ARNOLD, THOMAS. - English theologian, historian, politician and educator, b. at West Cowes (Isle of Wight), 13 June 1795, d. at Fox How (Westsnorchend) 12 June 1842. He exercised notable influence on the youth of his time, above all for having been headmaster of Rugby School. His formation is founded on classical culture, especially on Euclid and Aristotle. A. wanted the educator to be wholly imbued with the Christian spirit. Religious teaching, as a force that was to inform the man, constituted for him the foundation of every education. Christ is not only the redeemer, but the friend and the master. The master, to be truly such, must possess certain inner qualities such as the sense of justice, the love of truth. In his relations with the pupils, A. showed understanding and love. The Latin language and the Greek language, in A.'s plan of studies, constitute, by their beauty and strength, the bases of knowledge; even though he intended that children should not approach authors who were not always moral, such as Tibullus, Propertius, Juvenal, and historians such as Livy because of his not absolute historical fidelity. The love and admiration of ancient culture did not cause A. to despise the culture of his time, which he attempted to reconcile with the spirit of the classical literatures.
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