Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/347

 EDUCATION

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EDUCATION

scribing the minutest details of life and of religious practice. Throughout the Old Testament, God ap- pears as the teacher of His chosen people. He sets before them a standard of righteousness which is none other than Himself: " You shall be holy, becau.se I am holy" (Levit., xi, 46). Through Moses and the Prophets He gives them His Commandments and the promise of a Messiah to come. But He also placed upon them the duty of instructing their children. " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength. And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart: and thou shalt tell them to thy chil- dren, and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and ris- ing" (Deut., vi, 4-7). In accordance with this injunc- tion, education, at least in the earlier period, was given chiefly in the home. Jewish family life, indeed, far surpassed that of the Gentiles in the purity of its rela- tions, in the position it secured to woman, and in the care which it bestowed on cliildren, who were regarded as a blessing vouchsafed by God and destined for His service by fidelity to the Divine law. An important function of the synagogue also was the instruction of youth, which was committed to the scribes and the doctors. Schools, as such, came into existence only in the later period, and even then the teaching was permeated by religion. Though the Old Testament contains no theory of education in the stricter sense, it abounds in maxims and principles which are all the more weighty because they are inspired by Divine wis- dom and because they have a practical bearing upon life. God Himself showed the dignity of the teacher's office when He declared: " They that are learned shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that instruct many to justice, as stars for all eternity " (Dan., xii, 3). In the light, however, of a more per- fect revelation, it is clear that God's dealings with Israel had an ultimate purpose which was to be real- ized " in the fulness of time ". Not only the utterances of the Prophets, but many signal events in the history of the Jews and many of their ritual observances were types of the Messiah; as St. Paul says, "All these things happened to them in figure" (I Cor., x, 11), and "The law was our pedagogue in Clirist" (Gal., iii, 24). As the Supreme Teacher of mankind, God, while im- parting to them the truth which they presently needed, also prepared the way for the greater truths of the Gospel.

Christian Education. — As in many other respects, so for the work of education, the advent of Christian- ity is the most important epoch in the history of man- kind. Not only does the Christian conception of life differ radically from the pagan view, not only does the Christian teaching impart a new sort of knowledge and lay dowTi a new principle of action, but Christianity, moreover, supplies the effectual means of making its ideals actual and of carrying its precepts into practice. Through all vicissitudes of conflict and adjustment, of changing civilizations and varying opinions, in spite even of the shortcomings of its own adherents, Chris- tianity has steadfastly held up before men the life and the lessons of its Divine Fountler.

Jesus Christ asTeacher. — "God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fath- ers by the prophets, last of all, in these days hath spoken to us by his Son" (Heb., i, 1-2). This com- munication through the God-Man was to reveal the true way of living; " The grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men; instructing us, that, denying un- godliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the great God and our Sa- viour Jesus Christ" (Titus, ii, 11, 12). Of Himself and His mission Christ declared, " I am come a light into the world; that whosoever believeth in me, may not

remain in darkness" (John, xii, 46); and again, "For this was I born, and for this came I into the world ; that I should give testimony to the truth" (John, xviii, 37). The know ledge which He came to impart was no mere intellectual possession or theory: "I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly" (John, X, 10). He taught, therefore, as one "having authority"; He insisted that His hearers should be- lieve the truths which He taught, even though these might seem to be "hard sayings". His doctrines, in- deed, made no appeal either to pride of intellect or to selfishness or to passion. For the most part, as in the Sermon on the Mount, they were diametrically op- posed to the maxims that had obtained in the pagan world. They were, in the highest sense, supernatural, not only in proposing eternal life as the ultimate goal of man's exi.stence and action, but also in enjoining the denial of self as the chief requisite for attaining that destiny. Service to the neiglibour was insisted upon, but this was to be rendered in the spirit of love, the new commandment which Christ gave (John, xiii, 34). Faithfulness also to civic duty was required, but the sanction which imparted force to such obligations was man's elevation to a higher citizenship in the Kingdom of God. To strive after this and to realize it in one's earthly life, so far as possible, was the ideal to which every other good was subordinate ; " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt., vi, 33).

Truths of this kind, so far removed from the natural tendencies of human thought and desire, could be im- parted only by one who embodied in hunself all the qualifications of a perfect teacher. The philosophers no doubt might, and did, formulate beautiful theories regarding knowledge and virtue; but Christ alone could say to His disciples: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John, xiv, 6). And whatever worth thej^ attached in theory to personality was of far less significance than the actual realization of the highest ideal in Christ's own Person. He could thus rightfully appeal to that imitative tendency which is so deeply rooted in man's nature and from which so much is ex- pected in modern education. The axiom, also, that we learn by doing, and that knowledge gets its full value only when it issues in action, finds its best exemplifica- tion in Christ's dealings with His disciples. He "be- gan to do and to teach" (Acts, i, 1). In His miracles He gave evidence of His power over all nature and therefore of His authority to require faith in His words: "The works themselves which I do give testi- mony of me, that the Father hath sent me" (John, v, 36). To His disciples, when they hesitated or were slow to realize that the Father abided in Him, the an- swer was given : " Otherwise bel ie ve for the very works' sake" (xiv, 12). What He demanded in turn was no mere outward profession of faith or loyalty: "Not every one that saith to me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven : but he that doth the will of my Father" (Matt., vii, 21).

The necessity of manifesting belief through action is constantly pointed out both in the literal teaching of Christ and in His parables. These, again, illustrate His practical wisdom as a teacher. They were drawn from objects and circumstances with which His hear- ers were familiar. In each instance they were adapted to the manner of thinking suggested by the local sur- roundings and the customs of the people; and they were often called forth by an incident that seemed un- important or by a question which was asked now by His followers and again by His tireless enemies. Thus the simplest things of nature — the vine, the lily, the fig-tree, the birds of the air, and the grass of the field — were made to yield lessons of the deepest moral signifi- cance. His aim was not to adorn His own discourse, but rather to bring its content into the minds of his hearers more vividly, and to secure for it greater per- manence by associating in their thought somesupcrnat-