The Education of Children
- Language:
- English
- Status:
- Complete work
- Authorship:
- Written by the author
- Condition of the text:
- No scanning noise detected (automatic measure over the whole text, not checked by hand)
- Extent:
- ~25,500 words · 121 passages
Cite this work
- APAErasmus. (n.d.). The Education of Children. Digital reproduction: SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/erasmus/the-education-of-children
- MLAErasmus. The Education of Children. Digital reproduction, SigPhi, https://sigphiai.com/en/works/erasmus/the-education-of-children.
- ChicagoErasmus. The Education of Children. Digital reproduction, SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/erasmus/the-education-of-children.
Reference to the edition that SigPhi reproduces: SigPhi is its digital reproduction, not its publisher. The edition's year is not in the metadata (hence "n.d."), and the translator appears only when recorded.
What it is about
De pueris instituendis (1529): how a child should be educated, and from when.
Context and history
Against corporal punishment and against waiting until the child is 'old enough': Erasmus argues that education begins at once and should be a pleasure. It is one of the texts that made the modern school, and it is still striking how plainly he says it. An English translation. Erasmus's Latin, which is what should be cited, is in the catalogue only in the anthology of epistles.
Editorial context, not a citable source: unlike the passages of the work itself, these statements cannot be checked against the corpus.
eu[en] assone as the chylde commeth oute of the mothers wombe, they take greate charge of thys. And they do well, for the infancie not regarded, oftentymes causeth men to haue a syckely and sore disseased olde age, if they happen to come to it. Yea moreouer or euer the chyld be born, yet dothe the mother take great heede: Thei eate not of euery meat when they be greate with chylde, they take heede that they moue not theyr bodie to hurte them: and if there happen any thyng to fall vpon their face, by and by they take it away wyth theyr hand, and laye it vpon the priuie part of theyr body. It hath ben proued by many experimentes, that by this remedie the deformitie whych wold haue bene on that part of y^e body that is sene, hathe lyen hyd in the secrete place. No mã calleth this to hasty a care whych is vsed for the worser parte of man. Why then is that parte of man, wherby we be properly called menne, neglected so many yeres? ¶ Shuld he not do all agaynste gods forbod which wold trim his cap, lettyng his head be vnkempt, and all scabbed? Yet much more vnreasonable is it that we shuld bestow iuste labours vpon the mortall bodye, and to haue no regarde of the immortal soule.…