France and England in North America, Part IV: The Old Régime In CanadaParkman, Francis
History
France and England in North America, Part IV: The Old Régime In Canada
Parkman, Francis
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France)
Harvard. We hear at an early date of public disputations by the pupils,
after the pattern of those tournaments of barren logic which preceded
the reign of inductive reason in Europe, and of which the archetype
is to be found in the scholastic duels of the Sorbonne. The boys
were sometimes permitted to act certain approved dramatic pieces of a
religious character, like the _Sage Visionnaire_. On one occasion they
were allowed to play the Cid of Corneille, which, though remarkable as
a literary work, contained nothing threatening to orthodoxy. They
were taught a little Latin, a little rhetoric, and a little logic; but
against all that might rouse the faculties to independent action, the
Canadian schools prudently closed their doors. There was then no rival
population, of a different origin and a different faith, to compel
competition in the race of intelligence and knowledge. The church stood
sole mistress of the field. Under the old régime the real object of
education in Canada was a religious and, in far less degree, a political
one. The true purpose of the schools was: first, to make priests; and,
secondly, to make obedient servants of the church and the king. All the
rest was extraneous and of slight account. In regard to this matter,
the king and the bishop were of one mind. “As I have been informed,”
Louis XIV writes to Laval, “of your continued care to hold the people
in their duty towards God and towards me by the good education you give
or cause to be given to the young, I write this letter to express my
satisfaction with conduct so salutary, and to exhort you to persevere in
it.” *
The bishop did not fail to persevere. The school for boys attached
to his seminary became the most important educational institution
in Canada. It was regulated by thirty-four rules, “in honor of the
thirty-four years which Jesus lived on earth.” The qualities commended
to the boys as those which they should labor diligently to acquire were,
“humility, obedience, purity, meekness, modesty, simplicity, chastity,
charity, and an ardent love of Jesus and his Holy Mother.” ** Here is
a goodly roll of Christian virtues. What is chiefly noticeable in it is,
that truth is allowed no place. That manly but unaccommodating virtue
was not, it seems, thought important in forming the mind of youth.
Humility and obedience lead the list, for in unquestioning submission to
the spiritual director lay the guaranty of all other merits.
We have seen already that, besides this seminary for boys, Laval
established another for educating the humbler colonists. It was a sort
of farm-school, though besides farming various mechanical trades were
also taught in it. It was well adapted to the wants of a great majority
of Canadians, whose tendencies were any thing but bookish; but here,
as elsewhere, the real object was religious. It enabled the church to
extend her influence over classes which the ordinary schools could not
reach. Besides manual training, the pupils were taught to
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account