a student at Leipzig, Ranke had been a member of the philo-
logical seminaries of Hermann and Beck.^ In these courses
he became familiar with the methods of these eminent
teachers in training students in independent work. Soon
after he began his teaching at Berlin, in the summer of
1825, in accordance with a suggestion from his friend Karl
von Raumer, the brother of the historian, Ranke announced
that in the fall semester he would conduct a practice course
(historische Uebungen).^ Karl von Raumer was then profes-
sor of natural science at Erlangen and was a man ever active
in elaborating successful methods of teaching. Ranke writes
him, July 12, 1825, " I have profited by your advice and an-
nounced ' historische Uebungen for next term.' " ^ That he
carried out the project is confirmed by his own statement in
1837 : " It has been a delight to me since the beginning of
my university activity to carry on historische Uebungen."*
Owing to Ranke 's tour in Italy, the continuous life of the
seminary did not begin until 1831. ^ The years next follow-
ing were the most fruitful. Ranke set his students at work
on the Middle Ages, the period on which he had prepared
himself at Frankfort.^ Only those who expected to make
history their profession were admitted to the course, and the
members were taught method by his guidance without much
theorizing. He allowed them free choice of subjects, but
was always ready to suggest problems. His three injunc-
tions were criticism, precision, penetration.^
Berlin, bat it exerted no snch influence as Banke's. Wilken is not mentioned in Ranke's letters.
1 Page 34 and Koechly, Gottfried Hermann, 257.
2 In the official Latin, " Exercitationes historicae."
3 Page 148.
- Ranke, Werke, LII, 479.
5 Dove, in his sketch of Ranke in the Allgemeine deutsche Biographie, gives 1833 as the date of the starting of Ranke's seminar after his return ; but the evidence of Ranke's own words seems in favor of the date in the text, and Giesebrecht gives 1831. Gedachtnissrede auf Leopold von Ranke, 11.
8 Page 649.
7 The most interesting accounts of Ranke's seminary work are those given by himself in the preface to the JahrhUcher des Deutschen Retches unter dem Sachs-
