ADVANTAGES OF ELEMENTARY STUDIES
AN ADDRESS
BEFORE THE
ALPHA PI DELTA SOGIETY,
(Stroke dtollcgt
CASSVILLE, GEORGIA,
?$eefii(|g,
JULY 10, 1856.
BY ALEXIS E. MARSHALL.
Atlanta, (jjjorigia:
C. R. IIANLEITER & CO., PRINTERS.
1856.
• ■ 0
Robert W. Woodruff
Library
Boles Collection
special collections
emory university
ADVANTAGES OF ELEMENTARY STUDIES.
AN ADDRESS
BEFORE THE
ALPHA PI iJELTA SOGIETY,
OF
baptist Colltjt,
CASSVILLE, GEORGIA,
AT ITS
JULY 10, 1856.
' "BTAIJEiK^^IA^Su£r^
Atlanta, (t£ * n r g i a
C. R. HANLEITER & CO., PRINTERS.
1856.
CORRESPONDENCE.
CASSVILE, GA., JULY 10, 1856.
Rev. A. E. Marshall,
Sib.—The undersigned Committee, by order of the Alpha Pi Delta Society,
•would respectfully ask permission to return the thanks of the Society for the able
manner in which you have performed your task this evening, and request a copy
of your Address for publication.
Respectfully, &c.,
J. H. ANDERSON,)
T. W. COOPER, V Commitee.
W. M. DYER. J
CASSVILLE, GA., JULY 10, 1856.
Young Gentlemen—My thank# are due to the members of the Alpha Pi Delta
Society, for the flattering notice which they have taken of the Address delivered
by me before that body, on to-day. I am also grateful to you, as the bearers of
that favorable notice. I have only to fcdd that the Address is at your disposal.
Very Respectfully,
, A. E. MARSHALL.
To Messrs. J. H. Andersom, T. W. Cooper, &nd W, M. Dyer, Committee.
ADDRESS.
By the request of the young gentlemen of Cherokee Baptist Col¬
lege, I appear before you, Ladies and Gentlemen, to deliver the annual
address of this occasion. Tke task might have been assigned to wiser
heads—to heads hoary with age—to minds ripe with the meditation and
study of years—to hearts overflowing with the warmest emotions for the
young of the rising generation, and especially the young men, on whose
account we behold assembled here this auditory—-for whose benefit this
College Edifice is now being erected—these Professors of science and
learning have been gathered, and for whose encouragement these Trus¬
tees, guardians of youth and patrons of science, together with other dis¬
tinguished gentlemen, do now attend,
Welcome all. Welcome, young men to these halls of learning, pre¬
pared for you, where for a series of years you may pursue, without inter¬
ruption, a course of studies so admirably adapted to qualify you for the
arduous and responsible, duties of life. Welcome, Professors of learning
and science to your labors of toil and love. Welcome, Trustees and
friends of this College. And ye amiable fair ones, who, notwithstanding
you are counted so frail, have yet participated in all the laudable enter¬
prises of earth, howeverdi goified or however difficult, whether it were
to exile yourselves from the comforts of civilized life, and, as messengers
of heavenly peace to a sinful world, to sharg in the hardships and expos¬
ures of unchristian lands ; or present near the bloody battle in which
your country's army was engaged against a hostile foe, to administer re¬
lief to the wounded, and speak words of consolation to the dying; or on the
blodless and fair fields of literature and Science, with man, stern man,
your competitor, to gather flowers, tvhieh woven into garlands, should
crown your own heads as victors—welcome!
The speaker feels, indeed, young ^fttlemen, very gratefully the honor
which you have conferred on him in selecting him to deliver the address
at the first Commencement of this literary institution—the Cherokee
Baptist College—an institution of learning whose history I may now
grasp within the compass of my hand, but whose future history what
tongue may speak or pen may write ? I feel, indeed, that I am stand¬
ing on a most propitious eminence to view this institution of learning.
Who shall say that streams of wholsome learning shall not issue forth
from this fountain to irrigate our land ? Who shall say that there shall
not come forth from these halls minds that shall win for themselves the
highest places on the roll of fame; statesmen, to rale our country in
times of peace, or guide her counsels in time of war ■ ministers of the
Gospel, that shall skilfully unfold the mysteries of redemption on home
and foreign lands; lawyers, that shall insure the cause of their clients to
receive no detriment; physicians, to heal our bodily maladies) school¬
masters to diffuse the rudiments of knowledge throughout the country;
men of science, to investigate the hidden laws of nature and render them
more subservient to the use of man; farmers, to place the ancient and
honorable occupation of agriculture upon a just and intelligent basis?
Yea, what profession or pursuit in life shall nut be enriched with fruits
from this College; what art sliall not have new trophies added to it
0
4
ADVANTAGES OF
what cause of humanity shall not draw from hence eloquent pleaders?
In the not very far distant future when we, young gentlemen, who now
care for you, and who endeavor to qualify you to occupy our stations and
fill them even better than we fill then), I say, when we shall have filled
up the measure of days alloted us by the Almighty, and shall have de¬
scended into the grave, the common receptacle of vis all, you must be
discharging the responsibilities of life which your generation will require
of you, and these halls of learning must again and again overflow with
anxious youth seeking for knowledge. And if it be permitted to depart¬
ed spirits to look back upon the work and labor which they have perform¬
ed on earth, when shall we cease to rejoice at the good results of the insti¬
tution of learning whose ceremonies we are still engaged in commemer-
ating ?
