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Rh it was its duty to educate the children of Catholic parents in the truths of their religion, was denounced as an enemy of the country. At present the more thoughtful Protestants begin to acknowledge that this idea is the only true one. The spread of immorality and infidelity has opened the eyes of many.

We may be allowed to quote one or other recent utterance of non-Catholics on this subject. Professor Gates, of the Chicago Theological Seminary, writes in the Biblical World, September 1902: "The great problem of life is education. The mind of the race is growing all the while, and it is for the educator to see that these mental powers are developed in the right direction. But no man's education is complete if religious instruction be omitted. One may know all mysteries of science and literature; he may sweep the heavens with the telescope, or peer into the secrets of nature with the microscope; but if in all this he see not God, he is but poorly educated after all. Now where do we find ourselves, as we confront this phase of the national problem? We have a system of public education to be proud of. Never have the various questions that meet the teacher been so well understood as to-day. But what is this great system doing

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578 for the religious instruction of our children? Practically nothing."

It has been said time and again that religion should be taught by the Sunday school and in the family. Yet every thoughtful man must see that such instruction cannot be but insufficient. The Biblical World, in an editorial, October 1902, asks whether the religious and moral education is adequately achieved through the Sunday school and the home, and it gives this answer: "It has been so assumed, but each passing year shows more clearly that this is not the case... The home feels no longer the necessary responsibility, and the Sunday school has neither the time nor the instrumentalities for adequate instruction. And, in addition, the divorcement of religious from secular education destroys the vital relation between the two. Therefore, it seems certain that the ideal of education, as well as the only adequate method of education, is to establish religious and moral instruction in the common schools. And we shall then find ourselves once more in accord with the status of instruction in England and Germany."

A few years ago, Mr. Amasa Thornton spoke similarly in the North American Review. There he said: "The questions which we have to solve then are these: How can the present decline in religious teaching and influence be checked; and how can such teaching and influence be increased to such a point as will preserve the great cities of the next century from depravity, degradation, and destruction? What can be expected of the family?" Mr. Thornton rightly adds: "If the adults of the present age are not as religious as the needs of the hour and of the future require, will the

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579 children receive the proper religious training if they receive none except in the home circle?" In fact, thousands of children do not even learn a short prayer at home. The writer then declares that one of the greatest blunders that have been made in this country is the failure of teaching religion in the public schools. He then pays a striking tribute to the Catholic Church. "The Catholic Church has insisted that it is its duty to educate the children of parents of the Catholic faith in such a way as to fix religious truths in the youthful mind. For this it has been assailed by the non-Catholic population, and Catholics have been charged with being enemies of the liberties of the people and the flag. Any careful observer in the city of New York can see that the only people, as a class, who are teaching the children in the way that will secure the future for the best civilization, are the Catholics; and although a Protestant of the firmest kind, I believe the time has come to recognize this fact, and for us all to lay aside religious prejudices and patriotically meet this question."

Professor Coe of Northwestern University quite recently said in a lecture delivered in Chicago: "The position of Roman Catholics in regard to religion and education, and their policy in the establishment of parochial schools, are absolutely correct. For corroboration of this opinion I refer you to the work Philosophy of Education, by Dr. Arnold Tompkins, principal of the Chicago Normal School, in which he says religious character is the proper end of all education."

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580 The Catholics object to purely secular education, because they consider it subversive of religion and true morality, subversive of "the pillars of human happiness and national security." It is not so much what is taught in the non-sectarian schools that renders them objectionable to Catholics, as what is not taught and cannot be taught. An education which omits Christ as its central and informing principle is an unchristian education. Such an education may not directly teach wrong principles, nor directly undermine the faith of the pupils, yet it does nothing to protect and strengthen it. The inevitable consequence of this neglect must be the weakening of faith, especially in an age in which literature and the whole domestic and social life are infected by agnosticism and a new paganism. As the non-sectarian school does not and cannot counteract these baneful tendencies, it is clear that the education which it imparts is a defective, nay, a false one.

Not unfrequently, however, Catholics must also object to what is taught in non-sectarian schools and colleges. It is impossible to avoid in text-books and oral instruction, in the teaching of history, literature, and natural sciences, all allusions to questions most closely connected with religion. How does the Catholic Church fare in such references? One need only examine the text-books used in many schools, to become convinced that a Catholic parent must protest against the statements contained therein about the Church, its history, its worship, the Papacy, monastic orders, etc. But if Catholic children grow weak in their love of the Church, her institutions and practices, they will gradually neglect their religious

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Rh duties, and fall a prey to religious indifferentism and moral ruin. How well has this been expressed in the latest "School Order for the Higher Schools" of Prussia: "Catholic religious instruction has the specific task of grounding Catholic youth in the conviction of the truth and the divine origin of Christianity and the Church, and to teach them to preserve, foster, and steadfastly profess this conviction by living in and with Christ and His Church. Only on the solid foundation of a definite religious knowledge, of deep-rooted conviction and loyalty to the Church, can religious instruction try and expect to fulfil that other, by no means last or least important, part of its task, viz., to accomplish fully and permanently the religious and the moral elevation of the pupil. According to Catholic teaching, the truly moral life rests on obedience to the Church, as the divinely attested guardian and exponent of God's ordinances, and herein is found a special protection against the false and perverse aspirations of the modern age, which endanger the moral order."

For this reason, what an English Catholic said about the schools of England has also an application to our country. Dr. Windle (F. R. S.), speaking of the "Present Needs of Catholic Secondary Education," said among other things: "By the fact that we are Catholics, we are circumscribed in our choice of schools to those of our own faith. ... I should like to add one word on this subject from my own experience. Born and brought up a Protestant I was educated at a great public school, for which I still retain considerable respect, and even affection; but I

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582 wish to say with a due sense of responsibility, that the Catholic parent who sends his son to a non-Catholic public school deliberately and without a shadow of justification exposes him to the almost certain loss of his faith, and to the grave danger of the corruption of his morals."

The attitude of Catholics towards the question of religious instruction in school is, therefore, very clear. Of those Protestants that now advocate religious instruction, not a few commit a serious mistake. They recommend a sort of religious teaching which will suit all and offend none, an "unsectarian, undenominational religion," as they style it. Such a religion does not exist, and what is taught as such does not deserve the name of religion. This has been emphatically stated by many distinguished Protestants of widely differing religious opinions. Of American educators we mention President McCosh who made some very noteworthy statements on this subject. Even men of most advanced liberal views condemn the teaching of an "undenominational" religion. Professor Ziegler of the University of Strassburg, who is not in the least "clerically biased," wrote two years ago in his General Pedagogy: "A knowledge of the religion in which one is born forms part of general culture, and the state would have to look after this part of education, as after all the rest (sic!). But here enters the Church as competitor, demanding that the instruction in religion be imparted to her children according to her views; an undenominational instruction in religion, which is advocated by some, is non-

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Rh sense; for every religion is denominational." It would fill a large volume were we to collect the unsparing criticism passed within the last thirty years on "unsectarian" religious teaching by the most enlightened men in England, among them statesmen like Disraeli and Lord Salisbury. An English agnostic, a member of the London School Board, thus described the system adopted by this Board: "The result of unsectarian teaching is to establish a new form of religion which has nothing in common with Historical Christianity or any other form of Christian teaching. By taking away everything to which any one objects, they leave something which is really worthless. They say they will have no Creed and no Catechism, and the result is that every teacher is his own Creed and his own Catechism. The result of unsectarian teaching is a colorless residuum, which I should think would be as objectionable to the earnest Christian as it is contemptible to the earnest unbeliever." Other English writers were even more severe in their condemnations of this system, which they called "a misshapen beast," "a moral monster," "lifeless, boiled down, mechanical, unreal teaching of religion." Needless to say, Catholics will always object to such a maimed teaching of religion.

