Eugene Devlin, SJ, "Character Formation in the Ratio Studiorum" (1953)

[213] In the words of Fr. Martín the Ratio's distinction lies in its spirit and method.[1] If spirit may be taken in the sense of animating principles then a characteristic principle of the Ratio is that mind and will be trained in one relation. The Ratio considered development of intellectual capacity inadequate and unrealistic unless the will was at the same time strengthened in good. The end product of training in such a system was not only an educated man but a man of virtue and character as well. Hence, as Farrell states, "a theology of sanctification and salvation is intrinsic to the system."[2]

St. Ignatius no less pointedly expressed the purpose of the Society in the direction of schools.

Let these schools be conducted in such a way that the students are solidly formed in Christian doctrine . . . and let care be taken, that while learning literature they also learn to act in a way worthy of a Christian.[3]

And further on he writes:

Every effort should be made to ensure that those who frequent our schools in search of learning should at the same time acquire a knowledge of what is rightly expected of a gentleman and a Christian.[4] 

It was clear that the framers of the Ratio did not intend to formulate a detailed and specific program for character development from the psychological viewpoint. Only in one edition, the Ratio of 1586, was particular mention made of the psychological content underlying its directives. Consequently, it was necessary to infer principles valid for a psychological approach to character formation from various rules covering organization, curriculum and method. The problem of the investigation [214] was, therefore, to discover whether there were in the Ratio Studiorum certain distinctive psychological principles which effectively contribute to a school program of character development.

Psychological principles were understood to be certain fundamental sources of human activity flowing from man's nature as a composite being. Such principles included imagination, memory, intellect, emotions, and will. Character formation was defined as a directed and purposeful training of the student's intellectual and volitional powers to assist him to acquire worthwhile ideals, self-control through a disciplined will, suitable moral habits, emotional control, and moral integrity. An objective character program is one which takes into account the demands of the student's psychological nature in its supernatural as well as natural aspects. 

The procedure used in the present investigation was that of documentary analysis. The rules of the Ratio were analyzed in the light of fundamental psychological principles of Scholastic philosophy. the material for the analysis was taken principally from the official edition of the Ratio Studiorum of 1599. The editions of 1586, 1591, 1832, and the works of Jesuit educators of the past and present were used as supplementary guides for interpretation.

At the outset certain definite factors of a psychological nature were accepted as basic for an objective school character program. These factors were moral instruction; development of worthy ideals; will training; acquisition of correct moral habits; and constructive school discipline. The basis for accepting these particular elements was a survey of representative contributions of contemporary Catholic and secular authorities to the field of character education. These factors constituted the guiding norms for the investigation of the Ratio's character program.

Moral instruction. In the Ratio moral principles were taught primarily through the medium of the religion class. The aim of religious instruction was to awaken in Jesuit students a just pride in the heritage of their Faith and at the same time to equip them with the intellectual ability to solve for themselves the social, moral, and religious problems of life. Religious instruction was authoritative and practical. It sought to establish strong personal convictions about the teachings of Christian faith which would result in conscious and deliberate application to conduct. The aim of the program was, in short, to produce men who as a result of informed convictions would be able to contribute through influence, service and example to the upbuilding of God's kingdom on earth.[5]

Religion was meant to be a vital force cutting across every aspect of [215] student activity. At his entrance into the school the student accepted a double responsibility, namely, to tend to intellectual and moral perfection. Ambition, desire, social prestige and material advancement were to be regulated by religious principles.[6] Consequently, a systematic attempt was made to develop the spiritual side of the student's character. Religious practices included regular attendance at Mass, sermons, the reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and regular confession.[7] The framers of the Ratio were conscious of the importance of the role of divine grace in building firm moral character and found these practices and effective means to secure it.

