Philosophy of Teaching

Saint Augustine's De Magistro, Englished here under the title of "The Philosophy of Teaching or a Study in the Symbolism of Language", was written about A.D. 389, probably during the third year after his conversion. He was baptized by Saint Ambrose in Milan at Easter time, 387. The purpose of the translation ismainly to place within the reach of English readers, students and teachers some tangible evidence of facts in the lives of Christian thinkers, to show the quality of their thought, their methods of teaching, their contribution to the education and the learning of their time. A chief aim of the translator has been to do something to counteract a widely prevalent tradition in the "history of education", which exhibits the Christian Fathers unfairly and untruthfully as patrons of "reaction" and leaders in a "retrograde movement". - Summary by Introductory