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diff --git a/old/63644-0.txt b/old/63644-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index fe912f4..0000000 --- a/old/63644-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11642 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Schools of Hellas, by Kenneth John Freeman - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Schools of Hellas - An Essay on the Practice and Theory of Ancient Greek - Education from 600 to 300 B. C. - -Author: Kenneth John Freeman - -Editor: Montague John Rendall - -Release Date: November 5, 2020 [EBook #63644] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCHOOLS OF HELLAS *** - - - - -Produced by Carol Brown, Turgut Dincer and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -SCHOOLS OF HELLAS - -AN ESSAY ON THE PRACTICE AND THEORY OF ANCIENT GREEK EDUCATION - - - - - [Illustration: Printer’s Logo] - - - - - [Illustration: IN A RIDING-SCHOOL - - From a Kulix by Euphronios, now in the Louvre. Hartwig’s - _Meisterschalen_, Plate 53.] - - - - -Schools of Hellas - -AN ESSAY ON THE PRACTICE AND THEORY OF ANCIENT GREEK EDUCATION - -FROM - -600 TO 300 B.C. - - -BY - -KENNETH J. FREEMAN - -SCHOLAR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; BROWNE UNIVERSITY SCHOLAR; -CRAVEN UNIVERSITY SCHOLAR; SENIOR CHANCELLOR’S MEDALLIST, ETC. - - -EDITED BY - -M. J. RENDALL - -SECOND MASTER OF WINCHESTER COLLEGE - - -WITH A PREFACE BY A. W. VERRALL, LITT.DOC. - - -_ILLUSTRATED_ - - -London - -MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED - -NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY - -1907 - - -_All rights reserved_ - - - - -ΦΙΛΟΚΑΛΟΙΣ [PHILOKALOIS] - -ΚΑΙ [ΚΑΙ] - -ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΟΙΣ [PHILOSOPHOIS] - - - - -PREFACE - - -The Dissertation here published was written by the late Mr. K. J. -Freeman, in the course of the year following his graduation at -Cambridge as a Bachelor of Arts, with a view to his candidature for a -Fellowship of Trinity College, for which purpose the rules of the -College require the production of some original work. In the summer of -1906, three months before the autumn election of that year, his -brilliant and promising career was arrested by death. - -We have been encouraged to publish the work, as it was left, by -several judgments of great weight; nor does it, in my opinion, require -anything in the nature of an apology. It is of course, under the -circumstances, incomplete, and it is in some respects immature. But, -within the limits, the execution is adequate for practical purposes; -and the actual achievement has a substantive value independent of any -personal consideration. No English book, perhaps no extant book, -covers the same ground, or brings together so conveniently the -materials for studying the subject of ancient Greek education――education -as treated in practice and theory during the most fertile and -characteristic age of Hellas. It would be regrettable that this -useful, though preliminary, labour should be lost and suppressed, only -because it was decreed that the author should not build upon his own -foundation. - -Novelty of view he disclaimed; but he claimed, with evident truth, -that the work is not second-hand, but based upon wide and direct study -of the sources, which are made accessible by copious references. - -The subject is in one respect specially appropriate to a youthful -hand. Perhaps at no time is a man more likely to have fresh and living -impressions about education than when he has himself just ceased to be -a pupil, when he has just completed the subordinate stages of a long -and strenuous self-culture. It will be seen, in more than one place, -that the author is not content with the purely historical aspect of -his theme, but suggests criticisms and even practical applications. It -may be thought that these remarks upon a matter of pressing and -growing importance are by no means the less deserving of consideration -because the writer, when he speaks of the schoolboy and the -undergraduate, is unquestionably an authentic witness. - -But, as I have already said, the work will commend itself sufficiently -to those interested in the topic, if only as a conspectus of facts, -presented with orderly arrangement and in a simple and perspicuous -style. - -It is not my part here to express personal feelings. But I cannot -dismiss this, the first and only fruit of the classical studies of -Kenneth Freeman, without a word of profound sorrow for the premature -loss of a most honourable heart and vigorous mind. He was one whom a -teacher may freely praise, without suspicion of partiality; for, -whatever he was, he was no mere product of lessons, as this, his first -essay, will sufficiently show. It is not what he would have made it; -but it is his own, and it is worthy of him. - - A. W. VERRALL. - - TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, - _January_ 1907. - - - - -EDITOR’S STATEMENT - - -It has fallen to my lot to edit this essay, the first, and last, work -of Kenneth John Freeman, a brilliant young Scholar of Winchester -College and Trinity College, Cambridge, whose short life closed in the -summer of 1906. - -He was born in London on June 19, 1882, and died at Winchester on July -15, 1906,――a brief span of twenty-four years, the greater part of -which was spent in the strenuous pursuit of truth and beauty, both in -literature and in the book of Nature, but above all among the -Classics. - -Scholarly traditions and interests he inherited in no small measure: -he was the son of Mr. G. Broke Freeman, a member of the Chancery Bar, -and a Classical graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the -grandson of Philip Freeman, Archdeacon of Exeter, himself a Scholar of -the same great Foundation, Craven University Scholar and Senior -Classic in 1839. He was also a great-grandson of the Rev. Henry Hervey -Baber, for many years Principal Librarian of the British Museum, and -Editor of the _editio princeps_ of the _Codex Alexandrinus_. From them -he inherited a passion for Classical study, a keen sense of form, and -a determined pursuit of knowledge, which nothing could daunt, not even -the recurrent shadow of a long and distressing illness. - -Through his mother, a daughter of Dr. Horace Dobell, of Harley Street, -London, he was also a great-nephew of the poet Sydney Dobell; and thus -he may well have derived that poetic feeling which distinguished a -number of verses found among his papers, since printed for private -circulation. - -His School and University career was uniformly successful. At -Winchester he won prizes in many subjects and several tongues, and -carried off the Goddard Scholarship, the intellectual blue ribbon, at -the age of sixteen. - -At Cambridge he was Browne University Scholar in 1903, and in the -first “division” of the Classical Tripos in 1904, in which year he -also won the Craven Scholarship. The senior Chancellor’s medal fell to -him in the following year. - -There is no need to enumerate his other distinctions, but the epigram -with which he won the Browne Medal in 1903 is so beautiful in itself -and so true an epitome of the boy and the man, that I am tempted to -quote it here: - - ξεῖνε, καλὸν τὸ ζῆν καταγώγιόν ἐστιν ἅπασιν, - [xeine, kalon to zên katagôgion estin hapasin], - νηπυτίους γὰρ ὅμως νυκτιπλανεῖς τε φιλεῖ, - [nêpytious gar homôs nyktiplaneis te philei], - δῶρα χαριζόμενον φιλίας καὶ τερπνὸν ἔρωτα - [dôra charizomenon philias kai terpnon erôta] - καὶ πόνον εὔανδρον φροντίδα τ’ οὐρανίαν· - [kai ponon euandron phrontida t’ ouranian]; - τρυχομένους δ’ ἤδη κοιμᾷ τὸν ἀκήρατον ὕπνον - [trychomenous d’ êdê koima ton akêraton hypnon] - πέμπει δ’ ὥστε λαθεῖν οἰκάδ’ ἐληλυθότας. - [pempei d’ hôste lathein oikad’ elêlythotas]. - -He was always an optimist, who regarded life as a “fair Inn,” which -provided much good cheer. Shyness and ill-health limited sadly the -range of his friends, but not his capacity and desire for -“friendship.” “Manly toil,” both physical and intellectual, was dear -to his soul: thus, though no great athlete, he was an ardent Volunteer -both at School and College, and declared that, had he not chosen the -teacher’s profession, he would have wished to be a soldier: he writes -of Sparta and Xenophon with evident sympathy. Also he fought and won -many an intellectual battle against great odds; to quote one instance, -he wrote the papers for his Craven Scholarship while convalescent in -his old nursery. His poems, to complete the parallel, may justly be -described as the “aspiring thoughts” of a singularly pure and reverent -heart. - -It is a simple, uneventful record: six happy years as a Winchester -Scholar; three as a Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge; one year of -travel and study, mainly devoted to the subject of Education, which -always had a special attraction for him; and lastly, one year, the -happiest of his life, when he returned to teach at his old school. - -All appeared bright and promising; he was doing the work he desired at -the school of his choice, health and vigour seemed fully restored, and -a strenuous life as a Winchester Master lay before him, when an acute -attack of the old trouble, borne with perfect patience, cut him off in -the prime of his promise. - -Then, to quote his own translation of his epigram: - - When I was aweary, last and best - They gave me dreamless rest; - And sent me on my way that I might come - Unknown, unknowing, Home. - -The work itself was never finished for the press; indeed, some -chapters, dealing with Sokrates, Plato, and Aristotle, did not appear -sufficiently complete to justify publication: these, therefore, we -have withheld. But this book is in substance what he left it, and he -was fully aware that the omitted chapters were in need of further -revision. - -In any case, it would have been a labour of love to me to edit this -dissertation; but the labour has been lightened at every turn by the -ungrudging help and friendship of many Scholars. Dr. Verrall, besides -contributing a Preface, has contributed much advice in general and in -detail; Dr. Sandys has revised the proofs and given me the benefit of -his comprehensive knowledge of the subject; Dr. Henry Jackson went -through some of the later chapters and discussed points of general -interest. The original Essay or the proofs have in addition been -revised, from different points of view, by Mr. Edmund D. A. Morshead, -late Fellow of New College, Oxford, and Mr. F. M. Cornford, Fellow of -Trinity College, Cambridge. Mr. G. S. Freeman (brother of the author) -is responsible for the Index; while Mr. W. R. H. Merriman has spent -much pains upon verifying the numerous quotations. In a few cases Dr. -F. G. Kenyon’s erudition came to the rescue. To all these my best -thanks are due. Mr. A. Hamilton Smith of the British Museum was most -helpful in identifying the vases from which the illustrations are -derived. The author, who was a considerable draughtsman, had drawn -scenes from Greek vases with his own hand; but of course our -illustrations are derived from published reproductions, with two -exceptions. The two British Museum vase-scenes (Illustrations III. and -IV.) were specially drawn for this book: they have never been -carefully reproduced before. I must thank the Syndics of the Pitt -Press at Cambridge for their kind permission to reproduce their print -of Douris’ Educational Vase from Dr. Sandys’ _History of Classical -Scholarship_. The design which appears on the cover of this volume is -also adapted from this vase. - -It remains to add a few sentences from a Statement which the author -himself drew up: - -“I have,” he says, “confined my attention very largely for several -years to original texts and eschewed the aid of commentaries.” This -will be patent to the reader. - -“As to accepted interpretations, I have, purposely and on principle, -neither read nor heard much of them, since I wished, in pursuance of -the bidding of Plato himself, not to receive unquestioningly the -authority of those whom to hear is to believe, but to develop views -and interpretations of my own. For I have always believed that -education suffers immensely from the study of books about books, in -preference to the study of the books themselves. M. Paul Girard’s book -in French (_L’Éducation Athénienne_) and Grasberger’s in German -(_Erziehung und Unterricht im klassischen Alterthum_), the latter of -which I have only read in part, have set me on the track of -authorities whom I should otherwise have missed, but I believe that my -acknowledgments in the text and in the notes fully cover my direct -obligations to them in other respects, although my indirect -obligations to M. Girard’s stimulating book, which are great, remain -unexpressed. - -“An apology is, perhaps, needed for the peculiar, and not wholly -consistent, spelling of the Greek words. I had meant to employ the -Latinised spelling. But when I came to write Lyceum, Academy, and -pedagogue, my heart failed me. For I did not wish to suggest modern -music-halls, modern art, and, worst of all, modern ‘pedagogy.’ In -adopting the ancient spelling I had Browning on my side. But again, -when I wrote Thoukudides, my heart sank, for I could hardly recognise -an old friend in such a guise. So I decided, perhaps weakly, to steer -a middle course, and preserve the Latinised forms in the case of the -more familiar words. Thus I put Plato, not Platon, but Menon and -Phaidon.” We have adhered to this principle in the main; we need -hardly say that Lakedaimon is the transliteration of a Greek word: -Lacedaemonian is an English adjective. So a citizen of Troizen is a -Troezenian, and of Boiotia a Boeotian. “I have,” the author concludes, -“preferred _Hellas_ and _Hellene_ to _Greece_ and _Greek_. For a rose -by any other name does not always smell as sweet.” - - M. J. RENDALL. - - WINCHESTER COLLEGE, - _March_ 1907. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -BIBLIOGRAPHY xvii -INTRODUCTION 1 - - PART I - THE PRACTICE OF EDUCATION - - CHAPTER I -SPARTA AND CRETE 11 - - CHAPTER II -ATHENS AND THE REST OF HELLAS: GENERAL INTRODUCTION 42 - - CHAPTER III -ATHENS, ETC.: PRIMARY EDUCATION 79 - - CHAPTER IV -ATHENS, ETC.: PHYSICAL EDUCATION 118 - - CHAPTER V -ATHENS, ETC.: SECONDARY EDUCATION――I. THE SOPHISTS 157 - - CHAPTER VI -ATHENS, ETC.: SECONDARY EDUCATION――II. THE PERMANENT SCHOOLS 179 - - CHAPTER VII -ATHENS, ETC.: TERTIARY EDUCATION――THE EPHEBOI AND THE UNIVERSITY 210 - - - PART II - THE THEORY OF EDUCATION - - CHAPTER VIII -RELIGION AND EDUCATION IN HELLAS 227 - - CHAPTER IX -ART, MUSIC, AND POETRY 237 - - CHAPTER X -XENOPHON 259 - - - PART III - - CHAPTER XI - -GENERAL ESSAY ON THE WHOLE SUBJECT 275 - - -INDEX 293 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - AFTER PAGE - - Vase by Euphronios, Louvre (centre of X. A and - X. B)――Mounted Ephebos in Riding-School _Frontispiece_ - - I. A. Kulix by Douris, Berlin (No. 2285)――The Flute-Lesson - and Writing-Lesson - I. B. Kulix by Douris, Berlin (No. 2285)――The Lyre-Lesson - and Poetry-Lesson 52 - - II. Kulix by Hieron, now at Vienna――A Flute Lesson: - The Boy’s Turn 70 - - III. Hudria in British Museum (E 171)――Music-School Scenes 104 - - IV. Hudria in British Museum (E 172)――In a Lyre-School 108 - - V. A. Kulix attributed to Euphronios, at Munich――Scenes - in a Palaistra - V. B. Kulix attributed to Euphronios, at Munich――Scenes - in a Palaistra 120 - - VI. A. Wrestlers, etc., in the Palaistra - VI. B. Boxers, etc., in the Palaistra 128 - - VII. The Stadion at Delphi 132 - - VIII. Kulix signed by Euphronios, at Berlin――Scenes in - the Palaistra 174 - - IX. Vase attributed to Euphronios, at Munich――A - Riding-Lesson: Mounting 214 - - X. A. Kulix by Euphronios, now in the Louvre――Scene in - a Riding-School - X. B. Kulix by Euphronios, now in the Louvre――Scene in - a Riding-School 258 - - - - - SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - DITTENBERGER, W. De Ephebis Atticis Dissertatio. Dieterich, - Göttingen, 1863. - - DUMONT, A. Essai sur l’Éphébie Attique. 2 vols. Didot, Paris, - 1875-76. - - GIRARD, P. L’Éducation Athénienne au vᵉ et au ivᵉ siècle avant - J.-C. Hachette, Paris, 1889. - - GRASBERGER, L. Erziehung und Unterricht im klassischen - Alterthum. 3 vols. Würzburg, 1864-81. - - LAURIE, S. S. Historical Survey of Pre-Christian Education. - 2nd Edition. Longmans, London, 1900. - - MAHAFFY, J. P. Old Greek Education. Kegan Paul, 1883. - - MÜLLER, K. O. Dorians. Edition 1824. English translation; - Oxford, 1830. - - NETTLESHIP, H. In _Hellenica._ 2nd Edition. Longmans, 1898. - - SIDGWICK, A. Essay in _Teachers’ Guild Quarterly_, No. 8. - - USSING, J. L. (Danish.) German translation. Erziehung bei - den Griechen (und Römern). Altona, 1870. - - WILKINS, A. S. National Education in Greece (Hare Prize, - Cambridge). Isbister, London, 1873. - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -The meeting-place of two streams has always a curious fascination for -the traveller. There is a strange charm in watching the two currents -blend and lose their individuality in a new whole. The discoloured, -foam-flecked torrent, swirling on remorselessly its pebbles and -minuter particles of granite from the mountains, and the calm, -translucent stream, bearing in invisible solution the clays and sands -of the plains through which its slow coils have wound, melt into a -single river, mightier than either, which has received and will carry -onward the burdens of both and lay them side by side in some far-off -delta, where they will form “the dust of continents to be.” - -To the student of history or of psychology the meeting-place of two -civilisations has a similar charm. To watch the immemorial culture of -the East, slow-moving with the weight of years, dreamy with centuries -of deep meditation, accept and assimilate, as in a moment of time, the -science, the machinery, the restless energy and practical activity of -the West is a fascinating employment; for the process is big with hope -of some glorious product from this union of the two. Those who live -while such a union is in progress cannot estimate its value or its -probable result; they are but conscious of the discomforts and -confusion arising from the ending of the old order that passes away, -and can hardly presage the glories of the new, to which it is yielding -place. It is in past history, not in the contemporary world, that such -combinations must be studied. - -The chief historical instance of two distinct civilisations blending -into one is the Renaissance, that mighty union of the spirit of -ancient Hellas and her pupil Rome with the spirit of medieval Europe, -which has hardly been perfected even now. But it is often forgotten -that there were at least two dress-rehearsals for the great drama of -the Renaissance, in the course of which Hellenism learnt its own charm -and adapted itself to the task of educating the world. Alexander -carried the arts, the literature, and the spirit of Hellas far into -the heart of Asia; and, though his great experiment of blending West -with East was interrupted by his early death and the consequent -disruption of his world-empire, yet, even so, something of his object -was effected in the Hellenistic culture of Alexandria, Syria, and Asia -Minor. Within a century of his death began the second dress-rehearsal, -this time in the West. Conquered Hellas led her fierce conqueror -captive, and the strength of Rome bowed before the intellect and -imagination of the Hellene. Once more the great man who designed to -unite the two currents into one stream without loss to either was cut -off before his plans could be carried out, and the murder of Julius -Cæsar caused incalculable damage to this earlier Renaissance, for the -education of Rome, the second scholar of Hellas, was not too wisely -conducted. Yet the schooling produced Virgil and Horace and that -Greco-Roman civilisation in which the Teutonic nations of the North -received their first lessons in culture. After several premature -attempts, medieval Europe rediscovered ancient Hellas and her pupil -Rome at the time of the Renaissance. Since that time the influence -exerted by Hellenism upon modern civilisation has been continuous and -incalculable. How much of that influence remains unassimilated, how -far it is still needed, may perhaps be realised best by passing -straight from the Elgin marbles or a play of Sophocles to a modern -crowd or to modern literature. - -Hellas has thus been the educator of the world to an extent of which -not even Perikles ever dreamed. How then, it may naturally be asked, -did the teacher of the nations teach her own sons and daughters? If so -many peoples have been at school to learn the lessons of Hellenism, -what was the nature of the schools of ancient Hellas? How did those -wonderful city-states, which produced in the course of a few centuries -a wealth of unsurpassed literature, philosophy and art, whose history -is immortalised by the names of Thermopylae and Marathon, train their -young citizens to be at once patriots and art-critics, statesmen and -philosophers, money-makers and lovers of literature? They must have -known not a little about education, those old Hellenes, it is natural -to suppose. Have the schools, like the arts and literature and spirit, -of Hellas any lesson for the modern world? These are the questions -which the present work will attempt in some measure to answer. - -In some measure only; for the spirit of Hellas cannot be caught at -second hand: it consists in just those subtler elements of refined -taste and perfect choice of expression which cannot but be lost in a -translation or a photograph. In like manner, the secret of Hellenic -education cannot be reproduced by any mere accumulation of bald facts -and wiseacres’ deductions. It is easy for the modern theorist to give -an exact account of his ideal school; he has only to tabulate the -subjects which are to be studied, the books which are to be read, and -the hours at which his mechanical children are to be stuffed with the -required mass of facts. But the Hellenic schoolmaster held that -education dealt not with machines but with children, not with facts -but with character. His object was to mould the taste of his pupils, -to make them “love what is beautiful and hate what is ugly.” And -because he wished them to love what is beautiful in art and -literature, in nature and in human life, he sought to make his lessons -attractive, in order that the subjects learnt at school might not be -regarded with loathing in after life. Education had to be charming to -the young; its field was largely music and art and the literature -which appeals most to children, adventure and heroism and tales of -romance expressed in verse. The music is all but gone, and of the art -only a few fragments remain; the primary schools of Hellas have left -to modern research only portions of their literature. Their -attractiveness must be judged from the poems of Homer. But the charm -of education lies mainly in the methods of the teacher; and of these -posterity can know little. Scholars may piece together the books which -were read and the exercises which were practised, but of the method in -which they were taught, of their order and arrangement and respective -quantities, nothing can be known. There is the raw material, the human -boy, and of the tools wherewith the masters fashioned him, some relics -are left; but of the way in which the artist used those tools, of the -true inwardness of his handicraft and skill, not all the diligence of -Teutonic research can recover a trace. The young art-student will -learn little of Michel Angelo or Raphael, if he focusses his attention -simply on the materials and the tools which they employed: to grasp -their spirit he must go to the Sistine Chapel or to the Dresden -Gallery, and contemplate their masterpieces. In like manner the -student of Hellenic education ought to consider not its materials and -tools, but rather its results and ideals. He must look with his own -eyes and imagination upon the Aegina pediment or the “Hermes” of -Praxiteles, if he wishes to comprehend the objects of the Doric and -Ionic schools. This he must do for himself, since no book can do it -for him. All that this work can hope to do is to furnish some few -ideas about the tools wherewith the Hellenic schoolmasters tried to -fashion the boys at their disposal into the masterpieces bodied forth -in the “Hermes” and the Aeginetan figures: the skilled fingers and the -imaginative brains which used the tools are for ever beyond the reach -of the scholar and the archæologist. - -The “Hermes,” with his physical perfection and his plenitude of -intellect, with the features of an artist and the brow of a thinker, -may be taken as the ideal of the fully developed Athenian education of -the early fourth century B.C. The Aeginetan figures stand in the same -relation to the Spartan and Cretan schools; these heroic figures have -the bodily harmoniousness, the narrow if deep thought, the hardness of -the Dorian temper. Perhaps it is not fanciful to see in the so-called -“Theseus” of the Parthenon an earlier ideal of Athenian training, when -it aimed at rather less of dreamy contemplation, at a less sensuous -and more strenuous mode of life. If this be so, that glorious figure -bodies forth the very ideal of Periclean and Imperial Athens at her -grandest moment, before the ruin caused by the long war with Sparta. - -The stream of Hellenism ran in two currents. Underlying the local -diversity, which made every little town ethically and artistically -distinct from its neighbour, was the fundamental difference between -Dorian and Ionian. Clearly marked in every aspect of life, this -difference was most marked in the schools. Sparta and Crete on the one -hand, and Athens, followed closely by her Ionian and Aeolic allies and -at a greater distance by the rest of civilised Hellas, on the other, -develop totally different types of education. The young Spartan is -enrolled at a fixed age in a boarding-school: everything he learns or -does is under State-supervision. Perfect grace and harmony of body is -his sole object: he is hardly taught his letters or numbers. The young -Athenian goes to school when and where his parents like; learns, -within certain wide limits, what they please; ends his schooling when -they choose. He learns his letters and arithmetic, studies literature -and music, and, at a later date, painting, besides his athletic -exercises, at a day-school. When he grows older, he may add rhetoric -or philosophy or science or any subject he pleases to this earlier -course. The State interferes only to protect his morals, and to -enforce upon him two years of military training between the ages of -eighteen and twenty. - -The superficial differences between the Athenian and the Spartan type -of school are so striking that at first sight they appear to have no -one principle in common. It will therefore be necessary to keep the -two types apart at first and discuss their details separately. But the -Hellenic thinkers recognised certain deep-seated similarities beneath -the superficial contradictions, and it became the object of -educational philosophy to blend the two types into a perfect system. -As soon as a deeper study has been made of the theory of education in -Hellas, the distinctions of practice begin to vanish away and the -similarities of ideal and aim become more and more apparent. When the -survey of both practice and theory, which is the object of this work, -has been completed, it should be possible to grasp and estimate the -common principles, which, amid much variety of detail, governed the -schools of Hellas. - - - - -PART I - -THE PRACTICE OF EDUCATION - - - - -CHAPTER I - -EDUCATION AT SPARTA AND IN CRETE - - -According to a current legend, which Herodotos, owing to his Ionian -patriotism, is eager to contradict, Anacharsis the Scythian, on his -return from his travels, declared that the Spartans seemed to him to -be the only Hellenic people with whom it was possible to converse -sensibly, for they alone had time to be wise.[1] The full Spartan -citizen certainly had abundant leisure. He was absolutely free from -the cares of money-making, for he was supported by an hereditary -allotment which was cultivated for him by State-serfs. He had no -profession or trade to occupy him. His whole time was spent in -educating himself and his younger countrymen in accordance with -Spartan ideas, and in practising the Spartan mode of life. The -Spartans divided their day between various gymnastic and military -exercises, hunting, public affairs, and “leschai” or conversation-clubs, -at which no talk of business was permitted; the members discussed only -what was honourable and noble, or blamed what was cowardly and -base.[2] They were on the whole a grave and silent people, but they -had a terse wit of their own, and there was a statue of Laughter in -their city. They were always in a state of perfect training, like the -“wiry dogs” of Plato’s Republic. They were strong conservatives; -innovation was strictly forbidden. The unfortunate who made a change -in the rules of the Ball-game was scourged. In the Skias or -Council-chamber still hung in Pausanias’ time the eleven-stringed lyre -which Timotheos had brought to Sparta, only to have it broken;[3] and -the nine-stringed lyre of Phrunis met the same fate. Having once -accepted the seven-stringed lyre from Terpander, the Spartans never -permitted it to be changed. They had also a talent for minute -organisation; both their army and their children were greatly -subdivided. Every one at Sparta was a part of a beautifully organised -machine, designed almost exclusively for military purposes. - -In this strangely artificial State, it was essential that the future -citizens should be saturated with the spirit of the place at an early -age. There were practically no written laws. Judges and rulers acted -on their own discretion.[4] This was only possible if a particular -stamp of character, a particular outlook and attitude, were impressed -upon every citizen. Consequently, education was the most important -thing at Sparta. It was both regulated and enforced by the State. It -was exactly the same for all. The boys were taken away from home and -brought up in great boarding-schools, so that the individualising -tendencies of family life and hereditary instincts might be stamped -out, and a general type of character, the Spartan type, alone be left -in all the boys. For boarding-schools have admittedly this result, -that they impose a recognisable stamp, a certain similarity of manner -and attitude, upon all the boys who pass through them. - -Therefore, as soon as a child was born at Sparta, it was taken before -the elders of the tribe to which its parents belonged.[5] If they -decided that it was likely to prove sickly, it was exposed on Mount -Taügetos, there to die or be brought up by Helots or Perioikoi. Sparta -was no place for invalids. If the infant was approved, it was taken -back to its home, to be brought up by its mother. Spartan women were -famous for their skill in bringing up children. Spartan nurses were in -great demand in Hellas. They were eagerly sought after for boys of -rank and wealth like Alkibiades. The songs which they sang to their -charges and the rules which they enforced made the children “not -afraid of the dark” or terrified if they were left alone; not addicted -“to daintiness or naughty tempers or screaming”; in fact, “little -gentlemen” in every way. - -No doubt the discipline of the children was strict, but then the -parents lived just as strictly themselves. There were no luxuries for -any one at Sparta: the houses and furniture were as plain as the food. -But there is a charming picture of Agesilaos riding on a stick to -amuse his children; and the Spartan mothers, if stern towards -cowardice, seem to have been keenly interested in their children’s -development; they were by no means nonentities like Athenian ladies. - -The children slept at home till they were seven; but at an early age -were taken by their fathers to the “Pheiditia” or clubs where the -grown men spent those hours during which they stayed indoors and took -their meals. About fifty men attended each of these clubs. The -children sat on the floor near their fathers. Each member contributed -monthly a “medimnos” of barley-meal, eight “choes” of wine, five -“mnai” of cheese, two and a half “mnai” of figs,[6] and some very -cheap relish; if he sacrificed to a god, he gave part of the victim to -his “mess,” and if he was successful in hunting (which was a frequent -occupation), he brought his spoils to the common table. There was also -the famous black broth, made by the hereditary guild of State cooks, -which only a life of Spartan training and cold baths in the Eurotas -could make appetising; yet elderly Spartans preferred it to meat. -Perhaps a fragment of Alkman represents a high-day at one of these -clubs: “Seven couches and as many tables, brimming full of -poppy-flavoured loaves, and linseed and sesamum, and in bowls honey -and linseed for the children.”[7] - -A Spartan who became too poor to pay his contribution to his club lost -his rights as a citizen, and so could not have his children educated -in the State-system. But as long as the allotments were not alienated, -such cases were not common. The contribution was κατὰ κεφαλήν [kata -kephalên],[8] that is, the fixed quantity of provisions had to be -supplied for every member of the family who attended a club, _i.e._ -for every male, since the women took their meals at home. There is no -reason whatever for supposing that the boys, either before or after -they went to the boarding-schools, were fed at the expense of the -State. It is expressly stated that the number of foster-children, who -accompanied their benefactors’ sons to school, varied according to the -extent of their patron’s means.[9] Parents must therefore have paid -something for their boys while they were at school. The teaching -involved no expenses; hence it must have been the food for which they -paid. Thus, only those boys could attend the Spartan schools whose -parents could afford to pay the customary subscription in kind for -their own and their children’s food at the common meals. Xenophon, the -admirer of all things Spartan, adopts the same system in his State, -since he makes the children of the poor drop out automatically from -the public schools. It must be remembered that at Sparta families were -always small, and the population tended to decrease steadily; the -number of males for whom subscriptions had to be paid by the head of -the family can rarely have been large. - -Generally speaking, therefore, the Spartan schools were only for the -sons of “Peers” (ὅμοιοι [hómoioi]),[10] that is, those who paid the -subscriptions. But a certain number of other boys were admitted, -provided that their food was paid for. A rich Spartan might, if he -chose, select certain other boys to be educated with his own son or -sons, and pay their expenses meanwhile.[11] The number of these -school-companions depended on the number of contributions in kind -which he was capable of supplying. The school-companions could thus -attend the Spartan schools; but they did not become citizens when they -grew up, unless they revealed so much merit that the Spartan State -gave them the franchise. - -From what classes were these school-companions drawn? Sometimes they -were foreigners, sons either of distinguished guest-friends of leading -Spartans, or of refugee-settlers in Laconia. Thus Xenophon’s two sons -were educated at Sparta. These foreign boys were called τρόφιμοι -[tróphimoi] or Foster-children. Xenophon mentions “foreigners from -among the τρόφιμοι [tróphimoi].”[12] If these Foster-children, when -grown up, remained in Sparta they possessed no civic rights. A passage -in Plato refers to the difficulty which was experienced in getting -these Foster-children to accept this humble position.[13] It is -interesting to note that Sparta thus precedes Athens as an educational -centre to which boys from foreign cities came to receive their -schooling. - -More often Spartan parents chose Helots to be school-companions of -their sons. Thus Plutarch speaks of “two of the foster-brothers of -Kleomenes, whom they call Mothakes.”[14] The name Mothax was applied -to these educated Helots. They seem to have been notorious for the way -in which they presumed upon their position, if we may assume a -connection between Mothax and Mothon, a term which is used for the -patron deity of impudence in Aristophanes, and elsewhere is the name -of a vulgar dance.[15] They were not enfranchised when their -school-days were over, and had to settle down to slavish duties, -unless they showed peculiar merit. But several of the most -distinguished Spartans, including Lusandros, were enfranchised -Mothakes. - -Xenophon, in a passage which has already been quoted, mentions -“gentlemen-volunteers of the Perioikoi and certain foreigners of the -so-called Foster-children and bastards of the Spartiatai, very goodly -men and not without share in the honourable things in the State.”[16] -If most of the authorities are right in regarding “the honourable -things”[17] as a Spartan phrase for their educational system――and -there is good ground for this view――then this passage shows that -illegitimate sons, and perhaps eminent Perioikoi, passed through the -public schools at Sparta although, however, neither were called -Foster-children, a name reserved for distinguished foreigners. The -Helots who shared the education were known as Mothakes, and sometimes -as σύντροφοι [syntrophoi], school-companions; but they do not seem to -have been called τρόφιμοι [trophimoi], “Foster-children.” - -During the best period of Spartan history, none of these extra pupils, -τρόφιμοι [trophimoi], Mothakes, illegitimate children, and eminent -Perioikoi, were enfranchised unless they showed peculiar merit. At a -later date, perhaps, any one who passed through the schools became a -Spartan citizen. Plutarch makes this a part of Lukourgos’ system; but -that is improbable. Such a custom would only arise in the days of -Spartan decay and depopulation. On the other hand, any Spartan boys -who flinched before the hardships of their national education, lost -their status, and were disfranchised, if they did not persevere.[18] - -Till they were seven, the boys were taken to their fathers’ clubs: the -girls had all their meals with their mothers at home, for the women -did not have dining-clubs. By seeing the hardships which their fathers -endured, and hearing their discussions on political subjects and their -terse humour, the boys were already being trained in the Spartan mode -of life; for the clubs served as an elementary school. There, too, -they learnt to play with their contemporaries, and to exchange rough -jests without flinching. To take a jest without annoyance was part of -the Spartan character; but if the jester went too far for endurance, -he might be asked to stop. - -At seven the boys were taken away from home, and organised in a most -systematic way into “packs” and “divisions.” These were the “ilai,” -which probably contained sixty-four boys, and the “agelai,” whose -numbers are unknown.[19] These packs fed together, slept together on -bundles of reeds for bedding, and played together. The boys had to go -barefoot always, and wore only a single garment summer and winter -alike. They were all under the control of a “Paidonomos” or -“Superintendent of the boys,” a citizen of rank, repute, and position, -who might at any moment call them together, and punish them severely -if they had been idle: he had attendants who bore the ominous name of -Floggers.[20] So, as Xenophon grimly remarks, a spirit of discipline -and obedience prevailed at Sparta. In order that the boys might not be -left without control, even when the Paidonomos was absent, any citizen -who might be passing might order them to do anything which he liked, -and punish them for any faults which they committed. The most sensible -and plucky boy in each pack was made a Prefect over it, and called the -Bouâgor, or “Herd-leader”; the rest obeyed his orders and endured his -punishments.[21] - -The elder men stirred up quarrels among the boys in order to see who -was plucky. Over every school was set one of the young men over twenty -who had a good reputation both for courage and for morality.[22] He -was called the Eiren. He kept an eye on their battles, and used them -as servants at home for his supper; he ordered the bigger boys to -bring him firewood, and the smaller to collect vegetables. The only -way by which such supplies could be obtained was by stealing them from -the gardens and the men’s dining-clubs. Apparently, then, the boys -dined with him in his house;[23] they were supplied with a scanty meal -by their parents to eat there, and were encouraged to make up the -deficiency by stealing. “When the Eiren had finished supper, he -ordered one of the boys to sing, and to another he propounded some -question which needed a thoughtful answer, such as, ‘Who is the best -of the grown-ups?’ For such particular questions are more stimulating -than generalities like ‘What is virtue?’ or ‘What is a good citizen?’ -The answer had to be accompanied by a concise reason; failure was -punished by a bite on the hand. Elder men watched, saying nothing at -the time, but rebuking the Eiren severely afterwards if he was too -strict or too lenient.” - -Thus we find at Sparta a prefect-system and fagging. But the sense of -responsibility produced in the elder boys at English public schools -and the practice which they acquire in exercising authority were -prevented at Sparta by the perpetual presence of grown men, which made -Laconian schools more like French Lycées. There is no class of -professional schoolmasters; the Eiren, the Paidonomos, and any elder -who chooses, give the instruction freely and gratuitously. Education, -being so simple, cost nothing at Sparta. - -From Plutarch’s mention of stealing from the _men’s_ dining-clubs it -may safely be inferred that boys of this age dined apart. Whether it -was always in the Eiren’s house cannot be ascertained. After the age -of sixteen they must have come into the men’s syssitia; for Xenophon -implies that the visitor to Sparta could see lads of that age at -dinner and ask them questions: and a visitor would certainly not have -dined in a dining-room meant only for boys. Whether the election of -members took place at that age, or whether they still went to their -fathers’ clubs, is unknown. - -The education was almost entirely physical. Plutarch, it is true, says -that they learnt “letters, because they were useful.”[24] This may -have been a later introduction, or perhaps the amount learnt was so -little as to justify Isokrates in saying that the Spartans “do not -even learn their letters, which are the means to a knowledge of the -past, as well as of contemporary events”;[25] he also thought it -highly improbable that even “the most intelligent of them would hear -of his speeches, unless they found some one to read them aloud.”[26] -They had, indeed, little reason to learn to read. Their written laws -were very few, and these they learnt by heart, set to a tune. They had -nothing to do with commerce or even with accounts; very few of them -knew how to count.[27] Hippias, the Sophist, found that all they cared -to listen to, were “genealogies of men and heroes, foundations of -cities, and archæology generally.” Probably, like the Dorian -philosopher Pythagoras, and like Plato, the admirer of all things -Dorian, they held that memory was all-important, and that the use of -writing weakened it.[28] Besides the State-laws set to music there -were songs which praised dead heroes and derided cowards: the diction -was plain and simple, the subjects grave and moral; many of them were -war-marches; all were incentive to pluck and energy. - -Rhetoric was, of course, utterly forbidden: a young man who learnt it -abroad and brought it home was punished by the Ephors.[28] Spartans -learned to be silent as a rule; when they spoke, their remarks were -short and much to the point, for they thought it wrong to waste a -word.[29] This was definitely taught to the boys, as has been shown -above. “If you converse with quite an ordinary Laconian,” says -Plato,[30] “at first he seems a mere fool; then suddenly, at the -critical point, he flings forth a pithy saying, and his companions -seem no better than children compared with him.” This epigrammatic -wisdom Plato ironically ascribes to the fact that Laconians really -attend Sophists on the sly, and are greater philosophers than any one -knows. Many echoes of their terse and grim humour have come down to -modern times: such as Leonidas’ remark to his troops at Thermopylae, -“Breakfast here: supper in Hades”; and the Spartan’s description of -Athens, “All things noble there,” by which he meant that nothing, -however base, was counted ignoble. - -The Spartans must not be regarded as wholly averse to literature. They -knew Homer, and thought him the best poet of his class, although the -manner of life he inculcated was Ionic, not Doric.[31] Alkman spent -his life at Sparta, and has left one splendid song for a chorus of -Laconian girls. Aristophanes could put a fine chorus into the mouths -of Laconians, though its subject is noticeably warlike. For it was -war-poems that the Spartans liked. “They care naught for the other -poets,” says the Athenian orator, Lukourgos, “but for Turtaios they -care so exceedingly that they made a law to summon every one to the -king’s tent, when they are on a campaign, to hear the poems of -Turtaios, considering that this would make them most ready to die for -their country.”[32] - -After all, the objects of the Spartan education were not intellectual -acuteness and the accumulation of knowledge, but discipline, -endurance, and victory in war. Discipline was taught by the perpetual -presence of authority, and by very severe punishments. Spartan boys -were practically never left to their own devices: perhaps that is the -secret of the moral failure of nearly every Spartan who was given a -position of authority outside Lakedaimon; for responsibility requires -practice. Endurance was taught by their whole mode of life. They went -barefooted, with a single garment, played and danced naked under the -hot Laconian sun;[33] there were no ointments or luxurious baths for -their bodies, only the Eurotas for a swim, and a bundle of reeds for a -bed. The food which the boys received was very scanty: often they were -turned out into the country in the early morning to provide food for -themselves for the whole day by stealing. - -This organised stealing was a feature of Spartan education. At an -early age, as we have seen, the small boys were sent out to steal -firewood and vegetables for the Eiren who had charge of them. Later -they were driven out into the country, to forage for themselves at the -expense of the farms. There was a definite age at which it was -customary to begin stealing.[34] The articles which might be stolen -were fixed by law, and the legal limits might not be transgressed.[35] -It must be remembered that much property in Laconia was held in -common. Any one, for instance, who was belated while hunting might -take what food he pleased from a country house, and even break open -seals to get at provisions. The Spartans also used one another’s dogs -and horses freely, without permission. It is therefore absurd to say -that the system taught the boys to be dishonest. If the State agrees -to declare certain articles to be common property, it is no longer -stealing if one citizen removes them from the house of another: he is -no more dishonest than a man who picks blackberries or buttercups in -England. At one of the English public schools, tooth-mugs used to be a -recognised article of plunder. The small fags were expected to keep -their particular dormitory supplied with them, at the expense of -others. They were punished by the wronged dormitory if caught in the -act of removing them: but ingenuity in such thefts was regarded as -praiseworthy. There was a certain number of these mugs belonging to -the whole house; they were common property, and could therefore be -purloined without dishonesty. - -Moreover, this system of legalised robbery had a valuable educational -object at Sparta. It was excellent training in scouting, laying -ambushes, and foraging, all of which it is very important that a -future soldier should learn. Xenophon, a soldier himself, notices -this, and in the _Anabasis_, when he needs a clever strategist, he -selects a Spartan because he has been educated in this way. Since this -was the object of the system, the boys, if caught, were flogged, not -for stealing, but for stealing clumsily. Isokrates declares that skill -in robbery was the road to the highest offices at Sparta. “If any one -can show that this is not the branch of education which the -Lacedaemonians regard as the most important,” he adds, “I admit that I -have not spoken a word of truth in my life.”[36] - -These foraging expeditions of the boys prepared them for the similar, -if more arduous, duties of “Secret Service”[37] which awaited them -between eighteen and twenty. Young men of this age were sent in bands -to the different districts of Laconia for long periods, during which -they hid in the woods, slept on the ground, attended to their own -wants without a servant, and wandered about the country by day and -night.[38] When it appeared good to them or their chiefs they made -sudden attacks on the Helots, and slaughtered those who seemed -ambitious enough to be dangerous, the Ephors declaring war on their -serfs yearly in order that there might be no blood-guiltiness attached -to these assassinations.[39] There was a regular officer set over this -secret police, who no doubt directed where the particular youths -should go.[40] At a critical moment of the Peloponnesian War, 2000 of -the bravest and most ambitious Helots suddenly “disappeared,” probably -by this means.[41] But Plato recognised the educational value of such -a system, if the murders were omitted. In his _Laws_[42] he institutes -a force of κρυπτοί [kryptoi], 720 in number, who patrol the whole -country, taking the twelve districts in turn, so as to gain a complete -acquaintance with it. They have all the farm-servants and beasts at -their disposal, for digging trenches, making fortifications, roads, -embankments, and reservoirs, for irrigation works and the like. The -similarity of name suggests similarity of functions, but how much of -this the κρυπτοί [kryptoi] at Sparta did cannot be fixed. Probably -their chief work was to keep watch over the subject populations, -Perioikoi and Helots, who were otherwise left almost entirely to their -own devices. - -In their institutions of the foraging parties and Secret Service, the -Spartans show a clear appreciation of boy-nature, as well as a keen -eye for methods of military training. Moderns are beginning to realise -that the average boy has so much of the primitive and natural man in -him that, unless he is permitted to “go wild” and live the savage life -at intervals, he is apt to become riotous and lawless. Hence in recent -days the institution of camps for boys in England and “Seton Indians” -in America. The Spartans, alone of Hellenes, fully recognised this -peculiarity of boys, and met it with the foraging expeditions and -secret service. The Athenian boy was not thus provided for until he -became an ephebos; hence the Athenian streets were full of young -Hooligans, while the aristocratic lads developed more refined, if more -vicious, methods of giving vent to their instincts. In these -country-expeditions alone the Spartan boys had an opportunity of -escaping from the presence of their elders and developing habits of -self-reliance and responsibility. Had Sparta made better use of these -opportunities, the fate of her Empire after Aigospotamoi might have -been different. - -A frequent occupation of all ages at Sparta was hunting. This, too, -they recognised to be an excellent training for soldiers, since it -involved courage in meeting wild beasts, skill and ingenuity in -tracking them, and hardships of all sorts in the forests and on the -mountains. Laconia was full of game, and Laconian hounds were famous. -The successful huntsman gave what he had killed to enrich the meals of -his dining-club, and so won much popularity. - -Spartan boys must also have learnt to ride, for they had to go in -procession on horseback at the festival of Huakinthos.[43] They were -taught to swim, too, by their daily plunge in the Eurotas. A great -part of their time was spent in gymnastics, under the close inspection -of their elders. Boxing and the pankration were forbidden to the young -Spartan, probably because they developed a few particular muscles at -the expense of the others.[44] For wrestling no scientific trainers -were allowed; the Spartan type depended solely on strength and -activity, not on technical skill; so a Spartan, when beaten by a -wrestler from another country, said his opponent was not a better man, -but only a cleverer wrestler.[45] Gladiators, such as those mentioned -in Plato’s _Laches_ as teaching the use of arms, were not permitted at -Sparta; these, however, seem to have been unpractical theorists, quite -useless in battle, as General Laches shows by a funny anecdote about -one of them.[46] No lounging spectators were permitted in Spartan -gymnasia; the rule was “strip or withdraw.”[47] The eldest man in each -gymnasium had to see that every one took sufficient exercise to work -off his food and prevent him from becoming puffy.[48] The physical -condition of the boys was inspected every ten days by the Ephors,[49] -while the competitions of the epheboi seem to have been controlled by -a special board, the Bidiaioi, who figure in inscriptions.[50] -Aristotle says of the whole Spartan discipline that it made the boys -“beast-like,”[51] but admits that it did not produce the one-sided -athlete, so common in Hellas, who looked solely to athletics, and was -too much specialised to be good for anything else. Xenophon[52] says -that it would be hard to find anywhere men with more healthy or more -serviceable bodies than the Spartiatai. The most beautiful man in the -Hellenic army at Plataea was a Spartan.[53] The Spartan boys’ manners -were in some ways surprisingly maidenlike. When they went along the -highway, they kept their hands under their coat, and walked in -silence, keeping their eyes fixed on the ground before their feet. -They spoke as rarely as a statue and looked about them less than a -bronze figure: they were as modest as a girl. When they came into the -mess-room, you could rarely hear them even answer a question.[54] - -Fighting was encouraged at all ages; there were organised battles, -somewhat resembling football matches, for the epheboi, in a shady -playing-field surrounded by rows of plane trees and encircled by -streams, access to it being given by two bridges. After a night spent -in sacrifice, two teams of epheboi proceeded to this field. When they -came near it, they drew lots, and the winners had the choice of -bridges by which to enter the ground, selecting no doubt in accordance -with the direction of sun and wind, as a modern football captain, who -has won the toss, selects the end of the ground from which he will -start playing. The epheboi fought with their hands, kicked, bit, and -even tore out one another’s eyes, in the endeavour to drive the -opposing team back into the water.[55] - -The grown men were also encouraged to fight by the following device. -The Ephors selected three of them, who were called Hippagretai. Each -of these three selected one hundred companions, giving a public -explanation in each case why he chose one man and rejected the others. -So those who had been rejected became foes to those who were selected, -and kept a close watch over them for the slightest breach of the -accepted code of honour. Each party was always trying to increase its -strength or perform some signal service to the State, in order to -strengthen its own claims. The rivals also fought with their fists -whenever they met.[56] - -This systematised pugnaciousness at Sparta presents an interesting -parallel to the German University duels and to the fights which used -to be almost daily occurrences in the life of an English schoolboy. -Most of the older English public schools can still show the special -ground which was the recognised scene of these battles. - -Floggings were exceedingly common at Sparta. Any elder man might flog -any boy. It was not etiquette for boys to complain to their parents in -these cases; if they did so, they received a second thrashing. But the -triumph of this system was the flogging of the “epheboi” yearly at the -altar of Artemis Orthia, in substitute for human sacrifice. Entrance -for the competition was quite voluntary, but competitors seem always -to have been forthcoming even down to Plutarch’s days. They began by -practice of some sort in the country.[57] The altar was covered with -blood; if the floggers were too lenient to some “ephebos” owing to his -beauty or reputation, the statue, according to the legend, performed a -miracle in order to show its displeasure.[58] The competitors were -often killed on the spot; but they never uttered a groan.[59] The -winner was called the “altar-victor” (βωμονίκης [bômonikês]) and an -inscription still records such a victory.[60] - -The girls at Sparta were also organised into agelai or “packs.”[61] -They took their meals at home, but otherwise lived a thoroughly -outdoor life. They had to train their bodies no less than the boys, in -order that they might bear strong children, so they took part in -contests of strength as well as of speed.[62] They shared in the -gymnasia and in the musical training. Among their sports were -wrestling, running, and swimming; they were exposed to sun and dust -and toil.[63] They learned to throw the diskos and the javelin;[64] -they wore only the short Doric “chiton” with split sides.[65] They -went in procession at festivals like the boys; at certain festivals -they danced and sang in the presence of the young men, praising the -brave among them and jeering at the cowards. At the Huakinthia the -maidens raced on horseback. Theokritos makes a band of 240 maidens, -“all playmates together, anoint themselves like men and race beside -the Eurotas.”[66] That passage also gives wool-work to Laconian -maidens (which is probably untrue, being contradicted by Plato),[67] -and lyre-playing, which is contradicted by a Laconian in Plutarch, who -says that “such rubbish is not Laconian.” The result of all this -outdoor training was great physical perfection: Lampito, the Spartan -woman in Aristophanes’ _Lusistrata_, is greatly admired by the women -from other cities for her beauty, her complexion, and her bodily -condition: “she looks as though she could throttle a bull.” She -ascribes it to her gymnastics and vigorous dancing.[68] The girls till -they married wore no veil, and mixed freely with the young men; in -fact, there was one dance where they met in modern fashion; first the -youth danced some military steps, and then the maiden danced some of a -suitable sort.[69] Consequently love-matches were far more possible at -Sparta than elsewhere in Hellas. After marriage the women had to wear -veils, and remained at home; gymnastics, dances, and races ceased. - -The Spartans were intensely fond of dancing, but it must be remembered -that they often called dancing what moderns would call drill. For war -was almost a form of dance; they marched or charged into battle to the -notes of the flute, crowned and wearing red cloaks. The march tunes -were in frequent use in Sparta, no doubt at military exercises. Every -day the epheboi were drawn up in ranks, one behind the other, and went -through military evolutions and dancing figures alternately, while a -flutist played to them and beat time with his foot.[70] This is simply -musical drill. The great national festival of the Gumnopaidia was very -similar. Three great battalions, consisting respectively of old men, -young men, and boys, drawn up in rank and file, exhibited various -movements, chiefly of a gymnastic sort, singing the songs of Thaletas -and Alkman and Dionusodotos the while and indulging in impromptu -jesting at one another’s expense, after the fashion of a rustic -revel-chorus in Attica. Sometimes the battalions appeared one by one, -and were “led out” like an army, by the Ephors.[71] On other occasions -all three were drawn up in crescent formation side by side, with the -boys in the middle. The festival must have closely resembled the -public parades of the gymnastic clubs in Switzerland. There were posts -of honour and dishonour, as in battle, cowards usually receiving the -latter. But Agesilaos, the king, once received an inferior station -after his victory at Corinth, and turned the insult by a jest, “Well -thought of, chorus-leader: that’s the way to give honour to the -post.”[72] Then there was the war-dance, imitating all the actions of -battle, a sort of manual and bayonet exercise, but accompanied by much -acting and by music. Every Spartan boy began to learn this as soon as -he was five.[73] It was done in quick time, if we may judge by the -“Pyrrhic” or war-dance foot ( ˘ ˘ ). There was also a wrestling-dance,[74] -and most gymnastics were done to the accompaniment of the flute. In -fact, chorus-dancing was a regular part of the education of Spartans -and Cretans: the only experience of singing which most of them -possessed was acquired in this way.[75] It is true that elegiacs were -sung as solos before the king’s tent on campaigns, and at meals, when -the victor got a particularly good slice of meat; but probably this -accomplishment was confined to a few. Aristotle asserts that the -Laconians did not learn songs, but claimed nevertheless to be able to -distinguish good from bad. - - * * * * * - -Such was the Spartan system of education. To an Englishman their -schools have a greater interest than those of any other ancient State. -Sparta produced the only true boarding-schools of antiquity. The -“packs” of the Spartan boys, like the English public schools, formed -miniature States, to whose corporate interests and honour each boy -learned to make his own wishes subservient. Spartan boys, too, like -our own, had the smaller traits of individuality rubbed off them by -the publicity and perpetual intercourse with others involved in the -boarding-school system, in order that the racial characteristics might -the more emerge in them. They, too, learnt endurance by hardship, and -were early trained both to rule and to obey by means of the -institution of prefects and fagging. But here the resemblance stops -short. The Spartans, like most other nations, were not prepared to pay -the price at which alone an education in responsibility can be -obtained, the price which lies in the possible ruin of all the boys -who are not strong enough to be a law to themselves. They very rarely -left the boys to themselves without grown men to look after them. They -were always interfering and supervising, instead of leaving the -prefects to exercise their authority. And so, when Spartans were sent -abroad to govern cities or command armies, having had no practice in -responsibility, they failed shamefully and ignominiously. But this is -equally true of the Athenians and of other Hellenes. The Spartans -deserve all credit for their experiments with the boarding-school -system. - -But the system which they adopted had many faults, besides that which -has already been noticed. There was no individual attention for the -boys. The hardships were excessive and brutalising. While the boys’ -bodies were developed and trained almost to perfection, their minds -were almost entirely neglected: hence the stupidities of Spartan -policy and the lack of imagination which their statesmen showed. It -was impossible to over-eat or over-drink under the Spartan system, so -the young Spartan had no experience in self-restraint.[76] The -gymnasia and dining-clubs caused a great deal of quarrelling (which -the Spartan authorities welcomed), and of immorality (which was very -strictly forbidden); the Spartan gymnasia erred less, however, in this -latter respect than the Athenian. In war the Spartans were only -invincible so long as they were the only trained troops in Hellas; the -rise of professional armies ruined them, for they could not adapt -themselves to new circumstances. They produced no art and very little -literature, if any. But their whole State was as much a work of art as -a Doric temple, and of very much the same order, with its symmetry and -regularity, its sacrifice of detail to the whole, its strength and -restraint. It was also the inspiration of at least one great piece of -literature, Plato’s _Republic_. - -If courage was their sole object, as perhaps it was, they succeeded in -obtaining it. The coward was a rare, and a most unhappy bird at -Sparta. Mothers on several occasions killed sons who returned home -from a campaign disgraced. “No one would mess with a coward, or -consort with him. When rival teams were chosen for the game of ball, -he was omitted. In dances he received the post of dishonour. He was -avoided in the streets. No one would sit next to him. He could not -find a husband for his daughters or a wife for himself,” and was -punished for these offences. “He was beaten if he imitated his betters -in any way.”[77] If the Hellenes were a nation of children, as the old -Egyptian called them, the Spartans were at least a manly sort of -schoolboy. They deified the schoolboy virtues, pluck and endurance. If -we wish to see how far their education, in its best days, enabled them -to prove true to their ideals, let us consider those 300 at -Thermopylae waiting, with jests on their lips, for the onset of -Oriental myriads, and remember that finest of all epitaphs, of which -English can give no rendering, written upon their memorial in the pass -in honour of their obedience unto death―― - - Go tell the Spartans, thou that passest by, - That here, obedient to their laws, we lie. - - * * * * * - -The Cretan system of education was very similar in many ways to the -Spartan. In both localities the teaching was given by any elder member -of the community who chose, not by a professional and paid class of -masters. But in Crete education cost the parent even less than at -Sparta; for the boys were fed largely at public cost.[78] But so was -every other Cretan, male and female alike. Each community possessed -large public estates, cultivated by public serfs.[79] The revenues -thus accruing to the State were applied to the expenses of government, -which were small, and to the food-supply of all citizens. Thus men, -women, and children were all fed mainly at public cost. It may be -noted, however, that there is no question of providing the children of -improvident parents with meals at the expense of more provident -citizens. Moreover, the heads of families, who each possessed an -allotment, as at Sparta, had to contribute a tenth of the produce of -their estates. - -The women-folk took their meals at home,[80] although the cost of -their food was mainly defrayed by the public revenues. The men took -their meals in dining-clubs (ἀνδρεῖα [andreia]). The whole population -of each community was divided into clubs of this sort, apparently on -the family basis, so that two or three families made up a club between -them, to which their children and descendants would in turn belong. -All the males of the family attended these meals; small children, -boys, and young men as well as elders are all mentioned as being -present at the same dinners.