DOCUMENTS FOR EDUCATORS
IN THE TRADITION OF
CONSTANT VAN CROMBRUGGHE
(1789 - 1865)
Founder of the Josephites

All of you who have devoted yourselves to the sacred work of education, love, love the children. But there is love and love. I am speaking here of real, deep and enlightened love; pastoral and paternal love; this love is everything and accomplishes everything. In a word, be like fathers to them, and that's not enough; be like mothers. You must love the children and make them feel that you love them; not only by avoiding, in your dealings with them, all hardness, unjust coldness and discouraging severity, but by caring tenderly for them and having a blessed and cordial affection for them; letting them see that you have devoted your life to them, that you are happy to be with them and will always be so. you must also identify with them, not only in work and study, but in everything else and in every detail of their school life. But I must add one thing of the greatest importance: To love the children and to identify with them, you must love one another. Be of one heart and mind: cor unum et anima una. Putting this into effect is as simple as it is pleasant. Out of this is born life, strength and the powerful fruitfulness of your work for souls, since in this is the union of souls one with another and with God in charity. If you know these things you will be happy, provided you put them into practice. Constant Van Crombrugghe

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Page 3:

· Conclusions Chapter from Discussion And Conclusions: Final Chapter From "Constant Van Crombrugghe (1789-1865) And Education: The Genesis, Evolution And Application Of The Educational Philosophy Of A 19th Century Roman Catholic Educator" (Brother Michael, M.Phil, 1996).

Page 14:

· Speech of Constant Van Crombrugghe to the parents of the Collège d'Alost, Easter 1815. It is here that the Founder first expounds his views on Education.

Page 19:

· Speech of Constant Van Crombrugghe to the parents of the Collège d'Alost, Summer 1815. The Founder continues to expound his views on Education.

Page 24:

· Intervention Of Constant Van Crombrugghe At The National Congress Of 1830: 24th. December. Van Crombrugghe was elected a delegate from Alost, and intervened strongly for the freedom of education.

Page 26:

· New Manual Of "Politesse" For Use By Young People By A Former Director Of A House Of Education, C.G. Van Crombrugghe

Page 34:

· Extracts From the "Manuel De La Jeunesse Chretienne (Ouvrage Qui Pourra Être Utile Aux Parents Et Aux Instituteurs)" By Constant Van Crombrugghe, Principal Of The "Collège D'Alost" 1821

Page 39:

· Règlement Des Professeurs (Teachers' Guide). Composed in 1838, this was Van Crombrugghe's major instruction on Education for the teachers of the new "middle-class" school at Melle.

Page 47:

· Guide Pédagogique. Not specifically by Van Crombrugghe, but a collection of his thoughts on Education made shortly after his death.

Page 54:

· Directoire Des Surveillants. Also not specifically by Van Crombrugghe, but a collection of his thoughts on Education made shortly after his death. Specifically aimed at Housemasters and those who have pastoral care of children.

· How to teach R.E..

Page 58.

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DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: FINAL CHAPTER FROM "CONSTANT VAN CROMBRUGGHE (1789-1865) AND EDUCATION: THE GENESIS, EVOLUTION AND APPLICATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF A 19TH CENTURY ROMAN CATHOLIC EDUCATOR"
(Brother Michael, M.Phil, 1996).

In attempting to draw together the many threads of this thesis a line from William Blake comes to mind:

"He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars."

Somehow, everything that has been written here about Van Crombrugghe seems to come together in this short line. Above all it seems very neatly to encompass all the multifarious byways of Van Crombrugghe's politesse.

At the same time there is a paradox. It is not easy to reconcile the author of this notion of politesse, of exquisite charity, with a person who could equally be thought of as arrogant, manipulative and overbearing. Fr Jorissen has underlined this sort of double personality to the extent of asking whether there actually were two personalities inside the Founder. He indicates the "up there"; a higher plane from which he could communicate with his spiritual and social equals, and the "down there", towards which his charity moves almost at arm's length towards the rest.

This "double edged sword" of Van Crombrugghe's personality is also reflected in two graphic images. In the first, reproduced in the opening pages, there appear all the qualities one might consider negative. This is almost the face of a bully; maybe a well-meaning man, but a man prepared to trample over others to achieve his ends. There appears none of the compassion which he insisted on in others and one really is led to wonder if he was a truly compassionate man in himself, or rather a man with a deep sense of a "duty of compassion". It is the face of an older man, of course, with a lifetime of achievement behind him, and years of directing the fate of other people in an autocratic manner. Fr Jorissen has pointed out that most of the early Josephites were not his social equals, and if the Josephites were to be "instruments of mercy" they were also very much the "instruments of Van Crombrugghe."

In a second image, reproduced at the end of this Chapter, there appears a totally different man. There is, of course, a difference of years between the two images but, leaving that aside, this is a different Van Crombrugghe; the image shows compassion and energy, coupled with humility and an ability to be wrong.

Which is the real Van Crombrugghe? Although undertaking this research has revealed all sorts of information about Van Crombrugghe, the answer to this question has not become fully apparent. Although he said, did and wrote much which is appealing, there remains the sense that the real man remains distanced from his achievements. He remains the "self-made man", hidden behind the formalised façade of his laboriously created personality.

VAN CROMBRUGGHE THE MAN

Fr Jorissen has posed some useful questions concerning Van Crombrugghe which provide a framework for conclusions concerning Van Crombrugghe himself:

1. In spite of Van Crombrugghe being, on the one hand a realist to the point of meticulousness, was he also an utopist?

No, he wasn't. Certainly he had a vision of a certain type of perfection, in life as in education. As a realist he would realise that the short-term goals might not be fully attainable but were useful pointers, to be held as examples to be moved towards and beyond. But as a Roman Catholic educator his ultimate goals, for himself, his congregations and for his pupils, were eschatalogical and fully attainable in a final union with God. The things of this world, however laudable, would pass. Within the confines of time and space, the best possible had to be achieved, and the best possible means used to achieve them. For Van Crombrugghe those means were outlined par excellence in the Règlement des Professeurs.

2. Was the attraction of Jesus, even through a man who, captured by his charm, revealed him in an exemplary manner, enough to transport and transform, even haltingly, a religious teaching congregation?

Yes, it was. Van Crombrugghe was a man of strong religious conviction and personal faith. This faith was strong enough to sustain him through the many trials of his educational career and, more importantly, to attract others to the same vision.

3. Were the experiences of Amiens and Alost so exceptional that they could not support Van Crombrugghe's vision and institutions?

There is no doubt that Van Crombrugghe's experiences at Amiens were quite exceptional and coloured his whole educational life. It would be reasonable to say that he wanted his schools to be reflections of Amiens, his teachers to be reflections of the Fathers of the Faith, and that in some measure his life's work was a pursuit of that ideal. It is true that in his lifetime he did not fully achieve that ideal. Nevertheless, without the vision of Amiens ever-present as a goal to be striven for the whole enterprise might have crumbled and might even never have been embarked upon.

Alost is a different question, or at least a different set of unanswered questions. We do not know how much the success of Alost was due to the relief of parents in having the school back on a stable footing and run by clerics - any clerics - and therefore to them feeling in some way obliged to support it. We do not know how much its success was due to the calibre of the staff, the seminarians, of Fr Valentijns who would re-appear later at Melle. All we do know is that, for whatever reason, it worked and showed Van Crombrugghe what could be achieved and what he could achieve. In this sense the experiences of both Amiens and Alost did support Van Crombrugghe's enterprise.

4. Did the practicalities of the situation almost defeat a method considered almost unbeatable? Did the Founder have to accept insufficiently motivated candidates in order to press on with the work of education? Did he give too great a responsibility to Josephites who were too young?

Quite clearly the answer to all these questions is "yes". We know that the vision and the human resources available were almost incompatible. Much of the genius of Van Crombrugghe lay in his ability relentlessly to pursue the vision, moulding square pegs into round holes simply because the work had to be done.

5. Did he not understand that men with his own strength of character were quite exceptional?

This is a question whose psychological complexities are beyond the scope of this thesis. As a member of his social class and background he would be familiar with men who where directors of the efforts of others; as such he much well have simply presumed that his own abilities were natural and unexceptional. Whilst the well-concealed "natural" Van Crombrugghe might have taken some pride in them, the "artificed" Van Crombrugghe would certainly not.

6. Did he not understand that, in order to be able to fulfil his vision, the men whom he accepted needed long and careful training within already formed communities?

The short answer is that he must have done, but that the exigencies of the situation made this impossible. It's a chicken and egg situation: at the beginning of an enterprise, where do you find these "already formed communities"? Had the Congregation grown more quickly, or attracted from an early stage a different type of person, or had he lived in a less turbulent time, things might have been different.

THE BACKGROUND TO VAN CROMBRUGGHE'S ACTION

The two chapters dealing with the history of the region show that as a Belgian, Constant Van Crombrugghe lived his life in a period of enormous social and political change. During his lifetime he knew four régimes: occupation by Austria and France, an uneasy and contrived alliance with Holland, and finally an independent Belgium. Did this cause in him any form of struggle for national identity? Probably not. Until 1830 Van Crombrugghe would probably have though of himself as a citizen of East Flanders, and, more specifically, Geraardsbergen rather than anything else. Foreign occupiers would come and go as a fairly major irritation but would not cause any fundamental instability of identity on a personal level. Even after the establishment of Belgium it could be imagined that Van Crombrugghe would not really think of himself as Belgian.

As a Roman Catholic, and more specifically as a Roman Catholic priest, he lived through a period where the directing role of the Church in everyday life, and particularly in education, was being questioned and had been dramatically weakened. As has been noted, however, as far as Belgium was concerned this was a questioning and weakening which went hand in hand with foreign occupation and, for many Belgians, the Church remained at the centre of their lives. For many, a rejection of foreign occupation would hopefully mean a return to the ecclesiastical status quo. We have seen that at the Collège d'Alost Van Crombrugghe did not throw himself into the creation of anything radically new: rather he attempted to turn the clock back by re-inventing the Jesuit college of 1773. One could also ask whether this was entirely because he thought it the best way, or was there more than a hint of human nostalgia for his "second family" at Amiens.

As an educator, and as a Roman Catholic educator (for, as we have seen, the two in Van Crombrugghe cannot be separated) he inherited a situation in which education in Belgium was something of a wasteland, having been subjected to well-intentioned (but deeply mistrusted) interference by Austria and Holland, and revolutionary manipulation by France. It could be said that Van Crombrugghe's insistence on freedom of education at the National Congress came as a reaction to the utilitarian function of education demanded by the unitary states of Joseph II and Willem of Oranje. He characterises the Belgian people as those "who would go without it (education) rather than to see it imposed on them by the administration and at the whim of the civil power." Above all, the fabric of secondary education had been deeply damaged by the suppression of the Jesuits and the suppression or transfer to other authorities of their Colleges.

It could be argued that all of Van Crombrugghe's "public" life, a period of only seventeen years lasting from 1814 when he became principal of the Collège d'Alost to 1831 when he more or less retired from public life, was lived as a reaction to the situation which he inherited. Thus he was to a large degree, a "righter of wrongs", seeking to re-establish a past order which was seen to have been of value rather than a revolutionary thinker striving after a new order. He was, after all, a member of that Belgian Roman Catholic provincial bourgeoisie whose sensibilities had been offended on all fronts since 1713; as a Belgian by foreign occupation; as a Roman Catholic by the subjection of ecclesiastical to civil authority under an enlightened despot; as a provincial by the notion of centralised government; and finally as a bourgeois by the withdrawal of the traditional rights of the burgher in Belgian society. Much of the offence caused by these measures was, as has been noted, due to Joseph II's total misunderstanding of the nature of his subject populace. Joseph sought an efficient state; Belgians remained attached to a rather bumbling status quo. Joseph, and later Willem of Oranje, sought a state of religious tolerance: Belgians remained attached to the supremacy of the Roman Catholic faith.

Although Joseph's policies were mistrusted by the Belgians there are some striking similarities between the sort of philosophy for which he stood and Van Crombrugghe. It has, for example, been noted that an educational system designed to produce the "useful citizen" should produce "a) honest citizens; b) good citizens; that is faithful and obedient subjects of the authorities; and c) useful people for the Community." In many ways this could be considered as a secularised version of Van Crombrugghe's own aims. The quote from Joseph II's ordinance in Chapter Three would sit perfectly well with Van Crombrugghe - although with some qualification of the last phrase.

THE JOSEPHITES - WHY BROTHERS?

Initially this question may seem to have no place in an educational thesis; it does, nevertheless, have some bearing on the nature of the enterprise on which Van Crombrugghe embarked. Whether Van Crombrugghe right from the first days of the Josephites had visions of the Congregation moving into middle-class secondary education is subject to question. This was, after all, the field with which he himself was familiar, in which he had enjoyed much success, and from which, through Amiens, he had drawn much of his inspiration. It is also clear that Van Crombrugghe had the personal charisma which could have attracted around him a group of educated, middle-class priests, or at least aspirant priests, who could have moved into secondary education much more quickly and with less pain than was the case with the Josephites. There is evidence that an Amiens / Alost "old boy network" grew up in Belgian ecclesiastical circles, remaining in touch with Van Crombrugghe. It is not beyond reason to suppose that Van Crombrugghe could have used his influence within this network to achieve his ends more expeditiously.

However, to take this rather simplistic view would be to misunderstand the evolution of the Josephites as an educational order and to withdraw it from its chronological and social context.

Primarily it has to be understood that the Josephites as they stood at the turn of the 20th century, and therefore much as we see them today, were a long way down the evolutionary line from the Brothers of 1817 and were not an expression of the Founder's original founding intention per se. As has been seen, the Brothers evolved out of Van Crombrugghe's wish, as the newly appointed Headmaster of a middle-class school, to do something urgently to meet the moral and practical needs of an impoverished lower class, not only for pragmatic reasons but also to attract blessings on the "main work", i.e. the Collège d'Alost. Reacting urgently to specific and contemporary needs Van Crombrugghe had to work with the personnel he could find and, besides, his career had not yet sufficiently developed to allow him the sort of networking which has been proposed above. There is also the question of priority of needs: whilst the provision of a teaching corps for the middle classes was pressing, relief of the needs of the poor was yet more pressing.

Secondly, the foundation of another order was, in the political circumstances of 1817, a precarious undertaking. In this context the establishment of a confederation of co-workers without vows was much less likely to attract hostile government attention - and be easier to mutate or dissolve - than a full-blown sacerdotal congregation. Who knows whether, if the Josephites had developed right from the start as a clerical congregation, whether Van Crombrugghe himself might not have become a Josephite himself, rather than directing their evolution rather "at arm's length" and from above.

Whatever the human material which Van Crombrugghe had at his disposal, it is clear that he moulded them into a body of educators dedicated to promoting the ideal vision of education such as he saw it. What were the features of this vision.

THE MAIN FEATURES OF VAN CROMBRUGGHE'S CONCEPT OF EDUCATION

Reading through all the Van Crombrugghe texts, and with an understanding of the vivid Jesuit background to his educational vision, one can isolate a number of threads which go to make up the central core of his educational concept.

1. Competition, honesta aemulatio, is a principal means of encouraging effort and minimising the need for punishment. Of all the traits identified in Van Crombrugghe's woven cloth of education, the one which might be seen to be problematic is that of competition. It has already been noted that the whole idea of competition is possibly something of a mixed blessing. Even Quintilian suggest that it contains the possibility of evil: "though ambition may in itself be a vice none the less it is frequently the source of virtues." We have also seen that for Compayré competition was a source of ammunition for an attack on the Jesuits: "fostering of ambition" was "the characteristic of the corrupt Jesuitical morality".

In our own times, competition is regarded as a mixed blessing:

"Competition is, of itself, neither good nor evil, but when it is used to brand children or schools in a way which limits their freedom or potential, it is damaging to human flourishing. It also carries the danger of communicating to children and young people - and, indeed, to the wider community - that a person's value is measured solely in terms of academic, sporting or financial success. When, as St Paul describes it, we try to win the race, we are racing against ourselves. So, in education when a school encourages its pupils and staff to perform to the best of their ability for their own sake, its aim is to enable them to fulfil their God-given potential. If competition sets one school against another, if success in one institution is achieved deliberately at the expense of another, it is morally unacceptable."

Against the existence of league tables this does, indeed, become problematic. Apart from anything else one would look for the special benefits of a Constantian school almost exclusively among those areas which are usually classed as "value added". The above statement would also seem to condemn the view expressed by Van Crombrugghe at the National Congress that:

"By reclaiming the freedom of education, by demanding for families the quality which is guaranteed by competition, the free right of the father to choose into whose hands he wishes to confide his son's future, what are we asking except to allow parents to exercise a natural prerogative."

Nevertheless, as a private, fee-paying school, an element of competition has to enter into the equation. St George's College is in competition with other schools to attract pupils in order to survive. One would have to be careful, therefore, of competition on two levels; both within and outside the school. Furthermore, competition would have to be seen firmly in the context both of honesta aemulatio as described by Ribadeneira and within the general economy of striving for excellence as part of the generalised notion of fulfilment of human potential: "la nature propose, l'éducation achève".

2. A teacher's authority is based on esteem: the esteem of the pupil for the teacher and vice-versa. A teacher will gain esteem by the virtue of his example, and by his care for and interest in the individual pupil. There is also an element of fear in the sense of timor reverentialis which is better expressed as respect.

3. A teacher must show a genuine - i.e. real and human, not based on a supernatural notion - affection for his pupils, and will seek their affection in return. The bond between teacher and pupil is characterised by a relationship which goes beyond mutual respect to genuine affection. This affection is based on Jouvancy's "earnestness of a father and the devotion of a mother". In this context education is, for Van Crombrugghe, an intensely personal activity undertaken in the context of an ordered institution.

