Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-11-22
WARNER HALL OPEN!
NEW SCIENCE BUILDING RECEIVES
FORMAL DEDICATION.

Prof. w. w. McGiiton Gives Dedicatory
Address-Description of the Handsome
Building and Its Appointments - Cost
Mr.. Warner $4,000.
Warner Science Hall, the magnificent
gift of Ezra J. Warner, '6l, to his alma
mater, Middlebury college, was formally
dedicated on Friday last. Owing to the
limited seating capacity of the audi
forum, the number of persons attending
the afternoon exercises had to be re-
strlcted by invitation. President Ezra
Brainerd presided.
The exercises opened at 2 80 o'clock
with reading of Scripture and prayer by
Rev. w. S. Smart, ID. D., of Brandon
and the singing of Rev. DR.. Rankin's
Middlebury college hymn, and the hymn
"Before Jehovah's Awful Throne.
Professor Seely made short introduc
tory address. His subject was 1.-The Past,
the Future" Illustrating the assertion
that the past was the foundation for the
future he said: "The old looking West
ward are dreaming of the past the young
with faces Eastward are seeing visions
of that Of which they are to be part. All
structures by man, ocean steamers, sus-
pension bridges, cathedrals, excited once
only vision, as was this new science
hall only few months ago" The speak
er called attention to the rapid progress
the college had made in its scientific
work, and gave an outline OF what was
promised in the future. "a knowledge
of the past and "a hunger to know are
the essentials for the work of the future
Following Professor Seely came the
address of the afternoon and the dedi-
cation by Prof. w. w. McGilton. He
first spoke of the significance of the oc
casion to the college. ~ do not wish
to emphasize the purely materialistic and
commercial side of science by laying
stress upon the far-reaching importance
of pump or peptonoid, nor upon the
progress that has been made through the
development and extension of the useful
arts, nor attempt to show how, if the
achievements of science be removed from
our country, the proof and stay of all our
Industries and wealth would be under
mined, but | wish to get back of aud
under all these Developments which are
but results, and discuss for a time the
cause of these results" In answer to the
question why such wonderful progress
has been made in the last quarter of a
century, the speaker said it was because
we had reached the practical age of edu-
cation.
He then proceeded to show that the
very earliest awakening of the human
race was brought about by the means of
the requirement of natural knowledge.
Nature and natural phenomena were
the only teachers of primitive man, and
we find this true child of nature emerging
from purely animal existence and en-
larging his powers and capacities through
the influence of the things that were
about him. a wonderful transformation
was wrought in the crude being in the
school of necessity in which he found
himself. Mans knowledge has come to
him out of the action and Inter&ction of
mans mind with that which is outside
himself. There is no law of mental de-
velopement whereby the mind can feed
upon itself and maintain healthy
growth, and as in early man the stimulus
and nourishment for mental growth were
nature and her teachings, so to-day they
are the same oyiginal source of our in
tellectual supplies. When in the dark
ages and the period of scholasticism man
failed to apply the test of natural knowl
edge we find the world beginning to ii i
up with all sorts of intellectual vagaries,
and through pride of intellect there
began that abnormal process of the mind
feeding upon itself. Men then had much
learning but very little knowledge.
The speaker then described how men
raised artificial barriers between them
selves aud nature, how awe of phenom-