The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-05-10
Tribute of Respect.

At a meeting of the Faculty OF the Uni-
versitY of Virginia, held May 7th, 1873,
the following resolutions were unanimously
adopted:
Whereas it has pleased our Heavenly
Father to take to himself our revered and
beloved colleague, Rev. DIR. William Ii.
McGuhy,
Resolved, That the Faculty desire to
give expression to their appreciation OF the
eminent services of his life, their grief at
his death, and their veneration for his
memory. Among the many distinguished
men of America, who have devoted their
lives to the cause Of education, no one is
better known, no one has better deserved
his widespread reputation than the great
teacher who has Just closed his long
and useful and honored career. He
came to the University in the ripe
ness of his manhood, rich in the expert
cnCe of teacher and author, of professor
and president of schools of higher learning,
and for nearly twenty-eight years of I'M
wearied and unbroken activity, he found
hls most c0ngenial, his most fruitful field of
labor here. Other men might have been
content with the knowledge which he had
acquired, with the methods which he had
elaborated, with the reputation which had
made his name a household word, before
he associated himself with the Uni
yerSity; but in full sympathy with
the onward spirit Of the institution, he
brought to his new work all the disciplined
energy of high intellect and resolute will,
and every year marked steady advance
no year keener, more determined, more
successful pursuit of truth than the last of
his life. 1t had been nothing more than
the model Of fervent and diligent scholar,
his mere example would have been a daily
lesson of priceless worth. But he was far
more than this. He was a teacher, and a
teacher peculiarly endowed for this inn
portant office. With q rare power
of subtle analysis, he combined an equally
rare power of felicitous illustration, so that
the dullest intellect could not fail to catch
the sharp outline of his thought. With a
keen insight into character, he united the
sympathetic glow which warns the heart
into generous emulation, so that the coolest
temper could not resist the pervasive iervor.
Original in his methods, he surprised his
pupils into knowledge; patient of repe-
tition, he wrought the substance of his
teachings into their mental constitution.
His success in imparting the principles Of
his science was nothing less than wonder
full /; his influence on the formation of con-
duct and character was as wholesome and
elevating as it was great and abiding. OF
all men he was penetrated with the most
thorough convictions Of the religious con-
secration Of his calling. To him the teach
cr's desk was no less sacred than the pull
pit !; his pupils were a charge from God,
and thousands of his old students through
out the length and breath O the land
will gratefully acknowledge their in
debtedness TO the man who lead them
through thought to faith, through higher
thought to firmer faith. Imbued with such
convictions as these, and invested with the
dignity of his sacred vocation, his advent
did much to hasten that incoming tide of
Christian feeling which, for more than
quarter Of a century, has made the current
OF the life of the University identical with
the religious life Of the people, and for his
deserves abundant honor; for, what.
the University and contributed to its ex-
pansion, this is the guarantee of its perma-
nence and the conservation of its freedom.
A colleague, kind, courteous and genial, a
friend, faithful, cordial, without reserve a
man of spotless integrity, lofty purity and
wide liberality, his loss, which will be felt
throughout the country, falls on his fellow
workers with the accumulated force of long
years of common struggles and common
hopes.
Resolved, That the Faculty tender to the
widow and to the family of their departed
friend and colleague the assurance of their
deep personal sympathy, with sorrow
which can only be measured by those who
have been privileged to see the tender radi-
ance of the light which has gone out in that
dwelling.
Resolved, That as token of respect to
the memory of the deceased, the Faculty
wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty
days.
Resolved, That these resolutions bepub-
lished in the papers of the state, and those
of Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio.
@. S. VENABLE,
Chairman of the Faculty.
I'm. WeYtenbaker,
Secretary OF the Faculty.