Morning journal and courier., 1886-07-31
HefdeIbers,s Anntversary,

From profusely illustrated paper in the
August Century we quote follows: GAL
though no stately buildings, even in ruin,
exist to speak to us from those early years of
Heidelberg's rising glory, there happily re-
mains one monument still enjoying full Wig
or, and celebrating this present summer of
1886 the five hundredth anniversary of its
foundation by Con1ad's descendant, the
Count Palatine Ruprecht 1. This is the uni
versity, hoary but gifted with eternal youth.
Hardly black enough could be painted the
picture of the moral and mental needs of the
time, in all western Europe, preceding the
birth of the first universities, of which that
of Heidelberg was among the earliest. The
great Roman church had sunk into deathly
lassitude and superstition everywhere pre-
vailed. From the monasteries, which had
held learning in their keeping, there f1ickered
scarcely a spark of intellectual life. Ru-
precht's long life had been filed with futile
wars and conflicts, but the old warrior easily
foresaw the advantages his land would derive
from this more enduring work, and although
he wrote with marked humility, I under
stand only my mother tongue; I am untaught
and ignorant of all learning still he did his
utmost to make prosperous his infant uni
versity. He gave strict command that no
violence should be done the students in
travelling to and from Heidelberg, a great
boon in those lawless days. Besides he
made the institution absolutely free to pass
judgment upon and punish its own members,
and declared it to be in no way subject to
civil authority, a right which German uni
versities have, to great extent, preserved to
the present day. A rich dowry in lands and
other sources of income was given to the un-
iversity. The university had four faculties,
L i i e
bachelor, master and licentiate, and on Octo-
Der 1S, 1886, it was solemly opened with
mass attended by all the students. The first
rector was Marsilius Won Inghen from Paris,
where Ruprecht had found the pattern for
all that concerned his new institution, even
to the fashion of dress to be worn by the
professors. The very hours were fixed when
the learned men called from afar should hold
forth, but they were forbidden to fill up the
whole time with stupefying dictation, some
chance being thus wisely afforded for the
breath of free academic life. While inheri-
ting developed organization ike that of the
church, as we'll as it's affection for ranks and
degrees, far greater simplicity and limitation
ruled in the university in all that concerned
material needs. The professors We're salts
fed with from one to eight groschen (about
two and half-twenty cents) for each
course of lectures, according to its length,
and the disputations paid three gulden Zone
large sum for those days. Fifty gulden a
year (twenty- five dollars) was a fine salary,
but for travelling for three months in Italy
on university business a professor received
only an additional thirty-nine gulden (nine-
teen dollars and fifty cents), a modest sum
indeed, according to our modern ideas. even
on the basis that money had twenty times its
present value. For the prosperity of the in
stitution library was most essential. But
while in our day private man may have his
thousands of books, priceless storehouse of
knowledge, in Ruprecht's time a library of
sixty volumes was considered very large, in
fact well-nigh inexhaustible. AS before the
invention of printing the store Of learning
was confined to rare and perishable manu-
scripts, on each of which a small fortune
was expended, Ruprecht felt the Importance
of protecting dealers in manuscripts, paper
and parchment, and SO he granted them the
same privileges that he had given to the uni
versity itself. How strange contrast to his
course in these matters, and how vivid pic
ture of those wild days was the position
taken by this prince with regard to the rob
berries then prevalent on the highway! In
these he shared openly, for he kept active
two fortified robbers nests not far from
Speier on the great road to Worms, and as
the merchants passing to and from the far
East with costly wares, neared the forest,
they were fallen upon and their goods seized
70 r97,laniab ha T,rinoa'S