The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-10-18

OF tue jnlNcrsliy.
UNDERGRADUATES WORK.
The aim Of undergraduate work is the de-
velopment OF the mind and this object Will
! not DC attained by the new degree not IN the
Is. A. part OF it, because the standard is not
sufficiently high not in the advanced work
because the course IL not sufii siently diver J.
/ fed lven the most ambitious nan VIII ilAe
/ those advanced studies for which he II oes'
/ prepared. 10 is idle % think tnat Young men
/ VIII choose their senior studies with view 70
training their minds in the branches OF STUDY
IN which their training has been dshc'eh''
rSG1IsH AND HISTORY.
IL IS hard 20 argue with woman. 80 It Is TO
/ argue with man who cont nuallY SHIFTS ms
/ rfonrl of arrument Mr.. Dahuev says. a.
/ DO that trimming rather than knowledge IS the
d Get of an Undergraduate course, and yet
/ acknowledgements that Engl 'h and lstory
/ are left out of the cOur @. what amount or
trainnc is involved IN reading dozen
abridcements of histories. he does not tell us.
/ Ife speaks @ the amount OF matter studied y
I nn VI g. and afterwards forgotten He speaks
/ off 10 ga "crammed." but as a matter OF fact.
/ there are few men who have q sufficiently
/ good memory o cram moro than n small
F part o. any University course. Mr. Dabney
must Ue % man of exceptional memory. Tho
rest Of us have 30 rely largely on our thinking
powers n0t Icing 80 gifted !. for one. can
dia'y admi. that have forgotten a largo part
of what learned in the VI. A. course. not be-
cause 10 was crammed. hut because have de-
voted myself other sub Gets IN which the
NJ g.. ira ming las been OF Incstimable benefit
B have retained the training though / have
forgotten much OF the matter But should l
ever need { 10 matter ito training Won d en-
uble me % recover % with ease. The same |
believe might bs sad by my other Nj a.
SIR. DABNEY's CRITICISM.
The address 20 the board of visitors WAS
prepared for the board. not for the public
therefore / shall not summarize the argu-
m,nt.
Mr. Dabney has misrepresented the whole
hv sopaatng and critcising parts, but tho
spirit ln which his criticisms were made
can be shown toy the examination of tho par
agraphs be cites and of his remarks thereon
without quot NJ further from the address.
10 FIRST provision he mentions IS rs fol-
lows
Tho fame Of the University must largely
depend on the requirements OF Its master; q
host of men have le 4 these walls etc. Mr..
Dalney msnl rs the act that there were
only three masters last year, and then SIP AXIS
OF tho annual host Inc host. J admit,
Is rhetorical So I might say are Mr. Dab
noy's pm Biological metaphors which no one
who has re al his article s likely TO forget. The
word host isUsed IN reference 70 the whole
number of masters since the founding OF the
University. Mr. Dabney's remark that some
thing is rotten in the Stale of Denmark. If the
fame of the Z University really depends on half
ad0zcn men in five hundred" is not only rhe-
tor.cal. but isaling. our address has re-
ference To tho academic part of the lniyer-
.itr. Over half OF Mr.. DaDney's five hundred
belong u the professional schools which are
independent o. the academic department.
aud haye O reputation of their own. which can
ia 10 way he affected by changes in the
academic courses.
Am NJ the two hundred or two hundred
and fifty academic students some are idlers
who would not work in any case. many take
one year academic training preparatory TO
entering the professional school, many cannot
q ord more than one year of college work.
Then the men who IL any case
would attempt to get an academic de-
gree do not IN any year exceed one
hundred. The halfa-dozen are from among
these bat add o. the hali-a-dozen the men who
VIII eventually attain the masters degree. and
think It will be found that one out OF
every five men who came 70 college with the
viii To work and the money u support them
eventually gets hl. degree. This ls very df-
.ereut from lir. DlbueT's one In q hundred.
Cons dernr tie want ot preparation shown
by many applicants, this is not too small "a
proportion. The cause OF its being 50 small 10
thc want OF good h0ol tranlng and the rem
edy is 10 be ught IN raising the standard of
tLeUroparat rs scho3l5rather than ia lowering
that of the University.
arE. DAENEYs sICoSD INDICTMENT
The second head Of Mr.. Dabneys indict-
mcut is AGAINST the statement that the field
ID. the vt. a. j. immense. Wide would have
leena better word. and have already ex-
puinel I'm what -pect the vi. a. course is
wide. in training as well as knowledge it |
Il not "a course fora spe .aiist or for man who /
wishes TO know everything. IL IS an under /
rlduate c0u Sc chiefly valuable for II, men- /
tai training. but also valuable IS good oun- /
latiou for postgraduate work IN any sub. ect |
embraced in the course.
Ilc turi paragraph quoted by Mr.. Dabney !
is as flo lows Who can say chat deep in
sight into all o these sub ects ~ not essential !
to q libela. education? Who would say that |
more IS ne uTed / admit that there might
be q difference of Ouinion on THIS point. but
the man who undertakes O. say what may bo |
dropped from the course without ID ury and |
what ought % be added should devote more
non partisan thought 20 tie subject that Mr..
Dabuey Oppears % have done.
RrFsEEScE TO ArlsTor1r.
I congratulate Mr.. Dabnoy on MS happy
reference 10 Aristotle. Nothing could De
nOie true tlan the observation that Aristotle
ild NOT take the old H.. A. of the University of
Virginia. But il would be well % consider
hat man may take the new VI A. without
showing tho alphabet IN which Aristotle
wrote his logic. and without having heard
lat there WAS such = science as ethics. 10
0oks almost ike practical .oko at Aris-
otle's expense 90 make logic and nterme-
..to Greek aiternates IN tho new IS. A.
course
tits also true that Aristotle took no dipo-
has, 10 may be true that he knew cOutempO-
AIRY history. but it is luaily true that ne had
harder mathematical training than Is given
p our senior class. Add O. al this the fact
hai very iew men are ArstOtles. and, then,
Mr.. Dabney observes, Aristotle had studied
Toner Particular exception Is taken by Alr.
Iabney % the following
Tins provision that the schools 20 be elect
"a are to ue approved by the acu.ty must he
dead letter. snce the discretion given 20
uen is an arbitrary discretion without any
ule To- Guide them he says tnat the state.
l-ut is q mere guess. and that the reason
yen for the guess betrays looseness of
h0u hit. If our reasoning IS loose. our con-
jus on may be- q mere guess but, in truth, |
Ir Dabnev fails TO discriminate l0Oseness Of |
h0ught from condensation Of expression |
lur reasoning. exQ anded so AZ TO be clear |
ven ~ uIeIldlced reader is that the fac
ItY viii not exercise against one man an
rbitrarr discretion which they have exer-
-ed iu favor of another The tendency so
veil llustr ted by Alr. Dabney) 10 consider
me- S own specially the IN st important viii
llke the professors OF any four schO rs cia IN
Yr the men ShO have made their eXanna-
ions the honor tlat has been conferred ON
raduate in iOur other schools. suppose, for
l.fauoa "A efu1elt hqe received Il DlOmag in