Translated into
English,
with an Introduction and
Explanatory Notes
by
Allan P. Farrell,
S.J.
University of Detroit
CONFERENCE OF MAJOR
SUPERIORS OF JESUITS
1717
Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D. C. 20036
1970
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Ratio Atgue
Institutio Studiorum Societatis
Iesu, here translated into English, with
explanatory
notes, was the result of many years of planning and
ex-
perimentation. Into its making went the best efforts
of a group of
brilliant administrators and teachers,
the manifold influence of Renaissance
theory and prac-
tice, particularly the influence of the University of
Paris, and the practical wisdom gained from prolonged
tests in a hundred
Jesuit colleges in many countries.
Its progenitors were Father Jerome
Nadal’s 1551 plan
for the college at Messina in Sicily, his later plan
called Ordo Studiorum, the Fourth Part of the Jesuit
Constitutions, written by Ignatius of Loyola, and the
substantial
De Ratione et Ordine Studiorum Collegii
Romani of Father James
Ledesma. The Ratio was first
printed for private review in 1586,
revised in 1591,
and given final form and official sanction in 1599.
A
more modern experimental edition was published in
1832, but was never
revised or officially approved.
Hence, when historians of education write
about Jesuit
education, they invariably refer to the official Ratio
Studiorum of 1599: the Order and Method of Studies in
the Society of
Jesus.
An English translation of
this 1599 edition, by
A. R. Ball, was published in 1933 in the McGraw-Hill
Education Classics under the title Saint Ignatius and
the Ratio
Studiorum, and edited by E. A. Fitzpatrick.
However, that publication
has been out of print for
nearly thirty years, and is seldom to be found
even in
university libraries.
The translation presented
here is completely new,
based on the original text of 1599 and on G. M.
Pachtler’s
reprint, which is accompanied by a German translation,
in
Ratio Studiorum et Institutiones Scholasticae Soc. J.
This work is to
be found in Volume II of the series
Monumenta Germaniae Paedagogica
(Berlin: A. Hofmann,
1887), pp. 234-481.
We should say here that
Jesuit education has
deserved a more accurate and impartial record in the
history of education than is usually accorded it in
most textbook
histories. The generally unfavorable
judgment is owing in large measure to
the fact that
earlier historians of education were unduly influ-
enced in
their account of Western education by one
of the most thoroughly iased
critics of the Jesuit
system, Gabriel Comparayé in his two-volume
Histoire
Critique des Doctrines de l’Éducation en France depuis
le
Seizième Siècle, Paris, 1879, and translated into
English by W. H.
Payne, under the title of History
of Pedagogy, London, 1900. A more
general explana-
tion is that the history of Jesuit education has been
based on second-hand sources, often borrowed by one
author from another,
rather than on an acquaintance
with available original documents, such as
the Spir-
itual Exercises, the Fourth Part of the
Constitutions
and the Ratio Studiorum.
A notable exception is
Robert R. Rusk’s The
Doctrines of the Great Educators, revised and
en-
larged, Macmillan, 1957.
In his chapter on Loyola
(Ignatius of Loyola, Jesuit founder), Rusk gives
am-
ple evidence of familiarity not only with the docu-
ments mentioned
above, but with complementary docu-
ments and studies, such as those of
Jouvancy, Petavius,
Pachtler, Corcoran, Charmot, Hughes, Schwickerath,
and Broderick. He quotes liberally from the Fourth
Part of the
Constitutions and the Ratio Studiorum,
often, but not
exclusively, availing himself of the
English translations in St. Ignatius
and the Ratio
Studiorum, edited by E. A. Fitzpatrick. Worthy of
special
notice is Rusk’s thoroughgoing analysis and
commentary on both the
Constitutions and the several
editions of the Ratio. Toward
the end of his analy-
sis (p. 81), he states:
As more criticism than study has been de-
voted to this system by writers on the his-
tory of education, it is advisable inciden-
tally to enumerate some of the topics in
regard to which the Jesuits have anticipated
modern practice, and by implication to reply
to the unfounded criticisms of these writers.
ii
Rusk then discusses eight
contributions which he
thinks that the Jesuits have made to educational
the-
ory. First, they provided education with a uniform
and universal
method. Second, Jesuit teachers, far
from being subordinated to method,
played a principal
role in the system and were thoroughly trained for it.
Third, though from the beginning the Latin and Greek
classics were
predominant in the curriculum, the use
of the mother tongue, the principles
of mathematics,
and the methods of natural science, were given their
proper place when they proved to be of permanent value.
Fourth, "in
retaining the drama as an educational in-
strument, the Jesuits anticipated
the modern movement
represented by what is termed the dramatic method of
teaching history." Fifth, "in insisting on the speak-
ing of Latin they
likewise anticipated the direct meth-
od of teaching the classics." Sixth,
the Jesuits sub-
stituted supervision for compulsion and dissociated
punishment from teaching. Seventh, by promoting abler
students after
only half a session in a grade, they
introduced a procedure now adopted by a
number of mod-
ern school systems. Eighth, in Sacramental Confession
and
Communion "the Society possesses powerful instru-
ments for the moral and
religious education of the
pupil."
The Jesuit schools, whose
pedagogical princi-
ples Rusk investigated so thoroughly, comprised a
large segment of European scholastic institutions.
Their growth between
1548 and 1773 was phenomenal.
From 1548, when the first Jesuit school was
founded
at Messina in Sicily, to 1556, when Ignatius of Loyola,
the
Jesuit founder and general, died, thirty-three
schools had been opened and
six more were ready to
open. The countries then represented were Sicily,
Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Bohemia, France and
Germany. By 1581
the number of schools had increased
to 150. When the official Ratio
of 1599 was promul-
gated, there were 245 schools. This number rose to
441 in 1626, to 669 in 1749. At the latter date, in
France alone, there
were ninety-two schools, enrolling
some 40,000 pupils. Meanwhile, the Jesuit
system had
spread from Europe to India, Cuba, Mexico, and the
Philippines.
iii
During these years of
growth in the number of
schools, enrollments also increased sharply. For
example, official records show:
| Country | School | Year | Enrollment |
| Portugal | Evora | 1585 | 1,400 |
| " | Lisbon | 1586 | 1,800 |
| " | Coimbra | 1582 | 1,600 |
| France | Billom | 1563 | 1,600 |
| " | Clermont | 1586 | 1,500 |
| Germany | Cologne | 1581 | 1,000 |
| " | Treves | 1581 | 1,000 |
| Italy | Roman College | 1567 | 1,000 |
| 1594 | 1,500 |
Jesuit schools in
smaller towns averaged between 500
and 800, in the cities between 800 and
1,500. The
majority were secondary schools, but a good many of
them
gradually added the faculty of arts, which, by
incorporating the classes of
Humanities and Rhetoric,
was equivalent to the modern College of Arts and
Sci-
ences. At that time there were few Jesuit universi-
ties. Four may be
mentioned: in Spain, the univer-
sities of Gandia and of Coimbra were founded
in 1549
and 1551 respectively, the Roman College in 1551, and
in France
the University of Pont-a-Mousson in 1575.
It is a fair question to
ask whether the gradu-
ates of these many schools and colleges distinguished
themselves in literature, science, mathematics, and
the learned
professions. Gilbert Highet, who quali-
fied himself to answer the question
by stating, "I
am not a Jesuit myself, or even a Roman Catholic,"
writes:
The success of Jesuit education is proved
by its graduates. It produced, first, a long
list of wise and learned Jesuit preachers,
iv
writers, philosophers, and scientists. Yet if
it had bred nothing but Jesuits, it would be
less important. Its value is that it proved
the worth of its principles by developing a
large number of widely different men of vast
talent: Corneille the tragedian, Descartes
the philosopher and mathematician, Bossuet and
Bourdaloue the orators, Moliere the comedian,
d’Urfè the romantic novelist, Montesquieu the
political philosopher, Voltaire the philosopher
and critic, who although he is regarded by the
Jesuits as a bad pupil is still not an unworthy
representative of their ability to train gifted
minds. The Art of Teaching, New York, Vintage
Books, 1955, pp. 198-199.
Highet could have extended
his list of noted Jesuit alum-
ni by including Goldone the creator of modern
Italian
comedy, Torquato Tasso the Italian poet and author of
Jerusalem Delivered, and Calderon de la Barca, the Span-
ish
dramatist and poet. Father Porée, for long profes-
sor of rhetoric at
Louis-Le-Grand in Paris, lived to
see nineteen of his former pupils inducted
into the
French Academy.
The continuity of Jesuit
educational history was
rudely broken on August 16, 1773, when Pope Clement
XIV
issued a Brief of Suppression of the Society of Jesus.
The abolition
of the Jesuit Order meant the closing of
546 schools in Europe and 123
schools in missionary ter-
ritories chiefly in Hispanic America and in India.
Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine II in White Russia
nullified the
Brief of Suppression. Catherine asked the
Jesuits to continue their
teaching. Thus the small band
of 200 Jesuits maintained their schools at
Polotzk,
Onsza, Vitepsk, and Dunabourg. In 1804, at King Ferdi-
nand’s
request, Pope Pius VII reinstated the Jesuits in
the Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies. Between 1804 and 1814
several groups of former Jesuits in England,
the United
States, France, and Ireland were permitted to affiliate
with
the surviving Society in White Russia. The final
step was taken by Pope Pius
VII when on August 7, 1814
he restored the Society of Jesus to its former
status as
an Order in the universal Church, with all the rights,
privileges, and constitutions hitherto granted and ap-
proved.
v
At that date there were in
existence five Jesuit
schools in White Russia, four in the Two Sicilies, one
in the United States (Georgetown), and a few more in
France. Progress in
reviving the educational aposto-
late was exceedingly slow. The principal
reasons were
the almost complete loss of property, which had been
confiscated by the States, the growing state control
of education in
most European countries, and the loss
of large numbers of former Jesuits who
had died or
grown old or assumed other occupations. Consequently
it was
necessary for the Society to start building up
its members and its schools
almost from scratch. By
1833 it had charge of only forty-five schools and
seven-
teen seminaries. Its total membership was 2,495. It
was not until
1930 that the membership had built up
to what it had been prior to the
suppression.
From 1930 on, however, the
"new" Society of Jesus
began to achieve far-reaching developments in its
mis-
sionary and educational activities. First, the number
of Jesuits
consistently grew: to 26,293 in 1940, to
30,578 in 1950, and to 34,687 in
1960. Second, a sta-
tistical analysis by William J. Mehok, S.J., "Jesuit
Schools of the World, 1961," in the Jesuit Educational
Quarterly,
XXV, June, 1962, pp. 42-56, revealed that
in 1960 there were 4,059 Jesuit
schools throughout the
world, with a total enrollment of 938,436. Father
Mehok
then presented a geographical analysis of these statis-
tics as
follows: In Africa there were 1,009 Jesuit
schools and 223,692
pupils, in Asia and Oceania 1,379
schools and 236,661 pupils,
in North America 691 schools
and 257,777 pupils, in South
America 378 schools and
87,991 pupils, in Europe 602 schools and
131,315 pupils.
Noteworthy in the statistics is the
large number
of elementary schools which the Jesuits are conducting
today. According to the Ignatian Constitutions, Jesuits
were
forbidden to open elementary schools or supply
teachers for them because of
the lack of sufficient man-
power. But that prohibition referred to Europe,
not to
foreign missions; for from the beginning it was a Jesuit
principle that schools were to be opened as soon and as
widely as
possible in all missionary territories. In
modern times the remarkable
growth of Jesuit missions
vi
in Africa, Asia, and even
in Oceania has necessitated
the opening of very many mission schools, which
begin
at the elementary or elementary-secondary level. This
does not
mean that secondary schools, colleges and uni-
versities are not also growing
and spreading, particu-
larly in India, the Philippines, various countries of
South America, and most notably in the United States,
where in 1968
there were fifty-five high schools with
37,811 students and twenty-eight
colleges and univer-
sities with 150,884.
A question that may
profitably be raised at this
point is where the official Ratio
Studiorum of 1599
fits into the new age of the Society of Jesus. Before
attempting to answer that question, it should be noted
that the
Ratio of 1599 rendered immediate and valuable
service for its own era
by successfully guiding and gov-
erning hundreds of Jesuit schools in Europe,
and not a
few in the Latin American colonies and in the Asiatic
provinces, for a hundred and fifty years. Moreover,
since the present
Jesuit system takes its origins from
1599, it cannot be dismissed as wholly
unrelated to
our more complex situation today. It would be illogi-
cal,
however, to conclude that merely updating the old
Ratio would answer the
needs of the twentieth century.
Such an updating was attempted in the
experimental re-
vision of 1832, but after it was carefully examined by
the Jesuits of that time it was found to be inadequate.
In fact, it is
very doubtful that a modern-day official
Ratio could be constructed,
so various are the condi-
tions and requirements in the many countries in
which
Jesuits are conducting schools.
We should now return to
the question of what per-
tinence the Ratio may have for the new age
of the So-
ciety of Jesus. A modern Jesuit author approaches an
answer
when he states that “it may be possible to dis-
engage from the documentary
sources of the Jesuit edu-
cational tradition certain key-categories or
master
themes, rudimentary perhaps or barely implicit, which
constitute
a portion of Christian educational theory
and retain significance for
places, persons and times
very different from those of 1599." John W.
Donohue,
S.J., Jesuit Education (Fordham University Press, 1963),
p. 69. In another place he says: "For Jesuit school-
vii
men, however, the
experience and accumulated wisdom
of their predecessors is wonderfully
instructive for
their own work" (ibid., p. 28). And again: "Certain
principles of sixteenth-century Jesuit education may
be applied to our
contemporary school actualities but
they will usually require transposition
into a new key"
(ibid., p. 121).
These statements warn us
not to expect too much
from the past. Yet, Father Donohue comes nearer, on
occasion, to a more liberal recognition of traditional
principles and
practices which have relevance for our
time. For instance, the rhetorical
ideal of "Ciceronian
verbal grace" has a wider aim that "rests on the
convic-
tion that the truly human man must possess both wisdom
and
eloquence; must know something and be able to say
what he knows; must be
able to think and to communicate”
(ibid., p. 70). Another instance:
“It is therefore
quite defensible to conclude that developing the arts
of communication and eloquentia perfecta are still es-
sential
tasks of the secondary school even though the
form and content of eloquence
changes from epoch to
epoch and nation to nation” (ibid., p.
121).
Father Donohue then
devotes considerable space
to describing the prelection, "the characteristic
tool" for bringing students to an understanding of the
materials and
aims of study. After applying the pre-
lection to the classical authors and
to philosophy, he
concludes: "It is clear that the basic pattern and
purpose of the prelection can and ought to be adapted
to all teaching
and any subject. It is only too easy,
unfortunately, to neglect this work of
preparing stu-
dents for individual study since it is always easier
to
tell them what than to teach them how” (ibid.,
pp.
150-151).
Finally, it must suffice
to summarize or list a
number of pedagogical principles derived from the
Ratio, which, with necessary adaptation, apply to Jes-
uit
teaching everywhere. The aim of the prelection is
understanding. "After
understanding," says Father
Donohue, "mastery is to be sought and this means
stu-
dent activity--exercise and more exercise." The ac-
viii
tivity was diversified:
disputations, debates, repe-
titions that were held daily, weekly, monthly
and annu-
ally, written exercises in imitation of the author
being read,
public correction of the exercises, ori-
ginal essays in the upper grades.
But since success-
ful action calls for motivation, the Jesuits provided
contests within and between classes, awards, plays and
pageants, and
academies. In sum, writes Father Donohue,
All these pedagogical principles are, then,
closely linked together. The learning product
sought is genuine growth which is conceived in
terms of abiding habits and skills. Habits are
generated not simply by understanding facts or
procedures but mastery which makes them one’s
own and at hand for ready use. Mastery is the
product of continual intellectual effort and
exercise but fruitful effort of this sort is
impossible without adequate motivation and a
human milieu (ibid., pp. 150-153).
Thus the answer to the
question of what relevance
the Ratio of 1599 has for our age would
seem to be that
it retains “significance for places, persons and times
very different from 1599.”
But what were the sources
of the Ratio itself?
When the early Jesuit schools began to spread
from
Italy, Spain and Portugal to France and Germany, claims
were made
by several headmasters of rival schools, espe-
cially by Johann Sturm,
headmaster at Strassburg, that
the Jesuits had copied their pedagogical
practices. As
a matter of fact, however, when the manuscript of
Quin-
tilian’s Institutio Oratoria was discovered at St. Gall
by
the humanist Poggio in 1410, Quintilian soon became
the favorite source of
most of the school programs in
the late fifteenth and early sixteenth
centuries--at
Liege, Strassburg and elsewhere. This was prior to the
opening of the first Jesuit school. Ignatius of Loyola
and his early
followers, on the other hand, took as
their chief authority the University
of Paris, their
Alma Mater. Their preference for Paris resulted from
their interest, at that time, in the practice rather
than in the theory
of education. The University of
Paris undoubtedly absorbed a great deal of
its pedagogy
ix
from Quintilian or from
humanist adaptations of Quin-
tilian, but it had reduced these ideas to order
and
to practice. The early Jesuits were engaged in the
actual labor of
the classroom and hence were looking
for specific and serviceable
pedagogical guidance.
The success of their efficient and carefully organized
educational code, embodied eventually in the Ratio of
1599, may
best be explained by acknowledging that they
did not merely resurrect and
restore old ideas, but
impregnated them with their own distinctive spirit
and purpose, and subjected them to prolonged tests
based on personal
knowledge and practical experience.
Though the result reflects the multiple
influence of
other systems, it was not a slavish imitation of either
the
University of Paris or of Quintilian.
There are four principal
areas contained in the
Ratio Studiorum, namely, administration,
curriculum,
method, and discipline. It begins with administration
by
defining the function, interrelation, and duties of
such officials as the
provincial, rector and prefects
of studies. It outlines a curriculum by
placing in
their proper sequence and gradation courses of study
in
theology, philosophy and the humanities. It sets
forth in detail a method of
conducting lessons and
exercises in the classroom. It provides for
disci-
pline by fixing for the students norms of conduct,
regularity and
good order.
The following detailed
analysis of the Ratio,
according to sets of rules, will illustrate
these four
main divisions.
Allan P. Farrell, S.J.
July 21, 1970
x
|
An Analysis of
the Ratio Studiorum of 1599 | |
| I. A. Rules
of the Provincial (1-40) |
|
| B. Rules of the Rector (1-24) | |
|
* * * *
* | |
| II. C. Rules of the Prefect of | M. Rules for the Scholastics of |
| Studies (1-30) | the Society (1-11) |
| D. Common Rules of the Professors | N. Instruction for Those Engaged |
| of the Higher Faculties (1-20) | in the Two-Year Review of |
| E. Special Rules for Professors | Theology (1-14) |
| the Higher Faculties | O. Rules for the Teacher's As- |
| a) Scripture (1-20) | sistant of Beadle (1-7) |
| b) Hebrew (1-5) | Q. Rules for the Academies (cf. below): |
| c) Theology (1-14) | a) General Rules (1-12) |
| d) Cases of Conscience (1-10) | b) Rules of the Prefect (1-5) |
| F. Rules of the Professor of Philo- | c) Academy of Theology and |
| sophy: | Philosophy (1-11) |
| a) General Rules (1-8) | d) Moderator of the Academy |
| b) Courses, Texts, etc. (9-20) | (1-4) |
| c) Moral Philosphy (1-4) | |
| d) Mathematics (1-3) | |
|
* * * * * | |
| III. G. Rules of the Prefect of Lower | P. Rules for Extern Students (1-15) |
| Studies (1-50) | Q. Rules for the Academies (cont’d): |
| H. Rules for the Written Examina- | e) Academy of Rhetoric and |
| tions (1—1l) | Humanities (1—7) |
| J. Laws for Prizes (1-13) | f) Academy of Grammar Students |
| K. Common Rules for the Teachers of | (1-8) |
| the Lower Classes (1-50) | |
| L. Special Rules for the Teachers | |
| of the Lower Classes: | |
| a) Rhetoric (1—20) | |
| b) Humanities (1-10) | |
| c) Grammar I (1—10) | |
| d) Grammar II (1-10) | |
| e) Grammar III (1—9) | |
xi
A comprehensive program
for our course of studies
began to take shape about fourteen years ago. Work
on
it has now been completed and copies of its final form
are being sent
to the various provinces of the Society.
On account of its great
potential value for our
schools, Our Very Reverend Father General had hoped
that the program would have been completed and imple-
mented long before
now. This, however, proved to be
impossible. The undertaking was so
ambitious and was
fraught with so many problems that it was felt to be
unwise to put it in force until the provinces would
have an opportunity
to study its implications and sug-
gest improvements. Father General decided
that it
would never do to impose a set of regulations on the
whole
Society until every effort had been made to in-
sure willing acceptance on
the part of all concerned.
The six priests to whom
the task of formulating
a program of studies was entrusted spent long and
ardu-
ous years in research and discussion. They finally
completed their
work, and the results were forwarded
to all provinces of the Society to be
weighed and eval-
uated by our
teachers and educational experts. These
men were requested to examine the
document for the pur-
pose of noting and eliminating defects or of
introduc-
ing improvements. They were then to make a report
expressing
their views on the plan as a whole and to
explain the principles which
supported these views.
All of the provinces
cooperated eagerly and
resolutely, and forwarded their criticisms and their
suggestions to Rome. There the chief professors of
the Roman College and
a special committee of three
Fathers edited these reports and submitted
their find-
ings to Father General. In conference with the Fathers
Assistant, he carefully scrutinized the new version of
the plan of
studies, approved it, and forwarded copies
xii
to all the provinces with
orders that it was to be
scrupulously followed.
Father General reminded
the Provincials that
since new procedures to be reliable, must be tested
in the light of actual experience, they should note the
day-by-day
results of the new plan and make a report to
Rome. He himself would then be
in a position to put
the finishing touches to the work and send it out with
the stamp of his final approval.
When the Provincials came
to Rome for the Fifth
General Congregation, they brought with them the
memoranda of defects which daily experience in the
classroom had
detected in the second draft of the Ratio.
The chief complaint was
that the new plan was too cum-
bersome. Hence it was decided to face the huge
task
of reviewing the whole project. This required that
the members of
the Roman committee study the reasoning
which prompted the various
suggestions, that they pon-
der well what decision to make in each instance,
and
finally that they endeavor to reduce the whole docu-
ment to smaller
and more manageable dimensions. Fin-
ally the task was completed and we have
good reason to
hope that the final version will meet with the approval
of all.
This revised edition of
the Ratio which is now
being sent out is to supersede all previous
experimen-
tal editions and is to be followed faithfully by all
members
of the Society. It is therefore incumbent on
all our teachers to carry out
all its provisions. I
am quite convinced that if the members of our Society
realize how much this project means to our Father Gen-
eral, they will
comply cheerfully with his wishes.
Since responsibility for
the success of this
Ratio Studiorum lies squarely on the shoulders of
su-
periors, Father General urges them to make every effort
to secure
from their subjects ready and complete dedi-
cation to this program which
breathes the spirit of
our Constitutions and promises to be of untold
advan-
tage to our students.
|
Rome |
James Dominic |
| January 8, 1599 | Secretary |
xiii
RULES OF THE
PROVINCIAL 1
1. It is the principal
ministry of the Society
of Jesus to educate youth in every branch of
knowledge
that is in keeping with its Institute. The aim of our
educational program is to lead men to the knowledge
and love of our
Creator and Redeemer.2 The
provincial
should therefore make every effort to ensure that the
various
curricula in our schools produce the results
which our vocation demands of
us.
2. He should not only
strongly recommend this
work to the rector, but he should assign to him as
pre-
fect of studies a man thoroughly versed in literature*
and possessed
of the enthusiasm and good judgment which
such an office requires. The
function of the prefect
will be to assist the rector in organizing and
super-
vising the course of studies. He is to have jurisdic-
tion over all
professors and students. This applies
not only to students who dwell in the
main building
but also to those who live in various residence halls.
The
supervisors of these residence halls are also sub-
ject to the authority of
the prefect in all matters
which pertain to studies.
3. If, however, owing to
the size of the school
and its varied arrangement of classes, one prefect
does not seem sufficient for the proper management of
the school, the
provincial should appoint a second,
subordinate to the general prefect, to
direct the
lower studies. And should circumstances require it,
let him
appoint a third prefect to preside over disci-
pline.
4. Long before the opening
of classes the pro-
vincial should make a careful inventory of his
avail-
able teachers. He should classify them according to
________________________
* The 1832
Ratio reads "literature and the sciences."
2
ability, devotedness,
and interest in the progress of
students, and this not only in class work
but in all
academic achievement.
5. Great attention should
be given to promoting
the study of Sacred Scripture. The provincial will do
this most effectively if he chooses for this field men
who are not only
proficient in languages (a prerequi-
site), but are also well versed in
theology and other
sciences, in history and allied branches of learning,
and as far as possible, practiced in the arts of com-
munication.3
6. Students of theology
are to attend the course
in Sacred Scripture for two years, usually in the
sec-
ond and third year of theology. Where there are two
professors of
theology, the lectures are to be given
daily for a forty-five minute period;
where there are
three professors, a shorter daily lecture may be given,
or a longer lecture every other day.
7. The class in Hebrew
should if possible be
taught by the professor of Holy Scripture. At least
the teacher should be a good theologian. It is de-
sirable that this man
be proficient in Greek, because
it is the language of the New Testament and
of the
Septuagint. Similarly he should have command of the
Caldaic and
Syriac languages because of their impor-
tance in the exegesis of many
passages in the Canoni-
cal Books.4
8. Students of theology
are to pursue the study
of Hebrew for a year, usually in the second or third
year of theology. Only someone judged to be entirely
unfit for this
study should be exempt from it. More-
over, as the Constitutions
direct, the provincial ought
to decide who are to be chosen for advanced
studies in
Hebrew and have them devote additional time to it dur-
ing the
two years prescribed for the review of theolo-
gy. When possible, they should
be helped by means of
a special academy or seminar, at least during the
vaca-
tions.
9. #1. The provincial
should see to it that the
curriculum in theology is completed in four years,
as
3
prescribed by the
Constitutions. It should be taught
by two regular professors, or, if
this is impossible,
by three, depending on the practice in the several
provinces. If there are three professors, the third
lecture should be
given on moral theology, or should
explicitly and thoroughly cover moral
questions which
teachers of dogmatic theology are wont to touch upon
only lightly if at all. Our scholastics are to attend
the moral course
for two years and the course in Sacred
Scripture for another two
years.
#2. The provincial is to
be especially careful
that no one be appointed to teach theology who is not
well disposed to the teaching of St. Thomas. Those
who do not approve of
his doctrine or take little in-
terest in it, should not be allowed to teach
theology.
10. At the beginning of
the fourth year of the-
ology, after taking counsel with the rector, the
pre-
fect of studies, the professors and his own consultors,
the
provincial should select some of our scholastics
for a biennium of
uninterrupted private study and re-
view, as prescribed in the
Constitutions. Those se-
lected must be solidly grounded in virtue and
dis-
tinguished for their talent. During this biennium
(concerning which
a special instruction will be given
in another place)5
public defenses may be held, at the
superior’s discretion, and where it is
the custom some
may be advanced, on the authority of the general, to
the
doctor’s or master’s degree.
11. Where it is customary
to confer degrees
publicly, the Constitutions are to be strictly
adhered
to. No one shall be promoted unless he has defended
questions
taken not only from theology but also from
important parts of Sacred
Scripture. The ceremonies
accompanying the conferring of degrees may follow
local
practice so long as this does not conflict with the
Constitutions.
12. In a college where
there is a scholasticate
of the Society,6 the
provincial should appoint two
professors who together will explain over a
two-year
period the subject matter of moral theology. If only
one
professor is appointed, he should give two lectures
daily.
4
13. Twice a week in
professed houses7
and once
or twice a week in the colleges, as the provincial may
decide,
priests of the Society are to hold a discus-
sion of cases of conscience.
This is to be done whe-
ther there are lectures on moral theology in these
colleges or not. One of the priests, appointed by the
provincial as well
qualified, should act as moderator.
He should read and follow the rules laid
down for the
professor of moral theology which govern the procedures
of
this discussion.
14. These cases of
conscience are also to be
held in the major colleges, particularly for all
stu-
dents of theology, whether there be two professors of
moral
theology, or only one, or none at all. This dis-
cussion, however, is to take
place only once a week.
15. Students of moral
theology and priests who
regularly or occasionally hear confessions are not
to
be exempt from these discussions. An exception is to
be made for
professors of theology and philosophy and
others whom the superior may see
fit to excuse. The
superior himself should seldom be absent and then only
for serious reasons.
16. Save in case of urgent
need, professors of
philosophy must have completed both the course in
the-
ology and the graduate biennium so that their teaching
may have a
firmer foundation and better prepare the
mind for theology. Teachers of
philosophy who show
themselves too inclined toward new doctrines or too
liberal in their views should certainly be removed
from
teaching.
17. The curriculum in
philosophy should be com-
pleted in three years but not in a shorter time for
our
scholastics. Where there are extern students8 only,
the length of the course may be left to the provincial’s
judgment, but
wherever possible one group of students
should complete the course and
another group begin it
each year.
18. The length of time to
be given to the study
of humanities and rhetoric cannot be strictly
deter-
mined. It belongs to the superior to decide how much
5
time each student
should devote to these subjects.
Still, none of our scholastics is to be
sent to philo-
sophy before he has devoted two years to the study of
rhetoric, unless he be judged excused by reason of age
or aptitude or
other impediment. But if any have such
ability as to give promise of
becoming eminent in these
literary studies, it might be profitable for them
to
spend a third year in laying a more solid foundation.
19. #1. In the course of
their philosophical
studies our students are to be thoroughly examined
toward the end of each year by appointed examiners.
