TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
No other changes have been made to the text.
THE EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS OF
RICHARD MULCASTER
PUBLISHED BY
JAMES MACLEHOSE AND SONS, GLASGOW,
Publishers to the University.
MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD., LONDON.
_New York_, _The Macmillan Co._
_London_, _Simpkin, Hamilton and Co._
_Cambridge_, _Macmillan and Bowes_.
_Edinburgh_, _Douglas and Foulis_.
MCMIII.
THE
EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS
OF
RICHARD MULCASTER
(1532-1611)
_ABRIDGED AND ARRANGED, WITH A CRITICAL ESTIMATE_
BY
JAMES OLIPHANT, M.A., F.R.S.E.
AUTHOR OF “VICTORIAN NOVELISTS,” ETC.
GLASGOW
JAMES MACLEHOSE AND SONS
Publishers to the University
1903
GLASGOW: PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS BY
ROBERT MACLEHOSE AND CO.
TO MY SISTER
AMY M. SMITH
PREFACE.
Some apology is needed for the presentation of an Elizabethan
writer to English readers in any form but that of the original
text. The justification of the present volume must lie in the
fact that in the three centuries and more that have elapsed since
the educational writings of Richard Mulcaster were given to the
world, they have entirely failed to gain acceptance as literature.
This neglect of one of our most interesting and important
educationists is no doubt chiefly to be regarded as part of the
general indifference which until recently the British public has
consistently shown to all discussion of educational problems,
but when we consider the reputation of Mulcaster’s contemporary,
Roger Ascham, who had far less to say, but knew how to say it with
lucidity and grace, we are constrained to admit that Mulcaster
has lost his opportunity of catching the world’s ear, and that
if his writings are to be known and appreciated as they deserve
by this generation, it must be rather for their substance than
for their literary style. It is true that the serious student may
now be trusted to investigate for himself the thoughts of earlier
authors in spite of difficulties of form and expression, but the
general reader will expect more help than, in the case of Mulcaster
at least, is at present available. The earlier of his two chief
works, the _Positions_, published in 1581, was out of print for 300
years, until the issue in 1888 of an almost facsimile edition by
the late Mr. Quick, to whom the credit of discovering this author
is mainly due, while the second work, the _Elementarie_, has never
been reprinted at all. It is safe to assume that not many readers
will care to possess themselves of the somewhat expensive reprint
of the former work, or to institute a search for one of the rare
copies of the original and only edition of the latter. And if these
books were to be made more accessible, it seemed worth while at
the same time to present them in such a form that they should be
readily intelligible to the ordinary reader. In the case of an
acknowledged literary classic it may be inadmissible to tamper
even with the type and spelling, far more with the phraseology and
arrangement of sentences, but such scruples would be out of place
with the author now in question. An attempt has been made to remove
all gratuitous hindrances to a full understanding of the author’s
meaning, while omitting nothing that is at once characteristic
and significant. It is hoped that in the process of adaptation
as little as possible has been lost of the quaint flavour of the
original, and of the gifts of expression that Mulcaster undoubtedly
possessed, however much these were obscured by the euphuistic
tendency and the somewhat laboured construction that marked the
prose of his time.
J. O.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
THE METHOD OF TREATMENT, 1
THE PURPOSE OF WRITING, 2
REASONS FOR WRITING IN ENGLISH, 4
FIRST PRINCIPLES, 4
THE USE OF AUTHORITY, 7
THE IDEAL AND THE POSSIBLE, 11
WHEN SCHOOL EDUCATION SHOULD BEGIN, 12
RISK OF OVERPRESSURE, 13
MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO, 14
PHYSICAL EXERCISE NEEDS REGULATION, 15
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL TRAINING SHOULD GO TOGETHER, 15
EXERCISE SPECIALLY NECESSARY FOR STUDENTS, 16
THE BEST KINDS OF EXERCISE, 17
FOOTBALL AS A FORM OF EXERCISE, 17
IS EDUCATION TO BE OFFERED TO BOTH SEXES? 18
ALL CANNOT RECEIVE A LEARNED EDUCATION, 19
CHOICE OF SCHOLARS BOTH FROM RICH AND POOR, 20
THE NUMBER OF SCHOLARS LIMITED BY CIRCUMSTANCES, 21
THE NUMBER OF SCHOLARS KEPT DOWN BY LAW, 22
TALENT NOT PECULIAR EITHER TO RICH OR POOR, 22
CHOICE OF THOSE FIT FOR LEARNING, 23
HOW THE CHOICE OF SCHOLARS, SHOULD BE DETERMINED, 24
GROUNDS FOR PROMOTION, 25
CO-OPERATION OF PARENTS, 27
ADMISSION INTO COLLEGES, 28
PREFERMENT TO DEGREES, 29