4. Education is aimed at transformation - Umbildung - in Jorissen's description a move "beyond" oneself, rather than formation - Ausbildung. Central to this is the simultaneous cultivation of the hearts and minds (in that order) of the pupils. This does not in any way minimise the importance of academic excellence, but rather seeks to place it within a broader economy of personal development.

5. No education without religion. Van Crombrugghe was quite unequivocal on this point.

6. Gentleness ; a key word which keeps re-appearing in Van Crombrugghe's writings is "doux" and "douceur". The teacher must have "un air doux et modeste" - a gentle and modest manner. Van Crombrugghe was struck by "la douceur et affabilité avec lesquelles on nous conduit" - the gentleness and affability with which we are led - at Amiens. Teachers are to win the heart of their pupils by gentleness, and also to correct them in a spirit of gentleness and humility.

7. Appropriateness: the way in which an individual pupil is taught, in which he is disciplined, can only successfully be based on a thorough understanding of the individual. Van Crombrugghe was most insistent that his teachers should study their pupils.

8. A good education cannot be achieved without order and method. Nothing can be left to chance and, although education takes place within a framework built on personal relationships, the whole is undertaken within a structure in which everything is subject to meticulous analysis and regulation. There is no place for mavericks in Van Crombrugghe's organisation. All is to be justified, not by the yardstick of what is novel and radical, but by what is already proven.

POLITESSE & FAMILY SPIRIT

This feature has been left until last because it is so central to Van Crombrugghe's concept of education that it needs a full explanation. Indeed, it could fairly be said that for Van Crombrugghe everything leads to, and is rooted in, this concept of total respect for the other.

The full expression of the good Christian and honest man is based on this politesse for which "politeness" is a totally inadequate translation. It would seem reasonable to suggest that the notion of "family spirit" which Josephites have traditionally held as definitive but rather vague should be posited firmly within the context of this politesse. So much is family spirit subsumed into politesse that a "family spirit" as such is not here cited as an important element per se.

We have seen that in the mission statement of St George's College the only specific reference to Josephite values is to the "family spirit". This is quite wrong, as it seizes on only one small element of Van Crombrugghe's philosophy at the expense of so much else. Certainly it is a convenient phrase to latch on to, in wording which is easily understood. One might equally say that it is capable of miscomprehension: family stability is not what it was in Van Crombrugghe's day and one wonders what so many products of broken families in this day and age would make of this definition. For too many people their experience of family is of a dysfunctional and even painful framework.

But it is a simplistic view of something which is much broader and richer: distilling the whole thing into "family spirit" is akin to valuing a diamond based solely on one of its facets taken almost at random. Even more simplistic is the notion that it is based on the Holy Family - an entity for whose family values and presumed domestic harmony which there is no empirical evidence at all. Interestingly enough, at the earliest opportunity Jesus went missing and when found three days later in the Temple gave his parent a particularly patronising explanation of his conduct. In Jesus' attitude at this moment one can see strong overtones of Van Crombrugghe dealing with his "inferiors" - the first Josephites. To quote Luke: "But they did not know what he meant"

This is not to say that this "family spirit" is not a useful, if simplistic, image. Certainly the image of family as an enduring hierarchical structure permeates Van Crombrugghe. The son is in a position of filial duty to parents; parents have a duty of care to the son. The place of the parents is taken over by the Fathers of the Faith in Amiens; the son seeks a continuation of hierarchical structure in the Church; the son becomes parent as Headmaster of the Collège d'Alost and as Founder. Within the communities an almost Trinitarian atmosphere is to be engendered whereby the individual religious lives in harmony with his confrères and with his pupils in a symbiotic relationship. It is perhaps this notion of symbiosis which most specifically illuminates Van Crombrugghe's concept of family spirit. A particular consequence of this concept is that up until quite recently in Josephite schools there has been little physical separation of "school" and "religious house": to ask where the "cloister" was would have been a nonsensical question.

In our own time and place this intertwining of the two threads of religious community and school has caused some real problems. Firstly, as has been alluded to previously, it has caused problems of definition. If at St George's College the two are now juridically separated, and if Josephites have traditionally defined themselves in the context of the school, where are Josephites now to look for a definition of self? In many ways it is that very question which has engendered the current research. Secondly, on a purely pragmatic level, there is the pressing question of who owns and/or controls what.

But the demanding vision described above of a system based on politesse is to a degree ultra -human. This is rather typical for the Founder who seemed to like things which were ultra-human. Something is needed to hold it all together otherwise, as it frequently did with the early Josephites, the structure will crumble. The cement is religion, both in its sense of personal devotion and piety, but also in its sense of re-ligio; that which re-binds. The bricks and mortar are politesse which goes beyond individual human personalities and in that sense is also ultra-human; to be striven for and perhaps never achieved. It is a bourgeois notion, and one can imagine it sitting awkwardly on the first Brothers.

The thread which ties it all together, keeps the individual firmly sighted on these ultra-human goals in spite of the fallibility of human nature, is obedience to authority, both in the context of a religious' duty of obedience to Superiors, and the human and social demands of politesse.

So, how can one attempt to define politesse? (also see Concerning Politesse In General)

Politesse is an economy of relationships based on Van Crombrugghe's bourgeois notions of what is right. It takes in not only relationships in the human sphere, but also the physical sphere and the supra-human or religious sphere.

• Human sphere: relationships between individuals must be marked by urbanity and respect for the other.
• Physical sphere: the physical environment must show evidence of good taste and of being cared for.
• Supra-human sphere: the urbanity and respect for the other which mark the human sphere are firmly rooted in a religious framework based on the reciprocal love of the Father for the Son and characterised by the presumed perfection of the Holy Family as perceived by Van Crombrugghe in the context of his own family and later defined by him in the terms of 1 Corinthians XIII.

Although this was expressed by Van Crombrugghe in a late eighteenth and early nineteenth century context, the basic values expressed endure. One could, of course, argue that moral and social values are not the same absolutes at the end of the twentieth century as they might seem to have been in Van Crombrugghe's time. But this would be totally to miss the point of Van Crombrugghe's insistence on the role of the Roman Catholic religion in education, because one can argue that for Van Crombrugghe it is precisely the Roman Catholic Church that bears witness to eternal truths and unchanging basic moral and social values. This is the key to the importance of the religious domination of education in Van Crombrugghe's philosophy. It also underpins Van Crombrugghe's insistence that the best people to undertake the work of education were priests and religious - precisely because they had a canonical obligation to uphold those unchanging truths with "blind obedience, but wise in its blindness."

Of course a cynic could argue that religious were precisely the people that Van Crombrugghe could, by virtue of obedience, bludgeon into doing things the way he thought was right.

UNIQUE OR DISTINCTIVE?

The notions of "unique" and "distinctive" have already been mentioned. If we look over the features of Van Crombrugghe's educational vision listed above, and their fuller ramifications elucidated in the main text it is evident that they can, taken separately, be found in a number of other places. We have already seen how one or other, or a combination of some, are indicated by Quintilian, Jouvancy, the Ratio Studiorum, Fénélon, Rollin, Don Bosco, Locke, and Erasmus to name but a few. Any reader will be able to take one or more of these elements in isolation and note that they appear elsewhere. In that context, it cannot be claimed that Van Crombrugghe was a unique educator, nor that he formulated a radically unique system. This is not a criticism: it could equally be levelled at the whole gamut of founders of education orientated religious orders right back to Ignatius Loyola. The genius of Loyola and the Jesuits was in the codification of the best of existing practices; the same could be said of Van Crombrugghe. There is a difference: for the Jesuits the burden of codification and direction was not shouldered by one man; for the Josephites it was.

The distinctiveness of Van Crombrugghe, and the place that we have to look if we are to define a distinctiveness in Josephite education, comes from the way in which he weaved these elements into an elaborated system. Many present-day teaching orders share, with varying degrees of explicitness, the same Jesuit roots. Many of them share the same broad circumstances of foundation, and are rooted in the same European christian-humanist tradition. All of them, however, would claim to have something special, something not quite definable, which will mark the Josephite teacher, the Rosminian teacher, the Salesian teacher and the products of their various schools. This specialness will come principally from the specific genius of interpretation of the broad tradition by their founders, coupled with the way in which their followers have lived out the founding vision.

JOSEPHITE OR CONSTANTIAN?

In the Introduction to this thesis a distinction was proposed between "Josephite" and "Constantian", particularly in the light of the Second Vatican Council's insistence on a return to the spirit of Founders. At that point it was stated that "a Constantian school ..... (is) based on the historical person of Van Crombrugghe rather than on the lived experience of Josephites since Van Crombrugghe". In this context it has been seen that the Jesuits have attempted a focus on Ignatius rather than "the Jesuit tradition".

At this stage, however, one could question whether this is necessarily a good concept for the Josephites. Why?

Although Van Crombrugghe was heavily Jesuit influenced, albeit at second hand, the Jesuit educational tradition has been formalised by the Ratio and is not directly Ignatian. Furthermore, the Jesuits have the quite separate and Ignatius authored Spiritual Exercises on which to base a spirituality, and the Ratio on which to base a pedagogy. In that sense their spirituality can be called directly Ignatian but not their pedagogy. If you like, the foundations of "how to be a Jesuit religious" and of "how to be a Jesuit teacher" are quite separate.

We have to remember also that the Jesuits were not explicitly founded as a teaching order. With Van Crombrugghe the situation is rather different; he founded specific teaching orders and the two elements of teacher and religious are strongly intertwined and interdependent. Where spirituality and pedagogy in a teaching congregation are based on different sources it is possible for one - pedagogy - to change and be adapted to the exigencies of time and place whilst remaining entirely faithful to the founding spirituality. Taken to its logical conclusion this argument means that the move out of the traditional sphere of "total immersion" in the running of boarding colleges will entail more than an adaptation to new circumstances but almost a "re-invention" of the Congregation.

Nevertheless the concept of "Constantian" is worth retaining and will be used in this chapter as a) it focuses attention on that which can be specifically attributed to Van Crombrugghe and b) it indicates what can be experienced by non-Josephites in the concrete situation of St George's College.

FROM EDUCATION OF THE POOR TO EDUCATION OF THE BOURGEOISIE

"It was in the family at home", wrote Mgr Van Weddingen in 1866, "that the young Van Crombrugghe learned to love the three things to which he was to dedicated his life: God, the poor and the Motherland."

This opinion appeared in the Revue Catholique of 1865, the year of Van Crombrugghe's death. In view of how his career developed, one wonders if he did, in fact, dedicate his life to the poor. That he gave service to the poor cannot be doubted. The original school at Geraardsbergen, the workshop for the poor and the institution of the proviseur des pauvres at Alost, thei; all these show an undoubted concern for the poor. On the other hand, it has been seen that a duty to the poor was part of Van Crombrugghe's social background and the fact that he did give service to them does not necessarily indicate a fundamental life option. The facts of his life would actually suggest otherwise.

One wonders, for example, if the circumstances of the Collège d'Alost had not changed, and if Van Crombrugghe had been able to spend most of his life there, whether the Josephites would have remained the Brothers of Mary and Joseph and have remained involved solely in the primary education of the poor? Van Crombrugghe's need for the company of his own class would have been filled and, at the same time, the duty of helping the poor would have been satisfied.

The years between 1825 (end of Alost) and 1837 (beginning of Melle) were not idle years. He was among other things a member of the Gent Diocesan Council, advisor to the Bishop, a director of the influential Catholic newspaper the Catholique des Pays-Bas. After 1830 he was director for Catholic Education in Flanders (and as such was instrumental in returning the Jesuits to the Collège d'Alost).

We know that the taking over of Melle was not a sudden move. Discussions had been in hand between Van Crombrugghe and Van Wymelbeke for some years previously and the Chapters from 1835 onwards had been geared towards steadily improving the educational standards of the Josephites. At some moment, therefore, Van Crombrugghe must have made a conscious decision to move the Josephites away from lower class primary education to bourgeois secondary education. Why?

Part of the reason was undoubtedly financial. Along with problems of personnel, the reasons for the eventual demise of the failed foundations were partly financial. Being for the most part free schools, they, and the Josephites, lived on a financial knife-edge. A move into bourgeois, and therefore fee-paying, education would guarantee the financial stability of the congregation.

Part of the reason was to do with the fabric of Belgian society at the time. Van Crombrugghe would have seen the need for a new, educated, Catholic elite to be at the forefront of the nation's affairs after the hectic merry-go-round of occupation of the previous century. The obvious people to do this would have been the Jesuits, but they were still too much in disarray after their period of suppression to be able to undertake the task. Van Wymelbeke's decision to leave Melle and to entrust it to Van Crombrugghe must have seemed a felicitous intervention of fate.

Thirdly there was a human factor within the Josephites. Having split the sisters in 1830 into the "upper-class" Daughters of Mary and Joseph and the "lower-class" Sisters of Mary and Joseph, Van Crombrugghe feared that the Josephites, seeing themselves aligned for ever with the second league, might be destroyed by jealousy. Whilst the split in the sisters had been possible because of the element of bourgeois ladies already present, the same possibility was not present in the Josephites and the only remedy would be to lift the congregation in toto to a new level.

There is, however, a fourth and possibly most important factor, although this is proposed on the basis of educated speculation. Having had one successful opportunity to "re-create" Amiens at Alost, the chance to do so again at Melle must have seemed an extraordinarily attractive proposition to Van Crombrugghe. One should not consider this to be inspired simply by an indulgent nostalgia; rather it was an opportunity a) to move back into the milieu of his own social class and b) to realise his goal of creating the "honnête homme et parfait Chrétien", the "honnête homme" being a concept heavily laden with bourgeois overtones and a goal which was not going to be easily realised among the gutter children of Geraardsbergen. Not only would a move to Melle allow Van Crombrugghe to work among people of his own class, but it would also allow him to work for them: it has already been shown that at Van Wymelbeke's Melle there was the beginnings of a commercial side which Van Crombrugghe would expand develop until prevented from doing so by legislation on access to higher education.

THE VAN CROMBRUGGHE LEGACY

• Starting with his appointment to the Collège d'Alost in 1814 and the foundation of the Josephites in 1817, Van Crombrugghe elaborated a distinctive but not unique system of education based on tried and proven sources in the Christian-humanist tradition, taking his inspiration particularly from the Jesuits.
• This system is based around the nine traits noted above:

- competition, - authority based on esteem and tempered with mercy - religion, - politesse, - affection, - esteem, - gentleness, - appropriateness, - transformation.

• At the same time he founded two religious orders dedicated to education and, for the Josephites, forced a rapid evolution over only twenty years from an order of Brothers working in lower-class primary education into a clerical congregation active in bourgeois secondary education.

CONTEMPORARY IMPLICATIONS

What are the implications of these conclusions for the contemporary situation of the Josephites and the lay staff, specifically the situation at St George's College outlined in the introduction?

As has already been stated, the impetus for this thesis arose out of a perceived need of the Josephites for a basis for self-definition and definition of a Josephite "ethos". Having traditionally defined themselves - if there even was such a thing as a definition - in terms of the school, and furthermore a boarding school, the transfer of power in the early 1990's combined with a decline in community numbers and the closure of boarding meant that this definition base was swept away overnight. This definition base was rooted in two factors: the total integration of community and school, and the absence of a specific Josephite spirituality which did not revolve around a total saturation in the school. At the same time the school was to continue to operate within the undefined Josephite tradition.

This assertion led to a further question: was this Josephite tradition based on the Founder, or on the lived experience of his successors? From that question arose the current research in an attempt to discover what could be traced back to Van Crombrugghe and could be, in a sense, detached from Josephite mythology. The elements listed above are a distillation of that research.

How, then, does one apply these elements to the contemporary situation? How is St George's College, and its Josephite community, to maintain a Constantian tradition?

1. Constantian education is unashamedly Roman Catholic. This is more specific than being purely Christian. Van Crombrugghe is quite clear that education is inseparable from religion. It is part of the function of a Roman Catholic school to provide catechesis and evangelisation and this must necessarily be Roman Catholic in orientation. As the Prefect for the Congregation for Catholic Education said in 1983 when he addressed the Synod of Bishops in Rome:

"The basic problem of the Catholic school is that of being what it ought to be. Hence, not only a school of high quality, but a Catholic school in the full meaning of the term."

In claiming to be Catholic, the school must commit itself fully to pursuing the meanings and truths specific to the Catholic faith. Without this, the Catholic school has no reason for existing since the Catholic school is always internal to the Church and must proclaim and live the Catholic faith. In 1996 the bishops of England and Wales set out the key areas of the distinctive nature of Catholic education:

• the search for excellence as an integral part of the spiritual quest;
• the uniqueness of the individual, made in God's image;
• the education of the whole person, since human and divine are inseparable;
• the education of all, with particular care for the disadvantaged;
• moral principles, put into practice in the Christian community.

It is a tribute to Van Crombrugghe that this 1997 list could quite easily have been taken from his own writings.

From what has been written above it follows that St George's College must fully maintain its identity as a Roman Catholic school.

In a Constantian school academic excellence is valued, but not as an end in itself. Rather it is but one part of a striving towards overall human excellence, a lifting of self beyond self. This does not prevent a Constantian school striving for recognition as an academic school, but only in the context clearly stated above. In any hierarchy of aspirations, academic excellence does not come first, but is at the service of the development of the "perfect Christian and the honest man". As is laid down by the Catholic Education Service:

"The pursuit of excellence is intrinsically good when it is seen as an integral part of the spiritual quest and not simply as a matter of competitive league tables."

A Constantian school is distinguished by the excellence of its pastoral care and its moral standards. It is quite clear that for Van Crombrugghe the moral values of the school, both explicitly taught and implicitly demonstrated by example, and the pastoral ambience of the school were of prime importance. The young people passing through the school are at a vulnerable stage of their lives and it is demanded that teachers "sympathise with their weakness" through the concept of discipline tempered with mercy which Van Crombrugghe elaborates in the Easter 1815 speech.

