The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-12-08
President Poteat's Inaugural
Address.
Continued from Page one.)


life. Civilization cannot permanent
~ be 1.-The defeat of man" as 1t has
been called by distinguished living
crit c. Moreover, religion is the germ
and bond Of al social aggregates of
whatever grade of organization. Be
yond question, al that is distinctive of
Western civilization may be traced
directly to that fund of altruistic feel
ing with which Christianity equipped
it IN its cradle. and II cannot now rep
udiate it. Once again. whatever in
the rast may have been true, Of the
general aloofnesS oe college interests
and ideals certainly today the idea
of tho direct and vital relation of all
grades &C education 20 the actual life
which the student will lead has come
to full and universal recognition.
| We shall see more clearly the pres
ent place and function of tho Chris
tan college if wa consider tho mod
ern world under the particular as
poets of religion, culture. and the
State.
l. Religion l. IS the less neces-
sary to dwell here in view of the def
milton of tho Christian COLLEGE already
presented. l. IS sufficient to remark
that svch an institution IS . positive
and tremendously effective force in the
religious world, both for the individ-
ual student and for the collective work
of ORGANIZED Christianity. The Chris
tan college IS the safest place for
young man in tie formative period of
his life In the first place, he has
the picked youth of the country as his
! companions choice men as regards
both their social culture and their re-
| ligOuS life. For example. eighty
eight ner cent. of the students in this
| college are church members. and allu-
| sion has already been made to the
moulding and inspiring influence OF
reverent and capable teachers. In the
second place, while life habits are
| forming and settling into character,
| the student has the advantage of reg
ulary RECURRING tasks in elevated pur
suits.
| But what of the temptations of coll
/ lege life of which one hears so much p?
| l sym pathize with that Harvard pro-
! fesSor who, when asked TO make an
address on the temptations of college
| life said that he would devote himself
chiefly to it's temptations to excel
;ence. The tenn ctations to evil in col
| lege are nowise different from those
which assail youth everywhere; but
| no other community has anything to
| correspond with the restraining and
supporting influence of the great MAJ
| jority of the student body. Again, it
|
preoccupatiCn with intellectual pur-
suits is especially unfavorabie to re-
| ligious growth. But / venture to
| think that the trouble lies not In the
kind, but in the fact, of preoccupation.
and this of course is not peculiar to
! the college.
| But is not the tendency to skepti-
cism especially characteristic of
Young men in college? / think not.
1 10 n II
acteristic of that state of mental de-
velopment which young men have at
| tanned when they attend college.
/ 1t is not wholly unlike the teething
stage in infancy. Whenever the mind
| aWakes into independent activity as 1t
| is apt to do under the stimulus of
new knowledge or q, widened expert
ence. no matter what or where the
| external surroundings may be, that
critical period will announce and sig
nalize itself by putting question mark
after everything in heaven and in
earth. Accordingly. We observe outside
! of colleges, as well as within them,
| this incipient spepticism which In
most cases, is only a stage to the trans
/ ition from hereditary to personal,
| well grounded faith.
| OF course, it is because of the. whole
some developing, liberalizing, effect OF
vidual that it becomes so important
an agency for the purposes of organ
| lied Christianity. The Kingdom of
Heaven is the great unifying, inspiring
| idea Of ali the Christian centuries, and
J it's coming realization in a regenerate
social order or earth is the aim. as 1t
will be the crown. of all our sacrifice
and service. This college, as other
Christian colleges. is organically bound
up with this aim and hope. When the
fathers laid brick to brick yonder in
1885, they did it in the assurance
that they were building for the King
dom; and every brick laid here since
that great day is consecrated by the
same worthy and noble association.
Cut these bonds and leave Wake Forest
unrelated to the purpose of our Lord
to recover unto himself the whole
round world, much and long as
have loved it, should say my fare
wells and seek attachment to the di-
vine purpose elsewhere.
9. Culture. The realm of culture
embraces the provinces of science, art,
ton of the modern world and, it goes
without saving, is the. home of the
college. OF the college, / say. but
can it be said to be the home of the
Christian college? Does not the Gull
ture of the time insist upon the secu-
larization of the higher education, and
so declare its own independence of