Then suppose he came to the lessons of
Orthagoras
the Theban, and heard the same thing from him as from you, and then inquired of him for what he would be better each day through attending his classes, the answer would be, for fluting.
Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome_nodrm
] Cambridge and London, 1927.
EDUCATION
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6. PLUTARCH'S PRESCRIPTION FOR A CHILD'S EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
Although Plutarch (d. ca. 120 CE) is best remembered as a biographer, he also wrote a collec- tion of short essays usually entitled Moralia, or Moral Essays. Nearly 80 of these essays still survive; the variety of topics indicates the breadth of Plutarch's interests. Some of the titles: How a Young Person Ought to Study Poetry; On Listening to Lectures; How to Distinguish a Flatterer from a Friend; How to Profit from Your Enemies; Instructions for Maintaining Health; The Bravery of Women; Which Is Worse: the Ills of the Mind or the Ills of the Body? ; Should Old Men Take Part in Politics? ; Are Land or Sea Animals More Clever? ; On the Face in the Moon.
Some scholars claim that Plutarch did not author the essay that appears as the first docu- ment, even though it is traditionally grouped with the many other essays that he wrote. Regardless of authorship, however, the essay offers some interesting insights into ancient Greek attitudes about education.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Plutarch's moral essay entitled The Education of Children usually appears first in the ordering of the surviving essays, and under this general rubric, Plutarch addresses many details; examples: the role of good nutrition; the importance of devoted and conscientious parents, and in particular, that parents should not set unattainable goals for their children or impose unreasonable demands on them; parents should not "be utterly harsh and austere in their nature, but they should in many cases con- cede some shortcomings to the younger person [i. e. , their child], and remind them- selves that they once were young"; choosing proper nursemaids and servants for a child and choosing competent teachers; teaching children to be truthful at all times; shielding children from inappropriate speech and behavior.
2. As mentioned in the general introduction, there were no formal elementary "schools" in ancient Greece, at least not of the sort that we are familiar with in modern times. So Greek parents would either teach their children themselves-- roughly equivalent to the homeschooling movement today--or else hire knowl- edgeable tutors to do the job. Parents who chose the latter option needed to exercise
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
great care in selecting tutors, and Plutarch (and other authors) often emphasized to parents the critical importance of making wise choices.
Document: Educating Free-Born Children
The free-born child should not be allowed to go without some knowledge, both through hearing and observation, of every branch also of what is called general education; yet these he should learn only incidentally, just to get a taste of them, as it were (for perfection in everything is impossible), but philosophy he should honor above all else. I can perhaps make my opinion clear by means of a figure: for example, it is a fine thing to voyage about and view many cities, but profitable to dwell only in the best one. And it was a clever saying of Bion, the philosopher, that, just as the suitors, not being able to approach Penelope, consorted with her maid-servants, so also do those who are not able to attain philosophy wear themselves to a shadow over the other kinds of education which have no value. Wherefore it is necessary to make philosophy . . . the head and front of all education. For as regards the care of the body, men have discovered two sciences, the medical and the gymnastic, of which the one implants health, the other sturdiness, in the body; but for illnesses and affec- tions of the mind, philosophy alone is the remedy . . . [I]t is necessary not to be indifferent about acquiring the works of earlier writers, but to make a collection of these, like a set of tools in farming. For the corresponding tool of educa- tion is the use of books, and by their means it has come to pass that we are able to study knowledge at its source. It is not proper, either, to overlook the exercise of the body, but we should send the children to the trainers and culti- vate adequately this side of education with all diligence, not merely for the sake of gracefulness of body but also with an eye for strength; for sturdiness of body in child- hood is the foundation of a hale old age. Just as in fair weather, then, one ought to prepare for storm, so also in youth one should store up discipline and self-restraint as a provision for old age. But the amount of bodily exercise should be so limited as not to be a drain on the children and make them too tired to study; for, according to Plato, sleep and weariness are the enemies of learning . . . This also I assert, that children ought to be led to honor- able practices by means of encouragement and reasoning, and not by blows or ill-treatment, for it surely is agreed that these are fitting rather for slaves than for the free-born. For so they grow numb and shudder at their tasks, partly from
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? according to Plato: The reference to Plato is taken from his Republic (Book 7), where he is discussing the proper and effective ways to educate children. Plato, like Plutarch, shuns the idea that physi- cal force, corporal punishment, or harsh discipline have appropriate roles to play in a child's education. Rather, he suggests that a child's lessons should incorporate play and enjoyment if the child is to learn well and thoroughly.
Bion, the philosopher: Bion (ca. 325- ca. 255 BCE) had an interesting life. Because of his father's criminal activity, the entire family was sold into slavery. Fortunately for Bion, however, he wound up serving a rhetorician, and apparently serving him well: his master eventually freed him and left him a fortune in his will. Bion made his way to Athens, and studied with many noted philosophers of the time. Eventually, he became a wandering philosopher, traveling from place to place and earning his living by offering lectures, for a fee.
every branch . . . general education: Here Plutarch seems to be articu- lating the idea, still current, of the importance of a liberal arts educa- tion, wherein students are exposed to all the branches of knowledge and learning.
suitors . . . Penelope: A reference to Homer's Odyssey, in which the 100+ young men, all vying for Penelope's hand in marriage,
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the pain of the blows, partly from the degradation. [Tr. Frank Cole Babbitt. Plutarch's Moralia. (7 C-D; 8 B, C, D, F. ). Volume I. LCL, 1927. Page numbers: 33, 35, 37, 39, 41. ]
AFTERMATH
Plutarch's influence on later writers has been profound. Shakespearean plays set in ancient Rome--Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra--borrow heavily on information drawn from Plutarch's works. The French essayist Michel de Montaigne was also greatly influenced by Plutarch; his writings contain over 400 references to Plutarchian works. Ralph Waldo Emerson and other transcendentalists also came under Plutarch's spell.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Plutarch has a very high opinion of the importance of studying philosophy. Does he provide sound arguments for his point of view? Do you agree or disagree with his line of reasoning?