In addition to formal instruction the environment of the Jesuit school was a powerful indirect force for religious training. It was intended to create an encouraging background for transforming Catholic thought and culture in the practice of virtue and religious perfection. The example of teachers was enlisted to intensify the religious outlook of students by showing them a concrete and living expression of adherence to Christian moral principles. Care was taken to make the formation of religious habits natural and spontaneous rather than forced and artificial.[8]

Another characteristic of the Ratio was its insistence on the ancient classics as a medium for imparting abiding and universal values. The framers of the Ratio realized that one of the first steps in the Christianization of youth is to make it human and spiritual. From an intimate contact with the classical culture carried out under Christian auspices they hoped to give students a true appreciation of the spiritual values which are the foundation of realistic moral training.[9]

The study of the Latin and Greek classics was a practical means for providing students with a first-hand account of the virtues and failings of pagan culture. Teachers were encouraged to make every reasonable effort to compare the life, philosophy and morals of ancient civilization with the supernatural and eternal values of Christian teachings. Early Christian writers and selections from the Latin and Greek Fathers were recommended to express simply and forcefully the intrinsic nobility and superiority of Christian living.[10] Contact with the classics was considered a practical method for developing in students the ability to evaluate on a sound moral basis the ways of men, to approve the punishment of the wicked, to appreciate the wisdom of the wise.[11]

[216] Development of ideals. Training for character begins with knowledge of true and worthy ideals of conduct. These ideals are types of excellence, spiritual values, duties, obligations of life, incentives to moral conduct which are meant to be actualized through the activity of intellect and will. The Ratio provided the student with a picture of what he should be and how he should act. Its rules pictured for him a practical ideal type of gentleman and Christian.[12] The early Jesuit educators were convinced that religion was the richest source of compelling ideals and worthy moral examples. The religious ideal was considered essential. The rules mentioned it frequently as the primary source of all ideals and the guiding norm for the process of character formation.[13]

The teacher was given an important and direct role in the process of communicating worthy ideals. The Ratio expected him to find occasion, in the ordinary teaching process, to instill in his students love for God, respect for authority, devotion to the virtues of Christian life. Outside the classroom he was urged to find frequent opportunity to encourage a spirit of practical piety and a desire for religious ideals.[14]

In a variety of ways the Jesuit student was reminded that the practice of virtue was an integral part of his social life. School regulations were intended not only as a corrective but also to direct external actions according to a pattern which proved to be an accurate reflection of Christian moral and social ideals. Virtue and integrity in conduct was considered no less important than achievement in literature and learning.[15]

The communication of worthwhile ideals has a direct influence on the evolution of correct moral habits. The essential thing in forming habits of conduct is not just the repetition of an act but the assimilation of an ideal value. This principle was recognized in the Ratio.[16] The work recommended to the Jesuit teacher was to unveil those values which are basic to the concept of an educated, Christian gentleman. The curriculum itself was a practical medium for bringing students into contact with spiritual values such as the true, the good, the beautiful. The particular aspect under which these appear in a given subject need not prevent the teacher from linking them in the minds of his students with their supreme and perfect fulfillment, God. This is to make the aim of [217] learning to rethink the thoughts of God. In and out of the classroom the Ratio sought to provide the social-divine atmosphere in which such ideals could flourish.[17]

One of the chief values the Ratio strove to build up in students was a right sense of personal dignity. The framers of the Ratio realized that as self is at the core of human actions a balanced sense of personal dignity is an essential requirement for right conduct. In its disciplinary directives, in provision for emulation and rivalry in the classroom the Ratio kept the ideal of personal dignity before the student and expected him to make it a chief rule of conduct.[18] Through the medium of the drama, from carefully staged pageants to informal class dialogs, the concept of personal dignity received forceful expression in the lives of worthy men and women of classical times, in the saints of the Christian era, and in the life of Jesus Christ the perfect model.[19]

Will training. To actualize high  moral principles a necessary condition is a strengthened and developed will. The rules of the Ratio contained the essential elements for a systematic procedure of successful will training. As is clear form its directives for external conduct, study, and religious exercises, the Ratio took the realistic view that intelligent appreciation of moral principles and ideals must be reinforced by effective volitional practice.

Whatever is voluntary is done on account of some good to be derived from the action. The first motive of the will is its tendency to happiness. The special objective proposed by the Ratio was to train students to distinguish happiness from mere pleasure, to realize that utility and mere temporal happiness are by no means ultimate tests of what is good and honorable.[20] Consequently, the student was encouraged to act deliberately and in conformity with the moral principles which he had learned to accept.

