Francke, August Hermann

FRANCKE, AUGUST HERMANN. - Protestant theologian and educator, b. at Lübeck on 12 March 1663, d. at Halle on 8 June 1727. He studied theology at Erfurt, Kiel and Leipzig, and in the latter city he founded, together with P. Anton, the Collegium philobiblicum for the study of Holy Scripture. In 1688 he met Spener, embraced his Pietist doctrines with enthusiasm, and received from him help in advancing the Collegium. Appointed magister of the University of Leipzig, he had to leave it because of his Pietist doctrines; the same happened to him at the University of Erfurt, where he had been invited. Meanwhile Spener, who had also been forced to leave Leipzig, had induced the then elector (1688-1701) and later first king of Prussia (1701-13) Frederick I to found the Faculty of Theology in the University of Halle, and he called Francke there together with various other Pietist professors, who made that Faculty the stronghold of Pietism.

Francke became famous not only as a propagator and defender of Pietism, but principally for his philanthropic and educational organizations. Francke also wished to combat the religious ignorance of the people, and he adopted as an effective means to this end the dissemination of the Bible, assisted in this by his friend Baron von Constein (1682-1730), who had thousands of copies printed. To Francke's personal influence some attribute the vocation of the first Lutheran missionaries, Ziegenbalg and Plutschau, and that of Count Zinzendorf, founder of the Moravian Brethren.

Camillo Crivelli

FRANCKE IN THE PEDAGOGICAL FIELD

Driven by the desire to devote himself to the instruction and education of youth, especially the poor, so that along with the elements of culture they might also learn those of a deep religious life, F. conceived a grand design to demonstrate how schools can truly become the "salt of the earth." From this originated a whole series of excellent philanthropic and pedagogical institutions, still existing today and known under the name of Franckesche Stiftungen.

F. began by attending to elementary instruction, opening as early as 1695 a free school for the poor; then, to meet the demands of well-to-do families, another, the German school, which charged fees; then, so as not to wait for the beginning of elementary school to instill religious feeling in the pupils, he erected the orphanage (1628). For higher instruction he opened the Paedagogium for well-off pupils who intended to devote themselves preferably to professional training, and the Latin school for those who, without neglecting the scientific subjects, occupied themselves rather with literary ones.

There remained the training of teachers, and for these he founded an institute, divided into two branches: the Seminarium praeceptorum for future teachers of the elementary classes and the Seminarium electorum for those of the higher classes.

To complement the schools he created a printing house, a library, a bookshop, a pharmacy. The institution flourished wonderfully, so much so that at F.'s death the Paedagogium counted 82 pupils, the Latin school 400; the elementary schools 1725; the orphanage 134; and the masters and mistresses numbered more than 200.

According to F. the principal aim of education is the honor of God, the living knowledge of Jesus Christ; therefore three hours each day were dedicated to religious instruction, one to common prayer, and only three to the other subjects. Not even Sundays and feast days were an exception, nor indeed recreations, during which play was forbidden, because play distracts from the thought of God; but the time was occupied with work at the tournament, etc. Instruction had to be intuitive; therefore a botanical garden, a cabinet of physics and natural history, a laboratory of chemistry and anatomy were annexed to the Paedagogium. In maintaining discipline, gentleness had to prevail.

F. must certainly be numbered, notwithstanding the exaggeration in the time consecrated to religious instruction and prayer and in the abolition of play, among the truly great and effective educators, having known how to join instruction and education in perfect harmony, founding the latter on the one solid basis of religion studied and lived.

His thoughts are set forth in his work: Öffentliches Zeugnis von Wort, Werk und Dienst Gottes (Halle 1792), divided into four parts, of which the first is very important: Kürzer einfaltiger Unterricht, wie die Kinder zur wahrenen Gotteslighet und christlicher Kindheit eingeführt sind; and the fourth: Von der Erziehung der Jugend.

Celestino Testore