ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN GERMAN UNIVERSITIES. 241 



mon affairs of each such union, and also met together 

 for regulating the common affairs of the University. 

 In the courtyard of the University of Bologna are still 

 to be seen the coats-of-arms, and lists of members and 

 seniors, of many such Nations in ancient times. The 

 older graduated members were regarded as permanent 

 life members of such Unions, and they retained the 

 right of voting, as is still the case in the College of 

 Doctors in the University of Vienna, and in the Col- 

 leges of Oxford and of Cambridge, or was until recently. 

 Such a free confederation of independent men, in 

 which teachers as well as taught were brought together 

 by no other interest than that of love of science ; 

 some by the desire of discovering the treasure of 

 mental culture which antiquity had bequeathed, others 

 endeavouring to kindle in a new generation the ideal 

 enthusiasm which had animated their lives. Such was 

 the origin of Universities, based, in the conception, 

 and in the plan of their organisation, upon the most 

 perfect freedom. But we must not think here of 

 freedom of teaching in the modern sense. The majority 

 was usually very intolerant of divergent opinions. Not 

 ^infrequently the adherents of the minority were com- 

 pelled to quit the University in a body. This was not 

 restricted to those cases in which the Church inter- 

 meddled, and where political or metaphysical proposi- 

 tions were in question. Even the medical faculties 

 n K 



