Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1856-05-23
For tie Enquirer.
THE UNIVERSITY,


had expected To answered before this, by some
| friend Of the Institution nth more timu aud talents
to do her Justice than ourselves. We are not one oi
| those whom the writer refers, who consider the
University aud every thing else IN our own country
| perfect aud discard every thing from abroad. Nor
! on the other hand, do we belong To that class who
despise every thing at hnIns rs too hoiney. How
often do we hear citiZcns after summer tour
snin, into ecsta-ics the beauties ut the liudsun
river who have travelled up and down the lar more
| lovely Potomac without IL SIuglt emotion! How
| fashionable it is becoming for our young scholars
| who have had an opportunity ot rubbing Their head
agails, Germun University, 10 turn up their nose:
| at American institutions ut learning. And yet how
few O on" abes. men eve" SAW the shores oi Eutop"
how very few Of those whose appettc@ Tor knowied,
are voracous that they cniot he satisfied this side
| nf the Atlantic, are ever heard o: after they come
back. We admit that Virginia still wants raII road:
we doubt about her wanting Il dense populations anu
to her educational opportunities, her schools ant
University are seaiiIy expanding to meet every III
| creased demand. Education is the great cry OF the
age aud yet many ut Us Seem to have lost sGh OF us
meaning and imagine its objects are moi to brlRS oa
of the mind al That is in it, but to cram into it all thai
il will hold. The fact is there may be such thing as
! tenching TOO much Ii we ever wish a child to walk
alone it will not do to be forever holding is hands
| and showing il where TO pu. IFS foot
w. o not propose To write an elaborate reply to
the article in the Messenger, bu: merely to notice
very briefly snm- OF the so-caled wants OF the Uni
versity upon which it dweils
l. Students devote less than two years to their col
iesaIe studies, and something ought 10 be done by
The Board of Visitors to secure longer soourn al
the University
We have heard this spoken Of before and are quite
sure the Board would have been obliged TO the writer
If he had suggested some good plan by which Il might
be remadicd. The rachers throughout the State, too,
with proper notifications, might adopt the same
means Ia keep boys longer ut school. Al the North,
u majority ui the young men remain at college four
wears brc;,se they know that a the end Of that tns
the diploma must come. But the writer himself
would object to having TIM: made an clement IN the
requirements for graduation. We can think ot but
one other way Of accomplishing this desirable object,
aud that is by making the students tonder Of study.
| With all due rc.pec; for the power of the Board.
We ui, this is rather beyond it, and would like to
hear how it is managed i'll Germany.
| H. Their, should not be - indscrimnate an ad-
| mission of Students uio The University
| We have no objection to make To this, and have
heard tina. it is in contemplation 10 establish cxamllI-
atoms for admission The University does all It's
work 80 thoroughly that we are sure such e1alnna-
| ons will be very different from the farces We have
seen enacted a other colleges where the utmost ef.
forts of the Professor failed To get question answer
! ed, and the Candidate admitted tor all that
IIT An addition ought to be made TO the corps OF
professors.
The chair o Ancient Languages osSht 10 pe ulfi'
ded.
The present incumbent of this chair has more In.
| Dor 10 perform than any one man can endure. lie
nrif we nre TO lose his Invaluable services at the
Cniversity-his successor must be- relieved OF por-
iioa uf this. But would protest most earnr.tly
against any change being made IN the course looking,
70 th, introduction OF instruction upon the manners,
arts, &C., Of the nncrnts, to the exclusion os any
| portion vi whut Is now tauSat. Nothing has been
| more changed in Virginia, nothing more improved
within the last ten years. than the method %: teach
| lug the ancient GEGUagcg,
And To DR.. Harrison alone this Improvement is to
be ascrjbeG His duty has been to give the student
lt,pit Il ftf,n.
the best training possible in that time, and most no.
bly and successfully has he performed II. IL there
| IS ANYTHING in the University in which we have es-
pcciay g.Urird it is the nc 'urate practical and PHI
;uSuhica manner in which Tie ancient languages are
taught Tue reason and observation Of the student
are appealed To at every step ot hts prnSreSsi and
| without hnvin. his memory overloaded by the mass
and his brain b-wlrrrd ty the senieessness ol tht
.iuf in our old g:Gmnlars, he Is shown no" Ill 'h'
rules whcE govern the use %! 'ie ia'9u"Ses ",ay ~
! referred to few general principles FOE 'h7thhoe
hc il not taught TO sing of the Senlvt oaso-"on
substantive governs another i'll the Geni'lre when IN
latter substantive signifies different thln- from III
former" To lind himself III lnbyrInfh ut ditncult
when he seea That the "latter substantive nlway
signifies different thing from "the former" and
therefore, by his rule they ought al 10 oe III the ge
nitve In Two lines the oincc oi the genltIVc case
explained 10 him, aud every time il occurs, the man
ner in which il is performing its office Is pointed out
until his observation IL sufficiently cultivated 10 ena
bIe him to discover for himself the language OF tn
Professor himself: "By this method the stuaen: nc
puirps wln is OF infinitely more Importance than IN,
mere accumulation uf knowledge sharpness OF at
| tentiun n carrfulness u. observation and desir
thoroughly 10 comprehend the relation of things, tina
cannot fail to Lu fruitful OF good to On amount tha
elnpirioal methods can never attain. we are sure !
