is, we will close by attempting brief answers to two broad, practical questions connected with it and with industrial education generally. First: What, it may be asked, is to become of "discipline-studies," as distinguished from information or fact-studies? We answer by boldly denying the existence of the distinction implied in the question, and by substituting for it one that we believe to be real and applicable to all studies; viz., disciplinary, or merely fact-giving methods. Who doubts that even philosophy might be studied by merely memorizing the conclusions which great thinkers had reached without following their course of thought; or that Greek grammar and composition might be taught, after a fashion, as a system of facts and rules without touching the grounds of those facts and rules? On the other hand, take natural history as a subject that might be instanced as preeminently one of observation only. We observe that the bone which we call the "wish-bone" is slender and detached in some birds, and stout, short, and strongly attached to the main breast or under-body-bone in others. So far, facts; but if we search out the reason for these differences, and discover their relation to the powers of flight and the habits of the bird, we are exercising our reasoning faculties upon the subject, and making natural history a disciplinary study. To realize this far more fully, one has only to read Agassiz's writings on classification in natural history; and, in general, any subject becomes a disciplinary study when pursued with constant attention to the why as well as to the what and the how of its elements; and any material construction,-building, machine, or whatever else,— each of whose parts is shaped and located for a known reason, is, at bottom, as truly a piece of intellectual composition as is a printed paragraph, in which each word is chosen and placed as it is for a conscious reason.

Second: With society so much divided, as it would seem that it might be by so much added variety in education, and by so many different schools as industrial education would introduce, how is it to be kept as homogeneous in character, feeling, and spirit as is desirable, — yea, indispensable, for the best welfare of a people? The grand importance of the question justifies a reference to the highest themes in reply. Evidently it is to be done by something common to all, and immeasurably above the separate studies and' pursuits of each; by some all-embracing interest, so grand, so lofty so enduring, so inspiring, as to sink out of sight, or fuse together into one, all, and all manner of merely earthly distinctions. The universal study of any one agreeable and elevating subject, as music, morals, or a pure literature, or the cultivation of any one ennobling

sentiment, as patriotism, will do something. But what, that the heart or wit of man can conceive, can compare with universal recognition of "One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all," and that "One is your Master . . . and all ye are brethren," who should ever be "in honor preferring one another"; that the really greatest is he who serves most and best; that there are "diversity of gifts, but the same Spirit"; and "diversities of operations, but the same God which worketh all in all," and, in a word, the recognition of the whole collection of blessed and glorious truths and counsels which shine throughout the New Testament as the stars in the firmament,-each imperishable, and differing only as "one star differeth from another star in glory."

With unity in such sentiments as these, maintained by spiritual education of a high order, there need be no fear of estrangements or jealousies, however great the diversities of gifts and of operations, or of the agencies which exist to cultivate the gifts and assist the operations.

THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRST GERMAN UNIVERSITIES.

BY G. G. BUSH, PH.D.

In treating of the origin of the German universities, it seems desirable to give first a brief sketch of the steps of development which preceded the renaissance or revival of classical study. This, it is thought, will be readily conceded when it is shown that in Germany the universities were largely reproductions under new conditions of that which had long existed, while in Italy, France, and England they were, in a certain sense, new creations.

The Dark Ages.-During the period known as the Dark Ages there was in reality much intellectual activity. This is especially true of the century that produced so remarkable a man as the Venerable Beda. The period of his life,-the close of the seventh and the beginning of the eighth centuries,-may well represent the time of the transition from ancient to modern history. The impression he made upon his age was evidently deepened in later times, for we find that his writings were, in the Middle Ages, the basis of most of the chronicles that were written. To Beda are we indebted for many of the treasures of ancient literature which, through his care and with the help of his fellow monks, were stored in the cloisters, a secure refuge, as it proved, during the long centuries which intervened before the revival of classical learning. During the lifetime of Beda many schools were established in England and Ireland, some of which, as at Canterbury and York, gained in the next century great celebrity, but were eventually swept away by the plundering Normans and Danes. Near the close of the ninth century education found a noble patron in Alfred the Great. Not only did he establish common and high schools throughout England, but he was also the founder of the University of Oxford, to which he assigned three buildings to be devoted respectively to the study of grammar, philosophy, and theology. In the year that Beda died (735) Alcuin,-who was in some sense his successor, was born. Though England was his birthplace, the period of his active life belonged rather to France and Germany, where he had the oversight of the schools established by Charlemagne. Of these schools the best known were at Tours in France, and Fulda in Germany. It is doubtful if they did more than impart a knowledge of the rules of grammar and rhetoric, and enable the pupil to