The necessity for an institution of learning, in the part of the country
where this is located, whose -object should be the instruction of youth and
which at the same time that it provided teachers qualified to instruct ac¬
cording to the most improved methods, should yet furnish that instruc¬
tion at so small a cost that none should be debarred by the plea of pov¬
erty from embracing its advantages, began to be seriously felt. Take
Cassville as a center, and with a radius extending to Penlield, a distance
of one hundred and thirty miles, describe a circle. Its diameter will be
two hundred and sixty miles; and yet, within that vast circle, compris¬
ing some of the most fruitful lands on the earth, the most salubrious
climate, the most romantic scenery, and in general the most desirable
place for the abodes of men, there will not, I believe, be found a single
institution of learning having the object which we have'just expressed.
According to the rule for calculating the area of circles, you will find
this compass of territory to contain 50,000 square miles, Allow but the
half of it to send students to this College, yon will theii-' have 25,000
square miles which with a population of but 60 to the square mile—which
is 4-5 less than the most densely populated countries of Europe—will
give you over one million of inhabitants out of which to select the young
men for this institution. Within the same tract of territory in the most
densely populated portions of our own country, you will find a dozen or
twenty colleges for young men, whose object is the same as ours. Who
shall say, then, that Cherokee Georgia, with such a soil, such a climate,
such a beautiful, goodly land, and destified to be the abode of k> many
myriads of beings like ourselves, needing all the advantages of educa¬
tion which the advancing state of the world requires, does not need the
institution which we have founded at Cassville ?
I know that there are always more or less differences of opinion as to
the proper place for the location of a college, when the necessity of that
college is felt to exist; and_ I have known the fiercest kind of controversy
to be waged, and the hardest kind of feelings to be engendered in regard
to the proper place for the location of a college ; and I have even known
the hearts of the true friends of an Institution of learning to be aliena¬
ted from efforts to foster it on account of honest differences of opinion,
as to the best place of its location.
Such is, in some measure the fact, with regard to Mercer University,
with whose early history' I happen to be most intimately familiar, having
been myself one of the very first students of that Institution, and this
may be referred to for the purpose of stimulating our zeal and increasing
our hope in regard to the good work in which we are engaged, in efforts
to build up this College.
It was thought, by some good men, th-et Washington was a prefera-
ELEMENTARY STUDIES.
5
ble place to Penfield, for the location of the University;- others thought
Atlanta, and in later days, Griffin or Marietta. Now, it cannot be de¬
nied, that if the best interests of that University were to be for the first
time under consultation, Marietta or Atlanta were the preferable location.
But, who is there now that could desire the removal of that institution of
learning, from the place which it now occupies, when the name of that
benefactor to his race, Mr. Penfield of Savannah, has been so long com¬
mingled with that still more glorious name—id clarum et verierabile
no men—the immortal name of Mercer. Twice, yea, thrice honored
name of Penfield—honored as being the centre of attraction to the Bap¬
tists of Georgia heretofore, and henceforth of a large portion of them—
honored in yourself as perpetuating the name of a benefactor to his race
and a friend of youth—honored as being the recipient of Mercer's char¬
ities while living, and of being the repose of his dust when dead—hon¬
ored, again, as being the last resting place of Sanders ; names evermore
to be held in veneration by Baptists of Georgia ! Henceforth, let no one
seek to strip you of your honor, or rifle you of your dearest treasure. Let
no one seek to violate the plighted faith given to those, many of whom
are numbered amongst the dead, that gave liberally of their substance to
' found an institution of learning, which was then located, and was to re¬
main located at Penfield ! Hence, costly buildings have displaced tem¬
porary log cabins; the embellishments and utility of art have supplied
• the lack of natuie, and the longer time elapses, the more consecrated be¬
comes that spot. To you, brethren of Central Georgia, the best interests
of Mercer University, already so well endowed, and only needing your
general superv.s'.on, belong: be ours, my brethren and friends, the nobler
task of rearing from the ashes, [the College building nearly completed, was
consumed by fire last spring, by the.carelessness of some of the laborers]
into which it has- fallen, I will not say by an act of Providence, an
institution of learning, that shall answer the great ends of education, and
to whose., advantages all shall be .welcome from the mountain's valley to
the oceaa's shore.
Cherokee Baptist College, built on a commanding eminence, with a
beautiful plat of land in front) and an extensive forest in the rear, .the
property of the institution, its retired situation in the beautiful village
of Cassville, two miles from the Railroad, being also the most central
position for all Cherokee, Georgia; its excellent and healthful climate,
all mark it out as a chosen seat of the muses—the most suitable place
for the rearing of men. It now asks for that aid which it should rather
demand from the friends, of learning. Far be it from the men of this
highly favored portion of Georgia to let this child of theirs suffer from
neglect.
With these preliminary remarks, friends and patrons of learning, I
invite your attention to the consideration of the topic which we have se¬
lected for the present occasion—The Advantages of Elementary Studies.
I refer now, to those studies which in boyhood and youth, are usually
pursued in schools and colleges. Previous to this time the rearing of
the young is committed by a wise and kind Providence principally to
the mother. She cares more for the infant and the child than any one
else, and can instill into the dawning mind many useful lessons of pa¬
tience and obedience. John Wesley says, in a sermon on the education
of children, to instance how much can be done even at the earliest pe¬
riod of life by the mother, in enforcing submission and obedience to her
will, which lesson is useful in the highest degree, as preparing the mind
for submission to just law and authority : u My own mother had ten chil-
6
ADVANTAGES OF
dren, each of whom had spirit enough, yet, not one of them was ever
heard to cry aloud after it was a year old." During this period of its
stay in the nursery, under the almost exclusive jurisdiction of the mother,
it may be taught, by way of diversion, its letters, and the art of read¬
ing and writing, which lay the foundation for any superstructure that
may be afterwards reared. The young pupil then enters upjn the pur¬
suit of those elementary studies, of which we are to speak, under the su¬
perintendence of schoolmasters and professors of Science, and on them re¬
mains occupied until it enters upon the active duties and pursuits of
life ; henceforth to run the gauntlet between the too much absorption of
the mind with pleasure, and the breaking down of the spirits with vice
and care. These elementary studies mark the transition period from the
pure but evanescent joys of childhood, to that period when the yo.ung
student, all fragrant with honors, buoyant with hopes, and with a char¬
acter largely biased to the side of good or evil, enters upon the combats
of life. This, all must admit, to be the most interesting period of life;
the most momentous time for the human being. It is the very period of
life in which these young gentlemen are whom I am to address on the
advantages of Elementary Studies. And yet, how incompetent do I feel
myself to be to the task which is self-imposed ! I who have bestowed
some attention at least, on these elementary studies, have yet learned
their importance more, I fear, from observation, than from experience.
