A student's history of education

by Frank Pierrepont Graves

OUTLINE

By the fourteenth century there appeared an intellectual awakening, known as the Renaissance. It was accompanied by a ‘revival of learning’ and an education called ‘humanistic.’

Italy first showed evidence of the new movement. The characteristics of the Renaissance were embodied in Petrarch and Boccaccio, but little was done with the Greek classics until Chrysoloras came from Constantinople.

The tyrants of various cities often had humanistic schools started at their courts. Of these the most typical was that under Vittorino da Feltre. These schools eventually forced the universities to admit the humanities to their course. But humanism gradually degenerated into ‘Ciceronianism.’

Humanistic education also gradually spread to the countries north of Italy, but it there took on more of a moral color. In France, the protection of Francis I encouraged the introduction of humanism into educational institutions by various scholars. The German universities likewise began to respond to humanistic influences.

The Hieronymians first introduced the classics into the schools, and Erasmus, who was trained by them, became the leader in humanistic education. Through other humanistic schools started by Sturm and others, the ‘gymnasium,’ the typical classical school of Germany, was evolved, and the humanistic education became fixed and formal.

In England the movement gradually developed at Oxford and Cambridge, and Colet started St. Paul’s school, which became the model for all secondary schools. Humanism in England, however, soon retrograded into a formalism, and the ‘grammar’ and ‘public’ schools there are little changed to-day.

The first secondary schools in the American colonies were modeled after the grammar schools of the mother country.

The Passing of the Middle Ages.—It can now be seen that a new spirit had crept into European civilization, and that the Middle Ages were passing. We have previously noted (pp. 53f.) that, in order to bring the German barbarians up to the level of the past, it was necessary for the Church to set an authoritative standard and repress all variation on the part of the individual. Yet such bondage of the human spirit was unnatural, and there were periodic tendencies to rebel against the system. Mediævalism contained the germ of its own emancipation. In fact, mediævalism contained within itself the germ of its own emancipation. During the eighth century there came about a new political order, which culminated in Charlemagne’s revival of education. While conditions were never again as desperate after this stimulus, with the disruption of Charlemagne’s empire another decline set in. But by the thirteenth century a new revival, material and intellectual, had also appeared. Several developments gave evidence of the expansion within, and assisted in producing it. The broadening of horizon through contact with the Moors, the development of scholasticism, the evolution of universities, the worldly appeal of chivalry, and the growth of cities, gilds, and commerce were all helping by accumulation to dispel the mediæval spirit.

And by the fourteenth century a new dawn had been ushered in. The period that followed was marked by a general intellectual and cultural progress that began to free men from their bondage to ecclesiasticism and to induce them to look at the world about them. The The general tendencies of the Awakening adherence to an ‘otherworldly’ ideal, the restriction of learning, the reception of the teachings of the Church without investigation, and the conformity of the individual were by this time rapidly disappearing. Such tendencies were clearly being replaced by a genuine joy in the life of this world, a broader field of knowledge and thought, a desire to reason and deal with all ideas more critically, and enlarged ideals of individualism. The days of mere absorption and assimilation had passed.

The Renaissance and the Revival of Learning.—This tremendous widening of horizon has been generally While the Renaissance was caused by internal factors, it was promoted by the Revival of Learning. known as the Renaissance or ‘new birth.’ The term is used to indicate that the spirit of the Græco-Roman development had returned, and that opportunity for expression was granted to the individual once more. But this period is also appropriately known as the ‘Revival of Learning.’ For, while the awakening preceded and was caused by internal factors, rather than by the recovery of classical literature and learning, intellectual freedom was very greatly heightened and forwarded after a restoration of the classics once began. The only food at hand that could satisfy the awakened intelligence of the times was the literature and culture of the classical peoples. The discovery that the writings of the ancient world were filled with a genuine vitality and virility, and that the old authors had dealt with world problems in a profound and masterly fashion, and with far more vision than had ever been possible for the mediævalists, gave rise to an eager desire and enthusiasm for the classics that went beyond all bounds. A knowledge of classical literature had never altogether disappeared, and various works had been preserved by the monks and others. To search out the manuscripts of the Latin and Greek writers, the monasteries, cathedrals, and castles were now ransacked from end to end. The manuscripts found were rapidly multiplied, and the greatest pains taken to secure the correct form of every passage. The devotees of the new movement were Humanists and humanistic education. generally called ‘humanists,’ and the training embodying the classics has since been termed ‘humanistic education.’

Causes of the Awakening in Italy.—While the general tendency toward an awakening was apparent throughout Western Europe, it first became evident in Italy. This was due to the fact that Italy was at the time a seat of intellectual activity resulting from several factors. It Political storm center. was a storm center for civic and interstate quarrels, and, as a result of this political unrest, the citizens were kept constantly on the outlook for their own safety and interests, and their wits were greatly sharpened. Even the exile, into which one civic faction or another was constantly forced, had the effect of broadening their vision and bringing out the greatest possibilities within Commercial activity. them. Again, the commercial intercourse of the Italian cities with other countries had, for various physiographic and historic reasons, become extraordinarily active. This tended to open the minds of the Italians, break up their old conceptions, free them of prejudice, and increase their thirst for learning. Furthermore, Home of the classics. the ghost of the classic ages still haunted its old home. A knowledge of the Latin tongue had never ceased to exist in Italy, and many manuscripts of the Latin and Greek authors had been preserved. There was only needed an intellectual awakening sufficient to shake off the thraldom to the Church and produce an appreciation of classical literature and culture, in order to bring back this spirit of the past into real pulsating life.

