Fig. 5.--School materials from wall paintings: (_a_) Wax tablet and _capsa_, containing rolls, or books. (_b_) Three _stili_, _capsa_, and roll leaning against it. (_c_) Wax tablet, with _stilus_ tied to it.]
[Illustration: Fig. 6.--Scene at a _ludus_ or Roman elementary school, taken from a fresco found at Herculaneum.]
Methods so devoid of interest were naturally accompanied by severe discipline. The rod, lash, and whip seem to have been in frequent use, and the names ordinarily applied to schoolmasters in Latin literature are suggestive of harshness and brutality. Moreover, a fresco found at Herculaneum depicts a boy held over the shoulders of another, with the master beating the victim upon the bare back (Fig. 6). Under these circumstances, no real qualifications were required of the teacher, and his social standing was low. The Greek custom of having the boy accompanied to and from school by a slave that was otherwise incapacitated by age or physical disability soon came to be imitated by the Romans. When a special building was employed for the school, it was usually a mere booth or veranda, and the pupils sat on the floor or upon stones.
=Grammar Schools.=--The ‘grammar’ school grew out of the increasing literary work of the _ludus_. But, while offering a more advanced course, it would seem to belong in part at least to the elementary stage of education, especially as its work was never sharply divided from that of the _ludus_. The young Roman might attend both a Greek and a Latin grammar school, but, in case he did, usually went first to the former. The curriculum in each consisted, according to Quintilian, of ‘the art of speaking correctly’ and ‘the interpretation of the poets,’ or, in other words, of a training in grammar and literature. ‘Grammar’ may, however, have included some knowledge of philology and derivations, as well as drill on the parts of speech, inflections, syntax, and prosody, and practice in composition and paragraphing. The literary training was obtained by writing paraphrases of the best authors, textual and literary criticism, commentaries, and exercises in diction and verse-writing. Some other studies, like arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, geography, and music may also have been added in time, from the suggestions of Plato, but the Romans naturally gave them a practical bearing. Some gymnastics, mostly for military training, were often in the course. The methods in the grammar schools were somewhat better than those of the _ludus_, but the commentary of the teacher on the text was usually taken down _verbatim_ by the pupil. The discipline, in consequence, was not much in advance of that of the lower schools. But the accommodations for these secondary schools were decidedly superior, and the buildings not only possessed suitable seats for the pupils and teacher, but were even adorned with paintings and sculpture.