[81] The club is only an enlarged family -party. The small children sat on the ground behind their fathers; they -waited on themselves and on their elders, but the general -superintendence of cooking and attendance was in the hands of a woman -with three or four public slaves and some underlings in her -control.[82] As they grew older, the sons sat beside their fathers. -Boys ordinarily received half what their parents had; but orphans were -allowed the full quantity at their dead father’s club. - -Thus the Cretan club was an amalgamation of several families into a -sort of clan, whose male members all dined together. All the boys of -the clan formed one boarding-school. They all slept in one room, -perhaps attached to the dining-hall; there was always a dormitory -attached to each of these buildings for visitors from other cities, so -it would be natural to expect a dormitory for the children also. The -boys took their meals in the club dining-hall, in the presence of -their elders, by whose improving conversations upon politics and -morals they were supposed to be educated. These elder members elected -one of their number to serve as παιδονόμος [paidonomos] or -“Superintendent of the boys” of their club.[83] Under his directions -the boys learned letters “in moderation”: they were constantly -practised in gymnastics, in the use of arms, especially the bow, which -was a great Cretan weapon, and in the war-dances, the Kuretic and -Pyrrhic, both indigenous in Crete. They learned the laws of their -country set to a sort of tune, in order that their souls might be -drawn by the music, and also, that they might more easily remember -them. In this way, if they did anything which was forbidden, they had -not the excuse of ignorance.[84] Besides this, they were taught hymns -to the gods, and praises of good men. The favourite metre for these -purposes was the Cretic ( ― ˘ ― ), which was regarded as “severe” -and so suitable for teaching courage and restraint.[85] The Pæan was -their chief national form of song. Cretan boys were also practised in -that terse and somewhat humorous style of speaking which we have -already seen at Sparta.[86] - -Cretan boys were always fighting either single combats or combined -battles against the boys of another club-school. They were taught -endurance by many hardships. They wore only a short coat in summer and -winter alike. They learnt to despise heat and cold and mountain paths -and the blows which they received in gymnasia and in fighting. - -They remained in the club-schools till their seventeenth year,[87] -when they became epheboi and celebrated their escape from the garb of -childhood by a special festival.[88] Like their contemporaries at -Athens, the epheboi took a special oath of allegiance to the State and -hatred towards its enemies. A fragment still survives of the oath -taken by the epheboi of Dreros, near Knossos.[89] At seventeen the -epheboi were collected into “packs” (ἀγέλαι [agelai]) by private -enterprise. A rich and distinguished young ephebos would gather round -him as large a pack of his contemporaries as he could; their numbers -no doubt depended partly on his wealth, and still more on his personal -popularity. The aristocratic element in this arrangement is very -noticeable, as in all the institutions of Crete as contrasted with -Sparta. The father of this young chief usually acted as leader of the -pack (ἀγελάτης [agelatês]); he possessed full authority over them and -could punish them as he pleased. He led them out on hunting -expeditions and to the “Runs” (δρόμοι [dromoi]), that is, the gymnasia -of the epheboi. Cretans who had not yet entered a pack of epheboi were -excluded from these runs (ἀπόδρομοι [apodromoi]); when they entered, -they were called “members of packs” (ἀγέλαστοι [agelastoi]).[90] The -pack-leader could collect his followers where he pleased;[91] very -possibly the epheboi did not attend the club dinners ordinarily, but -fed or slept either at their patron’s house (whence the need of a rich -pack-leader) or in some special room. They thus corresponded closely -to the Spartan boys of a younger age under their Eiren. Their food was -supplied, like that of all Cretans, largely out of the public -revenues. On certain fixed days “pack” joined battle with “pack” to -the sound of the lyre and flutes and in regular time, as was the -custom in war; fists, clubs, and even weapons of iron might be used. -It was a regular institution, half dance, half field-day, with fixed -rules and imposed by law. These battles must have closely resembled -the contests of the Spartan epheboi in the shady playing-fields. The -life of the boys was surrounded with a military atmosphere throughout. -They wore military dress and counted their weapons their most valuable -possessions. Young Cretans remained in the packs till after marriage. -Then they returned to their homes and the clubs. - -Of the practical results of Cretan education nothing can be said. From -the day when Idomeneus sets sail from Troy, Crete almost disappears -from Hellenic history. Too strong to be attacked by their neighbours, -too much weakened by intestine feuds to assume the aggressive, the -Cretans remained aloof from their compatriots on the mainland and in -the archipelago till the close of the period of Hellenic independence. - - -APPENDIX A - -SPARTAN SYSSITIA - -These dining-clubs were organised like “diminutive states.”[92] It was -enacted who was to recline in the most important place, who in the -second, and so on, and who was to sit on the footstool, which was the -place of dishonour, usually assigned only to children. “Each man is -given a portion to himself, which he does not share with any one. They -have as much barley bread as they like, and there is an earthenware -cup of wine standing by each man, for him to put his lips to when he -feels disposed. The chief dish is always the same for all, boiled -pork. There is plenty of Spartan broth, and some olives, cheese, and -figs.[93] - -“Each contributes to his mess about 18 gallons of barley meal, 60 or -70 pints of wine, and a small quantity of figs and cheese, and 10 -Aeginetan obols for extras.” This contribution no doubt covered -expenses, for the quantity sent by an absentee king, probably -representing the average consumption of an individual, falls well -within this estimate (cf. Herod. vi. 57). After the regular meal[94] -an ἔπαικλον [epaiklon] or extra meal might be served. It would be -provided by a member of the mess, consisting either of the results of -hunting or the produce of his farm, for nothing might be bought. The -ordinary components of such a meal were pigeons, geese, fieldfares, -blackbirds, hares, lambs, and kids, and wheaten bread, a welcome -change from the usual barley loaves. The cooks proclaimed the name of -the giver, so that he might get the credit. ἔπαικλα [epaikla] were -often exacted as fines for offences from rich members; the poor had to -pay laurel leaves or reeds. There was also a special sort of ἔπαικλον -[epaiklon] designed for the children, barley meal soaked in olive -oil――a sort of porridge, in fact. According to Nicocles the Laconian, -this was swallowed in laurel leaves――which does not sound very -inviting. - -There were also banquets independent of the messes. These were called -κοπίδες [kopides].[95] Tents were set up in the sacred enclosure round -the temple of the deity in whose honour the feast was given. Heaps of -brushwood covered with carpets served for couches. The food consisted -of slices of meat, round buns, cheese, slices of sausage, and for -dessert dried figs and various beans. - -At the Tithenidia, or Nurses’ Feast, a κοπίς [kopis] was given at the -temple of Artemis Koruthalia by the stream Tiassos.[96] The nurses -brought the boy-babies to it. The sacrifice was a sucking pig, and -baked loaves were served. The κοπίδες [kopides] were evidently a -feature of Spartan life: Epilukos makes his “laddie” (κωράλισκος -[kôraliskos]) remark, “I will go to the κοπίς [kopis] in Amuklai at -Appellas’ house, where will be buns and loaves and jolly good broth”: -which shows that the children’s parties at Sparta were regarded as -attractive. - -The Karneia, the great Spartan festival, was an imitation of -camp-life.[97] The sacrificial meal was served in tents, each -containing nine men, and everything was done to the word of command. - - -APPENDIX B - -CRETAN SYSSITIA - -The chief authorities for the attendance at these meals are the two -historians, Dosiades and Purgion, quoted in Athenaeus (143). Dosiades -states that an equal portion is set before each man present, but to -the younger members is given a half portion of meat, and they do not -touch any of the other things. Purgion says: “To the sons, who sit on -lower seats by their fathers’ chairs, they give a half portion of what -is supplied to the men; orphans receive a full share.” The comparison -of the two passages shows that the “younger members” mentioned by -Dosiades are what Purgion calls the orphans, and that they are not yet -full-grown men. Thus they must be either the boys or the epheboi. It -is not, however, at all likely that the epheboi, who were of military -age and engaged in violent exercises, would be given only half -rations, so these younger members are the boys not yet included in the -ἀγέλαι [agelai]. Dosiades continues: “On each table is set a drinking -vessel, of weak wine. This all who sit at the common table share -equally. The children have a bowl to themselves,” that is, the boys -who sat beside their fathers but not at the table. “After supper first -they discuss the political situation, and then recall feats in battle, -and praise those who have distinguished themselves, encouraging the -youngers to heroism.” The quotation shows that not merely the small -children are in question, but boys of an age to understand politics -and war. - - - [1] Herodotos, 4. 77. - - [2] Plutarch, _Lukourgos_, 25. Kratinos (Athen. 138) - ridicules these clubs and says that the attraction of them - was that sausages hung there on pegs to be nibbled. - - [3] Pausanias, 3. 12. A similar event happened at Argos. - Plutarch, _On Music_, 37. - - [4] Aristot. _Pol._ ii. 9, 10. - - [5] Plutarch, _Luk._ 16. - - [6] Say, 1½ bushels of meal, 5 gallons of wine, 5 lbs. of - cheese, and 2½ lbs. of figs. - - [7] Smyth, _Melic Poets_, “Alkman,” 26, if the emendation - παίδεσσι [paidessi] be correct. - - [8] Aristot. _Pol._ ii. 9. - - [9] Phularchos (Athen. vi. 271). - - [10] Xen. _Anab._ iv. 6. 14; Aristot. _Pol._ ii. 9. 31. - - [11] Phularchos (Athen. vi. 271 e). - - [12] Xen. _Hellen._ v. 3. 9. - - [13] Plato, _Rep._ 520 D. - - [14] Plut. _Kleom._ 8. - - [15] Aristoph. _Knights_, 635, 695 (with Schol. on 697, - φορτικὸν ὀρχήσεως εῖδος [phortikon orchêseôs eidos]); Eurip. - _Bacch._ 1060. - - [16] Xen. _Hellen._ v. 3. 9. - - [17] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ iii. 3; _Hellen._ v. 4. 32. - - [18] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ iii. 3. - - [19] “Agelai” of young men are mentioned by inscriptions at - Miletos and Smurna [Böckh, 2892, 3326]; there may have been - boarding-schools somewhat resembling those of Sparta at - these towns for young men. - - [20] μαστιγόφοροι [mastigophoroi]. Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ - ii. 2. Aristotle calls Paidonomoi an aristocratic - institution. They existed in Crete, and inscriptions mention - them in Karia, Teos, and many other places. - - [21] Plut. _Lukourgos_, 16. Hesychius declares that the - Bouâgor was a boy, so the word cannot mean the Eiren, who - was over twenty. - - [22] Plut. _Lukourgos_, 17; Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ ii. 11. - - [23] In which case the Eiren corresponds closely to the - Cretan Agelates. - - [24] _Lukourgos_, 16; _Lac. Institutions_, 247. - - [25] Isok. _Panath._ 276 D. - - [26] _Panath._ 285 C. - - [27] Plato, _Hippias Maj._ 285 C. - - [28] Sext. Empir. _Mathem._ 2, § 21. - - [29] Plut. _Lukourgos_, 19-20. - - [30] Plato, _Protag._ 342 E. - - [31] Plato, _Laws_, 680 D. Crete repudiated Homer - altogether. - - [32] Luk. _against Leokrates_, 107. The Polemarchos was - judge in these singing competitions, and the winner received - a bit of meat (Philochoros in Athen. 630 f.). - - [33] Plato, _Laws_, 633 E. - - [34] Plut. _Apoph._ - - [35] Xen. _Anab._ iv. 6. 14. - - [36] Isok. _Panath._ 277. - - [37] κρυπτεία, κρυπτή [krypteia, kryptê]. - - [38] Plato, _Laws_, 633 C. - - [39] Plut. _Lukourgos_, 28. Isokrates merely mentions that - the Ephors could kill as many Helots as they liked - (_Panath._ 271 B). - - [40] Plut. _Kleom._ 28. - - [41] Thuc. iv. 80. - - [42] Plato, _Laws_, 763 B. Some have supposed that κρυπτοί - [kryptoi] is an interpolation. If so, the resemblance must - have been close enough to strike a commentator who knew - Lakedaimon, in spite of the fact that the ages in the two - systems are different. - - [43] Polukrates (in Athen. 139 e). - - [44] Aristot. _Pol._ viii. 4; Plut. _Luk._ 19. - - [45] Plut. _Apoph._ 233 E. Plato adopts the Spartan views - about wrestling in the _Laws_. - - [46] Plato, _Laches_, 183 D, E. - - [47] Plato, _Theait_. 162 B and 169 B. - - [48] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ v. 8. - - [49] Athen. xii. 550 d. Their dress and bedding was - inspected at the same time. - - [50] Pausan. iii. 11. 2. βίδεος [bideos], Böckh, 1241, 1242; - βίδυος [bidyos], 1254. - - [51] Aristot. _Pol._ viii. 4. 1. - - [52] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ v. 9. - - [53] Herod. ix. 72. - - [54] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ ii. 4. - - [55] Paus. iii. 14. 2. - - [56] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ iv. - - [57] Hesychius, Φούαξιρ [Phouaxir]. - - [58] Paus. iii. 16. 11. - - [59] Plut. _Lukourgos_, 18; Cicero, _Tusc. Disp._ v. 27. - - [60] Böckh, 1364. - - [61] Pindar, _Frag. Hyporch._ 8 Λάκαινα παρθένων ἀγέλα - [Lakaina parthenôn agela]. - - [62] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ i. 4. - - [63] Cicero, _Tusc. Disp._ ii. 15. - - [64] Plut. _Lukourgos_, 14. - - [65] Whence they were called φαινομήριδες [phainomêrides]. - This chiton may be seen in the conventional statues of - Artemis. - - [66] Theok. _Idyll_ 18. 23. - - [67] _Laws_, 806 A. - - [68] _Lusistrata_, l. 80 onwards. In the play Lampito is - married. Aristophanes has either made a mistake or the - gymnastics are meant to be in the past only. - - [69] The ὄρμος [ormos] dance. Compare the dance at the end - of the _Lusistrata_, where “man stands by woman, and woman - by man.” - - [70] Lucian, _Dancing_, 274. - - [71] Xen. _Hellen._ vi. 4. 16. - - [72] Xen. _Ag._ ii. 17. - - [73] Athen. 630 a. - - [74] Athen. 678 b. - - [75] Plato, _Laws_, 666 D. - - [76] _Laws_, 634-635. - - [77] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ ix. 5. - - [78] Aristot. _Pol._ ii. 10. 8. - - [79] Additional revenues for the same objects were derived - from the taxes paid by Perioikoi and serfs (Athen. 143 a, - b). - - [80] Plato, _Laws_, 781 A. - - [81] Historians quoted by Athen. 143 e. - - [82] _Ibid._ - - [83] Strabo, x. 4. 483 (on authority of Ephoros), and - Herakleides Pont. iii. (who provide most of the details - about Crete). - - [84] Aelian, _True History_, ii. 39. - - [85] Strabo, x. 4. 480. - - [86] Sosikrates (in Athen. 261 e), speaking of Phaistos. - - [87] Hesychius, ἀπάγελος [apagelos]. - - [88] ἐκδύσια [ekdysia], Antoninus Liberalis, 18. - - [89] Mahaffy, p. 81; Grasberger, iii. 61. - - [90] Eustathius on _Il._ ix. 518. - - [91] Herakl. Pont. iii. 3. - - [92] Persaeus _ap._ Athen. 140 f. - - [93] Dicaearchus _ap._ Athen. 141 a. - - [94] Sphaerus _ap._ Athen. 141 c, d.; and Molpis, _ibid._ - - [95] Polemon _ap._ Athen. 56 a, and 138-139. - - [96] Cp. the crèche temples in Plato’s _Laws_, 794 A. - - [97] Demetrius of Scepsis (_ap._ Athen. 141 e). - - - - -CHAPTER II - -ATHENS AND THE REST OF HELLAS: GENERAL INTRODUCTION - - -Laconia and Crete were mainly agricultural countries that had little -concern with trade or manufactures. Their citizens comprised a landed -aristocracy, supported by estates which were cultivated for them by a -subject population; there was no necessity, therefore, for them to -prepare their boys for any profession or trade, or even to instruct -them in the principles of agriculture. The young Spartan or Cretan no -more needed professional or technical instruction of any sort than the -richer absentee Irish landlords of the present day. He could give the -whole of his school-time, without any sacrifice of his financial -prospects, to the training of his body and of his character. - -But the rest of Hellas was for the most part the scene of busy -manufactures and extensive trade. It would be natural to expect that -great commercial peoples, like the Athenians or the Ionians of Asia -Minor, would have set great store by the commercial elements of -education, and to assume that business methods and utilitarian -branches of study would have occupied a large place in their schools. -But this was very far from being the case. To a Hellene education -meant the training of character and taste, and the symmetrical -development of body, mind, and imagination. He would not have included -under so honourable a name either any course of instruction in which -the pupils mastered their future trade or profession, or any -accumulation of knowledge undertaken with the object of making -money. Consequently technical training of all sorts was excluded -from Hellenic schools and passed over in silence by Hellenic -educationalists. Information concerning it must be pieced together -from stray facts and casual allusions, and the whole idea of -“utilitarian” instruction, in the modern sense of the word, must be -carefully put aside during any consideration of Hellenic schools. - -For the Hellenes as a nation regarded all forms of handicraft as -_bourgeois_ (βάναυσος [banausos]) and contemptible. Herodotos says -that they derived this view from the surrounding peoples, who all held -it.[98] To do anything in order to extract money from some one else -was, in their opinion, vulgar and ungentlemanly. The lyric poets and -the Sophists were alike blamed for taking fees. The cheapness and -abundance of serf- or slave-labour made it possible for a large -proportion of the free population to live in idleness, and devote -their time to the development of the body by physical exercises, of -the mind by perpetual discussions, and of the imagination by art and -music. Citizenship required leisure, in the days before representative -government came into vogue. It was owing to this principle that the -Athenian received pay for a day’s attendance in the Law Courts or the -Assembly, for by this means the poorest citizen obtained an artificial -leisure for the performance of his duties. Otherwise true citizenship -was impossible. Plato regards a tradesman as unfit to be an acting -citizen.[99] Aristotle rejects as unworthy of a free man all trades -which interfere with bodily development or take time which ought to be -devoted to mental improvement.[100] Xenophon explains the reason of -this attitude. The discredit which attaches to the _bourgeois_ -occupations is quite natural; for they ruin the physical condition of -those who practise them, compelling them to sit down and live in the -shade, and in some cases to spend their day by the fire. The body thus -becomes effeminate, and the character is weakened at the same time. -Tradesmen, too, have less leisure for serving their friends and the -State. In some communities, especially the most warlike, the citizens -are not allowed to practise sedentary trades.[101] The owner of a -factory or a farm worked by slave-labour was exempt from corrupting -influences: it was only actual work which was degrading. - -A large number, however, from among the poorer classes were compelled -to work with their own hands; so these, as well as the slaves, -required technical instruction. Some indications survive as to the -manner in which this was imparted. Trades were mostly hereditary; “the -sons of the craftsmen learn their fathers’ trade, so far as their -fathers and their friends of the same trade can teach it.”[102] But -others might also learn. Xenophon mentions such cases. “When you -apprentice a boy to a trade,” he says, “you draw up a statement of -what you mean him to be taught,”[103] and the fees were not paid -unless this agreement was carried out. The _Kleitophon_[104] mentions -as the two functions of the builder or the doctor the practising of -their profession and the teaching of pupils. The _Republic_[105] says: -“If owing to poverty a craftsman is unable to provide the books and -other requisites of his calling, his work will suffer, and his sons -and any others whom he may be teaching will not learn their trade so -well.” The teaching of building is mentioned in the _Gorgias_.[106] In -the _Republic_[107] Plato states that the παῖδες [paides] of the -potters――a word which will include both sons and apprentices――act as -servants and look on for a long time before they are allowed to try -their hands themselves at making pots. “To learn pot-making on a -wine-jar” was a proverb for beginning with the most difficult part of -a subject. The pupils of a doctor named Pittalos are mentioned in the -_Acharnians_ of Aristophanes.[108] The comic poets of the early third -century contain several references to cookery-schools. Sosipater makes -one cook say that his pupils must learn astrology, architecture, and -strategy before they come to him, just as Plato had exacted a -preliminary knowledge of mathematics from his disciples. Euphron gives -ten months as the minimum length of a course of cookery. Aristotle -mentions a man at Syracuse who taught slaves how to wait at table, and -perform their household duties: perhaps the play of Pherekrates[109] -entitled _The Slave-Teacher_ may have dealt with a similar case. From -these fragments a picture can be drawn of a regular system of -apprenticeship by which the knowledge of the trades was handed down. -Solon, wishing to encourage Athenian manufactures, had enacted that if -a father did not have his son taught some trade, he could not legally -demand to be supported in his old age.[110] But the general opinion of -Hellas still maintained that “technical instruction and all teaching -which aimed only at money-making was vulgar and did not deserve the -name of education. True education aimed solely at virtue, making the -child yearn to be a good citizen, skilled to rule and to obey.”[111] -For all the gold on the earth and under it, according to Plato, could -not pay the price of virtue, or deserve to be given in exchange for a -man’s soul. Thus the Spartans and Cretans did not stand alone, but had -the support of all Hellas, in banishing from their schools any idea of -technical or professional instruction. - - * * * * * - -But in one notable point their idea of education differed from that -which was prevalent in most of the Hellenic States. The regular course -of education in Athens and in most Hellenic States was for boys -alone: no girls need apply. The women lived in almost Oriental -seclusion;[112] the duty of an Athenian mother was, according to -Perikles,[113] to live so retired a life that her name should never be -mentioned among the men either for praise or blame. Listen to the -description which an Athenian country gentleman gives of his -wife.[114] “What was she likely to know when I married her? Why, she -was not yet fifteen when I introduced her to my house, and she had -been brought up always under the strictest supervision; as far as -could be managed, she had not been allowed to see anything, hear -anything, or ask any questions. Don’t you think that it was all that -could be expected of her, if she knew how to take raw wool and make it -into a cloak, and had seen how wool-work is served out to -handmaidens?” Sokrates, however, to whom this question is addressed, -seems to think that she might have learnt “from her father and mother -the duties which would belong to her in after life.” These, however, -in this case her husband had to teach her. He explains to her that she -must see that everything has a place to itself and is always put -there; she must also give out the stores, teach the slaves their -duties and nurse them when they are ill, and tend the young children. -The summary of the explanation is that Heaven has appointed a fair -division of labour between husband and wife: the wife manages -everything indoors and the husband everything out of doors. A -stay-at-home husband or a gad-about wife equally offend against -respectability. As a rule, apparently, the women simply sat in the -house, “like slaves,” as it seemed to the ordinary athletic Hellene. -Xenophon’s model husband suggests that his wife should take exercise -by walking about the house to see how the supplies were given out, to -inspect the arrangements of the cupboards, and to watch the washing -and the wringing-out of the clothes: this exercise will give her -health and an appetite. But Xenophon was an admirer of Spartan customs -and the athletic Spartan women: probably these ideas would not have -occurred to the ordinary Athenian husband. - -Another picture may be quoted from Hellenic literature to show the -extent of education which an ordinary woman received.[115] A certain -Aristarchos comes to Sokrates in great distress. A number of female -relatives, quite destitute, have been thrown upon his hands owing to -various circumstances, and he must support them; but he has not the -requisite means. Sokrates naturally suggests that he should make them -work for their living. But they do not know how to, says Aristarchos. -However, by dint of questioning, Sokrates elicits the fact that they -can make men’s and women’s garments, and also pastry and bread. These, -then, were apparently the accomplishments which an ordinary girl in -Hellas, brought up without any idea of having to earn her own living, -would acquire. Plato also mentions weaving and cooking as the -provinces in which women excel,[116] and describes the women of Attika -as “living indoors, managing the household and superintending the loom -and wool-work generally.”[117] - -Thus the Athenian girl spent her time indoors, learning to be a -regular “Hausfrau,” skilled in weaving, cooking, and household -management. She had her special maid to wait on her,[118] as her -brothers had their paidagogos. She would, as a rule, be married young, -and would naturally be very shy after such an upbringing; the marriage -was arranged between the bridegroom and the parents, and, owing to the -seclusion of the women at Athens, love-matches were well-nigh -impossible. The match was mainly a question of the dowry. -Xenophon[119] gives a vivid picture of one of these girl-wives -gradually “growing accustomed to her husband and becoming sufficiently -tame to hold conversation with him.” To keep their beauty under such -conditions they employed rouge and white, and high-heeled shoes. Such -mothers would be quite incapable of giving any literary or musical -education to their children; hence the boys went away to school as -soon as possible. Their school-life usually began when they were about -six years old, the exact age being left to the parents’ choice.[120] -Before this, they learnt in the nursery the various current fables and -ballads, and the national mythology.[121] “As soon as the child -understands what is said, the nurse and the mother and the paidogogos, -yes, and the father himself, strive with one another in improving its -character, in every word and deed showing it what is just and what is -unjust, what is beautiful and what is ugly, what is holy and what is -unholy. It is always ‘Do this’ and ‘Don’t do that.’ If a child is -disobedient, it is corrected with threats and blows.”[122] Besides -this purely moral training there might, no doubt, be a certain amount -of technical or of literary instruction at home,[123] and bits of -poetry might be learnt. Up to this age boys and girls lived together. - -The sons of rich parents apparently went to school earliest: their -poorer fellow-citizens went later.[124] This was natural. The poor -could not keep their sons at school for a long time, for they wanted -their services in the shop or on the farm, and the fees were a burden: -so they did not send them till they were old enough to pick up -instruction quickly. The rich, on the other hand, to whom money was no -object, sent their boys to school at an early age, when they could do -little more than look on, while their elders worked. Aristotle -commends this custom, and imposes two years of such “playing at -school” upon the boys of his ideal State.[125] - -The ordinary system of primary education at Athens consisted of three -parts, presided over respectively by the “grammatistes,” -“kitharistes,” and “paidotribes.”[126] The grammatistes taught -reading, writing, and some arithmetic, and made his pupils read and -learn by heart the great poets, Homer and Hesiod and others. The -kitharistes taught the boys how to play the seven-stringed lyre and -sing to it the works of the lyric poets, which they would incidentally -have to learn. The paidotribes presided over their physical -development in a scientific way; he taught them wrestling, boxing, the -pankration, running, jumping, throwing the diskos and javelin, and -various other exercises; his school-room was the palaistra. To this -triple system some boys added drawing and painting;[127] but this -subject seems to have been an extra till late in the fourth century. -Literature, music, and athletics composed the ordinary course at -Athens. - -Which of the three branches of education began first? Probably they -were all taught simultaneously. The order in which they are usually -mentioned does not point to a fixed sequence. Letters were naturally -mentioned first, because all citizens alike learned this subject. -Gymnastics were put last, because, owing to the public gymnasia, these -exercises were carried on long after the other schooling had ceased. -Moreover, most of the recognised exercises of the palaistra were not -taught to small boys; from the nature of the exercises and from the -pictures on the vases it may be deduced that the average boy did not -learn them till his twelfth year at the earliest. But physical -training of an easier sort of course commenced much earlier, and boys -seem to have attended a palaistra from their sixth year onwards to -receive it. Both Plato and Aristotle demand that it should begin -several years before any intellectual instruction; and Plato, making -athletics such as shooting and riding begin at six, defers letters -till ten and lyre-playing till thirteen. Gymnastics would naturally -occupy a part of the day for a healthy young Hellene during the whole -time from his sixth year till manhood. It is thus that the _Charmides_ -mentions “quite tiny boys” as present in the palaistra, as well as -older lads and young men. - -Lyre-playing may have been deferred, as a harder subject, till the boy -had learned letters for several years; but the seven-stringed lyre, -with the simple old Hellenic music, was probably not a very difficult -instrument to master. The chief factor which determined the -arrangement of subjects in an ordinary family was no doubt the -paidagogos. If there was only one son, he could go to whatever school -his parents pleased; but if there were several, elders and youngers -had all to go to the same school at the same time, for there was only -one paidagogos to a whole family as a rule, and he could never allow -any of his charges to go out of his sight. - -That the three subjects were usually taught simultaneously may be -inferred from a passage of Xenophon. “In every part of Hellas except -Sparta,” he says, “those who claim to give their sons the best -education, as soon as ever the child understands what is said to him, -at once make one of their servants his paidagogos, and at once send -him off to school to learn letters and music and the exercises of the -Palaistra.”[128] The emphasis upon the word “at once” certainly -implies that the three subjects began simultaneously. - -On the vases letters and music are seen being taught side by side in -the same school; this was a convenient and natural arrangement. -Writing-tablets and rulers are also seen suspended on the walls -of music-schools and palaistrai, and lyres on the walls of -letter-schools[129]; which suggests that the boys went from one -building to another in the day, taking their property with them. Plato -states that three years apiece was a reasonable time for learning -letters and the lyre.[130] The eight years between six and fourteen, -the ordinary time devoted at Athens in the fourth century to the -primary triple course, would give space for these six years, with two -years to spare for elaboration. Gymnastics are meant to go on during -the whole period in Plato, and so do not require a special allowance -of time to themselves. - -This system of primary education at Athens may reasonably be traced -back to the beginning of the sixth century. Solon is credited with a -regulation which made letters compulsory, and with certain moral -enactments dealing with existing schools and palaistrai. The -much-disputed popularisation of Homer at Athens by Peisistratos was -probably connected with the growth of the Schools of Letters. Of the -existence of music-schools at this date there is evidence from a -sixth-century vase in the British Museum,[131] which represents a -youth amusing himself with a dog, behind a seated man who is playing a -lyre. This might not seem very conclusive in itself; but now compare -it with the two “amphorai” of the fifth century,[132] which -undoubtedly represent scenes in a music-school. The situation is -almost identical; each alike shows the boy playing with the animal -behind his master’s chair. Curiously enough, all three vases come from -Kameiros in Rhodes, although they are of Athenian manufacture. Thus -the music-school may also be traced back well into the sixth century, -in company with the school of letters and the palaistra; and the -antiquity of the system of Primary Education is thus established. - - [Illustration: PLATE I. A. - - THE FLUTE LESSON, THE WRITING LESSON (ABOVE A WRITING-ROLL, A FOLDED - TABLET, A RULING SQUARE, ETC.) - - From the Kulix of Douris, now at Berlin (No. 2285). - _Monumenti dell’ Instituto_, ix. Plate 54.] - - [Illustration: PLATE I. B. - - THE LYRE LESSON, AND THE POETRY LESSON (ABOVE IS AN ORNAMENTAL - MANUSCRIPT BASKET) - - From a Kulix by Douris, now in Berlin (No. 2285). - _Monumenti dell’ Instituto_, ix. Plate 54.] - -In earlier days this primary course had no doubt sometimes lasted till -the boy was eighteen: but towards the end of the fifth century a -secondary stage of education arose, occupying the years immediately -preceding eighteen. This secondary stage is recognised in the -pseudo-Platonic _Axiochos_ and in the fragment of Teles quoted by -Stobaeus. More important evidence is supplied by Plato. In the -_Republic_ he assigns an elaborate system of mathematics to the age -just before ἐφηβεία [ephêbeia], which he sets at seventeen or -eighteen, the natural age varying with the individual, while the legal -age remained fixed. - -When did this Secondary Education begin? Aristotle, counting back from -ἐφηβεία [ephêbeia], assigns three years to it.[133] He has just -commended the arrangement of education, not on hard and fast lines, -but in accordance with the natural growth of the individual: so he -must mean his ἐφηβεία [ephêbeia] to vary from seventeen to -eighteen.[134] Thus he puts the beginning of secondary education at -fourteen or fifteen, the average age of ἥβη [hêbê] in Hellas, as in -Rome. From ἥβη [hêbê] till twenty-one the young Athenian was a -μειράκιον [meirakion]. Thus in point of age the παῖς [pais] of the -primary schools corresponds to the Roman “impubes,” and the μειράκιον -[meirakion] to the “adolescens”; but μειράκιον [meirakion] and παῖς -[pais] are used very loosely, and the former word is often replaced by -νεανίσκος [neaniskos]. We shall, as a rule, call the pupils of the -primary schools boys, and those of the secondary lads. - -Fourteen did not, however, represent an exact point at which it was -compulsory to leave the primary school. Sons of the poor left earlier; -rich or unoccupied Athenians might remain later: Sokrates even -attended a lyre-school among the boys when he was middle-aged. The -primary schoolmasters started advanced classes in astronomy and -mathematics to suit elder pupils.[135] In the palaistrai there were -separate classes of boys and lads, who were only supposed to meet on -feast-days;[136] in the _Charmides_, however, grown men, lads, boys, -and quite tiny boys are all exercising together. - -Many lads, especially in earlier times, did not attend the schools at -all, but gave their time to gymnastics and whatever else they -pleased.[137] Xenophon relates this as one of the demerits of the -Athenian system.[138] - -The mental attainments of a lad who is apparently but little over -fourteen are sketched in Plato’s _Lusis_. The lad Lusis knows how to -read and write, and how to string and play the lyre. He recognises a -quotation from Homer, and has even come across the “prose treatises of -the very wise, who say that like must always be friendly to like; -these are the men who reason and write about the Universe and -Nature.”[139] - -This secondary education, beginning soon after fourteen, was only for -the rich: the poor could not afford to keep their sons away from the -farm or trade any longer. It might be scattered over the whole of the -next six or seven years; but there was a serious interruption, which -usually terminated it. At eighteen the young Athenian became in the -eye of the law an ephebos and was called out to undergo two years of -military training. During this period of conscription it was no doubt -possible, especially in the laxer days of the fourth century, to do -some intellectual work; but Plato is probably only accepting the usual -custom when he frees the epheboi of his State from all mental studies -and makes them give their whole energies to military and gymnastic -training. And when the ephebos returned to civil life, he was a full -citizen and was hardly likely to return to school; he might attend an -occasional lecture or so, but that was all. - -Thus secondary education usually occupied the years between fourteen -and eighteen, although the latter limit was in no way definitely -fixed, and the same subjects might be studied at any age. In earlier -days no doubt lads spent their time in continuing their musical -studies: primary education could be conducted in a more leisurely -fashion when there was still little to be learnt, and the lyre may -have been deferred till this age, as Plato in similar circumstances -defers it in the _Laws_. But in the days of Perikles knowledge began -to increase and boys had more to learn. So the lyre was crowded into -the first period of education, and a new series of secondary subjects -arose. It was these years which were usually devoted to the four -years’ course which was customary in the school of Isokrates. Before -this date the time was, as a rule, spent in attending the lectures of -the wandering Sophists or in picking up a smattering of philosophy. -Among the subjects which thus formed a part of secondary education -were mathematics of various kinds, more advanced literary criticism, a -certain amount of natural history and science, a knowledge of the laws -and constitution of Athens, a small quantity of philosophy, ethical, -political, and metaphysical, and above all, rhetoric. Plato in his -_Republic_, developing this Athenian system of secondary education, -assigns to the years immediately preceding eighteen the theory of -numbers, geometry, plane and solid, kinetics and harmonics, and -expressly excludes dialectic as more suitable to a later age;[140] in -the _Laws_, prescribing for the whole population, not for a few -selected intellects, he orders practical arithmetic, geometry, -and enough astronomy to make the calendar intelligible. The -pseudo-Platonic _Axiochos_[141] ascribes to Prodikos the statement -that “when a child grows older, he endures the tyranny of -mathematicians, teachers of tactics, and ‘critics.’” These last are -the professors of that curious criticism of poetry which is found, for -instance, in the _Protagoras_ as a subject of the lectures of that -Sophist as well as of Hippias. - -At eighteen the young Athenian partially came of age. He then had to -submit to a two years’ course of military training, of which the first -year was spent in Athens and the second in the frontier forts and in -camp. During this period he probably had little time for intellectual -occupations. But when the military power of Athens collapsed under the -Macedonian dominion, the military duties of the epheboi became -voluntary, and their training was replaced by regular courses of -philosophy and literature. The military system became a University, -attended by a few young men of wealth and position and a good many -foreigners. As the forerunner of the first University, the two years’ -training of the epheboi may fitly receive the name of Tertiary -Education, in spite of the fact that till the third century it -involved only military instruction. - -Thus we have Athenian education divided into three stages: Primary -from six to fourteen, Secondary from fourteen to eighteen, and -Tertiary from eighteen to twenty; while gymnastic training extended -over the whole period. - - * * * * * - -Of these three stages the third alone was compulsory and provided by -the State. The second was entirely voluntary, and only the richest and -most leisured boys applied themselves to it. Gymnastics of some sort -were rendered almost obligatory by the liability of every citizen to -military and naval service at a moment’s notice; but they needed -little encouragement. Of the primary subjects, letters were probably -compulsory by law, and music was almost invariably taught. An old law, -ascribed to Solon,[142] enacted that every boy should learn swimming -and his letters; after which, the poorer might turn their attention to -trade or farming, while the richer passed on to learn music, riding, -gymnastics, hunting, and philosophy. In the _Kriton_ of Plato the -personified Laws of Athens, recounting to Sokrates the many services -which they had done him, mention that they had “charged his father to -educate him in Music and Letters.”[143] But the Laws in Hellas include -the customs, as well as the constitution, of a State. It was certainly -customary for nearly every citizen at Athens to learn some music; but -it was not compulsory. We meet no Athenian in literature who is -ignorant of his letters; we meet several who know no music. In -Aristophanes, Demosthenes and Nikias are on the lookout for the most -vulgar and low-class man in Athens, in order that he may oust Kleon -from popular favour, by outdoing him in vulgarity. They find a -sausage-seller. But even this man knows his letters, though not very -well.[144] Of music, however, he is ignorant, and he has never -attended the lessons of a paidotribes,[145] though Kleon seems to -expect him to have done so. Kleon, who is represented as an utter -boor, is yet said to have attended a lyre-school.[146] In the -_Theages_[147] literature and lyre-playing and athletics are mentioned -as the ordinary education of a gentleman. In fiercely democratic -Athens every parent was eager to bring up his sons as gentlemen, and -no doubt sent them through the whole course if he could possibly -afford it. But the State attitude towards education, as distinct from -the voluntary customs of the citizens, may be summarised in the words -of Sokrates to Alkibiades: “No one, so to speak, cares a straw how you -or any other Athenian is brought up.”[148] - -The schoolmasters opened their schools as private enterprises, fixing -for themselves the fees and the subjects taught. The parents chose -what they thought a suitable school, according to their means and the -subjects which they wished their sons to learn. Thus Sokrates says to -his eldest son, Lamprokles,[149] “When boys seem old enough to learn -anything, their parents teach them whatever they themselves know that -is likely to be useful to them; subjects which they think others -better qualified to teach they send them to school to learn, spending -money upon this object.” This suggests that the poor may frequently -have passed on their own knowledge of letters to their sons without -the expense of a school. But all this was a private transaction -between parent and teacher. The State interfered with the matter only -so far as to impose certain moral regulations on the schools and the -gymnasia, to fix the hours of opening and closing, and so forth, and -to suggest that every boy should be taught his letters. - -The teaching of the elementary stages of Letters, that is, the three -R’s, was, as will be shown later on, cheaply obtained, and was within -the reach of the poorest. Music and athletics would naturally be more -expensive, for they required much greater study and talents upon the -part of their teachers. The State did take some steps to make these -branches of education cheaper, and so throw them open to a larger -number. - -Gymnasia and palaistrai were built at public expense,[150] that any -one might go and exercise himself without charge. These buildings were -also open to spectators, so that any one could acquire at any rate a -rudimentary knowledge of boxing, wrestling, and the other branches of -athletics, by watching his more proficient fellow-citizens practising -them. The epheboi received instruction in athletic exercises at the -cost of the State. But the children, so far as they received physical -training in schools, must have received it in private palaistrai; -their lessons are described as taking place “in the house of the -paidotribes,” ἐν παιδοτρίβου [en paidotribou]――an idiom which always -implies ownership or special rights; and the majority of palaistrai -were private buildings, called by their owners’ names. Thus we hear of -the palaistrai of Siburtios, of Taureas,[151] and so forth: Siburtios -and Taureas were no doubt the paidotribai who taught there. In a later -age, when the boys of different palaistrai ran torch races against one -another, the palaistra of Timeas is victorious on two occasions, that -of Antigenes once.[152] - -By the system of leitourgiai rich citizens were made chargeable for -the expenses of the epheboi of their tribe who were training for the -torch races. These races seem to have been the only branch of -athletics which was thus endowed; however, they were numerous, even in -the smaller country districts, so that many epheboi must have profited -by this free training.[153] “Leitourgiai” also provided free -instruction in chorus-dancing (which included singing as well as -dancing) for such boys as were selected for competition. The rich -“choregos” appointed for the year had to produce a chorus of boys -belonging to his tribe for some festival, paying all the expenses of -teaching and training them himself.[154] It is to this free school -that the Solonic law refers when it mentions the “joint attendance of -the boys and the dithyrambic choruses”; for it goes on to state that -the ordinance with regard to this matter was that the “choregos” -should be over forty.[155] In Demosthenes,[156] a certain Mantitheos, -who had not been acknowledged by his father at the usual time, -“attended school among the boys of the Hippothontid tribe to learn -chorus-dancing”: had he been acknowledged, he would have gone to the -Acamantid, his father’s tribe. No doubt, if the choregos was keen -about gaining a victory, he would give a trial to more than the fifty -boys required for a dithyrambic contest. In any case, provided that -all the tribes competed, this one contest (and there were several in -the course of a year) gave a free education to 500 boys. Xenophon -notices that it was the “demos,” the poor majority, who mainly got the -advantage of free training under gumnasiarchoi and choregoi:[157] the -rich naturally preferred to send their boys to more select -schools.[158] - -Thus the more elementary stages of letters alone were compulsory at -Athens, but music and gymnastics were almost universally taught, and -the cost of instruction in these subjects was reduced in various ways -by State action: the greater part might be learned for nothing. But -parents needed little compulsion or encouragement to get their -children taught. So much did the Hellenes regard education as a -necessity for their boys, that when the Athenians were driven from -their homes by Xerxes, and their women and children crossed over to -Troizen, the hospitable Troizenians provided their guests with -schoolmasters, so that not even in such a crisis might the boys be -forced to take a holiday.[159] And when Mitulene wished to punish her -revolted allies in the most severe way possible, she prevented them -from teaching their children letters and music.[160] - -Of State action with regard to education in Hellas elsewhere than in -Sparta, Crete, and Athens, little is known. But the Chalcidian cities -in Sicily and Italy are said to have provided literary education at -public expense and under public supervision.[161] The law enacting -this is ascribed to the great lawgiver, Charondas, and, although he is -a somewhat shadowy figure,[162] there must have been some foundation -for the story, at any rate at a later date. During the Macedonian -period kings and other rich men often bequeathed large sums of money -to their favourite cities, in order to endow the educational system. -We hear of this happening in Teos and at Delphi: in these places the -parents, if they paid any fees at all, cannot have paid much. But -there is no authority for any such endowments during the period which -we are considering. - - * * * * * - -But if education was neither enforced nor assisted to any considerable -degree by the State, it was certainly encouraged by the prizes which -were offered. Every city, and probably most villages, had local -competitions annually, and in many cases more frequently still, in -which some of the “events” were reserved for citizens, while others -were open to all comers. There were separate prizes for different -ages; the ordinary division was into boys and grown men, an -intermediate class of “the beardless” being sometimes added. But in -some Attic inscriptions the boys are divided into three groups, and in -Chios the epheboi were so distributed. - -These competitions were no doubt largely athletic. But music was -usually provided for as well, and in many places there were literary -competitions also. At Athens the different φρατρίαι [phratriai] seem -to have offered prizes annually on the Koureotis day of the Apatouria -to the boys who recited best, the piece for recitation being chosen by -each competitor. Kritias took part in the competition when ten years -old.[163] From Teos we have a list of prizemen, belonging, it is true, -to a later date; but it may be quoted, to give some idea of what the -subjects might be.[164] - - _Senior Class_ (_by age_). - - For rhapsody, Zoïlos, son of Zoïlos. - For reading, Zoïlos, son of Zoïlos. - - _Middle Class._ - - For rhapsody, Metrodoros, son of Attalos. - For reading, Dionusikles, son of Metrodoros. - For general knowledge, Athenaios, son of Apollodoros. - For painting, Dionusios, son of Dionusios. - - _Junior Class._ - - For rhapsody, Herakles. - For reading. - For caligraphy. - For torch race. - For playing lyre with fingers. - For playing lyre with plektron. - For singing to lyre. - For reciting tragic verse (tragedy). - For reciting comedy. - For reciting lyric verse. - - -From Chios we have the following[165]:―― - - When Hermesileos, Dinos, and Nikias were gumnasiarchoi, the - following boys and epheboi were victorious in the competitions - and offered libations to the Muses and Herakles from the - sums which were given to them in accordance with the decree - of the people, when Lusias was taster of the offerings:―― - - For reading, Agathokles. - For rhapsody, Miltiades. - For playing lyre with fingers, Xenon. - For playing lyre, Kleoites. - - _Long Distance Race_ (varied from 2¼ miles to about ¾ mile). - Boys Asklepiades. - Junior epheboi Dionusios. - Middle ” Timokles. - Senior ” Moschion. - Men ” Aischrion. - - _Stadion_ (200 yards). - Boys _Athenikon_. - Junior epheboi Hestiaios. - Middle ” _Apollonios_. - Senior ” Artemon. - Men ” Metrodoros. - - _Diaulos_ (400 yards). - Boys _Athenikon_. - Junior epheboi Hubristos. - Middle ” Melantes. - Senior ” _Apollonios_. - Men ” Menis. - (Apollonios seems to have been so - good that, though a middle ephebos, - he competed in and won the - senior ephebos’ race here, unless - there were two boys of the same - name.) - - _Wrestling._ - Boys _Athenikon_. - Junior epheboi Demetrios. - Middle ” Moschos. - Senior ” Theodotos. - Men ” Apellas. - - _Boxing._ - Boys Herakleides. - (The rest is wanting.) - - (Notice the three victories of the boy Athenikon.) - -At Thespiai in Boiotia[166] there were prizes for senior and junior -boys in the various races, and in boxing, wrestling, pankration, and -pentathlon, besides open prizes for poetry and music of all kinds. -Attic inscriptions arrange the events thus[167]:―― - - _Stadion._ - Junior Boys. - Middle Boys. - Senior Boys. - Boys Open. - Men. - - _Diaulos._ - Junior Boys. - Middle Boys. - Senior Boys. - Boys Open. - Men. - - _Fighting in Heavy Arms._ - Junior Boys. - Middle Boys. - Senior Boys. - Epheboi. - -The Olympian and Pythian festivals, however, had only a single series -of contests for boys:―― - - _Olympia._ - Boys. Stadion (Pind. _Ol._ xiv.). - Boxing (Pind. _Ol._ x., xi.). - Wrestling (Pind. _Ol._ viii.). - (only in 628 B.C.) Pentathlon. - (not till 200 B.C.) Pankration. - - _Pythia._ - Boys. Long Distance Race. - Diaulos (400 yards) (Pind. _Puth_. x.). - Stadion (200 yards) (Pind. _Puth._ xi.). - Boxing. - Wrestling (Bacchul. xi.). - Pankration (not till 346 B.C.). - -But at Nemea both pentathlon[168] and pankration[169] for boys had -already been established by Pindar’s time, as well as the more usual -contests.[170] - -How far individual schoolmasters, as distinct from the State, gave -prizes to their pupils, is little known; an epigram in the _Anthology_ -supplies the only evidence, by narrating that “Konnaros received -eighty knucklebones because he wrote beautifully, better than the -other boys.”[171] But probably as a general rule the task of rewarding -merit was left to the public contests. - - * * * * * - -Thus the State did much to encourage, if it did little to assist or -enforce, education. With such splendid rewards before them, boys were -probably quite eager to attend school, or at any rate the palaistra. -As soon as they were old enough to go to school,[172] they were -entrusted to an elderly slave,[173] who had to follow his master’s -boys about wherever they went and never let them go out of his -sight.[174] This was the paidagogos――a mixture of nurse, footman, -chaperon, and tutor――who is so prominent a figure on the vases and in -the literature of classical Hellas. There was only one for the family, -so that all the boys had to go about together and to attend the same -schools and the same palaistrai at the same time.[175] He waited on -them in the house, carried their books or lyres to school, sat and -watched them in the schoolroom, and kept a strict eye upon their -manners and morality in the streets and the gymnasia. Thus, for -instance, in Plato, Lusis and Menexenos have their paidagogoi in -attendance at the palaistra, who come and force them away from the -absorbing conversation of Sokrates, when it is time for them to go -home.[176] On a vase these attendants may be seen sitting on stools -behind their charges, in the schools of letters and music, with long -and suggestive canes in their hands.[177] A careful parent would, of -course, see that a slave who was to occupy so responsible a position -was worthy of it: but great carelessness seems often to have been -shown in this matter. The paidagogoi of Lusis and Menexenos, boys of -rank and position, had a bad accent, and on a festival day, it is -true, were slightly intoxicated.[178] Plutarch notices that in his -time parents often selected for this office slaves who were of no use -for any other purpose.[179] Xenophon, feeling the demerits of the -Athenian custom, commends the Spartans, who entrust the boys not to -slaves, but to public officials of the highest rank.[180] But in -well-regulated households the paidagogos was often a most worthy and -valuable servant. Sikinnos, who attended the children of Themistokles -in this capacity, was entrusted by his master with the famous message -to Xerxes, which brought on the battle of Salamis; he was afterwards -rewarded with his freedom, the citizenship of Thespiai, and a -substantial sum of money.[181] The custom of employing these -male-nurses dated back to early times at Athens: for Solon made -regulations about them.[182] - -Boys were entrusted to paidagogoi as soon as they went to school at -six. This tutelage might last till the boy was eighteen[183] and came -of age; but more frequently it stopped earlier. Xenophon,[184] in his -wish to disparage everything not Spartan, declares that in all other -States the boys were set free from paidagogoi and schoolmasters as -soon as they became μειράκια [meirakia], _i.e._ at about fourteen or -fifteen. The conjunction of schoolmasters suggests the explanation of -the variations in age. When an elder brother ceased to attend school, -and his younger brothers were still pursuing their studies, there -being only one paidagogos, he had to be left unattended. But in cases -where there was only one son, or where the eldest of several stayed on -at school until he came of age, he would have the paidagogos to attend -him until he was his own master. - -The life of such an attendant must have been an anxious one in many -cases. Plato compares his relations towards his charges with the -relations of an invalid towards his health: “He has to follow the -disease wherever it leads, being unable to cure it, and he spends his -life in perpetual anxiety with no time for anything else.”[185] With -unruly boys of different ages, and consequently of different tastes -and desires, the slave must have been often in a difficult position. -He had, however, the right of inflicting corporal punishment. - -The chief object of the paidagogos was to safeguard the morals of his -charges. Boys were expected to be as modest and quiet in their whole -behaviour, and as carefully chaperoned, as young girls. Parents told -the schoolmasters to bestow much more attention upon the boy’s -behaviour than upon his letters and music.[186] This attitude was -characteristic of Athens from the first. The school laws of Solon, as -quoted by Aischines, deal wholly with morality. He gives the following -account of them[187]:―― - - “The old lawgivers stated expressly what sort of life the - free boy ought to lead and how he ought to be brought up; - they also dealt with the manners of lads and men of other - ages.” “In the case of the schoolmasters, to whom we are - compelled to entrust our children, although their livelihood - depends upon their good character, and bad behaviour is - ruinous to them, yet the lawgiver obviously distrusts them. - For he expressly states, first, the hour at which the free - boy ought to go to school; secondly, how many other boys are - to be present in the school; and then at what hour he is to - leave. He forbids the schoolmasters to open their schools - and the paidotribai their palaistrai before sunrise, and - orders them to close before sunset, being very suspicious of - the empty streets and of the darkness. Then he dealt with - the boys who attended schools, as to who they should be and - of what ages; and with the official who is to oversee these - matters. He dealt too with the regulation of the paidagogoi, - and with the festival of the Muses in the schools and of - Hermes in the palaistrai. Finally, he laid down regulations - about the joint attendance of the boys and the round of - dithyrambic dances; for he directed that the Choregos should - be over forty.” - - “No one over the age of boyhood might enter while the boys - were in school, except the son, brother, or son-in-law of - the master: the penalty of infringing this regulation was - death. At the festival of Hermes the person in charge of the - gymnasium[188] was not to allow any one over age to - accompany the boys in any way: unless he excluded such - persons from the gymnasium, he was to come under the law of - corrupting free boys.” - -It will be noticed that these regulations are entirely concerned with -morality: they safeguard an existing system. They prescribe neither -the methods nor the subjects of education; for with such matters the -Athenian government did not interfere. But over the question of morals -it becomes unexpectedly tyrannous, and makes the most minute -regulations worthy of the strictest bureaucracy. It interfered on this -point in other ways also. The solemn council on the Areiopagos had a -special supervision over the young, from Solon’s time onward; this was -partially taken away from it by Ephialtes and Perikles, but the -_Axiochos_ shows that, though in abeyance, it continued to exist; in -the middle of the fourth century, however, Isokrates laments that it -had fallen into disuse. - -The _Axiochos_ also states that the ten Sophronistai, elected to guard -the morals of the epheboi, exercised control over lads also. These -officials probably took their rise in the days of Solon: the -regulation that they must be over forty harmonises with the other -enactments of those days; and, although they died out at the end of -the fourth century, they were revived under the Roman Empire. Now it -is most unlikely that the archaistic legislators of imperial times -would have revived an office which had only existed during the closing -decades of the fourth century. Solon is known to have appointed a -magistracy specially to deal with the children;[189] and, if these -magistrates were not the Sophronistai, all trace of his creation has -been lost, which is most unlikely to have happened. So the -Sophronistai probably date from early times. Their duty was a general -supervision of the morals of the young; their chief function would be -to prosecute, on behalf of the State, parents and schoolmasters who -infringed Solon’s moral regulations. But such prosecutions would -usually be undertaken by private individuals concerned in the case, -and so this magistracy tended to become a sinecure. It may even have -ceased to exist after the fall of the Areiopagos. But it seems to have -revived under the restored democracy for a while (if the _Axiochos_ -belongs to Aischines the Sokratic), to sink again in the middle of the -century. At the close of the century it revives once more with the -changes in the ephebic system, and finally perishes when the epheboi -became too few to need ten officers to supervise their morals. An -account of the Sophronistai of this later period will be given in -connection with the epheboi. - - [Illustration: PLATE II. - - THE FLUTE LESSON――THE BOY’S TURN - - _Wiener Vorlegeblätter_, Series C, Plate 4. - From a Kulix by Hieron, now at Vienna.] - -The strategoi[190] exercised a superintendence over the epheboi during -their two years’ training as recruits, as would naturally be expected. -Late in the fourth century they appear also to have been connected -with the local schools in Attica; an inscription at Eleusis, which -Girard assigns to 320 B.C., thanks the strategos Derkulos for the -diligence which he had shown in supervising the education of the -children there.[191] Whether they exercised such functions in the days -when their military duties were more important, is more than doubtful. -But any Athenian magistrate could interest himself in the schools, no -doubt, and intervene to check abuses.[192] - - * * * * * - -In the period of juvenile emancipation and increasing luxury and -indulgence for children which marked the closing decades of the fifth -century, it became customary for conservative thinkers to look back -with longing, and no doubt idealising, eyes to the “good old times.” -The sixth and early fifth centuries came, probably unjustly, to be -regarded as the ideal age of education, when children learned -obedience and morality, and were not pampered and depraved; when they -were beautiful and healthy, not pale-faced, stunted, and -over-educated. - -Listen to Aristophanes,[193] yearning for “the good old style of -education, in the days when Justice still prevailed over Rhetoric, and -good morals were still in fashion. Then children were seen and not -heard; then the boys of each hamlet and ward walked in orderly -procession along the roads on their way to the lyre-school,――no -overcoats, though it snowed cats and dogs. Then, while they stood up -square――no lounging――the master taught them a fine old patriotic song -like ‘Pallas, city-sacker dread,’[194] or ‘A cry that echoes -afar,’[195] set to a good old-fashioned tune. If any one tried any -vulgar trills and twiddles and odes where the metre varies, such as -Phrunis and Co. use nowadays, he got a tremendous thrashing for -disrespect to the Muses.” While being taught by the paidotribes, too, -they behaved modestly, and did not spend their time ogling their -admirers. “At meals children were not allowed to grab up the dainties -or giggle or cross their feet.” “This was the education which produced -the heroes of Marathon.… This taught the boys to avoid the Agora, keep -away from the Baths, be ashamed at what is disgraceful, be courteous -to elders, honour their parents, and be an impersonation of -Modesty――instead of running after ballet-girls. They passed their days -in the gymnasia, keeping their bodies in good condition, not mouthing -quibbles in the Agora. Each spent his time with some well-mannered lad -of his own age, running races in the Akademeia under the sacred -olives, amid a fragrance of smilax and leisure and white poplar, -rejoicing in the springtide when plane-tree and elm whisper together.” -All the voices of generations of boys, bound down to indoor studies -when wood and field and river are calling them, the complaint of ages -of fevered hurry and bustle, looking back with regret on the days of -“leisure” and “springtide,” seem to echo in Aristophanes’ lament for -the ways that were no more. - -“This education,” he goes on, “produced a good chest, sound -complexion, broad shoulders, small tongue; the new style produces pale -faces, small shoulders, narrow chest, and long tongue, and makes the -boy confuse Honour with Dishonour: it fills the Baths, empties the -Palaistra.” - -The next witness to be called is Isokrates. He is somewhat prejudiced -by his dream of restoring the Areiopagos to its old power, but he is -an educational expert and his evidence is supported by that of many -others. In the days when the Areiopagos had the superintendence of -morals, he says,[196] “the young did not spend their time in the -gambling dens, and with flute-girls and company of that sort, as they -do now, but they remained true to the manner of life which was laid -down for them.