upon ye possession and custodium of two in Bridge Streete, and soone after of one in the Back Lane, was graunted us*. On the 1st of July, in the same year, the provost and fellows lent 201. sterling for the furnishing of ye new colledge;' and it was then further agreed that the two last classes should remayne there for two years (except fellow commoners). The rector to be their tutor.' The rector's place in the new college is elective yerely, and Mr. Boswell is elected this yeret. On the 14th of September, in the same year, two bachelors of arts, Sir Gunn and Sir Brereton,' were appointed masters in Bridge Street, and allowed twelve artists' [i. e. students in arts, or candidates for the degree of B.A.] to reade to them, and their place is elective yearely;' and on the 18th of April, 1634,' Sir Harrison, by consent of the provost and maior part of the senior ffellowes, was appointed lecturer of all the schollars (undergraduates) in the house in Bridge Street, and is to receave quarteridge from them accordingly. And it was further consented and agreed upon, that he should have from each fellow commoner and pentioner there studinge such rent quarterly for their chambers and studyes, as is payed by fellow comoners and pentioners, out of their studyes and chambers, here in the colledge; viz. 3s. 4d. per quarter from a fellow comoner, and 1s. 8d. per quarter from a pētioner§.' It appears, therefore, that the academy in Back Lane was considered as a college, while that in Bridge Street was only a Hall. In the former they placed one of the fellows as master, while the superintendence of the latter was entrusted to bachelors of arts. Want of funds was probably the principal impediment to the prosperity of these establishments, but in addition to this they do not appear to have been placed upon any foundation likely to give them permanence. They produced no effect, therefore, on the system of education pursued in the university, and no record, we believe, has been preserved, from which we can collect either the result of their temporary operation or the design proposed by those who exerted themselves in their institution. We shall conclude this article with a short account of the subjects of study pursued in the college, between the years 1620 and 1637. The sources of information which we possess on this subject, are principally the statutes of Bishop Bedell, finished in the year 1628, and the statutes of Charles I. given to the college in 1637, in both of which the subjects of study are prescribed and fixed. We may also gather *Reg. of 1628, p. 28. + Ibid. p. 29. Ibid. p. 43. something from the knowledge of the offices and lectureships existing in the university, and the duties prescribed to them by the statutes. The statutes of Bishop Bedell were probably for the most part in operation when he came to preside over the university, and although we cannot always tell what parts of them originated with him, yet we have no reason to suppose that he made much alteration in the subjects of instruction, or the mode of communicating it adopted in the college under preceding provosts. His chief and prime care,' says the College Register,' was to make up a copleate and perfect statute-book, by freeing those that were doubtful or ambiguous before, and by adding others that were wanting and not less necessary: as the appointing of the chapell for divine exercises, and administracon of the sacraments once ev'y terme, and at ye festivalls of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost; the reading of a chapter in the Bible still before meales: the appoynting of two comōn places weekly in the chapel throughout the whole yeare, by the ffellowes and Mrs. in their courses. Soe likewise that noe probationers or junior ffellowes shall or ought to have any voice in the election of a provost; or in matters concerning the government of the colledge. That noe marryed man should be admitted a scholler or ffellow; and that there should be but one deane, whereas there were two in tymes past.' We may, therefore, with probability conclude, that the course of study and academical exercises prescribed in the chapter De Classium Scholasticis exercitiis in Bedell's Statutes, were the growth of times preceding his provostship, and were probably in substance those which we know to have been in operation under the provostship of Mr. Alvey, and of his successor Sir William Temple. In the University of Dublin, a course of study of four years. duration is necessary for obtaining the degree of B.A., and hence the undergraduates are divided into four classes: the men of the same year being of the same class. At the period of which we are treating, a distinct lecturer was assigned to each class, and a distinct course of study prescribed to each year. These lecturers were selected from the junior fellows, or masters of arts resident in the college, and were nominated annually by the provost. A senior, or primary lecturer (lector primarius) as he was called, was also elected from the senior fellows, whose business it was to superintend the duties of the inferior lecturers, and to keep a record of the attendance of the students, the honours conferred on them for diligence, and the censures imposed on the negligent and careless. The four inferior lecturers conducted the business of public education, by lectures which were directed by the statutes to be partly catechetical, and partly prælections.- Prælector quivis inferior, horæ ad prælegendum constitutæ partem alteram prælectioni, alteram examinationi discipulorum tribuat*. Besides this, every fellow, and even the provost, was a tutor; and they were bound, not only to superintend the morals and habits of their pupils, but also to afford them daily private instruction: and no student was suffered to have his name on the college boards until he had selected one of the fellows, or the provost, as his tutor. Quarterly examinations were held at the beginning of every term, to ascertain and encourage the diligence or proficiency of the students. The regular academic exercises imposed upon all undergraduates during term, were commentaries, themes, and declamations. The commentary consisted of notes on the lectures attended by the student, which were to be written in the Latin language, and shown to the lecturer every week. The theme was a composition in Latin on some given subject, or a translation from English into Latin, presented to the lecturer every Saturday: and besides this, the lecturer selected two of his class in turns, who were appointed to deliver memoriter in the public hall, declamations on some subject or thesis, 'e morali aut politicâ disciplinâ.' Fridays or Saturdays, after morning prayers, were appointed for the performance of this exercise. In addition to the four lecturers who gave public instruction in logic, philosophy, and metaphysics, it appears to have been contemplated in Bedell's provostship to appoint also lecturers, or rather a lecturer, to supply similar instruction in Greek and Hebrew, 'omnes classium discipuli,' say the statutes, si commode fieri potest, in Græcis et Hebraicis erudiantur a prælectore ad id munus constitutot.' The want of means for creating an endowment for such a lecturer, was, of course, the only reason why the framers of the statutes did not make this a positive enactment. The first class studied dialectics; and they were required every week to furnish their lecturer with an analysis of invention and rhetorical elocution'-analysin aliquam inventionis et elocutionis rhetoricæ.' *Stat. Bedell, cap. 12. Ibid. cap. 13. In June, 1628, there occurs an order in the Register for enforcing attendance on Hebrew lecture for bachelors; and in 1659, a certificate of competency in Greek, Hebrew, and Rhetorique, from the respective professors, was required as necessary for the degree of A.B. The first endowment for a professor of Hebrew, was given by Henry Cromwell in 1658. The second class were lectured in logical controversies, 'controversa logica disciplinæ capita'quæ veritati consentanea reperientur ea auditoribus suis commendabit prælector: quæ vero falsa fuerint ea argumentorum viribus convicta repudiabit;' and the students of this class were required to prepare every week an analysis of invention and judgment' aliquam inventionis et judicii analysin.' The third class read the Aristotelic physiology, 'præcepta physiologiæ de elementis, de corporibus mixtis, sive imperfectis, qualia sunt meteora: sive perfectis, qualia sunt metalla, plantæ, animalia.' The lecturer of the fourth class was required to instruct his hearers in the doctrine of psychology,' together with ethics; and the students of the third and fourth classes were required to hold disputations weekly during term, the former on some logical thesis, the latter on two questions of physiology. These disputations were conducted in the old scholastic forms of syllogistic argument, and a thesis was delivered by the respondent, oratione perpetuâ, adhibito vario argumentorum genere, et elocutionis rhetorica ornamentis.' The statute goes on to provide that the disputations were not to exceed an hour and a quarter, from which we may infer, that when such a precaution was considered necessary, these exercises were at least seriously conducted. The study of mathematics was not commenced until the student had taken his degree of B.A. He was then required to attend the lectures of the mathematical lecturer, in mathematicis et politicis,' and every Friday during term, to hold disputations in mathematics or physics; and to declaim every Saturday, after morning prayers, in the hall. Masters of arts were required every Monday and Thursday, to deliver in turn what was called a common place, or short sermon, 'ad morem theologica concionis' on some text or passage of Scripture and besides this, they were exercised in theological disputations, which they also performed in turns every Wednesday, at two o'clock P.M., on two questions in theology, selected for the most part from the controversy with the church of Rome: and the professor of theological controversies was appointed to act as moderator in these disputations. Upon this system, so far as it was calculated to promote the studies which at that time formed the great object of academical education, it will be superfluous to make any remark; and unless we knew more of its practical workings, than it is possible to collect from the records that have been preserved, it would be useless to attempt to criticise it*. Some few remarks which apply to it, in common with the system that exists at this day in the college, we shall reserve for another paper, which we purpose to devote to an examination of the present state of academic education in the University of Dublin; and in which we shall have frequent occasions of referring to the historical facts collected in the preceding pages. PROFESSOR AGREN'S CONSTRUCTIVE METHOD OF : TEACHING GEOGRAPHY, THE love of system and the predilection for deducing practical rules and methods from general principles and theories are not common in this country. On the contrary, an aversion to systems and theories is characteristic of the English nation; with them the proof and validity of a theory are deduced from its usefulness when applied to practice. But in some countries, and perhaps more particularly in Germany than in any other, systems and theories are deduced from general principles and because the truth of a theory is firmly established by reason, therefore the application of it to practice, it is argued, must be useful. The discovery of many improvements in education is due to this habit of forming systems on principles based on the nature of the human mind, and on the practice of deducing from these, methods of instruction and practical rules for education in general. On the other hand, a cautious admission of new systems into practical education, and a gradual introduction of those improvements only into the old methods which result from long practice and experience, save a great waste of time and labour, which almost invariably attend the first experiments with systems appearing very excellent in theory, but whose usefulness has not yet been established by practical application. If, however, a new method, founded on some system or theory, has been proved to produce the advantages expected from its application, or even to surpass them, that method has a just claim to the attention of the merely practical or empiric educator. This attention has been shown by the English public to most modern improvements that deserve notice; and it is from a conviction of this fact, that we venture to give here a short detail of Professor Agren's 'Constructive method of teaching Geography.' *Every one who knows what College Statutes are, will easily see that it would be absurd to judge of the actual working of a system, from the account given of it in the Statute Book. |