AN ADDRESS OR EDUCATION, DELIVERED ON THE DAT OP THE LAYING OF THE CORNER-STONE NEWBERRY COLLEGE, JULY 15, 1851. BY JOHN BACHMAN, D.D. PRESIDENT OP THE BOARD OP TRUSTEES. CHARLESTON, S. C. JAMES & WILLIAMS, PRINTERS, 16 STATE-STREET. 185 7 . 'tV' ac ? ‘be^Wook ,5Tb CORRESPONDENCE. <£U / Rey. J. Bachman, D.D. POMARIA, S. C., JULY 17th, 1857. Dear Sir — At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of Newberry College^ held yesterday, the undersigned were appointed a committee to solicit for publication, a copy of the very able and interesting address delivered by you, on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the .college building. Sincerely hoping you may be able to comply with our request, we are Yours very respectfully, T. S. BOINEST, ) O. B. MAYER, r Committee . P. TODD, ) Rev. T. S. Boinest, Dr. O. B. Mayer, and Dr. P. Todd. Gentlemen — The address alluded to, in too flattering terms, in your note, was hastily written, and without an idea that its publication would be called for. Under the hope, however, that it may awaken an additional interest in favor of the institution we are all desirous of fostering, I will waive all private considerations, and cheerfully place the manuscript at your disposal. Yours respectfully, JNO. BACHMAN, ? 23411 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. Friends and Fellow Citizens : Believing that the event we are commemorating this day, is the commencement, in this portion of our State at least, of a se- ries of efforts and labours, in the promotion of knowledge — the foundation of enlarged means of usefulness and the increase of human happiness, you will indulge us in inviting your attention to a subject which should be prominent in our minds on an oc- casion like this, namely that of Education — the rearing up of the intellectual and moral man, which is to prepare him for his struggles through life, for his labors and efforts in the various duties which are before him, including his moral and religious training; this latter will impress on his mind the sentiments of truth, justice, honour, benevolence and purity of life, fitting him for that higher destination to which the Christian aspires — the hopes of immortality and the bliss of heaven. Education, in the general sense of the term, may be defined the art of training, instructing the mind and forming the cha- racter of the young. According to this definition, the education of youth not only embraces the instruction given for the regulation of his man- ners and his improvements in literature, science and morals, but every opinion he has imbibed and every habit he has aquired, either from his associations, from the reflections of his own mind or from reading the thoughts and sentiments of others. It farther includes the regulation of his propensities and passions, and that self-government which will preserve him from the con- tagion of examples of evil and will enable him to profit by the wisdom and virtue of the good. 6 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. The importance of a well directed education in this compre- hensive sense of the term is so evident and so generally admit- ted, that it would appear to be almost superfluous to enlarge on the subject, before this enlightened audience. There are however some well disposed persons who do not readily admit the importance of any studies that are not prac- tically of importance to our 'own immediate necessities-^-in other words that nothing is worth knowing that does not supply us with food and raiment. If time would permit, it could easily be shown in what manner education increases the facilities of labour and adds to those productions which are necessary to the sustenance and comfort of the world. We may be told that our forefathers, possessed of very limited attainments, were enabled to convert the forest into fer- tile fields — that they raised their own products and were as con- tented, as virtuous and as happy as any of their successors; — Where then, they will ask, is the advantage of contributing so largely to the cause of education if so little is apparently gained by the change ? In answer to this, we will observe, that if we for the sake of argument, admit that this was the case in the generation which is now fast disappearing, the important fact must not be overlooked, that they were surrounded by men of their own pursuits— habits of thought, education and manner of life — they had therefore few rivals and being on a general equali- ty, they were in a measure freed from the mortifications attendant on a consciousness of inferiority. But let us not overlook the changed circumstances under which the rising generation is summoned to engage in labors and efforts that are required of them not only in their social capaci- ties, but as men and citizens of our common country. The pro- gress of all civilized nations in every department of knowledge and especially in scientific attainments, has been unprecedented in any former period of the world. Our own population has in- creased since the organization of our government from three to twenty-six millions — the number of our States has been multi- plied from thirteen feeble sovereignties to thirty-one powerful in- dependent States, and many territories. The barriers presented by the Alleghanies have succumbed to the science and indomitable perseverance of our race — the wilderness of the far West has yielded and fallen before the axe of the sturdy and independent husbandman, and the once solitary desert has been made to “re- ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 