The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-07-09
hiddlebury College Commencement
1880. III
pACCALAuRRArR. SUNDAY LILLY 4


BACCALAURRATR, SUNDAY JULY 4. n
The address was delivered by Prebi-
dent Hulburt at the Congregational
church, In the morning. The text wAs
from John, 11:9, "Nieodemus answer
cd anc said unto him, how can these
things be~ The discourse was an able
Of the province Of reason in
things spiritual. Our space will not
permit Of an abstract that will do 1t JUS
tice.
ANNIVERSARY OF THE PHILADELPHIAH
SOCIETY.
The address before the Philadelyhian
Society was to have been delivered by
Bishop VIM. L. Harris, d. D., Of New
York, but on Saturday word was re-
ceived from him that he would be una
BILE to fulfill his engagement, owing to
official business. In this strait the SER
vices Of Rev. NJ. B. Mead, pastor of the
n. E. church Of Middlobury, were &C.
cured, and Notwithstanding his short
timo for preparation, no delivered o
very acceptable discourse from the
words, "And Enoch walked with
God"
The ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI.
We give an abstract of the address by
Rev. II. c. Higley OF Beloit Wis.
The word "clasfic," which have ap-
piled to the English Of our bible has
both meaning and . history, and tho
meaning comes fron the history.
"Classic" is the word which calls up
the distinction In family by virtue Of
which the Roman nobility existed. 1t
names the result of a process reaching
ry comes the familiar meaning; what
ever Is pure, refined, chaste, conformed
to the cieanest stardard, especially in
literature and art, is classic. You can
not divorce this meaning Of words from
their history and keep their aroma and
flavor. So with our English bible; it's
history contains its claim to be held
our truest classic. II can recall
enough of Its history to show you in
what sense 1t Is the result Of process
that will DO the best ofmy work. In al
most every case the Bible in other Ian
guages than the English Is an individu-
al work translated by some person, or
at most, some few, and in a limited Pc
riod. But our Bible is a growth, the
product and attainment OF the scholar
ship OF many men, stretching over a
wide space Of time, even hundreds OF
years, coming only by many successive
steps TO the form in which we posse SO
1t. From about tho year 666 we NAV
trace the work that anticipated and al
length produced the English Bible
This work included Bible stories in
verse, tho Latin Bible interlined with
Saxon; some books or portions of the
Bible translated, and the psalms for
worship; the translation of tho whole
Bible by Wyckliffe not long after the
translation of the New Testament into
English by him in 1880, and tho publ.
cation of tho English Bible by Tyndale
about the year 1900. The making OF
this book was process of disqualification
OF the best salt the English had to give
nnder the most favorable circumstances
The English language is itself growth
1t is the capitalization of the thought
and Characteristic life of the Angles
and Saxons and Normans. Into the so
luton OF these cOntending elements
the Bible In all this history has beer
thrust, IS very largely the Tree upoI
which these crystals of speech nigh
form. or the change in our speech FOL
over 900 years Of this comparative.stab
ility, the English Bible can say, Gal
this saw, and much Of this was. ,
Character tells upon our language. 1
tells everywhere. The practical good
meas of the men who wrote the English
bible is "a marked feature, as large al
element of their success as courage, Oh
scholarship, or perseverance. We neei
not fear, we may glory to own the bible
as our classic, fairly, fully recognized IL
it's many-sided purity, the standard 0
excellence. The present revision com
mittee, whose completed work l antici
pate only with pleasure, tell us plainl,
that new English translation canno
now and In all likelihood will neye
need to be, while English is one Of th,
spoken languages Of earth. Only 70
vision is possible, desirable, or even /.
be thought Of. Perhaps No higher trib
ute to King James bible as q classic
could be given.
The poem was dilivered by d. N
Burke Of Middlebury. We give 1t en-
tire:
~ There He Light.
Mature slept. Darkness reisneA supreme,
Upon an uniformed world.
CounHess ascs came end passed away
bat no creation knew. fime,
Although ~ rapid flight began.
0fcenturcs past u let
Asr trace, nor MARI, nor plan
Ofi0 dnal biroA 70 tell.
Nor yea how long insure, chaotic, slept;
Nor Why nc shspelcss, darkened efeinenls