2. For educated Romans, the principle of mens sana in sano corpore (sound mind in a sound body, the body-mind con- nection) was centrally important. Do you get a sense from Plutarch's essay that the Greeks had the same attitude?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Plutarch's recommendations for the education of
children are clearly directed at families who have
the financial wherewithal to hire tutors and train-
ers, and to buy books and other materials for their
children. But what about children born into less fortunate circumstances? Plutarch does address that issue, in a sort of roundabout way, by acknowl- edging the reality of it, but then deflecting any blame for it away from him- self. He also says that the poor must do the best that they can for their children, and should that be impossible, they must do at least as much as they can. In other words, he does not offer any specific suggestions for funding or supporting the education of the children of needy families. Can you find any information or examples of children in ancient Greek families who rose above impoverished circumstances to have an impact on the course of Greek history?
e Plutarchwasaveryprolificauthor,andsoitfollowsthatinhismanyother writings--especially the moral essays--he addressed problems and aspects of education in ancient Greece. Research some of these other writings to discover what else he might have had to say about issues in education.
Plutarch's Prescription for a Child's Education
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? contented themselves with the "maid-servants" while waiting for Penelope to choose one of them. Since Penelope's husband Odysseus had been away from home for nearly 20 years while fighting in the Trojan War, the assumption was that he had been killed, and would never return.
trainers: Trainers--paidotribes, plural paidotribai, in Plutarch's Greek-- were somewhat like modern physi- cal education teachers. A trainer, as E. Norman Gardiner explains it, "was a private teacher, often with a palaestra [wrestling facility] of his own. His fee for a course in the fourth century [BCE] was a mina . . . Parents took considerable pains in choosing a paidotribes for their sons . . . In Hellenistic times [fourth to first centuries BCE] they [the paidotribai] had a number of assistants for special exercises, the sphairistes who taught ball play, the akontistes and toxotes who gave instruction in the use of the javelin and the bow, and the hoplomachus who gave lessons in the use of arms. "
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30
Further Information
Beck, Frederick A. Greek Education 450-350 B. C. London, 1964.
Kenyon, F. G. Books and Readers in Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford, 1932.
Marrou, Henri-Irenee. A History of Education in Antiquity, translated by George Lamb.
Madison, WI, 1956.
Morgan, Teresa. Literate Education in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds. Cambridge, 1998.
Websites
Ancient Greek Education. http://www. crystalinks. com/greekeducation. html
Education in Ancient Greece. http://www. mlahanas. de/Greeks/EducationAncientGreece
. htm
Bibliography for Document
Babbitt, Frank Cole (tr. ). Plutarch's Moralia. Volume I. [LCL. ] London and Cambridge, 1927.
Gardiner, E. Norman. Athletics of the Ancient World. Oxford, 1930.
7. SOCRATES AND PROTAGORAS DISCUSS ISSUES IN EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
The second document comes from the prolific pen of the famous philosopher Plato (427- 347 BCE). He is noted for his 25 philosophical dialogues, all of which still survive. Many of these dialogues, including the one excerpted here, Protagoras, feature Plato's teacher Socrates in a leading role.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Protagoras was a leading fifth-century BCE sophist. Like most sophists, he traveled from town to town to present lectures and offer tutorial services, although it is thought that he spent much of his professional career in Athens. He became a close friend of Pericles, and it was through Pericles's influence that Protagoras was assigned the task of drawing up a code of laws for the recently founded (443 BCE) Athenian colony of Thurii, in southern Italy. Protagoras's pedagogical proclivities impressed even the likes of Socrates, who says of him in Plato's Republic (10. 600) that teachers like Protagoras were so highly respected for their wisdom that their stu- dents would be tempted to carry them about on their shoulders. Given his ability to inspire zealous admiration like this--how many teachers down through the ages were so well regarded by their students that the students would be willing to carry them triumphantly on their shoulders? --it is not surprising to learn that Protagoras was the first sophist to command a fee for his instructional services.
2. The second document consists of a conversation between Protagoras and Socrates, and several secondary characters, around 432 BCE, in which they discuss the role and teachings of the sophists and in particular, whether it is possible to teach a per- son to be virtuous.
3. Although Socrates was undoubtedly one of the most famous individuals in ancient Athens, he never wrote any books or essays (as far as we know) in which he articu- lated his philosophy, opinions, or beliefs. That task was left to his student Plato, and most of what we know of Socrates's teachings are recorded in the Socratic dialogues and other works of Plato.
4. Socrates never accepted any money for his teachings, never opened a school, never recruited any students or disciples. Instead, he frequented public places and
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
initiated, or joined, conversations, dialogues, and debates with anyone who hap- pened to be present. These discussions covered a wide range of topics and often lasted for days at a time. (Socrates's apparent indifference to earning an income did not please his wife, Xanthippe, who gained an unenviable reputation as some- thing of an ill-tempered nag. )
Document: Practiced in the Art of Sophistry
[Socrates and Protagoras are conversing about issues in education, and Socrates inquires of Protagoras why he claims that his teaching would be a better choice for a prospective student than the teachings offered by rival sophists. ]
[Socrates is speaking]: "My friend Hippocrates finds himself desirous of join- ing your classes, and therefore, he says he would be glad to know what result he will get from joining them . . .
Then Protagoras answered at once, saying: Young man, you will gain this by coming to my classes, that on the day when you join them you will go home a better man, and on the day after, it will be the same; every day you will con- stantly improve more and more.
When I heard this, I said: Protagoras, what you say is not at all surprising, but quite likely, since even you, though so old and wise would be made better if someone taught you what you happen not to know. But let me put it another
Greek red-figure vessel of students learning to play the lyre (left); and being instructed in speech, from Cerveteri, fifth century BCE. (Jupiterimages)
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way: suppose Hippocrates here should change his desire all at once, and become desirous of this young fellow's lessons who was just recently come to town, Zeuxippus of Heraclea, and should approach him, as he now does you, and should hear the very same thing from him as from you, how on each day that he spent with him he would be better, and make constant progress. And suppose he were to question him on this and ask: In what shall I become better as you say, and to what will my progress be? Zeuxippus's reply would be, to painting.
