THE REFORMATION AS AN EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE
=Literature.=--_White_, Eighteen Christian Centuries; _Taylor_, History
of Germany; _Draper_, Intellectual Development of Europe; _Guizot_,
History of Civilization; _Lord_, Beacon Lights; _Seebohm_, The
Protestant Revolution; _Gasquet_, Eve of the Reformation; _Spaulding_,
History of the Reformation; _Bryce_, The Holy Roman Empire; _Morris_,
Era of the Protestant Revolution; _Hurst_, History of the Reformation;
Lewis, History of Germany; _Myers_, Mediaeval and Modern History;
_Schiller_, The Thirty Years' War; _Hallam_, Literary History; _Kiddle
and Schem_, Cyclopaedia of Education; _Dyer_, Modern Europe;
_D'Aubigne_, History of the Reformation; _Yonge_, Three Centuries of
Modern History; _Mombert_, Great Lives; _Schwickerath_, Jesuit
Education.
=Historical Conditions.=--At the beginning of the sixteenth century we
find the stage of political, religious, and educational activity
transferred from the shores of the Mediterranean to the north of the
Alps. We have seen the great work of civilization taken from the Greek
and Latin races and committed to the Teutonic race. We have traced the
humanistic movement from its birthplace in Italy to Germany, where it
found a more congenial atmosphere and a more suitable soil. The world
was ripe for a great revolution, which was destined to advance the
interests of mankind with gigantic strides.
The invention of printing by Gutenberg, in the middle of the fifteenth
century, must be mentioned as the primary material agency in forwarding
this advance. It was said of this art that it would "give the deathblow
to the superstition of the Middle Ages." It multiplied readers a
hundredfold; it stimulated authorship; it revolutionized literature,
because it made the preservation and dissemination of thought easy; it
was a mighty influence in bringing about universal education, a
principle for which the Reformation stood.
Another event of great importance was the discovery of America, which
stimulated various European enterprises. Thus, at the beginning of the
sixteenth century, the world awakened from its long sleep, and
educational enterprise was born anew.
The German Reformation had been preceded by similar movements in other
lands. Huss and Jerome of Prague, in Bohemia, Wyclif in England, Zwingli
in Switzerland, the Waldenses in Italy, and the Albigenses in France,
had raised their voices in solemn protest against clerical abuses,[52]
and many of the reformers had paid for their temerity by martyrdom. But
the German Reformation, under the leadership of Martin Luther, was
destined to exert a mighty influence throughout northern Europe, and to
set in motion impulses which were to shape all later history.
The chief rulers of Europe were Frederick the Wise of Saxony, known as
Luther's friend, Henry the Eighth of England, Francis the First of
France, and Charles the Fifth, king of Spain, Naples, Sicily, and
Austria, and afterward emperor of Germany. Leo the Tenth was Pope, and
he had great influence in temporal affairs. Emperor Charles the Fifth
was the most powerful ruler of this period. Though a foreigner in
manners, customs, and sympathy, and unacquainted with the German tongue,
he became emperor of Germany by bribing the electors who had a voice in
selecting the ruler of that nation. It is said that he paid $1,500,000
to these corrupt electors, besides making many promises of future
favors. He was treacherous, and never hesitated to break the most solemn
pledges when his interests so demanded. Bayard Taylor says of him, "His
election was a crime, from the effects of which Germany did not recover
for three hundred years."
=Intellectual Conditions=.--These, then, were the external conditions
which existed at the beginning of the sixteenth century. We have seen
that the need of reformation was acknowledged on all sides. There were
but few good teachers to be found, even in the Church which had so long
been the mother of schools. Education was at such a low ebb, and the
advantages offered by the schools were so poor, and of such a doubtful
character, that but few persons cared to avail themselves of their
privileges. Even the universities failed to educate. Luther says, "Is it
not pitiable that a boy has been obliged to study twenty years or longer
to learn enough bad Latin to become a priest, and read mass?" Again he
says, "Such teachers and masters we have been obliged to have
everywhere, who have known nothing themselves, and have been able to
teach nothing good or useful."
There was need, then, of reform in education as well as in religion, and
Luther took the burden of both upon his shoulders. As an educational
reformer, he has earned for himself the world's gratitude. It must be
admitted that Luther's main purpose was the reformation of the Church,
and that his educational work merely grew out of the need of general
intelligence as a necessary adjunct to that work. Of the existing
conditions, Compayre well says, "With La Salle and the foundation of the
Institute of the Brethren of the Christian Schools, the historian of
education recognizes the Catholic origin of primary instruction; in the
decrees and laws of the French Revolution, its lay and philosophical
origin; but it is to the Protestant Reformation,--to Luther in the
sixteenth century, and to Comenius in the seventeenth,--that must be
ascribed the honor of having first organized schools for the people. In
its origin, the primary school is the child of Protestantism, and its
cradle was the Reformation."[53]
LUTHER (1483-1546)
Martin Luther was born at Eisleben, Germany, of poor and humble parents.