The rector, and if
possible even the provincial, should
be present. No one is to be advanced
from the first to
the second year, nor from the second to the third,
un-
less he has shown moderate ability in understanding the
subject
matter of the lectures and is able to demon-
strate this understanding by
proofs. To be promoted
to the curriculum in scholastic theology, that is, to
the four-year course, he must surpass mediocrity by
being able to defend
his knowledge against objections.
In an exceptional case, an individual who
does not
measure up to this latter standard, but has given evi-
dence of
exceptional gifts for governing or for preach-
ing, may on this account be
promoted by the provincial
to the course in scholastic theology; but the
provin-
cial has no authority to make an exception for any
other
reason.
#2. In this matter of
making exceptions, which
is of great moment, and so is to be determined only
after careful thought for God’s greater glory, the
provincial should pay
special attention to rules forty-
nine and fifty-six of his office,10 and
should give
greatest weight to the character and personality of
the
person in question.
#3. Students of theology
should likewise be ex-
amined toward the end of each year. No one is to be
advanced to the next year who has not in the judgment
of the examiners
achieved better than average success.
Exception may be made for those who do
not measure up
to this standard but who possess outstanding talents
of
another kind, as noted above.
6
#4. If in the course
of studies any are found
to be unsuited for philosophy or theology, they
should
be assigned either to the study of moral theology or
to
teaching,11 as
the provincial judges best.
#5. Any who before
entering our Society have com-
pleted the entire course of philosophy, or a
part of it,
or even a part of theology, are similarly to be tested
by
examination to determine their status in these stud-
ies.
#6. In the examinations
which determine whether
students of philosophy and theology are to advance
to
the next higher year, the examiners are to vote in se-
cret. The
decisions of the examiners, together with
their written ballots, are to be
recorded in a book
designed for this purpose. The examiners are to keep
the results of the examinations secret.
#7. Should a student
obtain only a mediocre
grade in the final philosophy examination or in the
annual examinations in theology, the decision of the
examiners is to
stand. If, however, in the judgment
of the provincial’s consultors and other
experienced
men (whose advice is to be sought) the student pos-
sesses
special qualifications for governing or for
preaching, it is for the
provincial to determine what
action is to be taken for the greater glory of
God and
the good of our Society. If he decides that the stu-
dent in
question is not to continue his studies, he
should note it in the book of
records indicated above.
#8. The provincial,
together with his consultors
and other competent men who are acquainted with
the
students and whose judgment can be relied upon, should
reflect
carefully on what particular ability for gov-
erning or for preaching can be
expected of those who
wish to enter the four-year course of theology,
al-
though they have demonstrated only passable competence
in philosophy.
The same procedure should be followed
in regard to those who wish to remain
in the four-year
course of theology despite their mediocre
progress.
#9. The provincial should
not stretch his au-
thority in granting concessions to those whose
lack
7
of humility, piety,
and self-denial seem to mark them
as poor risks.
#10. Toward the end of the
fourth year of theo-
logical studies a final examination of at least two
hours shall be given to each student for the purpose
of determining
whether or not he may be advanced to
the "profession."12 The
subject matter of this exam-
ination shall consist of topics chosen from the
princi-
pal divisions of philosophy and theology. To qualify
for the
"profession," the candidate must be judged
fully capable of teaching both
philosophy and theology.
Should an individual fall short of this standard,
but
possess such a notable gift for governing or preaching
that it
should be taken into account, the case must be
referred to the general. It
is also for the general
to decide when exceptions are to be made in virtue
of
the twenty-ninth decree of the sixth General Congrega-
tion for any
who may have extraordinary talent for the
humanistic studies or for the
Indian languages.13
#11. In the examination to
determine who are
qualified to receive the profession of four vows, the
votes shall be cast in secret. Doubtful votes are to
be disregarded. The
examiners are bound by oath not
only to keep their votes secret but also to
base their
decision impartially on the knowledge and proficiency
of
those being examined.
#12. Each examiner shall
send his signed vote
directly to the provincial and to the general. That
addressed to the provincial is to be marked "Personal."
The provincial
is to record the votes, omitting the
names of the examiners, in a book kept
for that purpose.
He should preserve such secrecy in this matter that not
even his own assistant will know how the examiners
voted, and hence he
should burn the letters of the
examiners as soon as he has recorded their
votes.
#13. In every seminary,
both for philosophy
and for theology, there should be at least four
examiners
appointed by the general to conduct the examinations
described
above. Wherever it is possible these exam-
iners should be other than the
professors who taught
8
those who are to be
examined. If one of the examiners
dies or is prevented from being present at
the exam-
inations, the provincial is to appoint others who will
be bound
by the same regulations of the oath with re-
spect to the final
examination.
#14. In regard to those
who enter the Society
with the degree of Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Canon
Law, the prescriptions of the Constitutions, Part V,
Ch. II, no. 2, B,
are to be observed.14 If
any enter
with the degree of Doctor of Theology and there is any
doubt
about their proficiency, they are to be examined
like the rest. Unless they
demonstrate more than or-
dinary ability, they are not to be admitted to the
pro-
fession of the four vows.
20. In the second year of
philosophical study
all students are to attend a course in mathematics for
a period of about forty-five minutes daily. Those who
show an aptitude
and bent for this discipline should be
given an opportunity to pursue it
further under private
instruction after completing the general
course.
21. #1. The number of
grades in the lower stud-
ies (omitting the primary grades for reasons given
in
the Constitutions, Fourth Part, Ch. XII, C.)15 is
not
to exceed five, one in rhetoric, one in humanities, and
three in
grammar.
#2. These grades are to be
so precisely articu-
lated as to preclude being combined or increased in
number. Besides, to increase their number would entail
an unnecessary
addition of teachers and prolong the time
required for completing these
studies.
#3. If there are fewer
than five classes, the
five grades are not to be altered; rather one class
may
have two sections, each corresponding to one of the five
grades, in
the manner prescribed in the eighth rule of
the Prefect of Lower
Studies.
#4. Whenever there are
fewer than five classes,
the higher grades (rhetoric and humanities) should
be
retained as far as possible and the lower grades dropped.
9
#5. When it is said
that there should be only
three grammar classes and not more than a total of
five
lower classes, this is to be understood as referring,
not to the
number of classes and teachers, but rather
to the number of grades, as has
just been described.
For if the number of pupils is too large for one
teach-
er to handle, the class may be divided (with the gen-
eral’s
permission) into two sections, but in such a
way that each will have the
same grade, lessons, method,
and time schedule.
#6. This sectioning of
classes, however, need
not be carried put except in places where the
Society’s
complete course of studies is offered, or where the
conditions
in the founding charter of the school demand
it; otherwise the Society may
become unduly burdened.
22. In order to preserve a
knowledge and appre-
ciation of the classical literatures and to provide a
reserve of men for teaching them, the provincial should
endeavor to have
in his province at least two or three
who are eminent in these literatures
and in eloquence.
He will accomplish this by setting aside for special
studies a few who have a gift and love for these disci-
plines, and who
have satisfactorily completed the other
studies of the Society. By their
devoted efforts these
men will be able in turn to create a class of good
teachers who will spread throughout a province.
23. The provincial shall
see to it that our
teachers use the grammar of Emmanuel Alvarez.16 If
in
some of our schools it is thought that his method is
too detailed and
refined for the boys to master, the
teachers should use the Roman grammar
or, with the gen-
eral’s approval, prepare a similar grammar, preserving,
however, all the force and exactness of the precepts of
Alvarez.
24. Provision should
be made to have as many
permanent teachers of grammar and rhetoric as
possible.
This can be done if the provincial assigns to this work
men
who have completed their moral and dogmatic theology
and who in his judgment
are especially qualified for
this type of work. He should encourage them to
devote
themselves entirely to this apostolate which is so bene-
ficial in
the service of God.
10
25. It will be
advantageous to receive into the
Society men who seem specially fitted for
such work,
and who, either on account of their age or aptitude,
will not
be able to make progress in more abstruse stud-
ies. The condition of their
admission will be their
willingness to dedicate their whole life to the
service
of God by teaching grammar or the humanities. The pro-
vincial
should note this fact in his record book. Either
prior to teaching or after
having taught for some years,
as seems better, they may study moral
theology, be or-
dained priests, and then return to this same work. They
are not to be removed from it without serious reason and
the advice of
others. Occasionally, however, the pro-
vincial may decide that because of
fatigue they should
have a change from this occupation for a year or
two.
26. By that same token,
the provincial is not to
excuse our scholastics from teaching grammar or
humani-
ties,17
unless on account of age or other reasons dif-
ferent arrangements seem more
suitable. He must take
care, however, that those who show exceptional talent
for preaching are not kept too long in teaching litera-
ture or even philosophy and theology, lest
they take up
preaching only after their vitality has been sapped by
years in the classroom.
27. At the end of the
philosophical curriculum,
the provincial should choose one, two, or three,
or
more scholastics according to the size of the class,
who give promise
of greater competence than others, and
send them on to theology. However,
upon completion of
their theological studies and the third year of
proba-
tion,18 he
may employ them, if it seems necessary or
advisable, in teaching grammar or
the humanities.
28. Scholastics, who are
destined for the study
of philosophy but have not completed it, should not
be
sent to teach unless there is a dearth of those who have
finished
that course.
29. He should also see
that scholastics begin
teaching with a class below that which they are
pre-
pared to teach. In this way they can advance each
year to a higher
grade with the greater part of their
pupils.
11
30. In order that
teachers may be well prepared
for their work when they enter the classroom,
it is
very important that they have practice sessions under
expert
guidance. It is strongly recommended that the
rector diligently attend to
this in the manner described
in his ninth rule.19
31. In the colleges,
particularly the larger
ones, where the student body is more numerous, a
suffi-
cient number of confessors should be appointed so that
it will not
be necessary for all to go to one confes-
sor. For this reason, extraordinary
confessors are
to be appointed at various times in order to afford
penitents greater freedom.
32. The provincial should
give the colleges,
especially the smaller ones, a sufficient supply of
lay brothers,20 so
that the rector will not have to
employ the professors and students in
domestic work.
33. In order to provide
needed books for our
teachers, the provincial shall assign an annual revenue
from the college funds or from some other source for
building up the
library. This revenue may under no
circumstances be diverted to other
uses.
34. The provincial must
conscientiously take
every precaution to keep out of our schools works of
the poets and any other books which may be harmful to
character and
morals, unless everything objectionable
in matter and style has been
expunged.21 If,
as in the
case of Terence, this is impossible, it will be better
not to
read them at all than to expose our pupils to
spiritual harm.
35. In places where the
time schedule of classes
varies at different seasons of the year, the
provincial
should determine for the entire year the hours for the
beginning and ending of classes. Once established,
this calendar is to
be faithfully observed. He should
not readily allow the weekly holiday to be
postponed
or anticipated, and he should require that the schedule
of
class days and holidays be strictly followed.
12
36. A nice balance
should be maintained between
study time and recreation periods. Hence, no
extra
holidays should be introduced and those established by
custom are
to be faithfully observed. The following
regulations are to be carried out
regarding vacations.
37. #1. The annual
vacation for students in
higher studies should last at least a month and not
longer than two months. The rhetoric class should have
a month’s
vacation; unless university custom decrees
otherwise, the class of
humanities three weeks; the
higher grammar class two weeks, and the other
classes
only one week.
#2. Feast days (which
ought to be reduced rather
than increased in number) should be definitely
estab-
lished for each region or country according to prevail-
ing custom,
and then published officially.
#3. The higher faculties
should have vacation
from the vigil of the Nativity to the feast of
Circum-
cision; the lower classes from noon of the vigil of
the Nativity
to the feast of the Holy Innocents.
#4. Where it is the custom
no class is had from
Quinquagesima till Ash Wednesday, but all the
profes-
sors shall hold class on Ash Wednesday afternoon.
#5. In the higher classes
there will be vacation
from Palm Sunday until Low Sunday; in the lower
classes
from Wednesday noon of Holy Week till Easter Tuesday.
#6. In the higher classes
there will be no class
from the vigil of Pentecost until the following
Tues-
day; in the lower classes from the noon of the vigil
till Tuesday.
There is to be the usual Thursday holi-
day.
#7. On the day before the
feast of Corpus
Christi both lower and higher classes will be free
dur-
ing the afternoon only. On the feast of All Souls only
the morning
is free.
13
#8. Further, on days
when classes are held only
in the lower schools, no lessening of the regular
time
schedule is to be allowed.
#9. If at times, owing to
public pilgrimages,
classes cannot be held in the morning, they should at
least be held in the afternoon, and, where the custom
permits, classes
should meet even in the morning of
Rogation days.
#10. At least one day of
every week is to be set
aside as a holiday. However, when two feast days
fall
within the same week, there should be no other holiday,
unless this
happens rather frequently and the feasts fall,
one on Monday, the other on
Saturday. Then another free
day may be allowed. Should one feast day fall
within a
week, say on a Wednesday or a Thursday, that day and no
other
is to be free. But should the feast day fall on
a Monday or a Saturday, a
holiday is to be granted on
Wednesday also. Finally, if a feast falls on a
Tuesday
or a Friday and no sermon is scheduled for that day, so
that it
may be given to suitable recreation, there is
to be no further holiday that
week; but if the day can-
not be given over to recreation, then a holiday is
to
be allowed on Wednesday or Thursday.
#11. In the higher classes
the weekly recreation
day will be entirely free. In the lower classes,
how-
ever, class will be held in the morning, for an hour
and a half in
rhetoric and for two hours in the other
classes. The afternoon is free for
all students. Begin-
ning,
however, in June, the entire day is free for all.
38. In order to ensure
abundant success for the
Society’s teaching apostolate to the greater glory
of
God, the provincial must see to it that both superiors
and subjects
follow with perfect fidelity their own par-
ticular rules found in this Ratio
Studiorum.
39. In view of differences
in places, times, and
persons,22
there are bound to be certain variations in
the order and time schedule of
studies, in the holding
of repetitions, disputations, and other exercises,
as
14
well as in vacations.
Therefore, if the provincial thinks
that in his province some special
arrangement will make
for better progress in studies, he should refer the
mat-
ter to the general so that adjustments may be approved
which will
satisfy his needs, but in such wise that they
will conform as nearly as
possible to the general plan
of our studies.
40. Finally, the
provincial should consider as
especially committed to his charge and care
all that is
laid down in the rules for the professors of the lower
classes concerning piety and good conduct and the teach-
ing of Christian
doctrine, as well as what is prescribed
in the rules common to all teachers
concerning religious
duty and moral training: for these touch directly on
the
good of souls and are repeatedly recommended in the
Con-
stitutions.
* * * * *
1. The purpose of the
Society in conducting col-
leges and universities is two-fold: First, she
wants
to equip her members with a good liberal education and
with other
skills required in her ministry, and secondly
she wants to provide them with
an opportunity to share
with students in the classroom the fruits of their
train-
ing. The rector’s chief concern should be the spiritual
development of the young men committed to his care, but
he should make
every effort to achieve the goals which
the Society has in mind in founding
and conducting
schools.
2. He will have a prefect
of studies to assist
him in the administration of the curriculum, and he
shall
delegate to him all the authority which he considers
necessary for
the right conduct of that office.
15
3. He shall so manage
and regulate his other
responsibilities as to be able to encourage and
promote
all the forms of literary projects in the school. He
must
occasionally visit the classes, including the
lower ones. He shall
frequently attend the private and
public disputations in theology and
philosophy. He
should observe whether these various scholastic
exer-
cises produce the desired results. If they are ineffec-
tive, he
should discover the reasons.
4. He should not excuse
anyone from attending
the disputations or repetitions, thus giving the
stu-
dents to understand that he attaches great importance
to these
exercises.23 He
should likewise prevent stu-
dents from engaging in pursuits which may
interfere with
their studies.
5. Those who are engaged
in the graduate biennium
of theology24 are
not to be assigned by the rector to
preach in churches or convents of nuns
except rarely
and with the provincial’s approval.
6. They may, however,
substitute for the regular
teachers of philosophy or theology who chance to
be ab-
sent. They may likewise, if there is need, take the
place of the
professors in presiding over the repetitions
and disputations conducted
within the college. If the
provincial consents, they may for a time even
teach
philosophy or theology.
7. The rector shall
provide for the formation of
study groups (academies) in Hebrew and Greek
among the
scholastics. Members of such groups should meet to
prac-
tice these languages two
or three times a week at a
stated time, possibly during the recreation
periods. By
thus becoming proficient in them, they will preserve the
knowledge of these languages and maintain for them a po-
sition of honor
in our Society and with the general pub-
lic.
8. He shall take care that
at home our scholas-
tics keep up the practice of speaking Latin.25
Excep-
tion may be made only on vacation days and during recre-
ation
periods, but even at these times the practice may
be retained in certain
places if the provincial thinks
16
it advisable. The
rector shall also see to it that when
our scholastics who are still in their
studies write to
other scholastics they shall do so in Latin. Moreover,
two or three times a year, on the occasion of some spe-
cial festivity,
such as the beginning of a new academic
year or the renewal of vows,
students of philosophy and
theology should compose verses and display them
in pub-
lic.
9. To make sure that the
teachers of the lower
classes do not enter upon teaching as raw recruits,
the
rector of the college which supplies masters of classi-
cal
literature and of granunar shall, toward the end of
their studies, select an
experienced professor and have
those who are about to begin teaching meet
with him for
an hour three times a week, to acquire pedagogical
tech-
nique. They shall take turns in giving the prelection,
in
dictating, in writing, in correcting, and in perform-
ing the other duties of
a good teacher.26
10. It may happen that
scholastics of the Society
who are studying rhetoric and humanities do not
attend
public classes or, when they do, they may find that the
instructor is too overburdened to do justice to both lay
students and
scholastics. In such circumstances the
rector shall assign some other
capable teacher to give
our scholastics private instruction and exercises at
home according to the directions given in the rules for
the professor of
rhetoric.
11. It is likewise for the
rector to see that our
students of rhetoric occasionally write and deliver
at
dinner or in the school auditorium Latin or Greek ora-
tions or verses
on some subject which will be of spiritu-
al benefit and inspiration to
students of the college
and to externs. He shall be careful that other
academic
exercises recommended in the Constitutions be not
ne-
glected.
12. Wherever possible, our
boarding students
should study rhetoric for a year before they take up the
study of philosophy. Their parents should be shown how
advantageous this
is. Day students should be urged to
do the same, but are not to be compelled
if they cannot
17
be persuaded to follow
this advice. Nevertheless, should
very young students, from whom disturbance
more than prog-
ress may be expected, wish to study philosophy, they may
be treated as the Constitutions (Part IV, ch. 17, D) pro-
vide in the
case of those who are unwilling to bind them-
selves with a promise to
observe the Constitutions or to
enter their names for matriculation.27
13. Tragedies and
comedies,28
which are to be pro-
duced only rarely and in Latin, must have a spiritual
and
edifying theme. Whatever is introduced as an interlude
must be in
Latin and observe propriety. No female make-
up or costume is to be
permitted.
14. Prizes may be
distributed publicly once a year
provided their cost is borne by prominent
persons and is
kept moderate in proportion to the number of students and
the status of the college. The donors of prizes should
receive
recognition at the distribution ceremony. It is
the rector’s duty to see
that in preparing for the com-
petition the students do not fall behind in
their stud-
ies or develop undesirable attitudes.
15. The rector shall see
to it that the convoca-
tion address at the beginning of the new school year
is
delivered by one of the more distinguished members of the
faculty.
16. He shall see to the
observance of the rule of
the librarian which directs that copies of
literary work
written and displayed within the college and outside by
members of the Society--dialogues, addresses, verses, and
works of a
similar nature--be preserved in the archives.
It is for the prefect of
studies or other competent
judges to select the papers to be thus
preserved.
17. He shall instruct the
librarian not to depart
from the directions of the prefect of studies in
regard
to the circulation of books.
18. Every month, or at
least every other month,
the rector shall call a meeting of the teachers of
all
classes below logic, at which both prefects of studies
should be
present; and from time to time he shall call
18
a meeting of the other
professors, at which the prefect
of higher studies should be present. At
these confer-
ences some of the rules for the teachers of the lower
studies should be read, and also some that are common
to all teachers,
especially those pertaining to disci-
pline and piety, and then some of the
rules that are
special to the teachers of the individual classes. He
shall make it clear to the teachers that they are free
to propose
problems that may have arisen in following
the rules or any lapse in their
observance.
19. The lower classes must
have a weekly holiday,
either for an entire day or at least for the
afternoon,
depending on the custom of the region.
20. The rector should
strive, with religious
charity, to stimulate enthusiasm in the teachers for
their work, and should see to it that they be not over-
burdened with
non-academic chores. He should pay par-
ticular attention in their regard to
what is prescribed
in the twenty-fifth rule of his office.29
21. He should consider
whether, in addition to
the weekly spiritual talk given by the teachers,
another
should be given every month or two by some older priest,
using
for the purpose a large classroom or hall, where
the lower classes can all
be accommodated. He should
likewise consider whether it would be useful for
the
prefect of studies or some one else to visit the classes
periodically in order to give the students practical ad-
vice suited to
their needs.
22. When the provincial
appoints an assistant to
the prefect of lower studies, he may be called
prefect
of the hall. His responsibilities are set down in the
Rules of
the Prefect of Lower Studies, in rule 2 and in
rules 37 to the end, which
concern discipline. It may
also be thought well to have him perform the
duties out-
lined in rules 9 to 13 which have to do with the exam-
ination
of new students.
23. The rector shall see
to the establishment in
his college of the Sodality of the Annunciation
affili-
ated to that of the
Roman College.30
Students who are
not enrolled in the Sodality are not eligible for
admis-
19
sion to the various
literary academies, unless the rec-
tor sees fit to make an exception.
Exercises of the
Sodality or of an academy are not to be scheduled at a
time when sermons or lectures are being given in the
college
church.
24. Finally, the rector
shall consult the provin-
cial and diligently carry out what he shall
prescribe
concerning vacations, degrees, those who are to be
se-
lected for a biennium in
theology, and similar matters.
*
* * * *
RULES OF THE PREFECT OF STUDIES
1. The function of the
prefect of studies31 is
to act as general assistant to the rector in properly
organizing and
directing our schools according to the
amount of authority delegated to him
by the rector, so
that those who attend our schools will, to the greater
glory of God, make the greatest possible progress in de-
velopment of character, literary skills, and
learning.
2. Where the office of
Chancellor32 in
a college
is distinct from that of the prefect of studies, it is
for the
provincial (keeping in mind the customs and
statutes of the college in
question) to determine which
of the following rules apply to both alike and
which
are peculiar to one or the other.
3. The prefect of studies
shall neither change
nor dispense from the directives and regulations
con-
tained in the system of studies, but if need for a change
should
arise, he shall have recourse to the superior.
4. It is the duty of the
prefect of studies to
familiarize himself with the Ratio Studiorum and
see
20
that students and
teachers observe its prescriptions,
particularly those which have to do with
the teaching
of St. Thomas in theology and the rules which govern
the
selection of views to be held in philosophy. In
this latter he should be
doubly vigilant where there is
question of a defense of philosophical theses
and above
all when the theses are to be printed.
5. He shall remind the
professors of theology,
of philosophy, and of moral, especially those who
tend
to delay over their subject matter, that they should
keep advancing
steadily so as to cover the matter as-
signed them each year.
6. He shall preside at all
disputations which
the professors of theology or philosophy attend. He
shall signal the end of the disputation and shall so
proportion the time
that each will have an opportunity
to take part. He shall not allow any
problem which
comes up for discussion to be so hashed and rehashed
that
it will be no better understood in the end than
at the start. After allowing
for debate, he shall ask
the presiding officer to give a succinct and final
ex-
planation. He himself should not give the solution,
but rather should
direct the give-and-take of the dis-
putation. He will do this with greater
dignity by not
joining in the argument, though this is sometimes
proper,
but by asking questions to bring out the precise point
at
issue.
7. He shall remind the
superior in good time to
consult with the professors and choose the students
who are to defend theses, either on the whole of the-
ology or on any
part of it. These comprehensive dis-
putations, usually called “acts,”33
will be presented,
not by those engaged in the two-year review of theology,
but by theology students of the fourth-year class.
Third-year students
may be chosen if the fourth-year
class is very small. The "acts" are to be
held even
when members of the Society study theology in one of
their own
houses. Outsiders are to be invited and the
defense should be conducted with
some pomp and circum-
stance. Disputants in the "acts" on the whole of
the-
ology need not be chosen from among those who have al-
ready defended
some part of theology; rather let those
21
who show greater skill
and ability be chosen. Those
who are destined to have the graduate biennium
in the-
ology shall hold their "acts" during that time, as will
be
explained later.
8. In consultation with
the theology professors,
the prefect shall draw up from the four divisions
of
theology34 the
subject matter for the particular dis-
putations which individuals will have.
These disputa-
tions are not to be held too frequently but only from
time
to time. They shall last at least two and a half
hours, either in the
morning or the afternoon. There
shall be not fewer than three objectors, one
of whom
should as a rule be a doctor of theology.
9. The comprehensive
disputations or "acts" em-
brace all of theology and occupy both morning and
after-
noon. Where it is customary to hold disputations only
in the
morning or the afternoon, they shall be held
for a period of at least four
or five hours.
10. If it is thought
advisable, the theses for
the "acts" may be the same for all who are to take
part
in them that year, and may be printed if it is the ac-
ceptable
practice to do so.
11. When convenient, one
of the "acts" should be
scheduled for the last week of the school year and
an-
other one for the week of the reopening of classes.
12. Each year some former
students not of the
Society, who have completed their theological course
in our college with more than ordinary distinction,
should be invited to
present an "act." Such "acts"
should be conducted with unusual ceremony and
should be
attended by as many members of the Society as possible,
by
extern doctors, and also by princes of the realm.
13. The professors of
theology, either in turn
or both together, shall preside at all the "acts"
so
that each may answer questions pertaining to his sub-
ject. Others of
the Society who are doctors may also
preside.
14. In the "acts" the
theses must not be too
long, nor more than fifty in number, and less than
fifty
22
if it is the accepted
custom of the college. In a par-
ticular defense there should be no more than
twenty
theses, in the monthly disputations not more than twelve
or
fifteen, and in the weekly disputations not more than
eight or
nine.
15. Before the disputation
begins, the defendant
shall briefly explain one or other thesis in
theological
form but with a certain elegance of style.
16. The prefect shall see
to it that the rules of
the professors of theology and of philosophy be
observed
in the conduct of the monthly and weekly disputations.
17. From time to time,
that is, at least once a
month, the prefect shall attend the lectures of the
pro-
fessors and occasionally look over the notes taken down
in class by
the students. Should he observe anything
worthy of critical comment or hear
anything from others
which he knows is well founded, he should call it to
the
attention of the professor with great tact and gentle-
ness. If it
seems necessary he may report the matter to
the rector.
18. He shall do the same
when any point of differ-
ence between himself and a professor arises in
reviewing
the theses. He must not strike out or change any thesis
without the knowledge of the professor, but the change
should be made,
and no one else besides the rector should
know of it.
19. Disputations on the
entire course of philoso-
phy shall be held at the end of the third year.35 For
these disputations only a few shall be selected who are
outstanding
(i.e. who are more than average in ability)
and capable of upholding the
dignity of the occasion.
20. These defendants are
to be chosen by three
or more examiners, one of whom shall always be the
pre-
fect of studies and another the defendant’s professor.
The rector
shall assign a third, either another professor
or someone else whom he
judges to be competent. To these
three the rector shall add two more
teachers who may be
changed or substituted for; but if teachers are not
avail-
able, he may appoint any two capable examiners who are to
cast
their votes in writing with the other three examiners.
23
Thus there will be a
minimum of five votes, which are
to be cast in secret and kept in strictest
confidence.
21. It shall suffice for
the day or boarding stu-
dents to be examined by their prefect and two
students
who are reviewing philosophy, or, lacking these, by two
of the
abler Jesuit students of theology selected by the
prefect of studies.
However, students judged worthy of
a defense by these examiners shall not
prepare for it
until they have been approved by their own professor and
the prefect of studies.
22. No Jesuit student,
nor, as far as possible,
any boarding student is to be excused from this
examina-
tion. Unless something interferes, it is to be held in
public,
that is, when a Jesuit student is examined, all
other Jesuit students shall
be present; when a boarding
student is examined, it shall be before all the
philoso-
phy students of his college; and when a day student is
examined
(who, however, shall not be forced to undergo
the examination), day students
of philosophy, at least
of his class, shall attend.
23. The examinations shall
begin immediately after
the Easter holidays, or sooner if the number to be
exam-
ined is very large. After consulting with the prefect
of studies
and the professor of the class, the rector
shall draw up a calendar of
examination days which he
considers most suitable. The examination of each
stu-
dent shall last at least an hour and cover all the im-
portant
subject matter, which the prefect of studies
shall assign to the examiners
in good season and in se-
cret.
24. Disputations in
philosophy shall take up the
same amount of time as the regular classes,
either in
the morning or the afternoon. Generally there shall be
three
objectors, one of whom, when possible, shall be a
Jesuit professor of
philosophy or of theology, or else
a doctor, either from another religious
order or an ex-
tern. The number and nature of the theses shall be the
same as prescribed in rules 9, 10, 11 and 12 for general
disputations in
theology.
25. The prefect shall take
care that not only
the students but also the professors attend the
"acts"
24
in theology and also
in philosophy, and that students
and professors of philosophy attend the
"acts" in philo-
sophy. The professors will give life as well as dignity
to the disputation by joining in the argument. All must
likewise be
present when a master’s or a doctor’s degree
is to be conferred. The rector
shall let the prefect of
studies know what his responsibilities are on such
an
occasion.
26. When members of the
Society are invited to a
disputation by externs, either in public academies
or
houses of religious, those should be sent who are engaged
in the
two-year review of theology.
27. With the aid of the
teachers, the prefect shall
prescribe an orderly plan of study, repetition,
and dis-
putation not only for the Jesuit students but also for
the
boarding and day students. He shall so arrange their
timetable that suitable
hours be reserved for private
study.
