enough to see that there might be no small merit in a boy’s silence:
“Nec minima pueri virtus est tacere cum recte loqui nesciat” (Quoted by
Parker). But this virtue of silence was not encouraged by Sturm, and
he determined that by the age of sixteen his pupils should have a fair
command of expression in Latin and some knowledge of Greek.[10] Latin
indeed was to supplant the mother tongue, and boys were to be severely
punished for using their own language. By this we may judge of the
pernicious effects of following Sturm. And it is a mistake to suppose
that the unwisdom of tilting at the vernacular was not so much Sturm’s,
as of the age in which he lived. The typical English schoolmaster of the
century, Mulcaster, was in this and many other ways greatly in advance of
Sturm. To him it was plain that we should “care for that most which we
ever use most, because we need it most.”[11] The only need recognized by
Sturm was need of the classical languages. Thus he and his admirers led
the unlucky schoolboy straight into that “slough of Despond”—verbalism,
in which he has struggled ever since;
“Plunged for some sense, but found no bottom there,
So learned and floundered on in mere despair.”[12]
IV.
SCHOOLS OF THE JESUITS.
§ 1. Since the Revival of Learning, no body of men has played so
prominent a part in education as the Jesuits. With characteristic
sagacity and energy they soon seized on education as a stepping-stone
to power and influence; and with their talent for organization, they
framed a system of schools which drove all important competitors from the
field, and made Jesuits the instructors of Catholic, and even, to some
extent, of Protestant Europe. Their skill in this capacity is attested
by the highest authorities, by Bacon[13] and by Descartes, the latter of
whom had himself been their pupil; and it naturally met with its reward:
for more than one hundred years nearly all the foremost men throughout
Christendom, both among the clergy and laity, had received the Jesuit
training, and in most cases retained for life an attachment to their old
masters.
§ 2. About these Jesuit schools—once so celebrated and so powerful, and
still existing in great numbers, though little remains of their original
importance—there does not seem to be much information accessible to the
English reader. I have, therefore, collected the following particulars
about them; and refer any one who is dissatisfied with so meagre an
account, to the works which I have consulted.[14] The Jesuit schools, as
I said, still exist, but they did their great work in other centuries;
and I therefore prefer to speak of them as things of the past.[15]
§ 3. When the Jesuits were first formally recognized by a Bull of
Paul III in 1540, the Bull stated that the Order was formed, among
other things, “especially for the purpose of instructing boys and
ignorant persons in the Christian religion.” But the Society well
understood that secular was more in demand than religious learning;
and they offered the more valued instruction, that they might have the
opportunity of inculcating lessons which, to the Society at least, were
the more valuable. From various Popes they obtained powers for founding
schools and colleges, for giving degrees, and for lecturing publicly
at universities. Their foundations rapidly extended in the Romance
countries, except in France, where they were long in overcoming the
opposition of the Regular clergy and of the University of Paris. Over
the Teutonic and Slavonic countries they spread their influence first by
means of national colleges at Rome, where boys of the different nations
were trained as missionaries. But, in time, the Jesuits pushed their
camps forward, even into the heart of the enemy’s country.
§ 4. The system of education to be adopted in all the Jesuit institutions
was settled during the Generalship of Aquaviva. In 1584 that General
appointed a School Commission, consisting of six distinguished Jesuits
from the various countries of Europe. These spent nearly a year in
Rome, in study and consultation; and the fruit of their labours was
the ground-work of the _Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis
Jesu_. This, however, did not take its final form till twelve other
commissioners had been at work upon it. It was then (1599) revised and
approved by Aquaviva and the Fifth and Sixth General Assemblies. By this
code the Jesuit schools were governed till 1832, when the curriculum was
enlarged so as to include physical science and modern languages.
