No other Roman contributed so much pedagogy to the world as Quintilian.
He was born in Spain, but early moved to Rome, in order to be trained in
the atmosphere of culture which that city alone afforded. His education
was conducted by his father, a celebrated rhetorician, to whom he owed
the particular direction of his powers which afterward made him so
famous. He chose the law as a profession, because it offered the best
opportunity for the exercise of oratory. Not finding the practice of law
congenial, he soon abandoned it, and devoted his time to teaching. He
founded a school at Rome, and conducted it with great success for twenty
years, having for pupils children from the most distinguished patrician
families. Among these were the grandnephews of Domitian, possible heirs
to the throne. This was the best school in Rome at that time. Vespasian
honored Quintilian by creating for him a chair of rhetoric and
conferring upon him the title "Professor of Oratory." This is the first
instance in history of State endowment of a chair for teaching a
specific subject. Royal recognition was not without effect upon the
fortunes of Quintilian, as it placed him in the front rank of the
teachers of Rome. This, together with his subject, the teaching and
mastery of which were considered by the Romans to be the climax of
education, enabled him to wrest supremacy from the Greek teachers who so
long had enjoyed a monopoly of teaching in the city.
When fifty-three years of age, Quintilian retired from his school, and
devoted himself to authorship. In the first two books of his great work,
"Institutes of Oratory,"[27] he sets forth his ideas on education. This
is the most remarkable treatise on education bequeathed to us by
antiquity.
He taught that as oratory was the climax of Roman education, especial
attention should be given to it. He was not in sympathy with the
prevailing use that was made of oratory. Oratorical contests were
frequent, and they excited popular interest. Courts, lawyers, and public
speakers resorted to all the tricks of speech to win popular favor, and
audiences demanded something startling, dramatic, and unusual.
Quintilian tried to stay this tide, and taught that oratory should
conceal itself. He met, however, with poor success in reforming the
evil.
=Quintilian's Pedagogy.=--His pedagogical teachings, some of which we
present, are of the greatest importance.
1. There should be no corporal punishment, as punishment administered to
slaves is not suitable for children who are to be citizens.
2. Nurses must be irreproachable in life and language, so that children
be not brought in contact with anything impure.
3. Amusements should be turned to account as a means of education.
4. Teachers should be men of ability and of spotless character.
5. Children should begin early with a foreign tongue, as their own
language will come to them naturally in their intercourse with those
about them.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account