GIOVANNI LUDOVICO VIVES.

HIS PEDAGOGY AND INFLUENCE ON EDUCATION.*

MEMOIR.

He

JOHN LOUIS VIVES—whose social position as tutor in the royal family of England, and Cardinal de Croy, as professor at the Universities of Oxford and Louvain, correspondent of Erasmus and other eminent scholars, and whose publications on the principles and methods of Education enabled him to exert a powerful influence on the pedagogy of his age-was born in Valencia in 1492, of an old but impoverished noble family His mother, a woman of uncommon energy of character, appears to have exercised great influence upon her son, and he often speaks of her with the deepest veneration. was educated strictly as a Spanish Catholic noble, probably with a little ascetic severity, for the absolute submission of the wife to the husband, and the unconditional obedience and reverence of the children toward the mother, were his ideal of the rule of a Christian family. When fifteen years of age he was counted among the most brilliant pupils at the new Academy of Valencia, and took part with his teacher, Armiguetus-whom Majans, the biographer of Vives, calls "homo insigniter barbarus"-in combating the introduction of the new grammar of the Humanists. In 1509, two years later, we find young Vives at the University of Paris, surrounded by the influence of the Dialecticians, whose theology was the most abstruse, and whose Latin the most barbarous. But even they seemed to feel the necessity of a reform, and Vives devoted himself to studying the works of ancient authors, although, as he tells us, the empty disputations of the schools occupied much of his time.

In 1512 Vives settled in the Valdura family in Bruges, then under Spanish rule. Later he married one of the daughters of his host, at that time a little girl about eight years old, and he ever afterward regarded it as his adopted home.

Two years afterward he published an allegory, "Christi Triumphus," the earliest of his works that has been preserved. The persons are his teachers and fellow-students in Paris, and his aim was to initiate a reform in the poetical style of the period. After revisiting Paris he returned to Bruges, and shortly afterward appears at Lou

*Compiled from an elaborate article in Schmid's "Pädagogische Encyclopädie," by Dr. Lange.

vain as tutor of one of the most distinguished men in the Netherlands, the young Cardinal de Croy, nephew of the Duke of Chievres, Minister of Charles V., who, although scarcely nineteen years of age, had been nominated Cardinal-Archbishop of Toledo, and was already Bishop of Cambrai. These high dignities did not appear to have stood in the way of his studies, and Vives gave him instruction in the ancient classic authors, and it would seem in rhetoric and philosophy, in which he already pursued an independent system. His "Declamations "-written, according to Erasmus, in his best stylewere composed, without doubt, for the political instruction of his distinguished pupil, as indeed he mentions in the dedication to the Archduke Ferdinand. He dwells on the advantages and disadvantages of governing,-how happy and stable a moderate rule, how wretched, on the other hand, to deal with discontented and rebellious subjects; that the prince should do nothing in which his own interests were not subordinated to those of the State. He bewails the times in which he lives, and says his only consolation is in the hope that a new and better period was approaching. We have also a small treatise from the same year, entitled "De Initiis, Sectis, et Laudibus Philosophiae," which is perhaps the first plan of a history of philosophy we possess, and bears evident marks of the author's originality and independence of thought. His "Reflections on the Seven Penitential Psalms," written also for the edification of his pupil, bears evidence of a great mind, although encumbered by the scholastic phrases of the period. In his essay against the pseudo-Dialecticians— written in 1519, and regarded as one of the most important contributions to the history of the great struggle between the schools— Vives cut himself off from the party to which he at first belonged, and attacked his former associates with vigor.

In 1519, as we learn from a letter to Erasmus, he undertook a journey to Paris with the Cardinal, where, in spite of his late essay, he was warmly received by his former friends. His literary reputation seems now to have been fully established, and in letters from More and Erasmus we read high praises of the Spanish scholar. His attainments were soon to be tested. Early in 1521 the young Cardinal de Croy died, leaving, contrary to all expectation, no provision for his former tutor, and Vives was obliged to turn his labors to some practical end. On the 1st of January, 1521, he began a commentary on the "De Civitate Dei" of St. Augustine, but his health gave way, and he returned from Louvain to Bruges in order to be with his own country-people. Erasmus, who was editing the work, became impatient at the delay, and, indeed, since the death of Cardinal de Croy, a very perceptible change appears in the manner of the courtly Churchman toward Vives. In July of the same year, Vives writes that his health is improving, but that he intends to remain in Bruges in order to have an interview with the Emperor Charles, as

he was shortly to be there to meet the English embassadors, Wolsey and More. These high dignitaries received him cordially; and no doubt it was owing to this interview that he went later to England, and dedicated his "De Civitate Dei" to King Henry. There is a report, too, that he had been already appointed to a position in Oxford; but of that nothing certain is known. The commentary, when completed, fully sustained Vives' reputation for depth and brilliancy, and deepened the excitement of the politico-religious contest of the day; but his health was exhausted by his continued application. He writes to Erasmus in August, 1522, that he dreads teaching again, although the devotion with which he speaks of his pupils would seem to indicate that it was anything but irksome to him.

His work, "De Institutione Feminae Christiane," dedicated to Queen Catherine of Aragon, and written, as a relaxation, after finishing his Commentary, is principally of a pedagogical character, and treats of the education and demeanor of Christian women, handling the subject decidedly from an ascetic, monastic point of view.

The winter semester of 1522-23 was the last during which he taught at Louvain, as he seems to have made up his mind to try his fortune in England. Previous to his departure, he wrote to Pope Hadrian VI. (Oct. 12, 1522), begging him to exert his vast authority to secure peace to the Christian world, and urging the convocation of a General Council. He recalls to the Pope their former connection at the University, before the humble dean had been appointed to the highest dignity in Christendom, and urges his views with all the frankness of a friend.