… They avoided the Agora so much, that, if ever they -were compelled to pass through it, they did so with obvious modesty -and self-control. To contradict or insult an elder was at that time -considered a worse offence than ill-treatment of parents is considered -now. To eat or drink in a tavern was a thing that not even a -self-respecting servant would think of doing then; for they practised -good manners, not vulgarity.” - -Call Plato next.[197] “In a democratic state the schoolmaster is -afraid of his pupils and flatters them, and the pupils despise both -schoolmaster and paidagogos. The young expect the same treatment as -the old, and contradict them and quarrel with them. In fact, seniors -have to flatter their juniors, in order not to be thought morose old -dotards.” - -The counts of the indictment are luxury, bad manners, contempt for -authority, disrespect to elders, and a love for chatter in place of -exercise. The old regime had strictly forbidden luxury. Warm baths had -been regarded as unmanly, and were even coupled with drunkenness by -Hermippos.[198] The boys had only worn a single garment, the -sleeveless chiton, a custom which survived till late times in Sparta -and Crete; but at Athens they began to wear the ἱμάτιον [himation] or -overcoat as well. Xenophon, blaming parents “in the rest of Hellas” -(_i.e._ elsewhere than in Sparta), says: “They make their boy’s feet -soft by giving him shoes, and pamper his body with changes of clothes; -they also allow him as much food as his stomach can contain.”[199] -Children began to be the tyrants, not the slaves, of their households. -They no longer rose from their seats when an elder entered the room; -they contradicted their parents, chattered before company, gobbled -up the dainties at table, and committed various offences against -Hellenic tastes, such as crossing their legs. They tyrannised over -the paidagogoi and schoolmasters. Alkibiades even smacked a -literature-master. A similar change came over the position of children -in England during the latter half of the nineteenth century. If Maria -Edgeworth could have met a modern child, she would have uttered quite -Aristophanic diatribes against the decay of good manners. - -With this change went a more serious matter, a change of tone. Whether -the old days were as moral as the conservatives supposed, may be -doubted; but the atmosphere of Periclean and Socratic Athens, as -represented by all its literary lights, was certainly most unsuitable -for the young. Perhaps general morality was no worse, but the -immorality was no longer concealed from the children. The old laws -which had excluded unsuitable company from the schools and palaistrai -were neglected, and these educational buildings became the resort of -all the fashionable loungers of Athens. - -The preference given to conversation over exercise was a feature of -the age. In part, it was a preference for intellectual as against -purely physical education. The free discussion with children of -ethical subjects probably ceased with the death of Sokrates; this can -hardly be regretted, if Plato’s evidence as to the nature of Socratic -dialogues is to be believed. From the importance which Plato gives to -gymnastics as a corrective to exclusive μουσική [mousikê] even in the -education of his highly intellectual Philosopher-Kings, we may suspect -that the revolt against excessive athletics at Athens, of which -Euripides had been the leader, had gone too far, and that a reaction -was needed. Certainly the Athenians do not distinguish themselves for -pluck or energy in the fourth century: in Platonic phrase, the temper -of their resolution had been melted away by their exclusive devotion -to intellectual and artistic pursuits. - -Let me close this subject, however, with a more pleasing picture of -that αἰδώς [aidôs] or modesty at which the older education had aimed. -It is taken from the midst of that brilliant but corrupt Socratic -Athens.[200] Young Autolukos had won the boys’ contest for the -pankration at the great Panathenaic festival. As a treat, Kallias, a -friend of his father, had taken him to the horse-races, and afterwards -invited him out to dinner with his father Lukon: such a dignity was -rarely accorded to an Athenian boy. - -The boy sits at table, while the grown men recline. Some one asked him -what he was most proud of――“Your victory, I suppose?” He blushed and -said, “No, I’m not.” Every one was delighted to hear his voice, for he -had not said a word so far. “Of what then?” some one asked. “Of my -father,” replied the boy, and cuddled up against him. - -These shy, blushing boys were a feature of the age. The stricter -parents, knowing the dangers which surrounded their sons, tried to -keep them entirely from any knowledge or experience of the world. - - * * * * * - -As far as can be discovered from the somewhat fragmentary evidence, -the Athenian type of education was prevalent throughout the civilised -Hellenic world, with the exception of Crete and Lakedaimon, which had -systems of their own. Xenophon, in praising the Spartan system and -contrasting it with that which was prevalent in neighbouring -countries, ascribes to what he calls “the rest of Hellas” educational -customs and arrangements exactly similar to those which are found to -have existed at Athens. His statement is borne out by other evidence. -Chios certainly had a School of Letters before 494 B.C.; for a -building of this sort collapsed in that year, destroying all but one -of the 120 pupils.[201] Boiotia, byword for stupidity, had schools -even in the smaller towns. A small place like Mukalessos had more than -one; for a detachment of wild Thracian mercenaries in the pay of -Athens fell upon the town at daybreak one morning during the -Peloponnesian War, and entering “the largest school in the place,” -killed all the boys.[202] Arkadia had an equally bad reputation; yet, -according to Polubios,[203] in every Arcadian town the boys were -compelled by law to learn to sing. Troizen must have had schools in -480, when she provided them for her Athenian guests. Aelian vouches -for schools in Lesbos,[204] Pausanias[205] for a school of sixty boys -in Astupalaia in 496 B.C. The poet Sophocles dined with a master of -letters whose school was either in Eretria or Eruthrai.[206] The -inscriptions show that before the third century there were flourishing -schools in most of the islands. - -Gymnastic education must have gone on in every Hellenic city, for the -athletic victors at the great games come from every part. Musical -training too was required for the dancing and singing which were -universal throughout Hellas; but how far the lyre was taught must -remain doubtful. In Boiotia the flute replaced the lyre in the -schools. But it may be taken for granted that letters, some sort of -music, and gymnastics were taught in every part of civilised Hellas, -with the possible exception that letters may not have been taught at -Sparta. - -Secondary Education, as long as it was supplied by the Sophists, -reached every village in the Hellenic world; later, it had a tendency -to be confined to the large towns. The Tertiary system of military -training and special gymnastics for the epheboi would seem, from the -scanty evidence of the inscriptions, to have been well-nigh universal. - -I will now proceed to give a more detailed account of the several -branches of this widespread educational system. As the evidence comes -almost entirely from Athens, my description will deal in the main with -Athenian education; but, as the same type prevailed throughout the -greater part of Hellas, the description may be taken as applying to -the other cities also. - - - [98] Herod. ii. 167. Corinth was an exception. - - [99] Plato, _Laws_, 846 D. - - [100] Arist. _Pol._ viii. 2. 4. - - [101] Xen. _Econ._ iv. 3. Sitting was regarded as a slavish - attitude, since the free citizen mostly stood or lay down. - Xen. _Econ._ iv. 3. - - [102] Plato, _Protag._ 328 A. - - [103] Xen. _Revenues_, ii. 2. - - [104] Plato, _Kleitophon_, 409 B. - - [105] Plato, _Rep._ 421 E. - - [106] Plato, _Gorg._ 514 B. - - [107] Plato, _Rep._ 467 A. - - [108] Aristoph. _Acharn._ 1032. - - [109] The fifth-century comic poet. - - [110] Plutarch, _Solon_, 22. - - [111] Plato, _Laws_, 643 E. - - [112] Except possibly in Chios and Lokris, and of course in - Sparta. - - [113] Thuc. ii. 45. 4. - - [114] Xen. _Econ._ vii. 5. - - [115] Xen. _Mem._ ii. 7. - - [116] Plato, _Rep._ 455 C. - - [117] Plato, _Laws_, 805 E. - - [118] As in Lusias, _ag. Diogeiton_, 32. 28. - - [119] In the _Econ._ vii. 10. - - [120] Thus the _Axiochos_ (366 D) puts seven years as the - age at which grammatistai and paidotribai began. Plato - (_Laws_, 794) says six; Aristotle (_Pol._ vii. 17) about - five; Xenophon (_Constit. of Lak._ ii.) “as soon as the - children begin to understand.” - - [121] Aesop was popular then, as now. This is the μουσική - [mousikê] anterior to γυμναστική [gymnastikê], so keenly - criticised in the _Republic_. - - [122] Plato, _Protag._ 325 C-E. - - [123] Xen. _Mem._ ii. 2. 6. - - [124] Plato, _Protag._ 326 C. - - [125] Aristotle, _Pol._ vii. 17. 7. - - [126] The three in this order in Plato, _Protag._ 312 B, - 325-326; _Charmid_. 159 C; _Kleitoph_. 407 C; Xen. _Constit. - of Lak._ ii. 1; Isok. _Antid._ 267. The first two in this - order in _Charmid._ 160 A; _Lusis_, 209 B; inverted in - _Euthud._ 276 A. Aristot. (_Pol._ viii. 3) gives γράμματα, - γυμναστική, μουσική [grammata, gymnastikê, mousikê]. Plato - in the _Laws_ 810 A makes κιθαριστική [kitharistikê] follow - γραμματική [grammatikê]; Aristophanes mentions the - paidotribes just after the κιθαριστής [kitharistês]. - - [127] Aristot. _Pol._ viii. 3. 1. - - [128] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ ii. - - [129] See Illustr. Plates I. A and I. B. - - [130] Plato, _Laws_, 810 A. - - [131] Vase B 192. - - [132] Vases E 171, 172; see Plates III. and IV. - - [133] Aristot. _Pol._ viii. 4. 9. - - [134] _Ibid._ viii. 1. 2. - - [135] [Plato] _Rivals_, 132 A. - - [136] Plato, _Lusis_, 206 D. - - [137] Plato, _Laches_, 179 A. - - [138] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ iii. - - [139] Plato, _Lusis_, 214 B. - - [140] Rhetoric is, of course, banished from a Platonic - state. - - [141] [Plato] _Axiochos_, 366 E. - - [142] See Petit, _Leges Atticae_, ii. 4, compiled with great - ingenuity out of many authors. Hence the proverbs ὁ μήτε - νεῖν μήτε γράμματα ἐπιστάμενος [ho mête nein mête grammata - epistamenos], of utter dunce, and πρῶτον κολυμβᾶν δεύτερον - δὲ γράμματα [prôton kolymban deuteron de grammata]. The - spelling-riddles of the tragedians imply a whole nation - interested in spelling. - - [143] Plato, _Kriton_, 50 D. - - [144] Aristophanes, _Knights_, 189. - - [145] _Ibid._ 1235-1239. - - [146] _Ibid._ 987-996. - - [147] [Plato] _Theages_, 122 E. - - [148] Plato, _Alkibiades_, i. 122 B. The Athenian State, - however, from the time of Solon onwards, supported and - educated at public expense the sons of those who fell in - battle. The endowed systems in Teos and at Delphoi belong to - the third century; it is impossible to say whether such - existed earlier. - - [149] Xen. _Mem._ ii. 2. 6. - - [150] [Xen.] _Constit. of Athens_, ii. 10. - - [151] Plutarch, _Alkib._ 3; Plato, _Charmides_, 153 A. - - [152] _C.I.A._ ii. 1. 444, 445, 446. - - [153] See Excursus on γυμνιασιαρχοί [gymniasiarchoi]. - - [154] He could, and had to, use compulsion in collecting - boys. This suggests that a parent could always, if he - wished, get this free education for his son. - - [155] This rule fell into abeyance. - - [156] Dem. _against Boiot._ 1001. - - [157] [Xen.] _Constit. of Athens_, i. 13. - - [158] On the strength of the passages quoted from the law, - and from Demosthenes, and of Aristophanes, _Clouds_, 964, - some have maintained a theory that the Athenian tribes - provided free education in dancing, and perhaps in other - subjects, to all free boys, exclusive of competitions. But - the quotation in Aischines, except for the actual law, which - is a later interpolation, certainly refers only to the - choregoi, and the passage in Demosthenes is concerned only - with chorus-dancing for competitions. In Aristophanes the - boys of the same neighbourhood naturally attend the same - school, that is all. - - [159] Plut. _Themist._ 10. - - [160] Ael. _Var. Hist._ vii. 15. - - [161] Diod. Sic. xii. 42. - - [162] Probably lived _circa_ 500 B.C. - - [163] Plato, _Tim._ 21 B. - - [164] Böckh, 3088. - - [165] _Ibid._ 2214. I have omitted patronymics. - - [166] _C.I.G. Boeot._ 1760-1766. - - [167] Böckh, 232, 245. - - [168] Pind. _Nem._ vii. - - [169] Bacchul. xiii., Pind. _Nem._ v. - - [170] Wrestling, Pind. _Nem._ iv., vi. - - [171] _Anthol._ ed. Jacobs, vi. 308. - - [172] Sometimes earlier. Plato, _Protag._ 325 C. - - [173] Elderly, as in the picture of Medeia and her children - given in Smith’s _Smaller Classical Dictionary_ under - “Medea,” and on Douris’ Kulix, Plates I. A and I. B (if - those are paidagogoi), and on other vases. - - [174] So Fabius Cunctator was called Hannibal’s paidagogos, - because he followed him about everywhere. - - [175] There is only one for Lusis and his brothers (Plato, - _Lus._ 223 A), for Medeia’s two children (Eur. _Med._), for - two boys in _Lusis_, 223 A, and for Themistocles’ children - (Herod. viii. 75). - - [176] Plato, _Lus._ 208 C. He is referred to as ὅδε [hode], - showing that he is present. - - [177] Illustr. Plates I. A and I. B. Perhaps only the - walking-stick carried by all Athenians. - - [178] Plato, _Lus._ 223 A. - - [179] Plut. _Education of Boys_. - - [180] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ ii. 2. - - [181] Herod. viii. 75. - - [182] Aischin. _ag. Timarch._ 35. 10. - - [183] In the guardian’s accounts given by Lusias, _ag. - Diogeiton_, 32. 28, a paidagogos is paid for till the boy is - eighteen; but there was a younger brother, for whom he may - have been required, so the elder may have been free earlier. - In Plautus (_Bacch._ 138) we find a paidogogos in attendance - till his charge was twenty. - - [184] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ iii. 1. - - [185] Plato, _Rep._ 406 A. - - [186] Plato, _Protag._ 325 D. - - [187] Aischin. _ag. Timarch._ 9. - - [188] γυμνασιαρχής [gymnasiarchês]. See Excursus on - γυμνασιαρχοί [gymnasiarchoi]. This law was totally neglected - in Socratic Athens. See Plato’s _Lusis_. - - [189] Aischin. _ag. Timarch._ 10. The word σωφρονιστής - [sôphronistês], in a general sense, occurs three times in - Thucydides. - - [190] Deinarchos, _ag. Philokles_, 15. - - [191] Girard, _L’Éducation Athénienne_, pp. 51, 52. - - [192] The Archon Eponumos had the control of orphans and - probably intervened if their education was neglected. - - [193] Aristoph. _Clouds_, 960 ff. - - [194] By Lamprokles (476 B.C.). - - [195] By Kudides (? = Kudias. Smyth, _Melic Poets_, p. 347). - - [196] Isok. _Areiop._ 149 C, D. - - [197] Plato, _Rep._ 563 A. - - [198] _Floruit_ 432 B.C. (in Athen. 18 C). - - [199] Xen. _Constit. of Lak._ ii. 1. - - [200] Xen. _Banquet_, iii. 13. - - [201] Herod. vi. 27. - - [202] Thuc. vii. 29. - - [203] Pol. iv. 20. 7. - - [204] Ael. _Var. Hist._ 7. 15. - - [205] Pausan. vi. 9. 6. - - [206] Athen. 604 a-b. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -ATHENS AND THE REST OF HELLAS: PRIMARY EDUCATION - - -We have seen that Primary Education in Hellas consisted of letters and -music, with a contemporary training in gymnastics; to which triple -course was added, late in the fourth century, drawing and painting. -How the day was divided between mental and physical training is -unknown――probably, like everything else, this varied with the taste of -the individual――but the following sketch from Lucian,[207] although it -belongs to a much later date, may perhaps give some idea of a -schoolboy’s day:―― - - “He gets up at dawn, washes the sleep from his eyes, and - puts on his cloak. Then he goes out from his father’s house, - with his eyes fixed upon the ground, not looking at any one - who meets him. Behind him follow attendants and paidagogoi, - bearing in their hands the implements of virtue, - writing-tablets or books containing the great deeds of old, - or, if he is going to a music-school, his well-tuned lyre. - - “When he has laboured diligently at intellectual studies, - and his mind is sated with the benefits of the school - curriculum, he exercises his body in liberal pursuits, - riding or hurling the javelin or spear. Then the - wrestling-school with its sleek, oiled pupils, labours under - the mid-day sun, and sweats in the regular athletic - contests. Then a bath, not too prolonged; then a meal, not - too large, in view of afternoon school. For the - schoolmasters are waiting for him again, and the books which - openly or by allegory teach him who was a great hero, who - was a lover of justice and purity. With the contemplation of - such virtues he waters the garden of his young soul. When - evening sets a limit to his work, he pays the necessary - tribute to his stomach and retires to rest, to sleep sweetly - after his busy day.” - -The school hours were naturally arranged to suit the times of Hellenic -meals, for which the boys returned home. The ordinary arrangement was -a light breakfast at daybreak, a solid meal at mid-day, and supper at -sunset. So the schools opened at sunrise.[208] Solon enacted that they -should not open earlier. They closed in time to allow the boys to -return home to lunch,[209] opened again in the afternoon, and closed -before sunset.[210] How many of the intermediate hours were spent in -work,[211] and what intervals there were, is unknown. There was, of -course, no weekly rest on Sundays; but festivals, which were whole -holidays, were numerous throughout Hellas, and, in Alexandria at any -rate, on the 7th and 20th of every month the schools were closed, -these days being sacred to Apollo.[212] There were also special school -festivals, such as that of the Muses, and holidays in commemoration of -benefactors; thus Anaxagoras left a bequest to Klazomenai, on -condition that the day of his death should be celebrated annually by a -holiday in the schools.[213] It must also be remembered that one of -the three branches of Primary Education in Hellas would be called play -in England: an afternoon spent in running races, jumping, wrestling, -or riding would not be regarded as work by an English schoolboy. -Music, too, is usually learned during play-hours in an English school. -Even Letters, when the elementary stage was past, meant reciting, -reading, or learning by heart the literature of the boy’s own -language, and most of it not stiff literature by any means, but such -fascinating fairy-tales as are found in Homer. There is little trace -of Hellenic boys creeping unwillingly to school: their lessons were -made eminently attractive. - -Of the fees which were paid to schoolmasters little is known. An -amusing passage in Lucian,[214] dealing with the under-world, -describes those who had been kings or satraps upon earth as reduced in -the future state “to beggary, and compelled by poverty either to sell -kippers or to teach the elements of reading and writing.” From this it -may be inferred that elementary schoolmasters did not make much money -by their fees. This inference is supported by the fact that even the -poorest Athenians managed to send their sons to such schools. Plato in -the _Laws_ reserves the profession for foreigners, thus suggesting -that it was neither well paid nor highly esteemed. To call a man a -schoolmaster was almost an insult; Demosthenes, abusing Aischines, -says, “You taught letters, I went to school.”[215] The weakness of the -masters’ position may be seen too from the extreme contempt with which -their pupils seem to have treated them. The boys bring their -pets――cats and dogs and leopards――into school, and play with them -under the master’s chair. Theophrastos,[216] in describing the -characteristics of the mean man, says that “he does not send his -children to school all the month of Anthesterion” (that is, from the -middle of February to the middle of March) “on account of the number -of feasts.” The school-bills were paid by the month, and, since boys -did not go to school on the great festivals, and Anthesterion -contained many such days, the mean parent thought he would not get his -money’s worth for this particular month, and so withdrew his boys -while it lasted. - -Mean parents also deducted from the fees in proportion, if their sons -were absent from school owing to ill-health for a day or two;[217] but -this was not usually done. The bills were paid on the 30th of each -month.[218] Schoolmasters apparently had some difficulty in getting -their bills paid at all; according to Demosthenes’ statement, his -bills were never paid, owing to the fraudulent behaviour of his -guardian Aphobos.[219] - -No doubt the fees varied according to the merits of the school, for -the schools at Athens seem to have differed greatly. Demosthenes, when -boasting of his career, in his speech _On the Crown_, says that he -went as a boy to the _respectable_ schools;[220] the quality and -quantity of the teaching must have been varied to suit the parent’s -pocket. For the poor there would probably be schools where only the -elements of reading and writing were taught. In the higher class of -school these elements would be taught by under-masters, frequently -slaves; but free citizens might also be reduced by poverty to take -such a post. This may be seen from the case of the father of -Aischines, the orator.[221] Impoverished and exiled like many -democrats by the Thirty Tyrants, he returned with the Restoration a -ruined man. To earn his living, he became an usher at the school of -one Elpias, close to the Theseion, and taught letters: his son -Aischines seems to have begun his life by assisting his father in this -occupation. His opponent, Demosthenes, takes advantage of the contempt -with which these ushers were regarded to declare that the father was a -slave of Elpias,[222] “wearing big fetters and a collar,” and the son -was employed in “grinding the ink and sponging the forms and sweeping -out the schoolroom (παιδαγωγεῖον [paidagôgeion]), the work of a -servant, not of a free boy.” - -No doubt letters and music were often taught at the same school, in -different rooms. Such an arrangement would be natural and convenient. -The vases suggest it, but their evidence is uncertain. The school -buildings seem often to have been surrounded by playgrounds. A passage -in Aelian[223] shows us the boys, just let out of school, playing at -tug-of-war. No doubt in these places they played with their hoops and -tops, and amused themselves with pick-a-back and the stone- and -dice-games which corresponded to our marbles. In villages these -playgrounds probably did duty as palaistrai. - -The headmaster of the school sat on a chair with a high back; -under-masters and boys had stools without backs, but cushions were -provided. For lessons in class there were benches.[224] There -was a high reading-desk for recitations. Round the walls hung -writing-tablets, rulers, and baskets or cases containing manuscript -rolls labelled with the author’s name, composing the school library; -the rolls might also hang by themselves.[225] Masters were expected to -possess at any rate a copy of Homer――Alkibiades thrashed one who did -not. Sometimes they emended their edition themselves.[226] In the -music-schools hung lyres and flutes and flute-cases. The παιδαγωγειον -[paidagôgeion] mentioned by Demosthenes may have been an anteroom -where the paidagogoi sat, but more probably the word is only a -rhetorical variant for “schoolroom.” There were often busts of the -Muses round the walls,[227] which were also decorated with vases, -serving for domestic purposes, and, perhaps, illustrating with their -pictures the books which the boys were reading. At a later date, at -any rate, a series of cartoons, illustrating scenes in the _Iliad_ and -_Odyssey_, were sometimes hung upon the walls: the “Tabula Iliaca,” -now in the Capitoline Museum, has been recognised as a fragment of -such a series. - -The first stage was to learn to read and write. Instead of a slate, -boys in Hellas had tablets of wax, usually made in two halves, so as -to fold on a hinge in the middle, the waxen surfaces coming inwards -and so being protected. Sometimes there were three pieces, forming a -triptych, or even more. For pencil, they had an instrument with a -sharp point at one end, suitable for making marks on the wax, and a -flat surface at the other, which was used to erase what had been -written, and so make the tablets ready for future use. These tablets -are shown in the school-scenes on the fifth-century vases.[228] At a -later period, when parchment and papyrus became more common, these -materials were used in the schools. Lines could be ruled with a lump -of lead, and writing done either with ink and a reed pen or with lead; -for erasures a sponge was employed. - -The early stages of learning to write are described in the -_Protagoras_ of Plato.[229] “When a boy is not yet clever at writing, -the masters first draw lines, and then give him the tablet and make -him write as the lines direct.” The passage has been variously -interpreted. Some regard the master as merely writing a series of -letters which the boy is to copy underneath. The word used in Greek -for the master’s writing is ὑπογράψαντες [hypograpsantes], and it is -significant that the word for a “copy” in this sense is a derivative -of this word, ὑπογραμμός [hypogrammos]. Such a copy, corresponding to -the phrases like “England exports engines” or “Germany grows grapes,” -which are employed in English schools for this purpose, is -extant.[230] It is a nonsense sentence designed to contain all the -letters of the alphabet μάρπτε σφὶγξ κλὼψ ζβυχθηδόν [marpte sphinx -klôps zbychthêdon]. If this rendering is correct, the master wrote a -sentence of this sort on the tablets, and the boy copied it -underneath. Others interpret the lines which the master draws on the -tablet as parallel straight lines, within which the boy had to write. -Just such a device is often employed in English copy-books. The word -used for “lines,” γραμμαί [grammai], usually means “straight lines,” -which supports this interpretation. But ὑπογραφή [hypographê], on the -other hand, a derivative of ὑπογράφειν [hypographein], is used for -irregular traces, _e.g._ a footstep,[231] and ὑπογράφειν -[hypographein] itself is a technical term in Hellenic art for -“sketching in” what is afterwards to be finished in detail. -Consequently a third rendering of the passage makes the master draw a -faint, rough outline of the various letters, and the boy has to go -over them with his pen, marking the grooves in the wax deeper and -filling in the details. For example, in England, the master might draw -|·| and the boy go over the two vertical lines and draw in the other -two, M. Thus all three interpretations are sensible and rest on good -authority. But surely the master may be regarded as adopting all three -processes, according to the intelligence of the pupils. For the -beginner he would outline the whole letter, and leave him only the -task of going over it again. Then he would gradually give less and -less help, till the boy was capable of writing the letters with the -assistance of the parallel lines alone. Finally these would be -withdrawn, and the boy would be left to write his imitation of the -copy without assistance. The phrase in Plato is purposely vague, and -will include the whole of this process. - -The letters were written in lines horizontal and vertical, so that -they fell beneath one another. No stops or accents were inserted, and -no spaces were left between words. The writing-master probably ruled -both the horizontal and the vertical lines on the tablet for his -pupil. On the Vase of Douris,[232] an under-master is represented as -writing with his pen on a wax tablet, while a boy stands in front of -him. He is probably meant either to be writing a copy or else -correcting his pupil’s exercise. Over his head hangs a ruler, for -marking out the guiding lines on the tablet. Behind the boy sits a -bearded man with a staff, who is probably the paidagogos. The boys in -the class are clearly coming up one by one to receive their copies or -have their exercises corrected, while the rest are doing their -writing. It will be noticed that there is no desk or table: the -Hellenes wrote with their tablets on their knees. - -As soon as the boy had acquired a certain facility in writing, he -entered the dictation class. The master read out something, and the -boys wrote it down.[233] At first, of course, very simple words would -be dictated, and there would not be much to write. But, later on, the -boys would write at his dictation passages of the poets and other -authors. For this purpose, ink and parchment may sometimes have been -employed: Aischines seems to have “ground ink”[234] for a -writing-school. Various “elaborations in the way of speed and beauty” -of writing seem to have been customary in the case of more advanced -pupils.[235] Possibly they learnt to make flourishes and ornamental -letters. Speed would naturally be taught, for it was usual to take -notes at the lectures of Sophists and Philosophers, and speed is -required for this purpose. This must have involved the use of the -cursive letters, which otherwise were not needed, for the Hellene had -not very much writing to do, unless he became a clerk to a public -body. - -Learning to read must have been a difficult business in Hellas, for -books were written in capitals at this time. There were no spaces -between the words, and no stops were inserted. Thus, the reader had to -exercise much ingenuity before he could arrive at the meaning of a -sentence. Still more difficult for the boys to grasp was the Attic -accent, upon which the masters set a great importance. So difficult -was it, that few foreigners ever acquired it, and a born Athenian, if -he went abroad for a few years, often lost the power of speaking with -the Attic intonation. The first step in learning to read is to acquire -the alphabet. The Hellenes, wishing, as usual, to make learning as -easy as possible, seem to have put the alphabet into verse. A metrical -alphabet, ascribed to Kallias, a contemporary of Perikles, is still -extant, but in a mutilated form, which has been restored in several -not very convincing ways. Probably it has been adapted to suit -different alphabets, for there were several current in different parts -of Hellas. The following is a conjectural restoration:―― - - ἔστ’ ἄλφα, βῆτα, γάμμα, δέλτα τ’, εἶ τε, καί - [est’ alpha, bêta, gamma, delta t’, ei te, kai] - ζῆτ’, ἦτα, θῆτ’, ἴωτα, κάππα, λάβδα, μῦ, - [zêt’, êta, thêt’, iôta, kappa, labda, mu,] - νῦ, ξεῖ, τὸ οὖ, πεῖ, ῥῶ, τὸ σίγμα, ταῦ, τὸ ὖ, - [nu, xei, to ou, pei, rhô, to sigma, tau, to u,] - πάροντα φεῖ τε χεῖ τε τῷ ψεῖ εἰς τὸ ὦ. - [paronta phei te chei te tô psei eis to ô.] - -This complete alphabet of twenty-four letters, which appears in modern -Greek Grammars, was not adopted for official purposes at Athens till -403 B.C., “but it is clear that it was in ordinary use at Athens -considerably earlier.”[237] - -This metrical alphabet formed the prologue to what may be called a -spelling-drama, in which the whole process of learning to spell was -expressed either in iambic lines or in choral songs. Since its author, -Kallias, is coupled with Strattis, the comic poet,[238] it may be -inferred that the play was a comedy, not a tragedy; the chorus would -then be twenty-four in number. Each member of the chorus represented -one of the twenty-four letters. In the first choric song the letters -were put together in pairs, in the fashion of a spelling class. The -first strophé runs as follows:―― - - Beta Alpha BA - Beta Ei BĔ - Beta Eta BĒ - Beta Iota BI - Beta Ou BŎ - Beta U BU - Beta O BŌ[239] - -In the corresponding antistrophé Gamma was similarly coupled with the -seven vowels, and so on apparently through the alphabet. During the -song, which was set to excellent music, the members of the chorus, -dressed to represent the letters quite clearly, and no doubt posturing -in the right attitude, would form themselves into the required pairs. -Thus, during the first line Beta and Alpha would come together, during -the second Beta and Ei, and so on. After this song came a lecture on -the vowels, in iambic verse, the chorus being told to repeat them one -by one after the speaker. There seems to have been a plot of some sort -in this extraordinary drama, but the main interest was, no doubt, the -spelling. Opportunities were also taken for describing the shapes of -the letters, the audience having to guess what letter was intended. -This kind of alphabetical puzzle seems to have caught the popular -fancy at Athens, for Euripides, Agathon, and Theodektes all employed -it. In each case the concealed word was “Theseus.” - -Euripides’ description, if it be his, may be rendered thus:―― - - First, such a circle as is measured out - By compasses, a clear mark in the midst. - The second letter is two upright lines, - Another joining them across their middles. - The third is like a curl of hair. The fourth, - One upright line and three crosswise infixed. - The fifth is hard to tell: from several points - Two lines run down to form one pedestal. - The last is with the third identical. - -In the same spirit, Sophocles, in his satyric drama _Amphiaraos_, -introduced an actor who represented the shapes of the letters by his -dancing.[240] Periclean Athens seems to have taken a very keen -interest in matters of spelling: the audience must all have known -their letters, or such devices could never have become so popular. - -Kallias’ play is the ancestor of such books as _Reading without -Tears_. His dramatic presentation of the process of spelling must have -caught the imagination and impressed the memory of many Athenian boys. -It may even be suspected that his method was adopted in enterprising -schools, and spelling lessons were conducted to a tune, perhaps even -accompanied by dancing.[241] The tunes of Kallias were highly praised, -and were, no doubt, very different from the monotonous drone which -announces to the outside world the presence of a Board School. - -To return to more prosaic methods. Plato gives an interesting -sketch[242] of a reading class. “When boys have just learnt their -letters, they recognise any of them readily enough in the shortest and -easiest syllables, and are able to give a correct answer about them. -But in the longer and more difficult syllables they are not certain, -but form a wrong opinion and answer wrongly. Then the best way is to -take them back to the syllables in which they recognise the same -letters and then compare them with those in which they made mistakes, -and, putting them side by side, show that in both combinations the -same letters have the same meaning.” - -Take an English example. The master writes SCRAPE on the blackboard -and asks the boys to tell him what letters it contains. The class fail -to recognise the letters: the word is too long and difficult. The -master then writes beside it consecutively APE, RAPE, CAPE, in all of -which the boys recognise the letters correctly. Then CRAPE and SCRAP. -From these he passes on to SCRAPE, which they now recognise by analogy -from the words which they know already. “Finally, they learn always to -give the same name to the same letter whenever it comes.”[243] - -The methods by which boys learn to spell are the same in all ages. -“When boys come together to learn their letters, they are asked what -letters there are in some word or other.”[244] A certain amount of -mental arithmetic seems to have been included in this stage of -spelling: the pupils were asked _how many_ letters there were in a -word, as well as the order in which they were arranged.[245] But this -will be discussed later. - -While the boys were still unable to read, and often afterwards owing -to the comparative scarcity of books, the master dictated to them the -poetry which he intended them to learn by heart, and they repeated it -after him. - -The Kulix of Douris gives an interesting picture of either a reading -or a repetition lesson.[246] On a high-backed chair sits an elderly -master, holding a roll in his hand. On it is inscribed what is clearly -meant to be an hexameter line from some epic poet, but Douris was not -very well educated, and so the line is misspelt and will not scan. In -front of the master stands a boy, behind whom sits an elderly man who -is probably, as in the writing scene, a paidagogos. The master may be -dictating the poem while the boy learns it by heart after him, or he -may be hearing him say it. But very possibly the scene represents a -reading-lesson. The attitudes of boy and master are not very -convenient, if both are reading out of the same book; but this was -unavoidable, for, owing to the canons of vase-painting, the figures -could only be full-faced or in profile, and the front of the -manuscript had to be turned in such a way as to be legible. - -On the walls of the school hang a manuscript rolled up and tied with a -string, and an ornamental basket. These baskets were used as -bookcases, to hold the manuscript rolls. They may sometimes be seen on -vases suspended over the heads of reading figures, as in the British -Museum vase,[247] which represents a woman reading a scroll. The -paidagogos, we may notice, is revealing his humble origin by crossing -his feet, a serious offence against good manners in Hellas. - -“When the boys knew their letters and were beginning to understand -what was written, the masters put beside them on the benches the works -of good poets for them to read, and made them learn them by heart. -They chose for this purpose poets that contained many moral precepts, -and narratives and praises of the heroes of old, in order that the boy -might admire them and imitate them and desire to become such a man -himself.”[248] It is noteworthy that Hellenic boys began at once with -the very best literature to be found in their language: there was no -preliminary course of childish tales. Grammar, when invented, was -taught at a later stage: the boys plunged straight into literature. - -The schoolmasters at Athens differed as to which was the best way of -introducing boys to their national literature. The great majority held -that a properly educated boy ought to be saturated in all poetry, -comic and serious, hearing much of it in the reading class, and -learning much of it――in fact, whole poets――by heart.[249] A minority -would pick out the leading passages,[250] the “purple patches,” and -certain whole speeches,[251] and put them together and have them -committed to memory. Plato argued in favour of expurgated editions of -passages carefully selected according to a very strict standard, since -much in literature was good and much bad.[252] - -Homer, of course, played the largest part in these literary studies; -from early times “he was given an honourable place in the teaching of -the young.”[253] Vast quantities of the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ were -learnt by heart. Nikeratos, in Xenophon,[254] says: “My father, -wishing me to grow up into a good man, made me learn all the lines of -Homer; and now I can repeat the whole of the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ -from memory.” Such prodigious feats were, no doubt, assisted by the -rhapsodes, who could be heard at Athens declaiming Homer “nearly every -day.”[255] The Hellenes did not let their greatest poet lie neglected, -to be “revived” at long intervals. Homer was supposed to teach -everything, especially soldiering and good morals. “I suppose you -know,” continues Nikeratos,[256] “that Homer, the wisest of men, has -written about all human matters. So whoever of you wishes to excel as -a householder or public speaker or general, or desires to become like -Achilles or Aias or Nestor or Odusseus, let him come to me.” Then he -proceeds to show how, for example, the poet gives full directions -about the proper way to drive a chariot in a race. Aristophanes[257] -makes the shade of Aeschylus say, “Whence did divine Homer win his -honour and renown, save from this, that he taught drill, courage, the -arming of troops? Many a man of valour he trained, and our own dead -hero, Lamachos. I took my print from him, and represented many deeds -of valour done by a Patroklos or lion-hearted Teukros, to rouse my -countrymen to model themselves upon such men, when they heard the -trumpet sound.” - -The great poet does not seem to have been taught pedantically; the -attention of the boys was not concentrated simply on the difficulties -of the Homeric vocabulary. In fact, probably they were little troubled -with such points; the sense, the rhythm, and the beauty of the -original do not depend upon an exact understanding of every word, as -many a modern reader has discovered. In a fragment of Aristophanes,[258] -a father asks his son the meaning of some hard words in Homer, such as -ἀμένηνα κάρηνα [amenêna karêna] and κόρυμβα [korymba]; the son is -quite unable to translate them, at any rate when separated from their -context, and can only retort by asking his father to interpret some -archaic phrases in Solon’s laws. A later comic poet[259] introduced a -cook who insisted on using Homeric language, just as a modern _chef_ -writes his _menu_ in French; the man who has hired him is ludicrously -unable to understand his phrases, and has to go in search of a -commentary. - -Explanations and interpretations of supposed moral allegories in -Homer, and lessons drawn from a close study of his characters, were -very popular in Hellas, and no doubt figured in the schools. - -If Homer occupied the first place in literary education, other leading -authors were not neglected. All the great poets were made useful. -“Orpheus taught ceremonial rites and abstinence from bloodshed, and -Mousaios medicine and oracles, and Hesiod the tillage of land, the -seasons of fruits and ploughing.”[260] Hesiod probably served more as -a theological handbook than as a manual of agriculture; the moral -precepts to Perses in the _Works and Days_ probably also found favour -with schoolmasters. The fourth-century comic poet Alexis gives an -interesting catalogue of a school library.[261] Besides Orpheus, -Hesiod, and Homer, who have been mentioned already, there are -Epicharmos, Choirilos, the author of an epic poem on the Persian war, -and what is called vaguely “tragedy,” probably meaning a selection -from the great tragedians. We can see from Plato’s attacks that -Aeschylus and Euripides must have been important in the schools, and -we know that Athenian gentlemen were expected to be able to recite -them at dinner-parties, and must therefore have learnt them by heart. -The vague words “tragedy” and “comedy” are similarly used of the -recitations of the boys at Teos. Various editions of moral precepts -were also popular. Among these were _The Precepts of Cheiron_, or -Cheironeia, supposed to have been given by the wise Centaur to his -pupil Achilles and put into verse by Hesiod; on a vase at Berlin three -boys are seen reading this work with apparent interest. The extant -lines of Theognis are often supposed to represent a school edition of -the poet’s works, containing the more improving portions. The lyric -poets were taught at the lyre-school, and I shall discuss them later. - -Alexis also mentions “all sorts of prose works” in the school library. -The only one of these to which he gives a more definite name is a -cookery-book by Simos. But that is only introduced for the sake of a -joke; such a work would not, of course, figure in an Athenian school. -Aesop may have been a prose work read in schools; it was considered -the sign of an ignoramus “not to have thumbed Aesop,” or to be able to -quote him.[262] Such moral works as Prodikos’ _Choice of Herakles_ -were probably popular in schools. The case of Lusis in Plato suggests -that some of the old nature-philosophers may have been read. No doubt -the school library varied according to the taste of the master, and -his freedom of choice may have led to some curious selections. But on -the whole prose works very rarely figured in the elementary schools, -partly because they were usually too technical, still more because the -artistic and literary sense of the Hellenes regarded poetry, if only -because of its greater beauty and its imaginative value, as better for -educational purposes than prose. - -It must be remembered that when boys recited Homer or Aeschylus or -Euripides, they acted them, delivering even the narrative with a great -deal of gesture, and dramatising the speeches as fully as they could. -The almost daily recitations of the rhapsodes, and the frequent -dramatic performances in the theatres, gave them plenty of examples of -the way to act. The Hellenes were extremely sensitive and sympathetic: -they were a nation of actors. The rhapsode Ion tells Plato that, when -he recited Homer, his eyes watered and his hair stood on end. This may -give the modern reader some idea of what his repetition-lesson meant -to a boy at Athens. More may be gathered from Plato’s vehement -denunciations of dramatisation in poetry intended for use in schools; -he believed that this continuous acting exerted an evil influence upon -character. But this question will be discussed elsewhere. - -The schoolrooms were used as the scene of lectures, to which grown-up -men were invited; probably the lectures would be given to the boys at -a different time. The wandering teacher, Hippias of Elis, meeting -Sokrates one day, invited him to such a lecture, which, from its -subject, was clearly meant mainly for the young.[263] After the fall -of Troy, according to the story which Hippias invented for the -occasion, Neoptolemos asked the wise old Nestor what was good and -honourable conduct and what manner of life would cause a young man to -win renown. Given this convenient opening, Nestor replied by -suggesting many excellent rules of conduct. Hippias had delivered this -lecture at Sparta, where it had won great applause. He now proposes, -he says, “to deliver it the day after to-morrow in the schoolroom of -Pheidostratos, and to impart much other valuable information at the -same time, at the request of Eudikos son of Apemantos. Mind you come -and bring any friends who will be capable of appreciating what I say.” -No doubt it was a very excellent little sermon on the duties of life, -closely analogous to Prodikos’ famous _Choice of Herakles_, and most -improving for the pupils of Pheidostratos, if they were allowed to -attend. - -One charming picture of two Athenian school friends,[264] in their -sleeveless tunics, is extant. “I saw you, Sokrates,” says a guest at a -dinner-party, “when you and Kritoboulos at the School of Letters were -both looking for something in the same book, putting your head against -his, and your bare shoulder against his shoulder.” - -It is also recorded that the Athenians were great hands at -nicknames:[265] it may be inferred that this peculiarity extended also -to their schoolboys. - -A vivid picture of school life has recently come to light in the third -Mime of Herondas. It belongs to the Alexandrian period in point of -date, but many of its details will, no doubt, suit the Athenian -schools just as well; it is, however, quite inconceivable that gags -and fetters were used as punishments at Athens in the schools. - -A mother, Metrotimé, brings her truant boy, Kottalos, to his -schoolmaster Lampriskos to receive a flogging. - - METROTIMÉ. Flog him, Lampriskos,[266] - Across the shoulders, till his wicked soul - Is all but out of him. He’s spent my all - In playing odd and even: knucklebones - Are nothing to him. Why, he hardly knows - The door o’ the Letter School. And yet the thirtieth - Comes round and I must pay――tears no excuse. - His writing-tablet, which I take the trouble - To wax anew each month, lies unregarded - I’ the corner. If by chance he deigns to touch it, - He scowls like Hades, then puts nothing right - But smears it out and out. He doesn’t know - A letter, till you scream it twenty times. - The other day his father made him spell - MARON; the rascal made it SIMON; dolt - I thought myself to send him to a school: - Ass-tending is his trade. Another time - We set him to recite some childish piece; - He sifts it out like water through a crack, - “Apollo,” pause, then “hunter.” - -The poor mother goes on to say that it is useless to scold the boy; -for, if she does, he promptly runs away from home to sponge upon his -grandmother, or sits up on the roof out of the way, like an ape, -breaking the tiles, which is expensive for his parents. - - Yet he knows - The seventh and the twentieth of the month, - Whole holidays, as if he read the stars. - He lies awake o’ nights adreaming of them. - But, so may yonder Muses prosper you, - Give him in stripes no less than―――― - LAMPRISKOS. Right you are. - Here, Euthias, Kokkalos, and Phillos, hoist him - Upon your backs.[267] I like your goings on, - My boy. I’ll teach you manners. Where’s my strap, - The stinging cow’s-tail! - KOTTALOS. By the Muses, Sir, - Not with the stinger. - LAMP. Then you shouldn’t be - So naughty. - KOTT. O, how many will you give me? - LAMP. Your mother fixes that. - KOTT. How many, mother? - METR. As many as your wicked hide can bear. - KOTT. Stop, that’s enough, stop. - LAMP. You should stop your ways. - KOTT. I’ll never do it more, I promise you. - LAMP. Don’t talk so much, or else I’ll bring a gag. - KOTT. I won’t talk, only do not kill me, please. - LAMP. Let him down, boys. - METR. No, leather him till sunset. - LAMP. Why, he’s as mottled as a water-snake. - METR. Well, when he’s done his reading, good or bad, - Give him a trifle more, say twenty strokes. - KOTT. Yah! - METR. I’ll go home and get a pair of fetters. - Our Lady Muses, whom he scorned, shall see - Their scorner hobble here with shackled feet. - -The exact age at which arithmetic was taught to boys at Athens -involves a somewhat complicated inquiry. The arrangements which Plato -makes in the _Republic_ and _Laws_ defer this subject till the age of -sixteen. In the _Laws_[268] he says: “It remains to discuss, first the -question of Letters, and secondly that of the Lyre and practical -arithmetic――by which I mean so much as is necessary for purposes of -war and household management and the work of government.” His citizens -will also require, he thinks, enough astronomy to make the calendar -intelligible to them. In this passage he distinctly couples practical -arithmetic with music; and when he proceeds to detail, he makes the -study of the lyre last from thirteen to sixteen, and then deals with -arithmetic, the weights and measures, and the astronomical calendar, -studies which terminate with the seventeenth year. This course is -designed for all the free boys in his State: it is to be noticed that -it is eminently practical, elementary, and concrete. In the _Republic_ -he is educating a few picked boys: before they are eighteen they are -to have gone through a course of abstract and theoretical mathematics, -the Theory of Numbers, Plane and Solid Geometry, Kinetics and -Harmonics. Thus he mentions two sorts of mathematics, the one -practical and concrete, called by the Hellenes λογιστική -[logistikê],[269] whose object is mainly mercantile, and the other -theoretical and abstract, which they called ἀριθμητική [arithmêtikê]. -Both sorts are to be learned in the period next before the eighteenth -year. - -But it must not be assumed that this was the case at Athens. The -philosopher is dealing with an ideal State, where education can be -arranged in the theoretically best way, not with the real Athens, -where the boy might be called away to the counting-house or the farm -at any moment, and many did not stay at school after they had once -learned to read and write. Moreover Plato, as a good Pythagorean, saw -a peculiar appropriateness in making numbers follow music, and his -Dorian sympathies made him divide up education into clearly marked -periods, in each of which only one subject was taught. This -arrangement, I have already shown, did not find favour at Athens. - -His system must, then, be received with caution. It is inherently far -more probable that the simpler, practical arithmetic would be taught -at the elementary schools of letters, which all citizens, including -future tradesmen and artisans, attended, not at some later date in a -separate school. But can any evidence be found for such an -arrangement? Yes, Plato himself in the _Laws_[270] declares that the -future builder ought to play with toy bricks and learn weights and -measurements when he is a child. His builder, at any rate, cannot wait -to learn arithmetic till he is sixteen. Then, in the same work, he -quotes the instance of Egypt, where “a very large number of children -learn practical arithmetic _simultaneously with their letters_,” and -he goes on to commend the methods by which it was taught. Now Egypt in -the _Laws_ is represented as the home of ideal education, a sort of -Utopia. Again, in Plato[271] Protagoras blames his brother Sophists -for “leading their pupils _back_, much against their wish, and casting -them _again_ into the sciences from which they have escaped, practical -arithmetic and astronomy and geometry and music.” How could the -Sophists[272] be described as “leading them back and casting them -again” into studies from which they had escaped? Where had they learnt -these subjects before they were fourteen? It could only have been at -school. But what the Sophists taught must have been new to the boys, -or they would not have paid to learn it. It was new, because the -Sophists taught the advanced and theoretical stages, which appear in -the _Republic_, and the elementary schoolmasters taught the simpler -and concrete elements of arithmetic, weights and measures, and the -calendar, described in the _Laws_, which were necessary to every -Athenian citizen. From all this it may be assumed that the Athenian -boys, like Plato’s Egyptian boys, learnt simple arithmetic, weights -and measures, and perhaps the calendar, “simultaneously with their -letters.” - -Now there are two passages in Xenophon which seem to suit this view. -They are not conclusive in themselves, but they give a valuable hint. -In the first[273] it is stated that any one who knows his letters -could say _how many_ letters there are in “Sokrates,” and in what -order they occur. In the second,[274] in the course of an argument, -two illustrations are used, in close connection with one another. The -passage runs:――“Take the case of Letters. Suppose some one asks you -how many letters there are in ‘Sokrates,’ and which are they?… Or take -the case of Numbers. Suppose some one asks what is twice five?” These -two quotations certainly make simple counting a part of learning -letters, with which study the second passage also closely connects the -multiplication table. It would seem that it was part of a spelling -lesson to answer such questions as “How many letters in ‘Sokrates’?” -Answer, “Eight.” “Where does R come?” Answer, “Fourth.” It may be -noticed also that the symbols of the numerals in ancient Hellas were, -with one or two exceptions, identical with the current alphabet. The -games with cubic dice and knucklebones, to which the boys were much -addicted, must also have needed some arithmetical skill. The natural -conclusion is that simple arithmetic, with, probably, the weights and -measures, and the outlines of the calendar, were taught by the -letter-master: the practice of music by the music-master: while the -theory of numbers, of astronomy, and of music were taught by the -Sophists to μειράκια [meirakia]. - - Fives - ------------------------------- - | | | - | | | Thousands - | O | | - ------------------------------- - | | | - | | | Hundreds - | | O O O | - ------------------------------- - | | | - | | | Tens - | O | O O| - ------------------------------- - | | | - | | | Units - | O | O O O| - ------------------------------- - -Simple counting was done on the fingers. “Reckon on your fingers,” -says a character in Aristophanes,[275] “not with pebbles.” A common -word for counting was πεμπάζειν [pempazein], “to reckon on the five -fingers”; the division of the month into three periods of ten days can -be traced to the same custom. But by various devices it was possible -to count up to very large numbers on the fingers. Pebbles were also -employed to assist in arithmetic. In the case of complicated accounts -a reckoning board (ἄβακος [abakos] or ἄβαξ [abax]) was used, on which -the pebbles varied in value according to their position. Such boards -go back to early days at Athens, for Solon compared the life of a -courtier to a pebble upon them, since he was now worth much and now -little.[276] A character in a fourth-century comedy[277] sends for an -abacus and pebbles, in order that he may do his accounts. The pebbles -were arranged in grooves, being worth one or ten or a hundred and so -forth, according to the groove in which they were placed. If they were -put on the left-hand side of the board, their value was multiplied by -five.[278] The various games of πεσσοί [pessoi], which somewhat -resembled chess, were played on a somewhat similar board to this, and -these chess-boards were known as ἄβακες [abakes]. Now the art of -playing with πεσσοί [pessoi] is more than once coupled by Plato with -arithmetic or mathematics generally in such a way as to show that the -game must have involved mathematical skill.[279] As was usual in -Athens, instruction went hand in hand with amusement, and, in playing -games, the boys learned arithmetic willingly. A similar value seems to -have attached to the game of knucklebones, which the boys in the -_Lusis_ are found playing during their whole holiday. Each boy carried -a large basket of knucklebones, and the loser in each game paid so -many of them over to the winner. The art of playing this game is also -coupled with mathematics by Plato;[280] so it must at any rate have -encouraged the study of arithmetic, in his opinion. In the school -scene of the British Museum amphora, a little bag, usually supposed to -contain knucklebones, is figured: so they may even have been used in -schools for teaching arithmetic. In another school scene this bag is -present with a lyre and ruler; so it was evidently part of the school -furniture. - - [Illustration: PLATE III. - - MUSIC-SCHOOL SCENES - - From a Hudria in the British Museum (E 171).] - -After such revelations of Hellenic educational methods, it is natural -to suppose that the ingenious devices by which the “Egyptians,”[281] -according to Plato, “make simple arithmetic into a game” for their -children, were really used in Attica. One of these devices[282] was as -follows. The master took, say, sixty apples. First he divided them -among two boys, who were made to count their share, thirty each; then -among three boys, twenty each; then among four, fifteen each; then -among five, twelve each; and then among six, ten each. This would -teach the system of factors. Then, again, a real or imaginary -competition in boxing or wrestling[283] was arranged, say in a class -of nine. The boys would work out, by actual experiment, how many -fights would be necessary, if each boy had to fight all the others one -by one, and how many if a system of rounds and byes was introduced. -This might even teach Permutations and Combinations. - -In another case a number of bowls, some containing mixed coins, gold, -silver, and bronze, some all of one sort, would be handed round the -class. The boys would have to count them, add and subtract them, and -so on. Thus they would learn addition and subtraction of money, and -would also gain a clear knowledge of the national coinage. - -Plato was immensely impressed with the educational value of -Arithmetic. “Those who are born with a talent for it,” he says, “are -quick at all learning; while even those who are slow at it, have their -general intelligence much increased by studying it.”[284] “No branch -of education is so valuable a preparation for household management and -politics, and all arts and crafts, sciences and professions, as -arithmetic; best of all, by some divine art, it arouses the dull and -sleepy brain, and makes it studious, mindful, and sharp.”[285] - -The question of the more advanced stages of Mathematics, which were -taught to older boys, may be left for the chapter on Secondary -Education. - - * * * * * - -The chief and often the sole instrument taught in the music school was -the seven-stringed lyre,[286] with a large sounding-board originally -made of a tortoise’s shell.[287] It might be played either with the -hand or else with the “plektron” or striker; the boy Lusis had learnt -to do either.[288] The boys were also taught how to tighten and relax -the strings by turning the pegs till the proper degree of tension was -obtained. They brought their own lyre with them from home, the -paidagogos carrying it behind his charge. This was a wise regulation -from the master’s point of view; for the boys seem to have usually -ruined these instruments by their early efforts.[289] Like the piano, -the lyre required great delicacy of touch and very agile fingers, and -these qualities could only be obtained by continual practice.[290] - -As would naturally be expected, individual tuition was usual in the -lyre-school; instrumental music cannot be learnt in class. The vases -make this point quite clear. The master has a single boy seated in -front of him; both hold lyres in their hands, to which they are -singing, the words of the song being sometimes represented by a string -of little dots. In Plate IV., on the left of this group, a boy is -coming up to take his turn, lyre in hand, while behind him stands his -paidagogos, leaning on a reading-desk and following his charge with -his eyes. On the right is a boy just taking up his flute-case and -preparing to depart, while another sits in the corner, wrapped in his -cloak, waiting for his turn to take a lesson. In Plate III.,[291] the -master is playing a barbitos and apparently singing, while the pupil -plays the flute. On the left is a flute-master playing, and a pupil -just leaving him, flute in hand. Another pupil, with a lyre, is -waiting to take a lesson from the master in the centre, and is amusing -himself meanwhile by playing with an animal that is probably a -leopard,[291] like that which figures in Plate IV. Another pet, a dog, -is howling in disgust at the music. On the right, a pupil with a flute -is advancing to take a lesson from the flute-master in front of him. -Behind him follows a young man, who may be an elder brother replacing -the customary paidagogos for the nonce, or an admirer. In the -background sits a small child, sucking his thumb, probably the younger -brother of one of the pupils, who has come, in accordance with -Aristotle’s advice, to look on, although still too young to learn. - - [Illustration: PLATE IV. - - IN A LYRE-SCHOOL - - From a Hudria in the British Museum (E 172).] - -As soon as his pupils knew how to play, the master taught them the -works of the great lyric poets,[292] which were not taught in the -school of letters. These were set to music, and the boys sang them and -played the accompaniment. Every gentleman at Athens was expected to be -able to sing and play in this manner when he went out to a -dinner-party. The custom, however, began to become unfashionable -during the Peloponnesian War. When old Strepsiades, in the -_Clouds_,[293] asked Pheidippides to take the lyre and sing a song of -Simonides, his new-fashioned son replies that playing the lyre was -quite out of date, and singing over the wine was only fit for a -slave-woman at the grindstone. Whether this state of feeling continued -and whether it had a prejudicial effect on the music-schools cannot be -decided. Sometimes the guests brought their boys to sing to the -company: in the _Peace_ the son of the hero Lamachos is going to sing -Homer, while the coward Kleonumos’ boy has a song of Archilochos -ready. Alkaios and Anakreon were also favourites;[294] the lyric -portions of Kratinos’ comedies, too, are mentioned as sung at -banquets:[295] no doubt, the same was true of the other great -comedians. As the iambic parts of Aeschylus and Euripides were recited -at the dinner-table, it is natural to suppose that their songs were -also sung. The aged Dikasts in the _Wasps_ sing the choruses from -Phrunichos’ _Sidonians_. Old songs like Lamprokles’ “Pallas, dread -sacker of cities” and Kudides’ “A cry that echoes afar” were popular -in earlier times. No doubt there was plenty of variety in accordance -with the master’s taste. At the music school, too, may have been -taught the metrical version, set to music, of the Athenian laws, which -was ascribed to Solon,[296] and that of the legislation of Charondas, -which Athenian gentlemen sang over their wine.[297] Athenian boys were -expected to know the laws by the time that they were epheboi, and may -well have been taught them in this convenient and attractive way at -the lyre-master’s. To know how to play the lyre became the mark of a -liberal education, since every one learned letters, but the poorest -did not enter the music-school. “He doesn’t know the way to play the -lyre,” became a proverb for an uneducated person, who had not had so -many opportunities in life as his wealthier fellow-citizens. So, as a -plea for a defendant we find―― - - He may have stolen. But acquit him, for - He doesn’t know the way to play the lyre.[298] - -To this the Dikast retorts that he has not learnt the lyre either, so -he must be forgiven if he is so stupid as to condemn the accused.[299] - -At the beginning of the fifth century the Hellenes were stimulated, -according to Aristotle,[300] by their growing wealth and importance to -make many educational experiments, especially in music. All manner of -musical instruments were tried in the music-schools, but were rejected -on trial, when the moral effects could be better appreciated. Among -the instruments thus found wanting was the flute. At one time the -flute became so popular at Athens that the majority of the free -citizens could play it. But its moral effect proved to be -unsatisfactory; it was the instrument which belonged to wild religious -orgies, and it aroused that hysterical and almost lunatic -excitement[301] which the Hellenes regarded as a useful medicine, when -taken at long intervals of time, for giving an outlet to such feelings -and working them off the system, in order that a long period of calm -might follow. But such a medicine was most unsuitable to be the daily -food of boys. The flute had two other disadvantages. It distorted the -face sufficiently to horrify a sensitive Hellene.[302] It also -prevented the use of the voice: the boys could not sing to it, as they -sang to the lyre. So Athena, in the old legend, had been quite right -in throwing the instrument away in disgust: it was only suitable for a -Phrygian Satyr, for it made no appeal to the intellect, but only to -the passions.[303] - -This is Aristotle’s account. It may be objected that the vases which -represent scenes in the music-schools show the flute and the lyre -being taught side by side, and apparently equally popular. But these -vases can mostly be traced more or less certainly to the first half of -the fifth century, and so they bear out Aristotle’s statement. -Moreover, the flute did not, of course, die out in Hellas by any -means; it only became an extra, instead of the regular instrument in -schools. The most notable Athenians, Kallias and Kritias and -Alkibiades, are said to have played it.