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Franklin; and the great Reformer is regarded with the same sort of filial veneration as is our great champion of civil liberty. You pass through the small city of Eisleben, and visit his father's house. An inscription above the door announces that this was the birth-place of Luther. A school for poor children is now kept in the house, the master of which shews you around, and explains to you the relics they have collected in the room where the Reformer was born. At Wittemberg you visit his cell in the old convent, now the location of a theological seminary; you see there the table, the huge stove, the seat in the window, just as when occupied by Luther in the beginning of his career; and it requires no great stretch of imagination to behold him and Melancthon engaged in discussions which they little expected were to agitate the world. You enter the ancient church by the door on which Luther posted up his celebrated theses within, the two friends lie entombed over against each other, in front of the pulpit, and their portraits hang upon the walls. You go to the spot where Luther publicly burned the Pope's bull, and thus cut off all hope of reconciliation; you walk the streets of the city, and all now remains as it was then. persons and the generation are gone, but their place, and their houses, and their streets, and all the objects by which they were surrounded, are still before you, and are now presented to your eyes, just as once they met their view.

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"The Germans, in their love of antiquity, are also eminently lovers of history. They require for every opinion and every doctrine, not only the proofs of reason and Scripture, but also the historical proof. They thus make history what it really is, the record of the experience of past ages; and they are slow to give credit to that which has not been tested by this experience. In his way the history of the Church has become to them one of the prime elements of the study of theology; and without this, one would no more be accounted an accomplished theolo gian, than he would be without a knowledge of the original languages of the Bible. One part of this history, viz. Dogmengeschichte, the history of doctrinal theology, or of the rise and development of the doctrines which are, and have been current within the pale of the church, is almost peculiar to Germany. It cannot be denied that this is a department of very great importance; or that a doctrine or system of doctrines will ordinarily be better understood, if we know the occasion of their rise, the circumstances and character of those by whom they were first advanced, the discussions and contests they have undergone, the various modifications they may have received-in short, all the historical facts and events connected with them, through the influence of which they have assumed the shape in which they are now presented to us. This subject has usually been treated of in Germany as a branch of ecclesiastical history in general; though several works of merit have appeared, devoted to the separate and more detailed consideration of it.

"As a suitable transition to the more immediate object of the present article, it may be observed that the universities of Germany are also intimately connected with the history and antiquities of the country. Of those which still exist, the following were founded before the Reformation, viz. Prague in 1348, Vienna 1365, Heidelberg 1386, Leipsic 1409, Rostock 1419, Griefswalde 1456, Freiburg 1457, Tübingen 1447, Wittemberg 1502. This last, which in the first twenty years of its existence became, to its immortal honor, the cradle of the Reformation, was in 1815 transferred to Halle and united with the younger university of that place. This was done by the Prussian government on very sufficient grounds, after the union of that part of Saxony with Prussia: but it was done greatly against the wishes and the will of the people at large, to whom that spot had become consecrated in history. To quiet the people of Wittemberg, a theological seminary was established there in place of the university, in which young men who have finished their university course, may still pursue their studies. There is here free provision for twenty-two pupils; and the number of those who support themselves is not limited. Two of the old Professors of the university, Schleusner and Nitzsch, were left here to sleep out the remainder of their lives; while the general superintendence and instruction is entrusted to Heubner, a learned and pious man. The seminary, however, is little frequented. In all the universities above-mentioned, the rights and privileges, the organization, the modes of teaching, indeed the whole external character of the institutions, have come down from a period anterior to the Reformation, except so far as they were necessarily modified by the changes which then took place. Throughout Protestant Germany, the system of university education is, in its leading features, one and the same. It is the result of the experience of several centuries, and is now so interwoven with the character and principles, with the affections and prejudices of the people, that a change would be in a measure impossible.

GERMAN UNIVERSITIES.

"A German university is essentially a professional school, or rather an assemblage of such schools, comprising the four faculties of theology, law, medicine, and philosophy; the latter of which corresponds to what is elsewhere called the faculty of letters and science, and embraces every thing not strictly comprehended in some one of the other three. Those students who attend lectures in the first three faculties, do it merely as a course of professional study, and with direct reference to the professional occupations of their future lives. Those who attend in the philosophical faculty, are mostly such as are preparing themselves to become professors in the universities, or teachers in the classical or other schools; or they are qualifying

themselves for the general pursuits of literature and science; or they are such as are chiefly attending to professional studies in one of the first three faculties, but wish, at the same time, to make themselves acquainted with other branches of learning.

"The universities of Germany were all founded by the governments of the countries in which they are respectively situated; but up to the time of the Reformation all such foundations, with their rights and privileges, had to receive the confirmation of the Popes. That of Wittemberg in 1502 was the first that was confirmed by the Emperor of Germany, and not by the Pope; although the assent of the latter was afterwards applied for. That of Marburg in 1525 was at first confirmed by neither Pope nor Emperor, but received afterwards the sanction of the latter. After the Reformation, all new universities were confirmed by the Emperors in the rights and privileges granted to them by their own. Sovereigns. The last which received this sanction was that of Göttingen in 1734. Erlangen, founded in 1743, appears not to have received it. From that time till the dissolution of the German Empire in 1806, no new university was established. Those which have been since founded, as Berlin, Bonn, and Munich, exist, of course, only by the will of their own Sovereigns, than which there is at present no higher authority.