In 1523 he undertook a journey to Spain, of which we have no particulars, except that he left the Netherlands in an unhappy frame of mind (letter to Erasmus, May 10, 1523), as he was disappointed in the result of the sale of his works. His way led through England, and whether his reception there induced him to return, or whether he had already received an appointment, is uncertain; but we know, from Anthony Wood's "Athenae Oxoniensis," that, in the fall of that year (1523), he delivered two lectures at Oxford, both of which were honored by the attendance of the King and Queen, and received the degree of D.C.L. For some time, now, he stood in close connection with the English court; probably, although we do not know with certainty, engaged as tutor of Princess Mary. He appears to have passed some portion of each year at his home in Bruges, where most of his productions of this period were composed. He wrote several letters to Henry VIII., on the occasion of the Battle of Pavia, urging him to set an example to the other princes of a peaceful policy; and also to the Bishop of Lincoln, the King's confessor, hoping thus indirectly to work upon him. In 1525 he wrote one of his most important treatises, "De Subven

tione Pauperum," dedicated to the Municipal Council of Bruges, one of the first works on this subject, and which, undoubtedly, formed the basis of the English system of the care of the poor. Our space is too limited to give an analysis of this article; but the point which the author makes is, that although the motives which move us to charity are essentially religious, yet the control and administration of the poor funds is incumbent upon the Christian State, and does not fall within the province of the Church, regarding all interference of the clergy with donations for the poor with a jealous

eye.

In 1526-27 his correspondence with Erasmus appears to have been more frequent, although the tone and manner of the latter show but little of his former warm friendship. In 1528 a most unfortunate turn of affairs took place, which we can best lay before the reader in Vives' own words. It was in relation to the King's divorce from Catherine of Aragon; and it is only necessary to remark that Vives had been an especial protégé of the Queen. He says, in a letter to Vergara: "You must already have heard of the troubles between the King and Queen, as it is now talked of everywhere. I have taken the side of the Queen, whose cause has seemed to me just, and have defended her by word and pen. This offended his Majesty to such a degree that I was imprisoned for six weeks, and only released on condition of never approaching the palace again. I then concluded it safest to return home [to Bruges], and, indeed, the Queen advised me to in a secret letter. Shortly after, Cardinal Campeggio was sent to Britain to judge the cause. The King was very solicitous that the Queen appoint counsel to defend her side before Campeggio and Wolsey. She, therefore, called me to her aid; but I told her plainly that any defence before such a court were useless, and that it would be much better to be condemned unheard than with the appearance of defence. The King sought only to save appearances with his people, that the Queen might not appear to have been unjustly treated; that he had little regard for the rest. At this the Queen was incensed that I did not at once obey her call, instead of following my own good judgment, which is worth more to me than all the princes of the world together. So it has come about that the King regards me as his adversary, and the Queen as disobedient and opinionated, and both of them have withdrawn my pension." This letter was written some three years after the events took place, and he adds that he scarcely knows himself how he has managed to get his living, but that the gifts which God sends in silence are greater than those which we win with applause from men. In 1531 he wrote again to the King, moved, as he says, by his love for England, to which he owes so much, and making use of a different method, since he had failed before to touch the King's conscience, by show

ing how destructive it was to the interests of the kingdom to allow parties to be formed, as they would be, by the uncertainty of the succession, etc.

From this time on, we know but little of Vives. He retired to Bruges, whence he fled with his family during the plague, and visited Paris, where he again lectured for a short time. In 1537'39 he passed some time at Breda, in the court of the widowed Duchess of Nassau, a Spaniard by birth, and formerly a pupil of his; and he speaks of her in his book, "De Christiana Feminae," as a promising girl.

Ever since his return from England, he complained of gout, and, indeed, had struggled against a weak constitution all his life. In spite of his illness, he worked harder than ever, and his best productions date from this period. He had scarcely finished a great work, "De Veritate Fidei Christianae," on which, his biographer says, he devoted more thought than any other, than he succumbed to a complication of diseases, on the sixth day of May, 1540, in the forty-eighth year of his age.

The work of Vives which entitles him to a place among pedagogical reformers, is called "De Disciplinis." It appeared in 1531, with a dedication to the King of Portugal, and is divided into three principal parts. In the Introduction, he justifies the position he assumes in regard to Aristotle. While he reverences Aristotle as a great master, he declared that the world had gained in experience since he wrote, and sees no reason why the minds of that day should not discard his teachings, if not found correct, as he himself set aside the teachings of his predecessors. Vives does not doubt but that later generations will find theories better adapted to their ends than those he himself advances, and greets as a friend the one who shall expose his errors.

The first book treats of the causes of the decline of the sciences. Many of them, he says, are coexistent with the origin of the sciences, others are attributable to moral causes,-as, for instance, pride, the desire to shine as the discoverer of some new theory; and he relates, as an example, how a fellow-student in Paris had declared to him that, sooner than not distinguish himself by founding some new doctrine, he would defend one of whose falsity he was convinced.

The historical and material causes of the decay of the sciences is next treated. One of these was the migration of nations, by which the existing order of civilization was annihilated; then, the obscurity of the ancient manuscripts, which is so great, he says, that it takes less time to discover from nature the truths they contain, than to decipher the meaning of the parchment; then, again, the imperfection of the manuscripts themselves. Another cause is the everincreasing use of commentaries, instead of the study of the originals, by which the various opinions of the commentators only lead further