A fifteenth fundamental principle of the Hebrew government was education--the education of the whole body of the people, especially in the knowledge of the constitution, laws, and history of their own country.
An ignorant people cannot be a free people. Intelligence is essential to liberty. No nation is capable of self-government which is not educated to understand and appreciate its responsibilities. In a republican government, the whole power of education is required. Upon this principle Moses proceeded in the framing of his commonwealth.
The details of the arrangements for the education of the Hebrew people, contained in the Pentateuch, are but scanty. We are, therefore, greatly in the dark as to the specific means employed. So far, however, is clear that the Mosaic law required that the greatest pains should be taken to mold the minds, the principles, the habits, and manners of the young. Parents were, again and again, commanded to teach their children, from infancy, all the words of the law, and all the glorious facts of their national history. They were enjoined to talk of them, when they sat in the house, and when they walked by the way, when they lay down, and when they rose up.1 The whole system of legislation was crowded with commemorative rites and festivals. Into the meaning of these, it was taken for granted that the young would inquire, and it was ordained that their curiosity should be satisfied by the explanations of their sires.2 The Passover reminded them of the wonders of the exode; the Pentecost, of the terrific splendors which accompanied the giving of the law; the feast of tabernacles, of the hardships and miraculous supplies of the wilderness; and the monumental heap of stones at Gilgal, of the standing of the waters of Jordan upon a heap, to afford a passage to their forefathers. Even the borders of their garments, their gates, the frontlets between their eyes, and the posts and lintels of their doors, were to become their teachers by the laws and maxims which were inscribed upon them.3
It is hence plain, that Hebrew parents were required, not only to teach their children orally, but also to impart to them the arts of reading and writing. Since they were commanded to write them, they must themselves have learned the art of writing; and since they were to write them for the use of their children, these must have been taught the art of reading. There is reason to believe that the ability to read and write was an accomplishment more generally possessed by the Hebrews than by any other people of antiquity. This was certainly the case in the time of our Savior. In his addresses to the common people, he constantly appealed to them in such words as these: "Have ye not read what Moses with? Have ye not read in the scriptures?"4 Such language implies an ability, on the part of the people, to examine the scriptures for themselves. The same thing is indicated by a fact, stated by the evangelical historian concerning the inscription placed over the head of Jesus at his crucifixion: "This title then read many of the Jews."5 The writings of Josephus are crowded with testimonies as to the great care of the Hebrews in the education of their children. He says, among other things, that first of all they are taught the laws, as best fitted to promote their future happiness; that the people weekly assemble to hear them read, and to learn them exactly; and, to crown all, he adds--somewhat hyperbolically, no doubt--that, "if any one do but ask any of our people about our laws, he will more readily tell them all than he will tell his own name." "We find it to be the uniform testimony of Jewish writers, that the school was to be found in every district throughout the nation, and under the care of teachers, who were honored alike for their character and station." Maimonides, in his treatise on the study of the law, says, "Every Israelite, whether poor or rich, healthy or sick, old or young, is obliged to study the law; and even if so poor as to be maintained by charity, or beg his bread from door to door, and have wife and children, he must devote some time to the daily and nocturnal meditation of it." He asks, "How long ought a man to pursue the study of the law?" and replies, "Till death."
An important function of the Levites was to superintend the education of the people. The proofs of this proposition will be submitted in a subsequent chapter. For the present, I merely advert to the fact, in passing, that, in the reformation undertaken by Jehoshaphat, that excellent prince, in the true spirit of the Mosaic institution, commanded the priests to go though the land, and teach the people, city by city, the laws of Moses.6 Several of the leading political principles of Plato, as I have shown in the first book, were borrowed from the Hebrew lawgiver, but in no other point did his republic so closely resemble the Jewish, as in this, that he enjoined it upon all the citizens to learn accurately the laws.
