It is known to the whole world how weak and impotent the Russian army
was when it had no regular instruction, and how incomparably its strength
was increased and became great and terrible when our august monarch, his
Imperial Highness Peter the First, instructed it in a proper manner. The
same is true of architecture, medicine, political government, and all other
affairs.
But, most of all, that is true of the government of the Church: when there
is not the light of instruction, the Church cannot have any good conduct,
and impossibly can there be avoided disorder and superstitions that deserve
a great deal of ridicule, as well as strife, and most foolish heresies.
Many foolishly assert that instruction is the cause of heresy. But the heretics
of ancient days, the Valentinians, Manichaeans, Catharists, Euchites, Donatists
and others, whose stupid acts are described by Irenaeus, Epiphanius, Augustine,
Theodoret and others, raved, not through instruction, but through arrogant
foolishness. And did not our own dissenters rave so deliriously through
their lack of culture, and ignorance ? Though there are some heresiarchs,
such as were Arius, Nestorius and a few others, yet their heresies arose
not through instruction, but from an imperfect understanding of the Holy
Writ, and they grew and were strengthened through malice and false pride
which did not permit them to change their wrong opinion after they had discovered
the truth, and against their conscience. And though their instruction gave
them the power to use sophisms, that is, cunning proofs of their elucubrations,
yet he who would want to ascribe this evil simply to instruction would be
compelled to say that where a physician poisons a patient, his knowledge
of medicine was the cause thereof, and where a soldier valiantly and cunningly
strikes down the enemy, military art is the cause of killing. And when we
look through history, as through a telescope, at the past ages, we shall
discover more evil in the Dark Ages than in those that were enlightened
through culture. The bishops were not so arrogant before the fifth century
as they were afterwards, especially the bishops of Rome and Constantinople,
because before there was learning, and afterwards it grew less. If learning
were dangerous to the Church and State, the best Christians would not study
themselves, and would forbid others to study.; but we see that all our ancient
teachers studied not only the Holy Writ, but also profane philosophy. Besides
many others, the most famous pillars of the Church have advocated profane
learning, namely: Basil the Great in his instruction to the studying youths,
Chrysostom in his books on monastic life, Gregory the Theologue in his sermon
on Julian the Apostate. I should have a great deal to say, if I were to
dwell on this alone.
Good and thorough instruction is the root and seed and foundation of all
usefulness, both for the fatherland and the Church. There is, however, a
kind of instruction which does not deserve that name, though it is deemed
by certain clever but not well-informed men to be the real instruction.
Many are in the habit of asking in what schools such and such an one has
been educated? When they hear that he has been in rhetoric, philosophy and
theology, they are prone to place him very high, for the sake of those names,
but in that they frequently err, for not all get good instruction from good
teachers, one on account of his dulness, another on account of his laziness;
how much is that the case when the teacher is little, or not at all, proficient
in his subject!
It is important to know that from the sixth to the fifteenth century, that
is, for nine hundred years, all learning in Europe was of a very meagre
and imperfect character, so that we see in the authors who wrote at that
time great sharpness of wit, but small enlightenment. With the fifteenth
century there began to appear better-informed and more skilful teachers,
and by degrees many academies acquired a greater importance than in those
ancient Augustan times; many other schools, on the contrary, stuck fast
in their ancient slime, preserving, indeed, the names of rhetoric, philosophy
and other sciences, but in reality having none of them. Different causes
have led to this, but space does not permit their mention here.
People who have received, so to say, an empty and fantastic education in
these institution- are generally more stupid than those who have received
none at all. Being themselves in the dark, they deem themselves to be perfect,
and imagining that they have learned all that there is to be learned, neither
have the desire, nor think it worth while to read books and study more.
On the other hand, a man who has received the proper schooling is never
satisfied with his knowledge, and never stops learning, even though he has
passed the age of Methuselah.
But this is the greatest misfortune: the above-mentioned imperfectly instructed
people are not only useless, but also very harmful to society, State and
Church. They humble themselves beyond necessity before the authorities,
attemptin- through cunning to appropriate to themselves favours, and crawl
into higher places. They hate people of the same standing as themselves,
and if anyone is praised for his learning, they use their utmost endeavour
to depreciate and denounce him before the people and authorities. They are
prone to take part in rebellions, hoping to gain advantages for themselves
through them. When they take to theological discussions, they cannot help
falling into heresies, for, being ignorant, they easily fall into error,
after which they will not change the opinion they have uttered, for fear
of appearing not to have known all. But wise men have this proverb: "
It is the property of a wise man to change his opinion."