The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-07-14
THE TRUE COLLEGE
Prof. Carlyle ofNake Forest
Defines its JUNCTION.
He DISGUISE the D,fficties That Are TO be
overcom and the 0p,rtunities Offered
to Youngien.

the lie, lnlVldual ad collective, or
States citiznship, itwould be hard to
overestimatt Brienystated, this func-
tion is the oroductio of broad culture
based on maly character.
The teache in the over school deals
with the bae facts knowledge the
lecturer in te university seeking to en-
large the scpe of thse facts through
original investigation, shows their prac-
tical applicatin in Professional and bust
ness life. Theirst haste deal with minds
crude, Hstles and aZy; the second
speaks his message to ars deaf to all but
the one thing eedfu o fit for the chos-
en- pursuit orprofesson. Between the
school and theuniversty, vitality related
to all that is bst in esch, stands the col
lege, with a vhon th;t sweeps the past
and learns its lSsons sweeps the present |
and understand it's uties, sweeps the |
future and inteprets its signs; with an |
intellectual crap that seizes the primal
truths of all tnes ard puts them into
ready form for immediate use; with a |
power that canbuld concrete fact, alb
stract truth, clSsic myth, poetic figure, |
scientific experiment and historical incl
dent, vitalized Y the potent personality |
of masterful aacheT in an atmosphere |
of culture into high human character
Such l take its in part the mission OF
the college Nmean mission either, and |
It's a sad day,or any State when the
college loses ii identity or fails, from
any cause, to tain it's mission
But in this bHf letter l am to discuss
the opportuniti, of the North Carolina
boy for attainir this college culture
First, of the dfculties: "These may be
classified as forfold (a) inherited indif-
ference, OBJ thdnertia of ignorance, (c)
the calls to Immediate business activity,
aud Id the lac of money,
In the path beten by the father walks
the boy, the colplacent victim OF SUI
preme indfferece to higher learning
born of genera Dns of satisfied medioc-
rity. The fathe and grandfather made
a living without college culture; so can
the son. More Important and dangerous
is the inertia ofgnorance. College edu-
cation costs effrt. Learning is a coy
mistress, to be 'on only at the expense
of wearisome wiling and tiresome toll.
Ignorance is chep. The freshman class
numbers a hunded; twenty-five receive
diplomas four vars hence Where are
the seventy five?A large portion OF them
lacked the aggressive spirit to overcome
the inertia of igDrance. More important
difficulty still pehaps is the Immediate
call to business Ntiyity An attractive
opening at forty dollars per month;
bright eyes beckofng in the distance;
the stirring impulseof the new Industrial.
life-these on one side; on the other,
four years of hard study, the expenditure
of hundreds of dollars and a posslple
debt; precarious peeuniary employment
in the end; in this emergency the aver
age youth too often heeds the call to bus
mess. Lack of money is Difficulty more
apparent than real With low tuition,
liberal loan funds and wiling friends, tue
Carolina boy with the courage to seek,
the common sense p acquire and the
character to sustain aim can get thor
ough college education.
But what of the college itself? what
opportunities does it offer? Is it worth
the seeking? PROFESSIONALLY yes. With
confident assurance the colleges of North
Carolina may abide Judgment on their
work as seen in thei' alumni. No con-
siderable body of mel assemblies in any
of the older and lager States of the
Union, to further political, industrial or
seen one or more of the sons of North
Cardinals colleges tating no inconspicu-
Gus part in the proceedings. With meager
endowment and equipment, with profess
sors on small salaries, these colleges
have been making rom year to year
large contributions to the intellectual life
and intelligent manhood of the state ana
nation. A careful study of their work in
1,,.tI hot nf 1nGtlfu-
tions in other sections, will show that,
in all essential particulars, they are the
equals of any colleges in this country.
And now, with better equipment and
larger hope and higher purpose, thrilling
with the new life OF the new century,
with courses of study widened to SUIT
the varying needs and aptitudes OF stu
dents, they offer the youth OF the State
a culture broad and deep in an atmos-
phere conducive to the development OF
strong, manly character. so that the
young man has a rare opportunity IN
what the college offers him. There is
also gracious opportunity in what II
prepares him for.
The North Carolina youth races new
era. New duties, new dangers, new
hopes, new avenues to success, new OPP
portunties for usefulness confront him
Consequently a new call to preparation
comes TO him. In the new era he is "a
be a leader among the workers, a dead
weight among the drones or a helpless
atom among the imbeciles. The clarion
call of the college bids him through pre-
paration to power. through power to ser
vice, through service to success.
The opportunity for collegiate training
is open to all who are worthy. The viii
and ability within will sooner or later
meet a ready response from without
The summit OF college culture where
bloom the fragrant flowers of literature
and learning, where hang the luscious
fruits of knowledge, must be reached by
a way narrow and steep, but 1t is never
closed. No North Carolina youth neeo
knock at learning's temple in vain. But
it's doors are opened only in response tt
high purpose. persistent effort and patient
waiting.
''The heights by great men reached enc
kept
Were not attained by sudden light,
But they, while others pinned and sept,
Were toiling upward in the right.
]. B. CARLYLE.
Wake Forest College, n. G.
81 am indebted to One Minute Cougi
n f1f