§ 5. The Jesuits who formed the _Societas Professa_, _i.e._, those who
had taken all the vows, had spent from fifteen to eighteen years in
preparation, viz., two years as novices and one as approved scholars,
during which they were engaged chiefly in religious exercises, three
years in the study of philosophy and mathematics, four years of theology,
and, in the case of the more distinguished students, two years more in
repetition and private theological study. At some point in this course,
mostly after the philosophy, the students were sent, for a while, to
teach the “lower studies” to boys.[16] The method of teaching was to be
learnt in the training schools, called Juvenats,[17] one of which was
founded in each province.
Few, even of the most distinguished students, received dispensation from
giving elementary instruction. Salmeron and Bobadilla performed this duty
in Naples, Lainez in Florence, Borgia (who had been Viceroy of Catalonia)
in Cordova, Canisius in Cologne.
§ 6. During the time the Jesuit held his post as teacher he was to give
himself up entirely to the work. His private studies were abandoned; his
religious exercises shortened. He began generally with the boys in the
lowest form, and that he might be able to study the character of his
pupils he went up the school with them, advancing a step every year, as
in the system now common in Scotland. But some forms were always taught,
as the highest is in Scotland, by the same master, who remained a teacher
for life.
§ 7. Great care was to be taken that the frequent changes in the staff
of masters did not lead to alteration in the conduct of the school.
Each teacher was bound to carry on the established instruction by the
established methods. All his personal peculiarities and opinions were
to be as much as possible suppressed. To secure this a rigid system of
supervision was adopted, and reports were furnished by each officer to
his immediate superior. Over all stood the General of the Order. Next
came the Provincial, appointed by the General. Over each college was
the Rector, who was appointed (for three years) by the General, though
he was responsible to the Provincial, and made his reports to him. Next
came the Prefect of Studies, appointed, not by the Rector, but by the
Provincial. The teachers were carefully watched both by the Rector and
the Prefect of Studies, and it was the duty of the latter to visit each
teacher in his class at least once a fortnight, to hear him teach. The
other authorities, besides the masters of classes, were usually a House
Prefect, and Monitors selected from the boys, one in each form.
§ 8. The school or college was to be built and maintained by gifts and
bequests which the Society might receive for this purpose only. Their
instruction was always given gratuitously. When sufficient funds were
raised to support the officers, teachers, and at least twelve scholars,
no effort was to be made to increase them; but if they fell short of
this, donations were to be sought by begging from house to house. Want of
money, however, was not a difficulty which the Jesuits often experienced.
§ 9. The Jesuit education included two courses of study, _studia
superiora et inferiora_. In the smaller colleges only the _studia
inferiora_ were carried on; and it is to these _lower schools_ that the
following account mainly refers. The boys usually began this course at
ten years old and ended it at sixteen.[18]
§ 10. The pupils in the Jesuit colleges were of two kinds: 1st, those
who were training for the Order, and had passed the Novitiate; 2nd, the
externs, who were pupils merely. When the building was not filled by the
first of these (the Scholastici, or _Nostri_, as they are called in the
Jesuit writings), other pupils were taken in to board, who had to pay
simply the cost of their living, and not even this unless they could
well afford it. Instruction, as I said, was gratuitous to all. “Gratis
receive, gratis give,” was the Society’s rule; so they would neither make
any charge for instruction, nor accept any gift that was burdened with
conditions.
§ 11. Faithful to the tradition of the Catholic Church, the Society did
not estimate a man’s worth simply according to his birth and outward
circumstances. The Constitutions expressly laid down that poverty and
mean extraction were never to be any hindrance to a pupil’s admission;
and Sacchini says: “Do not let any favouring of the higher classes
interfere with the care of meaner pupils, since the birth of all is equal
in Adam, and the inheritance in Christ.”[19]
§ 12. The externs who could not be received into the building were
boarded in licensed houses, which were always liable to an unexpected
visit from the Prefect of Studies.
§ 13. The “lower school” was arranged in five classes (since increased to
eight), of which the lowest usually had two divisions. Parallel classes
were formed wherever the number of pupils was too great for five masters.
The names given to the several divisions were as follows:
1. Infima }
2. Media } Classis Grammaticæ.
3. Suprema }
4. Humanitas.
5. Rhetorica.
Each was “absolved” in a year, except Rhetorica, which required two years
(Stöckl, p. 237).