Protestant advocates of religious instruction frequently consider the reading of the Bible as sufficient, and as the only admissible means of teaching religion in the schools. However, in this principle there are several serious errors. We must first mention recent

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584 utterances calling for the restoration of the Bible to the schools as literature, as a means of literary culture. The National Educational Association that met in Minneapolis in the summer of 1902, adopted the following resolution: "It is apparent that familiarity with the English Bible as a masterpiece of literature is rapidly decreasing among the pupils in our schools. This is the direct result of a conception which regards the Bible as a theological book merely, and thereby leads to its exclusion from the schools of some states as a subject of reading and study. We hope and ask for such a change of public sentiment in this regard as will permit and encourage the English Bible, now honored by name in many school laws and state constitutions, to be read and studied as a literary work of the highest and purest type, side by side with the poetry and prose which it has inspired and in large part formed." Such a study is, of course, practically useless from the religious point of view; moreover, and this is a more serious objection against the scheme advocated by the National Educational Association, it is wrong in principle and mischievous in its consequences. It is a deplorable degradation of the sacred volume to put it on a par with profane writings, be they of the highest type, as the dramas of Shakespeare or the poems of Tennyson. This scheme would tend to destroy entirely the reverence due to the Bible. Besides, no literary study is possible without explanation of the contents of the works studied; but it is absurd to attempt an explanation of the contents of

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Rh the Bible without trespassing on religious ground. Rightly has the Biblical World observed that culture is not the chief end of man, nor the primary function of the Bible. The biblical books are indeed masterpieces of literature, but they have a much more important service to render to the world. The Bible is first of all for religious and moral instruction, a guidebook to religion and morality. We perfectly agree with the Biblical World so far, but not as to the manner of reading the Bible which this review advocates. In an editorial, October 1902, we read: "The fact that the Bible is generally excluded from the public schools of the United States, where formerly it was used as a book of devotion and instruction, is not to be attributed to a growing disregard of religion. ... This situation has been created by the friends of the Bible rather than by its enemies; for if the friends of the Bible could have agreed among themselves as to how the Bible should be taught in the schools, their influence would have secured the continuance of such instruction. But it came to pass that the Bible was used in the schools, not only for general and ethical religious instruction, but also for the inculcation of sectarian and theological ideas. Protestant teachers taught the Bible in a way which antagonized the Roman Catholics; and teachers of the several Protestant denominations interpreted the Bible to the children from their own point of view. But the public money which is raised by general taxation for the support of the common schools comes from men of widely differing ecclesiastical creeds and connections, and cannot therefore be used for the dissemination of

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586 sectarian tenets." The writer then asks: "Can we now teach religion and morals by means of the Bible without at the same time teaching sectarian ideas? The Bible is not sectarian; Roman Catholics and all Protestant denominations equally claim it. The formal creeds and the systems of government and worship which have grown up in the centuries of Christian history are post-biblical; they are a superstructure, built upon the fundamentals of Christianity as recorded in the Bible. Can we get beneath ecclesiastical formulations, regulations, and liturgies to a fundamental religious belief and moral practice upon which all Christians can agree, and which they can unite to promote? ... We believe that sectarianism is fast disappearing, that an era of unity in essentials is near at hand. ... In order to restore the Bible to the schools it must be taught in the right way – the way which accords with the best modern knowledge of the Bible, the best modern science of religion and ethical teaching, and the best Christian spirit which recognizes true Christianity wherever it exists, and is able to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials."

We do not want to comment on all the latitudinarian statements contained in this quotation, but confine ourselves to the following remarks. First, that religion consisting of merely the "fundamentals of Christianity without formal creeds," is no true religion. It is a distillation or a dilution of Christianity which deserves all the castigation inflicted by English writers on the "moral monster of undenominational religion." Secondly, it is said that "the Bible is not sectarian, and that Roman Catholics and

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Rh all Protestant denominations claim it." But how do they claim it? Surely not merely as a source of "general and ethical religious instruction," but as the document which is supposed to prove their particular religious tenets. It is as true now as centuries ago what the Reformed theologian Werenfels expressed in his famous distich:

Hence it is unreasonable to expect that the Bible will ever be taught without "sectarian" bias, or that in future it will be taught by Protestants without "antagonizing the Roman Catholics."

The objections of Catholics to the reading of the Bible in undenominational schools which are frequented by Catholic children, may briefly be summed up as follows: First, the Catholics must ask which translation of the Bible is to be used. Is it to be the Catholic Rheims and Douay version? To this the Protestants would undoubtedly object. Then the Protestant Bible? Against this the Catholics must protest. For the Bible of King James contains numerous errors of translation—this was candidly admitted by the authors of the Revised Version —errors by no means insignificant, errors which, to a great extent, consist in rendering the Bible so as to

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588 justify certain Protestant tenets and to antagonize Catholic doctrines. The Revised Version has done away with some of these objectionable translations, but not with all that justly offend Catholics. Hence the very version used in the public schools is "sectarian." Besides, the Catholic acknowledges books as canonical which are rejected in the Protestant Bibles as apocryphal, and this is another reason why the Catholic cannot approve the reading of the Protestant Bible. – Secondly, the Catholic Church is opposed to giving the complete and unabridged Bible into the hands of children. The reason for this attitude is one that testifies to the great pedagogical wisdom of the Church. She cannot bear the thought that the most sacred of books should become a stumbling-block to the innocent, or a means of gratifying the unholy curiosity of vicious youths. There are earnest Protestants who in this matter side with the Catholic practice. It may suffice to quote one testimony, that of a Protestant educator of the first rank, namely of Professor Schiller, Director of one of the best training schools for teachers in Europe. Speaking of the causes of impurity among students, he finds one in the reading of the unabridged Bible. He affirms that a large experience has proved that most deplorable vicious habits among pupils, boys and girls, sprang up in the first place from the reading of certain passages of the Bible, the selection and knowledge of which were handed down as a tradition among the pupils. This danger, he adds, can be so easily avoided by preparing special school Bibles that the opposite practice seems unpardonable. We think it well to quote the instructive passage in the original in

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Rh a note, adding here that the Catholic Church all along taught the Bible in such school editions. – There is a third consideration which prompts Catholics to oppose the reading of the Bible as advocated by most Protestant educators. It is the following question: Is the Bible to be read with or without comment? If with comment, is this Protestant or Catholic? Evidently either Catholic or Protestant would be offended. Therefore, without comment and explanation! Now this reading is almost useless, as the young will understand very little of the meaning of the passage. Disraeli, the English statesman, has justly ridiculed this practice. "I cannot imagine," he says, "anything more absurd than that a teacher should read 'without note and comment,' as it is called, a passage from the Bible, and that children should be expected to profit by it. The 'without note and comment' people in their anxiety to ward off proselytism, seem to have forgotten that, if there is any book in the world which demands more explanation than another, it is the Bible. And so, if nothing else is possible

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590 than such a feeble and useless compromise as this, I would, in the interest of the Bible itself, not have it read at all." And then he adds: "I am a great believer in the old-fashioned Church-Catechism. I wonder whether those that sneer at it, have always read it. I fancy not. It is, rightly interpreted, a most practical document, but without interpretation, not worth teaching or learning."

As is to be expected, religious instruction in the widest and fullest sense received a prominent place in the educational system of the Society of Jesus. The first rule of the Ratio calls it one of the most important obligations of the Society "to teach all branches of learning in such a manner that men should be led to the knowledge and love of their Creator and Redeemer;" and in the rules of the Rector, the Prefect of Studies, and the teachers, the same duty is inculcated. As regards the reading of the Bible, the old prejudice that the Church ever set her face against it is unfortunately still alive among vast numbers of non-Catholics. For our purpose it suffices to remind the reader of what was said in a former chapter, namely, that in Jesuit colleges the Gospels were read, in the higher classes the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in the original Greek.

But above all, the Jesuits were always "great believers in the catechism." Catechetical instruction was prescribed in all classes once a week. This may seem rather little; however, it should be remembered

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Rh that there were religious instructions in the weekly meetings of the Sodalities, and, which is still more important, that the whole teaching was permeated by a religious spirit. Besides, it may be added that in many modern Jesuit colleges two full hours are devoted to religious instruction every week. In the lower classes the catechism is explained, in the higher classes a fuller explanation of the Catholic dogmas and a course of apologetics is given. Such an apologetical course was recommended by the German province of the Society of Jesus as early as 1821. That in our age an apologetical treatment of the Christian religion is absolutely necessary need not be demonstrated. The words of the Apostle St. Peter: "Be ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you," had, perhaps, never before a more important bearing than in this age of omnivorous reading. At a time when the literature of the day is largely infected by naturalism and agnosticism, and when the principles of Christianity are attacked in so many subtle forms, it is certainly necessary to be well instructed lest one's own faith be tainted by the prevalent scepticism, and to be ready to defend this faith against the attacks made in the name of progress, modern philosophy, and science. This readiness can be obtained only by a solid catechetical and apologetical training.

Catechetical instruction was, from the very beginning of the Society, a special ministry and a labor of love to the Jesuits. In the papal approbation of 1540

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592 it is said that the Society was instituted for "the propagation of faith, and especially for the instruction of children and ignorant people in Christian doctrine." Father Sacchini has a beautiful chapter on the "Teaching of the Catechism," in which he says the Jesuit should teach languages and grammar with great diligence, but with far greater devotion and alacrity catechism, "which is the grammar of Jesus Christ."

