The Calvinist International
For John of Salisbury, virtue is necessary for man, but knowledge is necessary for virtue, but grammar is necessary for knowledge, but grace is necessary for grammar. Quite a catena causarum, but it’s his, and he’s sticking with it. More expansively: In Metalogicon 1.23, a chapter preceded by the titulus “What things are important for […]
We’ve treated the Protestant educational legacy at various times here in the past: see, for example, this; or this; or this. One aspect we haven’t touched on is the premium that Presbyterians in particular placed on the education of women. This is arguably a legacy of the Ulster Presbyterianism of the Scotch-Irish, who insisted that […]
A little over a year ago, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, I commented in a short piece on the salutary effect that event had on education. The general historical picture is clear enough without detailed statistical analysis; but statistical evidence can help to contribute to a thicker, more complete […]
For many of us it is the beginning of a new school year, and so I thought that readers, and especially college freshmen (if any in fact visit TCI), might appreciate the advice Thomas Aquinas gave to Brother John regarding how best to study and pursue the life of the mind, sometimes called the Epistola exhortatoria […]
We have heard quite a bit about various “turns” in the history of philosophy. One of the most significant of these “conversions” (i.e., “turnings”) is Plato’s great philosophical “inward turn.” The turn inward, for Plato and his ancient interpreters, marks the beginning of the soul’s journey away from the multitude of phenomena to the absolute […]
In the third chapter of De Christiana Religione Ficino discusses the topic of educating adolescents in religion. Most, if not all, theological manuals of this period are devoid of any treatment of childhood education. Why, then, does Ficino devote a whole chapter to it? At least three possible solutions stand out. Firstly, the fact that […]
An addendum to recent posts on schools and schooling in David Chytraeus’ Catechismus. In an essay on Thedore Beza and humanistic studies, Scott Manetsch notes the salutary connection for Beza between philology and piety–though only the latter is absolutely essential. The reformer [Beza] was instrumental in drawing to the [Genevan] academy several of Europe’s top […]