Category Archives: teaching

History, politics, morals, and lawyers

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“A lawyer is indeed unworthy of that title if he is ignorant of the things philosophers have established regarding the state and morals.  He should be removed from his post if he has not learned what his ancestors have done … Continue reading →

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History and the education of youth

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“But if the memory of antiquity attaches to any kind of man it is to magistrates, kings and princes regnant.  For them and their position it is necessary that they possess not only will and genius, but also the knowledge … Continue reading →

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No Thanks from the World

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“In great part we serve, teach, admonish, suffer, give consolation, and do things commanded by God for unworthy men.  Here we gain nothing for our services but hatred, envy, and exile; and our whole life is nothing else than the … Continue reading →

Posted in Martin Luther, teaching | 1 Comment

Grammar is our Mother

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“Grammar is the cradle of all philosophy, and in a manner of speaking, the first nurse of the whole study of letters.  It takes all of us as tender babes, newly born from nature’s bosom.  It nurses us in our … Continue reading →

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Eloquent Nonsense

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“We must beware of the man who abounds in eloquent nonsense, and so much the more if the hearer is pleased with what is not worth listening to, and thinks that because the speaker is eloquent what he says must … Continue reading →

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Eloquent Piety

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“We have stated that wise and eloquent piety is the goal of studies.  For it behooves all men to cultivate piety.  But the educated man is different from the unlearned in the following way: the former excels in reasoning and … Continue reading →

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Schools Preserve the Church

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“When schools flourish, things go well and the church is secure. Let us make more doctors and masters.  The youth is the church’s nursery and fountainhead. When we are dead, where are others [to take our place] if there are … Continue reading →

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Misery loves company

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“See how a teacher’s task, to my discomfort, is many sided.  Never, unless compelled by a teacher, does a boy take a book into his hands.  When he receives it, his eyes and mind wander off.  A teacher explains something, … Continue reading →

Posted in Philip Melanchthon, reading, teaching | Leave a comment

Martin Luther, doctors, lawyers and such…..

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“Where are the preachers, jurists, and physicians to come from, if grammar and other rhetorical arts are not taught? For such teaching is the spring from which they all must flow.” Martin Luther, “A Sermon on Keeping Children in School,” … Continue reading →

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All the liberal arts flow from history

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“I do not know if our world would suffer less harm without the sun, its soul as it were, than without history, the principle of all civil activities.  Our forebears have often insisted unanimously that the Muses were born from … Continue reading →

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