An American prelate wrote recently on this subject: "Among religious orders established with a special view toward the religious education of youth, the first place must undoubtedly be assigned to the Society of Jesus... St. Ignatius himself set the example. The first forty days after the papal approbation he devoted himself to the instruction of children in Rome. When told that no one would come to his class, he answered: 'If only one child comes to my catechism, it is enough of an audience for me.' The Society followed the example of its founder with a hitherto unheard of zeal and enthusiasm... The Jesuits, moreover, developed a most meritorious activity in writing catechetical works, not less than one hundred and fifty having been published during the first century of their existence. The catechisms composed by Bellarmine and Canisius soon displaced all others." Indeed, the writing of catechisms has been one of the glories of the Society from the first decades of its existence. Dr. Knecht, Coadjutor Bishop of Freiburg, an eminent writer on catechetics, affirms that "the Jesuit Order has un-

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Rh doubtedly produced the greatest catechists." The catechism of the celebrated Bellarmine was used in many countries for centuries, even at present among Romanic nations. Of great fame were also the French, Latin and Greek catechisms of Father Edmund Auger. But all were surpassed by that of Peter Canisius, the first German Jesuit; this catechism was used extensively all over Europe. The works of this eminent writer and founder of many colleges deserve to be treated at some length.

Catechetical instruction had been given from the beginning of the Church, and there existed works which guided the clergy in this sublime office. The idea of placing a summary of Christian doctrine in the hands of the people and children, appears to have been first expressed in a letter of the great Gerson, chancellor of the University of Paris (1363-1429). The first known summary of this kind was the one published at the order of the synod of Tortosa in Spain (1429). The first German catechism, so far known, was that of Dederich Coelde, a Minorite Friar of Münster in Westphalia, printed about 1470, then published in many editions. There existed, besides this, other catechisms before the Reformation. Of the Protestant works of this kind Luther's "Great and

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594 Small Catechisms" were undoubtedly those that spread most widely and had the greatest influence. Several Catholic catechisms came out shortly after, but they were, in point of language and arrangement, inferior to that of Luther. They were also either too lengthy or too difficult. The need of a new and better work, adapted to the circumstances of the times, was felt especially in Germany. Then it was, in 1554, that Canisius began to publish his three catechisms. The first was the large catechism in Latin for the use of students in colleges. After this appeared a shorter one, and finally his small catechism. This last established his fame as a writer. There are about three hundred different editions extant which appeared before the death of the author in 1597. By that time the work had been translated into English, French, Greek, Italian, Bohemian, Spanish, Polish, Swedish, and many other languages. Before 1623 there existed Aethiopian, Indian, and Japanese translations. In Southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, up to the nineteenth century the name "Canisi" was synonymous with catechism.

The merits of this work can best be judged from the innumerable recommendations which it received from Popes and bishops, and not less from the violent

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Rh attacks made upon it by Protestants. The Italian historian Cesare Cantù styles it, "the most famous Catholic catechism written since the time of Luther." Even the Protestant historian Ranke cannot help praising and admiring it. And a distinguished Protestant controversialist in Germany, Professor Kawerau, says: "The catechism of Canisius is without doubt of the same importance to the Catholic Church as Luther's was to the Church of the Reformation. It is distinguished by its clear and lucid treatment of the subject and particularly by the mild and conciliatory tone in which it is written." This "mild and con-

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596 ciliatory tone" was recommended to all Jesuit teachers. Thus Father Nadal laid it down as a rule for all teachers that "both in the subject for written exercises and in the explanation of the catechism they should proceed with the greatest moderation. Especially in Germany, France, etc., they should not use any contumelious epithets against their opponents; nay they should not even style them heretics – although in truth they may be such –, but they should call those who adhere to the Augsburg Confession, Protestants, others Anabaptists etc. How, then, is Mr. Painter justified in asserting that the Jesuit system fostered religious pride and intolerance?

Father Canisius gave also beautiful instructions as to the motives and methods of teaching catechism. "We who are of the Society of Jesus," he writes, "wish to provide the little ones of Christ with the salutary milk of his doctrine. It is their welfare that we love and seek to promote. To this end has our Society been instituted, to instruct youth in piety as well as in learning, as far as with the grace of Christ we can accomplish." One of the most essential qualities of a good catechist is kindness of heart and manners. This quality was a marked feature of Canisius' character, one which attracted the children to his instructions. The summary of the catechetical lectures which he gave in Augsburg has been pre-

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Rh served. Canisius began with the words of the Psalmist: "Come children hearken to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord" (Psalm 33, 12). Then he continued: "Christ, our Lord loved the children and showed his affection for them in various ways. He blessed and embraced them and defended them against the Pharisees (Matth. 21, 15. 16) and against his own disciples (Matth. 18, 1-10). He said: 'Suffer little children to come unto me'; yea come to me, to be instructed, and to be taught the science of salvation. And to all those who are not well instructed I speak with St. Paul: 'You have need to be taught again what are the first elements of the words of God: And you are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.' (Hebr. 5, 11. 12.) Following the examples of the Prophets, of Christ, and of the Apostles, I shall teach you not as wise and learned ones, but as children and little ones. Come, then, with a willing and cheerful heart; be convinced that it is a matter of the greatest importance for you to be justly called and truly to be sons of God. On your part, you must imitate the Child Jesus, who, in a manner, has given you an example how to learn the doctrine of salvation, when he set aside all else, left even his parents, and remained in the temple. Watch him there, see how he sits there quietly, listens to the teachers, and asks them questions. His questions are not about silly and useless matters, but about the great things of salvation. You must imitate him in this, now and ever in the future." This simple and hearty manner of teaching found great favor with the people, and we are not surprised to hear that after a few of his catechetical instructions Canisius could write: "I am

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598 delighted at seeing the good will of the people. Even men, among them persons of distinction, set aside all other business and come to listen to the instruction for children."

Throughout his life Canisius found a special delight in giving catechetical instructions. The son of a distinguished family, the celebrated Doctor of theology, and author of many learned works, the founder of the famous colleges of Prague, Ingolstadt, Munich, Dillingen, Innsbruck, and Freiburg, the man whose advice was sought by the Emperors of Germany, by the Dukes of Bavaria, by Popes and Cardinals, by Church Councils and Imperial Diets – this man devoted every spare minute to the humble work of instructing children, and that not only in the cities where he resided, but on his many journeys, from one end of Germany to the other, he performed the same work of Christian charity among the simple country people. In his old age, when worn out by incessant toils, this was his favorite occupation. A year before his death, in his seventy-eighth year, he writes that his time is spent in "instructing children and old people." A touching testimony to this work of the saintly Jesuit is still extant at the present day. In a little village near Innsbruck (Tyrol) is to be seen, on the gable of an old house, a picture which represents Canisius sitting among children whom he is instructing in their catechism. It was before this house that, on his journeys to Innsbruck, he used to perform the work which the picture has immortalized. We have dwelt longer on the labors of this great

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Rh man, because they represent so beautifully what thousands of other Jesuits have done all the world over, in their endeavors to spread the knowledge and love of Christ.

Many other Jesuits wrote catechisms after Canisius. But it will suffice to mention a more recent one, that of the German Jesuit Deharbe. The merits of Deharbe's catechism were soon recognized, and it was introduced into nearly all dioceses of Germany, and was translated into many languages. It obtained a large circulation, especially in this country.

In order to give a solid and efficient religious instruction, it is not enough to teach catechism once or twice a week. The General of the Society, Father Beckx, in a letter addressed to the Austrian Minister of Instruction, July 15, 1854, maintains the following: "Religion should not only hold the first place among the various branches, but permeate and rule all, and, according to our Ratio Studiorum, the teacher should treat all subjects in such manner that the truths of the catechism are found in all branches. Now it is some wise adage, then an inspiring thought, again a remarkable incident, or a beautiful trait of character, which gives the teacher occasion to instruct, to warn, and to elevate to Christian sentiments; such hints given incidentally and, as it were, accidentally, often make an impression all the more vivid, the less they were expected. In this manner religion is not a dry and disagreeable branch, but vivifies all the rest of instruction, gives it a higher, sacred character, and

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600 makes the pupil not only more learned but also better and more virtuous."

The Fathers Jouvancy and Sacchini say that the explanations of all authors, also of pagan writers, should be conducted so that they become, as it were, heralds of Christ. This is very important in our times, when pagan ideas, principles, and tendencies are praised as the spirit of the progressing human mind, as the precious fruit of modern research and civilization. From the study of the ancients, particularly the Greeks, the young may learn that mankind is on the point of going again through a circle of errors, which in a retrogressive movement shall lead our race through all the aberrations which Christianity has long ago overcome. Against the enticing sirens of "modern progress," "freedom of thought," and "independence of morality," a most salutary lesson may be learned from the ancients, who in spite of their accomplishments in art, literature, and politics, could not find in them the remedy for social evils, nor contentment of mind and heart. Such suggestions, however, must be made discreetly, with great tact and moderation, when an occasion naturally offers. Here, too, the old ne quid nimis is of the greatest import; if the teacher too often, in season and out of season, indulges in pious exhortations, the pupils may easily conceive disgust at them and a loathing for all kinds of spiritual and religious instruction. Therefore, the teacher should not only not molest the pupils by too frequent admonitions, but should also observe prudence in those he thinks fit to give.

