" The reading chosen was classical Latin literature;
"in this reverent dependence upon the ancients, lies the main
peculiarity of the school of Chartres," which under Bernard and his
brother "enjoyed a peculiar distinction, continually growing until it
became almost an unapproached pre-eminence among the schools of
Gaul."[12]
This reading is in turn a preparation for Philosophy. "He who aspires to
Philosophy should understand reading, teaching and reflection, together
with practice in good works." "Search Virgil and Lucan, and there, no
matter of what philosophy you are professor, you will find it in the
making." All this is in marked contrast to the method of "Cornificius,"
who proposed to train philosophers "suddenly." John continues:
Bernard of Chartres, the most copious source of letters in Gaul
in modern times, followed this method, and in the reading of
authors showed what was simple, and fell under the ordinary
rules; the figures of grammar, the adornments of rhetoric, the
quibbles of sophistries; and where the subject of his own lesson
suggested reading related to other arts, these matters he brought
into full view, yet in such wise that he did not teach everything
about each topic but, in proportion to the capacity of his
audience, dispensed to them in due time the full scope of the
subject. And because the brilliancy of any speech depends either
on _Propriety_ (that is, the correct agreement of adjective or
verb with the substantive) or on _Metathesis_ (that is, the
transfer of the meaning of an expression for a worthy reason to
another signification), these were the things which he took every
opportunity to inculcate in the minds of his hearers.
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