History of Education Part 16

We have already alluded to the social conditions, the inventions, and discoveries, which prepared the way for the revival of learning. New and powerful impulses were shaping the progress of the world, and the leaders of the humanistic movement were not slow to utilize the instruments thus opportunely furnished them. Chief among these was the art of printing, which enabled them to multiply and distribute copies of the cla.s.sics, that had been consigned to comparative oblivion.

Another important element must be considered if we are to understand this revival. We have seen that during the Middle Ages the ecclesiastics largely shaped the intellectual activity of Europe, that mystery was made of science, and that the authority of the Church was supreme on all questions of education as well as of religion. A new and vital doctrine was taught which had much to do with the intellectual and spiritual emanc.i.p.ation of man. This new doctrine may be stated as follows:--

_Man is a rational, volitional, self-conscious being, born with capabilities and rights to enjoy whatever good the world offers._

This doctrine, it will readily appear, is capable of being perverted to an excuse for unbridled license, as was done by the Italians; or, rightly interpreted, of being productive of great good, as in the case of the Germans.

Another new doctrine taught was that there was goodness in man and his works even previous to the Christian era, and that a study of the writings of all who have contributed to human progress is essential to culture, and of value to mankind. This was an argument for the revival of the study of Greek, which had for centuries been neglected. Indeed, Gibbon tells us that in the time of Petrarch, "No more than ten votaries of Homer could be enumerated in all Italy."

Again, it was held that the gates of learning must be opened to all and not limited to the clergy, the recluse, and the sage. Intellectual culture must be offered to all men, to make them better and happier, and is not to be confined to the few for the purpose of increasing their power and widening the breach between the cla.s.ses. The Renaissance made learning popular, it created a pa.s.sion for culture, it aroused and stimulated widespread desire for greater enlightenment. Some of the leaders in the movement, however, merited opposition because of their efforts to introduce not only the beauties of pagan art and literature, but likewise some of their licentiousness.

We may now turn our attention to a more detailed history of this revival and its effect upon different peoples, and to a brief study of some of its great leaders.

=Humanism in Italy.=--Italy was the first to catch the impulse of humanism. Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio in the fourteenth century inspired men with their new ideas, and set in motion influences which were attended with results often far from good. They revived the study of Latin and Greek cla.s.sics, extracted ma.n.u.scripts from their hidden archives, incited in society a pa.s.sion for learning, and created a popular literature in their own vernacular. They implanted a love of freedom of thought in the Italian ma.s.ses. Their enthusiasm for the new learning attracted scholars from Germany, France, and other countries, who spread the influence in their own lands.

The effect of humanism upon the Italian mind and life was pernicious in the extreme. It led to infidelity, to immorality, and to a return to many pagan practices. This was owing to two chief causes. First, the evil influence of many leaders of the Church, and second, the pa.s.sionate nature of the Italian people. Karl Schmidt says, "Humanism, but not morality, ruled in the Vatican." Brother Azarias, in speaking of this period, says:[50] "The clergy loved their own ease too well; they were too great pleasure-seekers and gold-coveters to attend to their flocks with that pastoral spirit of simplicity and good faith that is to be witnessed in the Church to-day. The bishops were no better. They looked for emoluments and court favor. Even the better cla.s.s of ecclesiastics gave themselves up to the intellectual luxury of admiring Plato and imitating Cicero. While a general laxity of morals in all orders of religious life--among priest and monk, pope and cardinal--was bringing odium on the Church, and weakening her hold upon the people--especially upon the Teutonic races--the seeds of regeneration were germinating in her own body. She was even then the mother of sanct.i.ty.... The Catholic hierarchy at last realized that with themselves should begin the reformation they would see established; they therefore p.r.o.nounced the most withering denunciations upon the clerical and religious abuses of the day."

The people interpreted the teaching of Petrarch that the world was made for man's enjoyment, as a plea for license and absence of restraint.

Even monks and priests, who had been held to the rigid life of the cloister, imbued with this teaching, indulged in excesses that were subversive of both morals and religion.[51]

But without doubt there was a great intellectual movement in Italy.

