Evening star., 1933-09-10

grounds The establishment was main
tanned by the government, and the
trainers were paid for their work.
The academy, In certain respects,
was an outgrowth of the gymnasium,
"a fashionable lounge" where men met
to walk or rest and to talk. A select
inner circle formed the habit Of as
sembling at Plato's house, and out
of that custom grew the so-called Pla-
tonic school. When the philosopher
died he bequeathed his property to
Speussippus. and he In turn passed ON
the establishment to Xenocrates. Thus
was created "the first endowment of
the first endowed college" 1t endured
until the destruction of the "old learn
ing by the Emperor Justinian in $40
Meanwhile, Aristotle. a pupil Of Pla-
to for 20 years, set up the Lyceum
School, where he lectured twice a day,
addressing q group Of regular attend
ants in the morning and the public
in the afternoon. His enterprise. like
the academy, had gymnasium back
ground, and was more OF public 10
rum than a quiet study hall. con-
siderable degree Of freedom prevailed
in subject material and methodology.
Logic and ethics, based ON geometry,
were the main themes.
l. It is interesting to note that the
Athenians appear to have possessed an
innate love Of poetry. 1t Is said that
there were many who could recite the
whole Of the 'Tliad" and the Odyssey"
Worlds First University.
The best of Greek culture flowered
founded by Alexander the Great, 332
BIC. THE museum he set up," writes
H. G. Wells, was In effect the first
university in the world. As its name
implies, it was dedicated to the service
Of the muses., which was also the case
with the Peripatetio School at Athens.
It was, however, a religious body only
In form, in order to meet the legal
difficulties Of endowment in q world
that had never foreseen such a thing
as q secular intellectual process. It
was essentially a college Of learned
men engaged chiefly in research and
record, but also to q certain extent In
teaching. At the outset, and for two
or three generations. the museum at
Alexandria presented such a scientific
constellation as even Athens at its best
could not rival. Particularly sound and
good was the mathematical and geo.
graphical work. The names Of Euclid.
familiar to every schoolboy; Eratos-
themes, who measured the size Of the
earth and came within so miles Of the
true diameter; Apollonius, who wrote
on comic sections, stand out. Hppar-
chus made the first attempt to catalogue
and map the stars with a view to
checking any changes that might be
occurring in the heavens. Hero de-
vised the first steam engine. Archim-
edes came to Alexandria to study
and remained frequent correspondent
of the museum. The Medical School
of Alexandria was equally famous. For
the first time in the worlds history
a standard Of professional knowledge
was set up But this scientific
blaze at Alexandria did not endure al
together for more than q century. The
organization Of the museum was not
planned to insure its mental continuity.
1t was royal college; its professors
and fellows, as we may call them,
were appointed and paid by Pharaoh.
The republican character Of the pri-
vate corporations called the schools or
academies at Athens was far more sta
BILE and independent The mu-
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