The Constantian school is staffed by teachers who with the active encouragement of the Josephite community accept and promote the Constantian ethos. We have seen that for Van Crombrugghe the task of education is undertaken in an intrinsically religious framework and more specifically in a framework of religious life. For him the Josephite as religious and the Josephite as teacher could not be separated. Nevertheless from the early days, and particularly after the move into Melle, the Josephites have worked in collaboration with lay teachers. This collaboration has developed from that early period where there were only a very small number of lay teachers, brought in to teach the optional subjects such as music and drawing, to more recent years where all Josephite schools are staffed by an overwhelming majority of lay teachers and active Josephite participation has been reduced to a minimum. It is clear that from an early stage lay teachers were to be seen as a part of the unity of the Josephite school:

"Keep yourself in perfect harmony with those of your colleagues who share your responsibilities, so that the same spirit may reign in the manner of leading the pupils, and so that in everything there may be that unity without which nothing is solid."

Those resolutions made in Chapter concerning education were made known to the lay staff and by 1855 there existed a "Projet de Règlement des Professeurs Laïcs pour gouverne de nos Supérieurs" a document of only sixteen paragraphs, which makes it clear that the same qualities were expected from the lay teachers as were expected in the religious, particularly in the realms of christian witness:

"Every teacher attached to this establishment must above all fulfil his duties as a good christian, and to conform to everything that the best catholic families are entitled to demand from those who are appointed to educate their children."

and of submission to the general "method".

"They will conform precisely to the methods of teaching, the authors to use and the instructions of the Headmaster."

A rather longer document, undated, entitled the "Guidon des Professeurs Laïcs", appears in the same file in the Archives. It is a lengthy elaboration of the Projet and contains quotes from the Règlement des Professeurs and the Guide Pédagogique, underlining just how fully the lay teachers are to be involved in the maintenance of the Constantian ethos of the school.

In our own day, St George's College is committed to seeking to "promote our Josephite (Constantian) tradition" . It is committed to doing so with a staff which is 99% non-Josephite and more than 50% non-Catholic, and a pupil body which is also approximately 50% non-Catholic. This makes it even more essential a) that the tradition be defined, since it can no longer be transmitted by a process of "osmosis", b) that those responsible for the appointment and induction of staff be aware of and committed to the tradition, and c) that the Josephite community, whether still actively involved in teaching or not, be aware of their own responsibility in the matter. In a worst case scenario there could come a point where, however "good" a school St George's College might be, even as a Catholic school, it could grow so far away from being a Josephite / Constantian school that the community might feel obliged to withdraw its endorsement of the product. Thus, in a very real sense it is even more important for the community to be aware of the definable elements of the tradition now that they are promoting it rather than living it in the traditional way.

DEFINITIONS

So, then, how is all this to be distilled? As both a conclusion and as a basis for debate the following statement is proposed:

"St George's College cannot under its present constitution lay a valid claim to a Josephite ethos in the traditional sense, but could and should aspire to a Constantian ethos which is rooted in the distinctive, but not unique, characteristics synthesised into a coherent whole by Constant Van Crombrugghe, and which takes its impetus from the ongoing mission of the Roman Catholic Church and the historical witness of the Josephite Congregation."

The distinctive features of a school with a Constantian ethos are that it is:

• a truly Roman Catholic institution which promotes
• the development of the whole human being according to the individual abilities and needs of each pupil
• in an environment marked by "politesse" both human and material
• in which pupils are led by "douceur"
• and a genuine mutual affection and esteem between themselves and their teachers."
  

ENDNOTE

At the end of the opening chapter of this thesis it was suggested of Van Crombrugghe that although "he cannot be placed amongst the highest class of original thinkers on education, he has an indisputable claim to stand with those whose actual concrete services to educational administration have been very considerable indeed." It would be my contention that what has been discovered in this research has indeed validated this assertion. Outside the bounds of those who have come into contact with the Josephites his name is largely unknown. Nevertheless over the past 183 years countless young people in Belgium, England, California and Congo have benefited from the "minute particulars" of his inspiration. The numerical decline of the Josephites and the transfer of power from religious to lay hands does not mean the death of this inspiration, but rather a new contextualisation of Van Crombrugghe's vision whereby his educational philosophy, defined as Constantian rather than Josephite, continues as the defining principle of the new order.

 

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SPEECH OF CONSTANT VAN CROMBRUGGHE
AT PRIZEGIVING, ALOST, EASTER 1815.

Seeing the dazzling company which honours us by coming to encourage the efforts of our pupils by applauding their success, I feel inspired to give a simple exposé of the goals to which we tend, and the method which we have adopted in order to attain those goals in this school.

The point of perfection at which we have so happily arrived so rapidly proves the value of our methods and justifies the unusual degree of trust in which we are held by an enlightened populace. I beg you, ladies and gentlemen, not to expect from me an elegant and flowery discourse: I have no ambition to be known as an orator. I have nothing to offer but honesty and candour. I will attempt to gain your attention only by the importance of what I want to say.

The education of young people has at every stage in history been regarded by the greatest philosophers and the wisest legislators as the true source of happiness of families, even States and Empires. The high esteem which it enjoys nowadays among Belgians dispenses me from the necessity of establishing its advantages. It is well understood that in order to attain the perfection of which he is capable man must be cultivated. His most positive attributes will not gain any real value except through the care he takes top bring them to fruition and the good use which he learns to make of them. If I needed any proof of the unanimity of feeling which exists concerning this truth I would find it, ladies and gentlemen, in your own approval, in the part you are playing in this ceremony, in the reasons which bring you here: I would find them in the zeal of the first Magistrate of this city and of the members of his Council; It is he who brings them so often among us to encourage our young athletes.

It is, thus the role of education to form the good man and to prepare him to take his place in society; as a consequence it is its role to form the heart and the spirit of the young, to bring to perfection their reason and to embellish their imagination.

In a College, four things, it seems to me, must direct us towards this noble goal: A good choice of studies, wise rules, the power of competition and the stronger power of religion.

Ever since certain foolhardy and audacious men dared to call into question religion, morality and politics, at the same time as submitting public education to the reforming views of anti-philosophy, the literary world has been inundated with productions full of that lofty and unfeeling disdain for all which has previously existed to nourish that effervescence which called the imagination towards new ideas.

Man is doubtless capable of tending to perfection and, as a consequence, his institutions must necessarily be subject to modification. But a half-century of misfortune has taught us the real value of the philosophical reforms: thus we have made it a duty to avoid to route which has been followed these past several years, and to re-align ourselves with the beaux cycles of knowledge in order to discover there the lessons of the true masters of the education of youth. It is Rollin, that most happy genius whom nature and experience formed to direct education and to bring it to perfection. It is Fénélon, at the though of whom one's imagination smiles and the heart is opened to the tenderest feelings. Yes, it is the good Fénélon, it is Jouvency, and yet others who have guided our councils and whose precepts have formed our laws.

Thus it is that through these true legislators of education, through these friends of youth that we have learned at what level our studies should proceed; which rules and methods should lead us to attain our goal.

Languages are like to instruments of the fine arts, and, before studying an art one must learn how to use the instruments. After the two languages of our country we give preference to the learned languages. One can learn common languages at any age, but the study of the learned languages becomes almost impossible if one has not been initiated into them in one's infancy. Besides, the learned languages lead to the growth and embellishment of the common languages.

The study of history goes hand in hand with that of languages: through languages one accumulates a treasury of words in the mind of children: through history a treasury of facts. A specific course of history is adapted to each class. The study of geography is comparable to that of history in that it places in the minds of the children empires, towns, points of unity and of division in the world, and that of chronology neatly adds eras and epochs.

From chronology one moves on to mythology, that is to the eras and wonders of fable.

From the culture of the memory we move to the enrichment of the imagination. Here it is the turn of belles-lettres, of poetry and of eloquence, seeking in Rome and in Athens - their most natural and rich soil - for the most apt precepts and the finest examples. It follows on naturally from this how much the languages of these famous cities deserve our care and application. The texture of their fine models enlarge the imagination; their precepts fortify it; their imitation perfects it.

The imagination is man's most shining attribute; nevertheless it is subject to many distractions if it is not guided by reason: it changes objects and alters them on a whim. Reason is thus the most necessary quality in man, because the art of knowing things is more necessary that that of painting them. And the qualities of the heart are that which is most precious in man since they give him a vivid understanding of his duties and of everything which constitutes good morals.

It is therefore, in forming these last qualities that we insist in a special way in all of our classical education. Everything which follows in my speech will prove this.

2. Just as the most flourishing State could not survive if it were not governed by rules which establish the duties of its citizens - even if one is not encouraged to speak thus - the best College could not survive for long if everything within it were not subject to wise rules. Youth, being the nursery of the State, must have its duties towards that State impressed upon it. Submission is the first duty of the Citizen, so also must docility be the first virtue of the child. If one does not begin at an early age to bend the will of Youth, it will fight against all constraints, will shake of the yoke of all law and will perhaps break that which holds society together. It is important, therefore, right from early days to mould this will so that it will retain throughout life a healthy suppleness. Now is the precious moment for giving shape to this soft wax, and to make it master over nature.

The example of one's companions, being clothed in glorious distinction or mortifying humiliation, the help of rewards and even chastisement: these male the observation of our rules sweet and easy. Furthermore, we are constantly in mind of fact that the art of ignoring small misdemeanours is in certain situations the way to avert major problems. Too frequent punishments lead to discouragement. Sweetness attracts; fear repulses. Therefore it is only after having exhausted all the resources of the former that we have recourse to the latter. Public and private exhortations, friendly reproaches and the language of reason and Religion: these are our most powerful tools. This is the reason for the weekly proclamations which take place before the staff and pupils, for the careful reports sent home each month to the parents. Not for us that haughtiness which upsets instead of encouraging: those offensive tones which embitter instead of sweetening: those reproaches which poison instead of healing. In an attempt to destroy evil at its source we attempt, in order to punish a fault, to mortify passion. Our punishment, for example, for laziness, consist in imposing an individual task which does not damage the common work. As differences in social status make no difference to our affection for the pupils, so also does it make no difference in the application of our rules, in the distribution of rewards: we have none of those odious distinctions which engender arrogance and indocility in some, jealousy and resentment in others. In order to inspire trust in all we witness to a universal kindness: every teacher concerns himself with equal ardour with the progress of each one of his pupils.

However, if we are faced with any rebellious spirits whose will cannot be bowed to the Rule, then having exhausted every means suggested by moderation and persevering charity, our practice is, and will invariably be, to send home those whom we cannot conquer for fear that the example of a spoilt will should deprave the others. This point, in the judgement of Rollin, that enlightened judge, is important and decisive for the discipline of a College. In effect, it is always better that one be abandoned rather than the good of several be destroyed.

Laws, however wise they might be, would be a feeble barrier against disorder if one did not attract the minds and heart of the children to them. Law alone is a hard and imperious mistress whose yoke man will attempt to shake off as soon as he can do so with impunity. It is necessary, therefore, that education, that sweet and beguiling mistress, enemy of all constraint, make submission easier by making the duty sweet. In a word, we must go to the root of evil to control passion - that is to say, at childhood.

In order to succeed more safely in containing the passions, we attempt to give them a useful direction by leading them and thus we develop the spirit at the same time as the heart. Born hostile to work, children must find something agreeable in it. Besides, study (as Quintilian observes) depends on an unforced will: "Studium discendi voluntate, quae cogi non potest, constat". One must, as kind Fénélon says "seek every way of making those things which you demand from children agreeable to them. Make them understand that the pain in those things which are annoying will soon be followed by pleasure: show them the usefulness of what you are teaching them". So you must gain the children's' good will. We try to make to burn in their hearts the powerful fire of competition by putting the image of glory before the ghost of pleasure. That is why we have these various rewards, titles, and honourable decorations to distinguish the most studious of our pupils. They are childish rewards, in truth, but they are for the children just what sometimes even more vain distinctions are for adults, but with this difference: often it is by favour that adults receive them, but children receive them by merit alone. In our rewards we do not give preference to talent over wisdom, rather crowning success or just effort. This is why we divide our classes into two, each part competing against the other, watching and keeping the other to task. This is why we have debates and classical arguments where memory is pitted against memory, mind against mind in order to sharpen the point of one by the point of another. So in one great bound we deploy every means - sometimes leading to tears caused by noble competition: fertile tears, precious tears. From this also come these individual rewards, these solemn prizes which work towards the discovery of an interest in self-esteem, in duty and in virtue; which make them love each other and which sweeten the difficulties of effort by setting them in the perspective of success. From this come these public exercises where a desire to satisfy the expectations of the public gives or develops talent and gives a felicitous reward to the intellectual faculties. From this also comes our insistence on varying our exercises and works so as to avoid what, for Youth, is the mortal enemy of a taste for duty, monotonous uniformity. This explains the games and recreations which slice up the occupations of the day, the week and they year, for fear that a too heavy application of mental power might end up by damaging the body. We must avoid, says Rollin, the self-flattering pleasure of seeing children shine before their time, since these precocious fruits rarely come to maturity. It is true, says the gentle Fénélon, that one must hasten to write in their heads whilst letters can be easily formed there, but one must be careful in the choice of the images one wishes to engrave there, since one should not pour into so small and precious a reservoir anything but that which is exquisite and which one wishes to remain their for the rest of their lives.

To pure manners we attempt to add sweet and pleasant manners: the most precious stones have to be polished to be seen at their best, and the most secure merit becomes more agreeable and estimable through politeness. We therefore do not tolerate quarrels, invective nor that vulgarity which can degrade or wound the honest man. As civility acts as a support or ornament of virtue, so we apply ourselves to the task of adding modesty and decency to the bearing of our children; moderation and urbanity into their arguments; restraint and maturity into their actions; correctness into their language; clarity into their pronunciation; regularity into their gestures; aptness and dignity into all their movements.

4. Nevertheless, in vain would we try to tie will to duty; it would never hold well unless it was attached by conscience, and the most powerful knot of conscience - is it not religion? The Empire of religion is much more widespread than that of the law: laws can disguise men's actions, religion goes as far as controlling the mind. Actions can be hidden from human vigilance, but the most intimate passion cannot be hidden from Divine vigilance. So it is that laws, and all human effort, cannot submit a man to their yoke except under certain circumstances; religion makes man cherish that yoke on every occasion. So religion is the most powerful as well as the sweetest support of good order, it is the surest guarantee of the rights of people to happiness. This must religion be the soul as well as the completion of all those duties to which I have alluded. In effect, as Rollin whom I so much like to quote, asks, what is a Christian Master charged with the education of youth? He is, says Rollin, "a man between whose hands Jesus Christ has placed a certain number of children whom he ransomed with his blood and for whom he gave his life ..... whom he regards as members of himself and as his brothers and his inheritors who will reign and will serve God with him and through him for all eternity. And precisely why has he entrusted them to him? Is it to make of them poets, orators, philosophers, wise men? Who would dare say that or even think it? He gave them to him in order to conserve in them the precious and inestimable deposit of innocence which he imprinted in their souls through baptism and to make real Christians of them. That is what is the goal and end of the education of children: all the rest serves simply as means to that end." There, ladies and gentlemen, is what the great man says and in our College the principles of and a taste for religion are inculcated along with the principles of and a taste for learning. We make our pupils think, along with profane truths, of those of the Gospel. Religion presides at all our exercises: it animates the courage of some, the zeal of others; by the modesty of piety it tempers pride in knowledge; it consecrates the language of the Muses through that of the Saints; it applauds even their least efforts, and by the divine eyes of faith it ennobles and perfects everything and gives to everything a merit of which God alone is the motive and of which He alone can be the reward.

The first duty of education is to aim the tender mind of the young towards the veneration of the Creator, to engrave in its yet innocent heart the sweet necessity of pleasing Him, and the powerful reasons that one has for loving Him. As a result, one stimulates them from time to time, by simple and pious exhortations and by the frequentation of the Sacraments towards the practice of piety, that is to say towards everything which could make the virtues of Christianity take root in their souls. In carefully planned instruction, pitched at the level of their intelligence, they are instructed in the principal duties of the Religion which we insinuate into their hearts by printing them in their minds. At the same time we are careful not to tire the children with an excess of information or scrupulosity. Wisdom only shows itself to children at intervals and with a smiling face. All is lost, says Fénélon; "you work in vain if the child gets a sad and dull impression of virtue, and if freedom and indiscipline are shown with a kind face."

It would leave much to be desired if education were a matter of simple precepts. In fact the growing passions of the children seek only to communicate themselves from one to the other, to mutually validate themselves, and the College would become the graveyard of their innocence if a gentle but continual surveillance were not to curb their unfortunate tendencies. Please God there are no parents here who have already learned from experience the sad truth of what I am proposing. Just like that bloom which appears on the surface of fruit at dawn, the slightest stain tarnishes the virtue of childhood. This explains our care to remove from the sight of the children all those objects which might excite the passions and from which there exudes an infectious and pestilential breath capable of infecting those who breath it in without fear or precaution. This explains our care that in our College everything teaches and inspires virtue - inscriptions, pictures, statues, even games, and that everything which strikes the eyes and ears of the pupils gives out a healthy breath which unconsciously penetrates the soul of the children and which, helped by what the teachers say and yet more by their example, inspires in them from the earliest age a taste for goodness and honesty. This also explains our library, most carefully chosen for our pupils so that in offering them the cup of knowledge they do not sully their lips with the cup of impiety and licentiousness. These days there are, alas, only too many of those wretched works which, like so many poisonous flowers, exhale an lethal odour which is as dangerous as it is attractive to the passions. This explains above all our continued efforts not to adopt, except in cases of extreme necessity, that imperious and austere manner which makes the children tremble, hardens their hearts and denies that conscience without which their is no fruit to be expected from education. We prefer to try and make ourselves loved by them so that they can be free with us and not be afraid to let us see their failings. To ensure success in this matter we look particularly kindly on those children who hide nothing from us: we never appear surprised by their bad tendencies - on the contrary we sympathise with their weaknesses. Nevertheless there is no lack of the use of authority when trust and persuasion have been shown to be ineffective, but it is only after having exhausted every avenue offered by open, friendly and familial methods which allow us to see the children at their most natural and allow us to know and understand them that we would have recourse to authority. We are convinced that we would not achieve our goal by forcing the children by authority alone to observe our rules. Everything would be changed into an unhealthy formality, perhaps even into hypocrisy. We would give them a disgust for that good for which we only seek to inspire in them a love.