Jesuits and Protestants alike in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
thought of little but literary instruction, and that too connected
only with Latin and Greek. The subject-matter of the teaching in the
Jesuit schools was to be “præter Grammaticam, quod ad Rhetoricam, Poësim
et Historiam pertinet,” in addition to Grammar, whatever related to
Rhetoric, Poetry, and History. Reading and writing the mother-tongue
might not be taught without special leave from the Provincial. Latin was
as much as possible to supersede all other languages, even in speaking;
and nothing else might be used by the pupils in the higher forms on any
day but a holiday.[20] To gain a supply of Latin words for ordinary
use, the pupils committed to memory Latin conversations on general
topics, such as Francis Pomey’s “Indiculus Universalis” and “Colloquia
Scholastica.”
§ 14. Although many good school-books were written by the Jesuits, a
great part of their teaching was given orally. The master was, in fact,
a lecturer, who expounded sometimes a piece of a Latin or Greek author,
sometimes the rules of grammar. The pupils were required to get up the
substance of these lectures, and to learn the grammar-rules and parts of
the classical authors by heart. The master for his part had to bestow
great pains on the preparation of his lectures.[21]
§ 15. Written exercises, translations, &c., were given in on every day,
except Saturday; and the master had, if possible, to go over each one
with its writer and his appointed rival or _æmulus_.
§ 16. The method of hearing the rules, &c., committed to memory was
this:—Certain boys in each class, who were called Decurions, repeated
their tasks to the master, and then in his presence heard the other boys
repeat theirs. The master meanwhile corrected the written exercises.[22]
§ 17. One of the leading peculiarities in the Jesuits’ system was the
pains they took to foster emulation—“cotem ingenii puerilis, calcar
industriæ—the whetstone of talent, the spur of industry.” For this
purpose all the boys in the lower part of the school were arranged in
pairs, each pair being rivals (_æmuli_) to one another. Every boy was
to be constantly on the watch to catch his rival tripping, and was
immediately to correct him. Besides this individual rivalry, every class
was divided into two hostile camps, called Rome and Carthage, which had
frequent pitched battles of questions on set subjects. These were the
“Concertations,” in which the boys sometimes had to put questions to the
opposite camp, sometimes to expose erroneous answers when the questions
were asked by the master[23] (see Appendix: Class Matches, p. 529).
Emulation, indeed, was encouraged to a point where, as it seems to me,
it must have endangered the good feeling of the boys among themselves.
Jouvency mentions a practice of appointing mock defenders of any
particularly bad exercise, who should make the author of it ridiculous by
their excuses; and any boy whose work was very discreditable, was placed
on a form by himself, with a daily punishment, until he could show that
some one deserved to change places with him.
§ 18. In the higher classes a better kind of rivalry was cultivated
by means of “Academies,” _i.e._, voluntary associations for study,
which met together, under the superintendence of a master, to read
themes, translations, &c., and to discuss passages from the classics.
The new members were elected by the old, and to be thus elected was a
much-coveted distinction. In these Academies the cleverer students got
practice for the disputations, which formed an important part of the
school work of the higher classes.
§ 19. There was a vast number of other expedients by which the Jesuits
sought to work on their pupils’ _amour propre_, such as, on the one hand,
the weekly publication of offences _per præconem_, and, on the other,
besides prizes (which could be won only by the externs), titles and
badges of honour, and the like. “There are,” says Jouvency, “hundreds
of expedients of this sort, all tending to sharpen the boys’ wits, to
lighten the labour of the master, and to free him from the invidious and
troublesome necessity of punishing.”
