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316 RECENT TIMES.
ment, which, on grounds of political expediency, was
obliged to avoid brutal outbreaks of religious intolerance.
In France the control of the universities and generally of
the whole system of education by the State was gradually
introduced by the energy of the governments, just as in
the Protestant countries of Germany it came about under
the influence of the Reformation.
In the Catholic countries of Germany this process
was only accomplished in the 18th century, and in
other States, as in Italy, only in the 19th. It resulted,;
in the introduction of many changes in the organization
of the universities. The dignity of Chancellor, if
not entirely abolished, was conferred upon high officials
or trusted friends of the Government, and the charter was
no longer conferred by the Church but by the State. The
cosmopolitan character of the universities ceased to exist
at the same time; henceforth they were no more than the
highest educational establishments of the State, and their
academical degrees were no longer, as formerly, of value in
all countries of Christendom, but only in a narrowly-defined
political district. The unlimited freedom which the learned
professions enjoyed in the middle ages was done away
with, and a system of tests gradually became developed
which recognized knowledge only when it had been acquired
in particular training grounds. The financial condition of
the universities of Germany and of several other countries
which attached themselves to Protestantism sustained as a
general rule a great revolution. The Professors lost the
prospect of an increase of their incomes by the acquisition
of fat benefices. The slight rise in their stipends which
resulted from the secularization of the Church property
afforded but a poor compensation. Everywhere it was
felt that the secure support afforded heretofore by the rich
pecuniary possessions of the Church now no longer existed.
How insignificant was the amount demanded at that time
for the support of a university is shown by the annual
budget of the academy of Tubingen for 1541-42. The