July 9, 1886.] 



SCIEJVCU. 



43 



ments for instruction in the University of Cam- 

 bridge, Eng., its degree of engineer will be one 

 of the most valuable vsrhich can anywhere be 

 attained. 



Finally, among the merits of a university, is 

 the cultivation of a spu'it of repose. As the dis- 

 tractions of modern civilization multiplj', as 

 newspaper enterprise brings to our daily vision the 

 conflicts and transactions of mankind, as books 

 become superabundant, and periodicals more and 

 more indispensable, — and more and more techni- 

 cal, — some corrective must exist, or there will be 

 no more enjoyment in an intellectual life than 

 there is in making money in the turmoil of the 

 bourse. The whirl of the nineteenth century has 

 already affected the colleges, with detriment to 

 that seclusion which best promotes the acquisition 

 of knowledge. A man of great experience in 

 public affairs has said that a great university 

 should be at once "the best place of education, 

 the greatest machine for research, and the most 

 delicious retreat for learned leisure." This is 

 doubtless the truth, but it is only a half-truth. 

 Universities with ample resources for the support 

 of investigators, scholars, thinkers, and philoso- 

 phers, numerous enough, learned enough, and 

 wise enough to be felt among the powers of the 

 age, will prove the safeguards of repose, not only 

 for those who live within their learned cloisters, 

 but for all who come under their influence. A 

 society of the choicest minds produced in any 

 country, engaged in receiving and imparting 

 knowledge, devoted to the study of nature, the 

 noblest monuments of literature, the marvellous 

 abstractions of mathematical reasoning, the re- 

 sults of historical evidence, the progress of human 

 civilization, and the foundations of religious 

 faith, will be at once an example of productive 

 quietude, and an incitement to the philosophic 

 view of life, so important to our countrymen in 

 this day, when the miserable cry of pessimism on 

 the one hand, and the delightful but deceitful 

 illusions of optimism on the other hand, are in 

 danger of leading them from the middle path, and 

 from that reasonableness of mind which flrst 

 recognizes that which is, and then has the hope 

 and courage to strive for the better. 



In what has now been said, it has been made 

 apparent that our fathers brought with them to 

 the western world the idea of a university as an 

 institution superior to, though not exclusive of, a 

 college, and that this idea, sometimes obscured by 

 mist, has never lost its radiance. I have also 

 called your attention to some of the functions 

 which are embodied in the conception of a uni- 

 versity, — the advancement of learning, the con- 

 servation of knowledge,'the development of talent, 



the promotion of spirituality, the cultivation of 

 literature, the elevation of professional standards, 

 and the maintenance of repose. 



I add a few suggestions of a practical character, 

 wdiich I hope will be approved in this seat of 

 learning. 



We should look for the liberal endowment of 

 universities to the generosity of wealthy individ- 

 uals. It is doubtful whether the national gov- 

 ernment, or the government of any state, will 

 ever provide funds which will be adequate for the 

 highest education. There is a growing disposition 

 in the eastern states to restrict all provision for 

 public instruction to schools of primary and sec- 

 ondary rank. Were any legislative body to ap- 

 propriate a sufficient financial support, there is 

 nothing in the tendencies of modern politics to 

 show that the representatives of the people, as 

 they are in these days elected, would have the 

 wisdom to mark out the pathway of a great uni- 

 versity. Ecclesiastical zeal is more likely to be 

 successfully invoked. The conception of a uni- 

 versity pervaded by a spirit of enlightened 

 Christianity is inspiring to the mind of every be- 

 liever. It seems to associate religion and science 

 as co-workers for the good of man. It is more 

 than probable, under this consideration, that a 

 Catholic university will ere long be initiated ; 

 and, if it succeeds, the example may lead to a 

 union of Protestants for a kindred object. But 

 it would be a misfortime and an injury, as I be- 

 lieve, to the religious progress of the country, if 

 each of the denominations into which the evan- 

 gelical world is divided were to aim at the main- 

 tenance of a university under its own sectarian 

 name. The endowments A\hich are called for are 

 too large to be made up by petty contributions. 

 Great gifts are essential, and consequently those 

 who in the favorable conditions of this fruitful 

 and prosperous land have acquired large fortunes 

 should be ui-ged by all the considerations of far- 

 sighted philanthropy to make generous contribu- 

 tions for the development of the highest institu- 

 tions of learning. There is now in the golden 

 book of our republic a noble list of such benefac- 

 tors. Experience has shown no safer m vestments 

 than those which have been given to learning, — 

 none w^hich are more permanent, none which yield 

 a better return. 



It is a common error in this country to suppose 

 that we need many universities. Just the reverse 

 is true : we need but few, but we need them 

 strong. There is great danger that funds will be 

 scattered, teachers isolated, and scholars kept 

 away from their proper fields, by attempts, of 

 which we have seen too mauy, to establish post- 

 graduate courses with very inadequate means. 



