Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 23.djvu/889

Rh UNIVERSITIES 851 of the bull Unigenitus in 1713, condemning the tenets of Quesnel, when Rollin himself, although a man of singu larly pacific disposition, deemed it his duty to head the opposition to Clement XI. and the French episcopate. At last, in 1762, the parlement of Paris issued a decree (August 6) placing the colleges of the Jesuits at the dis posal of the university, and this was immediately followed by another for the expulsion of the order from Paris. Concurrently with this measure the prospects of the uni versity assumed a more favourable character, the curri culum of its studies was extended, and both history and natural science began to be cultivated with a certain Univer- success. These better prospects were, however, soon ob- sities scured by the outbreak of the Revolution ; and on the sup &quot; loth September 1793 the universities and colleges through- throughout France, together with the faculties of theology, out c medicine, jurisprudence, and arts, were abolished by a France, decree of the Convention. The College de France, when restored in 1831, was reconstituted mainly as a school of adult instruction, for the most part of a popular character, and entirely dissociated from the university. It now numbers thirty-nine chairs, among which is one of the Univer- Slavonic languages and literature. The university of sity of France (which succeeded to that of Paris) is at present created l^tle more than an abstract term, signifying the whole of the professional body under state control, and comprising Creation various faculties at different centres Paris, Montpellier, of new Xancy, ifcc., together with twenty-seven academical rector- res&amp;gt; ates. Each of these rectors presides over a local &quot; conseil d enseignement,&quot; in conjunction with which he elects the professors of lycees and the communal schoolmasters, whose formal appointment is then made by the minister of public instruction. There are ecclesiastics in some of the conseils d enseignement, but the rectors are all laymen Great who have graduated in one of the faculties. The great French schools have also in no small measure supplemented the s&amp;lt; work of the universities by their advance in the direction of scientific instruction. Among the number the &quot; ^cole Pratique des Hautes Etudes &quot; in Paris (31st July 1868) and the &quot; Ecole Poly technique,&quot; which traces its origin as far back as the year 1794, are especially distinguished. The course of instruction at the former is divided into five sections (1) mathematics, (2) physics and chemistry, (3) natural history and physiology, (4) history and philology, (5) economic science. At the latter the instruction is conceived solely with regard to the application of scientific principles to all branches of the public service, but more especially the military and mercantile. In 1875 the National Assembly passed an Act which enabled the Roman Catholic body to establish free universities of their own, and to confer degrees which should be of the same validity Lille and as those of the state university. At Lille and Angers such Angers, centres have been already organized. The university of Stras- Strasburg, which in the latter part of the last century had burg. been distinguished by an intellectual activity which became associated with the names of Goethe, Herder, and others, was also swept away by the Revolution. It was, however, restored 1st May 1872, after the city had reverted to Ger many, and was remodelled entirely on German principles. Since then its success has been marked and continuous. Univer- In Switzerland all the higher education is supported sities of mainly by the German and Protestant cantons. The four universities of Basel, Bern, Zurich, and Geneva have an Basel, aggregate of some 1400 or 1500 students, and all possess Bern. faculties of philosophy, jurisprudence, theology, and medi- Zurich. cine. Basel is, however, the chief centre for theology, as Geneva. ^ g ern j or j ur i s p ruc i ence an d Zurich for philosophy. At Geneva the famous academy of the 16th and 17th cen turies, long distinguished as a centre of Calvinistic teaching, is now represented by a university (first formed in 1876), where the instruction is given (mainly in the French lan guage) by a staff of forty-one professors, and where there is a rising school of science. Switzerland almost takes the lead in connexion with female education on the Continent, and in 1882-83 there were 52 women at the university of Geneva, 36 at Bern, and 24 at Zurich. In Spain the universities at present existing are those Univer- of Barcelona, Granada, Madrid (transferred in 1837 from sities Alcala), Oviedo, Salamanca, Santiago, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid, and Zaragoza. They are all, with the exception perhaps of Madrid, in a lamentably depressed condition, and mainly under the influence of French ideas and modelled on French examples. But in Portugal, Coimbra, which narrowly escaped sTippression in the 16th century as a sus pected centre of political disaffection, is now a flourishing school. Its instruction is given gratis ; but, as all members of the higher courts of judicature and administration in the realm are required to have graduated at the university, it is at the same time one of the most aristocratic schools in Europe. There are five faculties, viz., theology, jurispru dence, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy. Of these, that of law is by far the most flourishing, the number of students in this faculty nearly equalling the aggregate of all the rest. There is a valuable library, largely composed of collections formerly belonging to suppressed convents. As a school of theology Coimbra is distinctly anti-ultramontane, and the progressive spirit of the university is shown by the fact that the rector has been instructed by the govern ment to devise a scheme for the admission of women. In Italy the universities are numerically much in excess of Italy, of the requirements of the population, there being no less than sixteen state universities and four free universities. Very few of these possess theological faculties, and in no country are theological studies less valued. Education for the church is almost entirely given at the numerous &quot; seminaries,&quot; where it is of an almost entirely elementary character. In 1875 a laudable effort was made by Bonghi, the minister of education, to introduce reforms and to assimilate the universities in their organization and methods to the German type. His plans were, however, to a great extent reversed by his successor, Coppino. In Austria the universities, being modelled on the same of system as that of Prussia, present no especially noteworthy features. Vienna is chiefly distinguished for its school of V medicine, which enjoyed in the last century a reputation almost unrivalled in Europe. The other faculties were, however, suffered to languish, and throughout the first half of the present century the whole university was in an extremely depressed state. From this condition it was in a great measure restored by the exertions of Count Thun. The number of the matriculated students in 1887 was 4893, and that of the professors 138 ; among the latter the names of Zschokke, Maassen, Sickel, Jellinek, and Biidinger are some of the most widely known. The uni- Olmiitz. versity of Olmiitz, founded in 1581, was formerly in pos session of what is now the imperial library, and contained also a valuable collection of Slavonic works which were carried off by the Swedes and ultimately dispersed. It was suppressed in 1853, and is now represented only by a theological faculty. The university of Graz, the capital of Graz. Styria, was founded in 1586, and is now one of the most flourishing centres, containing some 1200 students. The Salzburg, university of Salzburg, founded in 1623, was suppressed in 1810 ; that of Lemberg, founded in 1784 by the emperor Lemberg. Joseph II., was removed in 1805 to Cracow and united to that university. In 1816 it was opened on an inde pendent basis. In the bombardment of the town in 1848 the university buildings were burnt down, and the site was changed to what was formerly a Jesuit convent The fine library and natural history museum were at the same time