New-York tribune., 1873-06-17
1UR COnVENCEHENTS.

come round. Once more the young bachelors
are receiving their diplomas, and exhlIltlng
their wisdom and elOquence upon the plat
form, hardly dreaming how much less they
will know when they get just little older.
Once more the ancient graduates seek the
scenes of their youth to grasp the old friendly
hands, to revive fading memories and perhaps
to grow little sad at the thought of how
much of life has gone and how little yet re-
Mains Perhaps the prevailing thought OF
every ingenious mind will be that Of regret
full wonder that so little has been accom-
plished Four years or forty, it is all the
same though it is the older thinker who is
forced to dwell the most seriously upon
chances missed and opportunities unimprOved.
At every stage of life we are forced to con-
slider the "might have been," and to own
that the best fortune has been thrown
away. The four years Of student life are
years Of seclusiOn and Of comparative freedom
from anxieties and embarrassments, and upon
leaving college young man is apt to feel
that he has left too much undone and wasted
much time irreparably. But there is more
cheerful point from which the college career
may be contemplated. 1t is hardly probable
that in many cases it has been altogether IN
vain. Something at any rate has been gained.
A young man cannot for four years breathe
the atmosphere of tho college without ac-
quiring a certain degree of scholarly taste and
of literary habit What he has learned best
is what is best to be learned. He has at least
obtained some insight into studi0us methods.
He knows the master pieces of literature at
any rate by their titles and reputation. His
life has acquired a classical turn, which he
probably will never lose. He may not be
Master of all Arts, but he has learned the
nature of the arts which it is fit that tho edu-
Gated gentleman should be moderately well
acquainted with.
This, it appears to us, is the chief good
result of what is called a college education.
We admit that it is often superficial; we allow
that the curriculum, various as it is, is apt to
be neglected; and we feel more in sorrow
than in anger that too often these college
years find the student at the close i'll enough
fitted to encounter the tolls of an intellectual
life. But vain regrets would be worse than
useless. What men who are graduating should
feel and comprehend is, that hereafter they
are to let slip the leading strings of youth,
are to walk in a certain sense alone, being
very much their own guides and teachers.
Heretofore the road has been royalty easy.
At every point there has been assistance,
advice and encouragement Constant eX-
PLANTATION has made the difficult and the
erudte comparatively easy. But the day
of crutches is over. Henceforth the student
must rely upon himself, investigating,
acquiring, reasoning, and deciding without the
1,iI al nj pf otb
Has his college course fitted him for this If
50, it has fulfilled its best purpose, and
whether he stands at the head OF foot of his
class, the new graduate has not spent the pa
rental money and his own time in vain.
What the graduate should feel is that his
college career has been one simply of prcpa-
ration. 1t is literally the morning exercise
to prepare him for the rest Of the day. lie is
Just beginning his work. He is simply start
ing upon the race and thrice happy is he if
his studies and habits have given him that
development which will make progress proba-
BILE and possible.
1t is easy and common to underrate the ac-
quisitions of the college, and to speak of the
graduates as if they were no better than
ignOramuses or pedants. But little retleC
ton will show that if attention to study has
been moderately close, a great deal must
have been gained. In classical learning, for
instance, the graduate may not be Person
or Bentley, and may not have acquired
much of that kind of erudtion which has
made famous the Scalgers, the Daciers, and
the Wolfs. But for all this he knows some
thing He is familiar with the exl luisite flavor
of Horace, the natural and pure poetry of
Homer, the sublimity of the tragedians, and
the subtle grace of Plato. He knows at least
why DemOsthenes and Cicero were considered
to be great orators. Nor has he always neg
lected the literature of his own tongue. He
may not be very learned, but what he does
know is of the best, and it will exercise q
wholesome and refining influence over his
whole life, though he may forget the Greek
alphabet and be unable to run through
Latin noun Of the First DeclensiOn.
Tn Importance of university education
may be estimated by the value of what are
called the liberal professions. In most of these
ignorance is fatal to success, especially in these
days of universal enlightenment 1t is too late to
inquire into the value of classical studies. This,
we are perfectly willing to admit, has been over
estimated-the danger now is that it may be
underestimated. 1t is certain that no man
will be a worse clergyman for being able to
read his Bible in the original tongues; that no
man will be worse lawyer or physician be-
cause he can translate the Pandects or Galen.
For the teacher, the branches studied in college
are absolutely necessary Nor must we forget
the scientific turn which study has taken.
We think nothing can be more unjust or nm
generous than the imputation Of moldy con-