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the herald and rewarded, the names of those who stand next in rank may be read."

"Let the master cor

Still another method of kindling emulation is "for the scholars to yield the priority to those who take the first rank, not only in the school but out of school, and everywhere and on all occasions." "There are some teachers who cause to be inscribed in some public place whatever may have been ingeniously elaborated, gracefully said, admirably explained, or skilfully invented by any scholar, so that this memento of the successful achievement may redound to the perpetual fame of that scholar throughout the learned world. Some too, place in the middle of the school-room, or, perhaps, in a corner, a dunce bench, giving it some opprobrious name, such as the gate of hell, etc. Whoever occupies this seat is to be branded with some mark of reproach, and to wear a humiliating motto; but he may, nevertheless, be released from his disgrace, provided that, by a more perfect recitation or a superior essay he shall surpass one of the other scholars." Such are the doctrines of honor of these Jesuit teachers. Corporeal punishment was seldom inflicted. rect no one with his own hands, but on those rare occasions where our method of education permits chastisement, in those extreme cases when it is necessary to resort to the rod, let the corrector be one who is not a member of the Society." So when the Inquisition was established through the zeal of Caraffa and Toledo, though Loyola favored the plan before the Pope, yet neither he nor his Order would have any thing to do personally with the punishment of heretics, choosing rather that such punishments should be inflicted by those who were in no way connected with the Society. And, finally, this most characteristic caution is given, viz., "In order that the master may the more discreetly observe this method of punishment, he is constantly to consider that those, whose age and condition now appears to be feeble, unworthy of consideration, and, perhaps, contemptible, will, in a few years, grow up to manhood, and, as human affairs often turn out, will, haply, arrive at honor, wealth, and influence, so that their favor will be an object of desire and their power, of conciliation. Let the master consider these things, and be governed by them both in his words and in his actions."

An accurate and thorough knowledge of the character of the scholars, as a basis for discriminating and judicious authority over them, was furnished by the confessional. All the letters that the pupils wrote to their parents and relatives, as well as all those which they received, passed under the inspection of their teachers.

[The schools of the Jesuits are not merely an institution of the past. They are now in successful operation in this, as well as in nearly every country in Europe; and they are still conducted substantially on the "Ratio et institutis studiorum societatis Jesu" first published in 1599, with such modifications as to studies, and methods, as the progress of science and the demands of the age require. The only way, in our country and in this age to "put down" such schools, which have their roots in the past, and which have been matured, after profound study, by men who have made teaching the business of life, from a sense of religious duty, is to multiply institutions of a better quality, and bring them within the reach of poor but talented children. We have no fear of perverting the faith, or the educational views of the readers of this Journal, by inserting in our pages, full descriptions of the best institutions of the Order in this, or any other country. Of course such descriptions will be open to fair criticism from any source. ED.]

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[Translated for the American Journal of Education, from the German of Karl von Raumer.]

WOLFGANG RATICH was born in 1571, at Wilster in Holstein. He attended the Hamburg gymnasium, and afterward studied philosophy in Rostock. On account of a difficulty in his speech he gave up theology, turned his attention especially to Hebrew, and went to England, and thence to Amsterdam, to study mathematics. Here he remained eight years, and learned Arabic of a native-born Arabian. Here, also, he offered to present to Prince Moritz, of Orange, a new method of instruction, as discovered by him. The prince agreed to his proposal, but on the condition that he should teach Latin only. Dissatisfied with this restriction, Ratich went to Basle, Strasburg, and also to other courts, offering his new method. He finally offered "to the German Empire," May 7th, 1612, at the diet at Frankfort, a memorial,* in which he promised, " with the help of God to give instructions for the service and welfare of all Christendom:

1. How the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and other tongues may easily be taught and learned both by young and old, more thoroughly and in shorter time.

2. How, not only in High Dutch, but, also, in other tongues a school may be established, in which the thorough knowledge of all arts and sciences may be learned and propagated.

3. How, in the whole kingdom one and the same speech, one and the same government, and finally one and the same religion, may be commodiously and peacefully maintained.

The better to exemplify this," he continues, "he is prepared to show written specimens of the Hebrew and Chaldee Scriptures, and of the Arabian and Greek, Latin and High Dutch languages, from which a full opinion may be formed of the whole work."

Ratich now proceeded to attack the usual methods of instruction. It is the course of nature, he says, first to learn to read right, and speak the mother tongue correctly and fluently, so as to be able to use the German Bible. Hebrew and Greek come next, as the tongues of the original texts of the Bible. Next comes Latin, which may be learned from Terence; or jurists may learn it from the Institutions. Elsewhere German should be used in all the faculties.

I received a copy of this memorial by the kindness of Herr Archivist Doctor of Law Hertzog, in Frankfort.