Class and extra-curricular experiences, in particular, gave wide scope to the practice of virtue, responsibility, and self-control.[21] In addition, the scholarship requirements of these early Jesuit schools made severe and exacting demands on student perseverance. Penalties for inaccuracy and lack of effort were made purposely severe to act as an effective deterrent to unscholarly attitudes. Recitations and class exercises were [218] carried out in a high spirit of rivalry which provided a constant incentive to individual application and initiative.[22]

An important element in the process of will training is motivation. Character motivation in the Ratio was both natural and supernatural. Normal healthy desire for success and reputation was used to good effect. Students were encouraged to observe school regulations from the motive of honor and hope of reward than from fear of punishment. Honor and praise were judged practical and proper means to encourage the practice of virtue. Such motives, however, were to be used in moderation and always in due subordination to the demands of justice and religion.[23]

The most highly regarded motivation was centered on religion. Precept, example, suggestion and private conversations were some of the practical methods used to impress on the student the importance of religion as a realistic and central value for life conduct. The work of the classroom was consecrated to God by prayer. The class teacher was urged to follow up instruction in Christian doctrine by personal contact whose object was to instill practical piety and devotion. The religious motive was given prominence in ordinary school experiences wherever possible—in the practice of public and private devotion, in devoted reception of the Sacraments, in the exercise of virtue and the elimination of faults.[24] In this connection mention should be made of the practice of the daily examination of conscience which was recommended to all students. As a spiritual and psychological device for checking bad habits and building habits of virtue its worth has long been recognized.[25]

Another realistic outlet for will training was the Sodality with its several academies. The Sodality was the principal extra-curricular activity recommended by the Ratio.[26] These honor societies in the Jesuit school served to effectively integrate intellectual and volitional aspects of student development by encouraging high spiritual ideals and by intensifying activity in intellectual and moral fields.[27] While satisfying the normal adolescent tendency for group activity they were at the same time a practical medium for translating religion into action.

Habits. The formation of worthwhile volitional habits is also basic to the psychological process of character formation. As Castiello has [219] confirmed experimentally, habits of this type will not be effectively reduced to action unless the student has assimilated appropriate intellectual or moral ideals.[28] The contribution of the Ratio with respect to such ideals has already been determined. The same experimenter adduced another important conclusion. Moral habits, as essentially interior forms, are greatly determined by the kind of environment in which they are evolved. An environment which is forced, artificial, and incapable of arousing the immanent powers of will and intellect will not prove a satisfactory milieu for the evolution of lasting moral habits. The whole spirit and atmosphere of the early Jesuit school was opposed to the formation of habits which were the result of mere repetition of externally imposed acts. Instead, it encouraged action which was the result of spontaneous, deliberate choice according to previously adopted ideals.[29]

The regulations of the Ratio covering individual conduct were directed toward the cultivation of habits of responsibility and self-mastery. The principle behind these directives implied intelligent, free obedience from reasonable motives rather than mechanically or through fear.[30] Habits of devotion were formed by daily attendance at Mass, regular reception of the Sacraments, prescribed prayers and continual encouragement to the practice of virtue.[31] The Jesuit classroom also had its role in forming intellectual and moral habits. through exacting class regulations and teaching procedures students were trained to face problems and assignments in logical and orderly fashion. Teachers were admonished to promote good study habits and to provide opportunities to acquire habits of industry and perseverance.[32]

The activity of the classroom was considered a practical outlet for exercising responsibility. Students were chosen to handle much of the routine work of the classroom. Individual responsibility was also exercised in the organization and conduct of scholastic contests. The spirit of rivalry which was promoted between classes and different sections of the same class was a dynamic and practical exercise for building habits of self-control and virtue.[33] The direction and government of the Sodality and the literary academies was left substantially to the control of student officers and members. These organizations had prescribed [220] objectives and their activity was regulated by a definite set of rules which revealed a realistic and well-balanced outlook toward the development of student self-mastery.[34]

The role of the teacher in encouraging the development of habits received emphasis in the Ratio. Its directives to teachers take account of the natural tendency of adolescents to imitate the actions of their instructors. Jesuit teachers by profession and religious training were expected to furnish a high degree of the inspiration needed to make the practice of virtue appealing to adolescents. Their personal influence and the example of their religious life was meant to evoke in students a generous impulse to acquire the same habits and to practice the same virtues. The character of the Jesuit teacher was intended to reflect a well-balanced combination of natural and supernatural virtue and worthy social and moral habits.[35]

Constructive discipline. The Ratio recognized the value of discipline as a constructive force in the formation of character. It found no justification for the theory that the student should be permitted to follow impulses and inclinations without restraint. Consequently, its disciplinary legislation was intended to exercise a moderate but realistic restraining force on student conduct.

