being according to the laws of Nature-a process, moreover, that lay under the ban of ecclesiastical orthodoxy. The discipline answered to the content and spirit of the instruction; it was harsh, and even barbarous; the prin ciple was to tame the pupils, not to educate them. They were to hold themselves motionless, that the school exercises might not be disturbed; what took place in their minds, and how their several characters were constituted, the school pedants did not understand and appreciate."

This is the darker side of the theological influence. In other particulars, it was favorable to the cause of education. It led to a multiplication of schools of various grades. Country schools, town schools, Latin schools, or gymnasia, and universities, sprang up in Protestant countries under the religious impulse, and in Catholic countries through a spirit of rivalry with their opponents. The country or village schools were connected with the local church, and were usually taught by the sexton, or some other subordinate officer. The subjects of instruction were originally the catechism and singing, but to these were subsequently added reading, writing, and arithmetic. The schools were designed for both boys and girls, who were instructed sometimes together, and sometimes separately. The following order of the Elector of Brandenburg, issued in 1573, shows us the primitive form of these schools: "Every Sunday afternoon, or, with the approval of the pastor, once during the week, the village sextons shall read to the people, but especially to the children and young servants, the Small Catechism of Luther, without change, and teach them to pray; also, they shall question them according

to convenience as to what they have learned. Likewise, before and after the reading and repeating of the cate chism, they shall sing and teach the young people good, Christian, German psalms; and, where there are chapels, they shall conduct these exercises alternately in the chapels and in the parent churches, in order that the youth in all the villages may be instructed according to their need, and not be neglected."

With the town schools it was somewhat better. The range of instruction was of a higher order; the theological influence was felt in a less degree; the needs of practical life were better kept in view. But these schools were still very far from being models. They did not emancipate themselves from the mechanical methods and cruel discipline then in vogue, and the teachers, as a rule, were unfit for their vocation. "The majority of them," says Dittes, "were people who on account of bodily infirmity or mental incapacity, often also on account of laziness or dissoluteness, had suffered shipwreck in life, and had now taken to teaching as a last resort, particularly unsuccessful artisans, students, and deposed clergymen." Everywhere the teachers were poorly paid. Their salaries consisted in part of eggs and butter, and to maintain a livelihood they were forced to engage in other pursuits. "They played the violin at dances, kept beer-gardens, carried on in a small way some kind of trade, or in summer hired out as daylaborers. The school ordinances of the time contain sharp clauses in reference to the scandalous lives of the teachers, as well as against their rough discipline, and admonish them to fidelity in duty and to becoming conduct in and out of school. But this was mostly in vain;

for, where fitness is wanting among teachers, ordinances are of but little utility."

In the Latin schools humanism asserted itself by the side of theology. As indicated by the name, Latin formed the chief subject of study. The leading repre sentatives of the humanistic tendency in the second half of the sixteenth century were Trotzendorf, Michael Neander, and John Sturm. They were all influenced by Melanchthon, with whom they maintained more or less intimate relations. As directors of celebrated schools, they exerted a strong influence upon the higher education of their time. Trotzendorf taught at Goldberg, Neander at Ilfeld, and Sturm at Strasburg. As Sturm represented most completely the humanistic tendency of his age, it is worth while to consider his educational work in some detail.

(A.) JOHN STURM.

John Sturm was born at Schleiden, Prussia, in 1507; he died at Strasburg in 1589. After teaching at Louvain and Paris, he was appointed rector of the gymnasium at Strasburg, over which he presided for forty years. He boasted of his institution that it reproduced the best periods of Athens and Rome; and, in fact, he succeeded in giving to his adopted city the name of New Athens. In religion he was a Calvinist, and he is justly regarded as the greatest educator that the Reformed Church produced during this period.

"His ideal of education," says Raumer, "we have already learned-piety, knowledge, and eloquence. He clearly knew what he wished, and with equal clearness he adopted means to its attainment. . . . The man was

of one piece, a whole man- -a man of character, in whom strength of will was admirably united with force and tact in execution. Hence, it is not to be wondered at that Sturm found recognition among his cotemporaries, and enjoyed their highest confidence. In 1578 the Strasburg school numbered several thousand pupils, among them about two hundred of noble birth, twentyfour counts and barons, and three princes. Not simply from Germany, but from the most different countries, from Portugal and Poland, Denmark, France, and Eng land, youths were sent to Sturm. But his pedagogical activity was not limited to the Strasburg Gymnasium; in wide circles he exerted by counsel and example, and through his pupils, a very great influence as a second Preceptor Germania."

The course of study at the Strasburg Gymnasium was divided into ten classes. As this institution became a model for many other classical schools, it is well to present briefly the work of each class. We thus gain a clear insight into the Latin schools of this period, and are prepared to appreciate both their excellence and their defects:

Tenth Class.-The alphabet, reading, writing. Latin declensions and conjugations. The German or Latin catechism.

Ninth Class.-Latin declensions and conjugations continued. Memorizing of Latin words used in common life. Irregularities of formation were introduced.

Eighth Class.-Continuation of words in common use. The parts of speech. Declension and conjugation in connection with sentences. Composition of Latin phrases. Some letters of Cicero were read and ex

plained. Toward the close of the year, exercises in style.

Seventh Class.-Latin syntax, with a few rules and examples from Cicero. Rules to be constantly applied in reading Cicero's letters. Exercises in composition. On Sunday, translation of German catechism into classic Latin, in which, however, such terms as Trinitas, sacramentum, and baptismus might be employed.

Sixth Class.--Review. Translation of Cicero's letters into German. Translation of Latin poetry. On Saturday and Sunday, translation of catechism, and reading of some letters of Jerome. Greek begun.

Fifth Class.-Study of words designating things unknown to the pupils. Versification. Mythology. Cicero, and Virgil's Eclogues. Greek vocabulary. Exercises in style and Latin versification. Translation of oratorical extracts into German, and afterward back into Latin. On Saturday and Sunday, one of Paul's epistles.

Fourth Class. - Well acquainted with Latin and Greek grammar, the pupils were required to read a great deal, to learn by heart, and to explain. The sixth oration against Verres was read, because it contains almost all kinds of narration. Epistles of Horace. Greek grammar continued, with reading. Exercises in style. Reviews. Reading and paraphrasing some of Paul's epistles.

Third Class.- Reviews. Rhetoric. Oration pro Cluentio. Select orations of Demosthenes. The Iliad or Odyssey. Paul's epistles. Exercises in style. Translation of oratorical extracts from Greek into Latin, and from Latin into Greek. Composition of poetry and let