Then suppose he came to the lessons of Orthagoras the Theban, and heard the same thing from him as from you, and then inquired of him for what he would be better each day through attending his classes, the answer would be, for fluting. In the same way you also must satisfy this youth and me on this point, and tell us for what, Protagoras, and in what con- nection my friend Hippocrates, on any day of atten- dance at the classes of Protagoras, will go away a better man, and on each of the succeeding days will make a like advance.
When Protagoras heard my words, You do right, he said, to ask that . . . For Hippocrates, if he comes to me, will not be treated as he would have been if he had joined the classes of an ordinary sophist. The gen- erality of them mistreat the young; for when they have escaped from the arts, they bring them back against their will and force them into arts, teaching them arith- metic and astronomy and geometry and music (and here he glanced at Hippias); whereas, if he applies to me, he will learn precisely and solely that for which he has come. That learning consists of good judgment in his own affairs, showing how best to order his own home; and in the affairs of his city, showing how he may have most influence on public affairs both in speech and in action. " [Tr. W. R. M. Lamb. Plato: Laches, Protagoras, Meno, Euthydemus. (318 A-E). Volume II. LCL, 1924. Page numbers: 121, 123, 125. ]
AFTERMATH
The document is excerpted from the early stages of this fairly lengthy conversation. In the remainder of the dialogue, Protagoras and Socrates continue the debate about whether virtue can be taught and whether other qualities, such as wisdom, justice, and holiness, are categories of virtue or the same thing as virtue. The two philosophers also discuss the distinction between "becoming
Socrates and Protagoras Discuss Issues in Education
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Heraclea: A town in south central Italy.
and here he glanced at Hippias: The polymathic Hippias of Elis, one of the attendees at the conversation, was a very smart and successful sophist in his own right, offering instruction in a wide array of topics, including geometry, astronomy, music, painting, sculpture, oratory, and history. (Hippias's ability to teach so many subjects undoubtedly occasioned "the glance" mentioned in the dialogue, where Protagoras is reciting a similar list of topics, as examples of the specialized teachings offered by some sophists. ) Hippias reportedly made a fortune during his lifetime and developed a reputa- tion for traveling almost anywhere to dispense knowledge--if the price was right. He also gained a reputa- tion for arrogance about his money-making prowess; in a dia- logue entitled Greater Hippias, prob- ably but not certainly written by Plato, he boasts to Socrates that (among other things) he once earned more than 150 minas (perhaps equivalent to around $750,000! ) in a very short time, in an out-of-the- way little town in southwestern Sicily. It was likely bombastic brag- ging of this sort that resulted in gaining for sophists their unseemly, if not altogether accurate, image as a crowd of money-grubbing charlatans.
Some sources also credit him with inventing a system of mne- monics; he illustrated its efficiency by demonstrations such as the fol- lowing: he might listen to someone read off a list of 50 names, and then repeat from memory all 50, and in the order in which he heard them.
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
good" and "being good," and whether it is possible for fallible human beings to actually attain "goodness. " The dialogue ends pleasantly, with Socrates and Protagoras congratulating each other on the power of their argumentation and agreeing to take up the subject again at some other time.
Interestingly, in Plato's Meno, written about 30 years later, Socrates seriously lambasts Protagoras, noting that although Protagoras made more money in his teaching career than even a top-shelf sculptor like Pheidias, he often corrupted his students and made them worse, not better. Socrates sarcastically remarks that a shoemaker who did a shoddy job of cobbling could not stay in business for more than 30 days, whereas Protagoras got away with his pedagogical chicanery for 40 years!
ASK YOURSELF
1. Protagoras was born around 480 BCE and Socrates perhaps 10 years later, so they were roughly the same age. Why, then, do you suppose Socrates refers to Protagoras as "old and wise," and Protagoras calls Socrates a "young man"?
2. We hear much heated debate these days about the propri- ety of the "liberal arts" philosophy of education, where stu- dents are required to take courses on a wide variety of subjects, regardless of whether they have any aptitude for those subjects or even like them. However, the debate about the liberal arts curriculum is not a phenomenon of modern times; it goes back at least as far as the Greeks and Romans. Based on the information in the document, how do you think Protagoras felt about the liberal arts con- cept? And what do you think Socrates's point of view would have been?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Althoughthesophistsoftenfoundreadyaudiences and willing students in Athens, there were other Athenians who were wary and suspicious of their teachings. We might place in the latter cat- egory the famous Athenian comic playwright Aristophanes (ca. 445-380 BCE). During his life- time, he wrote about 40 plays, 11 of which sur- vive. Many of these 11 are highly satirical; Aristophanes was never shy about stating his opin- ions on a wide range of political, social, and cul- tural issues. In his play Clouds, produced in 423, he attacked Socrates and other sophists for under- mining and confusing the youth of Athens by teaching them devious methods of argumentation,
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Orthagoras the Theban: Orthagoras was well qualified to give instruc- tion in flute playing because he was considered one of the best flut- ists of his time.
Thebes: A famous and powerful city north of Athens.
Zeuxippus of Heraclea: It seems likely, although not certain, that the name "Zeuxippus" is a variant spelling of the name "Zeuxis. " If so, then the famous fifth-century BCE painter Zeuxis--who happens to be from Heraclea--is undoubtedly meant here. He was especially gifted in cre- ating paintings that were both attractive and realistic. In Cicero's textbook on rhetoric, the De Inventione, he relates an interesting anecdote about Zeuxis. It appears that the citizens of the southern Italian town of Croton, who had built a magnificent temple in honor of the goddess Juno, wished to have it decorated with top-quality paint- ings. So they hired Zeuxis, for a handsome stipend, to do the work, since he was considered the best artist of the time. Zeuxis was inter- ested in including in the project a portrait of Helen of Troy, a choice that greatly pleased the Crotoniates, since Zeuxis had the reputation of being particularly skilled in depict- ing women in his paintings. But before embarking on the portrait, Zeuxis asked his employers to assemble the five most beautiful women in the city, which they did. "He selected five, whose names many poets recorded because they were approved by the judgment of him who must have been the supreme judge of beauty. He chose five because he did not think all the qualities that he sought to
? ? ? ? ? ? ? 34
in the process making Socrates appear inept at best, dangerous at worst. Some historians believe that this unfavorable portrayal of Socrates was one of the fac- tors that ultimately led to his trial (on a charge of cor- rupting his young and impressionable students), conviction, and execution, albeit nearly a quarter of a century after the play was produced. Your task: find a copy of Aristophanes's play Clouds, research the background information, read the play, and decide for yourself if Aristophanes treated Socrates unfairly, or created an inaccurate picture of Socrates's teachings.