It was characteristic of the Ratio's outlook on discipline to encourage a reasoned, deliberate response to school regulations. The advantages to be gained from external order and uniformity did not justify rigid and mechanical enforcement of rules. In discipline as in studies the Ratio sought to make emulation and hope of honor the practical corrective.[36] Teachers were admonished to avoid the use of fear as a motive for securing obedience. They were encouraged, instead, to become acquainted with their students in order to win their conformity from respect and devotion.[37] Where punishment had to be assigned for some offense the teacher was recommended to impose literary tasks. If such methods did not prove sufficient, and, as a last resort corporal punishment was judged necessary, he was never to administer it himself but send a boy to the Corrector, a non-religious officer appointed for the purpose.[38] By this moderate policy the Ratio sought to teach the naturally impulsive adolescent the need for restraint in the use of individual liberty without at the same time arousing resentment for all authority.

The Ratio's disciplinary legislation was entrusted to the principal, or, [221] where necessary, to an administrative assistant, the prefect of discipline, and to the class teacher. The principal was charged with the obligation of governing the school in such a way that students might attain the Society's double education goal, intellectual and moral perfection. With respect to discipline this meant the general supervision of order and regularity in the school. He was to be especially vigilant for discipline during periods of recreation, time of Mass, confessions and public exercises. Teachers were also expected to be acquainted with the rules of the school and they shared in the responsibility for exact enforcement. Infractions of school and class order were to be referred daily to the proper authority.[39]

the first of fifteen rules governing student conduct centers attention on the supernatural and natural aim of their school training To reinforce this high aim, the third, fourth, fourteenth and fifteenth rules, which are corollaries of the first, provide for regular attendance at Mass, devout reception of the Sacraments, diligence and attention in learning Christian doctrine and faithful practice of Christian virtues. Other directives were concerned with external conduct in the classroom, study activity, the choice of reading material, and worthwhile use of leisure time.[40]

In its informal aspect the discipline of these early Jesuit schools was intended to encourage in students an attitude of mature deliberation and a sense of responsibility toward the duties of school life. School experiences were not meant to be part of an artificial conditioning process for future life but a realistic participation in social and moral activity which is an integral part of all normal human living. The discipline of the Ratio with its multiple appeal to reason and worthy example was an effective and practical means toward the attainment of the ultimate goal—an educated Christian and gentleman.

Conclusions

The present study dealt with the provisions of the Ratio Studiorum with respect to development of character in the Jesuit student. A basic program for effective character structure was found to underlie a wide variety of regulations governing organization, curriculum, and method. As a result of the findings it was possible to draw certain general conclusions which indicate the attitude of the Ratio with respect to character [222] formation and the demands which its character program makes on teachers and students in the Jesuit school.

Despite the fact that the directives of the Ratio touched on a wide variety of elements which had a psychological bearing on the formation of character a definite unity of procedure was evident. This unity was an internal one which stemmed from a fundamental unity of purpose. Thus, to achieve the aims of its character program the Ratio insisted on close integration of intellectual and moral training. This integration of intellectual and moral elements was to be extended to all aspects of the school's instructional and disciplinary activities.

The second conclusion of this investigation was that in all its character forming activity the Ratio demanded a realistic and objective approach. The Jesuit school sought to provide an effective medium for the transition from the subjective and emotional instability of adolescence to the mature and responsible outlook of Christian manhood. The Ratio was not concerned with providing an easy or effortless way to character. It required of the student persevering effort and the sacrifice of subjective impulses to the objective claims of morality.

The Ratio placed exacting demands on the vocational ethos of the teacher. It presupposed a supernatural outlook combined with a deep sense of responsibility and a practical devotion to the profession of Christian educator. The teacher was in a real sense the center and spirit of the Ratio system since it was largely through his initiative and directive influence that the Ratio goal of formation rather than mere information would result.

The Ratio also made exacting demands on the student. He was expected to assume his share of responsibility for mental and moral growth. The natural and supernatural motivation of the Ratio presupposed a high degree of generous, unrestrained cooperation. Regularity and perseverance were required in the practice of supernatural obligations as in the performance of routine class work. Self-mastery was neither an effortless objective nor one to be accomplished over night. It was an essentially active process calling for sustained effort to keep conduct in conformity with a variety of directives covering individual and group action.