NATURAL CAPACITY IN CHILDREN, 30
ENCOURAGEMENT BETTER THAN SEVERITY, 32
MORAL TRAINING FALLS CHIEFLY ON PARENTS, 32
ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION--READING, 33
THE VERNACULAR FIRST, 34
MATERIAL OF READING, 35
WRITING, 36
ELEMENTARY PERIOD A TIME OF PROBATION, 37
DRAWING, 37
MUSIC, 39
FOUR ELEMENTARY SUBJECTS, 42
STUDY OF LANGUAGES, 44
FOLLOW NATURE, 45
EDUCATION OF GIRLS, 50
AIM OF EDUCATION FOR GIRLS, 53
WHEN THEIR EDUCATION SHOULD BEGIN, 54
ALL SHOULD HAVE ELEMENTARY EDUCATION, 55
HIGHER STUDIES FOR SOME, 57
WHAT HIGHER STUDIES ARE SUITABLE, 58
WHO SHOULD BE THEIR TEACHERS, 60
THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG GENTLEMEN, 60
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC EDUCATION, 61
WHAT SHOULD A GENTLEMAN LEARN? 65
WHAT MAKES A GENTLEMAN? 68
LEARNING USEFUL TO NOBLEMEN, 70
COURSE OF STUDY FOR A GENTLEMAN, 72
FOREIGN TRAVEL, 73
GENTLEMEN SHOULD TAKE UP THE PROFESSIONS, 77
THE TRAINING OF A PRINCE, 78
BOARDING-SCHOOLS, 79
SCHOOL BUILDINGS, 82
BEST HOURS FOR STUDY, 84
ELEMENTARY TEACHER MOST IMPORTANT, 85
THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL TEACHER, 87
THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS, 90
UNIVERSITY REFORM, 91
A COLLEGE FOR LANGUAGES, 92
A COLLEGE FOR MATHEMATICS, 93
A COLLEGE FOR PHILOSOPHY, 95
PROFESSIONAL COLLEGES, 96
GENERAL STUDY FOR PROFESSIONAL MEN, 96
A TRAINING COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS, 97
USE OF THE SEVEN COLLEGES, 98
UNITING OF COLLEGES, 99
UNIVERSITY READERS, 100
EVILS OF OVERPRESSURE, 101
LIMIT OF ELEMENTARY COURSE, 103
DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING, 104
UNIFORMITY OF METHOD, 105
CHOICE OF SCHOOL BOOKS, 110
SCHOOL REGULATIONS, 113
PUNISHMENTS, 113
CONDITION OF TEACHERS, 117
CONSULTATION ABOUT CHILDREN, 118
SYSTEMATIC DIRECTION, 121
THE STANDARD OF ENGLISH SPELLING, 124
THE PERORATION, 171
CRITICAL ESTIMATE, 209
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
Richard Mulcaster came of a border family that could trace its
descent back to the eleventh century. On his wife’s tomb he
describes himself as “by ancient parentage and lineal descent, an
esquire born,” and there is evidence that some of his ancestors
held positions of importance, both administrative and academic.
In the fourteenth century we hear of a Richard de Molcastre, who,
as the second son, inherited from his father, Sir William, the
estates of Brakenhill and Solport, and the family retained its
consideration up to our own time. But in the reign of Elizabeth
the ancestral lands were no longer in the possession of the branch
to which our author belonged. He was probably born in the border
district, and the date of his birth must have been about 1532. He
was sent to Eton, then under Nicholas Udall, who as a headmaster
was known alike for his learning and his severity, and who as
the writer of the first regular English comedy, may have given
Mulcaster his taste for the drama. In 1548 he went to Cambridge as
a King’s Scholar, but in 1555 we hear of his election as a Student
of Christchurch, Oxford. In the following year he was “licensed to
proceed in Arts.” He had a reputation for a knowledge of Hebrew as
well as of Latin and Greek, and seems shortly afterwards to have
chosen the profession of a schoolmaster, making his way to London
about 1558 or 1559.
In 1560 the Guild of Merchant Taylors decided to establish the
well-known day Grammar School for boys which still bears their
name, and in the following year Mulcaster was appointed the first
headmaster, having charge of two hundred and fifty scholars, with
the assistance of three undermasters. The school hours were from
7 to 11 a.m. and from 1 to 5 p.m., with one half holiday in the
week, besides the ordinary church festival days, and for this
the headmaster received the salary of £10 (equivalent to £80 or
£100 now), besides a dwelling in the school and a small sum from
entrance fees. He was granted twenty days’ leave of absence in the
year, but was not allowed to hold any other office, though his
appointment was only held from year to year.
The reputation Mulcaster had already gained as a teacher before
his appointment is shown in the fact that the post was offered to
him without his application, and that he accepted it only after
some hesitation, when he was promised an additional £10 of salary,
on the private and personal guarantee of one of the Governors.
He held the position for twenty-five years, and his successful
conduct of the school is fully attested by the verdict of eminent
scholars who acted as examiners, by the expressions of satisfaction
in the minutes of the Council, and by the testimony of the pupils
themselves, many of whom attained distinction in after-life.