After the reading of this memorial, Pfalzgrave Wolfgang Wilhelm von Marburg gave Ratich five hundred gulden to buy him the necessary books; Landgrave Ludwig von Darmstadt appointed, and professors Helwig and Jung of Giessen, to make reports to him upon Ratich's mode of instruction. In 1613 the widowed Duchess Dorothea von Weimar summoned an assembly of learned men at Erfurt to examine the method. At the request of the same lady, Professors Grawer, Brendel, Walter, and Wolf of Jena, investigated Ratich's method. Their report appeared soon after that of Helwig, and both were decidedly in favor of the new method.*

In 1614 the church and school authorities of Augsburg invited Ratich thither to reform the schools of their city. We know nothing more of his stay there.f

The Duchess Dorothea summoned Ratich to Weimar as early as 1613 to instruct her and her sister Anna Sophie, both princesses of Anhalt, in Latin. In 1617, she gave him, for the promotion of his plans, two thousand gulden.

In the same year, 1617, Ratich was again at Frankfort, where he petitioned the town council to appoint an agent to whom he might explain his method. The agent was appointed, reported, and the council thereupon decreed that "Ratich should be notified that he had permission to apply elsewhere at his convenience."

Prince Ludwig von Anhalt Köthen first met Ratich in 1613,‡ at Weimar, with his sisters, the Duchess Dorothea, and the Countess Anna Sophie von Schwarzburg. Both urgently recommended Ratich to him. In 1616 he invited him to Rheda in Westphalia, and was so much pleased with his plans that he requested him to take up his abode near him. April 10th, 1618, Ratich came accordingly to Köthen; and explained to the prince, that "his structure was ready prepared to his mind, but that the workmen were wanting to help put it up." He settled in Köthen for a time, on account of the purity of the German spoken there, to make a trial of his system for teaching foreign languages, but especially to establish a good German school.

Prince Ludwig repeatedly applied to the other princes of Anhalt to assist him in carrying out Ratich's schemes, but in vain. His brother, Prince Christian, wrote to him that Ratich's views were praiseworthy, but that "it is the work that praises the master," and

Duchess Dorothea refers to both in the letter of invitation which she gave to Ratich, 8th of May, 1613, to the magistrates of Frankfort, when he left Weimar for that city. Of this I have a copy.

† Report B. of Dr. Niemeyer, p. 11. We shall hereafter sce two reports from fellow laborers of Ratich, at Augsburg.

According to Prince Ludwig's own account, it was in 1618. See Niemeyer, p. 6, &c.

it was best to wait for the result. He advised to have the system examined by Rector Wendelin of Zerbst, for which purpose he said he would gladly use his influence. But he soon afterward declined to do even this.* Only Duke Johann Ernst von Weimar, son of the Duchess Dorothea, and nephew of Prince Ludwig, united with him in the undertaking to call into life the new method of instruction at their common expense."

Raticht now formally bound himself to the work which the Prince wished him to undertake: namely, that of instructing and training teachers, so that they should be able "to impart to their pupils a thorough, good, and fluent knowledge of any language, especially of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, in less time, not to exceed half as much, than could be done by any other method usual in Germany, and also with much less pains." These teachers were, on the other hand to promise him upon his requisition not to reveal the secret of his method to any one.

The prince now caused a printing office to be erected at Köthen, for supplying Ratich's books. The founts for six languages were partly brought from Holland, and partly cast in Köthen; and four compositors and two pressmen were brought from Rostock and Jena.

The prince required the people of Köthen to send their children to the schools established by Ratich; two hundred and thirty-one boys, and two hundred and two girls were enrolled.

The schools were divided into six classes. In the three lowest the mother tongue was taught, in the fourth a beginning was made with Latin, and in the sixth with Greek.§ According to the plan, his teacher of the lowest class, was to be a man of kind manners, who need know no language except German. His duty was to be, "by daily prayer, short Biblical texts, and questions in the manner of ordinary conversation, to form the tongues and language of the new scholars, according to the pure Misnian dialect, and by continued practice to correct the faults of the scholars, acquired outside the school.||"

We shall see, further on, the methods of teaching German and

He

Niemeyer gives a French letter from Prince Christian, of 8th of September, 1618. writes literatim as follows: "Puis donques qu'il vous tarde que je me resolvé sur l'affaire du Ratichius. J'ay suis delibere de ne me vouloir pas mesler. Et ce a cause que nul de ceulx auxquels J'ay parle depuis, (vous asseurant en avoir parle avec divers personnages qui ont renommée d' estre doctes,) ont voulu croire que les Effets seront conformes a ses proposi. tions m' alleguants force Exemples au contraire en Hassie, en la Comte de Nassau, de Hanau, chez ms. le marg. de Bade, a Auguste et a Basle meme.' " Comp. Niemeyer, C. p. 13. † Niemeyer, C. 10, 15. + Ib. 24.

§ Niemeyer, C. 24. On comparing pp. 28 and 42, it does not appear whether there were five or six classes, and whether Greek was begun in the 5th or sixth.

IJ. C. 29.

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