1 joice and blosom as the rose.” California has yielded its aurife- rous treasures. The mighty rivers, among which the father of waters in the west, the lakes, the inland seas of the North, the wide Pacific Ocean that now rejoices in rolling its billows on our own shores, are all whitened with the sails of our commerce; and the screams of the loon, the tern and the sea gull have been iuterrupted by the putting of the huge steamer and all the other- appurtenances of an enterprising and progressive nation. The arts have advanced, and manufactures have multiplied the ar- ticles of clothing a thousand fold, through the agency of steam. Our railroads are daily increasing the facilities of travel and commerce, and our telegraphic wires seem destined to encircle the globe and invite to rapid and familiar converse all the na- tions of men — so that the ear can catch the sound almost at the moment it is uttered on the opposite sides of our hemisphere. Science and the arts have combined to supply the necessities, comforts and luxuries of the increased population of our teeming earth. From what sources have all these wonderful improvements been derived? Is it it not self-evident that they were solely the result of education? Ignorance can never become the mother of invention. Unenlightened Africa has stood still for ages and cen- turies shrouded in barbarism and gloom, whilst the educated na- tions of the world have carried the lights of knowledge, the trea- sures of commerce, the aids of civilization and the blessings of re- ligion, to the farthest earth. Under these improved circumstances, when knowledge is ad- vancing with such rapid strides, it is impossible for you not to see and to feel that unless you and your children follow in this march of improvement, they will be left at an infinite distance behind; and instead of being associated, as our fathers were, with a band of equals, they will be compelled for want of educa- tion to fall back into the lower ranks of life, and have the morti- fication of witnessing those who in many circumstances may have been their inferiors, now by their improvements in educa- tion, rising above them. It is in vain for us to expect that our children can maintain their position and prospects of usefulness in society without being entered into the ranks in the march of* human knowledge and progress. The world will go forward, without any regard to our indifference. Men have felt the plea- 9 sure which is derived from information and knowledge. They 8 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. have experienced its good effects, and one acquisition has brought another within their reach. “Knowledge,” says Johnson, “always desires increase; it is like fire which must first be kindled by some external agent, but will afterwards propagate itself.” We may feel assured that in this march of improvement men will not take a single step backwards. As soon might we expect that the travellers who have been accustomed to the comforts and rapidity of the rail road car, would prefer going back to the old- fashioned tardy-paced stage-coach — or the community be willing to relinquish the fine and cheap products of the steam facto- ry for the spinning wheel and the hand loom, as to believe that in the present day we could do well enough without schools or seminaries of learning, and that a simple cross, with “his mark” written above and beneath will confer any addittional respect- ability to the individual who is compelled to make it. It is almost impossible to conceive to what an extent the prin- ciples and conduct of every man, his successes or his mis- fortunes, the happiness or misery of his life, depend on his early education and training in knowledge, morals and religion. He is left by nature a weak and helpless creature; he is dependent on the care of others; he cannot provide for his own sustenance or safety. But how wonderful is the difference between what he is at his birth and what he may become at his maturity. God has given him the privilege of enlarging and forming his various powers by his own diligence and skill, so that with a consider- able force of truth, it may be said, he enjoys the proud pre-emi- nence of being his own maker. We do not desire to be understood as supporting the doctrine that every thing in the intellectual and moral system is the re- sult of education. It is admitted that the rudiments of disposi- tion and capacity are very different as beheld even in children. In some, the sensitive powers are quick and lively, whilst in others they are dull and sluggish. The external structure of the organs of the body and the mind differ widely in different indi- viduals, and it is therefore reasonable to suppose that the inter- nal structure and the more concealed corporeal system on which the offices of the mind depend, must also be essentially different. Although it is admitted that education cannot elevate all men to the same high standard, it can improve the minds of all and greatly increase their capacities for usefulness and enjoy- ment. ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 9 Having presented these views of education in general, let us proceed to the subject which is more immediately connected with the object of our present assemblage. We met together to-day, to lay the corner stone of the first college ever erected in the district of Newberry. Its inhabitants have set an example to the neighboring districts, of their devotion to the cause of edu- cation and of their determination to open the halls of learning and science to their children and their posterity. A college is an institution endowed with certain revenues, with competent professors, where the several parts of learning are taught in halls and classes arranged for that purpose. A university is an assemblage of several of these colleges. — Thus, in the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge there are in each upwards of twenty colleges. In the univer- sities the different professions, such as theology, law, and medicine are taught. The individuals who attend, 1 are men who had previously received a collegiate education. They simply attend the courses of lectures and are not subject to the restraints, the daily tuition, examination and discipline of the college. In America, universities of this character are less needed, in- asmuch as the various religious denominations have theological seminaries supported by themselves, and our schools of law and medicine are found to prosper most, where they are unconnected with the classical, the mathematical and literary studies of the common college. What is most needed in our country are colleges conducted on the plan of the German gymnasiums, where youths are thoroughly grounded in those studies pertaining to our colleges — where their lessons are daily recited to competent professors — where they are stimulated to industry by the honors that await\ the most distinguished, where their moral and religious duties are faithfully instilled into their minds, and where a course of#, rigid discipline is observed, by which they will be preserved frornV the contagious examples of vice, imbibe the principles of integ- rity and honor, be qualified to fill important stations in life and become the ornaments of Society, the pride of their families and a blessing to their country. Such an institution we have resolved, under the favor of heaven, to rear up in your midst. We have met this day to re- mind each other of the arduous work we have undertaken to ac- 2 10 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. complish — to solicit in behalf of our labors and immense expen- ditures the countenance and support of patriotic and good men, and to invoke the blessings of Almighty G-od. We will endeavor, to point out briefly 1st, the nature of the studies to be be pursued in the college. 2nd, Explain the prin- ciples on which the institution is to be conducted, and, 3rd, The benefits it is calculated to confer. 1. The studies to be pursued are those usually taught in all of our colleges. Your sons will be instructed in the classics, the mathematics, philosophy, history — in a word enjoy all the ad- vantages of other college in the United States. Fortunatly there appears no difficulty in obtaining suitable men as Professors. Men of sound learning, of unimpeachable charac- ters and attached to the peculiar institutions of our Southern country. Without this latter essential qualification they could not under any circumstances be received or countenanced among us. We yesterday elected as President of this college, a gentleman of education, of high principles of honor and integrity, polished in manners, eloquent and pious, and a southern man by birth and education.* We regard the selection as most fortunate for the best interests of the institution. We feel confident that we will be able to establish such a dis- cipline in the college under the direction of intelligent, firm, and able men, that our young men will know that they have entered into our institution for the purposes of study, and not to be in- dulged in idleness, riot and dissipation, and in those rebellions which have so frequently thrown our colleges into chaos. It is intended when their course of studies shall have been completed that they shall receive their diplomas and graduate with all the honors of the college. Owing to the deficiencies in the grammar schools in this and the surrounding districts, it will be necessary to attach a preparatory grammar school or academy to the col- lege, which, although attended with considerable labor and an additional expense will be of great advantage to those who are preparing to enter the college, and will be of especial benefit to the inhabitants of this town, who will be able to have their children educated without the necessity of removing them from the coutrol and discipline of their families. 2. In this part of our address it may be necessary to explain Rev. F. R. Anspack, of Virginia. ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 11 how far this is intended to be a denominational college. To denominational colleges — in the usual meaning of the term — that is literary institutions conducted on the sole principle of teaching a peculiar set of religious dogmas — we have ever been opposed. Our idea is, that whilst students, intended for the ministry should be thoroughly grounded in the doctrines of their peculiar faith in their own theological seminaries, and that our people should be instructed in our churches and Sunday schools in those articles of faith which are the characteristics of the several bodies of Christians, our halls of learning and science should be open to all. Our young men of every religious pro- fession are destined to mingle together in all the walks of public and private life, and they will be prepared to live and labor in greater harmony if they have associated together in the same schools and colleges. It is even a matter of regret that in our religious views, in our doctrines and forms of worship we could not all harmonize. It is true, the church of which he who addresses you is a humble