Draper says, "Between 1470 and 1500 more than ten thousand editions of books and pamphlets were printed, and a majority of them in Italy, demonstrating that Italy was in the van of the intellectual movement."

=Humanism in Germany.=--A far different result was attained among the Teutonic peoples. The best students of Germany went to Italy, and, becoming acquainted with the new education, returned to introduce it into their own universities. Being less directly under the influences that obtained in Italy, and possessing the moral stability which had brought the Teutonic race to the front, the Germans obtained good where the Italians had absorbed evil. The same principle, with different interpretation, under different conditions, and in different soil, brought forth far different fruit. Thus Petrarch's teaching was interpreted to mean that the good things of earth are not to be abused, and that man's acquirements are to be consecrated to his self-development and to the glory of G.o.d.

The German humanists revived the study of the cla.s.sics, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, until, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, these languages were taught in every German university. The Bible was studied in the original, and cla.s.sic writings were redeemed from obscurity, printed, and given to the world. Heidelberg and Tubingen became centers of the humanistic movement, and Agricola, Reuchlin, and Erasmus were the great leaders.

=Artisan Schools.=--During the 13th and 14th centuries another type of schools flourished, namely, the Burger or Artisan Schools, whose purpose, contrary to that of the humanistic influences, was to prepare men for practical and useful work, and to fit for citizenship. The need of these schools grew out of the changed conditions of life, especially the growing tendency to live in cities and to divide labor into crafts.

They were supported by the secular authorities, and ultimately they came to exert a great influence upon city governments, particularly those of the Hanseatic league. Many of the teachers were priests, and the instruction was usually given in the mother tongue. These schools flourished in Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, and other countries, and they doubtless furthered the idea of the maintenance of education at public expense, an idea that has come to have universal acceptance.

=Summary of the Influence of Humanism.=--1. It laid the foundation for future liberty of thought and conscience.

2. It revived the study of the cla.s.sic languages, and gave them a place in education which they still hold.

3. It utilized the art of printing by placing the works of ancient authors in form to be used by the world.

4. It increased the number of students in the universities, and stimulated intelligence among the ma.s.ses.

5. It changed courses of study, making them more practical.

6. It exerted an influence on schools of all kinds by giving better preparation to teachers.

7. It stimulated all forms of elevating activity,--in art, in science, in exploration, in invention.

8. It prepared the way for the Reformation, which broadened and perfected the work thus inaugurated.

FOOTNOTES:

[50] "Philosophy of Literature," p. 123.

[51] _Ibid._

CHAPTER XXVII

HUMANISTIC EDUCATORS

=Literature.=--_Spofford_, Library of Historical Characters; _Symonds_, Renaissance in Italy; _Reeve_, Petrarch; _Macaulay_, Essays; _Warner_, Library of the World's Best Literature (see articles on Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio); _D'Aubigne_, History of the Reformation; _Morris_, Era of the Protestant Revolution; _Leclerc_, Life of Erasmus; _Fisher_, History of the Reformation; _Mrs. Oliphant_, Dante; _Azarias_, Philosophy of Literature; _Schwickerath_, Jesuit Education.

The mission of the humanistic leaders was to "awake the dead," for Greek had become in the fullest sense a dead language, and while cla.s.sic Latin was still read, its spirit was not comprehended and therefore it also was practically dead. We have seen that the Italians were the first to catch the inspiration of this revival, and Germany, France, Spain, and England "were invited to her feast." The great leaders of Italy were Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. It is not the purpose here to discuss these men in all of their intellectual activities, but simply to consider the part of their work that had a bearing on education.

THE ITALIAN HUMANISTS

DANTE (1265-1321)

Dante was born and educated in Florence. He was favored with a devoted teacher, Brunetto Latini, who was said to be "a great philosopher and a consummate master of rhetoric, not only knowing how to speak well, but to write well." Under him Dante became familiar with all of the great Latin poets, with philosophy, history, and theology. Dante always spoke of his teacher with great affection. Those were times of revolution and political disturbance, and Dante was readily drawn into politics. This caused his banishment and even endangered his life.

