The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1120: Chapter 106: Treading on Thin Ice All My Life_2

At that time, most university students came from the French-speaking upper class, with the nobility monopolizing the university. However, they did not cherish this place of knowledge but instead focused on indulgence, flattery, and elaborate etiquette.

To some extent, we have to thank Napoleon’s cavalry for sweeping across Europe, casting the German States into the shadow of defeat at the beginning of the century. Although he brought the flames of war, he also awakened the German States. Faced with such a decay, everyone realized that the nation needed reform, and education needed reform as well.

Professor Herbart was a very cautious person. At the university, he rarely expressed his own political views. Rather than acting as a political leader, he preferred to be seen as a purely academic scholar. This was not only to avoid unnecessary trouble but also aligned with his educational philosophy.

If he were to put it in his own words, it would be—evaluating the political life of the Deutsch and what improvements can be made, and how much can be improved, is not my concern. I can only say that the university spirit cannot mimic political life, because the essence of the university lies in science.

As a scholar, having liberal tendencies in this era is quite normal. Having been a student of Fichte and a friend of Schiller, Herbart was no exception.

But if it weren’t for him witnessing today the new Academic Director getting involved in a riot with the students, he almost certainly wouldn’t have expressed his sentiments so bluntly.

As an unsmiling scholar, his speech subtly conveyed his support for Arthur, but as a Professor, he couldn’t help but offer a few words of advice to the new Academic Director, who was even younger than many doctoral students.

”Sir, your display of courage today was remarkable, but for the students, it’s not a good example. I don’t think that students excessively engaging in political activities is a good sign. The university is a place for scholarship, whereas politics is the business of Parliament. But I also know that youthful fervor is a nature of young people and they shouldn’t be overly criticized, which is why we’ve established all sorts of campus regulations to constrain their behavior. But if you, as the Academic Director, also carry on like the students, it will definitely disrupt the normal operations of teaching.”

Hearing this, Arthur slowly came to his senses. He looked at the serious face of Professor Herbart. Although they had only just met, in just a few hours, Arthur had already concluded that the Professor in front of him was a righteous old scholar of the academic persuasion.

In some respects, dealing with such a person was far easier than dealing with Police Chief Schmidt.

He smiled amiably and truthfully recounted the causes and effects of today’s pub riot. True to form, Professor Herbart’s tense expression relaxed immediately after listening to the story.

But it wasn’t long before something seemed to come to his mind. He took off his hat to apologize, ”So it seems, I misunderstood you. I never thought that just after taking office, you managed to solve such a troublesome affair for that bunch of rascal boys. If you hadn’t had the police release them, and if Chief Schmidt reported this to the Home Office, we couldn’t have covered for the students even if we wanted to.

Once orders from the Home Office and the Ministry of Education were enforced, each and every one of those brats would have been expelled. However, while they were lucky to have run into you today, if we don’t issue some punishment, they surely won’t learn their lesson. Especially since they saw you in their ranks today; without some form of discipline, they might all think they did the right thing.”

After speaking, Professor Herbart pondered for a moment and suggested, ”I think we should submit the list of students involved in the riot today to the Student Council for disciplinary action according to the campus rules. Those with minor offenses should be confined for a week in the detention room, and those with severe offenses should be suspended for at least a month.”

Upon hearing this, Arthur, too, found himself troubled by Professor Herbart’s efficient actions: ”Mr. Herbart, I understand your point of view. But if my first action upon assuming office is to punish students, it wouldn’t appear quite appropriate. However, in matters of education, you are the expert. If you believe this is the right course of action, I will fully support you.”

Arthur’s sincerity immediately won Herbart’s favor. Although this Professor was old-fashioned in style, it didn’t mean he was a silly person oblivious to social nuances.

He responded quite candidly: ”The campus regulations clearly specify the penalties for violations. You are now just the Academic Director and do not hold a position in the Student Council for disciplinary actions, so you only need to perform your duty by ensuring the committee’s decisions do not violate statutory procedures. As for what punishment to administer and to which students, that decision rests with us committee members and is beyond your purview.”

With those words from Herbart, Arthur couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration: ”You truly are a master who has held the Kant philosophy chair at the University of Königsberg for 24 years. Although I haven’t communicated much with you, I must say, you’re one of the most profound scholars of Kant I’ve ever encountered. Even if the students don’t understand, privately I believe you’re definitely deserving of a reputation for uprightness. If there’s an opportunity, may I have the honor to audit your lectures?”

Because of his rigid temperament, Herbart was far less popular among the student body than those professors with radical views, and some even perceived him as a leader of the school’s conservative faction. Thus, when Arthur suddenly praised Herbart, it caught him a bit off guard.