Pardon me, therefore, my friends, if I do not seem to come up to the
full measure of what is expected in an address like this.
There are some, who, while they admit the utility of elementary
studies as pursued in schools, deny the advantage of carrying out that
system of instruction to its fullest extent in Colleges. Some, also, of
strong native powers of mind, improved by a vast amount of private
study and practice, having arrived at eminence, in the various profes¬
sions of life, think the course of private study which they pursued, the
surest road to the attainment of profitable knowledge. An$ some, with
shame, be it said, who themselves having experienced the great advan¬
tages of instruction under competent teachers, have afterwards pretended
to'question the utility of colleges, and other institutions of learning of a
high order.
Without impugning the motives whence these objections to the pur¬
suit of learning in colleges proceed, I may be allowed to throw myself
back upon the general sentiment of mankind, and argue'from the uni¬
versality and frequency of colleges and other institutions of learning
throughout the area of civilization and christeiidom, the necessity of
such institutions. It deserves, also, to be mentioned, that the world be¬
ing in a state of constant advancement, both in the department of virtue
and vice, in government, and in all sciences that education which would
have done very well for one generation will be found entirely inadequate
to the wants of another. ,'A.s science advances in its dominion over na¬
ture, the knowledge of menelatiming'to be educated, must keep equal pace
with it.
Again, there are some who think they find objections to students
pursuing elementary studies in Colleges, because science is there learned
by technical terms, and dogmatical rules. 'I have known, for instance,
a very intelligent gentlemen, of strong native powers of mind, and raised
to high eminence in life, by great improvement from private reading and
meditation, so misconceive the use of rhetorical studies, in preparing a
speaker or writer for his work, as to say that he had no need of such
rules himself; but only wanted this one rule to carry him through all
ELEMENTARY STUDIES.
7
the writing; and speaking which he had to perform, viz. : whenever he
had anything to say or write, to use language, as he termed it, in which
there were no snags, by which, he meant, I suppose, to keep persons
from feeling any obstructions when they should peruse. A distaste is,
in such language expressed, to the study of logic, rhetoric, and even
grammar, as leading one away from a natural, direct, as well as intelligi¬
ble method of speaking and writing, as if it were not the highest pro¬
vince of these studies to teach this very kind of speaking and writing.
The rules which they lay down, being drawn from the opinions and
practice of the best speakers and writers of all ages of the world, and
which, in reality, constitute the sciences themselves, assist tfye practice
of the young speaker or writer in his first conceptions of knowledge, but
they were never intended to hamper him when he comes with the tongue
or the pen to the actual presentation of truth to others. The use of these
rules also consist in the precision of terms which they employ in explain¬
ing seience, which terms may be substituted for others more in ac¬
cordance with ordinary conversation, though less precise; just as the
lawyer, while addressing the court, confines himself strictly to the techni¬
calities and rules of the science, but when afterwards he comes to ad¬
dress the jury, he omits as far as possible, legal technicalities, or else
explains them in the language of ordinary discourse. As well, there¬
fore, attempt the disuse of technical language in the law, in medicine,
in the navigation of ships, in the working of factories, and drilling of
soliiery, as attempt the doing away of the same kind of technicalities in
the teaching of science. But he has learned his rhetoric to very little
purpose who fails to interest and jtersuade his audience, or his logic to
very little purpose who fails to convince them.
The advantages of elementary studies spring from the pleasure which
they afford, and their utility. Man was placed in this world to enjoy
himself in a rational manner to improve himself, and to benefit his race.
It is useless to view him as a stoic, one perfectly indifferent to pain or
pleasure. True, it is, that advancement ought to be a higher motive
than any pleasure. Yet, the two are so blended, the greatest pleasure
resulting from the greatest improvement, and the greatest improvement
affording the highest pleasure, that we shall not attempt to separate them.
We seek not, therefore, to call away the youth from pleasure, but only
to direct him in the paths of that innocent enjoyment which is ever the
accompaniment of solid progress.
The pleasure derived from the pursuit of science is evinced by the ar¬
dent spirit with which the sciences are pursued under competent instruc¬
tors. With what pure pleasure are the mathematics pursued? How
often does midnight steal upon the student while he is engaged in solving
algebraic problems, or demonstrating the theories of Euclid ? And as
any science begins to unfold itself, he is made to wonder at the human
wisdom which could have invented it# and it is the fault of his teacher,
or of his text book, if his mind is not made to discover in the laws of
matter and of mind a revelation from God, only second in importance
and precision to that of the Scriptures. He discovers very clearly from
the study of these sciences, that the G-od of Nature is the God of the
Bible, that his father's God is the God to whose laws the whole universe
is subject He finds the attributes of goodness and love to man revealed
both in these laws of nature which have been but lately revealed, and
in those which have always been patent j so that he may exclaim with
the Psalmist, "the heavens declare the glory of God;" or with the
logical Paul can say, " the invisible things of Him are clearly under-
a
ADVANTAGES OF
s+ood from the things which are seen, even Til a et ernal power and
God-head, so that even the heathen, destitute of written revelation, are
without excuse; for they know enough of G-jd to worship Ilim, but they
do not like to retain Hun in their knowledge."