Through this continued support of religion, and this careful supervision, the children will develop the habit of work, joy in virtue, a taste for reflection, amenability to advice, an understanding of honour: in a word, all that will support and encourage them in the acquisition of those qualities proper to great men.

You will have seen, ladies and gentlemen, that we continually seek to use the full scope of our authority: the powerful resource of wise rules, the more powerful resource of competition, and the yet more powerful resource of religion.

If I may point out another peculiar advantage of this establishment, it is that through the zeal of the town authorities this College has been put back into the hands of ministers of religion. Up until our recent unfortunate times, in which a tyrannical government subjugated education to its unjust and impious ends, it was ministers of this same religion who ran the College so wisely. If anyone still doubts the wisdom of this development and the reality of our present advantage, I would ask them to whom they would believe it best to confide the burden of education except to those on whom decency has imposed an unshakeable yoke? to those who are never distracted from a continual and indispensable application to study by the cares of the world? to those whose sacred functions demand irreproachable habits? to those whose state calls them to meditate unceasingly on the spirit of religion, its holy doctrine, and on that tenderness which it demands of them by applying to them the words of God to Moses: "carry these children in your hearts and care for them in charity as a tender nurse"? To whom could you best entrust the development of those good habits which are at the root of public order? Does wisdom not demand that they be established by those whose consecration binds them to holiness and who have divine authority for their function?

Perhaps there will be those who will find fault with the simple tone I am using, even to the extent of suspecting my intentions. As a reply I would only ask them to reserve judgement and to appreciate the instruments I am happy enough to have at my disposal. I will make a vow here with the honesty of a heart incapable of dissimulation: I would willingly sacrifice on the altar of truth and justice all the honour which has been heaped on me for the success which has been enjoyed in the development of this College. Look upon the teachers to whom you confide the precious deposit of the knowledge and behaviour of your children..... And you, my worthy collaborators, allow me, by way of recognition of your service, through love of justice and truth, to mention something of which your modesty will make you disapprove: allow me to make the parents of your pupils aware of the feelings which inspire you, and of the generous efforts you have made for their children which give you the inalienable right to their gratitude.

To whom, in fact, ladies and gentlemen, have you entrusted your children? To teachers who, in the education of the young, seek only the glory of God and the honour of religion: to disinterested teachers who distribute their gifts without ever selling them: who have sacrificed for your children their rest and their own interests - I would go as far as to say they have sacrificed a part of their reputation by stooping to accept a ministry which is seen as humble in the eyes of the common. To teachers who unite taste with knowledge, zeal with talent, discernment with piety, good manners with habits: who make every effort to join equanimity with sweetness of character: young enough to come down to the level of their disciples, as Fénélon would have wished, going as far as to share in their games in order to attract all their trust, but reserved enough to command respect, and to lead them in the paths of knowledge and of virtue. Exact without being severe, they do not demand everything from everyone - in order to get something out of each one. They applaud effort where it is not possible to applaud victory. Knowing the importance of their commitments and the difficulty of fulfilling them without knowing the characters and the quality of sprit of their pupils, they study each one in order to see what can be demanded of him: they study the needs of each one to see which of those needs it would be right to satisfy: they study the character of each one to know to what degree that character should be developed or constrained.

In a nutshell, they seek to bring to perfection what is good in their pupils, to add what is lacking and to reform that of which they disapprove.

I offer you, gentlemen of the staff, the praise which you deserve and my sincere gratitude for the trouble and care you have given to the children.

Such is, ladies and gentlemen, our goal, such are the means we have used to achieve them, such are the sacrifices to which we are condemned in order to live up to your expectations, to redeem the debt we have contracted with the Motherland, and to lead our College not to that point of perfection which leaves nothing to be desired, and which human weakness will never achieve, but to that point which is the happy result of continuous effort. Yes, oh Belgium my Motherland, such are the offerings which we hasten to offer on your altars. The Foreigner for some time wished to paralyse our efforts towards your joy by closing off to us almost every way of serving you: but each day saw us raising our arms to heaven to call down God's attention on your happiness. Our churches were witness to the supplications which we addressed unceasingly. Now that a brighter light has started to shine for you: may you, under the sweet influence of a Prince who joins domestic virtue with that of a Sovereign, enjoy peace within and respect without. You, oh God, protector of our Kingdom, send down on the throne of the Master whom you have given us the spirit of charity and of humanity; make to shine on the thrones of our Pontiffs the spirit of zeal and knowledge; give the judges a spirit of moderation and justice; make to shine with ever greater brilliance the torch of the faith of our Fathers. May the angel of peace protect us, and keep from our provinces the demon of war; make to flow on our happy countryside a river of abundance! Inspire in its inhabitants feelings worthy of your munificence, impart your blessings to our children, and conserve in us that gentle affection which lightens all their burdens, and strengthen in them that happy disposition which they have received from your bounty.

And you, my dear children, receive today the public expression of my satisfaction. Continue, redouble your efforts, and you will make yourselves worthy of your parents' love, your country's affection and your teachers' kindness.

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Enlightened by sad experience, we are beginning to recognise today the defective nature of modern education. Parents complain that, in spite of their best efforts to bring up their children well the end result so little corresponds to their expectations that they feel guilty that they have achieved nothing. A light coating of knowledge is considered quite enough, as is a superficial knowledge of the language of the savants; a worldly spirit - that, in fact is the usual result of so much care and sacrifice. In vain does one seek in today's youth docility, modesty, submission, deference for those who have the most right to demand it: a mixture of stubbornness and vanity, vicious traits, an opinionated character, a great aversion to work, a fickle heart - this is how we see most young people today at the end of their education.

Where does such a pernicious disorder, which affects both parents and society, come from? The cause is obvious to anyone with a judicious and penetrating eye: it is because one is concerned only with cultivating the mind and memory of young people and no care is taken over their moral: it is because teachers, concerned only with knowledge and belles-lettres care little for inculcating in them the principles of religion: it is because piety, the foundation and first fruit of education - because without it the finest qualities often serve only to make man more licentious and impious - has been too much neglected, mistrusted and forgotten in education.

So, to achieve the perfection of which he is capable, man needs to be cultivated: the finest traits do not achieve their full worth in he who possesses them except by the care he takes to make them worthwhile and by the good use to which he puts them. Thus of all the means of bringing man to this perfection the most certain and the most sweet is to lead him there through religion. To achieve a real and useful value from his fine traits, and to ensure a good use for them for society, the most successful way is to lead his heart to virtue by the influence of piety. In this I am assured of the support of the best writers on education; I will, however, invoke only the evidence of reason and experience. If I were to need anything else I would find it strongly expressed by the zeal of those Belgians who so carefully seek to find for their children those houses of education where religion enjoys its full rights. We are aware of the horror which they have shown for those institutions, so opposed to their values and to their religion, which foreigners have tried to impose on us these past twenty-five years. We have seen parents place their children far from home, even themselves suffering banishment and the plundering of their possessions, rather than sending them to Bonaparte's schools.

I will consider education under its two essential elements, that is concerning the heart and the mind, and we will see that religious education is the only form of education capable of giving full scope to man's intellectual faculties, of directing and bringing to perfection the good qualities of the heart and, consequently, that only religious education can attain that goal which man seeks in education and which society has the right to expect from it.

The comparison which I will try to establish between Christian education and that where religion is ignored will put each one in a position to judge, by a comparison of methods and results, which one of the two will carry the day.

Among the numerous elements which are essential to the success of the education of the mind one must put in pride of place the application of the pupil, the spirit of order which is inspired in him, and the care taken by the teacher. Certainly, one of the principal and indispensable requirements for study, and without which all the others are almost worthless, is the spirit of recollection, that calm which restricts the light and capricious imagination of youth. Without this application, in vain will your pupils possess the best traits of character, in vain will God have bestowed on him all the gifts of the mind: they will remain sterile in the wilderness, since even the most fertile field produces nothing without careful culture. The passions, as a Belgian writer has so rightly written, trouble the soul, distract the mind with numerous desires and obstructions: they take it up with a love of the illusions which it pursues and places even the greatest obstructions to the progress of talent and human knowledge. Piety lifts these obstacles; through its divine ways it lifts man onto solid ground by settling the troubles of his soul, and by its active practices it calms the frivolity of childhood, it nourishes the mind by the contemplation of higher things and raises it up by those motives which are appropriate for interesting it and inspiring in it nobility and strength.

There are, I am convinced, some pupils who are naturally favoured by nature and for whom work is a necessity, and whose most treasured moments are those spent in study; but their number is very few! Most have need of a an incentive, of something to attach them to work. And who could not see that piety is that attachment par excellence, that spur which engenders in young people the inestimable benefit of a taste for order and application? If you need convincing, go into one of those houses of education where piety in no way makes its sweet and salutary influence felt. What confusion meets the eye! What dissipation, what inconceivable frivolity among the pupils! Constraint is a martyrdom for them and their minds, the plaything of a thousand trifles, reject any serious application. If there are any who seem more occupied, they will often be those of a reserved nature, buried in their subjects, whom nothing touches, nothing rouses from their profound lethargy and who, deprived of the powerful help needed to receive any happy stimulation, never conquer the difficulties of study.

This explains, in these apathetic souls, those frivolous tastes which allow them to occupy themselves in the most serious manner with trifles. Place these same pupils in a house where religion presides at every exercise; where they are repeatedly told that darkness of spirit is pernicious and malign, that ignorance nourishes sloth, that fruitful mother of all vices. One whose unconcern leaves others cold, another whose liveliness seems to vex even the most enduring patience; these have not turned their minds to religion, and known true piety, thereby forgetting their natural tendencies and being surprised to find themselves totally changed from what they were before. Come into these places consecrated to study, in these sanctuaries of belles-lettres; what order, what silence, what application reign! This is the fruit of the piety which we have inspired in the pupils, since it is the wonderful power of piety which allows children to discover a taste for application. The most pious children are usually the most learned, because they regard study as one of their most essential duties, and they know that God will make it an endless merit for them. From this fundamental advantage which education gets from piety, let me go onto some detail.

Study of the learned languages has for some centuries given our country a distinguished place in ancient literature, but this has declined noticeably since a sophistic philosophy, wishing to bring back the era of barbarism, came to destroy our schools, those great monuments to the knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors, but whose shining light pained the wild glances of impiety. It is, therefore, to this modern taste, as opposed to healthy literature as to piety, that we can attribute this decadence. This taste is based on two things which seemed incompatible with solid reason and pure, Belgian morality up until the present time. Now, in our time, false lights have found the secret of uniting frivolity, to which one dedicates oneself too much these days to combat the boredom of language study, to blind irreligion which, like certain malicious animals, lives only in the shadows, and finds its tomb on the enlightened eras of the annals of the world.

Religion overthrows and destroys these two obstacles: it inspires in its children a zeal for duty which supports them in their search for principles and a brave perseverance in the arid study of the mechanism of languages. Friend of the light which is its dearest element, Religion can never be dazzled by its shining. One knows what the study of ancient languages owes to Religion's pious and learned researches, since, in order to be certain of the long-standing of its sacred dogmas, it has traced it back, East and West, to its most early centuries. As proof of what I am saying I need do no more than to point out the immense labours that their zeal for the Religion of our forefathers inspired in the learned men of whom the nations are so proud.

The influence of piety in correcting, through education, weaknesses of the mind and in bringing to perfection the strivings of the heart, reaches out to all areas of literature. The heart, enlivened by the tender sentiments which Religion inspires, will benefit from the activity of the mind and the impetus of genius. Piety favours poetic genius which demands the maximum of verve and enthusiasm. Has profane antiquity anything in this genre to compare with the majesty and sublimity of the Psalms and Canticles of Religion? There is no area of the poetic art which piety, in harmony with reason, morals and natural disposition, cannot bring to perfection. This is provided that one can inspire the imagination without having recourse to those means which reason or Religion condemn; since the first rule is to safeguard morals, poetry will remove from its works any passion which is contrary to the holy severity of Christianity. Always the moral will be pure, the depiction modest, and the conclusion, without ceasing to be agreeable, will be useful and instructive.

Eloquence finds that the maxims of piety are perfectly in agreement with the precepts of the greatest masters of the art of Oratory. The essential virtues of the Orator - probity, strength, love of the common good, disinterest - receive from Religion a greater strength and reality. The goal of eloquence being to persuade, its rules can be better understood by those whose hearts are pure and who combine with their natural disposition the fine sentiments of Christian piety.

Let us be in no doubt that libertinage and impiety will complain of the constraint which piety puts on the imagination of the poet and of the historian, by the scrupulous exactitude which it imposes on the one, and by its insistence on banning, from the work of the other, everything which could give the slightest offence to purity of morals. Piety, fair from being embarrassed congratulates itself on deserving such a complaint, and fights for truth and the assurance of the rights of virtue and the ease of society.

So then, knowledge, having as a goal the discovery of the truth, is not a stranger to solid piety. Wisely jealous of time, freed from slavery to passion, pious knowledge gives to man in the midst of all his labours the freedom to embellish and enrich his mind.

But it is especially in the teacher himself that piety shows its powerful effect on education. A natural ability would not survive for long faced with the setbacks which one discovers at every pace in this difficult occupation. Religion must animate the teacher's mind, and inspire in him that devotion which can overcome all those obstacles which are that much more difficult, call for more sacrifice and offer less reward, without it. But how powerful is the language which Religion addresses to those whom it calls to this important function! "Be the guardian angels of the children who are entrusted to you" it says to them, "protect them against that iniquity which fills the world. Raise them for the Motherland, raise them for their parents, make them good sons, sincere friends, men of integrity; and to arrive at this take no heed of your own benefit, your rest or your health. Do not count on any recognition. Alas, men seldom appreciate true service and, even if they wanted to, could they do so worthily? A more noble prize is reserved for your labours and you will receive it from He who can appreciate everything. Besides, how greatly is the teacher rewarded by the sight of attentive young men, avid for instruction, whose hearts are set on fire through reading some powerful passage! So, then, the teacher rises above himself, all his words engraving themselves in tongues of fire on the hearts of his pupils, leaving behind impressions which the years will never remove.

Do I need to say any more to illustrate the excellence of Religious education? Nevertheless its beneficial influence does not rest there; its triumph would be imperfect if we did not consider it in relation to society - that is where its triumph par excellence lies.

Moral education develops a love for and a habit of virtue, of good ways; it develops the generous affections of the soul and forms the character. So, then, religion, by its moral precepts and by the example of its founder conquers the strongest of natural tendencies, calms the hardiest spirit, makes the least compliant will flexible and manageable; even bitterness is sweetened by its enchanting guile. How many pupils would have remained forever unsociable through their strange and capricious natures if they had not learned from piety self-control and the ability to live with their equals? This, in effect, is the spectrum of possibilities offered by Christian Education to reform, or rather to remould, nature. Could one even dare to compare this with Education where religion is not present? No, far from rebuilding the character, everything seems to conspire to destroy it. Let me put before you the experience of those parents whose sons, through the misfortunes of the times and when a despotic government decided everything, were condemned to an education cut off from the Belgian spirit. Not to mention the false ideas of grandeur that these children developed there, they contracted defects which most directly attack society: vanity and egoism, that poisoned fruit of the new doctrines, hardened them to all that nature shows us to be most sacred. Look, in fact, at certain young people today: at the age of ten they are full of their own small merit, already demanding applause; at fifteen they are arrogant, insufferable; at twenty they are perfect models of fatuousness, effrontery and impudence. Paternal authority, maternal tenderness - so powerful for us - for these thoughtless and guilty ones you are only vain names! Look at their haughty bearing, their studied gestures, their childish seeking after a frivolous elegance. In society, take note of their decisive tone, their gravitas, their serious pursuit of trifles and above all their efforts to demonstrate at every turn all the frippery of a cultured spirit. Even if they advance the most absurd propositions, be careful not to contradict them; the slightest doubt irritates them; they treat experience, reason and knowledge as prejudices of a former era. How good it would be if, even in their ridiculous propositions, they still respected anything concerning Religion! How different is the young man brought up with the principles of piety and wisdom. He is easy in his manners, frank in his discussions, polite and decent in his bearing. Without affectation, he shows no wish to be noticed; he is sensitive to what is done for him and the delicacy of his feelings brings him to show his gratitude. Through virtue he has a taste for that which others do only with difficulty and through vain ostentation. It is principally on the heart that pious Education has its most visible influence; it guides the sensitivity of the heart and cultivates in it the virtues of generosity and of charity.

Yes, it is from this source that is derived true sensitivity, that generous and compassionate virtue, that exquisite sentiment which binds man to man and opens his heart to all the needs of his equals. Fruit and companion of goodness of heart, source of the most pure joy, principle of all charitable qualities, this great virtue has not been banished from our Belgium! Victims of Waterloo, brave men who shed your noble blood for Europe, tell us if ever gratitude were to allow you to forget the charity and kindness of this generous nature? You will maintain these virtues, my dear Compatriots, as long as you have a horror of impious Education whose cold egoism concentrates man's affections on himself. It is for piety to teach us that all men are part of the same family and our consideration should extend itself to all its members.

Fathers and Mothers who have allowed yourselves to be dazzled by the faux brillant of new methods, you complain quite rightly that in your families you no longer see developing those sentiments whose loss you quite rightly regret. You complain of the coldness and insensitivity of your children, of the self-interested way in which they receive your most tender care. Do you really want to receive sincere and meaningful expressions of their filial love, so precious to you? Return to the wise and time honoured custom of your fathers, and entrust them to the care of those who put all of their own happiness into making them into true Christians. Then they will repay you with interest the gratitude they owe you; then you will be able to trust their words; their protestations of gratitude will be sincere because they will be dictated by the heart and by the heart alone. It is Religion which gives them the duty of honouring and loving the authors of their days, as well as of caring for them in their old age, and of never giving the slightest occasion of sadness or of pain.