Of Mulcaster’s scholars at Merchant Taylors’ School the most famous
was Edmund Spenser, but in the absence of any reference to his
teacher by the poet, we have to be content with the direct evidence
of Lancelot Andrews, Bishop of Winchester, and Sir James Whitelock,
Justice of the King’s Bench. Of the former it is recorded that he
“ever loved and honoured” his former headmaster, befriending him
and his son after him, and keeping his portrait over the door of
his study. The latter tells us that Mulcaster besides instructing
him well in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, was careful to increase his
skill in music, and chose him to act with other scholars in the
plays he presented at Court, by which means the boys were taught
good manners and self-confidence. The account of him in Fuller’s
_Worthies_ may perhaps represent the impressions of less gifted
scholars--“Atropos might be persuaded to pity, as soon as he to
pardon, where he found just fault. The prayers of cockering mothers
prevailed with him as much as the requests of indulgent fathers,
rather increasing than mitigating his severity on their offending
child.... Others have taught as much learning with fewer lashes,
yet his sharpness was the better endured, because impartial, and
many excellent scholars were bred under him.”
But while Mulcaster was building up securely the reputation of the
school, his own position was not always comfortable, and in the
end the friction between himself and the governing body became so
great that he felt constrained to resign the headmastership. This
was no doubt partly due to his own somewhat hasty and masterful
temper, for on one occasion at least it is recorded in the
minutes of the Council that he had made open apology for things
said and done in anger, but there were more lasting causes of
dispute. After the first eight years the promised supplement to
his official income was no longer forthcoming, apparently owing
to the declining circumstances of the member of the Council who
had contributed it, and Mulcaster having on the strength of this
extra sum increased the salary of his first assistant, conceived
that he was entitled to its continuance from the Company. There
were besides disputes between the Council and the authorities of
St. John’s College, Oxford, where its founder, a member of the
Guild, had reserved certain free places for orphans coming from
the school, and in these Mulcaster was involved. While the Council
seems to have acted throughout within its rights, and in the end
showed a desire to deal even generously with its headmaster, it is
easy to understand the difficulties of the situation, especially
to a man like Mulcaster, whose natural impatience of control would
not be diminished by his evident sense that in birth as well as
in learning he was above his official superiors. So necessary did
he feel it to regain his freedom that in 1586 he tendered his
resignation, without apparently having any definite prospect of
other work.
During the next ten years scarcely anything is known of Mulcaster’s
life, except that he was in straitened circumstances. By 1588
his claim on the Merchant Taylors’ Guild had been adjusted by a
compromise, and friendly relations must have been restored, for we
find him acting as examiner to the School in that year. For part
of this time at least he was out of London, for he seems to have
been for a year vicar of Cranbrook in Kent, and he was afterwards
granted by the Queen the prebend of Yatesbury, in the diocese of
Salisbury.
In 1596 came a return of prosperity in a settled position. The
headmaster of St. Paul’s School, which had been founded at the
beginning of the century by John Colet, and bequeathed by him to
the management of the Silk Mercers’ Guild, had resigned his post,
as a result of similar differences with the governing body to those
which occurred in the Merchant Taylors’ School, and Mulcaster,
whatever misgivings he may have had, had learned enough from his
recent experience not to decline the vacant office when it was
offered to him. He was already in his sixty-fourth year when he
received the appointment, and he continued to hold it till he was
seventy-six. The conditions were much the same as those under which
he had formerly worked, the statutes of St. Paul’s School having
indeed served as a model to the later foundation, but the number
of scholars was limited to 153, and the salary of the headmaster
was £36 (equal to about £300 now), in addition to a residence in
the school. In 1602 the salaries of all the teachers were doubled,
in recompense for certain restrictions imposed by a new set of
regulations, and when Mulcaster resigned his position in 1608,
presumably on account of failing strength, he received a yearly
pension of £66 3s. 4d. until his death three years later. There is
little to record of his labours during his twelve years’ service at
St. Paul’s School, the only outstanding event being in connection
with the accession of James I. in 1603. It was the privilege of his
scholars to welcome the Sovereign to the capital, and we read that
on this occasion a Latin speech, prepared by the headmaster, was
delivered by one of the scholars at the door of the School.
It is painful to learn that the closing years of Mulcaster’s
life were clouded by distressing poverty. Nor is this easy to
understand, for besides his pension, he was not without resources.
He had some time before been granted by Queen Elizabeth the living
of Stanford Rivers in Essex, but had been precluded from entering
on it while he remained at St. Paul’s School. On his retirement
from the headmastership he took up the duties of his country
charge, notwithstanding his advanced age, though without striking
success, according to Fuller’s account: “I have heard from those
who have heard him preach that his sermons were not excellent,
which to me seems no wonder, partly because there is a different
discipline in teaching children and men, partly because such who
make divinity not the choice of their youth but the refuge of their
age seldom attain to eminency therein.” In spite of these two
sources of income we find Mulcaster in 1609 making a pitiful but
unsuccessful appeal to his old patrons, the Merchant Taylors, and
when he died two years later he left his son burdened with debts,
from which he was only relieved by the aid of some of his father’s
former scholars, and of the two Guilds under which he had served.
His wife had died two years before him, after fifty years of wedded
life, and her virtues are recorded in a commemorative tablet.