T.ika the stu ly of Geography, and as the student inspects the earth as
if it were an o ange, and learns for the first time its vajt size, its various
revolutions, its oceans, with their mighty currents, its lofty mountains, its
rivers, floating the commerce of millions; when he learns from the study
of this elementary science of the countless hordes of men which Europe
and Asia contain, of the barbarous tribes of Africa and the islands of the
ocean, he no longer confines' bis attention to the country which gave him
birth, but his range of thought is increased, his capacity to derive pleas¬
ure and profit enlarged. He is made a better and a wiser man. ,
The study of Geography furnishes us with some of the most interest¬
ing topics for reflection. Ask any one here how is it that the Union of
these States is still preser/el, notwithstanding the repeated and violent
shocks to which it is subjected. It is not religion itself, pure and holy
as are the bonds of union that bind together children of the same heav¬
enly father, heirs of the same promises? Oh, no ! but one by one have
we seen the principal religious denominations of the country separated or
their union greatly threatened. But, says the Scripture, the children of
this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light: there¬
fore it is that this union has not been long ago sundered. Ask the stu¬
dent. of Geography why this Union is capable of sustaining such violent
shocks, and he at once points you to the Mississippi River as a ligament of
all but invincible strength. This mighty River, the most important in
the world, discharging its floods of wat^r into., the Gulf in-a slave State,
and then stretching out its arms of rivers on each side northward, em¬
bracing sotrn; of the principal free States, looking on the map for all
the world like 3ome mighty vine clasping the whole country, Northward
and Sooxhward, Eastward and Westward, and defying the power of man to
tear it in sunder from its embraces, ensures the perpetuity of the Union of
these States. Said an eloquent Southern .orator recently in a Northern
city, " I thank God our mountains.stand where they stand, and that our
rivers run where they run. Thank God they run not across longitudes,
but across latitudes, from North to South. If they crossed longitudes,
we might fear for the Union. But I hail the Union—made by God strong
as the strength of our hills, and ever to live and expand, like the flow
and swell of the current of our streams." , A few years ago, when the ex¬
citement between the North and South ran highest, about the time of the
admission of California into the ,Union as a State, when the dissolution
of th.i Union was pretty freely discussed, a Western Statesman made use
of this rather enigmatical remark in relation to the so much talked of
secession of the Southern States. Said he : " Whatever happens, one thing
is certain, the Mississippi River runs free by which remark he intended
to convey the idea that the West n>ver would consent to have the vast
commerce that finds its way down that noble River pay tribute at its en¬
trance into the ocean. Our people, by the very course of their rivers,
and the latitudinal shape of their country, are ensured against a jealousy
so far as comm -rcial interests are concerned. Strange, then, that the
religious feelings, which should bind the closest together, should be
the only cause of dread. But while the good men of both sides, North
and South, understand each other apd the subject und^r discussion, is
there truly any danger that our Union will be dissolved'(
Take another example. Ask a superficial observer, the cause of that
ELEMENTARY STUDIES.
9
gr^at war, which probably the youngest here present will ever remember
as a war that occured in his day? I mean that between England, France
and Tu key, on the one side, and Russia on the other. Some will tell
you that it was the desire of Russia to protect the Greek Christians
against oppression from Mahometan rule; and that Eugland and France's
participation, arose from a desire on their part to protect the weak king¬
dom of Turkey against oppression from Russia. Nothiug is farther from
the truth. Ask the student of Geography to explain the cause of Rus¬
sia s aggression, and he at once points you to the potent fact, the natural
argument, that in the Northern portion of the vast empire of Russia
there rise great rivers, as the Dnieper, the Don and the Volga, which
flowing from the suows of the North, pass ia a Southern direction until,
in the warm regions, they are lost in the waters of the Black and Caspian
Seas, down which natural paths, floating as it were without the force of
wind or steam, but with the very gravity of the water in its desent, vast
hordes of Cossacks descend from the snows of the North to the genial
sunshine of the Temperate Zone, asking, demanding, requiring that the
splendid country of Turkey, yielding but an imperfect support'to the ef¬
fete, degenerate Turk, shall receive upon its soil that race which the con¬
flicts of oppression and the everlasting snows of the North have rendered
hardy. The student of Geography will further explain to you England
and France's participation in that contest of which we are now speaking,,
and on which they expended so many millions of money and sacrificed sa
many valuable lives, from a desire on their part for the supremacy of the
Black Sea—a vast tract of water in the very heart of Tu.key and drain¬
ing two-thirds of the land of Europe—which Sea must, therefore, receive
the productions of this large, portion of territory before they can be
thrown out to the commerce of the world • and. furthermore, that this sea,
on which first the navy of Turkey was destroyed, and afterwards that of
Russia shared the same fate, to satisfy the revenge of those two mighty
nations, has bat one outlet into the Mediterranean and thence into the open
seas, which outlet they were unwilling to see blocked up; and once again,
that the Mediterranean laves the shores of France for near a thousand miles,,
that over it England has her highway to her rich colonies in the East.
Let, I say, but the student of Geography begin to answer the question why
so aiany millions of money were lavished on that war and so much blood
made to flow, and he will give you an answer, that for its magnitude is abund¬
antly sufficient to justify in a political point of view all the treasures of blood
and money which were expended on both sides in the prosecution of that war.
But I cannot dwell over One elementary study. When I view the single
study of Geography in-all its bearings, when [ see how States are sepa¬
rated by natural barriers- of ocean, lofty chains of mountains, broad
rivers and deserts; when I learn from Geography the form of the earth,
its magnitude, the extent of its oceans, its lofty chains of mountains, its
arteries of rivers, its currents of air. with whieh mighty ships freighted
with the productions of every land are wafted on the now no longer track-
less paths of old ocean's surface, its currents of water and the various
uses which they subserve, I see, indeed, that the great Creator of heaven
and earth has made nothing in vain, but that every thing which He has
done branches out into JBIis infinite glory and goodness.
