POPULAR SCIENTIFIC LECTURES. 



school h-i~, s ,i.i:itifiv\'i!!y outlived itself, stu- 

 dent -t \viil pr Voabiy migrate by degrees to 

 other universities. This may extend over a 

 long period, and the faculty in question will 

 suffer during that time. 



We so<> bi> -it how strenuously tho \iniversi- 

 ties under this system have sought to attract 

 the scientific ability of Germany when wo 

 consider how many pioneers have remained 

 outside the universities. The answer to such 

 an inquiry is given in the not infrequent jest 

 or sneer that all wisdom in Germany is pr- 

 I'essorinl wisdom. If we look nt England, 

 we see men like Humphry Davy, Faraday, 

 Mill, GiMto, who have had no connection with 

 English universities. If, oa the other hand, 

 we d;3vlu :fc from the list of Garman men of 

 science those who, like David Strauss, havo 

 been driven away by Government for ecclesi- 

 astical or for political reasons, and those who, 

 as members of learned academies, had tha 

 right to deliver lectures in the universities, 

 as Alexander and Wilhelm voa Hujaholdt, 

 Leopold von Bach, an I others, the rest will 

 only form a small fraction of tho number of 

 the men of equal scientific standing who 

 have been at work in the universities ; while 

 the same calculation made for England 

 would give exactly tho opposite result. I 

 have often wondered that tho Royal Institu- 

 tion of London, a private society, which 

 provides for its members and others short 

 courses of lectures on the Progress of Natural 

 Science, should have been able to retain per- 

 manently the services of men of such scien- 

 tific importance as Humphry Davy and 

 Faraday. It was no question of great emolu- 

 ments ; the jo men were manifestly attracted 

 by a select public consisting of men and 

 women of independent mental culture. In 

 Germany tho universities are unmistakably 

 tho institutions which exert the most power- 

 ful attraction on the taught. But it is clear 

 that this attraction depends on the teacher's 

 hope that he will not oiily find in the uni- 

 versity a body of pupils enthusiastic and ac- 

 customed to work, but such also as devote 

 themselves to the formation of an indepen- 

 dent conviction. It is only with such stu- 

 dents that the intelligence of tho teacher 

 bears any further fruit. 



The entire organization of our universi- 

 ties is thus permeated by this respect for a 

 free independent conviction, which is more 

 Htrongly impressed ou the Germans than on 

 their Aryan kindred of the Celtic and 

 Romanic branches, in whom practical politi- 

 cal motives havo greater weight. They are 

 able, and as it would seem with perfect con- 

 scientiousness, to restrain the inquiring 

 mind from tho investigation of those princi- 

 ples which appear to them to be beyond the 

 rango of discussion, as forming the founda- 

 tion of their political, social, and religious 

 organization ; they think themselves quite 

 justified in not allowing their youth to look 

 beyond the boundary which they themselves 

 are not disposed to overstep. 



If, therefore, any region of questions is to 



be considered as outside tho range of discus- 

 sion, however remote and restricted it may 

 be, and however good may bo the intention, 

 the pupils must bo kept in the prescribed 

 path, and teachers must bo appointed who 

 do not rebel against authority. Wo can 

 then, however, only speak of freo conviction 

 in a very limited sense. 



You see how different was the plan of our 

 forefathers. However violently they may at 

 limes have interfered with individual result." 

 of scientific inquiry, they never wished to 

 pull it up by tho roots. An opinion which 

 was not based upon independent conviction 

 appeared to them of no value. In their 

 hearts they never lost faith that freedom 

 alpn.3 could cure the errors of frecdom7lmd"a 

 riper knowledge the ercOTS^Fwlialris- uni'ipe. 

 Tho same spirit which overthrew the yoke of 

 the Church of Rome also organized the Ger- 

 man universities. 



But any institution based upon freedom 

 must also be able to calculate on the judg- 

 ment and reasonableness of those to whom 

 freedom is granted. Apart from the points 

 which have been previously discussed, 

 where the students themselves are left to 

 decide on the courso of their studies and to 

 select their teachers, the above considerations 

 show how the students react upon their 

 teachers. To produce a good course of lec- 

 tures is a labor which is renewed every term. 

 New matter is continually being added which 

 necessitates a reconsideration and rearrange- 

 ment of tho old from fresh points of view. 

 The teacher would soon bo dispirited in his 

 work if he could not count upon the zeal and 

 the interest of bis hearers. The estimate 

 which he places on his task will depend on 

 how far he is followed by the appreciation of 

 u sufficient number of, at any rate, his more 

 intelligent hearers. The iifnux of hearers to 

 the lectures of a teacher has no slight influ- 

 ence upon his iiiiue and promotion, and, 

 therefore, upon the composition of the body 

 of teachers. In all these respects, it is 

 assumed that the general public opinion 

 among the students cannot go permanently 

 wrong. The majority of them who are, as 

 it were, the representatives of the general 

 opinion must come to ws with a sufliciently 

 logically trained judgment, with a sufficient 

 habit of mental exertion, with a tact 

 Kufiiciently developed on the best models, to 

 be able to discriminate truth from the bab- 

 bling appearance of truth. Among the stu- 

 dents are to be found (Lose intelligent heads 

 who will l)e the ijifiitnl leaders of the next 

 generation, and v. ho, perhaps, in a few years, 

 will direct to themselves the eyes of the 

 world. Occasional errors in youthful nnd 

 excitable Hpirits naturally occur ; but, on the 

 whole, \vo may bo pretty sure that they will 

 soon set themselves right. 



Thus prepared, they have hitherto been 

 sent to r.s by the gymnasiums. It would be 

 very dangerous for the universities if large 

 numbers of students frequented them, who 

 were less developed in the above respects. 