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Rh The principles laid down by the Jesuits, as to the religious tone of all instruction, have recently been emphasized by Pope Leo XIII., in the Encyclical written in 1897, on occasion of the centenary of Peter Canisius. There we read: "All schools, from the elementary to the university, should be thoroughly Catholic, and one of the main duties of the pastors of the Church is to safeguard the rights of parents and the Church in this matter. It is of the very greatest importance that Catholics should have everywhere for their children not mixed schools, but their own schools, and these provided with good and well trained masters. Let no one delude himself that a sound moral training can be separated from dogmatic religious training. To separate the training in knowledge from all religious influence, is to form citizens to be the bane and pest of society instead of being the bulwark of their country. Moreover, it is not enough for youths to be taught religion at fixed hours, but all their training must be permeated by religious principles."

Some Protestant educators of the highest standing have advocated a system which is practically that defended by Catholics. Thus Professor Schiller strongly insists on "concentration and unity in education." As regards religious instruction he wishes it to be given by one "who has in his hands the most important branches of instruction, those which are best suited to influence education," above all literature and history. The same view is also taken in the Prussian "School Order" of 1892 and 1901, where it is said that it is of the utmost importance that religious instruction is not rent from the other branches, but

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602 intimately connected with other, particularly the ethical branches. From this principle we may draw another argument for the advantages which can be derived, if education is in the hands of the clergy, especially in the higher classes, where a thorough knowledge of theology is required in order to give that religious training needed in this stage of education. It is evident that such a course can be followed only in denominational schools. For this reason Professor Schiller deplores the fact that, in consequence of religious differences, it is almost impossible to apply this most important principle.

English and American educators are not wanting who advocate the same principle on which the Jesuits have insisted for centuries. Arnold's opinion on this subject was quite explicit. Sir Joshua Fitch tells us that he dreaded any theory which would tend to view the life of the scholar as a thing apart from the life of a Christian. He protested earnestly against any attempt to divorce religious from secular instruction, or to treat them as distinct parts of an educational scheme. "The device sometimes advocated in later times for solving the religious difficulty in our common and municipal schools by confining the functions of the school teacher to secular instruction, and calling in the aid of the clergy or other specialists to give lessons on religion at separate hours, would have seemed to him wholly indefensible, and, indeed, fatal to any true conception of the relation of religious knowledge to other knowledge." In one of his ser-

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Rh mons he said: "It is clear that neither is the Bible alone sufficient to give a complete religious education, nor is it possible to teach history, and moral and political philosophy, with no reference to the Bible, without giving an education that shall be anti-religious. For, in the one case, the rule is given without the application, and in the other the application derived from a wrong rule."

But a few months ago the same view was forcibly expressed by a writer in the Chicago Biblical World, in a leading article which is said to be inspired by the editor of this review, President Harper of the University of Chicago. In this article we find the following most appropriate statements: "It is a serious phase of the present situation that the religious and moral instruction of the young is isolated from their instruction in other departments of knowledge. The correlation of the different elements of education is incomplete, because the religious and moral instruction is received in entire separation from the general instruction of the public schools. The facts and truths of religion are the foundation and the imperative of morality. Present civilization rests upon the religious and ethical ideas of the past, and the civilization of the future depends upon a due recognition of religion and morality as essential factors in the growing welfare of humanity. The knowledge and experience of religious and moral truth must underlie and penetrate all knowledge and experience. The events and the ideas of the past, as of the present, must be viewed in

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604 the light of a divine hand as the creator of the universe, a divine power sustaining it, a divine wisdom guiding it, and a divine purpose accomplished in it. The physical world about us, our fellow-men, and our own selves must all be interpreted by religion truly conceived and morality properly understood. It is, therefore, impossible to accomplish the ideal education of the individual when the religious and moral element is isolated from the other elements; still worse when it is not received at all by the majority of the children. All the elements of education must be woven together into an organic unity to produce a perfect result." The writer then proposes an organization which "may seek to show how to correlate religious and moral instruction with the instruction in history, science, and literature obtained in the public schools." – A comparison with the words of Father Beckx quoted on a previous page (p. 599) will show the great similarity of the views of the President of the University of Chicago and the former General of the Society of Jesus. But we think there is one essential difference: the Jesuit draws the logical consequences of his principles, namely, that education should be imparted in denominational schools; for only in such schools can the moral and religious training be harmoniously united with the other elements of instruction. The President of the University of Chicago has not drawn this conclusion. Yet we fail to see how, except in denominational schools, the proposed correlation of religious education and instruction in the other branches is possible. However, for our present purpose it suffices to have shown that this distinguished American scholar and educator agrees with the fundamental

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Rh principle of the Jesuits, namely, that religious instruction should be closely connected with the general education.

We heard that Pope Leo said all schools, from the elementary to the university, should be under the influence of religion, not only the lower schools. The student in the college and the university needs the saving and elevating influence of Christianity as well as, and perhaps even more than, the boy in the elementary course. The man who receives a higher education is to become the leader and adviser of his fellow-men. This rôle he will not assume to the benefit of society unless he possesses a thorough knowledge of religion. Otherwise he will be "a blind leader of the blind, and both shall fall into the pit." What dangers are to be apprehended if the religious instruction does not keep pace with the growth of secular knowledge, especially in natural sciences, has been well stated by a Catholic writer: "Catholics have the faith and a creed, but it is not an easy thing for men to bear up against the superciliousness with which high-sounding philosophy treats the doctrine of truth as puerile, effete, and obsolete. The young man leaves school or college with certain religious principles, and with certain ideas of the Being and attributes of God; he is intended for a profession to which physiological science is preparatory. His theological knowledge is stationary; his scientific is progressive. Life and motion he learns to trace to secondary causes, of which before he had heard nothing. He had been taught that life is a gift of God, and that it rests with Him to destroy or to save; but now he finds that life expresses but an aggregate of properties, attached to organization, and

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606 dependent for their exercise on the perfection of the organism and the presence of certain stimuli, as heat and light and electricity. His scientific knowledge grows into maturity; his religion is still that of his boyhood or youth! He has found other causes of the facts he sees, besides those that he knew before, and the conceit of knowledge and superiority hides from him the fact that these causes are themselves effects: and then he ascribes a real power to his generalizations, personifies abstractions, and deifies nature."

For this reason the Irish Jesuit Father Delaney, Rector of University College, Dublin, believes that laymen should have a scientific training in theology. "I should like," he said in his evidence before the Royal Commission on University Education in Ireland, "that educated laymen should be given an opportunity of getting a scientific knowledge of their religion. At present boys leaving school find newspapers and pamphlets and reviews dealing with subjects vitally affecting Catholicity and Christianity itself, with the existence of a soul, and the existence of God, and where are these men to get the training and knowledge to enable them to meet difficulties which are suggested to them in this way?"

Indeed, it would be not only incongruous, but even scandalous, if a Christian place of higher education imparted all sorts of secular knowledge and neglected that which is the most important, the knowledge of the Christian religion. A Catholic youth, when leav-

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Rh ing college, should be well prepared to defend his faith against the numberless misrepresentations which are prevailing among Protestants about things Catholic. Half the controversies which go on in the world arise from ignorance and misinformation; and educated laymen that are able to remove such prejudices by a correct statement of facts of history and doctrines – and numerous questions of this kind occur in social intercourse – not only vindicate the calumniated Church, but also further peace and good feeling among men of different creeds.

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Rh This presupposes, on the part of the teachers, submission and obedience. The Jesuit teachers are told by their rules to obey the Prefect of Studies in all things pertaining to studies and school discipline. It is well known that St. Ignatius insisted on nothing so much as on obedience. The obedience demanded by the Society has frequently been censured by men who do not as much as know what this obedience really means. In an army, or in any department of government, a similar obedience is exacted as being wholly necessary for the maintenance of right order; why not much more so in a religious community whose members profess obedience to their superiors in whom they see the representatives of God? M. De Ladevèze said recently: "Military obedience has had none but vigorous apologists, obedience in religious Orders, other than the Society of Jesus, has had but rare and indulgent critics, whilst the obedience of the Jesuits has ever been the butt for attacks as numerous as – my readers would not allow me to say impartial." Does

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610 not St. Paul say: "Let every one be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God: and those that are are ordained by God. Therefore, he that resisteth, resisteth the power of God." It must not be forgotten that passion, especially pride, impetuosity, and stubbornness frequently blind and deceive a man to take his own conceits for absolute infallible wisdom. Therefore, St. Ignatius addresses his sons in the words of Scripture: "Lean not upon thy own prudence." Indeed, many mistakes will be avoided by the teacher who conscientiously follows the regulations of the school and the orders of the superiors. On the other hand, the teacher who is lacking in submission will sooner or later blunder most seriously.