[304] It always remained -popular at Thebes. But at Athens, in the banquets, while the guests -usually played the lyre themselves, the flute was as a rule only -played by professional flute-girls,[305] although on the vases the -guests are sometimes found performing on this instrument also.[306] -Probably the Athenian attitude may be summed up in the “ancient -proverb”:[307] - - A flutist’s brains can never stay: - He puffs his flute, they’re puffed away. - -It was usual to play on two flutes at the same time. Such a pair has -been found,[308] together with a lyre, in a tomb at Athens. The flutes -are somewhat over a foot in length, and have five holes on the upper -and one on the lower side. Each has a separate mouthpiece. Besides -this, flute-players sometimes wore a sort of leathern muzzle[309] over -their mouths; but this does not appear in the schools. The pair of -flutes were carried in a double case, made of some spotted skin; it -had a pocket on one side, to hold the mouthpieces,[310] and a cord -attached by which it could be hung up when not in use. The two flutes -seem to have corresponded to treble and bass, “male” and “female” as -Herodotos calls them. The treble was on the right, the bass on the -left.[311] Flutes could be set to different harmonies, apparently by -some rearrangement of stops. In the case of the flute, as in the case -of the lyre, individual tuition was the rule. First the master played -an air, and then the boy had to repeat it, while the master -criticised.[312] Or the master played the air on a barbitos and sang -to it, while the pupil accompanied him on the flute. This method had -two advantages. The master was able to play at the same time as the -boy, and give him instruction while playing, which the flute prevented -him from doing. The song, too, which he was enabled to sing obviated -one of the chief disadvantages of the flute: for the Hellenes objected -to instrumental music as meaningless, unless it was accompanied by -words. - -There seem to have been music-schools scattered throughout Attica, -besides those established in the capital: the description of the -village boys marching off to the lyre-master’s in a snow-storm without -overcoats has already been quoted. The names of a few masters are -extant. Lampros taught Sophocles the poet.[313] Sokrates[314] -recommends Nikias to send his son to the famous Damon, who “is not -merely a first-class musician, but also just the man to be with boys -like this.” But whether these musicians kept regular schools cannot be -ascertained. Sokrates himself in his later years attended the -music-school of Konnos, and learned among the boys. “I am disgracing -Konnos the music-master,” he says, “who is still teaching me to play -the lyre. The boys who are my schoolfellows laugh at me and call -Konnos the ‘Greybeard teacher.’”[315] The same Konnos adopted the -common but iniquitous custom of bestowing his chief attention on his -more promising pupils, while neglecting the backward.[316] -Aristophanes caricatures Kleon’s school-days as follows: “The boys who -went to school with Kleon say he would often set his lyre to the -Dorian (= Gift-ian) harmony alone. Finally, the lyre-master lost his -temper and told the paidagogos to take him away, saying, “This boy -can’t learn anything but the Briberian (Dorodokisti) mode.”[317] - -The attitude of the philosophers towards music will be discussed -elsewhere. Plato’s view may be summed up in the words which he puts in -the mouth of Protagoras the Sophist.[318] “The music-master makes -rhythm and harmony familiar to the souls of the boys, and they become -gentler and more refined, and having more rhythm and harmony in them, -they become more efficient in speech and in action. The whole life of -Man stands in need of good harmony and good rhythm.” Aristotle’s -attitude is briefly this. “Music is neither a necessary nor a useful -accomplishment in the sense in which Letters are useful, but it -provides a noble and worthy means of occupying leisure-time.”[319] - - * * * * * - -Aristotle mentions that in his day some added drawing and painting to -the three parts of the course.[320] It was not universal, like these, -and it does not seem to have started till the fourth century. In the -_Republic_ and _Laws_ Plato does not attack and criticise it among the -other educational subjects; but it plays so prominent a part in the -_Republic_ that it is obvious that the philosopher regarded it as a -dangerous enemy to the views which he wished to spread. It is -noticeable that the discussion of Art comes in as an after-thought, in -Book X. May it not be inferred that when Plato wrote the earlier -books, drawing and painting were not yet in vogue in the schools, but -they became popular before he had finished his great work? - -In Periclean Athens the possibilities of artistic training had -certainly existed. In the _Protagoras_,[321] as an instance in some -argument, it is suggested that the lad Hippokrates might “go to this -young fellow who has been in Athens of late, Zeuxippos of Heraklea. -Every day that he was with him he would improve as an artist.” Earlier -in the same dialogue Sokrates remarks that his friend might go to -Polukleitos or Pheidias, and pay to be taught sculpture.[322] The -large numbers of boys who became apprentices to the potters at Athens -must have learned line-drawing and designing and painting from the -earliest times. But art probably did not become a usual part of a -liberal, as distinct from a technical, education till the middle of -the fourth century. - -This date is fixed by a passage in Pliny.[323] According to him, its -introduction was due to Pamphilos the Macedonian. At his instance, -first at Sikuon, where he lived, and afterwards in the rest of Hellas, -free boys were taught before everything painting on boxwood, and this -art was included in the first rank of the liberal arts. Now Pamphilos’ -picture of the Herakleidai is mentioned in the _Ploutos_ of -Aristophanes, which appeared in 388 B.C. Apelles, his pupil, began to -come into prominence about 350: Pamphilos himself seems to have lived -on till the close of the century. The introduction of painting into -the schools at Sikuon may therefore be dated, roughly, about 360 B.C., -and from there the custom spread over Hellas. By 300 B.C. no doubt art -had become a regular part of the educational curriculum; for the -philosopher Teles,[324] who probably lived about that time, mentions -the gymnastic trainer, the letter-master, the musician, and the -painter as the four chief burdens of boys. A trace of the new -art-schools, with their technical vocabulary, is found in the _Laws_, -the work of Plato’s old age:[325] “paint in or shade off,” he says, -“or whatever the artists’ boys call it.” - -Of the methods used in drawing and painting in Hellas little trace is -left. Polugnotos and his contemporaries had produced idealised -pictures, taking points from many beautiful men and women and uniting -them to make one perfect man or woman. When Idealism gave way to -Realism in Hellas, the change affected painting also. The artists -tried to create a real illusion in their works, taking subjects like -chairs or tables and making the spectator believe them to be -real. They were helped by the developments of perspective and -foreshortening, which were discovered at this time. It is against this -exaggerated realism and the choice of homely subjects that Plato’s -attack is directed: he hates such illusions as shams.[326] In the -diatribes of the _Republic_ the possibility of idealised painting -seems to be forgotten. Whether the boys in the art-schools also -suffered by this change and were condemned to draw chairs and tables -only cannot be decided. - -The pupils, of course, did not have paper to draw and paint upon, nor -was canvas employed. Ordinarily they used white wood, boxwood for -preference, owing to its smoothness. Lead or charcoal would serve for -drawing; for erasures, instead of india-rubber a sponge was used.[327] -They may, perhaps, have practised on their wax tablets. One process -was σκιαγραφία [skiagraphia] “shadow-drawing,” which produced rough -sketches in light and shade: these seem to have been only intelligible -when considered from a distance. Plato regarded them with distrust, as -a sort of conjuring.[328] - -In ordinary painting, which might be either watercolour or -encaustic,[329] the first thing was to sketch in the outline -(ὑπογράφειν, περιγραφή [hypographein, perigraphê]); the artist then -filled in (ἀπεργάζεσθαι [apergazesthai]) the picture with his colours, -with perpetual glances, now to the original, now to the copy, mixing -his paints the while. Beginners would, no doubt, rub out (ἐξαλείφειν -[exaleiphein]) frequently, and paint in again. - -Aristotle,[330] in discussing artistic education, notices that it gave -boys a good eye for appreciating art, and enabled them to exercise -good taste in buying furniture, pottery, and other household -requisites, which, to judge from the scanty relics, must have been -masterpieces of beauty in the house of a cultivated Athenian. But -still more important, it gave them “an eye for bodily beauty”:[331] -which suggests that the human form, especially its proportions, formed -the chief study of the art-schools. Proportion was the essence of -Hellenic art; the great sculptors, as is well known, spent much time -in drawing up a canon of perfect proportions for the human body. The -boys may well have used their companions in the palaistrai for models, -and the canons of physical proportion which they were taught by the -art-master would serve to stimulate them with a desire to attain to -such a perfection of body by their own athletic exercises. - - - [207] Lucian, _Loves_, 44-45. - - [208] Aischin. _ag. Timarch._ 12; Thuc. vii. 29; Plato, - _Laws_. - - [209] Lucian, _Parasite_, 61. - - [210] Aischin. _ag. Timarch._ 12. - - [211] _Anthol. Palat._ x. 43 has been quoted as evidence - that six hours’ work a day was a maximum. The epigram runs: - “Six hours suffice for work; rest of the day, expressed in - numerals, says ζῆθι [zêthi], ‘enjoy life.’” But the point is - the joke that the numerals for 7, 8, 9, 10, the later hours - of the day, are ζʹ [z´], ηʹ [ê´], θʹ [th´], ιʹ [i´], which - spells ζῆθι [zêthi]. The epigram does not mean to state a - fact; the joke is its only _raison d’être_. In any case - schools are not mentioned. - - [212] Herondas, _Schoolmaster_ (iii.) 53. - - [213] Mahaffy, _Greek Education_, p. 54. - - [214] Lucian, _Nekuom._ 17. - - [215] Dem. _de Cor._ 315. - - [216] Theoph. _Char._ 30. - - [217] _Ibid._ 30. - - [218] Herondas, iii. 3. - - [219] Demos. _ag. Aphobos_, i. 828. - - [220] Demos. _Crown_, 312. - - [221] Demos. _Crown_, 270. This is the most probable - restoration of the facts from the statements of the opposing - orators. - - [222] _Ibid._ 313. - - [223] Aelian, _Var. Hist._ xii. 9 (at Klazomenai). - - [224] Benches do not appear on vases, because a row of boys - involves elaborate perspective; the artist preferred to take - single boys on stools, as a sort of section of a class, just - as he gave the stools only two legs. Xen. _Banquet_, 4. 27, - shows two boys sitting side by side. It is not necessary to - reject benches, with Girard. - - [225] Alexis, _Linos_ (in Athen. 164 B.C.). See Illustr. - Plates I. A and I. B. - - [226] Plut. _Alkib._ 7. - - [227] Herondas, iii. 83. 96. - - [228] See Illustr. Plate No. I. A. - - [229] Plato, _Protag._ 326 D. - - [230] In Clement of Alexandria, who gives two others. - _Strom._ v. 8 (p. 675, Potter). A writing copy set by a - master, though not of the alphabetical kind described by - Clement, is actually extant on a wax tablet in the British - Museum (Add. MS. 34,186). It consists of two lines of verse - written out by the master and copied twice by a pupil. - - [231] Aeschylus, _Choeph._ 209. - - [232] Illustr. Plate I. A. - - [233] Xen. _Econ._ xv. 5. - - [234] Demosth. _de Cor._ 313. - - [235] Plato, _Laws_, 810 A (cp. the prizes for calligraphy - in Teos). - - [236] Athen. 453 d. - - [237] Giles’ _Manual of Comparative Philology_, § 604. - - [238] Athen. 453 c, d. - - [239] A fragment of terra-cotta has been found at Athens, - containing on it: - αρ βαρ γαρ δαρ [ar bar gar dar] - ερ βερ γερ δερ [er ber ger der] - which must have belonged to some spelling-book――perhaps the - brick formed part of the wall of a schoolroom.――Quoted by - Girard, p. 131. - - [240] Athen. 454 f. - - [241] This is by no means inconceivable, when it is - remembered that the Hellenes often set even the laws to - music, in order to make them easier to learn and remember. - - [242] Plato, _Polit._ 278 A, B. - - [243] _Ibid._ - - [244] _Ibid._ 285 C. - - [245] Xen. _Econ._ viii. 14. - - [246] See Illustr. Plate I. A. - - [247] Case E 190. - - [248] Plato, _Protag._ 325 E. - - [249] Plato, _Laws_, 811. - - [250] τὰ κεφάλαια [ta kephalaia]――a phrase used in later - times for “commonplaces,” “topics,” which suggests that - these selections were of that sort. - - [251] As the great speeches are picked out from Shakespeare - for “repetition” nowadays. - - [252] Plato, _Laws_, 802, 811. - - [253] Isokrates (_Paneg._ 74 A). He says the object was to - make the boys hate the barbarians; as, _e.g._, English boys - might learn _Henry V._ in order to dislike the French! - - [254] Xen. _Banquet_, iii. 5. - - [255] _Ibid_. - - [256] _Ibid_. iv. 6. - - [257] Aristoph. _Frogs_, 1035. - - [258] From the _Banqueters_. - - [259] Straton (in Athen. 382, 383). - - [260] Aristoph. _Frogs_, 1032. - - [261] Athen. 164. - - [262] Aristoph. _Birds_, 471; _Wasps_, 1446. 1401. - - [263] Plato, _Hipp. Maj._ 286 B. - - [264] Xen. _Banquet_, iv. 27. School friendships are also - mentioned in Aristot. _Eth._ viii. 12; Aristoph. _Clouds_, - 1006. - - [265] Athen. 242 d. - - [266] The translation is free, and I omit a good deal that - is less relevant. - - [267] For a picture of such a flogging see p. 599 of Bury’s - _Roman Empire_. - - [268] Plato, _Laws_, 809 C. - - [269] The distinction between λογιστική [logistikê], - reckoning up and comparing numbers, chiefly in bills and the - like, practical arithmetic, and ἀριθμητική [arithmêtikê], - theory of numbers, is noted in Plato, _Gorg._ 451 B. - - [270] Plato, _Laws_, 643 B.C. - - [271] Plato, _Protag._ 318 D. - - [272] So Theodoros in the _Theaitetos_. - - [273] Xen. _Econ._ viii. 14. - - [274] Xen. _Mem._ iv. 4. 7. - - [275] Aristoph. _Wasps_, 656. - - [276] In Diogenes Laertius, i. 2. 10. - - [277] Alexis (in Athen. 117 e). - - [278] An abacus of a very similar sort is still in use in - China and Japan, even in banks. The “pebbles” are pushed to - and fro, not in grooves, but on wires passing through the - middle of them. Calculations can be made by this means with - marvellous rapidity.] - - [279] e.g. _Polit._ 299 D. πεττείαν ἢ ξύμπασαν ἀριθμητικήν - [petteian ê xympasan arithmêtikên]. - - [280] Plato, _Phaid._ 274. - - [281] Plato, _Laws_, 819 B. - - [282] The restoration of this process rests on Athen. 671; - the other two are purely conjectural. - - [283] Suggests at once Hellenic, not Egyptian customs. - - [284] Plato, _Rep._ 526 B. - - [285] Plato, _Laws_, 747. - - [286] Technically speaking, this was λύρα [lyra], the κιθάρα - [kithara] being a professional instrument which was not - taught at school. - - [287] Illustr. Plate I. B. - - [288] Plato, _Lusis_, 209 B. On Inscriptions there are - separate prizes for the two methods. - - [289] Xen. _Econ._ ii. 13. - - [290] _Ibid._ xvii. 7. - - [291] Cp. British Museum Vase E 57, on which a man is - leading a leopard by a string. - - [292] Plato, _Protag._ 326 B. - - [293] Aristoph. _Clouds_, 1356. - - [294] Aristoph. fragment of _Banqueters_. - - [295] Aristoph. _Knights_, 526. - - [296] Plut. _Solon_, iii. - - [297] Hermippos (in Athen. 619 b). - - [298] Aristoph. _Wasps_, 959. - - [299] _Ibid._ 989. - - [300] Aristot. _Pol._ viii. 6. 11. - - [301] For this reason it was opposed to _Dorian_ influences - by Pratinas. It was excluded from the Pythian games (Pausan. - 10. vii. 5). Pratinas bids it be content to “lead drunk - young men in their carousals and brawls.” - - [302] Telestes, in his defence of the flute, could only - retort that Athena, being condemned to eternal spinsterhood, - ought not to be particular about her looks (Athen. 617). - - [303] Aristot. _Pol._ viii. 6. 11. - - [304] Athen. 184 d. Plutarch, however, says that when - Alkibiades’ masters tried to make him learn the flute, he - refused, declaring that it was unfit for gentlemen (_Alk._ - ii. 5). - - [305] Not a respected profession at Athens. - - [306] Brit. Mus. E 495, 64, 71. - - [307] Athen. 337 f. - - [308] Smith’s _Dictionary of Antiquities_. - - [309] φορβεία [phorbeia]. It belonged to professionals. - - [310] γλωσσοκομεῖον [glôssokomeion]. - - [311] See the “Inscription” of the _Andria_ and other plays - of Terence. - - [312] See Illustr. Plate II. - - [313] Athen. 20 f. - - [314] Plato, _Laches_, 180 D. - - [315] Plato, _Euthud._ 272 C. - - [316] _Ibid._ 295 D. - - [317] Aristoph. _Knights_, 987-996. - - [318] Plato, _Protag._ 326 B. - - [319] Aristot. _Pol._ viii. 3. 7. - - [320] _Ibid._ viii. 3. 1. - - [321] Plato, _Protag._ 318 B. - - [322] _Ibid._ 311 C. - - [323] Plin. _Hist. Nat._ 35. - - [324] Stob. _Floril._ 98, p. 535. - - [325] Plato, _Laws_, 769 B. - - [326] See _Rep._ X. 596 E, 605 A, etc. In the _Sophist_, 235 - D, 266 D, etc., Plato reserves his denunciation for - φανταστική [phantastikê] which creates illusions; he almost - approves of εἰκαστική [eikastikê]. Idealised painting is - hinted at in _Rep._ 472 D, 484 C. - - [327] Aeschylus, _Agamemnon_, 1329. - - [328] Plato, _Theait._ 208 E. - - [329] The modern oil process was not employed till late on - in the Renaissance. Fresco was common. - - [330] Aristot. _Pol._ viii. 3. 12. - - [331] θεωρητικὸν τοῦ περὶ τὰ σώματα κάλλους [theôrêtikon tou - peri ta sômata kallous]. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -ATHENS AND THE REST OF HELLAS: PHYSICAL EDUCATION - - -It is well known that the Hellenes attached an enormous importance to -physical exercise. This was partly, no doubt, due to their intense -appreciation of bodily beauty, which it was the endeavour of their -gymnastic training to produce. But it must be remembered that to be in -“good condition” was essential to them. Any morning an Hellenic -citizen might find himself called upon to take the field against an -invader, or might be despatched to ravage an enemy’s territory. Only -the most cogent excuses were accepted. Plato[332] has left a vivid -picture of a rich man, who has lived in idleness and luxury, suddenly -called out to serve his country. Unhappy Dives marches along panting -and perspiring, he is ill on board ship, and in battle when he has to -charge or fight vigorously, he has no wind and is in a state of -hopeless misery; while his poorer or wiser companions, who are “lean -and wiry, and have lived in the open air,” mock at him and despise -him. Sokrates points out to young Epigenes,[333] who has neglected his -physical condition, what risks he runs. In battle, when a retreat is -sounded, he will be left behind by his companions, and be either -killed or taken prisoner by the foe; and the lot of the captive was -frequently slavery for life, unless his friends ransomed him. But -there were also intellectual and moral risks. “Bodily debility,” says -Sokrates, “frequently causes a loss of memory, and low spirits, and a -peevish temper, and even madness, to invade a man, so as to make even -intellectual pursuits impossible.” To be a good citizen and to be a -good thinker a man must always be in good physical condition. It -became a duty to oneself and to the State “to live in the open air and -accustom oneself to manly toils and sweat, avoiding the shade and -unmanly ways of life.”[334] By divine ordinance, “Sweat was the -doorstep of manly virtue,” as old Hesiod had sung.[335] - -This addiction to gymnastic exercises of all kinds was characteristic -of the Hellenic peoples from the days of Homer. The original object -had been symmetrical development of the body, health, speed, strength, -and agility. But, as the Egyptian sage remarked, the Hellenes were a -nation of children――it is just that which gives to them their charm -and interest――and children usually and naturally care most for the -body. Consequently athletics were carried too far: they became an end -in themselves, instead of being merely a means of attaining physical -activity and health. The professional athlete became a sort of spoilt -child, fed at public expense,[336] courted by crowds of admirers, and -all the time he was quite useless for everything except his own -particular sort of contest, boxing or wrestling or the like. The -tendency was ruinous: the Hellenes preferred to be good gymnasts -rather than good soldiers.[337] The competitor, boy or man, who -entered for one of the great prizes had to live in complete idleness -from other pursuits.[338] Such professionals “slept all the day long, -and if they departed from their prescribed system of training in the -very slightest degree, they were seized with serious diseases.”[339] -Consequently they were useless as soldiers, since in war it is -necessary to be wide awake, not torpid, and to be able to stand -vicissitudes of heat and cold, and not to be made ill by changes of -diet. Specialisation even led to deformity. The long-distance runner -developed thick legs and narrow shoulders, the boxer broad shoulders -and thin legs.[340] It is to this specialisation that Galen[341] -attributes the decline in utility of Hellenic athletics. Philostratos -even notes that only in the good old days was the health of athletes -not actually impaired by their exercises. In those times, he says, -they grew old late, and took part in eight or nine Olympic -contests――retained, that is, their efficiency for thirty years or -more; moreover, they were as good soldiers as they were athletes. -Later, these habits changed, and athletes became averse to war, -torpid, effeminate, luxurious in their diet. The medical profession -took upon itself to advise them――a good thing in its way, but -unsuitable for athletes; for it told them to sit still after meals -before taking exercise, and introduced them to elaborate cookery. -Bribery also came into vogue among the professionals; usurers began to -enter the training schools on purpose to lend them money for bribing -their opponents.[342] The first recorded instance of this was early in -the fourth century.[343] - - [Illustration: PLATE V. A. - - SCENES IN A PALAISTRA - - _Archaeologische Zeitung_, 1878, Plate 11. From a Kulix at Munich, - attributed to Euphronios.] - - [Illustration: PLATE V. B. - - SCENE IN A PALAISTRA――A BOY WITH HALTERES, A BOY WITH JAVELIN, AND - TWO PAIDOTRIBAI - - _Archaeologische Zeitung_, 1878, Plate II. From a Kulix at Munich, - attributed to Euphronios.] - -Critics of this exaggerated athleticism were not wanting, even in the -earliest times. The attack begins with Xenophanes of Kolophon. In an -elegiac poem he writes: “If a man wins a victory at Olympia … either -by speed of foot or in the pentathlon, or by wrestling, or competing -in painful boxing, or in the dread contest called the pankration, his -countrymen will look upon him with admiration, and he will receive a -front seat in the games, and eat his dinners at the public cost, and -be presented with some gift that he will treasure. All this he will -get, even if he only win a horse race. Yet he is not as worthy as I; -for my wisdom is better than the strength of men and steeds. Nay, this -custom is foolish, and it is not right to honour strength more than -the excellence of wisdom. Not by good boxing, not by the pentathlon, -nor by wrestling, nor yet by speed of foot, which is the most honoured -in the contests of all the feats of human strength――not so would a -city be well governed. Small joy would it get from a victory at -Olympia: such things do not fatten the dark corners of a city.” - -Pass straight from this to the works of Pindar, in order to see -whether Xenophanes’ attack was justified. To Pindar the world holds -nothing better than an Olympian victory. Be the descendant of athletes -and be an athlete yourself――that is the summit of human attainment and -bliss. His gods are either athletes themselves or founders of athletic -contests. A man’s true desires may usually be best traced in the -conception which he forms of the future state: Pindar’s portrait of -Elysium is characteristic. First the scenery, a magnificent -description in his best manner: - - In that Underworld the sun shines in his might - Through our night. - Round that city through the dewy meadow-ways - Roses blaze. - Through the fragrant shadows, bright with golden gleams, - Fruitage teems.… - Every flower of joyance blooms nor withers there.[344] - -And in this Paradise how are the shades of the departed occupying -themselves? “Some take their joy in horses, some in gymnasia, some in -draughts.”[345] That is the highest bliss conceivable, in Pindar’s -opinion. - -But Euripides did not agree with him. He denounces the athletic life -with much vigour.[346] “Of countless ills in Hellas, the race of -athletes is quite the worst.… They are slaves of their jaw and -worshippers of their belly.… In youth they go about in splendour, the -admiration of their city, but when bitter old age comes upon them, -they are cast aside like worn-out coats. I blame the custom of the -Hellenes, who gather together to watch these men, honouring a useless -pleasure.[347] Who ever helped his fatherland by winning a crown for -wrestling, or speed of foot, or flinging the quoit, or giving a good -blow on the jaw? Will they fight the foe with quoits, or smite their -fists through shields? Garlands should be kept for the wise and good, -and for him who best rules the city by his temperance and justice, or -by his words drives away evil deeds, preventing strife and sedition.” - -In return for this, the athlete-loving populace, finding their voice -in the popular poet Aristophanes, denounced Euripides and his Sophist -friends for emptying the gymnasia and making the boys desire only a -good tongue, instead of a sound body, turning them into pale-faced, -indoor pedants, fit for nothing but jabbering nonsense. The attitude -of the poet in the _Clouds_ and _Frogs_ is just that of an average -schoolboy discussing a student. - -Plato has already been quoted as an authority against the athlete of -his day. In the _Laws_ he rejects every kind of gymnastics which is -not strictly conducive to military efficiency, and, like the Spartans, -condemns the pankration and boxing. Races in the ideal State are to be -run in full armour, and the javelin and spear are to replace the -quoit. It is exactly the position of some moderns, who would -substitute shooting and field-days for cricket and football. The case -against the athletes may be closed with Aristotle’s testimony: he also -condemns the specialisation of the trained professional.[348] - -But these denunciations of athletes do not apply so much to Athens as -to the other States of Hellas. The Athenian Agora was full of the -statues of generals and patriots, not, as was the usual custom, of -athletes.[349] The author of the treatise on the Athenian -constitution,[350] writing in the early days of the Peloponnesian War, -notices that the democracy had driven gymnastics out of fashion.[351] -He writes as one of the aristocrats who, like Pindar and his princely -friends, cared mainly for the body and the outward beauties of life: -the democracy was vulgar, for it could not spend all its time in -bodily exercises and musical banquets. No doubt at that period in -Athens, as can be seen in Aristophanes, there was a reaction in favour -of intellectual pursuits against the exclusive athleticism of the -preceding age: the time of the citizens in a great democracy was also -largely monopolised by State duties, whether in the Assembly or in the -Law Courts or in fighting by sea or land. But athletics still remained -quite sufficiently popular even at Athens, and athletic “shop” -remained one of the chief topics of conversation at a dinner-party.[352] - - * * * * * - -Gymnastic exercises centred round two sorts of buildings which are -often confused, the “gymnasium” and the “palaistra.” The former may be -said to correspond to the whole series of fields and buildings -intended for games, which surround a modern public school, including -football and cricket grounds, running track and jumping pit, fives -courts, and so forth. The “palaistra” often resembled little more than -the playground of a village school: it only demanded a sandy floor, -and sufficient privacy to protect the exercises from intrusion: such -buildings could be run up at private expense in the smallest villages, -and were often attached to private houses. A “gymnasium,” on the other -hand, must have cost a vast sum to erect: even a great capital like -Athens only possessed three in the fourth century; small towns must -have been unable to afford them at all. But the gymnasia were public -buildings, open to all; they were always full of citizens of all ages, -practising or watching others practise; they were a fashionable place -of resort, where Sophists lectured in the big halls, and philosophers -taught in the shady gardens. For the trainer who wished to instruct -his class of boys they were wholly unsuitable; besides, any casual -stranger could stand by and get a lesson for nothing. Consequently, -even at Athens, the boys were taught in palaistrai which could be -closed to the public:[353] in the towns and villages there was no -other place. - -It is quite true that boys went to the gymnasia. Aristophanes[354] -talks of “a nice little boy on his way home from the gymnasium.” In -Antiphon,[355] some older boys are practising the javelin in a -gymnasium; a younger boy, who had been standing among the spectators, -being called by his paidotribes, runs across the course and is killed. -If the reading “paidotribes,” for which K. F. Hermann would substitute -“paidagogos,” is correct, we find a paidotribes and his class of -younger boys present in a gymnasium, probably to practise -javelin-throwing, which must have demanded a larger space than the -palaistra often afforded. The elder boys are probably not under his -tuition, for they are using real javelins, not the unpointed shafts -which were employed at school. Paidotribai with small palaistrai may -often have taken their classes to the free public gymnasia to practise -the diskos, the javelin, and running, which required a large space. -But none the less the palaistra was the usual scene of the teaching of -boys.[356] It must not, however, be supposed that a palaistra was -always reserved for boys. The “many palaistrai,” which the democracy -built for itself,[357] were doubtless as much public buildings, open -to all ages, as the Akademeia or Lukeion. The palaistrai owned or -hired by private teachers must have been open to adults when the boys -were not present; that which is the scene of the _Lusis_ was -apparently attended by two classes, one of boys and the other of -youths, who only met there on festival days. In the palaistra of -Taureas, however, mentioned in the _Charmides_, the different classes -seem all to meet in the undressing-room; but on that occasion the -building may have been open for general practice, not for teaching. -Some such arrangement into classes must have taken place in the -village palaistrai.[358] The master who taught the boys in the -palaistra was called the paidotribes, “boy-rubber”: he must have owed -his name to the great part which rubbing, whether with oil or with -various sorts of dust, played in athletics.[359] He was expected to be -scientific. He had to know what exercises would suit what -constitutions:[360] he is often coupled with the doctor.[361] His -object was to prevent, the doctor’s to cure, diseases. He even -prescribed diet. Besides health, he was expected to aim at beauty and -strength.[362] His training, in Plato’s opinion, also served to -produce firmness of character and strength of will: he must therefore -know how much training to administer to each boy, for too much would -cause excess of these qualities and lead to savage brutality, and too -little would result in effeminacy.[363] - -Since so much science was demanded of the paidotribes, parents -exercised much forethought in choosing a gymnastic school for their -boys:[364] they would “call upon their friends and relations to give -advice, and deliberate for many days,” in order to find a trainer -whose instructions would “make their son’s body a useful servant to -his mind, not likely by its bad condition to compel him to shirk his -duty in war or elsewhere.”[365] This at Athens, no doubt: in the -smaller towns and villages there could have been little choice: -parents must have taken what they could get. - -On arriving at the chosen palaistra with his paidagogos the boy would -find a class assembling. He would first go into the undressing-room[366] -and strip. For all the exercises were performed naked. This no doubt -gave the trainer a good opportunity of watching which muscles most -required development, and what constitutional weaknesses, if any, must -be treated circumspectly. Passing into the palaistra proper, the boy -would find an enclosure surrounded, in the case of the more expensive -schools, with pillars. There would be no roof. Hellenic custom -maintained that it was healthy to expose the naked body to the open -air and the mid-day sun: a white skin was regarded as a sign of -effeminacy.[367] If the sun became dangerously hot, little caps were -worn, which at other times hung on the walls of the palaistra. The -floor was sand. Before wrestling or practising the pankration or -jumping, the boys had to break up the soil with pickaxes[368] in order -to make it soft: these pickaxes were also suspended on the walls. -Beside them would be also _kôrukoi_ or punch-balls, _haltêres_ (a sort -of dumb-bell, used for jumping and other exercises), the scrapers with -which the dirt and sweat were removed, bags to hold the cords which -were used as boxing-gloves, and spare javelins. Grown-up men were not -allowed to enter during the lessons, but could apparently, if they -wished, watch “from outside,” that is, probably, from the -dressing-room, where we often find Sokrates conversing with the -pupils, boys and lads: he could not, probably, penetrate further. - -The symbol of office which marked the paidotribes was a long forked -stick depicted in the vases.[369] This was probably derived from the -branch which the umpires at the games held in their hands. The two -symbols are so much alike when represented on the vases[370] that it -is often hard to distinguish them. There were generally several -under-masters in the palaistra. The more proficient boys also were -employed in teaching backward schoolfellows; these “pupil-teachers” -appear on vases,[371] holding the stick of office like the grown-up -masters. No doubt, poor boys managed to get instruction in this manner -from their richer friends in the public gymnasia and palaistrai, -without attending a school at all. - -The staff of a palaistra also included professional flute-players, for -most of the exercises[372] were performed to the sound of a flute, in -order that good time might be preserved in the various movements. The -player in these cases wore the φορβεία [phorbeia] or mouth-band.[373] - -As I have pointed out in Chapter II., although the literary -authorities make gymnastic training of a sort begin with the seventh -year, it is not at all probable that the more recognised exercises, -such as boxing and wrestling, began till a good many years later. The -vases suggest that these subjects were taught some years after letters -and music had begun, for they represent only older boys as learning -them. Aristotle seems to vouch for a graduated course of gymnastic -exercises during boyhood.[374] - - [Illustration: PLATE VI. A. - - IN THE PALAISTRA: WRESTLERS, PAIDOTRIBES, BOY PREPARING GROUND - - Gerhard’s _Auserlesene Vasenbilder_, cclxxi. Fig. 2.] - - [Illustration: PLATE VI. B. - - IN THE PALAISTRA: BOY PUTTING ON BOXING-THONG, A PANKRATION LESSON, - AND A PAIDOTRIBES - - Gerhard’s _Auserlesene Vasenbilder_, cclxxi. Fig. 1.] - -What did the boys learn at the palaistra in the meantime? Deportment -and easy exercises. A passage in Aristophanes informs us that they -were taught the most graceful way to sit down and get up.[375] Vases -represent boys learning how to stand straight. There were also all -sorts of exercises in which the unpointed javelin played the part of a -training-rod and the halteres the part of dumb-bells. The paidotribes -might also try to strengthen particular muscles in particular boys. In -an epigram,[376] a trainer is exercising a boy’s middle by bending him -over his knee, and then, while holding his feet fast, swinging him -over backwards. - -No doubt what was known as “gesticulation” (to cheironomein) -[τὸ χειρονομεῖν] played a large part in this earlier training. -“Gesticulation” meant a scientific series of gestures and movements of -all the limbs, somewhat like the modern systems of physical education -taught by Sandow and others. It was chiefly an exercise for the arms, -as the name implies, but on a celebrated occasion Hippokleides the -Athenian stood on his head on a table and “gesticulated” with his -feet.[377] The particular movements were very carefully designed, and -were all intended to be beautiful and gentlemanly.[378] Gesticulation -served as a preparation for various dancing-systems, but was distinct -from dancing, for Charmides was able to gesticulate but unable to -dance.[379] It was also preparatory to gymnastics, for it resembled -the movements of a boxer sparring at the air for lack of an -opponent.[380] The halteres were possibly often employed, for they -played a part in many gymnastic exercises.[381] This “gesticulation,” -then, being a preliminary to gymnastics and dancing, would be the -natural thing for the small boys to learn in the palaistra. Other -early exercises were rope-climbing[382] and a sort of leap-frog.[383] -The various kinds of ball-game,[384] mostly designed to exercise the -body scientifically, may also have been employed. Of the regular -exercises of the palaistra, which I am about to discuss, running and -jumping would suit quite small boys; the diskos and javelin could also -be begun at an early age, for smaller sizes were made for children. - - * * * * * - -The age at which the recognised exercises were first taught no doubt -varied with individual taste and physical capacity: no strict line can -be drawn. These exercises were wrestling, boxing, the pankration, -jumping, running, throwing the diskos and the javelin. - -_Wrestling_ (πάλη [palê]) was probably regarded as the most important -of these subjects, for it gave its name to the Palaistra. For this -exercise the soil was broken up with the pickaxe and watered: the -bodies of the combatants were oiled beforehand. By these means the -Hellenes prevented their boys from disfiguring their bodies with bumps -and bruises, and the slipperiness of the ground and of the -antagonist’s body made the exercise more difficult and therefore more -valuable. Three throws were necessary for victory. There were two -sorts of wrestling. In one the victor had to throw his antagonist -without coming to the ground himself; this was a matter of ingenious -twists and turns somewhat like the Japanese jiu-jitsu. In the other -both combatants rolled over and over on the ground: this was less -scientific. The leading paidotribai had their own favourite systems of -wrestling, with various openings, as in chess, and various ways of -meeting them. “What style of wrestling did you learn at the -Palaistra?” Kleon asks the sausage-seller.[385] When two boys were set -to wrestle in school, they were not allowed to contend as they pleased -with a view to victory, but had to carry out the directions of the -paidotribes.[386] A fragment of a system of wrestling has been -unearthed at Oxurhunchos.[387] - -Suppose there are two boys, Charmides and Glaukon. The paidotribes -sets them to wrestle, while the rest of the class watch. He holds a -long forked stick in his hand. Pointing with it to Charmides, he says, -“You put your right hand between his legs and grip him.” Then to -Glaukon, “Close your legs on it, and thrust your left side against his -side.” To Charmides, “Throw him off with your left hand.” To Glaukon, -“Shift your ground, and engage.” Each group of directions, or figure -σχῆμα [schêma], as it was called, closes with the word “Engage” πλέξον -[plexon]. At this point, probably, the two boys were allowed to -wrestle at will, the result, however, being foreseen and inevitable -owing to the previous moves. - -An epigram in the _Anthology_ represents instruction of this sort -being given: the boy retorts in the middle, “I can’t possibly do it, -Diophantos; that’s not the way boys wrestle.”[388] - -But, to use a parallel given by Isokrates, a pupil is not yet a -complete orator, when he knows how to create pathos, irony, and so -forth, and has been taught the parts of a speech: he has still to -learn when and where and in what order to employ these several -artifices. So with wrestling. A boy who knows his “figures” is not yet -a wrestler: he has got to learn when is the right moment to employ -each of them in an actual contest with a real antagonist. “When the -paidotribes has taught his pupils the ‘figures’ invented for bodily -training and practised them and made them perfect in these, he makes -the boys go through their exercises again and accustoms them to -physical toil, and compels them to string together one by one the -figures which they have learnt, that they may have a firmer grasp of -them and get a clearer comprehension of the right occasions for using -them: for it is impossible to comprehend these in an exact -science.”[389] The boys have to judge for themselves, in the heat of -the contest, which figure it will be expedient to use: the trainer -cannot fix that beforehand. But they will best be able to judge, if by -long practice they have discovered which figures suit them best and -which prove fatal to a particular type of opponent. - -_Boxing_ was similarly taught by a series of “figures.” The boys used -the light gloves, consisting of strings wound round the hands, not the -heavy, metal-weighted gloves which professional athletes wore. The -_pankration_[390] was a mixture of boxing and wrestling: the boys -usually wore similar gloves for this but left the fingers unfastened, -only the wrists and knuckles being protected: sometimes they fought -with bare hands. For both these exercises it was usual to wear dogskin -caps, in order to protect the ears from injury. The pankration seems -to have been regarded as an unsatisfactory game for boys: so it was -excluded from both Olympian and Pythian games till a comparatively -late date. For one thing, it was dangerous, and the exercise was very -severe. But in the palaistra, carefully regulated by the paidotribes -and stopped when the fighting became dangerous, no doubt it was -harmless enough. Alkibiades, however, once succeeded in biting an -opponent who was pressing him hard, being ready to do anything rather -than be beaten. “You bite like a girl, Alkibiades!” exclaimed the -indignant boy. “No, like a lion,” answered Alkibiades.[400] - - [Illustration: PLATE VII. - - _Photo by Mr. R. Coupland._ - - STADION AT DELPHI FROM THE FORTIFICATIONS OF PHILOMELOS. - Length about 220 yards. - - - _Photo by Mr. R. Coupland._ - - STADION AT DELPHI FROM THE FORTIFICATIONS OF PHILOMELOS. - A nearer view.] - -_Running_ needs no comment: the methods are much the same in all ages. -The chief distances for races in Hellas were the Stadion or 200 -yards,[401] the Diaulos or quarter-mile, and the Long-distance race, -which varied from three-quarter mile to about three miles. The race in -armour was not taught to boys. Races were often run over soft sand, -where the runners sank in, just as long-distance races in England -often include a ploughed field or two. The sand made running both a -more severe exercise (so that a shorter distance sufficed) and also a -better training for war. - -For the _long jump_ the Hellenes used the “halteres” or light -dumb-bells, to assist their momentum.[402] Even in competitions, a -flute-player stood by, to give the competitors the assistance of his -music: no doubt it helped them to manage their steps so as to “take -off” on the right spot. They alighted into a large sandy pit, dug up -by the ever-present pickaxe: the jump was only measured if they came -down on to this evenly, leaving a clear trace of their foot. - -The _diskos_ was a flat circle of polished bronze or other metal.[403] -The specimen in the British Museum is between 8 and 9 inches in -diameter, and is inscribed with athletic pictures on either side. It -was flung with either hand. A great many attitudes were necessary -before the diskos was launched, and every muscle of the body must have -been well exercised in the process. The time was given, in the -palaistra, by a flute-player. In competitions both the distance and -the direction of the throw were taken into consideration. - -Boys learnt to throw the _javelin and spear_ by practising with long -unpointed rods, which were also used for a variety of physical -exercises. The mark seems to have been a sort of croquet-hoop or pair -of compasses, fixed into the ground: other targets were also -employed.[404] The vases which represent this pursuit often show the -paidotribes carrying this hoop or fixing it into the ground. It was -planted at a fixed distance which was stepped out. - -It may be mentioned, before we leave the “paidotribes,” that his fee -for his whole course seems to have been a μνᾶ [mna], about £4:[405] -this enabled the pupil to attend his lectures “for ever,” that is, -perhaps till the course was finished. Or perhaps this sum made a pupil -a life-member of a particular private palaistra. - -Let us now look into one of the gymnasia at Athens, the Akademeia or -Lukeion. We will suppose that it is late in the afternoon, for this -was a favourite time for taking exercise: the Athenians liked to get a -good appetite for their evening meal. Outside, a troop of young men -who intend to be enrolled in the State-cavalry are practising their -evolutions, mounting, in the absence of stirrups, by a leaping-pole, -and charging in squadrons. On another side a body of heavy infantry -with spear and shield are assembling for a night march into the -Megarid;[406] they are packing their supplies, onions and dried fish, -perhaps, into their knapsacks as they fall in, and are grumbling at -having to leave Athens just when a festival is coming; a burly -countryman is complaining to his general that it is not his turn to -serve, as he took part in the raid into Boiotia last week, and his -general is threatening him with a prosecution for insubordination if -he becomes abusive. After paying our respects to the patron deities, -Herakles and Hermes and Eros,[407] and having muttered a curse on all -tyrants suggested by the statue of Eros which Charmos the -father-in-law of Hippias the Peisistratid set up,[408] we enter the -gymnasium. - -The first room which we come to is the undressing-room.[409] On the -benches round the walls a row of men are sitting discussing the exact -nature of Self-control: an extremely ugly person, to whom they all pay -great respect, is stating that it is an exact science, and, if only -they can discover this science, the whole world will become virtuous. -Lads and men are stripping all about the room, and passing off to take -their exercises elsewhere; others keep coming in and dressing and -listening to the discussion for a minute or two. A handsome young -fellow comes in: the ugly man makes room for him with great energy, -and his friends who are sitting at the end of the bench are pushed off -suddenly on to the floor. A shout of laughter, mingled with some -strong Attic abuse, arises. Not wishing to be involved as witnesses in -an interminable lawsuit, we hurry out through the further door into a -great cloister.[410] In the centre of this is a large open space, with -no roof. Here we meet a well-known mathematician from Kurene,[411] who -is walking round the cloister with a crowd of pupils: he is explaining -to them that famous theorem about right-angled triangles, whose proof -is so neat that Pythagoras the vegetarian sacrificed a hundred oxen -when he discovered it. At intervals the mathematician stops and draws -a diagram in the dust with his stick. As we follow him, we can look -into the rooms which surround the cloister. In one, a crowd of men are -anointing themselves with oil.[412] The rubbing, which is so good for -all bodily ills, and the oil, even if not followed by any further -exercise, are regarded as an excellent thing. An Athenian gentleman is -expected to carry about a certain fragrance of this oil,[413] and his -skin must always be sleek with it; but as a rule the anointing is a -prelude to exercise, and is meant to make the joints supple and the -body slippery enough to elude a wrestler’s grip.[414] A slave or an -attendant stands by many of the men, holding one of those dainty -oil-flasks which make so great a feature in modern Museums of -Archæology. Through the next door we see the “dusting-room.” Various -sorts of dust were used for rubbing the body. They served to clean it -of sweat after exercise, to open the pores, to warm it when cold, and -to soften the skin. A yellow dust was particularly popular; for it -made the body glisten so as to be pleasant to look at, as a good body -in good condition ought to be.[415] Next perhaps will be the -bathing-room――a popular place in the evening, for it was usual to take -a bath before dinner.[416] The bathers either splash themselves out of -great bowls which stand upon pedestals, or receive a shower bath by -getting a companion or an attendant to pour a pitcher of water over -them. Tanks capable of receiving the whole body at once were not -usual, though known to Homer.[417] Then we see the room of the -_korukos_, or punch-ball, which will present a very curious -appearance.[418] The _korukos_ is a large sack hanging from the -ceiling by a rope. The lighter _korukoi_ are filled with fig seeds or -meal, the heavier with sand. They hang at about the height of a man’s -waist. You push one of them gently at first, and more and more -violently as you gain experience; having pushed it, you plant yourself -in the way of the rebound, and try to stop the sack with your hands or -your chest or your back or your head. If you are not strong enough, -you will be knocked over, and the room will laugh. This will practise -you in standing steady, and make all parts of your body firm and -muscular. The _korukos_ can also be used as a punch-ball, to -strengthen the boxer’s arms and shoulders. This exercise is especially -recommended for boxers and pankratiasts: the latter ought to use the -heavier variety. Perhaps there will also be some lay-figures hanging -up round the walls, for these also were used for practising. Here, -too, some unlucky individuals who, from unpopularity or other causes, -are unable to find an antagonist, will be exercising their fists on -thin air. But both these expedients were regarded as ridiculous.[419] - -There were a large number of other rooms round the cloister, some -intended for exercises in wet weather, for, if possible, exercise was -always taken out of doors; for it was regarded as a great object to -make the skin brown and hard by exposure to the sun. So King Agesilaos -put his Asiatic captives up for sale in his camp naked, in order that -his Hellenic soldiers, seeing their pale, soft flesh, unused to -exposure, might despise their enemy. But as most of these rooms were -furnished with seats, they were largely used as lecture-halls by -wandering Sophists,[420] who gave free lectures in them to any -passer-by who might care to listen, in order to attract regular, -paying pupils. So we can take our pick and hear lectures on poetry or -metaphysics, music or rhetoric, geography or history, at our pleasure. - -After this, we can turn our attention to the great central -courtyard,[421] which is surrounded by the cloister, or to the -racecourse and open spaces which lie beyond it. In one part will be -the wrestling arena.[422] Pairs of oiled, naked combatants will be -struggling together, amid a crowd of cheering spectators, and perhaps -the trainer will be standing by, giving them directions. One group -attracts especial attention: for the pair are going to represent -Athens at Olympia next year. Elsewhere the pankratiasts are -contending, some sparring at arm’s length, others joined in a deadly -grapple, rolling over and over on the ground and pummelling one -another’s heads with their gloved knuckles. They are covered with -clotted dust and oil and will need much scraping. Then there are the -boxers, bearing either the light gloves, or, if they intend to take -part in a big competition, the heavy iron balls padded over with -leather which were used in the great Games.[423] There are races too -in progress, lap by lap round the great Stadion. Some of the runners -are naked, others are wearing helmet and shield, since they are -practising for the Race in Armour. Friends run beside them for a -little way, pacing them and encouraging them. Others are jumping, with -the halteres in their hands, into the pit, while their friends mark -the point where their heels have left a mark in the sand. A -professional flute-player, with his mouth-band on, sets the time. Each -is, no doubt, hoping to beat Phaüllos’ great jump of 55 feet――the -world’s record. Everywhere are crowds of spectators,[424] and -everywhere eager trainers giving advice, hoping, if their pupil gains -a prize at some great Games, to make a name for themselves, and -attract a crowd of lads to their paid lessons: perhaps they will even -be immortalised by some contemporary Pindar in a song in honour of -their pupil’s victory. - -In another corner, it may be, there will be teams practising together. -A regiment of epheboi may be undergoing their gymnastic training -before service on the frontier:[425] or a team of them may be -training, watched by the rich “gumnasiarchos,” for the torch-race at -the festival of Hephaistos, or for the race from the Temple of -Dionusos to that of Athena of the Sunshades, where the winner will -receive a large bowl containing wine and honey and cheese and meat and -olive oil――not all mixed together, let us hope.[426] There may also be -teams practising wrestling and other bodily exercises together. Their -trainer, “thinking it impossible to lay down separate regulations for -each individual, orders roughly what suits the majority. So every one -of the team takes an equal amount of exercise, and they all start and -all stop running, or wrestling, or whatever it may be, at the same -moment.”[427] - -In the larger open spaces we shall find Athenians throwing the diskos, -like Muron’s celebrated figure, or practising archery, or flinging the -spear or javelin. In watching these care must be exercised: unwary -spectators may be killed or injured. Mythology is full of unfortunates -killed in this way. Was not the fair Huakinthos slain by Apollo’s -quoit? Antiphon, too, in his new book on speech-writing, takes as one -of his themes a boy killed by a comrade’s javelin accidentally. We can -also take a lesson in the use of spear and shield from the teacher of -arms: a pair of Sophists, who specialise in this subject, have just -come to Athens, and will doubtless be exhibiting their skill here. We -remember, though, that the warlike Spartans ridicule these professors, -and General Laches regards them as quite useless for military -purposes, as we heard him telling Sokrates the other day.[428] So we -will pass on. - -The vast majority of people in the gymnasium confine themselves to -walking about. The colonnades and the gardens are convenient and -attractive, and there is plenty to watch everywhere. The “xustos,” or -covered cloister,[429] where athletes exercise in bad weather, is -particularly popular among the walkers. And while they walk, they -talk. There is a group of philosophical students arguing about the -Supreme Good or constructing an ideal State. There is a party of -inquirers who are discussing the nature of plants, or the varieties of -crustaceans. Yonder, a half-naked, unkempt enthusiast is declaiming -against luxury. “Man,” he cries, “is independent of circumstances.” -Everywhere, walkers and spectators and talkers, but walkers above all. - -For the average Athenian spent all his time upon his legs: to sit down -was the mark of a slave.[430] He walked nearly all day: the distance -which he covered in five or six days would easily stretch from Athens -to Olympia. He took a walk before breakfast, another before lunch, -another before dinner, and another between dinner and bed.[431] - -Games of ball are going on in the ball-court yonder.[432] We may -remember that the poet Sophocles was a famous player.[433] But the -shadow on the great sun-dial has nearly reached the ten-foot mark -which announces dinner-time to the Athenian world. The crowds who have -been exercising themselves are scraping off the sweat and dirt with -the στλεγγίς [stlengis] or scraper,[434] or else hurrying to the -bath-rooms. After the bath comes another anointing, with oil and water -this time.[435] Then away through the nearest gate into the city, -while the great buildings on the Akropolis grow misty in the twilight -and Athena’s guardian Spear catches the last rays of the setting sun. - -All this was open to the poorest Athenian: there was no fee for -entrance. The only expenses were those incurred in buying an oil-flask -and scraper, which the State did not as a rule provide, and any fees -that might be paid to a trainer for special “coaching.” The poor could -learn as much as they required from watching those who were -proficient. It was usual to tip the man in the public baths who poured -cold water over the bathers and assisted them generally: but this -probably did not apply to the bath-rooms in the gymnasia. The State -certainly made it easy for every citizen to take as much exercise as -he pleased. - -Women were wholly excluded from athletics at Athens. In Sparta girls -exercised themselves as much as the boys. In other Dorian States -feminine athletics were encouraged to a less degree. At Argos there -were foot-races for girls. In Chios they could be seen wrestling in -the gymnasia.[436] - - * * * * * - -But the gymnasia and palaistrai, though they provided so many -different kinds of exercises, did not supply the Hellenes with their -sole opportunities for keeping the body in good condition. Hunting was -a popular employment at Sparta and no doubt elsewhere: Xenophon, who -was devoted to it, would have liked to make it more popular in -Attica,[437] where it languished, perhaps from lack of game. Swimming -and rowing were usual accomplishments. Riding was compulsory for rich -citizens at Athens, for they had to serve in the cavalry; it was also -popular in Thessaly, the land of horses. Military service provided -both an incentive to physical exercise and a frequent means of -obtaining it. Dancing was universal throughout the Hellenic world and -played a larger part in Hellenic education than is usually recognised. -At Sparta it was of paramount importance. At Athens it was taught free -to large numbers of boys under the system of leitourgiai. Plato -divides physical education into dancing and wrestling.[438] -Aristophanes[439] brackets dancing between the palaistra and music, -when he wishes to give the three elements of a gentleman’s education. -Choral dancing to a Hellene was at once the ritual of religion, the -ordinary accompaniment of a festival or public holiday, the highest -form of music, and the most perfect system of physical exercise then -discovered. - -The modern reader finds it very hard to realise why Hellenic -philosophers attach so much educational importance to the various -kinds of dance. This is because modern dancing differs from its -ancient prototype in two very important particulars: it is not -connected with religion and it is not dramatic. In the East dancing -was, and is, the language of religion. David, to show his fervour, -danced before the Ark with all his might. In Hellas, dancing -accompanied every rite and every mystery.[440] The choral dance -afforded the outlet to religious enthusiasm which elsewhere is -provided by services: any change in its characteristics was a change -in ritual and in the inexpressible sentiments and moral attitudes -which become so closely bound up with habitual religious observances. -And, since it was the usual ritual of worship, dancing became -all-important in education, as providing the forms through which the -highest aspirations of the children were accustomed to find -expression. - -The boy who danced in honour of Dionusos was trying to assimilate -himself to the god, whose history and personality would be brought -home to him vividly by the vineyards around him: they would serve him -for a parable. The vine that came so mysteriously out of the earth, -lived its short life in the rain and sunshine, and was crushed and -killed at the harvest, to rise again in the strange juice which -thrilled him with such wondrous power――there was plenty of parable for -him there. And while he felt the god’s history so vividly, he was -acting it, for acting was the very essence of Hellenic dancing. He -would act the sorrows of Dionusos, his persecution from city to city, -and his final conquest; he would match each incident in the story with -suitable inward feelings and outward gestures of sorrow and triumph. -Thus his dancing came to be a keenly religious observance, accompanied -by more vivid acting than is possible on a modern stage; such dancing, -it must be remembered, was the parent of Attic Drama. The dramatic -power of such acting became enormous; one dancer, it is said, could -make the whole philosophic system of Pythagoras intelligible without -speaking a word, simply by his gestures and attitudes.[441] - -In such dramatic dancing the subject or plot was important. Here the -weakness of the old Hellenic mythology became fatal. For it was the -old myths that supplied the motives of religious dances as well as of -the drama, and many of them were morally unsatisfactory. When a chorus -of boys danced the _Birth-pangs of Semelé_, the most famous dithyramb -of Timotheos, not unnaturally objections were raised. The new school -of musicians and poets, which arose towards the end of the fifth -century, tried to represent everything and anything in the most -realistic way possible: their dancers had to imitate with voice and -gesture “blacksmiths at the forge, craftsmen at work, sailors rowing -and boatswains giving them orders, horses neighing, bulls -bellowing,”[442] and so forth. They chose the commonest and coarsest -scenes, just like Dutch painters. In their hands, dancing became -something vulgar, as well as morally risky, though still under a -semi-religious sanction. It is this charge which justified Plato’s -denunciations of the dramatic element in poetry and music. It must be -remembered that the choregos at Athens, who collected the boys from -his tribe to dance these dithyrambs, could use compulsion if fathers -refused to allow their sons to join his chorus.[443] Yet the -advantages of learning to dance were great, quite apart from the -religious aspects. Dancing was a scientifically designed system of -physical training, which exercised every part of the body -symmetrically.[444] The different masters invented systems of their -own, just as the paidotribai invented systems of wrestling; in both -cases the teaching began with a series of figures, which were -afterwards fitted together. Different localities also had their own -particular figures.[445] - -The solo dance was used for private exercise. It also made its way -into the drama. Sometimes, too, in the choral performances one or two -of the best dancers were singled out to perform more elaborate -evolutions expressing the dramatic course of the subject. But the -choral dance was universal throughout Hellas. Its motives ranged from -the solemn religious questionings of Aeschylus to the drunken -buffoonery of the vine-festivals. The dance might be the act of -worship of a whole people, as in the great festivals at Delos. It -might, like the Gumnopaidia at Sparta, be designed to exhibit the -physical perfection and practise the military evolutions of a nation -in arms. It might celebrate the triumphant return of an Olympian -victor to his native city, as did many of the dances which accompanied -the extant odes of Pindar. The chorus-songs of Tragedy and Comedy were -set to dances of a sort; but from these last boys seem to have been -excluded. - -For educational purposes, besides the dithuramboi already mentioned, -the two most important classes were the War-dance and the Naked-dance -(γυμνοπαιδία [gymnopaidia]).[446] In the War-dance the performers, -clad in arms, imitated all the ways in which blows and spears might be -avoided, now bending to one side, now drawing back, now leaping in the -air, now crouching down: then, again, they acted as though they were -hurling javelins and spears and dealing all manner of blows at close -quarters.[447] The Kuretic dance in Crete was very similar; the -dancers “in full armour beat their swords against their shields and -leaped in an inspired and warlike manner.”[448] The field-days, when -teams of boys and “packs” of epheboi fought one another to the sound -of music, were only a more warlike sort of dance. In fact, war and the -war-dance were as closely connected in Hellas as war and drill in -Modern Europe. The Thessalians called their heroes “dancers”; Lucian -quotes an inscription that “the people set up this statue to Eilation, -who danced the battle well”: “chief dancer” (προορχηστήρ -[proorchêstêr])[449] was a dignified title. The same author observes -that in warlike Sparta the young men learn to dance as much as to -fight, and that their military and gymnastic exercises alike were -inextricably mixed up with dancing.[449] - -The “Naked-dance” was to gymnastics what the war-dance was to -war.[450] It represented the movements of the palaistra set to music, -accompanied by some singing.[451] The style was solemn, like that of -the ἐμμέλεια [emmeleia], or dance of Tragedy. It was performed in the -main by boys, as the name γυμνοπαιδία [gymnopaidia] implies; but grown -men also took part, as at Sparta, where practically the whole male -population danced it at once. Plato seems to mean a similar type by -his “peace-dance” (in the _Laws_), which is to be a thanksgiving for -past mercies or a prayer for continued prosperity. - -In the regular system of education at Athens, it is true, the boys -learned only to sing and play, not to dance. But owing to the -perpetual demand for boys from each of the ten tribes to compete at -the great festivals in war-dances and dithyrambs, dancing must have -been a common accomplishment. These competitors also attracted and -encouraged a large number of dancing-masters. Any boy who showed -promise as a dancer, or perhaps even as a singer only, would be -singled out by the agents who collected choroi for the choregoi. - -Some rich man, let us call him Tisias,[452] has just been appointed -choregos of the Erechtheid tribe for the war-dance of boys at the -Panathenaic festival, or a boy-chorus in dithyrambs at the Thargelia. -After drawing lots with the choregoi of other tribes, he gets -Pantakles assigned to him as his poet and music-master, to teach the -boys: he might, if he wished, hire at his own expense extra dancing- -and music-masters.