28. He shall not permit
any address to be delivered
publicly either in the college or outside,
whether by stu-
dents who are to be granted degrees, by disputants engaged
in general or particular "acts," or by students of rhetor-
ic, unless he
has previously examined and approved it.
29. He shall make sure
that the students have
enough useful books at their disposal and a minimum
of un-
profitable ones. He should therefore remind the rector
in good
time to make provision for a supply of books to
meet the present and future
needs of both Jesuit and ex-
tern students.
30. He shall not give
permission to students of
theology and philosophy to have books of any and
every
nature. They should be allowed only those which have
been
recommended by their instructors and approved by the
rector. The theologians
should have the Summa of St.
Thomas, the philosophers Aristotle, and in
addition some
selected commentary which they may consult in their private
study. All theologians should have the decrees of the
Council of Trent
and the Bible, and they should become
familiar with them. The prefect should
discuss with the
rector the suitability of readings in Patristic literature.
He shall likewise give both theologians and philosophers
25
some work of classical
literature and suggest that they
set themselves a definite, though not too
rigid a sche-
dule for such reading.
* * * * *
COMMON RULES OF
PROFESSORS OF THE
HIGHER FACULTIES
1. It should be the
set purpose of the teacher,
both in his lectures as opportunity offers and
on other
occasions, to inspire his students to the love and serv-
ice of
God and to the practice of the virtues which He
expects of them, for this is
the sole purpose of all
their activities.
2. To keep this ideal ever
before their minds
let one of the students recite a short prayer, composed
for this purpose, at the beginning of class. The profes-
sor and students
should follow attentively and with heads
uncovered. At least let the
professor, with uncovered
head, make the sign of the Cross and then begin
his lec-
ture.
3. He should also pray
frequently for the spiri-
tual welfare of his students and be an example to
them
by his dedicated life. And he should sometimes exhort
them on
religious matters, at least prior to the major
feasts and the longer
vacations. He should especially
urge them to pray to God, to examine their
consciences
in the evening, to receive the sacraments of penance and
the
holy eucharist frequently and fervently, to attend
Mass daily, to listen to
sermons on all feast days, to
shun bad habits, to hate sin, and to cultivate
the vir-
tues worthy of a Christian man.
4. He should obey the
prefect of studies in every-
thing that concerns studies and the discipline
of the
26
school. He should
submit theses to the prefect for
review before they are published. He should
not under-
take to explain any texts or authors not commonly in
use, nor
introduce innovations in his method of teaching
or in the conduct of
disputations.
5. In arguing debatable
questions, he should de-
fend his view with such modesty and courtesy as to
show
respect for the contrary view, the more so if it was
held by his
predecessor. When it is possible to recon-
cile diverse views, an attempt
should be made to do so.
He should express himself temperately in naming or
re-
futing authors.
6. Even in regard to
doctrines which do not in-
volve danger to faith and piety, no professor
should
propose novel opinions in matters of serious import,
nor espouse
views which are not grounded on reputable
authority, without first
consulting his superiors. He
should not teach anything that runs counter to
the estab-
lished doctrines of scholastic theologians and the com-
mon
teaching of the schools. Rather everyone should
follow the masters and, as
far as circumstances of the
times allow, the accepted teaching of Catholic
authori-
ties.
7. He should not bring up
worthless, obsolete,
absurd, or patently false opinions, nor spend time in
commenting on or refuting them. He should seek to es-
tablish his
conclusions not so much by the number as by
the cogency of his arguments. He
should not digress
into matters foreign to his subject, nor treat his
sub-
ject diffusely or out of its proper place. Instead of
heaping up
possible objections, he should bring up
briefly only the weightiest of them,
unless even these
can be easily refuted from the established proof of the
proposition.
8. Let him avoid citing
the authority of learned
men to excess, but if he has the witness of eminent
the-
ologians in confirmation of his views, or in particular
the
authority of Scripture, the Councils, or the Fathers,
he should as far as
possible quote their own words, but
briefly and faithfully. It scarcely
becomes the dignity
of a professor to cite an authority whose works he
him-
self has not read.
27
9. If anyone can teach
without dictating, yet
in such a way that the students can take whatever
notes
they need, it is better for him not to dictate. Cer-
tainly anyone
who dictates should do so in continuous
sentences and not pause between each
word. If need be,
he can then repeat the whole sentence in the same words.
Nor should he first dictate a whole passage and then
explain it, but his
dictation should be accompanied by
a running commentary.
10. Citations from authors
whose books are easily
accessible are to be explained but not dictated. In
fact, the teacher should give his students references to
authors who
discuss pertinent points accurately and in
detail.
11. After his lecture he
should remain in or near
his classroom for at least a quarter of an hour so
that
his pupils may come and ask him questions. He will thus
be able
occasionally to demand an account of his lectures
and to see that they are
reviewed.
12. Every day, except
Saturdays, holidays, and
feast days, an hour is to be assigned the Jesuit
students
for repetition that thus their mindsmay be given more
exercise and difficult
points that arise be better ex-
plained. And so one or two students,
appointed in ad-
vance, should give the repetition from memory for not
more than a quarter of an hour. Then discussion should
begin, with one
or two proposing objections and one or
two answering them. Any time
remaining is to be given
to resolving difficulties. To secure time for this
the
teacher will insist that the syllogistic form of reason-
ing be
strictly followed. When the objectors have nothing
new to advance, he should
cut short the discussion.
13. Toward the end of the
year there is to be a
repetition of the year’s lectures. It is to be so
ar-
ranged that as far as possible an entire month will be
left free from
both lectures and repetitions.
14. On Saturday or any
other day dictated by lo-
cal custom, disputations should be held in the
classes
for two hours, or longer where there are many extern stu-
dents.
If two feast days occur in a week, or one feast
day besides the weekly
holiday, the disputations will be
28
dropped and regular
lectures given; but should this
circumstance occur three weeks in
succession, one dis-
putation shall be held.
15. Where the approved
custom of the school does
not interfere, disputations shall be helLi, in
both the
morning and the afternoon on a definite day every month,
except
during the last three months of the summer. If
the number of students is
small, the disputations shall
be held every second month. Each teacher
should select
a student to defend theses drawn from the subject matter
of his class.
16. Other professors of
the Society, though they
belong to different faculties, should attend the
dispu-
tations whenever possible. To enliven the discussions,
they should
press the objections that are proposed, but
should not urge an objection
while the appointed objec-
tor
is still arguing his point with vigor and effect.
The same privilege may be
extended to extern doctors,
who may even be invited expressly to take part
in the
argument, unless in some places this practice does not
meet with
approval.
17. None but the better
students should be allowed
to take part in public disputations. The rest
should be
prepared by private disputations until they are suffi-
ciently
well trained to appear creditably in public.
18. The professor should
consider that a day of
disputation demands as much effort and bears as much
fruit as a day of class, and that the whole effectiveness
and zest of
the disputation depend on himself. While
presiding he should appear to be
arguing with both de-
fendant and objector. He should applaud a point well
made and call it to everybody’s attention. When an un-
usually important
difficulty is proposed, let him offer
some suggestion either to assist the
defender or to di-
rect the objector. He should neither keep silent too
long nor speak too often, so that the student disputants
will be able to
demonstrate what they know. He should,
however, correct or elaborate the
arguments advanced by
the disputants. He should urge the objector to keep
pressing a difficulty as long as it still has force. In
fact, he himself
should strengthen its force, and he
must block any attempt of the objector
to turn aside to
another argument. He
should not permit an objection
already fairly well solved to be pressed on
too long
nor a weak answer to be defended too long; but after
some
discussion, he should briefly state and explain
the point of the debate.
Finally, any other practices
introduced in the schools which make the
disputation
livelier and more popular should be carefully
retained.
19. He should occasionally
confer with his as-
sistant or beadle,36 who
is appointed by the rector,
and question him about the state of the whole
class as
well as the industry and progress of the extern stu-
dents. He
should see to it that the beadle himself
discharges his duties faithfully
and well.
20. In sum, the professor,
with the help of God’s
grace, should be diligent and unremitting in his work
and eager for the advancement of his students in their
lectures and
other exercises. He must not show himself
either partial or unfriendly to
anyone. He must give
attention to the advancement in studies of the poor and
the wealthy with equal solicitude, devoting himself in
a special way to
the progress of each and everyone of
his students.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE PROFESSOR
OF
SACRED SCRIPTURE
1. He should understand
that his principal duty
will be to explain the Sacred Scriptures reverently,
learnedly, and seriously, according to their genuine and
exact sense.
Thus will true faith in God and the founda-
tions of sound morality be
strengthened.
2. Chief among his
objectives in teaching Holy Writ
will be to defend the version approved by
the Church.
30
3. In order to
ascertain the genuine sense of
Holy Writ, he must note the idiomatic
expressions
and figures of speech peculiar to Scripture. He must
skilfully compare the passage he is reading not only
with that which
precedes and follows but also with
other passages where the same phrase will
have some-
times the same, sometimes a different meaning.
4. For this purpose he
should cite pertinent
examples from the Hebrew and Greek versions, but he
should do so briefly and only when some discrepancy
between them and the
Vulgate must be harmonized, or
when idiomatic expressions of the Hebrew or
Greek ver-
sions afford clearer meaning and insight.
5. In the study of recent
Latin, Chaldaic, and
Syriac versions as well as those of Theodotio, Aquila,
and Symmachus, he should take up for discussion and
refutation only
outstanding errors and those which have
seeming plausibility. On the other
hand, he should not
omit any evidence that strongly supports the Vulgate and
the mysteries of the faith, especially when such evidence
is found in
the Septuagint, which must always be spoken
of with deference.
6. If the canons of Popes
or Councils, notably
the General Councils, declare that a literal sense is
to be attached to any passage, he should defend that
literal sense. He
should not add any other literal
meanings unless led to do so by unusually
strong conjec-
tures. If the Popes or Councils explicitly adduce any
text
to establish a dogma of faith, he should teach that
sense, whether literal
or mystical, as certain.
7. Let him reverently
follow in the footsteps of
the Fathers of the Church. If he finds that they
are
of one mind on a literal or allegorical interpretation,
especially
if they speak explicitly or in clear terms
and refer professedly to the
Scriptures or dogmas, he
should not differ from them. However, if they
disagree,
he should choose from their different interpretations
the one
which the Church has for many years and by gen-
eral consent favored most.
8. Should a majority of
the Fathers or theologi-
ans maintain that they can prove some dogma of faith
from
Holy Writ, he should not say that it cannot be proved
from that
source.
9. If anything in the
rabbinical writings of the
Jews is of any value in supporting the Vulgate or
Catho-
lic dogma, he should cite it in such a way that he will
not lead
others astray by seeming to endow it with pres-
tige, especially if it be
found in the writings of those
authors who lived after the time of
Christ.
10. He should not concern
himself with searching
out other rabbinical lore, or with attacking their
errors,
unless the authors be of very high repute. He should
adopt the
same attitude toward certain Christian exegetes
who have trusted too much to
the rabbinical writers.
11. He should not put
overmuch reliance on vowel
points, an invention of the rabbis, but he should
dili-
gently study how our version or the Septuagint or other
ancient
interpreters read the passage in the absence of
vowel points.
12. He should not delay
unduly over single texts
of Scriptures, except when one is so important as
to be
worth the delay. Otherwise progress will be slow. He
will save
time by passing rapidly over easier texts or
omitting them.
13. He should not use the
scholastic method37 in
questions peculiar to Holy Writ.
14. He should not dwell
long on fine points of
chronology, topography or other less useful matters
of
this kind except when some passage demands such inquiry.
It will
suffice to mention writers who treat these mat-
ters fully.
15. He should not fail to
notice allegories and
moral passages if they are not commonly known, if they
are obviously suggested by the wording of the passage,
and especially if
they present a striking observation of
profound import. In the absence of
such values, he
should do no more than indicate where the passage is
discussed by the Fathers.
16. If he chance upon a
passage which is in dis-
pute between ourselves and heretics, or which has
been
worn threadbare in theological discussions, he should
merely
explain the passage in a dignified yet vigorous
manner, especially if
he is disputing against heretics.
He should focus his attention on the
importance of the
topic for this precise context. By omitting all
extrane-
ous detail he will show that he is mindful of his sole
responsibility, which is to teach Scripture and Scripture
alone.
17. Unless for a time some
other arrangement be
thought better, he should expound the Old and the New
Testament in alternate years.
18. Except for a very good
reason, he should not
carry over into another year the explanation of a book
begun the previous year. He should not take up unfin-
ished matter of the
previous year until he has almost
finished matter assigned to the new
term.
19. Besides the
repetitions held once a week for
our scholastics, pertinent table readings
from the Scrip-
tures are to be given occasionally in the refectory, as
the rector may decide.
20. In place of the usual
lecture, from time to
time one of the pupils should be chosen to expound
fully
and in literary style some more famous passage of Holy
Writ. When
he has finished, one or two of his fellow
students should argue against him.
The objector should
draw his material only from Scripture itself or from the
peculiarities of the language of Scripture or from the
interpretations
of the Fathers.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE PROFESSOR OF HEBREW
1. He should consider it
of the first importance
to interpret with complete accuracy the original
words
of Holy Writ.
2. Among his
objectives in teaching the Hebrew
language will be the defense of the
version of Scrip-
ture approved by the Church.
3. In the beginning of the
year he is to explain
the simplest rudiments of granimar and then, while
con-
tinuing instruction in the language, he should explain
one of the
easier books of Scripture.
4. In interpreting Holy
Writ, he should not
spend so much effort on the content and the thought as
on the sense and force of the words, the idiomatic ex-
pressions, and the
grammatical rules as exemplified in
the apt usage of the writers.
5. Finally, he should so
plan his teaching tech-
niques as to reduce and relieve by his efforts that
out-
landish harshness which in the minds of some bedevils
the study of
this language.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE PROFESSOR
OF
SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGY
1. He should
understand that it is his duty to
combine keenness of mind in disputation
with untarnished
faith and sincere love of God so that his professional
competence will contribute to his progress in the spir-
itual
life.
2. Members of our Society
shall expressly follow
the teaching of St. Thomas in scholastic theology.
They
should consider him their own teacher and should make
every effort
to have their students hold him in the high-
est possible esteem. Still, they
are not to consider
themselves so restricted to his teaching that they may
not depart from him in any single point. Even those who
expressly style
themselves Thomists sometimes depart from
his doctrine. The
members of the Society therefore
should not be more strictly bound to him
than the Thom-
ists themselves.
3. In regard to the
Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin38 and
to the meaning of solemn vows,39 let
them defend the doctrine more cornmonly held in our time
and the one
generally favored by theologians. In purely
philosophical questions and in
those which pertain to
Scripture and Canon Law, they are at liberty also to
follow other authorities who have professedly dealt with
these
subjects.
4. In matters when the
opinion of St. Thomas is
ambiguous or not even expressed, it is permitted to
choose either side if Catholic scholars are not in agree-
ment, as is
stated in the fifth of the common rules.
5. In teaching he should
have first regard for
strengthening faith and nourishing devotion. So with
respect to questions which St. Thomas does not treat
professedly, no one
should teach any doctrine that does
not accord well with the mind of the
Church and her tra-
ditions or that in any way might bring about a decline
in genuine piety. Hence, no one is to quibble about the
arguments
usually accepted in dealing with matters of
faith, even though they are
drawn only from the fitness
of things. He should not contrive new arguments
unless
he can base them on solid principles.
6. Opinions, of no matter
what author, which are
known to be highly offensive to Catholics of a
particu-
lar province or school of thought, are not to be taught
or
defended wherever they might arouse resentment. When
matters of faith or
morals are not involved, a prudent
charity dictates that members of our
Society should have
due regard for the feelings of those among whom they
dwell.
7. The full course of
theology is to be covered
in four years. If there are two professors of
scholastic
theology:
#1. The first professor
shall explain forty-three
questions from the Prima Primae [of St.
Thomas’ Summa
Theologica] in the first year; in the second
year, the
matter on the angels and twenty-one questions from the
Prima Secundae; in the third year, from Questions 55
or
71 to the end of the
Prima Secundae; in the fourth year,
the matter on faith, hope, and
charity from the Secunda
Secundae.
#2. The second professor
shall treat during the
first year the questions on justice and right from
the
Secunda Secundae and the principal questions de religione;
during the second year, the questions on the Incarnation
from the
Tertia, and, if possible, some of the more im-
portant articles on the
sacraments in general; during the
third year, he should treat of baptism and
the eucharist
and if possible orders, confirmation, and extreme unction;
during the fourth year he should take up penance and
matri-
mony.
#3. Where there are three
professors of theology,
in the first year the first professor shall explain
twenty-six questions from the Prima Primae; in the second
year,
as many of the remaining questions as he can; in
the third year, whatever he
can cover from the Prima
Secundae to Question eighty-one; in
the fourth year, the
remainder of the Prima Secundae.
#4. The second professor
shall expound in the first
year from the Secunda Secundae the
controversies on scrip-
ture, tradition, the Church, the Council, the Roman
Pon-
tiff; in the second year, questions on faith, hope, and
charity; in
the third year, whatever he can cover on jus-
tice and right, on restitution,
usury, and contracts; in
the fourth year, whatever remains to be treated on
con-
tracts, and St. Thomas’ treatment on religion and the
states of
life.
#5. The third professor
shall deal with, in the
first year, questions on the Incarnation; in the
second
year, questions on the sacraments in general, and on the
eucharist and baptism; in the third year, the questions
on penance and
matrimony; in the fourth year, questions
on ecclesiastical censures and on
the rest of the sacra-
ments.
8. Each professor should
finish within the year
the subject matter he was assigned to teach. If he
cannot complete some part of it, he should not postpone
it to another
year, but rather omit it altogether and
refer the students to a reliable
author.
9. To facilitate progress
in scholastic theology,
it is expedient for the teacher to leave out of
con-
sideration, whenever
possible, certain types of subject
matter, but in particular these
four:
#1. One type concerns
questions and commentary
on Scripture which may be left to the professor of
Scrip-
ture.
#2. Another has to do with
controversies with here-
tics. When these are met in St. Thomas, they should
be
treated in the scholastic rather than the historical meth-
od. It will
suffice to bolster the conclusions with two
or three solid arguments and to
expose two or three of
the principal calumnies of the heretics. In each
in-
stance, however, the teacher should indicate some author
who will
give further material to those who want it.
#3. To the third type
belong philosophical ques-
tions. He should not deal with these questions
express-
ly, nor discuss them, but simply indicate where the stu-
dents
may find explanations worked out by himself or
others.
#4. The fourth type
concerns cases of conscience.
He should merely point out certain general
moral princi-
ples, which are usually discussed in theological
dispu-
tations, and pass over the more subtle and minute ex-
planation of
the cases.
10. When it happens that
St. Thomas treats of the
same problem in several distinct treatises, the
problem
should not be studied first in one context and then in
another,
but the several treatments should be synthesized,
or, if the scope of the
subject matter permits, reduced
to a brief synopsis. This procedure is
definitely pro-
vided for in the catalogue of questions appended to these
rules.40 It
must be remembered, however, that no point
of any significance in any of the
treatises is to be
overlooked in this procedure.
11. The teacher should
skim rapidly over the ar-
ticles that are easily understood. Thus, after
read-
ing the title, he should at once indicate in a few words
the
conclusion of St. Thomas, or say: St. Thomas answers
by denying or
affirming. In questions of greater dif-
ficulty, he is to proceed somewhat as
follows: he should
first explain the title of the article in case it is not
altogether clear. He should then point out the differ-
ent elements in
the main proposition which may be responsi-
ble for the drawing of divergent
conclusions. Finally,
he should set forth
St. Thomas’ several conclusions,
beginning with the most significant. He
should then
point out the reasoning process which led up to each
conclusion, unless of course they are quite obvious.
In this way the
students will realize that St. Thomas’
logic possesses more cogency than at
first sight would
appear.
12. After explaining a
proposition, he should
discuss its various implications, but not at great
length, except in such matters as are not treated in
St. Thomas or are
treated but would profit from a fuller
explanation.
13. It is not enough for
him to report the opin-
ions of the doctors without committing himself. Let
him either defend the views of St. Thomas, as has been
said, or omit the
question altogether.
14. In the monthly
disputations there should be
as many disputants as there are teachers.
Generally,
three should argue in the morning and three in the
af-
ternoon. Whosoever pleases may argue against the defend-
ants, and if
nothing interferes, the first defendant at
the morning session should be
second in the afternoon.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE PROFESSOR
OF
CASES OF CONSCIENCE41
1. He must direct all
his efforts and skill to
the training of competent pastors and
administrators
of the sacraments.
2. One professor should
spend two years on the
explanation of all the sacraments, the censures, and
the different states of life and their duties. The
other professor
should likewise spend two years on the
ten commandments,
including under the seventh the
subject of contracts, but always touching
only light-
ly on matters of less importance and those not per-
tinent to
the course, such as removal from office,
loss of rank, magic, and similar
topics.
3. He should refrain
entirely from treating of
theological questions which have no essential
connec-
tion with cases of conscience. It will be expedient,
however, for
him to discuss very briefly certain the-
ological points on which the
doctrinal aspects of the
cases depend, as, for example, what the sacramental
character is, whether there is one or many, what mortal
and venial sin
are, what constitutes consent, and the
like.
4. Short of using the
scholastic formalities,
each difficulty is to be handled by proposing a
diffi-
culty and resolving it. The solution should be based
on not more
than two or three arguments, and authori-
ties for it should not be heaped
up. Three particular
cases will suffice to illustrate a general precept or
rule.
5. He should substantiate
his own opinions in
such a way that if another opinion seems probable and
is supported by good authority, he shall recognize it
as also
probable.
6. Every Saturday the
lecture shall be dropped
and a disputation on proposed solutions of cases
will
be held before the teacher for a period of two hours,
or a little
less, depending on the decision of the pro-
vincial and the size of the class. The
disputation
should be conducted by means of questions, that is, by
asking the solution of some difficulty, by proposing a
new case with
some changed circumstances, by citing a
canon or the opinion of a noted
authority against some
conclusion. Sometimes a short discussion pro
and contra
may be introduced to lend more dignity to the occasion,
but it should be done with moderation and on a different
level from the
usual philosophical disputation.
7. If he has been
appointed by the rector at
the provincial’s bidding to take charge of the
discus-
sion of cases in the community, he should observe the
following
order. First, he should choose a subject
for discussion,
sometimes a subject bearing on actual
practice, such as the manner of
questioning a penitent,
the remedies to be applied and penances to be
imposed,
and the like. Second, he should briefly discuss the
subject
matter chosen, indicating the principles and
precepts involved, so as to
give a general view of the
subject and to throw light on all its various
aspects.
Lastly, he should choose three or four cases dealing
with the
proposed subject matter. These he should have
posted in the place where the
discussion is to be held
and he should indicate the day for the
meeting.
8. Certain individuals
should privately study
these proposed cases, each taking one case and
reading
up on it in authorities furnished by the presiding
of-
ficer.
9. On convening, it would
be useful for each to
explain briefly the opinion of his authority on the
case he is handling. Next, the presiding officer should
call upon three
or more (who should be forewarned and
should be chosen in rotation) to give
their opinion on
the first case, so that he may arrive at a prudent and
more probable solution. He should follow the same pro-
cedure with the
other cases. Finally, after summing up
the discussion and solution of the
cases as is customary
in a disputation on cases, he should call for
questions
to be answered by one of the three appointed for the
discussion. In the end he should give his own judgment.
10. If anyone comes across
a case outside the
matter ordinarily discussed in these conferences, he
should report it to the presiding officer, if circum-
stances allow, so
that it can be discussed at a later
conference.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE PROFESSOR
OF PHILOSOPHY
1. Since the
humanities or natural sciences42
prepare the intellectual powers for
theology and assist
in the perfect understanding and practical application
of religious truth and by virtue of their content con-
tribute to the
attainment of this goal, the teacher
whose heart is set on advancing the
honor and glory of
God, should teach these secular subjects in a spirit
which will prepare his students, and especially his
Jesuit students, for
the study of theology. He should
above all lead them to a knowledge of their
Creator.
2. He shall not depart
from Aristotle in matters
of importance, unless he find some doctrine
contrary to
the common teaching of the schools or, more serious
still,
contrary to the true faith. If he does find
such contrary doctrines in
Aristotle or any other phil-
osopher, he shall be at pains thoroughly to
refute them
as the Lateran Council prescribes.
3. He shall be very
careful in what he reads or
quotes in class from commentators on Aristotle
who are
objectionable from the standpoint of faith, and he must
be
cautious lest his pupils come under their influence.
4. For this reason he
shall not give separate
treatment to the digressions of Averroes (and this
holds
for others like him). But if he quotes something of
value from his
writings, he should do so without prais-
ing him and, if possible, should
show that Averroes has
borrowed it from another source.
5. He shall not attach
himself or his students
to any philosophical sect, such as the Averroists,
the
Alexandrists,43 and
the like, and he should not cloak
over their errors or those of similar
sects, but should
sharply question and minimize their authority because
of these errors.
6. On the other hand, he
should always speak
favorably of St. Thomas, following him readily when
he
should, differing from
him with respect and a certain
reluctance when he finds him less
acceptable.
7. He should teach the
full course of philosophy
in not less than three years, lecturing for two
hours
daily, one in the morning and one in the afternoon,
unless in his
particular university a different arrange-
ment has been
prescribed.
8. Thus the term will
never be completed before,
or not much before, the vacation period which
falls at
the end of the school year.
9. #1. He should explain
the principles of logic
the first year, devoting the first two months to a
di-
gest of it, not by dictating but by discussing pertinent
passages
from Toledo or Fonseca.44
#2. In the introduction to
logic he should dis-
cuss only such questions as: its claim to be a science,
its proper subject matter, and the general concept of
universal ideas.
He should postpone the full discus-
sion of universals until metaphysics,
being contented
here to give no more than a general idea of them.
#3. Similarly he should
discuss only the easier
of the predicables, which are usually taken from
Aris-
totle, and should defer a larger discussion of them un-
til the second year. But in logic he should
explain as
fully as need be the notions of analogy and relations,
since
these very frequently occur in philosophical dis-
cussions.
#4. He should cursorily
cover the second book
On Interpretation and both books of the
Prior Analytics,
except the first eight or nine chapters of the first
book. Even in these chapters he should explain what
is pertinent and
treat only very briefly the notion of
contingency and not at all the
question of free will.
#5. In order to give the
whole second year to
the physical sciences, he should begin a fuller
discus-
sion of science at the end of the first year and in it
he should
include the major topics of the introduction
to physics, such as the
divisions of science, abstrac-
tions, theoretical and practical science,
subordination,
the difference of method in mathematics and
physics,
which is treated by
Aristotle in the second book of
the Physics, and finally what Aristotle says
about
definition in the second book On the Soul.
#6. The discussion of the
grounds of proof and
fallacies from the Topics and the Elenchi, rearranged
in more convenient order, should preferably be ex-
plained in the digest
given at the beginning of logic.
10. #1. In the second year
he should explain
the eight books of the Physics, the books On the Heavens,
and the first book On Generation. He should treat the
text of the sixth
and seventh books of the Physics com-
pendiously, and likewise that part of
the first book
which discusses the opinions of the ancients. In the
eighth book he should omit discussion of the number of
intelligences, of
liberty, and of the infinity of the
prime mover. These matters will be
explained in meta-
physics according to the views of Aristotle.
#2. The text of the
second, third, and fourth
books On the Heavens will be summarized and for
the most
part omitted. In these books he should deal only with
the
elements and with the substance and influences of
the heavens. The rest can
be left to the professor of
mathematics or reduced to a summary.
#3. What is contained in
the Meteorology will be
gone through in the summer months during the last
hour
of the afternoon class. Where possible it should be
taught by the
regular professor of philosophy, or by a
special teacher, unless another
arrangement seems more
convenient.
11. #1. In the third year
he is to explain the
second book On Generation, the books On the Soul, and
the Metaphysics. He should merely summarize the opin-
ions of the ancient
philosophers that are discussed in
the first book On the Soul, and when he
is discussing
the sense organs in the second book he should avoid
di-
gressing into anatomy and similar topics which are the
concern of
medical science.
#2. In the Metaphysics he
should pass over the
questions on God and on the types of intelligence,
which depend entirely or in great part on truths derived
from
revelation. The preface and the text of the seventh
and twelfth books are
for the most part to be thoroughly
explained. From each
of the other books he should se-
lect certain principal texts which are basic
to the
discussion of questions found in the Metaphysics.
12. He should make it his
chief aim to interpret
well the text of Aristotle and be as painstaking in
this
interpretation as in discussing the subject matter it-
self. He
should likewise convince his students that
their philosophy will be weak and
wanting if they do not
value highly this study of the
texts.
13. Whenever he comes upon celebrated
texts that
are often argued in disputations, he must examine them
carefully by comparing the more noted interpretations
so as to judge
which is to be preferred. He should base
his judgment on a study of the
context, on the special
force of the Greek expression, on a comparison with
other texts, on the authority of eminent commentators,
or finally, on
the conclusiveness of the reasons advanced.
He will then come to certain
minor questions of inter-
pretation which are not to be gone into too deeply
nor
omitted if they are of any importance.
14. He should have
available a large selection
of topics for discussion. If, however, any of
these do
not have their origin in the Aristotelian text at hand,
but are
suggested by some axiom he himself uses as a
passing remark in his argument,
they are to be deferred
until they are met in their proper place in other
books,
provided they are treated there. Otherwise they are to
be
explained immediately following the text by which
they were
suggested.
15. Questions that come up
in the reading of
Aristotle are to be treated only after all the passages
touching on this matter have been explained, unless in-
deed the passages
are too numerous to be expounded in
one or another lecture. But if passages
being read are
too lengthy, such as those on principles, causes, and
motion, then the emerging questions are to be neither
treated
exhaustively nor entirely postponed to the end
of the reading. Rather let
reading and discussion be
suitably intermingled.
