the outline or plan should not be too conspicuous. Hence the thought-element, which the plan represents, and which must, like the skeleton, support the whole structure, should be concealed beneath concrete materials. The material should, furthermore, be so arranged as to represent a continuous growth in intensity, a climax-an important point for final success, because the attention is naturally weakened in the course of a long strain—and so the striking elements should be reserved for the latter part of the presentation. Horace has aptly illustrated this psychological fact: "A flash that ends in smoke is not his (the good poet's) aim, Through which the marvels of his tale shall gleam."1 However, in some cases, viz., whenever the nature of a subject does not admit of a climax, this rule must be ignored. But the presentation of any and every subject-matter must be such as to possess both logical and asthetical unity, so as to admit of being grouped, not only in a system, but also in a picture. 4. The style of the presentation should follow Aristotle's rule: "In respect to diction, the ideal for the poet is to be clear without being vulgar." The teacher can not be understood unless he express himself clearly; and he owes it to his pupils, who must respect him as a model in all things, to keep his language free from slang and cant. Yet he should not strive for ornament, but should cultivate a plain style. He should bear in mind that every class period is to be a lesson in the correct use of the mother-tongue. The old school saying, "Rem tene, verba sequentur, "4 should govern the teacher's presentation as well as every other presentation. 3 The ancient orators gave special attention to the memorizing of their written orations, but for the instructional presentation this is not necessary. Still, the young teacher must be on his guard lest he lose the thread of what he is dealing with, and lest he, especially when striving to secure the co-operation of his pupils, leave his subject. But a careful examination of the subject as a preparation for the class period will generally suffice, and there is no need of special memory helps. The memory helps to be used by the pupils have been treated above." 1 Ibid., 143: “Non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucem." 2 Art of Poetry, 22: λέξεως δ ̓ ἀρετὴ σαφῆ καὶ μὴ ταπεινὴν εἶναι. 3 Supra, ch. XXII, 3 and XXXVI, 3. 4 C. Jul. Victor, Ars rhet., 1. 5 Supra, ch. L, 3. The efforts made by the teacher to secure the co-operation of his pupils represent in instructional presentation a factor that is akin to the orator's delivery. The young teacher will find this task of securing the pupils' co-operation as difficult as the young orator finds the delivery. He will in the beginning find his pupils a quite unwelcome and uncomfortable addition, and will consider the duty of exchanging the monologue for the dialogue very irksome. Still, a presentation, though perfect in all other points, may fail completely for want of the proper co-operation on the part of the pupils. With regard to presentative instruction we must recall that the very idea of instruction implies that the content of knowledge be not only offered to the pupils, as is done in teaching, but actually worked into their minds. To this end, however, all entrances to the mind must be thrown wide open and all points of contact must be made accessible. To do all this is the duty of the didactic technique. But in the case of a larger number of pupils, the art of education demands that their co-operation be secured, not only in a general way, but in such a manner as is best adapted to the character and ability of each individual and as will redound to the greatest benefit of the largest possible number. In this way the class will be converted, one may say, into a voluntary co-operative association with each pupil a stockholder and a sharer in the dividends. CHAPTER LII. Example of Presentative Instruction. 1. For illustrating the procedure of presentative instruction we have selected a subject which is well adapted for demonstrating at the same time the principle of the correlation of the school branches (ch. XXXVI.), viz., the Christianization of Germany. This subject lies on the borderland of the instruction in language, history, geography, and religion, and because it does not entirely belong to any of these subjects, it rarely receives adequate treatment. We are presupposing pupils of the sixth gymnasial class, who have studied the political history of the period and the development of the primitive Church, before 1 Ch. XXXIV, 3. the history teacher takes up the present subject. The teacher will find much helpful information in the collection, which has unfortunately been discontinued, Die Geschichtschreiber der deutschen Vorzeit in deutscher Bearbeitung, Berlin, 1849. The teacher must first make it clear that the conversion of Germany is only a member of a long series of missions, which began with the conversion of the Franks and ended with the conversion of the northern and eastern nations. Accordingly, the conversion of the Franks, the Irish, and the Anglo-Saxons will have to be treated as an introductory subject. In this introduction the teacher should employ the heuristic method in bringing home to his pupils such concepts as mission, diocese, and monastery. The missionary activity of St. Boniface will be the main topic and the centre of the presentation, and this circumstance offers the advantage of bringing the personal element into the foreground. The teacher must thus deal with personal deeds, ideals, and sacrifices, and all of this holds the attention readily, and admits, moreover, of being turned into a moral force. However, before taking up this topic, the earlier state of Christianity in Germany and the activities of the missionaries before the time of St. Boniface should be briefly treated. A third part, finally, will show how Charlemagne and the Saxon kings continued the work of the missions. The whole subject should naturally conclude with a brief sketch of the ecclesiastical provinces of Germany, which received their definite shape about the year 1000. In as far as they represent the final outcome of all the missionary activity in Germany, the presentation may take the form of a genetic development. Attention should be given throughout to present-day results of the early missionary activity, and mention should be made of the churches, monuments, or other still extant memorials of the missionaries' activity. 