THE GERMANS AT SCHOOL 605 



enness. But there is an almost surprising unity in the instinctive ac- 

 knowledgment of the admirable methods of research and of highly 

 advanced instruction. This cordial appreciation by those who staDd in 

 the midst of the German influences corresponds to the judgment of all 

 who see German academic life with impartial eyes. There is an inten- 

 sity in the search for truth and an eagerness for the development of the 

 best scholarly methods which is still unsurpassed in the world. 



The weaknesses of the German university are not few. To those 

 who come from American traditions the most regrettable difference is 

 the lack of interest in the student's life. The student is practically 

 left to himself. This is true as to his social life and true as to his 

 studies. No one supervises him, no one cares whether he is industrious 

 or lazy, and the result is that many a weak man comes to grief who 

 might have succeeded with the help and control of the American sys- 

 tem. But these defects of the German university as educational insti- 

 tutions are the necessary counterparts of their excellencies as places of 

 independent scholarship. The highest goal of intellectual achievement 

 will always be reached only in complete freedom, and this freedom is 

 somewhat dangerous for the weak man. There can be no doubt that the 

 German system is indeed much more adjusted to those above the aver- 

 age than to those below, and the opposite is true of the American sys- 

 tem. But it is not only the lack of personal help and the demand for 

 his own activity which is in contrast with the American ample provi- 

 sions for intellectual support. Even the choice of the teachers differs 

 in the same direction. The American instructor is appointed, above all, 

 because he is a good teacher; the German because he is an important 

 contributor to the advancement of knowledge. He may be and not 

 seldom is a poor teacher. Yet the German university ideal suggests 

 that the true student will profit more from the contact with a man who 

 has mastered the method of research than with any inferior scholar, 

 however effective he may be as a teacher. The American is often no 

 less surprised by the way in which the professors are chosen for ap- 

 pointment. The American universities are monarchies. The president 

 with his trustees elects a new member of the faculty without being de- 

 pendent upon the vote of any professor. In the democratic life of the 

 German university the government which has to make the appoint- 

 ments is dependent upon the vote of the faculty itself. The professors 

 choose their own colleagues. This again in principle indicates the de- 

 sire to make the point of view of scholarship superior to every admin- 

 istrative question. It can not be denied that in practise it frequently 

 looks quite differently. The influence of the colleagues is too often 

 exerted in the interest of some groups, cliques and petty prejudices. It 

 would be a blessing for many a university faculty in Germany if an 

 American president with his great powers stood above them. The Ger- 