Further, how can a teacher honestly demand obedience from his pupils unless he practises it himself? Surely, there is much truth in the old monastic maxim: "No man securely commands but he who has learned well to obey." Personal obedience of the teacher, therefore, is a means to secure him the most necessary qualification for effective school-management, namely, authority.

Authority is power or influence over others derived from character, example, mental and moral superiority. How can the teacher obtain this influence? Father Jouvancy and Father Kropf have two instructive chapters on this subject, from which we draw most of the following observations. According to Jouvancy, three things especially conduce to the

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Rh acquirement of authority by the religious teachers: esteem, love, and fear.

1. The teacher must possess the esteem of his pupils. They must respect him for his learning and his character. He must thoroughly master the subject which he has to teach. Besides, a careful preparation of the day's lesson should be made invariably before. It is most ruinous for the teacher's authority, if the pupils detect any deficiency in his knowledge – and they will discover it very soon if there is any. The pupils cannot and will not listen to such a teacher with the respect and willingness which are necessary not only for a fruitful study, but also for school discipline. Remarks will be passed about the teacher's mistakes, or his inability to handle the subject; perhaps bolder pupils call the teacher's attention to his mistakes. In such cases the man who is master of his subject can, and mostly will, calmly admit that a slip has been made, whereas the teacher who is not sure of his subject, and who blunders frequently, is inclined to keep down any objections by frowns, scoldings or even punishment. The result will be dissatisfaction among the students, which may lead to serious breaches of discipline.

As to his character, anything like passionate or irritable behavior, abusive language, haughtiness, levity, whims, fickleness, inconsiderate or idle talk, mannerisms, peculiarities of gesture and expression which will strike the pupils as ridiculous, and any other defect of mind or character will at once be detected by the keen eyes of the students and will more or less weaken his authority. In a teacher who is a religious, the virtues expected of a religious man

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612 should appear in all words and actions, and his whole life should bespeak a mind thoroughly imbued with the lofty principles of Christianity. Such a teacher should remember the words of Christ: "So let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven." Indeed, it is absolutely necessary for him to endeavor to gain the sincere esteem of the students, not in order to gratify his vanity, nor for any other selfish purpose, but in order to manage successfully a class of petulant and mischief-loving youths.

2. The teacher must strive to gain the affection of his pupils. This he will obtain if they see him eager for their advancement, if he possesses the mastery over his own temper, if he never appears suspicious or distrustful. While kind and obliging in private, he must show himself earnest and grave before his class. Besides, being always firm, he must moreover be friendly and kind towards all, avoiding partiality, favoritism and excessive familiarity towards individuals. If the teacher yield to the not uncommon weakness, and by any sort of favoritism tries to gain the special affection of a few, he should be convinced that he will estrange all the rest from him and thus inevitably undermine his authority. – In punishments he must be considerate, just, moderate, and show that he acts only from a sense of duty and genuine love, not from passion or antipathy.

The affection of his pupils will be aroused by the interest the teacher shows for their health, their diffi-

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Rh culties, their joys and troubles, and by his ceaseless efforts to help them by instruction and advice. Jouvancy says the teacher should care particularly for the more delicate, visit the sick, encourage the backward, advise those that are in any embarrassment, in short, display the earnestness of a father and the devotion of a mother, especially towards pupils recently enrolled, and those in need. He should also notify the parents of progress or remissness on the part of their children. However, in most Jesuit colleges this is done by the Prefect of Studies or the Prefect of Discipline.

The teacher will further gain the affection of his pupils if he performs his duties conscientiously, but without gloomy severity. A cheerful countenance should greet the students when they arrive for the morning session. For the teacher loses much of his authority if his pupils are forced to make a daily inspection of his face, as they would of the bulletin of the weather forecast. The teacher's lively disposition and interesting way of speaking will act like a pleasant sunny spring morning on all, and do away with sleepiness and dullness, whereas sternness and gloom on his part will influence the class like a heavy fog on a winter's day. It is possible that a whole class appears slow and spiritless, but the professor may be responsible for it, either by his own lack of spirit and alacrity, by his tedious talk, or also by his too excessive demands on the class. To be ever reaching after the absolutely unattainable, is not particularly exhilarating, yet the professor may put his pupils in such a plight by placing before them too high a standard of excellence and never admitting

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614 that their best efforts bring them nearer the ideal. Hence judicious praise is a powerful factor in the management of a class; sometimes the effort may be praised where the result cannot. "The office of a good teacher," as Quintilian prudently remarks, "is to seek and encourage the good ever to be found in children, and to supply what is wanting, to correct and change whatever needs it."

3. Fear, is the third element which contributes to authority. This fear must be as it is styled, timor reverentialis, not timor servilis, i. e. the fear of a child, not of a slave. Gravity, firmness and prudent consistency, in a word, manliness, on the part of the teacher, will instil this salutary fear into the pupils; only few and wise regulations should be made, but these must be firmly and prudently enforced. If this is done, even the most recalcitrant will after some time surrender. Another means of preserving this wholesome fear consists in reporting to higher officials of the school, or to the parents, breaches of conduct. However, this should not be done for every trifle, but only in case of a more serious misdemeanor. This leads us to the question of punishments.

The saddest part of a schoolmaster's task is the necessity of punishing. Offences must be treated seriously, not lightly; but, at the same time, as they

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Rh are in most cases the effects of levity and weakness, they must be treated with compassion and without any harshness. The teacher should never be hasty in punishing; if he is, it will appear that he is led by passion. Often, and particularly when a pupil defies the teacher and refuses obedience, it will be best to wait patiently and assign the punishment later. For, if the punishment be inflicted immediately, it will, in all probability, be often unduly severe. Anger and impetuosity are bad counselors, and in such trying situations it is especially true that "silence is golden." If the teacher merely lets it be seen how much he is pained by such conduct and defers the punishment, he will gain by his self-control in the eyes of the whole class; and the offender himself, having got over his excitement, will probably be in a better disposition to accept the punishment.

The Ratio Studiorum says the teacher should not be too eager to discover occasions for punishing his pupils. There are some teachers who seem always on the watch to impose tasks. If they do not find misdeeds on the surface, they make sure to ferret them out. They were born to be detectives. This is not the fatherly spirit the teacher should manifest. The Ratio is opposed to this method. "See everything but never have the appearance of prying." Know all that regards your pupils, but do not always act on your knowledge. If you can conceal your discoveries without doing harm, conceal them. In

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616 general: the fewer punishments the teacher inflicts, the greater will be his success, always supposing that he keeps order without punishing. Any just reasons for pardoning, or lessening, the penance are to be welcomed.

There seems to be abroad a sentiment about corporal punishments which is evidently beyond the bounds of reason. Some contend that corporal punishment is merely a "relic of the barbarism of former ages," and that it should no longer be employed, but that the young should be governed solely by moral suasion, by an appeal to reason and the pupil's sense of right. The inspired writers thought differently. Thus we read: "He that spareth the rod hateth his son; but he that loveth him correcteth him betimes." "Folly is bound up in the heart of the child, but the rod of correction shall drive it away." There are some faults: flagrant violations of modesty and decency, defiance of authority, impudent insults offered to elderly persons, continued laziness, which in a younger boy are best punished by the rod, especially after exhortations have proved unsuccessful. This was the principle and practice of Jesuit educators, and the best educators are again at one with the Jesuits.

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Rh The Ratio Studiorum allowed the infliction of punishment only under rigid regulations; it forbids the teacher absolutely to strike a boy. Corporal punishment, if, after calm deliberation, thought necessary, is to be administered either by a trusty servant, as was the custom in former times, or by the Prefect of Discipline. At any rate, this system prevents many an indeliberate act of the teachers, as there is always danger of excess in the immediate punishment of an offence. Although the rod was applied in Jesuit schools, its use was by no means as frequent as in nearly all other schools. Compared to what was done in the great public schools of England and in the gymnasia on the European continent, the practice of the Jesuit colleges was exceedingly mild. There was never anything like the brutality practised in Eton, or those debasing punishments, described in The Terrors of the Rod (published in 1815), or in Cooper's

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618 History of the Rod. In the higher schools of Saxony it was the custom, even in the eighteenth century, for all the members of the faculty to punish offenders before the whole school. When, in 1703, the teachers remonstrated against this, they were told by the highest authorities to continue doing their duty. Matters were different in Jesuit colleges. The offender was punished in private and only few strokes were administered. Father Nadal made a regulation in Mentz, in 1567, to the effect that not more than six strokes should be given with the rod. The boys were not to be struck in any other way. The above cited Italian School Order adds that not only the poor boys should be punished but the wealthy and noble as

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Rh well. These should be made to understand that virtue is more highly prized than nobility.

