New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-10
WHAT rs SUCCESS IN LIFE?


A QUESTION PRELIMINARY TO The DIAOCsstoN
OF UNIVERSITY sTUpIfS
To the Editor of The Tribune
Sir: Will you allow through your columns
to say a words in reply to Mr. CaInegies views OH
"Tniverstv Educa ion" rs expressed I'm The Tribune
Of Monday and Wednesday? Not that hope 10 con-
vince Mr.. Carnegie Of his error for liberal edu'd-
ton is Ike an appreciation Of music IN that 10
amount of argument make one who i without II
realize lis value and only the fortunate poSsessors OF
these blessings know the immense amount OF
pleasure and satisfaction to be derived from them
First | should like to ask Mr.. Carnegie. inaNmuch
as his letter is entitled How TO succeed in Lie what
he looks upon in life, and What according
10 his notion j. the object ard meaning OF educauoh
if success means merely the heapng up of riches and
education is useful only it contributes 10 success OF
this kind, have no plea to make for university
training. But modern tea is that man has some
higher purpose in life than merely to make his own
living and that although what he gets at college may
bear direct relation TO the amount OF TINS world
goods he may succeed In accommodating during his three
score years ten still it makes better man OF him.
and enables him to live in way more agreeable 10
himself and to his fellow beings. Surely Mr. Carnegie
would be the last to wish to eliminate from Life all
that strictly useful and necessary lie has him
self shown that there is still room In the world Tor
music halls and libraries, well as for machine
shops. As there buildings whose whole use is me-
chanical so there are thousands of whose whole
lives are limited to the narrOwest and most mechanical
pursuits but this does not imply that all buildings
must be filled with machinery that all mems lives
must be confined 10 those pursuits which nave 10 DO
directly with their earning livelihood If education
were to provide merely worthy occupation for
those hours OF the day when not engaged In
the pursuit OF wealth, hers would be no mean Office.
Mr. Carnegie TO have very little idea of what
is meant BY university education. To his mind these
words, university educaOn,' apparently convey the
notion Of no hing than imperfect knowledge Of
Greek and Latin, notion which must strike any col
lege man ridiculous to be hardly worth notice.
In fact, the amount OF time devoted 10 Greek and
Latin is extremely small, when compared with the time
devoted 10 all the Oer subjects offered by our best
colleges to their students. l have before me the cat
aloge of Harvard University and find that out of up
ward of 800 open students about forty have
TO do with Mr.. Carnegie's bugbcars-reek and Latin
The others cover every department Of science history
philosophy, political economy. together with twenty
three courses Of English. upon which Mr. Carnegie
rightly lays much stress If out of these young
man select something that will be useful TO him
in his future life, doubt the faculty will be glad TO
add other courses, at Mr.. Carne1e's suggestion. At
the other colleges Of this country the range Of sub
jects is somewhat varied but the proportion Of
Greek and Lain is about the same; that inasmuch
ss Mr.. Carncgies objection 10 colleges seems based
mainly the fact that a knowledge Of dead languages
Is all that by any possibility be acquired, his ar
gment falls TO the ground in view Of the actual facts
Now, 5 TO these dead languages, If Mr., Car
nege knew about his English tongue he
would see how very much alive the Latin which he
SO despses is In the words that he every day writes
and speaks | not going to repeat the old argu-
mcnts favor Of study Of the clssicS but there is
one Statement OF Mr.. Carnege's this subject that
deserves notice because it is obviously far from the
truth. II is this To the extent that a man knows
foreign tongues and foreign tcraures, to that extent
his own tongue and his own htera urc necessarily
excluded Now any student of language knows that 1t
is impossible to know any language by itself. Mr.
Carnegics statement would have been more correct If
he had said ITO lie extent that a man knows foreign
tongues and foreign ntcraurcs. to that extent will
his knowledge of his own tongue and Of his liter
AZURE be necessarily increased If Mr. Carnegie will
think OF the matter lie must see that one thing alb
solutely necessary TO knowing language is some
knowledg the languages from which it is derived
There is no such thing dead language. Every
language that has been spoken lives in its effects
upon the thoughts and language Of modern life
and deserves study in proportion TO these effects.
am sorry that Mr.. Carnegie did not take pains to
Inform himself more thoroughly upon the way affairs
are managed in colleges III lie had, he surely
would not have spoken Of the young man with a
certificate from leading professor that his education
is finished" lie would know that professor, lead
Ing or otherwise, in reputable college ever gave
such certificate. II there is one thing that college
course does teach US il is the immense amount Of what
We do not know and university men are the last to
claim that their education is finished when they re,
ceve their diplomas. Any at all familiar with
college life would not have asked 10 imagine The
university student asking the professor whether he
get away vote for President, and being denied
because he had failed In his Greek roots that morning"
Evidently Mr. Carnegie suppOseS that Il university IS
conducted upon methods in vogue in primary schools.
he would hardly speak OF university students under
tutelage, at school" Statements Of this kind have
foundation fact, and poor sort Of argument.
Mr.. Carnegie also asks this question q" Is not the
habits and tastes which make the rich idler. the llfe
tone, atmosphere and present system OF university cd
uca ion p am sure every college graduate will Join
me In answering most emphatic Nor 10 The queS
ton That there rich oilers" in COLLEGES. there
in cities. nobody denies but that college maGes
them rich idcrs" ] do deny. If Mr.. Carnegie will
take few Of these men a; the age when they
enter college. and, instead If sending them to college,
viii. by putting them into classes where they can