Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
THE SCHOOL IN ITS “OLD NEST” AGAIN HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE BETWEEN1703 AND 1777 - Laying the foundations for growth
usum iuventutis scholasticae accommodata’. The works of Quintus Curtius and Cicero were also used as well as other classics. In these classes students were also taught the basics of their faith, mathematics, Greek and music and they had an introductory course in geography. Hungarian language instruction was provided to German and Slavik students who were of the Augustine Confession and who -according to available sources - came to the school to learn Hungarian. This document sheds light only on the teaching of Latin but, from the written record penned by János Szombathi, it is known that learning to read and write in the mother tongue was a prerequisite of secondary education. It is furthermore evident from these sources that the emphasis of the school’s educational program continued to rest on the learning of Latin and the related classics and rhetoric. Enrolled at the academic levels there were three hundred twenty ‘tógátus’ students - the future pastors. Those not pursuing a career associated with theological studies (eighty students) were, for the most part, from noble families. There were three professors teaching at this level. Mihály Szathmári Paksi taught theology, dogmatics, ethics, catechism, Hebrew and church history; István Bányai taught natural law and public law based on the work of Reinhard Vitriarius (+1720). Much favored by Hungarians, the work of this professor from Leiden had helped lay the foundations of Enlightenment philosophy. Geography and world history were also taught by Bányai, the latter being focused for the most part on ancient Greek and Roman history. The third professor, Pál Szathmári Paksi, taught philosophy based on the work of Johann Gottlieb Heineccius (+1741) and Cristian Wolff (+1754). Change had come to Sárospatak, also, for Cartesian philosophy had been supplanted by the teachings of Wolff. Paksi also taught Greek language and antiquities. During the time of his studies in the Netherlands, the school leadership had tasked him to purchase various scientific instruments which he later used when teaching the natural sciences. He also taught geometry, physics, experimental physics and algebra. He had earned a degree in medicine and, in his lectures in philosophy, he often made use of medical terms. He even taught pathology and botany but he often lamented that he did not have the appropriate support materials and equipment to provide meaningful demonstrations. The first foray into the teaching of a modern foreign language (German) at the College began in 1751 but its regularity was not without interruption. For a brief period French was also taught at Patak. In veritable practice, the mode for students to learn German was to travel to any town in the Szepesség region for an extended stay in the area’s natural German-speaking environment. New elements to the curriculum - namely, the teaching of the exact sciences - were introduced at the academic levels. This, however, did not mean that secondary school students were excluded from benifitting from this given that most of the sciences were taught in open lecture format and available to all students. 69 , r-vyi.Ys paxl ízat^marí.^», 'M-OK.muX- -V. ■til"''' Cknflriii.m.ß Professor and Medical Doctor Pál Szathmári Paksi at the age of 36 Horodictum meridionale