I have selected the subject of Geography, my friends, because it is a
study generally supposed to be useful only to the child} but what man
can read the history of a country to draw from thence lessons of wisdom,
whereby to regulate his own conduct or to enable him to be more useful
to his own country, without desiring to know where abouts in all the
10
ADVANTAGES OP
world that country is, what, are its natural advantages, what its climate
and soil, and what it-; relative position with respect to th > other nations in
the ea t.lj. During, then, the .season of youth is acquired with pleasure
that information which is the source of so much satisfaction and the
means of so much improvement.
If I should select another study as furnishing the means of pleasure
and utility, I would select the science of numbers, beginning first with
Arithmetic, its simplest form, and then branching out into Geometry and
Trigonometry, surveying, by which the exact weight of this earth can
be ascertained, together with that of the sun, moon and planets, the time
of eclipses calculated, as well as the commonest transactions of life car¬
ried on.
Some of you, my friends, have on broadcloth, and some of the ladies
silks and satins ; but did you ever think, my friends, that but for the
conclusions of that science, with so ugly a name as Trigonometry, you
could not afford these costly kind of clothing ? In short, that but for
the means of ascertaining precisely the latitude and longitude of a ship
at sea, it would be with great difficulty that the commodities of the
earth could be exchanged ; notwithstanding the polarity of the needle?
For, as in former times, the sword of Gideon was associated with that of
the Lord; so the human calculations which Trigonometry furnishes,,
must, for the successful navigation of the ocean, ever be associated with
the mysterious and Divine gift of the magnetic needle. Your cotton fields
would therefore whiten in vain, if no body studied the mathematics;
eclipses would come and strike with terror the nations as formerly, and
comets would, at least, be thought " from their horrid mane to shake
pestilence and war."
Excuse me, my friends, if I say something on the study of the languages
as pursued in colleges for they properly come in as an elementary study
when a liberal education ia desired. The study of the languages is one
of the very best means of discovering the original meaning of words.
Especially, the Latin and Greek enter very largely into the composition
of our own language. The Saxon element of it consisting principally of
its monosyllables is one element, and after this the Latin and the Greek
form the principal and remaining source. As regards the Saxon element,
while the study of that language would reward the student who has suf¬
ficient time at his disposal, to master it, still it is generally admitted,
that its literature is not of itself suflicient to justify the labor necessary
for that purpose. It must be confessed that our Saxon forefathers were
more given to the arts of war than to literature; that they went in more
for cultivating those feelings which led them to revenge an insult, and
with acts of the direst cruelty to take exemplary punishment on enemies,
than for the cultivation of the refinements and humanities of life in which
alone literature can flourish. Besides this, the monosyllables of our lan¬
guage, which are Saxon,►forming th^<5hi6f body of discourse, which even
children and servants learn, are sufficiently intelligible to all. Far dif¬
ferent, however, is it the cas& with respect &> words derived from the
Latin and Greek, the languages usually pursued at colleges Besides this,
the very structure of these languages, together with the literature of
them, proved those nations that spoke them to have arrived at the high¬
est stage of civilization Not to speak now of the strengthning of memory
which the pursuit of these languages afford, the dissecting of a system
so complete as either ot these languages, is certainly the highest discip¬
line of the mind. Add to this that the. Greek is the repository of the
original New Testament, that this together with the Latin are the media
ELEMENTARY STUDIES.
11
through which church history has been preserved to us, and that the
Latin has been and is even n <w. to so.as extent, the ch «->n laa^aaga of
the learned—-the language of Bacon, of Newton and of Milton, the lan¬
guage of the principal theologians of Europe—and jou have presented to
you a sufficient inducement for the prosecution of these interestiner
studies.
Notwithstanding I run the risk of the charge of pedantry, or seem to
be needlessly precise, I will recommend to you, young gentlemen, as-what
ought to be considered an elementary study, to be pursued privately,
unci! it shall rank as it ought to rank as a primary' study, the study of
Stenography, or the art of short-hand writing. 'Said the Governor of
this State to me, " I would give $1,000 if I 'understood Stenography."
From the time of Cicero, the orator, until within the last twenty years,
this science has never deserved the name of a system. But about the year
1837 Mr. Isaac Pitman, of Bath, England, now living, invented a
system which leaves nothing, whatsoever, further to be desired in that
art. Much of the student's knowledge acquired in colleges and law,
medical and theological institutions, is obtained from lectures; how im-
porfeant, then, that the student should have at his command an art which
would enable him either to copy directly from the lips of the speaker
the whole or any part of the speech, or else to take a copious abstract of
it ? The student, also, both to practice himself in the art of composition
fend for the increase of his acquirements, commonly keeps a diary, and very
often an index rerum, or common place book, or book of extracts: This is
very well, and can be best accomplished by means of the art which we
now recommend. I may also recur to. a theorem which I have already
proposed, namely : that the advancing stage of the world renders the
knowledge needful to be possessed; at one time totally inadequate to the
wants of another. Who now wonld think of taking a trip to Augusta
on horseback I Who, twenty years ago, would have thought of ac ;om-
plishing the trip in any other way ? So the general introduction of the
study of Stenography into the schools and colleges of'the North, thereby
eventually ensuring its introduction generally into the schools and colleges
of the country, demand that the young man who now enters into the
professions of life, desiring not be behind his age, shall, as early as pos¬
sible, secure to himself this invaluable art—an art which so much shor¬
tens that which though the most necessary for self-improvement, is yet,
by common consent, acknowledged,to be the hardest labor in the world—
I mean the labor in hand-writing.