e As already noted, Socrates did not own buildings or other property that could be used as a meeting place for his friends and others for their discussions. So one of the public places that they sometimes utilized for their intellectual pursuits was a gymnasium, a large, usually rectangular structure generally popu- lated by athletes and soldiers engaged in physical training. (The word ultimately derives from the Greek gymnos, "naked," a reference to the practice of athletes practicing and competing unclothed. ) Two of the most famous gymnasia of the ancient Greek world were the Academy and the Lyceum. Research these two structures. What two famous philosophers were associated with them?
Socrates and Protagoras Discuss Issues in Education
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? combine in a portrayal of beauty could be found in one person, because in no single case has Nature made anything perfect and finished in every part. " [2. 1. 1].
According to the first-century CE natural scientist Pliny the Elder, Zeuxis painted a picture of grapes so realistically that birds tried to eat them. Pliny also reports that Zeuxis painted a second picture involving grapes, but this time, he added a child, carrying them. A second time, birds were deceived and attempted to eat the grapes, but on this occasion, Zeuxis was enraged, exclaiming that if he had portrayed the child more accu- rately, the birds would not have dared to come close to the grapes.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? SOPHISTS AND SOPHISTRY
In its modern sense, "sophistry" carries some unpleasant baggage; Random House Webster's College Dictionary, for example, defines the word thus: "a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning. " And so, practitioners of sophistry--sophists--might be viewed in a similarly unfavorable light, as they sometimes were in ancient Greece.
The derivation of the word certainly does not conjure up images of trickiness or deception; it ultimately comes from the Greek adjective sophos, "wise," and hence, a sophist is a "wise person. " But over the course of years, different nuances of meaning began to be associated with the word sophist, so that by the fifth century BCE, it was generally applied to "wise men" who gave instruction in specific areas of learning, i. e. , a professional class of teachers. Just as one could find good and bad workers in any occupation or profession, so it was with the sophists; unfortunately, the unethical sophists saddled the entire profession with an unsavory reputation. Part of the reason for this unfavorable standing had to do with money. As already mentioned, Protagoras was the first paid sophist; others followed suit. In the minds of some Athenians, the accepting of fees seemed somehow inap- propriate, as if knowledge and wisdom were commodities that could be bought and sold. Socrates was accused of taking payments for his teaching, a charge he vehemently denied at his famous trial in 399 BCE.
Also contributing to the damage was the nature of the profession itself, one that "tended to produce a cer- tain attitude of mind, which placed emphasis on material success and on the ability to argue for any point of view, irrespective of its truth. " [Oxford Classical Dictionary. ]
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
? ? ? ? COLLECTING TEACHING FEES
Diogenes Laertius (third century CE) wrote accounts of the lives and philosophical teachings of numerous Greek thinkers, including (among very many others) Protagoras. He relates an amusing story about Protagoras's attempt to collect a fee from one of his students, a certain Euathlus. This Euathlus resisted paying up, claiming that since he had not yet won a case, he owed no money to his teacher. Protagoras's reply: "[I]f I win this case against you I must have the fee, for winning it. If you win, I must have it, because you win it. "
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Further Information
Cornford, Francis M. Before and After Socrates. Cambridge, 1932.
Field, G. C. Plato and His Contemporaries. London, 1930.
Jarrett, James L. The Educational Theories of the Sophists. New York, 1969. Ross, W. D. Plato's Theory of Ideas. Oxford, 1951.
Shorey, Paul. What Plato Said. Chicago, 1937.
Website
General Bibliography on Plato. http://faculty. tcc. edu/JCarr/PlatoBib. htm
Bibliography for Document
Hubbell, H. M. (tr. ). Cicero: De Inventione; De Optimo Genere Oratorum; Topica. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1949.
Lamb, W. R. M. (tr. ). Plato: Laches; Protagoras; Meno; Euthydemus. Volume II. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1924.
8. FUNDING FOR ROMAN SCHOOLS
INTRODUCTION
Modern American public schools are built, staffed, and funded according to long-established laws and traditions, but in ancient Roman times, the system was much less standardized. Smaller communities, especially those located far from Rome, may have had no organized system of education at all. Such was the case with the town of Comum, tucked far away from Rome, in Italy's northern expanses.
Enter Pliny the Younger (62-114 CE), who happened to be a native of Comum. A gen- erous philanthropist, Pliny offered to donate a substantial sum of money to the town for organizing a school. Pliny had a reputation for such benefactions: He donated 500,000 sesterces for the support and maintenance of the youth of Comum; he gave 300,000 sesterces for the furnishing and maintenance of public baths in Comum; he presented his childhood nurse with a farm worth 100,000 sesterces; at a time when a friend of his did not have enough money to cover the cost of his daughter's wedding, Pliny came to the rescue with a gift of 50,000 sesterces. Many of Pliny's financial gifts were earmarked for children or young people; in this regard, he was perhaps one of the first prominent Romans to participate in an emergent early imperial social custom called the alimenta: a philanthropic system in which wealthy benefactors provided financial support for needy children.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Pliny himself had probably been the beneficiary of the services of a private tutor, and so he is particularly concerned that the residents of Comum hire "teachers of repute" to staff the proposed school.
2. The document is in the form of a letter addressed to his friend Cornelius Tacitus, a highly regarded Roman historian, many of whose works still survive today. Two of Pliny's most famous letters (of the hundreds still extant) describe in detail the erup- tion of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE; Pliny was an eyewitness to that horrific event, and Tacitus had requested some information about it so that he could include an account of the eruption in a history of Rome he was writing.