In full harmony with the spirit of the Mosaic laws, and indeed as a natural result of their operation, higher seminaries of learning, under the name of "schools of the prophets,"7 were introduced and established among the Hebrews. These institutions were presided over by men venerable for their age, character, ability and learning. The notices of these schools in the sacred books are rather scanty, and this has given rise to various opinions concerning them. From their name some have conjectured that they were places of instruction in the art of prophecy. This absurd fancy was borrowed by Spinoza from the rabbins, and by him handed down to his followers, whence these sage logicians have inferred that prophecy was among the practical arts of the Hebrews, as much as carpentry or engraving. But of this we may be certain, that the schools of the prophets were seminaries of prophets, meaning by this term inspired men, only insofar as that those who were best instructed in the divine law, being best fitted to convey God's commands to the people, would, for that reason, be most likely to be chosen by him for that purpose. In opposition to the opinion of Spinoza, Bishop Warburton argues, with no little force, in support of the opinion that they were seminaries designed chiefly for the study of the Jewish law. It is probable, however, that they were not devoted exclusively to that department of study, but embraced within their scope other branches of knowledge, which were reckoned among the pursuits of learning in that day. They corresponded to the colleges and universities of modern times. They must have exercised a powerful influence on the mind and manners of the Jewish people. It was in the schools of the prophets that David imbibed that love for the religious and civil laws of his country, which glowed so intensely in his bosom, which sparkled in his inimitable lyrics, which became so copious a spring of blessing to his nation, and which won for himself the exalted title of the "man after God's own heart,"8 not morally and religiously, for that no man has ever yet been, but, as the whole scope of the passage shows, the man after God's heart as a civil ruler, a man imbued with the spirit, and devoted to the maintenance, of the national constitution.
There was a peculiarity in the Mosaic system of education which deserves our notice. It did not overlook the fact that every man has what Dr. Arnold calls two businesses--his particular business, as of a farmer, merchant, lawyer, or the like; and his general business, that which he shares in common with all his fellow citizens, his business as a man and a citizen. Most modern systems of education take but little notice of this distinction. They go upon the presumption that, if a man learns his particular business well, a knowledge of his general business will come of itself, or be picked up by the way. Not such was the view of Moses. He seems rather to have thought that every man would be impelled to make himself master of his particular business, since his bread depended on it; but that the knowledge of his general business, the want of which is less keenly felt, would be a more fit subject of legal provision. He intended that all his people should share in the management of the public affairs. He meant each to be a depository of political power. But he looked upon power as a solemn trust, and thought it incumbent on a legislator to take care that those who hold it would know how to discharge its duties. Hence, in legislating on the subject of education, he appears chiefly anxious to have his people instructed in the knowledge of their general business, that is, their duties as men and citizens. He belonged neither to that class of political philosophers who desire to see the mass of the people shut out from all political power, as always and under all circumstances unfit to exercise it, nor to that class who wish to see the power of the masses increased, irrespective of their ability to discharge so important a trust beneficially to the community. In his educational scheme, power and knowledge went hand in hand. The possession of the latter was regarded as essential to the right use of the former.
The old Romans have received the highest praises, because, conscious of the importance of imparting to the rising generation an early knowledge of the laws, they made the twelve tables one of the first elements of public instruction, requiring the youth to commit to memory their entire contents. They were sensible that what is learned at so early a period is not only likely to a long remembered, but is almost sure to command respect and veneration. But Moses gave a broader application to this principle than it ever received among the Roman people. The education enjoined by Moses was not, as among them, merely of the children of the highborn and the rich, but of all ranks and conditions. It was a fundamental maxim of his policy that no citizen, not even the lowest and the poorest, should grow up in ignorance. How much does he deserve the gratitude of mankind for so noble a lesson! In proportion as this idea enters into the constitution of a state, tyranny will hide its head; practical equality will be established; party strife will abate its ferocity; error, rashness, and folly will disappear; and an enlightened, dignified, and venerable public opinion will bear sway.
