Avarice and Public Office

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“No vice, therefore, is more foul than avarice….particularly among leading men and those who control public affairs.  For to use public affairs for one’s profit is not only dishonourable, but criminal and wicked too….There is nothing by which those in charge of public affairs can more easily endear themselves to the goodwill of the masses than by incorruptible abstemiousness.” Marcus Tullius Cicero, On Duties II. 77. eds. and trans. M.T. Griffin and E.M. Atkins (Cambridge 1991), pp. 94-95.

I wonder if this is really true.  Do voters really want someone honest and trustworthy?

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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 and recollection of examples to be deliberated, judged, provided or avoided in all the functions of their reign.

Therefore, the teacher who should educate the children of princes and especially instruct their young minds so that when they grow up to rule the Republic, wisdom and practice are seen to dwell in them as adults.  As adults they should hold the histories of all periods, peoples and individuals of primary importance.

But in all these matters it is necessary to remember this, that I do not only recommend history, for there are many other excellent subjects to be learned.  Nevertheless, history should be among the first subjects a youth should learn.” Johann Sturm, “On the Education of Princes,” trans. Lewis W. Spitz and Barbara Sher Tinsley, Johann Sturm on Education (CPH: St Louis, 1995), 181.

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Lawsuits and Admiration

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“There are many types of cases which call for eloquence, and in our republic many young men have won praise by speaking before the jurors, before the people, and before the senate. But the greatest admiration is inspired in lawsuits.  The method required here is twofold, as it consists of prosecution and of defence.  Defence is indeed more likely to win praise, but frequently too a prosecution is approved.” Cicero, On Duties II. 49. eds. and trans. M.T. Griffin and E.M. Atkins (Cambridge 1991), p. 81. 

Is there any doubt that Cicero was a lawyer?

 

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Eloquence and Wisdom

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“It is a well known fact that ‘Eloquence without wisdom is futile.'(citing Cicero, Orator 4. 14) Whence it is clear that eloquence derives its efficacy from wisdom.  The utility of eloquence is, in fact, directly in proportion to the measure of wisdom a person may have attained.  On the other hand, eloquence becomes positively harmful when it departs from wisdom.  It is accordingly evident that dialectic, the highly efficient and ever-ready servant of eloquence, is useful to anyone in proportion to the degree of knowledge he possesses.”  John of Salisbury, Metalogicon, Bk II, Chap. 9. trans. Daniel D. McGarry (Berkeley 1955), p. 93.

 

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The Power of Learning

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“For there is nothing more potent than learning.  It has the greatest potential both for harming and for helping man.  Many wise men have been nonchalant and contemptuous with impunity before the threats of kings and tyrants who could not bear the enmity of poets or the shouting of orators.  Therefore the arts and disciplines should be taught not only in conformance with the rules of the arts, but also in a way that promotes wholesomeness–both of which in our times have been vitiated.  For many do not follow in their teaching either the method or program which the subject requires.” Johann Sturm, “The Correct Opening of Elementary Schools of Letters (1538),” trans. Lewis W. Spitz and Barbara Sher Tinsley, Johann Sturm on Education (CPH: St Louis, 1995), p. 73.

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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 infancy, and guides our ever forward step in philosophy.  With motherly care, it fosters and protects the philosopher from the start to the finish [of his pursuits].” John of Salisbury, Metalogicon, Book 1, Chap. 13, trans. Daniel D. McGarry (Philadelphia, 2009), p. 37.

What a beautiful description of the significance of grammar as the foundation of the study of the liberal arts!  John of Salisbury imagines grammar as the mother who nurses us as young students of the arts.

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The Importance of Speech

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“The whole community of men, the method of organising life in public and in private, procuring everything by which we preserve life, and also all communication, are held together by speech.” Philip Melanchthon, “Praise of Eloquence,” in Orations on Philosophy and Education, trans. Christine F. Salazar (Cambridge, 1999), p. 62.

This quote demonstrates Melanchthon’s humanist emphasis on the significance of eloquent persuasion for human interactions and community.

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Eloquence is worth the effort

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“For eloquence is something altogether greater than a noisy mass of words.  But yet, I see the young fall into error; since they know neither the power nor the nature of eloquence, they do not consider it worth the effort of acquiring it with some zeal and struggle.” Philip Melanchthon, “Praise of Eloquence,” in Orations on Philosophy and Education, trans. Christine F. Salazar (Cambridge, 1999), p. 62.

 

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Memory and Reason

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“Memory is, as it were, the mind’s treasure chest, a sure and reliable place of safe-deposit for perceptions.  Reason, on its part, is that power of the soul which examines and investigates things that make an impression on the senses or intellect.” John of Salisbury, Metalogicon, Book 1, Chap. 11, trans. Daniel D. McGarry (Philadelphia, 2009), p. 35.

This twelfth-century bishop and teacher imagined that memory was the mind’s treasure chest of perceptions.  If we accept this idea then we should have greater appreciation for the importance of education, especially, memorizing facts, events, and interpretations of those facts and events.  The next time someone tells me that “rote memorization” is not important for education, I may quote this passage to that person.  Simply put, our memory is the treasure chest from which reason draws the riches of knowledge in order to examine or investigate.

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The Soul of a word

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Matthew Phillips

“A word’s force consists in its meaning.  Without the latter it is empty, useless, and (so to speak) dead.  Just as the soul animates the body, so, in a way, meaning breathes life into a word. Those whose words lack sense are ‘beating the air,’ rather than [really] speaking.” John of Salisbury, Metalogicon, Book II, Chap. 4, trans. Daniel D. McGarry (Philadelphia, 2009), p. 81.

In this section the twelfth-century writer and churchman, John, discusses the relationship between grammar and dialectic (defined as a subset of logic).  While grammar examines the use of words, dialectic analyzes the meaning behind those words.  John’s analogy of the soul/body relationship to word/meaning fascinates me.

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