Educate a child, you must but ever bear in mind the words of Pope :
" A little learning is a dangerous thing—
Drink deepj or touch not the Pierian Spring;
Their shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
But drinking largely sobers us again."
Educate your child you must. * ^ is forced upon you from the very
necessity of the case. Who that has occasion to travel up and down our
railroad has not observed the familiar face of a lad with a huge armful
of books which he retails to passengers in the cars ? Now, the very fact
that this lad, actuated by a laudable desire to obtain a livelihood, has in
his collection, as being, the most saleable, so large a proportion of novels
and the most worthless trash, of a tendency to injure our sons and daugh¬
ters, argues the importance of implanting a taste for ; he studies we are
recommending in the young and tender mind. This ad is the greatest
preacher of education I know of, and yet he never says one word about it,
but only presents—yea, dares to present to thee, parent, and to thy sons
12
ADVANTAGES OF
and thy daughters, these pernicious novels—works which the great Col-
ridge has characterized as follows : " All the evil achieved by ilobbes
and the whole school of materialists, i. e. Atheists, will appear incon¬
siderable if it be compared with the mischief effected and occasioned by
the sentimental philosophy of Sterne and his numerous imitators. The
vilest appetites and the most remorseless inconstancy towards their objects
acquired the titles of the heart, the irresistible Jccliuys, the too tender
sens i.bil it ies.
" Do you in good earnest," continues Coleridge, "aim at dignity of
character, by all the treasures of a peaceful mind, by all the charms of
an open countenance ? I conjure you, 0 youth, turn away from those who
live in the twilight between vice and virtue. Are not reasou, discrim¬
ination, law and deliberate choice, the distinguishing characteristics of
humanity ? Can aught, then, worthy of a human being, proceed from
a habit of soul, which would exclude all these, and (to borrow a meta¬
phor from Paganism, prefer the den of Trophonius to the temple and
ohurches of the Grod of light ?) Can anything manly, I say, proceed
from those who, for law and light, would substitute shapeless feelings, sen¬
timents, impulses, which as far as they differ.from the vital workings in
the brute animals, owe the difference to their former connection with the
proper virtues of humanity; as dendrites derive the outlines tha't con¬
stitute their vialue above other clay stones, from the casual neignborhood
and pressure of the plants, the names of which they assume ?"
Now, parents, you may resist every temptation to read these books, you-,
have resisted the evil in a great measure after you have read them ; bat'
tell me, where are the thousands thaf have read them, and have been
thereby rendered miserable ? Those are the minds that are unse tied,
who drown themselves in the pleasuret of the intoxicating bowl—in the
exciting scenes of the billiard-room, or in the still more dreadful place,
that hell on earth, the gamblingrroom, where wife is forgotten, and chil¬
dren, and reputation, and truth," and honor are ship-wrecked and lost for¬
ever, both to country and God ! Who browd these rpom's ? Those who
once were called angels by their mothers—the fond hopes of parents—in¬
teresting children—promising youths—the hope of their country ! Ah,
how lovely once, how fallen now-—quantus mutatusf And how come
they to take to such courses ? Ah ! my friends, it was an idea, a sensa¬
tion, an impression, which$ derived from one of these books, lay as a seed,
until some vivifying influence struck uj)on it^ and lo ! the plant 'I Accord¬
ing to Milton, when the Devil first got into'ihe garden of Eden to tempt
parents, in order to escape the search made for him by the angels, he
changed himself and became a frog, but when the spear of Ithuriel
touched him, he forthwith assumed his proper shrfpe and dimensions, and
was ready to do combat. So the seed sown in the ground, in the shape
of an idea, a feeling, an impression, when once it has come in contact
with the vivifying influence which the* natural heart supplies, or the
wicked influence of companions, or the ioperations of the Evil One sup¬
plies, forthwith the young man is inflamed with unholy passions, perhaps
never more to return td the sweet innocency of the domestic hearth, and
to live henceforth as a reproach to those "parents who, perhaps, in their in¬
nocency, ignorant of the ever advancing stage of this world, refused his
child, his precious child, that education which alone could have saved
him. You, parents, have escaped the pernicious influence of these evil
works, and hence you stand before me; but ask for those who—to recur
again to the language of Coleridge—substitutes shapeless feelings, senti¬
ments, impulses, for reason, discrimination, deliberate choice, and the
ELEMENTARY STUDIES.
13
grave-yard silently answers, Here we are reaping the penalty of a depart¬
ure from true wisdom by an early death ; the noisy, drunken worm says,
here we are seeking pleasure. Go to all the places of dissipation and
amusement and you count them by scores and hundreds.