[453] Tisias then sends for Amunias, whom the -Erechtheid tribe have chosen to collect their choroi and keep an eye -on them while they are being trained. If Tisias bears a bad name or is -unpopular with his tribe, he and his agent will have trouble in -collecting the boys; for the fathers will refuse to give them up, and -there will be fines imposed and securities taken, before the chorus -assembles. But as a rule the parents will accept gladly; it is a -chance of a free education for a month or so, for Tisias will pay all -expenses, even of meals, and the State supplies the teacher; it is a -chance, too, for the boy to distinguish himself. - -Meanwhile, Tisias will have provided a suitable schoolroom, in his own -house, if possible; rich men, to whom the post of choregos was a -frequent burden, would keep an apartment for the purpose. If he -himself is busy, he will depute friends, who can be trusted to swear -in his favour before the Courts, to watch the teaching; the agent will -also be present.[454] For sometimes accidents occurred. Once a boy was -given a dose to drink, to improve his voice, and it killed him.[455] - -When the day of the competition came, the chorus would be suitably -dressed at Tisias’ expense; he might perhaps allow them gold -crowns.[456] There might be nine other choroi entering for the prize, -but in the time of Demosthenes this was not common. The whole Athenian -people and many foreigners would be present at the contest, and it -would be an anxious day for choregos, boys, and parents. The State -gave the prizes,[457] usually a tripod, which went to the winning -choregos, who would set it up in some public place with an appropriate -inscription, such as―― - - The Oeneid tribe was victorious; a choros of boys. - Eureimenes, son of Meleteon, was choregos. Nikostratos - taught.[458] - -Or―― - - Lusikrates, son of Lusitheides of Kikunna, was choregos. The - boys of the Acamantid tribe won. Theon played the flute. - Lusiades taught. Euainetos led.[459] - - * * * * * - -We pass to the position which riding held in Athenian education. The -two richest classes in the State were liable to service in the -cavalry. They had to supply their own horses, which were examined and, -if unfit, rejected; but the State paid them a sum of £8 annually for -maintenance and arms in time of peace. As, however, the number of the -citizen cavalry never rose above 1000, the whole of these two classes -can never have been so employed at once: the remainder served in the -heavy infantry. The two Hipparchoi elected for the year, and their -subordinates, the ten Phularchoi, who each commanded a tribal -contingent, on coming into their office, would note how many of the -thousand who had served in the former year were no longer liable to -service owing to age, and would fill up the vacancies; they would also -make good those gaps which occurred from time to time during their -term of office owing to wounds or death or sudden poverty. To secure a -recruit, they had only to go to some rich and active young man who was -not already serving; if he refused to be enrolled, they could -prosecute him. The training often began before eighteen, for Xenophon -speaks of persuading the recruit’s guardians,[460] from whom he would -be free at that age. So Teles mentions the horse-breaker as among the -teachers of the lad in the secondary stage of education. No doubt it -took some training to make an efficient cavalryman, and the Hipparchoi -liked to take the recruits young; but to keep a stud was the favourite -amusement of a rich young Athenian, and many would learn to ride -without any view to military efficiency. As the Hellenes rode without -stirrups, mounting was one of the great difficulties of the young -rider, and figures chiefly on the vases. Often they used the long -cavalry-spear as a vaulting-pole.[461] Otherwise a groom or the master -gave the pupil a leg up: on a vase[462] in the British Museum the -master is seen simply pushing the boy into his seat. A comic -poet,[463] who has left us a picture of the young recruits learning to -ride under the eye of their Phularchoi, speaks only of mounting and -dismounting.[464] “Go to the Agora,” says the speaker to his slave, -“to the Hermai, where the phularchoi keep coming, and to the pretty -disciples whom Pheidon is teaching to mount their steeds and to get -down again.” Xenophon, among much sound advice to the young rider -about buying, training, and keeping his horse, gives the Hipparchos -the following suggestions:―― - - “Persuade the younger men to vault on to their horses. It - will be best if you supply the teacher for this. The older - men may be put up by some one else in the Persian way. To - practise the men in keeping their seats over difficult - country, frequent riding expeditions are a good thing, but - will be unpopular. So tell your men to practise by - themselves whenever they are in the open country. But take - them out yourself occasionally and test them over all sorts - of ground. Give them sham fights in different kinds of - country. In order to make them keen about throwing the - javelin from horseback,[465] stir up rivalry between the - different squadrons and give prizes for this and for good - riding and the like. Above all make yourself and your - attendant gallopers as smart as possible.”[466] - -There were frequent reviews under the eyes of the Boule. In the -race-course at the Lukeion there was a sham fight, each hipparchos -commanding five squadrons which pursued one another, and then charged -front to front, passing through the gaps in one another’s lines. -They had, also, to wheel in line. The review was followed by -javelin-throwing.[467] Another review was held at the Akademeia, on a -course with a hard soil (ὁ ἐπίκροτος [ho epikrotos])――good practice -for cavalry intending to fight in rocky Attica. Here they had, among -other manœuvres, to charge at full gallop and suddenly come to a -halt.[468] - -One of the attractions of the cavalry service was the great -Panathenaic procession, where the horsemen played a leading part: an -idealised picture of them may be seen on the frieze of the Parthenon. -Xenophon gives a series of directions how to make the horses prance -and hold their heads up on this great occasion, and suggests devices -in gait which will attract popular notice. This and kindred -processions must have made recruiting for the cavalry easy. - - * * * * * - -_Swimming_ seems to have been, as would naturally be expected, an -exceedingly common accomplishment in the maritime states of Hellas; -even at inland Sparta the boys must have learnt it for their daily -plunge in the Eurotas. According to tradition,[469] there was a law at -Athens that every boy should be taught reading, writing, and swimming: -the proverb for an utter dunce was “he knows neither his letters nor -how to swim.”[470] Herodotos distinctly implies that all Hellenes knew -how to swim. “The Hellenic loss at Salamis,” he says, “was small. For, -as they knew how to swim (as opposed to the barbarians who did not), -when their ships were destroyed, they swam over to the island.”[471] -He takes it as a matter of course that every sailor could swim. The -whole crew of a captured trireme during the Peloponnesian War as often -as not jumped overboard and escaped by swimming.[472] In a story in -Athenaeus the boys of Lasos, on coming out of the wrestling-school, go -off together for a bathe and begin to dive. A friend of Aristippos -used to boast to him of his diving.[473] During the blockade of -Sphakteria by the Athenian fleet, numbers of Helots swam over from the -mainland to the island under water.[474] Scanty and scrappy as they -are, these details show that swimming must have been taught to most -boys, at any rate if they were ever likely to serve in a fleet. Plato -twice[475] uses a metaphor drawn from a man swimming on his back, -showing that this method was known. When a young disputant is being -severely handled in a discussion, Sokrates intervenes, “wishing to -give the boy a rest, since he saw that he was getting a severe ducking -and he feared that he might lose heart.”[476] The phrase suggests that -the sight of boys learning to swim was familiar. They could learn -either in the innumerable creeks and bays of the sea, or in the lakes -and rivers, or in diving-pools.[477] There were also various -“gymnastic games” which young people played in the water -together;[478] but of their nature nothing is known. - -It cannot reasonably be doubted that in the maritime states a large -proportion of the boys, at any rate of the lower classes, were taught -to _row_, since each trireme required a crew of 200, nearly all of -whom had to use the oar. In the good old days, according to -the _Wasps_, the main object was to be a good oar,[479] and -rowing-blisters were a sign of patriotism.[480] In an emergency, the -Athenians could make the whole citizen force under a certain age -embark on the fleet and could win a victory with these rowers; this -would have been impossible if the average citizen had been ignorant of -rowing.[481] On such occasions many even of the Hippeis embarked: -Aristophanes jestingly asserts that in an expedition to Korinth the -horses tried also, shouting, “Gee-ho, put your backs into it. Do more -work, Dobbin.”[482] Before the close of the war,[483] Charon, the -ferryman of Styx, assuming that every Hellene knows the way to row, -makes the souls of the departed row themselves across. Boat-races were -certainly known at this period. A client of Lusias asserts that he has -won a race with a trireme off Cape Sounion.[484] Probably the -trierarchoi, the rich men appointed to fit out the State navy, either -voluntarily or by regular custom, made the ships race one another. -Thus the races would be as much inter-tribal contests as the -dithyrambs or torch-races. Two crews of the epheboi of a later date -used to race in the two sacred triremes. The vessels sailing out for -the Sicilian expedition raced as far as Aigina.[485] A fragment of -Plato the comic poet[486] refers to similar contests: - - Thy high-heaped tomb on this fair promontory - Shall take the greetings of our far-flung fleets, - And watch the merchants sailing out and in, - And be spectator when the galleons race. - - -EXCURSUS I - -The “gumnasiarchoi” have created some confusion among those who have -discussed Attic ways. Some authorities would make them rich men -performing a “leitourgia” and holding a similar position to the -trierarchoi and choregoi: others make them officials appointed to -superintend the gymnasia. - -The gumnasiarchia is certainly reckoned among leitourgiai as a general -rule. A speaker in Lusias,[487] giving a list of these duties which he -had performed, says: “I supplied a chorus of men at the Thargelia, a -chorus of war-dancers at the Panathenaia, a cyclic chorus at the -little Panathenaia, I was Gumnasiarchos for the Prometheia and was -victorious, then choregos with a chorus of boys, then with beardless -war-dancers at the little Panathenaia.” In Andokides[488] a -gumnasiarchos at the Hephaisteia is mentioned. The author of the -treatise on the Athenian constitution says:[489] “In the case of the -choregiai, gumnasiarchiai, and trierarchiai, the Athenians realise -that the rich fill the offices and the populace serve under them and -get the benefit. So the populace claims to be paid for singing and -running and dancing and sailing in the ships.” Now “singing and -dancing” belong to the choregiai, and “sailing in the ships” to the -trierarchiai. So “running” is left for the gumnasiarchiai. The main -feature of the yearly festivals of Hephaistos and Prometheus, which -the two earlier passages gave as the scene of the duties of the -gumnasiarchos, was a torch-race. It may thus be inferred that the duty -of the gumnasiarchos was to collect, and train, a team of his own -tribe for the torch-race at these festivals.[490] In connection with -this duty, they could prosecute members of their team, or any one who -interfered with them, for impiety before the Archon Basileus,[491] -since the race was a religious function. They were thus in the -sacrosanct position which Demosthenes as choregos claims for himself -in his speech against Meidias. - -So far the gumnasiarchos is an ordinary performer of a leitourgia, and -his duties are confined to providing a tribal team for the torch-races -at the Prometheia and Hephaisteia. His team, usually at any rate, -consisted of epheboi, as we learn from an inscription describing the -victory of Eutuchides with his epheboi.[492] - - * * * * * - -There is also the law quoted as Solon’s in Aischines’ speech against -Timarchos.[493] “The gumnasiarch_ai_ (note that it is a different -word) “are not to allow any one over age to keep company with the boys -at the festival of Hermes in any way whatsoever: if he does not keep -all such persons out of the gymnasia, the gumnasiarch_es_ shall be -liable to the law that prescribes penalties for those who corrupt free -boys.” But the orator himself only mentions paidotribai, and special -enactments dealing with the Hermaia; there is no mention of a -gumnasiarches. The law itself is an addition made in a later period -when there was a special officer to control the gymnasia. But there is -no evidence for such an official in the days of the independence of -Hellas. - -One interesting passage remains. “I was gumnasiarchos in my deme,” or -country district, says a speaker in Isaios.[494] There must therefore -have been local torch-races, for which rich men were called upon to -pay and train teams, just as there were certainly local theatrical -performances. The passage opens up a prospect of vigorous athletic -life throughout the country districts and villages of Attica. - - - [332] Plato, _Rep._ 556 B-D. - - [333] Xen. _Mem._ iii. 12. 1. - - [334] Plato, _Phaidr._ 239 c. - - [335] Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 289. - - [336] Solon reduced this endowment to 500 drachmai for an - Olympian victor, 100 for an Isthmian (Plut. _Solon_, 23). - - [337] Plut. _Quaest. Rom._ 40. - - [338] Plato, _Laws_, 807 c. - - [339] For this their vast appetites were partly responsible. - Milo and Theagenes each ate a whole ox in a single day - (Athen. 412 f). Astuanax the pankratiast ate what was meant - for nine guests (_ibid._ 413 b). - - [340] Xen. _Banquet_, ii. 17. - - [341] Galen, _On Medic. and Gym._ § 33 (ed. Kühn. v. 870). - - [342] Philos. _On Gymnastics_, 54. - - [343] Pausan. v. 21. 10. - - [344] Pind. _Olymp._ - - [345] Pindar, frag. - - [346] Fragment of _Autolukos_. - - [347] A very bold attack on the Olympian games, which must - have caused a sensation in the theatre. - - [348] Aristot. _Pol._ vii. 16. 13. - - [349] Lukourg. _ag. Leok._ 51. - - [350] [Xen.] _Constit. of Athens_, i. 13. - - [351] κατέλυσε [katelyse] must mean this, as in [Andok.] - _ag. Alkibiades_, where that gentleman is said to be - καταλύων τὰ γυμνάσια [katalyôn ta gymnasia] by his bad - example. - - [352] See end of Aristoph. _Wasps_. - - [353] As shown by the beginning of Plato, _Lusis_, 203 B. - - [354] Aristoph. _Birds_, 141. - - [355] Antiphon, _Second Tetralogy_. - - [356] The law quoted in Aischines _ag._ _Timarchos_ is - spurious, being a later interpolation; it cannot therefore - be used as evidence. - - [357] [Xen.] _Constit. of Athens_, ii. 10. - - [358] The division of the boys into classes by age in the - contests points to such a usage. Cp. the ἡλικίαι [hêlikiai] - at Teos. - - [359] Later, this was done by a special official, the - ἀλειπτής [aleiptês]. - - [360] Aristot. _Pol._ iv. 1. 1. - - [361] _e.g._ Plato, _Gorg._ 504 A; _Protag._ 313 D; Aristot. - _Pol._ iii. 16. 8. - - [362] Plato, _Gorg._ 452 B. - - [363] The paidotribes is distinguished from the gumnastes as - the schoolmaster from the crammer. The gumnastes coached - pupils chiefly for the great games, while the paidotribes - presided over physical training generally, especially of - boys, but sometimes of epheboi. See the elaborate discussion - in Grasberger, i. 263-268. - - [364] Plato, _Protag._ 313 A. - - [365] _Ibid._ 326 C. - - [366] ἀποδυτήριον [apodytêrion]. - - [367] See Thompson, Plato, _Phaedr._ 239 C., and Eur. - _Bacch._ 456. - - [368] Illustr. Plate VI. A. - - [369] Illustr. Plates VI. A and VI. B. - - [370] See especially the Panathenaic vases in the British - Museum. - - [371] _e.g._ Brit. Mus. E 288. - - [372] Brit Mus. B 361, E 427, E 288. - - [373] Illustr. Plate VIII. - - [374] Aristot. _Pol._ viii. 4. - - [375] Aristoph. _Clouds_, 973. - - [376] _Anthol. Palat._ xiii. 222. - - [377] Herod, vi. 127-129. - - [378] Athen. 629 B. - - [379] Xen. _Banquet_, ii. 19. - - [380] Plato, _Laws_, 830 C. - - [381] Philostratus, _On Gymnastics_, 55. - - [382] Galen, _De sanit. tuend._ ii. 8. - - [383] Grasberger, i. 154. - - [384] Described at length, Grasberger, i. 84-98. - - [385] Aristoph. _Knights_, 1238. - - [386] See Illustr. Plate VI. A for a wrestling lesson. - Lucian, _Ass._ 8-11. - - [387] Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Grenfell and Hunt, Part III. No. - 466 (1903). The papyrus is of the second century. - - [388] _Anthol. Palat._ xii. 206. - - [389] Isok. _Antid._ 184. - - [390] See Illustr. Plate VI. B for a pankration lesson. - - [400] Plut. _Alkib._ ii. 3. - - [401] See Illustr. Plate VII. - - [402] See Illustr. Plate V. B. - - [403] Illustr. Plate V. A. - - [404] Illustr. Plate V. B. - - [405] Athen. 584 C, referring to about 320 B.C. - - [406] Aristoph. _Peace_, 357. - - [407] Zeno in Athen. 561 C. - - [408] Athen. 609 D. - - [409] ἀποδυτήριον [apodytêrion]. See Plato, _Charmides_, 153 - ff. - - [410] κατάστεγος δρόμος [katastegos dromos]. Plato, - _Euthud._ 273 A. - - [411] Theodoros (Plato, _Theait._). - - [412] This was often done outside (Plato, _Theait._ 144 C). - The oil-room (ἐλαιοθέσιον [elaiothesion]) of Vitruvius may - be a later invention. This preliminary anointing was called - ξηραλοιφεῖν [xêraloiphein]. After the baths they rubbed - themselves with a mixture of oil and water; this was - χυτλοῦσθαι [chytlousthai]. - - [413] See Xen. _Banquet_, 1. 7. - - [414] Aristoph. _Knights_, 492. - - [415] Philostratus, _On Gymnastics_, 56. It was usual to be - dusted before wrestling. - - [416] Xen. _Banquet_. - - [417] For a good bathing scene, see Brit. Mus. Vase E 83. - Also E 32. - - [418] Philostratus, _On Gymnastics_, 57. - - [419] Plato, _Laws_, 830 C. - - [420] Particular Sophists attached themselves to particular - gymnasia and palaistrai which they came to regard as their - schools. Mikkos has already occupied the newly-built - palaistra in the _Lusis_, 204 A. Cp. Plato’s position at the - Akademeia and Aristotle’s at the Lukeion. - - [421] αὐλή [aulê] (Plato, _Lusis_, 206 E). - - [422] κονίστρα [konistra]. - - [423] Plato, _Laws_, 830 B. - - [424] For the excitement of the spectators and their shouts - of encouragement see Isok. _Euag._ 32. - - [425] Some gymnasia provided a large “Room of the Epheboi.” - So in Vitruvius’ model. - - [426] Athen. 495-6. - - [427] Plato, _Polit._ 294 D, E. - - [428] But by the end of the fourth century the teacher of - arms becomes an important individual in the training of the - epheboi. - - [429] Plato, _Euthud._ 273 A. - - [430] Xen. _Econ._ iii. 13. - - [431] Xen. _Econ._ xi. 18; _Banquet_, i. 7, ix. 1. - - [432] σφαιριστήριον [sphairistêrion]. - - [433] Athen. 20 f. - - [434] Brit. Mus. E 83, for a picture of this in use. - - [435] χυτλοῦσθαι [chytlousthai]. - - [436] Athen. 566 e. - - [437] _Hunting with Hounds_, passim. So Plato in the _Laws_, - with reservations. - - [438] Plato, _Laws_, 795 E. - - [439] Aristoph. _Frogs_, 729. - - [440] Lucian, _On Dancing_, 15. - - [441] Athen. 20 d. - - [442] Plato, _Rep._ 396 A, B. - - [443] Antiphon, _The Choreutes_, 11. - - [444] Xen. _Banquet_, ii. 17. - - [445] Lakonian and Attic (Herod. vi. 129); Persian (Xen. - _Anab._ vi. 1. 10); Troizenìan Epizephurian Lokrian, Cretan, - Ionian, Mantinean in Lucian, _On Dancing_, 22. - - [446] Not necessarily nude, for γυμνός [gymnos] only - represents the absence of the armour used in the War-dance. - - [447] Plato, _Laws_, 815 A. - - [448] Lucian, _On Dancing_, 8. - - [449] Lucian, _On Dancing_, 8. - - [450] The dance known as γυμνοπαιδική [gymnopaidikê] is - described in Athen. 631 b, as including representations of - wrestling. In 678 b, c, the festival of the Γυμνοπαιδίαι - [Gymnopaidiai], and the dances in it are referred to, but no - mention is there made of wrestling. - - [451] Athen. 630 d. - - [452] This sketch is drawn chiefly from Antiphon, _The - Choreutes_. - - [453] Demos. _ag. Midias_, 533. - - [454] Rivals sometimes tried to interrupt the lessons or - bribe the teacher (Demos. _Mid._ 535). - - [455] The situation of Antiphon’s speech. - - [456] Demos. _Mid._ 520. - - [457] Xen. _Hiero_, ix. 4. - - [458] Böckh, 212. - - [459] _Ibid._ 221. - - [460] Xen. _Hipparch._ i. 11. - - [461] Illustr. Plate IX. - - [462] Brit. Mus. E 485. - - [463] Mnesimachos, _Hippotrophos_ (Athen. 402 f). - - [464] See Illustr. Plates X. A, X. B and the Frontispiece - for scenes in a riding-school. - - [465] The mark was a suspended shield, Brit. Mus. - Prize-Amphora 7, Room IV. - - [466] A rough summary of Xen. _Hipparch._ i. 15-26. - - [467] Xen. _Hipparch._ iii. 6. - - [468] Xen. _Hipparch._ iii. 14. - - [469] Petit, _Leg. Att._ ii. 4. - - [470] Plato, _Laws_, 689 D. - - [471] Herod. viii. 89. - - [472] _e.g._ Thuc. iv. 25. - - [473] Diogenes Laert. ii. 8. 73. - - [474] Thuc. iv. 26. - - [475] Plato, _Rep._ 529 C; _Phaidr._ 264 A. - - [476] Plato, _Euthud._ 277 D. - - [477] Plato, _Rep._ 453 D. - - [478] Galen, _de loc. aff._ iv. 8. See Grasberger, i. 151. - - [479] Aristoph. _Wasps_, 1095. - - [480] _Ibid._ 1119. - - [481] Xen. _Hellen._ i. 6. 24. - - [482] Aristoph. _Knights_, 600. - - [483] Aristoph. _Frogs_, 200-271, describes a rowing lesson. - - [484] _Lus._ 21. 5. - - [485] Thuc. vi. 32. - - [486] Plut. _Themist._ 32. - - [487] Lusias, speech 21. 1-2. - - [488] Andok. 17. 20. - - [489] [Xen.] _Constit. of Athen._ i. 13. - - [490] So - lampadi γυμνασιαρχεῖν λαμπάδι [gymnasiarchein].――Isaios, - _Philoktemon_, 62. 60. - γυμνασιαρχεῖσθαι εὐ ταῖς λαμπάσιν [gymnasiarcheisthai eu - tais lampasin].――Xen. _Revenues_, 4. 52. - λάμπάδι νικήσας γυμνασιαρχῶν [lampadi nikêsas - gymnasiarchôn].――Böckh, 257. - - [491] Dem. _ag. Lakritos_, 940; Aristot. Ἀθ. Πολ. [Ath. - Pol.] 57. - - [492] Böckh, 243. - - [493] Aesch. _Tim._ 12. - - [494] Isaios, _Menekles_, § 42. See Wyse’s edition on the - passage. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -SECONDARY EDUCATION: I. THE SOPHISTS - - -At fourteen or soon after, it was usual for the ordinary course of -letters and lyre-playing to terminate: the gymnastic lessons might be -carried on till old age interrupted them. During the first -three-quarters of the fifth century, the lad, on leaving school, was -left to live more or less as he pleased, if he was rich enough not to -have to work for his living: the sons of poorer citizens at this age, -if not before, settled down to learn a trade or engaged in -merchandise. Rich boys, no doubt, spent most of their time in athletic -pursuits; riding and chariot-driving were favourite amusements. But -with the Periclean age arose a violent desire for a further course of -intellectual study, and a system of secondary education arose, to -occupy the four years which elapsed between the time when the lad -finished his primary education and the time when the State summoned -him to undergo his two years of military training. - -Many of the primary schools of the better sort started courses of -study for lads, providing, no doubt, separate class-rooms, or else the -younger boys attended at different hours from those at which the elder -pupils assembled. Probably some such provision had been made much -earlier for those who wished to obtain a more advanced knowledge of -literature and music than was offered by the primary schools. But in -the time of Sokrates many masters seemed to have held classes for lads -as well as for boys. On entering the schools of Dionusios,[495] the -master of letters, Sokrates finds a class of lads assembled here.[496] -They all belong to noble families: the poor were no doubt unable to -afford education of this sort. Two of the lads were busy discussing a -point of astronomy, and were quoting the authority of Oinopides[497] -and Anaxagoras, for Sokrates catches these two names as he enters the -room. They were drawing circles on the ground and imitating the -inclination of some orbit or other with their hands. This scene shows -a much more advanced sort of study than was usual at the primary -school of letters. The Sophists seem to have often lectured in -class-rooms. - -More often secondary education was imparted, not in the regular -schools by regular, established masters, but by the wandering savants, -who taught every conceivable subject, and were all grouped together -under the general name of Sophists.[498] From this category the -mathematicians and astronomers, who in all respects occupied the same -position, are often excluded. This is due to the authority of Plato, -who, while detesting the other subjects taught as secondary education, -had a great affection for mathematics and astronomy, the only subjects -which he prescribes for lads in the _Republic_ and _Laws_. But -Aristophanes, taking a more logical position, includes geometry and -astronomy among the subjects taught by the burlesque Sophists of the -_Clouds_. In point of fact, secondary education included any subject -that the lad or his parents desired; and the wandering professors who -imparted it, and even established teachers like Isokrates, who kept -permanent secondary schools at Athens, were all alike, in the popular -view, Sophists. - -But the more important subjects do naturally fall into two great -groups, Mathematics and Rhetoric. Mathematics, as may be seen from the -_Republic_, meant, as a part of secondary education, the Science of -Numbers, Geometry, and Astronomy, with a certain amount of the theory -of Music, which, owing partly to Pythagorean traditions, was classed -with mathematics. We have already seen a class learning Astronomy. -Plato, in the _Theaitetos_,[499] supplies a sketch of a lesson in more -advanced arithmetic, which, by Hellenic custom, was usually expressed -in geometrical terms in order to obtain the assistance of a diagram. -The lad Theaitetos says to Sokrates that Theodorus of Kurene, the -great contemporary mathematician, had been teaching him. “He was -giving us a lesson in Roots, with diagrams, showing us that the root -of 3 and the root of 5 did not admit of linear measurement by the foot -(that is, were not rational). He took each root separately up to 17. -There, as it happened, he stopped. So the other pupil and I -determined, since the roots were apparently infinite in number, to try -to find a single name which would embrace all these roots. - -“We divided all number into two parts. The number which has a square -root we likened to the geometrical square, and called ‘square and -equilateral’ (_e.g._ 4, 9, 16). The intermediate numbers, such as 3 -and 5 and the rest which have no square root, but are made up of -unequal factors, we likened to the rectangle with unequal sides, and -called rectangular numbers.” And so on. As the pupils apply the same -principle to cubes and cube roots, Theodorus must have initiated them -into the mysteries of solid geometry also. - -Here we find a professor lecturing to a select class, in this case of -only two lads, and his pupils, as in the class-room of Dionusios, -discussing and elaborating among themselves afterwards the -subject-matter of the lecture. Theodoros is mentioned as teaching -Geometry, Astronomy, and the theory of Music, as well as the Science -of Numbers. Geometry by this time included a good number of the easier -propositions which were afterwards incorporated in the works of -Euclid; the school of Pythagoras, and, later, that of Plato, did much -to develop it. The problem of squaring the circle was already -occupying attention.[500] Compasses and the rule were the ordinary -geometrical implements: diagrams were drawn on the ground, on dust or -sand. In Arithmetic surds[501] were a popular subject: but -arithmetical problems, being usually expressed in terms of geometry -plane or solid, become as a rule a part of the latter science. - -To Plato these mathematical studies are alone suitable for secondary -education: the philosopher Teles,[502] carrying on the same tradition, -makes arithmetic and geometry the special plagues of the lad.[503] But -then the philosophers despised Rhetoric. - -Rhetoric, from the time of Gorgias onwards, formed a very large part -of secondary education Isokrates was its greatest professor. He -provided in his school a course of three or four years for lads, to -occupy their time till they were epheboi. But the methods, the aims, -and the personality of this interesting professor will be discussed -later. - - * * * * * - -Besides mathematics and rhetoric, there were literary studies. The -_Axiochos_ gives κριτικοί [kritikoi] among the teachers of a lad. -These are the lecturers on literary subjects, who concerned themselves -with interpretations, often far-fetched, of the poets; a summary of -the literary discussion in the _Protagoras_ may give some idea of such -a lesson. - -“PROTAGORAS. I consider that it is a most important part of a man’s -education to be skilled in poetry; to understand, that is, what is -rightly said, and what is not, by the poets. Simonides says to Skopas, -son of Kreon the Thessalian, ‘To become indeed a good man is hard, a -man foursquare, wrought without blame in hands and feet and mind.’ You -know the poem? Do you know then that farther on in the same poem he -says, ‘But the saying of Pittakos, wise though he was, seems to me not -said aright: he said, “’Tis hard to be noble.”’ Don’t you see that the -poet has contradicted himself?” - -Sokrates replies by distinguishing “being” from “becoming,” and -suggests that χαλεπός [chalepos] (hard) may mean not “difficult” but -“bad.” He then gives a lecture in his turn. He picks out a μέν [men] -in the first line and puts it into a most unwarrantable position in -his translation, and makes “indeed” go with “hard.” To become good is -difficult but possible, to be and remain good quite impossible. Hence -Simonides goes on to say that he is quite satisfied with those who do -no positive harm. Sokrates also notes a philological point, that -ἐπαίνημι [epainêmi] in the poem is a Lesbian Aeolic form, justified -because the poem is addressed to a citizen of Mitulene. It may be -remarked that Hippias also possessed a lecture on the subject. A -lecture on Homer by a Sophist is mentioned by Isokrates: such lectures -were frequently given by the rhapsodes. - -Grammar was also taught, and the right use of words. Less usual -subjects were geography,[504] art, and metre. Logic was in its -infancy, but the growing lad could practise himself in argument by -listening to the disputes of the dialecticians. Current conversation -was full of ethical and political discussions: in the fourth century -there were the philosophical schools of Plato and, later, of -Aristotle, and the lectures of Antisthenes the cynic in Kunosarges; -and Isokrates taught political science. Lads seem to have been -expected to learn something, at any rate, of the laws of their -country: no doubt they were taken up to the Akropolis to read Solon’s -code: occasionally they may have been present as spectators in the -law-courts, in order that they might gain an idea of legal procedure. -Those who intended to become speech-writers for the courts would -doubtless learn more: they would also attend some well-known writer -like Lusias or Isaios, and learn the art of forensic rhetoric. - -It must be clearly understood that the whole of this secondary -education was purely voluntary. The parent need not send his lad to -hear any teaching of the sort: the poorer classes certainly would not. -The richer parents could choose what subjects they or their sons -preferred: rhetoric or literature, geography or mathematics――it was -all one to the State. Teachers came and went: few stayed in Athens -long. Their pupils had either to follow them abroad, as Isokrates went -to Gorgias in Thessaly, or wait for their next visit. It was only the -schools of Isokrates, of the great philosophers, and of a few -speech-writers like Lusias and Isaios, that had any permanence in -Athens. Isokrates himself had taught in Chios for a time: Plato was -more than once in Sicily, and his school had to do without him in his -absence. There is a peculiar fluidity about secondary education in -Hellas: the teachers are always on the move. Endowed buildings for -them there were none: they taught in their own houses and gardens, or -in those of rich hosts, or in school-rooms borrowed for the occasion, -or in public resorts like the gymnasia, or even in the streets. -Consistent or continuous instruction was the exception: the Sophists -proper gave it only to a few. The average lad at this time naturally -acquired a wide and superficial knowledge of a great number of -subjects, just the amount of knowledge which is such a dangerous -thing. The lads became Jacks-of-all-trades: Plato, struck with the -educational error of wide superficiality, wrote the _Republic_ as a -counterblast, preaching “One man, one trade.” This protest is largely -directed against the specious superficiality of the Sophists’ -teaching. - -Consequently, secondary education fell into two halves, the fluid -teaching of the wandering Sophists and the continuous teaching of the -more stationary schools of Plato and Isokrates. It will be convenient -to accept this division, and take the fluid half first. In subjects, -the two must overlap one another: the Sophists taught logic as much as -Plato, rhetoric as much as Isokrates, and universal information of -very much the same range as Aristotle. But the method was different, -just because as a rule the Sophist was here to-day and gone to-morrow, -while the stationary teachers taught the same pupils for several years -together and could study their particular idiosyncrasies, and the -value of education depends very largely on the teacher’s understanding -of, and sympathy with, the individual boys whom he teaches. - -It is of interest to trace the development of the term Sophia and of -the Sophists who professed it. - -The earliest thoughts of the Hellenic peoples were enshrined in -hexameter verse. Homer and Hesiod represent the science and -philosophy, as well as the religion, of their age. The poetical -tradition survived in philosophy as late as Parmenides and Empedokles: -the last trace of it may perhaps be found in the myths of Plato. The -religious and ritual thinkers and the composers of oracles also -employed verse. Consequently “wisdom,” in the earliest Hellenic -literature, is mainly associated with poetry and music, and the words -σοφοί [sophoi] and σοφισταί [sophistai] are applied indiscriminately -to poets.[505] This sense of σοφιστής [sophistês] survived in later -times, and Protagoras could call Homer, Hesiod, Mousaios, Orpheus, and -Simonides all alike by this title. Orpheus is so styled in the -_Rhesos_. Phrunichos called Lampros the musician a “hyper-sophist,” -and Athenaeus declares that Sophist was a general title for all -students of music. - -A second use of the word “wise man” had also existed from the earliest -times, by which it had been applied to those who were skilful in some -particular craft, such as carpentering,[506] medicine,[507] or -chariot-driving.[508] - -The “Seven Sages” also received the name of Sophist,[509] and in their -age the cognate words σοφός [sophos] and σοφία [sophia] became -connected with practical and political wisdom.[510] - -Then the rise of education in Hellas, in which these old poets and -thinkers were largely employed, and the analogy of the other -educational titles with similar endings, γραμματιστής [grammatistês] -and κιθαριστής [kitharistês], gave the word σοφιστής [sophistês] an -association with the teaching profession. Scientific knowledge was -beginning to accumulate. Sufficient history was known to serve as a -foundation for political theory and precept. Rhetoric was becoming an -essential preliminary to political life, since, with the rise of -democracy, persuasion became the dominating influence in law-courts -and assemblies. The desire for knowledge was never so keen as during -the latter half of the fifth century in Hellas. With the demand came -the men. All over the Hellenic world arose professional teachers, who -carried the knowledge, which they had learnt from one another or -discovered for themselves, from city to city. Everywhere their -lectures attracted large and enthusiastic crowds. Among the subjects -which they studied and taught may be mentioned mathematics (including -arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy), grammar, etymology, geography, -natural history, the laws of metre and rhythm, history (under which -head fell also mythology and genealogies), politics, ethics, the -criticism of religion, mnemonics, logic, tactics and strategy, music, -drawing and painting, scientific athletics, and, above all, rhetoric. -To such a heterogeneous collection what name could be given but -“wisdom,” σοφία [sophia]? The name Sophist was applied indiscriminately -to all these secondary teachers. - -There are several interesting accounts of these Sophists in extant -literature, but the writers are always prejudiced opponents. - -In the _Clouds_ of Aristophanes, the Sophists and their pupils are -represented as living in an underground Thinking-Shop. They are pale -and squalid, engaged in all sorts of researches. Natural history is -represented by the important question, “How many times the length of -its own foot does a flea jump?” a problem which is solved by actual -experiment. Later in the play they inquire why the sea does not -overflow, since the rivers are always running into it. Scientific -instead of mythological explanations of thunder and lightning are -given. There is religious criticism too, such as Xenophanes had -uttered long before: “If Zeus imprisoned his own father, why has he -not been punished?” There is astronomy, “the paths and orbit of the -sun,” and a hanging basket is introduced as an observatory. Geometry -and compasses are mentioned. The visitor is shown a map of the world, -containing Euboia, Lakedaimon, and Attica on a large enough scale, it -would seem, to mark the deme Kikunna; perhaps, as Strepsiades expects -to find dikastai on it at Athens, it had pictures of elephants and -monsters in unknown districts. The students are interested in metres -and rhythms. The poet laughs at grammar, forming “cockess” as the -logical feminine of cock, and making the chief Sophist object to -feminine nouns with masculine terminations. It is suggested that the -pupils at the Thinking-Shop are dirty, half-starved vegetarians, too -economical to go to the hair-cutter or the baths, abstaining from wine -and the gymnasia. But the main point attacked by Aristophanes is the -teaching of Argument. The whole object of learning under the Sophists -is, according to him, to be able to cajole the dikastai and so win -impunity to cheat, and to have an argument to justify anything. The -successful scholars beat their fathers and mothers, giving logical -reasons for their behaviour; they refuse to go to school, and are too -clever to believe or accept anything. But their intellectual -exhilaration is spasmodic; they have been taught, if they reach a -difficult problem, to jump on to something else. - -A vivid sketch of Sophist-life is given in Plato’s _Protagoras_. Young -Hippokrates, on returning to Athens in the evening after pursuing a -runaway slave to the frontier, hears that Protagoras the great Sophist -has arrived in the city. Only the lateness of the hour deters him from -rushing off to find Sokrates, who will give him an introduction to the -teacher. Next morning he comes round to Sokrates’ house long before it -is light, bangs and shouts at the door in his excitement, and -announces that he is ready to spend all the money which he and all his -friends possess, in fees. - -They go off to the house of Kallias, where Protagoras and other -Sophists are staying. The porter is so worn out by the number of -visitors that he is distinctly rude. They find Protagoras walking up -and down in the cloisters of the house, with three or four listeners -on either side, one of whom is learning to be a Sophist himself. -Behind follows a crowd, mostly composed of the foreigners whom he -draws from city to city, like Orpheus, with his magic voice. Another -Sophist, Hippias, is sitting on a sort of throne in the opposite part -of the cloisters; around him on benches are a number of inquirers, who -were asking him questions about natural science and astronomy. A third -Sophist, Prodikos, is in a side-building, still in bed, covered up in -blankets.[511] His audience sat on neighbouring beds. The whole -assemblage finally collect couches and benches together in a great -circle to hear a discussion between Sokrates and Protagoras. Kallias, -the host on this occasion, often entertained Sophists: at another time -he had Gorgias and Polos in the house. His cloisters must have -provided a favourite lecture-room. The Sophists also haunted the -gymnasia. The discussion in the _Euthudemos_ takes place in the -undressing-room of the Lukeion: the two Sophists have been walking in -the cloister. Hippias on one occasion lectures in a school-room, on -another in a public place at Olympia. - -Protagoras was the first of these teachers to take pay. His system was -very fair. On the close of their course of instruction his pupils, if -they chose, paid the fee for which he asked; otherwise, they went into -a temple, and, after taking an oath, paid as much as they said his -instruction was worth.[512] Hippias made about £600 in a very short -time in Sicily, receiving some £80 from the tiny town of Inukos, -although Protagoras was also lecturing in the island at the time. -Prodikos charged £2 for a particular lecture on correct speech,[513] -but there was also a less complete form of it which cost only 10d.; he -seems to have been noted for the gradations in his charges, for there -were also lectures at 5d., 1s. 8d., and 3s. 4d.[514] The sum which -Euenos of Paros asked for teaching the whole duties of a man and a -citizen was £20.[515] Probably, however, the charges of these -Sophists, and the money which they made, were much exaggerated by -their contemporaries. Isokrates, the pupil of Gorgias, gives a much -lower estimate. “None of the so-called Sophists,” he says, “will be -found to have collected much money. On the contrary, some passed their -lives in poverty and the rest in quite ordinary circumstances. The -richest Sophist within my memory was Gorgias. He spent most of his -time in Thessaly, the most prosperous part of Hellas. He lived to a -great age and followed his profession for a great many years. He did -not take upon himself any public burdens by settling in any one city. -He did not marry or have children to bring up. Yet with all these -opportunities of growing wealthy, he only left about £800 at his -death.”[516] It must be remembered that the Sophists received money -only from those who definitely enrolled themselves as pupils or came -to a few advertised lectures. Hippias lectured at Sparta frequently, -and never received a penny. Any one might go and ask a Sophist a -question, and would almost always receive a voluminous answer. The -eloquence and practical skill of these men were also always at the -disposal of their own city. Like the greater Renaissance scholars, -Hippias, Gorgias, and Prodikos were much occupied in going on -embassies. For the larger part of their life-work they received no -payment whatever; what they actually received was possibly less than -what their philosophic opponents obtained in donations from friendly -tyrants. - -At any rate, their fees were not heavy enough to damp the ardour of -their pupils. Young men left their relations and friends to follow -Sophists from city to city. These enthusiastic disciples were almost -ready to carry their teachers about on their shoulders, so great was -their affection for them. Why this enthusiasm? Partly because the -Sophists were men of great personal charm. Partly because in that age -the thirst for knowledge was unbounded. Partly from a desire to learn -the way of virtue, which the Sophists claimed to teach. But the most -potent reason was ambition. The young wished to shine in conversation, -the great occupation of the age, and to be able to discuss every -conceivable topic with intelligence. But education was also the road -to political success. The Sophists taught systematic rhetoric, and -logic of a sort. They also supplied the subject-matter for orations, -in their practical handling of political science, of history, of -ethical commonplaces; for a public oration was expected to be a -storehouse of erudition. Rhetoric was needful not only for power, but -also for security; for in the courts it had more influence than mere -argument and facts. - - * * * * * - -About the individual Sophists little is known. They appear for us only -in the pages of those who traduced them. Plato is mainly occupied with -various conclusions which he draws from their philosophic theories, -which were not a part of their teaching. _Protagoras_, the eldest of -them, a most dignified personage, set himself to train good citizens: -he claimed that he enabled his pupils to manage their households and -govern their states. He imparted to them all the worldly wisdom which -he had gained by long years of personal experience. He made a special -study of political science, no doubt for this purpose, and left a -treatise upon the subject, which was sufficiently excellent for a -certain Aristoxenos to be able to say that Plato had plagiarised most -of the _Republic_ from it.[517] Being businesslike, he favoured -clearness of thought, and studied grammar: he was the first to -separate nouns into the three genders.[518] - -_Prodikos_ belonged to the same practical school. He began by teaching -his pupils the right use of words.[519] Thus he told Sokrates not to -use δεινός [deinos] when he meant “clever”; for its proper meaning was -“terrible,” applicable to war, disease, or the like.[520] There is an -amusing skit on his pet subject in Plato.[521] “The audience in a -philosophical debate should give an impartial but not an equal -attention to both speakers; for it is not the same thing. For it is -right to give an impartial hearing, but you ought to incline, not -equally towards both, but rather towards the wiser speaker. I also ask -you to agree, and to discuss, not to dispute. For friends discuss with -friends for friendship’s sake, but enemies dispute. In this way our -meeting will be best conducted. For you, the speakers, would thus win -from the audience most repute, not praise (for repute is without -deception in the minds of the hearers, but praise is an outward -expression of what is often not felt); and we, the audience, would -thus receive most happiness, not pleasure; for happiness is produced -by the mental reception of knowledge and wisdom, pleasure by eating or -by some other pleasant physical state.” It was easy to laugh, but, as -Plato himself shows, these distinctions of meaning were extremely -useful in meeting logical quibbles, and were much needed in -contemporary logic. Besides this, Prodikos was a moral teacher, and -composed the famous _Choice of Herakles_, in which he inculcated the -duty of hard work as opposed to a life of laziness and pleasure. He -was an invalid, but worked on in spite of ill-health; the result was, -perhaps, a certain amount of pessimism. - -_Hippias_ was a marvellously all-round genius. He once came to the -Olympian festival with everything that he wore or carried made by -himself, ring, oil bottle, shoes, clothes, a wonderful Persian girdle; -he also brought epic poems, tragedies, dithyrambs, and all sorts of -prose-works.[522] He knew astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, grammar. At -Sparta he taught history and archæology. He had a wonderful system of -mnemonics, by which, if he once heard a string of fifty names, he -could remember them all.[523] He lectured on Homer and other poets. He -also composed a moral discourse, which won great applause at Sparta, -where quibbles or bad morality would have been sternly repressed; it -was afterwards delivered in an Athenian school-room. Hippias was -always ready to answer any question which was put to him, and was -rarely at a loss. - -A less prominent Sophist was _Antiphon_, who must be carefully -distinguished from his namesake the Attic orator. He published works -on physics, on concord (ὁμόνοια [homonoia]), and on political science. -The fragments are interesting, and show some popular handling of -ethical teaching. The following extracts[524] will give some idea of -the man:―― - - “First among things human I reckon education. For if you - begin anything whatever in the right way, the end will - probably be right also. The nature of the harvest depends - upon the seed you sow. If you plant good education in a - young body, it bears leaves and fruit the whole life long, - and no rain or drought can destroy it.” - - “Life is like a day’s sentry-duty, and the length of life is - comparable to a single day. While our day lasts, we look up - to the sunlight, then we pass on our duty to our - successors.” - - “A miser stored up money in a hiding-place, and did not lend - or use it. Then it was stolen. A man to whom he had refused - to lend it told him to put a stone in the hiding-place - instead, and imagine that it was money; it would be just as - useful.” - -Among the Sophists were some apparently who were merely jesters, and -used their brains solely in arousing laughter. It may well be doubted -whether the account which Plato gives of _Euthudemos_ and -_Dionusodoros_ is true to life; but they probably represent a type. As -teachers, no sane man could take them seriously. They had been -gladiators, and had taught forensic rhetoric; afterwards they -discovered a genius for quibbles. They were ready to make out any -statement to be true or false. The respondent may only answer “Yes” or -“No,” and no previous statement could be quoted against them, since -they did not claim to teach anything consistent. A sample[525] of -their arguments will make their methods clearer. “_A._ Your father is -a dog. _B._ So is yours. _A._ If you answer my questions, you will -admit it. Have you a dog? _B._ Yes, a very bad one. _A._ Has it -puppies? _B._ Mongrels like itself. _A._ Then the dog is a father? -_B._ Yes. _A._ Isn’t the dog yours? _B._ Certainly. _A._ Then being -yours and a father, it is your father, and you are the brother of -puppies.” Absurd as it is, such discussions are a good means of -teaching logic, since they make the search for rules intellectually -compulsory. - -No doubt there were black sheep among the lesser Sophists, to whom -Plato’s bitter definitions in the _Sophist_ were quite applicable, who -were “hunters after young men of wealth and position, with sham -education as their bait, and a fee for their object, making money by a -scientific use of quibbles in private conversation, while quite aware -that what they were teaching was wrong.” But they do not appear in -extant literature, which has only recorded a very few, and those the -very pick, of the hundreds of Sophists that there must have been in -the Socratic age.[526] - - * * * * * - -The Sophists who have been mentioned so far have been but little -concerned with Rhetoric: they form rather a school of Logic, opposed -to the rhetorical school of _Gorgias_ and his followers. - - [Illustration: PLATE VIII. - - IN THE PALAISTRA: FLUTE-PLAYERS (WITH φορβεία [phorbeia]), - JAVELIN-THROWER, DISK-THROWER, AND BOXER - - Gerhard’s _Auserlesene Vasenbilder_, cclxxii. Fig. 1. - From a Kulix, now at Berlin, signed by Epiktetos (No. 2262).] - -Of the rise of Rhetoric in Hellas I need say little: the whole subject -has been admirably treated elsewhere.[527] For educational purposes, -Hellenic rhetoric started with several fatal drawbacks and some -counterbalancing advantages. The southern nature of the Hellenes -preferred sensuous charm of sound to logical accuracy of fact; their -rhetoric, arising as it did out of poetry, and modelling itself upon -its literary parent, pandered only too readily to their taste. With -truth it had no more to do than Homer had; its object was to please -the ear by curious rhythms, balanced clauses, parisosis, and all other -possible devices. As long as the form was excellent, no matter how -trivial the subject:[528] mice or salt were good enough for a theme. -The oration must, of course, be full of passion, but that could be -simulated: rhetoric had inherited the legacy of acting from its -parent, Lyric Poetry. So rhetoric became simply a question of style, -not of argument; and since arguments were not required, the strength -or weakness of a case did not matter: rhetoric could make any cause -attractive to a sensuous Hellenic ear by its tricks of style, and thus -make “the weaker cause the stronger.” The method by which its -professors taught their pupils brought out this attitude clearly. They -were accustomed to take an imaginary case, and then to teach their -pupils how to write a speech on either side of it: the extant -“Tetralogies” of Antiphon are examples of the method, which was -excellent educationally; for it is good to see the arguments on both -sides of a case. It was the carelessness about fact and indifference -to truth, and the element of acting, that were so dangerous to the -pupils. These elements certainly wrecked the justice of the Athenian -courts; their effect on Hellenic character was probably equally -unsatisfactory. - -Rhetoric also inherited the “gnome” or commonplace, a general -statement about ethics or politics or what not, which could be -developed into a sententious little essay. Budding orators learned to -compose a little store of these and keep them ready for use, to be -inserted in a speech whenever an opportunity occurred. For writing -these essays, a certain amount of independent thought about politics -and ethics was necessary; and both the thought and the essay-writing -were no doubt good for the lads. - -The flowery and poetic style, which was the main characteristic of -early Hellenic rhetoric, was the creation of Gorgias. A fragment of a -funeral oration, in which no doubt he put forth all his powers, may be -given as a sample of the sort of thing which his pupils learned to -write:―― - -“As witness to their deeds these dead set up trophies over the foe, -offerings to Zeus, offered by themselves. They were not unskilled in -natural Ares nor lawful loves nor armèd strife nor beauty-loving -Peace; revering the Gods by Justice, honouring their parents by -Service, just to their countrymen by Equality, faithful to their -friends by Loyalty. Therefore, when they died, love for them died not -with them, but deathless in bodies no longer bodies it lives when they -live no longer.” In the _Encomium on Helen_ we have “fright exceeding -fearful, and pity exceeding tearful, and yearning exceeding painful,” -and “productive of pleasure, destructive of pain.” In the _Palamedes_ -Gorgias even uses puns. - -His poetical compounds and those of his pupil _Alkidamas_ were famous. -In short, at this time there was no boundary whatever between poetry -and prose: prose, if anything, was the more poetical of the two. - -This strange hothouse Euphuistic style of Gorgias took Hellas by -storm, and his influence was enormous: it even half-mastered the -austere mind of Thucydides. As reformed by the greater critical -faculties of his pupil Isokrates, it became the parent of Ciceronian -Latin and so of the prose literature of centuries. - -The other rhetorical Sophists of the time are less interesting. -_Likumnios_ and _Polos_, teacher and pupil, seem to have devoted -themselves to questions of rhythm: they employed quaint conceits and -affectations, like Gorgias. _Theodoros_ and _Euenos_ divided and -subdivided the parts of an oration into “confirmation” and “additional -confirmation,” and “by-blames” and “by-panegyrics”: in which work -Polos joined them. _Thrasumachos_ of Chalcedon, who seems to have been -a bigger man altogether, began to attack the psychological side of -rhetoric by studying the questions of pathos and indignation; these -studies he embodied in pamphlets, and no doubt his results were -imparted to his pupils. - -One of the beauties of old Hellenic education had been that it did not -make the rich a class apart from the poor by giving a widely different -form of culture. The rise of the Sophists changed all this: their fees -excluded the poor. The odium of resultant class-separation fell upon -the teachers. Their pupils, rich, aristocratic, and cultured, inclined -towards oligarchy. Hellenic sentiment held the teacher responsible for -the whole career of his pupils. So for this reason again the -democracies regarded the Sophists with suspicion, as the trainers of -oligarchs and tyrants. It was chiefly because he had been the teacher -of Kritias and Alkibiades that Sokrates was put to death by the -restored democracy. The persuasive powers which the rhetoricians gave -to their pupils might be, and often were, misused; the pupils might -mislead the Ekklesia into bad policy or the law-courts into injustice -by their eloquence. However much the Sophists might protest that they -taught only rhetoric, not ethics, they were held responsible for the -dishonesty as well as for the eloquence of such pupils. Besides, -rhetoric gave the rich man, who alone could buy it, a most -undemocratic influence in the State. The odium against the Sophists -was increased by their religious and political views. They were free -thinkers in all things. Protagoras was a frank agnostic; Gorgias -believed that nothing whatever existed. Their political theories were -equally revolutionary, full of the idea of Social Contracts and the -right of the one strong man. All this was extremely distasteful to the -majority, who were democratic and orthodox. But it must be remembered -that no such views appeared in lectures: they were confined to an -occasional book or to private conversation. Outwardly the Sophists -were law-abiding and respectable servants of the constitution, and -their lectures were, if anything, rather commonplace. - -Thus the prejudice against them was excited partly by their -freethinking and partly by their fees. The first of these two reasons -applied still more to Sokrates and the philosophic schools. But -Sokrates neither asked nor received fees: Plato and Aristotle only -accepted presents. Consequently when the philosophic party tried to -dissociate themselves in the popular mind from the Sophists with whom -they were confounded, they attempted to revive the old Hellenic -prejudice against taking fees for “wisdom,” which had given trouble to -the lyric poets, and to emphasise the money-making aspects of the -Sophists’ profession. This rather absurd appeal to the gallery has -influenced posterity; but it did not win universal acceptation in -Hellas. Aischines still calls Sokrates a Sophist. Under the Roman -Empire “Sophist” became a title of distinction applied to artistic -stylists and teachers like Libanius. - - - [495] Plato’s own schoolmaster, Diog. Laert. iii. 5. - - [496] [Plato] _Lovers_, 132. - - [497] Reputed inventor of Euclid i. 12 and 23, and a great - astronomer. - - [498] Thus the lad Theages, who has learnt letters, - lyre-playing, and wrestling, is vaguely in search of a - Sophist, to make him “wise” ([Plato] _Theages_, 121 D, 122 - E). - - [499] Plato, _Theait._ 147 D. - - [500] Aristoph. _Birds_, 1005. - - [501] Plato, _Hipp. Maj._ 303 B. - - [502] Stob. 98, p. 535. - - [503] And learning to ride. He is thinking of the - aristocratic lad, who would afterwards enter the later - exclusive ephebic college. - - [504] Among the common amusements of Athenian dinner-parties - was a geographical game, in which A gave, say, the name of a - city in Asia beginning with K, and B had to reply with one - in Europe beginning with the same letter (Athen. 457). - - [505] Pind. _Isthm._ 5 (4) 36. σοφισταί [sophistai]; σοφός - [sophos], Pind. _Ol._ i. 15; _Pyth._ i. 42. σοφία [sophia], - _Hymn to Hermes_, and Pind. _Ol._ i. 187. - - [506] Hom. _Il._ 15. 412. - - [507] Pind. _Pyth._ 3. 96. - - [508] _Ibid._ 5. 154. - - [509] In Isokrates, _Antid._ 235. - - [510] As in Theog. 1074. - - [511] He was an invalid. - - [512] Plato, _Protag._ 328 C. - - [513] Plato, _Krat._ 384 E. - - [514] [Plato] _Axioch._ 366 C. - - [515] Plato, _Apol._ iv. 20 B. - - [516] Isok. _Antid._ 156. - - [517] Diog. Laert. iii. 25. - - [518] Aristot. _Rhet._ iii. 3. 5. - - [519] Plato, _Euthud._ 277 E. - - [520] Plato, _Protag._ 341 A. - - [521] _Ibid._ 337 A-C. - - [522] Plato, _Hipp. Min._ 368. - - [523] Plato, _Hipp. Maj._ and _Protag._ 318. - - [524] Quoted in the Teubner Antiphon from Stobaeus. _Flor._ - 98. 533. _Flor._ Appendix, 16. 36. This Antiphon comes in - Xen. _Mem._ i. 6. 1. - - [525] Plato, _Euthud._ 298 D. - - [526] It is not fair to condemn Polos and Thrasumachos on - the score of the opinions which Plato puts into their - mouths. - - [527] Jebb, _Attic Orators_. - - [528] Compare Renaissance poetry in Italy. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -SECONDARY EDUCATION: II. THE PERMANENT SCHOOLS - - -Athens was the place in which the fluid educational system of the -Sophists would naturally begin to crystallise. Not only were the -Athenians the keenest and most intellectual of the Hellenes: owing to -the vast trade of their city, merchants, astronomers, inventors, -poets, thinkers of all sorts, poured into it, and men of all trades -and all tongues collected there. Many stayed there for a few days -only, in passing; for Athens was a sort of Clapham Junction in those -days. All these brought a perpetual supply of new ideas into the city, -which the inhabitants were quick to assimilate. - -But, possessing all the advantages of a commercial centre, Athens was -free from the disadvantages. The clamour and vulgarity of trade were -confined to the Peiraieus: in the gymnasia or the streets or the -colonnades of Athens the philosopher and the thinker could teach and -meditate in peace, in an atmosphere ennobled by her treasures of -architecture and art and sculpture, which subdued the most blatant -visitor, amid the literary circles which her dramatic contests -attracted and encouraged. Here was an ideal spot for the meeting-place -of the best minds in Hellas and the growth of a great educational -system. The city was an education in itself. Perikles had called -Athens the school of Hellas; the name was now to be justified in its -most literal sense. - -Early in the fourth century there arose established secondary schools -in Athens. Plato began to teach Logic and Philosophy, Isokrates -Rhetoric, not for a few weeks at a time, but permanently: their -courses lasted three or four years. Characteristically, there was no -State organisation or interference; Isokrates taught in his own house, -near the Lukeion, Plato in his garden near Kolonos and in the -Akademeia. Their pupils came from all parts of the civilised world, -staying in Athens during their course of study. Plato imposed a -preliminary examination in mathematics upon his pupils; Isokrates only -commended a knowledge of such subjects. The students of these two -schools became recognised features of Athenian life. - -Plato led his pupils towards intellectual research and a life of -retirement; the tendency of the school was markedly aristocratic, and -several of the lads became tyrants in after life. Isokrates inculcated -the practical life: his teaching was meant as a preparation for -success in society and politics. But as his school naturally was only -for the comparatively wealthy and leisured classes, it also tended to -be aristocratic; however, it produced some of the leading democratic -statesmen of the day. - -Besides these two great schools others grew up. It is hard to -distinguish exactly between the boys who went to Isokrates in order to -learn political speaking and those who went to a “logographos” like -Lusias or Demosthenes to learn forensic oratory. The “logographoi” do -not seem to have claimed to impart culture, but only technical -instruction: they are thus on the boundary line of education. But -Demosthenes went to the “logographos” Isaios to get precisely the -instruction which Isokrates had refused him: so it is hard to make a -clear distinction. I shall therefore give a short sketch of the -“logographoi” also.[529] - -By the time that these schools began to establish themselves the -Sophists were beginning to die out. Times were harder in the fourth -century, and fewer people had money to spend on these expensive -teachers. The intellectual movement of the Periclean age had spent -itself, and the desire for universal knowledge was no longer so keen. -Moreover, it is quite probable that settled schools, like that of -Isokrates at Athens, were forming in many of the great centres: it is -known that Isokrates himself taught for a while in Chios. The great -demerit of the Sophists’ teaching, namely, that it was too much in a -hurry and gave no time for personal endeavour on the part of the -pupil, had been recognised: and the result was that the Sophists -settled down in a single place and gave continuous courses of -instruction. - -But a good many Sophists of the old type remained, to vex Isokrates by -their criticisms and rivalries. They still came to Athens at the great -festivals, and gave hurried lectures.[530] But they had not the -originality of their predecessors, and people preferred to read the -works of Protagoras or Gorgias for themselves to hearing them repeated -as original by a lecturer. Books were already a serious rival to -lecturing, and were a cause of much searching of heart to Plato: -Isokrates, however, preferred to write himself and so advertise his -school. - -Besides the wandering Sophists there were probably a good many -teachers, both of Philosophy and of Rhetoric, established permanently -at Athens. Isokrates mentions casually that all the schools[531] -produce only two or three first-class speakers. In his educational -prospectus, _Against the Sophists_, he criticises these rivals freely. -“They merely try to attract pupils by low fees and big promises. The -speeches which they write themselves are worse than the improvisations -of the wholly untrained, yet they promise to make a complete orator -out of any one who comes to them; for they make no allowance for -natural talent or for experience, but regard eloquence as an exact -science, just like the A B C and equally communicable; whereas it is -really a progressive art, where the same thing must never be said -twice, and its rules must be relative to the occasion and the -circumstances.”