§ 20. The school-hours were remarkably short: two hours and a half in
the morning, and the same in the afternoon; with a whole holiday a week
in summer, and a half holiday in winter. The time was spent in the
first form after the following manner:—During the first half-hour the
master corrected the exercises of the previous day, while the Decurions
heard the lesson which had been learnt by heart. Then the master heard
the piece of Latin which he had explained on the previous day. With
this construing, was connected a great deal of parsing, conjugating,
declining, &c. The teacher then explained the piece for the following
day, which, in this form, was never to exceed four lines. The last
half-hour of the morning was spent in explaining grammar. This was done
very slowly and carefully: in the words of the _Ratio Studd._: “Pluribus
diebus fere singula præcepta inculcanda sunt”—“Generally take a single
rule and drive it in, several days.” For the first hour of the afternoon
the master corrected exercises, and the boys learnt grammar. If there
was time, the master put questions about the grammar he had explained
in the morning. The second hour was taken up with more explanations of
grammar, and the school closed with half an hour’s concertation, or the
master corrected the notes which the pupils had taken during the day. In
the other forms, the work was very similar to this, except that Greek was
added, and also in the higher classes a little mathematics.
§ 21. It will be observed from the above account, that almost all
the strength of the Jesuit teaching was thrown into the study of the
Latin language, which was to be used, not only for reading, but also
in writing and speaking. But under the name of “erudition” some amount
of instruction in other subjects, especially in history and geography,
was given in explaining, or rather lecturing on, the classical authors.
Jouvency says that this lecture must consist of the following parts:—1st,
the general meaning of the whole passage; 2nd, the explanation of each
clause, both as to the meaning and construction; 3rd, any information,
such as accounts of historical events, or of ancient manners and customs,
which could be connected with the text; 4th, in the higher forms,
applications of the rules of rhetoric and poetry; 5th, an examination of
the Latinity; 6th, the inculcation of some moral lesson. This treatment
of a subject he illustrates by examples. Among these is an account of
a lesson for the first (_i.e._, lowest) class in the Fable of the Fox
and the Mask:—1st, comes the argument and the explanation of words;
2nd, the grammar and parsing, as _vulpes_, a substantive of the third
declension, &c., like _proles_, _clades_, &c. (here the master is always
to give among his examples some which the boys already know); 3rd, comes
the _eruditio_—something about foxes, about tragedy, about the brain,
and hence about other parts of the head; 4th, Latinity, the order of
the words, choice of the words, synonyms, &c. Then the sentences may be
parodied; other suitable substantives may be found for the adjectives and
_vice versâ_; and every method is to be adopted of showing the boys how
to _use_ the words they have learnt. Lastly, comes the moral.
§ 22. The practical teacher will be tempted to ask, How is the attention
of the class to be kept up whilst all this information is given? This
the Jesuits did partly by punishing the inattentive. Every boy was
subsequently required to reproduce what the teacher had said, and to
show his written notes of it. But no doubt this matter of attention was
found a difficulty. Jouvency tells the teachers to break off from time to
time in their lectures, and to ask questions; and he adds: “Variæ sunt
artes excitandæ attentionis quas docebit usus et sua cuique industria
suggeret.—Very various are the devices for arousing attention. These will
occur with practice and pains.”
For private study, besides written exercises and learning by heart, the
pupils were recommended subjects to get up in their own time; and in
this, and also as to the length of some of the regular lessons, they were
permitted to decide for themselves. Here, as everywhere, the Jesuits
trusted to the sense of honour and emulation—those who did extra work
were praised and rewarded.
§ 23. One of the maxims of this system was: “Repetitio mater studiorum.”
Every lesson was connected with two repetitions—one before it began,
of preceding work, and the other at the close, of the work just done.
Besides this, one day a week was devoted entirely to repetition. In the
three lowest classes the desire of laying a solid foundation even led to
the second six months in the year being given to again going over the
work of the first six months.[24] By this means boys of extraordinary
ability could pass through these forms in eighteen months, instead of
three years.
§ 23. _Thoroughness_ in work was the one thing insisted on. Sacchini says
that much time should be spent in going over the more important things,
which are “veluti multorum fontes et capita (as it were the sources and
starting points of many others)”; and that the master should prefer to
teach a few things perfectly, to giving indistinct impressions of many
things.[25] We should remember, however, that the pupils of the Jesuits
were not _children_. Subjects such as grammar cannot, by any expenditure
of time and trouble, be perfectly taught to children, because children
cannot perfectly understand them; so that the Jesuit thoroughness is not
always attainable.