3. It is thought that the document was written around 104 CE.
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?
EDUCATION
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6. PLUTARCH'S PRESCRIPTION FOR A CHILD'S EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
Although Plutarch (d. ca. 120 CE) is best remembered as a biographer, he also wrote a collec- tion of short essays usually entitled Moralia, or Moral Essays. Nearly 80 of these essays still survive; the variety of topics indicates the breadth of Plutarch's interests. Some of the titles: How a Young Person Ought to Study Poetry; On Listening to Lectures; How to Distinguish a Flatterer from a Friend; How to Profit from Your Enemies; Instructions for Maintaining Health; The Bravery of Women; Which Is Worse: the Ills of the Mind or the Ills of the Body? ; Should Old Men Take Part in Politics? ; Are Land or Sea Animals More Clever? ; On the Face in the Moon.
Some scholars claim that Plutarch did not author the essay that appears as the first docu- ment, even though it is traditionally grouped with the many other essays that he wrote. Regardless of authorship, however, the essay offers some interesting insights into ancient Greek attitudes about education.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Plutarch's moral essay entitled The Education of Children usually appears first in the ordering of the surviving essays, and under this general rubric, Plutarch addresses many details; examples: the role of good nutrition; the importance of devoted and conscientious parents, and in particular, that parents should not set unattainable goals for their children or impose unreasonable demands on them; parents should not "be utterly harsh and austere in their nature, but they should in many cases con- cede some shortcomings to the younger person [i. e. , their child], and remind them- selves that they once were young"; choosing proper nursemaids and servants for a child and choosing competent teachers; teaching children to be truthful at all times; shielding children from inappropriate speech and behavior.
2. As mentioned in the general introduction, there were no formal elementary "schools" in ancient Greece, at least not of the sort that we are familiar with in modern times. So Greek parents would either teach their children themselves-- roughly equivalent to the homeschooling movement today--or else hire knowl- edgeable tutors to do the job. Parents who chose the latter option needed to exercise
? ? ? ? 27
Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
great care in selecting tutors, and Plutarch (and other authors) often emphasized to parents the critical importance of making wise choices.
Document: Educating Free-Born Children
The free-born child should not be allowed to go without some knowledge, both through hearing and observation, of every branch also of what is called general education; yet these he should learn only incidentally, just to get a taste of them, as it were (for perfection in everything is impossible), but philosophy he should honor above all else. I can perhaps make my opinion clear by means of a figure: for example, it is a fine thing to voyage about and view many cities, but profitable to dwell only in the best one. And it was a clever saying of Bion, the philosopher, that, just as the suitors, not being able to approach Penelope, consorted with her maid-servants, so also do those who are not able to attain philosophy wear themselves to a shadow over the other kinds of education which have no value. Wherefore it is necessary to make philosophy . . . the head and front of all education. For as regards the care of the body, men have discovered two sciences, the medical and the gymnastic, of which the one implants health, the other sturdiness, in the body; but for illnesses and affec- tions of the mind, philosophy alone is the remedy . . . [I]t is necessary not to be indifferent about acquiring the works of earlier writers, but to make a collection of these, like a set of tools in farming. For the corresponding tool of educa- tion is the use of books, and by their means it has come to pass that we are able to study knowledge at its source. It is not proper, either, to overlook the exercise of the body, but we should send the children to the trainers and culti- vate adequately this side of education with all diligence, not merely for the sake of gracefulness of body but also with an eye for strength; for sturdiness of body in child- hood is the foundation of a hale old age. Just as in fair weather, then, one ought to prepare for storm, so also in youth one should store up discipline and self-restraint as a provision for old age. But the amount of bodily exercise should be so limited as not to be a drain on the children and make them too tired to study; for, according to Plato, sleep and weariness are the enemies of learning . . . This also I assert, that children ought to be led to honor- able practices by means of encouragement and reasoning, and not by blows or ill-treatment, for it surely is agreed that these are fitting rather for slaves than for the free-born. For so they grow numb and shudder at their tasks, partly from
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? according to Plato: The reference to Plato is taken from his Republic (Book 7), where he is discussing the proper and effective ways to educate children. Plato, like Plutarch, shuns the idea that physi- cal force, corporal punishment, or harsh discipline have appropriate roles to play in a child's education. Rather, he suggests that a child's lessons should incorporate play and enjoyment if the child is to learn well and thoroughly.
Bion, the philosopher: Bion (ca. 325- ca. 255 BCE) had an interesting life. Because of his father's criminal activity, the entire family was sold into slavery. Fortunately for Bion, however, he wound up serving a rhetorician, and apparently serving him well: his master eventually freed him and left him a fortune in his will. Bion made his way to Athens, and studied with many noted philosophers of the time. Eventually, he became a wandering philosopher, traveling from place to place and earning his living by offering lectures, for a fee.
every branch . . . general education: Here Plutarch seems to be articu- lating the idea, still current, of the importance of a liberal arts educa- tion, wherein students are exposed to all the branches of knowledge and learning.
suitors . . . Penelope: A reference to Homer's Odyssey, in which the 100+ young men, all vying for Penelope's hand in marriage,
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the pain of the blows, partly from the degradation. [Tr. Frank Cole Babbitt. Plutarch's Moralia. (7 C-D; 8 B, C, D, F. ). Volume I. LCL, 1927. Page numbers: 33, 35, 37, 39, 41. ]
AFTERMATH
Plutarch's influence on later writers has been profound. Shakespearean plays set in ancient Rome--Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra--borrow heavily on information drawn from Plutarch's works. The French essayist Michel de Montaigne was also greatly influenced by Plutarch; his writings contain over 400 references to Plutarchian works. Ralph Waldo Emerson and other transcendentalists also came under Plutarch's spell.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Plutarch has a very high opinion of the importance of studying philosophy. Does he provide sound arguments for his point of view? Do you agree or disagree with his line of reasoning?
