Discipline in School and Cloister: Flogging as an Aid to Education

Originally published in the late nineteenth century, Discipline in School and Cloister by Dr. Jacobus X. explores one of the most debated instruments of moral and intellectual formation in Western education—the rod. Through a striking blend of scholarship, observation, and controversy, the author examines the role of flogging as both punishment and pedagogy, tracing its practice from monastic classrooms to modern schools.

Far from a simple endorsement or condemnation, Dr. Jacobus approaches corporal discipline as a psychological, moral, and social phenomenon. He investigates how fear, shame, and endurance were used to shape character, obedience, and spiritual refinement, and how these methods reflected broader ideas about authority, sin, and redemption.

At once historical and philosophical, this treatise invites readers to confront the paradoxes of education itself—how pain was believed to purify, and discipline to enlighten.

Complete edition of Dr. Jacobus X.’s rare study on educational discipline

Explores corporal punishment in monastic and academic settings

Blends historical evidence with psychological and moral analysis

Essential for readers of educational history, religious studies, and cultural psychology