THE

RIGHT REFORMATION OF

LEARNING,

SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES,

According to the State of the Gofpel, and the true Light that fhines therein.

HOUGH I do not pretend to that wisdom which might direct the world, farther than the word of God is with me, yet fhall I be bold, as one who defires to be faithful to Chrift, and profitable to his true church, to offer my apprehenfions and advice to the called, chofen, and faithful ones of Chrift, that either now are, or hereafter may be in authority in these nations, touching the inftructing youth, and ordering fchools.

1. First therefore, as to this matter, I do judge, there neither is, nor can be any greater evil than to bring up children in ease and idleness, and to fuffer them to live freely and without controul, according to thofe natural lufts and corruptions which they bring along with them into the world, which do foon wonderfully improve through fuch a careless and unnurtured life. And fuch children and youth ufually become an early prey to the devil, who readily fills them with all the ungodliness and unrighteoufnefs of the heathen.

2. I conceive it meet, that the civil power, or chief magiftrates, fhould take great care of the education of

youth,

youth, as of one of the greatest works that concerns them, and as one of the worthieft things they can do in the world inafmuch as what the youth now is, the whole commonwealth will shortly be.

3. To this end, it is meet that fchools, if wanting, be erected throughout the whole nation, and that not only in cities and great towns, but also, as much as may be, in all leffer villages: And that the authority of the nation take great care, that godly men efpecially have the charge of greater schools; and also that no women be permitted to teach little children in villages, but fuch as are the most fober and grave; and that the magiftrate afford to this work all fuitable encouragement and affiftance.

4. That in fuch fchools they first teach them to read their native tongue, which they speak without teaching; and then presently as they understand, bring them to read the HOLY SCRIPTURES; which though for the prefent they understand not, yet may they, through the bleffing of God, come to understand them afterwards.

5. That in cities and greater towns, where are the greater schools, and the greater opportunities to fend children to them, they teach them alfo the Latin and Greek tongues, and the Hebrew alfo, which is the eafieft of them all, and ought to be in great account with us, for the Old Testament's fake. And it is moft heedfully to be regarded, that in teaching youth the tongues, to wit, the Greek and Latin, fuch heathenifh authors be noft carefully avoided, be their language never fo good, whofe writings are full of the fables, vanities, filthiness, lafcivioufnefs, idolatries, and wickednefs of the heathen. Seeing ufually, whilft youth do learn the language of the heathen, they alfo learn their wickednefs in that language; whereas it were far better for them to want their language, than to be poffeffed with their wickednefs. And what fhould Christian youth have to do with the heathenifh poets,

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poets, who were for the most part the devil's prophets, and delivered forth their writings in his fpirit; and who, through the fmoothnefs, quaintnefs, and sweetness of their language, do infenfibly inftil the poison of luft and wickednefs into the hearts of youth; whereby their education, which ought to correct their natural corruption, doth exceedingly increase and inflame it?

Wherefore my counsel is, that they learn the Greek and Latin tongues especially from Chriftians, and fo without the lies, fables, follies, vanities, whoredoms, luft, pride, revenge, &c. of the heathens; especially fecing neither their words nor their phrafes are meet for Chriftians to take into their mouths: and moft neceffary it is, that Christians fhould forget the names of their gods and mufes, which were but devils and damned creatures, and all their mythology and fabulous inventions, and let them all go to Satan from whence they came.

6. It may be convenient alfo, that there may be fome univerfities or colleges, for the inftructing youth in the knowledge of the liberal arts, beyond grammar and rhetorick; as in logic, which, as it is in divinity, as one calls it, gladius diaboli, the devil's fword, fo in human things it may be of good use, if reafon manage that art of reafon but the mathematics efpecially are to be had in good esteem in univerfities; as arithmetic, geometry, geography, and the like: which, as they carry no wickedness in them, fo are they befides very useful to human fociety, and the affairs of this prefent life.

There may be alfo in these univerfities or colleges allowed the studies of phyfic, and of the law, according to that reformation which a wife and godly authority will cause them to pafs under, both being now exceedingly corrupt and out of order, both for practice and fees,

7. But why these universities or colleges fhould be only at Cambridge and Oxford, I know no reafon: Nay, if hu

man

man learning be fo neceffary to the knowledge and teaching of the fcriptures, as the univerfities pretend, they furely are without love to their brethren, who would have thefe ftudies thus confined to thefe places, and do fwear men to read and teach them no where else: certainly it is most manifeft, that these men love their own private gain, more than the common good of the people *. Seeing they say, no-body can well understand or teach the fcriptures without it; and fo by reason of this their incroachment, against the rule of love, through the former grants of popes and kings, all men fhould be neceffitated to fend their children hither, from all parts of the nation, fome scores or hundreds of miles, for liberal education, to the great trouble and charge of parents:, especially this confidered, that the universities ufually have been places. great licentioufnefs and profanenefs; whereby it often comes to pafs, that parents fending their children far from them, young and hopeful, have for all their care and coft, after feveral-years, received them back again, with their tongues and arts, proud, profane, wicked, abominable, and incorrigible wretches.

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Wherefore doubtlefs it would be more fuitable and more advantageous to the good of all the people, to have univerfities or colleges, one at leaft, in every great town or city in the nation, as in London, York, Bristol, Exeter, Norwich, and the like; and for the state to allow to thefe colleges an honest and competent maintenance, for fome godly and learned men to teach the tongues and arts, under a due reformation. And this the ftate may the better do, by provision out of every county, or otherwise, as

fhall

Juramentum magiftrorum in receptionibus & refumptionibus folennibus. Jurent etiam, quod extra iftam univerfitatem, nufquam alibiin Anglia, præterquam Oxoniæ, in aliqua facultate incipient, aut lectiones fuas folenniter refument, nec confentient quod aliquis alibi in Anglia incipiens, hic pro magiftro in illa facultate habeatur.

fhall be judged beft, feeing then there will be no fuch need of endowment of scholarships; inafmuch as the people having colleges in their own cities, near their own houses, may maintain their children at home, whilft they learn in the fchools; which would be indeed the greateft advantage to learning that can be thought of.

8. It should alfo be confidered, whether it be according to the word of God, that youth fhould spend their time only in reading of books, whilst they are well, ftrong, active, and fit for bufinefs. For commonly it fo falls out, that youth lofe as much by idleness, as they gain by tudy. And they being only brought up to read books, aid fach books as only contain wrangling, jangling, foclifh and unprofitable philofophy, when they have continued any long time in the univerfity in thefe unwarranted courfes by God, they are commonly in the end, fit for no worthy employment, either in the world, or among the faithful.

To remedy which great evil, colleges being, as hath been fpoken, difperfed through the great cities and towns of the commonwealth, it may be fo ordered, that the youth (according to Luther's counfel*) may spend some part of the day in learning or ftudy, and the other part of the day in fome lawful calling, or one day in study, and another in business, as neceffity or occafion fhall require.

And thus fhall youth be delivered from that ease and idlenefs, which fills the hearts of university students with many corruptions, and noisome lufts, whilst they fill their heads only with empty knowledge and foolish notions; whereby neither can God be glorified, nor their neighbour profited.

9. And if this courfe were taken in the difpofing and ordering colleges, and studies, it would come to pafs that

Luther Libel. de inftituend. pueris.

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