realm. In reaching this position he resorted to many of the tricks of the politician, and sacrificed his best friends to further his selfish interests. Concerning his actions toward his benefactor, Essex, Macaulay says, "This friend, so loved, so trusted, bore a principal part in ruining the earl's fortunes, in shedding his blood, and in blackening his memory. But let us be just to Bacon. We believe that, to the last, he had no wish to injure Essex. Nay, we believe that he sincerely wished to serve Essex, as long as he could serve Essex without injuring himself."[88] Such seeming mitigation of Bacon's ingratitude serves only to bring the Lord Chancellor's cowardice more completely to light.

This lack of principle and greed for office, together with the luxurious tastes which kept Bacon constantly in debt, made him susceptible to corruption. Accordingly he accepted bribes; and, when exposed, his degradation from the highest office under the crown was most complete and humiliating. He was summoned before the bar of Parliament; and, finding the evidence against him complete, he admitted his guilt and pleaded for clemency. These are the words of his confession, "Upon advised consideration of the charges, descending into my own conscience and calling upon my memory to account so far as I am able, I do plainly and ingenuously confess that I am guilty of corruption, and do renounce all defense."

He was found guilty and condemned to imprisonment in the Tower during the pleasure of the king, and to a fine of £40,000; he was forbidden ever to sit in Parliament or come within the verge of the court, and was forever debarred from holding office. He never paid the fine, was released from the Tower after two days, was permitted to visit the court, and was summoned to the meetings of Parliament.[89] He never, however, took any part in public affairs. The king granted him a pension upon which he lived the remainder of his days. Thus disappeared from public life one of England's greatest statesmen, whose political career ended in disgrace. But during the remaining six years of his life, he wrote his principal works, which made him famous for all time, and which mark a new era in education as well as in the world's progress.

In 1620 his greatest work, the "Novum Organum," was published. In this appears his Inductive Method, a great educational discovery, which has been of inestimable value to mankind. It revolutionized science, and suggested the application of the forces of nature to the wants of man, thus opening to man's enterprise an illimitable field for research. In the three centuries since Bacon's discovery, science has made vast strides, and yet is only at the threshold of its possible development. The watchwords of the inductive method—experiment, investigate, verify—have led to the establishment of laboratories, to the founding of experimenting stations, and to the study of Nature herself. As Macaulay puts it, "Two words form the key of the Baconian doctrine, Utility and Progress." Again he says, "The philosophy of Plato began in words and ended in words.... The philosophy of Bacon began in observation and ended in arts."[90]

Macaulay depreciates the work of Bacon, and shows that he was not the original inventor of the inductive method, "which," he says with truth, "has been practiced ever since the beginning of the world by every human being."[91] Nor was he the "first person who correctly analyzed that method and explained its uses," as Aristotle had done so long before. But these facts do not detract from the glory of Bacon any more than the discovery of America by the Norsemen five hundred years before the time of Columbus detracts from his glory. The same process of reasoning would take all credit from every philosopher that has ever lived, for with equal truth it may be said that every mental process "has been practiced ever since the beginning of the world by every human being."

Bacon's teachings resemble those of Montaigne, though Bacon's work was far more important and complete than that of his French contemporary. His pedagogy may be summed up in these pregnant words from his own pen: "A judicious blending and interchange between the easier and more difficult branches of learning, adapted to the individual capabilities and to the future occupation of pupils, will profit both the mental and bodily powers, and make instruction acceptable."

We find in Bacon, then, the beginning of a new era in education. It remained for Comenius, Locke, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and their compeers to apply to specific educational systems the great truth contained in the inductive method; and to scientists and investigators of all kinds has been intrusted the mission of furthering, through this method, the marvelous scientific development which has almost re-created the world.

