New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-11-17

who could be Obtuse as not 10 uiscern ehaV "o"
agency had taken possession OF the earth, that ~
was agitating the nations to their very foundations
that it was amelicrating the lot of man. increasing
his power and dealing remorseessy with ola IDEAS
the fctions and falacies of the past
Can we wonder then that those who were growing
nm in the midst of these marves should not only
contrast the activity by which they were sur
rounded with the stagnaton of preceding centuries,
bnt should demand to he made acquainted VIII s no
power that was thus opening new worlu oo hot
their ewes Very soon 1t became apparent en. aS
there was no provisiOn in the existing educatoaI
establishments the Universities and coleges i h
this unexpected state of things lheso Snys into
sure good enough to initiate bench Oh pos fD
the method of translating an ode OF hoface o
lines of Sophoces, but something more sups'ah''ai
' This Vas the true cause of that influence which
began TO be felt in America about lS4o. Every ie
fectina person that change III puplio ainr
tion was imperative nay, more was mp as
Gonfronted Inv the ygor of modern ideas. the sys-
TEN that had come down from the DARK "so' "'N
seen to have become obsolete. , ,thor
at which we must for moment glance. Leu mo III
few words sketch its history. IL,
The peninsula of Italy was separator IInl wv ,
Of the Greek emperors in the eighth century manly
in consequence of The icOnOclastlc dispute Iaity
through the stress of circumstances, ana pi,IS 40
matter of policy the Latin Language was piou6 III
into such prominence that it was supposed 10 con-
tain all the useful knowledge in the wofid. III VS.
ern Europe. at the close OF the iourteehtn cInoS
ay M m Cors.9ntm6pIe would he taken by the
Turks many learned men fled to tho West, Dllnglng
with their language precious casslcai s,tbor
ity that knowledge and opinions OF an ulsul'apIo
kind might thus be introduced, Greek obtained IA
foothod with much difficulty, ana IL wac o UmS
the aid of Florence. Venice, and other c2ihiieIcll
towns Of Upper Italy, that aitcT strussio - ssfu
good its ground The Latin had now slcees tion
rival century later ornS eSo pS u issue was an adj
miration Of the language Of that musn enuu emu.
that immortal race 20 whom the Old lcS,dinch' y ."
largely due. As had been the case WIN uliio. ~
nnyy Ucbrew passed from condition OF nGgeci 10
one of ex.rayagant exaltatOn. 1t was DeneNeu w
have been the original language OF the huil Ia,'
a conviction that proved to 9e gIeat us
block TO the progress Of learning. There were lnus
three classical languages, each having It's own pan"
In I7si the ROYAL Asiatic Society was instituted
in Reugal One Of its earliest and most Important
services was that il brought the SanskEt So
emphatically TO the knowledge OF haoiolII in
similarity of this TO Latin and Greek, especlanS VI
the grammatical FORMS struck every one WIN s ,ui
prise. At first the old literary party rtS!s'i 70
claims sOmo of them even affirming that II 49,
had been n spoken tongue, but that IL ad uro" ~"
titousiy constructed ont OF Latin ara orech. ne
creation of comparative grammar Dy t ne gIe, T LII
man scholar Bopp, III 1916, thTeW ioo'i o. o ~
ON the subject and the discovery IN lsZo Dy
Hedgson of the Buddhsiic sacred writing III Nepuu,,
revealed to astonished Europe literature 3i gIanu
ontiouity and prodQiOus extent, III when Is con-
tanned the religious belief of 1OO,OOO,OoO OF men
ten times the present population OF me II li
States. Greek and Latin had now TO descend ,o'
the imperial thrones which they had been sei.'u,
and take their places as later and less perfect Ioi'
OF tins wonderful Oriental tongue. u-1...
In the higher regions of literature all over Europe
these discoveries made profound impression. III
was nj once by the great scholars OF the times
that the existing educational system founded aHl so
largely was on the languages OF the Mediterranean
peninsulas, was altogether on an imperfect Das's.
They saw that phiiology was about to occupy
higher platform. aud that though IL mlghl cus,
struggle with present interests, change
ian public education was necessary. Dut
though these languages have suffered an eci,p't'
there still remains that priceless lefitlge Nhl:n
they have transmitted 70 us-immortal examples IN
national life IN patriotism. IN statcsnanshlp, Ill
Jurisprudence IN philosophy IA poetry. Gun hi'Ie
reinain the ruins of the Pafthsn0n' the icnc, on
those statues which have no rival elsewhere m tho
world-cInhodments Of the beautiful, before Whicl
al the risk of being denounced as q Pagan man
might fall down and worship. Stl, iteIe remains
the history Of that awful empire when bore sway
around the Mediterranean sea. az empire 10 Mlh'h
We owe our civilization our religious CONVICTIONS
and eycu our modes of Thought.
add this great discovery in Letters to the seem
tifc and Industrial movement have described as
bringing on the epoch Of 1910.
Educational institutions are IN their nature very
much under the influence of the past They are
guided 10y men Of the parting generation ana are
essentially cgn.eryative Inc cnans,s thfS petah
forced upon Them from without. They chung To the
medieval rs long ~ they could, and only accepted
the modern when they were cuWptied.
Among American colleges which are emancipatng
themselves from the medieval wc may number 20
lunbil, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, Yale. DOUBT
les there are many others thar would follow the cN-
ample if they could Int they aro trttorci with me
gives of sectarian or local restraint. They maich
along daiutily and CToiesqucy, ~ the pointed SHOES
ige"T ON tits subject Of colleges because the cx
ample of othcf countries, and especially 81 trthhN
proves TO MS that on them our hopes LOT me
development " science must very largely REL; rue
scientific Glory Of Germany, not inferior ~ biinhuiey
10 it, military glory is the creation oi ITS university
professors. Among them we find the great chemists
81 nh
Our colleges must separate themselves rom tne
medieval, aud assume Thoroughly ala 'uC,i' f 'no
modern cast Sincerely. says Tor nos Few 1i lhc
iudulgc i'm deception They would have ms believe
that they teach physics when they nave no ln1'tlh
apparatus: chemistry when the{ nave 20 ADoii-
tDry botany without any .R'l',n, hoi" .I ~
even drawings; geology, mlnrIaloty' hd'uim us
tory. without any cabinets. 10 ignorant HIS soulu
boards of trustee, and faculties ihat thcI hou Su'
,,,liu,nc,,ts us mNuries easily dispensed win.
have known some 60 so FAR rs 10 aur that rs lu'h
,unnry ouyht 10 be expended in teaching lew boys
Latin and Greek ~ i'm giving "a administrative ana
Illustrated Of science, and even 20 act on mat
pripripe H. institutions under Tins KIND oil lnilu-
ruce You will always find that their whole weight
is thrown toward the msthehc. Whatever college
houors there may Ice, whatever emoIulncnts pass m
that direction and though through Tear OF pubic
opnlon science cannot be ignored 1t is SIMPLY tocr-
aicd. not cultivated.
ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC EFFORT.
From our colleges We may in the second place turn
TO our scientific societies.
have referred to the period Mt which the Greek
Language became cultivated in Western Europe. The
first societies were those established in Florence by
its admirers In the Medicean gardens the
lovers of Plato assembled to restore, under an
Italian sky, the philosophy that had been extin-
pnished in Others and to commemorate by SYM
posium the birthday of that iustrous man, There
is a pleasure in associating with those whose
thoughts are congenial to our own in breathing an
atmosphere in which the intellectual makes itself
f.lt