But, 3 ou say, good men shoald make laws to prevent the dissemination
of these evil works, and I answer good men have made laws to prevent
murder, but does that prevent murder ? good men have made the most
stringent laws to prevent gaming, but do they prevent gambling ? And
besi les this, where the freedom of the press is so impotent to be main¬
tained, and is so jealously guarded, and where' the difference between
proper and improper books is so little distinguishable, wise legislators
after proscribing the moat certainly bad books, have left the contest to go
on between the two kinds, trusting to the superiority of virtue and virtuous
men, over vice and vicious men. A parent, therefore, dying, methinks
and leaving las children to the fierce, carmst, resolute, never-ending con¬
flicts which his child will have to,undergo in life, with vice in iis°thou-
sand protean forms, could desire for that child, next to religion, nothing
ittore than a good education, whereby a taste for studies is implanted in
the breast. For these studies, to adopt the elegant sentiments of Cicero,
foster our early years, afford delight to our declining ones; they adorn
prosperity; are the support and consolation of adversity; at home they
, a,r.e delightful, and abroad they are easy; at night they are company to
■ us, when we travel they attend us, and in our rural retirements they do
not forsake us." Next to religion, there is nothing so well calculated to
draw away the youthful mind from thp pursuit of low and vicious pleas¬
ures as these studies. By an ae'quintance with them, a young man has a
neucleus around which all his knowledge in future life may clustev, and
he thus lays the foundation to receive useful information in the easiest
and most practicable manner. Suppose the construction of 'a steam
engine to be for the first, time ^.examined by two kinds of persons,
one well acquainted with the principles ef elementary science and the
other not acquainted with them; how much fewer questions would the
former have to ask than the latter? Suppose, again, a traveler going
in a distant country—say into England or France—where the arts and
sciences have reached their highest stage of improvement, and he should
visit the factories, workshops and mills with'which those countries abound,
if destitute of elementary knowledge, he would feel so much astonish¬
ment at the very first sight of some of those vast enterprises, as absolutely
to forbid that further prosecution of. his inquiries by which he might
really add something to the effective intelligence of his country. Some¬
times, for example, he would find operations which would require, for their
comprehension, a knowledge'of all the elementary properties of air, of
steam, of light, of water, of electricity, of galvanism, a knowledge of
all the mechanical powers, a knowledge of chemical analysis—in short, a
thorough acquaintance with all the elemeiftary studies taught in schools
and colleges. IIow, then, would it be possible for him, if ignorant of these
studies to understand those operations, or give an intelligible account of
them to others ? It is as if one, on visiting the Capitol of our country,
and after ascending that high hill on which the immense edefice is erected,
and seeing a beautiful marble fountain from which the cool clear water
gushed forth into an overflowing bow, he should exclaim it is enough, and
have no desire to go into the interior of the building to see works on
which art of every kind, and pantings, and sculpture have exerted them¬
selves to their utmost. It is as if one, on visiting a factory, should be
stopped from any desire to see within by the magnificence of the outward
14
ADVANTAGES OF
building. To him ignorant of the elementary laws of matter, there is
much that is mysterious, much that is even miraculous in the operations
by which the wants of man are satisfied ; but to him acquainted with those
laws, there is nothing but simplicity throughout every thing that seems the
most complicated. You must divest science of that mystery which hung
over it during which the ages in which the search for the Philosopher's
stone was the principal use of Chemistry: when Astrology, or the art of
foretelling destinies by the planets, occupied the place of Astronomy;
when storms at sea, instead of being regarded in the useful light they now
appear, were looked upon as the principal encumbrances to the navigation
of the ocean ; and when Geography, taught, that this earth was a broad, flat
plain, above and around which the sun, moon and stars sped their swift
courses, before you can bring it down to the comprehension of the multi¬
tude; but now, the most interesting works on Natural Philosophy, Chem¬
istry and Botany are given to us in the shape of answers to child-like
inquiries and even fema-les appear as the authors of some of the very
best works on branches of these elementary studies. Lord Ba on him¬
self was not possessed of more knowledge of nature, from the many ex¬
periments which he made, than may now be obtained from the colleges of-
our day.
Pray tell me, parents and friends, on whom is the future government
of our country to dep ;nd ? Who are>to be our lawyers, our physicians,
our statesmen, our respectable and intelligent farmers, the protectors of
our daughters, the guardians of public virtue, the very embodiments of
republican institutions ? Who but the youth, some of whom we see as¬
sembled here ? Tell me of the educati$p of girls, and I agree with you;
but the duties to which girls are to att^d do not require to be thoroughly
understood, one-tenth part of the labor/toil and discipline at schools, one-
tenth part of the apparatus,' chemical laboratory and library which beys
require to perfect them for their duties.
Some may say, time fails for the attainment of these 'fmrptosesbut it is
not time that fails. Quintillian has gjiveni»the true reason : " Quod si
agrorum ninia curia,, et sollicitior rei familiaris, diligentia, ,et venandi
voluptas, et dati spectaculis dies, multjim studiis auferunt, quid putamus
facturas cupiditatem, avatiamri, invidiam ? Nihil emim est tarn occupa-
tum, tarn multiforme, tot ac tarn variis affectdbus tqnsisum atque, lacera-
tum quam mala ac improbla mens ! .Quit inter haec Uteris aut ullibonae
arti tucus? Non hercle magis qitan frugilus tin terra sentibus ac rubis
occupata" In order that all may see how exactly this heathen writer,
that wrote 1800 years ago, has characterized the very difficulties of our
time, we subjoin the translation : " If then," says Quintilian, " the man¬
agement of an estate, if attention to domestic economy, a passion for
hunting, or whole days given up to public places of amusement, consume
so much time that is .due to study, how much greater waste must be occa¬
sioned by Licentious desires* avarice or env^ ? Nothing is so much hur¬
ried and agitated, so contradictory to itself, or so violently torn and shat¬
tered by conflicting passions, as a: bad heart. Amidst the destructions
which it produces, what room is left for the cultivation of letters or the
pursuit or any honorable art ? No more, assuredly, than there is for the
growth of corn in a field overrun with thorns and brambles."
Life, it is true, is only sufficient for the accomplishing of all the things
which it is our duty to accomplish. Your health you may recover, or
your character you may retrieve, but what shall we say of misimproved,
misspent time ? How much time, most precious time, might be saved to
the student if he would fill up all his leisure moments with profitable re-
ELEMENTARY STUDIES.