RATKE[92] (1571-1635)

Perhaps the first to urge the reforms which constitute the basis of educational theory was Ratke, a German, born in the province of Holstein. He originated a scheme by which he promised to teach any language, ancient or modern, in six months. He traveled throughout Europe, endeavoring to sell his discovery to princes and men of learning. Purchasers had to agree strictly to maintain the secret. Professor Williams speaks of this conduct as follows: "These were the acts of a charlatan peddling some secret quack nostrum."[93] Mr. Quick says, "He would also found a school in which all arts and sciences should be rapidly learned and advanced; he would introduce, and peacefully maintain throughout the continent, a uniform speech, a uniform government, and, more wonderful still, a uniform religion. From these modest proposals we should naturally infer that the promiser was nothing but a quack of more than usual impudence; but the position which the name of Ratich holds in the history of education is sufficient proof that this is by no means a complete statement of the matter."[94]

Many thinkers fully believed that the schools were in bondage to the classic studies, that they did not prepare for life, and that science, which had begun to show signs of awakening, should have a place in education. The extravagant theories of Ratke, therefore, attracted attention. Opportunity was given him to put his theories into practice, first at Augsburg, then at KÖthen, and finally at Magdeburg. In each instance he utterly failed, more from want of tact in dealing with men,—with those in authority, as well as with his teachers and pupils,—than from lack of soundness in theory. Of course much of his theory was worthless, especially that referring to the mastery of a language in six months, and that proposing uniformity in speech, government, and religion.

Ratke's method of teaching a language was not original with him, being similar to, though not so effective as, that advocated by Roger Ascham, more than a hundred years before (see p. 191), and suggested first by Pliny, fifteen centuries earlier. Ratke required the pupil to go over the same matter many times, to learn the grammar in connection with translation, and finally to translate back into the original. He proposed to follow the same course with all languages, and have all grammars constructed on the same plan.

The work which Ratke began was more successfully carried out by others who followed him, and thus fruit has been borne to these new and radical ideas.Quick sums up Ratke's pedagogy in a few words, as follows:[95]—

1. Everything after the order and course of nature.

2. One thing at a time.

3. One thing again and again repeated.

4. Nothing shall be learned by heart.

5. Uniformity in all things.

6. Knowledge of the thing itself must be given before that which refers to the thing.

7. Everything by experiment and analysis.

8. Everything without coercion;[2] that is, by gentle means, and not by the use of the rod.

Others have worked out these principles until they have become thoroughly incorporated into every system of modern pedagogy.

COMENIUS[96] (1592-1670)

By far the greatest educator of the seventeenth century, and one of the greatest in educational history, was Johann Amos Comenius. He was born in Moravia, and belonged to the Protestant body known as the Moravian Brethren. His early education was neglected, a fact that was not without its compensation, for, not beginning the study of Latin until sixteen years of age, he was mature enough to appreciate the defects in the prevalent method of instruction. One of his most valuable services to education grew out of his attempt to remedy the defects thus discovered.

Of the schools he attended, he says, "They are the terror of boys, and the slaughterhouses of minds,—places where a hatred of books and literature is contracted, where ten or more years are spent in learning what might be acquired in one, where what ought to be poured in gently is violently forced in, and beaten in, where what ought to be put clearly and perspicuously is presented in a confused and intricate way, as if it were a collection of puzzles,—places where minds are fed on words."[97]

In speaking of his own experience at school, he says, "I was continually full of thoughts for the finding out of some means whereby more might be inflamed with the love of learning, and whereby learning itself might be made more compendious, both in the matter of charge and cost, and of labor belonging thereto, that so the youth might be brought by a more easy method unto some notable proficiency in learning."[98]

The life of Comenius, which extended over nearly eighty years, was full of vicissitudes and trials. Briefly told, it is as follows: He was left an orphan at an early age, had poor educational advantages in childhood, began the study of Latin at sixteen, and completed his studies at Heidelberg at twenty-two, having previously studied at Herborn. After leaving the university, he was teacher of the Moravian School at Prerau for two years, and then having been ordained to the ministry, became pastor of Fulnek. Here he remained for a number of years, living a happy and useful life. In the meantime, the Thirty Years' War had broken out, the battle of Prague had been lost by the Protestants, and the town of Fulnek sacked. Comenius lost everything he possessed, and this misfortune was soon followed by the death of his wife and child. After hiding in the mountains for some time, he was banished from his native land, together with all the other Protestants. This took place in 1627, when Comenius was thirty-five years old. Though he often longed to return to his fatherland, he was never permitted to do so.