[532] It is clear that these rivals committed the -serious crime of underselling Isokrates and also of issuing more -attractive prospectuses; perhaps, too, they are the captious critics -to whom he is always referring. - -Isokrates is still more severe on various philosophical teachers; he -cannot mean Plato alone, for he mentions their fees, and Plato made no -charge. There must have been a large number of philosophical -professors, of whom Plato was only the most brilliant. But in many -points Isokrates no doubt meant his denunciations to apply to Plato -also. The summary of his attack is as follows:――“They make impossible -offers, promising to impart to their pupils an exact science of -conduct, by means of which they will always know what to do. Yet for -this science they charge only 3 or 4 μναῖ [mnai] (£12 or £16), a -ridiculously small sum. They try to attract pupils by the specious -titles of the subjects which they claim to teach, such as Justice and -Prudence. But the Justice and the Prudence which they teach are of a -very peculiar sort, and they give a meaning to the words quite -different from that which ordinary people give; in fact, they cannot -be sure about the meaning themselves, but can only dispute about it. -Although they profess to teach Justice, they refuse to trust their -pupils, but make them deposit the fees with a third party before the -course begins.”[533] Here we have a picture of a distinct group of -ethical teachers all trying to work at that Socratic paradox that -virtue is knowledge, and imparting their results to pupils for low -fees. - -All these Professors of Ethics seem to have made Mathematics and -Astronomy a part of their course, just as Plato did. “To the old -Athenian education, of Letters and Music and Gymnastics, they have -added a more advanced course, consisting of Geometry and Astronomy and -such subjects, together with eristic dialogues,” that is, -Dialectic.[534] This course seems to have been much criticised as -being a mere waste of time, since it was of no practical use and the -knowledge so obtained was soon forgotten in after life. But Isokrates, -although these subjects played no part in his own school, was -sufficiently good an educationalist to see their merits: the study of -subtle and difficult matters like Astronomy and Geometry “trains a boy -to keep his attention closely fixed upon the point at issue and not to -allow his mind to wander; so, being practised in this way and having -his wits sharpened, he will be made capable of learning more important -matters with greater ease and speed.”[535] But all these unpractical, -if improving, studies should be abandoned before the nineteenth year: -for they dry up the human nature and make men unbusinesslike. “Some of -those who have become so adept in these subjects that they teach them -to others, show themselves in the practical conduct of life less wise -than their pupils, not to say than their servants.”[536] Consequently, -those who care to study mathematics and eristic should confine them to -the years between fourteen and eighteen: and then pass on to learn -rhetoric with Isokrates; the rest can come to his school as lads, as -many did. - -But, although he differentiated himself so carefully from what moderns -would call the philosophical schools, Isokrates styled himself a -teacher of philosophy quite as much as they did. To him, as to the -Romans, philosophy was the art of living a practical life. “That which -is of no immediate use either for speech or for action does not -deserve the name of Philosophy.”[537] The true philosopher is not the -dreamer who neglects what is practical and essential, but the man of -the world who learns and studies subjects which will make him able to -manage his household and govern his state well; for this is the object -of all labour and all philosophy.[537] With this practical end in view -he ridicules the metaphysical researches of “the old Sophists, of whom -Demokritos said that the number of realities was infinite, and -Empedokles declared for four, and Ion for not more than three, and -Alkmaion for only two, and Parmenides and Melissos for one, while -Gorgias asserted that nothing existed at all.”[538] - -In the promises which he makes of imparting to his pupils this -practical wisdom which he calls philosophy, Isokrates is -characteristically cautious. An exact science, which will embrace all -possible questions and circumstances which may arise in domestic and -political matters, is an impossibility; men must be content with a -general capacity of forming a right judgment in view of each -particular case when it arises. Consequently he defines as “wise men,” -σοφοί [sophoi], “those whose judgment usually hits upon the right -course of action,” and as “seekers after wisdom” or philosophers, -φιλόσοφοι [philosophoi], “those who occupy themselves with those -studies and pursuits from which they will most quickly obtain this -practical wisdom,”[539] or capacity of forming correct judgments. But -a judgment can only be formed properly after a proper deliberation: so -the work of Philosophy is to practise her pupils in this -deliberation.[540] - -This practice is, of course, provided in the school of Isokrates; for -his school was, in fact, a debating or deliberating society, in which -the pupils wrote and recited carefully composed speeches on given -themes, or listened to the harangues of their master. Sometimes they -discussed events of the day and matters of general interest[541] at -the moment; at another time their topic was some constitutional or -historical question, or the comparative merits of different nations -and governments.[542] At another time, as may be seen from the example -of Isokrates’ own orations, they dealt with those mythical characters -who were historical realities as well as sacred personages to the -average Hellene, Theseus and Helen and Bousiris: this in their eyes -was almost equivalent to religious instruction and they were virtually -writing theological essays. No doubt also the pupils wrote and recited -those “commonplaces” or short essays on general topics, composed in a -most elaborate style, which ancient orators kept in stock, ready to be -inserted in a speech when a suitable opening presented itself. -Isokrates’ own works are particularly full of these highly finished -little essays:[543] so it is at least extremely probable that he -insisted upon their composition in his school. Before his pupils, too, -Isokrates would recite those fine sermons of his, like the -_Demonikos_; and effective pieces of moral exhortation they must have -been. - -Thus the Isocratean school claimed to be, and was, a school of morals: -it was also a school of good style and composition. The boys’ essays -had to be written in a particular style, grandiloquent and ornate, to -suit their themes. “For it is absurd to suppose that the matter and -manner of ordinary conversation or of forensic oratory are suitable to -Pan-Hellenic themes; on the contrary, in this kind of speech the -thoughts must be more original and more lofty, the style more -striking, and the diction more poetical and elaborate.”[544] Style, -diction, and matter must, in fact, be that which Isokrates worked out -in his own speeches. That style[545] I do not mean to discuss here. -The fact that he wrote in a study and never spoke in public, has made -him exaggerate the merits of the artistic prose-style of which he was -the first really great exponent; but of its popularity with an -Hellenic audience there can be no question. The pupils of Isokrates -became the most eminent politicians and the most eminent prose-writers -of the time; his house, as Cicero puts it, was the school of Hellas -and the manufactory of eloquence. - -To acquire this kind of oratory, there was need both of natural -ability and of diligent study. Isokrates professes to supply, first an -exact science of all the rhetorical devices and the various forms -which speech can take, and then practice in the right employment and -arrangement of these several parts. To learn the technique of rhetoric -is comparatively easy, if the aspirant applies to the right man; but -the right use of the technique can never be brought under any set of -rules, or taught by one man to another: it can only be learnt by -experience. The future orator must try the effect of each arrangement -and combination of technique on the audience, and so draw up his own -system.[546] The requisite audience for these experiments will be -provided by the other pupils of the school, with the master as chief -critic. A good master is essential. By his personal influence he will -be able to communicate those finer elements of style which cannot be -communicated in formal teaching. If he is worth his salt, all his -pupils will bear the stamp of his own manner, and will easily be -distinguished from every one else by the similarity of their style to -his and to one another’s.[547] Education in rhetoric at Isokrates’ -school seems to have begun with the study of his own works. In the -_Panathenaikos_ he describes himself as reading the speech over with -two or three of his regular pupils; they revise and criticise it as -they go along. This would give Isokrates the opportunity of expounding -his own views of technique, with his own works before him as -illustrations. It may be inferred from the beginning of the _Bousiris_ -that the written speeches of other Sophists were also studied, and -their faults, or aberrations from Isocratean canons, pointed out, in -order that they might be avoided in future. At any rate, Isokrates -complains that other professors of the same sort of Rhetoric at Athens -made use of his writings for teaching their own pupils, though, of -course, according to him, they did so in order to show the boys what -to admire, not what to avoid. When this technique had been fully -mastered Isokrates set his pupils to write speeches on their own -account, choosing for them some great and improving theme: in these -speeches they had to apply the rules which they had learnt, and the -subtler influences which they had imbibed, from their teacher. But -they had also to think out the subject-matter, and in this lies much -of the merit of the whole system. For, as Isokrates observes, the -essayist who writes upon such themes will have to think noble -thoughts, and select noble deeds as his instances and illustrations. -This contemplation of what is noble will be a greater incentive to -virtue than any so-called science of ethics:[548] for there is no -science which can create goodness in wicked natures, but exhortation -and persuasion can work wonders. Moreover, since the orator’s best -argument is, after all, a good reputation, the young orator will see -that his conduct and character are as excellent as possible.[548] And -the practice of weighing just what thoughts and actions are suitable -to the speech involves that faculty of sound deliberation which is -necessary for the formation of right judgments. In fact, Isocratean -“Philosophy” does more to form character than it does to produce -eloquence.[549] - -The pupils practised themselves, as we have seen, by delivering their -harangues before Isokrates and their fellow-pupils. The school formed -a select clique of trained critics of Rhetoric; the encouragement of -criticism by this means must have been valuable. To this council -Isokrates submitted his own orations before publication; former pupils -were also invited to attend on these occasions. There is an -interesting account of such an assembly at the end of the -_Panathenaikos_. “I was revising the speech as it stands down to this -point,” Isokrates says, “with three or four of the lads who are -accustomed to study with me. On reading it through, we were satisfied -with it and thought it only needed a peroration. I determined, -however, to send for one of those among my pupils who had been brought -up in an oligarchy and had set themselves to praise Lakedaimon, so -that he might notice any false charge which we had unwittingly brought -against the Spartans.” The pupil comes, and, while praising the speech -enthusiastically, makes an unguarded criticism of its matter which led -to a long discussion, in the course of which he and Isokrates deliver -lengthy harangues. Finally, the pupil is crushed. The boys who had -been present throughout the discussion were completely convinced by -Isokrates and applauded him warmly. But the master himself was not -satisfied. So three or four days later he called together all his old -pupils who were in Athens, and the speech was submitted to their -judgment, and received with enthusiastic applause. The former critic -then delivered a brilliant harangue, trying to elucidate a hidden -meaning in the speech. “The crowd of pupils, which is usually ready to -applaud, shouted, flocked round him, and congratulated him, thoroughly -agreeing with his eulogy of me,” says Isokrates. “I praised him too, -but did not reveal whether he had hit off my secret meaning or not.” - -The whole tone of the passage suggests that such an appeal to the -pupils for criticism and advice was common, the only extraordinary -feature being the presence of the “old boys.” This view is supported -by other passages. In the _Areiopagitikos_[550] Isokrates tells his -imaginary audience that “Some who heard me on a former occasion -describe this constitution which Athens once enjoyed, while praising -it enthusiastically and calling our ancestors happy,… told me that I -was not likely to persuade you to adopt it.” On another occasion his -speech made such an impression upon this preliminary audience that “No -one praised the beauty of the style, as they usually do, but all -admired the truth of the argument.” When he first told his pupils that -he meant to send an advisory speech to Philip, “they all thought he -was mad, and had the impudence to rebuke him, a thing which they had -never done before.… But when they had heard the speech, they changed -their minds completely and thought that Philip, Athens, and all Hellas -would alike be grateful to him.”[551] - -Isokrates’ great political pamphlets, with their wonderfully polished -style and their striking themes, naturally served him as an excellent -advertisement, as he naïvely admits in the _Antidosis_. Those who -required further information about his educational methods and aims -would turn to the prospectus _Against the Sophists_, which he -published at the beginning of his career. Owing to these attractions, -pupils came to him from all parts of the Hellenic world, from Pontos, -Sicily, and Cyprus;[552] he had “more than all the other teachers of -philosophy put together.”[553] They were not merely private citizens, -but statesmen, generals, kings, and tyrants.[554] Probably the age at -which they came varied greatly, but most of his actual pupils would -probably be between fifteen and twenty-one. He often speaks of -μειράκια [meirakia] as among them. Moreover, he speaks of parents -bringing their sons to him,[555] which they certainly would not do if -the boys were over eighteen. Public life in the average Hellenic state -began at twenty; so boys would wish to be ready for it by that age. -The course at Isokrates’ school lasted for three or four years.[556] -The Athenian lad was more or less busy with his military duties from -eighteen to twenty, so he would probably take the course between -fourteen and eighteen; natives of other states would fit it in -according to their local customs. The fee for the whole course was 10 -mnai, or £40.[557] The story[558] goes that Demosthenes, having only -£8, offered to pay that sum for one-fifth of the course. But Isokrates -replied that he could not sell his philosophy in slices; the customer -must take the whole fish or none at all. Probably, however, the tale -is a fiction: Isokrates himself claims not to have made any money out -of his countrymen, and only to have charged his foreign pupils. - -Since, soon after the opening of his school, he had a hundred pupils, -the accounts of his great wealth, which he repudiated so indignantly, -cannot have been far wrong, especially as he received 20 talents -(nearly £5000) for his panegyric on Euagoras. His own comparison of -his wealth with that of Gorgias, who left only £800 at his death, is -curious, if the above statements are true. - -But his pupils, drawn from a class that had sufficient substance to -live at leisure,[559] seem to have been well satisfied with what they -got for their money. “At the end of their time, when they were on the -point of sailing home to their friends, they so loved their life in -Athens that they parted from it with tears and sighs.” Isokrates kept -on friendly terms with them afterwards. Thus he writes to Timotheos, -tyrant of Herakleia and an old pupil, to congratulate him on his -accession and commend to him another old pupil, Autokrator. Then there -is the charming letter in which he introduces Diodotos, another of his -pupils, to the Macedonian Antipater, at some personal risk, for there -was war between Athens and Macedon at the time. “I have had many -pupils,” the letter runs, “some of whom have become great orators, -some men of action, some great thinkers, some, with no particular -talents, have at any rate become upright and cultured gentlemen: -Diodotos combines all these qualities.” - -The chief boast of the school of Isokrates was that it produced -gentlemen. Isokrates defines education not as a knowledge of -metaphysics and a contemplation of the Good, nor yet as technical -ability in some particular profession, art, or trade, but as a sort of -culture and polish. “This is my definition of the educated man,” he -says. “First, he is capable of dealing with the ordinary events of -life, by possessing a happy sense of fitness and a faculty of usually -hitting upon the right course of action. - -“Secondly, his behaviour in any society is always correct and proper. -If he is thrown with offensive or disagreeable company, he can meet it -with easy good-temper; and he treats every one with the utmost -fairness and gentleness. - -“Thirdly, he always has the mastery over his pleasures, and does not -give way unduly under misfortune and pain, but behaves in such cases -with manliness and worthily of the nature which has been given to us. - -“Fourthly (the most important point) he is not spoilt or puffed up nor -is his head turned by success, but he continues throughout to behave -like a wise man, taking less pleasure in the good things which chance -has given him at birth than in the products of his own talents and -intelligence. - -“Those whose soul is well tuned to play its part in all these ways, -those I call wise and perfect men, and declare to possess all the -virtues; those I regard as truly educated.”[560] - -Thus the object of Isokrates was rather to impart culture and polish -to his pupils than to teach them rhetoric; it is in this point that he -differs from the other professors who taught the same sort of rhetoric -as he did at Athens and have now been forgotten, and from the -logographoi, who taught the kind of speaking which suited the Athenian -law-courts, without professing to supply anything but a technical -knowledge of their particular subject. - -In an Athenian trial the prosecutor and defendant had each to deliver -a speech for themselves; afterwards, regular advocates might address -the jury in some cases, but this was rare. So the duty of an Athenian -lawyer was simply to write speeches for his clients to deliver, not to -speak himself. Thus the metic Lusias, who had no right to speak in a -court himself, was a famous lawyer, or logographos, speech-writer, as -the Hellenes called him. - -Mantitheos, say, finds himself involved in a lawsuit. He comes to -Lusias and explains the circumstances. Lusias masters the details, -looks up the laws on the question, and studies his client’s age, -character, and so forth. He then writes a speech sufficiently -dramatised to come naturally from Mantitheos’ mouth. In composing it -he will simulate the indignation which he supposes his client to feel, -he will adopt the nonchalant air of injured innocence which Mantitheos -showed in telling the story, and so on, till the speech is a real bit -of dramatisation like the speeches in a tragedy. When composed, the -speech would be carried off by Mantitheos, learnt by heart, and duly -recited. It is all a bit of acting on Lusias’ part. The habit of -simulating feelings when writing speeches was dangerous, when the -logographos came forward to speak in his own person on some question. -Demosthenes never quite escapes the suspicion of acting and posing, -even in his most impressive moments. - -Besides these clients, the Athenian lawyers had permanent pupils, who -either intended to be lawyers themselves or thought the study would -help them in a political life. Their methods of teaching, as may be -seen from Plato’s _Phaidros_, resembled those of Isokrates. In the -dialogue called by his name, Phaidros is going out to walk off the -effects of sitting indoors too long.[561] He had been listening to -Lusias, “the cleverest speech-writer of the age,” reciting one of his -speeches, on which he had spent much labour. Phaidros had made him -repeat it several times, and has now borrowed the book in order to -learn it by heart during his walk. Sokrates persuades him to read it -aloud, in doing which he is quite carried away by its eloquence.[562] -Sokrates then proceeds to criticise the style and matter of the -speech,[563] and to compose one of his own on the same subject to show -how it ought to be treated. - -This reveals the method of teaching. The teacher, as here and in -Isokrates’ case, recites a speech of his own, explaining how it was -done and asking for criticism from the pupils. Then the pupil would -learn it by heart and declaim it in some solitary place. On other -occasions, as Sokrates does here, the master would take the speech of -some rival professor and criticise it severely, composing a better -speech himself. The _Bousiris_ and _Helen_ of Isokrates show this -method. Or else the pupil replied to the teacher, or the teacher wrote -two speeches on opposite sides of the question. The extant work of -Antiphon and the lost work of Gorgias[564] are of this type. - -Most of the Attic orators seem to have taken pupils. Isaios taught -Demosthenes. Demosthenes in his turn seems to have had great -popularity as a teacher. He “promises to teach young men the art of -speaking”;[565] “he filled Aristarchos with empty hopes of becoming -the prince of orators all in a moment”;[566] “he invited some of his -pupils to come and listen to the speech _On the False Embassy_, -promising to show them how to cheat and mislead the audience”;[567] -“later on he will brag before his boys of his tricks.” These passages -give an interesting picture of Demosthenes and his pupils, as seen -through his opponent’s green spectacles. - - * * * * * - -In opposition to the schools of Rhetoric stood the schools of -Philosophy, leading their pupils towards the life of retirement and -contemplation and away from the strenuous life of political and social -activity.[568] We have seen that there were many professors of -Philosophy at Athens in Isokrates’ time, charging fees of three or -four mnai for their course. But only one of them is known to -posterity, and he gave lessons gratis. Otherwise, Plato must be taken -as a member of a class, albeit the most brilliant member. The teaching -of Plato centred, as is well known, round the Akademeia. Plato -possessed a house and garden, which he bequeathed to his school, -between that gymnasium and Kolonos. When he and his pupils wished to -be private they could withdraw into his gardens; otherwise they -frequented the Akademeia, from which their school took its name. It -was not every one who could obtain admission to the school, for, as -Plato taught gratuitously, he could pick and choose his pupils. He -expected would-be students to be well grounded in Geometry: there must -have been some sort of entrance-examination. His successor, -Xenokrates, finding that an applicant was ignorant of Music, Geometry, -and Astronomy, told him to go away: “for you give philosophy no chance -of getting a grip upon you.”[569] The inner circle of the school had -their meals in common: the banquets were extremely plain. Timotheos, -the Athenian general, who was accustomed to rich living, after having -been a guest at one of these meals, remarked, on meeting Plato next -day, “Your suppers are more pleasant on the following day than they -are at the time.”[570] After the meal, a larger number of friends -probably came in; this, at any rate, was a custom at the similar -meetings held by the philosopher Menedemos a generation later.[571] -The discourse often went on all night. There was a fixed code of rules -to regulate these meals,[572] which is suggestive of Plato’s -pleasantries in the _Laws_ about the educational value of strictly -regulated bouts of intoxication. But drunkenness was, of course, not -allowed: Plato had a particular objection to it, and used to tell -drunkards to look in the looking-glass and they would never err in -that way again.[573] It offended his strict canons of physical beauty -and propriety. It is interesting to note that the author of the -_Republic_ admitted women on terms of equality to this inner circle of -the Akademeia, in defiance of Athenian prejudice. Lastheneia of -Mantineia and Axiothea of Phlious, who dressed in male attire, are the -first champions of women’s rights to a University education who appear -in history.[574] The discussions of this clique were probably -conducted after the model of the Platonic dialogue, and doubtless were -in Plato’s mind when in the _Laws_ he constructed his curious ethical -and political debating-society for the older and wiser members of his -state. - -But admission to these mysteries must have been reserved for -comparatively few, personal friends and mature thinkers: the members -formed rather a private club than an educational system. The young -Athenian who wished, when his primary education was finished, to study -philosophy under Plato, had two means open to him: there were lectures -in various public places; there was also a school for lads in the -Akademeia. - -The only lecture,[575] of which any very definite trace is left, was -not a great success from the educational point of view. Plato -announced beforehand that his subject would be “The Good.” A great -crowd collected, expecting to hear a neat Isocratean discussion of -such things as Health, Wealth, Friendship, which were popularly -considered to be rival claimants for the title of the Good. But Plato -began to talk about arithmetic and geometry and astronomy, and -discussed the One as the Good. The whole lecture was couched in -enigmatical language. The majority of the audience went away in -despair.[576] Only practised Platonists like Aristotle and Herakleides -and Hestiaios did their best to understand the lecture, and took -notes. The whole idea of a “popular lecture” must have been repugnant -to Plato. In his view, knowledge was only for the few, who, starting -with great natural abilities, could devote themselves for years at a -time to continual study and research. The pupil must be talented to -start with: he must undergo a long course of preparatory studies in -Logic and Mathematics: only when middle-aged might he approach the -inner mysteries of Philosophy. Holding such educational ideas as -these, Plato naturally made his lectures unintelligible to all but a -few: his main subject for public exposition seems to have been that -curious mathematical metaphysic which Aristotle combats as Platonic, -although it is nowhere found in the extant dialogues. By reading the -_Metaphysics_ of Aristotle the modern inquirer can perhaps realise how -difficult Plato’s lectures must have been.[577] - -At the school in the Akademeia, Plato seems to have instructed his -lads chiefly in Logic and Mathematics. Logic consisted chiefly of -definitions, such as those for which Sokrates was always hunting, and -that curious process of “division” which is exemplified at such length -in the _Sophist_ and _Politikos_. Diogenes Laertius[578] gives a long -catalogue of such divisions, of which only a few can be found in -extant works: the rest must have figured in the school, and survived -as traditions in the commentaries. A comic poet has left a picture of -the logic school at work[579]:―― - - “_A._ What of Plato and Speusippos and Menedemos? Upon what - are they now engaged? What is their thought? What argument - is investigated among them? Tell me, I pray, if you know. - - “_B._ I can tell you clearly. For at the Panathenaia I saw a - herd (ἀγέλη [agelê]: note the Spartan word) of lads in the - gymnasium of the Akademeia, and listened to strange, - portentous arguments. They were drawing up definitions about - natural history. They separated the life of animals and the - nature of trees and the tribes of vegetables: then, among - these last, they inquired to what tribe the cucumber - belonged.… First of all they stood speechless, and, putting - their heads down, thought for a long time. Then suddenly, - while the lads still had their heads down, and were - thinking, one of them said it was a circular vegetable, - another declared that it was a herb, another suggested a - tree. A Sicilian Doctor who was present ridiculed them most - rudely. But the lads took no notice; and Plato, very gently - and without losing his temper at all, told them to try again - to define the species to which it belonged. So they began - their divisions again.” - -In the _Sophist_ the mysterious stranger divides Art into (1) creative -or productive, (2) acquisitive. Then acquisitive art into (1) -acquisition by exchange, (2) acquisition by capture. Then the art -which acquires its object by capture is divided into public or -competitive and secret or hunting. Then, when hunting has been duly -divided and subdivided, a definition of angling is obtained. In the -parody by Epikrates, the same process is employed in order to define -“cucumber,” although the stages are, of course, confused. A cucumber -is a form of life. Life is divided into animals and vegetation: -vegetation into trees and vegetables. Then the doubt arises, to which -half does the cucumber belong. Some of the pupils say it is a -vegetable, some a tree. So the lesson begins again. - -Plato’s pupils seem to have been expected to take great care of their -personal appearance: their neatness is a common butt of contemporary -comedians[580]:―― - - Then rose a smart young man from the Akademeia - Of Plato.… - His hair was neatly smoothed, his foot was neatly - Laced in the sandal, bound with even lengths - Of shoe-lace curved about his ankle-bones: - And neat the corselet of his weighty cloak. - -And again: - - _A._ Who’s that old fellow yonder, do you know? - _B._ He looks a Hellene, wears a mantle white, - A fair grey tunic, little soft felt hat, - A well-tuned[581] staff, in fact, to put it short, - ’Tis like a glimpse of the “Academy.”[582] - -Of Plato himself, as he walked up and down among his pupils, wrestling -with intellectual difficulties, several pictures survive in -literature. A character in Alexis[583] remarks to a friend who has -come to visit him: - - You’ve come in the nick of time. I’m in a fix. - Though walking up and down, like Plato, I’ve - Found nothing clever: but my legs are tired.[584] - -Amphis, in his _Dexidemides_, said: - - Plato, all you can do is to frown, drawing up your eyebrows - severely, like a shellfish.[585] - -The psychological yearning of the _Phaidon_, perpetually interrupted -by cold currents of scepticism, must have found an echo in Plato’s -school-teaching, as the following dialogues from Comedy show[585]:―― - - _A._ My mortal frame grew dry: - My deathless part rushed forth into the air. - _B._ Why, bless us, are we in the school of Plato? - -And - - _A._ You’re a man, clearly, and have got a soul. - _B._ Like Plato, I don’t know but I suspect it.[585] - -Of discipline in the Akademeia under Plato nothing is known: the -following story[586] belongs to the school a little after his death. A -certain Polemon agreed with some young friends of his, who attended -the school, that he would rush into the room during the lesson, drunk -and garlanded. This he carried out. But the teacher, Xenokrates, went -calmly on with his lecture, which happened to deal with Sobriety. This -conduct quite overcame Polemon, and he became a most diligent pupil, -and finally succeeded Xenokrates as teacher. - -Of Plato’s affection for his pupils, his own poems afford sufficient -proof. One of them was named Aster, or Star. One day, as the lad was -studying the heavens, his master wrote the following epigram about -him:―― - - Star of my soul, thou gazest - Upon the starry skies; - I envy Heaven, that watches - Thy face with countless eyes. - -And when he died, Plato wrote his epitaph: - - Thou wert the morning Star among the living, - Ere thy fair light had fled: - Now, being dead, thou art as Hesperus, giving - New splendour to the dead.[587] - -Additional evidence is given by his efforts on behalf of Dionusios and -Dion, which led him into so many perils in Sicily. - -Plato was teaching in Athens almost continually from 388 till 347. His -pupils included, no doubt, many of the chief men of the day: Chabrias, -Iphikrates, Hupereides, Phokion, Lukourgos, and Demosthenes are -mentioned, besides the philosophers Speusippos, Xenokrates, -Herakleides of Pontos, and Aristotle. But posterity ascribed pupils -recklessly to all the great teachers of antiquity, so the catalogue -carries little weight. It is interesting to observe that the school as -a whole was attacked for producing tyrants: the bitter description of -the miseries of tyranny in the _Republic_ are at once a sad reflection -upon former pupils and a warning to those whom he was instructing at -the time. But the Philosopher-king, who embodied Plato’s ideal form of -Government, may well have had a corrupting influence upon the pupils. -Dion, the philosopher and patriot who became a tyrant, is an -interesting commentary upon the _Republic_. - -Teaching in the Akademeia was given gratuitously; but those who were -so disposed might give presents to their teacher. Dionusios presented -Plato with over 80 talents.[588] - -The school of Aristotle in the Lukeion differed little in its methods -from the school of Plato in the Akademeia. He had been a pupil of -Plato for twenty years before he began to teach on his own account. He -used to give instruction walking up and down in the walks of the -Lukeion. In his earlier period, at any rate, he seems to have taught -rhetoric, and taught it in Isocratean fashion: we hear of him setting -a theme, on which he and the pupils delivered harangues “in rhetorical -fashion.” Later the school became a home of universal knowledge and -research; in this respect Aristotle is the heir of the much-abused -Sophists. He adopted Xenokrates’ custom of appointing one of the -pupils to be Archon of the school for ten days, and then another: this -system must have relieved him of much petty business.[589] He -delivered two courses of lectures daily: one in the morning on -abstruse subjects to picked pupils; and the other in the afternoon, -open to all comers and more intelligible in matter and manner.[590] -His fame as a teacher was sufficient to win him the honour of being -chosen to be Alexander’s tutor, and he seems to have retained his -pupil’s respect, if not perhaps his affection. Aristotle, dreaming of -a tiny city-state, and Alexander, dreaming of a world-empire and -carrying out his dream, are an ill-assorted pair. What would Plato -have given for the chance of educating such a Philosopher-king? - -That there were bitter feuds between the various educational leaders -in Athens, goes without saying. A Hellene could no more brook a rival -than could an Italian of the Renaissance. Isokrates attacks -Plato,[591] Plato Isokrates, and then their pupils take the quarrel on -into the next generation. Both attack with equal animus the wandering -Sophists and the Eristics, who retaliated with vigour. A would-be -pupil must have found it hard to choose a professor under whom to -study, when so much evil had been spoken of them all.[592] - - * * * * * - -The schools of Rhetoric and of Philosophy were only for the rich and -the leisured classes: the poor had neither the time nor the money -requisite for attending them. But they were not wholly debarred from -the higher knowledge. There were still Sophists lecturing for -advertisement in public places. Still more, there were books, which -were beginning to be both numerous and cheap: every Athenian could -read. How important a part books were beginning to take in national -education may be seen from the works of Isokrates and Plato, who are -both excessively indignant at the intrusion of such a rival. - -“I know that what is read has less power of persuasion than what is -heard. It is universally believed that a speech, if actually -delivered, deals with serious and important subjects; but if only -written and never spoken, it is supposed to aim merely at effect and -the fulfilment of a contract. This opinion is quite reasonable. For -the written speech is deprived of the prestige of the author’s -presence and of his voice and of the proper rhetorical delivery: it is -read when the occasion which called it forth is past, and the points -which it discusses are consequently less interesting. The slave who -reads it aloud puts no character into it, but drones it out as though -he were reckoning up the items of a bill.” Such is Isokrates’ view, -somewhat freely translated, of “the written word,” which his shyness -compelled him to use instead of the spoken, and he beseeches Philip of -Macedon, whom he is addressing, to put aside the usual prejudice -against writings. - -Plato regarded the written word with even greater contempt. To him it -is the cause of forgetfulness; those who employ writing learn to rely -on their notes, not on their memory, and are accustomed to register -their impressions on tables of wax, not of the mind.[593] Again, it is -impossible for an author to control the circulation of his works; they -may reach those for whom they are not intended.[594] For Plato expects -speaker and writer alike to express only what is suitable to their -audience; the teacher must, by a study of psychology, know what -arguments will do good and what will do harm to each particular pupil. -But a book cannot impart knowledge, in the Platonic sense of the word, -at all; for it is unable to answer questions or to explain its -author’s meaning when the reader fails to follow.[595] Comprehension -of a fact or of a statement made on a writer’s authority, without -comprehension of the meaning and the explanation, is not -knowledge.[596] Consequently, not even a lecture[597] or a sermon, far -less a book whose author is absent or dead, can impart knowledge; to -gain this, long study and a severe course of dialectic are essential. -The possessor of true knowledge must be able to defend his view -against any opposing arguments and to support it by discussion -himself:[598] neither book nor lecture can give this intimate -acquaintance with every point of view. Moreover, teaching is like -agriculture. There are different soils and different minds. The seed -of knowledge will bear different fruit in different soils, and there -are types of minds in which some particular seeds must not be sown at -all. Thus the same teacher will produce quite different philosophical -results in different minds: just as Sokrates did with his various -pupils. It is the development of the individual intellect and -aptitudes of each pupil, not the inculcation of his own theories, that -is the teacher’s true object.[599] Consequently, even a consistent -scheme of dogmas is wrong for educational purposes; for it may suit -the intellect of the teacher himself, but it cannot suit all his -pupils. - -Hence, in order to be consistent with his own educational ideals, -Plato makes his works inconsistent: they are not a body of rigid -dogmas. Also, he provides in them just that discussion which he notes -as lacking in most books; it is possible to ask his books a certain -number of questions, for he anticipates and answers them himself in -the dialogue. In this way he makes his words pass through the -alembic[600] of each pupil’s brain, and come out according to the type -of mind through which they have passed. There is no enforcement of -authority in true Platonism. - -Plato refused to publish any philosophy in his own name. By speaking -through the mouth of others, he could vary his attitudes just as he -wished. The written word, he declares, must necessarily contain much -trifling. Its composition is a good amusement for leisure hours.[601] -Its one use is that it serves to remind the writer of what he knows -already, when the forgetfulness of old age comes upon him. But the -writer is quite worthless if he possesses nothing better in his mind -than what he has written on paper,[602] “twisting words up and down, -glueing them together and pulling them apart.”[603] - -Books, however, were already serious rivals to personal intercourse, -as a means of education. The libraries founded by Peisistratos at -Athens and by Polukrates at Samos were, it is true, almost certainly -fabulous; for Euripides was satirised for possessing a collection of -books, so it must have been a novelty in his time. Books were probably -very rare before the Periclean age, but then they multiplied with -great rapidity. The children used them in the schools. Schoolmasters -were expected to possess them: Alkibiades beat one for not having a -copy of Homer. The comic poet Alexis makes Herakles’ master, Linos, -possess copies of Orpheus, Hesiod, the tragedians, Choirilos, Homer, -Epicharmos, and all sorts of prose works, including a cookery-book. A -cargo of books was wrecked at Salmudessos,[604] a fact which points to -a large book-trade in Hellenic waters. Euthudemos, the companion of -Sokrates, possessed a fine collection of the best-known poets and -Sophists, including the works of Homer.[605] Sokrates suggests that he -may be collecting his books in order to learn Medicine, on which -subject there were many treatises, or Architecture or Geometry or -Astronomy. This shows how handbooks dealing with all manner of -subjects were multiplying. - -Xenophon’s treatise on _The Horse_ had been preceded by a similar work -by Simon;[606] he himself also wrote on _Hunting_, on _The Duties of a -Cavalry Officer_, on _The Management of a Farm_, and _The Constitution -of Sparta_, besides his more definitely historical and philosophical -works. His _Education of Kuros_ conceals a treatise on the duties of a -general. The subjects are significant of the new movement; for earlier -Hellenes had supposed that Homer and Hesiod taught the whole art of -agriculture and generalship. Other agricultural treatises, containing -much theory but very little practical knowledge, were also in -circulation.[607] Later in the fourth century Aineias the Tactician -contributed a manual for generals. Medical treatises emanated in great -numbers from the school of Hippokrates, and probably from elsewhere. -Chares and Apollodoros published works on Husbandry,[608] Mithaikos a -_Sicilian Cookery-Book_,[609] Metrodoros a book of Homeric allegories. -Books of travels and geography are also mentioned by Aristotle.[610] -Handbooks on “Rhetoric” were first compiled by Korax and Tisias: they -dealt with the subject of “arguments from probability.” Show pieces -were written by Antiphon and Gorgias. A treatise by Polos upon the -systematic arrangement of a speech was read by Sokrates. Thrasumachos -published a work upon _Appeals to Compassion_. - -The prices were probably not high, for the labour of copying could be -cheaply performed by means of slaves. Sokrates, in the Platonic -Apology,[611] mentions that a copy of Anaxagoras could sometimes be -picked up for a drachma; and there is no reason to suppose that -Anaxagoras was particularly cheap. If this was an average price, books -must have been within the reach of most Athenians. - - - [529] Isokrates clearly felt them to be his educational - rivals. See _Antid._ 310 A, and the end of the _Paneg._ - - [530] There is a sketch of them in Isok. _Panath._ 236 C; to - a lecture on Homer three or four of them had appended an - attack upon Isokrates. - - [531] Isok. _Antid._ 99. - - [532] Isok. _Soph._ 10. 293 A. - - [533] Isok. _Soph._ 4. 291 D. Cp. the modern - “caution-money.” - - [534] Isok. _Pan._ 26. 238 A. - - [535] Isok. _Antid._ 118. 265. - - [536] Isok. _Panath._ 238 D. - - [537] Isok. _Antid._ 118. 266. - - [538] _Ibid._ 118. 268. - - [539] Isok. _Antid._ 118. 268. - - [540] _Ibid._ 91. - - [541] Isok. letter to Alexander. - - [542] Isok. _Panath._ 275. It is noticeable how many of his - pupils became historians――Ephoros, Theopompos, Androtion, - Asklepiades. - - [543] See, for example, “On Slander “(_Antid._ 313 E), “On - Speech” (115. 255). - - [544] Isok. _Antid._ 48. - - [545] For a complete analysis of it, see Jebb’s _Attic - Orators_. - - [546] Isok. _ag. Soph._ 294 C; _Antid._ 91-93, etc. - - [547] _Ibid._ 294 E. - - [548] Isok. _Antid._ 121. - - [549] Isok. _ag. Soph._ 295 D. - - [550] Isok. _Areiop._ 151 B. - - [551] Isok. _Philip_, 85, 86. - - [552] Isok. _Antid._ 106. - - [553] _Ibid._ 318 C. - - [554] _Ibid._ 316 C. - - [555] Isok. _Antid._ 110. - - [556] _Ibid._ 62. - - [557] [Demos.] _Lakritos_, 15 and 42. - - [558] [Plutarch] _Ten Orators_, 837. - - [559] Isok. _Antid._ 129. - - [560] Isok. _Panath._ 239. - - [561] Plato, _Phaidr._ 227-228. - - [562] _Ibid._ 234 D. - - [563] The criticisms do not suit Lusias; they fit Isokrates - much better. - - [564] Cicero, _Brutus_, xii. 46-47. - - [565] Aischines, _Timarch._ 171, 173. - - [566] _Ibid._ 171. - - [567] _Ibid._ 175. - - [568] Plato, _Gorg._ 484-486; end of _Euthud._; _Theait._ - 172-177; _Rep._ 496. - - [569] Diog. Laert. iv. 2. 6. - - [570] Athen. 419 d. - - [571] _Ibid._ 419 e and 55 d. - - [572] Athen. 186 b. - - [573] Diog. Laert. iii. 26. - - [574] _Ibid._ iii. 31. - - [575] See for this lecture Simplikios (on Aristot. - _Physics_, p. 202 B, 36), and Aristoxenos, _Harmon_, beg. of - Bk. ii. On one occasion, at least, it was delivered in the - Peiraieus (Themist. _Orat._ 21. 245). - - [576] The popular attitude may be seen in Amphis’ - _Amphrikates_ (Diog. Laert. iii. 25): “I no more know what - good you’ll get than I know what Plato’s Good is.” - - [577] Plato seems also to have recited his dialogues in - public. Favonius asserted that Aristotle alone of the - audience stayed to the end when Plato thus delivered the - _Phaidon_ (Diog. Laert. iii. 25). - - [578] Diog. Laert. iii. 45, etc. - - [579] Epikrates (in Athen. 59 d, e). - - [580] Ephippos, _Shipwrecked Man_ (Athen. 509). - - [581] εὔρυθμος [eurythmos], probably a hit at Plato’s demand - for “rhythm.” - - [582] Antiphanes, _Antaros_ (Athen. 545 a). - - [583] Alexis, _Meropis_ (Diog. Laert. iii. 22). - - [584] This walking up and down was characteristic of - Hellenic teaching. Compare the _Peripatetics_, and Archutas - in the temple-gardens at Tarentum (Athen. 545 b). - - [585] Diog. Laert. iii. 22. - - [586] _Ibid._ iv. 3. 1. - - [587] The first translation is my own, the second Shelley’s. - - [588] Saturos and Onetor in Diog. Laert. iii. 11. - - [589] The above details are mainly from Diog. Laert. v. - - [590] Aul. Gell. xx. 5. 4. - - [591] Plato had also his feuds with Antisthenes, who wrote a - dialogue against him, calling him Satho, with Aristippos, - and with Aischines the Sokratic (Diog. Laert. iii. 24). - - [592] Kriton feels this difficulty in _Euthud._ 306 D, E. - - [593] Plato, _Phaidr._ 275 A. - - [594] _Ibid._ 275 E. - - [595] Plato, _Phaidr._ 275 D; _Theait._ 164; _Protag._ 329 - A, and 347 E. - - [596] So book-knowledge is a hothouse plant which has sprung - up unnaturally all in a moment, and very delicate when - exposed to the open air of criticism (_Phaidr._ 276-7). - - [597] Plato, _Sophist_, 230 A. - - [598] Plato, _Menon_, 97; _Rep._ 534 B, C. - - [599] Plato, _Rep._ 518. - - [600] Plato, _Phaidr._ 277 A. - - [601] Plato, _Phaidr._ 276 D, E. - - [602] Plato apparently regarded his dialogues as mere - trifles compared with what he taught to his inner circle. - - [603] Plato, _Phaidr._ 278 D. - - [604] Xen. _Anab._ vii. 5. 14. - - [605] Xen. _Mem._ iv. 2. - - [606] Xen. _Horsemanship_, i. - - [607] Xen. _Econ._ xvi. - - [608] Aristot. _Pol._ i. 11. 7. - - [609] Plato, _Gorg._ 518 B. - - [610] Aristot. _Pol._ ii. 3. 9. - - [611] Plato, _Apol._ 26 D. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -TERTIARY EDUCATION - - -When he reached eighteen years, the young Athenian partly came of age. -His property passed into his possession, if he had been a ward, and he -could now prosecute his guardians if they had defrauded him. But he -could not appear in any other sort of lawsuit, or take part in the -National Assembly, nor could he be taxed, till he was twenty. - -First of all, his deme or parish had to examine him to see if he was -of proper parentage and of the requisite age.[612] If they rejected -him, the case came before the regular Court of Athens. In the event of -being again rejected, if it was on the score of age, he returned to -the ranks of the boys to wait a further trial, but if on the score of -parentage, he might be sold as a slave and his price put into the -Treasury. If his deme accepted him he was again examined by the Boule -of 500 at Athens, who might rescind their decision.[613] - -When he had passed all these preliminary examinations, the boy was -inscribed upon the roll of his deme, the ληξιαρχικὸν γραμματεῖον -[lêxiarchikon grammateion], and became in the eyes of the law an -ephebos. It was then incumbent upon him to take a solemn oath in the -temple of Aglauros, in the following terms[614]:―― - - “I will not disgrace my sacred weapons nor desert the - comrade who is placed by my side. I will fight for things - holy and things profane, whether I am alone or with others. - I will hand on my fatherland greater and better than I found - it. I will hearken to the magistrates, and obey the existing - laws and those hereafter established[615] by the people. I - will not consent unto any that destroys or disobeys the - constitution, but will prevent him, whether I am alone or - with others. I will honour the temples and the religion - which my forefathers established. So help me Aglauros, - Enualios, Ares, Zeus, Thallo, Auxo, Hegemone.” - -This oath and ceremony must be ancient. The orator Lukourgos[616] -includes them among “the ancient laws and customs of the original -founders,” and claims that the oath of the Hellenic army at Plataea in -479 was imitated from the oath of the Athenian epheboi. By this solemn -act the ephebos accepted the duties and responsibilities of an -Athenian citizen. So in Plato’s dialogue, the _Kriton_,[617] where the -Laws of Athens are introduced as pleading their cause, they say, “When -any one has passed his examination, and has seen the constitution of -the city and us, the Laws of Athens, we bid him, if he is dissatisfied -with us, to take what is his and go whither he pleases. But if he -stays, we consider that he has promised to obey us.” For there is good -evidence, besides that which is afforded by the above passage, to show -that Athenian boys were taught what the laws of their city were, -before they promised to obey them. Thus Aischines says: “When any one -is inscribed upon the muster roll of his deme and knows the laws of -the city.”[618] Plato puts it even more definitely: “When the children -leave school,[619] the city compels them to learn the laws.”[620] So -the ephebos knew what he was doing when he swore to obey the law of -the land. - -Meanwhile the tribes had met and each chosen three men of over forty -years of age, from whom the assembled people elected one, to look -after the epheboi of each tribe.[621] These supervisors were called -Sophronistai or Moderators. That these Moderators probably dated back -to Solonic times, and possessed a general, but rarely exercised, -supervision over all education, I have endeavoured to show in Chapter -II. Their province was the morality and discipline of the epheboi, -whose military training was naturally controlled by the military -officers, the Generals and Taxiarchoi; later, however, when the -epheboi ceased to be a military body, these latter functionaries -ceased to have any connection with them. Towards the close of the -fourth century the people elected a single Kosmetes or Chancellor for -the epheboi; he is first mentioned, if a probably spurious passage in -the _Axiochos_ is rejected, in an inscription, in which he is -associated with the epheboi and Moderators of the year in awarding a -crown to Theophanes in the Archonship of Nikostratos (333-332 -B.C.).[622] But in 280 B.C., in the list of the officers and masters -of the epheboi, the Kosmetes is mentioned, but no Sophronistai:[623] -at that time the epheboi were too few to need an officer to each -tribe. - -These newly appointed magistrates took the epheboi of their year in -charge at once. The young recruits were first taken round the temples, -and then put into garrison in Mounuchia and Peiraieus. They had -masters and under-masters appointed for them by the Sophronistai to -teach them the use of heavy arms, and also of the bow, javelin, and -catapult. There were also two Paidotribai, for gymnastics. These -masters, together with later introductions such as literary teachers, -chaplains, doctors, and so forth, appear regularly in the inscriptions -after 300 B.C.[624] The Sophronistai were paid a drachma a day for -their services. They also received four obols for every ephebos in -their tribe, out of which they had to provide the rations, etc.; the -ephebos did not handle the money himself. Each tribe messed -together.[625] - -Besides the Sophronistai and Kosmetes, the Council of the Areiopagos -also kept a watch over the epheboi. Discipline seems to have been -fairly strict: the _Axiochos_[626] talks of “rods and immensities of -evils.” But there were plenty of amusements, and, apparently, plenty -of vacations. There were a very large number of special festivals, in -which the epheboi took part. There were also the torch-races at the -feasts of Hephaistos and Prometheus, for teams of epheboi from each -tribe, trained at the expense of a gumnasiarchos. The epheboi had also -a special part of the theatre reserved for them.[627] - -No doubt a large part of the time of these epheboi was spent in severe -physical exercise in the gymnasia. The analogy of the epheboi in -Plato’s _Republic_ and _Laws_ would suggest this. The _Axiochos_ -mentions, as consequent upon enrolment in the epheboi, “the Lukeion -and Akademeia,” _i.e._ practices in these gymnasia. Xenophon,[628] -just before mentioning the “peripoloi” or epheboi in their second -year, talks of “those who are ordered to practise gymnastic -exercises,” clearly referring to this period. He suggests that their -duties would be better and more cheerfully performed if they received -a larger supply of rations than those who were training for -torch-races; to these latter no doubt a liberal gumnasiarchos might -serve out meals costing much more than four obols a day. Probably -those who were physically inferior alone were told off for these -compulsory gymnastics: Xenophon’s phrase seems to distinguish them -from the epheboi selected for the torch-race, who would naturally be -the physically fittest in the tribal contingent. - -At the end of their first year of training, the epheboi appeared in -the theatre at the great Dionusia to show off their military -evolutions and the drill which they had learned. After the review they -received a spear and shield from the State.[629] The sons of those who -had fallen in battle, being the wards of the State,[630] received a -complete outfit of armour. These arms, which the epheboi received from -the State, were considered to be sacred: consequently to throw away -the shield in flight was regarded as a serious offence, almost an act -of sacrilege.[631] - - [Illustration: PLATE IX. - - A RIDING LESSON――MOUNTING - - _Archaeologische Zeitung_, 1885, Plate 11. From a Kulix at Munich, - attributed to Euphronios.] - -After receiving their arms from the State, the epheboi were marched -out of Athens, and spent most of the next year patrolling the country -and frontiers, and garrisoning the forts.[632] Attica was studded with -these περιπόλια [peripolia], or patrol-stations, from Oinoé and Phulé -on the north-western frontier to Anaphlustos and Thorikos in the -south. The epheboi, like the κρυπτοί [kryptoi] in Plato’s _Laws_ and -at Sparta, were shifted about from district to district, in order that -they might acquire a thorough knowledge of their country’s -geographical peculiarities. The tribal companies, into which they were -divided, relieved one another in various stations. Thus in the course -of 334-333 we know that both the Hippothontid and the Kekropid tribes -were successively stationed at Eleusis, for the people of that -district pass two separate votes of thanks to them for the excellent -discipline which they had preserved.[633] There may also have been -open-air camps: the Eleusinian inscriptions talk of ὑπαίθριοι -[hypaithrioi]. - -The epheboi seem to have been assisted in their patrol-duties by a -mercenary force of foreigners. Thucydides[634] declares that -Phrunichos was assassinated by a peripolos: the Athenian people, -according to Lusias, rewarded Thrasuboulos of Kaludon as the slayer -and recorded his name on a pillar.[635] If the historian had meant to -dispute this award, he must have referred to it, for it was clearly -the accepted version. He also states that the plot was arranged at the -house of the captain of the peripoloi, and mentions an Argive as one -of the accomplices: Lusias mentions a Megarian. Both these foreigners -were probably peripoloi. But foreign youths cannot at this period have -been permitted to serve with the tribal companies of epheboi. A -legend, it is true, asserts that this privilege was granted to the -young men of Kos, in honour of the great doctor Hippokrates; but even -this only shows that all other states were excluded. Indeed, -foreigners were not enrolled among the Athenian epheboi until a much -later epoch, when the system was no longer military. - -What, then, was this “Foreign Legion”? M. Girard identifies it with -the Mounted Archers, on the strength of a passage in Aristophanes’ -_Birds_. An unknown deity has invaded the territory of Cloud-Cuckoo -town. Peisthetairos exclaims, “Why didn’t you despatch peripoloi after -him at once?” To which the messenger replies, “We did send 30,000 -Mounted Archers.” The inscriptions at Eleusis also make a force of -non-citizen troops serve under the captain of the peripoloi. These -mercenary troops, having no civil duties, would naturally be used as a -patrol. Moreover, to an Athenian, “archer” meant “policeman.” Athens -was policed by foreign “Archers”: it would be natural for Attica to be -policed in like manner, only by a mounted force, as a greater distance -had to be covered.[636] But it is also possible that the non-Athenian -peripoloi were the sons of μέτοικοι ἰσοτελεῖς [metoikoi isoteleis], -who, being forced to serve as hoplites when grown up, would require -some preliminary training; these alien hoplites are coupled by -Thucydides[637] with the recruits and veterans, who garrisoned the -Athenian walls and forts: they seem to have served as a perpetual -patrol. - -The first three classes of Athenian citizens in wealth must all have -passed through this training; for, although the two first were liable -to cavalry service, they might also be called upon to serve as -hoplites.[638] Rich young epheboi, who had plenty of time on their -hands, would naturally learn both cavalry and infantry drill. The -poorer Zeugitai would only have to learn their duties as heavy -infantry, and were probably allowed to spend a good proportion of -their time on their farms in Athens. But what about the fourth class, -the Thetes? They were not liable to be called out as hoplites, but had -to serve on land as light-armed troops or at sea as rowers. Did they -also have a recruit course? Now the garrisons of the Athenian forts -and walls were hoplites:[639] there is no trace of the Thetes here. -But the patrol duties in the mountains can hardly have been performed -by heavy troops: it is noticeable that in Xenophon light troops are -suggested for this purpose, when Sokrates is developing an elaborate -scheme for holding the frontiers of Attica against all invaders.[640] -In the next century, at any rate, light troops were used for this -purpose. In a later work Xenophon talks of “those who are ordered to -occupy the forts and those who have to serve as peltasts and patrol -the country,”[641] in a passage where he is clearly referring to the -epheboi. Thus there are two classes, the garrisons, who would -naturally be hoplites, and the patrols, who are peltasts, suitably -equipped for mountaineering. But the peltasts only began to appear -towards the close of the Peloponnesian War: the first mention of them -is in Thucydides’ account of the army of Brasidas. Before this time, -the light troops were archers and some slingers; thus, in the monument -to those of the Erechtheid tribe who fell in the year 459, after the -hoplites four archers are mentioned.[642] But they were a small force: -there were only 1600 of them in 431 B.C. The majority of the Thetes -served in the ships. In the _Birds_ of Aristophanes, which appeared in -414, when it was a question of repelling a sudden raid, just after the -peripoloi have been mentioned, Peisthetairos bids his immediate -attendants arm themselves with slings and bows: these are clearly the -weapons for a flying column despatched in pursuit of raiders.[643] - -The passage of Xenophon makes it clear that there were peltasts in the -ephebic force in the fourth century; that of Aristophanes suggests the -probability of archers and slingers among them in the fifth. But -whether these light-armed troops consisted of enterprising Zeugitai -who added this training to their hoplite drill, or were a small -detachment of Thetes, cannot be fixed. Thetes must, at any rate, not -have been numerous in the ephebic force, for they could not have -spared the time necessary for such lengthy training.[644] - -As a rule, the epheboi were not expected to do more than guard the -frontier and repel an occasional foray: even this, however, must have -given them plenty of employment in war-time. But they shared in -Muronides’ great victory in the Megarid in 458, when Athens had to use -her reserves.[645] Either they or the “foreign legion” joined in a -later invasion of Megara.[646] But as a rule they served for home -defence only. Their recruit-course ended with their twentieth year: -henceforth they were ordinary Athenian citizens and soldiers. - -In about 332 B.C., when Lukourgos delivered his speech against -Leokrates, the old ephebic system seems still to have been in force. -The suggestion that Leokrates might have evaded the ephebic oath is -only rhetorical, for the orator immediately goes on to assume that he -took it.[647] In 328, the probable date of Aristotle’s _Athenian -Constitution_, it seems still to have been in existence, for the -philosopher records it as part of the contemporary regime. The -inscriptions support these authorities. A list of epheboi of the -Kekropid tribe enrolled in 334 is given under the vote of thanks: the -upper part of the list is gone, but the numbers were apparently -large.[648] Some forty-four names can be inferred from the fragments, -belonging to six or seven demes out of the twelve which composed the -tribe; but apparently the smallest contingents are at the bottom, so -there may well have been a hundred names in the tribe, and 1000 -epheboi altogether. Considering the impoverishment of Attica and the -consequent decrease in the hoplite classes, this is probably a fair -proportion of epheboi.[649] A tribal contingent is still large enough -to serve as a garrison for Eleusis, and to act by itself. - -But in the next century the numbers drop down to twenty-nine and -twenty-three. The service must have been voluntary. Moreover, brothers -are found serving together, from which it may be inferred that the -exact age qualification was no longer regarded.[650] Philosophy and -literature become subjects of study; and a library, swollen by gifts -from old epheboi, is collected. Foreigners begin to be enrolled in the -second century, and in course of time outnumber the native Athenians. -Although the old military service is preserved, no doubt in a -mummified condition, the system of the epheboi develops into the -Athenian university, where young Romans like Cicero’s son came to -learn philosophy, though they had little to learn from Athens in -military matters. The Sophronistai and Kosmetes become the Proctors -and Chancellor, the special festivals the compulsory services, of the -new University. The torch-races, the military duties, and the naval -races[651] become its athletics. It is the old conscription system of -Athens, not the schools of Plato or Isokrates, that gives birth to the -first University. - -The system of epheboi was represented at Sparta by the κρυπτοί -[kryptoi]. We hear of an archephebos at Argos, and a -gumnasiarchos who manages the epheboi at Troizen.[652] In the -Megarid and in Boiotia the epheboi were trained as cavalry, -hoplites, or peltasts.[653] An ephebarchos can be traced in Teos. -There were patrol-houses, and so possibly epheboi patrols in the -territory of Syracuse.[654] This period of special training for -military duties seems to have been general all over Hellas. Plato -adopts it without demur in the _Republic_ and _Laws_. - - - [612] Aristot. Ἀθ. Πολ. [Ath. Pol.] 42 for these - examinations. - - [613] Luk. _ag. Leok._ 18. 76. - - [614] Pollux, viii. 105-106, etc. - - [615] κραίνοντες [krainontes]. Note the archaic word. - - [616] Luk. _ag. Leok_. 18. 75. - - [617] Plato, _Krit._ 51 D, E. - - [618] Aischin. _ag. Timarch._ 18. - - [619] I have already suggested that metrical versions may - have been taught at the music-schools. - - [620] Plato, _Protag._ 326 D. Boys used to listen to cases - in the law-courts. This would give them some idea of legal - procedure. (Compare the custom at some English public - schools of letting the boys go to hear the local assizes.) - Demosthenes thus went with his paidagogos to hear the trial - of Kallistratos. - - [621] Aristot. Ἀθ. Πολ. [Ath. Pol.] 42. 2. - - [622] _C.I.A._ IV. ii. 1571 B. - - [623] _C.I.A._ II. 316. - - [624] e.g. _C.I.A._ ii. 316. 338. - - [625] Aristot. Ἀθ. Πολ. [Ath. Pol.] 42. 3. - - [626] [Plato] _Axiochos_, 367 A. - - [627] Schol. on Aristoph. _Birds_, 794. - - [628] Xen. _Revenues_, iv. 52. - - [629] Aristot. Ἀθ. Πολ. [Ath. Pol.] 42. 4. - - [630] Thuc. ii. 46. - - [631] Lucias, x. 1, and Aristophanes anent Kleonumos, - _passim_. - - [632] Properly speaking, it was only during his second year - that the ephebos was a peripolos or patrol. Aischines, - however, claims to have served two years as a peripolos. The - term may have been used loosely, or else in times of crisis - the epheboi may have been hurried off to the frontier as - soon as they were enrolled. - - [633] _C.I.A._ IV. ii. 574 D, and 563 B. - - [634] Thuc. viii. 92. - - [635] Lusias, xiii. 71. - - [636] The force may also have included citizens, for the - younger Alkibiades once served in it (Lus. xv. 6). But that - was a special occasion, when the ordinary cavalry had - refused to receive him. - - [637] Thuc. ii. 13. 6-7. - - [638] Lus. xvi. 13, xiv. 10. - - [639] Thuc. ii. 13. 6-7. - - [640] Xen. _Mem._ iii. 5. 