UNIVERSITY TRAINING 7 



cease to study the Greeks. But, whilst we may agree 

 to this, it is well to remember that, though pleasure can 

 still be obtained from Greek poetry and prose by those 

 who have thoroughly mastered the Greek language, yet 

 almost all, if not quite all, that the Greeks have to teach 

 us has been by this time translated and dealt with by 

 our own writers. Consequently, although we may cordi- 

 ally approve of the study of ancient civilisations and 

 ancient literatures and languages, both Greek and bar- 

 barian, as part of the enterprise of a university, it is 

 somewhat excessive, not to say belated, to set up the 

 study of Greek or of any other historic language and 

 civilisation as the chief and distinctive boon which 

 universities can offer to their scholars. The matter has, 

 indeed, been thrashed out, and Greek, together with what 

 is called the " study of literature " (but is usually an 

 ineffective dabbling in it), has been put into its proper 

 subordinate place in all the universities of Europe and 

 in most of those of Great Britain. The illusion that 

 flowers of speech and mastery of phrase (though all very 

 well if honestly used) are an indication of any know- 

 ledge or capacity which can be of service to the com- 

 munity, has been, in late years, to a very large extent, 

 dispelled. 



The concluding words of Mr. Balfour's speech were : 

 " The great advancement of mankind is to be looked for 

 in our ever-increasing knowledge of the secrets of nature 

 secrets, however, which are not to be unlocked by the 

 men who pursue them for purely material ends, but 

 secrets which are open in their fulness only to men who 

 pursue them in a disinterested spirit. The motive power 

 which is really going to change the external surface of 

 civilisation, which is going to add to the well-being of 

 mankind, which is going to stimulate the imagination 

 of all those who are interested in the universe in which 



