n in the afternoon or
evening, was either a detailed discussion of some point which could not
be treated in full in the "ordinary" lecture, or a simple re-reading of
the lecture, sometimes accompanied by catechism of the students upon its
substance. The Conference was an informal discussion between professor
and students at the close of a lecture, or a discussion of some portion
of the day's work by students alone. The Quiz was often held in the
afternoon at the student's hall or college, by the master in residence
there, as described on page 132.

(a) _The Lecture_

Lectures were of two kinds,--"ordinary," and "extraordinary" or
"cursory." The former were given in the morning, by professors; the
latter in the afternoon, either by professors or by students about to
take a bachelor's degree.

The purpose of the lecture was to read and explain the text of the book
or books of the course. The character of the lecture was largely
determined by the fact that all text-books, practically to the year
1500, were in manuscript, and by the further fact that many students
seem to have been unable or unwilling to purchase or hire copies. A
large part of the lecturer's time was thus consumed in the purely
mechanical process of reading aloud the standard text and comments. To
these he might add his own explanations; but the simple ability to "read
the book" intelligently was sufficient to qualify a properly licensed
Master, or a Bachelor preparing to take the Master's degree, to lecture
on a given subject. This accounts for the fact that youths of seventeen
or eighteen might be found giving occasional lectures, and that regular
courses were given by those not much over twenty-one.

The books thus read consisted of two parts,--the text, and the "glosses"
or comments. A glance at the selection on page 60 will reveal the nature
of the latter: they were summaries, explanations, controversial notes,
and cross-references, written by more or less learned scholars, in the
margin of the text. In the course of generations the mass of glosses
became so great as fairly to smother the original work. The selection
just referred to is not especially prolific in glosses; cases may be
found in which the text of a page occupies only three or four lines, the
rest of the space being completely filled with comments, and with
explanations of the comments. Instances of books explained to death are
not unknown in our own class-rooms!

The effect of t