“Too strict? I’m a fan of the scholastic method, Miss Prim. Don’t expect me to be critical of educational rigor. To be honest, I don’t have a very high opinion of the education system of the past fifty years.”
“But it’s more than rigor, Horacio. His methods are archaic and outlandish, just like him. I assume you know that when he’s not giving the children their lessons, or playing at medieval tournaments with them, he spends hours shut up by himself. Sometimes he cloisters himself away almost all day, and it’s not unusual for him to miss lunch and dinner. Do you really believe that’s part of some educational strategy?”
Her host laughed with relish. He got up and went into the house, returning with two books. He sat down at the table again and poured himself a second cup of coffee before opening one of the volumes.
“My dear Miss Prim, I’m going to explain something to you. I presume you’ve readPantagruelby Rabelais?”
“Of course.”
“Well then, I want you to understand that our Man in the Wing Chair, as you call him, is very like Gargantua in his method of educating the children.”
“How do you mean?”
“Let me explain. There’s a passage inPantagruelwhere Gargantua tells his son all the things he wants him to learn. I’m sure you know it. Let me see... yes, here it is. Would you care to read it and see if it reminds you of anything?”
Miss Prim took the book from him and began reading aloud.
“I intend, and will have it so, that thou learn the languages perfectly; first of all the Greek, as Quintilian will have it; secondly, the Latin; and then the Hebrew, for the Holy Scripture sake; and then the Chaldee and Arabic likewise.”
“Don’t tell me he’s teaching the children Hebrew, Arabic, and Chaldaic?” she asked, aghast.
“Oh no, though he’s a great linguist himself, especially in the dead languages. No, he’s not teaching them Arabic, but he is teaching them Greek, Latin, and some Aramaic, the latter more for sentimental than academic reasons. But please, continue reading.”
Miss Prim took up the book again obediently.
“And that thou frame thy style in Greek in imitation of Plato, and for the Latin after Cicero. Let there be no history which thou shalt not have ready in thy memory; unto the prosecuting of which design, books of cosmography will be very conducible and help thee much. Of the liberal arts of geometry, arithmetic, and music, I gave thee some taste when thou wert yet little, and not above five or six years old. Proceed further in them, and learn the remainder if thou canst. As for astronomy, study all the rules thereof.?”
“I don’t wish to tire you; please let me summarize the rest. In civil law, Gargantua wants his son to ‘know the texts by heart, and then to confer them with philosophy.’ And as for nature, he teaches him that the world is one big school. He wants there to be ‘no sea, river, nor fountain, of which thou dost not know the fishes; all the fowls of the air; all the several kinds of shrubs and trees, whether in forests or orchards; all the sorts of herbs and flowers that grow upon the ground; all the various metals that are hid within the bowels of the earth; together with all the diversity of precious stones that are to be seen in the orient and south parts of the world.’ ”
“Impressive,” she murmured.
“Yes, it is. He requires that he learn about medicine and man. He wants to see in his son an ‘abyss of knowledge.’ ”
“Is this whathewants from the children? It’s ridiculous, they’re too young.”
“I won’t lie to you; I think it’s wonderful. For me, it’s an exciting academic adventure. But allow me to show you another of the texts that have inspired his teaching of philosophy and you’ll understand a little better what it’s all about. You may not be familiar with this one. It’s the letter from Jerome of Stridon to Laeta. St. Jerome, as you know, is the author of the magnificent translation—”
“The Vulgate.”
“That’s right. He spent many years as a hermit in the desert studying the Scriptures before returning to Rome and finally settling in Bethlehem. He’s unquestionably an intellectual giant, a man with a prodigious mind and a temperament and will of iron. He was extremely strict with himself, extremely demanding. Well, at one point during his time in Bethlehem, he received a letter from a woman called Laeta, asking for advice about her young daughter’s education.”
“And did he recommend that she punish her by making her kneel with her arms outstretched?” asked Miss Prim with a smile.
“No, absolutely not,” replied her host vehemently. “In my opinion, he gave her some admirable advice. In his letter he explains to Laeta that he believes it essential for children to learn foreign languages, especially Greek and Latin, from an early age because, as he writes: ‘For, if the tender lips are not from the first shaped to this, the tongue is spoilt by a foreign accent.’ This is no more and no less than one of your young employer’s guiding principles, my dear. St. Jerome recommends, of course, daily reading of the Scriptures.”
“So, in fact, it all has a purpose?”
“One day we’ll discuss purposes. Meanwhile, enjoy what you see... and join in. I’m sure you can answer little Eksi’s questions on the character flaws of the heroines of English literature much better than he can.”
Back at the house, Miss Prim opened the garden gate and proceeded along the stately autumnal hydrangea path with a distracted air. She’d never considered the possibility of teaching any child anything. Or any adult, for that matter. She didn’t even know if she could, and besides, he hadn’t asked her to and probably wouldn’t even approve. She could still remember the look of disappointment that passed across his face on the afternoon she arrived, when she’d confessed that she had a considerable number of qualifications.
“Damn him and his arrogance,” she muttered indignantly.
She was not going to concern herself with the children. She had quite enough to do with her own work.
4
Alittle over a month after her meeting with Horacio, Miss Prim began to notice the undertaking of the first attempts to remedy her unmarried state. At first she didn’t attach much importance to them; after all, it was rather flattering to know that she was the focus of village gossip. It was an exceptionally traditional community and, as such, its members probably wondered why a good-looking young woman like her wasn’t married, or at least engaged. So when, one morning, Madame Oeillet, owner of the biggest flower shop in the village, asked with a wink where she’d left her wedding ring, Miss Prim was not surprised.