16. At the conclusion of a
lecture, the students
in small groups of about ten each should spend half an
hour reviewing among themselves the lecture just given.
One of the students,
preferably a member of the So-
ciety, should be put in charge of each
group.
17. Monthly disputations
are to be held, in
which not less than three students should pose
objec-
tions in the morning and as many in the afternoon. The
first
should argue for an hour and the others for about
three-quarters of an hour.
In the morning disputation
some theologian (if there are enough theologians)
should
open the argument against a student of metaphysics; a
student of
metaphysics against a student of physics; a
student of physics against a
student of logic. In the
afternoon a student of metaphysics, physics, and
logic
respectively should propose arguments against another
student of
each of these disciplines. In the morning
also a student of metaphysics and
in the afternoon a
student of physics should briefly substantiate one or
other conclusion by philosophical arguments.
18. While the professor is
teaching the elements
of logic, neither he nor his students are to attend
these disputations. In fact, during the first week or
two the logicians
will have no disputations but will be
content with the explanation of their
subject. There-
after they can hold disputations in their own class on
Saturdays.
19. Where there is only
one professor of philoso-
phy, he is to hold more impressive disputations
three or
four times a year on a feast day or other holiday, sur-
rounding
them with pomp and ceremony and inviting religious
and other doctors to take
part in the arguments. In this
way our philosophical studies will receive a
fruitful
stimulus.
20. The young philosophers
are to be trained from
the very beginning of logic to consider it a matter
of
shame to deviate in a disputation from the use of the
scholastic
form. The teacher should be most vigorous
in demanding of them the
observance of the laws of argu-
mentation and the proper order to be followed
by the dis-
putants. Accordingly, one who defends in a disputation
must
first repeat the full objection without replying to
the separate premises.
Next he is to repeat each premise
of the argument and reply “I deny” or “I
concede the
major, minor, or conclusion.” Occasionally, too, he
should distinguish,
but rarely interject explanations
or reasons, particularly if
unasked.
*****
RULES OF THE PROFESSOR
OF
MORAL PHILOSOPHY
1. He is to understand
that it is not at all
his concern to digress into theological questions. He
should follow his text and explain briefly and in a
scholarly and
serious manner the principal topics of
moral science as contained in the ten
books of Aristotle’s
Ethics.
2. When the course of
ethics is not handled by
the professor of philosophy himself, the man who
teaches
ethics should expound to the students of metaphysics
the more
important topics of this course for three quar-
ters of an hour or for half
an hour daily.
3. Repetitions of ethics
must be conducted at
least every two weeks at a time set by the rector, even
though one repetition of metaphysics must on this account
be
omitted.
4. When the class of
metaphysics has its monthly
disputations privately at home or publicly in
class, some
thesis in ethics is to be added to the other theses for
disputation, and the student of metaphysics who is ob-
jecting should
argue against this thesis for a quarter of
an hour.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE
PROFESSOR
OF MATHEMATICS
1. He should spend about
three quarters of an
hour of class time in explaining the elements of Euclid
to the students of physics. After two months, when his
students are
somewhat familiar with the subject, he
should add some geography or
astronomy or similar matter
which the students enjoy hearing about. This
added ma-
terial is to be given on the same day with Euclid or on
alternate days.
2. Every month, or at
least every second month,
he should have one of the students solve some
celebrated
mathematical problem in the presence of a large gather-
ing of
students of philosophy and theology. Afterwards,
if he wishes, the solution
may be discussed.
3. Once a month, generally
on a Saturday, the
class period should be given over to a review of the
subject matter completed that month.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE PREFECT
OF
LOWER STUDIES
1. He should be aware that
he has been chosen to
help
the rector in every way possible in directing and
administering our schools
to the end that our students
may advance in uprightness of life as well as
in the
liberal arts.
2. In whatever
pertains to school discipline he
should consult with the rector alone; for
studies he
should seek advice from the general prefect of studies.
He is
not to depart from their decisions, and he must
not abolish any established
custom or introduce any new
one.
3. He should submit to the
general prefect for
his approval declamations which the students of rhetoric
or of the lower classes are to deliver publicly whether
at home or in
the school. Emblematic compositions45 and
poems which are to be displayed on the greater feast
days should be read
by two judges appointed by the rec-
tor. They are to select the
best.
4. He should have at hand
the rules of the teach-
ers and students of the lower classes and enforce
their
observance with the same fidelity with which he must ob-
serve
those of his own office. He should assist and di-
rect the teachers, and take
special care that nothing is
done to lessen their authority and esteem in
the eyes of
others, especially of their pupils.
5. He must carefully see
to it that new instruc-
tors retain the methods and practices of their
predeces-
sors, provided, however, that these are in harmony with
the
Ratio. Thus there will be less occasion for complaint
at our frequent change
of teachers.
6. He should visit every
instructor at least every
two weeks. He should note whether they give the
proper
amount of time and effort to Christian doctrine, whether
they are
making sufficient headway in carrying out and
reviewing the assigned subject
matter, and finally, whe-
ther they conduct themselves in a proper and
commendable
manner in all dealings with their pupils.
7. He should note well in
advance and inform the
teachers of feast days and vacations, whether common
to
all the provinces or peculiar to his own, especially the
weekly
holidays, as well as the timetable of classes at
the different seasons of
the year. He should indicate,
too, when the pupils are to be dismissed for
public de-
votions and similar events, or are to be given orders or
prohibitions out of the ordinary.
8. #1. He must be
careful that the subject mat-
ter of the five lower classes, namely,
rhetoric, human-
ities, and the three grammar classes is kept distinct.
If because of the large number of pupils the provincial
orders a class
to be taught in two sections, let each
section keep the same subject matter,
and if several
levels of instruction are in the same classroom, they
must correspond to the grade levels described in the
rules of the
masters.
#2. To keep this
distinction better and more
easily, all the rules of Emmanuel’s grammar
should be
divided into three books, one for each grammar class.
The first book, for the
lowest class, shall com-
prise the whole of Emmanuel’s first book and a brief
introduction to syntax taken from the second book.
The second book, for the
middle grammar class,
shall contain the second book of Emmanuel on the
con-
struction of the eight parts of speech down to figures
of speech,
with the easier appendices added.
The third book, for the
highest grammar class,
shall include the second group of appendices from
Emmanuel’s second book, the treatment of figurative
construction to the
end, and the third book, which is
on scansion and prosody.
A division of the matter
into three parts, sim-
ilar to this, is to be made by even those provinces
which follow a method other than the Roman.46
#3. The instructor of each
class should finish
his book, as a rule, in the first semester and repeat
it in the second. But since the book for the first
class takes in more
matter than can be explained and
reviewed in one year, it should be divided
into two
parts. In fact, it would be better to admit only pupils
who are
well grounded in the first part of the grammar,
so that the second part can
be explained and repeated
in one year, as in the other classes. Where this
can-
not be done, the lowest class ought to have two divi-
sions, one of
which shall study the first part of the
book, and the other the second part,
until the end of
the first semester. In the second semester each of
the
two divisions shall
review the whole from the beginning.
Wherever this division of a class takes
place, one in-
structor may teach the lower division, another the
higher.
#4. This repetition has a
double advantage. First,
what is most often repeated will be more deeply
impressed
on the mind. Second, the more gifted boys can complete
the
course more rapidly than the others, since they can
advance each
semester.
#5. Where there are five
classes, the distinct
scope and subject matter provided for in the rules of
the
instructors are to be observed. Nor should more than
one grade level
be allowed in any class except the lowest.
#6.47
Where there are four classes, either drop
the class of rhetoric and keep the
other four classes as
just described or, what is better, keep rhetoric as the
highest class and retain its subject matter exactly as
defined in the
rules of the teacher of rhetoric. Then
the second class will be that of
humanities, which also
must retain the subject matter defined for it in the
rules of the teacher of humanities. The third class
will have two
divisions, the first corresponding to the
highest grammar class, the second
to the middle grammar
class. Finally, the fourth class shall correspond to
the lowest class of grammar, and it may be divided into
two grade levels
as is explained in the rules of its
teacher. If in this class only one, the
higher division,
is admitted, then the third class shall consist of only
the highest grammar class, while the fourth class will
have two
divisions consisting of the middle and lowest
grammar classes.
#7. Where there are three
classes, the two lower
shall keep their grade level as just described for a
school of four classes. The highest class shall be
either simply
humanities, or let it have two divisions,
one for rhetoric, the other for
humanities. But the
higher division, rhetoric, should not be introduced
ex-
cept with the rector’s advice, when there is a sufficient
number of
pupils able to profit by the subject matter of
this higher division, and
when at the same time the in-
structor will be able to give due care and
attention to
the lower division, or humanities.
#8. Where there are
two classes, the lower shall
have two divisions, the one corresponding to
the higher
level of the lowest grammar class, the other to the mid-
dle
grammar class. Likewise the higher class shall have
two divisions, the one
corresponding to the highest gram-
mar class, the other to the class of
humanities.
#9. Even in classes which
have two divisions, both
will have the same review of the year’s subject
matter
as mentioned in #3 above. Indeed, where possible, so
that each
division may cover all the matter in the first
semester and review it in the
second, the pupils shall
advance as though in two classes of a single
division
and shall spend two years on the subject matter. Should
this
prove too difficult, even more time may be spent.
#10. To secure this result
in classes that have
two divisions, all the subject matter, except grammar,
should be taught in common to both together, the teacher
asking the
easier questions of the lower division, the
harder of the higher. Then only
one theme shall be
given, but the higher division should do the whole theme,
while the lower division should do only the first or the
last part,
which will be adapted to the precepts they
have seen. Finally, the exercises
and contests shall
also be common to both. Only the grammar prelection is
distinct, and this may be given one day to one division,
another day to
the other, or there may be a daily prelec-
tion and review for each division
by apportioning the
time between them.
9. Wherever possible, the
prefect of studies
should not admit a boy to the school who is not brought
by his parents or guardians. This does not apply in
cases where the
prefect knows the boy personally or can
easily obtain references. He must
not, however, refuse
anyone admission because of poverty or inferior social
status.
10. The prefect should
examine new pupils in more
or less the following way: First, he should ask
them
what studies they have had and to what extent. Then he
should have
them write a composition on an assigned topic.
He should likewise question
them on some of the precepts
of the subject they have studied. Finally, he
should
have them translate some short sentences into Latin or,
if he
prefers, have them interpret some passage in an
author.
11. He should admit
those whom he finds well
instructed and of good moral character, and he
should
acquaint them with the rules of our students that they
may know
how to conduct themselves. He should record
in a book their name, surname,
country, age, parents
or guardians, their acquaintances among our students,
and the day and year of their admission. Finally, he
should assign each
one to that class and teacher for
which he is fitted in such wise that he
seem qualified
rather for a higher class than unfitted for his
own.
12. He should seldom admit
to the lowest class
either those who are rather old or are very young,
un-
less they are unusually capable. He is not to relax
this rule even
though the pupil is sent merely for the
advantages of the moral
training.
13. There is to be a
general and formal promotion
once a year after the annual vacation. If,
however, any
show superior ability and give promise of making better
progress in a higher class than their own (the prefect
will know this by
examining their records and consulting
their teachers), they should not be
kept back but may be
promoted any time during the year after an
examination.48
However, such promotion from the highest grammar class
to humanities or
from humanities to rhetoric is hardly
feasible, because in the second
semester of humanities
Latin versification is studied and in rhetoric the
com-
pendium of Cyprian49 is
explained.
14. The matter of the
examination should be one
or, if necessary, two prose compositions for all
the
classes.50 In
the highest grammar class and in humani-
ties, verse should also be required
and, if it seems ad-
visable, a Greek composition a few days
later.
15. The prefect must see
that the instructors an-
nounce the examination two or three days beforehand,
and
that the rules for written examinations, which immedi-
ately follow
these rules of the prefect, are read in
each class.
16. The prefect or someone
whom he appoints shall
preside at the written examinations. When the signal
is
given on the examination day, he shall dictate the sub-
ject matter of
the composition, which should be a short
rather than a long
one.
17. He must keep the
examination papers in his
possession, arranged in alphabetical order. If
there
is no reason against it, he should distribute them
among the
examiners. The examiners should evaluate the
papers and note mistakes in the
margin.
18. There are to be three
examiners. Generally
the prefect of studies himself should be one. The other
two, competent in the classics and, if possible, not
instructors
themselves, are appointed by the rector on
the advice of the prefect. When
the number to be examined
is very large, two or more boards may be
appointed.
19. Pupils should be sent
to the examination room
in groups of three, or even more in the lower
classes.
These groups should be introduced to the examiners by
their
teacher in alphabetical order or in some other
convenient way.
20. The examiners should
read the instructor’s
record and note the grades given to each while the
pupils
are coming to be examined, and if need be, they should
compare
the present record with the earlier records of
the same year to discover
what progress each has made
or is likely to make.
21. The method of the
examination shall be as
follows. First, if the examiners wish, they shall
have
each pupil read a part of his composition. He should
then be told
to correct his mistakes and to give the
reason of the correction by
indicating the rule violated.
After this, pupils in the grammar classes
should be
given something in the vernacular to be turned immedi-
ately
into Latin. All should be questioned on the pre-
cepts and other matters
taught them in class. Finally,
if thought necessary, a short passage from
one of the
authors studied in class should be given for
interpreta-
tion.
22. After the examination
of each group of three
pupils, the examiners, while their judgment is still
fresh, should give their votes on those examined, taking
into account
the composition, the marks given by the
teacher, and the replies to their
questions.
23. To come to a decision
in doubtful cases, the
prefect should call for a sampling of their daily
exer-
cises; then he should
consult the examiners and if it
seems advisable they may have these pupils
undergo an-
other written and oral examination. Further, in these
doubtful cases the age of the pupil, the time spent in
the same class,
his talent, and his diligence should
all be taken into account.
24. After the examination,
the grade given each
pupil is to be kept secret. Before the public
announce-
ment of promotions, each teacher ought to be shown the
list of
marks of the pupils in his own class.
25. If anyone is totally
unfit to be promoted,
there should be no room for intercession. If a student
is scarcely qualified, but because of his age, the time
he has spent in
the same class, or some other reason,
it seems advisable to advance him, he
may be promoted
on the condition that if he does not prove his indus-
try
to his instructor he shall be sent back to the
lower class and his name
stricken from the roll of the
higher class. Finally, if any are so lacking
in abil-
ity that they can neither be advanced nor kept with any
profit
in the same class, the prefect should consult the
rector so that their
parents or guardians may in a very
sympathetic way be advised and these
pupils dismissed
from the school.
26. The list of those to
be publicly promoted
should be read either in the individual classes or to
all the classes in a general assembly. Those who have
especially
distinguished themselves should be read out
first, the rest in alphabetical
order or in the order
of merit.
27. Well in advance of the
beginning of the
school year, the prefect should confer with the
rector
about compiling the list of books to be studied that
year in our
classes so that he can discuss it with the
general prefect of studies and
with the teachers. It
should be decided in the same way whether any of the
texts or authors should be changed that year.
28. He is to make timely
arrangements with the
booksellers so that there will be no lack of books
which we and our pupils use daily or will need for the
coming
year.
29. In the beginning
of each year, he should
either personally or through the teachers assign
each
pupil his seat and seat-mates. He must see that the
same is done
for the seminary and boarding students by
their prefects, unless perhaps in
some localities seats
are arranged according to scholastic merit. Nobles are
given the choicer seats. Where there are Jesuit stu-
dents or other
religious, they should have seats separ-
ate from those occupied by extern
students. The prefect
should not allow any notable shifting of places
without
his knowledge.
30. It is very important
that in conjunction with
the instructors or the school prefects he should so
ar-
range the time schedule for the students of the Society,
for the
boarders and, if convenient, for the extern stu-
dents, that the hours of
private study may be well placed.
31. Only for a serious
reason should he exempt
anyone, especially for a long time, from writing
verse
or learning Greek.
32. He should see to it
that the monthly declama-
tions given publicly in the assembly hall by the
class
of rhetoric are attended not only by the students of
the classes
of rhetoric and humanities but also by those
of the higher classes.
Accordingly, the professors
should be advised to invite their students. No
Jesuit
student may be absent without the rector’s permission.
33. He should arrange the
time, the method, and
the place for the various classes to hold disputations
with one another.51 He
is to outline the plan of the
disputation beforehand, and by his presence at
the dis-
putations see to it that everything is conducted with
profit,
moderation, and harmony. Likewise he should be
present at the declamations
which are commonly given in
the school by the students of rhetoric and
humanities.
34. In order to give
greater prominence to liter-
ary exercises, he should with the rector’s
assent or-
ganize academies both in the classes of rhetoric and
humanities and in the grammar classes.52 In
these
academies, in accord with the rules laid down at the
end of this
book, the students should meet together on
stated days and take turns in
giving prelections and in
conducting other exercises appropriate to able
students.
35. He should remind
the rector in good time
about the distribution of prizes and the declamation
or dialogue which may be given on this occasion. In
the distribution of
prizes, the regulations given at
the end of these rules are to be followed,
and they
should be read in each class prior to the written
exam-
inations.
36. He should also see to
it that besides the
public prizes other small tokens or symbols of victory
(which the rector will provide) are awarded by the in-
structors in their
own classes to spur on their pupils
when they seem to merit distinction by
besting a rival
in competition or interpreting an entire book of an
author or reciting it from memory or some similar note-
worthy
performance.
37. In keeping with local
custom, he should ap-
point a public censor for each class53--or
if the term
censor is unacceptable, then a decurion or praetor. To
give
him standing among his classmates, he should be ac-
corded certain privileges
and have the right, with the
teacher’s approval, of begging them off from
lesser pun-
ishments. He is to take note of anyone who leaves the
class
before the signal for dismissal is given, or who
goes to another classroom
or leaves his own class or
seat. He must report daily to the prefect anyone
who
was absent from class or anyone not a student who en-
tered the class and, finally, any breach of
discipline
in the class, whether the teacher was present or not.
38. A corrector54 who
is not a member of the So-
ciety should be appointed for those who fail in
appli-
cation or in good conduct, and for whom friendly advice
and
admonitions do not suffice. Where no corrector can
be had, some other means
of punishing delinquents, either
at the hands of one of the pupils or in
some other suita-
ble way, should be found. Rarely and only for very
ser-
ious reason should pupils be punished at school for
faults committed
at home.
39. Any who refuse
corporal punishment should
be forced to accept it if it can be done safely,
or if
this cannot be done with propriety, as in the case of
larger boys,
delinquents should, with the cognizance
of the rector, be expelled from
school. Expulsion
should likewise be the penalty for those who are
fre-
quently absent from school.
40. When neither
verbal reproof s nor the services
of the corrector avail and the pupil seems
to be incor-
rigible and might be something of a scandal to others,
it is
better to dismiss him from the school than to keep
him where he will profit
himself little and harm others.
This decision, however, will be left to the
rector that
everything may be done that will advance the glory and
service of God.
41. If a case should occur
in which dismissal
from the school is not enough to remedy the scandal, it
shall be left to the rector to decide what further meas-
ures should be
taken. However, as far as possible he
should act in a spirit of leniency to
maintain peace
and charity with all.
42. No one who has been
expelled or who has left
our school without a valid reason should be
permitted
to return without first consulting the rector, who is
to judge
what is expedient.
43. No one shall be
permitted to carry weapons
either in the corridors or in the classrooms,
even of
the higher classes.55 Nor
should loafing, shoving or
shouting be allowed, nor profanity or insults in
word
or deed, nor any unbecoming or improper conduct. Should
anything of
this sort occur, the prefect is to settle
the trouble at once, and if there
is anything which dis-
turbs the quiet of the corridors in any way, he should
discuss the matter with the rector.
44. The prefect should be
constantly on hand in
the corridors or in a room from which he can see the
corridors during the entire time of class. He should
also inspect the
classrooms before the signal is given.
for the students to enter and should
always be at the
front door while they are being dismissed.
45. He should take care
that there be no noisy
confusion when the pupils are entering and leaving
the
church, and that when they assist at Mass one or more
of the
instructors be always present. All the pupils
are to attend Mass every day,
each in his proper place.
46. He should see that the
confessors are in
their places early on the days and at the hours
ap-
pointed for hearing the confessions of the pupils.
He should visit the
church occasionally during that
time to see that the boys conduct themselves
with pro-
priety and reverence.
47. Rarely should even the
prefect call students
out of class, especially during the time of
prelection,
and if others are careless in this regard the prefect
should
let the rector know.
48. At no time is the
prefect to use the services
of students in secretarial work or for any other
task,
nor should he permit others to employ them.
49. The common rules for
all extern students are
to be posted in a place where they can be read by
all,
and besides, they are to be posted prominently in every
classroom.
As a general rule they are to be read at
the beginning of each month in the
class of rhetoric
and in the classes below rhetoric.
50. When there is no
prefect of higher studies,
he himself shall take charge, with the rector’s
approval,
of supervising the declamations which are to be given in
public and of distributing books to Jesuit students.
* * * * *
RULES FOR WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS
1. It is to be understood
that absentees on the
day assigned for composition will receive no
considera-
tion in the examination unless their absence was owing
to
exceptional circumstances.
2. All should come early
to class so that they
can take down accurately the theme of the composition
and the instructions given by the prefect or his sub-
stitute, and thus be
able to finish within the class
period. After silence has been enjoined, no
one may
speak to another, not even to the prefect or his
sub-
stitute.
3. All should come
supplied with books and neces-
sary writing materials so that there will be
no need to
ask anything of another during the time of writing.
4. The papers should be up
to the standards of
each one’s class and clearly written in the vocabulary
and style demanded by the theme. Ambiguous expressions
will be construed
unfavorably, and words omitted or has-
tily altered to avoid a difficulty
will be counted as
errors.
5. Seat-mates must be
careful not to copy from
one another; for if two compositions are found to
be
identical or even alike, both will be open to suspicion,
since it
will be impossible to discover which one was
copied from the
other.
6. As a precaution against
dishonesty, any stu-
dent who for good reason is permitted to leave the room
after writing has begun, must deposit with the prefect
or his substitute
his theme outline and whatever he has
written.
7. After a student has
finished his writing as-
signment, he should remain at his deak and carefully
check over his work, make corrections and revisions un-
til he is
satisfied. Once he has handed in his composi-
tion it will be too late to
make changes. Under no cir-
cumstances must his paper be returned to
him.
8. Each one must fold his
composition as the pre-
fect directs and write on the back his full name in
Latin. This will facilitate arranging the papers in
alphabetical
order.
9. When a student brings
his composition to the
prefect, he should bring all his books along and be
ready to leave the classroom at once and in silence.
Those who remain
should not change their places, but
finish their work at their own
desks.
10. If anyone has not
finished his composition
in the time allotted, let him hand in what he has
writ-
ten. Accordingly, all should know precisely how much
time is
allowed for writing and how much for rewriting
and revising.
11. When the students come
to the oral examination,
they should bring with them the textbooks which
contain
the subject matter of the course. While one student is
being
examined, the others should listen attentively and
refrain from prompting in
any way, and from offering cor-
rections unless called upon to do
so.
* * * * *
1. In rhetoric class
eight prizes are to be of-
fered: two for Latin prose, two for Latin verse,
two
for Greek prose, two for Greek verse. In the class of
humanities and
in the highest grammar class six prizes
are offered exactly as above, but
omitting the two for
Greek verse, which is generally not practised before
rhetoric class. In all lower classes four prizes are
to be offered, but
no prize will be given for Latin
verse. Moreover, in each class a prize
should be awarded
to one or two who have surpassed the rest in their
know-
lege of Christian doctrine. Where the number of pupils
is very
large or very small, the number of prizes may
be increased or decreased
provided that Latin prose be
always held in higher esteem than anything
else.
2. The written competition
should be spread over
several days, so that one day may be assigned for
Latin
prose, another for Latin verse, and two other days, one
for Greek
prose, the other for Greek verse.
3. All shall assemble
in their respective class-
rooms on the days and at the hours appointed for
writing.
4. Once the students have
received the topics of
the composition, no one may leave the classroom
before
the composition has been finished and handed in, and no
one may
talk to another either inside or outside the
classroom. Should it be
necessary for anyone to leave
the room, and permission has been granted, his
theme out-
line and whatever has been written must be deposited with
the
person in charge at the time.
5. If anyone wishes a
longer time for perfecting
his composition, he may stay as long as he
wishes, pro-
vided he does not leave the classroom and does not con-
tinue
beyond sunset.
6. When a student has
completed and if he wishes
revised his work and wishes to leave, he should
sign
his paper, not with his real name but with a pseudonym,
and hand it
in to the presiding official. On a separate
sheet he should write his full
name together with the
pseudonym, and deposit this in a sealed envelope so
that
his name cannot be seen.
7. The prefect of studies
should faithfully guard
all the papers, and he should not unfasten the
papers
containing the names of the contestants until the deci-
sion of
the judges has been rendered.
8. Let three qualified and
mature judges be chosen,
one of whom may be an extern if local custom calls
for
it. They are not to know the names of the pupils to
whom the papers
belong. After reading through all the
papers and examining them with care,
they shall arrive
at a decision by majority vote and report in the order
of merit the winners in each type of composition together
with one or
two next in rank.
9. In rating the papers
the judges should place
organization and style ahead of mere quantity. If
two
papers are of equal merit in matter and style, the longer
paper
should rank above the shorter. If the tie is still
not broken, let spelling
and finally penmanship be deci-
sive. If no decision can be reached, let the
prize be
divided or doubled or
awarded by lot. Should anyone
surpass all other contestants in every type of
com-
position, let him receive a prize for general
excel-
lence.
10. When the decision has
been arrived at, let the
prefect with the rector and the general prefect
open
the envelopes which contain the identification slips.
They should
then double check the real and the assumed
names to avoid error, and reveal
the names to no one
but the teachers.
11. Then on the appointed
day, with as much eclat
and before as large a gathering of people as
possible,
the names of the winners should be publicly announced.
The
winners should come before the whole assemblage and
each receive his award
with due honor. If any winner
is absent and has not been excused by the
prefect for
a sufficiently serious reason approved by the rector, he
loses his award no matter how well he deserves it.
12. The herald shall
announce the prize winners
individually in this way: “May this occasion be a
happy
and auspicious one for the pursuit of the humanities and
for all
students of our school! First, second, third
prize for Latin prose
composition, Greek prose, Latin
verse, Greek verse has been merited by and
is awarded to
___________.“ Then he shall hand the prize to the win-
ner,
generally reciting a few lines of verse especially
appropriate to the
occasion, which are to be taken up
and repeated by the chorus, if this can
conveniently be
arranged. Lastly, if any deserve honorable mention, the
herald shall announce their names and award them honor-
able mention in
place of a prize.
13. No one who has
violated these regulations or
has been guilty of dishonesty shall receive
any con-
sideration for his paper.
* * * *
*
COMMON RULES FOR THE
TEACHERS
OF THE LOWER
CLASSES
1. The teacher shall
so train the youths en-
trusted to the Society’s care that they may acquire
not only learning but also habits of conduct worthy of
a Christian. He
should endeavor both in the classroom
and outside to train the
impressionable minds of his
pupils in the loving service of God and in all
the vir-
tues required for this service. In particular let him
pay
special attention to the following points:
2. At the beginning of
class let one of the
pupils recite a brief but suitable prayer. This the
teacher and pupils should follow attentively, kneeling
with heads
uncovered. Before the beginning of the les-
son the teacher shall with
uncovered head make the sign
of the cross.
3. Let the teacher see to
it that all are present
at Mass every day and at the sermon on feast days.
Be-
sides, twice a week during Lent, he should either send
them or, if
such is the local custom, accompany them to
the sermon.
4. Let Christian
doctrine56 be
learnt and recited
from memory on Friday or Saturday, especially in the
gram-
mar classes and in the other classes also if it is thought
necessary. There may be need in some places and for new
pupils to have
these lessons more frequently.
5. Likewise on Friday or
Saturday the teacher
shall give a homily or explain some point of Christian
doctrine for half an hour. He should especially urge
his pupils to say
their daily prayers and in particular
the rosary or the little office of the
Blessed Virgin,
to examine their consciences every evening, frequently
and devoutly to receive the sacraments of penance and
the holy
eucharist, to avoid bad habits, to hate vice,
and to cultivate the virtues
befitting a Christian.
6. in private talks,
too, he should instill in
his pupils habits of virtue, in such a way,
however,
that he will not seem to be enticing anyone to enter
our
Society. If he meets with anybody who is so in-
clined, he should refer him
to his confessor.
7. He should have the
litany of the Blessed Virgin
recited in his class every Saturday afternoon,
or, if it
is the local custom, he should lead his class to the
church
for the common recitation of the litany with the
other pupils. He should
encourage his pupils to culti-
vate devotion to the Blessed Virgin and to
their guardian
angels.
8. He should strongly
recommend spiritual read-
ing, particularly the lives of the saints. In the
same
spirit he should refrain from reading in class any pas-
sage from an
indecent writer and from even referring in
his prelections to anything that
might scandalize his
pupils. He should do everything he can to keep them
from reading books of this sort outside of school.
9. He should see to it
that each boy goes to con-
fession each month. The pupils should be told to
hand
to their confessor a slip of paper on which is written
their name,
surname, and class, so that by going over
the slips later he will know who
failed to go to confes-
sion.
10. Let him frequently
pray for his pupils and
set before them the good example of his religious
life.
11. He shall obey the
prefect of studies in all
that relates to studies and school discipline.
Without
his advice he should not admit anyone to his class or
dismiss
anyone or choose a book for prelection in class
or excuse anyone from the
common class exercises.
12. Each class must keep
to its own subject mat-
ter. Rules for the classes of rhetoric and humanities
will be given in a separate place. There shall be
three grammar classes,
and in these a definite curricu-
lum is to be completed. Hence all the
precepts of Em-
manuel [Alvarez] are to be divided into three parts and
one part assigned to each class, but in such a way that
the matter
studied the previous year will always be
reviewed at the beginning of the
next year, as will be
indicated further on in the rules of each
teacher.