27. - - [641] Xen. _Revenues_, iv. 52. - - [642] _C.I.A._ I. 143. Cp. _C.I.A._ I. 79 for - citizen-archers. - - [643] It is noticeable that in Aristotle’s time the epheboi - were taught by a “Teacher of Archery.” He may be a survival. - - [644] In Boiotia and the Megarid the epheboi served as - cavalry, hoplites, or peltasts (_C.I.G._ Boiot. and Meg. - 2715, 2717-21, 1747-48, etc.). - - [645] Thuc. i. 105. - - [646] _Ibid._ iv. 67. - - [647] Luk. _ag. Leok._ 76. - - [648] _C.I.A._ IV. ii. 563 b. - - [649] In 431 B.C. Athens had 13,000 hoplites of between - twenty and forty years of age. On this average there would - be perhaps about 1000 epheboi per year, or 2000 - altogether――the same number as here. The 16,000 of the - reserve in 431 includes veterans and metics as well as - epheboi. - - [650] The changes seem to have happened shortly before 305, - for in an inscription of that year the numbers have dropped - greatly and brothers serve together. - - [651] _C.I.A._ ii. 466, 470. - - [652] _C.I.G._ Pelop. 589, 749, 753. - - [653] See note 2 on p. 218. - - [654] Thuc. vi. 45, vii. 48. - - - - -THE EPHEBIC INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FOURTH CENTURY - -(Dealing with Attica only) - - -I. _C.I.A._ IV. ii. 574 d. - -“The epheboi of the Hippothontid tribe, who were enrolled when -Ktesikles was Archon (334-333 B.C.), having been crowned by the Boule -and Demos, offered this offering.” - -Then follows a mutilated vote of thanks from the people of Eleusis to -the epheboi for the discipline which they had preserved while -garrisoning the town, and to their Sophronistes, who is to receive a -crown, and to have a front seat at local festivals. - - -II. _C.I.A._ IV. ii. 563 b. - -Decrees in honour of the epheboi of the Kekropid tribe. - -(_a_) By the Kekropid tribe. - -“Kallikrates of Aixoné proposed. Whereas the epheboi of the Kekropid -tribe, who were enrolled when Ktesikles was Archon (334-333 B.C.), are -orderly and do everything that the laws enjoin upon them, and are -obedient to the Sophronistes appointed by the people, we pass a vote -of thanks to them and crown them with a golden crown of 500 drachmas -for their excellent discipline and behaviour. We also pass a vote of -thanks to the Sophronistes, Adeistos, son of Antimachos, and award him -a golden crown of the aforesaid weight, for that he hath well and -diligently directed the epheboi of the Kekropid tribe. This vote to be -recorded on a stone pillar and set up in the shrine of Kekrops.” - -(_b_) Vote of the Athenian people. - -“Hegemachos, son of Chairemon, proposed. Whereas the epheboi of the -Kekropid tribe stationed at Eleusis do well and diligently pay heed to -the orders of the Boule and Demos, and do behave themselves orderly, -we pass a vote of thanks to them for their good discipline and -behaviour, and enact that each of them be crowned with an olive crown. -We also pass a vote of thanks to their Sophronistes, Adeistos, son of -Antimachos, and decree to him a crown of olive, when he has passed his -scrutiny. This vote to be recorded on the offering which the epheboi -of the Kekropid tribe offer.” - -(_c_) Vote of Eleusinians. - -“Protias proposed. Whereas the epheboi of the Kekropid tribe and their -Sophronistes, Adeistos, son of Antimachos, do well and diligently -garrison Eleusis, the people of the deme pass a vote of thanks to them -and crown each of them with a crown of olive.” - -The vote to be recorded as before. - -(_d_) Similar vote of the Athmonian deme in honour of their -fellow-demesman, Adeistos. - -With this is a list of the epheboi in question, much mutilated. - - -III. _C.I.A._ IV. ii. 1571 b. - -“Theophanes, son of Hierophon, offered this to Hermes, having been -crowned by the epheboi and Sophronistai and Kosmetai.” - -This is signed by the epheboi for the years 333-332, 332-331, and -331-330. - - -IV. _C.I.A._ IV. ii. 251 b. - -A vote of thanks from the Boule and Demos to the epheboi as a whole -for their exemplary behaviour, and to their Kosmetes and Sophronistai -and teachers. A mutilated list of epheboi follows. This belongs to the -year 305-304 B.C. - - -V. _C.I.A._ IV. ii. 565 b. - -A vote of thanks of the Pandionid tribe to Philonides, who had been -elected by the people Sophronistes of their epheboi, and had performed -his duty well. - - -VI. Böckh, 214 (belonging to 320 B.C.). - -(Dug up at Aixoné.) - -An extract:――“We pass a vote of thanks to the Sophronistai and crown -each of them with a crown of olive, namely, Kimon, son of Megakles, -and Puthodoros, son of Putheas … for the zeal they showed in regard to -the all-night revel.” - -The epheboi took part in a sacrifice and revel in honour of Hebe. -Apparently, as a rule, they were noisy and gave trouble to the -inhabitants of the neighbourhood. But this year they were kept in -order by the Sophronistai. Hence the vote. - - - - -PART II - -THE THEORY OF EDUCATION - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -RELIGION AND EDUCATION IN HELLAS - - -The greater part of the religious instruction in Hellas was given -outside the schools, in the home and in public life. The child learnt -the current ritual observances proper to each particular deity or -occasion by participating in them himself. His religious devotion was -practised and stimulated by the festivals and sacred songs and dances -which made up so large a part of Hellenic life. In a religion like the -Hellenic, which was so largely a matter of forms and ceremonies, there -was little dogma to be learnt by children; no catechism, no sectarian -teaching was necessary. Such dogma as there was consisted in the myths -which were current about the various deities and heroes; and of these -myths there were so many varieties that heterodoxy about them became -almost impossible. - -Such as it was, this dogma, consisting of manifold and often -contradictory myths, was enshrined in the poetry of the race, so that -most of the poems became sacred books, regarded by the orthodox as -inspired. This sacred literature, as we have seen, was the chief -object of study in the primary schools at Athens, where it was read, -written, and learnt by heart. At Sparta almost the whole of literary -and intellectual education consisted of sacred songs in honour of gods -and heroes. The myths were the very essence of primary education in -Hellas. - -In order to understand the attitude of the educational theorists -towards these myths which run through most of the Hellenic poetry, it -is necessary to realise the extraordinary authority which was given to -the poets, and especially to Homer and Hesiod. Every word of them was -regarded as inspired and strictly true: their authority was -indisputable. At the beginning of the sixth century an interpolated -line in the _Iliad_ was made the main support of the Athenian claim to -the Island of Salamis. Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse, according to the -current legend, was refused the command of the Hellenic forces against -Persia because, as the Spartan envoy put it, Agamemnon would groan if -he heard of such a thing, and because Homer had said that an Athenian -was the best man at drawing up and marshalling a host, for which cause -the Athenians now claimed the command.[655] That such arguments could -be employed shows in what veneration Homer was held. He was considered -to be especially inspired.[656] His admirers asserted that he had -educated Hellas, and that his works provided fit instruction for the -whole conduct of life.[657] More specifically, it was said that “The -divine Homer won his glory and renown from this, that he taught good -things, drill, valour and the arming of troops.”[658] He was misquoted -to support peculiar views, as in Plato.[659] People had their -favourite texts: Sokrates’ was “In due proportion to thy means pay -honour to the gods.” It was a not unheard-of accomplishment to know -the whole _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ by heart. Moral lessons were drawn -from them. Thus the story of Kirké was a warning against -self-indulgence. Kirké made the companions of Odusseus swine through -their over-indulgence in the pleasures of the table; Odusseus himself, -by Hermes’ advice and his own self-restraint in such matters, escaped -this fate.[660] - -In time, however, the higher morality of the leading Hellenic thinkers -revolted against the low morality, to say nothing more, of much of the -mythology embodied in the poets. Xenophanes began the attack. “Homer -and Hesiod,” he cries, “ascribed to the gods all that is considered -disgraceful among men.” Herakleitos declared that Homer deserved a -thrashing. Even the pious Pindar tried to alter some of the myths to -suit his own morality, and Aeschylus fights hard for an underlying -monotheism. In the next generation the storm broke: awakening -intelligence, fostered by the Sophists and the philosophers, shrank -away from the horrors of the _Theogony_. Tragedy, by bringing -mythology before the eyes, had made its impossibility more apparent. -The researches of the earlier historians in comparative mythology had -undermined the bases of belief. Herodotos had found that a god named -Herakles had been recognised in Egypt 17,000 years before his time; -consequently the Hellenic Herakles, only six centuries before the -historian’s age, must be only a man of the same name.[661] Rationalism -began to master the mythology: Thucydides tried to apply scientific -methods to the Trojan War, making, for example, its duration due to -the difficulty of obtaining supplies for so large a force. The -rationalism of Euripides is well known. Metrodoros, a pupil of -Anaxagoras, made the gods natural forces and varieties of matter――a -device already employed by Empedokles for poetical convenience. In -this way Sokrates rationalises the Boreas-myth in the _Phaidros_,[662] -where Plato states that the wise disbelieve such tales; but Sokrates -was too busy studying his own personality to raise all these numerous -questions, so he accepts the customary belief. The defenders of Homer, -led by Metrodoros and Stesimbrotos,[663] tried to allegorise him, -declaring that the worst myths had a moral meaning in the background. -The allegories were often ludicrous: Plato rejects them wholly for -educational purposes, as children always take the literal -interpretation. - -But public opinion was still fiercely attached to the old deities, as -the incident of the Hermai and the condemnation of Anaxagoras, -Protagoras, and Sokrates showed. The deities could not be sacrificed: -consequently it was the myths that had to go. The myths said that Zeus -dethroned his own father and committed adultery: if the myth is true, -since Zeus is Supreme God, these crimes are justifiable.[664] -Therefore the myth must be untrue. Homer and Hesiod lied: their works -are mainly a blasphemous fiction.[665] Isokrates[666] sums up this new -attitude. “The poets,” he declares, “blasphemously represented the -sons of the Immortals as having done and suffered worse deeds than the -most impious of men: they spoke such things about the gods as no one -would venture to allege of his worst enemy; not only do they make them -steal, commit adultery, and fall into slavery to mortals, but even -represent them as eating their children, mutilating their fathers, and -binding their mothers in chains.… For this the poets did not go -unpunished, but some of them were wanderers and begged their bread, -some became blind, another was an exile all his life long, and -Orpheus, who devoted himself especially to such stories, was torn in -pieces.”[667] - -The greatest objection to these immoral legends was that they were -taught in the nursery and the elementary school, at the most -impressionable age.[668] Hence Plato wishes to lay down strict canons -for the myths, legends, and fables which are to be taught to children. -“For the beginning of everything is half the battle, especially in the -case of what is young and tender. Young children are like soft wax, -ready to take a clear and deep impression of any seal which is laid -upon them. Hence the immense importance of the earliest stages of -education, the myths and stories taught in the nursery and at school.… -The compositions of Homer and Hesiod are fiction, and unlovely fiction -at that; even if true, they had better not be told to the young and -undiscerning.… The myths must be improving on the surface, not by -allegory.”[669] - -Plato is not prepared to rewrite the Hellenic Bible: he will only draw -up the canons which the poets must follow. It is to be noticed that -these canons are peculiar, and would exclude not merely most of Homer -and Hesiod, but a large part of the Old and some of the New Testament. -The first canon is that God, being good, cannot be the cause or -originator of any harm or evil to mankind; for these things some other -cause must be discovered. The greater part of the human lot is evil: -so God is not the cause of the majority of human events. - -This excludes Homer’s lines: - - Two butts of human fortunes by the gates of Heaven stood, - One full of all things evil, and one of all things good. - To whom God gives a mixture, his life is weal and woe, - But to whom He gives of the evil alone, he lives as a beggar below. - -And - - Zeus is the world’s housekeeper, who serves out weal and woe. - -And Aeschylus’ - - God plants the seed of sin among mankind, - Whene’er He wills to bring a race to naught. - -If God is represented as the cause of misfortunes, the poet must say -that the misfortunes were good for the sufferers, making them better -and happier.[670] - -The second canon is that God is not a wizard, appearing now in one -form, now in another. Why should He change? External forces are not -likely to change Him: He would not change Himself, since it would -necessarily be a transition to the less good and less beautiful, since -He is perfect. So the lines―― - - Disguised as human strangers, in many a changing guise, - Gods roam about the cities, to spy iniquities, - -and the tales of Proteus and other metamorphoses, are false. -Consequently mothers should not tell their children that a god may -always be present in disguise, for it is a lie and is also likely to -make the children cowardly. Lying is only useful in dealing with -enemies, for managing lunatics, and for making a satisfactory -explanation where certainty is impossible. God has no such reason for -lying or deception. - -The character of the Deity having been thus purged of mythological -accretions, Plato passes on to the treatment of the future state. This -must not be described as in any way terrible, or the children will -learn to prefer dishonourable life to honourable death. So reject―― - - O better be a poor man’s serf, and share his scanty bread, - Than be the crownèd king of all the nations of the dead. - -And - - From him his soul bewailing her hapless fortunes fled, - Her youth and beauty leaving, to the kingdoms of the dead! - -All such passages must be expurgated from school editions; nor is it -right to admit the fearful scenery of Hell, the rivers of Hate (Styx) -and Wailing (Kokutos), ghosts, banshees, and other terrible words, for -fear of making the children nervous. - -Then comes the discussion of the ideal man, in which Achilles falls -from the pedestal which he had previously occupied as the ideal of -Hellenic manhood. Great men must not indulge in immoderate -lamentations for their dead friends. The lament of Achilles for -Patroklos and of Priam for Hektor, when he rolled in the dust and the -dungheap, must be rejected. “For if the young should take such stories -seriously and not laugh them to scorn as contemptibly improbable, they -would be most unlikely to consider such lamentations degrading, or to -check themselves when they felt any impulse to act in such a way, but, -without shame or restraint, they would whine out many dirges over tiny -misfortunes.”[671] - -Nor must the heroes be made too fond of laughing. For immoderate -laughter leads by reaction to immoderate grief. So reject―― - - Then rose among the blessed gods a laugh unquenchable. - -The myths must instil self-control, obedience to rulers and elders and -to the better instincts. This leads Plato to expurgate―― - - Thou drunkard, shameless as a dog, and fearful as a deer: - -but commend―― - - Good father, sit in silence, and hearken to what I say. - -Then Homer teaches gluttony, by making Odusseus, the wisest of men, -say―― - - Best thing in life I count it, a heavy-laden board, While in the - goblets ceaselessly the good strong wine is poured. - -Still worse are the tales of the lusts of Zeus or of Ares and -Aphrodite, and of the covetousness of the gods. - - Gifts win the heart of gods: gifts win the heart of kings. - -Nor must the heroes be allowed to blaspheme. “My respect for Homer -makes me shrink from saying it, but it is impious to state or to -believe that Achilles was ready to fight against the river, a god, or -that he dragged Hektor’s body round Patroklos’ tomb or slaughtered -captives upon it, or that he gave to the dead Patroklos the hair which -he had dedicated to the river god Spercheios.”[672] Nor must poets say -that wicked men are enviable, if they are not found out, or that -justice does good to others but is a loss to oneself. On the contrary, -they must invent myths to establish the opposite, whether it be true -or not, because it is profitable. - -Plato cares very little for literal truth in mythology; he is only -desirous that the fiction should be improving and in accordance with -sound ethics. It is impossible to know the truth, he thinks, about -things primeval and the gods, so it is necessary to invent stories as -near the truth as possible and such that they will be improving. The -majority of men, as Isokrates also noticed, prefer myths to anything -else; for their intelligence can only grasp ethical and metaphysical -truths when they are embodied in stories and parables and fables.[673] -These fictions, however, are like powerful drugs: their concoction -must only be entrusted to competent hands, or the result will be -deadly. The rulers of the State, the philosophers, must construct the -national mythology, not unskilled and irresponsible persons like -poets.[674] Plato himself gives a good many instances of such -profitable myths; he enshrines in them, as in a popular form, many of -his deepest beliefs, his psychology,[675] his views of the immortality -of the soul,[676] his political theory that all men are not -equal.[677] In his opinion mythology was the proper food for the -unenlightened many who were incapable of philosophic certainty; the -philosopher, by the light of his exact knowledge of ethics and -metaphysics, was to concoct this food. - -In pursuance of this theory an ideal character, in history or fiction, -was required to personify and make real to the multitude the -disembodied ideals of Ethics.[678] Achilles had been tumbled from his -pedestal by philosophy. Who was to replace him? Plato tries to put an -idealised Sokrates in this position, but he could not square the -historical personality with the ideal man postulated in the -_Republic_. Xenophon, also thinking that a pattern man is “an -excellent invention for the study of morality,” proposes -Agesilaos.[679] Prodikos tried to make Herakles the model of the -young. Aristotle formulated the μεγαλόψυχος [megalopsychos], but never -personified him. Stoicism sought for its Wise Man or Perfect Saint, -but never found him; Epicureanism was satisfied with its founder. But -the search for the personification of the ethical ideal becomes the -central feature of Hellenic philosophy and religion from the time of -Plato onwards. - - - [655] Herod. vii. 159-161. - - [656] Plato, _Ion_, 24 C. - - [657] _Rep._ 606 E. So in Isokrates, _To Nikokles_, 530 B. - - [658] Aristoph. _Frogs_, 1034-1036. - - [659] Plato, _Rep._ 391 B. - - [660] Sokrates in Xenophon, _Mem._ i. 3, 7. The moralisation - is quite un-Homeric. - - [661] Herod, ii. 43-46. This tendency culminated in - Euhemeros, at the end of the fourth century, who claimed to - have found inscriptions in Crete giving the careers of - mortal kings named Ouranos, Kronos, and Zeus. He argued that - the gods were distinguished men, deified by admiring - posterity. His theory passed to Rome in Ennius’ translation - and supported the imperial cult. - - [662] Plato, _Phaidr._ 229 C. - - [663] Plato, _Ion_, 530. Cp. Xen. _Banquet_, iii. 6, where - Anaximandros is mentioned. - - [664] Cp. Aristoph. _Clouds_, 905, 1080, representing - “Sophist” arguments. - - [665] Plato, _Rep._ 377 D. - - [666] Isok. _Bous._ 228 D. - - [667] Cp. the statement of Herodotos (ii. 53) that Homer and - Hesiod created the details of Hellenic mythology, even the - names and functions of the deities. - - [668] Plato, _Rep._ 377 B. - - [669] _Ibid._ 378. - - [670] Plato, _Rep._ 380. - - [671] Plato, _Rep._ 388 D. - - [672] _Ibid._ 391 B. Plato maligns Achilles. He only - promised the hair to Spercheios on condition that he - returned home alive, which he knew he would not do if he - slew Hektor. - - [673] Compare Tennyson, _In Memoriam_, xxxvi.: - - For Wisdom dealt with mortal powers, - Where truth in closest words shall fail, - When truth embodied in a tale - Shall enter in at lowly doors. - - [674] Plato, _Rep._ 389 C. - - [675] In the _Phaidros_. - - [676] In the _Republic_, and elsewhere. - - [677] _Rep._ 414-417, etc. For the use which Plato made of - myths as popular expositions of his views, cp. _Laws_, 663, - 664, 713, 714, 716. - - [678] Isokrates recognised this too, _Antid._ 105 C. - - [679] Xen. _Ag._ x. 2. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -ART, MUSIC, AND POETRY - - -Since poetry, music, singing, and dancing were the chief components of -a Hellenic boy’s education, the æsthetic canons by which these were -regulated came to be of great importance in the moral history of -Hellas, and were the objects of much thought and inquiry on the part -of the educational theorists. It is hard for a modern reader to -understand the attitude which Plato and Aristotle adopt towards -poetry, art, and music, partly owing to the way in which these -subjects are neglected in many modern schools, and still more owing to -the immense changes which have taken place both in the subjects -themselves and in their relations to the State as a whole. - -In ancient Hellas art, literature, and music were addressed to the -whole citizen-body, not to a cultured upper class. The epics were -recited to crowds that might number thousands. The choral lyrics were -danced and sung by large choruses in the presence of a whole city. -Tragedy and Comedy were acted before the whole Athenian populace, -swollen by crowds from every part of Hellas. The great orations were -spoken either to the national assembly, where every grown man might be -present, or to a jury of several hundred citizens. So with Hellenic -art. The statues and pictures were not created for private -drawing-rooms, but for public temples, colonnades, or gymnasia. - -Thus it was national, not individual taste which was the standard of -Hellenic art and literature: they had to follow the taste of the city, -not of a clique. But every city in Hellas, as in the Italy of the -Renaissance, had an intense individuality of its own, which dominated -its poets, artists, and musicians. The art-schools of the islands, of -Argos, of Athens were as distinct from one another as those of Venice, -Florence, Perugia. The greater centres had types of music so far -distinct that they required different instruments. Language, -character, and politics in like manner presented a different aspect in -each community. But underneath this ubiquitous local individuality lay -the fundamental distinction between the Dorian, on the one hand, and -the Ionian, with whom for æsthetic purposes may be classed the -Aeolian, on the other. For Hellenism began to run its course in two -distinct channels, the Doric and the Ionic.[680] - -The Doric characteristics were the sacrifice of the detail and the -individual to the whole and the community, a love of terseness and -simplicity, a strong sense of harmony, order, and proportion, a hatred -of complexity, mystery, vagueness, and luxury, and a preference for -the perfect body over the developed intellect. The Dorians were -essentially one-sided, and lacking in imagination, intellect, and -invention; they were strong conservatives, and any innovation was -repugnant to them. - -The Ionians were a very different people. Individualism was strong in -them from the first. They had a tendency to floridity, to exaggeration -of detail, and to luxury. A quick-witted and imaginative race, they -were fond of perpetual innovation. Versatility was characteristic of -them. They preferred intellectual to physical success. Their -imagination outran their powers of execution. They had none of the -solidity of the less brilliant Dorian, none of his discipline, -self-restraint, directness, or perseverance. They were his inferiors -in most physical and ethical qualities, his superiors in all -intellectual pursuits. - -Till the fifth century the two conflicting types exercise little -influence upon one another. The Ionians produce a sensuous, dreamy, -refined, and imaginative sculpture; the Dorians a series of physically -excellent but wholly unintellectual athlete-statues. The Aeolians -produce the personal lyrics of love and wine; the Dorians the choral -poetry of athletic triumphs and gymnastic dances. The Dorians can -claim the ethical and collectivist philosophy of Pythagoras; the -Ionians the intellectual and individualist philosophy of the so-called -Ionian schools. - -Athens during this period was purely Ionic, as her statues, the -remains of which are now being recovered from the rubbish heaps where -Xerxes threw them, abundantly testify. Further evidence comes from the -style of dress shown in these statues and in other works of art of the -period: it is almost oriental.[681] The statues reveal an excess of -detail and over-refinement: the most common type was a draped woman. -The Dorians, on the other hand, were most successful in the nude male -type; and the great Aeginetan school quite failed to represent the -goddess Athena. - -The same principle of differentiation applied to music as well as to -art, in Hellas: the Dorian, the Ionian, the Aeolian, as well as the -neighbouring Phrygian and Lydian, each produced a type of their own, -or “harmony,” as it was called. Each “harmony” bore the mark of the -“ethos,” or moral character, of the tribe or race which produced it, -plainly and unmistakably. Music in early Hellas must have been of a -primitive type, and an acute musical ear had not yet been developed by -long training. Consequently, the average Hellenic audience was in the -position of the utterly unmusical man of modern times: the complicated -music of modern masters would have been wholly unintelligible to them, -and the only meanings which they could extract from music were certain -broad ethical impressions. The unmusical man is stirred by a good -marching tune, moved to a certain depression by a dirge or dead march, -enlivened and excited by a rollicking bacchanalian song, and reduced -to a solemn and half-religious frame of mind by the tones of a great -organ. So with the average Hellene: he extracted this amount of -impressions from his music, and no more. Any idea of music as the -voice of the unutterable was quite foreign to his mind; in fact, he -disliked any music that was unaccompanied by singing: tunes without -words were unknown in earlier Hellas. - -How these different harmonies were produced, by what combination of -notes and scales each was regulated, may be left to the specialists: -it is one of those questions which will probably never be settled -conclusively. The fact remains that they existed, each with an -unmistakable moral characteristic of its own. But what exactly the -moral characteristic of each was, is rendered doubtful by the -conflicting evidence of different writers; probably, as musical taste -changed and developed, the same “harmony” came to cause a different -impression. Plato’s ear, accustomed to the prevalent Dorian, found the -Lydian doleful and depressing; Aristotle and his contemporaries, more -used to softer music, praised it as valuable for educational -purposes.[682] Herakleides of Pontos,[683] who made a special study of -music, gives, in a fragment, a sketch of the old Hellenic “harmonies.” -The Dorian, according to him, was manly, dignified, stern, and robust, -not effeminate nor merry nor variegated nor versatile.[684] The -Aeolic, afterwards called “Hypo-Dorian,” was haughty and pretentious, -rather conceited, not, however, base in any way, but inflated and -confident. It was the right music for “woman, wine, and song.” The -Ionic, representing the old Ionic character before the race -degenerated, was passionate, headstrong, contentious, showing no signs -of benevolence or merriment, but revealing a certain hardness of heart -and temperament. It was not florid nor cheerful, but austere and -harsh, with a not ignoble dignity which fitted it to accompany -Tragedy. Later, the race and the “harmony” seem to have degenerated, -and are charged with being luxurious and effeminate. There used also -to be a Locrian “harmony,” which was used by Pindar and Simonides, but -afterwards it fell into contempt and died out. - -Besides these purely Hellenic types, there were two which came from -barbarian races, the Lydian and the Phrygian. Of the Lydian there were -several varieties. The Mixed-Lydian was doleful and suitable to -dirges: it made the audience feel mournful and grave. The -Syntono-Lydian was very similar. The pure Lydian is rejected as -effeminate by Plato;[685] but Aristotle, resting on the musical -experts, declares that it involves order and arrangement (κόσμος -[kosmos]) and is well adapted for education. About the Phrygian -opinion is still more divided. Plato commends it. According to him it -suitably represents the notes and accents of a self-controlled man “in -peaceful and unconstrained circumstances, trying to persuade some one -or making a request, praying to a god or advising a man, or giving his -attention to the request or advice or arguments of some one else; and -if he attains his object, not puffed up, but in all things acting, and -accepting the consequences of his actions, with moderation and -self-control.” The philosopher then goes on to reject the flute, as -suitable only to hysterical enthusiasm. But this, as Aristotle pointed -out, was inconsistent. For the Phrygian harmony and the flute went -hand in hand: the wild orgies of Dionusos and other worships of an -enthusiastic nature were usually accompanied by the flute and could -only be set to the Phrygian harmony. The dithyramb, for instance, -could only be set in this way; when Philoxenos definitely tried to -write one to the Dorian, he slid back without being able to prevent it -into the Phrygian. Aristotle therefore, accounting it an enthusiastic -harmony, reserves it as a “purge” (κάθαρσις [katharsis]), which, by -providing under well-regulated conditions an occasional outlet for -hysteria, will work such affections out of the system for a long -period: at the end of which another dose will be required.[686] - -In Hellas music was held to be an efficacious medicine for the ills -alike of body, soul, and mind. Even the grave and learned philosopher -Theophrastos, the pupil of Aristotle, asserted that the Phrygian -“harmony” on the flute was the proper means of curing lumbago.[687] -Pindar states that Apollo “gives to men and women cures for grievous -sickness, and invented the harp, and gives the Muse to whom he will, -bringing warless peace into the heart”:[688] the god of medicine is -the son of the god of the harp. The Pythagorean philosopher Kleinias, -when he was in a bad temper, used to take up his harp, saying, “I am -calming myself.”[689] He and his school regarded the harp as the true -means of attaining that peace and solemn orderliness of soul which as -true Dorian musicians they desired. Lukourgos produced at Sparta the -state of mind necessary to enable his reforms to be carried, by -sending from Crete a lyric poet named Thales, whose songs, by their -calm and orderly tune and rhythm, were an incentive to discipline and -concord: by this means the Spartans were imperceptibly calmed in -character.[690] The Arcadians, according to their compatriot Polubios, -from ancient times onwards “made music their foster-brother” from -their cradles till they were thirty years of age, in order to -counteract the brutalising tendencies of their rough life and harsh -climate; and the inhabitants of one district, Kunaitha, which -neglected this preventive, were notorious for their wickedness.[691] - -Thus music came to be regarded as the best means of forming character. -It was only necessary to apply the right sort of “harmony” to the -young and susceptible personality, and the right “ethos” would be -produced. The Dorian was most in request for educational purposes: its -merits were universally recognised. For it “suitably represented the -notes and accents of a brave man in the presence of war or of any -other violent action, going to meet wounds or death or fallen into any -other misfortune, facing his fate with unflinching resolution.”[692] -Of the others, as has been said, Plato preferred the Phrygian and -Aristotle the Lydian. - - * * * * * - -Not only beautiful music, but beautiful art also, was believed to -produce, by an unconscious but irresistible influence, beautiful -characters in those who came into contact with it; while, on the other -hand, bad art, as well as bad music, was the cause of vice and low -moral ideals.[693] This, they naturally thought, was particularly true -in the case of children, who are so sensitive to all external -influences; moreover, it is the early impressions that make most -difference in a man’s life. To serve this educational end, the -Hellenes expected every statue and painting, as well as every poem and -tune, to have ἦθος [êthos], that is, according to Aristotle’s -definition,[694] to be such that its moral purpose was manifest to the -average man. For this purpose Hellenic art had to become impersonal: -the great statues represent a single trait of character. The smaller -individualising traits are omitted: the single trait chosen is then -idealised and carried to its utmost possible development. This -produced a single and easily intelligible effect. The frieze on the -Parthenon represented the perfect knight in various attitudes, not -So-and-so and Somebody-else. The same idealised abstractions can be -traced in the “Theseus” of the Pediment, and in most of the dramas of -Sophocles. - -The realisation of this artistic ideal was made possible by the fusion -of the two currents, Doric and Ionic. At the end of the sixth century -a wave of Doricism passes over Athens, and the first competent -athlete-sculptors arise there. A second wave came in the middle of the -next century, in the period of Perikles. The Dorian characteristics -now dominate Attic artists alike in poetry, sculpture, and -vase-painting. Aeschylus had possessed the best traits of the Ionic -temperament, chastened by the great crisis of the Persian wars: his -imagination is half oriental, and he has often been compared to a -Hebrew prophet. But the canons of Sophocles are purely Doric, as are -those of Pheidias. The mixture of Doric ethics with Ionic imagination -produces the great age of Hellenic art and literature. With art in -such an educative condition, the effect of the great public buildings -and temples, which adorned even quite humble villages, and of the -glorious statues of which every temple, agora, and gymnasium formed a -perfect treasure-house, must have been very great upon the Hellenes, -who were probably the most susceptible of all peoples to artistic -influences. Moderns vaguely realise that a great Gothic Cathedral does -direct the emotions quite perceptibly. The more susceptible Athenians -must have been much more strongly influenced by the Parthenon and the -Propulaia. In fact, it is related that Epaminondas declared that his -countrymen could never become great unless they removed these -buildings bodily to Thebes. Strangers visiting Athens were so overcome -by her architectural glories that they thought her the natural capital -of the world――an effect which Perikles may well have intended. Great -works of art produce great effects: it is not unnatural to suppose -that smaller works produce a not inconsiderable, if smaller, effect. -Modern theorists often declare that the pictures and wall-paper of the -nursery ought to be in the best taste. Plato and Aristotle ruled that -everything, however humble, which surrounds the growing child should -be in accordance with the best canons of art, since art influenced -morality so strongly. “Ought we not to keep an eye,” says Plato,[695] -“on the craftsmen also, and prevent them from representing moral evil -or disorderliness or bad taste or lack of grace or lack of harmony -either in their imitations of animals or in their buildings or in any -other object of their craft? If they are unable to carry out our -directions in this matter, ought we not to expel them from the -community, lest boys who are brought up in the bad pasture of these -bad representations may pluck poison daily from everything around -them, and little by little insensibly accumulate a large amount of -evil in their souls? Must we not rather search for such craftsmen as -are able, by their native genius, to discover what is beautiful and -graceful? For in this way our children, dwelling in a region of -health, will be influenced for good by every sound and every sight of -these works of beauty, inhaling as it were a healthy breeze that blows -to them from a goodly land.” Every article of furniture, every detail -of architecture, is to take its part in educating the citizens. But if -art and music are so potent a factor in education, they require to be -carefully regulated: a depravation of popular taste, which will cause -a depravation of the dependent artists, will by its educating -influence increase the national decadence both of taste and of morals, -in an ever-widening degree. - - * * * * * - -Poetry had at least an equally potent influence upon contemporary -ethics. The works of the great poets were the chief medium of -education, and large quantities of them were learned by heart in all -the elementary schools.[696] What the boys learned, they then recited, -with as much dramatic action as they were capable of: the rhapsodes -provided them with models. Thus the boys really _acted_ the poets as -far as they could. Acting was a new thing in Hellas in Solon’s time, -and it was received with apprehension. When Thespis first acted one of -his plays, Solon asked him if he was not ashamed to tell such lies in -public, making himself out to be what he was not. Thespis replied that -it was only in fun. Then Solon struck the ground with his stick and -said, “We shall soon find this fun of yours invading our commercial -transactions.” Later, when Peisistratos obtained the bodyguard, to -which he owed his tyranny, by pretending to have been wounded by his -enemies, Solon said the stratagem was a case of acting.[697] This -objection was echoed by Plato, and is not wholly unjustified by the -course of history. For the great vice of Hellenic life was its -insincerity: it is impossible to tell how far a Hellene is in earnest. -It is this vice which ruins their oratory; it is this which, in later -times, made the “hungry little Greek” the type of a fawning liar in -Roman opinion. It was not only in recitations that acting played a -great part. The dances were essentially dramatic: it was this quality -which enabled them to give birth to the drama. In the war-dance all -the gestures and attitudes of attack and defence in actual battle were -represented. The Dionysiac dances were originally the acts of devotees -trying to assimilate themselves to the god in his sufferings and -triumphs. - -How vividly a Hellene entered into the dramatisation may be seen from -the case of the rhapsode Ion. When he recited Homer, his eyes filled -with water and his hair stood on end; and his audience were in much -the same condition. The effect in the “Mimetic” dances, where music, -gestures, rhythm, and poetry all combined to produce a single -impression, must have been greater still; the audience, as well as the -performers, must often have been quite carried away. Such performances -were very frequent. Is it unnatural to suppose that such frequent -assimilation had an important effect on the Hellenes, with their -artistic temperament and great susceptibility? At any rate, Plato, -Aristotle, and Aristophanes, not to mention lesser names, believed -that it had. - -Among these potent poetic influences, the drama must certainly not be -forgotten. Sokrates regarded the _Clouds_ of Aristophanes as a far -more deadly attack upon his career than anything that Anutos and -Meletos could say. To Plato, the theatre plays the part of the “Great -Sophist,” the educating influence which forms the opinion and the -character of the young. - -It must be remembered that Hellenic poetry enshrined the religion of -the race: this fact gave it an enormous influence. The characters in -Aeschylus and Sophocles are divine or semi-divine; many of the -audience in the theatre were wont to revere Agamemnon or Theseus; all -paid worship to Athena and Apollo. The Athenian drama was sacred to a -Hellene as is the play at Oberammergau to a Christian. Had Shakespeare -dramatised the Bible, modern children might have recited his speeches -and acted his plays with somewhat similar feelings to those with which -Hellenic boys recited Homer or Aeschylus. Suppose Shakespeare had thus -dramatised the story of Esau and Jacob, and an imaginative child was -set to learn Jacob’s speeches and repeat them; suppose he was also in -the habit of hearing them recited by a first-class actor who knew how -to bring out the minuter traits of character.[698] Is it not, at any -rate, quite rational to argue that the child would gradually absorb -some of these traits of character, just as children often pick up the -peculiarities of nurses and others with whom they have no hereditary -connection? Might not underhand habits be reasonably attributed to -frequent acting of the part of Jacob? Yet in ancient Hellas the -influence was much stronger, for the people were more susceptible and -the characters were believed to be half-divine. - - * * * * * - -Thus in ancient Hellas music, art, and poetry had an immense effect on -the characters and morals of the race. This influence may well have -been exaggerated by Hellenic thinkers. Damon the musician declared -that every change in artistic standards produced a change in the tone -and constitution of a State; and Plato agreed with him.[699] The -danger of such innovations is a large part of the theme of the _Laws_, -and, in a less degree, of the _Republic_. Sparta accepted this -attitude and forbade all change. The opinion was certainly widely -held, and must have rested on experience. - -Just as the thinkers were beginning to realise this principle, it -happened that a very great change in the artistic canons did take -place. Sophocles is succeeded by Euripides, Pheidias by Praxiteles: -music suffers a similar transformation. Idealism gives way to realism: -Sophocles and Pheidias had represented men as they ought to be, -Euripides and Praxiteles represent them as they are. Poets and -sculptors still pretend to be delineating deities, but in reality they -are delineating contemporary life.[700] Their creations not only cease -to be idealised, they cease to have only a single trait. The “Hermes” -of Praxiteles is a dreamy but vigorous young Athenian who might have -been met in the Akademeia or Lukeion; the “Herakles” of Euripides is -now a homicidal maniac, now a reckless mercenary.[701] The characters -become human by losing their divineness. In the next generation the -divine names are dropped, and Menander can depict contemporary life -without having to call his characters Orestes or Phaidra. Music also -ceased to be so severely separated off into types. All manner of -musical innovations arise, which it is very hard for a modern to -grasp. But the result is clear enough. It became no longer possible to -detect the ethical meaning of a tune: music was becoming complex, just -as characters in drama and sculpture were becoming complex. It was -also more homely in subject. It became daringly “mimetic” also, -imitating all the sounds of nature. This was an age of daring -experiments, and musicians shared the general movement. - -To the Conservative party in Hellas and to the educational theorists -these changes naturally appeared ruinous. In their opinion, Euripides -was practically parodying the Bible and making divine characters share -all the follies and weaknesses, and use the homely language, of mere -men. Boys, learning such poetry by heart, would cease to have ideals: -everything would be commonplace to them. They would recite the most -homely language, and act the most homely parts, under the idea that -they were half-divine. Moreover, with the attack of the new school -upon the old religion, the more immoral parts of Hellenic mythology -were brought into undue prominence. Euripides seems to have chosen -some questionable subjects; the dithyrambic poets were worse, and -chose themes quite unsuitable for children to act or hear. And music -ceased to have any ethical value; it was all trills and onomatopœia. -Such changes meant a revolution in the results of education. - -The poet Aristophanes is the first to raise his voice against the -change. A few months before the utter ruin of Athens, he produces the -_Frogs_, which really repeats the attack of the _Clouds_, with -Euripides instead of Sokrates for the defendant. The poet is attacked -as at once the prophet of the new culture of the Sophists and of the -new artistic standards. The following are some of the chief faults -which Aristophanes finds with the new school represented by -Euripides:[702] (1) an undignified style of music, worthy only of the -bones as an accompaniment; (2) its habit of mixing all sorts of -incongruous musical rubbish together, “lewd love-songs, drinking -catches of Meletos, Karian flute-music, dirges, and dances”; (3) its -trills or shakes, as in εἰειειειειλίσσετε [eieieieieilissete]; (4) its -mixture of incongruous pictures, “dolphins, spiders, halcyons, -prophet-chambers, and race-courses,” pathos and bathos, commonplace -and solemnity; (5) bad metre, licenses of every sort, and frequent -“resolved” feet. As a parody of its habitual incongruity Aristophanes -gives: - - “O God of the sea, that’s what it is. O ye neighbours, - behold yon monstrous deed: Gluke’s gone off with my cock. - Nymphs, ye daughters of the hills! Mary Ann, lend a hand.” - -Aristophanes’ voice comes with a certain pathos, for the play is the -last utterance of Periclean Athens, just at the point of falling and -trying to find a scapegoat on whom to lay the responsibility of its -ruin: and the scapegoat chosen is the new artistic and musical -standard. The Ionic temperament had, in fact, broken away from all -restraint. The Doric canons of order, symmetry, regularity, and -solidity were thrown aside. Everything antique was treated with -disdain; all authority was rejected with scorn. No standards, ethical -or artistic, were tolerated. Perpetual change, daily novelty, became -the one desire of Athens. The foundations of belief, the bases of the -moral code, were broken down. The whole world seemed to be crumbling -away, and nothing was arising to take its place. Spectators became -dizzy with the eternal fluctuations. What wonder if they turned -longing eyes towards the one centre of gravity in Hellas, towards the -one place where politics, art, and ethics retained their old -stability, towards Sparta? So Sparta becomes the philosopher’s ideal, -and it is the Spartan canon that Plato tries to reimpose on Ionicism -running riot.[703] The fault which he finds with contemporary art and -music is that they simply try to please and amuse the audience, not to -educate and improve it.[704] They are like parents who try to soothe a -fractious child with sweetmeats when his health requires castor oil. -But the poets and artists are the slaves of the mob which pays them. -They must be freed from this control, and made the servants of the -government. Strict canons must be drawn up, which they must follow on -pain of being expelled from the State. The canons must be drawn up by -a select body of experts; the mob is incapable of judging in such -matters; the critic must guide their taste, not follow it.[705] Good -music and art must bear the stamp of a good “ethos,” and, since men -appreciate the character most which most resembles their own, it will -be the good man who will most appreciate good music:[706] so the good -man becomes the standard. In order to point his moral, Plato sketches -the history of the Athenian drama, showing how its dependence on -popular opinion ruined it[707]:―― - -“At the time of the Persian wars Athens was a limited democracy, with -the magistracies arranged according to a property qualification. The -spirit of obedience and discipline prevailed in those days, and was -strengthened by the dread of Persia. The populace willingly obeyed the -laws that fixed the artistic and musical standards. By these -regulations the different types of song and accompaniment, hymns or -prayers to the gods, lamentations, pæans, dithyrambs, and so forth -were kept quite distinct, no one being allowed to mix them together; -the standard, too, was not fixed, as now, by the shouts and stampings -and confused applause of the mob, but every one listened in silence -until the end of the play, the educated classes from preference, and -boys and their paidagogoi, and the mob generally, under the direction -of the rod. Thus the mass of the citizens were ready to obey in an -orderly manner, not venturing to make noisy criticisms. In course of -time some poets, who ought to have known better, led the way in -breaking down these laws. Frenzied and distracted by their desire for -pleasure, they mixed lamentations with hymns and pæans with -dithyrambs, they imitated the flute on the lyre, they confused -everything with everything else. Blinded by ignorance, they lied and -said that there was no question of accuracy of representation in -music: the only standard was the pleasure of the hearer, whatever sort -of man he might be. With such style of poetry, and arguments to match, -they inspired the many with contempt for the laws of Art, and gave -them the idea that they were capable of criticising it. So the -audience was no longer silent but noisy, since it supposed that it -knew what was good and what was bad. Art was no longer governed by -good taste, but by the bad taste of the mob. Nor was this the worst of -it. From Art the infection spread to other spheres, and every one -began to think that he knew everything, and consequently to break the -laws. For, thinking themselves wiser than the laws, they no longer -feared them.… Next comes a refusal to obey the Archons, then contempt -for the orders of parents and elders, then a desire to be free from -the restraints of a constitution. The end is utter contempt for oaths -and covenants and the gods.” - -It is the lack of order and system in contemporary music which Plato -dislikes.[708] In modern dances, he complains, manly words are set to -effeminate tunes or gestures, and the voices of men and beasts and -instruments are mixed together into a confused and unintelligible -hodgepodge.[709] Music without words is equally detestable. Music that -runs on without the proper pauses and loves mere speed and meaningless -clamour, using flutes and harps without words, is in the worst taste. -The meaning must be quite plain. - -Music must also be good. Poets say much that is good, much that is -bad: they are irresponsible beings.[710] The State ought to appoint -censors who will reject all unsuitable poems and tunes and dances. -Those which are already in existence must be selected and expurgated. -If this ruins the poetry, never mind: moral tone is far more important -than poetical skill. In fact, poetry ought to be written by moral -citizens without any regard being paid to their poetical talents: it -would also be well if they did not compose till they were fifty![711] -A sketch of a Platonic Censor re-editing Homer is given in Books ii. -and iii. of the _Republic_: his methods are drastic. - -But Plato’s chief denunciation is reserved for the “mimetic” or -imitative aspect of poetry. The poet teaches “posing.” Homer, when he -described the siege of Troy, is posing as a skilled tactician (as his -admirers often claimed that he was), when really the silence of -history proves that he was nothing of the sort. So too the painter who -represents a plough is posing as an authority upon agriculture: -question him, and he will prove to be completely ignorant of the -subject. Both poetry and painting are a fraud and a deception; by -their pretence of knowledge, they encourage the mind in the habit, to -which it is so prone, of accepting vague opinions as certainties -without testing their truth.[712] They foster that belief in the -sense-perceptions which it is the object of Platonic education to -destroy. - -But the poet not only poses himself: he makes his audience, his -reader, his performer pose. The boy who recites the dying speech of -Aias in Sophocles’ play is posing as Aias, pretending to be Aias, and -adopting the tone and the traits of Aias. The boy who dances in the -dithyramb _Semelé_ is trying to enter into Semelé’s feelings and -moods, being helped by the music and the gestures and the words.[713] -Such posing, if begun in early years, will invade the character and -change it: the boy will become like the personages whom he is -accustomed to act. Hence Plato lays down strict laws dealing with the -recitations and dances of the young.[714] “If they speak in character, -it must only be in the character of those who are, what they -themselves must be when they are grown up, brave, temperate, pious -gentlemen. They must have no skill in taking unsuitable characters, -lest from their dramatic representation of what is vulgar and base -they become infected with the reality of vulgarity and baseness. For -imitation, if begun in early years and carried far, sinks into a boy’s -habits and nature, and influences his voice, his gestures, and his -ideas.… So boys must not be allowed to take the character of a woman, -young or old, abusing her husband or blaspheming against the gods or -uttering lamentations,――certainly not of a woman in sickness or in -love or in pangs; nor the character of slaves performing slavish -duties; nor of bad men, cowards, insulting or mocking one another, -using foul language, drunk or sober; nor yet of madmen.”[715] It will -be seen that this will exclude much of Hellenic drama, especially of -the plays of Euripides and Aristophanes. Comedy, according to Plato, -should only be acted by foreigners, and should serve as an awful -warning of everything that a gentleman ought not to do. The new music -is subjected to similar rules. “Boys must not imitate blacksmiths at -the forge, or craftsmen occupied in any trade, or sailors rowing, or -boatswains giving them orders, or anything of the sort; nor yet horses -neighing, or bulls roaring, or the noise of rivers or the sea or -thunder or wind or hail or chariot-wheels or pulleys or trumpets or -flutes or pipes …; nor the sounds made by dogs and sheep and birds.” -So the proper style of poetry for educational purposes will be mostly -narrative, with occasional dramatisation of virtuous men. To accompany -this simplified and purified poetry only the Dorian and Phrygian -“harmonies” will be required: all the others may be rejected. Simple -instruments alone will be wanted: many-stringed lyres and the flute -can be banished. The seven-stringed lyre and the shepherd’s pipe will -be left. - -Plato finds it too difficult to carry these principles into rhythm, -since he is not an expert in the subject. But he thinks that the -metres could be regulated in accordance with his canons; the expert -Damon declared that some had a demoralising tendency. - -As a whole, Plato’s aim is to restore Doric standards, to combat -amateurism and dabbling, by which boys were made Jacks-of-all-trades, -and above all to insist that the refined few ought to set the standard -of taste in matters musical, literary, and artistic, not the unrefined -many. With his view may be contrasted Perikles’ boast to the Athenian -people, “We can all criticise adequately, if we cannot all invent,” -and Aristotle’s belief that a crowd judges better than an individual -because its judgment is compounded of many judgments. - -But when we come to Aristotle the creative instinct of the Hellenic -nation, apart from a few gifted individuals, is dead. To him and his -contemporaries music and painting are no longer rendered necessary -parts of education owing to the irresistible craving of an artistic -temperament for expression. Listen to his theory. Painting gives boys -an eye for beauty, and prevents them from being cheated in -art-dealing: there is no inward compulsion to paint. Boys had better -learn to sing and play, since children must needs make a noise. All -they really need is the power of criticising professional music. This -power, unluckily, cannot be acquired without personal study. But let -them drop their music as soon as they can, or they might be mistaken -for vulgar professionals. Such words could hardly have been addressed -to a nation that was still musical and artistic. So Aristotle’s -æsthetic criticism is really a study of the past, the discussion of a -dead age. He has no natural affinity for such things himself: he -prefers to sum up the opinions of experts. Consequently his remarks on -the subject are scientific but no more; for a real appreciation of the -Hellenic artistic and musical spirit it is necessary to go to Plato, -who combated it so fiercely just because he was more in sympathy with -it than suited his philosophic desires. - - [Illustration: PLATE X. A. - - IN A RIDING-SCHOOL - - From a Kulix by Euphronios, now in the Louvre. Hartwig’s - _Meisterschalen_, Plate 53.] - - [Illustration: PLATE X. B. - - IN A RIDING-SCHOOL - - From a Kulix by Euphronios, now in the Louvre. Hartwig’s - _Meisterschalen_, Plate 53.] - - - [680] The characteristics are sketched in Thuc. i. 70. Cp. - the difference between Florence and Venice in Renaissance - Italy. - - [681] See also Thuc. i. 6; Athen. 512 B.C. - - [682] No doubt all the theorists had a fatal temptation to - judge the harmony by the opinion which they held of the race - which produced it. The Lydian may have recovered prestige - during the fourth century, for it included Karian, and Karia - became a great power under Mausolos. - - [683] Athen. 624 C. - - [684] It is the only true Hellenic harmony (Plato, _Lach._ - 188 D). - - [685] Plato’s opinion of the harmonies is in _Rep._ 398-399. - Aristotle, who professes only to summarise the views of - experts, discusses them in _Pol._ viii. 7. - - [686] Plato apparently accepts this principle with regard to - the Korubantic dances (_Laws_, 790 D). - - [687] Athen. 624 b. - - [688] Pind. _P._ 5. 60-63. Cp. the story of Saul and David. - - [689] Athen. 624 a. - - [690] Plut. _Luk._ 4. - - [691] _Pol._ iv. 20. 2. - - [692] Plato, _Rep._ 399 A. - - [693] Londoners must devoutly hope that the Hellenic theory - is false. - - [694] Aristot. _Rhet._ ii. 21. 16. - - [695] Plato, _Rep._ 401 B. - - [696] A poetical education probably develops the imagination - at the expense of the logical mind. Plato is a good instance - of this: his imagination, against his will, outweighs his - reason. It may be this personal experience which gives so - much bitterness to his attack on poetry. - - [697] Plut. _Solon_, 29. 30. - - [698] Children have a natural tendency to act, and need - little inducement or instruction. - - [699] Plato, _Rep._ 424 C. - - [700] So in the later Renaissance the “Madonna” is the - artist’s wife. - - [701] According to Dr. Verrall. - - [702] Aristoph. _Frogs_, 1301, 1340. - - [703] Ionicism = Herakleiteanism, πάντα ῥεῖ [panta rhei]. - Doricism = Parmenideanism, τὸ πᾶν μένει [to pan menei]. - - [704] Plato, _Gorg._ 501-502; _Polit._ 288 C. - - [705] Plato, _Laws_, 657-659. - - [706] _Ibid._ 656. - - [707] _Ibid._ 698-701 C. - - [708] The essence of dancing is that it is _orderly_ - movement; of singing that it is _orderly_ sound (_Laws_, - 654). - - [709] Plato, _Laws_, 669-70. - - [710] _Ibid._ 800-802. - - [711] _Ibid._ 829 c. - - [712] Consequently the painter and the poet are, in Plato’s - opinion, allies of the Sophist. - - [713] This is true, in a less degree, of the audience. Cp. - Plutarch’s account of the Spartans (_Lac. Inst._ 239 A): - “They did not listen to tragedies or comedies, in order that - neither in earnest nor in jest they might hear men - gainsaying the laws.” - - [714] Plato, _Rep._ 395 ff. - - [715] Plato holds that no one likes to imitate his - inferiors; so the good man will not care to imitate any but - the good. He ascribes this attitude to the Deity. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -XENOPHON: “THE EDUCATION OF KUROS” - - -The central figure in many parishes in England is a retired -Major-General or Colonel. He constitutes the chief pillar of the -neighbouring church, reads the Lessons on Sundays, teaches in the -Sunday School, gives away the prizes at School-treats held in his own -grounds, and heads every subscription list; while his leisure is given -to the compilation of a military memoir or two, and perhaps, if he is -very literary, of a few short stories. Just such a man was Xenophon. -On retiring from active service, he withdrew to the little village of -Skillous in Elis, where he owned a house and a park. The whole country -swarmed with fish and game, so that he and his sons could have as much -hunting as they pleased. Guests were numerous, for past his gates ran -the great high-road from Lakedaimon to Olympia. In his grounds he -built a chapel to Artemis, the expenses being defrayed from a tithe of -the spoils he had taken in the heart of the Persian Empire. The tenth -of the produce of his land was paid to the goddess, and once a year he -gave a great sacrificial feast in her honour, to which all the -neighbours were invited. In this way the retired General lived for -twenty years, devoted to his religion, his hunting, and the -composition of his books. Having two sons of his own, he naturally -gave some attention to the problems of education. His treatise on the -constitution of Lakedaimon is simply a sketch of the Spartan school -system, no doubt intended for his boys, who were brought up at Sparta. -A curious passage in his _Economics_[716] shows that he considered the -most effective mode of teaching to be a series of appeals, by means of -question and answer, to personal observation and common-sense. -Ischomachos asks Sokrates whether he knows how to plant trees. -Sokrates at first replies “No,” but when he is questioned point by -point, whether on his excursions to Lukabettos, he has noticed the -depth of the trenches in the orchards, and some similar details, and -when his common-sense has shown him that plants grow quicker through -soft than through hard soil, he finds that he is an expert nurseryman, -and decides that questioning must be the way to teach. - -But the most important of Xenophon’s educational works is the -_Education of Kuros_. In this he becomes the classical Miss Edgeworth -and Henty combined. The book is really an historical novel, mostly -fiction, embodying a moral story for the young, an ideal system of -education, and a practical treatise on the whole duty of a general. -The ideal system comes first, as a sort of preface, and presents a -curious parallel to the rival schemes of his contemporary Plato. -Xenophon makes the reader suppose that his system was practised in -Persia in the time of Kuros’ boyhood, but there is no authority for -his statement. Persia is in this case a convenient title for Utopia. - -The ordinary State, according to Xenophon, leaves its citizens to form -their own characters; but the Persian system definitely aims at -producing virtue. In every Persian city there is what is called the -“Free Agora.”[717] This is an open square, like the ordinary -market-place, but unlike it in being without shops or booths, for the -vulgar bustle and clamour of buying and selling is forbidden here, as -likely to disturb the peace and calm of the educated. Round it lie the -royal palace and the State buildings, so that it would be a place of -some architectural pretensions and not unlike the quadrangle of a -College at an English University. The square is divided into four -parts――one for the children, one for the epheboi, one for full-grown -men, and one for the old; for men of all ages have their place in this -College. Any Persian is at liberty to send his son to school here, but -only the rich can afford to support their sons while they attend the -classes: the poor man’s children, in Utopian Persia as in modern -England, must needs work for their living at an early age. The schools -are apparently only for boys: Xenophon has nothing to say here about -feminine education, although he approves of the Spartan system. - -All boys under sixteen are ranged together in twelve companies, -according to the number of Persian tribes; of arrangement in classes -by age or intelligence nothing is said. They have to be in their -quarter of the Free Agora at daybreak. Their education is under the -control of twelve masters chosen from the elder men. What they learn -in school is _Justice_, as boys elsewhere learn letters. The system is -as curious as the subject. A sort of miniature law-court is -constituted, where the masters act as judges and the boys accuse one -another before them. The accusations must not be concocted for the -occasion, for any one found guilty of bringing a false charge against -a schoolfellow is severely punished. Smith Major has stolen Brown’s -bow and arrows, or Jones has called Robinson various opprobrious -names; the offenders are hauled up before the tribunal, duly tried, -and, if convicted, flogged.[718] Ingratitude is regarded as a -particularly heinous crime. It appears that promising pupils were -allowed to act as judges sometimes. The boy Kuros tells his mother how -he received this honour and once gave a wrong verdict, to his own -discomfiture. “The case was like this, mother,” he is made to say. “A -big boy wearing a small coat met a small boy wearing a big coat, and -compelled him to exchange. I was told to decide the case, and said -that it was best that each should have the coat which fitted him. Then -the master flogged me. For the point was, To whom did the big coat -belong? not, Whom did it fit best? It belonged to the boy who bought -or made it, not to the boy who took it by force, breaking the law.” - -Besides “Justice,” the children were taught the properties of plants, -in order that they might avoid those that were harmful and use those -which were good.