Mulcaster’s educational writings were produced towards the close
of the period spent at Merchant Taylors’ School, the _Positions_
appearing in 1581, and the _First Part of the Elementarie_ in 1582.
The completion of the latter, and the further works promised on
higher education, were never accomplished. He also wrote numerous
Latin verses, including an address to Queen Elizabeth at the
Kenilworth pageant of 1575, and a catechism, also in Latin, for
the use of his pupils at St. Paul’s School, while he is mentioned
as the author of a work entitled _Cato Christianus_, which has not
come down to us.
All the sources of information regarding Mulcaster’s life and
writings have been collected and compared with exhaustive industry
by Dr. Theodor Klähr in a pamphlet entitled _Leben und Werke
Richard Mulcaster’s_ (Dresden, 1893).
THE EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS OF RICHARD MULCASTER
The Method of Treatment.
Whosoever shall consider carefully the manner of bringing up
children which is in general favour within this realm, cannot but
agree with me in wishing that it were improved. I do not think
it well, however, in this place to lay bare its special defects,
because I am in hope of seeing them healed without so strong a
measure. If I should seek to expose all the inconveniences which
are experienced between parents and schoolmasters, and between
teachers and learners; if I should refer to all the difficulties
through which the education and upbringing of children is seriously
impaired, I might revive causes of annoyance, and thereby make the
evils worse. And even though I were to remedy them, the patient
might bear in mind how churlishly he was cured, and though he
should pay well for the healing, he might be ill-satisfied with the
treatment. Wherefore in mending things that are amiss, I take that
to be the most advisable way which saveth the man without making
the means unpleasant. If without entering into controversies I set
down what seems to me on reasonable grounds to be the right course
as being not only the best, but most within compass, the wrong
course will forthwith show itself by comparison, and will thus
receive a check without any need for fault-finding.
The Purpose of Writing.
I have taught in public now without interruption for two-and-twenty
years, and have always had a very great charge committed to my
hands, my fulfilment of which I leave to an impartial judgment.
During this time, both through what I have seen in teaching so
long, and what I have tried in training up so many, I well perceive
that, with the disadvantages which myself and other teachers have
been subject to, none of us have been able to do as much as we
might. I believe I have not only learned what these disadvantages
are, but have discerned how they may be removed, so that I and
all others may be able to do much more good than heretofore. And
as I write for the common good I appeal to the reader’s courtesy
to give me credit for good intentions, though my hopes should not
be realised. For I am only doing what is open to all, namely, to
give public utterance to my personal convictions, and to claim
indulgence for what is intended for the general good. As I am
myself ready to give favourable consideration to others who do the
same, I expect any who make use of my work to their own profit
to give me credit for it, and those who get no benefit from it
at least to sympathise with me in meeting so little success for
my good intentions. I may be told--You are alone in raising this
matter; you do but trouble yourself; you cannot turn aside the
course, which is old and well-established, and therefore very
strong for you to strive against. This thing which you recommend
is not every man’s wares; it will not be compassed. Do you let it
alone; if you must needs write, turn your pen to other matters
which the State will like better, which this age will readily
approve of, which you may urge with credit if they be new and
suitable, or confirm with praise if they be old and need repeating.
If such objections were not invariably raised to all attempts to
turn either from bad to good, or from good to better, I would
answer them carefully, but now I need not, for in order to gain
any advantage he who wishes to have it must be prepared to wrestle
for it, both in speech and in writing, against the corruption
of his age, against the loneliness of attempt, against party
prejudice, against the difficulties of performance. Nor must he
be discouraged by any ordinary thwarting, which is a thing well
known to experienced students, and of least account where it is
best known, however fearful a thing it may seem to timid fancies to
stem corruption and strive against the stream. For the stream will
turn when a stronger tide returns, and even if there be no tide,
yet an untiring effort will make way against it till it prevails.
And surely it were more honourable for some one, or some few, to
hazard their own credit and estimation for the time in favour of
a thing which they know to be deserving of support, though it may
not be held of much account, than through too timorous a concession
to public opinion, which, in spite of its influence, is not always
the soundest, to leave excellent causes without defence if they be
opposed. For may it not fall out that such a thing as this will be
called for hereafter, though at present it may be out of favour,
because something else is in fashion? I had rather, therefore,
that it were ready then to be of use when it is wished, than that
posterity should be defrauded of a thing so passing good, for fear
of its being disliked at the first setting forth.
Reasons for Writing in English.
I write in my natural English tongue, because though I appeal
to the learned, who understand Latin, I wish to reach also the
unlearned, who understand only English, and whose interests are to
be the more considered that they have fewer chances of information.
The parents and friends with whom I have to deal are for the most
part no Latinists, and even if they were, yet we understand that
tongue best to which we are first born, and our first impression
is always in English before we render it into Latin. And in
recommending a new method of attaining an admitted benefit,
should we not make use of all the helps we can to make ourselves
understood? He that understands no Latin can understand English,
and he that understands Latin very well can understand English far
better, if he will confess the truth, however proud he may be of
his Latinity. When my subject requires Latin I will not then spare
it, as far as my knowledge allows, but till it do, I will serve my
country in the way that I think will be most intelligible to her.