write in indifferent Latin, and yet their influence was widely felt in the eighth and ninth centuries. The successor of Charlemagne continued to them the royal favor, and endeavored to establish others in Italy, but the time had not yet come for an intellectual awakening. Even among the best educated an acquaintance with Latin was looked upon simply as a key to ecclesiastical study. Greek was wholly neglected, and in the main the object of classical knowledge misunder stood. Such was the condition of culture at the close of the ninth century.

The century that followed has left almost no record in history. Fortunately, however, the gross ignorance which characterized it proved but the darkened portal of a new era which was to be ushered in during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. By a near view of the history of the period at which we have thus glanced, it will be seen that the term Dark Ages is not wholly felicitous, and, if admitted, can apply but indifferently to Western Europe, and not at all to Constantinople, which remained continually the seat of learning. Men versed in Greek literature formed the Byzantine Court, and the emperors, especially in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, distinguished themselves in the fields of dialectics and philosophy. It was also the golden period of Moslem rule which witnessed in Bagdad the rise and fall of a nation of no mean advancement in material wealth, or in literature, science, and art. Yet this intellectual activity in the East (and of the Moors in Spain) had no perceptible influence upon the West until in the fourteenth century, when, through the exertions of Petrarch and Boccaccio, Greek teachers were invited from Constantinople, and a study of Greek literature was revived in Italy.

The Rise and Influence of the Universities. Since the twelfth century the universities have exerted a commanding influence. upon the mental condition of Europe. The character of this influ ence has been in reality everywhere the same. In comparison, however, that of the earlier universities was much the greater, because books were then rarely accessible. These first schools originated somewhat after the Socratic method, and were not school-establishments in the usual sense of the term, as they were independent of State power, and realized in so far the idea of a literary republic. A man of acknowledged talent gathered about him a circle of students; in time this circle enlarged, other students were added, and thus by a kind of necessity a permanent school was founded. Knowledge was imparted almost wholly through verbal instruction, and yet so great was the fame of some of these schools that students traveled

over a continent to enjoy their advantages, and retained connection with them through many years. Their prosperity, however, was not permanent, but varied from time to time, according to the popularity and distinction of the leading men of each.

Among the earliest universities there were three which seem to have had an equally high claim to consideration. These had been established at Paris, Bologna, and Salerno, and were devoted respectively to theology and philosophy, to Roman law, and to medicine. Exact knowledge of the origin of Salerno is wanting, but it is thought to have been the oldest of all the privileged schools, and, like the neighboring cloister, Cassino, to have owed to its position and to the commerce of the city its early and intimate acquaintance with the healing art of the Greek and Saracen physicians. It seems to have had no influence upon the form of the later schools, for these were modeled after the universities of Bologna and Paris. Bologna is said to have served as a model for Italy, Spain, and France; Paris for England and Germany; but this can only be true in part, and it is to be specially remembered that the Reformation gave to the German universities a freer character. The contrast between the Paris and Bologna universities may be seen in the fact that in Paris the teachers were the corporation,-in Bologna, the students; in Paris the theological students had acquired in the cloisters the feeling of dependence,-in Bologna the republican spirit was predominant.

University of Bologna. - Unless we accept the work of Forenghari, there is unfortunately no complete history of this university. In the archives of the city of Bologna two different foundings are given. The earliest date places its origin in 433 A.D., and names as its founder the Emperor Theodosius II. It is more probable, however, that its growth was gradual, and that for a long time there was no corporation and no constitution, but that, finally, as the number of students increased, its rights were acknowledged by the emperor and a real university began to take form. The first fact of which we have certain knowledge is the "privilegium" granted by Frederick Barbarossa, at Noncaglia, in 1158. At the close of the twelfth century, when the first rectors were chosen, a conflict arose between teachers and students respecting the executive authority. As the right to exercise it was claimed by both parties, the settlement of the question was left to the Pope, who decided in favor of the students, and the rector, who was the acknowledged head of the university,-was then chosen from their number. There was originally at Bologna

1 It is noteworthy that the French schools were modeled after Bologna, and not after Paris.