404 AS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT-VII 



rhetoric and oratory were most ludicrously caricatured. I 

 remembered, too, how a college pastor, a man greatly 

 revered, was really driven out of the university pulpit by 

 a squib in a students paper, and how several of his suc 

 cessors had finally retreated into professorships in the 

 Divinity School ; and I felt that leading men coming from 

 week to week from the outside world would be taken at 

 the value which the outside world puts upon them, and 

 that they would bring in a fresh atmosphere. My expecta 

 tions were more than fulfilled. The preachership having 

 been established, I sent invitations to eminent clergymen 

 along the whole gamut of belief, from the Roman Catholic 

 bishop of the diocese to the most advanced Protestants. 

 The bishop answered me most courteously; but, to my 

 sincere regret, declined. One or two bishops of the Prot 

 estant Episcopal Church also made some difficulties at 

 first, but gradually they were glad to accept; for it was 

 felt to be a privilege and a pleasure to preach to so large 

 a body of open-minded young men, and the course of ser 

 mons has for years deepened and strengthened what is best 

 in university life. The whole system was indeed at first 

 attacked; and while we had formerly been charged with 

 godlessness, we were now charged with &quot;indifferentism&quot; 

 whatever that might mean. But I have had the pleasure 

 of living to see this system adopted at other leading uni 

 versities of our country, and it is evidently on its way to 

 become the prevailing system among all of them. I be 

 lieve that no pulpit in the United States has exercised a 

 more powerful influence for good. Strong men have been 

 called to it from all the leading religious bodies ; and they, 

 knowing the character of their audience, have never 

 advocated sectarianism, but have presented the great fun 

 damental truths upon which all religion must be based. 



The first^ of these university preachers w^s__Phillips 

 Brooks, and he made a very deep impression. An inter 

 esting material result of his first sermon was that Mr. 

 William Sage, the second son of our benefactor, came for 

 ward at the close of the service, and authorized me to 