So then, in these special cases where piety holds sovereign sway, virtue, unceasingly recommended, encouraged, and sustained by all sorts of means, plants deep roots in the hearts of the pupils. All that they see and hear leaves on their souls healthy impressions and fortifies their morals against the attacks of the times. Alas, our own times share in this shame, and I will be understood here by those honest souls who deplore the abuses which I also deplore. One has only too well made of education a way of corrupting the heart and mind of youth, of freezing it into an unhealthy indifference to everything concerning Religion. In the same way schools of letters and of morals has been made into schools of error, of rebellion and of impiety. Thus a school can become the coffin of their innocence if careful supervision does not prevent their unfortunate tendencies. How legitimate, therefore, is the care that Christian educators take to remove from the eyes of the pupils all those objects which might excite the passions, and to make them breathe the pure air of virtue, of innocence and of sound instruction! From this comes their care that everything in the colleges teaches and inspires virtue: inscriptions, pictures, statues, even games, and that everything which attracts they eyes and ears may be a healthy breeze which penetrates, un-noticed, to the heart of the children and which, enriched by the discourses and yet more by the example of their masters, plants in their hearts from an early age social and Christian virtues. Furthermore, there are provided in these establishments a choice of books for the pleasure and use of the pupils, for fear that knowledge will lead them astray without enlightening them. Who could count the number of victims who are daily sacrificed to the demon of immorality by deadly writings! Principles harmful to all social order would not have taken root in the last fifty years to cause all the evils which have flooded the earth if one had reserved to Religion the inalienable rights that she enjoys over Education, and we would still enjoy today those joys, which centuries of piety ensured to our ancestors and to many of our contemporaries.

Finally, let me add that pious Education is the most capable of forming the mind of society. It is un-necessary for me to prove that it forestalls the evils which are its true scourges. The pious man knows how to avoid excesses of both misanthropy and of dissipation. As a charitable person, he does not feel himself to be authorised to cut himself off from other men by reason of their imperfections. A humble person, he does not have a misguided idea of his own merit which would make him see himself as superior to his equals, and he supports them out of the need he has to be supported by them. He knows how to raise and lower himself according to the nature of those who surround him, and to temper the rays of a light which might dazzle others. His heart being neither vicious nor depraved, his relationships will be full of that innocent charm and friendliness of wit which are the embellishment of society. No-one will be able to resist the enchantment of his gentleness, the justice of his reasoning, the elegant simplicity of his expression and above all his easy modesty which increases his merit.

How then, except in bad faith, could one refuse to Christian Education the crown which reason, experience and happiness in life conspire to award it? Let us say without fear of contradiction that only Religious Education is capable of leading man to the perfection of which he is capable and of assuring the happiness of the individual and of society.

Happy then is youth nourished at the source of so many benefits! Armed with the sentiments which Religion inpires, it sets forth on its career with the righteous hope of following it with glory. Once the heavenly flame of competition is lit in its heart, work, that heavy burden for the young, becomes sweet and light. A gesture of disapproval humbles a pupil stimulated by piety; a word brings his attention back to his work, a smile animates him, a mark of satisfaction charms him. Happy also is the college where these virtues hold sway. Pure joy animates every heart and spreads over the faces of all an air of happiness.

Belgians, be aware of our care and efforts for the education of your children. May your wishes in the matter enlighten our August Sovereign. He wishes your happiness, but sometimes the manner of achieving it is hidden from him. Wretched would we be if we were reduced, in this matter as in so many others, to repeating that plaintive but tardy cry "If only the King had known!!! If the King only knew!!!" Make no mistake, Religion and happiness of your children depend on your zeal in repulsing everything reminiscent in our Motherland of those schools where impiety and libertinage were taught along with knowledge. Remind yourself often of these words of Quintilian: If indeed it is resolved that schools are of benefit to study but that they are harmful to morals, a consideration for living virtuously would seem to me to be preferable to a consideration for speaking excellently.

Wonderful Youth! hope of your Motherland, pray to the God of your fathers that he may guard you from the worst of evils: that of Education where Religion and virtue are not at the very heart.

And you, oh good Prince, so worthy of hearing the truth. Permit a Belgian to express the wish of his countrymen: no plan for Education will succeed among us if our Religion is not assured its full rights in it. Our children will absolutely not take in the elements of all evil along with knowledge. Our just hatred for those establishments of this type which the French Government tried to establish in our country, and which were hardly attended except by foreigners, should show your Majesty the strength of opinion of the people that he is so desirous of making happy. If my zeal for the happiness of youth, if the sacrifices I have made for this most worthy part of your Majesty's subjects have given me some right to public recognition, I will be greatly rewarded by the happiness of bringing to the attention of my King something of such great importance and of having thereby contributed to the happiness of the Motherland. If I have any experience in this matter, I can say with the strongest conviction that the way to make Education all it should be is to make the Education of youth essentially Religious. If my feeble voice succeeds in reaching the Throne, I will congratulate myself for having succeeded in strengthening the ties between the people and their Sovereign, and of having re-awakened that hope which has been almost extinguished by the discouragement which has become so widespread in all areas of the State.

Not only does the prosperity of all kingdoms and peoples but also especially does the safety of the Christian State depend on the correct education of the young; education indeed directs minds, when still unformed, to refinement; moreover it makes minds which are barren and unfruitful useful and suitable for the duties of the State: worship of God promotes loyalty to one's parents and country, and promotes respect and obedience towards the officers of the State.

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Gentlemen, just as we desire the freedom of worship and of the press, we also desire the freedom of education: today one cannot exist without the other. It is the deprivation of that freedom, Gentlemen, which has given rise to such a clamour amongst all levels of society, whatever their opinions might have been about other difficulties of the times. It is to regain those freedoms that those of our honourable colleagues who sat on the States General so often gave voice; their energetic perseverance and the strength of their arguments eventually frightened despotism, and, since before our total deliverance, they forced it, trembling, to retreat

Certain speakers, whose doctrine is certainly not very liberal, wished for restrictions on religious liberty, for fear perhaps that the Jesuits would take control of public education; tomorrow they will fear that the Jesuits, the priests or the Catholics (words which are synonymous for some) will take control of public opinion through the press; they seek to prove the necessity of muzzling this instrument of publicity and demand its censure. That, Gentlemen, is where one can get to by taking a misguided position or relying on fears and prejudices. It was to prevent evil; it was, to use the language of a previous time, to avoid the influence of the Jesuits, that in 1825 so many fine educational establishments were destroyed, thereby forcing parents in our Catholic provinces to seek schools for their children abroad.

It was, under no less frivolous pretexts, that under the name of the "Philosophical College" that the former general seminary at Louvain was re-established and all other seminaries were pitilessly suppressed all over our former Kingdom of the Netherlands. Let us profit from the lessons of the past and be on our guard against such powerful expressions of prudence, order, or public good.

By reclaiming the freedom of education, by demanding for families the quality which is guaranteed by competition, the free right of the father to choose into whose hands he wishes to confide his son's future, what are we asking except to allow parents to exercise a natural prerogative, an inalienable right which has seldom been argued except by a Julian the Apostate, a Robespierre, a Van Maanen.

We are in fear of abuse, and it is against this abuse that we wish to pre-arm ourselves, but is there any divine gift which man does not abuse? He will, therefore, also abuse the freedom of education just as he will abuse that of the press. Is that abuse a sufficient justification for shackling the press and surrounding education with a network of preventative measures? That is what the former government wished to do, because it had sworn to enslave the Belgians: but a Belgian is incapable of such enslavement; he will smash the shameful chains forged for him. In the Provincial Estates, M. de Baillet let the calm and male voice of reason be heard; in the Second Chamber Messrs de Sécus, de Gerlache, Le Hon. de Stassart and many other enlightened friends of their country made clear the pressing need that the nation has of free education. You have the joy of having in your midst these worthy men whose eloquent words you will remember all the more clearly. All they have been calling for has been the freedom of education, and the entire nation repeats today the same demand.

How is it that in spite of this unity of mind and heart the word supervision, this hypocritically restricting measure, has insinuated itself into the this article of our central section? How can it be reconciled with the notion of freedom? We want no restrictive measure; well, Gentlemen, what else is supervision? It is difficult: it seems to me to produce a most palpable contradiction.

Whatever else, I am convinced that the supervision which is being proposed will have no other effect than to frighten, to torture consciences, to prevent the establishment of good schools and to prolong the ignorance of a people that loves instruction but who would go without it rather than to see it imposed on them by the administration and at the whim of the civil power.

The honourable previous speaker has proved to us, strongly and at length, the need for education: we all agree on that point. He has spread out before us the advantages of knowledge and the evils of ignorance. All of us, without exception, share these very sentiments. But no-one, I believe, can have concluded from that the need for the government to monopolise public instruction; that conclusion, I am certain, would not have come to the mind of any Belgian. On this point our logic differs somewhat from that of M. Dams. Over and above his extraordinary conclusion, I have to make the Assembly aware that some inaccuracies, which struck me forcibly, have entered into the honourable gentleman's speech. It is not true that the number of pupils in educational establishments has diminished since our political rebirth. It seems to me that this would be easy to prove for intermediate education; we know of the fate of our Colleges between 1825 and 1830. I will restrict myself to replying to him that primary education was in a pitiable state, that most of the schools in Flanders have been empty since a hateful monopoly imposed on them its weak protection. The truth of what I say is recognised by everybody, and I think I would be wasting the time of Congress if I were to present proofs. I will, however, ask if I might present one sole example.

Under the supervision of an inspector the school of a large community near Gent (Sommergem) had, only a few months ago, less than ten pupils. As soon as supervision was abolished, more than seven hundred children were crowding into the community's schools. Would supervision be exercised over opinions and doctrines? In that case, what of article 10 which guarantees their freedom? Would it be exercised over methods? What progress would knowledge make if it were to be restrained by ministerial rules, a veritable Procustian bed? Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Volta and many others who have expanded the sphere of human knowledge, would they have formed their pupils if they had not been free to move out of a circle drawn for them by the timid hand of an inspector? Will supervision be exercised over morals? We all know very well that this would be impossible to achieve, and it would be pointless to set out reasons and supporting facts. But, Gentlemen, supervision does exist: clear-seeing, assiduous, concerned and strong; it is the supervision exercised by fathers of families which alone can ward off the problems which we fear. If a teacher is badly informed, if he retains discredited and vicious methods, the number of his pupils will soon be reduced; if he has no moral standpoint, his deserted school will serve as a warning for those parents who might have thought of confiding the education of their children to him. A knowledgeable and virtuous master, whom the freedom of education would allow to establish himself in the same spot, would soon see himself respected and trusted, and the number of his pupils would be the reward of his zeal and his knowledge. Competition will set rid of all these problems; supervision by the government cannot, and it is almost always hateful to people who are even forced to pay for it through the sweat of their own brow.

The honourable proposer of your central section has spoken of passive supervision: if, as I believe to be the case, he means that the government will keep an eye on the conduct of the teachers and will severely punish any offences of which they might be guilty, it is clear, Gentlemen, that the honourable member is of our opinion, and that he will vote with us for the suppression of he word which has so rightly led to such grave fears.

That the courts should punish those misdemeanours which occur within education, we agree. But nothing more; no preventative measures; we will reject them with all our strength.

Concerning Politesse In General

Extracts From The Manuel De La Jeunsse Chrietienne

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REGLEMENT DES PROFESSEURS (Teachers' Guide)

1. THE OBLIGATIONS OF A TEACHER TOWARDS HIMSELF

1.1 - Piety*

What would it profit a man to gain the whole world if he were to lose his own soul? What would it profit you to lead others towards heaven if you yourself were not to arrive there? Well-ordered charity begins with oneself. The first duty of teachers as men and as religious is to live for God and to tend ceaselessly to perfection. Your Rule is quite specific on this point. Follow zealously the path that it traces out for you; submit yourself with docility to all the practices which it prescribes; do not, through your negligence, omit a single one, and the blessing of God will follow you in all your undertakings. Take care not to invert the order of things; knowledge is a means, so do not seize on it as an end. St. Bernard tells us that it is a dangerous curiosity to study simply in order to have knowledge, a vanity to study in order to make an impression, and ignoble to study in order to acquire perishable goods. You must study either to edify yourself or to edify others. You must therefore always have a correct intention in your studies. Above all your other occupations put your exercises in piety: prayer, the Mass, examination of conscience, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, spiritual reading, rosary, the Office, frequentation of the Sacraments, retreats, recollection, the exercise of the presence of God, mortification, the support of your neighbour, etc. These are the true ways of holding yourself constantly ready to serve religion, to be in the hands of God, to be an instrument of mercy. You would be deceiving yourself if you thought you saw heavenly blessings descending on yourself and on the flock entrusted to your care if you were to ignore these ways and if you did not make every effort to make yourself a model for these lambs, and if your vigilance did not make you their guardian and protector in every circumstance and against every enemy. Children are formed above all by imitation, and their eyes are fixed on their teachers. Let there be nothing in you that they cannot copy; it is only by fulfilling that condition that you will fulfil the numerous obligations that you have contracted to religion, to the parents and to the children themselves.

1.2 - Union with one's Confreres

You have to live with your Superiors, with your equals and with your inferiors. As St. Paul says: "Help one another to bear your burdens and you will be obeying the law of Jesus Christ". Thus you owe to all the general obligations of charity; be polite and honest towards everyone; in every circumstance let it be seen that you understand the precept of religious humility and that your being is suffused with these words of the Master, "Learn from me that I am meek and humble of heart". As far as possible you will avoid the first places, an opinionated manner, and conceited or knowing opinions. You will try to fit in with the moods and opinions of others rather than trying to make them fit in with yours. It is much easier to obtain the patience and courage to put up with your confreres' weaknesses than to obtain the complete correction of all their faults.

Lively, polite and good-humoured conversations are useful. "Illumination is born from the interplay of ideas". But do not argue in a heated or opinionated manner; a point worth making has no need of a raised voice or a hard expression. Don't be too quick to believe the stories that you hear, even if they are offered in an effusion of friendship. Avoid any sort of sign which might lead people to believe that all your confreres do not equally share your affection.

Go to such lengths in this that no-one could reasonably fear being refused if they were to ask a favour of you. Always and everywhere let those whose position, age and rank place them above you find in you the respect that you owe them. A perfect understanding should reign between you and your colleagues for the good of you all. Hide their failings, especially in front of the pupils; severely reprimand any lack of respect which the pupils might show to your confreres in front of you. Come, in charity, to the defence of those who cannot defend themselves. Respect each other, and do not forget your obligations of manners and politeness to one another; let there be no teasing or provocation, and, even in the most lively of recreations, be careful to maintain decorum so that were your pupils to see you they would find nothing to correct or to criticise. Remember always that a religious must temper his abilities with modesty, and that all men attract affection through the heart more than through the intellect.

Speak no evil, and allow no evil to be spoken, of your pupils; rather defend their reputations as much as possible. Have great respect for your inferiors, lead them by your civil and affable good manners so that they can experience the reality of the fact that they are all equal before God in this religious family. Take the greatest pains to ensure that there reigns among you an open cordiality, a charitable politeness and a spirit of religious decency. In order to make easier the numerous duties that this holy and brotherly union imposes on you, meditate often on this fine precept of our divine Master: "Do not do to others what you would not wish to be done to yourself". And this other rule given to us by the Holy Spirit: "Judge your fellow-guest's needs by your own and be thoughtful in every way".

Finally, accept in gratitude any comments which are made concerning your own failings. It is clear that one of the best paths to self-knowledge and self-correction is being aware of one's faults. It is therefore essential to give to those who would do us this act of charity the courage and opportunity to do it on every occasion. Having received such comments with signs of satisfaction and gratitude you should make it your duty to follow them up; thus you will prove to your real friends that they have not wasted their efforts and that you are grateful to them for their charitable attentions.

1.3 - Care of your Health

Health is, in itself, a great gift and a great support in the successful accomplishment of the numerous duties of your state. Do not neglect any reasonable measures which you could take on this point. Do not miss any sleep for study. From evening prayer until the next morning's meditation occupy yourself only with objects of piety. Make it your habit to speak in a clear and distinct tone, but do not shout. Do not speak too loudly in class; your
pupils will be that much more quiet and attentive. Be careful to observe the rules of temperance and sobriety in your eating and drinking. Observe also those rules which concern the ventilation of rooms and the correct way to sit whilst writing and studying etc. Work in moderation and only at the times set aside for work; take advantage of your recreations in the spirit of the Rule for your own good and for that of your confreres. Do not allow yourself any bodily mortifications over and above those sanctioned by obedience. Even moderate your acts of devotion with wisdom and humility. Be guided by those indications which you will find in your rule, in the pupils' rules and in the experience of your Superiors.

1.4 - Study

Even the greatest piety will not suffice for you to attain the goal of your divine vocation.

Since you are called to sanctification and to work for the good of youth, you must have the necessary knowledge to carry out the second part of your calling. Therefore study is an indispensable obligation for you.

To succeed in this, your first rule is that you must follow everything that is laid down for you by whoever is responsible for guiding your learning.

You will follow the order which has been given to you in the areas of time, method and matter.

You will keep several notebooks in which you will note everything which it would be useful to keep in order to help your memory and in order to save time in such research as may be necessary at a later stage in certain parts of your studies.

Avoid any inconsistency and multiplicity in your studies: you should rather progress uniformly and steadily from one topic to another. Make sure of the basic principles before moving on, and concentrate on a few things at a time.

Constantly develop your memory; it will increase through exercise and diminish through inactivity.

Restrict yourself to those studies to which your state obliges you, and do not follow those to which your own inclinations have led you unless your Superiors judge them fitting.

