ing and to this day is best known for his pedagogical writ-
ings. He began his career as a teacher of natural science at
Breslau in 1810. He was disgusted at being expected to
teach mineralogy without minerals, as was then the not
uncommon practice.^ At Halle in 1819 he had the use of
a fair working collection. His instincts as a teacher led him
toward practical work and personal contact with the stu-
dents.2 Soon after Ranke went to Berlin, Raumer advised
his friend to offer practice courses in history. ^ The sugges-
tion struck Ranke favorably and he wrote back, July 12,
1825, "I have just profited by your advice and announced
a practice course in history (Jiistorische Uehungen) for the
next term. I very much wish to stand in a vital relation to
my students, although, to be sure, I am not quite the man
to be equal to the noble position of a true teacher."^ The
Index Lectionum for that year contains the simple announce-
ment without further explanation:
"L. Ranke, Dr.
I. Publice exercitationes historicas moderabitur semel p. hebd."5
That Ranke carried out his design appears from his assertion in 1837 that he had conducted practice courses since the beginning of his university activity.^
1 Raumer, Geschichte der Pddagogik, IV, 95. This fourth volume is a sketch of the history of the German universities followed by an autobiographical account of the author's experiences as a student and professor. An English translation will be found in Barnard's American Journal of Education, VI, VII. The passage mentioned in the text may be found in Barnard VII, 77.
2 Compare his essay, Katheder-Vortrag ; Dialog., ibid., 205-211; Barnard, Am. Jour, of Education, VII, 201-206.
8 Possibly Raumer's experience as a pupil of Hugo may have contributed to this suggestion. Hugo's lectures on law at Gottingen were attended with " Ausar- beitung juristischer Aufgaben " (Raumer, ibid., 73).
4 Ranke, ibid., 148.
8 See Travels in the North of Germany in the Years 1825 and 1826. By Henry E. D wight, A. M. N. Y. 1829, 448.
6 Werke, LII, 479. Dove, in his " Life of Ranke," in the Allgemeine deutsche Biographie, says that the dominant factor of Ranke's teaching was his practice courses as established in a new form, first in 1833. Ranke nowhere gives any
