1S21.] 



Present State of the University of Dublin. 



Ill 



fbllows: and certainly a more appro- 

 priate successor could not be selected! 



It was observed, that the college has 

 imt done much to advance learning or 

 iiiLiease herstores*. This circumstance 

 Inquires explanation, lest it should be 

 niistaken for a merited reproach. The 

 circle of sfvidies prescribed to the can- 

 didate for the fellowship, vast and uni- 

 versal, excludes that enthusiasm which 

 arises when the faculties are concen- 

 trated on one favourite object. He is 

 destined to be the instructor of youth, 

 and is required to possess universal 

 knowledge. lu preparation for this 

 duty, he spends his youth, and the ex- 

 ercise of it consumes the vigour of 

 manhood : by the time he attains a 

 senior fellowship, that period of life 

 lias arrived, when men are more dis- 

 posed to enj(iy leisure than embark in 

 scientific enterprise. Their laborious 

 duties are performed with ability and 

 unquestionable zeal : and no scholastic 

 iiistitulicm ever sheltered a more en- 

 lightened class of men than the fellows 

 of Trinity College, Dublin. 



Again, the fame of the university has 

 been raised by the great civil characters 

 it has produced : it therefore becomes 

 imperative to investigate the source of 

 this distinction. The generous disdain 

 of pedantry in the mode of classical 

 education ; the moderate use of mathe- 

 matics ; and the synopsis of universal 

 science, exhibited in the college course 

 of studies ; are characteristics of a libe- 

 ral system of general education : yet 

 they are insufficient to account for 

 those glorious phenomena. An insti- 

 tution arose in the University, the His- 

 torical Society: to this the honour be- 

 longs. It was a A'oluntary association 

 of members of the University, the 

 objects of which were, the study of 

 hisfoi-y, the exercise of oratory, and 

 the cultivation of letters. It was an 

 independent institution, but sanctioned 

 by the countenance of the college, and 

 by the companionship of the fellows 

 themselves: it possessed a library, 

 and had public rooms appropriated to 

 its use within the walls. A more noble 

 school of eloquence never existed I 

 From it have sprung, the statesmen, 

 the orators, the writers, the poets, of 

 whom the University boasts, — on whose 

 names Ireland smiles even in tears! 

 In the prov( stsiiip of Dr. Elrington, be 



• Tlie pious and lenrned Doctor Magee, 

 the renowned advocato of ' The Atonement,' 

 van u fellow. Ho is now bishop of Raphoe. 



it ever remembered, the Historical So- 

 ciety was dissolverl. It would have 

 been an unworthy imposition on the 

 public, had I suppressed this fact, and 

 led them to suppose that the advantages 

 of an education in the University of 

 Dublin are the same as the illustrious 

 men I have enumerated enjoyed therein. 

 They certainly are not. No seminary 

 of education is more deficient in modes 

 of developing the intellect and culti- 

 A'ating taste. There is a professor of 

 oratory, who hears lessons in Quinc- 

 tilian : there are Latin exercises once 

 a week : and biennial prizes for Eng- 

 lish, Latin, and Greek verses ! A pe- 

 tition for the restoration of the His- 

 torical Society, in which all the junior 

 fellows, but one, joined with the other 

 members of the University, was pre- 

 sented lately to the new Provost, in vain. 

 Horror of inquiry and discussion, the 

 hydrophobia of rulers, has seized on the 

 Reverend Abbot of All-hallows.* 



There is a mode of passing through 

 the University, which, though it cannot 

 be strictly regarded as a collegiate in- 

 stitution, is entitled to commendation 

 in respect of its paramount excellence. 

 Some of the fellows who have establish- 

 ments in the city, receive private pu- 

 pils : these young gentlemen attend the 

 public exercises, mixed with the throng; 

 returning home with their tutor, they 

 partake of his instructions in private 

 enjoy his conversation, forming a part 

 of his family, and moving in the circle 

 of his acquaintance. ^Vliere can be 

 found a method more apt to combine 

 the attainments of the scholar with the 

 manners of a gentleman ? 



In the distribution of the students, 

 sizars were omitted : — an omission al- 

 most inexcusable, as from that class 

 have sprung many of the highest cha- 

 racters in the annals of their country : 

 some, who obtained the first rank in 

 the University, while others have 

 adorned the bar, the bench, and the 

 senate. Their number is but thirty; 

 they have commons and chambers fiee ; 

 and as these emoluments are obtained 

 through a severe competition in classical 

 learning, a sizar ship may be fairly re- 

 garded as an honourable distinction. 

 It would, however, be cj editable to the 

 college, to increase their number, and 

 improve their condition. 



The admissibility of dissenters to the 

 University of Dublin is a matter so in- 



• The college is built on the site of an an- 

 cient monastery of this mime. 



teresting, 



