The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1881-06-22


| with the diau.ond dust" of classic
beauty. Yes, but Millions Latin poems
add little to his fame; ard, y"u re-
memJer, Macaulay says, no noble
; work of imagination as far as We can
recollcct, was ever composed by any
n,ap except in dialect which he had
learned without remembering how or
wi,t.-aud which he had spoken with
perfect ease before he had ever ana-
lyzed its structure" You become
earnest and make all appeal that stirs
our syu,pathies when you say that IN
order to compare and aualyze-ln
order to investigate divine truths and
u. u..derstand their nice shades Of mean
iny, the student of the Bible must
understand Greek. All. mark the
fact that the committee appointed to
revise the Bible comprises some of the
most scholarly minds, and most crlti-
cal judgments, and most cultivated
tastes of the age; they have materials
that will never reach the private stu
dent; they investigate and translate
under the most favorable circum-
stances. Must it not be bold and
adventurous mipd that will Investigate
beyond the reach of the ucw edition
of the Bible? Then why teach our
young men to praise the Greek, in bad
Euglish? The true aim Of the study
of the classics as l understand its
not to extract the wealth locked up in
them; it is rot to cultivate the hu
manities; it is not to prepare the d.
vinity student for independent re-
search it is not to attain the high
and pure mental delights that thrill
the soul of the devotee who kueels at
the crystal waters of Attic fountains; :;
90, it is these, and more than all these
it is to reach the mental develop.
weut that can be attained by no
other branch Of study known to our
schools. Education is not the getting
of facts-it is discipline aud develop
meut. The value Of Greek and Latiu
as u.eaus of Education is due to the
very fact that they are dead languages !;
that their structure is widely different
from that of our own that to aua'yze
and construct them according to our
laws of speech, is an exercise Of per,
ccptiou, memory and judgment that
can be found in no other study. Away
with the absurd belief that We
90 to school to learn factS-that only
what we remember is valuable ! The
student is not more reasonably ex
pected to remember all the Greek,
Latin aud Mathematics of the cnllege
course, than he is expected to carry
through life the barrels Of fur and
pork ca1eu ip youth. What differenc ce
does it make to me whether | re-
member single particle Of the Grc' <
or single syllable of the Latin learn
ed at school, What do l care for the
ability to ''speak no sense in several
languages ?" The business Of tic
student is to assiuiilate. The rational
question is not whether I know Greek
and Latin now, but whether | dill.
qentlV studied them at school. The
aucicut classics arc valuable because
of their severe discipliuc-because by
the consensus Of the first educators of
the aye they are best suited to insure
symmetrical! mental development.
It is true that too little attention
has been given to our OWL language
and few changes cause more hon
est pride than that felt in the in
creasing interest bestowed upon the
study of Anglo Saxon. ] trust that
our Alma Mater may, at no distant
day, be distinguished by an endowed
chair of Philology and Literature :;
| that our young men may enjoy the
advantages of q critical study of Eu-
glish classics; that, while houollug
the Greek and Latin, they may learn
properly to appreciate the beauty and
strength aud richness of our own uoble
language.
GeEt!enee, you will permit me to
suggest that HcTUerFy College right
ly expects something from us. True,
we arc few-yct it is gratifying to
feel that We are not aimlessly drifting
have reason to know that four of
our numbcr are unable because of
business engagements and matrimonial
alliances. to stand where | stand to-
day. We sl.ould not lei small OBJ
stacles prevent our annual pilgrimage
to this shrine of our love. We should
earnestly seek to control public senti-
ment iu favor of liberal education
for so fer as our pnendowed colleges
are concerned, "the voice of the peo-
pie is the voice of Gcd." The College
should never be long out of our
thoughts. 1t is our duty TO cherish
her hopes-to illustrate her worth aud
to vindicate her claims. May her
aims be opr aims-her aspirations our
aspirations. stay &c meyer d!slodge
a single spray from the iaureis of her
success-may we never rutfie single
feather in the flight Of her hopes,
When others withhold the helIing
hand and sustaining Hrm--when ad
versity, if it come, aims it unkindest
thrusts and seeks to steal her dear
life, oh, may ogr Alma Mater never
turn to one Of US and wound him with
the reprcachful accents-Thou too, my
sou We understand our duty 10
this matter; may We have the courage
to discharge it. Who does his duty,
does nobIy; he does-his duty. May
we SO aim aud 50 live as to merit a
.o-,x5 ,,,,-o ,roo;o,,e tbon tbo colop