representative, is firmly and devotedly attached to the sentiments of the reformation, and venerates the name of Luther as the father of protestantism and the successful advocate of the freedom of religious thought and the holy scriptures as our guide in doctrine and in duty; yet that church inculcates an ex- tensive charity and liberality in all its opinions and feelings. — Its pulpits and its communions are open to all Christians. It has never been a proselyting church. Satisfied that our brethren of other denominations have adopted from our creed all the doctrines that are essential to salvation; we welcome them as of the same Christian fold, and devoutly pray that we may all “ endea- vor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” Whilst however this is not designed to become a sectarian col- lege, it must not for a moment be supposed, that in this institu- tion the great truths of our common Christianity will not be pro- minently acknowledged and faithfully inculcated. Sentiments of piety should be impressed on the minds of the young and should form a part of all our instructions. Religion forms the relation between man and his God, not only as the Creator and creature, as governor and subject, but as the support of the relation be- tween man and man, as the foundation and principle of social and moral duties. . Religion is equally the basis of private virtue and public faith; of the happiness of the individual and the pros- 12 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. perity of the nation. Thus far we intend to go, and we feel as- sured that every Christian parent, to whatever denomination he may be attached will second us in these resolutions. Whilst however the members of the Lutheran church are de- sirous of throwing 1 open these halls of learning for the benefit of all, we expect to derive no small advantage from the institution. Our theological students who are to succeed their elder brethren in the ministry will, with few exceptions be educated here before they enter the theological seminary. Few of them have the means of meeting the increased expenditures of an education at our State college, and they would naturally prefer being associated with professors who they felt assured would take an interest in their improvement. Parents of our own faith whose children may be destined for other professions than those of the ministry will feel greater security in sending their sons here, than to more distant colleges in whose discipline they have less confi- dence. But beyond the advantages we expect to derive from the education of our theological students, we have no interest but that which all other denominations will enjoy in common with us. It is true, we have stipulated for a majority in the Board of Trustees, but it will be borne in mind that some of your most influential and intelligent men, who are not identified with our church, are also trustees and co-laborers with us, and their very names will be the guaranties that the affairs of the college will be conducted on liberal principles. We have volun- tarily assumed a great proportion of the labor; we must make provision to meet the heavy expenditures, and we take a large share of the responsibility in conducting the affairs of the col- lege. Thus it will be perceived that all denominations enjoy equal advantages with us as far as the education of their sons is concerned. In a word, we voluntarily assume the labor and the responsibility, and they will enjoy equal privileges with us with- out either labor or responsibility. It is difficult to conceive in what other mode a college under our peculiar circumstances could be sustained with any prospect of success. The State supports its own institution very liberal- ly but will not render aid to any other. Our college has not as yet been endowed with gifts or legacies and we have no funded capital. If we wfere to depend upon having the college endowed by all denominations and have an equal number of trustees among the various societies of Christians it would soon be discovered ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 13 that no denomination in particular would take an interest in the institution. It would be difficult to convene a Board of Trus- tees; sectarian feelings would be generated, and the best in- terests of the institution would be jeopardized. This subject has for many years engaged our earnest and prayerful attention. — We could not conscientiously support an institution but on the broadest principles of Christian liberality. It is on these prin- ciples that we intend this college to be conducted. We have called it Newberry College. The name of this grown g and flourishing town and this fertile district will be a rallying point to the lovers of learning and science, not only in this district, but in those by which you are surrounded. Inhabitants of Newberry, it is your college — named after your town and district. Cherish her as the young daughter of your love and training. Be proud of her for the fair promises she holds' oi^t to you in the years of her maturity when she will become the mother of many sons, whose voices will be heard at the forum, the bar, in the Senate and from the sacred desk; and who when duty shall require it, will become the defenders of the time-honored institutions of our Southern land. Thus, “she shall give to thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.” Throw over her the mantle of your protection, and bestow on her the fond and benevolent smiles of a parent; then, when in other years, men effeminated by luxury and grown giddy by the pride of life, shall display their ornaments — their gay equipages and their trappings of silver and gold, she, the alma mater, like Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, will point with proud exultation to her sons, and proclaim, “These — these are my jewels.” 