New-York tribune., 1910-01-31
DUTY TO LANGUAGE
SEEN BY DIR. FINLEY.
Urges Its Value on Citg Col
lege Graduates.

The class of 10 of the College ~ the civ
or New York, which graduates in Febru-
ary' VIII hold its commencement week in
the mldterm- celebrating the event in the
same way as previous classes have don. n
June. This is the first time that the exe--
clses have been held at this season of the
year President John H. Finley delivered
the baccalaureate sermon Yesterday after
noon IN the university hall. giving special
attention to the duty of the graduates to
the English language. He said:
[ am going 10 speak Of something which
you may think to be neither vital nor
particularly appropriate, but which, as I
see IT. has in IL elements of all your other
obligations to the city. the nation. your
feliow men, Of patriotism. altruisrn and
religion. I shall disappoint YOU when I
TO the English tongue, the tongue which
was mother TO the first language Of some
or you and which has been the patient
roster mother 10 others.
When an ancient writer. trying to ex-
press the revelation of his God to him,
It was no careless figure of speech that
he used. You have lived good part of
these nfteen years in the places where
parents, the whole past has been beco1n-
ing the man in you. And hope this will
not not Ct cease so long as you have flesh in
Wnlch the spirit can reveal itself
If this be true, how important becomes
the word-that expression of yourselves
In which your flesh becomes spirit and
wanders free of YOU to work good or III
In the earth among men. And by it's i'm
portance am | justified in asking your
the last time TO you as class before you
go up for your degrees, your devotion TO
the beauty, the purity. the integrity, the
vitality of the tongue in which all your
knowledges are latent. without which
thought itself is irnpotent-to the protection
of this tongue from the sloven, the igno-
m TrC Tsv,c~ 7r1yr-v
the arts.
President Finley then related examples
of achievement in mastery of the English
tongue by the children Of foreign born
parents, especially in the field of debate
Continuing, he said
I would have you go out lovers OF your
speech. This is time OF philanthrop1sts.
but we do not need their riches to add TO
our common vocabulary. It is richer than
We are most of US seemingly content with
a very meagre possession. But we DO
need philologists, in the original meaning
who will use speech conscfentiousiy, dis
criIninatingiy, intelligently, yet without
pedantry or show.
The papers tell Of the Mayors praise
of college men in cleaning the streets, and
all college men should be proud OF that
hone that era6yafes 3n OF thfs hslr eoSiers viii
come TO serve the city in its every depart
ment That Is our peculiar opportunity
and obligation see IT; but Incidentally
you can constitute yourselves a speech
cleaning department, and begin by keep
ing clean and improving the speech be-
fore your own doors in the midst of the
babel of voices about you
To have free speechi That has come
after long years of struggle. What we
want now is clear speech, speech re-
strained TO truth, speech expanded to
truth Democracy needs philologists who
can teach her children, who can write her
laws for her, who can compose an amend
ment TO the Constitution which needs not
TO be interpreted. who can discover to
others in plain. imam biguous English the
good from the evil which they themselves
have dtscerned- And here, as in no other
place. is such speech needed, for here is
peculiarly the place of the decision Of
things, and they have ultimately to be de-
cided in the flesh that has become word