History of Education

CHAPTER X

SPARTA

Literature.—(See general literature for Greece.) Sankey, Spartan and Theban Supremacies; Smith, History of Greece; Plutarch's Lives; Mombert, Great Lives; Spofford, Library of Historical Characters.

History.—Sparta was the capital of Laconia, the southern province of Greece. Its inhabitants consisted of:—

1. Citizens, composed of nine thousand families of nobles, who ruled the other classes.

2. Perioeci,[18] composed of thirty thousand families of freemen who lived in the territory surrounding Sparta, but who were subject to the nobles.

3. Helots,[19] about three hundred thousand in number, who were slaves.

The Perioeci and the helots, with the love of freedom characteristic among the Greeks, chafed under their yoke of subjugation, and eagerly watched for opportunities for revolt. Only by an exercise of superior force could the nobles maintain their supremacy, and they were obliged to seek by martial training the strength they lacked in numbers. Hence the education of the Spartan youth was of necessity military, and every citizen was trained to become a warrior.

The Spartans were dignified, austere, and of few words, "laconic" in speech. The young were expected to be silent in the presence of their elders except when addressed. They were taught to give way to their seniors, especially to old men, whenever they met upon the street or in a public place.

The Home.—The child was left in charge of the mother until six or seven years of age. Toys inciting to warlike sports were provided, and childhood was made happy. The father usually superintended the child's training, but sometimes an aged relative assumed the responsibility. The treatment was humane and intelligent. From the first the child was taught implicit obedience and modesty.

The Iliad and the Odyssey have been called the Bible of the Greeks, and children early learned extracts from the works of the great poet, Homer. The Spartan mother was highly respected by her husband and her children, and she was noted for her chastity and nobility of character. She entered fully into the Spartan idea, and cheerfully gave her sons to her country, while she often inspired them to deeds of bravery and patriotism. The lofty and self-sacrificing patriotism of the Spartan mother is illustrated by her words upon sending her son to battle,—"Return either with your shield or on it!"

It is said that weak and unpromising children were either killed as soon as they were born, or abandoned to the wild beasts upon the mountains. This was because the State would assume the training only of strong children, such as were likely to make good soldiers. It is probable that many of these abandoned children were rescued and reared by the lower classes, which would partially account for the fierce resistance so often offered by these classes to those who deprived them of liberty. If such an inhuman practice had been encouraged by other nations of the world, many of the greatest benefactors of the race would have been consigned to an untimely death, for some of the noblest men that have ever lived were weak in infancy.

Education.—At six or seven the boy was taken from the home, and the State had entire jurisdiction over his education. The boys were placed in groups in charge of young men who were responsible for their education, which was almost wholly physical. They lived on very simple food, and were often obliged to appease hunger by theft. They were taught that crime did not lie in the commission of the offense, but in its detection. Their dress from seven to twelve consisted of a long coat of very coarse material, the same for summer and winter. They were taught to bear blows without a murmur, and instances are related of boys being whipped to death without crying out.

Children sat at table with older men and listened to their conversation, but they were never allowed to speak except in answer to questions. Thus they absorbed wisdom and were incited to deeds of bravery by the stories of heroism related by their seniors.

The State furnished barracks poorly provided with the comforts of life, in which the boys slept in severe weather; at other times they slept in the open air. They were wholly separated from their homes, and completely under control of the State. The purpose was to secure strong, beautiful, and supple bodies, inured to hardship, as a preparation for the life of the soldier. The only intellectual education was music, which consisted in playing the lyre as an accompaniment to the dance. Reading and writing were despised as being fit only for slaves.

At the age of twelve the boy exchanged the long coat for the mantle, thereby entering upon manhood. From this time until the age of thirty, much the same form of training was continued, though it became more definitely military. At thirty the Spartan youth became a citizen and was expected to marry. Girls also received gymnastic training, in many cases with the boys. The purpose of this was to develop strong and beautiful wives and mothers. The effect of this coeducation of the sexes was in the highest degree salutary, impurity among women being unknown in Sparta. We have already noted the patriotism of the Spartan mother. Woman was highly esteemed in the home. Her praises and her reproofs were alike respected, and all her opinions bore much weight.

Criticism of Spartan Education.—1. It produced men and women of beautiful physique.

2. It inculcated obedience, politeness, modesty, sobriety, respect for the aged, courage, and patriotism.

3. It checked luxury and extravagance.

4. On the other hand, it gave little attention to intellectual training, hence it produced few men of lasting fame.

5. Its aim was martial supremacy, and this attained, the State fell into a hasty decline because of the instability of such a foundation.

