metaphors, and vocabulary of all Latin writing had to be copied from the phrases of Cicero, and the literature of the day became little more than a sequence of model passages from that author. manism leaped The Spread and Character of Humanism in the Northern Countries.-Such was the effect of the Renaissance upon education in the country of its birth. But the humanistic training could not be confined to Italy. invention of Through the By the middle of the fifteenth century, with the invention printing huof printing, the texts of the classic authors were rapidly the Alps. multiplied and spread everywhere. The Renaissance and the classic literature leaped the Alps, and made their way into France, the Teutonic countries, England, and elsewhere. At first, humanistic scholars wandered into the North, soon others were invited in large numbers by patrons of learning, and, at length, students from the Northern countries thronged into Italy for instruction. Towards the close of the fifteenth century the humanists outside the peninsula became very numerous, and during the sixteenth century the movement came to its height in the Northern lands. But the character and effects of the Renaissance and humanism in the North differed greatly from those in the country of their origin. The peoples of the North, especially those of Germanic stock, were by nature more religious than the brilliant and mercurial Italians. With them the Renaissance led less to a desire for personal development, self-realization, and individual Less individual achievement, and took on more of a social and moral in the North. color. The prime purpose of humanism became the improvement of society, morally and religiously, and the classical revival pointed the way to obtaining a new Use of Greek and more exalted meaning from the Scriptures. Through and Hebrew. French kings into Italy. the revival of Greek, Northern scholars, especially the German and English, sought to get away from the ecclesiastical doctrines and traditions, and turn back to the essence of Christianity by studying the New Testament in the original. This suggested a similar insight into the Old Testament, and an interest in Hebrew was thereby aroused. In consequence, to most people in the North a renewed study of the Bible became as important a feature of humanism as an appreciation of the classics. The Development of Humanism in France.-In France humanism appeared early. In 1458 a professorship of Greek was established at the University of Paris, but the humanistic movement did not amount to much Expeditions of in France until it was stimulated by the expeditions of Charles VIII (1494) and Louis XII (1498) into Italy. These undertakings of the monarchs did not attain the military and political objects intended, but through them France came into direct contact with humanism at its sources, and a definite impression was made upon French art, literature, and education. Even then, owing to the conservatism of the university, the new learning met at first with formidable opposition. Happily, it found an influential patron in the youthful Francis I (r. 1515-1547). Francis I, French Humanistic Educators and Institutions.Under the protection of Francis, many prominent and Budæus, humanistic scholars and educators, like Budæus (14681540), appeared, classical manuscripts were collected, Greek and Latin authors were translated, treatises on humanistic education were produced, and the College of Ramus. France, with chairs of Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, was established (1530). Humanism was also introduced into various colleges in Paris and Bordeaux by such scholars and practical teachers as Corderius (1479-1564) and Corderius, and Ramus (1515-1572), and many text-books and editions of the classics were published. Soon most of the schools of France responded to the new training. It would hardly be possible to consider many of them, but a brief description of the course and administration in vogue at the College of Guyenne, taken from an account of one of College of Guyenne. its teachers, may prove illuminating. This college contained ten classes in secondary work, and two years more in philosophy, which partially overlapped the faculty of arts in the university. Latin and religion were taught throughout the secondary school, and Greek, mathematics, rhetoric, and declamation could be taken in the last three or four classes. The pupils were introduced to the rudiments of Latin through the vernacular, and developmental methods and enlivening disputations were used. Probably the general conditions here were typical of the French humanistic schools everywhere during the sixteenth century. other existing Humanism in the German Universities. Before humanism was well established in France, however, it had also spread through the Teutonic countries. By the end of the sixteenth century the German universities had Erfurt and begun to adopt the new learning. In 1494 Erfurt estab- universities. lished a professorship of Poetry and Eloquence, which covered the field of classic literature, and lectures on humanistic subjects were before long given in Leipzig, Heidelberg, Tübingen, Ingoldstadt, and Vienna. Likewise, a number of new universities, Wittenberg, Marburg, universities. New At first instruc nacular, but humanism added. Königsberg, and Jena, were started upon a humanistic basis, and before the middle of the sixteenth century humanism prevailed in practically all of the German universities. The Hieronymians and Their Schools.-The earliest factor in Germanic humanism, however, appeared in the education furnished by the Hieronymians, or Brethren of tion only in the Common Lot. For the instruction of the poor, this Bible and verorder had started schools, or established teachers in institutions already existing, throughout the Netherlands, Germany, and France. At first, they stressed instruction in the Bible and the vernacular, but, as the Italian influence began to be felt in the upper countries, they broadened the course by the addition of classic literature and Hebrew, and the schools soon became recognized centers of humanism and intellectual interests. The pupils that were trained there strengthened the new learning as teachers in the universities and schools throughout Germany and the Netherlands. The first educator of importance to introduce humanism into the Hieronymian training seems to have been Wessel (14201489). He was preeminently interested in teaching, and among his earliest pupils of distinction were Agricola (1443-1485), who had a most potent influence in introducing classics, and Reuchlin (1455-1522), who taught the classics and Hebrew at various universities, and produced a monumental grammar and lexicon upon the latter subject. An even more noteworthy teacher was Wimpfeling (1450-1528), who became professor, dean, and rector at Heidelberg. He lectured upon the classical authors and the Church Fathers, and wrote a number of treatises upon education, in which he held to the attitude Wessel, and Wimpfeling. of Northern humanism that all learning is vain which does not lead to the advancement of mankind. But, while a true reformer, he never broke from the Church. Erasmus. Erasmus, Leader in the Humanistic Education of the North. A similar attitude was held by Erasmus Attitude of (1467-1531), the greatest of the humanists trained by the Hieronymians. While he was bitterly opposed to the corruption and obscurantism of ecclesiastics, he believed that the remedy lay, not in a division of the Church, but in the study of the classics and the Church Fathers, and in the general removal of ignorance. Accordingly, to His text-books, advance education, he assisted in the preparation of Lily's Latin grammar, translated into Latin the Greek grammar of Theodore of Gaza, and wrote a work on Latin composition, called De Copia Verborum et Rerum, and an elementary text-book of Latin conversation on topics of the day, known as Colloquies. Similarly, he produced treatises on the New Testament, and popularized the Gospels and Church Fathers through paraphrases. Even better known are the satires that satires, he wrote in Latin to reform the abuses and foibles of his times. His Adages and Praise of Folly mercilessly scored the absurdities and vices of the Church and the priesthood, and in his Dialogue on Ciceronianism he ridiculed some of the narrower tendencies into which humanism had fallen. He also made direct contributions to educational theory in his Latin treatises on The Liberal Educa- and educationtion of Children, The Right Method of Study, and Courteous Manners in Boys, which are almost modern in some of their recommendations. Learning, morality, religion, and good manners, he held, must be trained together, and education must be open to everyone, according to al treatises. |