Part 7 (1/2)
VII
Influence of Erasmus and Sir Thomas More--Visits of the former to this country--His friendshi+p with Dean Colet--Establishland--Foundation of St Paul's by Colet--Statutes--Books used in the school--Narrow lines--Notice of the old Cathedral School
I We must not attempt, in fact, to consider the educational question in early England without studying very sedulously the Lives of Erasht The influence of Erasreat indeed He caood deal of tie of Greek ”While Erasrapher, ”he became very inti; accounting them always his best friends, by whom he was most profited in his studies And as he owns M Colet did first engage hiy, so it is also well known that he e the Greek Tongue, under the most Skilful Masters (viz) William Grocyn, Thomas Linacre, and William Latimer Grocyn is said by one who lived about this Time to have been the first Professor, or Publick Teacher of Greek in Oxford to a full asse and tolerably copious account of Linacre, as well as of Grocyn; and in connection with the former he relates an anecdote, on the authority of Erasmus, about Bernard Andreas, tutor to Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII But I shall not enter into these reat promoter of Greek authors, scarcely co the friends whom the learned Hollander made here was Cuthbert Tunstall, afterwards Bishop of Durham, and author of the first book on arithmetic published in this country, and Richard Pace, who succeeded Colet in the Deanery of St Paul's
There is, however, a passage which Iof the tiht observes:--
”Before Erasland, he laid the plan of his useful Tract _de conscribendis epistolis_, for the Service, and at the Suggestion of his noble Pupil the Lord Williaood Rules, or Examples of that kind, to which he could confor his just Reflections, upon the eer, and Marius Phalelfus,[2] whose Books upon that Argument were read in the coive a New Essay of that kind; and accordingly upon his first return to Paris he fell upon it, and finished it within twenty Days”
So we see that, prior to the visit of Erasmus to us at the end of the fifteenth century, there were already polite letter-writers current, and current, too, as school-books Erasmus came to the conclusion that he had done his oork too hastily, and the appearance of an edition of it in England about thirty years later, and likewise of a counterfeit, induced hi, which was finally published at Basle in 1545 in a voluous tracts by various writers
A story which Knight relates about his author's literary enterprise in the epistolary line is too a to be overlooked:--
”In that Essay of the way of writing Epistles, Erasmus had put in two sorts of Declamations, one in the praise, the other in dispraise, of Matri Pupil L{d} Montjoy how he lik'd that of the first sort 'Oh sir,' says he, 'I like it so well, that you have made me resolve to marry quickly' 'Ay!' but says Erasmus, 'you have read only one side, stay and read the other' 'No,' replies L{d} Montjoy, 'that side pleases me; take you the other!'” The subject is an obvious one for humorous controversy; but there is a similar idea in Rabelais, who es and drawbacks of wedlock
Altogether, Erasmus must have done very much toward the advancement of a taste for hellenic culture in our country, and his biographer apprises us that he exhorted the physicians of his tie as more necessary to their profession than to any other Yet the knowledge of the tongue was very sparingly diffused in England at and long after that time; and Turner, in the dedication of his Herbal to Queen Elizabeth in 1568, conorance of the apothecaries of his day even of the Latin names of the herbs which they employed in their pharmacopia The illustrious and erudite Dutchman did, doubtless, what he could, and ible by new editions, with solish scholars and prelates; but the tiht, in his Life of Dean Colet, enumerates several of the schools which were founded shortly before the Reformation ”This noble irammar schools, was one of the providential ways andabout the blessed reformation; and it is therefore observable, that, within thirty years before it, there were land than had been in three hundred years preceding: one at Chichester by Dr
Edward Scory, bishop of that see, who left a farther benefaction to it by his last will, dated 8th Deceh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter, who died 1519: another at Binton in Somersetshi+re, by Dr Fitzjames, Bishop of London, and his brother, Sir John Fitzjaland: a fourth at Cirencester in Gloucestershi+re, by Thomas Ruthall, Bishop of Durham: a fifth at Roulston in Staffordshi+re, by Dr Robert Sherborne, bishop of St David's, predecessor to Dr Colet in the deanery of St Paul's: a sixth at Kingston-upon-Hull, by John Alcock, Bishop of Ely: a seventh at Sutton Colfield in Warwickshi+re, by Dr Sihth at Farnworth in Lancashi+re, by Dr William Smith, Bishop of Lincoln, born there: a ninth at Appleby in Westton, bishop of Winchester: a tenth at Ipswich in Suffolk by cardinal Wolsey: another at Wyaret, countess of Richmond: another at Wolverhas, mayor of London: another at Macclesfield, by Sir John Percival, mayor of London: as also another by the lady Thomasine his wife at St
Mary Wike in Devonshi+re, where she was born: and another at Walthae Monnox, mayor of London, 1515: besides several other schools in other parts of the kingdo that ”the piety and charity of Protestants ran so fast in this channel, that in the next age there wanted rather a regulation of grae Lily, son of the grammarian and schoolmaster, and canon of St
Paul's, refers doubtless to these benefactions when, in his _Chronicle_, he speaks of the encourageland, and goes on to say that their good example was followed by Dr
John Colet,”who about this tiant structure, and endowed it with a large estate, for teaching gratis the sons of his fellow-citizens for ever”
The foundation was for one hundred and seventy-three scholars--a number selected in remembrance of the miracle of the fishes
III Colet drew up, or had drawn up, for the regulation of his new school the subjoined Rules and Orders, to be read to the parents before their children were admitted, and to be accepted by thelyshe suffycyently, so that he be able to rede and wryte his own lessons, then he shal be admitted into the schole for a scholar
”If youre chylde, after reasonable reason proved, be founde here unapte and unable to lernynge, than ye warned therof shal take hym awaye, that he occupye not oure rowme in vayne
”If he be apt to lerne, ye shal be contente that he continue here tyl he have competent literature
”If he absente vi dayes, and in that mean seeson ye shew not cause reasonable, (resonable cause is only sekenes) than his rowayne, and pay iiijd
”Also after cause shewed, if he contenewe to absente tyl the weke of admyssion in the next quarter, and then ye shew not the contenuance of the sekenes, then his rowme to be voyde, and he none of the schole tyl he be ad his name
”Also if he fall thryse into absence, he shal be admytted no more
”Your chylde shal, on Chyldermas daye, wayte vpon the boy byshop at Powles, and offer there