=Cicero's Pedagogy.=--It is not as a teacher, but as a writer, that Cicero demands a place in educational history. His writings furnish the finest examples of Latin style, and his orations are studied for their classic beauty and rhetorical finish. He wrote many philosophical works, in which are set forth advanced ideas on education. Especially was he in advance of his age in regard to the punishment of children. He held that corporal punishment should be resorted to only when all else has failed; that the child should not be degraded in the mode of punishment; that punishment should never be administered in anger, should be deferred until ample time for reflection has been allowed to both teacher and pupil; and that reasons for it should be given, so that, if possible, the child may be led to see the justice of the punishment inflicted. The teachings of Cicero on this subject are of great pedagogical importance, and they have at last come to be recognized in the school practice of the present day. While these were Cicero's most important pedagogical teachings, he also taught many other truths valuable in education. Among them are these: that education begins in childhood, and is a steady growth throughout life; that memory should be cultivated by learning extracts from classic authors; that great care should be taken to make the amusements and environments of the child such as to elevate and refine, as well as properly to develop its powers; that at the suitable time some calling should be chosen for which the youth has evident fitness; that religion is the basis of morals, therefore careful attention should be given to religious instruction. SENECA (B.C. 3-A.D. 65) Seneca was one of the most distinguished men that Rome produced. Even as a boy he showed remarkable talent, and his father furnished him the best educational opportunities by placing him under the greatest masters in the city. He also had the benefit of travel in Greece and Egypt, after which he practiced law in Rome. The student of education is interested in Seneca chiefly as the tutor of Nero, who was committed to his charge at the age of eleven. Without doubt the lad had already formed vicious habits, as his teacher had great trouble in managing him; nor did Seneca eradicate those evil tendencies which bore such terrible fruit in Nero's later years. Nero retained his love for his teacher for a long time, keeping him as a trusted counselor for several years. Seneca drew up all of Nero's state papers, among others one defending the crime of matricide, Nero having put his own mother to death. This brought deserved odium upon Seneca's name. It indicates that he was a time-server, lacking moral independence and firmness. This may explain his failure in the training of his royal pupil. Nero himself wearied of his old teacher and friend, and condemned him to death. Seneca, however, committed suicide, a mode of death quite in accord with his Stoic philosophy.