mathematics, but later added physics and philosophy to the subjects which he taught. Contrary to the general practice of lecturing in Latin, he lectured in German. Owing to this fact and to his skill in exposition he enjoyed great popularity. He maintained that theology should be based on reason in the same way as science and mathematics. Consequently he became involved in controversies with his orthodox, bigoted colleagues. The latter complained to the Prussian king, Frederick William I, and Wolff was banished from the country on the ground that his teaching was atheistic. His banishment, however, simply served to make his philosophy better known and more popular. His earlier works were written in German instead of Latin, and this made them generally known even to the nonprofessional classes. In 1740, when Frederick the Great came to the throne, Wolff was recalled to the University of Halle.

Basedow was one of the minor combatants in this clash between the orthodox and reform religious forces. As professor in a Danish academy he delivered lectures on theology. His lectures and certain publications in which he maintained a sort of natural religion and combated definitely many of the sectarian beliefs involved him in controversies with his colleagues and the public authorities. In the chief cities Hamburg, Lübeck, and Altona-his writings were condemned in 1764 as containing religious beliefs contrary to the official catechism.

Appeal for subscriptions to provide secular education.Tiring of religious controversy, and taking advantage of the interest in education which the appearance of the "Émile" had created, Basedow issued in 1768 an "Address to Philanthropists and Men of Property on Schools and Studies and their Influence on the Public Weal." In this address he appealed for funds to enable him to prepare textbooks and organize a school which would provide a kind of education quite different from that given in the contemporary schools, which were dominated by the orthodox clergy. There were two striking suggestions

in this appeal; namely, (1) that the schools should be open to children of all religions, that is, should be nonsectarian; (2) that a National Council of Education should be established which should have charge of all public instruction. In addition to these points the appeal advocated a type of education including reform proposals taken from many sources — from Locke, that education should be practical and playful; from Comenius, that it should be based on a study of pictures; from Locke and Rousseau, that it should include a large amount of physical exercise, etc.

Success of the appeal. The first experimental Philanthropinum. The appeal met with unprecedented success, and subscriptions flowed in from Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, from lodges of Freemasons, from the noble, the wealthy, and, often the poor of all countries, who were interested primarily in the possibility of an education which would be free from the restriction of sectarian narrowness. With the aid of these funds Basedow published a book on method and a manual of information for use in the schools, which was accompanied by a volume containing one hundred engraved pictures illustrative of the scientific and practical subjects discussed in the manual. These books enjoyed an astounding and flattering success and were widely praised. In 1774 Basedow opened his model school, the Philanthropinum, at Dessau. This was never very large or very successful, owing to Basedow's incompetence, vicious habits, and inability to get on with his assistants.

Philanthropinums became an educational fad. — The popularity of Basedow's publications resulted in a fad in Germany for the establishment of Philanthropinums. In the large cities advertising signs stating "Here is a Philanthropinum" (Allhier ist ein Philanthropinum) were common. Many of these were ridiculous frauds and were appropriately satirized by contemporary writers. On the other hand, some of these schools in France and Switzerland, as well as in Germany, were serious and successful attempts to carry out

Basedow's plans, and they continued their intelligent experimentation down to the time of the influence of Pestalozzi.

A model secular school for children of means: Salzmann. The most successful of these schools conducted on Basedow's plans was that of Christian Salzmann (1744-1811), who had been employed by Basedow for a short time. As he could not get along with Basedow, Salzmann decided to establish a school of his own, and after careful investigation chose a site at Schnepfenthal in Saxe-Gotha, where he enjoyed the sympathetic assistance of the reigning family. He secured an ideal location for his school, on a farm near the Thuringian forest, in a region with a great variety of physiographic features, including mountains, valleys and plains, lakes, and other possibilities for the study of nature and art.

The school was opened in 1784, and the first pupil was Carl Ritter, who later became the founder of modern geography. Salzmann restricted the number of pupils, generally below sixty, in order to maintain the spirit of family life. The pupils arose with the sun, spent a few hours in agricultural work, gardening, or tending domestic animals, had morning song in the chapel, breakfasted, spent about eight hours of the day in study, at least one in gymnastics, and several in recreation.

Principles of Rousseau successfully followed. In addition to providing a certain amount of the traditional school work, many of the most important recommendations of Locke and Rousseau were carried out by Salzmann. Among these innovations were the following:

1. Much physical training. — A large amount of physical training, including swimming, skating, etc., was provided. Johann Christoph Friedrich Guts Muths (1759-1839), "the grandfather of German gymnastics," was instructor at the school for many years.

2. Nature study and lessons on things.-The younger children spent three hours a day in the study of natural history and "lessons on things." The instructor said, “Every

From the Library of G. A. Plimpton

SALZMANN'S SYSTEM OF GYMNASTIC TRAINING

An illustration from C. G. Salzmann's "Gymnastics for Youth; or a Practical Guide to Healthful and Amusing Exercises for the Use of Schools. An Essay toward the Necessary Improvement of Education chiefly as it relates to the Body." (A translation printed by William Duane, Philadelphia, 1802. The original German probably

appeared in 1793)

day I go with my children into my scientific laboratory and seek what is most worth studying. My laboratory is nature herself."

3. School gardening and manual training. — Each child had his own garden plot for which he was responsible, thus receiving training in practical agriculture. In his plan for such a school Salzmann announced that he would have workshops for manual training, but it is not clear from the accounts that I have consulted that these were provided in actual practice. 4. Many organized excursions. Excursions through the surrounding country were very common. Sometimes these were several days in length. On such occasions the pupils were organized as militia into companies with officers. The cavalry went on ahead to prepare quarters, then followed the baggage wagons, and finally came the infantry. The objective point was always of special geographical, industrial, historical, or scenic interest. On their return each pupil had to write a description of the excursion, in which he told about places passed, adventures, plants, animals and minerals, industries and persons that he had noted. Local history was also emphasized. These descriptions were reviewed and corrected by the teachers.

5. Religion approached by means of moral stories and nature study. In the religious instruction theological aspects, such as were included in the ordinary catechism for little children, were not taught by Salzmann until adolescence. Instead, moral tales which had been very carefully selected and prepared were first told the children and discussed with them as a means of developing ideals of worthy behavior. As the children grew older these were followed by stories from the Bible, including the life of Christ, with emphasis on his character as an ideal man. Observations and discussions of nature supplemented this moral material, and not until the child was about twelve years of age was he introduced to the mysterious phases of religion. Even then such theological problems as are involved in the atonement, etc., were eliminated.