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later rhetoricians attempted to hasten oratorical training and preparation for life, by teaching their pupils ready-made speeches and dialogues, together with a general knowledge of current questions. Nevertheless, these schools flourished for several centuries and closely rivalled those of the philosophers.

The Hellenic Universities.-From these two classes of schools, the philosophical and the rhetorical, the fame of Athens spread rapidly, and from the fourth century B. C. onward the number of young men from all over the civilized world who came there to study steadily increased. Before the close of the century the old cadet training of Athens was united with this intellectual edu- Origin of University of cation, and there sprang up a regular institution or uni- Athens. versity, which the young Athenians and students from outside might attend. Before long, the Hellenic world boasted other universities, such as those at Rhodes, Other uniPergamon, Alexandria, and Rome. Until almost 300 A. D. Athens remained the chief intellectual center of civilization, and attracted students from all parts of the Roman Empire. Gradually, however, the higher education there tended toward the study of rhetoric alone and

artificiality grew apace. In consequence, Alexandria

and science at

came to displace Athens as the center of culture, and her university became the leading one of the world. Here the various philosophic and religious sects gathered to Philosophy study and discuss, and the abstract Greek philosophy Alexandria. united with the more concrete beliefs of the Orient, especially Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity. Thus there flourished here the various systems of religious philosophy known collectively as 'Hellenistic,' such as Neopythagoreanism, Neomazdeism, Philonism,

the Orient

Gnosticism, and Neoplatonism. Considerably before this, too, there had developed at Alexandria the Ptolemaic theory of the universe. Other noted investigations, like those of Euclid in geometry, Archimedes in physics, Eratosthenes in astronomy, and Diophantus in algebra, also bore witness to the intellectual activity of this university.

Extension of Hellenic Culture.-It can thus be seen that the political downfall of Athens had only prepared Spread through the way for a larger intellectual influence. As Alexander extended his yoke over one Eastern country after another, he had carried with him all the culture of Greece, and within a century of his death the whole Orient was dotted with Greek gymnasia, stadia, and theaters, and saturated with Greek literature, art, philosophy, and education. Similarly Rome, which had come somewhat into contact with Greece before conquering her, had been tinctured with Greek life and learning; and, after her absorption of Macedon and Greece, she fell under the

world.

and the Roman spiritual thrall of the subjugated people. The history of Greek civilization and education was so intermingled with the Roman that it can scarcely be distinguished from it. The Greek schools of philosophy and rhetoric were continued in Rome, Roman youths made up a great body of the attendance at the universities of Athens and Alexandria, and the Roman emperors did much for the support and extension of the work in these institutions. Hence from the Greeks have developed some of the most advanced intellectual and æsthetic ideas that civilization has known.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Graves, Before the Middle Ages (Macmillan, 1909), chap. XII; Monroe, Text-book (Macmillan, 1905), chap. III. See also Laurie, Pre-Christian Education (Longmans, Green, 1900), pp. 208-318. Davidson, T., in his Aristotle (Scribner, 1896), develops the periods of Greek education in chronological order, and his Education of the Greek People (Appleton, 1903) gives the social setting of its development. A most scholarly and brilliant work is Freeman, K. J., Schools of Hellas (Macmillan, 1907), which is illustrated by vasescenes and other reproductions of Greek education. Bosanquet, B., The Education of the Young in Plato's Republic (Cambridge University Press, 1908), Nettleship, R. L., Theory of Greek Education in Plato's Republic (See Evelyn Abbott's Hellenica, Longmans, Green, 1908), and Burnet, J., Aristotle on Education (Cambridge University Press) afford a good interpretation of the theorists mentioned; while Capes, W. W., in the University Life in Ancient Athens (Harper, 1877), and Walden, J. W., in the Universities of Ancient Greece (Scribner, 1909), furnish a lively description of the students and professors.

CHAPTER III

THE EDUCATION OF THE ROMANS

Until Hellenized, Roman ideals were

narrow.

OUTLINE

The contribution of the Romans to progress was largely due to their absorption of Greek culture, but their primitive training had an influence in itself. This was mostly civic and practical, and was given informally in the family and the forum.

Through amalgamation with the Greek, Roman education maintained three grades of schools: (1) the elementary school or ludus, (2) the 'grammar' school, and (3) the rhetorical school. Beyond the education of these schools, a young Roman might attend a university.

Schools were gradually subsidized by the emperors, but education eventually deteriorated into a formal qualification for senatorial rank. The practical Romans, however, created a universal empire and legal system, a universal religion, and other institutions for modern society.

Roman Education Amalgamated with Greek.-The name of Rome is still suggestive of power and organization. These characteristics seem to have been innate; but the significance of Roman development to the history of progress and education was largely due to the fact that, in her spread over the civilized world, the Eternal City amalgamated the Greek civilization with her own. Until then her ideals of life, while effective in conquest, had been narrow and little adapted to the development of individuality or of cosmopolitanism. Unconsciously realizing the need of broader ideals, she

absorbed those of Greece. But Rome could not be Hellenized without making some contributions to the result from her own genius, and for that reason it is important to learn something of Roman civilization and education, crude as they were, before they came into contact with Greek culture.

practical aim.

Early Education in Rome.-In the early days Rome was animated by intense patriotism and love for military life, and felt that each citizen was bound to merge his identity in that of the state. In the surrender of in- Its civic and dividuality they were, to be sure, not unlike the Spartans, although they believed that this subordination should be brought about voluntarily rather than by compulsion of law and state organization. But, with such a love as theirs for mere material achievement, the Athenian ideal of a full and harmonious development of one's whole nature could scarcely be expected to make any appeal. They looked not for harmony, proportion, or grace, but for stern utility. They were sedate, grave, and serious, and their education was practical, prosaic, and utilitarian.

Until the Greek institutions began to be adopted, schools did not exist in Rome, except possibly the ludus or elementary school. During this pristine period education consisted in a practical training in Roman ideals and everyday living conducted largely through the family. In childhood the boys and girls alike were given a physical Informal trainand moral training by their mother, but, as the boy family and in grew older, he went more in the company of his father, and learned efficiency in life informally through his example and that of the older men, while the girl was taught at home by her mother. If the boy belonged to

ing in the

public.

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