The schools

resulting.

methods.

three grades of schools resulted from the amalgamation. They were the (1) ludus or school of the litterator, as the lowest school was called; (2) the 'grammar' school, taught by a grammaticus or litteratus; and (3) the schools of rhetoric and oratory, which furnished a somewhat higher education.

The Ludus.-The ludus, or lowest school, may possibly have existed before the process of Hellenization even began, but if it did, it must have been intended simply to supplement the more informal training of the home.

Its content and Whenever originated, it probably taught at first only reading, writing, and rudimentary calculation, as in the family, through the medium of historical anecdotes, ballads, religious songs, and the Twelve Tables. But as the Greek influence crept in more and more, the literary content was somewhat extended. About the middle of the third century B. C., Livius Andronicus translated the Odyssey into Latin; and a number of epics, dramas, and epigrams were soon composed after Greek models. These works, in whole or part, were introduced into the curricula of the ludi, and by the beginning of the first century B. C., the Twelve Tables had been displaced by the Latinized Odyssey of Andronicus. The methods of instruction were memoriter and imitative. The names and alphabetic order of the letters were first taught without any indication of their significance or even shape, and all possible combinations of syllables were committed before any words were learned. Reading and writing were then taught by dictation, and, in tracing the letters on wax-tablets with the stylus (Fig. 5), the hand of the pupil was at first guided by the teacher. Calculation was learned by counting on the fingers, by means of

(a)

(b)

(c) Fig. 5.-School materials from wall paintings: (a) Wax tablet and capsa, containing rolls, or books. (b) Three stili, capsa, and roll leaning against it. (c) Wax tablet, with stilus tied to it.

pebbles, or upon the abacus, and eventually sums were worked upon the tablets.

teachers.

Methods so devoid of interest were naturally accompanied by severe discipline. The rod, lash, and whip Discipline and seem to have been in frequent use, and the names ordinarily applied to schoolmasters in Latin literature are suggestive of harshness and brutality. Moreover, a fresco found at Herculaneum depicts a boy held over the shoulders of another, with the master beating the victim upon the bare back (Fig. 6). Under these circumstances, no real qualifications were required of the teacher, and his social standing was low. The Greek custom of having the boy accompanied to and from school by a slave that was otherwise incapacitated by Slaves to age or physical disability soon came to be imitated by pupils. the Romans. When a special building was employed Buildings. for the school, it was usually a mere booth or veranda, and the pupils sat on the floor or upon stones.

accompany

Grammar Schools.-The 'grammar' school grew out of the increasing literary work of the ludus. But, while offering a more advanced course, it would seem to belong in part at least to the elementary stage of education, especially as its work was never sharply divided from that of the ludus. The young Roman might attend both a Greek and a Latin grammar school, but, in case he did, usually went first to the former. The curriculum in each consisted, according to Quintilian, of 'the art of speaking Curriculum correctly' and 'the interpretation of the poets,' or, in other words, of a training in grammar and literature. 'Grammar' may, however, have included some knowledge of philology and derivations, as well as drill on the parts of speech, inflections, syntax, and prosody, and

discipline.

practice in composition and paragraphing. The literary training was obtained by writing paraphrases of the best authors, textual and literary criticism, commentaries, and exercises in diction and verse-writing. Some other studies, like arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, geography, and music may also have been added in time, from the suggestions of Plato, but the Romans naturally gave them a practical bearing. Some gymnastics, mostly for Methods and military training, were often in the course. The methods in the grammar schools were somewhat better than those of the ludus, but the commentary of the teacher on the text was usually taken down verbatim by the pupil. The discipline, in consequence, was not much in advance of that of the lower schools. But the accommodations for these secondary schools were decidedly superior, and the buildings not only possessed suitable seats for the pupils and teacher, but were even adorned with paintings and sculpture.

Buildings.

Professional, but broad training.

Rhetorical Schools.-The 'rhetorical' schools were a development of work in debate that had gradually grown up in the grammar schools. The earliest of these institutions at Rome were Greek, but by the first century B. C., there had arisen a number in which Latin was used. While they afforded a legal and forensic training, and seem more professional in spirit than the grammar schools, they were by no means narrow. The orator was for the Roman the typical man of culture and education, and he was supposed not only to have been trained in eloquence and law and history, but to possess wide learning, grace, culture, and knowledge of human emotions, sound judgment, and good memory. Besides a training in oratory, these schools furnished a linguistic and liter