Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-06-08

eofhe oy the patient resear riches ard IN,
tsaonin9s OF the philosophers. "a,
statesmen, the scientists, and the skiII
ed men of all professions aud of Al
periods, Overlooking in the plenitude a
tue abundant harvest of great Truths
Ratnefed and stored there b. "a.
patience, and the intellect, aud tue toni
ana tue talent of the greatest name,
ador aing the history of the world weld,
us choics treasures most readily TO hirr
VINO approaches and enters il under tbs
guidance and direction of the learned
University and College. which by thf
WISDOM OF the age has been firmly plant
sd and established 10 every civilized
state and country. The usefulness Of :
collegiate traiaing and literal educa.
ton Is seldom Questioned, when an
piied 10 what are known as the learned
professions. Likewise the bestowaI Of
general scientific knowledge and it,
proper application to the practical con
Germs OF life, IL generally conceded AZ
raining properly within the domain Of
collegiate instruction.
But IN this intensely practical age.
when the growth and building 10 81
commerce and manufactures and other
industrial pursuits, and the rapid ac-
QUESTION Of material wealth, SO com
pletely overshadow the development of
the abstract sciences, the study of the
classics AID the acquisition of technical
and scholastic knowledge. there is a
tendency In many quarters to belittle
the results and achievements of our col
ieges, and thus impair their efficiency
ana usefulness. II is argued that IA
millarlty With the classics, proficiency
| m hA l.
inent OF the higher natural and meta
| physical sciences are neither Useful nor
necessary outside of the learned pro-
LESSONS, In the active relations of bust
ness life, aud in graphing with it,
problems, and in treadins the pathway
which leads to success. and that the
student when he quits his Alma Mater.
| and faces the stern realities of ths ca
reer opening before him, can make no
practical use of his Latin or MS Greek.
kor be benefited by other abstract
scholarly attainments.
The same argument may be used a.
an objection to the encouragement Of
THE PHYSICAL TRAINING AND CULTURE
Afforded by the gymnasium of the
present day. Our practical obiector
may ask with apparent pertinsncs WHY
| he should send his son to an institution
where the expert swinging of clubs, the
deft handling Of dumb bells aud other
similar evolutions and exercises upon
the numerous appliances and apparatus
| contriyed for these purposes constitute
its entire scope aud field Of instruction.
Oar practical friend may truly say that
his son, not being intended for circus
performer or a professional acrobat,
Can enter no profession and chose no
occupation that will require in aft r
life tue display of the gymnastic skill
| and the accomplishment. of the particu-
lar feats which he has learned az a pu-
pill Of the gymnasium. How, then, does
a thorough physical culture, operating
upon healthy body, aid the youth re-
ceiving the full measure of its beneft
| answer. it brings the flush Of health
upon the cheeks; his nerves in perfect
tone perform their allotted functions as
| messengers Of the brain as noiselessly
and swiftly as the electric fluid flashes
along the telegraph wires. 1t makes
his form erect, his motions graceful, his
step elastic and firm, his voice clear
and musical. Ii makes him broad
chested. strong limbed, sinewy aud
powerful, with no faint Of disase Turk
ing in blood or brain, 10 lungs or heart.
THE MAroHLEss MECHANISM
or the body works smoothly, each part
of the complex structure promptly re-
spending To every demand upon 10, and
contributing to the unity aud harmony
of the whole. Each morning IL to him
resurrection of life and joy, as with
| bounding pulses, invigorate1 brain and
faculties alert he begins his work, which
all the day To him il pleasant and It's
burdens light. And what contrast
does he present 10 the pale and puny
weakling. languid, STOPPING and moping
| about with torpid liver aud jangling
nerves-physioally out of tune-morbid,
timid aud b ilf hearted, who seeks in
uostrums ana specifics substitute for
healthful physical education aud an
atonament for violated hygienic laws.
Does not this illustration serve t. de-
monstrate the fallaoy of the proposition
that the classical studies and the schol
| astio culture impaired by our colleges
and universities confer no practical ad.
v4Btages upon the youth who seeks to
shape his future destiny by the selection
of some useful and honorable pursuit.
IL may be true that the graduate,
in his chosen avooation, will have
no use for his Virgil, Cicero or
Homer; that the greatest productions of
ROMAN AND ATHENIAs GENIUS
Which he has mastered, may not seem
10 tighten the burdens which he ia call
ed upon TO carry; that the subtle mathe-
matical theorems and problems which
| he has solved in his collegiate career do
not appear to smooth his pathway
| through life, and that his explorations
in the higher fields Of science aud meta
physios and his minute famiiiarality
with the complex and immutable laws
that govern and control the planetory
and the stellar worlds, may not specially
aid him in the discharge of his duties.
but his mind has been strengthened by
the discipline to- which IL has been sub
jec.ed; his perceptive powers have been
developed; all his mental faculties have
been sharpened: his prejudces have
been conquered and subdued; every lat
ent talent in his nature has been drawn
oct aud developed; be knows something
| about everything and probably every
thing about something: he Is conscious
Of his mental superiority and ability TO
meet successfully the obstacles he is
likely to encounter; he has mastered
the loftiest deductions of science and
1 TIE uUultSt HN4ttoaSsNAso - 49, 80 e-sF
stadied the history OF the continents,
which graded the dominant races and
where empires rose and fell and where
creeds and systems came forth and dis
appeared; he has traced the history of
mankind as step by step Il crawled to
higher plane; upon his mind are vivid
ly impressed all the great names and all
| the great deeds recorded In the worlds
history; in all the noble thoughts OF all
the past time he claims fellowship and
| a heritage.
| / believe il was Lord Mscauley who
| sa,d in substance, that examination IN
| Latin and Greek and in the higher arts
and scieucss afforded a fair test of what
men would prove to be In after life.
Whatever might be the language or the
sciences that were Taught, the persons
| who became the greatest protcisnts IN
those langusrges and in those sciences
would generally bs the flower OF the
youth. the most asnte, the most indus
| tri ,as. and the most ambitious OF hon
orahle distinctions and he challenged
attention to both houses of PAritsment,
the bench, the bar. the church. the army
the navy and other professions TO prove
that those who attained the highest dis