Charlemagne and his friend Alcuin again first comprehended the idea of a general humane accomplishment. The former founded the Schola Palatii, for princes and young men of condition, and Alfred in England established similar ones there; but with the death of these remarkable men, all seemed to fall back again into the old track. These cloister schools, however, in the ninth century, merged into the so-called Faculty Schools; which again in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries lived anew as Universities. Thus, in consequence of the schools of Charlemagne and Alfred, a free spirit of scientific inquiry evolved itself from the cloister schools, which found a corroborating co-operation in the Rabbinical schools of North Africa, in Spain, and France, and still more, in the schools of the Arabs. There, such Faculty Schools stood forth with especial prominence; the one for medical science at Salerno; for jurisprudence at Bologna, which possessed distinguished privileges as the gift of the Emperor Henry I. through the Autentica of the year 1158. The scholastic theology soon separated itself from the Aristotelian-Arabic Philosophy, and the seat of the latter became Paris. Amongst many precious privileges, which these three institutions received in consequence of the Autentica of Frederick I., that of Philip Augustus for Paris was the most remarkable. It freed it from the civil jurisdiction, and placed it under the jurisdiction of its own teachers. Paris was also the first university in which all branches of education were taught; yet even there, still theology continued to be the prominent study, and none of the universities could confer all kinds of academical honours. So, doctors of theology could only be created in Paris; of law, only in Bologna, and so on. As these schools now became actually universities, they ceased to bear the names of scholæ, studia, studia generalia, and the name of universities was adopted, and has ever since continued in use.
The teachers of the universities received originally no stipend from the state. Frederick II. paid to the teachers of the newly-founded university at Naples in 1224, the first fixed stipend. The great advantages of a university education becoming, by degrees, generally known, occasioned many cities, which saw these advantages, to endeavour to become university-cities themselves, so that from the thirteenth century the number greatly increased. Universities were founded in Montpellier in 1220; in Orleans in 1312; and in Prague in 1348; the last in particular formed on the model of that of Paris. Independence of the state created, especially in Prague, a most beneficial freedom of doctrine in the teachers, which was often directed against the prince, and often against the church, with the most distinguished consequences.
We are once more conducted by the mention of Prague back to the universities of Germany, and it must be, in the first place, observed, that this university for a considerable period was, and continued to be, the only one. But as knowledge penetrated more and more into Germany, and especially as it was cherished and promoted by the princes, the want of such higher educational institutions was more and more felt, and thus arose in the German territory, previous to the end of the fifteenth century, fifteen universities,--of which Vienna was founded in 1365; Heidelberg in 1387; Cologne in 1388; Erfurt in 1392; Leipsic in 1409; Rostock in 1419; Freisburg in Breisgau in 1452; Greifswalde in 1456, 1472; Trier in 1454, 1472; Basle in 1460; Ingoldstadt in 1471; Tübingen in 1477; Mayence in 1471. At the beginning of the sixteenth century arose Wittenberg in 1502, and Frankfurt on the Oder in 1505; Marburg in 1527, the first Protestant university; Königsberg in Prussia in 1544; Jena in 1554, 1557; Altdorf in 1675, 1678; Helmstadt 1575.
At that period, however, the Protestant princes only could be justly praised for their care to provide able professors; the universities which continued Catholic, or which were newly-founded by Catholic princes, as those of Dillingen in 1613; Paderborn in 1615; and Molsheim in 1618; were occupied by the Jesuits. In consequence of the unfortunate Thirty Years' War, many of these universities fell; many suffered much from the chances of war; and these circumstances incited neighbouring princes to found new universities. So arose the university at Giessen in 1650; at Duisburg in 1655; at Kiel in 1665. The Elector Frederick III. of Brandenburg--King Frederick I.--changed in 1694 the Ritter School at Halle into a university. A general improvement of the instruction given in all the universities in this century is observable: but spite of all endeavours at improvement in this respect, the sciences all continued to be taught in a very unphilosophical manner, and in the Latin tongue.
The necessary advance from this wretched state of things began with the eighteenth century, through the universally restless activity of the philosopher Leibnitz. Christian Wolf taught first in the spirit of Leibnitz and in the German tongue. George II. seconding the better spirit of the time, founded a new university at Göttingen in 1734; Margrave Frederick of Brandenburg-Anspach one at Erlangen in 1743; and a Catholic one arose through the Prince-Bishop of Dalberg in 1734 at Fulda, but was dissolved again in 1804. The good spirit continued to work on through the remaining half of the eighteenth century, and thus in 1760, Duke Frederick of Mecklenburg founded a university at Bützow, which was in 1789 united to that of Rostock. The Duke Karl Eugen of Würtemberg in 1770 founded that of Stuttgardt, which was, however, again dissolved in 1794. Bonn also at that period received the foundation of its university. More recently was founded that at Landshut, whither the university of Ingoldstadt was removed in 1800, and again in 1827 removed to Munich. Wittemberg ceased in 1816, being united to that of Halle; and in 1810 a new university was founded at Berlin.
We have now, gentlemen, taken an historical glance at the German universities, and at their foundations, so far as is necessary. They were called forth by the ruling circumstances of the times, and established themselves now in this manner and now in that. But it is especially interesting to us to have seen that the university of Heidelberg was one of the earliest, and continues one of the first; its rank no one will presume to contest. She has raised her noble head amid all the storms of time, and no state revolutions or other political epochs could make her bend. Ruperto-Carolo shone like a morning sun on the horizon of scientific endeavour, and we now shall take with particular pleasure the opportunity----
"To invite the honourable listeners politely to partake of a modest supper;" interrupted Hoffmann. "Thou mayst finish thy learned lecture another time."
Von Kronen.--Far be it from me to throw any obstruction in the way of so praiseworthy a proposition; especially, as the favourite adage of our city of the Muses has always been--the utile dulci.
Mr. Traveller.--So postpone we then the continuance of the discourse to a future day.