New-York tribune., 1873-06-27


soomaly laid upon them In the funu"",'u'' Wv " w w
soc,a svsem vere wise and good and they were pre-
nored In v the whoever else might iail' 'oeNa
with tle adoption OF the State CONSTITUTION was 'o ~
pulse to organize new meihous ioI '"o P'o"o'o" VI
science Hence sprang up associations Incorporated 10
,b,, ,a and Others which have been maintained with
- ad suooess by purely voluntary laboTs down to
~ t,v Among the number Is to be reckOned the
,,,,rv society the members OF which now have the
honor TO address Ii ia not unntereSting fact Illus
,ratiyo OF the great change then taking place In our
whole social system that it did not derive ITS origin
from within our own borders. r. 1t came from spot
whence OF all others should least expect IT, the Col
lege Of William and Mary in the colony Of Virginia.
What IL was that prompted the youthful students there
to make nearly simultaneous oyertures to those of all
other colleges then known in America for the establish
meut Of affiliated societies for seiimprOvement IN lite
rature and philosophy does not clearly appear BE this
1t may, Vt seemed the dawn Of new ora when ins
tuOns of learning in America determined to overstep
the narrow limits OF colonial authority and look broadly
over the continent. Not the least singular circum-
stance attending it was that the project was carried
on with the most industry precisely at the most
critical period OF the war, and at moments wheh
the fortune of the struggling colonies at the South
seemed at It's lowest ebb COncurrenty with tho nrst
meeting held here Lord CORVALLIS was making nus way
over an opposition III North Carolina toward the very
point iu Virginia where the originating cOlege was st
uated. Yet there stems 10 have been no reaNatloh OF
these pursuits, much more congenal win llmes ol
Dpgce. surely N would have been vast advance
had the plan embraced any lolns VI ~ hooN
action but that object does not appear ever 70 nave been
contemplated Even the original and useful exercises
first adopted here as they have been ALREADY descroe
were long since laid aside. Instead OF Improving INC
ce has since been to celebrate single day rs an anhl
versary. and after the Roman example IN war TO lse
some erocQttS, like myself TO incucate precepS moro
| eagerly caught from younger lips
HARVARD FULFILLING A GREAT MISSION
The decline Of religious and political controversy very
naturally followed the establishment OF all the con-
! sdtuent elements OF nation ON firm foundation
Hence f. has happened that during the greater part OF
the present century the course Of education here has
ceased 70 be connected with the casual agtaons OF the
ouer world and mas been exclusively directed to
improvement literary and moral and scientific pur-
suits in the abstract. This has, the whole, been
wise course though II has been attended by the disad
o,t,oe Of diminishing the general interest of the
| trv iu what is done Yet, looking back upon what
the College to show for ITSELF 1t Is not lnreasOnaDe
to claim for 1t the merit OF haEhs @ 70 & ur
share Of the who In all the highest occupations
! of life have acquitted themselves with honor
| 70 II and 10 themselves - learned diYlnes,
| eminent statesmen profound lawyers ana
and history whose works viii be their monu-
ments In brief, the college can fairly claim that 1t
respect and gratitude Of the country. At the time
at admit this merit for the past 1t is no more than
ar TO concede that the period did not eapse without
leaving traces Of painful Transition from colonial
10 an independent condition well in matters OF liter
denied that degree OF implicit Difference for while
habual in the educated class not solely to the
forms of instruction, but TO the dcta OF the writer's IN
the mother country went far to depress our I nSye
thought. Long after lHe estaoilsin1bt VI otd ~,
Hucat status, the symptoms OF ithls species OF
vassalage continued TO appear Neither were we VIII
ont the benefit occasional reminders OF 1t from the
narent state. How many years IL IT since supecOus
magazine writer asked the question, "Who reads az
Xnerica1 pooki" Neither it at that time easy TO
deny some justice TO the taunt The writer doubtless
overlooked the fact that the same question might nave
Eecn asked in ms own country with better
any time for nearly fye hundred years before the ap-
pepdence has been more less consequence of the
Iiyal of learning in the Middle Ages What would have
il we had waited for original genus to develop 1t IN
Great Britain anywhere else IN the northern region
OF EurOpei The light which bized on II sprang from
narrow belt the globes surface stretching along the
eastern semcrcle Of the Mediterranean sea- 10 that
quarter and that alone we look Tor the sources OF
ai M ao h terafure which has DISTINGUISHED the civil
| zatiOn of modern times everywhere Unhappy Will be
| the day when shall throw of that dependence or
precious stores of intellectual and moral and religious
culture which have thus far contributed SO much TO
elevate the condition OF man. For the rest the progress
nia1- of late years IN literary authorship puts
pietely to flight all assumptions of degeneracy
| An ENTHUSIASM FOR LEARNING NEEDED.
! Yet I am not Of those opumIsts who imagine that
nothns remains TO be done excellence in
system of education. On the contrary somewhat APP
prehend that the whole extent Of the land taken
as one surface. sciosm is becoming the rule, and g-
norauce multiplies rather than dimnishes Rapidly
the number scholars has of late advanced u the best
proportion to the increasing demand of the time Am
extravagant If estimate the proper proportion OF
scholars who should be fitting themselves for the great
work this University alone at not less than leOODI
In order to meet the eIigences OF the times, there
should spring up enthusiasm for learning such as of
yore burst forth in the great institutions OF Europe
Quite six centuges ago. when Great Britain mad nothing
like its present aggregate OF pop1auon ana even that
now falls below ours, II is affirmed IN the books that at
Oxford there at one time not less than 10000 sch0l
At the IN PaGs S at aoIIt sne iSe nne e
numbered 10000 Concedihg any measure OF eXaggera-
on In these figures the fact O the existence OF this ell
thusasm Is atesed beyond reasonable dispute and we
can only explain 1t by assuming degree OF zeal IN the
youthful generation Of that day which Is the condition
lent OF all true intellectual and moral superiority
I'm people anywhere. believe the great want OF the
We are apt 10 measure education not so much
by its excellence az by ITS ,,,c. price Hence Hence
abroad the country which are doubtless good so
far as they go, cannot very far ut such places
lighted at ali the fire spread ~ the teacher
among members working together. in the days OF my
sion that the method was formal, mechanical and cold
No scholar T1S drsd % S USe R m han m G m
task for the failure TO perform which he lost credit
itSep event the teacher looked as cold as he were
Min0s or Rhpdamanthus In my mind the true maxim
Is the old OF Horace applicable as freely TO instruc-
'i0H 40 - '''' - 5, Il, N, m. aotnfu~ eq
A mighty loadstOne Is human sympathy! say this
not win any design 10 reflect upon the absence OF II in
the mode OF instruction pursued at ths day. but rather
with conviction that great change has been gong ON
time, Wnlch Only Dctlls pdisloh 10 sutIscuc
an that may remain OF the old habits.
THE NEED or POLITICAL TRAINING
now come to subject which may possibly be
somewhat new TO treat OF in this presence but which
cannot but think most important in connection with the
progress Of American education II seems TO there is
want which ought before long De supplied everywhere
and especially here. l refer to Encouragement OF
class Of preliminary studies especially adapted to the
preparation young to take efficient part in the
treatment OF questions connected with the management
OF public affairs 1t is not denied that the roll Of the
University bears the OF many graduates who have