752 



NATURE 



[June io, 1922 



The 700th Anniversary of the University of Padua. 

 By Prof. E. W. Scripture. 



I^'HE university of Padua was founded by professors 

 who migrated from Bologna in 1222 owing to 

 oppressive regulations. It very rapidly became great 

 and famous. For nearly 500 years it was one of the 

 leading universities of Europe. 



The development of English culture and religion was 

 strongly influenced by the earlier English students of 

 Padua^ comprising Linacre, Latimer, Tunstall, and 

 Pace. English science received a splendid glory by 

 Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood, in 

 the anatomical theatre of Padua, and it was the in- 

 spiration of great thinkers, like his professors Galileo, 

 Acquapendente and Casserio, that stimulated his active 

 mind to a new thought. Evelyn, one of the founders 

 of the Royal Society, was a student here ; at his house 

 many of the influential figures of England appeared. 

 Sherard, who founded the chair of botany at Oxford, 

 laid out the Oxford Botanical Gardens on the model of 

 those of Padua, the oldest in Europe. Dr. Caius, the 

 founder of Caius College, was also a student at Padua. 



Viewed as a national university Padua is a brilliant 

 success. Its medical school is excellently equipped. 

 Its faculty includes Luccatelo (medicine), Bassini and 

 Donati (surgery), Belmondo (psychiatry), and Casa- 

 grande (hygiene). It has a special school of hydraulics, 

 a subject of such importance that Italy has established 

 a special Ministry for it. Its equipment in geology and 

 palaeontology is in some departments unequalled any- 

 where else. In law it is almost, perhaps quite, the 

 first place in Italy. In history the name of Manfroni 

 at once comes to mind. When it is considered that all 

 the students are post-graduate and professional (no 

 undergraduate), Padua ranks certainly with the best 

 universities of England and America. 



The glory of Padua Hes in the great men who once 

 taught here, and in the splendid students it produced. 

 It is worth while to inquire concerning some of the 

 causes that produced not only its past greatness, but 

 also that of Paris and Prag. 



In the first place, the students of Europe were 

 free to attend any university and to migrate from 

 one university to another. Of course they went 

 wherever they were attracted. At Padua the vast 

 number— at one time 6000 — was divided into partially 

 self-ruling divisions according to nations. Padua, like 

 Paris, Prag, Oxford, or Leyderi, was a world-university. 



The success of a university in attracting students 

 depended on the quality of learning to be found. The 

 best of professors were sought out by Padua ; its roll 

 of teachers included men of the rank of Galileo and 

 Vesalius. The faculty, like the body of students, was 

 international. The great mathematician Belmondi 

 was followed in succession by Peurbach, Miiller (Regio- 

 montanus), and Paul of Middelburg. 



To-day Padua is a purely Italian university. The 

 3220 students are all Italians, except for 47 foreigners 

 (of whom 9 are Austrians). The Dutch universities 

 ceased to be more than national affairs because Latin 

 ceased to be the international language of learning, 

 and no one would learn Dutch in order to study in 

 Holland. This cannot be the case with Padua, because 



NO. 2745, VOL. 109] 



Italian, like German or French, is a language worth 

 learning. That students will learn a language in order 

 to study in a foreign country is shown by the great 

 numbers of foreigners who studied in Germany before 

 the war. The cause must be sought elsewhere. 



Careful inquiry fails to find a single professor of the 

 highest international fame now here, whatever the 

 national reputation may be. This is one of the reasons 

 for the change in Padua. 



Students may attend a university on account of 

 itself, regardless of the professors. This is the main 

 force for most universities to-day except in Germany. 

 A man goes to Oxford or Harvard because it is 

 Oxford or Harvard, and not because there may be 

 a famous man in his particular line. This determines 

 successfully the large body of undergraduates as in 

 English universities, but there is no undergraduate 

 instruction at Padua. The principle becomes un- 

 favourable when applied to a graduate university, 

 as seen most strikingly iii Padua. Its students, 

 mainly from the north of Italy, attend in order to 

 get their degrees, and afterwards their places and 

 appointments. They become good lawyers, doctors, 

 engineers, etc., but they do not receive the training 

 in research and the inspiration toward originality of 

 the olden days. The reflex on the university as 

 an institution of research is unfavourable ; Padua 

 to-day does not hold the highest rank as one of the 

 producers of modern thought. 



The history of Padua shows clearly the faults of a 

 system that attempts to build on any other principles 

 than those of free migration of students and the 

 appointment of distinguished professors of creative 

 minds. 



This condition may be illustrated by an impression 

 received in London. Although Padua has been 

 specially famous for its medical teaching — Vesalius, 

 Fallopius, Morgagni — and its distinguished student 

 Harvey, it was impossible to find in any medical 

 library in London an account of Padua, except Sir 

 George Newman's interesting address to the students 

 of St. Bartholomew's. This lack of interest corresponds 

 to — or produces ? — a reciprocal feeling on the part 

 of the Italians. Most noticeable is the fact that most 

 of the students can speak German, while very few know 

 anything of English. 



A most striking feature of the celebration was the 

 large attendance of foreign delegates. The British 

 delegation comprised Sir Archibald Garrod (Oxford) 

 the chairman, Lord Dawson of Penn (Royal College of 

 Physicians), Sir Humphrey Rolleston (Royal College 

 of Surgeons), the Astronomer Royal, Sir Frank Dyson, 

 (Royal Society), Prof. Conway (British Academy), 

 Prof. Okey (Cambridge), Prof. Caton (Liverpool), 

 Mr. D. G. Hogarth (London), Prof. H. H. Turner 

 (London), Sir William Smith (London), Mr. Chaston 

 Chapman (London), G. M. Trevelyan (London), Father 

 Cortie (Stonyhurst), Dr. Seton (London), Dr. Scripture 

 (Philological Society), Prof. Burnet (St. Andrews), 

 Dr. Baird (Glasgow), Prof. Barger and Dr. H. R. 

 F. Brown (Edinburgh), Sir George Smith, Prof. 