6. It excluded a large part of the inhabitants from its benefits, only the nobles being included.

7. It was selfish because it trained for Sparta and not for Greece, or for humanity.

8. It taught the duty of man to the State, and not the duty of man to man.

9. It took boys at an early age away from the influences of home, thus robbing the parents of the sacred prerogative of directing the education of their offspring.

10. It produced men cruel in battle and revengeful in victory, men incapable of cultivating the arts of peace.

LYCURGUS

There is so much that is mythical and uncertain concerning Lycurgus that many have doubted whether he ever lived. Curtius, however, says, "There really lived in the ninth century B.C. a legislator of the name of Lycurgus." Lycurgus formed the constitution which gave Sparta its peculiar institutions, and which established its place in history. His laws were intended to check luxury and to inculcate the simplest habits. Some of his important laws led to the introduction of the following customs:—

1. All the men ate at common tables, fifteen at a table.

2. Children sat at these tables, but were required to maintain silence save when addressed. They were not allowed to ask for food. The object was to teach them good manners, to inculcate implicit obedience, and to impart to them the wisdom of the Spartan fathers.

3. The food was of the simplest kind.

4. Sparta was divided into nine thousand parts, a part for each of the nine thousand citizens, or noble families. The provinces under Spartan rule were divided into thirty thousand parts, a part for each Perioeci family.

5. Iron was made the only money, so that the people could not become rich; for its great weight rendered burdensome the possession of a considerable amount.

6. All children belonged to the State, to which only soldiers were valuable, therefore weak or deformed children were cast out. Marriage was also controlled by the State.

Lycurgus exerted a great influence upon Sparta, and his laws were responsible for her peculiar political system and her resulting greatness.

PYTHAGORAS

Pythagoras, though not a Spartan, is associated with southern Greece. Little is known of his early life. He was born on the island of Samos, about B.C. 582. He was familiar with the Ionic philosophy, and probably visited Egypt for study, a custom common among scholars of that time. Such a visit would in part explain his knowledge of mathematics, as the Egyptians had long been masters in that science. One of his teachers was Thales, the father of philosophy. The fundamental thought of the Pythagorean philosophy was the idea of proportion and harmony.

"Through number alone, the quantitative relations of things, extension, magnitude, figure (triangular, quadrangular, cubic), combination, distance, etc., obtain their peculiar character; the forms and proportions of things can all be reduced to number. Therefore, it was concluded, since without form and proportion nothing can exist, number must be the principle of things themselves, as well as the order in which they manifest themselves in the world." (Schwegler's "History of Philosophy.")

While mathematics was the central idea of his system, medicine, physics, and philosophy were also taught in his school. He did the world great service in the discovery of the so-called Pythagorean theorem in geometry, that the square of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER XI

ROME

Literature.—Bryce, The Holy Roman Empire; Bury, The Roman Empire; Church, Pictures from Roman Life and Story; Clarke, Ten Great Religions; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of Roman Empire; Lord, Beacon Lights; Capes, Roman Empire; Merivale, History of the Romans; Shumway, A Day in Ancient Rome; Mommsen, History of Rome; Liddell, History of Rome; Ploetz, Epitome of Universal History; Gilman, Story of Rome; Collins, Ancient Classics; Monroe, Source Book of the History of Education.

The Age of Augustus.—The history of Rome covers a period of a thousand years. From the little village on the Palatine Hill Rome grew to be the mightiest empire of the world. The "Age of Augustus" represents not only the summit of military glory, but also the highest civilization, and the noblest ideals of the Roman people. It was the age of Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Livy, and Seneca. Rome was at peace with the world, and therefore had time to devote to art, literature, and other intellectual pursuits. It was during this period that Christ was born.

Like Sparta, Rome for a long time maintained her supremacy by force of arms, and therefore encouraged physical education. But when she became mistress of the world, and came in contact with the culture of the Greeks, she began to feel the need of an intellectual and aesthetic development. Accordingly it became the fashion to study Greek, to bring teachers from Athens to Rome, and to send young men to Athens to study. The Roman Empire was therefore the medium through which Grecian culture was transmitted to the western world, and during the Augustan Age the center of learning was transferred from Athens to Rome.