Is q great mistake Ia suppose that any OF tp Alumni
desire To u change IN the course se writer IN th
Messenger himself can scarcey wish to advocate any
change; hc only has sone hoIl0n that The course ma
| be very much e3tondcd, but where Is the sense il
r,.th t, 1nur,
! what is already taught Accuracy of information
mu not be sacrificed for the purpose OI taking III
| more extensive field We have bnt few mere scho
lars at the South, and Us YET cannot afford many
There is otle. work for oar people to do, OK lauof
more impUrtauce than writing Latin oGe3 and trans!a
ting newspapers into Hebrew. What We do want /:
| 4 class OF practical, accGrGle sound-thlnklng men
and there is traIing We believe so well ca!cuafrf
10 form such Gh hers as that received by the falthfu
! student Of Ancient Languages, AT the University -
| Unrrison's Grammar C"urtenays Calculus, and Pro
fessor Beds0rs last book may safely challenge coz
pariSon with, and IN our opinion, are lar st.l0r Il
| any books we have upon the same si;hco's None o
these gentlemen had u. cNtcrsl collegiate eCucnOi
rs now offered to nG~ Icong men, but they all go
tho fnundnt;nr substantially and accurately laid
Har-;sc; al The University, Courtenay and BeGsoe
Vest Point where all that they profess to teach IL
T ,aurht well aud thoroughly. These are the sort o.
scholars want, men WHO rhf. ~crk cs Wen as wrlie
home made scholars il is ,rwe, bur rome the less sub
stantja on that account. Not only has DR.. Harrison
furnished Us our best Latin Gramma! and trained ou
Gnrrdcs men IN ether professions, but he s also the
father Of the Virginia schools, and every body seems
tu acknowledge that those are Tar superior, both tt
th sohops of her ster States and to those which sht
hers.f formerly hnd presided over by Yankee gen
tlcmen who heard lessons ull the week, and endet
clocks or pedded nutmegs On Saturday. GOOD
schools are great blessings. rea .er than railroads, Ia
greater than tence LCla!a:iOn which, in our Opin
ION is re L.ssrg at ll, but rather the reverse WheI
n.rd GtriAcs too much against mind, sparks OF Vari
ous kinds aro elected, some Of which had he!!er bt
allowed to remain dormant.
But we must proceed TO notice The rest of the arti
Gle in Il very general may. The Board of Visitor
will soon neei, .l:ry are aIi alive to the interests
Virginia aud tie good of the University but the.
are also practical, prudent men. If they and tha
there is a demand for chairs and there are fund
to erdow them, they wI.i establish them. There l.
no virtue in .sGai E.any Professors. We have seer
| q nuullyluu within the present month"; who brOugh
his snu from Mon!rea! 10 Virginia, to have hin
taught Mathematics aud made practical man ol
because. hs ne said, the College there, with its eight
oen Professors, taught nothing substan!la-most o
the time being spent in writing Latin poetry. hsr
Jenersons is the best plan for haviEg .hGolog
taught. II the religious denom'nsticr9s wi.l not ac
cept the invitation extended 70 .hem, the Universt
cnno; help it. Re;iIe; i"ere is something abou
the study Of Theology, as part of the curriculum q
I-piyC-s:.;cp, that do not understand Ii is lnor
, attended to in Germany than any where else and ys
Germany j. motorinlsv irreligious. The propCsitio
to allow any one who chooses 10 put Up his shigle
and lecture on his hook, is r.;her too Democrat
ic even for us. We are tl.aid if the students wer
allowed to choose tGtsYe.i a steady old regular VIII
carried thet. with him beneath the surface and mad
ther t,s and dclve and an independent who only :e
tiired them to look aud listen while Ee spurte
and sung among the branches apL' sowers, the
might choose wrong; unless the Board does its wor
in the order in which it las been proposed to then
and, first, make the yCung men fonder of hard stud
than they nov; are Such schools IA Colemans an
Minors you'd afford stimulus TO the Professors
were aiiy neeclel ii DR., Harrison is to loir the corp
OF teachers, and his successor is 10 t&s OF The pay
whom he prepares, there will certainly be very i'''
chance ipr him 20 sleep rrnn bis post.
The University mas not remained STATIONARY W VIII, h
| ev.rvth;us. M i; advanced. For many yes!s she m
been steadily progressing. Rev lew examinations 10
NJ nyr r. -, ovtnLlisheL I,ittl. by little, sh