13. Greek grammar is
to be divided thus: the
first part, assigned to the lowest class, shall
begin
with the elements and include the substantive verb and
the simple
verbs. The second part, for the middle gram-
mar class, shall include the
contract nouns, circumflex
verbs, the verbs in mi, and the easier
constructions.
The third part, for the highest grammar class, shall
include the remaining parts of speech or whatever goes
under the name of
rudiments, except dialects and the
more difficult exceptions. The fourth
class, humani-
ties, shall complete the whole of syntax, and the fifth
class, rhetoric, shall study versification.
14. The time schedule for
rhetoric shall be at
least two hours in the morning and two in the
after-
noon; for humanities and the other classes, two hours
and a half
in both morning and afternoon, and on days
of recreation at least two hours.
This schedule should
remain unchanged so that it will be known what classes
are in session at each hour.
15. At the provincial’s
direction, however, the
schedule may be adapted to local custom, provided
that
it retains the amount of time assigned in the rules of
each teacher
and that once established it be followed
unchanged.
16. If a feast falls on
Saturday, the exercises
of that day may be advanced a day or
omitted.
17. The same time schedule
shall be kept on the
weekly half-holiday when no specific exercises are
as-
signed. The regular daily exercises should be shortened
in proportion
or some of them omitted by turns. Some
time should be left free for a
contest.
18. The practice of
speaking Latin must be
strictly observed except in those classes in which
the
pupils know no Latin. The pupils should never be per-
mitted to use
their mother tongue in anything connected
with Olass, and demerits are to be
given to those who
fail in this observance. Hence also the teacher must
always speak Latin.
19. The pupils shall
recite the prelections from
memory to the decurions, whose duties are
explained in
the thirty-sixth rule. If another system seems
preferable
in rhetoric class, it
may be used. The decurions them-
selves should recite their lessons to the
chief decur-
ion or to the instructor. Each day the instructor
himself
shall call for the lesson from some of the lazier
pupils and from the
latecomers so as to check the fidel-
ity of the decurions and to keep
everyone up to the mark.
On Saturday what has been learned during one or
several
weeks should be publicly recited from memory. When a
book is
finished, some may be chosen to recite it in
its entirety from the platform,
for which they shall be
given an award.
20. Written work must be
handed in by all the
grammar classes every day but Saturday. In the other
classes prose work must be handed in daily except on the
recreation day
and on Saturday, poetry exercises twice
a week, on Monday and on the day
following the weekly
holiday, and a Greek composition once a week in the
af-
ternoon of a day chosen by the teacher.
21. Written work is
ordinarily to be corrected
individually and in a low voice with each of the
pupils
while the others are given time to exercise their style.
It will
be useful, however, to select some exercises
each day, now from the best,
again from the worst, and
at the beginning and end of the correction period
to
read and examine them publicly.
22. The general method of
correcting written
work is to point out mistakes in grammar, to ask how
they may be corrected, to instruct class rivals to cor-
rect publicly any
mistake as soon as they notice it and
to quote the rule that has been
violated, and, finally,
to praise work well done. While this correcting is
being done publicly, the pupils are to check and cor-
rect their own
first copy of the exercise which they
must always bring to class in addition
to the copy for
the teacher.
23. The written work of
each pupil ought to be
corrected daily by the teacher, since this leads to
the
very best results. If, however, there are too many
pupils for this
to be practicable, he should correct
as many as possible so that those whom
he passes over
one day will be called on the next. For this reason,
particularly on days when verses are handed in, he
should distribute some
of the exercises to be co-
rrected by the rivals. To do this more
satisfactorily,
each pupil should write not only his own name but that
of his rival on the reverse of the exercise. The
teacher himself shall
correct some exercises in the
afternoon during the recitation of the memory
lesson
and some, if he wishes, at home.
24. While he is correcting
themes,57 the
teach-
er should assign a variety of exercises, now one type,
now
another, suited to the grade of his class; for
nothing slackens youthful
diligence more than monotony.
25. The repetition of the
previous day’s lesson
and of the actual assignment should be conducted in
the same way. One pupil may recite the whole lesson,
but it is better to
call on many in turn so as to give
practice to all. Only the more important
and useful
points should be reviewed, first by the more advanced
and
then by the others. The repetition may be asked
as a continuous recitation
or in reply to individual
questions of the teacher, while each rival
corrects
the mistakes of his competitor or answers the question
himself
if his competitor hesitates.
26. On Saturday all the
prelections of the week
are to be reviewed. Should some offer to answer all
questions on the assignment or even on a whole book,
a few of these may
be selected, letting the others in
twos or threes ply them with questions.
The diligent
should be rewarded.
27. In the prelections,58
only the ancient clas-
sics, never the modern writers, are to be explained.
It will be of great advantage if the instructor does
not speak on the
spur of the moment and at random but
only after thoughtfully writing out the
prelection at
home. He should read the whole book or speech before
beginning to teach it. The method of the prelection
should in general
follow this plan: first, the instruc-
tor should read the whole passage to
the class, unless,
as may happen in rhetoric and humanities, it is too
long. Second, he should briefly give the gist of the
passage and when
necessary its connection with what
precedes. Third, he should read over each
sentence
and, if he is interpreting it in Latin, he should
clear
up obscurities and
show the relation of part to part.
He shall give the meaning, not indeed in
an awkward
paraphrase, matching one Latin word with another, but
by
recasting the sentence in clearer terms. If he is
interpreting the passage
in the vernacular, he should
keep to the Latin word order as much as he can.
In
this way the ears of his pupils become accustomed to
the Latin
rhythm. If the vernacular idiom does not
permit this, he should first
explain the passage liter-
ally and then in the idiom of the vernacular.
Fourth,
beginning over again, he should make whatever observa-
tions on
the text are suited to the class, unless he
prefers to give this commentary
as he goes along.
Either during or at the end of the prelections, he
should dictate what he wishes the pupils to take down.
It should not be
much, and it is usually better for
the grammar students not to take any
notes unless told
to do so.
28. The prelection of a
writer of history dif-
fers from that of a poet in this, that the writer of
history receives a more rapid prelection, while the
prelection of a poet
is often given best in an accur-
ate oratorical paraphrase. The pupils should
be ac-
customed to distinguish the style of a poet from that
of an
orator.
29. In the prelection of
the rhetoric of Cyprian
Soarez, of the art of versification, of Latin and
Greek
grammar, and the like, the subject matter rather than
the words
should be considered. Brief passages exem-
plifying the precepts and taken
from the best authors
should be quoted and immediately translated.*
Whenever,
particularly in the lower grammar classes, some diffi-
cult
point comes up, the class should be drilled on
this point for one or more
days. This may be varied
by explaining and reviewing some of the easier
rules
from other parts of grammar.
30. The theme for
composition59
should not be
dictated ex tempore, but should be thought out and
generally written out beforehand. It should be
modeled on Cicero as much
as possible and take the
--------------------
*
Pachtler inserts this one sentence from the Prague
edition on the 1599
Ratio.
form of narration,
persuasion, congratulation, admoni-
tion, or the like. If it is dictated word
for word, it
should be written both in Latin and in the vernacular.
The
teacher should have the dictation immediately read
by one of the class, and
he should explain more difficult
terms and furnish the pupils with words,
phrases, and
other aids. Except in rhetoric class, he should always
advise them during the dictation how each part is to be
written and
punctuated. A special assignment, longer
than usual, is to be given when
several feast days come
together or when the major and minor vacations are
announced.
31. Class contests60 are
to be highly valued and
are to be held whenever time permits, so that
honorable
rivalry which is a powerful incentive to studies may be
fostered. It is customary inthese contests to have the
teacher ask the
questions and the rivals correct the er-
rors or to have the rivals question
one another. Indi-
viduals or groups from opposite camps, particularly from
among the officers, may be pitted against each other, or
one pupil may
engage several opponents. As a rule a
private should seek out a private, an
officer seek out
an officer. Sometimes, however, a private may match
his
skill with an officer, and if he comes off the
victor, he should be given
the rank of the defeated
officer or be awarded another prize or symbol of
vic-
tory as the dignity of the class and local circumstances
dictate.
32. Special exercises
serve a very useful pur-
pose. It should be a general rule in their regard
that
in order to cultivate intellectual powers and not mere-
ly exercise
the memory, what the pupils deliver in
public should indeed be carefully
polished by their
teacher but never entirely written by him. The same is
to be said of poems that are to be exhibited publicly.
Every effort
should be made to train the student speak-
ers in appropriate control of
voice, gesture, and all
other actions.
33. In the classes of
rhetoric and humanities,
a prelection or a Greek or Latin oration or a
poem
should be given every other Saturday, one class playing
host to
another. In the other classes, there should be
a prelection alone, not of
tener than once a month and
not of new matter but rather the repetition of
one
heard in class.
Visitors should not be invited.
34. At different times
during the year on a
day agreeable to the prefect of lower studies, there
should be a contest lasting an hour between classes
nearest to each
other in grade and on subject matter
common to both. It shall be presided
over by the two
teachers. Two or three or more of the best of each
class
shall be the disputants. They may either be pre-
pared beforehand for the
questions and answers by mu-
tual consent or they may propose whatever
questions
their ingenuity suggests, or one side may refute objec-
tions,
especially in rhetoric, that are proposed by the
other side.
35. Each month, or at
least every other month,
officials of the camps are to be chosen and, if it
seems good, rewarded too, unless in some places this
seems unnecessary
in rhetoric class. As a test for
choice of officers, the pupils shall write
in prose
or, if it seems better in the higher classes, in verse
or in
Greek, during an entire class period. However,
it may seem advisable to
reserve half an hour for a
contest in the lower classes. Those who write the
best
theme will be chosen chief magistrates. Those who are
next highest
will likewise receive positions of honor
in the order of merit. To give the
election an air of
erudition, the titles of the officials may be taken
from political or military offices in Greece or Rome.
The class should
be divided into two fairly equal camps
to stimulate rivalry. Each camp shall
have its offi-
cers opposed by those of the rival camp and each pupil
shall have his rival. The chief officers of each camp
should have the
seats of honor.
36. The teacher shall also
appoint decurions61
to hear the memory lesson, collect the compositions,
and mark down in a
small book the names of any who fail
in the memory lesson or neglect to hand
in their com-
position or have not brought two copies of the composi-
tion
to class. It will also be their duty to perform
any other tasks assigned
them by the teacher.
37. In preparation for the
general promotion,
there should be a month’s strenuous review before the
examination. It shall be held in all the classes,
except possibly in
rhetoric, and shall cover the main
points of the year’s work. If someone has
shown him-
self far superior to the rest, the teacher should con-
sult the
prefect of studies about him so that after a
private examination he may be
sent to a higher class.
38. At the beginning of
the year, the teacher
must give the prefect a list of his pupils in
alpha-
betical order. He should occasionally check over this
list during
the year to make any necessary changes,
and he should do this with
particular accuracy before
the general examinations. In this list he should
dis-
tinguish the class standings of pupils as best, good,
average,
doubtful, allowed to remain in school, re-
quired to withdraw. He could also
indicate these stand-
ings by numbers from 1 to 6.
39. Nothing helps
discipline as much as the ob-
servance of the rules. Therefore the teacher
must be
especially concerned that his pupils observe everything
contained in their rules and the rules respecting their
studies.
Faithful observance will be better secured by
the hope of honor and reward
and the fear of disgrace
than by corporal punishment.
40. The teacher should not
be hasty in punish-
ing nor too much given to searching out faults. He
should rather pretend not to be aware of an infraction
when he can do
this without harm to anyone. He shall
refrain not only from striking a pupil
(this is the
corrector’s duty) but also from humiliating anyone by
word
or act. He shall never call a pupil by any but
his own name or surname. He
will find it advantageous
at times to substitute for the customary
punishment
some literary task over and above the ordinary daily
lesson.
He must leave to the prefect the matter of ex-
ceptional and severer
punishments, especially for of-
fenses committed out of school, and also the
case of
those who refuse to be punished, in particular if they
are older
boys.
41. He should demand
regular attendance from his
pupils. Therefore he must not excuse them to
attend
public spectacles or plays. When a pupil is absent,
the teacher
should send one of his fellow pupils or
some other person to make inquiries
at the boy’s home.
Unless a satisfactory
excuse is given, the absentee
should be punished. Any who are absent for
several
days without excuse should be sent to the prefect and
not
readmitted without his consent.
42. To avoid loss of class
time during confes-
sions, three or more pupils are to be sent in the
be-
ginning and as each one returns One or two more are
to be sent. An
exception is made where it is the cus-
tom for all to go at the same
time.
43. It is a prime duty of
the teacher to see
that silence and good conduct are observed in the
class-
room, that pupils are not allowed to wander about,
change seats,
pass little presents or notes back and
forth, or leave the classroom,
especially two or three
at a time.
44. He should take care
that no one, especially
during the time of the prelection, is called out of
class by anyone. To prevent confusion and uproar at
dismissal time, he
should stand watch at his desk or
at the door and see that those who sit
nearest the door
leave first, or he may make other arrangements to
in-
sure that all go out in good order and in silence.
45. If it is agreeable to
the rector, the teach-
er should organize academies according to the rules
specially written for them in another place. Meetings
should be held
particularly on feast days so as to
counteract idleness and bad
habits.
46. If at times it seems
necessary for a pupil’s
good to speak with his parents, let the instructor
ask
the rector whether the prefect or some one else should
summon them
or whether, owing to their rank or author-
ity, he should visit
them.
47. He should not be on
friendlier terms with
one pupil than with another. Outside of class time,
for the sake of good example, he should not speak with
his pupils except
briefly, on matters of some moment,
and in an open place, not inside a
classroom, but rather
at the door of the classroom or in the entrance hail
or
at the gate of the college.
48. He shall not
propose a tutor for any pupil
without the rector’s advice, nor permit his
pupils to
be burdened by the tutor with other lessons at home,
but
merely allow the tutor to require a repetition of
the day’s
assignment.
49. He must never use a
pupil as an amanuensis
or to perform any task not connected with the
custom-
ary school exercises. He should not permit the pupils
to spend
money in any way for the school.
50. Finally, let the
teacher, with God’s grace,
be painstaking and persevering in every way,
interested
in the progress of his pupils in their daily lessons
and
other literary exercises. He must not regard any-
one with contempt, but
assist the efforts of the poor
as much as those of the rich. He should seek
the ad-
vancement of each and every one of his charges.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE
TEACHER
OF RHETORIC
1. The scope62 of
this class is not easily de-
fined. Its purpose is the development of the
power of
self-expression. Its content spans two major fields,
oratory
and poetry, with oratory taking the place of
honor. The purpose of the
formation is both practical
and cultural.
It may be said in general
that this class is con-
cerned mainly with the art of rhetoric, the
refinement
of style, and erudition.63
Although the precepts may
be studied in many au-
thors, the daily prelection shall be confined to
the
oratorical works of
Cicero, to Aristotle’s Rhetoric
and, if desired, his
Poetics.
Cicero is to be the one
model of style, though
the best historians and poets are to be sampled. All
of Cicero’s works are appropriate models of style,
but only his orations
are to be matter for the prelec-
tion, so that the principles of his art may
be observed
as exemplified in his speeches.
Erudition is to be sought
in the study of histor-
ical events, ethnology, the authoritative views of
scholars, and wide sources of knowledge, but rather
sparingly according
to the capacity of the pupils.
In the study of Greek
attention should be paid
to the rules of prosody and to a general
acquaintance
with the various authors and the various dialects.
The compendium of logic
which is given to the pu-
pils toward the end of the year is not to be made
the
subject of detailed explanation by the teacher of
rhe-
toric.
2. The class periods64
shall be divided as fol-
lows: the first hour of the morning is for memory
work.
The compositions collected by the decurions are cor-
rected by the
teacher, who in the meantime sets various
tasks for the class, as described
in the fifth rule be-
low. Finally, the previous prelection is
reviewed.
The second hour of the
morning should be spent on
a study of the rules of rhetoric if the text of
an ora-
tion is to be studied in the afternoon. If an oration
is read in
the forenoon, the rules should occupy the af-
ternoon period. Let the one or
the other order be ob-
served regularly as elected at the start of the year.
Then will follow a repetition of the prelection and,
when desirable, a
subject is given for a speech or a
poem which the pupil is required to
write. If any time
remains, it is given to a contest or to revising what
was written during the first hour.
The first hour of the
afternoon starts with a
repetition of the last prelection. Then a new
prelec-
tion is given, of an oration if the precepts were
explained in the
morning, or of precepts if an oration
was explained in the morning. The
customary repeti-
tion follows.
The second hour of the
afternoon begins with a
review of the last lesson in a Greek author, and is
followed by an explanation and quiz on new matter.
What time remains is
spent, now on correcting Greek
themes, now on Greek syntax and prosody, now
on a class
contest in Greek.
On recreation days, an
historian or a poet or
some matters of erudition will be discussed and a
re-
view will follow.
On Saturday the work of
the whole week is briefly
reviewed. Then in the first hour there is an
explana-
tion of a passage of history or part of a poem. In the
last hour
one of the pupils gives an oration or a prelec-
tion or the class goes to
listen to the class of humani-
ties or there is a debate. In the afternoon
part of a
poem or a passage of Greek is reviewed.
Where a half hour is added
to both morning and
afternoon, it is devoted to history or poetry, and the
usual Saturday repetitions may then be the same as on
other days or may
give place to a broader repetition
or to a contest.
3. Daily memory work is
necessary for a student
of rhetoric. However, since the passages covered in
a
prelection are too long to be memorized verbatim, the
teacher will
decide what and how much is to be memorized
and in what manner the pupils
will respond if called
upon for a report. Further, it would be profitable if
now and then someone were to recite from the platform
some passages
memorized from the best authors, so that
exercise of memory will be combined
with practice in delivery.
4. In correcting the
manuscript of a speech or
poem submitted by the pupil, the teacher should
correct
any fault in oratorical or poetic structure, in elegance
and
grace of expression, in transitions, rhythm, spell-
ing, or anything else. He
shall likewise call attention
to incorrect, obscure, or inept handling of
sources, to
evidence of poor
taste, to lengthy digressions, and
similar faults. When a speech is finally
completed,
each pupil must hand in the whole speech (which he has
already submitted part by part) transcribed in connected
or at least
corrected form, so that the teacher may know
that everybody has finished the
assignment.
5. While the teacher is
correcting written work,
the tasks of the pupils will be, for example, to
imi-
tate some passage of a poet or orator, to write a de-
scription, say,
of a garden, a church, a storm, to change
an expression about in various
ways, to turn a Greek
speech into Latin or a Latin speech into Greek, to
turn
Latin or Greek verse into prose, to change one kind of
poem into
another, to compose epigrams, inscriptions,
epitaphs, to cull phrases from
good orators or poets,
both Latin and Greek, to apply figures of rhetoric to
some subject or other, to draw arguments for any sub-
ject from the
commonplaces of rhetoric, and other exercises of a similar nature.
6. The prelection in this
class is of two kinds:
the one looks to the art of rhetoric and explains the
application of precepts, the other deals with style
as studied in
orations. Two precautions are to be ob-
served in both of these procedures.
First, suitable
authors are to be chosen for study, second, standard
methods are to be employed in the analysis of the con-
tent. Enough has
been said in the first rule to cover
the first point. Only Cicero is to be
taken for ora-
tions, and both Cicero and Aristotle for the precepts of
rhetoric. The oration is never to be omitted. So
great is the force of
oratorical precepts that their ex-
planation is to be continued through
practically the
entire year. But toward the end of the year local
cus-
tom may favor the substitution of some new author whose
richness of
erudition and variety in subject matter at-
tracts interest. This change may
be permitted. A pre-
lection on a poet may sometimes be given in place of
the prelection on the precepts or on an oration.
7. As for the method of
the prelection, the rule
of rhetoric should be explained in this way. First,
the sense of the precept is to be made clear by com-
paring the opinions
of commentators if the precept is
somewhat ambiguous and the commentators do
not agree.
Second, other
rhetoricians who give the same precept,
or the author himself, if he repeats
the precepts else-
where, should be quoted. Third, the reason for the
rule should be considered. Fourth, its use should be
exemplified in a
number of similar and striking passages
of orators and poets. Fifth, any
additional material
from learned sources and from history that bear on the
rule should be cited. Lastly, the teacher should il-
lustrate by his own
excellent diction and style how
the rule may be applied in writing on
present-day sub-
jects.
8. If, however, a speech
or a poem is being stu-
died, first, the meaning must be explained if it is
ob-
scure, and the various interpretations appraised. Sec-
ond, the whole
technique should be examined, that is,
the author’s skill in invention,
disposition, and ex-
pression, how deftly the speaker ingratiates himself,
how appropriately he speaks, what sources of arguments
he draws upon to
persuade, to embellish, to arouse emo-
tion, how often he exemplifies many
principles in a
single passage, how he clothes his argument in figures
of thought, and how again he combines figures of thought
and
word-figures to compel belief. Third, some passages
similar in content and
expression to the one under dis-
cussion should be referred to and other
orators and
poets cited who have applied the same precepts in urging
some similar argument or in narrating a similar incident.
Fourth, the
argument itself should be confirmed by weighty
authorities, if it lends
itself to this. Fifth, mater-
ials from history, fables, and other learned
sources that
may illumine the subject should be investigated. Last
of
all, attention should be directed to the use of words,
their fitness,
beauty, fullness, and rhythm. All these
varied suggestions are offered, not
as though the teach-
er must follow them all, but only that he may choose
those which seem most suited to his purpose.
9. The subject matter for
the speech, which pu-
pils are required to write each month, should be
dic-
tated either in its entirety at the beginning of the
month or in
parts, week by week. The matter dictated
should be brief, touching on the
several parts of the
speech, indicating the sources of arguments to be used
for confirmation and development, the principal figures
that might be
employed, and, if it seems advisable, some
passages in good
authors which could be imitated. Oc-
casionally, when a particular orator is
designated for
imitation in building up a speech, the argument may be
given word for word.
10. The subject matter for
verse may be given
orally or in writing. It may be no more than a topic
to write upon, or it may suggest lines of development.
The verse may be
short, as for example an epigram, an
ode, an elegy, or an epistle, which can
be completed
in one assignment, or it may be longer and composed,
like
the speeches, in several stages.
11. Practically the same
method should be fol-
lowed for the Greek theme, unless it be thought
better
that for a time everything should be dictated word for
word. The
theme should be assigned at least once a
week, in either prose or
verse.
12. The class contest or
exercise should in-
clude such things as correcting the mistakes which one
rival may have detected in the other’s composition,
questioning one
another on the exercise written in
the first hour, discovering and devising
figures of
speech, giving a repetition or illustrating the use
of rules
of rhetoric, of letter writing, of verse mak-
ing, and of writing history,
explaining some more
troublesome passages of an author or of clearing up
the difficulties, reporting research on the customs
of the ancients and
other scholarly information, inter-
preting hieroglyphics and Pythagorean
symbols, maxims,
proverbs, emblems, riddles, delivering declamations,
and other similar exercises at the teacher’s pleasure.
13. The Greek prelection,
whether in oratory,
history, or poetry, must include only the ancient
clas-
sics: Demosthenes, Plato, Thucydides, Homer, Hesiod,
Pindar, and
others of similar rank (provided they be ex-
purgated), and with these, in
their own right, Saints
Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, and Chrysostom. During the
first semester, orations and history are to be studied,
but may be
interrupted once a week by reading some
epigrams or other short poems.
Conversely, during the
second semester a poet should be explained,
interrupted
once a week by reading an orator or historian. The
method of
interpretation, while not entirely neglect-
ful of artistic structure and
erudition, should rather
deal with the idiom of
the language and skill in its
use. Therefore, some passages are to be
dictated in
every prelection.
14. Greek syntax and
prosody are to be explained,
if there is need, in the beginning of the year
on al-
ternate days. Syntax is to be reviewed briefly and
only its
principal headings considered.
15. For the sake of
erudition, other and more
recondite subjects may be introduced on the weekly
holidays in place of thee historical work, for example,
hieroglyphics,
emblems, questions of poetic technique,
epigrams, epitaphs, odes, elegies,
epics, tragedies,
the Roman and Athenian senate, the military system of
the two countries, their gardens, dress, dining customs,
triumphs, the
sibyls, and other kindred subjects, but
in moderation.
16. A declamation or
prelection or poem or Greek
oration or both a poem and a speech should be
delivered
from the platform by one or other of the pupils in the
presence of the Humanities class on alternate Saturdays
during the last
half-hour of the morning.
17. Usually once a month,
an oration or poem or
both, now in Latin, now in Greek, and written in a
par-
ticularly elevated style, should be delivered in the
hall or the
church. Or there might be a display in de-
bate, two sides arguing a case to
a decision. The
manuscripts of these presentations must be looked over
and approved beforehand by the prefect of higher stu-
dies.
18. The best verses of the
pupils should be posted
on the classroom walls every other month to
celebrate
some more important feast day or to announce the new
of-
ficials of the class or for some other occasion. If it
is the custom
in any place, even shorter prose composi-
tions may be posted, such as
inscriptions from shields,
churches, tombs, parks, statues, or descriptions
of a
town, a port, an army, or narratives of some deed of a
saint or,
finally, paradoxes. Occasionally, with the
rector’s consent, pictures may be
displayed which per-
tain to the works of art described or ideas expressed in
the written exhibits.
19. At times the
teacher can assign the writing
of some short dramatic episode instead of the
usual
topic, for example, an eclogue, a scene, or a dialogue,
so that
the best may afterwards be performed in class,
with the roles portioned out
to different pupils. But
no costumes or stage settings are to be
allowed.
20. All that has been said
on the method of teach-
ing applies to the instruction of scholastics of the
Society. In addition, scholastics are to have repeti-
tions at home under
the direction of their teacher, or
before some one else whom the rector
shall assign, three
or four times a week for an hour and at a time the
rec-
tor thinks most convenient. In these repetitions the
Greek and Latin
prelections are to be reviewed, and
prose and verse in Latin and Greek are
to be corrected.
They should be bidden to cultivate their memory by
learn-
ing each day some passage by heart and they must read
much and
attentively. Nothing, in fact, so develops
resourcefulness of talent as
frequent individual prac-
tice in speaking from the platform in the hail, in
church, and in school--opportunities which they share
with externs--as
well as in the refectory. Finally,
their verse compositions, approved by
their teacher
and bearing their respective signatures, should be put
on
exhibition in some suitable place.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE
TEACHER
OF HUMANITIES
1. The scope of this class
is to lay the founda-
tions for the course in eloquence after the pupils have
finished their grammar studies. Three things are re-
quired: knowledge of
the language, a certain amount of
erudition, and an
acquaintance with the basic princi-
pies of rhetoric. Knowledge of the
language involves
correctness of expression and ample vocabulary, and
these are to be developed by daily readings in the
works of Cicero,
especially those that contain reflec-
tions on the standards of right living.
For history,
Caesar, Sallust, Livy, Curtius, and others like them
are to
be taken. Virgil, with the exceptions of some
eclogues and the fourth book
of the Aeneid, is the mat-
ter for poetry, along with Horace’s
selected odes. To
these may be added elegies, epigrams, and other poems
of recognized poets, provided they are purged of all
immoral
expressions.
Erudition should be
introduced here and there as
a means of stimulating intellectual interest
and relax-
ing the mind. It should not be allowed to distract at-
tention
from concentrated study of the language.
A brief summary of the
rules of rhetoric should
be given in the second semester from the De Arte
Rhetorica
of Cyprian Soarez,65 and
during this time the moral philo-
sophy of Cicero is to be replaced with some
of his simpler
speeches, as for instance the Pro Lege Manilia, Pro
Archia,
Pro Marcello, and the other orations delivered in the
presence of Caesar.
Greek syntax belongs to
this class. Besides, care
must be had that the pupils understand Greek
writers
fairly well and that they know how to compose something
in
Greek.
2. This shall be the time
schedule. The first
hour in the morning: Cicero and the rules of prosody
shall be recited from memory to the decurions. The
teacher shall correct
the compositions gathered by the
decurions, assigning meanwhile various
tasks, as explained
below in the fourth rule. Lastly, some shall recite
pub-
licly and the teacher shall inspect the marks reported
by the
decurions. Second hour in the morning: a short
review of the last passage
commented on, then a new pre-
lection for half an hour or a little longer,
and then
a quiz. If time remains, it shall be spent on a compe-
tition
among the pupils themselves. Last half hour in
the morning: in the beginning
of the first semester, his-
tory and prosody on alternate days; history is
read rap-
idly every day when prosody is completed. In the
second
semester, the De
Arte Rhetorica of Cyprian Soarez is
explained daily, then reviewed or
made the subject of
disputation.
First hour in the
afternoon: poetry and the
Greek author are recited from memory, while the
teacher
looks over the marks given by the decurions and corrects
either
the exercises assigned in the morning or the home
tasks not yet corrected.
At the end of the period a
topic and suggested outline is dictated. The hour
and
a half following is equally divided between a review and
a
prelection of poetry and a Greek prelection and com-
position.
On recreation days: first
hour, repetition from
memory of the passage explained on the previous
recre-
ation day and correction as usual of leftover written
work. Second
hour: prelection followed by a quiz on
some epigrams, odes or elegies, or
something from the
third book of the De Arte Rhetorica of Cyprian
Soarez
on tropes, figures, and especially on rhythm and orator-
ical
cadences to accustom the pupils to them in the be-
ginning of the year.
Instead of this some chria-type
essay may be analyzed and studied or,
finally, there
may be a class contest.
