324 AS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT-II 



of vanity in his motives. His purpose evidently was 

 to erect a house which should be as perfect a specimen 

 of the builder's art as he could make it, and therefore use- 

 ful, as an example of thoroughly good work, to the local 

 workmen. 



In connection with this, another incident throws light 

 upon his characteristics. Above the front entrance of the 

 house was a scroll, or ribbon, in stone, evidently intended 

 for a name or motto. The words carved there were, l i True 

 and Firm. ' ' It is a curious evidence of the petty criticism 

 which beset him in those days, that this motto was at times 

 cited as a proof of his vainglory. It gives me pleasure 

 to relieve any mind sensitive on this point, and to vindi- 

 cate the truth of history, by saying that it was I who 

 placed the motto there. Calling his attention one day to 

 the scroll and to the need of an inscription, I suggested 

 a translation of the old German motto, "Treu und Fest"; 

 and, as he made no objection, I wrote it out for the stone- 

 cutters, but told Mr. Cornell that there were people, per- 

 haps, who might translate the last word ' ' obstinate. " 



The point of this lay in the fact, which Mr. Cornell knew 

 very well, that he was frequently charged with obstinacy. 

 Yet an obstinate man, in the evil sense of that word, he 

 was not. For several years it fell to my lot to discuss a 

 multitude of questions with him, and reasonableness was 

 one of his most striking characteristics. He was one of 

 those very rare strong men who recognize adequately their 

 own limitations. True, when he had finally made up his 

 mind in a matter fully within his own province, he re- 

 mained firm; but I have known very few men, wealthy, 

 strong, successful, as he was, so free from the fault of 

 thinking that, because they are good judges of one class of 

 questions, they are equally good in all others. One mark of 

 an obstinate man is the announcement of opinions upon 

 subjects regarding which his experience and previous 

 training give him little or no means of judging. This was 

 not at all the case with Mr. Cornell. When questions arose 

 regarding internal university management, or courses of 