Gibbon says, "The first seven centuries were filled with a rapid succession of triumphs; but it was reserved for Augustus to relinquish the ambitious design of subduing the whole earth, and to introduce a spirit of moderation into the public councils."[20] The Augustan Age shows Rome at her best, and a study of the educational system at that time will be most fruitful for the student of pedagogy.

Geography and History.—We have seen that Rome began with a small territory in the center of Italy, and that province after province was added, until in the time of Augustus she ruled the world. Italy, the center of the empire, has a diversified surface, a mild climate, and a fertile soil. In the time of Augustus, the Roman Empire embraced all of the border of the Mediterranean, extended as far north as the North Sea, as far east as the Euphrates, as far south as the Sahara, and west to the Atlantic. With the great Mediterranean entirely under its control, including the seas, bays, and rivers tributary to it; with its rich territories; and with its vast population, which represented most of the enterprise and civilization of the world,—this great empire possessed wonderful advantages for the spread of Christianity, for the dissemination of intelligence, and for the improvement of the human race.

The government of the Romans was generally some form of republic, the people always being jealous of their rights. Their religion took on gross forms of idolatry, for they readily adopted and worshiped the gods of the Grecians, Egyptians, and other conquered peoples. Temples to Faith, Hope, Concord, and other virtues were erected and maintained. The Romans were very superstitious. These facts have a bearing upon Christian education, and will explain some of the chief difficulties which it had to encounter.

The Home.—While in Athens the father had charge of the education of the boy in his early years, in Rome that duty devolved almost entirely upon the mother. In early Roman history the matron was celebrated for her virtues—fidelity to her husband, love for her children, and queenly guardianship of the sacred precincts of the home. The name of the Roman matron became a synonym of all that is noble, wifely, and motherly in the home. Without doubt the character had sadly deteriorated at the period of which we write, but there still remained with many the lofty ideals which had been fostered in earlier times.

The husband was the head of the house, but to the wife was committed the care of the children and their instruction for the first six or seven years of their lives. She taught them strict obedience and politeness, and instructed them in the "Twelve Tables of Roman Law."[21]

The mother also took great pains to teach her children correct pronunciation. She taught them their letters, first the name and then the form, a practice which is pedagogically false, as Quintilian pointed out. She also taught them poems from the great masters. In taking pains with pronunciation she prepared the way for later training in oratory, which was the most important study in Roman education.

Only when Rome had begun to decay did mothers commit the training of their children to nurses and slaves. When Rome was at her best, the child grew up in an atmosphere of love under direct care of the mother, who shaped his morals and guided his religious life as well as his early mental development. Around the mother centered all that was ennobling and elevating in the first seven years of the child's life. The father had but little to do with this period, and did not interfere with the mother's work. His duty lay in public life; hers lay within the home, and well did she meet her responsibilities until the time of her debasement with all the other elements of Roman society.

Elementary Education.—At six or seven years of age the child was sent to school in charge of a slave, who carried his books and protected him from harm. This was in imitation of the practice in Athens, where the pedagogue performed a like office. But the duties of the Roman slave do not seem to have been as responsible as those of the Athenian pedagogue. As we have seen, in Rome the mothers looked after the morals of their children with great care, and the attendant of the child to school was regarded as but little else than a servant. In some of the wealthier and more aristocratic families, however, in addition to the slave who performed the menial duties mentioned, there was also a pedagogue who attended the youth to school and to the theater, superintended his games, and, in short, accompanied him wherever he went. This pedagogue was intrusted with full power to discipline and to direct the morals of his charge. In some cases several boys were placed in the care of the same pedagogue. On the other hand, it often happened that a boy had a whole retinue of slaves, each having his special duty to perform.

The schools were in charge of literators, usually men of little culture and no social standing. These institutions were public, though supported by private means. The discipline was severe, strict obedience being exacted by the teacher, who made use of the rod when he thought it necessary. The subjects taught were reading, writing, and arithmetic. Great care was taken with pronunciation, just as had been done in the early years under the mother's instruction. In writing, the characters were traced with the stylus on waxed tablets. Arithmetic was learned for its utility. Indeed, the whole purpose of the schools was to prepare the children for practical life. The easier poets were read, explained, and committed to memory, not so much for their content as to fit youth for public speaking. Obedience, politeness, modesty, cleanliness, and respect for teachers were virtues insisted upon. These schools, which covered the instruction of children from five to twelve years of age, did not, as already intimated, reach the very highest classes, who preferred to employ private tutors.