First Principles.
My purpose is to help the whole business of teaching, even from
the very first foundation, that is to say, not only what is given
in the Grammar School, and what follows afterwards, but also the
elementary training which is given to infants from their first
entrance, until they are thought fit to pass on to the Grammar
School. In my manner of proceeding I propose to follow the
precedent of those learned authors who have treated with most
credit of this and similar subjects, in first laying down certain
principles to which all readers will agree. By this means it
is possible to pass on to the end without challenge, or if any
difficulty should arise, it can always be resolved by a reference
to these principles. In mathematics, which offers the best model
of method to all the other sciences, before any problem or theorem
is presented, there are set down certain definitions, postulates,
axioms, to which general assent is asked at the outset, and on
which the whole structure is built up. I am the more inclined to
adopt this method, because I am to deal with a subject that must at
the first be very carefully handled, till proof gives my treatment
credit, whatever countenance hope may seem to lend it in the
meanwhile.
I mean specially to deal with two stages in learning, first the
Elementary, which extends from the time that the child is set to
do anything, till he is removed to the higher school, and then
the Grammar School course, where the child doth continue in the
study of the learned tongues till at the time of due ripeness he
is removed to some university. The importance of the Elementary
part lieth in this, that a thorough grounding here helps the
whole course of after study, whereas insufficient preparation in
the early stages makes a very weak sequel. For just as a proper
amount of time spent here, without too much haste to push onwards,
brings on the rest of the school stages at their due season,
and in the end sendeth abroad sufficient men for the service of
their country, so too headlong a desire to hurry on swiftly, in
perpetual infirmity of matter, causeth too much childishness in
later years, when judgment and skill and ripeness are more in
keeping with grey hairs. The Grammar School course, while it is a
suitable subject for me to deal with, as I am myself a teacher, is
also very profitable for the country to hear of, as in the present
great variety of teaching, some uniform method seems to be called
for. To have the youth of the country well directed in the tongues,
which are the paths to wisdom, the treasuries of learning, the
storehouses of humanity, the vehicles of divinity, the sources
of knowledge and wisdom--can this be a small matter, if it be
well performed? If fitting occasion by the way should cause me to
attempt anything further than these two divisions of the subject,
though I should seem to be going beyond my school experience, I
trust I shall not be thought to travel beyond my capacity. In
seeking for the approval of men I may indeed find some who are
satisfied with things as they are, who think their penny good
silver, and decline my offer, being unwilling to receive teaching
from such humble hands as mine. There may be others who grant that
there is something amiss, but think my remedy not well fitted to
amend it, and look disdainfully on my credentials. I admit my lack
of authority, but till some one better takes the matter up, why
should I not do what I can? If the wares I bring prove marketable,
why should I not offer them for sale? As I am likely to encounter
such objections, I propose at the outset to meet all I can on
grounds of reason, with full courtesy to those who make them.
Inasmuch as I must apply my principles to some one ground, I have
chosen the Elementary, rather than the Grammar School course,
because it is the very lowest, and the first to be dealt with,
and because the considerations that apply to it may easily be
transferred afterwards to the Grammar School or any other studies.
The points I propose to deal with are such as the following: At
what age a child should be sent to school, and what he should learn
there; whether all children should be sent to school; whether
physical exercise is a necessary part of upbringing; whether young
maidens ought to be set to learning; how young gentlemen should
be brought up; how uniformity can be introduced into teaching. I
shall also speak of courtesy and correction, of public and private
education, of the choice of promising scholars, of places and times
for learning, of teachers and school regulations, and of the need
for restricting the numbers of the learned class. In my views on
these and kindred matters I shall seek to win the approval of my
countrymen, before I proceed to deal with particular precepts and
the details of the upbringing of children. In my discussion of
all these matters, while in method I shall follow the example of
the best writers, I will, in the substance of my argument, make
appeal only to nature and reason, to custom and experience, where
there is a clear prospect of advantage to my country, avoiding any
appearance or suspicion of fanciful and impracticable notions.
I may hope that the desire to see things improved will not be
accounted fanciful, unless by those who think themselves in health
when they are sick unto death, and while feeling no pain because
of extreme weakness, hold their friends foolish in wishing them to
alter their mode of life.
The Use of Authority.
Some well-meaning people, when they wish to persuade their
fellow-countrymen either by pen or by speech, to adopt a certain
course, if they can claim the authority of any good writers
favouring their opinions, straightway assume that their own
arguments are sufficiently supported to ensure their proposal being
carried out. This assurance, however, is checked sometimes by
reflection, sometimes by experience. Wise reflection may foresee
that the special circumstances of the country will not admit
of the proposed change, or after some trial the unsuitability
may be shown by experience. So that in cases where authorities
persuade, and circumstances control, those who would use earlier
writers to maintain their credit must always keep in view the
application to particular conditions. I see many people of good
intelligence, considerable reading, and facility of expression,
both abroad and at home, fall into great error by neglecting
special circumstances, and overstraining the force of authority.