Finally, always begin your study by raising your heart to God in order to direct your intention and to call down the light of the Holy Spirit, promising to use for His greater glory the knowledge which you acquire.

2. THE OBLIGATIONS OF A TEACHER TOWARDS HIS PUPILS

2.1 - In General

The aim of your efforts is to make your pupils Christian and knowledgeable to the degree that their circumstances allow. You should spare no effort to reach this goal. Nevertheless, you should keep constantly in mind that your first care should be the education of their hearts and that you should direct your greatest efforts to creating virtuous men rather than knowledgeable men. Your Institute, dedicating itself to the growth of man's spirit, will never forget that one's humanity and one's usefulness to others lies in the heart. It therefore values the pupils' virtue much more highly than their knowledge, and values most highly among its members' works those which aim to instruct the young people in the duties of religion and to educate them in good ways. However, you are also obliged to do your utmost to give your pupils such knowledge as is within the competence of the class you are given. Here are some ways of accomplishing this double duty.

2.1.1 - Respect your Work

Extending a helping hand to still weak beings; guiding them through the tortuous paths of childhood and through the darkness in which original sin has surrounded them; acting as mothers and fathers and correcting the errors made by the parents with regard to their children; cultivating spirits made to know God and hearts made to love Him; surrounding with prudent precautions these souls created for eternity; preserving them from the thousand traps which await them; teaching them those ways which avoid endless harm; being the visible guardian angels of souls bought back with the blood of God made man; working for the good of society and to spread the reign of Jesus Christ; glorifying God on earth and peopling the heavens with His elect: this, in a few words, is the happy and honourable career to which you have been called and the glorious aim of your vocation. You will love your fellow man, your country and, above all you will love your God and His holy religion. Thus it is that your talents and virtues which you are called upon to develop will become the means by which you will serve your neighbour and your God, you will comfort the afflicted with hands outstretched in works of charity and you will serve your country through the enlightened and virtuous men whom you will educate. You will honour your holy religion through the worthy disciples whom you will provide; you will glorify God through the souls whom you will instruct in His truth and you will bless Him through the hearts which you will teach to love Him. My Brothers, is there any occupation more worthy of your ambitions? Is there any which can offer you any more real or lasting advantages? The Holy Spirit says. "Those who educate others in the obligations of justice will shine like the stars".

2.1.2 - Authority over your Pupils

In order to do good to his pupils, the teacher must necessarily have authority over them. To have this authority he must have their esteem. He will gain this esteem if he truly loves his pupils, if he gives them frequent signs of this love, and if he gives them a positive impression of his own piety, knowledge and good character.

The following traits will make you generally esteemed and will, de facto, give you authority over your pupils: a mild and modest manner, an open and smiling face, simple and polite manners without pedantry, a confident firmness of character, an exactitude towards your obligations, a balanced temperament and an unswerving justice in all situations, a sincere modesty and an obvious piety. But if you are severe one day and indulgent the next; if you allow everything to one pupil and nothing to another, if you listen to some and not to others, if you are fire one day and ice the next, then in vain will you fall back on your knowledge, your ability, your imposing appearance. You will be disliked by the pupils, and from there it is but a short and slippery road to contempt, subversion and rebellion.

Whatever difficulties your pupils' faults and failings might cause you, you must avoid using caustic wit, angry outbursts and expressions of contempt either against the whole class or against an individual, especially if that individual is less gifted in intelligence, or physically, or by birth.

Never attack all your pupils at once, but, if something serious has happened, try and discover who is responsible, and, until you do know for certain who it is, pretend and temporise. If, nevertheless, your feelings betray themselves through a word or a gesture, do not give in to your anger, but rather give yourself the time to regain control of yourself and avoid at all costs any sort of threat which does not allow room for manoeuvre.

Never punish frivolously, and postpone any punishment, however necessary, if the pupil is badly disposed to receiving it. Never permit yourself to stoop so low as to insult a child or, worst of all, to strike him.

In all your dealings with your pupils, adopt a kindly, even friendly manner and tone, but give to no one pupil in particular any signs of affection which might betray, or arouse suspicion of, some weakness on your part. In this sort of situation any physical sign of affection, however innocent, might have unfortunate consequences; not only might you give cause for suspicion that you might favour one of your pupils more than another, but also you might put your reputation at risk in the most delicate areas.

You can show your approval to those pupils who deserve it, by giving them tokens of your approbation and by making special efforts for them, but never see them in out-of-the-way places, and never devote yourself to them with that kind of zeal which would give rise to jealousy in the hearts of the less gifted.

If, by chance, you find yourself alone with a pupil, conduct yourself in the most circumspect manner, remembering that your looks and your gestures might be observed by dangerous witnesses who might judge you according to their own dispositions and might turn public opinion against you by their inexact or untruthful tales.

Above all, earn your pupils' esteem. If you have a genuine love for them, if your zeal for their progress is sincere and unwavering, if, by the use of a simple and open language which speaks from the heart and overcomes prejudices you make your own virtue an object of their esteem, you will soon be assured of winning their hearts. Never overload your pupils with work; keep the amount within the capabilities of the majority of the class, and never abandon the weaker ones. Have pity on them, and use every means which your charitable dedication puts at your disposal to maintain their courage. Never give an order, never demand anything, unless you are certain of compliance, never make a threat nor a promise unless you can carry it out. When addressing your pupils avoid exaggeration and any potentially humiliating references to any of them, and, if you are reprimanding someone, never forget that any punishment is only effective in as much as the one who is being punished knows that he deserves it.

Avoid any humiliating punishment; rather proportion punishments to the age and nature of the pupil, to the degree of malice in his offence. A misplaced punishment can embitter or discourage rather than correct. Do not use any punishment save those which are sanctioned by the Institute.

Always be wise and prudent, always be fair and open to repentance. If you do this you will know the joy of being esteemed, liked and respected by the children and thus you will enjoy all the authority you need over them.

2.2 - Specific Obligations

2.2.1 - Compliance with what is Specified

If you wish for your efforts to be blessed by God, submit yourself in every detail to what is laid down by the General Chapter and to any individual details which your Superior will communicate to you.

In vain would you hope for the rewards of a faithful servant if you were to take the Master's commands lightly. Your pupils would turn against you just as surely as you would be turning against God; often you would find them to be the instruments of His revenge.

Only teach what you have been told to; follow closely what has been laid down in the areas of time and method; do not permit yourself any study, or method, or look at any book unless it has been specifically permitted or recommended. It is quite in order to make any comments you might have in private to your Superiors, but you are obliged to accept their decisions without discussing the matter with your colleagues. It is only in this way that you will deserve to see your efforts crowned with success and receive the rewards of your faithfulness. Be for your pupils a model of compliance in everything concerning the boarding side and the classroom. Such sacrifices as your obedience demands will earn for you graces which will be reflected in your pupils and will make their tasks and yours easier.

2.2.2 - Care in Self-Presentation

In the same way that children model themselves on the tone and manner of their parents, and inherit from them their opinions, prejudices and even faults, so too do they imitate their teachers even to the extent of giving an exaggerated reflection of these faults. It follows that it is of capital importance for teachers to be, within the bounds of human weakness, aware of themselves in every situation so as not to show in their speech, in their feelings nor in anything exterior, anything which might be a bad example for their disciples. In order to gain salvation to ordinary Christian should model himself on that model which God gave us in His Son, Jesus Christ. How much more, then, must a religious-teacher work to become an exact copy of our dear Saviour. My Brothers, in you your pupils must believe that they are seeing something of Christ, must be able to say that you are living in the life of Jesus Christ or rather that Jesus Christ is truly living in you.

Study your divine Model unceasingly; the way in which he conversed with men and particularly how he dealt with children.

Always remember that He never looked downcast, that He never lost His temper, that He never argued, never "broke the crushed reed nor quenched the wavering flame". He was so kind and unassuming that children came to Him with confidence, and He bowed to social convention in order to become all things to all men in order to win them all. That is your rule. Conform yourselves carefully to it, and nurse the weaknesses of children so scrupulously that you do not let them see anything in you which might be harmful to them.

Be well-ordered in everything. Be neat without affectation. In charity, be polite and obliging; in duty be hardworking; in prudence, be reserved; in wisdom be simple and straightforward and you will communicate these virtues to your pupils, to the great benefit of religion and in particular of the school whose teachers you are and whose interests should be more dear to you than anything else in the world.

2.2.3 - Class Preparation

You should organise your knowledge of your subject into clear and distinct ideas, and should try and find the most relevant and natural way of communicating them to your pupils. It is not enough to know things for your own benefit, you must know them in such a way as to enable your pupils to assimilate them easily. It is without question one of the obligations of your state to acquire knowledge and to add to your store by continuous and daily study, but at the same time you should be seeking out ways and means of communicating your knowledge in an easily memorable fashion to your pupils.

Before each lesson you are to review the material to be taught and to prepare examples which will make more tangible and striking the matter with which you are feeding their minds. It is obvious that of the two things which a teacher needs, knowledge and method, the second is the most indispensable, as will become clear further on. Method is of such great importance that it is clearly obligatory, and, whatever experience and prior evidence might claim to the contrary, you are not permitted to dispense with it. Furthermore, the burden of such careful preparation will seem light to a teacher who has the well-being of his pupils at heart if in so doing he can make their work easier and hasten their success.

2.2.4 - Methods

This is not the place in which to treat of the methods used in the Institute. The great merit of the one which you must use is in being simple, clear, precise, adapted to circumstances, and varying only according to the degree of intelligence or other needs of your pupils.

Carefully study the great art of coming down to their level; simplify matters, modify your lessons in such a way as to succeed in making your pupils grasp the principles which you are teaching them. Be understandable, make things interesting even if they are dry in themselves. Give your pupils a taste for study and you will enjoy the rare experience of avoiding boredom and discouragement in them. you will awaken in them the natural abilities which they received from their Creator, you will develop these abilities, and you will have laid the most solid foundations of that knowledge and those virtues which will one day come to fruition to the benefit of your pupils, to the advantage of society and to the glory of religion.

In order to arrive at such a goal, carefully moderate that tendency, so common among teachers, of putting excessive pressure on the pupils. What is important is not to go fast but to go well. Frequently revise the material in order to make sure that the pupils have taken in what you have explained to them. In the short term your pupils Will seem less brilliant than the others, but in the long run they will be a credit to you. Their real progress, the soundness of their education and their happiness will be proportional to the excellence of your method and the degree of your perseverance.

Know what you have to teach, broaden your knowledge as much as possible, but above all cultivate your teaching method. That, for you, is your art "par excellence" and, in order to become proficient in it do not spare yourself in research and study. Seek the secret of this art from other men, but above all, seek it from God.

2.2.5 - Encourage a Spirit of Competition

It is universally agreed that it is a great distinction for a teacher to arouse and maintain a spirit of competition among the pupils. Your exactitude in following your prepared order, the clarity with which you give your lessons, your carefully thought-out and uniform method, adapted to the needs of the class: all these things having won for you the respect and affection of your pupils, you will find in their attitude and your zeal for their progress the necessary resources to stimulate zeal and to arouse and maintain a spirit of competition. Whilst giving full rein to the incentives of conscience you should not ignore an infinity of other little methods which will also obtain results. It will not be the intrinsic value of the rewards but rather the ideal value which you will skilfully attach to them which will make them prized and which will stimulate the pupils' efforts. In any case, the purpose of a reward is only to symbolise approval of a success, a good deed or good behaviour. Be prudent in your praise of application or progress so as to prevent discouragement in some and false pride in others. Be kind and full of encouragement to the less talented. Patiently encourage those who have been discouraged by defeats. Show that you appreciate good will, praise and support the efforts of all, but give special attention to those who, through a lack of ability, do not immediately see their hard work rewarded as they would wish. Show them what perseverance can achieve.

In a word, be fair, and reward the limited achievements of the less able just as much as the greater achievements of the more able. That is the way to make all your pupils equal, if not in success then in zeal and hard work. Let it never be lost from sight that the weak need more encouragement than those who get a natural encouragement from their success. Attach great importance to essays [*]; talk in advance and with enthusiasm about those which are scheduled, and let it be known that you will be taking a subsequent interest in the results. You could, as far as possible, give each pupil a "rival" of equal ability and let them compete against each other in their written and learning work. you could also divide your class into two teams, and the one which claims the most successes would be declared the victor. You could also use to advantage a method of having the least able pupil's work corrected by the slightly more able and so on up to the most able. But, if you use this method, you are to forbid absolutely any display of bitterness or anger; you are to take pains to ensure that the exercise proceeds in a gentlemanly and charitable fashion. Rewards will take the form of plus marks or whatever other devices are used in your house. These devices, and others which are used in the Institute, are useful, but if good reasons persuade you not to use them that choice is left to the individual teacher. Do not criticise the fact that others use them. They might have just as good a reason for using them as you have for not using them.

[*] N.B. "Essays" here should be understood as the regular grading essays which were compulsory for all pupils.

2.2.6 - Study your Pupils' Characters

Children's' characters are different, and the manner of guiding them should be equally diverse. Such and such a measure might work wonders with one temperament but be poison to another. The same applies to their minds. Trying to guide them all in the same way would be hoping for the impossible. Some need to be stimulated, others need to be held back; one might be open and easy to deal with, another might be introspective and difficult to draw out of himself. You will succeed with gentleness with some, and with a measure of severity with others. The teacher should impose on himself the duty of studying the quality of mind and the type of character of each of his pupils, in order to lead them along the right path, and sometimes the only path which will lead them to their goal. Therefore learn to apply, in correct measure, praise and reprimand, gentleness and firmness. Encourage, stimulate, ask and order according to particular needs and in all things tread the path of moderation between extremes, that wise moderation which will succeed in opening their hearts to you, in showing you their weaknesses and in putting you in a position to be able to give to each the necessary remedy or spiritual nourishment. You will know your pupils if you observe them in chapel, in class and especially if you watch them at their games during recreation time. It is there that they will let themselves be seen as they really are and that one can most successfully observe them.

But be sure that they do not suspect that you are observing them as this could upset them and lead them to hide themselves from you: both these things are dangerous to children.

2.2.7 - Punishments

We have already made several points on this subject in passing. But this matter is of such great importance that it should be specifically dealt with.

You must consider the nature of the offence, the character of the offender, his present disposition, the disposition of the teacher and many other factors.

1. Considered insolence, stubbornness, blatant disobedience in minor matters, sheer malice, talk and acts contrary to religion and to chastity are offences which deserve the most severe punishments which we have. Nevertheless, a teacher should never inflict such punishments without having consulted the Superior. For the minor faults, high spirits, mistakes in written work, thoughtlessness and causing distractions etc., these should be corrected with gentleness, perseverance and consideration.

2. A teacher should never show any inclination to pursue his pupils' faults with that type of petty zeal which discovers a fault at every step. Rather he should try and gain a reputation for charity and balance so that the pupils are at ease with him and that they become used to doing good and shunning evil for motives other than abject fear.

3. The teacher must study his pupils' characters so as to know how best to reach each one. He will, with discernment, modify and graduate his method of correction; a look, a word, a Slightly raised voice will often be enough for the timid and docile ones whereas for others he might have to have recourse to threats and actual punishments.

4. When a pupil is upset or in a temper etc. it would be wise for the teacher to postpone his reprimand or punishment so that the offender has time to reflect on himself and his offence and to receive his punishment without making a scene in front of his fellow-pupils. Such considerations will only add to the standing, the authority and the power of the teacher.

5. The teacher will also refrain from punishing when he himself is in a bad mood or when he has lost that calm which is essential in order to act with wisdom; and he will be careful to make no threats which he cannot carry out, nor will he do anything which leaves him without the possibility of compromise. To act thus would be his ruin or that of the pupil.

6. There are some children who are totally disagreeable and even some whose personalities are nothing short of repulsive. On the other hand there are those who are virtuous, of good humour and kind, and who naturally attract affection. This is a point of danger of which teachers should be fully aware: if they show bias or partiality they risk discouraging some and damaging the happy disposition of others, and they will infallibly attract the hateful accusations of favouritism and injustice.

7. General punishments are always dangerous and a teacher should never use them without having informed the Superior of the situation and having received his permission.

8. Correct in private those offences of which no-one else is aware, and in public those which were committed in public.

9. Weigh up carefully all the circumstances before giving a punishment, but once you have announced your decision do not change it except in rare and exceptional cases.

10. When you have to issue a reprimand give no appearance of losing your temper, and avoid using a bitter or scornful tone. If you do, it will often be taken as an insult and will have the same effect. Some expression of compassion for the offender should always accompany a reprimand, whether private or public.

11. Never forget that a punishment is only effective if the offender believes that he has deserved it, and that a misjudged punishment only embitters and discourages rather than correcting.

12. You are under no circumstances to impose any punishment not mentioned in or approved by our regulations.

13. Teachers must take care to make the Superior aware of any pupils in whom they have observed any dangerous traits; a proud and haughty character, indiscreet conversation, and any predilection for ridiculing those pupils who are gentle, well-behaved and pious.

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3 - INSPIRE PIETY IN THE PUPILS

The major goal of our efforts and the target of all our care, study and sacrifice is to make true Christians of our pupils, by arousing in them sentiments worthy of this calling and by forming them in to the duties which such a state requires. Knowledge, politeness, good manners and formation of the heart form only a part of the benefit which the pupils have the right to expect from our ministry. We would not be fulfilling our divine Master's expectations if we were not to form disciples for Him. We would not be fulfilling our obligations towards His church if we did not educate for Him these children whom Mother Church has confided to our care. But to succeed in this task we need supernatural help; so, in order to be nourished at the source of a treasury of help we must be united to the Author of Grace. Prayer, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, frequentation of the Sacraments, mortification, devotion to Mary, to St. Joseph, to the Angels and our Holy Patrons - these are the means of helping your pupils to preserve their innocence, or at least to make them atone for the damage which sin might have caused to their souls. Take very great care to instruct your pupils in the duties of a Christian: check frequently that they know their prayers and the catechism, that they fear sin and love God and the Holy Virgin etc. Make virtue agreeable, because if you put all that is sad and burdensome on the side of virtue, and all that is pleasant and pleasurable on the side of vice, all is lost for your pupils. Their aversion for the duties of piety could become the cause of their eternal loss. Frequently underline the sweetness of the service of God. Jesus Christ teaches that "His yoke is easy and his burden is light". These words are true and infallible; those who bear the yoke can attest to that.

