s were required to commit to memory many
selections.

=The Sophists.=--The Sophists flourished during the fifth century
B.C. Their greatest exponents were Protagoras and Gorgias. They
introduced a movement of which Schwegler says, "It had struck its roots
into the whole moral, political, and religious character of the Hellenic
life of that time." They wandered about from place to place proclaiming
themselves as philosophers and bidding for the patronage of the rich by
charging large fees and considering public questions. They discussed
error and wrong with the same eloquence and zeal that they discussed
truth and justice, their purpose being to foster eloquence rather than
discover truth. Hence, we have the word "sophistry," which means
fallacious reasoning. And yet, in the words of Schwegler, "It cannot be
denied that Protagoras also hit upon many correct principles of
rhetoric, and satisfactorily established certain grammatical categories.
It may in general be said of the Sophists that they gave the people a
great profusion of general knowledge; ... that they called out
investigations in the theory of knowledge, in logic, and in language;
that they laid the basis for the methodical treatment of many branches
of human knowledge, and that they partly originated and partly assisted
the wonderful intellectual activity which characterized Athens at that
time."

Children of the poorer classes were kept in school until their
fourteenth or fifteenth year, when they learned a trade. Those of the
rich remained in school until their twentieth year. The course of study
of the latter included music, rhetoric, grammar, and philosophy. At
twenty the youth's education was regarded as completed, and the young
man became a citizen. Teachers were paid fees and not fixed salaries.

It was the atmosphere of Athens, more than the discipline of the school,
that fostered culture and inspired learning. The aim of education was
the _beautiful_, and the ideal was the aesthetic in mind and body.

=Criticism of Athenian Education.=--1. It sought to educate the entire
man, giving him beauty of form, keenness of intellect, and nobleness of
heart.

2. It acknowledged the right of parents to direct and determine the
education of their children.

3. It recognized the importance of the individual as no other people had
before.

4. Strict obedience was required of the children.

5. It produced great men, with high moral and intellectual ideals