Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-03-16
CLARKsvILLE SPEAKS.

"iSenper ego auditor tdntl0n? Mon
gudnlne repOnGn UerdtIts totes TG1lci
se1'n1Oniblts sophomore 2"
The above lines are Latin and
mean, will the people of GAINESVILLE
always have to listen to the sing
song speeches of College boys and
never talk back? This is a mOmen-
tous question and ought to be de-
cided. Now if / can bring forth
any new facts or thoughts, by means
of which we can arrive at any de-
cision on this most important ques-
ton, l shall feel as if l had become
of a sudden a great philanthropist-
a friend, possibly, to the boys, and
undoubtedly to the people of Clarks-
vile.
Now it u a well known fact that
only the members of the Junior and
Senior classes are permitted to speak
on the ground, 1 suppose, that
when a boy is prepared to enter
these classes he is also ready to be-
gin making speeches, and that, too,
in public, before the people of the
town. Now l want to show you
that, even granting the Juniors or
Seniors extraordinary talent, that
he cannot even then make a good
speech and why? Because neither
one or the other has time to turn
his mind to anything else but his
College studies. If a Junior, he has
six difficult studies to master-three
more than are required at the Uni
versity of Nirginia-to wit: mathe-
MATES, including analytical geome-
try and calculus; Greek, including
two tragedies; Latin (Juvenal and
Tacitus) science (physics and as
tronOmy); metaphysics intellectual
and mOraD; Biblical (Prideaux, con-
densed into two volumes of cele-
brated pOnderOusness.) Besides these
the lectures of the Professors, which
are to be taken down and digested,
must be taken into consideration,
and, l believe, this is all. Oh, yes,
the Junior has nothing to do; he
has time to write dozen speeches
And what has the gallant Senior to
waste his mind upon? He, too, has
six difficult studies. He must pillow
through Buffers analogy, moral
science, political economy, logic,
rhetoric, New Testament and evil
dences of Christianity, Greek, Latin,
&c, science again, chemistry and
geology. Now add lectures to these,
and an extra examination on the
whole course from beginning to end
for the awarding of diplomas. Like
Miss Flora McFlimsey, who had
nothing to wear, he has nothing to
do, and must tain kill time with
killing speeches. Again, the times
when the speeches are made are the
busiest of the session. The Juniors
speak on the 22d of February, Just
three weeks after having gone
through with six laborious and
head-breaking examinations, and
just as they are entering upon other
six difficult studies which the most
of them never heard of before,
Worn out in mind and body, the
poor Junior nevertheless looks for
ward with joyful heart to the pros
pect of keeping up his studies and
of writing his speech besides, be-
cause he loves George Washington
so. And more unsuitable still is the
time when the eloquent Senior has
to hold forth. / refer to the 2lst of
Overwhelmingly a month before
their examination. What great
event is intended to be celebrated
by this still greater one 1 cannot
exactly tell you, put rather think
it has reference to that noble act of
Baalam, who struck his ass, and
thereby gave not only his but the
whole asinine race the gift of
speech. But to return. For about
two or three weeks before, and about