Urge all your pupils to experience this yoke and show to those who have already turned aside how easy it is to return at their age.

"Come to me you who are heavily burdened and I will give you rest". What goodness from this Saviour God; not only does He await them with open arms, but He encourages them to come to Him. 'Come" He says "to Me, you will find the rest and happiness which you will not find away from Me". Take advantage of those moments which occur spontaneously in a class and elsewhere to say a few edifying words. But say them in a gentle and serene manner without affectation. Fenelon wisely said "You can insinuate into a light-hearted conversation an infinity of instructions which are more useful even than lessons".

Watch over your pupils' relationships, and warn the Superior in good time of anything dangerous. When you are permitted to see your pupils in private let study and piety always be the object of your conversation; do not permit any idle chatter; that would be a waste of time and a source of scandal to the weak. Nowhere and never are you to cast aside the role of "father in Jesus Christ" which you have for your pupils. If, for a good reason, you try to become a child among children, it is never to be done in a puerile way. Temper with kindness your standing as a teacher: that is permitted as long as it is with the intention of making yourself all things to all men with the goal of winning all.

This Rule should be often read and explained to the teachers, either individually or in a general meeting. Nothing is to be changed in the field of education if it doesn't basically comply with what is laid down here. Superiors are to ensure that all teachers adhere religiously to it; they will make a detailed report on this matter each half-year to the Superior General.

EPILOGUE

What has led me to write to and address you, my very dear Brothers, is on the one hand that desire that youth inspires in me and on the other hand a burning desire to see you progress, helped on every side, in the career to which the Divine Saviour calls you, and to see you collect the reward for your persevering courage. Just as a vessel never loses the smell of the first liquid poured into it, and wool never recovers its original whiteness once it has been dyed, so too does the soul keep the imprint and deep traces of what has been put into it in childhood. "Man does not normally cease following the path he has followed in his youth". Don't pour anything but the purest fluids into these precious vessels which have been confided to your care; only give colours worth keeping to this wool, or rather, acceptable habits to these lambs whose shepherd you have been appointed.

"In as much as you do it to one of these little ones you do it to Me" says the unfailing Truth. What an abundant source of consolation for you who believe in Jesus Christ and whose hearts burn with love for this loveable Saviour. In the midst of troubles and anxieties which are inseparable from our hard but sublime ministry, these words will maintain your courage; they will sharpen your zeal and purify it each day; they will retemper the ardour of your souls for the doing of good to your pupils and, in them, to Jesus himself. They will be a source of great merit and a measure of the reward which awaits you in heaven where you will shine like the stars in endless eternity.

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GUIDE PEDAGOGIQUE
Pedagogical Guide

Precepts, rules of conduct, thoughts and advice on the matter of education.

Short, brief and incisive sentences are far better retained in the memory than the best advice given in a lengthy narrative.

THE CULTIVATION, EXERCISE, DEVELOPMENT AND POLISHING OF EVERY PHYSICAL, INTELLECTUAL, MORAL AND RELIGIOUS FACULTY WHICH GO TO MAKE UP THE HUMAN NATURE AND HUMAN DIGNITY OF THE CHILD: - THAT IS THE WORK OF EDUCATION.

All in God
All through God
All for God

1. Sinite Parvulos Venire Ad Me.
Let the little children come unto Me.

2. What would it benefit you to gain the whole world if you were to lose your own soul? What would it benefit you to guide others towards heaven if you were not to get there yourself? The best regulated charity begins with oneself.

The first duty of a teacher, as a man and as a religious, is to tend ceaselessly towards perfection.

3. If you are a good religious, you will have the necessary basis for becoming a good housemaster and teacher within the context of the Institute.

4. Always give a good example, and, in your own conduct, never be frivolous or indifferent.

5. Wretched is he who scandalises one of these little children.

6. Love your job; it is God who gave it to you. Do not compare your job with others since this comparison would be very harmful to you.

7. Study the rules of the school and of your class, and engrave them on your memory, since it is the duty of a housemaster and teacher to have them observed as closely as possible.

8. Education is something simple and practical which demands little theory but much care; little in the way of precepts but much love.

9. Moral education alone can produce men and citizens, and moral education cannot exist without religion.

10. Let the supreme goal of your teaching be the growth of your pupils' hearts. Raise them up to the Lord, because they belong to Him.

11. Pray constantly that the education which you give your pupils may be blessed.

12. The labourer casts seeds on the fields; but if the rains and the dew do not enrich the seeded ground it will remain infertile. So it is with the teachers work if he does not ask God to bless it.

13. Be open to your Superiors and Headmasters; do not be afraid to speak with them of the good and bad points of your pupils, to consult them about your job; to admit to them the faults which you have committed either by indulgence or severity, promptitude or delay.

14. Maintain a perfect harmony with those colleagues who share your responsibility, so that a similar spirit may reign in your way of dealing with the pupils and that in everything there may exist that unity without which nothing can be sound.

15. Your own health is a great benefit in itself and an essential tool in the successful accomplishment of the duties of your position. Never omit doing anything which is reasonable for the maintenance of your health.

16. Even the strongest piety is not sufficient for you to be able to reach the goal of your sublime vocation. Since you are called to sanctify yourself and to work for the benefit of youth, you must have the necessary knowledge to accomplish the second part. Thus for you study is an indispensable obligation.

17. There are times in our lives when the smallest fault takes on the proportions of a catastrophe. Our moods are like opera glasses which make things look bigger or smaller depending on which way one looks through them.

18. Never lose heart; a seed sown in the heart of a child is never lost and will, with the help of God, develop and bear fruit, maybe just at the moment when you expect it least.

19. Maintain a dignity in your language and your bearing in order to strengthen the authority of your teaching.

20. It is most important to inspire in the young people a respect for the Sacraments which will last them their whole lives and which will teach them to make, at the appropriate moments, a holy and salutary use of them.

21. The teacher must give his pupils a complete and utter freedom in the matter of their frequentation of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

22. Vice weakens or destroys health, blinds the spirit and hardens the heart.

23. The malicious pupil seeks out his own kind and forms a group away from the others.

24. Continued laziness calls for much supervision.

25. A pupil who changes from being conscientious and obedient to lazy and badly behaved does not do so without good reason. Do you know why?

26. Few people know how to advise children, since in general one loves them too much or too little.

27. Almost always end your words with the children, however severe these words might have been, with something gentle and kindly.

28. Never point a fault out to a child without telling him how to overcome his fault and encouraging him to do so, since one must avoid that unhappiness and discouragement which correction inspires when it is dry.

29. The teacher must live with his pupil, must be his friend and his father. He will supervise the pupil without arousing his suspicion or mistrust.

30. Never, except in cases of extreme necessity, adopt an austere and imperious pose to frighten the children. You will close their hearts and remove their trust, without which there is no hope that education will produce fruit.

31. Show yourself to be likeable so that they can be open with you, and so that they are not afraid to show you their faults. To succeed in this, be indulgent with those who hide nothing from you.

32. Too much freedom gives rise to abuses; too little hardens the spirit.

33. In your language as in your manner, always respect the conventions of politeness.

34. Carefully study the different characters of your pupils so that you will be better able to appreciate the good and bad points of each one. Don't be fooled by appearances they have fooled many a housemaster and teacher. Be particularly cautious of those children who seem to flatter you and follow you around. If you permit this they will hamper your actions and harm your authority in more than one way.

35. It is particularly through their misbehaviour and your resultant advice, reprimands and punishments that the pupils' characters are formed. Note how they play, walk, work, get on with their companions; note their bearing seated and standing; note how they express themselves through their faces, their eyebrows, their eyes and their gestures. When you praise or reprimand a particular pupil, note which of the two has the most effect on him. Note carefully the manner and the tone, off-hand or respectful, in which he addresses the teachers.

Don't forget, though, that it takes more than a day to really know someone. Don't be hasty in your judgement.

36. In educating your pupils, keep always in mind that it is always their souls that you must consider first.

37. Educate them in habits of obedience; this is a goal which must be reached, whatever the cost. I do not believe that there is any habit which exercises a greater influence on life than that of obedience.

38. Educate them in the habit of always telling the truth; this is a golden rule which many people should take to heart.

39. Be most conscientious in following the movements of the pupils. A moment's lateness or negligence can give rise to trouble.

40. Teachers should never miss a duty without giving notice and being replaced.

41. The essential qualities of a housemaster are prudence, perseverance, and devotion.

42. Where the pupils do not hold their housemasters in an affectionate esteem, education is impossible.

43. If a pupil's guardian angel were to show himself in tangible form, it would be the image of a good housemaster.

44. Have a real affection for the pupils entrusted to your care. Faults and failings of all sorts, ingratitude, insolence, arrogance and even hate do not extinguish the love that God has for sinners; so should it be with you.

45. There must be no favouritism, no antipathy, not the slightest hint of a greater affection for one or another pupil. Pupils are aware of everything, and reason dictates to them that there should be equality between equals.

46. Without silence, work is impossible; without work, dissipation and immorality.

47. The housemaster who works instead of supervising assumes a terrifying responsibility.

48. The quietest pupil can be the one who needs to be the most closely supervised.

49. Idleness in the mother of all vices. Be on your guard that an idle pupil might be badly behaved, but don't make the mistake of thinking that every hard working pupil is good. That would be a most serious error!

50. A bad boy often hides his hands; to put your mind at rest you would do well to insist that your pupils, whether they are reading or writing, keep their hands on the desk.

51. Frequently repeated signals between the same pupils should be paid close attention to.

52. The housemaster should make sure that the pupils are not drawing cartoons, writing notes or reading books which have not been approved by the authorities.

53. Make sure that no two pupils can ever meet outside the normal times, or at least, make sure that they do not meet without supervision.

54. Recreations during which the children do not play can be very dangerous and call for a great deal of supervision. One should, therefore, in every possible way, encourage in the pupils a taste for physical exercise.

55. Housemasters cannot, in recreation times, be too active in their supervision. They must keep their eye on every group of pupils, noting who joins in the games and who remains apart, either singly or in small groups. They should not lose sight of those of whom they are suspicious and of those who seem to want to escape the housemaster's scrutiny.

56. It is very difficult, perhaps impossible, to supervise adequately whilst chatting to or playing with the pupils, it is, therefore normally best not to do so.

57. If, on formal walks, the ranks are broken, care must be taken to see that the pupils do not split into widely separated groups.

58. If a teacher feels it necessary to comment on the food, he should do so personally to the appropriate person; he should say nothing in front of the pupils and the other teachers.

59. In the world a young man's education is normally judged by his table manners.

60. The teacher should, at meals, make sure that the pupils behave properly and develop those habits which, in the world, distinguish a man of good upbringing.

61. Three things will assure discipline in the dormitory; the respect that you inspire for the place, severe punishments for the slightest faults and painstaking supervision.

62. The housemaster should never speak in the dormitory, even in cases of great need, with the exception of cases of illness. Any comments, points or punishments must be made the next morning.

63. Watch carefully over relationships between the pupils and their particular friendships.

A major principle operates here: Nunquam duo - raro unus - semper tres.

64. The path to follow concerning these particular friendships is one calling for much tact and prudence on the part of the teacher, and especially a deep knowledge of the conduct, character, tendencies and temperament of the two friends. These matters are therefore best dealt with by Superiors. In such matters, silence can be useful, a fuss always harmful.

65. As you are teachers of youth the pupils should always see in you the shining light of a pious heart and a life devoted to good.

66. No education is possible without religion. A religious spirit should therefore be apparent in every action and word of the teacher.

67. Never commence a task without first having presented yourself to the Lord for His blessing.

68. We can only be the masters of our pupils through prayer, patience and love.

69. Always conduct yourself in class as if you were in the presence of some educated and respectable parents.

70. Each teacher must adhere closely to the curriculum for his class. Nothing is more dangerous than the inconsiderate fervour of certain teachers who always tend to use material which is proper to a more advanced class.

71. When a teacher is known by his pupils as a man who loves them and who wants nothing more than their happiness at all times, he has won a major prize in education since he has the key to their hearts.

72. At any age, example has a great effect on us; in childhood it is all-powerful.

73. If a child discovers the weak and vulnerable side of a teacher, then good-bye respect, good-bye confidence, good-bye application; the teacher's authority will have lost all its prestige.

74. In order successfully to direct a pupil's will, two things are necessary on the part of the teacher: the respect and affection of the pupil. Add to this great soundness of character, but without inflexibility.

75. Your politeness and gentleness in particular will dispose the pupils to respect and affection for you.

76. Do not be weak in your exercise of authority on the pretext of a fear of hurting the pupil.

77. Instruction and education have the same goal. Both aim at the same result: the harmonious development of all the pupil's intellectual and moral faculties, that is to say his happiness.

78. Classroom discipline should be firm without being inflexible.

79. What really ruins everything is a man who allows everything today and punishes everything tomorrow, who allows some boys to get away with everything and others with nothing.

80. Every teacher, in himself, must be a teacher of morality and piety. There is no explanation which he is called on to give from which he cannot bring out some lesson for the moral formation of the pupils.

81. The two factors which ensure progress in a class and in study are order and enthusiasm.

82. Method is the key to success in teaching since it is a guide to study.

83. All teaching should contain three parts: understanding, learning and application.

84. Follow the laws of nature in all your teaching. Let all you do for the child and for the young man have a progressive character; make what you want to teach relevant to what they already know; an interrupted progression is like a staircase with missing steps. It's always best to move by degrees.

85. One of the conditions of progress is in-depth teaching so that the pupils have complete acquisition of what they are trying to learn.

86. To teach in depth one must know how to set limits; one must do a little and well, never anything approximate.

87. Develop all the pupils' faculties in a natural, regular and harmonious fashion. If you neglect one faculty, or develop it to the detriment of one or all of the others, you can only damage the whole.

88. Avoid developing the memory at the expense of the intelligence. One is easily led to believe that one is being successful simply because the pupils are able to repeat what one has told them without using their critical faculties.

89. Asking less of the pupils that of which they are capable makes them weak; asking them for more discourages them. A good teacher follows nature, not forcing it but helping it and polishing it.

90. Be sure in your knowledge of what you claim to teach. What one knows badly one teaches badly.

91. Make yourself understood. Present yourself, your language and your classes at the pupils' level. It is not enough that the cleverer ones understand you; all of them must be able to profit from your lessons. They are all entrusted to your heart and to your conscience.

92. Experience has compared young minds to shifting sand, which easily takes on the shapes one might wish to trace in it, but, sensitive to the least puff of wind, loses them just as easily. Therefore this pedagogical maxim: "Repetition is the soul of instruction"

93. Never go to class without careful preparation. A good teacher makes a regular, daily inspection of his pupils' homework and returns it to them in class, corrected and annotated in his own hand.

94. Grammar should be taught by the text, and the text should be explained by the grammar. That means to say that one should look, in a text, for the application of the rules one has studied in the grammar, and vice-versa.

95. Constantly direct your attention towards unity, either in studying or writing, because the secret of real progress in instruction is contained in this unity.

96. Speak quite loudly, without shouting, adapting your volume to the room and to the number of pupils.

97. Pronounce properly, and articulate each syllable clearly, accentuating it according to the character of the language you are using.

98. Avoid monotony by a variety in your vocal inflections, but use no affectation, no pretension, and adapt yourself to the nature of the subject as well as to the age of your pupils.

99. Avoid pedantry, that would be tending to the ridiculous.

100. If your pupils are constantly occupied, you will have no problem in the maintenance of order and discipline, and punishments will become more and more unnecessary.

101. Be first into and last out of the classroom.

102. A teacher must study the character of his pupils in order to know how best to get through to each individual. He will modify and graduate his method of expressing displeasure; a look, a slightly raised voice will often suffice for the mild and docile characters, for others, threats and punishments will be necessary.

103. Some punishments are like the extreme remedies which one uses in cases of extreme illness; they are effective, but they alter the temperament and are physically wearing.

104. A person who is lead by constraints is always the weaker for it.

105. Never argue with the pupils, be very matter-of-fact with them. Nothing weakens a reprimand more than an effusion of words.

106. From the very first days, inculcate into your pupils the need for immediate obedience.

107. Never give vague reprimands; explain the fault; be sure you know all the facts, otherwise a pupil who is fully guilty may only admit to partial guilt.

108. Let it never be possible for anyone whom you punish to say truthfully: he likes to see me humiliated. On the contrary, all should be convinced that in your severity you are bowing to a need which is as painful to you as it is necessary.

109. Since anger is in itself a vice, you will never correct this vice in others by giving way to it yourself.

110. A teacher who punishes is a father who chastises; a basis of love and kindness must be apparent however severe the punishment.
111. Severity without love is hardness; love without severity is weakness. In education the two are equally harmful.

112. Hardness in a teacher forms timid and hypocritical pupils; weakness forms pupils who are soft, self-willed and often insensitive.

113. Slaps, blows and other similar punishments are forbidden to the teacher.

114. Punishments which damage a pupil's pride are to be used with the greatest delicacy.

115. Hurtful words, nicknames and crude comparisons should never be spoken by the teacher.

116. Never confront all your pupils at once, but, if some serious offence has been committed, try to discover the guilty parties, and, until you are certain who they are, pretend and stall for time.

117. Never punish frivolously, and withdraw a punishment, however necessary it might be, if the guilty pupil is indisposed to receive it.