The Revival of the Latin Classics.—The earliest of Petrarch embodied the Renaissance spirit, the great humanists was Petrarch (1304-1374). In him we find the very embodiment of the Renaissance spirit. He completely repudiated the ‘otherworldly’ ideal of mediævalism, and was keenly aware of the beauties and joys of this life. He did not hesitate to attack the most hoary of traditions, nor to rely upon observation, investigation, and reason. He likewise felt a kinship with the thinkers and writers of the classic age, when independence and breadth were given more scope, and held that their works must be recovered before their spirit could be continued. This led to a tremendous and was an enthusiast on the Latin classics. enthusiasm for the Latin classics, and he spent much of his life in restoring ancient culture. He devoted himself during his extensive travels largely to collecting manuscripts of the old Latin writers, which previously had been widely scattered, and endeavoring to repair in them the ravages of time. And he inspired every one he met with a desire to gather and study the works of the classic authors. He also wrote a number of Latin works that were filled with the classic spirit. Among them were several collections of Letters, a work of erudition On Famous Men, and an epic poem in honor of Scipio Africanus that he called Africa. Some of his letters were indited to Cicero, Homer, and other classical authors as if they were still living. After he His influence. had been crowned as poet laureate by the University of Rome in 1341, he spent most of his time visiting various Italian cities and spreading the humanistic spirit. Of the younger scholars and literary men influenced by him probably the most noted was Boccaccio (1313-1375). Through Petrarch this youthful poet developed a perfect passion for the ancient writers, and devoted the rest of his life to classical culture. He obtained a wide knowledge of the Latin writers, and searched out, preserved, and had copied as many manuscripts as possible.

The Development of Greek Scholarship.—With all this revival of Latin literature by the côterie of Petrarch, for some time there was little done with the Greek. That language had almost disappeared in Europe, and Little was at first known of the Greek classics. the greatest Greek authors were known only through Latin translations. But a knowledge of the Greek language and literature still persisted in the Eastern empire, and the humanists of Italy were, through the works of the Latin authors, constantly directed back to the writings of the Greeks. They became eager to read them in the original, and several humanists began the study of Greek. Nevertheless, Petrarch pathetically confessed: “Homer is dumb to me, while I am most certainly deaf to him.” And while, with the aid of his Greek teacher, Boccaccio made a translation of Homer, it showed little real appreciation of the original. Chrysoloras Not until Chrysoloras (1350-1415) came as an envoy from the Eastern emperor and was induced in 1396 to settle in Italy and teach Greek, was any systematic training possible. During the next sixteen years this man of learning taught in the leading centers, established schools, made translations of Greek authors, and his pupils. and wrote a Greek grammar. From his efforts sprang a number of famous scholars, such as Vergerio, Niccolo de’ Niccoli, Bruni, and Guarino da Verona and his son. These men collected or copied hundreds of volumes, started libraries and schools, made excellent translations, wrote treatises on humanistic education, and trained a number of humanists, who became distinguished later.

The Court Schools and Vittorino da Feltre.—A powerful support for the work of these humanists resulted from the rivalry of the Italian cities. The princes at the head of these centers were often usurpers, and depended largely upon city pride to maintain their power. City tyrants fostered humanism and started court schools. To appeal to the classical enthusiasm of their people, they did everything possible to propagate the humanistic movement and make their cities illustrious. Probably the most typical examples of these humanistic tyrants are found among the Visconti at Milan and the Medici at Florence. In some instances these court circles promoted the new learning informally, but often, where a scholar had been taken into the family of a prince as private tutor, children of the neighboring aristocracy were associated and a regular school was started. ‘Court schools’ of this sort soon existed at Florence, Venice, Padua, Pavia, Verona, Ferrara, and several other cities, but the best known of all was that organized by Vittorino da Feltre (1378-1446) at Mantua.

The Court School at Mantua.—Vittorino undertook this school at forty-five, when he had received the best possible education of the times in Latin, Greek, and mathematics, and had greatly distinguished himself as a teacher and a man of piety. He received into the Types of pupils. school not only the royal princes and the scions of the leading Mantuan families, but, by special permission, the sons of his personal friends and promising boys of every degree. He dwelt with his pupils, and was most strict in his selection of masters and of attendants, that the morals of his pupils might be of the highest. Likewise, ‘the father of his pupils,’ as Vittorino held himself to be, looked out for their food, clothing, and health, and shared in their games, interests, and pleasures. It was his intention to secure for his pupils that The aim was harmonious development of mind, body, and morals. harmonious development of mind, body, and morals that the old Greeks had known as a ‘liberal education,’ but he emphasized the practical and social side of the individual’s efficiency, and wished to prepare his pupils for a life of activity and service rather than to create mere rhetoricians and pedants.