3. Let us now proceed to point out some of the advantages which we may reasonably hope will be derived from the institu- tion whose foundation is this day laid. So full of interest is the subject that it is difficult to decide where we ought to begin, and equally difficult to be restrained at the point where we ought to conclude. It must be left to men of more experience in pecuniary affairs, to point out to you the advantages which this town will derive from an increase in the value of property, in consequence of the vicinity of the college. A college always creates a town and then a city, wherever it may be located. Families of wealth, education and influence will take up their residences there, to 14 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. enjoy the advantages of education, and the benefits of society. By this means cities have sprung up, where before, nothing but a solitary farm house existed. This is the result of our expe- rience in regard to every college both in Europe and America; we are warranted, therefore, in believing that the same results will attend our present efforts. But, whilst these temporalities are not to be disregarded we, should look for far higher and infinitely more beneficial results which will flow from our present efforts. Our schools of learn - ing and our halls of science are intended to build up the inner man and entitle him to the honor bestowed on him by his Maker, who has described his high mission and exalted destination in these emphatic words: “ Thou hast made him a little lower than the Angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hand; thou hast put all things under his feet.” One of the most important advantages which a well conduc- ted college confers on a community is, not the simple rearing up of a class of intelligent men who will graduate at the institu- tion, but the effects which in the silent progress of time will be produced, as the result of the education of the few for the ulti- mate benefit of the whole. What is most needed in our southern country is an intelligible and practicable system of popular instruction — and that the business of teaching should be better understood, more highly appreciated, and more liberally remu- nerated. The education of the people is the hope of our very existence. Such institutions as ours can have no permanent standing but on the basis of knowledge and virtue. Our nation js passing through a great trial. Let luxury and excess be per- mitted to grow in oui^ cities; let vice stalk abroad fearlessly in our villages; let our hardy yeomanry become indolent and ineffi- cient; let our noble youth lose the principles of virtuous educa- tion, and indulge in extravagance and revelry, then farewell to our country’s hope. Though the semblance may remain for a while, the spirit will have fled forever. Another of the great benefits expected to be derived from this institution, is that it will supply suitable teachers for our com- mon schools, and thus elevate the standard of education among our people. A body of intelligent, laborious, virtuous and pious professors will exert a most salutary influence on the students and the community around them. The students will carry home ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 15 with them to their families and various neighborhoods, the seeds of Knowledge — the love of study and the ambition to excel. Parents will be convinced that their money and efforts in behalf of the education of their sons, have been doubly remunerated. These young men will enter on their various professions — many of them will become teachers in our common schools. They will from their knowledge and experience be admirably qualified for the work before them. A desire and a taste for knowledge will be widely diffused among the masses. A well educated yeomanry is a blessing to any community. At present, at your^ various agricultural meetings, who are they that address the assembled crowds? They are either lawyers, clergymen or politicians, and we need not be surprised if men without expe- rience should advance wild and speculative theories. Why does not the farmer address these meetings? He has moie experience and knowledge on these subjects than the combined wisdom of all the professional men on the ground. He is now silent be- cause he has not been educated. When, however, he shall have received the benefits of an education, he will hold up his head among his equals, and will save others the trouble of making speeches for him, either on agricultural or political subjects. Where men are well educated, their wives, sisters and daugh- ters will not consent to remain far in the rear. Woman is the companion and the equal of man, and it will soon be perceived, that although she is not destined to occupy the posts designed for the more rugged sex, yet that in all that is valuable in edu- cation — fin all that can inform the mind, regulate the affections and adorn her character, as a Christian woman, she is fully capable of qualifying herself for her high destination. Thus the college exerts its silent but progressive influence. Like the light of the morning, its rays penetrate everywhere. In time it changes the aspect of society, and if its teachings of knowledge impress on the hearts of men that higher knowledge