Mörtling, Jonas. D. D. Specimen academicum, De Poena Universitatis…. Sub praesidio …Johannis Ihre. Upsaliae, Excud. L. M. Hojer, Reg. Acad. Typogr. 18 December, MDCCLV [1755] (185 x 140mm) Signatures: [pi]¹, A⁴, B³;. Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala, 1755 (J. Mörtling, respondent). Includes bibliographical references. In Latin, French, Swedish. Typeset ornamentation on title page and surrounding page numbers; woodblock ornamental headpeice and initial.Ownership signature in bottom left corner of title page, Herr Wettergriff. Some pen underlining. Number 9 in pen, top right; 338 in pencil top left. Stab stitch sewn binding, with threads visible. First page loose but attached. Overall FAIR to GOOD condition. This 1755 dissertation De Poena Universitatis, defended by Jonas Mörtling under the presidency of Johannis Ihre at Uppsala, is a philosophical and legal examination of the concept of punishment as it applies not to individuals, but to collective bodies such as universities or organized communities. Rooted in early modern notions of civic responsibility and sovereignty, the text defines punishment (poena) as a just and proportionate suffering imposed by a higher authority for actions that harm the state. Mörtling explores when and how a university or corporate body may be held collectively responsible for wrongdoing—either through direct action or by failing to prevent misconduct—and whether such entities can be punished in the same way as individuals. He also addresses the fairness and practical application of punishments like decimation (a form of collective penalty by lot) and the ethical limits of sovereign power. Important in the context of Enlightenment legal thought, this dissertation reflects early attempts to reconcile classical legal philosophy with contemporary civic structures, and its arguments resonate with debates on justice, responsibility, and the legitimacy of state power. Johannis Ihre (1707–1780) was a pioneering Swedish philologist and professor at Uppsala University, best known for his foundational work in comparative linguistics. He was the first to observe the Germanic sound shift later formalized as Grimm’s Law and played a crucial role in identifying the Codex Argenteus as Wulfila’s Gothic Bible. His major works include Glossarium Suiogothicum (1769), a groundbreaking etymological dictionary of Old Swedish, and Scripta versionem Ulphilanam et linguam Moeso-Gothicam illustrantia (1773), a philological analysis of the Gothic language and biblical texts. A central figure in 18th-century linguistic scholarship, Ihre laid the groundwork for later scholars like Rasmus Rask and Jacob Grimm, establishing himself as a foundational voice in Germanic historical linguistics.