The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-29
THE ADVANTAGES OF FRENCH UNIVERSITIES
Fur AMERICAN STUDENTS.
BY ANTOINE nUzzaRRELLL
n University Magazine.

Button, deserves the careful study of
thoughtful students. Upon the claims of
french literature, merely as literature,
y Is UNNECESSARY to dwell. French pre-
emlnence has been in existence for many
centuries; and the race of French literary
men has not degenerated The land OF
Ghateaubriand, Balzac, George sand
Dumas, Musset, Lamartine and Victor
Hugo, in every department is found pre-
serving a vigorous life
No country has made. more strenuous
eIorts than has France, since the disas-
Iers OF 1870, TO keep abreast of the age.
schools of every kind have been multi
Piled Her universities have been adapted
70 modern needs; new ones have been es-
laDllshed, and throughout the whole cOun-
ny the motto has been adopted: Il Edu-
cation avant tout" In the present. as in
the past. her professors are men of world
VIDE lame. Culver, Arago. Laplace, Vic
tor Cousin, Jouffroy, Guizot Augllste
Gomte, Littre, Michelet Mignet, Taine,
kenan, Chevreul, Leverrier, Dumas, Bor-
tnelot, Pasteur, Michel Breal, Greard, La
wise, LeVaSseur, Castor Paris. MasperO,
not to multiply instances, are men of
which country may well be proud.
No universities in the world are served
by men more eminent, more slef-sacri-
ncing, more thoroughly devoted to duty.
Certainly the important question, and one
that forces itself upon our attention, is
this: What is the system of training which
mas placed at the disposal of France. and
not of France only. but also of humanity.
men of such transcendant powers? The
institutions of a country are no dim renec-
ton of its national genius And France.
as the country most deeply impressed by
the influence of the ancient Romans,
would well repay study. All thoughtful
Americans viii agree as to the Importance
OF attempting to combine the best infiu-
ences Of the ancient civilizations in the
modern republic of the west. to fuse to-
gether French refinement and Teutonic
perseverance. The characteristic of
French literature is an indescribable artis-
tic flavor to which the German language
does not easily lend itself Indeed in
French writer's we find combination of
deep thought and literary polish that rem
ders their work at once simple and delight
FUR The TeutOn neglects literary form;
the Frenchman, while proving himself
equal in every field of original research,
is an accomplished master of style.
AS regards science, many European sa-
wants have acknowledged their indebted
ness to French educational hospitality.
Adam Smith, for instance, the father of
political economy, says somewhere, that
had it not been for his several years Of
residence in France. the wealth of Ma
tons" would hardly have been written,
at least in its present form. Hume, the
celebrated historian, the friend and fell
low countryman of Adam Smith, is an
other instance out of many.
And on the occasion OF the centenary of
the French Institute it was but the other
day that Lord Kelvin, perhaps better
known as Sir William Thompson, regarded
by those competent to pass judgment, as
a second Newton. declared with emphasis
that ii would be impossible for him to
overestimate what he owed these great
men, whom he was addressing not only
for their kindness, but also for the train
ing i'm proper scientific methods he had re-
eeived in their laboratories. Before going
to France, young Thompson had exhaust
ed the educational resources of Great
Britain. He had passed through Glasgow
University, of which his father was one
of the professors; thence he had proceed
ed to Cambridge, where, at the end of his
course, the highest distinctions possible
had been the reward of his arduouS and
successful studies. Having arrived at this
stage he was not of opinion that nothing
more was to be learned. He went to
France, where he wished to be trained in
the work of original research; here in
French laboratories, and in contact with
the great French scientists of the time,
to whose memory he paid most glowing
tribute, he found the Influences that We're
SO potent in forming his mind, and in
determining his future career. The teSti-
mohY Of such man, given so heartily to
the superiority of French methods, has
a value all it's own, and should encourage
in their good work the members of the
Franco-American committees.
Michel Breal, whose official position en-
ables him to speak with authority, assures
us that no effort will be wanting on the
part of the educational authorities in
France to modify, as far as possible, their
regulations so as to meet the peculiar
needs of American students. 1t is his
recommendation that students from
abroad, if they wish to know French life
intimately and in its purity" should re-
sort to some of the provincial universe
ties, keeping Paris for the end, when hav-
ing completed their studies they want to
become acquainted with the furnace in
which all the diversities of the provinces
are united and smelted down"
In conclusion, slightly changing the
words of Macaulay in reference to the an
cient Athenians, we would say that the
life and Institutions of a nation which,
like France, has devised a system of edu-
cation eminently fitted, not only Ito form
exact and profound thinkers, but likewise
to give quickness to the perceptions, deli
cacy to the TASTE fuency to the express
sion, and politeness to the manners" has
claims upon the attention of the cultured
citizens of the United States which cannot
we'll be ignored.