On Saturday morning: first
hour, public recita-
tion from memory of prelections given during the whole
week, followed in the second hour by a discussion of
this matter. Last
half hour: either one of the pupils
shall declaim or give a prelection or
the class shall
attend a session of the class of Rhetoric, or a
compe-
tition may be held. In the afternoon: first half hour,
recitation
of poetry from memory and the catechism,
while the teacher goes over
compositions, if any remain
uncorrected from the week, and inspects the
records
kept by the decurions. The next hour and a half is
divided
equally between a review of poetry or a prelec-
tion of a short poem,
followed by a quiz, and similar
exercises in Greek. The last half hour shall
be spent
in explaining the catechism or in a spiritual talk,
unless this
was given on Friday, in which case what was
then displaced by the catechism
should be taken at this
time.
3. In correcting written
work, the teacher shall
point out any wrong use of words or any impropriety
of
expression or fault of
rhythm, any lack of fidelity
in imitating the author, any mistakes in
spelling or
any other error. He should train the pupils to ex-
press a
given idea in a variety of ways as a means of
enriching their
vocabulary.
4. While the master is
engaged in correcting
written work he should have the pupils spend their
time
in such exercises as choosing phrases from previously
read passages
and expressing them in different ways,
reconstructing a passage from Cicero
that had been dis-
arranged for this purpose, composing verses, changing a
poem of one kind into another kind, imitating some pas-
sage, writing a
Greek composition, and such other exer-
cises.
5. The prelection should
be supplemented here and
there with some points of general erudition to the
extent
that the passage calls for it. The teacher should concen-
trate
all his effort on the idioms of Latin itself, the
precise meanings of words
and their origins (in which
he should rely on recognized authorities,
chiefly on
the ancients). He should explain the value of special
phrases, of variety of expression, and should encourage
careful
imitation of the style of the author whose work
is being read. He should not
consider it foreign to
his purpose occasionally to cite some passage in the
vernacular, if it has special value for the interpreta-
tion of the
matter in hand or is noteworthy in its own
right. When he is explaining an
oration, he should ad-
vert to the rules of the art of rhetoric. Finally, if
he thinks it advantageous, he may translate the whole
passage into the
vernacular, but in a polished style.
6. The subject matter for
written work in the
first semester should generally be dictated word for
word in the vernacular, and should take the form of a
letter. It will
often be found useful to build up the
assignment by weaving together
passages taken here and
there from matter previously read. Usually once a
week,
however, the pupils should write from their own resources,
after
some type of letter has been explained to them and
models of the type
pointed out in the letters of Cicero
or Pliny. Then in the second semester
their own abil-
ity should be challenged by having them write, first,
chrias, then introductions, narratives, and amplifica-
tions. A simple
yet sufficiently detailed summary
should be given them
to work with. The teacher should
dictate in Latin the matter for verse
composition and
should suggest a wide variety of expressions. The
method
with the Greek theme will be the same as that
for Latin prose, except that
generally it should be
taken from the author and the syntax fully
explained.
7. In class competition
the matter shall be the
mistakes a rival has detected in his opponent’s
theme,
questions on topics assigned for exercise in the first
hour,
reciting from memory or varying the phrases given
them by the teacher in the
prelection, reciting or ap-
plying the rules of letter writing and of
rhetoric, de-
termining the quantity of syllables and giving the rule
from memory or an example from poetry, examining into
the exact meaning
and derivation of words, interpreting
a passage from a Latin or Greek
author, inflecting and
giving the principal parts of more difficult and
irregu-
lar Greek verbs, and other similar matters, as the mas-
ter may
choose.
8. Prosody should be
covered rapidly, dwelling
only on what the master sees the pupils lack most,
and
drilling them on the matter rather than explaining it.
Similarly,
the rules rather than the words of Cyprian’s
De Arte Rhetorica are to
be briefly explained, with ex-
amples added from the same book and, if
possible, from
the passages commented on in class.
9. In the Greek
prelection, grammar and author
shall be explained on alternate days. There
should be
a brief review of the grammar studied in the highest
grammar
class, followed by syntax and rules of accent.
The prose author for the
first semester should be one
of the easier authors, for example, some
orations of
Isocrates, of St. Chrysostom, of St. Basil, or some let-
ters
of Plato and Synesius or a selection from Plutarch.
In the second semester a
poem is to be explained, chosen,
for example, from Phocylides, Theognis, St.
Gregory
Nazianzen, Synesius, and the like. The explanation,
however, as
the grade of the class requires, should ra-
ther advance knowledge of the
language than erudition.
Still, toward the end of the year, Greek prosody
may
be given along with the author on alternate days, and
at times Greek
poems, disarranged from their metrical
form, may be assigned to be
recast.
10. Every second month
the best verses written
by the pupils are to be posted on the walls of the
classroom to lend color to the celebration of some
special day, or to
the announcement of class officers,
or to some similar occasion. Local
custom may sanc-
tion the posting of even shorter pieces, such as
in-
scriptions for shields, churches, tombs, gardens,
statutes, or
descriptions of a town, a harbor, an army,
or narratives of a deed of some
saint, or, finally,
paradoxical sayings. Occasionally, too, with the
rec-
tor’s permission, pictures may be displayed referring
to the
inscriptions or the compositions placed on ex-
hibition.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE TEACHER OF
THE
HIGHEST GRAMMAR CLASS
1. The aim of this class
is to achieve a com-
plete and perfect knowledge of grammar. The teacher
shall therefore review syntax from the beginning, add-
ing all the
exceptions. Then he shall explain figures
of speech and rules of prosody. In
Greek, however, he
shall cover the eight parts of speech or whatever is
embraced under the name of rudiments except dialects
and the more
unusual variations. The reading matter
in prose in the first semester shall
be taken from the
more important of Cicero’s letters Ad Familiares,
Ad
Atticum, Ad Quintum Fratrem; in the second semester,
his De Amicitia, De Senectute, Paradoxa, and the like.
From the poets, in the first semester, some selected
and expurgated
elegies and epistles of Ovid should be
taken, and in the second semester
expurgated selections
from Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, the eclogues of
Vergil, or also some of the easier books of Virgil,
such as the fourth
book of the Georgics and the fifth
and seventh books of
the Aeneid. In Greek, St. John
Chrysostom, Aesop, Agapetus, and such
authors are to
be taken.
2. The division of time
shall be as follows.
For the first hour in the morning, recital of grammar
and Cicero from memory to the decurions, while the
teacher corrects the
themes collected by the decurions,
meantime assigning various exercises to
the pupils, as
described in the fourth rule below. In the second hour
the prelection of Cicero will be briefly repeated and
new matter
explained, followed by a quiz for half an
hour. Finally, the subject and
outline of content for
an assigned composition is dictated. During the last
half hour the grammar lesson is reviewed, a new lesson
explained and
questions asked on it. Sometimes a com-
petition may occupy this period. In
the first semester
there shall be a rapid review of the grammatical
con-
structions seen in the previous class, then the matter
proper to
this class is to be taken up. On alternate
days the general rules of
prosody, omitting the excep-
tions, are to be explained. In the second
semester there
must be at least a two months’ review of that part of
grammar belonging to the lowest class, and every second
day the rules of
prosody already explained are to be
reviewed briefly and rapidly, leaving the
necessary
amount of time for explaining the other rules. After
finishing
the review of grammar, prosody is to be ex-
plained every day, including the
exceptions, the verse
forms and the rules that are given for the formation
of patronymics and accent.
In the first half hour of
the afternoon the poet
or Greek author is to be recited from memory, while
the teacher looks over the marks of the decurions and
corrects either
the morning exercises or the homework
not yet corrected. The following hour
and a half is
to be divided between a review and a prelection of the
Latin poet and a prelection and written work in Greek.
A little more
than half an hour is to be devoted to
Greek. The last half hour, or whatever
remains of it,
shall be spent in a class contest.
On Saturday morning there
shall be a memory reci-
tation of the prelections of the whole week or of an
entire book, followed by discussion for an hour. The
final half hour
shall be given to competition. The
same order will be
kept in the afternoon except
that the catechism is also to be recited. The
last half
hour shall be spent in explaining the catechism or in
a
spiritual talk, unless this was given on Friday, in
which case what was then
displaced by the catechism
should be taken at this time.
3. In correcting written
work the teacher must
note whether there have been violations of grammar,
spelling, punctuation, whether difficulties have been
dodged, whether
insufficient attention has been paid
to taste in expression or in imitation
of the model.
4. While the teacher is
correcting written work,
the exercises assigned to the pupils shall be, for
ex-
ample, to turn into Latin passages dictated in the
vernacular either
in imitation of the author or as an
exercise in the rules of syntax, to
translate a passage
of Cicero into the vernacular and retranslate the same
into Latin, and then cull from the passage the choicest
expression, to
propose, rival to rival, difficulties
for solution and expressions for
interpretation based
on the grammar recently explained, to recast
disarranged
lines of verse, or compose in verse, to practice writing
Greek, and other exercises of the same sort.
5. The method of the
prelection shall be as fol-
lows. First, the teacher shall briefly state the
con-
tent of the passage in Latin and in the vernacular. He
shall then
interpret each sentence, first in Latin,
then in the vernacular. Third,
going through the pas-
sage again from the beginning (unless he wishes to
in-
sert this in the interpretation), he shall select two
or three words
and carefully explain their force or
derivation and support his explanation
by one or another
example taken principally from the same author. He
should analyze and explain metaphorical expressions,
and briefly comment
on the mythology, history, and gen-
eral erudition that may be suggested by
the passage. He
should pick out two or three examples of elegance of
diction. Finally, he should rapidly translate the pas-
sage into the
vernacular. He may dictate very briefly
in Latin the sense of the passage
together with his ob-
servations and examples of precision and
diction.
6. The subject matter for
written work is to be
dictated word for word in the vernacular, generally
in
the form of a letter.
This letter should be done in
Latin with careful attention paid to the rules
of syn-
tax and the style of Cicero. When, however, the pupils
have made
some progress, once a month they should write
a completely original essay,
either at home in place of
the daily assignment or in school as part of the
quali-
fying competition required in the choosing of class of-
ficers.
Beforehand the teacher should call attention
to a given type of letter,
explain its nature, point
out certain examples of such letters written by
Cicero
and then dictate a few specimens composed by himself.
7. Poems should be
dictated, first with words
arranged in prose order, then with new words
substi-
tuted for the originals, and finally new subject matter
may be
presented with suggestions for different ways
of expressing it.
8. The method of the Greek
theme shall be the
same as for Latin prose, except that generally it is
to be taken from the author and its syntax indicated
in
advance.
9. The Greek prelection,
which should seldom
take up more than a quarter of an hour, should follow
the same form as that for Latin, with this exception,
that when a Greek
author is read (it may be read on
alternate days with grammar, if the
prefect approves),
individual words are to be explained and, if it seems
helpful, also a bit of easy syntax may be added.
10. The subject matter of
the class competition
shall be: Point out mistakes which a student has found
in his rival’s theme, ask questions on the tasks as-
signed in the first
hour of the day, recite from memory
expressions given the pupils by the
teacher, ask one
another to give Latin translations or variations of
expressions in the vernacular based on the rules of
syntax or modeled on
Cicero. In this exercise the one
questioned should repeat word for word the
expression
proposed for translation and, after a little reflection,
translate it, not word for word, but in a complete and
connected Latin
version. Again they should recite the
rules for writing letters, determine
the quantity of
syllables by quoting from memory the rule of prosody
or
an example from a poet, inquire into the proper use
or etymology of a
word, interpret some passage of a
Latin or Greek author, decline nouns or
conjugate verbs
in Greek, and other similar exercises at the teacher’s
discretion.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE TEACHER OF
THE
MIDDLE GRAMMAR CLASS
1. The objective of this
class is a complete
though not exhaustive knowledge of grammar. The teacher
explains the matter from the beginning of the second
book [of the
Grammar of Alvarez] down to figures of
speech, including only the easiest
exceptions, or, ac-
cording to the Roman method,66
from the syntax of verbs
down to figures of speech, with the addition of the
easier exceptions.
Greek in this class
includes contract nouns, cir-
cumflex verbs, verbs in mi, and the easier verb
forma-
tions.
For the prelections, only
Cicero’s letters Ad
Familiares and the simplest poems of Ovid
are to be
studied, and in the second semester, if the prefect ap-
proves,
the Greek catechism or the Tabula of Cebes.
2. This shall be the
division of time. The first
hour in the morning shall be spent in a recital
of gram-
mar and Cicero from memory to the decurions, while the
teacher
corrects the compositions collected by the de-
curions and assigns various
exercises to be done by the
pupils in the meantime, as described in the
fourth rule
below. In the second hour the prelection of Cicero is
briefly reviewed and a new one given for half an hour,
followed by a
quiz. At the end a theme for a composi-
tion is dictated. There will be a
review during the
last half hour of some
matter from the first book of
grammar, such as the declension of nouns, then
suc-
cessively perfects and supines. This review may be
carried out by
means of a class contest.
For the first hour of the
afternoon there will
be a recitation from memory of Latin and Greek grammar
and, on appointed days, of poetry. Meanwhile the
teacher looks over the
marks of the decurions and cor-
rects the exercises assigned that morning or
any home-
work not yet corrected. At the end of the hour, the
last lesson
of grammar, and on alternate days, of poetry
are reviewed. During the first
half hour of the next
period, syntax will be explained and repeated, but in
the second semester syntax again and also poetry on
alternate days.
Greek is taught during the next half
hour. The final half hour shall be
given to class
competition or other exercise.
On Saturday morning for
the first hour the lessons
of the entire week or of an entire book are to be
re-
cited from memory, followed in the second hour by a
discussion of
this matter. The last half hour shall be
spent in a class contest. The same
order is kept in
the afternoon, except that during the first hour along
with grammar and poetry the catechism is recited. The
final half hour
shall be given to a lesson on the cate-
chism or occasionally to a spiritual
exhortation, un-
less this was given on Friday, in which case what was
then displaced by the catechism should be taken at this
time.
3. In correcting written
work, the teacher should
point out errors in grammar, spelling, and
punctuation,
and any difficulties that have been passed over. He
should
judge the whole exercise in the light of the gram-
matical rules and,
whenever the opportunity offers, he
should recall to the pupils’ memory the
conjugations
and the rudiments.
4. While the teacher is
correcting the written
work, he should assign the pupils such exercises as
the following: turn into Latin passages dictated in
the vernacular
either in imitation of the author and
especially as an exercise in the rules
of syntax, trans-
late a passage of Cicero into the vernacular and
re-
translate the same into Latin, match rivals and propose
difficulties for
solution and expressions for inter-
pretation based on the grammar recently
explained,
practice writing Greek, and other exercises of the
same
sort.
5. In the review of the
matter previously seen,
the teacher shall sometimes take occasion in any way
he wishes to demand of the pupils the more difficult
points in
declensions, conjugations, and rules of
grammar.
6. The method for the
prelection of Cicero,
which should in general cover no more than seven
lines,
is as follows. First, the teacher shall read the whole
passage
without interruption and give the sense very
briefly in the vernacular.
Second, he should give a
word for word interpretation of the passage in the
vernacular. Third, starting at the beginning, he
should point out the
structure and then, separating
the sentence into parts, he should show how
the verbs
govern the various cases and how a great deal of the
passage
exemplifies the rules of grammar already ex-
plained. He may make an
observation here and there on
Latin usage, but very briefly. He should
explain the
metaphors by examples well known to everybody. Lastly,
he
should select one or two expressions and dictate
only these to the class
along with the general sense
of the passage. Fourth, he should again run
through
the passage in the vernacular.
7. Matter for the written
work should be dic-
tated in the vernacular, word for word, clearly, and
not more than seven lines in length. It should aim at
practice in the
rules of grammar and at imitation of
Cicero. Sometimes the pupils should be
required to
add to their themes the translation of a short passage
from
Cicero or the conjugation of a Greek tense or the
declension of a Greek
noun.
8. The grammar prelection
should take only one
rule at a time, with the addition at most of one of
the shorter notes or exceptions.
9. The same proportion is
to be observed in
teaching Greek. It seems helpful to add vernacular
equivalents to the cases and persons and for the most
part to explain
everything in the vernacular.
10. During the class
competition pupils shall
call attention to the mistakes a pupil has
discovered
in his rival’s theme, ask questions on the exercises
they
have been engaged on during the first hour, re-
cite from memory expressions
given them by the teacher,
ask one another the translation of vernacular
phrases
according to the rules of syntax or in imitation of
Cicero (the
phrase asked should at once be repeated in
the exact words by the one
questioned, and after brief
reflection he should translate it, not word for
word,
but by means of a neat Latin phrase or sentence), in-
flect the
more difficult nouns and verbs, especially
those which have occurred in the
prelections, in either
regular or changed order of cases and tenses, and
either
alone or with modifying adjective, noun or pronoun, re-
cite
rapidly from memory past participles and supines,
and other similar
exercises as the teacher may decide.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE TEACHER OF
THE
LOWEST GRAMMAR CLASS
1. The objective of this
class is a perfect know-
ledge of rudiments and a beginning knowledge of
syntax.
The class starts with the declensions and goes up to
the
conjugation of ordinary verbs. Where there are two
separate divisions in
this class, the lower division
will study nouns, verbs, rudiments, the
fourteen rules
of construction, and the genders and nouns from the
first
book; the higher division will study the matter
on declensions (omitting the
footnotes) and the matter
on past participles and supines from the first
book,
and from the second book the introduction to syntax
(omitting the
exceptions) as far as impersonal verbs.
In Greek, the lower division will
learn to read and
write; the higher will learn the ordinary nouns, the
substantive and barytone verb. The prelection takes in
only the easiest
letters of Cicero carefully selected
for this purpose and, if possible,
separately printed.
2. The order of class time
is the following. In
the first hour of the morning there will be recitation
from memory of Cicero and of grammar to the decurions.
The written work,
gathered by the decurions, is cor-
rected by the teacher, who will assign
exercises to be
done in the meantime, as specified below in the fourth
rule. In the second hour there is a brief repetition
of the prelection
on Cicero and, for half an hour, ex-
planation and review of new matter.
Lastly, subject
matter for a theme is dictated. In the last half hour
of
the morning, each division has an explanation and
repetition of some matter
from its own assignment in
the first book. This explanation may be given to
each
division on alternate days or to both daily. After-
wards the pupils
shall be questioned on all this mat-
ter either by the teacher or by
themselves in competi-
tion.
On days when no new
grammatical rule will be ex-
plained in the afternoon (and each rule is to be
im-
pressed on mind and memory for several days together),
the morning
prelection is to be transferred to the af-
ternoon and the entire last half
hour of the morning
given over to a class contest or other
exercise.
In the first hour of the
afternoon there is to
be a recital from memory of Latin and Greek grammar,
while the teacher inspects the marks assigned by the
decurions and for
half an hour at most corrects writ-
ten assignments of the first morning
period or what re-
mains to be corrected of the written homework. At the
end there shall be a review of the previous grammar
prelection. In the
second hour, syntax is explained
in the higher division, and in the lower
the basic
rules on the gender of nouns and afterwards the four-
teen
rules of construction. A little more than a quar-
ter of an hour is given to
Greek. The last half hour
is devoted to a competition or to a consideration
of
something dictated on the rules of grammar.
In the first hour on
Saturday morning, the matter
seen during the past week should be publicly
recited
from memory. During the second hour it should be re-
viewed.
During the last half hour there is a contest.
The same order holds
for the afternoon, except that
during the first hour, together with grammar,
the cate-
chism is recited, and in the last half hour the cate-
chism is
explained or a spiritual exhortation given,
unless this was given on Friday,
in which case the
time should usually be spent on whatever was displaced
by the catechism.
3. In correcting written
work, the teacher should
point out mistakes in grammar, spelling, and
punctua-
tion, and any dodging of difficulties. He should take
grammatical correctness as his standard of judgment,
and whenever the
occasion offers he should call atten-
tion to errors in conjugations and
declensions.
4. Exercises to be
assigned the pupils while the
teacher is correcting the written work shall
consist,
for example, in translating into Latin something in
the
vernacular affording practice in the use of the
rules of syntax, in
translating a passage of Cicero
into the vernacular and then retranslating
it into
Latin, in one rival questioning another on the gramma-
tical
precepts, particularly those recently studied,
and on expressions
exemplifying these precepts, in ar-
ranging or composing examples of the
concords, in writ-
ing something in Greek, and in other things of the same
sort.
5. In the review of the
prelection, the teacher
should at times use the occasion in whatever way he
chooses to demand of the pupils the declensions and
conjugations and a
review of grammar.
6. The prelection of
Cicero, which will cover
no more than about four lines, shall be done as
follows.
Let the teacher first read the entire passage without
interruption, and then give the sense of the passage
very briefly in the
vernacular. In the second place,
let him interpret the passage word for word
in the
vernacular. In the third place, starting from the be-
ginning, let
him indicate the structure and then let
him take up each phrase or clause
and show which case
each verb governs. Let him examine most of the passage
to show how it exemplifies the rules of grammar already
explained. Let
him make one or other comment on Latin
usage, but briefly. Let him explain
the metaphors by
well-known parallels. He should not dictate anything
except perhaps the general sense of the passage. In
the fourth place, let
him again run through the passage
in the vernacular.
7. The written assignment
is to be dictated word
for word in the vernacular. Its meaning should be
clear
and it should usually be no more than four lines long.
Its aim should be practiced in applying the
rules of
grammar. Sometimes the pupils should be required to
add to it
the translation of a short passage from Cicero
or some expression
illustrating the rules of syntax or
some parallel expression from their
elementary Greek,
or something else of the sort.
8. The grammar prelection
should cover at most
only one precept at a time, and until this is well
mas-
tered no other should be taken up.
9. The class contest shall
consist in checking
the mistakes which each rival has detected in the
other’s theme, in alternately quizzing each other on
matter which was
studied during the first hour, or in
testing each other on translating
vernacular expres-
sions into Latin. In this exercise the one who is to
answer should repeat the expression aloud, and then af-
ter a moment’s
reflection, translate it not in a mechan-
ical word for word manner, but by
means of a neat Latin
phrase or sentence. Again they should check up on
their
knowledge of vocabulary and inflections, especially in
regard to
verbs and nouns found in a passage recently
studied. These inflections may
be reviewed either by
following the paradigm order or by skipping about; and
adjectives may be combined with nouns. They may also
ask for basic rules
together with examples, and match
vernacular forms with the corresponding
Latin and vice
versa. They may change active verbs into the passive
form
or be asked to identify past participles and supines,
genders and cases, and
invent similar problems with the
approval of the teacher.
* * * *
*
RULES OF THE
SCHOLASTICS
OF THE SOCIETY
1. The scholastics of
our Society should make
it their chief endeavor to preserve purity of
conscience
and a right intention in their studies. They should
not seek
anything in their studies except the glory of
God and the good of souls. In
their prayers they should
frequently beg for grace to make progress in
learning
so as at length to fulfill the Society’s hope that by
their
example and learning they will become able work-
ers in the vineyard of
Christ our Lord.
2. They should keep firm
and constant their reso-
lution to apply themselves to their studies. Just as
they must take care that in their zeal for study their
love of solid
virtues and of religious life does not
become lukewarm, so too they must
persuade themselves
that while they are in the colleges they can do nothing
more pleasing to God than to devote themselves whole-
heartedly to
studies with the intention stated above.
They should be convinced that the
very labor of study-
ing, undertaken out of obedience and charity, as it
should be, is a work highly meritorious in the sight
of the divine and
supreme Majesty even though they may
never have occasion to employ what they
have learned.
3. They must apply
themselves to those branches
of knowledge and attend the lectures of such
profes-
sors as the superior determines. All should follow
faithfully the
time order and the method of study pre-
scribed by the prefect of studies or
their professor.
They are to use only the books given them by the
pre-
fect.
4. They should be faithful
in attendance at
the lectures, diligent in preparing for them
before-
hand and afterwards in reviewing them. They should
ask about
points they do not understand and note down
what may be useful later on to
assist the memory.
5. They are to
participate in the customary
disputations of the classes which they attend,
and in
doing so should try to distinguish themselves by their
learning
and modesty.
6. Besides, all must be
present at the private
disputations and repetitions held daily, and the
dis-
putants must be exact in obeying the one who presides.
7. When they go to attend
public classes, they
should go and return with one another and conduct
them-
selves with such interior and exterior modesty as will
benefit
themselves and be an example to others.
8. When they have
permission to speak with ex-
tern students, their conversation should be only
about
studies and spiritual matters as shall be judged most
profitable
for everyone concerned to the greater glory
of God.
9. All, especially the
students of the humani-
ties, must speak Latin. They are to commit to memory
what their teachers have assigned, and they should dili-
gently cultivate
their style in writing.
10. No one should apply
himself to reading or
writing for more than two hours without taking a brief
respite.
11. During the hours
devoted to private study,
those who are attending the courses of the higher
faculties should read over at home the notes they have
taken in class to
make sure that they understand them.
Each should test his understanding by
proposing objec-
tions to himself and attempting to answer them. He
should take note of what he cannot answer so that he
can ask questions
or argue the point.
* * * * *
INSTRUCTION FOR THOSE
ENGAGED IN THE
TWO-YEAR REVIEW OF THEOLOGY
1. They shall observe the
Rules of the Scholas-
tics, except those which concern attendance at lectures
and repetitions in the schools, with the same regular-
ity as other
students. They must be especially careful
that in their ardor for study they
do not allow their
love of solid virtue to grow cold.
2. They shall attend cases
of conscience, all
public disputations, and even the monthly disputations
just as other students of theology.
3. They must not only be
present at the monthly
disputations of the philosophers, but if the
professors
are absent they may also summarize the objections and
answers
at them as well as at the weekly disputations
of theologians.
4. According to the method
of study and the time
schedule prescribed them by the prefect, they shall
give diligent and painstaking study to the material
which was not
treated at all in their course or only
touched upon. They should make use of
the commentaries
by authors who have treated this material more
thorough-
ly.
5. They should then study
the principal treatises
of the whole of theology, such as those on the
vision
of God, the divine knowledge, predestination, the Trin-
ity, from
the first part of St. Thomas’ Summa. They
should cover other parts of
the Summa in the same way.
In this study they should carefuIIy weigh
what others
have written and should make their own digest of the
chief
divisions and fundamental theses of theology
which have a bearing on many
important disputed ques-
tions. They must keep firmly in mind, however, what
the
Society has decreed in regard to following the doctrine
of St.
Thomas Aquinas.
6. They should formally
write out certain theses,
with their postulates, conclusions, and answers
to
objections, employing
the scholastic method, as if they
were to lecture on them before a class.
These they
should submit to the prefect of studies every month,
or at
least every other month, so as to receive his
guidance.
7. They may in fact
occasionally give such lec-
tures either in private before our own professors
or
at the repetitions of the theologians, lecturing for
about three
quarters of an hour. The professors who
are present ought to raise questions
at the end of the
lecture. If it seems worth while, such lectures may
be
delivered in the refectory.
8. They may also prepare
similar presentations
on some celebrated topic to be treated in at most ten
lectures. Classes and class time should be so arranged
that any of the
theological students who wish may at-
tend.
9. A time should be set
aside for them to hold
four disputations on particular parts of theology and
one comprehensive disputation embracing the whole of
theology. The first
disputation should be scheduled
for the early part of the first semester,
the second
at its close. The other disputations are to be sche-
duled in
the same way, one each semester, but in such
wise that the comprehensive
disputation will conclude
the final semester.
10. They are to be at
liberty in these dispu-
tations to take issue with the views of their
profes-
sors and, if they wish, to defend their own, provided
that their
views do not conflict with the doctrine of
St. Thomas, as stated in the
decree of the Fifth Con-
gregation.67
They must, however, come to an agreement
well beforehand with the prefect of
studies and the
presiding officer regarding their dissenting views
and
the postulates and proofs they intend to offer in
defending them. In order
to show their abilities to
better advantage, the presiding officer should
allow
them to answer freely and should not interrupt the
discussion
unless it is obviously necessary.
11. They are to understand
that during these
two years they will be expected not only to become
learned and ready in theology but likewise to acquire
the ecclesiastical
background knowledge which a the-
ologian is really expected to
know.
12. Accordingly, they
should have a certain
time each day for the careful reading of the Holy
Scriptures, the decrees of the Councils, theological
controversies, and
canon law. They should take systema-
tic notes on whatever appears important.
They are not,
however, to make any formal preparation for preaching,
but
on occasion they should lecture on some topic con-
nected with their studies,
either in the refectory or
elsewhere as the superior shall
decide.
13. They are to pass over
points of civil law
which they may meet with in their study of canon law
and spend all their time on ecclesiastical law.
14. They should especially
apply themselves to
that subject which they find most appealing, being
careful to have their superior’s advice in the matter.
But they are not
on this account to neglect prescribed
areas in other fields.
* * * * *
RULES FOR THE
TEACHER’S
ASSISTANT OR BEADLE
1. The duty of the beadle
is to perform faith-
fully any functions the teacher may require of him,
especially assignments connected with class exercises.
2. He shall see to it that
the classroom and
the teacher’s seat are clean, that a religious
paint-
ing hangs in the room, that there are a sufficient num-
ber of
benches, that they are clean and properly ar-
ranged, that broken or damaged
benches are repaired,
that special seats are set apart for students of
the
Society as well as for
students of other religious
orders from those of the extern students, that
the
classrooms are opened at the proper time.
3. He shall give timely
notice to those who
are to take their turn in disputations, repetitions,
defense of theses, and he must perform other similar
tasks assigned him
by the teacher.
4. He shall give about a
week’s notice to those
who are to defend in the weekly disputations. He
shall
have the theses written out in good time, taken to the
professor
for correction and to the prefect for approval.
When they are returned,
corrected and approved, he shall
let the defendant know how many written
copies he will
need to prepare. On the morning of the day prior to
the
disputation he shall post one of these in public,
legibly and neatly
written, and then distribute the
other copies to the disputants.
5. He shall always have a
watch with him at the
lectures and disputations and notify the prefect and
the professor when the time is up, so that each dis-
putant may keep to
the time allotted to him. He shall
give the sign for the disputants to begin
and conclude,
as the prefect shall direct.
6. He shall be responsible
for the proper prepar-
ation of the hall for public disputations according to
academic custom. He shall assign places to guests who
are in attendance
either to propound objections or to
honor the occasion by their
presence.
