Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/454

* GYMNASIA. 404 GYMNASIA. wliieli provided for the liymnasia was that of Sa.xonv, formulated in 1528, but without provid- ing for Greek in such schools until a later date. The Gymnasium most inlluential as a type was that of Slrassburg, founded (or uiodilied) in ].'>38, under the headship of Johannes Sturm (q.v. ). Only of sli<flitly less importance were the (iynniasiuni' of tioldberf; under Trotzciidorf and tliatof llfeld under Ncan<lcr. The Protestant move- ment for the cstablishnicnt of Gymnasia may be said to have culminated in l.'iSO with the estab- lishment of the revised school plan of JSaxouy. From 1540 on, the Jesuit Order established nu- merous schools that were similar to the Gymnasia in all respects save in their religious instead of secular control. The rivalry between these types of schools^ together with the change in the char- acter of the Keformation movement, which elim- inated the earlier symjiatliy shown with human- ism, was responsible for the decline in the char- acter of the Gymnasia. Instruction became most fornuil. little interest was shown in the content of ancient literature, scholasticism was rehabili- tated, and the sympathies of the masses were alienated. Such renuiined the condition through- out the seventeenth century. During the last decade of that century and the earlier part of the eighteenth, the Pietistic movement put new life into education. This change in spirit and motive of education, and the substitution of a more vital interest in the study of classics in place of the existing formalism, culminated in the formation of a new type of school — the Realschiile (q.v.), for those who were not destined for the learned professions. The Prussian monarchy exerted throughout the eighteenth century, especially un<ler Frederick the Great, a quickening influence on education. But it was not till the latter part of that century, under the leadership of such men as Herder, Kant, Lessing, Goethe, and Schiller, that there was infused the new humanistic spirit that has characterized the German G%-m- nasia from that day to this. During the past century, particularly, the needs of an age devoted more to the material than to the ideal, as well as the rapid rise to importance of mathematical and natural science, couhl not fail of influence or be left without due ])rovision. Yet even now the chief subject of g-mnasial teaching is the jmrsuit of the hiunanitics — i.e. the study of clas- sical antiquity, the two languages of which, Latin and Greek, form the foundation of the teaching and study of the Gjaunasia, Still, while retain ing this foundation, the strongest efforts are no longer directed, as in former times, toward the most exact familiarity possible with the lan- guages per se. but the introduction of the students into the spirit of antiquity is made of prime importance; and hence the ancient writers are treated not so much with reference to their gram- mar and style as to their general human, moral, and a'sthetie significance. In the lower classes, naturally, a cert.ain formal strictness is indis- pensable for strengthening the linguistic fomida- tion, for sharpening the perception, and develop- ing a clear, logical method of thought, for which nothing else is so well adapted, according to the German view, as the structure of Latin grammar. The character of the Gymnasium is best seen through a statement of the entire system of higher schools in Prussia. The Gymnasia include a nine-year course, with both Greek and Latin; the Progvnnnasia are similar schools of si.x or seven-year courses; the Kealgymnasia give a nine-year course, with Latin, but no Greek; the Kealprogymnasia, similar courses of six or seven years' length; the OberreaUchulen oftcr a nine- year course, with neither Latin nor Greek ; the Kealschulen or burgher schools ( Hiirgerschulen) are similar schools, with si.x-year conr.ses only. The biirgher school in nuiny of the (ierman States is sini])ly a conauon school with a continua- tion school ( Fortl)ilduugsschule) course attiiched. The organization and curriculum of the Gymna- sium in the various States of Germany present many points of difference, but in essential char- acteristics there is unity throughout, so that .stu- dents can be transferred from one to another with- out interruption of their work. The Gymnasium embraces nine classes or one-year courses: Sexta, Quinta, Quarta. lower and upper Tertia, lower and upper Secunda, lower and upper Prima. Pupils are admitted to Sexta at nine or ten years of age, and are required to have a knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic. I^atin is the basis of instruction from the beginning. In the Prussian schools eight hours a week is given to it for the first two years, seven for the next four, and six for the last three. The emphasis on Latin is much greater in the other States than in Prus- sia, where the entire course calls for sixty-two week hours in this subject, while in W'iirttemberg it is eighty-one. The official programme of 1001 expresses the aim of Latin instruction thus: "On the sure basis of grammatical training to enable boys to understand the more important writers of Rome, and thus to introduce them to the intellectual life and culture of the ancient world." In the RealgAinnasium the purpose is stated to be the comprehension, based on accurate grannnatical knowledge, of the easier works of Roman literature. Latin essays are no longer required. Reading begins in the Quarta with Cornelius Nepos and Pha-drus; in the Tertia, Coesar and Ovid: in the Secunda. Cicero. Livy. Sallust, and Vergil: in the Prima. Cicero, Taci- tus, and Horace: sometimes extracts from Catul- lus, Tibullus. and Propertius, and. exceptionally, Terence or Plautus. Greek in the fourth year (Lower Tertia) occupies six hours a week in each class. The grammar is finished in the fourth year: the authors read are the following: First, Xenophon: then, in the .Secunda. Homer's Odyssey, Xenophon. Herodotus, and I^ysias : in the Prinui, Homer's Uiad, Demosthenes, Thucyd- ides. and Plato, extracts from the lyric jioets: of the tragic poets, Sophocles and Eiuipides, rarely .-Eschylus, Besides the authors named various others are not excluded, as Isocrates, Plutarch, .rrian. Curtius. Quintilian. A change, revolutionary in character, which to a great degree breaks down the distinction be- tween the Gymnasia and the Realgynuiasia. was introduced iii 1901 and in02, as a result of the conflict begim some ten years previously, under the leadershi]) of the present Emperor, and waged for the modernization of the higher curriculum. This change is the introduction of English into the gs'mnasial course and making Greek elective. This is the most far-reaching change made since the introduction of the Realschulen. In 1001 the higher professions, save that of the ministry, were opened to those who had no knowledge of the Greek language, but who possessed in its stead a corresponding knowledge of modern languages. A strong tendency away from the Greek imme-