He settled in Poland, and began by the study of the works of Ratke, Bacon, and other writers to prepare himself for the great task of educational reform. Of this experience he writes, "After many workings and tossings of my thoughts, by reducing everything to the immovable laws of nature, I lighted upon my 'Didactica Magna,' which shows the art of readily and solidly teaching all men all things."

He visited England, Sweden, and Hungary in the interests of education, and was invited to France, but did not accept the invitation. While living at Leszno, Poland, for a second time his house was sacked and all his property destroyed. Among other things, his work on Pansophia, and his Latin-Bohemian dictionary, on which he had labored for forty years, were burned. He closed his days at Amsterdam, Holland. In addition to the great honors bestowed upon him by the various countries that sought his advice on educational matters, he was made the chief bishop and head of the Moravian Brethren. Raumer forcibly sums up the life of Comenius as follows: "Comenius is a grand and venerable figure of sorrow. Though wandering, persecuted, and homeless, during the terrible and desolating Thirty Years' War, yet he never despaired, but with enduring courage, and strong faith, labored unweariedly to prepare youth by a better education for a happier future. Suspended from the ministry, as he himself tells us, and an exile, he became an apostle to the Christian youth; and he labored for them with a zeal and love worthy of the chief of the apostles."[99]Pedagogical Work.—The great educational works of Comenius are his "Gate of Tongues Unlocked," the "Great Didactic," and his "Orbis Pictus." Mr. Quick thinks that the "Great Didactic" contains, in the best form, the principles he afterward endeavored to work out"[100] in his other educational writings. "The services of Comenius to pedagogy," says Professor Williams, "were of a threefold character, in each of which his merit was very great. First, he was the true originator of the principles and methods of the Innovators. Second, he was a great educational systematist. Third, he was the author of improved text-books, which were long and widely famous."[101] This is a fair summing up of the remarkable activity of this man with the exception of the first point. Montaigne, Ratke, and Bacon had previously taught many of the fundamental truths which Comenius merely amplified and brought to practical fruition, and he himself acknowledged the influence of the last two men upon him. That the whole purpose of the life of Comenius was far nobler than that of Ratke or Bacon, there remains no room for doubt. CompayrÉ says, "The character of Comenius equals his intelligence. Through a thousand obstacles he devoted his long life to the work of popular instruction. With a generous ardor he consecrated himself to infancy. He wrote twenty works and taught in twenty cities. Moreover, he was the first to form a definite conception of what the elementary studies should be."[102]

Bacon gave the inspiration and Comenius worked the truth into practical form; Bacon invented a new theory of scientific investigation, Comenius employed that theory in education; Bacon originated and Comenius applied. This does not detract from the merit of Comenius any more than his work detracts from the merit of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, or Horace Mann, all of whom gathered inspiration from him.

Summary of the Work of Comenius.—(1) He was the author of the first illustrated text-book, the "Orbis Pictus."[103] The cost of illustrations was for a long time a serious barrier to their general adoption in schoolbooks; but modern inventions and improvements have removed this obstacle, and many of the text-books of to-day are as valuable for their illustrations as for their text. The "Orbis Pictus" appeared in 1658.

