UNIVERSITY LIFE, ANCIENT AND MODERN.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10483, 23 October 1899, Page 4

UNIVERSITY LIFE, ANCIENT AND MODERN.

One of tine most interesting papers in tie, first number of th* "New Zealand Illustrated Magazine," is that by Professor Madamin, on "University Life in the Middle Ages." Medieval mweraty life hae much that is carious and attractive to the nineteenth century nriad; and yet, in spite of Mr EarihdaJl's great -work on "Mediseval Universities," it is a subject which probably ibas to most of us all the spice of novelty. Professor MacLaurin mtrodooes us to Paris in about the year 1299, six hundred years ago. Wβ are struck, he tdls us, in the Latm Qoarter, where tie Unwendby ia situated, witli, in the first place, tihe vast numbers of the studemta, and, in the aeoood place, their youtb. They come from all porta of the globe, intd%2ble to each other through use of Latin, the common tongue of the educated for so many hundreds of years, and forming a cosmopolitan body of students such aa ia ißxpoe&ble even in these days of ooemopoli-t-traam Tlie 13th century student had a limited curticcrum to Tdich to apply homeelf, Logic, tiie Art of Reasoning, being tben thought the be-all and end-all of education. Under the term Poiloaojphyv the other etock «übject t came

the "quadrivium," Arithmetic, inetry, Music and Astrology. As for th ," comforts and luxuries of modern univergitj life, these were, of course, as unknown t« medieval students as electricity or bacterid ology. The iccture-rooms were windowles," and fireless. When the student rose inifo morning, there was no "scout" to bring thj' : substantiai breakfast dear to ' modern son of Oxford or G«n. ' bridge. He had no scout-, and serious still) he had no breakfast! Hebe' at 5 or 6 a.m.', and worked unfl wlhich took place at 10. Whea : came, it was not of a particularly sump&hwj nature, often consisting but of a'penye pa*' of tyefe amongst four havyiug a few made of the broUhe of the same byefe, »rftk;' salte and oatmell." After dinner the stadesT worked M supper (at 5 p.m.). After sup: per ha amused tonself as be best nuge,t ,- being probably uaaible to afford, even if fe desired tihem, lights for reading It was no doubt rough, the existence of the mediaeval university student; the education ' which was obtainable, was, judged by oar , standard,.deploraibly meagre; manners watt boorish, and culture was scant. Neverth*.. less, we shouia do ill to despise a system which, wiUh all its faults, must iave pro." vided no bad training for life, if mj judge by *he stamp of men produced by. tie ancient universities. Moreover, with their deficiencies, the old universities wsometabang which modem universities, ot developing in the colonies, have not beea successful in secuiing, a large measure i$ common life, whereby studeota gala tf least as much as from any curriculum. is much to be regretted t3»ft in New Ze» ' land, for example, there has been no seri«B . attempt to provide the residential side of university life as stall maintained in tin older English universities. Iα $hejr greats opportunities for the familiar intercom* of students on equal terms, modern univctn. t ties in the colonies may 'have somet&jns , ' to learn from tie universities of the "dW ages."