Читать книгу The History of Education - Ellwood Patterson Cubberley - Страница 65

Of the three studies forming the Trivium, grammar always came first as the basal subject. No uniformity existed for the other two.

1. GRAMMAR. The foundation and source of all the Liberal Arts was grammar, it being, according to Maurus, "the science which teaches us to explain the poets and historians, and the art which qualifies us to speak and write correctly" (R. 74 a). In the introduction to an improved Latin grammar, [3] published about 1119, grammar is defined as "The doorkeeper of all the other sciences, the apt expurgatrix of the stammering tongue, the servant of logic, the mistress of rhetoric, the interpreter of theology, the relief of medicine, and the praiseworthy foundation of the whole quadrivium." Figure 45, from one of the earliest books printed in English, also emphasizes the great importance of grammar with the words: "Wythout whiche science (s)ycherly alle other sciences in especial ben of lytyl recomme(d)." In addition to grammar in the sense we know the study to-day, grammar in the old Roman and mediaeval mind also included much of what we know as the analytical side of the study of literature, such as comparison, analysis, versification, prosody, word formations, figures of speech, and vocal expression (R. 76). These were considered necessary to enable one to read understandingly the Holy Scriptures, and hence, "though the art be secular," says Maurus, "it has nothing unworthy about it."

[Illustration: FIG. 45. A SCHOOL: A LESSON IN GRAMMAR

(After a woodcut printed by Caxton in The Mirror of the World, 1481 (?). From Blades' Life and Typography of William Caxton, ii, Plate LVI)

This is a good example of early English printing. Can you read it? This

"Old English," like the German type (see Fig. 26), shows the change in

Latin letters which came about with the copying of manuscripts during the

Middle Ages. After the invention of printing the English soon returned to

the Latin forms; the Germans are only now doing so.]

The leading textbook was that of Donatus, [4] written in the fourth century, and Donatus (donat) and grammar came to be synonymous terms. The text by Priscian, [5] written in the sixth century, was also extensively used. The treatment in each was catechetical in form; that is, questions and answers, which were learned. The text was of course in Latin, and the teacher usually had the only copy, so that the pupils had to learn from memory or copy from dictation. The cost of writing-material usually precluded the latter method. After sufficient ability in grammar had been attained, simple reading exercises or colloquies (R. 75), usually of a religious or moralizing nature, were introduced, though where permitted the Latin authors, especially Vergil, [6] were read. At Saint Gall, in Switzerland, and at some other places, many Latin authors were read; at Tours, on the other hand, we find the learned Abbot Alcuin saying to the monks: "The sacred poets are sufficient for you; there is no reason why you should sully your mind with the rank luxuriance of Vergil's verse."

2. RHETORIC. Rhetoric, as defined by Maurus, was "the art of using secular discourse effectively in the circumstances of daily life," and enabling the preacher or missionary to put the divine message in eloquent and impressive language (R. 74 b). Much of the old Roman rhetoric had been taken over by grammar, but in its place was added a certain amount of letter and legal documentary writing. The priest, it must be remembered, became the secretary and lawyer of the Middle Ages, as well as the priest, and upon him devolved the preparation of most of the legal papers of the time, such as wills, deeds, proclamations, and other formal documents. Accordingly the art of letter-writing [7] and the preparation of legal documents were made a part of the study of rhetoric, and some study of both the civil ("worldly") and canon (church) law was gradually introduced.

3. DIALECTIC. Dialectic, or logic, says Maurus, is the science of understanding, and hence the science of sciences (R. 74 c). By means of its aid one was enabled to unmask falsehood, expose error, formulate argument, and draw conclusions accurately. The study was one of preparation for ethics and theology later on. Extracts from the works of Aristotle, prepared by Boethius, and later his complete works, constituted the texts used. While grammar was the great subject of the seven during all the early Middle Ages, dialectic later came to take its place. After the rise of the universities and the organization of schools of theology, with theology more of a rational science and less a matter of dogma, dialectic came to hold first place in importance as a preparation for the disputations of the later Middle Ages. Theological questions formed the practical exercises, and the schools doing most in dialectic attracted many students because of this.

These three studies, constituting the Trivium, based as they were directly on the old Roman learning and schools, contained more that was within the teaching knowledge of the time than did the subjects of the Quadrivium, and also subject-matter which was much more in demand.