(2) In his "Great Didactic," he presents a scheme for general organization of the school system which covers the first twenty-four years of life. It divides this time into four equal periods of six years, each as follows:—

1. Infancy, or the mother school, from birth up to six years of age.

2. Boyhood, the vernacular or national school, from six to twelve.

3. Adolescence, the Gymnasium or Latin school, from twelve to eighteen.

4. Youth, the university (including travel), from eighteen to twenty-four.

"The infant school should be found in every house, the vernacular school in every village and community, the gymnasium in every province, and the university in every kingdom or large province." This scheme, with variation of details, forms the basis of present school systems: first, the period in the home with the mother till six; second, the period of general education in the common school, from six to twelve or fourteen; third, the period of preparation for the professional schools, from twelve or fourteen to eighteen; and fourth, the professional or university course, from eighteen to twenty-four. The last is usually divided into a college and a university course.

(3) The educational principles of Comenius were revolutionary as to the school practices of the time. They have come to be almost universally accepted at present. We can here state only a few of the most essential.[104]

1. If we would teach and learn surely, we must follow the order of Nature.

2. Let everything be presented through the senses.

3. Proceed from the easy to the difficult, from the near to the remote, from the general to the special, from the known to the unknown.

4. Make learning pleasant by the choice of suitable material, by not attempting too much, by the use of concrete examples, and by the selection of that which is of utility.

5. Fix firmly by frequent repetitions and drills.

6. Let all things advance by indissoluble steps, so that everything taught to-day may give firmness and stability to what was taught yesterday, and point the way to the work of to-morrow.[105]

7. Let everything that is useless be eliminated from teaching.

8. Learn to do by doing.

9. Each language should be learned separately, have a definite time assigned to it, be learned by use rather than precept,—that is, the practice in learning should be with familiar things,—and all tongues should be learned by one and the same method.

10. The example of well-ordered life of parents, nurses, teachers, and schoolfellows is very important for children; but precepts and rules of life must be added to example.

11. As knowledge of God is the highest of all knowledge, the Holy Scriptures must be the alpha and omega of the Christian schools.

Comenius gives explicit directions as to methods of instruction, class management, discipline, courses of study, including a discussion of each branch, and moral and religious teaching. He presents these directions in the most remarkable and complete series of precepts and principles to be found in educational literature.[106]

MILTON (1608-1674)

John Milton was "the most notable man who ever kept school or published a schoolbook." While his fame rests on "Paradise Lost" and other great literary works, he deserves a place among educators for his "Tractate on Education," and for his sympathy with educational reform. He anticipated Herbert Spencer's celebrated definition,—"To prepare us for complete living is the function which education has to discharge,"—in the following words: "I call, therefore, a complete and generous education that which fits a man to perform justly, skillfully, and magnanimously all the offices, both private and public, of peace and war."

He criticised the schools of his time and sought to make them more practical. Like the earlier Innovators, and in harmony with the spirit that was rapidly growing, he thought that too much time was given to the study of Latin, and urged that science, music, physical culture, and language as a means of acquiring a knowledge of useful things, should receive more attention in the schools. Quick says, "A protest against a purely literary education comes with tremendous force from the student who sacrificed his sight to his reading, the accomplished scholar whose Latin works were known throughout Europe, and the author of 'Paradise Lost.'"[107]

Milton's experience in teaching was confined to a small boarding school, such as those usually resorted to for educating the sons of the better classes in England at that time. For pupils he began with two nephews, to whom were soon added a few other boys. These were sons of Milton's friends, and some of them came as boarders, others as day students. Milton seemed to like the work of teaching, and it was during this period that his "Tractate" was written. He probably taught school in this way for eight or nine years, and then was appointed to a small office under the government, which secured his living. The rest of his life was devoted chiefly to literary work.

Milton's "Tractate."—The principal lessons from this educational work are embodied in the following quotation: "The end then of Learning is to repair the ruines of our first Parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that knowledge to love him, and to imitate him, to be like him, as we may the nearest by possessing our souls of true virtue, which being united to the heavenly grace of faith makes up the highest perfection."[108] This rather cumbersome definition shows how fully Milton was possessed of the Puritan spirit, which then controlled England, and which magnified religious zeal.