2. For educated Romans, the principle of mens sana in sano corpore (sound mind in a sound body, the body-mind con- nection) was centrally important. Do you get a sense from Plutarch's essay that the Greeks had the same attitude?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Plutarch's recommendations for the education of
children are clearly directed at families who have
the financial wherewithal to hire tutors and train-
ers, and to buy books and other materials for their
children. But what about children born into less fortunate circumstances? Plutarch does address that issue, in a sort of roundabout way, by acknowl- edging the reality of it, but then deflecting any blame for it away from him- self. He also says that the poor must do the best that they can for their children, and should that be impossible, they must do at least as much as they can. In other words, he does not offer any specific suggestions for funding or supporting the education of the children of needy families. Can you find any information or examples of children in ancient Greek families who rose above impoverished circumstances to have an impact on the course of Greek history?
e Plutarchwasaveryprolificauthor,andsoitfollowsthatinhismanyother writings--especially the moral essays--he addressed problems and aspects of education in ancient Greece. Research some of these other writings to discover what else he might have had to say about issues in education.
Plutarch's Prescription for a Child's Education
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? contented themselves with the "maid-servants" while waiting for Penelope to choose one of them. Since Penelope's husband Odysseus had been away from home for nearly 20 years while fighting in the Trojan War, the assumption was that he had been killed, and would never return.
trainers: Trainers--paidotribes, plural paidotribai, in Plutarch's Greek-- were somewhat like modern physi- cal education teachers. A trainer, as E. Norman Gardiner explains it, "was a private teacher, often with a palaestra [wrestling facility] of his own. His fee for a course in the fourth century [BCE] was a mina . . . Parents took considerable pains in choosing a paidotribes for their sons . . . In Hellenistic times [fourth to first centuries BCE] they [the paidotribai] had a number of assistants for special exercises, the sphairistes who taught ball play, the akontistes and toxotes who gave instruction in the use of the javelin and the bow, and the hoplomachus who gave lessons in the use of arms. "
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Further Information
Beck, Frederick A. Greek Education 450-350 B. C. London, 1964.
Kenyon, F. G. Books and Readers in Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford, 1932.
Marrou, Henri-Irenee. A History of Education in Antiquity, translated by George Lamb.
Madison, WI, 1956.
Morgan, Teresa. Literate Education in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds. Cambridge, 1998.
Websites
Ancient Greek Education. http://www. crystalinks. com/greekeducation. html
Education in Ancient Greece. http://www. mlahanas. de/Greeks/EducationAncientGreece
. htm
Bibliography for Document
Babbitt, Frank Cole (tr. ). Plutarch's Moralia. Volume I. [LCL. ] London and Cambridge, 1927.
Gardiner, E. Norman. Athletics of the Ancient World. Oxford, 1930.
7. SOCRATES AND PROTAGORAS DISCUSS ISSUES IN EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
The second document comes from the prolific pen of the famous philosopher Plato (427- 347 BCE). He is noted for his 25 philosophical dialogues, all of which still survive. Many of these dialogues, including the one excerpted here, Protagoras, feature Plato's teacher Socrates in a leading role.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Protagoras was a leading fifth-century BCE sophist. Like most sophists, he traveled from town to town to present lectures and offer tutorial services, although it is thought that he spent much of his professional career in Athens. He became a close friend of Pericles, and it was through Pericles's influence that Protagoras was assigned the task of drawing up a code of laws for the recently founded (443 BCE) Athenian colony of Thurii, in southern Italy. Protagoras's pedagogical proclivities impressed even the likes of Socrates, who says of him in Plato's Republic (10. 600) that teachers like Protagoras were so highly respected for their wisdom that their stu- dents would be tempted to carry them about on their shoulders. Given his ability to inspire zealous admiration like this--how many teachers down through the ages were so well regarded by their students that the students would be willing to carry them triumphantly on their shoulders? --it is not surprising to learn that Protagoras was the first sophist to command a fee for his instructional services.
2. The second document consists of a conversation between Protagoras and Socrates, and several secondary characters, around 432 BCE, in which they discuss the role and teachings of the sophists and in particular, whether it is possible to teach a per- son to be virtuous.
3. Although Socrates was undoubtedly one of the most famous individuals in ancient Athens, he never wrote any books or essays (as far as we know) in which he articu- lated his philosophy, opinions, or beliefs. That task was left to his student Plato, and most of what we know of Socrates's teachings are recorded in the Socratic dialogues and other works of Plato.
4. Socrates never accepted any money for his teachings, never opened a school, never recruited any students or disciples. Instead, he frequented public places and
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initiated, or joined, conversations, dialogues, and debates with anyone who hap- pened to be present. These discussions covered a wide range of topics and often lasted for days at a time. (Socrates's apparent indifference to earning an income did not please his wife, Xanthippe, who gained an unenviable reputation as some- thing of an ill-tempered nag. )
Document: Practiced in the Art of Sophistry
[Socrates and Protagoras are conversing about issues in education, and Socrates inquires of Protagoras why he claims that his teaching would be a better choice for a prospective student than the teachings offered by rival sophists. ]
[Socrates is speaking]: "My friend Hippocrates finds himself desirous of join- ing your classes, and therefore, he says he would be glad to know what result he will get from joining them . . .
Then Protagoras answered at once, saying: Young man, you will gain this by coming to my classes, that on the day when you join them you will go home a better man, and on the day after, it will be the same; every day you will con- stantly improve more and more.
When I heard this, I said: Protagoras, what you say is not at all surprising, but quite likely, since even you, though so old and wise would be made better if someone taught you what you happen not to know. But let me put it another
Greek red-figure vessel of students learning to play the lyre (left); and being instructed in speech, from Cerveteri, fifth century BCE. (Jupiterimages)
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way: suppose Hippocrates here should change his desire all at once, and become desirous of this young fellow's lessons who was just recently come to town, Zeuxippus of Heraclea, and should approach him, as he now does you, and should hear the very same thing from him as from you, how on each day that he spent with him he would be better, and make constant progress. And suppose he were to question him on this and ask: In what shall I become better as you say, and to what will my progress be? Zeuxippus's reply would be, to painting.