Secondary Education.—At twelve the boy entered a school taught by an educated man, called literatus. Many of the teachers of this class were Greeks. Here, in addition to the studies of the elementary school, the pupils were taught the Greek and Latin languages; and the poets, history, oratory, philosophy, and criticism were also studied. The school of the literatus was much better than that of the literator, but it reached only a limited number of the Roman youth.

Higher Education.—Upon entering his sixteenth year, the boy was inducted with ceremony into the dignity of manhood, and was clothed with the toga virilis, the dress of men. He now chose his calling and began definite preparation for it. Five vocations were open to him,—namely, oratory, politics, arms, law, and agriculture. Those without talent or inclination for any of the others devoted themselves to agriculture. They were taken to the farms, where they received definite instruction in the principles and practices of this occupation. To those who chose oratory, politics, or law, were assigned persons experienced in their respective fields, and the boys were taken to the forum, the senate, and other places where they could hear renowned orators and become familiar with public life. They had also definite instruction in their chosen branch. Those who entered the army were placed in charge of military officers, who taught them military tactics and the practical duties of life in camp. These learners also gave attention to oratory and other intellectual studies.

It will thus appear that in their schools, as in life, the Romans were thoroughly practical. Each boy was carefully prepared for the life which he had chosen, by being inducted into it during his school course. Cicero asked the question, "What have we to learn?" and answered it, "To honor and strengthen the State, in order that we may become the rulers of the world." Roman parents demanded that their children should be trained in the practical duties of life, in order that they might know how to become rich. Therefore all training for children was in this direction.

While this in general was the purpose of education, the Romans had their ideal of what an educated man should be, and that ideal found its expression in the name of orator. He who was the best orator was the best educated man. The schools, however, were for boys, little account being taken of the education of girls except in household duties. Still, women were more respected, and had wider privileges than they had before enjoyed. Most of the wealthy citizens employed Greek tutors for their sons, and sought to ape Grecian manners and culture. Education was completed by study in Athens and by travel—advantages within reach only of the very wealthy.

Criticism of Roman Education.—1. It took great care to instill respect for law and obedience to parental and civil authority.

2. It honored the home and taught respect for the mother. In this, Rome took a great step in advance over many nations of antiquity.

3. It was not a State institution, and therefore could not offer equal advantages to all.

4. Its end was to prepare the youth for practical life and to fit him for the acquirement of wealth, rather than for the development of all the human powers.

5. It was superficial, and sought to apply Greek culture to Roman conditions and character.

6. It did not take a strong hold upon the Roman people so as to shape the course of the nation.

7. It ignored the claims of the masses, including women, to equal education and equal rights.

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER XII

ROMAN EDUCATORS

Literature.—(See Literature, Chapter XI.) Forsyth, Life of Cicero; Spofford, Library of Historical Characters; Watson, Quintilian's Institutes (Pedagogy, in Bks. I & II).

CICERO[22] (B.C. 106-43)

Cicero was born B.C. 106, of noble parents. As a boy he had the advantage of the best schools and teachers that Rome could furnish. Later he studied at Athens, under the greatest Greek masters, and became proficient in the Greek language. According to the common practice among the better classes in Rome, he spent some time in travel to complete his education, visiting Egypt, Asia Minor, and other parts of the known world. But Cicero's education can hardly be said to have been "completed" as long as he lived, for he remained a student even in the midst of his most exacting duties of State, and often employed teachers, especially in oratory. Forsyth says of him, "Philosophy and oratory seem to have been the two chief objects of his study; but if of any man before Bacon appeared that might be said which the great master of modern philosophy claimed for himself, that he 'had taken all knowledge for his province,' it might be truly declared of the youthful Cicero. His appetite for knowledge was insatiable, and his desire for distinction boundless."[23]

Becoming an advocate in Rome, he devoted himself chiefly to the defense of men high in position, often those who were charged with bribery, extortion, or other abuse of political trust. Some of his finest orations were delivered on these occasions. In the meantime he lost no opportunity to advance his own political interests. He was elected to one office after another until he reached the height of his political ambition,—the consulship of Rome, the loftiest position attainable by the Roman citizen. As consul he devoted himself with such zeal, integrity, and success as to win the title "Father of his Country." While he held this office he exposed the conspiracy of Catiline and saved Rome from civil war. He conducted the office with honesty and efficiency. Indeed, at a time of great corruption, Cicero stands out during his entire life of nearly sixty-four years as the purest patriot, the broadest-minded statesman, the noblest man of the age. His honesty in public or private life is unquestioned. Of his intellectual greatness Forsyth says, "The greatness of his intellect dwarfed that of every other man alive."[24]

