was told one day by his former colleague of Schulpforta, Gigas, who had retired to a parish: "You should have had yourself flayed alive rather than stay so many years with the wicked and devilish youths of to-day." And Schekkius, who died in 1704, had the following inscription painted on the wall of the Gymnasium in Hildesheim:
Hi sunt, qui pueros betha vel alpha docent.
The schoolmasters have horses' and asses' labor; they have to swallow much dust, stench and smoke to boot; discomfort, calumnies, and sundry troubles, with ingratitude in fine laborum."
We cannot wonder that the desudare in pulvere scholastico was not considered a desirable profession, and that the school career was sought only as a transitory occupation, which was abandoned as soon as a good parsonage was offered. Others again entered upon this career because, for lack of talent or other qualities, they could not expect to succeed in the ministry.[1] The changes among the teachers, in Saxony and elsewhere, were exceedingly frequent. It was very common among Protestant theologians to teach for one year, or at the most two years, and then to retire to a parish.[2]
What do we find among the Jesuits? The most talented youths entered their ranks, and after a long and solid training many taught in the colleges their whole lives, others for at least five or more years. They had not to worry about their livelihood, as the Order provided all they needed. So they could devote
