THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 THE COLLECTION OF 
 NORTH CAROLINIANA 
 
 C378 
 
 UK3 
 
 I83iil 
 
S«S;TV OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00036720343 
 
 This book musf not 
 be token from the 
 Library building. 
 
 Form No. 471 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive 
 
 in 2010 witli funding from 
 
 University of Nortli Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/addressdeliveredOOired 
 
>r^iifi 
 
 TELIVEEED CEFORE THE 
 
 ItlJLECTlC »2A^n PHIL^lJ\^THROrit 
 
 
 ■SfT 
 
 CHAPEL HILL, N. C. 
 
 awsm mi assas 
 
 ^Y^ THE HON. JAMES IREDELL* 
 
 
 f-RINTED BY Isaac (j. PATRIDCE, 
 
 1834. 
 
COUKESPONDFNCi:. 
 
 University of Noktii Cakolin-.*, Juyi; '2GiI), l8ol. 
 Dear Sir — The uiiJersigucd have l)ccu appointed a Comiuitlt'c, by (ht; 
 Pliilaiithropic Socu'ty, to request lor publicaiioii a copy of your A'I'.lress, 
 JelivcrcJ on the day preceding Commencement. Tliey ta!;o [ileasure in 
 communicating to you the high satisfaction which it afl'orded and the llat- 
 teriiig approbation \vit!i which it was received. They take this opportunity 
 of making their acknowledgments for the salutary advice which it contained 
 and the lessons of wisdom which it inculcated. 
 Yours, very respectfully, 
 
 lion. J.iMES Ikedell. 
 
 RlCfl'D B. CREECY, ) 
 HAYWOOD W. GUIO.V, V 
 JAMES H. IIUTCiil^'y, ) 
 
 CommilUc 
 
 Raleigu, June SSth, 1831. 
 Young Gentlemen— I received on the 26th instant, a note of that 
 date, which you addressed to nic as a Committee of the Philanthro|iic 
 Society, requesting for publication a copy of the Address delivered to the 
 two Societies of the University on the day before the Commencement. — 
 Constant occupation has prevented me from answering it until to-day. — I 
 can say with unalll'cted sincerity that T know of no merit in the Address 
 which should entitle it to the honor of being published by tlic Society. If 
 you believe, however, that any good may result from such a course, I am 
 willing to defer to your judgment, and will furnish you with a copy as soon 
 as 1 can make a fair one, having had no ojiportunity of doing so before it 
 was delivered. 
 
 For your own very complimentary note, and for the favorable opinion 
 entertained by the Society of this humble effort, I tender to yourselves aud 
 to them my sincere acknowledgments. 
 
 With great esteem, your obedient servant, 
 
 JA. IREDELL. 
 '!*ilcssrs. Ricu'd 13. Creecv, 
 
 Commit fee o/ the P'lilanlhropic Society/. 
 
 Ricu'd 13. Creecv, ^ 
 H.AYwooD W. Gulo :, > 
 
 J.\MES H. HuTCill.VS', 5 
 

 -*5fe 
 
 Yoviis^ GcnUe.mcn of Ihv DiaJcciic 
 
 and Philantliropic Socictin;: 
 I appear bcfuro you in obotlitMiCc !o the inv'tntion 
 wills wliirli j'ou lionorf'd inc. In accepting litis invii.iii'n, 
 T l;ave given you the strongest proof ot my desire to gra ify 
 your ui^Oies and of my willingness to coniriliilc my po'ii'"!, 
 liouevcr hnmhie, to llic entertainments of the day. UnskiMed 
 in literary cxrrcisfs, an iinfreqiient wor.-^liipper in the temples 
 of the ]Mus( s, and nnacciistomed to the diameter voii have 
 nssigneJ me, h.ad I any vanity to l)e mortified. I shonid Ir.ivc 
 shrnnk from a tnf^k, the performance of wliich has Iieretofurc 
 I'Gcn illnstraicd by f;rniu5 and taslc and eloquence. Ilavisig, 
 liouever, no ohjcci bnt your good, I .shall be anply reward- 
 ed for all personal sacrifice, if any thini: I can sav on this 
 occasion shall have the effect of animating one viritious 
 j->rincip]c, of giving constancy to one generous impidse or 
 ■s igor to oiic noble resolution. 
 