Finally, the Ratio made a distinctive contribution to the field of character education by the inherent and natural adaptability of its method. There was no need to make character training a formal subject of the curriculum. Through the medium of everyday teaching, disciplinary and organizational activity, the influence of the Ratio's program communicated itself naturally and without strain to the character of the Jesuit student.

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Footnotes:

1. Luis Martín, S.J., "Adhortatio de Studendi Ratione, ad Scholasticos in Collegio Exaaten," Woodstock Letters 22:105–7, 1893.

2. Allan P. Farrell, S.J., The Jesuit Code of Liberal Education (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1938), p. 403.

3. Constitutiones Societatis Jesu Latinae et Hispanicae cum earum declarationibus (Madrid: 1892), IV, c. 7, n. 2.

4. Ibid., c. 16, n. 1.

5. Ratio of 1599, Reg. Prov. 40; Rector 1; Comm. Cl. Inf. 1, 4; Edward A. Fitzpatrick, St. Ignatius and the Ratio Studiorum (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.), pp. 137; 195–6.

6. Farrell, op. cit., p. 422.

7. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf., 3–9; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 195–97.

8. Josephus Juvencius, S.J., De Ratione Discendi et Docendi (Paris: Delalain, 1809), II, cap. 1, art. 1–2.

9. Juvencius, op. cit., I, cap. 2, art. ii.

10. Juvencius, op. cit., I, cap. 2, art. ii–iii.

11. Loc. cit.

12. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 1, 5; Reg. externorum 1–7; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 1995–6; 240–42.

13. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 1, 3, 5–6; Reg. Externorum 14–15; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 195–96; p. 243.

14. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 6, 8; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., p. 196; Juvencius, op. cit., II, cap. 1, art. i–iii.

15. Ratio of 1599, Reg. Externorum 1–15; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 241–43.

16. Juvencius, op cit., II, cap. 1, art. i–iii.

17. Loc. cit.

18. Ratio of 1599, Reg. Externorum 1, 6–15; Comm. Cl. Inf. 31–4; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 241–43; 203–4; Juvencius, op. cit., II, cap. 2, art. iii, n. 3.

19. Juvencius, op. cit., I, cap. 2, art. ii.

20. Juvencius, op. cit., I. cap. 2, art. i, no. x.

21. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 31, 35–36; Acad. 7–11; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 203–05; 241–46.

22. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 41–43; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 206–7; Juvencius, op. cit., II, cap. 2, art. i–ii, v.

23. Juvencius, op. cit., II, cap. 3, art. i–ii.

24. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 1–10; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 195–7.

25. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 5; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., p. 196.

26. Farrell, op. cit., p. 357.

27. Ratio of 1599, Rector 23; Acad. 2; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 142–3; 243–4.

28. Jaime Castiello, S.J., Geistesformung, Beitrage zur experimentellen Erforschung der formalen Bildung (Berlin, 1934).

29. Juvencius, op. cit., II, cap. 1, art. ii; cap. 3, art. i–ii.

30. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 39–40; Praef. Stud. Inf. 11, 38, 41; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 205–6; 191–88.

31. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 1–9; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 195–6.

32. Juvencius, op. cit., I, cap. 3, art. 2.

33. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 19–22, 31, 36; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 199–200, 203–5; Juvencius, op. cit., II, cap. 2, art. iii.

34. Juvencius, op. cit., II, cap. 1, art. i–iii.

35. Ratio of 1599, Acad. 1–12; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 243–6.

36. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 39; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 205–6.

37. Loc. cit.; Juvencius, op. cit., II, cap. 3, art. i.

38. Ratio of 1599, Comm. Cl. Inf. 40; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., p. 206.

39. Ratio of 1599, Praef. Stud. Inf. 1–2, 43–46; Comm. Cl. Inf. 39, 41; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., 176, 188–9; 205–6.

40. Ratio of 1599, Reg. Externorum 1–15; Fitzpatrick, op. cit., pp. 241–3.

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Source: Eugene J. Devlin, S.J., "Character Formation in the Ratio Studiorum," Jesuit Educational Quarterly 15, no. 4 (March 1953): 213–222.