[719] This seems a curious anticipation of -“Nature-study,” with a strictly utilitarian object, and Xenophon -deserves credit for an original suggestion. - -The boys are assisted in the formation of good habits by the sight of -their elders in the adjacent quarter of the Free Agora, setting them -an example in temperance and obedience and self-restraint. They also -learn not to be greedy, by taking their meals, when ordered, in the -school, under supervision, off the very simple fare of bread, water, -and a sort of seed resembling the modern mustard, which is all that -they are allowed to bring with them from home for the purpose. What is -more, this probably constituted the only meal which the children had -on such days. It must have been a pretty stiff lesson in abstinence! -How they would have hated a master who ordered it too often! For games -and exercise they had shooting with the bow and hurling the -javelin――that is, military training. - -The other three ages are also organised each under twelve masters in -its own quarter of the Agora of Education. The epheboi, who in Utopia -include all from sixteen to twenty-six, even sleep there, acting as a -standing army and a police force to guard the palace and the State -buildings. Xenophon thinks it well that the men of this age, who need -more attention, in his opinion, than even the boys, should be always -under the eye of the authorities. They are organised into twelve -companies, one from each of the Persian tribes. Their time is largely -occupied in police-work, such as catching brigands, and in hunting. -Xenophon attaches great importance to hunting of all sorts, as being -the best training for war.[720] For it involves exposure to heat and -cold and other hardships, training in marching and running, and skill -with bow and javelin;[721] it also requires courage, to meet the -sudden charge of a panther; and long and patient strategy, to catch -birds and hares.[722] So, several times a month, the king goes out -hunting and takes six companies of the epheboi with him, armed with -bows and arrows, a dagger, a light shield, and two spears――one for -throwing and one for stabbing. When not engaged in hunting or in -police-work, the epheboi revise what they learned as boys, and -practise shooting, competing with one another; there are also public -contests, with prizes. Prizes are also given to the officer in charge -of the company which shows itself the most intelligent, courageous, -and trustworthy; the master who taught this company in its school-days -is also commended. - -The men from twenty-six to fifty occupy the third, and the elders the -fourth, quarter of the Agora. The former act as a standing army of -heavy infantry; the latter as a reserve force for home defence, as -Judges, as the electors to the offices of State, and as the teachers -of the children. The other offices are filled by the third age. Any -freeborn Persian can climb this four-runged Ladder of Education to the -very top; but no one may enter a higher class without having served -his full time in those below it. To Xenophon, it appears, belongs the -credit of being the first theorist to recognise the merits of this -Thessalian custom of the “Free Agora,” the State-provided centre of -culture, afterwards adopted so extensively in Alexandria, where the -educated classes of all ages might meet in an intellectual atmosphere -and amid beautiful surroundings, and provide that exchange and mart of -ideas by personal intercourse which Newman considered to be the -essence of a University. In the Free Agora of Utopian Persia all the -educated spend their days, influencing one another by talk and -example, exchanging and criticising ideas, competing in warlike -exercises――and all in an atmosphere untainted by the vulgarity of -money-making. On the other hand, culture there does not mean idleness; -to Xenophon, as to Plato, education seemed to entail great -responsibilities, and the educated classes provide the sole standing -army of the State and have to give their countrymen the benefit of -their intelligence by serving as Rulers and Judges. - -But Xenophon’s University provides only legal and military -instruction; intellectual culture is not recognised in his “Persia.” -The boys learn the principles of their national law; for, as Xenophon -is careful to proclaim, the Justice which they are taught is no -Platonic elaboration, but simple conformity to the law of the -land.[723] Their other lessons aim solely at the soldier’s life: this -is the object of their severe diet, their botany, and their training -in arms. General morality is to be imbibed from contact in the Agora -with their exemplary seniors, not by ethical contemplation. The system -has the merit of being extremely practical, as would be expected from -a man of Xenophon’s stamp. The boys are to be soldiers all their -lives, and Rulers and Judges in their old age. Consequently they are -to be taught only what is essential to this calling. The soldier must -be well versed in the use of arms and capable of enduring hardships; -so the boys are taught to use the bow and javelin and lead a sternly -simple life. The chief essential to the Ruler and Judge is a sound -knowledge of the national law: the boys are taught law from the first, -in a highly practical way, and even learn to administer it, acting as -judges to their schoolfellows. No better means could be devised for -teaching boys the legal procedure of their native land than this of -constituting them into a miniature Court.[724] It is a scheme, -however, which would be repugnant to the whole idea of an English -public school, where the boys are expected to fight their own battles -and set their own tone without calling in the master’s assistance -except in grave cases. But the Hellenic boy was never left without -supervision: the paidagogos, or some elder, was always in -attendance.[725] Probably the chief criticism which it would have -occurred to an Athenian of that age to urge against Xenophon’s system -would be, not that it encouraged tale-bearing, nor that it failed to -teach self-reliance, but that his countrymen were quite sufficiently -litigious already without any teaching. The absence of literature and -music would also have seemed a fatal objection. - -The “Persian” schools are apparently open, free of charge, to any boy -whose father chooses to send him. For the only expense which the -parents are mentioned as incurring is the loss of any wages which -their son might have been earning if set to a trade instead of being -sent to school. Xenophon thus institutes free education without -compulsion. Pupils may be withdrawn at any age; if they or their -families have enough private means to enable them to live in leisure -all their lives they can rise through the various stages to the -highest offices of the State, provided that they are not rejected as -unfit during their upward passage. Theoretically the educational -ladder is open to all; practically it is closed to all but those who -are well-to-do and fairly capable to boot. But the education provided -is not a general culture, intellectually and morally good for all -children, nor yet utilitarian knowledge, such as arithmetic or -writing, which will serve as a useful, or even necessary, basis for a -trade or profession: it is a strictly technical education in the work -of War and Government. Few parents, therefore, would send their boys -to Xenophon’s schools, at any rate for a longer period than would be -required for learning just the rudiments of national law and morality, -unless they designed them for a public career. - -Thus Xenophon, like his beloved Spartans, has made war the main object -of education, and, like the Romans, uses law as the chief instrument -of instruction. But he has seen the demerits of the Spartan -“Mess-clubs,” and his boys take their meals and sleep, as a rule, at -home; only the epheboi, as in Crete, dine and sleep always in the -agora. His chief merit is that he recognised that an educational -atmosphere, εὐκοσμία τῶν πεπαιδευμένων [eukosmia tôn pepaideumenôn], -free from the associations of money-making, is essential to an -educational establishment. - -After this deeply interesting sketch of Xenophon’s educational ideals, -the _Education of Kuros_ becomes a historical novel with a purpose, an -idealised Kuros acting as example throughout. In Book i. there is the -description of him as the model boy, courteous to his elders, quick -and eager to learn, brave, impetuous, loved by all, but rather a prig. -The description is full of improving anecdotes and little sermons. The -book concludes with a lecture on the duties of a general, dealing with -tactics and the best means of training the army and providing -supplies. Xenophon puts all his personal experience into this, and -there is plenty of adventure to make the book palatable to his young -readers. - -A few extracts will make the characteristics of this curious work -plain. - -When quite young, Kuros went with his mother Mandané to stay with his -grandfather Astuages, King of Media. The old man, thinking that the -boy would be homesick and wishing to comfort him, sent for him at -dinner the first evening and set all sorts of rich meats and sauces -before him. Then Kuros said, “Grandfather, you must find it a great -nuisance, if you have to help yourself to so many courses and taste so -many kinds of food.” His grandfather replied, “Why, don’t you think -this a much finer dinner than what you get at home?” “No, -grandfather,” replied Kuros; “at home we satisfy our appetites by a -short-cut, just bread and meat, but here, although your object is the -same, you wind in and out so much on the way that it takes you ever so -much longer to reach it.” “But, my boy, the delay is only so much -pleasure, as you will see if you try.” Kuros, however, persisted in -refusing the unwholesome dainties, so his grandfather compensated him -by giving him an enormous help of meat. “Is all this meant for me,” -asked Kuros, “to do what I like with?” “Yes, my boy.” Then Kuros took -the meat and distributed it to the servants who were waiting at table, -saying to one, “This is because you taught me to ride”; to another, -“This is because you gave me a javelin”; to a third, “This is for -waiting on my grandfather so nicely.” From this example the young -reader doubtless learned not to desire too many courses or too rich -sweets at table, and perhaps also to be grateful to every one, even -servants. After this Kuros remained in Media, while his mother -returned home. “He soon won the love of his schoolfellows, and quite -charmed their parents when invited to their houses by the affection -which he showed for their sons.” A good moral, this, for little boys -who go out to parties. - -This model boy does not die young, but grows up. He had been rather a -chatterbox when small (a warning to the young readers), but only owing -to his desire for knowledge and his readiness to answer questions; -besides, he chattered in such a nice way that it was a pleasure to -hear him. But as he grew older, he grew more bashful. “He always -blushed when he met his elders, and he talked in a quieter tone. When -he played with his schoolfellows, he chose the games where he expected -to be beaten, not those in which he expected to win; and he was always -ready to lead the laugh against himself when beaten.” Model youth! Of -course, he soon became the champion at every form of sport, just as in -a modern book of the kind he would have won at least five “Blues.” - -Kuros next appears as a mighty hunter, and then at the age of fifteen -takes a leading part in a battle against the Assyrians; in fact, it is -his strategy and prowess that decide the day. What more could be -wanted in a book for boys? The modern author would give him a grizzly -bear, a lion, and a V.C.: Xenophon gives him the Persian equivalents. - -After this, little more is said of Kuros’ boyhood. He is next -introduced as a man of twenty-six, just put into command of a Persian -expedition to help Media against the Assyrians.[726] Henceforth -Xenophon’s object is no longer to point a moral, but to instruct -budding generals and princes in strategy and government. The remaining -books are a “Handbook of Tactics, with hints on the proper treatment -of inferiors”; so they fitly begin with a long lecture by Kuros’ -father on the whole duty of a general.[727] There is, however, a good -deal of moral advice and occasional allegory interspersed amid the -tactics. For instance, a certain Gobruas came to dine with the Persian -army. “Seeing how plain the food was, he regarded the Persians as -rather _bourgeois_. But then he observed what good manners the guests -had. No educated Persian would allow himself to be seen staring at a -dish, or helping himself hurriedly, or acting at table without proper -deliberation. For they think it piggish to be excited by the presence -of food or drink. He noticed, too, that they never asked one another -questions which might cause pain, that their jests were never -malicious nor their wit rude, that everything that they did was in the -best taste, and that they never lost their tempers with one another.” -And so on. “Manners for men,” we might call it, by Xenophon. - -A curiously interesting case of allegory, which well shows how -imaginary most of the history is, may be found in the third book.[728] -The son of the king of Armenia had had for a companion and tutor a -certain Sophist, of whose wisdom he was very proud. But his father -condemned the Sophist for corrupting[729] the boy. When he was being -led to execution, the man showed what a saint and hero he was by -calling the boy and saying, “Do not be angry with your father for -putting me to death. For it is no wicked purpose which makes him do -it, but only ignorance. All sins which men commit in ignorance I rank -as involuntary errors.” Later, the father confesses that he put the -Sophist to death for stealing away his son’s affections, “for I feared -that my boy might love him more than he loved me.” Kuros admits that -such jealousy is an explanation and regards it as pardonable. - -The analogy to Sokrates is obvious to any one. The half-apology for -the Athenian people is very interesting in the mouth of the old -Socratic companion Xenophon. - -But the object of the _Education of Kuros_ is, after all, to teach -generalship. A couple of examples of the way in which this is done -will suffice. On one occasion[730] Kuros orders the foot-cuirassiers -to lead the way in a forced march, and kindly explains the object of -such a manœuvre. “This command I give,” he says, “because they are the -heaviest part of the army. When the heaviest part is in the van, -obviously it is quite easy for the other arms, being lighter, to keep -up. But if the quickest detachment is in front on a night march, it is -not surprising if the army straggles, for the vanguard goes faster -than the rest.” Again, Kuros could call all his officers by name, to -their great surprise.[731] “For he thought it very absurd that -tradesmen should know the names of all their tools, and yet a general -should be so stupid as not to know the names of his officers whom he -must use as his tools in the most serious emergencies. Soldiers who -thought that their general knew their names would, he considered, be -more eager to do heroic deeds in his presence, and less eager to play -the coward. It seemed also to be foolish to be obliged to give orders, -when he wanted something done, in the way some masters do in their -households, ‘Fetch me some water, Somebody’; or ‘Cut some firewood, -Someone.’ For when the order is addressed to no one in particular, -each stands looking at his neighbour and expecting him to carry it -out.” - -The military part is exceedingly well done. Xenophon was one of the -few good strategists whom Hellas produced, and his remarks on tactics, -the hygiene of an army, and discipline are sound and useful. What is -more, his novel is interesting and occasionally witty: it is -distinctly good reading. He has disguised his powder in the most -appetising jam, and so has achieved with success the difficult task of -writing a novel with a purpose. Had books been common then, his work -would have been both popular and useful in Boys’ Libraries, and have -done good service as a school prize. But from Plato it only provoked -the malicious and not very deep criticism that it was unhistorical and -unsound.[732] “Of Kuros,” he says, “I conjecture that, though he was a -good general and a patriot, he had not come across the merest scrap of -sound education, and never applied his mind to the art of managing a -household.[733] For, being absent on campaigns all his life, he -allowed the women to bring up his children. The women spoilt the boys, -letting no one gainsay them, and made them effeminate, not teaching -them the Persian habits or their father’s profession, but Median -luxury. Hence the collapse of Persia under Kambuses.” - - - [716] Xen. _Econ._ 19. - - [717] Aristotle (_Pol._ vii. 12) says that “Free Agoras” - were customary in Thessaly. He adopts the system for his - ideal state――a clear compliment to Xenophon. - - [718] Floggings were apparently to be frequent. “Tears are a - master’s instruments of instruction” (ii. 2. 14). - - [719] viii. 8. 14. - - [720] Hence his treatise on hunting. - - [721] i. 2. 10. - - [722] i. 6. 39-40. - - [723] i. 3. 17. - - [724] Cp. the experiment which was, I believe, tried in an - American school, where the boys learned the national - constitution by themselves electing in due form a President, - Congress, etc. - - [725] “The perpetual presence of masters,” according to - Xenophon, “best inculcates proper modesty and discipline.” - - [726] i. 5. 5. - - [727] i. 6. 1-46. - - [728] iii. 1. 38. - - [729] διαφθείρειν [diaphtheirein], the word used in - Sokrates’ accusation. - - [730] v. 3. 37. - - [731] v. 3. 46. Notice the Socratic comparison. - - [732] Plato, _Laws_, 694 C-D. - - [733] A hit at Xenophon’s _Economics_. - - - - -PART III - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -CONCLUDING ESSAY: THE SCHOOLS OF HELLAS - - -The preceding chapters have sufficiently established, as it seems to -me, that Hellenic education alike at Sparta and at Athens, in theory -and in practice, aimed at producing the best possible citizen, not the -best possible money-maker; it sought the good of the community, not -the good of the individual. The methods and materials of education -naturally differed with the conception of good citizenship held in -each locality, but the ideal object was always the same. - -The Spartan, with his schoolboy conception of life, believed that the -whole duty of man was to be brave, to be indifferent to hardships and -pain, to be a good soldier, and to be always in perfect physical -condition; when his Hellenic instincts needed æsthetic satisfaction, -he made his military drill into a musical dance and sang songs in -honour of valour. Long speaking and lengthy meditation he regarded -with contempt, for he preferred deeds to words or thoughts, and the -essence of a situation could always be expressed in a single sentence. -This Spartan conception of citizenship fixed the aim of Spartan -education. Daily hardships, endless physical training, perpetual tests -of pluck and endurance, were the lot of the Spartan boy. He did not -learn to read or write or count; he was trained to speak only in -single words or in the shortest of sentences, for what need had a -Spartan of letters or of chattering? His imagination had also to be -subordinated to the national ideal: his dances, his songs, his very -deities, were all military. - -The Athenian’s conception of the perfect citizen was much wider and -much more difficult of attainment. Pluck and harmony of physical -development did not satisfy him: there must be equal training of mind -and imagination, without any sacrifice of bodily health. He demanded -of the ideal citizen perfection of body, extensive mental activity and -culture, and irreproachable taste. “We love and pursue wisdom, yet -avoid bodily sloth; we love and pursue beauty, yet avoid bad taste and -extravagance,” proclaims Perikles in his summary of Athenian ideals. -Consequently Athenian education was triple in its aims; its activities -were divided between body, mind, and taste. The body of the young -Athenian was symmetrically developed by the scientifically designed -exercises of the palaistra. At eighteen the State imposed upon him two -years of physical training at public cost. In after life he could -exercise himself in the public gymnasia without any payment; there was -no actual compulsion, except the perpetual imminence of military -service, which, however, almost amounted to compulsion. - -As to mental instruction, every boy had to learn reading, writing, -arithmetic, and gain such acquaintance with the national literature as -these studies involved. The other branch of primary education, playing -and singing, intended to develop the musical ear and taste, was -optional, but rarely neglected. The secondary education given by the -Sophists, rhetors, and philosophers was only intended for the -comparatively few who had wealth and leisure. - -Taste and imagination were cultivated in the music- and art-schools, -but the influences of the theatre, the Akropolis, the temples and -public monuments, and the dances which accompanied every festival and -religious occasion, were still more potent, and were exercised upon -all alike. This æsthetic aspect of education was regarded as -particularly important in Hellas owing to the prevalent idea that art -and music had a strong influence over character. - -For the training of character was before all things the object of -Hellenic education; it was this which Hellenic parents particularly -demanded of the schoolmaster. So strongly did they believe that virtue -could be taught, that they held the teacher responsible for any -subsequent misdemeanour of his pupils. Alkibiades and Kritias had -ruined Athens: they were Sokrates’ pupils: therefore execute Sokrates; -this seemed perfectly logical to an Athenian. If a Sophist sued a -defaulting pupil for an unpaid bill, he was regarded as ridiculous, -for it was his business to teach justice, and if those who had learned -under him behaved unjustly, it was clearly because his teaching had -been worthless. - -Since the main object of the schools of Hellas was to train and mould -the character of the young, it would be natural to suppose that the -schoolmasters and every one else who was to come into contact with the -boys were chosen with immense care, special attention being given to -their reputation for virtue and conduct. At Sparta this principle was -certainly observed. Education was controlled by a paidonomos, selected -from the citizens of the highest position and reputation, and the -teaching was given, not by hired foreigners or slaves, but by the -citizens themselves under his supervision. But then the teaching at -Sparta dealt mostly with the manners and customs of the State, or with -bodily and military exercises, known to every grown man, and the -citizens had plenty of leisure. The Athenians were in a more difficult -position. There were more subjects for the boy to learn, and some of -them the parents might have neither the capacity nor the time to -teach. Owing also to the day-school system at Athens and the -peculiarities of Hellenic manners, the boys needed some one always at -hand to take them to and from school and palaistra. Thus both paid -teachers and attendants were needed. But it was also necessary not to -let education become too expensive, lest the poor should be unable to -afford it. Consequently the paidagogoi came often to be the cheapest -and most worthless slaves, and the schoolmasters as a class to be -regarded with supreme contempt. No doubt careful parents chose -excellent paidagogoi, schoolmasters, and paidotribai for their sons, -and made the choice a matter of much deliberation: the teachers at the -best schools and palaistrai were often men of position and repute. But -that the class as a whole was regarded with contempt there can be -little doubt. The children went into a school as they would have gone -into any other shop, with a sense of superiority, bringing with them -their pets, leopards and cats and dogs, and playing with them during -lesson-times. Idlers and loungers came into the schools and -palaistrai, as they came into the market-booths, to chatter and look -on, seriously interrupting the work. The schoolmasters and paidotribai -at Athens were, in fact, too dependent upon their public for -subsistence to take a strong line, and, in spite of their power, often -exercised, of inflicting corporal punishment, they seem to have been -distinctly at the mercy of the pupils and their friends. The -paidagogoi too, though they seem to have kept their pupils in order, -were often not the right people to control a boy’s conduct; they were -apt to have a villainous accent, and still more villainous habits. It -must be confessed that the Athenians, in their desire to make -education cheap, ran a very great risk of spoiling what in their -opinion was its chief object, the training of character. - -Otherwise, they sought this end whole-heartedly. The games, physical -exercises, and hardships of a boy’s life were meant to develop his -pluck, fortitude, and endurance. For, according to the Hellenic view, -now too much neglected in many quarters, the condition and treatment -of the body had a very important effect both upon mental activities -and upon character. It was for this reason that physical training -formed at least half of every system of education practised in -Hellenic states or recommended by Hellenic philosophers. A National -School which trained the minds only, and neglected the bodies of the -pupils, would have been inconceivable to a Hellene. It was not merely -that physical infirmities interrupted the free exercise of thought, or -led to peevishness and lack of decision. Man was a whole to the -Hellenes, and one part of him could not be sound if the other parts -were not. So strongly did they hold this opinion, that they more than -half believed that physical beauty was a sign of moral beauty; it was -this latent idea which added an additional significance to the -exercises of the palaistra with their symmetrical development of the -body, and to the competitions for manly beauty which were prevalent -throughout the country; it lent, moreover, a nobler aspect to that -passion for the outward loveliness of youth which the vases, -sculpture, and literature of ancient Hellas reveal so surprisingly. -But, besides this vaguer and more doubtful connection with character, -bodily exercise and development were supposed to have a special and -indubitable effect in strengthening the resolution and will-power. The -object of physical training was only in a minor degree to keep the -body in good condition; its main aim was to develop strength of -character, determination, fortitude, endurance, pluck, and energy. -But, in accordance with that Hellenic canon of “moderation in all -things,” which was worked out so thoroughly by Aristotle, there might -be too much, as well as too little, of all these ethical qualities. -Consequently physical exercise must be taken only in due moderation, -and carefully balanced by artistic and musical training, which -militated in an opposite direction, leading, if pursued in excess, to -weakness of character, indecision, effeminacy, cowardice, and sloth. A -scientifically arranged symmetry between the two would produce the -perfect character. - -In the literary and æsthetic schools there were two elements of the -subjects taught, both with an ethical effect, matter and form. The -literature studied in the schools was expected to be full of improving -suggestions and life-histories of heroes worthy of imitation, couched -in the form most attractive to young minds, in order that they might -appreciate and love its teaching and examples. The music which the -boys played or heard, the songs which they sang, the dances which they -performed or watched, the art which they copied or observed, must be -such as would influence their characters for good――mould them, that -is, in accordance with the national ideal. For Hellenic morality was -æsthetic; they followed the course which appealed to their imagination -and sense of beauty. It was therefore the object of education to make -the children see and feel beauty in virtue, and good art in good -ethics, in order that they might find satisfaction for their æsthetic -cravings――the dominant instinct of a Hellene――in living good and -upright lives. - -For the unanimous feeling of Hellas based ethics not upon duty, but -upon happiness――upon the satisfaction, that is, of the instincts. But -this eudæmonistic attitude was qualified by an important consideration -which is often forgotten. Owing to the solidarity of Hellenic life, -the happiness which was sought was primarily not that of the -individual but that of the community. The readiness of the average -Hellene, during the best period of the country, to sacrifice -everything on behalf of his city is very remarkable. The real, if -unformulated, basis of his ethics came thus to be not personal -pleasure, but duty to the State. When the individualism of the -Socratic age overthrew this basis, the Hellenes fell back from the -happiness of the State to the happiness of the self, and both -patriotism and personal morality suffered from the change. - -It was the sense of duty to the State, the resolution to promote the -happiness of the whole citizen-body, which made parents willing to -undergo any sacrifice in order to have their sons educated in the way -which would best minister to this ideal. The bills of the masters of -letters and music and of the paidotribai, and the lengthy loss of the -son’s services in the shop or on the farm in Attica, the break-up of -family life at Sparta, must have been a sore trial to the parents and -have involved many sacrifices. Yet there is no trace of grumbling. The -Hellene felt that it was quite as much his duty to the State to -educate her future citizens properly as it was to be ready to die in -her cause, and he did both ungrudgingly. If the laws which made the -teaching of letters compulsory at Athens fell into desuetude, it was -only because the citizens needed no compulsion to make them do their -duty. Nor had the State to pay the school bills; for every citizen, -however poor, was ready to make the necessary sacrifices of personal -luxuries and amusements in order to do his duty to the community by -having his children properly taught. The State only interfered to make -schooling as cheap and as easy to obtain as possible. - -The solidarity of Hellenic life, which converted eudæmonism into -patriotism, was carefully encouraged by the educational system. -Sparta, with this object, invented the boarding-school, where boys -learnt from early years to sink their individualities in a community -of character and interests. The Athenians and most of the other -Hellenes, on the other hand, had day-schools. This fact might seem to -militate against the principle which I have stated. But Hellenic -custom qualified the system of day-schools in a particular way. There -were no home-influences in Hellas. The men-folk lived out of doors. -The young Athenian or Ephesian from his sixth year onwards spent his -whole day away from home (excepting possibly for an interval for the -mid-day meal), in the company of his contemporaries, at school or -palaistra or in the streets. When he came home, there was no -home-life. His father was hardly ever in the house. His mother was a -nonentity, living in the women’s apartments; he probably saw little of -her. His real home was the palaistra, his chief companions his -contemporaries and his paidagogos. He learned to dissociate himself -from his family and associate himself with his fellow-citizens. No -doubt he lost much by this system, but the solidarity of the State -gained. - -The duties of citizenship were also impressed upon the boys in other -and more direct ways, especially its supreme duty, at any rate in -those days, of military service. The schools of Sparta and Crete were -one long training for war. The other States set apart two years of the -boy’s life, those from eighteen to twenty, as a period of -conscription, during which he was at the service of his city and under -the orders of the military authorities, learning tactics and the use -of arms, and being practised in the life of camps and forts. The young -recruit took a solemn oath of allegiance to his country and its -constitution: the sacredness of his civic duties was impressed upon -him from the first. The first function of his new officers was to take -him on a personally conducted tour, so to speak, of the national -temples, that he might realise something of the religious life and -history of his country. His weapons were solemnly presented to him in -the theatre of Dionusos, before the assembled people; they were -sacred, and to lose them in battle or disgrace them by cowardice was -not only dishonourable, it was impious. Nor were the boys allowed to -grow up in ignorance of the constitution of their city: the ephebos of -eighteen had to be acquainted with the laws, some of which he had -probably learnt in the music-school, set to a tune. Every means was -taken of making the boys realise that they were members of a -community, to whose prosperity and happiness their own advantage or -pleasure must be subordinated. In this way grew up the strong Hellenic -sense of an obligation of utter self-sacrifice on behalf of the State. - -But education had also to consult the happiness of the children as -well as the happiness of the community, although in a lesser degree. -This may seem a startling statement to make with regard to Spartan -education. Nevertheless, I believe it to be strictly true. It must be -remembered that all our accounts of the rigours and horrors of Spartan -methods come from Athenian writers who in all probability had never -been to Lakedaimon. Xenophon, who had his sons educated there, gives a -much milder, and wholly eulogistic, account. The somewhat hedonistic -Attic visitor must have watched Spartan games and exercises with much -the feelings of a French visitor at an English public school; he found -it difficult to realise that the boys underwent such hardships of -their own free will. Then we must remember what the Spartan boys were. -They were a picked breed of peculiar toughness, strength, and health; -for centuries every invalid had been exposed at birth or rejected as -incapable of the school-system. Generation after generation had been -trained to be thick-skinned and stout-hearted; pluck and endurance -were hereditary, and asceticism was a national characteristic. The -whole system, with its perpetual fighting, its rough games, its -hardships, its fagging and “roughing-it” in the woods, is just what -boys of this sort might be expected to evolve for themselves because -they liked it. I have already pointed out, in my account of the -Spartan schools, how very similar are many of the customs which grew -up at the older English public schools, mainly on the boys’ own -initiative. If English boys, brought up on the whole much less -roughly, evolved such customs of their own free will, the young -Spartans may reasonably be supposed to have accepted them gladly. One -significant token of this survives. The violent and sometimes fatal -floggings of the epheboi at the altar of Artemis Orthia were entirely -voluntary on the part of the victims; yet there was no lack of -candidates even in Plutarch’s days. The Spartan school-system was, in -fact, an exact expression of the national characteristics, and -accordingly was entirely acceptable to the Spartan boys. - -That the Athenian system was designed to suit the wishes of the -Athenian children is less difficult to establish. It is only necessary -to think what the primary schools were like. When once the letters and -rudiments of reading and writing had been mastered, the process -perhaps being aided by metrical alphabets and dramatised spelling, the -boys began to read, learn by heart, and write down the fascinating -stories of adventure and the romantic tales of Homer. There was no -grammar to be studied; that, when invented, came at a later age as a -voluntary subject. There were no years wasted over “Primary Readers” -consisting of dull and second-rate stories. The boys began at once -upon the best and most attractive literature in their language, and it -remained their study for many years, and was still remembered and -loved in after life. Nor can it be doubted that the music- and -art-schools were attractive to Athenian boys, sons of a people who -filled their whole city with art, and made their year a round of -musical festivals. A large part, too, of Athenian schooling was what -now would be called play; for the Hellene recognised the importance of -physical exercise in the upbringing of the young, and included it in -his conception of education. - -The effect upon Hellenic culture of thus making education attractive -was far-reaching. Instead of regarding with aversion or a bored -indifference the subjects which they had studied at school, the -Hellenes had an affection for them and continued to practise and -improve themselves in them. Throughout their lives they were eager to -hear recitations of Homer. At banquets they sang the songs and played -the music on the lyre which they had learnt at school. Elderly men -would return to a music-master, to improve their style, or rush off to -hear a Sophist lecture on geography or astronomy. The exercises of the -palaistra were pursued till old age made them impossible. Grown -citizens retained throughout an affection for education, and went on -educating themselves all their lives. Thus an Hellenic city formed a -centre of widely diffused culture, a home where literature and art and -music and research could flourish surrounded by appreciation and -capable criticism. Children, too, seeing how much their elders were -preoccupied with education, found it even more attractive than its -designers had made it, since they were not constrained by -nursery-logic to see in it one of the plagues of youth from which -“grown-ups” were set free. No doubt the Hellenic schoolmaster was much -assisted in his endeavour to make education attractive by the -intellectual curiosity which was a feature of all those States where -the intellect was systematically trained. The young Athenian or young -Chian was exceedingly eager to learn. In fact, his eagerness was -excessive; he was too much in a hurry; he desired to have his -information given to him ready-made, not having the patience to think -or to undertake researches on his own account. Hence the phenomenal -success and educational unsoundness of those prototypes of the modern -“crammer,” the Sophists, who supplied their pupils with a superficial -knowledge of many subjects ready-made, and already dressed in striking -phraseology. This intellectual appetite for the accumulation of facts -made secondary education at Athens attractive without much effort on -the part of the teachers, but it was not allowed to influence the -primary schools; a sound and symmetrical development of mind and body, -artistic taste and moral character, had to precede the accumulation of -facts. This latter stage too was universally treated as optional. In -unintellectual districts it found no place, and even in Athens it was -only for those who felt a desire for it; it was not forced upon the -unwilling and incapable. For education was regarded as the development -of the latent powers of the individual personality, it was no vain -attempt to excite or implant non-existent faculties. Every one had a -body, which he must make as efficient as possible, for the service of -the State; every one, in an æsthetic people, had a taste which could -be developed; every one had enough intellect to learn his letters; and -every one, above all, had a character to be formed. But not every one -could be an international athlete or a first-class artist or musician, -and not every one had sufficient mental gifts to combine the -accumulation of facts with profit or enjoyment. - -In fact, Hellenic sentiment was distinctly adverse to great -development in any one direction: the Hellenes had a reasonable horror -of undue specialisation at school. The object of education was to make -symmetrical, all-round men, sound alike in body, mind, character, and -taste, not professional athletes who were mentally vacuous and without -any appreciation of art, nor great thinkers of stunted physique, nor -celebrated musicians who lacked brains. Opponents of the Spartan -system tried to condemn it on this ground, as a specialisation -intended only to produce good soldiers; but the pro-Spartans seemed to -have claimed in return that it developed both character and good taste -in judging art and music, even if it produced small capacity for -painting or playing, while Laconian terseness involved a greater depth -of mental exercise than Athenian verbosity. - -Thus Hellenic education was not intended to produce professional -knowledge of a single subject; such technical instruction was deemed -unworthy of the name of education, and was excluded from the schools. -The subjects studied were for the most part a means, not an end. Just -as a walk is sometimes taken not for the sake of reaching any -particular place, but in order to keep the muscles of the body in good -condition, so education in Hellas was meant to develop and exercise -the muscles of mind, imagination, and character, not to inculcate -so-called “useful” information. The literature read at school was -imaginative poetry, like that of Homer or Simonides, not the practical -prose treatises upon Agriculture and Economics which utilitarian -motives would have demanded. For the poetry was both attractive to the -boys and improving for their characters, while the handbooks, however -excellent, only enhanced their financial prospects. The immediate -future of the individual boy may, it is true, depend somewhat largely -upon the utilitarian knowledge which he has learnt at school, although -a sound education in the Hellenic sense of the word will prove more -advantageous to him in the long run; but the future of a State depends -upon the character of its citizens. Thus a truly national education -like that of Sparta or of Athens seeks to train the characters of the -future citizens; having formed their characters, it leaves them with -well-justified confidence to gain what technical instruction they need -for themselves. At a national crisis it was not skill in trade or -profession, not good cobbling, nor good weaving, that Athens required -of her citizens; but pluck, energy, self-sacrifice, obedience, and -loyalty. Money was, it is true, required for building the triremes and -for fortifying the city: it was therefore well that Athenian trade and -manufactures should prosper. But Athens recognised, and rightly, that -her financial resources would be better served if she trained her boys -to be industrious and thrifty and ascetic, if she made it repugnant to -their taste to fling their money away upon luxury and self-indulgence, -than if she founded the finest system of technical instruction -possible. - -But whether Sparta and Athens could have ignored technical and -utilitarian subjects so wholly in their schools, if they had been -educating the whole population of the State, is another question. It -must be remembered that the Spartan and Athenian citizens who attended -the schools were only a fraction of the inhabitants of Laconia and -Attica. They corresponded pretty closely to the upper classes, the -aristocracy and gentlemen, of a modern State. The bulk of the middle -and lower classes in a Hellenic State were either foreign immigrants, -who possessed no civic rights and did not usually attend the schools, -or serfs and slaves. Athens, like mediæval Florence, was only a -democracy in the very limited sense that her full citizens――a -governing class, that is, and a mere fraction of the population――had -equality of civic rights among themselves: the rest had no rights at -all. Sparta was a “mixed constitution”; but that did not mean that the -middle and lower classes, the Perioikoi and Helots, had any share in -it whatever. - -Consequently education in Hellas is the education of a small upper -class, not of the whole population of the State. The schools of Hellas -were not necessarily for the wealthiest inhabitants of the country, -for there were plenty of rich Metoikoi and poor citizens at Athens; -not necessarily for the boys who had most leisure, for the -sausage-seller goes to school as well as a Nikias or Alkibiades; but -for a hereditary aristocracy of birth, for that is what Hellenic -“citizenship” means. The boys who attended the lessons of Dionusios or -Elpias were the sons and grandsons of a cultured class, no matter how -humble their circumstances might be; their families had lived in -Attica, they believed, from time immemorial, and were probably -descended from the local deities. They had the views of an hereditary -caste, including a certain preoccupation with physical and military -activities, and a contempt for trade. - -For the duties of such an aristocracy did not consist in heaping up -riches; their position was comparatively independent of their -financial successes. Their work was, in brief, to govern and to fight. -They composed the electorate of the State, which chose the -magistrates; they alone were members of the public Assembly; they -alone were eligible for office. They sat as dikastai――jurymen and -justices in one――in the law-courts; they made the laws and they -administered them. The national honour and morality lay in their -hands, for they controlled alike the foreign and the home policy of -the State. They formed, too, the cultured circle which governed -natural taste; it was their criticism which shaped the art of the -vase-painters, the architects, the sculptors, the bronze-makers, and -the countless other artistic tradesmen, the style of the orators, the -literature of dramatists and dithyrambists, the music of the choric -composers. When governors and administrators were needed for the -outlying districts of the Athenian or Spartan Empires, or if officers -were required to lead local levies to battle, any citizen, rich or -poor, might be sent. The citizens, too, formed the core of the fleets -and armies in the best days of Hellas. The object of Hellenic -education was to produce this type of citizen――a man capable of -governing, of fighting, and of setting the taste and standards of his -country. - -Thus the schools of Hellas correspond in England not to the national -schools, but to the “public schools.” I do not mean to assert that the -English public-school boy stands, in after life, in the position of -the Hellenic citizen to the bulk of the population. English democracy -rests on a wider basis than Athenian or Florentine, and, in theory at -any rate, the exclusive power of the “upper classes” is at an end. -None the less it is true that from among the boys educated at the -public schools comes a very considerable part of the generals and -military officers, of the clergy, of the squires, of the Justices of -the Peace and other administrators of the law, of the governors and -officials required by the Indian Empire and the various dependencies -and Crown Colonies, of the members of Parliament and statesmen at -home. If the influence of the public schools of England upon the -governing and fighting of the nation is less than that which the -schools of Hellas were able to exercise, their influence upon national -taste and standards in art and culture and literature is probably in -no way inferior. It is therefore their duty to train their pupils’ -characters, that they may be fit and able administrators, governors, -and justices; and their tastes, that their criticism and demands may -rightly direct the culture of the nation. In striving after these -ends, the public schools of England may, I think, take not a few hints -from the like-motived schools of Hellas. - - - - -INDEX - - - Abacus, illustrated, 104 - - Aegina pediment, 5 - - Aeolian harmony, 240, 241 - - Aeschylus, 245 - - Aesop, 49, 96 - - Agesilaos, 13, 138, 236 - - Aglauros, temple of, 210 - - Aineias Tacticus, 208 - - Aischines, father of, an usher, 83 - - Akademeia, 125 - description of scene in, 134-142 - Plato’s teaching in the, 196-207 - Plato’s lectures in the, described by Epikrates, 199 - Plato’s lectures, reference by Ephippos and Antiphanes, 200 - Plato’s lectures in the, reference by Amphis, 201 - Plato’s lectures in the, references in Comedy, 201 - Plato’s lectures in the, reference by Alexis, 200-201 - Plato’s pupils described by Ephippos, 200 - - Alexander, 2, 203 - - Alexis, 207 - his catalogue of a school library, 95 - on the Akademeia, 200-201 - - Alkibiades, 207, 277 - plays the flute, 111 - in the pankration, 133 - - Alphabet, metrical, 88 - - Amphis, on the Akademeia, 201 - - Anaxagoras, 81, 158, 209, 230 - - Angelo, Michel, 5 - - Anthology, on wrestling, 132 - - _Antidosis_ of Isokrates, 190 - - Antigenes, palaistra of, 60 - - Antipater, 192 - - Antiphanes, on the Akademeia, 200 - - Antiphon the Sophist, 172-173 - - Apelles, 115 - - Apollodoros, 208 - - Apprenticeship, 44-45 - - Arcadia, 243 - - Archephebos, 220 - - Archon Eponumos, 71 _n._ - - _Areiopagitikos_ of Isokrates, 190 - - Areiopagos, supervision of the young, 70 - and the epheboi, 213 - - Ares, 211 - - Argos, 12 _n._ - foot-races for girls at, 142 - - Aristophanes, supports athleticism, 123 - criticism of Sophists in the _Clouds_, 166-167 - attacks new artistic standards, 251 - - Aristotle, 202 - condemns professional athletes, 123 - at Plato’s lecture on “The Good,” 198 - his school in the Lukeion, 203 - views on art in education, 117, 258 - - Aristoxenos, 171 - - Arithmetic, teaching of, 100-107 - - Arkadia, schools in, 77, 243 - - Art, characteristics of Greek, 237-239 - teaching of, in primary schools, 114-117 - - Artemis Koruthalia, 40 - - Artemis Orthia, 29, 285 - - Artistic education, 237-258 - Aristotle on, 117 - - Art-schools, date of the rise of, 115 - - Aster, Plato’s pupil, 201-202 - - Astupalaia, school in, 77 - - Athleticism at Sparta, 11-34 - in Crete, 36-38 - at Athens and the rest of Greece, 118-156 - revolt against excessive, 75 - excessive addiction to, 119-132 - - Autokrator, 192 - - Autolukos, 75-76 - - Auxo, 211 - - Axiothea, 197 - - - Barbitos, 108 - - Bathing-room in the gymnasium, 137 - - Boiotia, schools in, 76 - - Books, use of, in education, 204-209 - Isokrates’ opinion of, 204 - Plato’s opinion of, 205 - rare before the Periclean age, 207 - trade in, 207 - prices of, 208-209 - variety of, 208 - - _Bousiris_ of Isokrates, 185, 187, 195 - - Boxing in the palaistra, 132-133 - - Bribery, among professional athletes, 121 - - - Cavalry, training for, 143, 149-152 - - Chabrias, 202 - - Chancellor (Kosmetes) of the epheboi, 212-213 - - Chares, 208 - - Charondas, 62 - - _Cheiron, Precepts of_, 96 - - Chess (πεσσοί [pessoi]), 105 - - Children, exposure of Spartan, 13 - - Chios, Isokrates in, 181 - collapse of a school of letters in, 76 - girls wrestling in, 142 - - Choirilos, 95, 207 - - Choregia, description of, 148-149 - - Choregos, 60, 148 - - Competitions, local, 62-65 - - Conscription, 283 - at Athens, 55-56 - - Cookery-book, 207 - by Simos, 96 - by Mithaikos, 208 - - Cookery-schools, 45 - - Corporal punishment, 18, 29, 66, 68, 98-100, 262 and _n._, 285 - - Crete, education at, 34-38 - - - Damon, a music-teacher, 113, 249 - - Dancing at Sparta, 22, 30-32 - dithuramboi, 144-145 - religious aspect of, 143-144, 248 - dramatic aspects of, 144-145 - systems of, 145 - the War-dance, 146-147 - the Naked-dance, 31, 147 - universal throughout Hellas, 143 - educational importance of, 143 - - Delphoi, educational endowments at, 62 - - Demosthenes, 195, 202 - - Derkulos, 71 - - Diaulos, 133 - - Dictation, 87 - - Diodotos, 192 - - Dion, 202 - - Dionusia, epheboi at, 214 - - Dionusios, Plato’s master, 158, 160 - Plato’s pupil, 202, 203 - - Dionusodoros the Sophist, 173 - - Dionusos, 144, 283 - - Diskos in the palaistra, 134 - - Dorian harmony, 240-241 - - Douris, Vase of, 52, 86, 92 - - Drama, influence of, in education, 248-249 - - Drawing, teaching of, in primary schools, 114 - - Dresden Gallery, 5 - - Dusting-room in the gymnasium, 137 - - - Edgeworth, Maria, 74, 260 - - Egypt, in Plato’s _Laws_, 102-103 - - Eleusis, education at, 71 - - Elgin marbles, 3, 5 - - Elpias, school of, 83 - - Empedokles, 230 - - Enualios, 211 - - Epaminondas, 245 - - Ephebarchos, 220 - - Ephebic inscriptions, 221-223 - - Epheboi, 37, 263 - examination and oath, 210-211 - decline in number, 219-220 - - Ephippos, on the Akademeia, 200 - - Epicharmos, 95, 207 - - Epikrates, on Plato’s lectures, 199 - - Eponumos, Archon, 71 _n._ - - Eretria, school in, 77 - - Eros, 135 - - Eruthrai, school in, 77 - - Euagoras, 191 - - Eudikos, son of Apemantos, 98 - - Euenos of Paros, 168, 176 - - Euhemeros, 229 _n._ - - Euripides, his alphabetical puzzle, 90 - denunciation of athleticism, 122 - his rationalism, 230 - - Euthudemos the Sophist, 173 - - Euthudemos, companion of Sokrates, 207 - - Eutuchides, 155 - - Exposure of Spartan children on Taügetos, 13 - - - Fees, 62, 278, 281 - paid to schoolmasters, 81 - of the paidotribes, 134 - paid to Sophists, 168-169 - of permanent secondary teachers, 182 - in the Akademeia, 202-203 - to the Sophronistai, 213 - - Festivals, school, 80-81 - - Flute, teaching of, 110 - condemned by Pratinas, 110 - condemned by Plato, 242 - particulars of, 112 - - Flute-girls, professional, 111 - - “Foreign Legion,” 216, 218 - - - Gelon of Syracuse, 228 - - Gesticulation, 129-130 - - Girls at Sparta, 29-30 - wrestle at Chios, 142 - foot-races for, at Argos, 142 - - Gorgias the Sophist, 168, 169, 174-176, 208 - his euphuistic style, 176 - his influence on later writers, 176 - - Grammatistes, 50 - - Gumnasiarchos, 213-214, 220 - excursus on, 154-156 - - Gumnastes, distinct from paidotribes, 126 _n._ - - Gumnopaidia, 31, 146-147 - - Gymnasium, description of, 124 - cost, 124 - description of scene in, 134-142 - ἀποδυτήριον [apodytêrion], 135 - patron deities, 135 - the oil-room, 136 - the dusting-room, 137 - the bathing-room, 137 - the punch-ball room, 137 - Sophists’ lectures, 138 - central courtyard, 138-139 - the xustos, 141 - - Gymnastics, excessive addiction to, 119-123 - professional, disadvantages of, 120 - - - Haltêres, 128 - - Hegemone, 211 - - _Helen_ of Isokrates, 185, 195 - - Hellas, educator of the world, 2-3 - - Hellenism, two currents of, 6 - spread by Alexander, Rome, and the Renaissance, 2-3 - spirit of, 3 - methods of teaching, 4, 275-291 - - Henty, G. A., 260 - - Hephaisteia, 155 - - Herakleides of Pontos, 36 _n._, 198, 202, 241 - - Herakleitos, 229 - - Hermann, K. F., an emendation of, 125 - - “Hermes” of Praxiteles, 5, 250 - - Herondas, third Mime of, 98-100 - - Hesiod, 207 - authority of, 228 - teaching of, in primary schools, 95 - - Hestiaios, 198 - - Hippias of Elis, 97, 168, 169, 172 - - Hippokleides, 129 - - Hippokrates, 208, 215 - - Hippothontid tribe, 215 - - Holidays, on festivals, 80-81 - - Homer, 207 - teaching of, in primary schools, 93-95 - authority of, 228 - - Horace, 2 - - Hunting, 142-143, 259 - - Hupereides, 202 - - Hypo-Dorian harmony, 241 - - - Iliaca, Tabula, 84 - - Ink, 85, 87 - - Inscriptions, ephebic, 221-223 - - Inukos, 168 - - Ion, the rhapsode, 97 - - Ionian harmony, 240-241 - - Iphikrates, 202 - - Isaios, 195 - - Isokrates, 161 - pupil of Gorgias, 169 - his school near the Lukeion, 180 - teaching in Chios, 181 - on the theory of education, 182 - on the nature of philosophy, 184 - his school described, 185-195 - his methods, 186-190 - his pupils, 191, 192 - on theory of education, 192 - definition of the educated man, 192-193 - on religious myths, 230-231 - - - Javelin and spear throwing in the palaistra, 134 - - Jiu-jitsu, 131 - - Jump, long, in the palaistra, 133 - - - Kallias, his metrical alphabet, 88 - his spelling drama, 88-90 - - Kameiros, in Rhodes, 53 - - Karia, 241 _n._ - - Karneia, 40 - - Kekropid tribe, 215, 219 - - Kikunna, 166 - - Kitharistes, 50 - - Klazomenai, 81 - - Kleinias, 243 - - Kleon, 113 - - Knucklebones, 65, 99, 105 - - Kolonos, 196 - - Konnaros, 65 - - Konnos, his music-school, 113 - - Korax, 208 - - Korubantic dances, 242 _n._ - - Kôrukoi, 128, 137 - - Kos, 215 - - Kosmetes of the epheboi, 212-213 - - Kottalos, in Herondas, 99-100 - - Kritias, 63, 277 - plays the flute, 111 - - Kunaitha, 243 - - Kuretic dance in Crete, 36, 146 - - _Kuros, The Education of_, 259-272 - - - Lampriskos, in Herondas, 99-100 - - Lampros, a music-teacher, 113, 164 - - Lastheneia, 197 - - Laughter, statue of, in Sparta, 12 - - Leap-frog in the palaistra, 130 - - Lectures in primary schools, 97 - - Leitourgiai, 60-61, 148 - excursus on gumnasiarchoi, 154-156 - - Leokrates, 219 - - Lesbos, schools in, 77 - - Leschai at Sparta, 11 - - Libanius, 178 - - Libraries of Euthudemos, 207 - of Peisistratos at Athens, 207 - of Polukrates at Samos, 207 - - Library, a school, 95 - - Likumnios the Sophist, 176 - - Linos, 207 - - Literature, teaching of, in primary schools, 93-97 - in secondary schools, 161-162 - - Logographoi, 180-181, 193 - - Long jump in the palaistra, 133 - - Lukeion, 125 - description of scene in, 134-142 - - Lukourgos the orator, 202, 211 - - Lusandros, 16 - - Lusias, the logographos, 193 - - Lusis, 54 - - Lydian harmony, 240-242 - - Lyre, and lyric-schools, 107-114 - - - Mantitheos, 60 - - Marathon, 3 - - Marriage customs, 48 - - Mathematics, teaching of, 100-107 - in secondary schools, 159 - - Meals, hours of, 80 - - Medical beliefs, 243 - - Menander, 250 - - Menedemos, 196 - - Metrodoros, 230 - - Metrotimé, in Herondas, 98-100 - - Michel Angelo, 5 - - Mikkos, 138 n. - - Mithaikos, 208 - - Mixed-Lydian harmony, 241 - - Moderators (Sophronistai), 70, 212-213, 220 - - Mounuchia, 213 - - Mousaios, 164 - - Mukalessos, schools at, 76 - - Muronides, 218 - - Music, 240-244 - in Crete, 36-37 - in primary schools, 107-114 - - Music, Plato on the value of, 113 - Aristotle on the value of, 114 - characteristics of Greek, 240-244 - Greek views of the properties of, 243 - in Arkadia, 243 - - Music-schools, experiments in, 110 - - - “Nature-study,” 262 - - Nikeratos, 94 - - Nikostratos, archonship of, 212 - - - Oberammergau, 249 - - Oil-room in the gymnasium, 136 - - Oinopides, 158 - - Orpheus, 95, 164, 207 - - Oxurhunchos, fragment on wrestling unearthed at, 131 - - - Paidagogos, 266, 278-279 - duties of, 66-69 - - Paidonomos, 277 - - Paidotribes, 50, 278 - duties of, 126 - his symbol of office, 128 - his fee, 134 - - Painting, teaching of, in primary schools, 114 - - Palaistra, distinct from gymnasium, 124 - life in the, 124-134 - teaching of gesticulation (τὸ χειρονομεῖν) [to cheironomein], 129 - wrestling (πάλη) [palê], 130-132 - leap-frog, 130 - rope-climbing, 130 - boxing, 132 - pankration, 132-133 - long jump, 133 - running, 133 - javelin and spear, 134 - diskos, 134 - fees of the paidotribes, 134 - - Pamphilos the Macedonian, 115 - - Panathenaic festival, 148, 152, 155 - - _Panathenaikos_ of Isokrates, 187, 189 - - Pankration in the palaistra, 132-133 - - Parthenon, 244, 245 - the “Theseus” of the, 5 - - Peiraieus, 213 - - Peisistratos, 247 - popularisation of Homer by, 52 - - Pencils, 84 - - Perikles, 3, 246, 276 - - Peripoloi, 214 and n., 215 - - Permanent secondary schools, 179-209 - their natural growth at Athens, 179 - fees, 182 - of Isokrates, 185-195 - - Phaüllos, 139 - - Pheidias, 245, 250 - - Pheiditia at Sparta, 13-15 - - Pheidostratos, schoolroom of, 98 - - Pherekrates, _The Slave-Teacher_, 45 - - Philosophy, schools of, 195-207 - their feuds, 203-204 - - Philoxenos, 242 - - Phokion, 202 - - Phrunichos, 215 - - Phrunis, 12 - - Phrygian harmony, 240 - - Physical education, 279 - in Athens and the rest of Hellas, 118-156 - contemporary criticism of excess, 119-123 - dancing, 143-149 - - Pindar, eulogy of athleticism, 121-122 - - Pittalos, 45 - - Plataea, oath of the army at, 211 - - Plato, denounces excessive athleticism, 123 - criticism of Sophists, 174 - his teaching in the Akademeia, 196-207 - his teaching in the Akademeia described by Epikrates, 199 - teaching in the Akademeia: his affection for his pupils, 201-202 - teaching in the Akademeia: names of his pupils, 202 - teaching in the Akademia, gratuitous, 203 - on the theory of education, 205-206 - criticism of religious myths, 231-233 - on the value of myths, 235 - on the educative value of artistic environment, 246 - his excessive imagination, 247 - on the Athenian drama, 253 - criticism of art, 255-258 - on Xenophon’s Kuros, 272 - - Playgrounds, 83 - - Plecktron, 107 - - Poetry, place of, in education, 247-249 - - Polemon, 201 - - Polos the Sophist, 168, 176, 208 - - Polugnotos, 115 - - Polybios, on Arcadian music, 243 - - Pratinas, on the flute, 110 - - Praxiteles, the “Hermes” of, 5, 250 - - Prizes, 65 - - Prodikos the Sophist, 168, 171-172 - _Choice of Herakles_, 96, 98, 171-172 - - Propulaia, 245 - - Protagoras the Sophist, 167-168, 170, 230 - - Proverbs, Greek, 45, 57 _n._, 110, 111, 152 - - Public schools, English, compared, 23, 212 _n._, 265 - - Punch-ball, 137 - - Pyrrhic dance, 36 - - - Raphael, 5 - - Rationalism, spread of, 229-230 - - Reading, teaching of, 87-92 - - Religious education, 228-236 - Plato’s revision, 231-233 - - Rhetoric in secondary schools, 160-161 - weaknesses of Greek, 174-175 - - Riding, 143, 149-152 - - Rope-climbing in the palaistra, 130 - - Rowing, 143, 153-154 - - Running, long-distance, 133 - in the palaistra, 133 - - - Salmudessos, 207 - - Schoolmaster, status of, 81 - - Secondary education, 157-209 - secondary classes in primary schools, 157-158 - Sophists, 157-178 - permanent schools, 179-209 - variety of subjects, 159 - rhetoric, 160-161 - literary subjects, 161 - the education voluntary, 163 - - _Semelé_, 145, 256 - - Shakespeare, 249 - - Shelley, translation of epigram, 202 - - Siburtios, palaistra of, 60 - - Sicily, education in Chalcidian cities of, 62 - - Sikinnos, 67 - - Simon, 208 - - Simos, his cookery-book, 96 - - Sistine Chapel, 5 - - Skias, council-chamber at Sparta, 12 - - Skillous, 259 - - _Slave-Teacher, The_, of Pherekrates, 45 - - Sokrates, 167, 230, 270, 277 - - Solon, 57, 247 - enactment on handicraft, 45 - regulations about paidagogoi, 67 - enactments to safeguard morality, 68-69 - archaic phrases in his laws, 95 - on courtiers, 104 - metrical version of Athenian laws, 109 - ? on gumnasiarchai, 155 - - Sophists, 157-178, 286 - and mathematics, 102 - subjects taught, 165 - criticism of Aristophanes, 166 - criticism of Plato, 174 - scale of fees, 169 - secret of their power, 170 - their undemocratic influence, 177 - their rationalism, 177 - criticised by Isokrates, 182 - - Sophokles, 3 - - Sophronistai, 70, 212-213, 220 - - Sparta, education at, 11-34 - character of people, 11 - importance of education at, 12 - details of Pheiditia, 13-15 - the State a military machine, 12 - conservatism of, 12 - strictness of discipline, 13 - Spartan nurses, 13 - system of State schools, 14 - Syssitia, 39-40 - ideals in education, 275 - educational methods, 285 - - Spelling, teaching of, 88-90 - - Spelling-book, terra-cotta fragment of, 89 _n._ - - Speusippos, 202 - - Stadion, 133 - - Stesimbrotos, 230 - - Swimming, 143, 152-153 - - Syntono-Lydian harmony, 242 - - Syssitia at Sparta, 39-40, 267 - at Crete, 40-41 - - - Tabula Iliaca, 84 - - Taügetos, exposure of Spartan children on, 13 - - Taureas, palaistra of, 60 - - Technical instruction, 44-46 - of the logographoi, 180-181 - - Teles, 115, 160 - - Tennyson, quoted, 235 - - Teos, 220 - educational endowments in, 62 - prizemen in competitions, 63 - recitations of boys at, 96 - - Tertiary education, 210-223 - - Thales (Cretan poet), 243 - - Thallo, 211 - - Thargelia, 148, 155 - - Theodoros, 160, 176 - - Theognis, 96 - - Theophanes, 212 - - Theophrastos, 243 - - Theory of education, 227-272, 275-291 - Plato’s views on, 205-206 - Xenophon’s views on, 259-272 - - Thermopylae, 3 - - “Theseus,” of the Parthenon, 5, 245 - - Thespis, 247 - - Thrasuboulos of Kaludon, 215 - - Thrasumachos, 177, 208 - - Timeas, palaistra of, 60 - - Timotheos, 12, 145 - - Timotheos the general, 196 - - Timotheos of Herakleia, 192 - - Tisias, 208 - - Tithenidia, 40 - - Torch-race, 155 - - Trade, Greek views on, 43 - - Troizen, schools in, 77, 220 - - - Undressing-room in the gymnasium, 135 - - - Virgil, 2 - - - Wax, tablets of, 84 - - Women, gymnastics for, at Sparta, 30 - seclusion of, 46 - duties of, 47 - excluded from athletics in Athens, 142 - admitted to the Akademeia, 197 - position of, 282 - - Wrestling in the palaistra described, 130-132 - - Writing, teaching of, 85-87 - - - Xenokrates, 196, 201, 202, 203 - - Xenophanes, 229 - - Xenophanes of Kolophon, criticises athleticism, 121 - - Xenophon, treatise on _The Horse_, 208 - handbooks on educational subjects, 208 - _The Education of Kuros_, 259-272 - character of, 259-260 - - Xerxes, 61, 239 - - Xustos, in the gymnasium, 141 - - - Zeuxippos of Heraklea, 114 - - - ἄβακος [abakos], 104 - - ἀγέλαι [agelai], 37 - - ἀλειπτής [aleiptês], 126 _n._ - - ἀνδρεῖα [andreia], 35 - - ἀπεργάζεσθαι [apergazesthai], 116 - - ἀπόδρομοι [apodromoi], 38 - - ἀποδυτήριον [apodytêrion], 135 - - - γραμμαί [grammai], 86 - - γραμματιστής [grammatistês], 165 - - γυμνασιαρχεῖν [gymnasiarchein], 155 - - γυμνοπαιδία [gymnopaidia], 146 - - - ἐλαιοθέσιον [elaiothesion], 136 _n._ - - ἐξαλείφειν [exaleiphein], 116 - - ἔπαικλον [epaiklon], 39 - - ἐπίκροτος [epikrotos], 151 - - - ἦθος [êthos], 244 - - - κάθαρσις [katharsis], 242 - - κατάστεγος δρόμος [katastegos dromos], 136 - - κιθαριστής [kitharistês], 165 - - κοπίδες [kopides], 40 - - κρυπτοί [kryptoi], 215, 220 - - - ληξιαρχικὸν γραμματεῖον [lêxiarchikon grammateion], 210 - - - μεγαλόψυχος [megalopsychos], 236 - - μειράκιον [meirakion], 53, 191 - - μέτοικοι ἰσοτελεῖς [metoikoi isoteleis], 216 - - - ξηραλοιφεῖν [xêraloiphein], 136 _n._ - - - ὁμόνοια [homonoia], 172 - - ὄρμος [hormos], 30 _n._ - - - παιδαγωγεῖον [paidagôgeion], 84 - - παιδονόμος [paidonomos], 36 - - πάλη [palê], 130-132 - - πεμπάζειν [pempazein], 104 - - περιγραφή [perigraphê], 116 - - περιτόλια [peripolia], 215 - - πεσσοί [pessoi], 105 - - πλέξον [plexon], 131 - - - σκιαγραφία [skiagraphia], 116 - - σοφιστής [sophistês], 164, 165 - - στλεγγίς [stlengis], 142 - - σχῆμα [schêma], 131 - - - ὑπαίθριοι [hypaithrioi], 215 - - ὑπογραμμός [hypogrammos], 85 - - ὑπογράφειν [hypographêin], 116 - - ὑπογραφή [hypographê], 86 - - - φορβέια [phorbeia], 112, 128 - - - χειρονομεῖν [cheironomein], 129 - - χυτλοῦσθαι [chytlousthai], 136 _n._ - - - - - -THE END - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_. - - - - -Transcriber’s Note - -Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like -this_. Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and were moved to the -end of the chapter in which related anchors occur. Dialect, obsolete -words and misspellings were left unchanged. Final stops missing at -the end of sentences were added. Transliterations of words and phrases -in Greek follow within brackets. - -The following items were noted or changed: - - There are two anchors to Footnotes [28], [291], [449], [537], and - [548]. Footnote [585] has 3 anchors. - Unprinted “I.” added at the beginning of the list of Illustrations. - In Footnote [513], reference letter after 384 is unclear; it could be - either E or B. - In Footnote [651], changed stop to comma in list: “… 466, 470”. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Schools of Hellas, by Kenneth John Freeman - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCHOOLS OF HELLAS *** - -***** This file should be named 63644-0.txt or 63644-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/6/4/63644/ - -Produced by Carol Brown, Turgut Dincer and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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