 I can. well imagine, my young friends, llie emotions you 
 feel on this return of the annual Collegiate Jubilee — your 
 Joy at having passer! honorably through another year of pre- 
 paration for the great duties of life — the bright hopes of the 
 future, which you cherish wiih all the enthii-ia.-<m cT youth. 
 There are o'dier hearts, which j'uipitalc on this occasion in 
 
symprilliy with yours. Your parents, your instructors, t;i/t-. 
 guardians of this Institution partako of your joy at your 
 past success, and cordially join in your Iiopcs of the future. 
 If tiieir joy is less lively, if their hopes are less vivid, it is 
 because they are mingled with a deep anxiety — it is because 
 tliey have travelled over the ground jnu are soon to occupy, 
 and have learnt tlic danger? now hidden from vour sight. 
 ^on look before you upon the great road of life, and it pre- 
 sents itself to 3-our eyes, smooth as the Appian way, disrjos- 
 ing' at every step the most beautiful landscapes, with every 
 thing to invite, allure and refresh you on your journey. I 
 Viiil not attempt to disturb this delightful vision. I would 
 not, if I could, throw a single shade over this bright perspeC-' 
 tive. It has been, no doubt wisely, ordained that no glo'Mny 
 anticipations should mar the joyous season of youth. In- 
 dulge, then, my young friends, while yet you may, while 
 Tincontaminated by and unsusj)icious of the world, indulge, 
 in all their freshness, tlie g:iy hopes and clieering as[)iration3, 
 which belong peculiarly to your age, and which constitute at 
 once its blessing and its charm. 
 
 It is my purpose to direct your attention for a few mo- 
 ments to one of the most powerful principles of our nature, 
 one which you now feel in active operation, and upon the 
 proper management of whicli depends much of the happiness 
 and honor and rcspcclability of your future lives. The de- 
 sire of distinction, the ambition to excel finds a place in every 
 generous bosom. Indeed, so universally is the principle 
 diffused, that scarcely an individtial of the human family can 
 be said to be exempt from its influence. It commences will 
 the first expanding farulties of youtli, and continues, growing 
 ^ilh the growth, until tlie latest period of life. The voL.ce 
 
ul' praise iri sweet even to the pratllino- infant, anil it full?, noj. 
 tiniieeded, on cars that have been (lulled by age. In every 
 stale of society, from the most Ixirbaroiis to the most reniied: 
 in all the diflerenl departments and pursuits of mankind, this 
 ambition to excel, modified in an almost infinite vaiicly ns tt) 
 its objects and means of accomplishment, is to be found ex- 
 erting its influence with more or less power, and either for 
 good or for evil. It would be doubting the wisdom of Pro- 
 vidence to suppose that a principle of such potent energy 
 and such universal existence had not been implanted in us 
 for great and useful purposes. It is true that, like all our 
 passions, it is capable of being perverted and abused.-^ 
 While on the one hand it has largely contributed to the prcv,- 
 gress of civilization and the development of the human mind; 
 while it has given birth to all the wonderful achievements in 
 art and discoveries in science; to the s])lendid productions in- 
 ancient and modern literature, which delight, instruct and 
 elevate us — yet, on the other hand, it has too often been the 
 fruitful source of crime and misery and bloodshed and de- 
 vastation. In one case, it is ambition, pure and virtuous, 
 "pursuing noble ends by noble means" — in the other, ambi- 
 tion, unchecked by moral restraint, originating in selfishness 
 and reckless of the obligations that bind man to man. — r 
 Which of tliese recommends itself to your esteem and affec- 
 tion, I will not insult you by inquiring. But how is the 
 eminence, which is alone to be coveted, the distinction found- 
 ed on merit, how is it to be obtained? It does not offer itself 
 spontaneously — it will not "unsought be won," nor is it easy 
 of acquisition; yet there are moans by the faithful applica- 
 tion oi which success will seldom fail to be 'secured. Permit 
 niebriefly to advert to some whiclj readily present them- 
 