In dealing with education, must I entreat my country to be content
with this because such a one commends it, or force her to that
because such a State approves of it? The show of right deceives us,
and the likeness of unlike things doth lead us where it listeth.
For the better understanding with what wariness authority is to
be used, let it be considered that there are two sorts of authors
that we deal with in our studies. Of the one kind are writers
on the mathematical sciences, who proceed by the necessity of a
demonstrable subject, and enforce the conclusions by inevitable
argument. Of the other kind are writers on the moral and political
sciences, who, dealing with human affairs, must have regard to the
circumstances of every particular case. With the former the truth
of the subject-matter maintains itself, without the need for any
personal authority, and is beyond debate; it is with the latter
that controversy arises, the writer’s credit often authorising the
thing, and in this case great injustice may be done by quoting
without discrimination as to difference of circumstance. It is no
proof that because Plato praiseth something, because Aristotle
approveth it, because Cicero commends it, because Quintilian or
anyone else is acquainted with it, therefore it is for us to use.
What if our country honour it in them, and yet for all that may
not use it herself, because the circumstances forbid? Nay, what
if the writers’ authority be cited without considering in what
circumstances the opinion was originally expressed? Is not a great
wrong done by him who wresteth the meaning of the author he quotes?
He that will deal with writers so as to turn their conclusions to
the use of his country must be very well advised, and diligently
mark that their meaning and his application are consistent, and
must consider how much of their opinion his country will admit.
Whether I shall myself be able to carry out what I demand from
others, I dare not warrant, but I will do my best to use my author
well, and to take circumstances into account, never, if I can help
it, to offer anything that has not all the foundations that I
promised before, namely, _nature_ to lead it, _reason_ to back it,
_custom_ to commend it, _experience_ to approve it, and _profit_ to
prefer it.
I think a student ought rather to invest himself in the habit of
his writer than to stand much upon his title and authority in proof
or disproof, as it is well understood that all our studies are
indebted to the original devisers and the most eloquent writers.
Therefore, to avoid undue length, I will neither give authorities
nor examples, as it is not a question of a man’s name, but of
the real value of the argument. I shall not busy myself with
citing authors, either to show what I have read or how far I am
in agreement with others. It is not needful to heap up witnesses
where nothing is doubtful; the natural use of testimony is to
prove where there is doubt, not to cloy where all is clear. In
such cases, for want of sound judgment, a catalogue of names and
a multitude of sentences, which only say what no one denies, are
forced on to the stage to seem to arm the quoter, who is fighting
without a foe, and flying when there is no cause for fear.
In points of learning which are beyond controversy, I appeal to the
judgment of those who have gone over the same ground, and can test
the truth of what I say without being told the name of the author,
whom they will admit to have been well cited when they find me
saying as he saith, whether it be through recollection of what I
have read or from coincidence of judgment where I have not read. I
do honour good writers, but without superstition, being in no way
addicted to titles. But seeing that Reason doth honour them, they
must be content to remain outside themselves, and use every means
to bring her forward, as their lady and mistress, whose authority
and credit procure them admission when they come from her. It is
not so because a writer said so, but because the truth is so, and
he said the truth. Indeed, the truth is often weakened in the
hearer’s opinion, though not in itself, by naming the writer. If
truth did depend upon the person, she would often be brought into
a miserable plight, being constrained to serve fancy and alter
at will, whereas she should bend to no one, however opinionative
people may persuade themselves. This is known to the learned and
wise, whose courtesy I crave. As for the unlearned, I must entreat
them, for their sakes if not for mine, not to debate with me on
points where they cannot judge. In matters that are intelligible to
both, I must pray them to weigh my words well, and ever to give me
credit for good intentions.
The Ideal and the Possible.
Those ancient writers, who have depicted ideal commonwealths, and
have imagined the upbringing of such paragons as should be fitted
for a place in them, before asking when their youth should begin
to learn, have commonly laid down the conditions of their training
from a very early stage. They begin by considering how to deal with
the infant while he is still under his nurse, discussing whether he
should be nursed by a stranger or by his mother, what playfellows
should be chosen for him while he is still in the nursery, and
what exquisite public or private training can be devised for him
afterwards. These and other considerations they fall into, which
do well beseem the bringing up of such an one as may indeed be
wished, though scarcely hoped for, but can by no means be applied
to our youth and our education, wherein we wish for no more than we
can hope to have. Nay, these writers go further, as mere wishers
may, and appoint the parents of this so perfect a child, to be so
wise and learned that they may indeed fit into an ideal scheme,
but too far surpass the model that I can have in view. Wherefore
leaving on one side these ideal measures and people, I mean to
proceed from such principles as our parents do actually build on,
and as our children do rise by to that mediocrity which furnisheth
out this world, and not to that excellence which is fashioned for
another. And yet there is a value in these fine pictures, which by
pointing out the ideal let us behold wherein the best consisteth,
what colours it is known by, what state it keepeth, and by what
means we may best approach it. It may perhaps be said that despair
of obtaining the very best is apt to discourage all hope, for by
missing any one of these rare conditions--and our frailty will fail
either in all or in most--we mar the whole mould. Howbeit we are
much bound to the excellent wits of those divine writers who, by
their singular knowledge approaching near to the truest and best,
could most truly and best discern what constitution they were of,
and being anxious to serve their race thought it their part to
communicate what they had seen, if only for this, that while we
might despair of hitting the highest, yet by seeing where it lodged
we might with great praise draw near unto it.
