shadow of britain

Chapter 530 My life is like walking on thin ice
Any young student on the streets of Göttingen could have helped Einstein solve problems in four-dimensional geometry.

—David Hilbert

In the evening, in the time and space gently caressed by the years, the University of Göttingen sits quietly in tranquility.

This ancient institution of higher learning, founded by George II in 1737, has nurtured the dreams of countless German youths and witnessed the brilliance of countless scholars. The breeze blows past, fanning the green leaves on the treetops, and the golden sunset covers the paths of the campus. Under the shadow of the library and teaching buildings, it seems that you can see the Göttingen students who once strolled here.

Among them were Clemens Metternich, the Chancellor of the Austrian Empire, who was reviled by the students of Göttingen, and Heinrich Heine, the talented poet who was regarded as the leader of freedom for all of Germany.

Although the two of them have always been at odds with each other, and even used words like hemorrhoids, urinary incontinence and mobile public toilets to insult each other, this did not affect the fact that they were both alumni of the same university.

In addition, Friedrich von Savigny, the pioneer of the German Historical School of Law, Arthur Schopenhauer, Hegel's number one opponent, Wilhelm von Humboldt, the founder of Berlin University, Baron Stein who implemented national education reforms in Prussia, and Arthur's old friend, Lionel Rothschild, the richest young man in Europe, are also among them.

In the near future, Heisenberg, Dirac, Schrödinger, Fermi, Stern, Pauli, Oppenheimer, Fermi, Planck and Minkowski will also join this ranks.

Even when they play football, they can proudly pat their chests and announce to the world that they are fully capable of putting together at least five world-class starting lineups.

It is precisely because of such an outstanding university that the city motto can be written on the outer wall of Göttingen City Hall with full confidence: There is no life outside Göttingen.

As one of the five most famous universities in Germany, the University of Göttingen, which was in its heyday, was fully qualified to look down on the University of Berlin, the University of Munich, the University of Heidelberg and the University of Jena and say "there is no academic outside of Göttingen".

The fine traditions of the University of Göttingen are the pride of every professor and student working here, but for Sir Arthur Hastings, who has just taken office as the first special national representative and academic director of the University of Göttingen, the fame and strength of the University of Göttingen means a kind of pressure.

The University of Göttingen is to Hanover what Oxford and Cambridge are to Britain.

Sir Peel offended his alma mater, Oxford University, by helping the Duke of Wellington promote the Catholic Act. As a result, he was expelled from Oxford University and lost the Oxford University seat, which was considered the most prestigious in Great Britain. He was also denounced by the clergy of Oxford University for several years.

The 'Anti-Robert Peel Movement' they launched not only undermined Sir Peel's political reputation, but also caused the Tory extremists who also graduated from Oxford University to fall out with Sir Peel. Until now, the relationship between the two sides has not been repaired.

If Arthur messed up the University of Göttingen, the chain reaction would definitely be more serious than if Sir Peel had angered Oxford University. After all, in Britain, there was Cambridge University to disperse the influence of Oxford University, while in Hanover, Göttingen University was the only one in the education field.

Or, even if we take a step back and say that Arthur has not done a good job of maintaining stability, then His Majesty the King and the Lords of Whitehall will certainly hold him accountable.

And if he did too good a job of maintaining stability, it would not be long before Heine's Arthur Hastings developed the same German hemorrhoids as Metternich and suffered from urinary incontinence.

When thinking of this, even Sir Arthur Hastings, who had walked on a tightrope all his life and played the game of peacemaking for half his life, could not help but sigh: "From Scotland Yard to Göttingen University, Tories and Whigs, Conservatives and Liberals, my life has been like walking on thin ice."

Accompanying Arthur on his tour of the campus was Professor Johann Herbart, the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy. The professor was completely unaware that the young proctor beside him, who looked not much older than an average student, was daydreaming. He was still introducing the history of the University of Göttingen to Arthur with the rigor of a philosopher and the natural inclination of a professor to teach.

“In the 18th century when the University of Göttingen was first established, the difference between universities was not based on their academic reputation, but on the atmosphere of their student life.

