xirtant anil
volumes (liti honour
piitilinF! Iioiisc of Phintiu anil Morelus at Antwerp.
Through ils tpachcrs nml its influence, Louvain had a
vcr^- large spliere in their activity. Even more than
the acveiilponth century the eighteenth, hithert*
acurcely known, lias been represented ns one of de-
cadeiiee tor the uniiersity. Odc niuy lie Miirprised
at thii', since from 17.10 at le,ist, owing to the recon-
ciliation of the HaljslnirRS annstr;ition of Prince Charles of Lou-
vain, But in reality, it there were some aliortcom-
ings, the iniputiilion of decay gt>t its principal em-
phasis [rum llie Austrian (iovernment itself. The
prineely inithoTitie« followed a policy which met with
strong opposition, esneclilly in ecclesiiistical matters.
The nuni.'ftura from A'ieima exjiocted to linil [mlilical
tools hi the nnirerHity famlltert ami did not succeed.
Oq the other hanil, there was reason to regard the
programme of studies as out of ifalc in some re.>i|>ecls.
There was a certain
The faculty of law especially confined itself to the teacli- ing of Roman law, ami this was clearly no louf^r Huflicient for the training of youngjuristM. And aueh was the case in otlter hranches. It is certainly a matter of regret that the two ques- tions, the xLCadeniic an<l the poliiieal, were linked to- gether.
In seeking to im- pregnate the uni' -:— -ithcentral-
nd )
i LOWAIH
erlands were occupied by the French KcpuMican troops and offipially annexed by the t'onvention in 17H5. The exiutonce <rf the universityj its privileges and ita teachings were incompatilile with the regime of the new leaehcra. In 1797 the university was sup- pressed; iti scientific property fell into the hands of the spoilers; the whole insiitution was ruined for a long time by this fiiry ot liHstruclion.
Secmid Prt-toi—lS:j4-19()l). — After an int#r\ai marked by the eslablishinent of a state university un- der the Dutch (ioi'emment of 1-Slu, the episcopate of Belgium decided to create afreeCatholic institution for hiKheredueation. TheConstitution of independent IJel- giumhaitprocloimedfrecdom of C<lucntion, and ad van- tage was taken of this wilhdaring initiative. Gregory XVI s.inct ioned the project. First opened at Mechlin, the university, at the request of the city of Louvain, was transferreii the following year to the buildings of the old Alma Mater and thus took up again the historical GUCcesKion. The t>ope of 1S34 revived the work of his j)redecessor of H25. The restored university is a
Its administration, its teaching, attd its budget are inde- pendcnt of the state. The episco- pate controls the mstitulion and ap- point.'; its head, the HirtiH- Magnijiciw. The latter governs with I he a.'isistaiiee
ed of
eil conijiosed ol
deans ol the livt
faculties (thetilo^',
Liw, medicine, phd-
os,ii.hv. letters)
iind of a few other
The
lung am J Jirvaiiau ^^
ideas the Auiiirian GouAoi
ministers an<l piirlicularly the Marciuis of Nonv. the commissionerattaehciltotheunii'ersily, practically de- feated the attempt toreform the programme of stuilies. Itwasrightiyeoii.uidei'eil that warwiisdeclared against theuniverMtyprivileges, the national tiMditions, and the relii^ous riglits of the Church. It was ou this account and also Iweause of the opinions of the professors ap- ptantcd that I lie creation of a course in public law, so Oscful in itself, t»iee failed. Verluiegen, in his "His- toire dcs cin<[iiuntc demi^res annCes de I'ancieniie uiuvcrsiti^" (l!iS1) has shown how, even in the eigli- tecnth century', the university had ntill a creditable scientific existence, and, on the other hand, how bravely il n'siMliil llie eiieroachincnts made upon it by the (lovenimcnt. 'Hie conflict lietween tlu- Gov- ernment and till' university re,aclieil an acute crisis under the reigu of Emix^ror .fosenh II, who wisheil to force the professors to adopt his royalist theories. Some of them yiylded, but many resisted, particularly when the emperor, on his own authority and in dis- regard of tlii^ right of the Church, altcmjtted to im- pose a general seminary on the iiniversitj^. Thi.s Htruce'^ re.-'ulled in the suspeniuoii and exile of a uumlier of piufcssuni, whilst tniisc who supjiurfed the Ciovenmient tv-gan teaching in Bnis.sek, as they could not remain at Louvain. ^le crisLi was consefjiicntl;' a viotcnl niir and eiitirelv to the creilit of the univer- sity. It ceasivl only with the end of the -losephini.st repme. The National Consen'ative Government re- miciierl ihe university in 1700 and recalled tlte exiles. UnfrirtuiiMlelv (his teni]M'sl was but the forerunner of anolhvT whicti was to la:iit longer. In 1792 (he Xeth-
charge i:
irs are ap-
Coinied by the ishops on presen- tation of (he rec(or; facidtics they elect their ilean for one or (.wo. The vie^'-rector, whose special (o watch over the students, also assists and takes his place when necessarj'; within recent years the latter hasalso lieen given an assistant. In principle the univeniity organizes its teacliing and regulates its scientific degrerK as it sees lit. Pinctical necessittes have w-t limit.s not to its riglit^, but to the use of those rights. While respecting the freedom of teaching, the State has proscrilx^ examination re- quirements for the practice of certain jirofeasions; the programroc of these examinations is fixed by law. The state universities must necessarily conform to it; the free universities comply with il in oriler to secure the legal professional advantages for Iheir diiilouias. The (ioveniment, moreo\er. faithfid in iw interpre- tation of liberty, deals uith the free universities just ns it <leals with its own. The dinloiiias awanled have the same value on the same conditions; vii., elflciency in the ]>rescril>cd minimum ot academic work, this cflicieney Iieing gwiranteed through the supervision of a eomniLssion specially appointed tor the purpose. In no cii-v docs this supcrvisiiin operate as a control or restriction on the methiKls or lendencies ot the teach- ing itself, tor that would suppress lil)erty. Under these minimum reiiuiremeiits the universities them- selves confer (he le^l tlegrces. Until 1876 it was the work ot a j ury, either central or mbced. Since then the freedom of teaching has liern made complete and baa been extended to the conferring of degrees. The uni- versity, therefore, has free action guarantee<l by the ronntttutionanditsexernseisaanctiotieil by lliclaw&