"At the present day, all the universities are immediately and entirely dependent on the respective governments within whose bounds they fall. All the professors and instructors of every kind are appointed, and, generally speaking, their salaries paid, directly by the government; which supports also or directs the whole expense of the university, of the erection and repair of buildings, of the increase of the library and scientific collections, &c. The writer has not sufficient information to enable him to state with precision what sums are annually appropriated to the support of the universities, nor even of the several larger ones. He only knows that the Prussian government pays annually, on account of each of the Universities of Halle and Bonn, the sum of 80,000 rix dollars.* The government of Würtemburg appropriates annually to the university of Tübingen the sum of 80,000 florins.+ This is exclusive of the expense of a particular institution in the university (to be described hereafter,) for the support of Protestant and Catholic theological students; the annual cost of which is from 90,000 to 100,000 florins. The universities do not exist as independent associations, under charters granted by the governments, but stand immediately under their control, are regulated by them, and may at any moment be abolished by a decree of the same power which called them into existence.

"The professors are of two kinds, ordinary and extraordinary. They are all appointed alike, but differ in rank. The ordinary professors, strictly speaking, constitute the faculty; they are

A rix dollar is about four shillings. + A florin is about two shillings.

members of the academical senate, and thus have a voice in the government of the university; they have a dean of the faculty, who is always chosen by and from themselves. When appointed, the ordinary professors may enter immediately on their duties without inauguration; but in order to enjoy all the rights and immunities of their office, and especially to be eligible as dean of the faculty, they must first hold a public disputation in Latin pro loco obtinendo. The professors extraordinary are simply teachers, and have no further duties nor privileges. Besides these there is another class of private instructors, privatem docentes, composed of young men who have taken the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, (equivalent to our Master of Arts,) and have then permission to read lectures and give private instruction in the universities. The regular salaries of the ordinary professors vary according to circumstances from 500 to 2000 rix dollars, and rarely exceed the latter sum. The professors extraordinary seldom receive more than 500 rix dollars; often not more than 100; and the instances are not rare, where a man is at first glad to receive merely the title, without any salary whatever. The private teachers also have no salary. All the professors and instructors receive fees from the students for their private courses of lectures; which, however, except in extraordinary cases, do not amount to any considerable sum.

"This class of private teachers is the nursery in which all future professors are trained; where they are seen just budding into life; and whence, if they flourish with a vigorous and healthy growth, they are soon transplanted to a maturer soil. If a young man distinguishes himself in this situation, he is very soon promoted to be a professor extraordinary. The governments have here an opportunity to judge of the qualifications of candidates for literary stations; and of selecting and securing the services of the best men; and to a young man of real promise, they are usually not slow in holding out a reward. A young man of talent and promise came to Halle in 1827 as a private instructor in the department of history; in 1828 he was made professor extraordinary, and in 1829 advanced to the rank of ordinary professor; and such instances are not uncommon. The extraordinary professorship, again, is regarded as a stepping stone to the ordinary one. It gives a young man a certain rank and standing in the university; he no longer reads lectures merely on sufferance; he has at least a permanent place: has enjoyed the notice of government; and is sure, if he continues to distinguish himself, of being further promoted. This however does not always take place of course. It is not unfrequent that a young man starts well in the beginning, who afterwards sits down satisfied with his present attainments, and makes no further progress. In such a case, his promotion is at an end, so far as the merits of the individual are concerned; for here, as elsewhere, importunity and favouritism often produce results, at which the public, who judge the question on its merits, are

astonished. At Halle were two extraordinary professors of theology of about seventy years of age, who had held that station during the greater part of their lives; in 1829 one of them was made ordinarius, while the other remains as before. Private teachers are also sometimes found of the age of forty or fifty years; but they are usually such as have not had interest enough with the government to rise in spite of mediocrity.—In some instances literary men, with the permission of the government, give courses of lectures at the universities, and receive fees, without being attached to the institution in any other way than as privatim docentes. Thus the historian Niebuhr, in his character of Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, reads lectures at Bonn; and at Halle a former Major-general was lecturing on military history and tactics.

"The lectures delivered by the instructors are of three kinds, and are given publice, privatim, et privattisime. The first or public lectures are given only by professors, and constitute nominally that course of instruction for which they receive salaries from government. Originally this was actually the case, and all regular instruction at the universities was free; as it still is in the College de France and other public schools of Paris. In process of time, however, it was found more profitable to give private courses, for which a small fee was charged; and it has now come to the point, that no professor reads more than one public course, and that usually consisting of only one lecture in each week. The object is, to give as little free instruction as will comport with the tenor of their appointments. The second class, or private lectures, are those which have thus been introduced. They are precisely similar in their nature to the public ones, and delivered in the same place, and often to the same hearers. The only difference is that for these, each student pays a small fee; and the professor consequently endeavours to make these courses more interesting and instructive. The courses continue nominally six months; the year being divided into two terms or semesters, with a vacation of five or six weeks in the spring and autumn. Most of the professors give two courses of private lectures in each term, and sometimes three; in some of the courses lectures are delivered six times a week; in others four; and sometimes, though rarely, only twice. The fees paid by the students are small; for a course of theological lectures never more than one Frederic d'or, or about four dollars. In some instances a professor of law receives double fees; and even much more than this is paid for some courses of medical lectures. In the larger universities, as Berlin and Göttingen, where things are done more genteelly, these payments must always be made in gold. In Halle they may be made in any species of money; and the price of a course is graduated according to the number of lectures in a week. The private teachers receive the same fees as the professors; and for the sake of popularity usually give also a course of public lectures, although this is not

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