But to return from this question of ideals to our ordinary
education, I persuaded myself that all my countrymen wish
themselves as wise and learned as these imaginary parents are
surmised to be, though they may be content with so much, or rather
with so little, of wisdom and learning as God doth allot them, and
that they will have their children nursed as well as they can,
wherever or by whomsoever it may be, so that the beings whom they
love so well as bequeathed to them by nature, may be well brought
up by nurture; and that till the infant can govern himself, they
will seek to save it from all such perils as may seem to harm it
in any kind of way, either from the people or the circumstances
that surround it, and that this will be done with such forethought
as ordinary circumspection can suggest to considerate and careful
parents; and finally, that for his proper schooling, all who can
will provide it, even if it be at some cost.
When School Education should begin.
One of the first questions is at what age children should be
sent to school, for they should neither be delayed too long,
so that time is lost, nor hastened on too soon, at the risk of
their health. The rule therefore must be given according to the
strength of their bodies and the quickness of their wits jointly.
If the parents be not wanting in means, and there is a convenient
place near, wherein to have the child taught, and a teacher with
sufficient knowledge, and with discretion to train him up well
by correction and teaching him good manners, and fit companions,
such as so good a master may be able to choose; and if the child
also himself have a good understanding and a body able to bear the
strain of learning, methinks it were then best that he began to be
doing something as soon as he can use his intelligence, without
overtaxing his powers either of mind or body, as the wise handling
of his teacher will direct. What the age should be I cannot say,
for ripeness in children does not always come at the same time, any
more than all corn is ripe for one reaping, though it is pretty
nearly at the same time. Some are quick, some are slow; some are
willing when their parents are, and others only when they are
inclined themselves, according as a wise upbringing has disposed
them to do well, or foolish coddling has made them prefer their
play.
Risk of Overpressure.
Anyone who deserves to be a parent should be prepared to judge
for himself as to his young son’s ripeness for school life, and
surely no one is so destitute of friends that he has not some one
to consult if necessary. Those who fix upon a definite age for
beginning have an eye to that knowledge which they think may be
easily gained in these early years, and which it would be a pity
to lose. I agree with them that it would be a pity to lose anything
needlessly that could be gained without much effort and without
injuring the child. But it would be a greater pity for so small a
gain to risk a more important one, to win an hour in the morning,
and lose the whole day after. If the child has a weak body, however
bright his understanding may be, let him grow on the longer till
his strength equals his intelligence. For experience has taught
me that a young child with a quick mind pushed on for people to
wonder at the sharpness of its edge has thus most commonly been
hastened to its grave, through weakness of body, to the grief of
the child’s friends and the reproach of their judgment; and even if
such a child lives, he will never go deep, but will always float on
the surface without much ballast, though perhaps continuing for a
time to excite wonder. Sooner or later, however, his intelligence
will fail, the wonder will cease, while his body will prove feeble
and perish. Wherefore I could wish the brighter child to be less
upon the spur, and either the longer kept from learning altogether,
lest he suffer as the edge of an oversharp knife is turned, or at
least be given very little, for fear of his eagerness leading to a
surfeit.
Mens Sana in Corpore Sano.
As in setting a child to school we consider the strength of his
body no less than the quickness of his mind, it would seem that our
training ought to be two-fold, both body and mind being kept at
their best, so that each may be able to support the other in what
they have to do together. A great deal has been written about the
training of the mind, but for the bettering of the body is there
no means to maintain it in health, and chiefly in the student,
whose occupation treads it down? Yea, surely, a very natural and
healthful means in exercise, whereby the body is made fit for
all its best functions. And therefore parents and teachers ought
to take care from the very beginning that in regard to diet the
child’s body is not stuffed so that the intelligence is dulled, and
that its garments neither burden the body with their weight nor
weaken it with too much warmth. The exercise of the body should
always accompany and assist the exercise of the mind, to make a
dry, strong, hard, and therefore a long-lasting, body, and by this
means to have an active, sharp, wise, and well-learned soul.
Physical Exercise needs Regulation.
It is not enough to say that children are always stirring of their
own accord, and therefore need no special attention in regard to
bodily exercise. If it were not that we make them keep absolutely
still when they are learning in school, and thus restrain their
natural stirring, then we might leave it to their own inclinations
to serve their turn without more ado. But a more than ordinary
stillness requires more than ordinary exercise, and the one must
be regulated as much as the other. And as sitting quiet helps
ill-humours to breed and burden the body, relief must be sought in
exercise under the direction of parents and teachers.
Physical and Mental Training should go together.
