“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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 be true.” Augustine of Hippo, On Christian Doctrine, IV. 5. 7.
In this section Augustine of Hippo, the famous Christian theologian from late antiquity, identifies the characteristics of a good teacher as eloquence and wisdom. Here he warns against those who speak eloquently but without true wisdom.
“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 in speech.” Johann Sturm, “The Correct Opening of Elementary Schools,” in Johann Sturm on Education, trans. Lewis W. Spitz and Barbara Sher Tinsley (St Louis 1995), p. 85.
Johann Sturm (1507-1589) had a profound effect on the development of education in the sixteenth century. He established schools in Strasbourg and supported the Reformed Church.
“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 no schools? God has preserved the church through schools. They are preservers of the church. Schools don’t have a beautiful appearance, and yet they are very useful. Little boys have learned at least the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed in the schools, and the church has been remarkably preserved through such small schools.” Martin Luther, “Table Talk no. 5557,” Luther’s Works, volume 54, p. 425.
This quote comes from Luther’s statements recorded by his students at table discussions in the 1540s. Late in life Dr. Luther continued to promote the significance of the liberal arts and their relationship to the proper study of theology. When he refers to “doctors and masters” he means those trained to be university professors and teachers. Notice also the importance of religious catechesis in Luther’s pedagogical thought.
“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, presently sleep creeps up on the spoilt boy, and carefree he sleeps on one of his ears, while the teacher shatters himself by teaching.” Philip Melanchthon, “A Speech Concerning the Miseries of Teachers,” cited by Thomas Korcok, Lutheran Education: From Wittenberg to the Future (St Louis 2011), p. 1.
What a comforting quote for any modern teacher or professor to read! Philip Melanchthon, “the teacher of Germany” and Martin Luther’s colleague, experienced what every teacher has experienced, that is, student apathy.
“Lawyers’ craftiness is dangerous business. A godly man ought to know the law only for the sake of defense, to enable him to understand and prevent the wicked tricks of the world….Other lawyers are godless; they seek only their own advantage and have the law in their control.” Martin Luther, Table Talk no. 3793, Luther’s Works, vol. 54, p. 274.
Dr. Luther understood lawyers and the legal profession very well.
“The search for truth and its investigation are, above all, peculiar to man. Therefore, whenever we are free from necessary business and other concerns we are eager to see or to hear or to learn, considering that the discovery of obscure or wonderful things is necessary for a blessed life.” Marcus Tullius Cicero, On Duties I.13. eds. and trans. M.T. Griffin and E.M. Atkins (Cambridge 1991), pp. 6-7.