Then suppose he came to the lessons of Orthagoras the Theban, and heard the same thing from him as from you, and then inquired of him for what he would be better each day through attending his classes, the answer would be, for fluting. In the same way you also must satisfy this youth and me on this point, and tell us for what, Protagoras, and in what con- nection my friend Hippocrates, on any day of atten- dance at the classes of Protagoras, will go away a better man, and on each of the succeeding days will make a like advance.
When Protagoras heard my words, You do right, he said, to ask that . . . For Hippocrates, if he comes to me, will not be treated as he would have been if he had joined the classes of an ordinary sophist. The gen- erality of them mistreat the young; for when they have escaped from the arts, they bring them back against their will and force them into arts, teaching them arith- metic and astronomy and geometry and music (and here he glanced at Hippias); whereas, if he applies to me, he will learn precisely and solely that for which he has come. That learning consists of good judgment in his own affairs, showing how best to order his own home; and in the affairs of his city, showing how he may have most influence on public affairs both in speech and in action. " [Tr. W. R. M. Lamb. Plato: Laches, Protagoras, Meno, Euthydemus. (318 A-E). Volume II. LCL, 1924. Page numbers: 121, 123, 125. ]
AFTERMATH
The document is excerpted from the early stages of this fairly lengthy conversation. In the remainder of the dialogue, Protagoras and Socrates continue the debate about whether virtue can be taught and whether other qualities, such as wisdom, justice, and holiness, are categories of virtue or the same thing as virtue. The two philosophers also discuss the distinction between "becoming
Socrates and Protagoras Discuss Issues in Education
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Heraclea: A town in south central Italy.
and here he glanced at Hippias: The polymathic Hippias of Elis, one of the attendees at the conversation, was a very smart and successful sophist in his own right, offering instruction in a wide array of topics, including geometry, astronomy, music, painting, sculpture, oratory, and history. (Hippias's ability to teach so many subjects undoubtedly occasioned "the glance" mentioned in the dialogue, where Protagoras is reciting a similar list of topics, as examples of the specialized teachings offered by some sophists. ) Hippias reportedly made a fortune during his lifetime and developed a reputa- tion for traveling almost anywhere to dispense knowledge--if the price was right. He also gained a reputa- tion for arrogance about his money-making prowess; in a dia- logue entitled Greater Hippias, prob- ably but not certainly written by Plato, he boasts to Socrates that (among other things) he once earned more than 150 minas (perhaps equivalent to around $750,000! ) in a very short time, in an out-of-the- way little town in southwestern Sicily. It was likely bombastic brag- ging of this sort that resulted in gaining for sophists their unseemly, if not altogether accurate, image as a crowd of money-grubbing charlatans.
Some sources also credit him with inventing a system of mne- monics; he illustrated its efficiency by demonstrations such as the fol- lowing: he might listen to someone read off a list of 50 names, and then repeat from memory all 50, and in the order in which he heard them.
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Voices of Ancient Greece and Rome
good" and "being good," and whether it is possible for fallible human beings to actually attain "goodness. " The dialogue ends pleasantly, with Socrates and Protagoras congratulating each other on the power of their argumentation and agreeing to take up the subject again at some other time.
Interestingly, in Plato's Meno, written about 30 years later, Socrates seriously lambasts Protagoras, noting that although Protagoras made more money in his teaching career than even a top-shelf sculptor like Pheidias, he often corrupted his students and made them worse, not better. Socrates sarcastically remarks that a shoemaker who did a shoddy job of cobbling could not stay in business for more than 30 days, whereas Protagoras got away with his pedagogical chicanery for 40 years!
ASK YOURSELF
1. Protagoras was born around 480 BCE and Socrates perhaps 10 years later, so they were roughly the same age. Why, then, do you suppose Socrates refers to Protagoras as "old and wise," and Protagoras calls Socrates a "young man"?
2. We hear much heated debate these days about the propri- ety of the "liberal arts" philosophy of education, where stu- dents are required to take courses on a wide variety of subjects, regardless of whether they have any aptitude for those subjects or even like them. However, the debate about the liberal arts curriculum is not a phenomenon of modern times; it goes back at least as far as the Greeks and Romans. Based on the information in the document, how do you think Protagoras felt about the liberal arts con- cept? And what do you think Socrates's point of view would have been?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Althoughthesophistsoftenfoundreadyaudiences and willing students in Athens, there were other Athenians who were wary and suspicious of their teachings. We might place in the latter cat- egory the famous Athenian comic playwright Aristophanes (ca. 445-380 BCE). During his life- time, he wrote about 40 plays, 11 of which sur- vive. Many of these 11 are highly satirical; Aristophanes was never shy about stating his opin- ions on a wide range of political, social, and cul- tural issues. In his play Clouds, produced in 423, he attacked Socrates and other sophists for under- mining and confusing the youth of Athens by teaching them devious methods of argumentation,
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Orthagoras the Theban: Orthagoras was well qualified to give instruc- tion in flute playing because he was considered one of the best flut- ists of his time.
Thebes: A famous and powerful city north of Athens.
Zeuxippus of Heraclea: It seems likely, although not certain, that the name "Zeuxippus" is a variant spelling of the name "Zeuxis. " If so, then the famous fifth-century BCE painter Zeuxis--who happens to be from Heraclea--is undoubtedly meant here. He was especially gifted in cre- ating paintings that were both attractive and realistic. In Cicero's textbook on rhetoric, the De Inventione, he relates an interesting anecdote about Zeuxis. It appears that the citizens of the southern Italian town of Croton, who had built a magnificent temple in honor of the goddess Juno, wished to have it decorated with top-quality paint- ings. So they hired Zeuxis, for a handsome stipend, to do the work, since he was considered the best artist of the time. Zeuxis was inter- ested in including in the project a portrait of Helen of Troy, a choice that greatly pleased the Crotoniates, since Zeuxis had the reputation of being particularly skilled in depict- ing women in his paintings. But before embarking on the portrait, Zeuxis asked his employers to assemble the five most beautiful women in the city, which they did. "He selected five, whose names many poets recorded because they were approved by the judgment of him who must have been the supreme judge of beauty. He chose five because he did not think all the qualities that he sought to
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in the process making Socrates appear inept at best, dangerous at worst. Some historians believe that this unfavorable portrayal of Socrates was one of the fac- tors that ultimately led to his trial (on a charge of cor- rupting his young and impressionable students), conviction, and execution, albeit nearly a quarter of a century after the play was produced. Your task: find a copy of Aristophanes's play Clouds, research the background information, read the play, and decide for yourself if Aristophanes treated Socrates unfairly, or created an inaccurate picture of Socrates's teachings.