He was brought up under the rigid discipline of the typical German home,
in which the rod was not spared. Upon this point he writes, "My parents'
severity made me timid; their sternness and the strict life they led me
made me afterward go into a monastery and become a monk. They meant
well, but they did not understand the art of adjusting their
punishments."
When he was fourteen years of age, his parents, then in better
circumstances, sent him to Magdeburg to prepare for the university. But
the expense being too great, he was withdrawn from this school and sent
to Eisenach, where he could live with relatives. Here he sang in the
street for alms, and his sweet voice attracted the attention of Ursula
Cotta, a wealthy lady, who took him to her own home and gave him an
excellent teacher.
When eighteen years of age he entered the university of Erfurt, then a
center of humanistic learning. He made marvelous progress in his
studies until he took his degree. His father had intended him for the
law, but Luther determined to devote himself to the Church, much to his
father's disappointment. Accordingly he became an Augustinian monk when
twenty-two years of age. Unlike many of his brethren, he kept up his
studies while in the monastery, and was called to a professorship in the
new university at Wittenberg in 1508, where he found an ample field for
his remarkable powers. Two years later, he went as a delegate to the
papal court at Rome, where his eyes were opened to the condition of the
Church in her holiest sanctuaries. Returning to Wittenberg, he continued
his studies and his lectures, and drew about him a great number of
students. His lectures and his writings against the practices of the
Church became so pronounced that he was summoned before the Diet of
Worms and commanded to retract. This he refused to do in the memorable
words: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. God help me! Amen." On his
return from Worms, fearing for his safety, his friends took him prisoner
and confined him in the Wartburg castle at Eisenach. During the nine
months of his confinement he translated the Bible into German.[54]
Luther took great pains to make the language so pure and plain that it
could be understood by the common people, to whom he appealed. He was
never ashamed of his humble origin. When he came to be the honored
friend and trusted adviser of princes and kings, he was wont to say, "I
am a peasant's son; my father, grandfather, and remote ancestors were
nothing but veritable peasants."
The language of Luther's translation of the Bible became the standard
German, which was to supplant the many dialects.
His great watchword was, "Make the people acquainted with the Word of
God." But the Bible was of little use to the masses so long as they
could not read. Luther therefore set himself sturdily to the improvement
of the schools, which were in a deplorable condition. He urged the
principle of parental responsibility for the education of children.
"Believe me," said he, "it is far more important that you exercise care
in training your children than that you seek indulgences, say many
prayers, go much to church, or make many vows." His pedagogy constitutes
the foundation of the German common school system of to-day. Luther,
then, must be remembered as the greatest educator of his time for two
reasons.
1. _He gave the German people a language by his translation of the Holy
Scriptures._
2. _He laid the foundation of the German common school system._
=Luther's Pedagogy.=--1. Parents are responsible for the education of
their children.
2. It is the duty of the State to require regular attendance at school
of every child, and the parents must be held accountable for
non-attendance.
3. Religion is the foundation of all school instruction.
4. Every child must learn not only the ordinary subjects taught at
school, but also the practical duties of life,--boys, a trade; girls,
housework.
5. Every clergyman must have pedagogical training and experience in
teaching before entering upon a pastorate.[55]
6. The teacher must be trained, and in that training singing is
included.
7. Children must be taught according to nature's laws,--the knowledge of
the thing must precede its name.
8. Due respect should be shown to the office of teacher, and by example
and precept every teacher should be worthy of respect.
9. His course of study included Latin and Greek, history, mathematics,
singing, and physical training, besides religion.
10. Every school should have a library.
11. It is the inherent right of every child to be educated, and the
State must provide the means to that end.
The principles above stated are fundamental in the German school systems
of the present time. Religious instruction, trained teachers, compulsory
and universal education, are the central principles of the schools of
Germany and of many other nations. Luther could not give his chief
attention to education, but with deep insight he saw the necessity of
it, and laid the foundations upon which later generations have built a
marvelous structure, true to the design of its architect.
MELANCHTHON (1497-1560)
Philipp Melanchthon was the friend, colaborer, and adviser of Luther.
Luther was a resolute, energetic, impulsive man; Melanchthon was quiet,
reserved, and conciliating. There is no doubt that these two men of
such opposite dispositions exerted a salutary influence upon each
other,--Luther stimulated and encouraged Melanchthon; Melanchthon
checked and restrained Luther. It is certain that each was helpful to
the other, and that the great cause of the Reformation, to which they
mutually consecrated themselves, was furthered by their friendship and
union.