§ 24. The usual duration of the course in the lower schools was six
years—_i.e._, one year in each of the four lower classes, and two years
in the highest class. Every year closed with a very formal examination.
Before this examination took place, the pupils had lessons in the manner
of it, so that they might come prepared, not only with a knowledge of the
subjects, but also of the laws of writing for examination (“scribendi ad
examen leges”). The examination was conducted by a commission appointed
for the purpose, of which commission the Prefect of Studies was an _ex
officio_ member. The masters of the classes, though they were present,
and could make remarks, were not of the examining body. For the _vivâ
voce_ the boys were ushered in, three at a time, before the solemn
conclave. The results of the examination, both written and verbal, were
joined with the records of the work done in the past year; and the names
of those pupils who had distinguished themselves were then published in
order of merit, but the poll was arranged alphabetically, or according to
birthplace.
§ 25. As might be expected, the Jesuits were to be very careful of the
moral and religious training of their pupils. “Quam maxime in vitæ
probitate ac bonis artibus doctrinaque proficiant ad Dei gloriam.”
(_Ratio Studd._, quoted by Schmid.) And Sacchini tells the master to
remember how honourable his office is; as it has to do, not with grammar
only, but also with the science and practice of a Christian and religious
life: “atque eo quidem ordine ut ipsa ingenii eruditio sit expolitio
morum, et humana literatura divinæ ancilletur sapientiæ.”[26]
Each lesson was to begin with prayer or the sign of the Cross. The
pupils were to hear Mass every morning, and were to be urged to frequent
confession and receiving of the Holy Communion. The Father Confessor was
always a Jesuit, but he was not a master in the school.
§ 26. The bodily health also was to be carefully attended to. The pupils
were not to study too much or too long at a time. Nothing was to be done
for a space of from one or two hours after dinner. On holidays excursions
were made to farms in the country.[27]
§ 27. Punishments were to be as light as possible, and the master was to
shut his eyes to offences whenever he thought he might do so with safety.
Grave offences were to be visited with corporal punishment, performed by
a “corrector,” who was not a member of the Order. Where this chastisement
did not have a good effect, the pupil was to be expelled.[28]
§ 28. The dry details into which I have been drawn by faithfully copying
the manner of the _Ratio Studiorum_ may seem to the reader to afford
no answer to the question which naturally suggests itself—To what did
the school-system of the Jesuits owe its enormous popularity? But in
part, at least, these details do afford an answer. They show us that the
Jesuits were intensely practical. The _Ratio Studiorum_ hardly contains
a single principle; but what it does is this—it points out a perfectly
attainable goal, and carefully defines the road by which that goal
is to be approached. For each class was prescribed not only the work
to be done, but also the end to be kept in view. Thus method reigned
throughout—perhaps not the best method, as the object to be attained was
assuredly not the highest object—but the method, such as it was, was
applied with undeviating exactness. In this particular the Jesuit schools
contrasted strongly with their rivals of old, as indeed with the ordinary
school of the present day. The Head Master, who is to the modern English
school what the General, Provincial, Rector, Prefect of Studies, and
_Ratio Studiorum_ combined were to a school of the Jesuits, has perhaps
no standard in view up to which the boy should have been brought when his
school course is completed.[29] The masters of forms teach just those
portion of their subject in which they themselves are interested, in any
way that occurs to them, with by no means uniform success; so that when
two forms are examined with the same examination paper, it is no very
uncommon occurrence for the lower to be found superior to the higher. It
is, perhaps, to be expected that a course in which uniform method tends
to a definite goal would on the whole be more successful than one in
which a boy has to accustom himself by turns to half-a-dozen different
methods, invented at haphazard by individual masters with different aims
in view, if indeed they have any aim at all.