The Irish standard., 1893-07-01

ID 1oc price to
49, zoe per pair
! VALUE OF CLASSICAL LEARNING.
Address by Judge Willis at the Commence
ment Exercises of st. Thomas Seminary.
! At the eighth annual commencement
of St. Thomas Seminary on Thursday,
June q, the closing address Of the day
| was delivered by Judge john w. Willis,
Of ST.: Paul, on the value Of a classical
education. He had distinguished and
;; critical audience on the occasion. There
were present Mgr. Satolli, Archbishop
Ireland, Bishops Stanley, Ootter and
McGolrick, DR.. O'Gorman and Fathers
Pace, Shahan and Grammar, Of the Cath
ol1c University OF Washington, and a
large number of the clergy and laity of
the archdiocese, After brief preface
Judge Willis said:
In these latter days, battle Of I'M
common ferceness has ragged between
the advocates and opponents of classical
learning. The contend1ng factions have
been aggressive and alert. They have
made gallant charges and have con-
Quoted arduous campaigns. Their artil-
lery has discharged: ponderous projec-
tives and filled the air with resounding
detonations. A bold attempt has been
made to secure the substitution Of the
study of natural sciences in colleges and
universities in place Of the old.t time and
long pursued curriculum which gives the
place Of honor to the language and the
literature of the ancient Greeks and Re-
mans. A question of SURPRISING interest
and Importance is thus presented to
scholars ard e99S,.vators: ''Shall the in
novatioE be approved?' We shall best
eddpt ourselves to the spirit of our age,
and accomplish the best result if, in the
consideration of this question, we aban-
don all sentiment, all that reverential
clinging to the past which may be de-
nominated prejudice, and pursue the
discussion in the modern critical spirit.
The object OF liberal education as
opposed to technical education-is to
develop the reasoning faculties, the cri-
tical faculties and the power of express
sion.
When this task has been fully accom-
plished, education, in the highest sense,
is complete.
The first essential to the development
Of mental faculties is to find and to uti-
Ezs medium of expression which is ex-
act,i flexible and pleasing, In these
respects, no language has ever surpassed
the Greek. It seems like an instru-
ment designed by heaven itself for the
adequate and symmetrical enuncia-
tion Of human thought. Whether it
be used in the poetry Of Homer, in the
lyric measures of Theocritus, the pas
sionate utterances Of Sappho, the ora
tions Of Demosthenes and Pericles, the
philosophic dialogues in which Plato en-
wolves Socratic teaching, or the histori-
cal writings Of Thucydides, it answers
most admirably the requirements OF.
those who launch their thoughts upon
the world, and convey to their auditors
with elegance and precision the ideas to
which utteranoe has been given.
When this fact is acknowledged, can
we listen patiently to denial Of the
claim that the human mind can best
take it's primary steps in the art Of
correct expression by learning the
language Of Plato and Eschy1us? Nay,
more. In this language, 80 potent in ex-
preston, are found the best examples
extant Of philosophical and poetical
thought, as we'll as unsurpassed exam
Pies Of oratory and historical DISGUISE.
hon. Nor u this oil that may Be sa;d.
The spirit which peryades Greek litera-
ture is for the most part, noble and il.
spring az we'll as artistic Il reveals q
genius, contact with which is eleyating.
Il lifts Us into realm Of pnre thought
which, like the peaks q Olympus, Is
bathed d sunlight, bedewed By clouds
of iridssoent beauty and watered by,l
springs like the Pierian ffollnts from
Fhichs deep draugh ts q wiisdom may un-l
IL drawn. 4
lhe ~. alnl.1ient Rome 81 IL