UNIVERSITY. This word is the English form of the Latin universitas, which is often used by the best Latin writers. The adjective universes' sig nifies the whole of anything, as contrasted with its parts : the plural • universi also is often used to express an entire number of persons or things, as opposed to indi vidual persons or things. The uses of the word universitas may be derived from the meaning of universes. Universitas is used by the Latin writers to express the whole of anything, as contrasted with its parts : thus Cicero speaks of all mankind as • universitas generis humani ;' and he proceeds to instance individuals (singuli) as the ultimate elements of this universitas. It is not necessary to the notion of a uni versitas that all the elements should be alike ; 'universitas rerum' is Cicero's expression for the whole of things—for all things viewed as making one whole. The word universitas applies either to a number of things, or of persons, or of rights, viewed as a whole. The Roman jurists expressed by the term • universitas bonorum' the whole of a property as contrasted with the parts (singulte res) which composed it. Such a universitas might be the object of a universal suc cession. [SuccEssfos.] Rights and duties are properly attached to individuals as their subjects : but a number of individuals may be viewed for certain legal purposes as one person or as a unity. Thus the notion of a number of persons forming a juristical person, or a universitas, obtained among the Romans, and universitas was a general name for various associations of individuals, who were also indicated by the names of col legia and corpora. The essential cha racter of these universitates of persons, viewed as juristical persons, was the capacity of having and acquiring pro perty. The property, when had or ac quired, might be applied to any purposes which the nature of the association re quired: but it was the capacity of the association to have and acquire, like an individual, that was the essential charac teristic of the body as a universitas ; and the purposes for which the property might be had or acquired were no more a part of the notion of a universitas, than the purposes for which an individual has or acquires property are part of his capacity to have or to acquire.
The universities or corporate bodies at Rome were very numerous. There were corporations of bakers, publicani or farmers of the revenue, of scribae, and others. The name was also applied in the sense above explained to civitates, municipia, and respublicae ; and also to the component parts of them, as curiae, vici, fora, conciliabula, and castella.
From the Roman words universitas, collegium, corpus, are derived the terms university, college, and corporation of modern languages ; and though these words have obtained modified significa flows in modern times, so as not to be in differently applicable to the same things, they all agree in retaining the funda mental signification of the terms, what ever may have been superadded to them. There is now no university, college, or corporation which is not a juristical per son in the sense above explained. Where ever these words are applied to any association of persons not stamped with this mark, it is an abuse of terms.
The word university, in its modern acceptation, has often been misunderstood. Its proper meaning is explained in this article ; and the application of the term to associations of teachers or pupils is ex plained in the article UNivEasrrrEs. (Savigny, Geschichte des Heat. Rom. Rechts, ii. 261, 81c. : and i. 378, note n.)