A word should be added about the famous "lines." If lines are assigned to be committed to memory they should not be such as are not fully understood. There are so many useful things that have been read or should be studied, why not give them? Catechism or Bible history should never be assigned as penalty; it might make these sacred books an object of aversion. It is advisable, however, to assign these books if the pupil has neglected to study his catechism or his Bible history. If lines are to be copied – a punishment of questionable worth – at least the same lines should not be copied more than once; it is sheer nonsense to make a student copy the same line twenty times, unless it be an exercise in penmanship for continued careless writing. The teacher should insist that all extra tasks are neatly and carefully written. It is most detrimental to the teacher's authority to assign punishments and not to see that they are done; or to assign excessive tasks and then be compelled to desist from demanding them. If, in particular cases, an extraordinary punishment is thought necessary, Jesuit educators wisely refer the matter to a Superior, either Prefect or Rector. These officials should also decide on cases where punishment has been refused, especially by older students.

Another point, important for effective school-management, is the necessity of showing strict fairness and justice. A professor accused of favoritism is

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620 sadly hindered in his work. His kindly words of good advice fall on deaf ears and his exertions for his class are viewed with coldness and distrust. The 47th rule exhorts the Jesuit teacher not to be more familiar with one boy than with the rest. Although mischievous tongues of jealous pupils will never cease to impute faults which may have no objective reality, still a strict observance of this rule will be a precious safeguard to the reputation of the teacher in a matter which is of vital importance to the proper and successful discharge of his duty. A uniform spirit of kindliness and charity should be manifested towards all, poor or rich, slow or highly gifted, uncouth or polite, uncomely or attractive. No dislike is to be shown for any pupil, no matter how great the natural aversion is which one may feel towards him. The all-embracing charity of our Lord should ever be before the eyes of the teacher, and he should strive to be "all things to all." He must not forget that in every pupil there is something good, a good side from which he may be approached. And it happens not unfrequently that in the poor workingman's son, diffident, shy, and ungainly as the boy may be, there is a nobler soul, greater talent, more prospect of great work in the future, than in the much more refined, courteous and winning boy of wealthy parents. To neglect the poor or ungainly lad would be not only unjust and cruel, but also directly opposed to the spirit of the Society, which, in the 40th rule, tells the teacher "to despise no one and to work as strenuously for the advancement of the poor as of the rich."

Another danger frequently connected with undue familiarity with some pupils has to be mentioned.

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Rh The teacher is easily inclined to speak more confidentially to them about other pupils; he may be sure that his remarks will be reported, most likely in a distorted form, to those whom he has criticized. This will destroy the good spirit among his pupils, cause bitterness, ill-feeling, factions, and little conspiracies among them, and the teacher will perhaps never be able to detect and remedy the evil.

Undue familiarity and partiality is also very harmful to the pupil himself who is thus singled out from the rest. If special affection is shown to one, if his failings are tolerated more than those of the rest, if he is not reproved where he deserves it, if he is praised where he hardly deserves it, then an opening is made for jealousy; the Benjamin of the class will receive all sorts of names, as little flattering to him as to the teacher; and his position among his companions may become very unpleasant. The teacher's unreasonable partiality has compromised him and has placed a barrier between him and his classmates. A still more serious consequence is usually connected with such partiality: the real education of the favorite is neglected. What training of character can be expected if his whims are indulged in, if his failings are not corrected, if he is flattered and coddled, in short, if he is spoiled? Besides, such partiality invariably breeds vanity, self-conceit and stubbornness. The teacher's favorite is soon aware of the preference shown to him. He feels that he can venture what his companions dare not to do; that class regulations, class silence and the like are less severe for him than

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622 the others. He will soon think himself a privileged being, superior to the rest: he will assume the air of authority over others and pride is nourished in his heart. Yet this is not all. The next year the pupil may pass to a teacher who is different, who does not tolerate his caprices any more than those of others and who tries to eradicate the evils that were allowed to root by his predecessor. But the spoiled child will resent any strict treatment, will peevishly refuse to be corrected. All this may lead to serious breaches of discipline and obedience, and to disagreeable punishments.

From this it should not be inferred that a teacher is forbidden to take a greater active interest in some than in others. On the contrary he must do this especially in the case of those who need it most, for instance, of those who are very bashful, and particularly of those who are exposed to greater danger. Just as a mother watches more anxiously over a delicate child, so must a good teacher look more particularly after those whose spiritual condition is more delicate. "Not the healthy ones need the physician but the sick." On this subject it may be well to quote once more the beautiful words of Father Jouvancy: "The teacher should speak in private more frequently with those who seem to be exposed to worse and more dangerous faults. If he captivates them by a wise and holy kindness, he attaches them not only to himself, but gains them for Christ."

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Rh

The effectiveness of a teacher as teacher will depend largely on his success as a disciplinarian. This holds especially of the lower classes, where the pupils are livelier and act more from their animal propensities. A few good regulations concerning order in class, as well as to the manner of entering and leaving the class room, are to be firmly insisted on. Determination is here the great factor. A classroom yields, keeps silence, remains quiet, is attentive and studious, if it learns that the professor means to insist on these points. Of course, firmness can be overdone. Too great persistence takes on the appearance of tyranny and challenges opposition. On the other hand, mildness easily gives place to weakness. The teacher has to strike the mean, which is golden here as in other things. However, it is a maxim of Jesuit educators that it will be good to be more reserved, and also stricter as to discipline, in the beginning, until the teacher knows his class and has it under perfect control. It is easy then to loosen the reins a little, whereas it is nearly impossible to draw them tight after a spirit of levity, noisiness and general disorder has started through the teacher's easy-going manner.

The following words of a French Jesuit educator on this question are most instructive. The master in charge of the boys, in his first intercourse with them, has no greater snare in his way than taking his power for granted and trusting in his strength and knowledge of the world. That master who in the very first hour

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624 has already made himself liked, almost popular with his pupils, who shows no more anxiety about his work than he must show to keep his character for good sense, that master is indeed to be pitied; he is most likely a lost man. He will soon have to choose one of two things, either to shut his eyes and put up with all irregularities or to break with a past that he would wish forgotten, and engage in open conflict with the boys who are inclined to set him at defiance. He wished to endear himself by acts of kindness, he set about crowning the edifice without making sure of the foundation. Accordingly, the first steps should be characterized by an extreme reserve, without any affectation of severity or diplomacy.

Some good principles on class discipline have been laid down by Father Jouvancy. The first is: Principiis obsta: Resist the evil from the beginning. As soon as the pupils grow restless, no matter how light the disturbance may be, it must be checked immediately. When some few are especially giddy or mischievous, they must gradually be wearied by various devices: frequent questions, repeated calling up for recitations etc., so as to become gently accustomed to bear the yoke.

Secondly: The place of the pupils in class should not be a chance affair or left to their choice and caprice. If they are allowed to select their places, the light-minded and petulant will be found together in some corner, or in the rear, where they anticipate full scope for mischief. By prudent tactics many a

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Rh teacher has gained the battle as before-hand, by scattering the hostile forces, by separating the talkers and mischief-makers. A petulant boy may be assigned his seat near a quiet and reserved boy; one whose morals are justly suspected near one of reliable virtue – taking care, however, lest the good boy be corrupted by the one of doubtful character.

Thirdly: No noise or confusion is to be tolerated when the students enter the class-room. They should be trained to consider this room as a sacred place, "a temple of science," which ought to be entered in silence and modesty. If any come in boisterously the teacher should at the outset reprimand or punish them. This will immediately quiet their exuberant spirits.

Fourthly: The respect of the pupils for their teachers and for one another will prompt them to listen to the instructions in absolute silence.

Sometimes it may happen that either all the scholars, or only a few, offend against good conduct and attention. If the former should happen, the cause of evil must be investigated and the instigators must be punished. The teacher should very rarely threaten the whole class, still less should a whole class be subjected to punishment. Such an action irritates the pupils and, feeling confidence in their number, they will be inclined to conspire against the teacher. Extraordinary tasks, like more weighty penalties, should be imposed on only a few. "Frequent ailments, unusual remedies, and continual funerals disgrace the physician," as Jouvancy wisely observes.

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626 Fifthly: The 44th rule gives wise directions for maintaining order at the end of class. Here the danger is greater than at the beginning of the session. The boys are not so eager to come to class as after recitation hours to rush to the yard for a game of baseball, or to hasten home for dinner. But it makes certainly a bad impression if the boys run out of class like a pack of hounds turned loose. Therefore, the teacher should be on hand and watch the boys at this critical time. These are not the minutes for correcting stray themes, or for conversation with another professor, or with one of the pupils. The teacher should, as the rule says, take his station at his desk, or at the door, and have his eye on the class room and the corridor. All are to leave the room in silence and order. There is to be no hurry, no running about, no jostling. If the teacher acts thus, all disorder will be prevented far more effectively than by punishments.