That he was vain of his accomplishments admits of no doubt. That he also sometimes lacked moral courage and was vacillating seems also true. But he was incorruptible in a corrupt age; above reproach when impure life was the rule; and when treason was common, he remained a firm patriot. His celebrated "Philippics" were delivered against practices which indicated the approaching ruin of the republic. That ruin was complete when the Second Triumvirate was formed,—an event which also sealed the doom of Cicero. Upon learning that he was proscribed, Cicero attempted to escape from Italy, but was overtaken and assassinated. His head and hands were carried to Rome and presented to Antony, who gave the head to his wife, Fulvia, whose crimes Cicero had often rebuked. Forsyth says, "She took it, and placing it on her lap, addressed it as if it were alive, in words of bitter insult. She dragged out the tongue, whose sarcasms she had so often felt, and with feminine rage pierced it with her bodkin. It was then taken and nailed to the rostra, together with the hands, to molder there in mockery of the triumphs of his eloquence, of which that spot had so often been the scene. A sadder sight was never gazed upon in Rome."[25]

Cicero's Pedagogy.—It is not as a teacher, but as a writer, that Cicero demands a place in educational history. His writings furnish the finest examples of Latin style, and his orations are studied for their classic beauty and rhetorical finish. He wrote many philosophical works, in which are set forth advanced ideas on education. Especially was he in advance of his age in regard to the punishment of children. He held that corporal punishment should be resorted to only when all else has failed; that the child should not be degraded in the mode of punishment; that punishment should never be administered in anger, should be deferred until ample time for reflection has been allowed to both teacher and pupil; and that reasons for it should be given, so that, if possible, the child may be led to see the justice of the punishment inflicted. The teachings of Cicero on this subject are of great pedagogical importance, and they have at last come to be recognized in the school practice of the present day.

While these were Cicero's most important pedagogical teachings, he also taught many other truths valuable in education. Among them are these: that education begins in childhood, and is a steady growth throughout life; that memory should be cultivated by learning extracts from classic authors; that great care should be taken to make the amusements and environments of the child such as to elevate and refine, as well as properly to develop its powers; that at the suitable time some calling should be chosen for which the youth has evident fitness; that religion is the basis of morals, therefore careful attention should be given to religious instruction.

SENECA (B.C. 3-A.D. 65)

Seneca was one of the most distinguished men that Rome produced. Even as a boy he showed remarkable talent, and his father furnished him the best educational opportunities by placing him under the greatest masters in the city. He also had the benefit of travel in Greece and Egypt, after which he practiced law in Rome. The student of education is interested in Seneca chiefly as the tutor of Nero, who was committed to his charge at the age of eleven. Without doubt the lad had already formed vicious habits, as his teacher had great trouble in managing him; nor did Seneca eradicate those evil tendencies which bore such terrible fruit in Nero's later years.

Nero retained his love for his teacher for a long time, keeping him as a trusted counselor for several years. Seneca drew up all of Nero's state papers, among others one defending the crime of matricide, Nero having put his own mother to death. This brought deserved odium upon Seneca's name. It indicates that he was a time-server, lacking moral independence and firmness. This may explain his failure in the training of his royal pupil. Nero himself wearied of his old teacher and friend, and condemned him to death. Seneca, however, committed suicide, a mode of death quite in accord with his Stoic philosophy.

Seneca was the most eminent writer, rhetorician, and orator of his time. He anticipated many modern ethical teachings, and in some of his writings we find a strong religious sentiment, quite like that of Christianity, leading one to think that he may have been influenced by Christ and his disciples, with whom he was contemporary. On the other hand, some of his teachings are decidedly repulsive to Christianity.

Seneca's Pedagogy.—1. Like Cicero, he believed that punishment should be mild and reasonable. "Who condemns quickly, condemns willingly; and who punishes too much, punishes improperly."

2. The office of education is to correct the evil tendencies in the child.

3. The character of each child must be studied, and each individual should be developed according to his peculiarities.

4. Do not flatter the child, but teach him truthfulness, modesty, and respect for his elders.

5. Take great care that the environment of the child is elevating, and allow only pure and ennobling examples to be reflected before him.