Upon the whole, it may be affirmed that in no part of the Hebrew constitution does the wisdom of the lawgiver shine with a more genial luster than in what relates to the education of the young. The provisions of the constitution on this point cannot be regarded otherwise than as the dictate of a wise, liberal, and comprehensive statesmanship; for, surely, it is in the highest degree desirable that every citizen should be acquainted with the laws and constitution of his country. Patriotism itself is but a blind impulse, if it is not founded on a knowledge of the blessings we are called upon to secure, and the privileges which we propose to defend. It is political ignorance alone that can reconcile men to the tame surrender of their rights; it is political knowledge alone that can rear an effectual barrier against the encroachments of arbitrary power and lawless violence.
In full accordance with the spirit of the Mosaic Legislation, is the beautiful prayer of David "that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace." Such was the political philosophy of the founder of the Hebrew state, and such was the practice of those statesmen in after times, who adhered most closely to the spirit of his institutions. From a survey of the whole matter, the conclusion seems warranted that the education of the Hebrew people, conducted mainly, though not wholly, under the domestic roof, was, nevertheless, a national education, and worthy of the imitation of other nations.
Especially does it deserve to be studied and copied, so far as that branch of education is concerned, which consists in development, as distinguished from instruction. The Hebrew law required an early, constant, vigorous, and efficient training of the disposition, judgment, manners, and habits both of thought and feeling. The sentiments held to be appropriate to man in society were imbibed with the milk of infancy. The manners considered becoming in adults were sedulously imparted in childhood. The habits regarded as conducive to individual advancement, social happiness, and national repose and prosperity, were cultivated with the utmost diligence. The greatest pains were taken to acquaint the Hebrew youth with their duties, as well as their rights, both personal and political. In a word, the main channel of thought and feeling for each generation was marked out by the generation which preceded it, and the stream for the most part flowed with a steady current.
Such a system of mental and moral culture as that for which the Hebrew constitution made provision could not be without rich fruits. The result was that the nation reached a high point of literary attainment and distinction. Under their most splendid and munificent monarch, the Hebrews enjoyed what may be called the golden age of their literature. "Solomon and his court were, in their day, the great center of attraction for those of all nations, who loved and honored knowledge. His wisdom excelled all the wisdom of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. He spake of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. His songs were a thousand and five, and his proverbs three thousand. And while he excelled in the wide fields of natural science, poetry, and ethics, the temple, which still bears his name, stood before the world a monument of skill and taste, which rendered it in after ages the original model of grace, majesty, and grandeur in architecture. Such gifted luminaries in the intellectual world do not shine alone. They usually belong to a constellation, and the king who sets such an example, is not likely to be without followers. There was, indeed, one cardinal feature in the Hebrew polity, which was pre-eminently favorable, at all times, to the cultivation of knowledge. By divine appointment the whole tribe of Levi was set apart for the service of religion and letters; and while many were employed before the altar and in the temple, others were devoted to study; many of whom, especially in the reign of Solomon, reached a high name both for their attainments in the science of their age, and the fidelity with which they made their learning available for the benefit of the people. Thus was produced that happy conjunction in the history of knowledge, when learning bestowed honor on the learned, and the learned brought honor on learning; when the highest attainments were deemed of value, not according as they gave distinction to him who had reached them, but according as they tended to improve and to bless the whole family of man. Among the Hebrews there was no monopoly of knowledge by a favored few. Intelligence was general in the degree and of the kind adapted to the various pursuits and duties of those among whom it was spread. The tongue and pen of even learned royalty were industriously employed in giving to knowledge that condensed and practical form, which might bring it within the reach of all, and make it available for the advantage of all; of the shepherd and vinedresser, as well as of the sons of the prophets."
NOTES:
1 Deuteronomy 6:7. 2 Exodus 7:4,15. 3 Deuteronomy 6:8-9. 4 Matthew 12:3, 19:4, 21:16, 22:31; Mark 2:25, 12:10,26; Luke 6:3. 5 John 19:20. 6 2 Chronicles 17:8-9. 7 1 Samuel 19:18; 2 Kings 2:3,5. 8 1 Samuel 13:14.
