Rhetoric in the Study Programs of Melanchthon and in the Jesuit study program, the Ratio studiorum.

What is it about?

In the 16th. century secondary education was reformed and many new schools were opened in both the Protestant and the Catholic areas. The transformative educational reforms of protestant reformer Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560), rector of the University of Wittenberg, and the Jesuit schools in southern Europe and outside of Europe were based on shared humanistic ideals and the love of classical learning. Notwithstanding the theological controversies, rhetoric was at the center of the educational activities of the Protestant Melanchthon and the Catholic Jesuits because it offered a theory, a method, and practical competencies, important to both churches. In my article I focus on topics and themes common to Melanchthon’s texts on rhetoric and the chapter on rhetoric in the Jesuit study program, Ratio studiorum (used universally in the Jesuit colleges). I conclude that potential conflicts between Ciceronian humanism and Christian theology were handled by setting up a minutely detailed, daily program for students, alternating between studies of classical authors and carefully selected passages from Scripture and pious activities such as attending mass. My readings also indicate that the humanistic legacy was evolved in different ways by Melanchthon and the Jesuits.

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Photo by BEN ELLIOTT on Unsplash

Photo by BEN ELLIOTT on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The relation between religion and science, i.e. rationalistic methods and discourse, has been controversial since the rise of modern educational systems, including colleges and universities, in the 16th century. The humanist reformers were optimistic in their belief that the juxtaposition of secular and christian texts would lead to a pious erudition and a better society.

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