e As already noted, Socrates did not own buildings or other property that could be used as a meeting place for his friends and others for their discussions. So one of the public places that they sometimes utilized for their intellectual pursuits was a gymnasium, a large, usually rectangular structure generally popu- lated by athletes and soldiers engaged in physical training. (The word ultimately derives from the Greek gymnos, "naked," a reference to the practice of athletes practicing and competing unclothed. ) Two of the most famous gymnasia of the ancient Greek world were the Academy and the Lyceum. Research these two structures. What two famous philosophers were associated with them?
Socrates and Protagoras Discuss Issues in Education
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? combine in a portrayal of beauty could be found in one person, because in no single case has Nature made anything perfect and finished in every part. " [2. 1. 1].
According to the first-century CE natural scientist Pliny the Elder, Zeuxis painted a picture of grapes so realistically that birds tried to eat them. Pliny also reports that Zeuxis painted a second picture involving grapes, but this time, he added a child, carrying them. A second time, birds were deceived and attempted to eat the grapes, but on this occasion, Zeuxis was enraged, exclaiming that if he had portrayed the child more accu- rately, the birds would not have dared to come close to the grapes.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? SOPHISTS AND SOPHISTRY
In its modern sense, "sophistry" carries some unpleasant baggage; Random House Webster's College Dictionary, for example, defines the word thus: "a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning. " And so, practitioners of sophistry--sophists--might be viewed in a similarly unfavorable light, as they sometimes were in ancient Greece.
The derivation of the word certainly does not conjure up images of trickiness or deception; it ultimately comes from the Greek adjective sophos, "wise," and hence, a sophist is a "wise person. " But over the course of years, different nuances of meaning began to be associated with the word sophist, so that by the fifth century BCE, it was generally applied to "wise men" who gave instruction in specific areas of learning, i. e. , a professional class of teachers. Just as one could find good and bad workers in any occupation or profession, so it was with the sophists; unfortunately, the unethical sophists saddled the entire profession with an unsavory reputation. Part of the reason for this unfavorable standing had to do with money. As already mentioned, Protagoras was the first paid sophist; others followed suit. In the minds of some Athenians, the accepting of fees seemed somehow inap- propriate, as if knowledge and wisdom were commodities that could be bought and sold. Socrates was accused of taking payments for his teaching, a charge he vehemently denied at his famous trial in 399 BCE.
Also contributing to the damage was the nature of the profession itself, one that "tended to produce a cer- tain attitude of mind, which placed emphasis on material success and on the ability to argue for any point of view, irrespective of its truth. " [Oxford Classical Dictionary. ]
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? ? ? ? COLLECTING TEACHING FEES
Diogenes Laertius (third century CE) wrote accounts of the lives and philosophical teachings of numerous Greek thinkers, including (among very many others) Protagoras. He relates an amusing story about Protagoras's attempt to collect a fee from one of his students, a certain Euathlus. This Euathlus resisted paying up, claiming that since he had not yet won a case, he owed no money to his teacher. Protagoras's reply: "[I]f I win this case against you I must have the fee, for winning it. If you win, I must have it, because you win it. "
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Further Information
Cornford, Francis M. Before and After Socrates. Cambridge, 1932.
Field, G. C. Plato and His Contemporaries. London, 1930.
Jarrett, James L. The Educational Theories of the Sophists. New York, 1969. Ross, W. D. Plato's Theory of Ideas. Oxford, 1951.
Shorey, Paul. What Plato Said. Chicago, 1937.
Website
General Bibliography on Plato. http://faculty. tcc. edu/JCarr/PlatoBib. htm
Bibliography for Document
Hubbell, H. M. (tr. ). Cicero: De Inventione; De Optimo Genere Oratorum; Topica. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1949.
Lamb, W. R. M. (tr. ). Plato: Laches; Protagoras; Meno; Euthydemus. Volume II. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1924.
8. FUNDING FOR ROMAN SCHOOLS
INTRODUCTION
Modern American public schools are built, staffed, and funded according to long-established laws and traditions, but in ancient Roman times, the system was much less standardized. Smaller communities, especially those located far from Rome, may have had no organized system of education at all. Such was the case with the town of Comum, tucked far away from Rome, in Italy's northern expanses.
Enter Pliny the Younger (62-114 CE), who happened to be a native of Comum. A gen- erous philanthropist, Pliny offered to donate a substantial sum of money to the town for organizing a school. Pliny had a reputation for such benefactions: He donated 500,000 sesterces for the support and maintenance of the youth of Comum; he gave 300,000 sesterces for the furnishing and maintenance of public baths in Comum; he presented his childhood nurse with a farm worth 100,000 sesterces; at a time when a friend of his did not have enough money to cover the cost of his daughter's wedding, Pliny came to the rescue with a gift of 50,000 sesterces. Many of Pliny's financial gifts were earmarked for children or young people; in this regard, he was perhaps one of the first prominent Romans to participate in an emergent early imperial social custom called the alimenta: a philanthropic system in which wealthy benefactors provided financial support for needy children.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Pliny himself had probably been the beneficiary of the services of a private tutor, and so he is particularly concerned that the residents of Comum hire "teachers of repute" to staff the proposed school.
2. The document is in the form of a letter addressed to his friend Cornelius Tacitus, a highly regarded Roman historian, many of whose works still survive today. Two of Pliny's most famous letters (of the hundreds still extant) describe in detail the erup- tion of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE; Pliny was an eyewitness to that horrific event, and Tacitus had requested some information about it so that he could include an account of the eruption in a history of Rome he was writing.
3. It is thought that the document was written around 104 CE.
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