The rubber's just hit the road. When Marrou turned to a discussion of the Sophists and their contributions to ancient education, all of the marks of historical writing were marshalled together in full regalia. Dates were quoted. Names were dropped. But, in spite of this intimidating array, Marrou's points remained clear.
The Sophists were the first to successfully make education into a job and a business. The Sophists introduced mathematics into the standard curriculum. The Sophists, with their detailed and systemized rhetoric, laid the foundations for the later importance of grammar in education.
Nonetheless, the best part of this chapter is Marrou's explanation of how sport fell out of the educational spotlight.
In short, sports became too popular and too specialized. When the Sophists appeared, sport was an exclusive domain, but the broadest goal of education was still to prepare pupils for survival in their community. It just so happened that the means of that survival had shifted to politics, the Sophists' speciality.
So, though ancient history is hardly my area of expertise, Marrou contines, Virgil-like, to be an excellent guide.
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