is also told "to speak respectfully of St. Thomas Aquinas and to follow him whenever possible."[1] The Ratio had to encounter many an attack for not following St. Thomas more rigorously. But the composers of the Ratio wisely admitted modifications, as St. Thomas evidently could not claim infallibility in all questions.
The philosophical course comprised not only philosophy properly so called, but also mathematics and natural sciences. This successive teaching of literary and scientific subjects secured concentration and unity in instruction, whereas in modern systems too many branches, which have no connection with each other, are taught in the same class so that the mind of the young untrained learner is bewildered. There is another consideration which may vindicate the educational wisdom of the Ratio Studiorum in assigning mathematics and sciences to a later stage in the curriculum. Distinguished teachers of mathematics have recently pointed out that the mathematical teaching in the lower and middle classes is frequently beyond the capacity of the students of those grades. Problems are proposed which, at that stage, can at best be treated only mechanically and superficially.[2] Mathematics, says a prominent writer on this subject, makes very high demands on the mental powers of the pupils, in such a degree that only the mature age derives the full benefit from the study of this branch.[3]