Melanchthon had excellent training as a boy, and early showed signs of
unusual ability. At fifteen he took his bachelor's degree at Heidelberg
University, and when only eighteen years of age Erasmus said of him,
"What hopes may we not conceive of Philipp Melanchthon, though as yet
very young, almost a boy, but equally to be admired for his proficiency
in both languages! What quickness of invention! What purity of diction!
What vastness of memory! What variety of reading! What modesty and
gracefulness of behavior! And what a princely mind!"
After completing his course at Heidelberg, he went to Tuebingen, where
his studies were directed by Reuchlin, who was his kinsman. He gave
public lectures at Tuebingen on rhetoric and on various classic authors,
attracting worldwide attention. In 1518 he was called to the Greek
professorship at Wittenberg, where he made the acquaintance of Luther.
Bishop Hurst says, "The life of Melanchthon was now so thoroughly
identified with that of Luther that it is difficult to separate the two.
They lived in the same town of Wittenberg. They were in constant
consultation, each doing what he was most able to do, and both working
with unwearied zeal for the triumph of the cause to which they gave
their life."
His success at Wittenberg was assured from the first. Though youthful in
appearance, being but twenty-one years of age, his pure logic, his
profound knowledge of philosophy, his familiarity with the Scriptures,
his perfect mastery of the classic languages, his fine diction, and his
broad knowledge awoke enthusiasm at once. Wittenberg, possessing two
such great men as Luther and Melanchthon, became the center of
humanistic studies, not less than two thousand students being attracted
to its university. Melanchthon was an inspiring teacher; among his
pupils were men who afterward became leaders of thought in Germany, and
who did much to shape the destiny of Europe.
Perhaps Melanchthon's greatest service to the schools was his
publication of text-books, which were very much needed. He wrote a Greek
grammar for boys when himself but a boy of sixteen. Grammar he defined
as "the science of speaking and writing correctly," a definition that
has been scarcely improved upon. Ten years later his Latin grammar was
published, after being tested for some years in his classes. For more
than one hundred years this was the principal Latin grammar in use, and
there were not less than fifty-one editions of it.
He wrote also text-books on logic, rhetoric, and ethics. It will be seen
that the trivium--grammar, rhetoric, logic--furnished the foundation of
his literary activity, so far as the schools are concerned. He was
active also in authorship of theological works, producing the first
theological work of the Protestant Church, the "Loci Communes," which
Luther placed next to the Bible for theological study.
The interest of Melanchthon for education made him the chief adviser and
leader among the school men. His advice was constantly sought in the
educational movements of Germany. After visiting the schools of Saxony,
he drew up the "Saxony School Plan," which furnished the basis of
various similar organizations throughout Germany. There were three
fundamental principles in this system.
1. There must not be too many studies in the schools, and Latin should
be the only language taught.
2. There must not be too many books used.
3. The children should be divided into at least three classes, or
grades.
In the first grade, reading, writing, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed,
prayers and hymns, and some Latin should be taught. In the second, the
Latin grammar, Latin authors, and religion. In the third, completion of
the grammar, difficult Latin authors, rhetoric, and logic. Williams
calls this "Melanchthon's somewhat artless ideas of a proper school
system," which he excuses as being "marked possibly by the crudity of a
first effort at organization, but more probably controlled in form by
the fewness of teachers in the schools of his time."
Melanchthon is also known as the first Protestant psychologist.
To sum up the educational work of Melanchthon, we find that he was a
"born teacher," attracting and inspiring thousands of young men whom he
instructed; that he was the author of many text-books for the schools,
and of theological works; that he was an educational authority; that he
outlined a complete school system; and that he was the adviser and
friend of Luther in the work of the Reformation.
FOOTNOTES:
[52] See Brother Azarias, "Philosophy of Literature," pp. 122-124.
[53] "History of Pedagogy," p. 112.
Karl Schmidt, in speaking of the spirit of the Reformation, says, "These
ideas form the basis of the common school, which up to this time had
been sporadically established only in isolated places." "Geschichte der
Paedagogik," Vol. III, p. 16.
[54] In 1877, Mr. H. Stevens published at South Kensington, a "List of
Bibles in the Caxton Exhibition." He says: "Not only are there many
editions of the Latin Vulgate long anterior to that time (1507 A.D.),
but there were actually nine _German_ editions of the Bible in the
Caxton exhibition earlier than 1483, the year of Luther's birth, and at
least three more before the end of the century." The general use of the
printing press about this time made popular translations opportune, as
it placed the Bible within the reach of all. It thus became a powerful
instrument for universal education.
[55] This was because the pastor had an oversight of the school, a
practice still very common in Germany.