Milton's scheme of education may be briefly summed up as follows:—

1. The school premises should consist of a spacious house with large school grounds, intended for about one hundred and thirty students from twelve to twenty-one years of age, who should receive their complete secondary and university education in the same school. This scheme, so unique in Milton's time, is practically carried out in France and the United States, where the connection between the lower and higher schools is direct. In England, the land of its inception, and in Germany, there is no such direct articulation between the lower and the higher schools.

2. The course of study embraces, first, the Latin grammar, arithmetic, geometry, religion, and Greek authors to be read in translation; second, Latin authors, geography, natural philosophy; third, Greek, trigonometry,—intended to prepare for fortification,—architecture, engineering, and navigation, anatomy, and medicine.

This course is supposed to be completed at about the age of sixteen. The harder topics now follow, together with the study of those subjects intended to teach ethical judgment. Milton says, "As they begin to acquire character, and to reason on the difference between good and evil, there will be required a constant and sound indoctrinating to set them right and firm, instructing them more amply in the knowledge of virtue and the hatred of vice." Then come Greek authors, Holy Writ, poetry, and "at any odd hour, the Italian tongue," ethics, and politics. He is consistent with his definition of education,—"that which fits a man to perform justly, skillfully, and magnanimously all the offices, both public and private, of peace and war," when he would train men to be "steadfast pillars of the State." He adds in his course also the study of law, including Roman edicts and English common law, a knowledge of Hebrew, and possibly Syrian and Chaldaic.

Nor were physical exercises omitted. Sword exercises, wrestling, military tactics, riding, etc., were to be daily practiced, each in its proper time. Finally, the young man, when about twenty-three years of age, should travel abroad, and thus, when mature enough to comprehend them, become acquainted with the geography, history, and politics of other countries. This was to be the final preparation for citizenship and service of country. Mr. Browning pronounces this a "magnificent and comprehensive scheme." The most serious criticism of it is, that it marks out much more than the average young man can accomplish.

LOCKE[109] (1632-1704)

John Locke was the son of a Puritan gentleman who took active part in the wars for religious freedom fought during the latter part of the seventeenth century. Without doubt the stirring scenes enacted and the great moral movements which occupied England had a great influence upon Locke's life. He was carefully trained at home until he was about fourteen years old, when he entered Westminster School, a Puritan institution, where he remained for six years. He then entered Oxford, and in due time took his bachelor's and master's degrees. In 1660, when twenty-eight years old, he was made tutor of Christ Church, Oxford, where he lectured on Greek, rhetoric, and philosophy. He interested himself in theology, but never took orders; and he also studied medicine and for a time practiced it. His own health was precarious, he having suffered, from chronic consumption nearly all his life. Nevertheless, he accomplished a tremendous amount of work. The friendship of the Earl of Shaftesbury gave Locke some political prestige. He lived in the family of that nobleman for many years, and was the tutor of his son and grandson.

Locke's great work, on which his fame securely rests, is the "Essay concerning Human Understanding," which stamps him as the greatest of English philosophers. This appeared in 1690. His most important educational work is entitled "Some Thoughts concerning Education." CompayrÉ says, "From psychology to pedagogy the transition is easy, and Locke had to make no great effort to become an authority on education after having been an accomplished philosopher." Further, the same author says concerning the essential principles discussed in "Thoughts concerning Education," "These are: 1, in physical education, the hardening process; 2, in intellectual education, practical utility; 3, in moral education, the principle of honor, set up as a rule for the free self-government of man."

In Locke, for the first time, we find a careful set of rules as to the food, sleep, physical exercise, and clothing of children. While modern science rejects some of these, most of them are regarded as sound in practice. Plenty of outdoor exercise, clothing loose and not too warm, plain food with but little meat or sugar, proper hours of sleep, and beds not too soft, early retiring and rising, and cold baths, are means prescribed to harden the body and prepare it to resist the attacks of disease. "A sound mind in a sound body" is the celebrated aphorism which sums up Locke's educational theory.