of duty, that leads to salvation, then has she fulfilled her mission in rendering man wiser, better and happier, qualified for useful- ness on earth, and fitted for the society of angels in heaven. If we are told that many valuable men rose to eminence and usefulness without a collegiate education — that Washington was a wise statesman, a heroic leader of armies, and the best of men — that Franklin pierced the clouds and rendered the lightning submissive to his call — that Rittenhouse carried the knowledge 16 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. of astronomy beyond that of his age — and that our records con- tain the biographies of thousands of other great and good men, who are entitled to the gratitude of posterity for their discove- ries, or their invaluable services to mankind — and yet, that none of these entered within the walls of a college. The answer is at hand; these great and good men were not even the exceptions to the general rule, that education is necessary to success in every department of life. True, they did not receive collegiate educations, but they educated themselves. The work was more laborious, but they accomplished it. They acquired knowledge by the slow process of study — of thought and self-discipline- The college did not make them, but knowledge — that knowledge which is taught at the college, many branches of which they pursued with the intensity of thought — of reading and study, made them great men. Thus, although in one sense they were self made men, yet they drank from the same fountain that gave pre-eminence to other men, and they are entitled to the addi- tional credit of having accomplished great ends by surmounting the difficulties that, in their cases, obstructed the paths of knowledge. In speaking of the advantages of education, it is fully ad- mitted that there are dissolute and bad men among the educated, since all men have inherent propensities to evil, and that in these cases their adroitness and skill in the commission of crime render them the more dangerous to society. But it cannot be denied that crime is more common among the uneducated classes. From the statistics of criminals in the penitentiaries in the United States, it has been ascertained that five sixths at least, are unable to read or write. It should be farther remarked that the man of education and polished manners, seldom indulges in brutal violence or unpardonable asperity of language; on the other hand the ignorant savage has immediate recourse to the firebrand or the knife. Reading and intellectual pursuits supply those resources to the mind which will render it independent ol meaner excite’ ments. The man who flies to the intoxicating bowl, is led to this degrading habit, generally because he has no resources in his own mind; — he is unaccustomed to find pleasure in books — his evenings are dull to him, — he goes abroad for relief, and gener- ally finds that relief, which is his ruin. Let such a man be educated to the love of knowledge — let him have some acquain- v ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. n tance with the laws of nature — let him have access to books, and leisure to him will not be a burden, nor will his home become irksome. He will find new resources and a new impulse to life, and he will be raised above sense and matter to intellect and virtue. By reading and study, the vast storehouse of nature, the mysteries of art and the histories of the past and present gene- rations of the world are all brought home familiarly to his mind. Within the last few years a visionary sect, calling themselves spiritualists, have greatly startled weak minds, by a pretended power to recall to the earth the spirits of departed worthies — of holding converse with them and extracting a variety of opinions from this intercourse. From these conversations it would appear that the intellects of these ancient sages have become considerably blunted* since their long absence from this earth. The student, however, need not resort to these necro- mances, or to any system of jugglery and fraud to be indulged in the priviledge of holding intercourse with the wise and the talented of past ages. We cannot enter a well-selected library without feeling an inward sensation of reverence, and without being excited to emulation by the mass of mind scattered around us, We p,re suddenly introduced into a high and lofty society which we cannot find among living men. We associate with the men of the past, and find the human mind displayed in its highest flights in all its walks through science and the cycle of its thou- sand intelligences. We are permitted to ransack all the stores of learning and knowledge, and revel in the mysteries of thought. Thus we become associated with men whose works have out- lived monuments and pyramids, and still survive in unspent and undiminished youth. Why, in man’s folly, would he call back the fossil remains of departed greatness, when we have in their works before us, their minds in their fullest development, and when they, in their best attire and kindest manner, will come to us at our bidding. The pleasure of intercourse with minds of the highest stamp — in their works — especially when they are presented wearing the garb of hoary antiquity, can scarcely be surpassed. Have we a taste for classical learning — do we delight in going back to the days of ancient Greece and desire to know the thoughts and habits of men, before the Christian era ? We have access to the thoughts, clothed in their own words, of Homer, 18 