The soul and the body, being co-partners in good and ill, in sweet
and sour, in mirth and mourning, and having generally a common
sympathy and mutual feeling, how can they be, or rather why should
they be, severed in education? I assign both the framing of the
mind and the training of the body to one man’s charge. For how can
that man judge well of the soul, whose work has to do with the body
alone? And how shall he perceive what is best for the body, who
having the soul only committed to his care, hands over the body to
some other man’s treatment? Where there is too much distraction and
separation of functions, each specialist tends to make the most
of his own subject, to the sacrifice of others that may be more
important. Wherefore in order to have the care which is due to each
part equally distributed, I would appoint, I say, only one teacher
to deal with both. For I see no great difficulty either in regard
to the necessary knowledge, or to the amount of work. Moreover, as
the disposition of the soul will resemble that of the body, if the
soul be influenced for good, it will affect the body also.
Exercise Specially Necessary for Students.
For though the soul as the fountain of life, and the stimulus
of the body, may and will bear it out for a while, by force of
courage, yet weakness cannot always be dissembled, but will in the
end betray itself, perhaps just when it is the greatest pity. Many
people of high spirit, notable for their learning and skill in the
highest professions, have failed, owing to want of attention to
bodily health, just when their country had most hope of benefiting
by their services. It is needful, therefore, to help the body
by some methodical training, especially for those who use their
brains, such as students, who are apt to consider too little how
they may continue to do that for long which they do well. They
should eat very moderately, and their exercise should also be
moderate, and not vary too much, and their clothing should be
thin, even from the first swaddling, that the flesh may become hard
and firm.
The Best Kinds of Exercise.
[Mulcaster gives a list of the forms of exercise which he thinks
most suitable, both for indoors, and for out of doors. In the
former class are--speaking and reading aloud, singing, laughing,
weeping, holding the breath, dancing, wrestling, fencing, and
whipping the top; in the latter are--walking, running, leaping,
swimming, riding, hunting, shooting, and playing at ball. These
of course are not all considered suitable for children, but a
selection could be made from them to be practised in school under
the regulation of the master. He then enters upon a detailed
and curious examination of the value of each of these forms of
exercise, considered mainly in regard to their physiological
effects. In all this it has been pointed out by Schmidt
(_Geschichte der Erziehung_, Vol. III., Pt. I, pp. 374-6) that
Mulcaster followed closely, though without special acknowledgment,
the _De Arte Gymnastica_ of Girolamo Mercuriale, a contemporary
Italian physician. As the science is mostly of the traditional
and somewhat fantastic character then prevalent, the discussion
is not particularly profitable from a modern standpoint. It will
be interesting, however, as an illustration of his treatment, to
see how he deals with a game that seems to have had much the same
features in his day as in ours.]
Football as a Form of Exercise.
Football could not possibly have held its present prominence, nor
have been so much in vogue as it is everywhere, if it had not been
very beneficial to health and strength. To me the abuse of it is
a sufficient argument that it has a right use, though as it is
now commonly practised, with thronging of a rude multitude, with
bursting of shins and breaking of legs, it is neither civilised,
nor worthy the name of any healthy training. And here one can
easily see the use of the training master, for if there is some
one standing by, who can judge of the play, and is put in control
over the players, all these objections can be easily removed.
By such regulation, the players being put into smaller numbers,
sorted into sides and given their special positions, so that
they do not meet with their bodies so boisterously to try their
strength, nor shoulder and shove one another so barbarously,
football may strengthen the muscles of the whole body. By provoking
superfluities downwards it relieves the head and the upper parts,
it is good for the bowels, and it drives down the stone and gravel
from the bladder and the kidneys. The motion also helps weak hams
and slender shanks by making the flesh firmer, yet rash running
and too much violence often break some internal conduit and cause
ruptures.
Is Education to be offered to both Sexes?
We are next to consider who are those to whom education should be
given, which I take to be children of both sorts, male and female.
But young maidens must give me leave to speak of boys first,
because naturally the male is more worthy and more important in
the body politic; therefore that side may claim learning as first
framed for their use and most properly belonging to them, though
out of courtesy and kindness they may be content to lend some
advantages of their education in the time of youth to the female
sex on whom they afterwards bestow themselves, and the fruit of
their whole training.
All cannot receive a Learned Education.
As for boys, it has been set beyond doubt long ago, that they
should be sent to school, to learn how to be religious and loving,
how to govern and obey, how to forecast and prevent, how to defend
and assail, and in short, how to perform excellently by labour the
duties for which nature has fitted them only imperfectly. But in
the matter of this so desirable a training, two important questions
arise; first, whether all children should be put to school without
any restraint upon the number, and secondly, if any restriction is
needful, how it is to be imposed. In the body politic a certain
proportion of parts must be preserved just as in the natural body,
or disturbances will arise, and I consider that it is a burden to
a commonwealth on the one hand to have too many learned, just as
it is a loss on the other hand to have too few, and that it is
important to have knowledge and intelligence well adapted to the
station in life, as, if these are misplaced it may lead to disquiet
and sedition.