As to moral education, Locke declares, "That which a gentleman ought to desire for his son, besides the fortune which he leaves him, is, 1, virtue; 2, prudence; 3, good manners; 4, instruction." In his course of study the idea of utility prevails. After reading, writing, drawing, geography, and the mother tongue are mastered, Locke, like Montaigne, would teach the language of nearest neighbors, and then Latin. Even the Latin tongue should be learned through use, rather than by rules of grammar and by memorizing the works of classic authors.

While his system of education was planned for sons of gentlemen, Locke urged the establishment of "working schools" for children of the laboring classes. This was in line with his utilitarian ideas, as the intent was not so much intellectual training, as the formation of steady habits and the preparation for success in industrial pursuits. Locke's plan was for a sort of manual training school, the first appearance of such a project in history.

Locke did not believe in universal education, nor in the public school. Only gentlemen were provided for in his formal scheme, and herein he followed the path marked out by Alfred the Great eight hundred years before, which England has not completely forsaken to this day. Since he had done all his teaching as a private tutor in the family of a gentleman, one can easily understand his advocacy of that form of instruction for the favored few. Locke's teachings in this respect are gradually losing their hold even in England, the most conservative of all countries in educational matters, and the latest great nation to accept the principle of universal education. During the last quarter of a century England has been earnestly seeking to give every child, whether of gentle or of humble birth, rich or poor, what his birthright demands,—a good common school education.

The influence of Locke upon education, then, has been very great. Williams remarks that "he inspired Rousseau with nearly every valuable thought which appears in the brilliant pages of his 'Émile.' He seems himself to have derived some of his most characteristic ideas from Montaigne, and possibly also from Rabelais."[110] Although Locke differed from other educational reformers in many respects, though he was somewhat narrow in his conception of education, owing to his environment, he opposed the dry formalism that characterized the educational practice of his time, and sought to emancipate man both intellectually and physically.

FÉNELON (1651-1715)

FÉnelon was born of noble parents in the province of PÉrigord, France. During his early years his father attended very carefully to his education, and later his uncle, the Marquis de FÉnelon, became his guardian. Though delicate in health, the boy showed remarkable aptness in learning. At the age of twelve he entered the college of Cahors, and thence went to the university of Paris. He was destined by his parents for the Church, for which, by natural temperament and pious zeal, he was well fitted. He preached at fifteen with marked success, and took up a theological course at St. Sulpice. At the age of twenty-four he was ordained priest. He desired to enter the missionary field, first in Canada, and later in Greece, but had to abandon this purpose on account of ill health.

Saint-Simon, in his "MÉmoires," describes FÉnelon as a man of striking appearance, and says, "His manner altogether corresponded to his appearance; his perfect ease was infectious to others, and his conversation was stamped with the grace and good taste which are acquired by habitual intercourse with the best society and the great world."

For ten years FÉnelon was at the head of the convent of the New Catholics, an institution which sought to reclaim Protestant young women to Catholicism. In this position, as well as in all his lifework, though himself an ardent Catholic, FÉnelon's course was so temperate and just that he won the warmest admiration even of Protestants, who did not accept his faith. Among his friends were the Duke and Duchess of Beauvilliers, who had eight daughters and several sons. At their suggestion, and for the purpose of helping them in educating their daughters, he wrote his first and most important educational work, "The Education of Girls." CompayrÉ pronounces this "the first classical work of French pedagogy." He further speaks of this book as "a work of gentleness and goodness, of a complaisant and amiable grace, which is pervaded by a spirit of progress."[111] It appeared in 1687.

