Page:The Harveian oration for 1874.djvu/30

 a university with 18,000 students; a true republic of letters, and a republic of most democratic kind. The Professors, originally elected by the students, were in Harvey’s time still nominated by the University. The different faculties were independent of each other as far as their internal government was concerned, and the ecclesiastical censures which afterwards troubled the life of Galileo did not interfere with his functions as Professor at Padua. To encourage merit wherever found, two professors were appointed on every subject, the one a foreigner, the other a citizen of Venice. These professorships too, were not mere titles of honour, but in addition to the fees paid by the students, the different chairs were well endowed. Thus, in the year 1598, about the time when