For example, the universities of Jena and Wittenberg were famous for how much beer their students drank and how many heads they broke, the University of Marburg was known for how many duels their students had, and the University of Leipzig was popular for how dissolute their students lived.

As for Tübingen, in the 18th century it was more like the Colosseum than a place of instruction, and the peasants in the south and the inhabitants of the Jewish quarter were harassed by the students' mischief.

Moreover, the pranks the students resorted to were extremely bad, such as disrupting folk festivals, breaking into wedding venues, attacking Jewish shops, and other such atrocities.

At that time, most college students came from the French-speaking upper class, and the aristocracy monopolized the universities. However, they did not cherish such a place for imparting knowledge, but instead focused on debauchery, flattery and exquisite etiquette.

To some extent, we have to thank Napoleon's cavalry for sweeping across Europe, which caused Germany to face the shadow of defeat at the beginning of the century. Although he brought the war, he also woke up the German state. Faced with such a dilapidated situation, everyone realized that the country needed reform, and education also needed reform. "

Professor Herbart was a very cautious person and rarely expressed his political views at school. He preferred to be seen as a pure scholar rather than a political leader. This was not only to avoid unnecessary trouble, but also his educational creed.

To use his own words, it is - it is not my business to evaluate what kind of improvement can be made to the political life of the Germans and how much it can be improved. I can only say that the university spirit cannot imitate political life, because the essence of the university lies in science.

As a scholar, it was normal to have liberal tendencies in this era. Herbart, who was a student of Fichte and a good friend of Schiller, was no exception.

But if he had not seen with his own eyes the new school supervisor and the students involved in the riot today, it would have been almost impossible for him to express his feelings so bluntly.

As a serious scholar, he said this to express his support for Arthur in a tactful way, but as a professor, he couldn't help but give a few words of advice to the new dean who was not even as old as many doctoral students. "Sir, you showed great courage today, but this is not a good example for students. I don't think it is a good sign for students to participate too much in political activities. Universities are places for academic research, and politics are the affairs of parliament. But I also know that it is the nature of young people to be passionate, and we can't blame them too much, so we have formulated various school rules to restrain their behavior. But if you, as a dean, also fool around like the students, it will definitely have a bad effect on maintaining the normal operation of teaching."

Arthur came to his senses slowly after hearing this. He looked at Professor Herbart with a serious face. Although they had just met for a short time, based on just a few hours of contact, Arthur had already come to the conclusion that the professor in front of him was an upright old scholar from the academic school.

In some ways, dealing with such a man is much easier than dealing with Police Chief Schmidt.

He smiled kindly and recounted the causes and consequences of today's beer hall riot truthfully. Sure enough, after listening to the story, Professor Herbart's tense face immediately relaxed.

But not long after, he seemed to have thought of something, took off his hat and apologized, "It seems that I misunderstood you. I didn't expect that you would solve such a troublesome matter for those bastards just after taking office. If you didn't let the police release them, and Director Schmidt reported the matter to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we would not be able to cover up for the students even if we wanted to.

Once the orders from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Education come down, all of these rascals will be expelled from school. However, although they were lucky enough to run into you today, they will definitely not learn their lesson if they are not punished. Especially today, they saw you among them. If there is no punishment, these rascals will probably think they did the right thing. "

After saying this, Professor Herbart pondered for a moment and suggested, "I think we should submit the list of students who participated in the riot today to the Student Punishment Committee, and punish them one by one according to school rules. Those with minor offenses should stay in the confinement room for a week, and those with serious offenses should be suspended from school for at least a month."

Upon hearing this, Arthur could not help but feel troubled by Professor Herbart's efficient actions: "Mr. Herbart, I understand your starting point. But if the first thing I do after taking office is to punish students, it will always be a bit inappropriate. However, when it comes to running an education, you are the expert. If you think this is right, I will definitely support you with all my strength."

Arthur's frankness immediately won Herbart's favor. Although the professor's style was old-fashioned, it did not mean that he was a fool who had no idea about the ways of the world.