2. A historical map of Europe in the year 500 will show the Franconian Kingdom as embracing northern France, Belgium, and almost the whole territory of the Rhine. About in the centre is Rheims, where the Archbishop, St. Remigius, the Apostle of the Franks, baptized King Clovis, on Christmas Day, 496. Clovis had been converted to the Christian religion by his wife Clotilda, but he embraced it only after the Battle of Tolbiac (Zülpich, near Bonn), having, like Constantine the 1 Supra, ch. XLII, 5. Great, vowed this upon the condition of gaining a victory. The words that Remigius addressed to Clovis before baptizing him, have come down to us: "Mitis depone colla, Sigamber, adora quod incendisti, incende quod adorasti." A look at the map will show the importance of this conversion. for the spread of Christianity. Italy and the Alpine countries. were in the hands of the Ostrogoths; Spain and southern France, in the hands of the Visigoths; the Rhone country, in the hands. of the Burgundians; and all these nations professed the Arian heresy. In England Christianity was suppressed by the AngloSaxons. In certain Germanic countries outside of the Frankish Empire, as in Bavaria, Christian congregations existed, indeed, but they lacked organization and were partly demoralized. Thus the conversion of the Franks was the first and most important foundation for the German mission. But the British Isles also played an important rôle in the conversion of Germany. Ireland had been converted by St. Patrick (d. 465), and the Anglo-Saxons in England were converted through the efforts of Pope Gregory I. The teacher should not fail to recall Bede's characteristic account of Gregory's casual encounter with English slaves in the Roman market place. Being struck with their noble appearance, Gregory inquired the name of their nation, to which they replied, "Angli." Whereupon Gregory remarked, “Bene, nam angelicam habent faciem et tales angelorum decet esse cohæredes." To the further inquiry from what part of England they came, the slaves replied, “Deira"; and Gregory commented, "Bene, de ira dei eruti." Their King's name they gave as Ælla, which Gregory interpreted thus, “Alleluja oportet cantari." In the year 596, just one hundred years after the baptism of Clovis, St. Augustine, the Apostle of the Anglo-Saxons, set out with forty Benedictine monks for Kent, where he baptized King Ethelbert, who had been prepared for the reception of Christianity by his Frankish wife Bertha. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. In the meantime the Frankish Empire had also increased. in extent, for in 530 the Franks had subjugated the heathen Thuringians and in 534 the Burgundians. Among the many dioceses included in this greater Frankish Empire, we must lcok for the beginnings of the later ecclesiastical provinces of Germany. They are, first, the Rhenish dioceses summed up and characterized in the old saying: "Kostnitz the largest, Bâle the fairest, Strassburg the noblest, Speyer the most pious, Worms the poorest, Mainz the most venerable, Trier the oldest, Cologne the richest." The other dioceses are: Metz, Liége, Augsburg, Brixen, and Chur. The historical map shows that the German mission would have to embrace Allemannia or Swabia, bordering on the Lake of Constance, and Bavaria, the country of the Inn and the central Danube territory, in which countries the Christian religion had been preached. But the German mission was to include also the following countries that were still entirely heathen: Eastern Franconia, along the Main; Thuringia, between the Main and the Elbe; Saxony, between the Ems and the Elbe; and Friesland, between the mouths of the Rhine and the Weser. Slavic peoples lived east of the Elbe and the Bohemian Forest; and the Avars, in the southeast. 3. After this survey of the mission territory, the teacher should deal with the Christianizing organs and agencies. Priests, monks, and hermits that took up their abode in the heathen countries, were the first to preach the Gospel. But the Christian religion obtained a firm foothold only after churches were built and congregations organized; and the bishoprics and monasteries became the centres of organized activity. The bishop was the head and the soul of the diocese. He preached the Gospel, and taught and confirmed the faithful. He directed the education and training of the clergy, ordained his priests, placed them in charge of parishes, and controlled their teaching and morals. With respect to the rites of public worship, his cathedral church came to be considered the model of the other churches. In the early times, the city bishop, who had charge of the city clergy, was assisted by a rural bishop, who had charge of the rural parishes. The archbishop or metropolitan was at the head of the ecclesiastical province. The monasteries, founded for the most part by Benedictines, were primarily intended for retreats of the monks, and were hence located in solitary and unsettled places. The monks cleared the wilderness for cultivation and thus became the teachers of agriculture for all those who settled in the vicinity. Eventually the monastery developed into an abbey; and the settlement, into a market and town. The monastery cell became the home of art and science. Schools were opened, in the first place, to train young monks. The abbey church became, like the cathedral, the model of the churches in the neighborhood. New monasteries branched off from the parent foundation, missionaries were sent out into new territory or placed at the disposal of the bishops. The missionary activity of to-day presents similar features, and these should be noted for the sake of comparative study. The teacher |