The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-17

cations and workings. But we must n Il sscr,be
the sweet waters 10 the bitter fo main. Tho
that" in education as elsewher 4, "sowsth n
the flesh, ITO the lower and seds n nature "sbali
Of the flesh reap corruption"
Could we analyze all the cases appealed 10 in
opposition to the time'h Jnored methods of the
"scbolastic" or liberal system, we have no fear
OF the results. No case for ms ance, furnishes,
on superficial view, stronger retutation OF the
old-tashloned .neory OF teaching, than does
that OF the LIE and well beloved President OF
the United States--ABRAHAM LIhooLN. When
due allowance is m ldc for his merely superficial
deficiencies, his indifference to form, HIS lack
OF all we prize as debo"ngW," he is seen to pos
CESS I'm q high degree all the mental qualities
which We claim 10 be ths legitimate results of
the "schOlasuc" system, His ready, sym
pathetic tact in dealing with the mass of
men and in entering INTO the desires and
feelings which belong TO them as men
his unwayeTng conviction of a truth and
a right which no thought or desire OF man had
created, which are absolute and not relative
his profound sense OF the NIFTY of the race and
OF history, and Ot an order which comprehends
ii all-hIs mastery OF hi use aud his passions
the perfect balance Of his intellectual and moral
poWers-his wonderful command OF his native
laDguage-hs power of putting things SO l0rci-
bly that even his eI emles we're forced to ap.
plaud, lit came in so pat" they sa1d-all mark
him as standing high SIMPLY as man among
men, and not merely as distinguished by his
superior technical abilities above some set or
class OF men; i'll other words, as q man Of 'iJe-
What ,cas MIR. Lincolus education? He had
certainly no very extensive acquaintance with
the SCIENCES. His knowledge of entomology
probably extended to the flies and bugs OF the
Western praries in botany he kuew the trees
from each other; iu Ichthyology he probably
knew the several species OF hsh that frequent
the sluggish streams of Illinois; and so on
through the circle of the sciences, Nor are we
able TO associate any OF these accomplishments
with his great intellectual capacities. He seems
at first sight to have become what he was
without any education Al all aud TO realize the
dream Of the poet:-
AS heedlessly as oUdland hooks
Send violets up and paint them blue.
Let US, however, h"ar his own words, and
then Judge whether the training was not IN all
essential respects identical with that given in
our most venerable universities.
Be ore his election to the presidency the Yale
Professor of rhetoric followed him across that
state, IN order to stady the art under such an
eminent example Of II. In an iGterVlew he
asked Mr.. Lincoln no y he came by this unusual
power OF putting things aging that "it must
have been matter OF education, Tor no mau
has it By nature.n NJ. Lincoln replied, "Well,
as to education, the newspapers are correct
III saying that | never welt to school
more than SIX months IN my life. Bur, as you
! say, this must Ue the result OF culture IN some
| form. Among my earliest recollections, re-
member how, when q mere child, used to get
| iIrilated It any body spoke to me IN way that
| could not under tAnd. don't think ever
became angry at any Thing else in my life but
that always disturbed my temper AMI has done
so ever since. | Can remember, alter hearing
the neighborS talk OF an evening Will my fathers
spendng 10 small par OF The night walking up
and down, and trying to make out the exact
meaning OF thcr-tO mc-dtrk sayings could
not sleep, though | Ouen tred TO, when once
had started on such quest. In the course OF
my law read ng, constantly came across he
word demonstrated | consulted all the works of
reference ID regard to it, but with no result. At
last SAID Lincoln, you Will never be lawyer If
you do not uuders and what 'demonstrate'
means. | left my situation in Springfield aud
went home 10 my fathers house, aud aid there
TIL | could give every proposition in the six
books OF Euclid at s.eht. | then found what
demonstrate meant aud went back to my law
studies. | agree with YOU, professor,
that Euclid would be one of the best books the
American Tract Society could put on their ctta-
logue, If they only could get the people TO
read it.
What branches OF study was that Western boy
pursuing IN those early years? Was he master
ing 'thingS and facts" or words ouly ~ Was
he leaning The ''pTacliCal' or the pure mathe-
matlCs Was he not pursuing with unusual
thOrOuEhness that very course of mental discI-
pine which our fathers have handed down to
us, aud which we are almost ready to regard As
obsolete? 1t is conceivable that the addition of
any amount of scientific Information would
have added to his powers. IL is conceivable
that the dis Ciplne would have been more per-
feet had be been brought into that searchlug
contact with the woTus of the great masters of
antiquity, rather than with the shreTd
sayings of Illinois farmers aud toWnsmen; had
he instead OF being confined to the limited
vocabulary of the prairie, the newspaper, aud
lDG law DOOh, USeu set 10 ibiuOul duu dudllLG
the two great types OF human speech which his
tory has handed down TO us-the Greek llluStra-
ting in The highest degree the living powers aud
force OF WORDS, tue La III eXemplIylng most
perfectly the gram matlcal forms aud rules by
which they are goVerned-the two embodylug
the thought OF cur race III the period Of the
rising manhood.
Can we afford to do without the high ouali-
ties which have made his name llustrous and
| beloved? which have led many beyond our
land TO place lhls un. chOoled, yet truly edu-
Gated man among the foremost statesmen aud
orators Of the world? Can we afford to despise
the ethods which, by his own testimony, de-
Veloped those qualities in him?
May it be long ere our anna Mater despses
either. She has, inueed, cast no scorn on
sCleuCe-she will cast none. Franklin, watched
| by her cradle; Slllman listened at her feet;
Bache taught IN her halls. She forces no can
/ didale tCI her wisdom and her hOnors to con
| form his course to any One.sided theory OF pro-
Cedure. She recognizes the "practcaI" bOsi-
ness of lite as proper and legitimate subject
for thorough instruction, and sends out no Que
equipped with that mere scholarship, whiCh,
when divorced from the WORK OF life, becomes
mere pedantry.
But she owes il to her foun unlers-practical
men, numbering am0Ig them Poor Richard
. himselt-Who wrote over her portals LegeS SINE
mOTiOUS UQHG she Owes it to them to aim aL
/ the highest ends, TO seek to send forth not
merely trained engine ers skilltul draught tsmeu,
/ and scientific chemists, but men also, men VI "A
| liberal education. whose manhood has been led
| forth in IFS freedom and power. She owes it TO
| her name of "Uuve1sity" to speak TO what is
| UniUeTSOi IN man. she owes IL TO her past and
/ its II CIies-iOT the Continental Congress once
| attended these annual COmmenCements-to see
that her graduates are qualified 10 play their part,
| not merely as members of Il profession. or IN
! some special or tech uicai walk OF life, but also
! as members or great natou-ot the human