mIvcs', fi'ui wiiicii nre a<1aptfd to every vocation to wliicL 
 you h.av ho calk; i. First arid chief among ihcsf n.ii.n ; is 
 prr:.;everiii<r industry, lie, who socks a lofly siinimit, i,:ust 
 direct his r.!<;hl v. ilh a wing that ncvrr lircs and an eye Uiat 
 r.cvcr sliinihcrs. Mcalo! industry is ihi' pccidiar cliaracteris- 
 iif (if (dvilizrd s(:c'ict\'. Tlie savrin;e hut Jabtus for a scanty 
 daily su]>sis!cnci', and the rest of liis life is spent in bodily 
 rxerrirc, in llie sports of tlie chase, in ferocious baltle, (jr in 
 sloliiful indolence. "SViion liie light of civilization fust il- 
 lumes the mind, iiuin wakens as it were to a new existence, 
 lie becomes conscious of the powers of intellect and proiid 
 of ;he superi'jriiy they confer. As he cuitivatcs then), Isc 
 perceives his views constandy exten;iiiig and Iiis faculties 
 Ijecotning mure and more invigorated. lie looks abroad 
 tlirongh the inteilectiial and jd)\\sical world, and is e\<:.ry day 
 discovering some new secret of nature wliich charms and 
 instriicis liim. One discuvery but makes him the more eager 
 for another. lie finds nothing too snbile to clnde his grasp, 
 notiiing too swift to escajjc Ids pursuit, nothing too strong to 
 resist his p:nver. There seems, indeed, to be scarcely any 
 other limit to the extent of intellectual iniprovement than that 
 which is impose i by the (rail and perishing tenure by which 
 it iias pleased Piovidctjce that we shall hold onr corporeal 
 lenement. But remember, my young friends, that our minds 
 can only become thus vast and comprehensive by constant 
 exercise and by unremitting labor in adding to tlieir stores. 
 I^scrcise is not more necessary to preserve lieahli in the 
 l)odi!y system than it is to give vigor to the intellectual. It 
 is an imTiutable law of our nature that tnerv;ation is the 
 necps-jary an 1 inevitable eflecl of sloth and indolence. Tlic 
 rnii\d not only reciuires, like the body, its fit exercise; it also 
 
9 
 
 Jeniaiuls its appropriate i'uoil. You mu:U supply it wiili 
 fads. You must furnisli it dail} witli nr\v arccssidiis ol 
 knowledge' 'Ihe art of i)riiiting, that greatest of all arts. 
 lias enabled vou to seize and appropriate to your ouii use 
 llie fruits of the expcrieuee, the observalion and rcilcctiot; 
 of olliersj for thousands of year?. Not to avail ycMir^rh Cl- 
 of these would be, in some measure, to relapse into barba- 
 rism. It would !)e as gross a folly, as if a mariner Vi'.rc to 
 undertake to traverse extensive and dangerous seas \vit!)ont 
 the aid of charts, whieh the enterprise and observation of 
 others had provided. But the acquisition of knnwledi-c is 
 jiot alone sufficient. It must be accompanied bv ref1cc!i(in. 
 The mind must be so disciplined as to be able to dispose of 
 llie facts it receives in proper order — otherwise they will 
 form a huge, misshapen and useless mass. To crowd the 
 mind with knowledge, when its reasoning faculties are suf- 
 fered to slumber, is like oppressing th.e stomach with luud 
 when it has lost its powers of digestion. While, therefore, 
 you avail yourselves of the reflections and information oi 
 others and of your own (d)servalions, exercise your under- 
 standing in separating truth from error and in drawing sucii 
 conclusions as will best enable you "to act well your juirt it; 
 life" — the great purpose of all knowledge. There is a com- 
 mon mistake among the young, and perhaps more particular- 
 ly among those of collegiattj institutions, that while industri- 
 ous application is necessary for ordinary capacities, genius 
 requires no exertion. It is an error, which has proved fatal 
 to many a youth of the fairest promise. Be assured, it is an 
 error which you cannot reject with too much prompiness 
 and reject forever. You read the productions of the master- 
 spirits of the ages in which thev Jived, upon which the stamp 
 2 
 
10 
 
 uf i^oniiis of tlin hiolicKt order lias been impressed hy tlic 
 concurring vdice of all mankitid. Think yon that thp?e itn- 
 mortal works sprnng from the l)rain of tlieir anlliors, without 
 cflnrt nm] in ftdl proportion, like the fabled Pallas from the 
 brain of Jnpilcr? No, mv votmg friends; if we conid sum- 
 mon before us these illustrious dead, ihey woukl tell us of 
 their long course of preparation; that their minds had l^een 
 (lisriplined from early life; that they bad diligently e()llcoied 
 ]:no\vlege from every accessible -ourcc; that they had rc- 
 ilcctcd long and deeply; that tliey labored for years in im- 
 proving their understanding, cultivating their taste, and puri- 
 fying and exalting their imao;inatii>n. All biography proves 
 that bv such means, and such only, can solid and jierniancnt 
 literary distinction be obtained. 
 
