Until the twentieth century, a fundamental component of Western education was a study of the Trivium (from the Latin tri-viae, three ways), which is comprised of three liberal arts: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Taken together, these arts help us develop good intellectual habits with respect to reasoning and communication. In short, a study of the Trivium is a study of the fundamentals of language itself—and, indeed, the basis of human reasoning.
Though many are either ignorant of the Trivium or consider it to be an outdated pedagogical approach, we at the Lyceum consider the Trivium to be the cornerstone of a truly “liberal” education. It is not exaggerative to suggest that, without a proper study of these arts, one cannot make a legitimate claim to be able to think and communicate well.
As such, the Lyceum Institute offers eight (8) courses in grammar, logic, and rhetoric; each art is studied primarily in the context of the English language. Though these arts are presented in separate courses, key is our conviction that the arts of the Trivium have an integral connection and that they must be studied as a unified whole. Only in this manner can one gain an adequate command of each art and, in turn, not only an adequate command of language but the means to truly human flourishing.
Two courses for each art of the Trivium are offered over a two-year period. In these courses, participants do not merely learn the theoretical rules and principles of each art; they also develop a familiarity with the practice of each art through the completion of regular exercises, assignments, recitations, and exams.
Because communication involves the simultaneous exercise of logic, grammar, and rhetoric, these three arts are the fundamental arts of education, of teaching, and of being taught. Accordingly, they must be practiced simultaneously by both teacher and pupil. The pupil must cooperate with the teacher; he must be active, not passive.
Sr. Miriam Joseph, 1948: The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric: Understanding the Nature and Function of Language.