Another point intimately connected with discipline consists in the attention given to politeness and good manners. There is nothing more attractive than a class of boys who are lively and, at the same time, truly polite. But the amusements of our boys, baseball and football especially, easily lead to a certain roughness, which is certainly the very opposite of refinement. Further, however attractive frankness and freedom of behavior may be, they frequently degenerate into want of respect. Teachers, elderly persons, and others who must claim the young man's respect, are sometimes approached without due reverence. The greeting con-

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Rh sists in a gracious or confidential nod, or a motion of the hand in the direction of the head, without reaching to its end; then the "youngster" starts his conversation, hat on, hands in his pockets, if possible sitting or leaning on a railing, or lolling against a wall. Our boys hear so much of liberty that they easily mistake it for freedom from the obligations due to age and position, which are everywhere recognized and rightly insisted on, and which are justly considered the distinctive marks of true culture and refinement. Anything servile, cringing, or affected is, of course, to be avoided.

The teacher has many opportunities of inculcating the rules of politeness. But a most important factor is the teacher's example. Being before the eyes of his pupils four or five hours a day, his personality will naturally leave traces on their manners. He should impress his pupils not only as a scholar and a pious religious, but also as a perfect gentleman. Nor will the Jesuit teacher ever fail in this respect, if he carefully observes the "Rules on Modesty," which are laid down in the Institute, and were considered of the greatest importance by St. Ignatius and all true Jesuits. We shall quote a few of these rules: "In general, it may be said that in all outward actions there should appear modesty and humility, joined with religious gravity. There should appear outwardly a serenity, which may be the token of that which is interior. The whole countenance should show cheerfulness rather than sadness or any other less moderate affection. The apparel is to be clean, and arranged with religious decency. In fine, every gesture and motion should be such as to give edification to all

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628 men. When they have to speak they must be mindful of modesty and edification, as well in their words, as in the style and manner of speaking."

The Jesuits have always been most sedulous in cultivating in their pupils politeness, not a mere external polish, but a politeness which is the choice fruit and exterior manifestation of solid interior virtue, of sincerity of heart, humility, obedience, and charity. Protestant writers have paid homage to these endeavors of the Jesuits. Ranke writes: "The Jesuits educated well-bred gentlemen." And another Protestant, Victor Cherbuliez, is almost extravagant in his praise when he says: "However much one may detest the Jesuits, when religion is allied to intellectual charms, when it is gentle-mannered, wears a smiling face, and does all gracefully, one is always tempted to believe that the Jesuits have had a hand in the affair."

Another point which deserves special care on the part of the teacher is the cultivation of truthfulness in the pupils. No one teaches even for a short time without recognizing the necessity of fighting the evil habit of mendacity. A boy is reprimanded for unmistakable talking, whistling, throwing paper, etc., and how often is the quick and bold answer heard: "It wasn't me," bad English being added to the moral defect. A boy fails to hand in a task. How many excuses are made which not unfrequently are more or less palpable falsehoods. Now all this is more serious than it may appear at first. How is this evil to be combated?

First by prudence. Many lies could be prevented if the teacher acted more discreetly. If a boy has been

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Rh noisy, and the teacher, especially one who has the reputation of inflicting severe punishments, angrily charges him with the offence, the boy will deny the deed in sheer excitement. And one lie leads to many more; the boy assures and protests, in order not to expose his first prevarication. Therefore the master, as a rule, should not insist on arguing the case, but await a better chance, when the boy is calm. A teacher who is patient, judicious in inquiries, just and reasonable in punishments, will seldom be told a lie. If noise is going on in class, such a teacher may safely ask: Who made that noise? And in nearly all cases, as the experience of many teachers has proved, the offender will candidly acknowledge it. Sometimes this confession, with an earnest but calm word of admonition, will dispense with any further punishment. Of course, if the pardon invariably follows the confession, there will be no good effects whatever.

There are boys who, from a long practice, have acquired a most pernicious habit of lying. Such cases are hard to deal with, and it is difficult to lay down general rules. A few suggestions, however, may not be out of place. Very rarely, and only on extreme occasions, should there be shown any doubt of a pupil's word on a matter of fact. All should know that implicit confidence is placed in their assertions, and that it is considered as a matter of course that they speak the truth on facts within their knowledge. If ever a lie is found out and proved, the punishment should be severe. Dr. Arnold says, in such a case the punishment should be the loss of the teacher's confidence. But even then the teacher should try to save the offender from discouragement by holding out to

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630 him the possibility of correcting even the habit of lying. It has happened that boys given to lying, when once thoroughly convinced of the disgracefulness of their habit, conceived such a horror of it, that they became disgusted with everything dishonest, and turned out men distinguished for uprightness and truthfulness. In this as in other defects, it will be good if the teacher follows the example of the Divine Master, of whom it was said: "The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not extinguish."

Here again the teacher's example will exercise a powerful influence. He must be open, truthful, straightforward, strictly honest in his dealings with the pupils, not sly, crooked, and political. If he is asked a question which he cannot answer, he should say: "I do not know it," or "I am not sure about it, I will inquire and tell you next time." No one can reasonably expect the teacher to know everything, and by such honest acknowledgements he will not lose a tittle of his authority. If he has made a mistake in a statement, or in reprimanding or punishing, he should frankly admit it and apologize. No school master is infallible. The teacher need fear no detriment from such a candid retractation. On the contrary, such a

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Rh teacher will gain in the esteem of his pupils, who will be more disposed to accept his admonitions.

The trials of the teacher are many and vexing. A few general means to endure them successfully may be suggested. One means is patience. Dr. Arnold, referring to the years of boyhood, once said the teacher should try to hasten out the growth of this immature and dangerous age. But in this endeavor it will be good to remember the Latin saying: Festina lente. Impatience, vehemence, and rashness are signs that a teacher lacks knowledge of the frail human heart. He should learn from the supreme model of teachers, who showed a Divine longanimity and forbearance in the training of his Apostles and Disciples who were not always very docile and quick of perception. From him he should learn the virtues necessary to the teacher: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." A distinguished Jesuit of our days used to say: "No one likes to settle at the foot of a volcano. And a wrathful, excitable teacher will do great harm. The outbursts of his anger will destroy all around like the eruptions of a volcano, whereas a meek, patient, and prudent man is acceptable to God, wins the hearts of men, and will work successfully." An old regulation of Jesuit schools recommends especially patience: "The teachers of youths should ever remember the one perfect teacher, Christ our Lord, that they may imitate his benignity and kind forbearance toward the simple ones, that they may be unwearied in teaching and adapt themselves to the capacity of their auditors,

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632 admonish their pupils, practise them diligently and zealously, and gradually advance them, as well those of slower perception as those of ready perception, as Paul the great Apostle says: 'We became little ones in the midst of you, as if a nurse should cherish her children.'"

One should, therefore, never be surprised at mistakes or moral faults; least of all should one be vexed at fickleness, unsteadiness, fits of laziness. These are defects of age, or weakness of character, not signs of bad will, consequently they are to be treated kindly. There are some things which the teacher should take good-humoredly. Many teachers feel irritated on discovering that the boys have given them a nickname. Why not take it good-naturedly and heartily laugh about it? In general, a cheerful disposition combined with a great amount of patience will make many of the troubles of school life more endurable.

Another most powerful means for overcoming the trials of teaching, and at the same time for laboring successfully, is prayer. The "modern" systems have little to say about it, and many educators may be inclined to sneer at such a pedagogical help. Still there is a sublime truth in what Tennyson says in his beautiful lines:

One who believes in the fundamental truths of Christianity cannot ignore our Savior's words: "Without me you can do nothing," and the other: "What-

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Rh soever you shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do," and the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, who contended about the superiority of their teachers in the faith: "I have planted, Apollo watered, but God gave the increase;" further the words of St. James: "If any one of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, and it shall be given him." As we have seen, the Jesuits consider education from a supernatural point of view. They endeavor to lead the children to the knowledge, love, and service of Christ, according to Christ's words: "Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of God." This is an aim above man's nature, and can be obtained only by supernatural means. God alone can give the teacher's words the power to enter into the will, that impregnable citadel of man's nature. This power from on high is bestowed on him who humbly asks for it in prayer.

