“No one could know him even a little and not be struck by his absolute wrestling with evil, so that like St. Paul he seemed to be battling with the wicked one, and yet with the feeling of God’s help on his side. . . .”1 Such was one of the many tributes paid to this great Anglican clergyman and scholar who ended his life as Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford and did more than anyone else to revolutionize British “public school” (i.e., private) education in the nineteenth century.

An Oxford classicist and an ardent Christian, with an intense interest in political and social reform, Arnold’s lifework began in 1828 when he was appointed Headmaster of Rugby, one of the great English public schools to which the English gentry sent their sons to be educated. From the outset, he was determined to preside over a school which would transform boys into upright and God-centred young men committed to the highest moral and intellectual standards. To quote Arnold’s own summary of his objectives for Rugby: “. . . what we must look for here is—1st, religious and moral principles; 2ndly, gentlemanly conduct; 3rdly, intellectual ability.”2 To that end, he not only pioneered the introduction of modern history, modern languages, and mathematics into the curriculum; he also spared no effort to eradicate lying, bullying, selfishness, profanity, and other low forms of personal behavior. As he told the assembled school on one occasion, after incurring unpopularity for expelling some troublesome pupils: “It is not necessary that this should be a school of three hundred, or one hundred, or of fifty boys; but it is necessary that it should be a school of Christian gentlemen.”3

Underlying all Arnold’s work as an educationist, preacher, writer, and historian was his desire “to bring the great principles of the Gospel home to the hearts and practices of my own countrymen in my own time—and particularly to those of my own station in society, with whose sentiments and language I am naturally most familiar . . .”4 His success in this regard can be measured by the lasting impact he made on generations of Rugby pupils. One of them, Thomas Hughes, immortalized his old headmaster in that great Victorian classic Tom Brown’s Schooldays and went on to become a leading Christian social reformer. Thomas Arnold was also the father of eminent poet and critic Matthew Arnold. Other former Rugby pupils played an important part in pioneering social legislation and reforming the government and administration of the British Empire. But what Arnold achieved, above all, was to help create a moral climate within British education which instilled into the British elite the notion that all of us have a calling from God to devote our lives to Him by resisting evil and using our gifts and talents in the service of others.

The secret of Arnold’s influence, and the challenge of his example, lies in the fact that he lived an integrated Christian life. There was no discontinuity between his preaching and his activities outside the pulpit, because all his work was dedicated to God. To quote his biographer and ex-pupil, Arthur Stanley: “He was still the instructor and the schoolmaster, only teaching and educating with increased solemnity and energy.”5

Footnotes:
1
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, The Life and Correspondence of Thomas Arnold: The Late Head-Master of Ruby School, and Regius Professor of Modern History in the University of Oxford (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1846), 42.

2
Ibid., 90.

3
Ibid., 87.

4
Ibid., 53.

5
Ibid., 116.

article adapted from Kairos Journal

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