The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-03-03


cumulating those mental treasures. The
former is the dispensing power OF the mind,
the latter the receptive power. Inc one Is
the reservoir and its sources Of supply; the
other, the mean Of distributing its contents
to the thirsty inhabitants. The one Is
the exhalation of vapors from the earth, the
other the formation of those vapors into
clouds and descending rain upon the parched
ground. Psythologically, the former is
gathering the thought material, the latter is
the working of that material into such
forms as shall be most acceptable and
most valuable 10 others. Both pro-
cesses require a higher order of mental
power; and both are indispensable. But If
there is any difference. it is to be found in
the fact, that the latter requires more skill,
training, and maturity OF thought. Pro-
fessors properly qualified for their positions,
must possess both these powers in the high
est degree. They should also be earnest
men: full of enthusiasm and love OF the
truth and inspired with an ardent devotion
to their work. They should have that mag
netic power which will attract students, in
spire them with earnest zeal for knowledge
and kindle in them the liveliest interest in
the pursuit of scientific truth. They should
be able to arouse in them all the ability and
energy which they possess, and excite them
to the most intense activity. Such teachers
awaken in their students consciousness OF
power greater than they ever before
dreamed that they possessed. Thus
thew not only lead the way, but clear
the track of distractions for those
under their care. To the weak and
vacilating they supply force and steadiness
of purpose, bringing out their entire intel
lectual strength. Under such instructors,
the progress and development of students
will be rapid, thorough and complete. The
professors should be men Of unexceptiOn-
able morals, and imbued with the spirit of
christianity. The bible and christianity lie
Z Il 1nff Nf 0ix vii
thought and progress. Some of the most
distinguished scientists of the day, in their
zeal for the promotion OF the physical
sciences, overlook their own indebtedness,
and that of the world, to the teachings OF
/ the bible and the influence of christianity.
These have humanized, elevated and render
ed happy the human race. Without Gods
word humanity tends to barbarism and bru
| tality. 1t is of the highestimpo that the
youth of the land, and especially those who
attend institutions of higher learning, should
receive proper moral and religious cul
ture. Instructors in the sciences cannot
be complete, unless it traces scientific truths
/ to their primal source, the fountain of all
being and intelligence-the Infinite Creator.
Science, as il investigates the great laws
which govern matter, should follow them
up through nature to the Great Law-giver.
who has impaired beauty, harmony and
glory to the universe. Everywhere through
out creation God has embodied his own
plans, designs and thoughts. The universe
is but the development of what first existed
in the mind God. His thoughts scintillate
in the plant and in the flower, in all orders
OF vegetable and animated nature, from
the lowest to the highest; they glow in the
stars, beam in the sun, fan in breeze,
blossom in the trees, and pervade the wide
expanse of the universe. All science, all
thought must be tragmentarv and incomplete
until il eliminates in God. Men who are
prepared thus to teach and lead their stu
dents should fill the chairs in all our first
class colleges and universities. Men
possessing all these qualifications are
rare. though they are to be found, but they
cannot be obtained for mere pittance, nor
for a less salary than would be fair CON-
pensation for their services. Here, then, is
another essential want of large supply of
means.
WHO SHOULD FOUND AND CONTROL COLLEGES
AND UNIVERSITIES?
This is one OF the living questions of the
day, and in it's decision is involved the fate
of the entire public school system of Amer
ica. All the friends of freedom must regard
it as a vital question, one of primary i'm
portance; hence it is being discussed with
zeal by the best minds in the country.
One class claims that religious denomina-
/ tions, by means of close corporations.
should establish and control exclusively all
/ institutions of higher education. Several
weighty arguments are urged in favor of
church institutions. First, that they pro-
/ vide much better for the moral and
religious instruction of the students than
state institutions. The prejudice in favor of
church management of higher, and indeed,
of all education comes from the middle ages.
/ During that period. when Europe was en-
shrouded in darkness, from the fifth to the
/ fifteenth century, what little there was of
/ learning and intelligence belonged to the
church, the ministers of which alone pos
sessed the knowledge of letters. Schools and
all instructions were monopoliZed by the
priests. They were the only teachers. They
led the %ay in the ninth century in the es-
tablishment in England of the schools of
Canterberry and Oxford. In the same GEN.
tury, the famous alumni taught at the court
of Charlemagne, in Paris. Three centuries
later came the great schools of Rosielnus
and Abelard in France. Both of these re-
nowned teachers were priests, and the latter
ended his days in a monastery. The
/ first college of modern times was
founded by priests in Balogna,
Italy in the thirteenth century. 1t was es-
/ tablished mainly for instruction in the civil
law, which had just been brought to light by
| the discovery of a manuscript copy of the
code of Justinian. Here for the first time
were degrees conferred and diplomas award
ed. From the same source, the church, came
the universities Ol Europe III Succ60Olng CEN
turies. The church had charge of the educa-
tional affairs of the nations. But in the ma
tions of Europe, from the earliest times to
the present, the church has been part of the
state and a coordinate branch of the gov
ernment. 1t was therefore more convenient
and less expensive for the state to manage
its institutions of learning, through the agen-
cy of the church, than by separate estab-
lishment, or organization. This same sys-
tenn. more or less modified, still permeates
all Europe. The first settlers of North
America transplanted the ideas and in
stitutions of the old world with
themselves on this continent. In the New
England colonies, and most of the other set
Elements within the territory of the United
States, church and state were still united.
The religion of the puritans and that of the
chevaliers was a state religion. The Pilgrim
fathers but carried out the ideas which they
nod Inn hi bod from fhair 81 tho ,orIi