De miseriis paedagogorum

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De miseriis paedagogorum , German about the sorrows of teachers , is the title of a little satirical lament that Philipp Melanchthon wrote in humanistic Latin at the beginning of the 16th century ; in it he described the dark side of the teaching profession. Melanchthon, who was involved in several functions with the school system but was never a teacher at a trivial school , i.e. a Latin school for school-age boys, nevertheless takes the position of such a schoolmaster in this speech. Although some of the statements are polemical , they give an insight into the school system of that time.

Content and sources

[The text allocation is indicated by CR (Corpus Reformatorum) with number of columns]

In vivid pictures, Melanchthon lamented the limitless effort it took to get the boys used to the Latin language, as well as their joy in mocking their teacher and their flight to the pub and to the game of dice. Further complaints are the inadequate remuneration and the clouded relationship with the parents, who bring poorly prepared students without any love for science to the teacher and hold him responsible for all the mistakes of their son.

A literary model for the speech was the praise of the folly of Erasmus of Rotterdam . The text shares with him the satirically exaggerated tone and also some literal parallels. The speech is adorned with a multitude of allusions and quotations from ancient literature, from Herodotus to Cicero , Virgil , Ovid and Juvenal . Most of the quotes have no direct reference to the subject of the scriptures. One of the exceptions is a free quote from Plato (CR, 126): Plato wrote that no animal is more difficult to control than the boy .

Information about the school system

Through the ironically pointed complaint, the school goals and teaching methods become visible - the boys should be conveyed:

  • Oral command of the Latin language (CR 123)
  • Writing a Latin text (CR 125)
  • and through this and through the reading of certain Latin, ancient authors, who are not named, the development of a stylus by the student (CR 124)

The preferred teaching method is constant repetition (CR 122). The teacher should also encourage the student to speak in a friendly manner (CR 124): 

Saepe trahendi longius de industria sermones, ut consuetudinem latine loquendi puero faciliat
Häufig ist es ratsam, die Gespräche absichtlich in die Länge zu ziehen, um den Jungen an das Lateinsprechen zu gewöhnen.

He will only reluctantly resort to the beating and the rod as a last resort (CR 128).

Tradition and survival

The speech was first published in 1533 in the Orationes aliquot lectu dignissimae a Philippo Mel. Atque alijs doctissimis quibusdam in publica Vuittenbergensium schola pronunciatae . It was included in the Corpus Reformatorum (Volume XI, 121-130) and in 1961 by Richard Nürnberger in Robert Stupperich's edition of a selection of Melanchthon's works. In 2015, Carolin Ritter published an annotated edition with translation into German.

Most of the numerous complaints brought by teachers in the period that followed are already in this scripture. However, no direct citation or influence was proven.

Edition and literature

  • Uwe Birnstein : The humanist. What Philipp Melanchthon taught Europe , Berlin 2010.
  • Karl Hartfelder : Philipp Melanchthon as Praeceptor Germaniae in Monumenta Germaniae Paedagogica (Ed. Karl Kehrbach), Berlin 1889.
  • Carolin Ritter: Melanchthon / On the Sorrows of Teachers , Stuttgart 2015.
  • Richard Nürnberger: De miseriis paedagogorum oratio in Melanchton's works in selection (Ed. Robert Stupperich), Güterslohe 1961.
  • Franz Wachinger: Melanchthon, De miseriis paedagogorum oratio in The Ancient Language Teaching , Volume XL - Book 6.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Uwe Birnstein: The humanist. What Philipp Melanchthon taught Europe , The sufferings of teachers
  2. ↑ Carolin Ritter: Melanchthon / On the Sorrows of Teachers , p. 75
  3. ^ Karl Hartfelder: Philipp Melanchthon as Praeceptor Germaniae , p. 407
  4. ^ Karl Hartfelder: Philipp Melanchthon as Praeceptor Germaniae , p. 406f
  5. ^ Karl Hartfelder: Philipp Melanchthon as Praeceptor Germaniae , p. 410
  6. ^ Franz Wachinger: Melanchthon, De miseriis paedagogorum oratio , pp. 55f
  7. ↑ Carolin Ritter: Melanchthon / On the Sorrows of Teachers , Notes pp. 51–59
  8. ↑ Carolin Ritter: Melanchthon / On the sorrows of teachers , note 39: Plato, laws 6,766a
  9. ^ Translation: Carolin Ritter: Melanchthon / On the Sorrows of Teachers , p. 29
  10. ^ Translation: Carolin Ritter: Melanchthon / On the Sorrows of Teachers , p. 19
  11. ↑ Carolin Ritter: Melanchthon / On the Sorrows of Teachers , p. 74
  12. ↑ Karl Hartfelder: Philipp Melanchthon as Praeceptor Germaniae , p. 406