factious

these illus

On one occasion we are told that the whole The University was split up into̟ angry factions in the spirit of interest of rival teachers. But Proæresius had by trated by Eunapius far the largest following. All Pontus and Bithynia Proar. grouped itself around him. The western coast of Asia, from Lydia to Tarsus, was with him to a man. Even Egypt and the regions far beyond to unknown distances flocked to hear him and to sound his praises. So hot grew the disputes at times among them, that the teachers hardly dared to show themselves outside their doors, and lectured in their houses, lest their appearance in the streets, escorted home by their young partisans, should be the signal for a riot. One such we hear of more at length in the pages of Eunapius, and it may serve to illustrate. still further the relation of tutor to his pupils.

Julian, the leading Sophist of his time, in the early part of the fourth century, had kept himself carefully in doors, and taught his scholars in his theatre, for fear of an affray; but some of them were set upon by students of the rival faction of Apsines, who, not content with such rough usage, actually cited them before a court of law, as if the others were the aggressors.

The case was brought for hearing before the Provincial Governor himself, who had Julian apprehended, with all his pupils who were concerned in the affair. Apsines too was present to advise and

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prompt his friends the prosecutors, though the Judge eyed him sternly, and asked him what business he had there. In came the accused, in bonds and piteous plight, while their Professor, dressed in mourning, stood beside them. The counsel for the prosecution then began, but the Magistrate soon cut him short, and bade the accuser state his case in his own words. But he stood stammering and confused, for he and his friends only came prepared to hiss and clamour down the speaker on the other side. As they kept silence, Julian humbly begged to be allowed to say a word. No one of you doctors,' said the Judge, shall have a chance of letting off the speeches you came primed with, nor shall any of your scholars clap you. The prosecutor shall open his case first, then, Julian, do you name any of your pupils whom you like to plead in your defence, and let him do his best.' The accuser was dumbfounded still, and the laughing-stock of all the court. Julian therefore humbly pointed to his pupil Proæresius, and asked to have him set free from his bonds, engaging that he at least should find his voice. Proæresius was brought forward, and encouraged by his master, as athletes by their friends on their entering the lists. He prefaced his speech with a few touching words of complaint at his own sorry plight, and of respectful reference to his

teacher, hinting even that the Judge was acting harshly in letting him be dealt with so ignominiously when nothing had been proved against him. The Magistrate bowed his head to hide his mingled feelings of shame and of surprise, so skilfully was the rebuke administered, and so graceful was the style. The speaker then continued; but scarcely had he spoken a few words, when the Judge bounded like a young enthusiast from his chair, and shook his robe of State with loud applause, while even the Professor of the rival faction forgot his enmity in admiration. After this story it is curious to turn to the memoirs of Libanius, and read his account of the impression made upon his young imagination by such tales of student life as made their way to him

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at Antioch. When I heard of the fighting in the streets of Athens, of the clubs and stones and the cold steel, of the wounds given and received, of the prosecutions and defence in courts of law, and of all the perils endured by the young men for the honour of their teachers, I thought as highly of their courage in facing danger as if they were fighting for their fatherland. I prayed to Heaven that I too might one day signalise myself in this way, hurrying to the Piræus or to Sunium, to carry off the novices as soon as they had landed.' Yet he was soon disenchanted with the vulgar facts, and thought the

Effect of

such stories

of students'

brawls on

the imagi

nation of

the young

Libanius.

i. 16.

Yet he

taunts his

pupils in

later years

for not fighting for him.

i. 203.

Town and gown riots.

poor Professors whom he heard quite unworthy of
such self-devotion, and thanked his guardian angel
that he was saved from all such risks. But strange
to say, in later years, long after he had filled a
public Chair himself, he could not help recurring to
such brawls as a proof of the affection of the scholars
for their teachers. He even taunts his pupils with
the sights that he had seen elsewhere; 'wounds on
the head and face and hands, wounds everywhere,
sure evidence of the love they bore their tutors, as
great as for their parents. But you,' he adds dis-
dainfully, what service of this sort in my behalf
can any
of you point to? What risk or blow encoun-
tered, or what bold word or look? Nay, far from
that, you run away to other teachers, taking your
fees with you, and so rob one Professor, while you
pay court to another.' It is not easy to imagine a
state of feeling so unlike our own, or to realise the
possibility of such complaints made gravely from a
Professorial Chair.

We light upon a more familiar feature when we find that the riots of the students were not always the mere contests of rival factions; even in those days there were town and gown disorders, in which, unlike our later times, the gownsmen were most often the aggressors, breaking even into the houses of the citizens, and maltreating those they found within.

As usually in ancient cities, the police force was inefficient, and the Governor had at times to interfere, and to punish the offenders. He had probably good reason for thinking that the teachers were in

6

fault, or as Libanius puts it, he chastised the shepherds when the sheep ran wild.' The lecturer therefore does not fail to press good advice on his Lib. iii. 254. young friends. They should indeed be models of courteous amenity, charming the unlettered townsmen by the beauty of their manners, not forsaking the soft dalliance with the Muses for the rude logic of rough words and broken heads, not bandying abuses with carpenters and cobblers, nor forgetting all at once the sobering influence of the daily service in the temples.

upon the

iii. 252.

There was besides another class which suffered Attacks now and then from the wild frolics of the wanton pedagogues or private youth. A lecture of Libanius brings a scene before tutors. our fancy, in which a poor pedagogue is tossed in a blanket by some students who resented an act of seeming disrespect. A Proctor or Dean of later days, if the offence were brought before him, would administer rebuke or penalty in a few moments. But we realize more easily the wordy spirit of that age, when we find that the Professor writes, delivers, publishes a lengthy speech to his class among which were the offenders, drawing a