7. When he notices that
any students of the So-
ciety are absent from lectures, repetitions,
disputa-
tions, or that they are remiss in anything pertaining
to the
order of studies or discipline, he shall report
it to the
superior.
* * * * *
1. Those who attend
the schools of the Society
of Jesus in pursuit of learning should be
convinced
that with God’s help, we shall make as great effort to
advance
them in the love of God and all other virtues
as we shall do to perfect them
in the liberal arts.
2. Each student shall
attend the class to which
after examination he shall be assigned by the
prefect
of studies.
3. They shall go to
confession at least once a
month, assist at daily Mass at the time
appointed, and
be present in a becoming manner at the sermon on feast
days.
4. They shall attend the
weekly instructions in
Christian doctrine and learn the lessons in the
text-
book assigned by the teacher.
5. None of our students
shall enter the school
with weapons, daggers, knives, or anything else which
may be forbidden by reason of place or circumstances.
6. Students must never
indulge in swearing, ridi-
cule, insult, detraction, falsehood or forbidden
games.
They must keep away from places of ill repute and from
such as
have been proscribed by the prefect. In short,
they should not do anything
that is contrary to good
morals.
7. They should understand
that the teachers may
employ the corrector to punish them when in matters
concerning discipline or studies, commands and warnings
are of no avail.
Those who refuse to accept the pun-
ishments or do not give promise of reform
or are trouble-
some to others or set a bad example shall be expelled
from school.
8. All must obey their
teachers and must faith-
fully follow in class and at home the plan and
method
of study prescribed for them.
9. Pupils must apply
themselves seriously and
consistently to their studies; they must be prompt
and
regular in coming to class, and faithful in paying at-
tention to the
prelections, in repeating the matter
explained, and in performing the tasks
assigned. If
there is anything they do not clearly understand or are
in
doubt about, they should seek the assistance of the
teacher.
10. In the classroom they
should not move about,
but each must remain at the place assigned him and be
well behaved and quietly intent on his own work. No
one is to leave the
classroom without permission of
the teacher. All disfiguring or marking of
benches,
the professor’s chair, seats, walls, doors, windows,
or other
furniture by drawing, writing, or carving is
strictly forbidden.
11. They should shun the
company of those whose
conduct is immoral or even questionable, and they
should associate only with those whose example in
studies and in conduct
may help them.
12. They should refrain
altogether from reading
pernicious as well as worthless books.
13. They may not attend
public spectacles, come-
dies, plays, or public executions of criminals. They
must not take part in theatricals outside the school
without obtaining
permission of their teachers or the
prefect of studies.
14. All should strive to
preserve sincerity of
soul and purity of conscience and be especially
exact-
ing in their observance of the divine law. They should
frequently
and sincerely commend themselves to God, to
the Blessed Mother of God, to
the other saints, and
earnestly implore the protection of the angels, in
par-
ticular of their guardian angel. They should behave
well at all
times and in all places, but especially in
church and the
classroom.
15. Finally, let them so
conduct themselves in
word and action that everyone may easily understand
that they are no less earnest in acquiring virtue and
integrity of life
than in making progress in learning.
1. By the word
“academy” we mean a group of
students chosen from the entire student body on
the
basis of their devotion to learning who will meet
under a Jesuit
moderator to take part in special ex-
ercises connected with their
studies.
2. All who belong to the
Sodality of the Blessed
Virgin are by the fact of this membership considered
eligible for an academy, as are also any religious who
attend our
schools. Besides, where custom sanctions
it, the rector may approve the
admission of others
who are not members of the sodality or even students
in our school.
3. Members of the academy
ought to set an ex-
ample to the rest of the students by excelling in
virtue and piety, in diligence in their studies, and
in observance of
the rules of the school.
4. The rector of the
college shall choose a
suitable moderator for each academy either from among
the teachers or from other members of the Society.
5. Students of philosophy
and of theology to-
gether may form one academy, students of rhetoric and
humanities another, and students of the grammar classes
a third,
provided that these latter are not too numer-
ous and consequently too
unequal in learning to be
able to profit from common programs; otherwise
each
class may have its own academy.
6. The benefits of an
academy accrue princi-
pally from regular attendance and eagerness to take
part in the programs. Hence, members who are rather
frequently absent or
refuse to take their turn on the
programs or are unruly and a source of
trouble and a
hindrance to others should be dismissed.
7. The officers of each
academy shall be elected
every third or fourth month by a majority of votes
cast
by the members in a secret ballot. The following shall
be elected: the
president of the academy, two coun-
selors, and a secretary. Additional
officers may be
elected and duties assigned them according to the
num-
ber of members, local customs, and the judgment of
the rector of the
college.
8. The president of the
theologians’ academy
should generally be a student of theology, but if at
times it seems better to elect a student of philosophy,
he should at
least be from the class of metaphysics.
Likewise when the academy for
students of rhetoric
and of grammar have members from several classes, the
president should as a rule be chosen from the higher
class, or he may be
chosen in rotation from the several
classes, as the rector of the college
thinks best. How-
ever, a student should be chosen who stands out among
his fellow students in moral excellence, talent, and
learning. It shall
be his duty to promote the inter-
ests of the academy, to lead the others in
the practice
of virtue and devotion to the work of the academy, and
to
make, either at the beginning or the close of his
term, one of the major
presentations of the academy.
If the president of the academy of theologians
is a
student of theology, he may, in the professor’s absence,
direct the
philosophers in a disputation and summarize
and press further the objections
and answers of the
disputants.
9. The counselors shall be
next to the presi-
dent in rank and dignity, and in the president’s
ab-
sence the first counselor shall take his place. If
the first
counselor is also absent, the second shall
preside. The counselors shall
perform the duties as-
signed them by the moderator either personally or
through
the president.
10. The secretary shall
carefully keep all the
records of the academy. He shall keep in a book a
list of the members in the order in which they have
been admitted. In
the same book he shall write the
names of the officers as they are elected,
the minutes
of the meetings of the academy, and the names of the
members
who have in some way distinguished themselves.
He shall keep in his files
the speeches, verses, and
poems written by the students of rhetoric and
selected
by the moderator for public display. In good season
he shall notify those
whom the moderator has selected
to conduct exercises of the academy, so that
they may
prepare themselves. However, in the theologians’ aca-
demy it
may seem advisable to have this done through
the beadle. At the close of
each meeting he shall
announce publicly what exercises are scheduled and
who are to participate in them. It shall be his duty
to post in public
and in good time the theses to be
defended, and, for the academy of the
rhetoricians,
the proposed problems and moot points that are to be
solved.
11. Three or four times a
year--that is, after
the election of a new president--consultations should
be held, either of all the members or at least of the
officers and
moderator, for the purpose of promoting
the interests of the academy and
removing any obstacles
that seem to impede its progress.
12. The rules of the
academy are to be read
either at the meetings of the consultants or before
the election of a new president. These rules are to
be posted on a
bulletin board or kept in the book of
minutes of the academy. In this same
book the list
of members is to be entered immediately after the
rules.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE
MODERATOR
OF THE ACADEMY
1. The moderator should
foster virtue as well
as love of learning in the members of the academy.
He will do this by his own example and as occasion
offers in private
conversation.
2. He shall see that
the rules are faithfully
observed and in particular that the members
regularly
apply themselves in earnest to the daily activities
of the
academy.
3. It shall be his duty to
see to it that all
the members of the academy take their turns, as far
as
may be, in the various types of programs.
4. He must not abolish
established customs nor
introduce new ones without the authority of the
rector
of the college. He must not make any important deci-
sions without
informing the rector and he should care-
fully carry out his
directives.
5. He shall so arrange the
time of the meetings--
for disputations, repetitions, and other
exercises--
as not to conflict with the meetings of the sodality.
In this
way all the members of the academy may conven-
iently attend the meetings of
both organizations. For
this reason also no one should be detained in
confer-
ence during the time of a sodality meeting except for
a very
serious reason.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE ACADEMY OF
THEOLOGIANS
AND PHILOSOPHERS
1. The exercises of this
academy are customar-
ily of four kinds: daily repetitions of matter seen
in class, disputations, academic lectures or the dis-
cussion of
debatable questions, more formal disputa-
tions at which theses are defended
in public.
2. Repetitions shall last
for about an hour on
all class days excepting the days of monthly
disputa-
tions. They are to be
held at the most convenient
hours. During Lent, however, time must be left
free
at least twice a week for a sermon.
3. The different classes
should hold repetitions
separately, the students of theology forming one
group,
the philosophers forming three if there are that many
professors.
At the repetitions, one or two members
of the academy should review the
matter covered in
class and one or two pose objections. For the
repeti-
tions in theology, the moderator of the academy should
preside,
or his assistant, or at least one of the more
advanced theology students
appointed by the rector of
the college. For the students of philosophy, the
pre-
siding members in each group should generally be a
Jesuit student of
theology, likewise appointed by the
rector of the college.
4. Disputations are to be
scheduled once a week
when there are only a few in the academy, twice a week
when there are many members. They should be scheduled
on the weekly
holiday or on both the weekly holiday
and on Sunday. One student, generally
a philosopher,
should defend a thesis for an hour on Sunday afternoon,
while two object. On the recreation day, two or three
are to defend
theses for two hours, one a theology stu-
dent, the others, students of
philosophy, while as many
or more will offer objections.
5. If only one student of
theology defends, he
will always include some theses in philosophy. A
stu-
dent of metaphysics will defend theses in physics and
logic, and a
student of physics will also defend theses
in logic. Objectors against
theologians should be
theologians; against, philosophers, the first objector
should be from the next higher class, and the second
a member of the
same class as the defendant.
6. If the teacher of the
defendant attends the
disputations, whether of philosophy or theology, he
shall preside; otherwise the moderator of the academy
or his assistant
shall preside.
7. Lectures, too, may be
given occasionally.
A member of the academy will deliver from the chair a
scholarly report that he has worked out on his own
initiative or some
original problem. He should pre-
sent and establish arguments for both sides
of the
question and afterwards entertain counter-arguments
from one or
more members. Lectures of this sort must
first be shown to the moderator of
the academy for
his approval.
8. The president of the
academy or some other
member chosen by the moderator may at times hold a
more formal disputation, at Christmas, for example,
at Easter,
Pentecost, or some other opportune time.
The matter defended in such
disputations should be
some portion of philosophy or theology stated in the
form of theses. The professor should preside.
9. These disputations
should be conducted with
a certain degree of ceremony. The defender should
begin with a formal introduction and end with a simi-
larly prepared
conclusion, both of which should like
all public utterances be checked and
approved by the
prefect. To make the event more notable, guests should
be invited to attack the conclusions of the defendant,
and others may be
invited as auditors.
10. About a month prior to
the opening of classes,
the rector, if he wishes, may appoint a member of
the
Society or have the moderator appoint a member of the
academy to
give for fifteen days an introduction to
or epitome of philosophy to those
who are to begin
their philosophical course.
11. Before any theses,
whether for the more
formal disputations or for the weekly disputations, are
defended or posted, they must be looked over by the
moderator of the
academy and by the defendant’s pro-
fessor.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE
MODERATOR OF THE ACADEMY OF
THEOLOGIANS AND PHILOSOPHERS
1. Besides the common
directives laid down for
all moderators in the rules of the academy, each
mod-
erator should see to it that in the daily repetitions
the method of
reviewing, proving, and discussing be
identical with that used by members of
the Society in
repetitions at home. In public disputations, however,
and
in classroom defenses, the customary procedure is
to be followed.
2. Accordingly, the
moderator shall pay fre-
quent visits to individual groups to see to it that
they are functioning in a serious and proper manner,
and that each
individual is performing his part cor-
rectly. Let him give specific
directions where such
directions are needed.
3. It will be helpful to
give more frequent
practice to those who are preparing for their
com-
prehensive examinations in philosophy and theology,
or who will
present a formal defense before the academy.
He should also advise and
direct them so that they may
be the better prepared.
4. Should the rector of
the college give him
an assistant, he may divide his responsibility for
his work with the academy in such a way that the as-
sistant will preside
over the repetitions in theology
and on alternate days, especially on
holidays, take
charge of the disputations. He may also use the serv-
ices
of the assistant to carry out other details con-
nected with the everyday
meetings and the more formal
sessions of the academy.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE ACADEMY
OF STUDENTS OF
RHETORIC AND
HUMANITIES
1. The academy shall
meet on Sunday or, where
it is more convenient, on a recreation day, in a
place assigned by the rector of the college.
2. The programs scheduled
by the academy shall
in general be as follows: the moderator, as he shall
judge timely, may lecture on or throw open for dis-
cussion some suitable
topic or passage from an author
or he may explain some more challenging
principles of
oratory, as given by Aristotle, Cicero, or other
rhe-
toricians, or he may rapidly read through an author
and question the
members of the academy on what he
has read, or he may propose problems to be
solved,
and conduct other exercises of the sort.
3. Often, too, he should
omit such exercises
and have the members themselves deliver speeches or
recite poems or give declamations, either from memory
or ex tempore.
With his approval, they may stage mock
trials. They may deliver a lecture
and answer ques-
tions on it proposed by two or more of the members.
Again they may defend theses and offer objections to
them in an
oratorical rather than a dialectical style.
They may compose symbols or
mottoes or again epigrams
or brief descriptions. They may compose and solve
riddles, or have a drill in invention, each one either
on the spur of
the moment or after reflection suggest-
ing sources of arguments on a
proposed topic. Or as
practice in style they may suit metaphors or sentence
patterns to a suggested argument. They may write out
the plot of
dialogues or tragedies, or the plan of a
poem. They may imitate a whole
speech or poem of a
famous orator or poet. They may propose a symbol of
some sort and have each member contribute to its
meaning. They may
assign the various books of some
author and have each member of the academy
make a se-
lection of thoughts and expressions from the book as-
signed to
him. Finally, let them cultivate the gift
of eloquent expression and
whatever is associated
with its practice.
4. It will be found
worth while occasionally
to have some of the better and more ambitious of
these
exercises or prelections, declamations, and defenses
of theses
presented, especially by the president of
the academy, with a degree of
external ceremony in
the presence of a distinguished audience.
5. At times prizes may be
awarded to those
who do especially well in writing, reciting, or
solv-
ing enigmas and puzzling problems.
6. More formal awards may
be given to all the
members of the academy once a year. The expense may
be met by contributions or in whatever way the rector
of the college
thinks best.
7. At least once a year,
some feast of the
Blessed Virgin, designated by the rector of the
col-
lege, should be celebrated with a great display of
speeches, poems,
verses, as well as symbols and mot-
toes, posted on the walls of the
college.
* * * * *
RULES OF THE ACADEMY OF
STUDENTS OF
THE GRAMMAR CLASSES
1. Generally the moderator
will take some point
of grammar which the members are later to study in
class, or something from a graceful and pleasing writer,
and give a
prelection on it. He may hold a repetition
or a drill on matter already
explained in class.
2. One member should come
each time prepared to
open the meeting of the academy by answering questions
on topics discussed at the last meeting. Three or
more should propose
difficulties or call on him to
translate some
sentences from the vernacular into Latin.
Following the same procedure, the
members should imme-
diately review the prelection given by the
moderator.
3. Frequent and spirited
contest should be co-
nducted. Sometimes the members will be tested on their
literary style, sometimes on memory work, sometimes
phrases will be
expressed in a variety of ways, or some
specimens of verse or precepts of
Greek grammar may be
discussed, or other similar exercises held at the
dis-
cretion of the moderator.
4. Occasionally some of
the members, or even
all of them, should come prepared to recite from memory
some short apothegm or to narrate some event.
5. Now and then members
should be called upon
to recite from the platform the prelections which
their
teacher gave them in class, adding a short introduction
and, if it
seems good, also some commentary.
6. It will be of advantage
on occasion to have
prelections given by members, and especially by the
president of the academy, with a little greater solem-
nity and before a
larger audience than usual. To this
exercise may be added a contest between
two or three
of the members, and prizes may be awarded afterwards
in
private.
7. The moderator can exact
some literary task
in place of penalty, and he may read in public the
names of those who have been slack or not well behaved.
8. Finally, these
activities should be so
handled and so varied in nature that in addition to
their intrinsic value they may afford pleasure to the
members and hold
their interest. They will thus in-
spire a greater love of
learning.
* * * * *
1. The
highest authority in the Jesuit Order is
the General. He is elected in a
General Congregation
composed
of delegates representing the whole Order in
a ratio of three delegates from
each of the territorial
divisions into which the Order is divided. He holds
office for life. Next in line of authority are the Pro-
vincials, each of
whom has under his charge the Jesuit
institutions and members of a given
territory or province.
A Provincial’s term of office is usually limited to
six
years. Directly under the Provincial are the Rectors,
who
individually have jurisdiction over single institu-
tions.
2. This
unchanging Christian aim is enunciated
time and again in Jesuit documents;
for instance in the
Fourth Part of the Constitutions, ch. 12, no. 1: “Since
the end of the Society and of its studies is to aid our
fellowmen to the
knowledge and love of God and to the
salvation of their souls . . .“ So too
in ch. 16, n.
4: “The teachers should make it their express purpose,
in
their lectures when occasion is offered and outside
of them, too, to inspire
the students to the love and
service of God our Lord, and to a love of the
virtues
by which they please Him.” Translations in George E.
Ganss,
S.J., Saint Ignatius’ Idea of a Jesuit Univer-
sity (Milwaukee, Wis.:
Marquette University Press, 1954),
pp. 321, 330. This aim, stated in the
first of the Rules
of the Provincial, appears in the first of the Rules of
the Rector: “The rector’s first concern should be the
spiritual
development of the young men committed to his
care”; in the first of the
Rules of the Prefect of Stu-
dies: “so that those who attend our schools
will, to
the greater glory of God, make the greatest possible
progress
in development of character, literary skills,
and learning”; in the first of
the Common Rules of Pro-
fessors of the Higher Faculties: “It will be the set
purpose of the teacher . . . to inspire his students to
113
the love and service
of God and to the practice of the
virtues which He expects of them”; and in
the first of
the Rules of the Prefect of Lower Studies: “that our
students may advance in uprightness of life as well as
in the liberal
arts.” Such a religious purpose did
not, however, prevent or distract the
Jesuits from pur-
suing the immediate objective of leading their students
to excellence in learning: praestans rerum scientia.
They knew
that in order to formthe Christian they must
first form the man, that is,
develop all the powers and
potentialities of the individual. This involves,
if it
is to be successful, not only the training of the mind,
but the
shaping of the student’s spirit, the cultivation
of his religious sense and
his sense of values. There-
fore, the Jesuit teacher, besides possessing even
the best
possible teaching aims, must help in creating in the
school a
Christian atmosphere (with the active influence
of the Sôdality: see Note
30), in providing guidance and
counseling to his pupils, and most of all by
giving an
example of apostolic dedication.
3. St.
Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus,
saw a close link between the
formative value of the hu-
manities and the arts of communication. In a
letter to
the famous Jesuit theologian, James Laynez, dated May 21,
1547, Juan de Polanco wrote in the name of Ignatius that
“many learned
men, because they lack this formation, keep
their knowledge to themselves.
They miss the chief end
which they should have attained with their
knowledge, that
of being useful to their neighbor. Others, no doubt,
com-
municate their knowledge, but not with the same authority
and profit
which would result if they possessed the fac-
ulty of making themselves
understood, and could thus make
their ideas as clear and intelligible to
their audience as
they are clear and intelligible in their own minds.”
Monumenta Ignatiana: S. Ignatii de Loyola Epistolae et
Instructiones, Ser. I (Madrid, 1903), I, p. 522.
4. Canonical
Books are the books of the Old and
New Testament accepted by the Catholic
Church as genuine
and inspired. They were fixed and listed by the Council
of Trent in 1546. Cf. H. Denzinger and A. Schönmetzer,
S.J.,
Enchiridion Symbolorum (Barcelona: Herder, 32nd ed.,
1962), nn. 1502,
1503, p. 365.
5. For this
special instruction, entitled “Instruc-
tion for Those Engaged in the
Two-Year Review of Theology,”
see above, pp. 97-99.
6. A
Scholasticate is a seminary for Jesuit stu-
dents who are pursuing studies in
philosophy and theolo-
gy. Scholastics are Jesuit students who, after
completing
the novitiate, are pursuing higher studies prior to
or-
dination and final vows.
7. A
professed house was intended primarily as
the living quarters of the
professed members of the Order.
It was not to have either property or
regular income.
8. “Extern
students” was a term used to distin-
guish lay students from Jesuit or other
ecclesiastical
students. It included both day students and
boarders.
9. The 1599
edition of the Ratio was reprinted at
Mainz in 1600, at Naples and
Tournon in 1603, and at Rome
in 1606 and 1616. In the Roman reprint of 1616,
Rule 19,
nn. 1-14 of the Provincial, regarding theology and philo-
sophy,
was somewhat revised, according to Decree 33 of the
Seventh General
Congregation of the Order, 1615-1616. Cf.
Institutum Sotietatis Jesu
(Florence, 1893), II, 328-329.
We have followed the revised version of Rule
19 in the
translation. In all other respects the 1616 reprint was
identical with that of 1599.
10. The
49th rule of the Provincial leaves it to
his discretion to decide what
studies the Jesuit students,
in view of their age and talent, are to pursue,
and to
remove from those studies anyone who proves unequal to
them. The
56th rule recommends that he assign to the
study of moral theology those
who, because of age or other
reasons, are unable to progress in higher
studies, and
that he see to it that others also apply themselves to
the
study of moral theology, so that the Society may have
a sufficient number of
qualified confessors. Cf. Insti-
tutum Societatis Jesu
(Florence, 1893), III, 78-79.
11. Teaching, namely, the grammar classes or the Humanities.
12.
Profession is the grade in the Order to which
those priests are admitted who
take the three solemn vows
of poverty, chastity, and obedience, plus a
fourth vow of
special obedience to the Pope.
13. This
29th decree of the Sixth General Congre-
gation (Decree 15 in Institutum
Societatis Jesu, II, 294)
states that those who
possess exceptional talent in the
classical languages and have taught them
with outstand-
ing success for a number of years, may be promoted by
the
general either to the profession of the four solemn
vows or of three solemn
vows. The same exception is to
be made for those who have labored fruitfully
in the In-
dian missions and have mastered the Indian languages.
14. Part V,
ch. 2, n. 2 B of the Constitutions
says that generally speaking
admission to the profession
of four vows should be based on completion of
four years
of theological studies, followed by the final examination
described in Rule 19, n. 10 of the Provincial. There may
be occasion,
however, to make an exQeption in the case of
those who, before entering the
Society, have had adequate
training in canon law or who possess other
notable gifts
which might compensate for lack of training in theology.
Judgment is to be left to the general. Institutum Soci-
etatis
Jesu, II, p. 88.
15. Chapter
12, n. 3 C of the Fourth Part of the
Constitutions reads: “To teach
how to read and write
would also be a work of charity if the Society had
enough
members to be able to attend to everything. But because
of the
lack of members, these elementary branches are not
ordinarily taught.”
Trans. from Ganss, op. cit., p. 322.
In the early Jesuit schools the
rule was not easy to
put into effect. The townspeople and some of the
princi-
pal benefactors made vigorous appeals to start or contin-
ue the
elementary studies. Ignatius, however, insisted
on the observance of the
rule, and gradually the classes
were eliminated. It should be emphasized
that the Jesuits
did not disparage elementary schooling, as is sometimes
inferred. Ignatius gave the precise explanation: the
Society did not
have sufficient manpower to take up every
worthy cause. It was already
committed to large-scale
missionary activity (a primary ministry) both at
home
and in pagan lands, and between 1548 and the middle of
1556 it had
undertaken an extensive educational aposto-
late by establishing thirty-three
secondary schools in
Sicily, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, France, and
Germany. Cf. Allan P. Farrell, S.J., The Jesuit Code of
Liberal Education (Milwaukee: Bruce, 1938), pp. 431-435,
for a
complete list of these schools.
16. When
the first Jesuit schools were established
in the middle of the sixteenth
century, the Doctrinale
of Alexander de Vila Dei, the favorite Latin
grammar of
the Middle Ages, had
gradually been replaced by the
Commentarii Grammatici of Jan van
Pauteren, commonly
known as Despauterius (1460-1520). It was introduced
into practically all the Jesuit schools. It was not
long, however,
before such strong criticism of Despau-
terius was voiced that several
Jesuits undertook to pro-
vide a grammar more suitable to their schools. The
first was that of Father Hannibal Coudret while he was
teaching at
Messina. It was used widely and several
times reprinted, but was never
officially adopted by
the Society. Father André des Freux (Frusius), at the
request of Ignatius, published a grammar in 1556, but
it did not meet
with approval. Neither did the grammar
of James Laynez, written in Latin
prose instead of in
the usual metrical form. Finally, in 1572, the grammar
of the Portuguese Jesuit, Emmanuel Alvarez, appeared in
Lisbon. Its
title was De Institutione Graxnmatica Libri
Tres. Of the three
divisions of the grammar, the first
dealt with etymology, the second with
syntax, and the
third with prosody. Innumerable copies were quickly
printed in the various countries where the Jesuits had
schools.
Nevertheless, even this grammar was severely
criticized as being too long
and containing too many
scholia or appendices. The upshot was that a
revision
of Alvarez, by Father Horace Torsellini, was published
in Rome
in 1584. It contained so many changes in struc-
ture, rules of syntax, and
annotations that it bore only
superficial resemblance to Alvarez. So the
Ratio of 1599
gave the schools the choice of using the original
Alvarez
or the Roman substitute. On the battle of the grammars,
see
Farrell, op. cit., pp. 441-454.
17. An
important part of the training of young
Jesuits has always been a period of
several years spent
in the teaching of boys in Jesuit secondary schools.
This period normally follows the completion of their
philosophical
studies. Though it serves as a temporary
break in the intensive study of the
humanities and philo-
sophy, its chief value lies in the formation of
character
and growth in intellectual and religious maturity. In
the
United States this experience originally embraced a
five-year period. In the
early 1920’s the duration was
reduced to three years. Exceptions to the rule
of re-
quiring teaching experience are noted in this Rule 26 and
in the
two following rules. Thus the normal progression
in Jesuit training is two
years of novitiate, two years
of humanistic studies (somewhat modified
today), three
(now two) years of philosophical studies, three years
of
teaching experience, three
years in the study of the-
ology, ordination to the priesthood, a fourth year
of
theology, and a third year of probation, called
“ter-
tianship.”
18. The
third year of probation, or “tertianship,”
is the final year in the Jesuit’s
formation and has for
its aim the renewal and deepening of the religious
spirit.
19. For the
ninth rule of the rector, see above.
p. 16.
20. Lay
brothers, or temporal coadjutors, take
vows of poverty, chastity, and
obedience, but are not
ordained to the priesthood. Apart from the
priesthood,
they enjoy the same vocation as all other members of
the
Society of Jesus. They perform a wide variety of
functions, as buyers,
supervisors of workmen, account-
ants, master carpenters, technical experts,
mechanics,
teachers, according to their talent and training.
21. On the
“expurgation” from classical authors
of what might poison an immature boy’s
soul while per-
fecting his Latinity, the Jesuits followed the advice
of
St. Ignatius, expressed in a letter of June, 1549:
“A boy’s first impressions
which are often strongest
and remain for long years have a definite
influence
for good or ill in after life. Hence, the books put
into his
hands must be such as exert a good influence,
or at least they must not be
such as would surely expose
him to moral corruption.” Monumenta
Ignatiana, Ser. I,
II, p. 445. In accord with this advice, Ignatius
com-
missioned Father Andre des Freux to prepare expurgated
editions of
Horace, Martial, and Terence. In reply, des
Freux said that he found no
difficulty in preparing edi-
tions of Horace and Martial, but that Terence
was tax-
ing his ingenuity because the poison was often in the
very
structure and argument of his works. Father des
Freux did prepare an
expurgated edition of Martial,
edited after his death (1558) by Father
Edmond Auger.
It went into eighteen editions. There is no record that
he
published an expurgated Horace. Ignatius banned the
works of Terence from
Jesuit classrooms in 1553. More
than a century later Father Joseph de
Jouvancy published
expurgated editions not only of Horace, Persius, and
Juvenal, but also of Terence. Cf. Carl Sornmervogel, S.J.,
Bibliotheque
de la Compagnie de Jesus (Paris: Picard,
1890-1900), III, Col. 1047 for des
Freux; IV, Cols. 833-
834 for de Jouvancy.
Renaissance educators like Vegio,
Aeneas Sylvius, and Vives were equally
emphatic on the
need for expurgating many of the Latin classics. The
recent comment of Father John W. Donohue, S.J., is
relevant: “For
although those teachers (the early. Jes-
uits] were less enthusiastic about
wide and relatively
unrestricted reading than we are, they had perhaps a
greater respect for the power of books. Since they be-
lieved that great
books could shape intelligence and
hence influence character by reason of
the interplay
between mind and heart, they also believed that an evil
book can corrupt. And unless one assumes that reading
and study
can make a difference, There is little point
in educating.” Jesuit
Education. An Essay on the Founda-
tions of its Idea (Fordham
University Press, 1963), pp.
172-173.
22. The
limitations of this rule should be noted.
It does not sanction free
adaptation. Ignatius and his
successors insisted on preserving certain
essential aims
and principles which places, times, and persons should
not be allowed to change. Even the 1832 revision of the
Ratio “was
approached with the greatest reverence for a
system which was drawn up by
men of the highest compe-
tence, after lengthy consultations, and approved by
nearly
two centuries of successful operation.” Ratio Studiorum,
1832, prefatory letter by the General of the Society of
Jesus, Father
John Roothaan. Cf. G. M. Pachtler, S.J.,
Ratio Studiorum et Institutiones
Scholasticae Societatis
Jesu per Germaniam olim vigentes, collectae,
concinnatae,
dilucidatae (Berlin: A. Hofmann, l887-94, II, p.
229.