We must expect that St. Ignatius did not think lightly of this means. In the 16th rule of the Summary of the Constitutions, all Jesuits are exhorted "to apply to the study of solid virtues and of spiritual things; and to account these of greater moment than either learning or other natural or human gifts: for they are the interior things from which force must flow to the exterior, for the end proposed to us." This trust in God's assistance in no way lessens the earnest endeavors of the religious. As the old principle of the great order of St. Benedict was: Ora et labora, so St. Ignatius says: "Let this be the first rule

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634 of all your actions: trust in God, as if all success depended on him, nothing on yourself; but work, as if you had to do all and God nothing." In the Ratio Studiorum the teachers are admonished "frequently to pray for their pupils." The Jesuit Sacchini has a special chapter on the importance of the teacher's prayer,' and exhorts him to recommend his disciples daily to Christ, and to invoke for them the intercession of the Blessed Mother of God, of the Guardian Angels and of the patrons of youth. Father Jouvancy tells the teacher never to go to class without having said a fervent prayer, if possible in the Church before the Blessed Sacrament. He suggests a beautiful prayer which is almost wholly drawn from Scripture: "Lord Jesus, thou hast not hesitated to meet the most cruel death for these children; thou lovest them with an unspeakable tenderness; thou wouldst that they were led to thee (Mark 10, 14). Yea, whatever is done to one of these thy least brethern, thou wilt consider as done to thee (Matth. 25, 40): I beg and implore thee, 'keep them in thy name whom thou hast given me;' 'they are thine', 'sanctify them in truth' (John 17, 6. 9. ii. 17). 'Give thy words in my mouth' (Jerem. 1, 9), open their hearts that they may begin to love and fear thee. 'Turn away thy face from my sins' (Psalm 50, 11), and let not thy mercy be hindered through my faults. Give me the grace to educate these children, whom thou hast entrusted to me, with prudence, piety and firmness, to thy glory, which is all I ask." Truly, this is praying in the

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Rh name of Jesus. And if the teacher is a man of solid piety and virtue, as the Society expects him to be after a religious training of so many years, the grace of God will surely lighten the burden of his work. "For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much."

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Rh In the case of the Jesuit teacher there can be no question of a material compensation. What he needs for his sustenance is furnished by the Order; beyond this he seeks no earthly reward. In this all members of the Order are equally situated: the professor of philosophy and the teacher of the lowest grammar class, the President of the college, and the lay brother who acts as porter. What, then, are the motives that inspire him to undergo willingly and cheerfully the labors and trials of his profession? They are in the first place the consideration of the utility and the dignity of his calling. He is convinced that teaching is a grand and noble profession. St. Gregory Nazianzen says: "There is nothing more God-like than to benefit others;" and what benefit can be greater than that of education, as we have described it in previous chapters: the making of man, the harmonious development of all his faculties, the fitting him for best performing the duties of this life and the preparing him for the life to come? Is not this thought a reward as well as a powerful incentive for the teacher to exert himself most strenuously in his sublime vocation?

The Jesuits Sacchini and Jouvancy have written some beautiful passages on this subject. Their comparisons may seem to some far-fetched or even fantastic, but they will appear natural and appropriate to every person who views things in the light of the teaching of the Great Master. These two Jesuits say that the school may be considered as a garden, a nursery, in which the choicest trees and flowers are

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638 cultivated, plants whose saplings are not brought from the tropics, but from heaven, whither they are again to be transplanted, when fully grown. They are, under the tender and prudent care of the teacher, to yield abundant fruit of virtues, of human and divine wisdom. They are to become the ornaments of Church, State and society. They are the plants of which the Son of Sirach said: "Hear me, ye divine offspring and bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters, give ye a sweet odor as frankincense. Send forth flowers, as the lily, and bring forth leaves in grace." In this garden the teacher, like him "who sowed the good seed," has to sow and to plant by instruction, to dig and to water by practice and exercise, to weed and to prune by salutary admonition, to fence and restrain by wise regulations. Besides, the virtuous example of the teacher combined with cheerfulness in performing all his duties, will be the atmosphere in which the plants grow wonderfully. However, the husbandman can plant and water, but not prevent storms and hail and frost and drought, and, therefore, implores heaven's protection for his fields; so the teacher must see the necessity of divine blessing for his class, a grace which will be given to humble and fervent prayer.

The teacher may consider himself the shepherd of the tender lambs of the flock of Christ. The children, in a special sense, may be called the lambs of Christ's flock. The teacher's duty is to feed them, to lead them to the wholesome pasture and to the clear springs of divine and human knowledge. He must

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Rh protect them against the wolves, especially those that "are clothed in sheepskins," that come in the garb of agnostic and infidel science, or in the glittering dress of pernicious reading. He must protect his flock without sparing himself, not fly from dangers and exertions like the hireling, but must be ready to "give his life for his sheep," that means, he must sacrifice himself, devote all his time and strength to his class. He should "go before his sheep" by his good example, attract them by kindness and meekness, that they may "know his voice and follow him, and fly not from him as from a stranger whose voice they know not."

Again, is not the teacher to be compared to a sculptor, or a painter? We admire the masterpieces of Phidias, Praxiteles, Lysippus, of Michael Angelo and Raphael. And yet, the teacher's art is far nobler. Those artists produced likenesses of marble or bronze, likenesses that are cold and lifeless, whereas the teacher is working at living statues. Those artists could produce only exterior likenesses of men or of superior beings; the teacher shapes the innermost nature of man. Nay, more, the Christian teacher endeavors to bring out more beautifully the image of God. Christ, the true teacher of mankind is his ideal and model. In prayer and meditation on the life of Christ, he studies line after line of him to whom he applies the words of the royal prophet: "Thou art beautiful above the sons of men, grace is poured abroad in thy lips. With thy comeliness and beauty set out, proceed prosperously and reign."

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640 Having grasped this beauty he tries to express in his own character, and then to embody in the hearts of his pupils that heavenly beauty of purity, humility, meekness and charity which shines forth from every word and action of the God-man. Thus he is making real living pictures of Christ, which for all eternity shall be ornaments in heaven, the trophies of the labors and struggles of the zealous teacher. And whereas the greatest artist can work only at one statue or picture at the same time, the teacher is working on as many as he has auditors.

The teacher is an architect; he does not build merely a splendid city hall, nor a national capitol, nor even a cathedral of stone or marble: he builds up those living temples, of which St. Paul speaks: "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"

The teacher is the tutor of the sons of the Most High. King Philip of Macedon chose Aristotle as preceptor to his son Alexander, an office which the great philosopher discharged for many years. The letter which Philip wrote to invite Aristotle, is said to have been couched in the following terms: "Be informed that I have a son, and that I am thankful to the gods not so much for his birth as that he was born in the same age with you; for if you will undertake the charge of his education, I assure myself that he will become worthy of his father and of the kingdom which he will inherit." King Philip's hope was not disappointed. His son, Alexander the Great, became one of the greatest figures in human history, and his success is partly due to his great teacher. At all times

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Rh it was a much coveted honor to be the tutor to the sons of Emperors, Kings, Princes, and other high personages. Is not every Christian teacher tutor to the sons of the King of Kings? St. John says: "Behold, what manner of charity the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called and should be the sons of God."

Lastly, the teacher should consider himself the representative and successor of Christ in his love for his children. No feature in the life of the Teacher of mankind is more fascinating than his love for children. The Gospels commemorate a scene of unspeakable tenderness and sweetness. "Then little children were brought to him that he might touch them." He does not bless them together, but lays his hands on every child, and takes one after the other in his arms. From this scene Christian teachers must learn an important lesson: love and reverence for children. Indeed, princes of heaven are appointed their guardians, and the teacher should be like them in watchful care for the young. This care is all the more necessary as the teacher in higher schools has to do with the young when the first and most attractive chapter of their history is already over, at the time when the storms of temptations rage most furiously in their hearts. With Christ's love for children must frequently be united the good Samaritan's compassion and anxious solicitude for the wayfarer who fell among the robbers. Frequently enough there is sad need of the teacher's fatherly care, not only in the

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642 case of the children of the poor but also of the rich. Some wealthy parents pride themselves that they do all in their power to procure for their children the best possible education, from the best instructors in elocution, music, gymnastics, etc., and yet that which above all is education – moral and religious training – is sadly neglected, owing to the indifference that pervades the family life. In consequence of this neglect of the most important part of education, it has happened that many a man ended his life in disgrace and wretchedness whose childhood was spent among the luxuries of a splendid home. Fortunate is the youth who is placed under the tutelage of teachers who endeavor to counteract the baneful influences of a neglected or ill-directed home training. These considerations explain the anxious care and strenuous exertions of religious teachers to promote the moral training of their charges. They realize that now is the spring-time of life when the good seed must be sown, if a rich harvest is to be hoped for in the autumn. They know that now their work is most useful, most promising of success. Now the pupil's nature is docile and pliable as wax. And if it were hard as marble, still the material is not yet spoiled and may be shaped into a beautiful statue, and it should not be forgotten, of the hardest marble the most endurable statues are made, though with greater care and labor. Similarly the most stubborn and headstrong of boys, under patient and prudent guidance, often develop into the finest character of manhood.

To the Jesuit these considerations furnish powerful incentives, the motives which inspire him in all his work. St. Ignatius, in calling his Order the

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