 But you must not onlv be industrious; you must persevere 
 in your industry. Let every point you reach be only the 
 place for a new departure. Let every acquisition you make 
 be the foundation for anotiier and yet antjtber. Take ex- 
 ample in one respect from the miser, and heap treasure rn 
 treasure. Like him, yon will feel no satiety from tlie accu- 
 mulation, and, unlike him, tlie happiness you will derive from 
 your riches will be founded on the noblest, instead of the 
 basest, principles of our nature. Let no didlcubies disheart- 
 en or deter you — rather let them animate your zeal. Perse- 
 verance can level mountains and elevate vallies. Aim at the 
 I'.ighest degree of perfection, and you may safely act upon 
 ![ie conviction that what has been accomi)lished by others 
 may be attained by you. Lideed, since no limits to the hu- 
 ]r.an intellect have yet been defined, why may you not sur- 
 pass th »se, who have preceded you? 
 
 I trust, my young friends, you will not be startled by this 
 
11 
 
 reconiniendailon of constant dili^fncr. Vou will form a 
 iiT^st moncous notion, if yon suppose tlial vou aro t)in# ex- 
 liorti'd to a life of pain, of frlnom or of irliPome t(»il, I.a^ior 
 ct ipse voJuptas. Yon m ill Invl that occupation is one of the 
 secrets of Iiappincss. You will find in tho pnr&iiit oi know- 
 ledfre tliat what tlic eloquent Psalmist has said of relic;ini;s 
 wisdom is true, to no pm;ill extent, of the wisdom of thi;" 
 worM — ''all her wnvs arc wavs of pleasantness and all hei' 
 jiaths are peace." 
 
 L'M me \iro;e upon vou, ns another means of oiitaininir dis- 
 tinciinn, the prncticc of all tlie moral virtues. I si)eak of 
 these, now, onlv as connected with mv sulijcct, a'ld not as 
 cnioined upon vou bv the hitrhest of all ohlijations, the coni- 
 mr^nd of vour Creator. Tt is true there have hcen instances 
 in which individuals have sjained a niche in the Tcmpie of 
 Fame, whose characlers have heen sullied hv vice and some- 
 times stained hy crime. But with how much more lustre 
 would ihcv have shone, if virtue had hcen associated with 
 their talents? The admiration liiev receive is not an unmixed 
 admiration. V\'hile tlieir intellectual attainments invite us 
 towards them, we are repulsed with horror hy their moral 
 depravity. AVho has not felt the keenest mortincation, in 
 readincv the effusions of the most powerful hard of modern 
 days, who wrote with a pen of fire, that such brilliant genius 
 should have been obscured by vice and too often prostituted 
 to the most unhallowed purposes! IIow much more lolty 
 would have been iiis pedestal, if he had sutTered it to he 
 based on virtue! Such instances, though they do occur, arc 
 exceptions to a general law of our nature. Indulgence ol 
 vici'ius propensities, carelessness of luoral obligations, have 
 an inevitable tendency, not only to destroy the moral sense 
 
12 
 
 but to enervate tlie intelleclual faculties. Besides tlie waste 
 of time they often occasion, they ])r()cliire pain, discorifcnt, 
 fretfulness, remorse, indisposition to scrions occupation or 
 serious ihniiglit. The mind gradually loses its tension and 
 sinks in an efjoal degree with the moral principle. The 
 practice of virtue, on the other hand, gives self-satisfarlion, 
 peace, serenity and conlenlmenl; the mind is sufi'ered in qui- 
 etness to pursue the even tenor of its way and the course to 
 lienor and distinction is lett unobstructed. 
 
 Firmness and decision of character are indispensable to 
 your success. The weak, vacillating individual, who is every 
 O.uiig by starts and nothing long; who yields to every sally 
 of caprice and impulse of feeling; who is the good-naiured 
 victim of every artful or imprudent associate, must never 
 hope to rise beyond mediocrity. Let your resolutions be wise- 
 ly formed and steadily executed. When your consciiMice and 
 your understanding point to the object of your pursuit, suf- 
 fer not yourselves to be diverted to the right or to the left 
 by the importunities or the gibes or sneers of olhers. Re- 
 collect, too, that the '■'fortiter in re''' is not incompatible witli 
 the '■'■suaviter in modo.^ Urbanity will adorn, without im- 
 pairing, your lirmness. 
 