15
flections, and by leisure moments—I do not mean those in which the stu¬
dent has no work laid out for him to perform, for such moments he should
not have, but I rather mean those moments which leave room for reflec¬
tion amid necessary employments. How much, for instance, of profitable
knowledge could he gain while musing on bis bed, or traveling on foot or
horseback ? How much precious time could he save from profitless con¬
versation ? How much better might those idols of the mind, vain
thoughts, be displaced by speculations on the works of God—the teachings
of science the perfecting himself in those elementary studies of which
we have been ^peaking ? A venerable preacher said lately that every man
had a god which interposed between his mind and the true God, so as to
completely exclude the latter. I correct his language, not his sentiment,
only so far as to say that it is an idol instead of a god that interposes. A
god is something to be feared and worshiped. An ilol, something to be
cherished. Every man then has an idol—something which he cherishes
at all times, something which he loves but may not fear—which idol ab¬
sorbs all the energy of his soul, whilst that idol may be nothing bat a
foolish and wicked thought. The young student will have time sufficient
. for the mastery of all these elementary studies, if he will not be too much
given to such idolatry : let him, therefore, pursue with zeal these elemen¬
tary studies. They all have one common bond of union—quodclam com¬
mune vinculeum—when you have conquered one you have made inroads
upon the domains of another, and they all fall together, mastered' and
subdued by systematic, persevering efforts.
I have thus discussed my subject. A word to the'young gentlemen of
the Alpha Pi Delta Society, by whose favor I have appeared before you
to-day, and with my prayer forJ^eir success, I dismiss the young gentle¬
men to their teachers, and to the well wishes, of their parents and friends.
Remember then) young gentlemen, the beautiful words of the poet
Tupper: : .
" A man looketh on his little one, as a being of better hope ;
In himself ambition is dead, but it hath a resurrection in his son;
That vein is yet untried—and who can tell if it be not golden ?
While his, "well nigh worked out, never yielded ought but lead,
And thus is he hurt more sorely, if his wishes are defeated there,
He has staked his all upon a throw, and lo ! the dice have failed him."
You have banded yourselves together, young geutlemen, into an organ¬
ization, the design of which is your improvement in public speaking. It
is a good design, a noble one. The man is almost a cipher who does not
know how to speak. All his stores of knowledge are in a great measure
profitless unless he know^ how to use them to others benefit. As laying,
then, a foundation for success in speaking, those studies I have recommended
to you are of primary impo'xtanoe. Pay-attention, then, while you are at
college, to your text books during those hours of -the day usually devoted
to study. Don't say to-morrow I will make up the deficiency of to-day's
lesson ; to-morrow I will work out this algebraic problemn ; to-morrow
I will demonstrate thi3 theorem of Euclid; to-morrow I will read over
my lesson in history. Accustom yourselves to learn well your lessons
before you consider time at your disposal. Before, then, y#,}! read any
history, however interesting, any biography, however entertaining, before
you encage in any sport, however diverting, master your lessons.^ Come
to the recitation-room thoroughly prepared. Do not have to be prompted
there Lay the foundation for large attainment in knowledge by learning
your lessons well. You can't study any thing more useful than those
very studies upon which you will be set by your teachers. All persons
of a liberal eduoation have engaged in and understood those very studies.
16
ADVANTAGES OF ELEMENTARY STUDIES.
Rem ember, too, your teacliers are backed in their opinion, as to the best
studies you ought to pursue, by the trustees, who approbate the coarse of
studies prescribed by the teachers. In questioning the authority of the
teachers, you, question the opinion of all friends and patrons of learning.
While, then, your studies there are to occupy most of your time, while
indeed, they are intended to take up, as far as possible, your whole time,
still you will find leisure to devote to the reading of history, of biogra¬
phy and poetry ; you will find time to make yourselves acquainted, espe¬
cially, with the history .and constitution of your own country, and the
manners and customs of other nations. All this knowledge is essential
to make a speaker. Multo labore, assiduo studio, varia exercdatione
pluribns experimentis, altissima prudentia, prcesentissimo consilio constat
ars dicendi.
It is necessary that you take the right position in your argument.
When, therefore, the choice is left you in the questions of your debating
society, enlist yourself on the side you believe to be right, and then al¬
ways try to speak when your time comes.
You will, young gentlemen, have, in the unfolding of science, to your
labors a high stimulus. I do not know that you need any other besides
this, than the approbation of your teachers and friends. I do not know
what is the opinion of the trustees in regard to the presentation of medals,
or the setting up of honors, to act as a stimulus to the student. The,
bestxEducationists in the country differ in regard to the application of thestf ■
artificial stimulants. I am thankful T never had them presented to me ;
I never recollect that any honor, or any reward was proposed to me at
any institution of learning to which I ever went ; and I never recollect
any jealousies, or any enemy, or any hatred incurred ; but, on the con¬
trary, remember, with pleasure and satisfaction, my intercourse with all
my collegiate fellow-students. It might have been better, I will not say
it would not, for some such prize to have been presented, but L.do not
regret it,, and as far as I have seen the two systems side by side'^t incline
to my first preference. But should any medals be proposed, or any hon¬
ors set up, strive .diligently to get them. This is a question, however, for
the trustees and teachers, and being one of the former I will not here
commit myself any further.
And now, a word or two fciore and I am done. Your morals, young
gentlemen : Oue of oM asked this question. " Wherewithal shall a young
man cleanse his way r" I would these Words were printed in indellible,
burning characters on your mfllds, " Wherfavithal shall a young man
cleanse his way ?" And also,answer : -By taking heed thereto,
according to Thy word.7 I would, also, have you to remember the
words which Dav&jl gave to hjs sen, Solomon—" And thou, Solomon, my
son, know thou the God of thy lather, and serve Him with a perfect heart
and a wrlling mini/! rof .the iLord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth
all the imaginations^ the thoughts : if thou sevk Him, He will be found
of thee,; but if thou forsake tiim, He will cast thee off forever." Go
then to; the Scriptures a3 fc^e chart j go to your teachers ; remember that
God is ever before you ; 'go to the aged christian and say, Aged father,
,pow staffing on the verge of the grave, is^thyhopes of immortality as
great, js thy love to earth as ardent, what is my safest course ? Remem¬
ber,, the counsels of thy mother, the law of thy father, and may you live
happ^ and useful, is tin wish, of your speaker. I thank you for your
attention.