In 1689, when thirty-eight years of age, FÉnelon was chosen preceptor of the grandson of Louis XIV., the young Duke of Burgundy. In this position his remarkable powers as a teacher were brought to light, and he applied the theories which he had promulgated. The young duke, who was eight years of age, was of a passionate nature, hard to control, and yet, withal, of warm-hearted impulses. It is said that "he would break the clocks which summoned him to unwelcome duty, and fly into the wildest rage with the rain which hindered some pleasure." The "Telemachus"[112] of FÉnelon, perhaps his greatest literary work, was composed at this time, as were also his "Dialogues of the Dead" and his "Fables." The inspiration of all these works was found in the charge committed to him—that of properly instructing his royal pupil. FÉnelon thus created the material through which he interested the boy and taught him the intended lessons. The "Telemachus" was designed for the moral and political instruction of the prince; through his "Dialogues of the Dead" he taught history; and his "Fables" were composed for the purpose of teaching the moral and intellectual lessons which he wished to impart to his illustrious, but headstrong, pupil. FÉnelon's success with the prince was phenomenal, as the passionate boy became affectionate, docile, and obedient.

The success of the experiment, however, was never put to the final test, as the duke died before coming to the throne. There seems to be no doubt that the cure was permanent, and it is not believed that, like Nero, he would have relapsed into his former viciousness and cruelty.

One naturally compares FÉnelon with Seneca. To both were committed children, heirs apparent to thrones,—willful, cruel, disobedient, and hard to control. In Seneca's pupil the seeds of cruelty remained, to germinate into the awful tyrant; in FÉnelon's the evil seemed to be permanently eradicated, and the result was a prince with generous impulses and noble intentions. And this result was largely owing to the difference in the teachers,—FÉnelon, the gentle, but firm, patient, painstaking conscientious man; Seneca, the more brilliant, but vacillating and timeserving sycophant.

FÉnelon's Pedagogy.—1. There must be systematic care of the body. Therefore regular meals and plain food, plenty of sleep, exercise, etc., are essential.

2. All instruction must be made pleasant and interesting. Play is to be utilized in teaching. In this he anticipated Froebel.

3. Let punishments be as light as possible. Encourage children to be open and truthful, and do not prevent confession by making punishments too frequent or too severe. Punishment should be administered privately, as a rule, and publicly only when all other means have failed.

4. Present the thing before its name,—the idea before the word. Study things, investigate. Employ curiosity. In this he was a disciple of Bacon and Comenius, and a prophet to Pestalozzi.

5. Allow nothing to be committed to memory that is not understood.

6. Girls, also, must share the benefits of education. Especial attention should be given to teaching them modesty, gentleness, piety, household economy, the duties of their station in life, and those of motherhood.

7. Morality should be taught early and by means of fables, stories, and concrete examples.

8. Proceed from the near at hand to the remote, from the known to the unknown. Thus in language, after the mother tongue, teach other living languages, and then the classics. The latter are to be learned by conversation about common objects, and by application of the rules of grammar in connection therewith. In geography and history one's own environment and country should be learned first, then other countries.9. Example is of great importance to all periods of life, but especially to childhood. This FÉnelon practically illustrated by his own life and by the concrete cases which he used. Voltaire says of FÉnelon, "His wit was overflowing with beauty, his heart with goodness."

LA SALLE AND THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS[113]

In 1681, La Salle, a devoted priest of the Catholic Church, organized the Brothers of the Christian Schools.

The idea primarily was to awaken interest in elementary education. He perfected the work already done by Peter Faurier, Charles Demia, and others. The method of instruction, up to this time, had been largely individual. The pupils were called up to the teacher, one by one, or at most two by two, and, after the lesson had been heard, they were sent back to their seats to study. La Salle conceived the idea of grading together pupils of the same advancement, and teaching them simultaneously,—a practice now employed in primary schools everywhere. It is known as the Simultaneous Method. Brother Azarias says of this method, "Because we all of us have been trained according to this method, and see it practiced in nearly all of our public and many of our private schools throughout the land, and have ceased to find it a subject of wonder, we may be inclined to undervalue its importance. Not so was it regarded in the days of La Salle. Then a Brothers' School was looked upon with admiration. Strangers were shown it as a curiosity worth visiting."La Salle laid down many explicit rules concerning punishment, methods of teaching, and school organization in a book called "The Conduct of Schools." While modern criticism would condemn many of these rules, we think, with CompayrÉ, that "whatever the distance which separates these gloomy schools from our modern ideal,—from the pleasant, active, animated school, such as we conceive it to-day,—there is none the less obligation to do justice to La Salle, to pardon him for practices which were those of his time, and to admire him for the good qualities that were peculiarly his own."[114]