118. You should never use one pupil to humiliate another; you would risk harming both.

119. Demand only such submission as is reasonable and necessary; never ask a pupil to do anything which would demean his personal dignity; children are often very sensitive about this.

120. The teacher should never punish in anger, especially if the offence is against his own person, such as insolence or bad language.

121. Only love can punish successfully, and love punishes in moderation. If a look is enough, don't use a word; if one word is enough, don't use two. The more the pupils can read a teacher's eyes, the less words are necessary for their education.

122. Never impose any punishment which has not been imposed by the authorities.

123. Mass punishments are always dangerous, and a teacher should never use them without the authorisation of the Superiors.

124. Is it your wish to be neither too indulgent nor too severe?

1. Firstly, lay down rules about minor offences. 2. In particular, reprimand those who make little effort to improve. 3. At the first offence, give a light punishment whilst threatening, seriously but not in anger, a more serious punishment for a second offence. 4. Keep to what you have threatened. 5. Asking for advice from your Superiors can be a great help in many cases.

125. You must always be in control of yourself and be on your guard against all exaggeration. Listen calmly to the pupil's excuses, and, if he presents them in a respectful manner, give him the benefit of the doubt. To whatever extent his excuse excuses him, lighten the punishment.

126. The two major thoughts on discipline in a nutshell: invincible firmness but mildness and courtesy. Unalterable goodness always and to everyone.

127. Offer yourself willingly to the pupils in these ways:
Always give willingly those things which are in your gift. Never make them wait for something which you can give immediately. Foresee the needs, wishes and requests of the pupils and let nothing stand in the way of the immediate action of your charity. It is of little importance that your good intentions might be badly received; children's moods change, but the memory of your goodness will remain engraved on their hearts.

128. You run the risk of discouraging the pupils if you do not praise them when they have done well. Although you must be wary of praise in case it gives rise to vanity, you should try without going too far.

129. Here is the greatest method of education:

All of you who have devoted yourselves to the sacred work of education, love, love the children. But there is love and love. I am speaking here of real, deep and enlightened love; pastoral and paternal love; this love is everything and accomplishes everything.

In a word, be like fathers to them, and that's not enough; be like mothers. You must love the children and make them feel that you love them; not only by avoiding, in your dealings with them, all hardness, unjust coldness and discouraging severity, but by caring tenderly for them and having a blessed and cordial affection for them; letting them see that you have devoted your life to them, that you are happy to be with them and will always be so. you must also identify with them, not only in work and study, but in everything else and in every detail of their school life.

But I must add one thing of the greatest importance:

To love the children and to identify with them, you must love one another. Be of one heart and mind: cor unum et anima una. Putting this into effect is as simple as it is pleasant.

Out of this is born life, strength and the powerful fruitfulness of your work for souls, since in this is the union of souls one with another and with God in charity.

If you know these things you will be happy, provided you put them into practice.

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DIRECTOIRE DES SURVEILLANTS
(Housemasters' Handbook)

1a. Housemasters are directly responsible for the application of the rules of the House vis-à-vis the pupils. In doing this they will serve as examples to the pupils by their faithful adherence to those of the rules which also concern them. They would not have the right to demand compliance from others if they were unable to demand it of themselves.

1b. Their vigilance must be frank and open They must avoid that insidious type of vigilance, detested by the pupils, which takes pleasure in discovering faults. Vigilance born out of charity has nothing to do with setting traps for the children; it is active always and everywhere in order to forestall the temptation and even the very thought of wrong-doing.

2a. Housemasters cannot have themselves replaced on a duty without the consent of the Superior. They will always take pains to arrive first for any activity which they are to supervise. If a housemaster foresees that he will be delayed by some important business, albeit only for a minute, he will inform the Superior who will have him temporarily replaced.

2b. Housemasters leave the study hall last and follow the pupils when they go to the chapel, the playground, to the refectory or to the various activities at which they are expected by the Superior or one of the teachers. Conversely, they will be the first to leave the above-mentioned places and will lead the pupils to the study hall.

AUTHORITY

Nothing is more important for the housemaster than to have his authority firmly established. He will succeed in this not only by giving his pupils a positive impression of his knowledge; even more surely will he win their esteem by his wise and considered actions, his constant and temperate firmness, his great openness with those who are the most reasonable, and especially, and one cannot recommend this too highly, by the fact that he speaks little and always to the point. Usually those teachers who talk most are listened to least.

4. The housemaster should not content himself with the pupils' esteem; he should be aiming for their affection, at least that of the majority. He will win it, not by indulgence and closing his eyes to their faults and failings, but rather by making them understand that he is devoted to them and only wishes what is best for them. He should share in their triumphs and tribulations, showing an interest in their health and in their hobbies and, if he is obliged to reprimand and punish them, he should let them see that it pains him to have to take such extreme measures. There is no more cogent advice for a housemaster than that he should have a truly Christian affection for his pupils.

5a. The housemaster will not allow a pupil to leave his place without permission. The only ones who will have that permission will be those whose duty it is to open and close the windows etc. Sometimes, in order not to disturb the study himself, the housemaster will make himself understood by his eyes and by signs.

5b. He will not tolerate any insolence, but, rather than disturb the study by protracted discussion, he will leave the guilty party to say his piece and then have time to think about it.

5c. The obtaining of perfect silence in the study hall is a key to success; with care, it is obtainable. Housemasters will be most careful to remove anything which might be a source of distraction to the pupils. Depending on the weather they may leave the windows open, but never the doors.

6. In establishing where the pupils will sit in the study hall, housemasters will choose the most apt placings in order to avoid trouble; they will place directly in front of themselves the most negligent and fickle characters. They will confound those little tricks that the pupils use in order to chat without being detected and to send notes to each other, either about their work or whatever is going through their minds at the time. These notes are passed under the desks or hidden in textbooks which are then blatantly passed around. Chatterers usually hide behind piles of books if the housemaster allows such piles to be built.

7a. SUPERVISlON OF THE PUPILS' WORK

It is one of the housemaster's duties to ensure that the pupils are writing their homework correctly and that they are applying themselves fully to their tasks.

The housemaster will walk around the study from time to time to make sure that no-one is reading or doing anything else besides the set homework and that no-one is working too fast or too slowly. If the pupils work is badly done; badly written or badly spelt, he will have the work done again, either in recreation time or in free study.

7b. The housemaster will take particular care that the pupils do not learn "by heart" punishments during study.

7c. The housemasters will mutually inform each other and the teachers for the greater good of the pupils they have in common.

7d. Teachers must dedicate themselves in the fullest measure to the task of giving the pupils a taste for study and a longing for what is good. They will be fully conversant with all those innocent ploys one can use to get the best out of the pupils whilst letting them get away with little.

8a. PUNISHMENTS

A punishment is only effective to the degree that the recipient realises that he deserves it and that the teacher is not acting unjustly or capriciously. The punishment should be proportionate to the age and nature of the pupil and to the degree of malice in the offence. A badly judged punishment embitters or discourages instead of correcting.

8b. A teacher should never pursue a pupil's every last fault; this is guaranteed to harden them to any reprimand or punishment without in any way correcting them.

9a. There are those who punish faults in their pupils which are really their own; faults which their vigilance, diligence or Charity should have prevented. A teacher who is conscientious in his duties will need to punish less than others, and it will seldom be for a Serious Offence.

9b. The observant teacher will know his pupils' characters and will be sensitive to the best way of approaching each one. He will creates and use with discernment and by degrees, an infinity of small punishments which will forestall the need for more serious and humiliating punishments He will know, for example, that there are some timid and well brought-up pupils for whom the slightest reproach, a slightly raised voice and sometimes just a look can be real punishments.

9c. To correct others, he can curtail their play, put them in silence during a recreation, give them some extra work to write out, or, even betters to learn by heart; he can make them walk a designated area, alone and in silence, or can deprive them of some small privilege etc.

10a. If a pupil refuses to accept a punishment, the housemaster, without disturbing the study by sending the offender out, without any force and particularly without striking the pupil, will refer the matter to the Superior.

10b. If the matter is urgent, he can ask the Superior to come to the study hall: he can be sure that he will always be supported, but it would be a great shame if he needed to be supported as a result of being at fault himself, either through imprudence or an excess of zeal.

10c. If a housemaster fears that an embittered pupil might make his offence worse by being awkward, it would be wise and charitable to suspend the punishment in order to give the offender time to realise its justice; this delay, far from eroding the housemaster's authority, can only strengthen it.

10d. Mass punishments may only be employed if all the pupils in that particular area are guilty; these cases will be rare if the teacher is vigilant.

11. A housemaster should always be obviously less eager to pursue offences against his own person than-offences in other areas. If, for example, someone were to play a trick on him, he should not appear too upset or affected by it: that would be playing into the hand of the perpetrator. If he finds out who is guilty, he should either get someone else to punish him or, even better, he should point out to the offender the error of his ways and let him know that taking revenge would be very easy. But instead of taking revenge he should say, "I forgive you since the offence was against me". Such obvious moderation is always much more effective than the most severe punishment.

12. Every teacher must be on his guard against favouritism. He will find that there will be some boys who will strike him as totally repulsive. These have the first call on his charity, since they have the greatest need of it. On the other hand, there are others, pleasant and well-behaved, who seem to call out for signs of his favour. Let him beware! If he gives free rein to his feelings it will cause problems for the children concerned and lead them to complacency.

13. Among the dangerous types of boy one can find in a boarding school, the housemasters must particularly seek out and report to the Superior as soon as possible:

a) those who spread a spirit of insubordination and revolt among their companions,
b) those who would mock and torment their companions because of their wisdom and piety,
c) those who, by their vulgar conversation and in other ways, might attempt to offend against their companions' innocence.

14. Teachers' vigilance in the matter of pupils' morals must be continual, active and painstaking, but it must be at the same time unexaggerated and discrete since any ill-advised action in this area could be as dangerous as negligence.

RECREATIONS AND WALKS

These are times calling for careful attention and hard work on the part of the housemaster. During recreation the duty master will make sure that all doors are correctly closed. He will forbid all forms of horseplay, wild running about, arguments and flanging matches, vulgar or dangerous games, the formation of gangs, singing and chanting. He will take the most careful measures to ensure that his pupils are never in darkness when they arrive in the common rooms or the study hall.

In order to avoid the problems of particular friendships, secret conversations and boys wandering off alone, the housemasters will take steps to ensure that a general air of gaiety is prominent during recreation. They will encourage participation in games by the obvious interest they will show in them and by their applause of those who show an obvious skill in them. They will never permit games to be played for money or similar gain; they will ensure that those freedoms allowed in recreations never degenerate into such familiarity as might diminish the respect in which they are held. On walks, they will never permit any pupil to leave the group, even on the pretext of visiting his parents.

CLEANLINESS AND SIMPLICITY

The housemasters will often encourage the pupils to be clean. When they check from time to time, they will ensure that the pupils are keeping their clothing and linen in good order. The youngest pupils need to be checked as a mother would check them, to see if they have changed their bedclothes, if their clothing is torn or if their shoes are in need of repair, if they have washed their hands, if their fingernails are cut and if they are going to bed fully clothed, etc.

Teachers will take every effort to ensure that the pupils do not get a taste for show, frivolity or affectation in their clothing and that they avoid the precious tone and manner of "young lords".

NEW PUPILS
New pupils in a boarding school have the right to particular attention from the housemasters. For their part, the housemasters will see to all their needs and will entrust to some of the better behaved pupils the task of explaining to the new arrivals the rules of the house. They will also reprimand those who are thoughtless enough to try and tax or mystify the newcomers with their explanations.

CONVERSATION

Teachers will not tolerate the use of dialect in conversations between pupils, neither will they allow, even in casual conversation, the use of vulgar and trivial expressions. They will correct any faults which are made in language or in pronunciation. They will forbid unpleasant jokes, base tomfoolery and any tone of scorn or caustic humour.

HEALTH

Among the other things that a housemaster must do in order to safeguard the health of his pupils, he must take particular care that they do not drink cold water or sit in a cold place immediately after taking exercise. If a pupil stays in bed in the morning claiming to be ill, the housemaster will inform the Superior so that he may judge the condition of the pupil.

PARENTS

It is one of the teacher's essential duties to maintain in the pupils' hearts the feelings of tenderness and gratitude which they owe to their parents. The teacher will often remind the pupils of what their parents are doing for them. He will tell them how guilty they would be before God, and how wretched in the eyes of men, if they were to upset their parents by their ingratitude or bad behaviour. He will make sure that all pupils write to their parents from time to time, and that the youngest pupils write as often as their parents would wish.

PIETY AND APOSTOLATE

The housemaster must make sure that the short prayers which are said before and after study are said with recollection. Anyone who allowed the pupils to say their prayers in a careless and hurried manner whilst arranging their books and looking in their desks would give a very negative impression of his own intelligence and virtue.

22. All in all, a teacher worthy of his profession is not satisfied by making himself a model for his pupils and a constant invitation to perfection. He will also watch over his pupils; he will watch the manner in which they fulfil their religious duties. Filled with the all-pervading truths of salvation he will speak to them always with zeal and kindness, like a good father to his own children. He will take advantage of circumstances and of such moments as arise to give them general and particular advice; he will encourage them, plead with them and will do everything in his power to form them in the paths of virtue.

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HOW TO TEACH R.E.

This document entitled Sur la manière d'enseigner le catèchisme is to be found in the Archives admidst the documents on the early Chapters.

Translators note

R.E. translates the French word catèchisme unless it is obviouys that it indicates catechism.

"Let the little children come to me; do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs……then he put his arms around them,laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing" Mark 10,14-16.

Without a shadow of doubt RE is the central core of our teaching: there is nothing which contributes more to the salvation of man, nothing more necessary nor sublime. Our religion in rooted in and nourished by it. Men such as Augustine, Chrysostom and Cyril and, in our own days, Fénélon, worked with zeal and dedication in the instruction of children; all convinced that there was no more useful and glorious use for their talents. "I am" as the Apostle said "
We lived unassumingly among you. Like a mother feeding and looking after her children. (1 Thess 2.8)
Our Divine Master himself made this course of action the principal object of his ministry.

A real teacher will thus regard the Religion which he is to teach as the noblest of his obligations, because it ties him to the very author of the Divine Doctrine and to an infinity of Saints and prominent men who, walking in the footsteps of the Saviour God, have made a glorious task of the evangelisation of young people. Imbued with those sentiments which Religion inspires, he will make a deep study of the maxims and moral teachings of Jesus Christ, so that with his own life filled by these teachings he can pass on his knowledge to the children whom the Lord has entrusted to his care. Firstly he should, as instructed by our Holy Rule, completely learn and deeply study the text of the Diocesan Catechism so that he can explain it with ease and facility. Then he should have recourse to greater and wider sources, provided that they are known and approved by ecclesiastical superiors: for example the Explanation of the Catechism of Malines, by Mr Huleu, the Explanation of the Catechism by Couturier, etc. These two authors contain everything a teacher needs; too great a variety leads to confusion in subject matter and in ideas. To explain the "catéchisme raisonné" the teacher could consult Frayssinous' conferences and Feller's Philosophical Catechism. Butler's Lives of the Saints and his treatise on moveable Feasts will give all the explanations necessary about the Feasts of the Year.

He should remember that he cannot speak too clearly. No thought or expression should be given out at random; everything should be geared to the strengths of the pupils, or rather their weaknesses. Only a few things should be said, and they should be said in clear terms and frequently repeated: definitions should be precise and short and always given in the same terms; finally all truths should be made attainable by examples, pictures and familiar comparisons.

In RE lessons everything about the teacher should be expressive: his manner, his expression, his tone of voice: in fact everything about him should indicate to his pupils the importance of what is being undertaken and how greatly it is worthy of their attention.

The teacher will repeat each lesson, entire or in parts, to each pupil to make sure that they know it by heart. But since repeating words without understanding the meaning does not constitute belief, the teacher will explain, as we have already indicated, anything which merits further development. Finally he will select various stories which the pupils can enjoy and will tell them: but, as St Augustine says, tell in such a way that the listeners believe by listening, hopes in believing, and loves in hoping.

A necessary condition for the use of these historical sources is to use them with discernment and not to allow any facts which are not completely certain. It could, perhaps, be allowed that anything is good for children; but they will become adults and any first impression founded on unlikely or uncertain stories will make them too credulous or will make them mistrust what they have learnt in their youth. The catechism is the word of God; nothing should be associated with it which would not stand up to scrutiny by the most expert of people or which would not be worthy of the majesty of Religion. I will point out here some works which the catechist could use in all confidence as a source of his stories: Shomond's History of Religion and his History of the Church; Butler's Lives of the Saints: Christian Doctrine Illustrated by 400 Examples; Edifying Stories by Baudrant, by Collet and by Father Reyre; and Edifying Insights into Ecclesiastical History, Lille 1833.

Towards the end of the RE lesson the teacher will go over once more the main explanations which he has given, will make several pupils repeat them and will even instruct them to write them out. He will end the lesson by indicating a few practical ways of putting the lesson into effect.

To ensure the pupils' attention the catechist must give his instruction in an interesting manner; should speak in a firm but moderate manner; act with a certain gravity tempered by gentleness; should not seem surprised nor hurt if a pupil answers badly; Above all he should make them feel that the doctrine he is teaching them is necessary to their eternal happiness as it is God's only Son who gave it to us.

The teacher will be at pains, therefore, more than at any other time, to forestall any faults which the pupils might commit so that he has no need to issue any punishments.

The teacher will say nothing in RE which he has not read in approved books of which he himself is absolutely certain; he will avoid making the pupils see as sin that which is not, as an article of faith that which is not. He will not easily decide whether anything is a mortal or venial sin; rather he will say, "that causes great offence to God", "that is a sin to be feared", "that is a sin which has serious consequences" etc. as he judges fit. Although he must never let it be believed that sins are more serious than they are, he should at the same time avoid the more serious error of making them seem small and of no consequence. An offence against God can be small, but nothing concerning God is of no consequence.