 Honorable in all your thoughts and purposes, you should 
 have nothing to conceal, and therefore candor and openness 
 sliould mark your whole conduct and character. From the 
 man of dissimulation, the man of art, the suspicious man, we 
 shrink with innate dread and dislike. Candor alone inspires 
 confidence and commands respect. 
 
 It may be useful to urge upon ail, who wish to excel, the 
 necessity of relying upon their own exertions. If you 
 possess ihe adventitious aids of wealth or influential friend?. 
 
i-3 
 
 tlic}' mny be used to second, but not to supercede, your cfTorls; 
 and fi)rti!natc indeed will yon be, if you do not lind tlieni 
 clogs to your advancement. If you are distitulc of wliat 
 are usually considered worldly advantage?, be not discoura- 
 ged — clicer yourselves with the refleclion that, under our 
 liappy political institutions, there is no royal road to Imnor 
 and distinction, and that some of the most illuslrious indivi- 
 duals of this and other ages have risen from tiie humblest to 
 the highest stations, unaided liy power or patronage or wealth. 
 
 In the desultory remarks I have been addressing to you, i 
 liave not spoken of the induence of the Christian religion in 
 promoting your success, even in this life. It is a (heme 
 which belongs more appropriately to holier lips than mine — 
 to lips, that have been touched with sacred tire. Yet I may 
 be pardoned for assuring you, that, while nothing can throw 
 a brighter lustre round your character than the genuine 
 principles and unostentatious practice of piety, so nothing 
 can impart such pure and high and ennobling motives to ex- 
 ertion and nothing can bring such imposing power to sustain 
 and strengthen you in every virtuous resolution. 
 
 But one to{)ic more, and I will hasten to conclude — a topic 
 which I could not omit, both from its intrinsic importance 
 and because it would be doing injustice to your gallantry 
 and my own, in an assembly where the smiles of beauty are 
 beaming all around us. It is the iniluence of female society 
 in the improvernent of your minds and the formation of your 
 character. Woman has been ordained to perform a most 
 important part in tlie moral government of the world. The 
 mother forms the first rudiments of the infant njind, and instils 
 into the infant bosom the first principles of virtuous anion. 
 The sister refines and softens the liarsher manners and more 
 3 
 
14 
 
 tiirlMilent feelinjrs oi' the brother. Tho passion for a virtuou's 
 nii^ i('«;= purifies the sentiments and elevates the thoughts of 
 l!ie lover; while she binds him in the chains of despotism only 
 to !c:i(l him in the pnlhs of honor. The wife brings to the aid 
 of her husband a tender sympathy that robs sorrow of it? sting; 
 a f rliuide t1;at never quails beneath calamity or distress; a 
 pru Icr.ce ever vigilant, and an instinctive sagacity that never 
 falters. Such was the influence of woman, even in the days 
 when her sole titles to admiration and respect were her per- 
 sonal charms and the virtues of her heart. Hanpily in our 
 lime education, without diminishing these claims, has added 
 others of the highest character. The cultivation f>f her in- 
 tellect has left man little to boast of his assumed superiority. 
 Where can you meet united such refined intelligence; such 
 delicacy of taste; such purity of thought; such utter loath- 
 someness of vice in ever}' shape; such fortitude in every 
 situation in which we are called on to bear and to suffer, 
 as in woman! Can you fail to be improved by an association 
 wliich offers to you such example?, clothed in the most cap- 
 tivating form? Not onh' will you feel the influence on your 
 mental powers, but your sentiments will be freed from all 
 their grossness. In youth there can scarcely be found a 
 more cfhcicnt corrective of vicious propensities than the so- 
 ciety of virtuous and enlightened woman. — And may I be 
 permitted to turn for a moment to our fair auditors, and re- 
 mind them that the intluence I have truly ascribed to them 
 was not intended to gratify their vanity or swell their pride? 
 May I be permitted to entreat them, by all their loveliness, 
 by all th<i endearing ties that bind them so closely to our 
 Iwartp, not to forget their destiny, not to neglect the high 
 capacities with which they are endowed, but to be our bright 
 
15 
 
 cxoinf)lars, and to cliecr on our vmhiIi to all uiiirh hononibK; 
 anihiiion can attain and all to which it oiii>ht to as|)irc. 
 
