Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-07-17
Anniversary of the PhiIadclphian
Society of lIiddIebury College.

The anniversary exercises of the Phil
adelphian Society (religious) were held
in the Congregational church on Sunday
evening, July 10, the president of the
society, II. NJ. Tenney, presiding. After
a voluntary by the choir, prayer was
offered by Rev. W. w. Winchester, of
Bridport. The choir sung a sacred an
them and Rev. NJ. II. Buckham, ID. D.,
President of the University of Vermont
was introduced and addressed the soci-
ETY.. Below we give an abstract of
PRESIDENT BUcKHAM's ADDRESS.
The speaker gracefully acknowledged
the courtesy Of an invitation to address
| the society.
He took for his subject, 'tHow does
the purely literary spirit stand related to
the religious spirit.
The spirit Of literature is more import
ant than science, philosophy ana ART
because m ore persuasive.
Colleges teach letters, not religion.
They teach science, philosophy, religion,
incidentally, but the main object is let
tiers. Then this question becomes espe-
cially pertinent.
Let me ask your assent to these two
obviously fair propositions.
LIST. In order to judge of the religious
| tendencies Of literature you shall make
your appeal to the books, not to the lives
| of the authors.
I'd. That the religious influence of a
book shall not be judged by the proper
ton of distinctively and professedly re-
| ligious element in it.
He enforced his propositions by COM
pairing the reyerent silence of Shaks-
/ peare with the irreyerent illusions TO God
by Milton.
The speaker preferred the reading OF
/ purely literary works, which have an Gle
! waiting tendency, to the reading OF reils-
/ ious books which are so harsh as to repei
or SO weak as to disgust. The PROPOSE
| ton upon which he mainly depended IN
/ establishing his cause was that literature
| is the expression of the purest and best
! in humanity which he illustrated and
4 enforced by references to literary char
acters and works. In the course of the
j discussion he remarked that Homer was
the greatest epic poet and Shakespeare
/ the greatest dramatist.
/ Literature is the rose garden of the
human race. Man is greater and nobler
.
are not literature, But small amount
of the so called literature is real.
4 The speaker proceeded to consider
some of the characteristics of literature
which show its friendliness to morality
and religion.
/. It's unworldly spirit. Its sympa
thies are toward simplicity, frugalIiy
4 quiet and modest worth.
O. The charity of literature
II 3. The. humanity and tenderness VIII
| which literature corrects the mistake
and errors of mankind
d. 1t is noticeable how those writers VIII
are charitable and humane and unworld
! ly continue to hold place in the affee
j lions of the people, while the harsh an'
selfish and sneering writers are becoming
] less and less attractive, and have les
+ and less readers.
The great fathers of the church nav
T always been favorable TO literature as
!, valuable aid to religion. Nine tenths 9
the literary institutions of the wort
/ have been established by the church
{ The best literature is directly commit
ted to religion and morality. Christia