Dante's greatest work is the "Divine Comedy," which has made his name immortal. His was the first great name in literature after the long dark period of the Middle Ages. It is said of him that "he was not the restorer of cla.s.sic antiquity, but one of the great prophets of that restoration." He brought the Italian language into use in literature and gave to it a dignity that it has never lost. Dante prepared the way for the humanistic movement and was therefore an important factor in this great revival.

PETRARCH (1304-1374)

The father of Petrarch was an eminent jurist, and he desired his son to adopt his profession, but Petrarch had neither taste nor capacity for Roman law. He was determined to be a man of letters. Like Dante, he too mixed in politics, and several important diplomatic positions were given to him. Though he succeeded in learning a little Greek late in life, Petrarch was not a Greek scholar. This did not hinder him from being a warm advocate of the claims of the Greek language as an important element of a liberal education. Although he possessed a ma.n.u.script of Homer, "Homer was dumb to him, or rather he was deaf to Homer."

Petrarch was the real founder of humanism. Being enthusiastic for the works of antiquity himself, he inspired the Italians with a remarkable zeal in the pursuit of cla.s.sic lore; nor was his influence confined to the limits of his native country. He was the first to make a collection of cla.s.sic works, and to bring to light the literary treasures which the monasteries had so carefully preserved for centuries. He inaugurated that great movement which "restored freedom, self-consciousness, and the faculty of progress to human intellect." He recognized that the most wonderful thing in the world is the human mind, the emanc.i.p.ation of which can be brought about only through its own activity. He was the first to appreciate the importance of Greek in human culture. Unlike Tertullian, Jerome, and Augustine, he believed that cla.s.sic authors, together with the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Church Fathers, produce the broadest intelligence. All of these have the same purpose, and all are necessary to human enlightenment. Petrarch broke down the unfruitful methods of the scholastics, and laid the foundations upon which modern education is based; namely, intellectual freedom, self-consciousness, and self-activity.

BOCCACCIO (1313-1375)

The third of the great Italian leaders in the humanistic movement was Boccaccio. At the age of twenty-five, while standing at the grave of Vergil, he decided to devote himself to a literary career. He admired the great work of Petrarch, and was proud that, "at his own expense, he was the first to have the works of Homer and other Greek authors brought to his native land; that he was the first to call and support a teacher of Greek; and that he was the first among all Italians who could read Homer in the original."

THE GERMAN HUMANISTS

The German mind is more earnest, disputative, and practical than the Italian, therefore the trend of German humanism was at first chiefly theological, and the study of the cla.s.sic languages, especially Hebrew and Greek, was undertaken for the purpose of better understanding the Holy Scriptures. Only a few scholars, however, were interested, and not until a violent attack was made upon Reuchlin, was general attention attracted.

AGRICOLA (1443-1485)

Rudolphus Agricola was the first to prepare the northern countries for the reception of the cla.s.sic revival. After studying for some time under the great Italian masters, he returned to Germany and accepted a professorship at Heidelberg, where he delivered courses of lectures on the literature of Greece and Rome. He lectured also at Worms at the request of the bishop, and drew around him a large number of students in both places. Hallam says of him, "No German wrote so pure a style, or possessed so large a portion of cla.s.sic learning." He prepared the way for the introduction of humanistic teachings and some of his pupils became the great leaders of that movement among the Teutonic peoples.

The testimony of Erasmus concerning Agricola is as follows: "There was no branch of knowledge in which he could not measure himself with the greatest masters. Among the Greeks, he was a pure Greek, among the Latins a pure Roman.... Even when he spoke _ex tempore_, his speech was so perfect and so pure that one could easily believe that one heard a Roman rather than a German. United with his powerful eloquence was the broadest erudition. He had investigated all the mysteries of philosophy, and thoroughly mastered every branch of music. In his later years he devoted his whole soul to the mastery of Hebrew and to the study of the Holy Scriptures. He cared but little for glory."

REUCHLIN (1455-1522)