ABSTRACT
The school of educationalists may conveniently be called by the name of naturalists, not only because they professed to follow nature as much as Comenius, but because they set before themselves as the chief good the development of the entire nature, and not merely the intellect or any part of it. The principal representatives of this school are Rabelais and Montaigne. The attitude of Rabelais towards the education of his time is shown by his description of the evil training of his hero Gargantua before it was reformed under his direction. The second great vindicator of naturalistic education, Montaigne, is more outspoken and more consistent. Although his precepts are not systematic, and are thrown out rather as hints for reflection, yet there is no doubt that they exercised a very important influence both upon Locke and Rousseau. Like Rabelais he was profoundly dissatisfied with the pedantry of his time.
