ANTONIANO, SILVIO. — Cardinal, humanist, educator, b. at Castello (diocese of Penne) on 31 December 1540, d. at Rome on 16 August 1603. Of humble origins, having revealed from childhood particular gifts of intellect and aptitude for study, he found assistance and protection and was able to complete his legal studies at Ferrara, where he received his doctorate and in whose gymnasium, when barely sixteen, Duke Ercole appointed him to teach eloquence and humanities. Called to Rome by Pope Pius IV to teach literature, he went from there to Milan through the favor shown him by Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, and subsequently followed Cardinal Morone, the papal legate, to Germany. Returning to Rome, where he completed his theological studies under the direction of s. Filippo Neri and was ordained a priest, he held high offices in the Vatican, and on 3 March 1599 received the cardinal’s hat.
A representative of the late Renaissance, formed in the style of Cicero, he was a prolific writer of Latin poems and speeches. A purist, he harshly criticized Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata and wished its language purged so that it might also be given to nuns to read. The work that, after several centuries, still gives his name wide resonance is the valuable three-book treatise on education, De Christiana puerorum educatione, elegantly translated into Italian (Dell'educazione cristiana dei figliuoli), which is an orderly exposition of the fundamental principles that inspired the Counter-Reformation in the field of education. S. Carlo Borromeo, in order to stem the Protestant Reformation and place popular and higher education on the footing of the new educational orientation expressed by the Council of Trent, urged A. to write this work and, through it, to give us—grounded in the truths of theological doctrine—a sure guide for parents and teachers in the education of children.
The book was published at Verona in 1583 and, owing to its great success, was reprinted several times up to 1852, and once more recently in 1928, edited by L. Pogliani. While A. was writing his treatise, the Jesuits were organizing their «Ratio studiorum». In the treatise A. addresses himself especially, like Calasanzio, founder of the Pious Schools, to the education of the popular classes. While the influence of Plutarch, Quintilian, Cicero, and other Latin writers on A.’s humanistic spirit is undeniable, including with regard to his educational doctrines, his treatise reflects in particular the moral affirmations of the Council of Trent. It does not, however, lack elements of new theories that later found broad development in modern pedagogy: for example, concerning natural inclinations and reactions, physical hardening, the direct method in language teaching, the law of didactic gradation, etc.
In the plan of studies, preference is given to Latin over the vernacular, and the sole end of all education is considered to be «to raise children in a Christian manner according to the holy fear of God and the norms of his holy law». Thus an entire book, the second, deals with the educational efficacy of prayer and the Sacraments. The final book, on the other hand, is devoted to the civic aspects of education, anticipating also the modern needs of the new age. A.’s work, through its orientation of elementary education and instruction, did not fail to exert its influence on the Port-Royalists and on G. B. De la Salle.
Rosario Guido Tentori