 IMy yonng" iViind.-', I havo thus adverted to sonin ( f the 
 means by which von mav acquire an eminence, \vlii(I> no 
 man should Idu^^li lo jhis:;css. Yet yon may ask why slKudd 
 yon seek it? I sh,p;dd not consult the Lreviiy, which, in my 
 opinion, is a valnahle ijuility in an address ot^ this snri, ii T 
 Meve to enter at larjic npon this hrain h of the subject. Lol 
 my answer, then, !)C comprised in a short and icnpcrfect sum 
 marv. In the first jilacc, it is a law of your Creator iiiiidanl- 
 cd in voiir bosom. Yon cannot, and vou onorh.l not, if yon 
 could, totally extiniruish the aivd)ition to excel. 
 
 Then, I have already remarked tliere is a pleasure in l!ic 
 very means you take to accomplish your object. What ma}' 
 appear toil to the indifierent spectator, conslilules one of tlie 
 highest enjoymenls the hunter I'ecds in the chase. 
 
 And wliat can be more deliirhtful, wh.st can assimilate us 
 more ncarlv to Ilin"" whose imaiic we bear, than the exei( ise 
 of the power, which superiority Cfuifers, of bestowing bless.- 
 inos on others. 
 
 In ihc estimate of happiness is praise, too, lo be set at 
 nought? Even flattery finds many a willino; auditor. I;Ut 
 who can deny t!ie fascinating power (d' the voicf: of praise, 
 when it sounds in unison with the secret whispers of con- 
 science? 
 
 Yet wc may venture to suggest to you a still higher mo- 
 live. Though our bodies are perishing, we know ihat our 
 spirit is immortal — we know tliat we are placed in this 
 world in a probationary state, and t!iat we are commanded 
 to improve our talents. Mav it not be, tlinl, i:i ',>ro:>! rtion 
 as we cultivate our iulcllectuul and moral faculties hcie be- 
 
1« 
 
 Ilisv, ill tlie same propnrlioii will our capacity be extended 
 lor enjoyment in anollier ant! a liii^lier world? May it not 
 !tc, tiiat this ambliioa we I'eel'is "t!ie divinity tliat slirs within 
 U3," leading on to this sublime object? 
 
 My young friends, I know I have disappointed the flatter- 
 ing expectations you hail formetl — ex])eclaiions, which, I 
 early apprized you, coulil not be realized. I came here will: 
 no vain Iiope of making an exhibition (jf oratinical talent. — 
 X came solely to repeat to you useiul j)recepls, which have 
 long received the sanciion of the wise and good, and to add 
 tny .strong and sincere attestation of their truth, from an ex- 
 perience founded on some years devoted to the study of 
 iiiiman nature and to an active intercourse with my fellow- 
 mau in all his various relations, Siifler me to conclude in 
 the language of an insjiired wiiter, a quotation which I heard 
 from the venerable and revered President of my Alma Mater,* 
 laanv years ago, when I stood in the situation which son.c 
 of you now occuj)}'. Would that I could impart to it the 
 3ich and melodious and impressive tones of elocjuence iu 
 which it full from his lips, and wliich still seem to linger ou 
 my ear! And would that it might not only be fixed in your 
 memory, as it has been in mine, but be cherished in your 
 hearts and regulate 3'our lives! "Whatsoever things are 
 
 true; whatsoever THIXCiS ARE HONEST; WHATSOEVER 
 THINGS ARE JUST; W'HATSOEVER THINGS ARE PURE; WHAT- 
 SOEVER THINGS ARE LOVELV; WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE OF 
 GOOD REl'ORT, IF THERE BE ANY VIRTUE, AND IF THERE BE 
 ANY PRAISE, THINK ON THESE THINGS." 
 
 *'riip Rcv'd. Dr. S.vMUEL S. Smith, President of Princeton College, 
 the le.irncd scholar, the accomplished gentleman in all his intorcour.se with 
 his piiplls, and who united in himself, as far as the author of this address 
 cnuid then judge, and as he now helicves, fervent [liely with as pure and 
 }:;raceful and cloipioul oratory as ever adorned the puiiiit, 
 
«