thousand years education was entirely in the hands of the Church, whose
power was not always exercised for the good of humanity, but often for
the furtherance of her own ends. Still, it must not be forgotten that
all that was done for education was done by her, and therefore the world
owes her a debt of gratitude, as later pages will show. She did not
undertake the education of the masses, a task that was beyond her power,
and perhaps beyond the scope of her vision. Yet great honor is due the
Church for what was accomplished in education during the Middle Ages,
and to her alone must be given credit for an advancement in civilization
by no means small, considering the difficulties to be met and the
obstacles to be overcome. During this long period there were many bright
spots in the educational firmament, many brilliant leaders of the Church
who also were conspicuous educators, and many important movements toward
higher civilization. An examination of this period has led recent
historians to abandon the term "Dark Ages." A more careful study of some
of these leaders and the movements that they inaugurated will be
reserved to later pages.

We shall find the spirit of the period best illustrated by a study of
two great men who are preeminent in the educational affairs of the
time,--namely, Tertullian and St. Augustine.

TERTULLIAN (150-230)[30]

Tertullian was born at Carthage of pagan parents. He was converted to
Christianity when forty years of age, and by his talent, his zeal for
the new religion, and his faithfulness, he rose rapidly until he became
Bishop of Carthage. He was an orator, a writer, and a teacher. His
immoderate zeal led him into the vice of rigorism, quite foreign to the
real spirit of the Christian religion. He joined the Montanists, a sect
that believed in withdrawal from the world, the unlawfulness of second
marriages, and the speedy second advent of the Savior. Having received a
thorough training as a jurist at Rome, he became a great
controversialist.

He was the founder of Christian Latin literature, being bitterly opposed
to everything pagan. He would use nothing manufactured by the pagans,
would not dress like them, nor have anything to do with their schools or
writings. This of course excluded classic literature, and was in direct
opposition to the teachings of the catechetical schools, especially that
of Alexandria. Tertullian's attempt to create a literature for the
schools which should