THE COLLEGE 127 



What, then, is the other, the relatively unconscious, unprofessing 

 type? Who is the Christian who, as Jesus says, in the judgment 

 day will be surprised to find that he was a Christian at all? He is 

 the man who lives for something bigger and better, loses himself in 

 something wider and higher than himself. He does his work with 

 a sense of responsibility for the honest improvement of his powers 

 and opportunities; or, better still, with devotion to some aspect of 

 scientific truth or human welfare that has gotten hold of him. He 

 enters heartily into the sports and enthusiasms of his fellows, sacri- 

 ficing comfort and convenience to the promotion of these common 

 ends. He shares his time and property with his friends, and sup- 

 ports generously their common undertakings. He stands up for 

 what is right, yet always has a helping hand for the fellow who has 

 fallen down. He looks forward to life as a sphere where he is going 

 to serve public interests and promote social w r elfare, at the same 

 time that he supports himself and his family. 



Now, if this is Christianity, if the cultivation of these traits and 

 aims is growing in Christian character, then our colleges are mighty 

 agencies for the spread of Christianity. No man can go through one 

 of them and catch its spirit without becoming a better Christian for 

 the remainder of his days. 



Of course it is highly desirable that these two types of Christianity 

 should understand and appreciate each other. Especially fortunate 

 is the college where these two types coincide; where the most promi- 

 nent members of church and association are at the same time the 

 best fellows, and where the best fellows give their influence and 

 support as officers and workers in distinctively Christian organiza- 

 tions. In some men's colleges, and in most women's colleges, this is 

 happily the case. If, however, we can have but one of the two types, 

 as often happens, we must agree with Jesus that good work and good 

 fellowship on a basis unconsciously Christian are better than a con- 

 scious profession which remains self-centred and self-satisfied, outside 

 the more genial and generous current of the life of the community. 



The last feature of the college, but by no means the least signifi- 

 cant, is this genial, generous, social life. Even if nothing were learned 

 save by absorption through the pores, the intimate association with 

 picked men of trained minds for the most impressionable years of 

 one's life would almost be worth while. To take one's place in such a 

 community, to bear one's share in its common interests and common 

 endeavor, to take the social consequences of one's attitude and 

 actions in a community which sees clearly and speaks frankly, re- 

 wards generously, and punishes unmercifully, is the best school of 

 character and conduct ever yet devised. 



This is the leading consideration in determining the desirable 

 size of a college. As Plato says of the state, we may say of the 