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. Plato, Demosthenes, Xenophon, Plutarch, Sophocles, Pindar, Aristophanes, and a host of others; or do we wish to be intro- duced into the families of the Romans, their Latin cotempo- raries of the same ages, we may turn to Cicero, Livy, Csesar, Horace, Virgil, Juvenal, Ovid, Tacitus, and others whose works have immortalized their names. Do we delight in philosophical studies? We may summon Bacon from his closet, and he will give us the conceptions of his mighty mind; with him are ready to come Locke and Reid and Stewart, Condillac, Berkeley, Hartley, or Paley. Are our minds thirsting for the knowledge that is derived from the higher mathematical studies? We may at any time call upon Plato, Aristotle, Copernicus, Leibnitz, Newton, Kepler, or Herschel. In history and the arts we have vast libraries at our command. Are we devoted to the natural sciences ? Buffon, Linnaeus, Cuvier, and an army of naturalists, will wake up at our invitation and tell us the history of the earth we tread on — of the birds of the air — the beast of the field — the fishes of the sea, and every creeping thing; they will also discourse to us of the trees and plants, “from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall.” The poets that sung in every age are here also to commence their songs anew, and Shakespeare and Milton, Pope, and Dryden, Klopstock, Schiller and Goethe, Tasso, Racine and Corneille invite us to leave the busy haunts of living men for a season and partake of the rich festival, which these departed worthies have prepared for all the world. But we are compelled to break away from the indulgence of these fascinating reminiscenses; not however without recalling Milton’s lamentation of the mother of the human family when driven from Paradise, or the lingering desires of the wife of Lot, when she looked back upon Sodom. We are reminded that there is danger of relinquishing the duties of life in the luxurious leisure of study. The men of letters must resoluiely counteract their propensities to indolence and too great a love for retire- ment. The fact must not be overlooked, that languages and litera- ture are far from being the only studies of the college. The greater proportion of those studies are of a nature adapted to the practical duties of life, and there is no department either in agriculture, in architecture, in mining, in the manufactures, in surveying, in the construction of rail roads and canals, in ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 19 composition, in keeping 1 accounts, and in all that ministers to to wealth and comfort that is not aided by those instructions de- rived from a collegiate course. Men of reflection and foresight can scarcely doubt, that in the course of the next half century the value of property in this and the surrounding districts will be increased four-fold in consequence of improved modes of agri- culture, manufactures, mechanics, etc. In fact you have all the resources within vonrselves, so that if driven to the necessity you could render yourselves independent of the world, not even excepting the production of tea and sugar. All this can be ac- complished in no other way than by a general diffusion of know- knowledge and its judicious application in those industrial pur- suits that contribute to man's wealth and comforts. How far a well conducted college will aid you in arriving at these desirable results, you are now preparing to ascertain, and the problem will be solved by the success or failure of your institution. But why wait on the tardy footsteps of time? The problem has been already solved. Look at Scotland, with its barren soil and ungenial climate, once trodden down and plundered by robber chieftains. The seeds of knowledge were sown broad- cast among the people, and gradually the nation became regene- rated, and they have carried their knowledge, industry and enterprise to every land. Look at Switzerland, romantic from its towering Alpine mountains, and its deep, but fertile and blooming vallies — rearing its mighty glaciers above the clouds of heaven — the land of Tell and of freedom, — shut out from the commerce of the world, and without the command of a navigable river leading to the ocean. What must such a people do to preserve their independence? A solitary republic, surrounded by jealous, powerful and warlike monarchies. They discovered the secret of human power. In their cities, they reared gymnasiums and universities, and in every nook and corner of their vallies, and on the slopes of their mountains, the school house is seen, and the church not far distant. A sound and practical education enabled them to excel in the arts, and many of their manufac- tured articles have taken precedence of the world. It may here be added that the finer works of nearly every timepiece that we carry in our pockets, have originated from the workshops of that ingenious, free and independent nation. Such a people, whose knowledge has enabled them to find resources within themselves, are invincible. Their confederacy of free and independent states 20 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. has already lasted five and a half centuries. Italy, Austria, France and Bavaria successively strove for ages and centuries, to conquer them, — they invaded their land with fierce warriors, scaled their mountains, and carried fire and sword into the vil- lages of their peaceful vallies; but they were all compelled to retire in discomfiture and disgrace. Look at Protestant Germa- ny, with her unrivalled schools of learning. Select for instance Upper