Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/79

 EDUCATION AND THE OLDER HUMANISTS 67 greatness, that all the learning and all the wisdom of this world were onlv serviceable to him for cleansing; himself from all his passions, and labouring prayerfully at that great building of which God Himself is the master-builder.' In all his writings there is nothing on which he dwells with such insistence — especially in his letters — as the supreme importance of sincere faith, moral purity, and the union of piety with know- ledge. His circular letters to his friend Barbirianus, in which he communicates his opinions, derived from study and experience, of the best course of instruction and the end and aim of culture, are among the pearls of pedagogic literature. He recommends most strongly the study of the ancient philosophers, historians, orators, and poets, with the added warning, however, not to be content with the ancients only. ' For the ancients either did not know the true end of life at all, or only guessed at it dimly — seeing it as through a cloud, so that they rather discoursed about it than were persuaded of it. We must therefore,' he con- tinues, ' ascend a step higher, to the Holy Scriptures, which scatter all darkness, perplexity, and bewilder- ment ; on them we must order our lives according to their teaching, and build up our salvation by their guidance.' The contemporaries of Agricola speak with re- verence of the blamelessness of his life, of his peace- able disposition, his modesty, affability, and childlike simplicity. He died in the arms of Johann von Dalberg, bishop of Worms, on October 27, 1485, and was buried at Heidelberg, in the habit of St. Franciscus. Agricola was not himself a professor or school- master, but he had great influence in the education of f2