He replied calmly, "The school rules clearly stipulate the penalties for violations. You are only the supervisor and do not hold a position on the student punishment committee, so you only need to perform your duties and monitor whether the committee's resolution violates legal procedures. As for what punishment to impose and which students to impose the punishment on, these are all decisions made by us committee members, and you have no right to interfere."

As soon as Herbart said this, Arthur could not help but stand in awe: "You are worthy of being the master who has been teaching Kant's philosophy at the University of Königsberg for 24 years. Although I have not communicated with you much, I still have to say that you are the most insightful Kant researcher I have ever met. Even if the students do not understand, I privately think that you absolutely deserve the praise of integrity. If there is a chance, can I have the honor of attending your lectures?"

Because of his old-fashioned temper, Herbart was not as popular among students as those professors with radical positions. Some students even regarded him as the leader of the school's conservative faction. Herbart was a little uncomfortable with being praised by Arthur out of the blue.

However, as a researcher and follower of Kant, no compliment can make me happier than "the one who has best grasped the essence of Kant."

Herbart's old face turned slightly red. He coughed and said, "You are really too kind. I heard that you are a student of Mr. Bentham. Although you are more famous in the field of electromagnetism, I guess your attainments in Kantian philosophy must be quite high. But if you are willing to come to my class and exchange a few words with me, then of course I welcome you. But I always think that when it comes to Kantian philosophy, Professor Dahlmann may be better than me. It's a pity that he went to the capital to attend the Constitutional Convention a few days ago, otherwise you could have met him today."

"Professor Dahlmann?" Arthur recalled the list of students from the University of Göttingen that had been delivered to him a few days ago: "Friedrich Dahlmann?"

Herbart nodded slightly and said, "It is him, the new leader of the German Historical School of Law. Professor Albrecht of Law and Professor Gervinus of History went to the capital with him for the meeting. Although I am a little disappointed that I cannot meet them today, Professor Gauss, the director of our Göttingen Observatory, and Professor Weber of Physics have long wanted to meet you.

To be honest, they just invented an electromagnetic telegraph machine not long ago, and are currently building a 1.5-kilometer telegraph line from the physics laboratory to the observatory. They heard that when you were in London, you participated in the entire process of helping Mr. Wheatstone to build the telegraph line. It is said that the several telegraph lines currently in use by Scotland Yard were all built under your guidance?"

When Arthur heard those two names, his eyebrows couldn't help but jump three times.

He couldn't understand why he was still being chased by these scientists even though he had already hidden all the way from Paris to the small country town of Göttingen?
Gauss and Weber are not easier to fool than Poisson and Ampere of the French Academy of Sciences.

Arthur was thinking of what excuse to make when he suddenly heard bursts of dogs barking from the front.

Looking in the direction of the barking sound, they saw a young student with a mustache and a sword on his waist walking towards the two of them on the stone road ahead, leading three large wolfhounds.

He noticed the gazes of Arthur and Herbart, but he neither took off his hat to greet them nor made any move to make way. Instead, he twitched his nose slightly and snorted contemptuously.

Professor Herbart, who was standing by, was so angry that his gentle temperament was thrown out of the window. He clenched one hand, raised the other hand suddenly, pointed at the student and shouted, "Bismarck, stop right there!"

Bismarck was called by name by Herbart, but he acted as if he didn't hear it and didn't react at all to the reprimand from his division commander.

Herbart was furious when he saw this. The fifty-year-old professor rushed forward and tried to take the leash from Bismarck. Unexpectedly, before he got close, the three dogs stopped and barked at him. The sudden change frightened Herbart so much that he couldn't help but step back a few steps.

Bismarck saw this and smiled. He leaned over and touched his beloved wolfhound, praising it as he touched it: "Good dog! Good dog!"

Herbart was so angry that he asked, "Bismarck! Although I am old, I am not senile. The punishment for your fight at Jena University has not been completed yet! Your confinement will not end until next week. Why are you here now? In addition, tell me the truth, where did those three dogs in your hand come from!"

(End of this chapter)