He established the first normal school in history at Rheims in 1684, thirteen years before Francke organized his teachers' class at Halle, and fifty years before Hecker founded the first Prussian normal school at Stettin. La Salle magnified the teacher's office, and urgently demanded professional training for instructors of the young. Brother Azarias forcibly sums up La Salle's great work in this respect as follows: "He is the benefactor of the modern schoolmaster. He it was who raised primary teaching out of the ruts of never ending routine, carried on in the midst of time-honored noise and confusion, and, in giving it principles and a method, made of it a science. He hedged in the dignity of the schoolmaster. He was the first to assert the exclusive right of the master to devote his whole time to his school work."[115]

Education, therefore, owes to La Salle three important contributions,—(1) the Simultaneous Method of Instruction, whereby a number of children of the same advancement are taught together; (2) the first Normal School, established at Rheims, France, in 1684; and (3) a dignifying of the teacher's profession by setting apart trained persons who should give all their time to the work of teaching.

Rollin (1661-1741).—This great teacher, connected for many years with the University of Paris, and deposed therefrom in connection with the Jansenists to whom he adhered, was not merely a university lecturer, but also an author of educational works and a student of general education. His most important educational work is his "Treatise on Studies." Rollin anticipated modern practice by seeking to make learning pleasant and discipline humane. He would use the rod only as a last resort—a theory quite contrary to the practice of that time. Too much freedom, he thought, would have a tendency to make children impudent; too frequent appeal to fear breaks the spirit; praise arouses and encourages the child, but too much of it makes him vain. Therefore the teacher must avoid both extremes. While he would have girls know the four ground rules of arithmetic, that is about all they should have except domestic training. Rollin had no connection with elementary schools and but little contact with children; therefore his precepts do not always have the sound basis that experience furnishes. Nevertheless, he exerted a salutary influence upon the education of his time.

Summary of the Educational Progress of the Seventeenth Century.—1. School systems were established and compulsory attendance made efficient in Weimar in 1619, in Gotha in 1642, and in many other cities, showing a growing recognition of the principle of universal education and the duty of the State to assume the responsibility for its attainment.

2. A school of educators, known as the "Innovators," laid emphasis on sense-realism,—the study of things, the contact with nature, the education that is of practical use.3. Bacon laid the foundation of all future scientific research by his inductive method. This increased the riches of the world beyond calculation, taught how investigation is to be made, laid the foundation of modern science, and gave direction to all later education.

4. Ratke, though erratic and vulgar, instituted wholesome reforms in the teaching of languages, and promulgated theories which, under later reformers, bore rich fruitage.

5. Comenius, one of the greatest educators of all time, produced the first illustrated text-book, planned a general organization for schools in several countries, which is the basis of present systems, and proclaimed theories which are now universally accepted as the guide of modern pedagogical practice.

6. Milton, though primarily a literary man, lent the weight of his genius and his great name to school reform. He marked out a course of study which contemplates a unity of purpose from the elementary school to the university.

7. The great English philosopher, Locke, also found time to devote to education. His principle, "A sound mind in a sound body," directed attention to physical education.

8. In the noble French priest, FÉnelon, we find an example of theory practically applied. He gives, also, for the first time, a place in pedagogy to the education of girls.

9. In general, we find that the seventeenth century laid stress upon the principle of utility, gave great impulse to science, called attention to the care of the body, decreased the influence of classic studies, brushed away the fabric which superstition and conservatism had woven, produced some of the greatest educators that have ever lived, and laid the foundations on which modern education is built.

FOOTNOTES:

[86] For special reference see Macaulay's "Essays," Vols. II and III.