Saxony, — she has no river of commerce, and her natural soil is less productive than that of Austria, from which it is separated by no other land mark than a pillar of stone . Every child in the kingdom is taught to read and write and keep ac- counts. Her University at Dresden is an ornament, an honour and a blessing to the country. No traveller passing from Sax- ony into Bohemia, the neighbouring Territory of Austria, can fail to observe the vast difference, in all that constitutes an intelligent, prosperous and happy people, between an educated and an uneducated nation. In conclusion, you will yet indulge us in briefly relating an anecdote which we trust is not inappropriate to the occasion and the objects which have brought us together. Nineteen years ago, in one of our visits to the University of Berlin — the most eminent in the world — we were kindly con- ducted through the various halls of learning by the prime minister of the aged king, who has since deceased. In the course of a conversation in reference to the value of institutions of learning to a nation, he related the following very striking incidents. When Napoleon with his armies had overrun Prussia, and all Germany was lying prostrate at his feet, the king' summoned his political ministers to his side. He inquired, in the look and language of despair, what in this emergency could be done ? After a long pause, one of his counsellors said: “We have tried all that physical power could effect; we filled our ranks with strong, brave and well-disciplined men, but our armies have been conquered — even our tall grenadiers from Potsdam have been prostrated — and now the heel of the oppressor is on our necks. I would advise that, as a last resort, we try the effect of intel- lectual and moral power. Letj is edu cate the people of all ranks. Let us begin here at Berlin, and establish a university that will give a tone to every gymnasium and people’s school in the kingdom. Let us give to all our people that knowledge which ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 21 will enable them to build up the resources of their country, and that courage which will make them ready to defend it. Let religion, which teaches the love of country and the duty we owe to God and man, be inculcated in all our schools and seminaries of learning.” That very day the erection of a university was decided on. Every child in Prussia was compelled by a law of the kingdom to attend school. Education was widely diffused among the people, and the intellectual man, from the highest nobleman to the poorest peasant, became educated. All protest- ant Germany became animated by the same zeal in the cause of education. In Prussia, education was compulsory by the laws of the land; in the adjoining kingdoms it became, at least, the law of custom. In the silent progress of time, a new arm of power was be- stowed on the nation. Science and the arts gave a stimulus to agriculture. Manufactures of all descriptions were carried into successful operation, and all the sinews of war became strength- ened. By the general diffusion of knowledge, writings and speeches now eminated from the most intelligent of the common people; patriotic songs were composed and became national songs, a volume of which, entitled “The Lyre and the Sword,” was written by Koerner, who was originally a volunteer soldier in the army. He, like Burns, a ploughman, and like Hogg, the Ettrick sheppard, sprung from the lower ranks of society, and was a poet by nature. He sung of the wroners and oppressions of Germany, his native land — of patriotism sacrificing life for the good of our country. Through these in- strumentalities, the whole nation of Germany was roused up to a burning desire to free their country from foreign rule. An enthusiasm was awakened by these patriotic writings and dis- courses, and these touching and soul stirring melodies, scarcely equalled by the effect of the Marsailles hymn on the French, or the Ranz de vaches on the Swiss. Koerner fell on the field of battle, thus sealing his devotion to his fatherland with his blood. Let us now look at the sequel and mark the effect of education on the security and prosperity of a nation. Two thirds of a genera- tion had scarcely passed away when that very king with his army of heroes lived to become one of the conquerors at the battle of Waterloo, and to unite his victorious legions to those of the allies in their entrance into the streets of conquered Paris; and that now aged counsellor who had given the advice was before us. 22 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. Fellow citizens, and especially our Lutheran brethren: Your forefathers were long engaged in cultivating the physical and moral man. By the former they were enabled to fell the forest, and render their fields productive, and by the latter their charac- ters as men of integrity were established. Whilst you are en- joying the fruits of their labors and the light of their religious example, resolve that you will now bring to your aid, another and an additional power — that power which can create new re- sources and surmount all difficulties — a power that gives a lever to move the world — the •power of knowledge. Let that knowledge be regulated and controlled by the pure precepts of that gospel which deters from evil by a consciousness of accountability, and stimulates to goodness by the smiles of conscience and the ap- probation of God; then will you have fulfilled your mission as intelligent beings, and through the mercies of heaven may hope for the rewards of a blissful immortality,