6. Give the child but few studies, in order that he may be thorough and acquire right habits of learning.

7. The office of teacher is one of the most important of all offices. "What the teacher, who instructs us in the sciences, imparts to us in noble effort and intellectual culture, is worth more than he receives; for, not the matter, but the trouble; not the desert, but only the labor, is paid for.... Such a man, who consecrates his whole being to our good, and who awakens our dormant faculties, is deserving all the esteem that we give a benevolent physician or our most loved and dearest kindred."

QUINTILIAN[26]

No other Roman contributed so much pedagogy to the world as Quintilian. He was born in Spain, but early moved to Rome, in order to be trained in the atmosphere of culture which that city alone afforded. His education was conducted by his father, a celebrated rhetorician, to whom he owed the particular direction of his powers which afterward made him so famous. He chose the law as a profession, because it offered the best opportunity for the exercise of oratory. Not finding the practice of law congenial, he soon abandoned it, and devoted his time to teaching. He founded a school at Rome, and conducted it with great success for twenty years, having for pupils children from the most distinguished patrician families. Among these were the grandnephews of Domitian, possible heirs to the throne. This was the best school in Rome at that time. Vespasian honored Quintilian by creating for him a chair of rhetoric and conferring upon him the title "Professor of Oratory." This is the first instance in history of State endowment of a chair for teaching a specific subject. Royal recognition was not without effect upon the fortunes of Quintilian, as it placed him in the front rank of the teachers of Rome. This, together with his subject, the teaching and mastery of which were considered by the Romans to be the climax of education, enabled him to wrest supremacy from the Greek teachers who so long had enjoyed a monopoly of teaching in the city.

When fifty-three years of age, Quintilian retired from his school, and devoted himself to authorship. In the first two books of his great work, "Institutes of Oratory,"[27] he sets forth his ideas on education. This is the most remarkable treatise on education bequeathed to us by antiquity.

He taught that as oratory was the climax of Roman education, especial attention should be given to it. He was not in sympathy with the prevailing use that was made of oratory. Oratorical contests were frequent, and they excited popular interest. Courts, lawyers, and public speakers resorted to all the tricks of speech to win popular favor, and audiences demanded something startling, dramatic, and unusual. Quintilian tried to stay this tide, and taught that oratory should conceal itself. He met, however, with poor success in reforming the evil.

Quintilian's Pedagogy.—His pedagogical teachings, some of which we present, are of the greatest importance.

1. There should be no corporal punishment, as punishment administered to slaves is not suitable for children who are to be citizens.

2. Nurses must be irreproachable in life and language, so that children be not brought in contact with anything impure.

3. Amusements should be turned to account as a means of education.

4. Teachers should be men of ability and of spotless character.

5. Children should begin early with a foreign tongue, as their own language will come to them naturally in their intercourse with those about them.

6. Education should begin with the earliest childhood.

7. The forms and names of the letters should be learned simultaneously, playthings being utilized to assist in this.

8. Care should be taken that children do not acquire a distaste for learning.

9. In learning to read, advance very slowly.

10. Writing should begin with tracing, and the copies should consist of moral precepts.

11. The individuality of the child should be studied.

12. Public schools are preferable to other means of education, because they do not subject the child to greater moral danger, while they stimulate him by association, friendship, and example, to nobler endeavor.

13. Under the literatus, grammar, composition, music, geometry, astronomy, and literature are to be studied.

14. The climax of education should be rhetoric.

Other Roman Educators.—Among the other Roman educators may be mentioned Plutarch (50-138 A.D.) and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Plutarch in his "Parallel Lives" gives particular attention to morals. He offers valuable suggestions as to the training of children, laying great stress upon family life, an admonition particularly needed in Rome at that period. He also urges that women should be educated in order properly to train their children, being one of the first to consider this question.

Marcus Aurelius, called "the philosopher on the throne," in his "Meditations" gave expression to most lofty thoughts, showing keenest self-examination and obedience to conscience. His moral teachings are among the noblest of all the writers of antiquity.

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER XIII

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Literature.—Bryce, Holy Roman Empire; Guizot, History of Civilization; Lord, Beacon Lights; Sheppard, Fall of Rome; Draper, Conflict between Religion and Science; Clarke, Ten Great Religions; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of Roman Empire; Laurie, Rise of Universities; Stillé, Studies in Mediaeval History; Arnold, Essays in Criticism; Lecky, History of European Morals; Hegel, Philosophy of History; Allies, The Formation of Christendom; Châteaubriand, The Genius of Christianity; Azarias, Essays Philosophical.