Adaptations raise these stubbornly recurring questions:
Adaptations
to achieve what purpose? Is the purpose a
Jesuit one? If so, are the means
appropriate and ade-
quate? Adaptations certainly have taken place in the
past and will continue to take place as need dictates.
The revised
Ratio of 1832 is an instance. That revision
preserved the distinctive
and timeless Ignatian aims,
but it did not sufficiently adapt the changeable
to the
new educational demands. Father Roothaan stated in his
preface
that after some years of trial a more permanent
modern Ratio would be
undertaken. It was never accom-
plished. A very recent adaptation was begun
in the
Thirty-first General Congregation, S.J., convened after
Vatican
II, which spent more than five months (1965-66)
examining in the light of
the Constitutions every phase
of Jesuit life and discussing and
evaluating each of the
varied Jesuit activities: education (secondary and
uni-
ersity), scholarship
and research, the missions, the
social apostolate in today’s dimensions, the
relations
between Jesuits and the laity, the Spiritual Exercises,
the mass media, modern atheism and unbelief. The ne-
cessary adaptations
are to be determined in the spirit
of the Constitutions and with
Ignatian wisdom.
23. The
Jesuits have always given prominence to
disputations, debates, discussion
and, in secondary
schools, to a variety of class and interclass contests.
In the Constitutions, Part IV, ch. 6, n. 11, Ignatius
states the
purpose of these instruments: “that the in-
tellectual powers may be more
fully exercised.” In n.
12 of the same chapter he emphasized that there
should
be fixed times to discuss and debate the subject matter
of the
humanities. This exercise of intellectual powers
is the motive underlying
the several rules in the 1599
Ratio concerning disputations, contests
and debates; for
instance, Rule 12 of the Common Rules of Professors of
the Higher Faculties and Rule 34 of the Common Rules for
the Teachers of
the Lower Classes. Besides, in the ini-
tial edition of the Ratio
(1586) a lengthy chapter was
devoted to disputations in theology,
philosophy, the hu-
manities, and even grammatical studies. To quote from
the statement on philosophy and theology: One masters
philosophy and
theology, “not so much by listening to
lectures as by engaging in
disputation; for disputation
provides a real test of how much a student
understands
of what he wrote in his notebook and how much profit he
gained from private reflection. What seemed crystal
clear in the
seclusion of one’s room will often be found
worthless in the give and take
of disputation. Yet,
when one is hard pressed by an opponent, he is forced
to call upon all the strength and vigor of his mental
powers. As a
consequence, he will think of arguments
in rebuttal that would never have
come to mind in the
quiet and ease of his study.” Pachtler, op. cit.,
II,
103.
24. Rules 5
and 6 refer to the “Instruction,” pp.
97-99.
25. The
practice of speaking and writing Latin
by young Jesuits was stressed
principally for four rea-
sons: (1) In the Ratio Latin was the
dominant subject
in the curriculum; (2) the practice of speaking Latin in
the classroom was to be strictly observed except in the
lower classes in
which the pupils were still learning
the fundamentals of Latin.
Cf. Rule 18 of the Common
Rules for the Teachers of the Lower Classes; (3)
Latin
sermons, orations and addresses occupied a prominent
place in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; (4)
Latin was still the language of
scholarship, as witness,
for example, the nine large volumes of
Sommervogel’s
Bibliotheque (op. cit.) of Jesuit publications
in philo-
sophy, theology, literature, history, mathematics, and
astronomy.
26. See
also Rule 30 of the Rules of the Provin-
cial. This regulation is probably
the earliest public
recognition in educational history that special
prepara-
tion is necessary for effective teaching. The prelim-
inary
Ratio of 1586 made the point that if prospective
teachers have not
learned the techniques of good teach-
ing beforehand, they will be forced to
learn them after-
wards at the expense of their students and of their own
reputation. Besides, teachers often take it amiss if
they are corrected
after they have adopted a fixed method
of teaching and may thus persist in
their mistaken ways.
Pachtler, op. cit., II, p. 154. But the origin
of this
regulation goes back to the founder of the Jesuits, Ig-
natius of
Loyola. When the Roman College (now the Gre-
gorian University) was opened in
1551, Ignatius decided
that it should become the center for training future
Jesuit teachers for the schools which were being estab-
lished in many
European countries. So he brought to
the Roman College the more promising
among the young Jes-
uit students. Eleven came from Messina, others from
Spain, Portugal, Louvain, Germany, and Italy. At the
same time he
staffed the college with the most gifted
professors of the Order. The
purpose he had in mind was
to form the younger students in sound pedagogical
prin-
ciples by observing the teaching methods of their profes-
sors and
by having the methods explained to them. Thus
what they had learned at the
Roman College would through
them become operative in other Jesuit schools.
Ignatius’
letter on his project for the Roman College is in Monumenta
Ignatiana, Ser. I, IV, pp. 684-690.
27. They would thus be considered merely “auditors.”
28. The
theatre played and still plays a conspicu-
ous role in the history of Jesuit
education. The limita-
tions set by Rule 13 of the Rector are sufficiently
strin-
gent to obviate abuses. In the early Jesuit centuries,
“only rarely” was
interpreted to mean three or four
times a year. The themes were taken from
sacred his-
tory, the Latin and Greek classics, the foreign missions,
lives of the saints, and local traditions. A dictinc-
tive feature of
these comedies and tragedies was that
the majority were written by the
Jesuit professors them-
selves. Many were published (cf. Sommervogel, op.
cit.,
passim) and were thus reproduced in many of the schools.
In our century and in the United States usually one
three-act play is
produced each year; sometimes three
one-act plays. Secular themes
predominate, though re-
ligious or ethical plays are occasionally staged,
such
as The Trial of Edmund Campion, Barabbas, Twelve
Angry
Men. The educative purpose of these dramatic
perform-
ances in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries were
stated by
Jacobus Pontanus (Spanmüller), S.J.: (1) The
clever acting of poor students
on the stage often moves
the wealthy to help them; (2) the plays bring
renown to
the teachers and to the school; (3) they can be excel-
lent
means for exercising the memory; (4) they are a
great help to students in
mastering Latin; (5) they in-
culcate lessons of virtue. Cf.
Progymnasinatum latinita-
tis sive dialogorum Libri VI, Liber
I, Progymnasma
centesimum: “Actio Scenica.” (Padova, 1641), p.
441.
29. The
25th Rule of the rector prescribes that
he should frequently and in a
friendly manner confer
with his teachers and generously provide for their
needs whether of body or of mind. If he finds that
anyone is troubled by
temptation, especially if it is
of serious consequence, he should either
himself or if
necessary through others, offer every possible help, so
that a suitable remedy may be applied without delay.
Institutum
Societatis Jesu, III, p. 110.
30. First
in rank among extracurricular activities
in Jesuit schools was the Sodality
of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Its purpose was to foster filial devotion to
the
Blessed Mother of God. As
early as 1557 there were pious
congregations of students at Genoa and at
Perugia, but
the sodality founded at the Roman College in 1563 by
the
Belgian Jan Leunis, then a teacher in a class of
grammar, was to be named in
1584 as the head and mother
of all present and future sodalities in Jesuit
schools
throughout the world. It was dedicated to the Annunci-
ation of
Our Lady. It is probable that the sodality had
a relationship to the
academies, because the academies
were extracurricular activities limited to
the leaders
in both academic and
spiritual enterprises (cf. Rules
of the Academy, pp. 103-112. The greatness
of the
sodality and the key to its spread was its dedication
to an ever
deeper interior life, to prayer and self-
mastery, and to an active social
apostolate. After
Vatican II the sodality was given a new name:
Chris-
tian Life Communities. These Communities are still, as
was the
original sodality, under the patronage of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, and they
are worldwide just as the
Jesuit schools and universities are
worldwide.
31. The
rules presented here are those of the
prefect of higher studies in a college
or university,
whereas the Rules of the Prefect of Lower Studies
cor-
respond to those of the principal of a modern high
school or
secondary school. The prefect of higher stud-
ies had general supervision of
both the higher and the
lower studies.
32. The
office of Chancellor dates from medieval
times. Normally the Chancellor had
the authority, under
pope or king to grant degrees. He was below the Rector
Magnificus and above the dean.
33. These
comprehensive disputations or “acts,”
covering the whole range of
theological subject matter,
were reserved for special occasions and were
held in
public, usually before a distinguished audience. They
were quite
different from the disputations held weekly
or monthly in
private.
34. The
four divisions of theology were based on
the Summa Theologica of St.
Thomas Aquinas, which had
three parts, the second of which is subdivided
into two,
so that in sum there are four divisions.
35. Rules
19 and 20 deal with philosophical dis-
putations embracing the entire subject
matter of philoso-
phy. From these disputations a few of the abler
stu-
dents would be chosen to present an “act” in philosophy.
These
disputations are separate from the final examina-
tions prescribed under Rule
19, n. 1 of the Provincial.
36. Rules
pertaining to the class beadle will be
found on pp. 99-100.
37. For a
brief description of the scholastic meth-
od, see Rule 20 of the professor of
philosophy.
38. St.
Thomas held that the Blessed Virgin in
the first instant of her conception
was not exempt from
original sin. According to him, she was not endowed
with sanctifying grace because, like all men, she was
redeemed by Christ
(Summa Theologica, III, q. 27, a. 2).
The more common teaching was
that the Blessed Virgin
was endowed with sanctifying grace in the first
instant
of her existence in virtue of the anticipated merits of
Christ.
It was this teaching that was defined as a dogma
of the Church by Pius IX on
December 8, 1854.
39. For St.
Thomas the solemnity of a vow con-
sists in a kind of consecration or
blessing of the per-
son who takes the vow. The more common opinion is that
a vow is solemn if it is accepted as such by the Church.
In other words,
the term “solemn” is a technical and not
a substantive
expression.
40. The
catalogue of questions here referred to
is a selection of topics from St.
Thomas’ Summa Theo-
logica. Some are to be treated in class,
others are to
be omitted or treated elsewhere or left to be taken up
by
other teachers of philosophy or theology. The cata-
logue is in Pachtler,
op. cit., II, pp. 310-319. It
would serve no useful purpose to
include it in this
translation.
41. A
preferable title would be “Rules of the
Professor of Moral Theology,” since
principles as well
as cases are studied. Such is the title in the 1832
re-
vision of the Ratio.
42. The
humanities and the natural sciences are
the principal subject matter of the
first two years of
the American College of Arts and Sciences.
43.
Averroes was a Spanish-Arabian philosopher,
1126-1198. The Alexandrists were
philosophers of the
Renaissance, who adopted the explanation of Aristotle’s
De Anima of Alexander of Aphrodisias. Both the Averro-
ists and
Alexandrists were condemned by the fifth Lateran
Council, under Leo X, for
their false doctrines, espe-
cially regarding the immortality of the
soul.
44. Both
Francesco Toledo (1532-1596) and Pietro
da Fonseca (1528-1599) were
professors in the Roman
College.
45.
These emblematic compositions, and similar
devices, such as hieroglyphics,
enigmas and epigrams,
were widely cultivated in the sixteenth and
seventeenth
centuries and are mentioned frequently in the Ratio.
Pontanus describes the emblem thus: “Pictura quidem,
tamquam corpus,
poesis tamquam animus est: fitque ut
emblema non possit non esse gratum, in
quo et aures
dulci carminum numero delectantur, animi pascuntur,
et
oculi pictura recreantur.” Jacobus Pontanus, S.J.,
Institutio Poetica
(Ingolstadt, 1658), Ch. LII. See
also J. B. Herman, S.J., La Pedagogie
Des Jesuites Au
XVIe Siecle (Louvain, 1914), pp. 289-291. In the
Ratio,
Rule 12 oUthe Rules of the Teacher of Rhetoric lists
emblematic compositions as subject matter for class
contests, and Rule
15 includes them among the more
recondite exercises to be substituted on the
weekly
holidays for the usual reading of an historical author.
46. The
method “other than the Roman” was that
of the original grammar of Emmanuel
Alvarez. Cf. above,
note 16.
47. This
Rule 8, #6 through #10, establishes
norms for the smaller schools which, in
the beginning,
might have few teachers and grades. Either the school
would eventually develop into the five grades, lowest
grammar through
rhetoric, or would be abandoned.
48. This
system of promotions made it possible
for a bright and industrious youngster
to spend no more
than half a year or a semester in the lowest and middle
grammar grades, thus completing two years in one. Such
promotions were
facilitated by the fact that the sub-
ject matter of each grade was to be
completed in the
first semester and repeated by way of review in the
second semester (cf. above Rule 8, #3 and #4). It
should be noted, too,
that since according to the 37th
rule of the Provincial (q.v.) the annual
vacations in
the grammar classes were limited to one or two weeks,
the
first semester was in reality longer in time than
the second semester. At
the end of Rule 13 reasons are
given for limiting “promotion during the
year” to the
lowest and middle grammar classes.
49. On the
compendium of Cyprian Soarez, see
above, Rule 29 of the Common Rules for the
Teachers of
the Lower Classes, and Rule 1 of the Rules for the
Teacher of Humanities.
Also see Note 65 below.
50. Rules
14 to 18 describe the written examina-
tion, while Rules 19 to 22
describe the oral examination
which followed upon evaluation of the
papers submitted
in the written examination. See also Rules for Written
Examinations, pp. 57-59.
51. The
disputations referred to in this rule
were to be held in the grammar classes
and in the classes
of humanities and rhetoric. On the question of
disputa-
tions, see note 23 above.
52. There
are special rules for these academies
at the very end of the Ratio,
pp. 105-112. It should be
noted that the accomplishment of some or all of
the
purposes of the various academies could not but pro-
foundly
influence the standard of work done in the
classroom itself, as almost
anyone can testify who has
presided over the modern counterparts of the old
academ-
ies, often split up now into classical, literary, de-
bating,
dramatic, and scientific clubs.
53. The
censor (sometimes called monitor) was
to a certain extent the custodian of
external disci-
pline. As the rule specifies, the office was public,
so
that as Father Aquaviva, the Jesuit General, wrote,
“A proper understanding
of the rule will show that as
the censorship is a public office, no odium or
dissen-
sion should arise from it.” Pachtler, op. cit., II, p.
493.
The office of censor was established by statute
at the University of Paris
and was in effect in Sturm’s
Strasburg Gymnasium, in Cordier’s College de
Guyenne,
at Winchester, at St. Paul’s in London, in the systems
outlined
by Brinsley, Hoole, and other English school-
masters, and as late as the
nineteenth century in the
public schools at Shrewsbury and Rugby. Cf.
Farrell,
op. cit., pp. 59-61. In the Jesuit schools it was in
effect as late as the eighteenth century and then
dis-
appeared.
54. The
Jesuits preferred to follow the princi-
ple that observance of rules “will be
better secured by
the hope of honor and reward and the fear of disgrace
than by corporal punishment” (Rule 39 of the Common
Rules for Teachers
of the Lower Classes). Yet as St.
Ignatius remarked, discipline must be
maintained. He
told parents in Italy that
for this one of three thinqs
was to be done: the boys were either to be
admonished
verbally, or punished (though never whipped), or sent
away
from the school. Since he forbade the Jesuit teach-
ers to punish their
pupils, he recommended in his Con-
stitutions (Part IV, ch. 16,
n. 5) that a corrector be
employed. The corrector was generally taken for
granted
in the sixteenth century and attention was directed to
the
qualities he should possess to fulfill his office
satisfactorily. For
instance, the French Jesuits enumer-
ated these qualities: “He must be of
mature age, pious,
dignified, advanced in studies, carefully obedient to
the college authorities, and content ordinarily to re-
main in the school
and to keep aloof from the students.”
MS Judicium P. Joannis Bleusii, folio
373, quoted in
Farrell, op. cit., pp. 245-246.
55. A
reference to fiery tempers and student cus-
toms in the sixteenth
century.
56.
Christian doctrine was studied mainly from
the catechism of St. Peter
Canisius in Germany or that
of St. Robert Bellarmine, both of which had been
trans-
lated into many languages.
57. It
should be explained that in correcting
themes while the students were doing
other tasks the
teacher was not pilfering time from a class period to
do
his paper work. He was really alternating class with
“study hail.” He was
probably with the students all day
long. This rule is repeated in Rule 5 of
the teacher of
Rhetoric and in Rule 4 of the teacher of Humanities and of
the three grammar classes.
58. The
Jesuits have always exalted the role of
the teacher. Yet they were well
aware of the difficulty
of the teaching art and of the fact that not many
have
the essential endowment of the great teacher, the gift
of
inspiration. Hence they laid down a teaching tech-
nique which they believed
would lead the teacher by
successive steps to “create the mental situation
and
stimulate the imminent activity of the student.” The
technique was
called the prelection. Its aim was to
help the teacher to prepare his
students for successful
out-of-class study. He would explain to them the
Latin
or Greek assignment, first reading it aloud, slowly and
distinctly, then linking its content with that of the
previous lesson, and
commenting, to the extent he
thought necessary, on vocabulary, structure,
syntax,
figures of speech, and any special points of inter-
est or
difficulty. In the initial stage of reading
Latin or Greek the prelection
would be more detailed,
cover only a few lines, and include exactitude in
ren-
dering the passage into the vernacular. As students
passed to the
next years, there would be question and
answer dialogue about uncommon words
and phrases, diffi-
cult sentence structure, and more delicate shades of
meaning. Gradually, especially in the classes of Hu-
manities and
Rhetoric, the prelection dealt less with
vocabulary and syntax and more with
ideas and expres-
sion. There would be pertinent discussion of classical
allusions, of history, manners and morals (cf. Note 63),
of the
developing theme of a speech, poem or historical
work, of the force and
fitness of the author’s style,
and of artistic reproduction. All the time
the teacher
would demand more of the students and give less of his
own
help and direction. His principal aim was to pre-
pare his students how to
grapple with an assignment or
problem, to understand clearly what the author
was say-
ing and how he was saying it; in a word how to study
effectively
so as to arrive step by step at mastery of
successively more advanced
subject matter. It should
be noted that during the prelection the students
were
not to take notes but were to follow the teacher’s ex-
position
closely. At the close of the prelection, or
sometimes during it, the teacher
might dictate the few
points he felt were needed for prompting the memory in
out-of-class study. The teacher, as the 1591 Ratio
warned, was
not to belabor the obvious, omitting de-
tails that were no longer required,
and accommodating
the explanation to the grade and proficiency of the
class. Generally, the prelection was to occupy no
more than ten or
fifteen minutes. The prelection, as
described here, deals with the classical
studies in
the granunar classes and the classes of Humanities and
Rhetoric. But, as the 1586 Ratio made clear, it was
to be applied
and adapted to the teaching of philosophy
and theology and, by implication,
to any subject.
Pachtler, op. cit., II, pp. 81-85, 133-134. See also
John W. Donohue, S.J., op. cit., p. 151.
59.
Intimately connected with the prelection were
both repetition and written
exercises. I. Repetition.
It was fourfold: (1) immediately following
the prelec-
tion, (2) on the day following the prelection, usually
recited to the
decurions in the presence of the teacher,
who might intervene to question
some of the students,
(3) a review of the week’s prelections, often in the
form of a concertatio (contest), (4) a month’s review
prior to
the year-end promotion. The aims of the repe-
titions were (1) drill in
vocabulary and syntax in the
lower grammar classes, (2) accuracy in stating
and exem-
plifying rules, (3) detection of student weaknesses,
(4)
organization of material already studied, (5) sug-
gestion of questions or
topics for further study. On
repetition in the 1599 Ratio, see Rules
19, 25, 26, 31,
34, 37 of the Common Rules for the Teachers of the Lower
Classes, and the second rule of each of the teachers of
the lower
classes. II. Written Exercises. Rule 20 of
the Common Rules for the
Teachers of the Lower Classes
directs that prose composition be handed in
daily, ex-
cept on Saturday, by pupils in the three grammar classes,
and
daily, except on the weekly holiday and on Saturday,
by pupils in Humanities
and Rhetoric. Poetry was to be
written twice a week and a Greek prose
composition once
a week. This written work was done partly during school
hours and partly at home. Rule 30 gives directions for
assigning the
written work and Rules 21 to 24 deal with
the method of correcting it. The
purpose of the fre-
quent exercises in composition was to help the students
attain a real command of the Latin language; an ability,
namely, not
only to read but to write and speak (Rule
18) Latin correctly, fluently, and
even elegantly.
Cicero was the chief and, in the beginning, the only
model to be imitated--in his letters, essays, and ora-
tions. This
imitation of Cicero, however, was not to
be servile, since it aimed
ultimately at self-expression.
For instance, Rule 6 of the Rules of the
Teacher of the
Highest Grammar Class states that after the pupils have
made some progress in composition, they should, once a,
month, write a
completely original essay, And Rule 6
of the Rules of the Teacher of
Humanities specifies that
“usually once a week . . . the pupils should write
from
their own resources.” A good many years before even
the
experimental Ratio of 1568 was written, James Ledesma,
in his “De
Ratione et Ordine Studiorum Collegii Romani,”
wrote that by the time
students reached the class of Hu-
manities they would have had practice in
composing proprio
marte. He then outlined ten types of
exercises to be
written as original essays. Monumenta Paedagogica,
pp.
338-453. These various types are repeated almost ver-
batim in Rule 5
of the Rules of the Teacher of Rhetoric
in the 1599 Ratio.
60.
When in 1548 the Jesuits went to Messina, in
Sicily, to open their first
school, they knew of course
from experience that the instinct to excel, to
outdis-
tance, is universal in human nature. They soon found
that it is
manifested most spontaneously in games and
in play. Well and good. But they
wondered whether
this common instinct could not be used constructively
in the classroom. Their experiment with it at Messina
was so successful
that one after another of the thirty-
five Jesuit secondary schools founded
between 1548 and
1556 adopted emulation as an essential element in their
teaching technique. And so eventually the 1599 Ratio
emphasized
honorable rivalry, honesta aemulatio, as “a
powerful incentive to
studies.” Gilbert Highet aptly i
nterprets this use of rivalry when he says
that the
Jesuits “treated it not as a method of making the boys
learn,
but as a way of helping them to learn by bring-
ing out their own hidden
energies.” [The Art of Teaching
(New York: Vintage Books, 1955), p.
13l.] This rivalry
was individual, group and interciass. It entered into
the class recitation, conducting repetitions, and the
public correction
of written work. It included disputa-
tions and debates (cf. Note 23),
contests within a class
and between classes nearest to each other in grade,
com-
petition within a class for leadership, awarding of prizes
for best
results in Latin and Greek composition, both
prose and poetry, and awards
for general excellence in
studies. The values of emulation in education
have, of
course, been challenged and denied. The Little Schools
of
Port-Royal (1646-1660) and the Jansenists, who viewed
human nature as
essentially corrupt, banned every form
of competition in the classroom as
well as on the play-
ing field. A century later, Rousseau in his
Emile, said:
“It is very strange that ever since people began to think
about education they should have hit upon no other way
of guiding
children than emulation, jealousy, envy, van-
ity, greediness, base
cowardice, all the most dangerous
passions . . . .“ (Everyman’s ed., pp.
55-56). In the
United States, between 1930 and 1955, the Progressive
Education Movement condemned rivalry in favor of cooper-
ation. In many schools, dominated by the
Progressive
ideology, rivalry was forbidden. The fact is, as as
widely
recognized today, that both rivalry and coopera-
tion are valuable and
compatible. It is the teacher’s
duty to be on his guard lest this honorable
rivalry de-
generate into ill will, jealousy or greed. In Jesuit
schools
today, though emulation is not as intensive as
it was in the schools of the
sixteenth century, it is
still an important
factor, in and out of class, “as a
powerful incentive to
studies.”
61.
Decurions were merely mentioned above in Rule
19. Their duties are enumerated
in this Rule 36. In the
sixteenth century the classes in Jesuit grammar
schools
were often very large, numbering above 100. The reason
for this
situation was that the almost immediate public
esteem won by the schools
brought a flood of insistent
demands from parents to admit their sons to
these schools.
The Jesuits could not or did not sufficiently resist these
demands and soon found their manpower spread too thin.
The solution hit
upon was to divide the large classes in-
to groups of ten with a captain,
chosen from among the
better students, as leader of each group. The captains
assisted the teacher by hearing the memory lessons with-
in their group
(reciting their own lesson to the teacher),
collecting the written
exercises, and performing other as-
signed duties. The captains were changed
every two weeks
or every month. Evidently this device worked well; for
it was continued for many years and was incorporated into
the successive
editions of the Ratio.
62. It will
be observed that the first rule for
every teacher, from Rhetoric to the
lowest grammar class,
defines the scope or objective of the class. This
pro-
vided a clear organization of successive objectives to
be attained
by the student. It also provided a norm for
the early promotion of better
students within the year.
See on this Note 48.
63. The
introduction of erudition into the Ratio
first occurs in Rule 5 of
the Rules of the Teacher of
the Highest Grammar Class, which directs that in
the pre-
lection the teacher should “briefly comment on the myth-
ology,
history and general erudition that may be sug-
gested by the passage.” The
class of Humanities includes
erudition among the objectives to be achieved.
The pur-
pose of erudition is here stated to be “a means of stimu-
lating
interest and relaxing the mind.” In Rule 5 erudi-
tion is called for “to the
extent that the passage [cov-
ered in the prelection] requires it.” The class
of Rhe-
toric makes much more extensive use of erudition. This
class,
says the first rule, is concerned mainly with the art
of Rhetoric, the
refinement of style, and erudition. Eru-
dition is described as comprising
“the study of histor-
ical events, ethnology, the authoritative views of scholars
and wide
sources of knowledge.” But it is to be employed
“rather sparingly
according to the capacity of the stu-
dents." Rule 6 states that “toward the
end of the year
local custom may favor the substitution of some new
au-
thor whose richness of erudition and variety in subject
matter
attracts interest.” The use of erudition is like-
wise recommended in Rules
7, 8, 12 and 15. However, the
Ratio of 1591 warns the teacher that
though he should
bring in appropriate allusions to history and fable, to
Roman antiquity, to men and morals, he was to do this
briefly, with the
view to clarifying the matter at hand.
He should in general indicate the
sources to which the
students may go for a fuller investigation and deeper
knowledge of these matters, if they wish. Thus it will
be evident that
the teacher passes over certain matters
of erudition, not because he is
uninformed about them,
but because at the moment they are foreign to his
pur-
pose. Cf. T. Corcoran, S.J., Renatae Litterae Saeculo
A.
Chr. XVI in Scholis Societatis lesu Stabilitae (Dublin:
The National
University, 1927), pp. 260-261. See also
Herman, op. cit., p. 272, and
Farrell, op. cit., pp. 300
-301. This warning was not meant to
disparage the use of
erudition, but rather to place formation and
information
in their proper perspective in the Jesuit system. The
values
of erudition are that it broadens and enriches
the students’ knowledge of
ancient civilization and of
the great Greek and Roman writers, relaxes the
mind and
relieves the tedium of constant contact with the classi-
cal
text itself, and in this way helps sustain interest
in achieving the primary
aim of the teaching. This aim
was that by an intensive study of the
classical author
the students would come to understand exactly what he
was saying and how he was saying it. This would normally
lead to
appreciation and imitation.
64. Rule 2
in each of the sets of rules for the
teachers of the several classes divides
the school day
into successive periods and exercises. This results in
a
good deal of repetition which may seem uncalled for.
It may be said in
justification that the Ratio was in
good part a handbook for
teachers, who were expected
to follow carefully the rules of their
respective classes.
The format of Rule 2 is noticeably similar in all the
classes. There are minor differences in prescribed ex-
ercises in each of
the grammar classes and some major
differences in the classes of Humanities
and Rhetoric.
65. The
full title of the Rhetoric was De Arte
Rhetorica libri tres ex
Aristotele, Cicerone et Quinctili-
ano Deprompti. The author,
Father Cyprian Soarez (1524-
1593) was a Portuguese
Jesuit. The first edition was
published at Coirnbra, Portugal, in 1560.
Thereafter in-
numerable editions were printed until the middle of the
eighteenth century. Cf. Sommervogel, op. cit., Vol. VII,
coll.
1331 ff. It was a well-arranged compendium of the
oratorical precepts of
Aristotle, Cicero and Quintilian.
The edition of 1568 was translated into
English by Lawrence
J. Flynn, S.J., under the title of The De Arte
Rhetorica
(1568) of Cyprian Soarez, S.J.: A Translation wfth
Intro-
duction and Notes. The University of Florida, Gainesville,
Florida, accepted it as a doctoral dissertation in August,
1955. The
dissertation is available from University Micro-
films, Ann Arbor, Michigan,
Pub. No. 16,926. An abstract
of the dissertation is in Dissertation
Abstracts, Vol.
XVI, No. 13, p. 2553, available from the same
source.
66. The
Roman method was the revision of the gram-
mar of Emmanuel Alvarez by Father
Horace Torsellini.
Either Alvarez or the Roman revision by Torsellini could
be used as each school decided. See Note 16.
67. The
decree in regard to following the doc-
trine of St. Thomas is Decree 56 of
the Fifth General
Congregation. Institutum Societatis Iesu (Florence,
1893),
II, pp. 281-282. It is incorporated in Rule 9, n. 2 of
the Rules
of the Provincial, and in Rule 2 of the Rules
of the Professor of Scholastic
Theology.
ERRATA
The Jesuit Ratio Studiorum of 1599
Page
ii Line 8: Insert the letter b where it is missing in the word biased.
35 Line 6: Change the word principle to the word principal.
67 Footnote: Should read: edition of the 1599 Ratio.
78 Rule 15, line 3: Should be the, not thee.
94 Rule 7, line 4: Should be practice, not practiced.
112 Rule 3: Frequent and spiritual contests (plural).
123 Line 2: The
parenthesis should be closed after
pp. 103-112. It should be: pp.
103-112).
124 Note 43: Should read:
Averroes was a Spanish-Arabian
philosopher.
130 Seventh line from
bottom: Should read: The fact is, as
is.