so conspicuous in our early history, and which is still demanded by the exigencies of the times, than by the use of that heaven-appointed instrument for elevating and inspiring the human mind? But I am doing wrong to advocate the use of this volume. It seems to imply that there is a question here as to whether the Bible shall be retained in our schools. That question, I hope, will never be seriously raised. Should it be, I can almost imagine that we should have clearer evidence of the continued existence of the great founders of these New England States than is found in any of our spiritual manifestations. The shores of Narraganset and Massachusetts bays, and the valley of the Connecticut, from the mountains to the sea, would swarm with the returning spirits of ancient times. Should a contest of this nature arise on the soil of New England, it requires no ardent imagination to conceive that the Pilgrim train-bands would again be mustered, not now as in days of yore, to war against wild beasts and savage men, but in reality to fight the battles of the Lord; not clad in the coarse vestments of material armor, but with panoply divine, radiant with celestial glory, fresh from the fields of their heavenly paradise and ready to maintain again on this scene of their earthly triumph, the principles by which they have gained their immortal renown. I know it is a hackneyed theme. But so are all great themes. They are worn and discussed because they involve great deeds and great principles. The Bible, as connected with early American history, has produced great classic elements elements which have as yet but

very partially passed into the form of history, the inspiring lyric, and not at all into the form of the stately epic. But when these classic histories, lyrics, and epics shall appear, they will not record and celebrate the events of a fabulous voyage for a golden fleece, nor the exploits of " Gorgons, Hydras, and Chimæras dire." No, none of this. There will be elements of true grandeur and sublimity connected with the lives of those

"Who sat with Bibles open around the council board,

And answered a king's missive with a stern Thus saith the Lord;"

of men who performed exploits as romantic almost as those of Hercules and Theseus, and yet of men who acted from high Christian principles, and with reference to high Christian ends. What an heroic age are we permitted to look back upon! How distinct are its characters and how lofty its principles! And this is the gift of the Bible. Nay more, we sit here this afternoon to deliberate on great matters pertaining to mankind, because our fathers were men who read and believed the Bible. We sit here as teachers, I hope, in some sense in obedience to the mandate which was delivered with no external pomp or display from Mount Olivet, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

But to conclude. I have endeavored to present the claims of Classical Studies upon our attention as practical, as disciplinary, and as moral, elevating and ennobling pursuits. Let me ask of you,

gentlemen, an attentive consideration of these claims. Let us consider whether the culture involved in these studies has not a claim for a larger portion of time in our schools than is at present allowed to it. As practical educators, we have something more to do than to make merchants, mechanics, and engineers. We have something more to do than to fit men to act upon the material world about them to build railroads and steamships and telegraphs. All these are important as affecting man's outward condition. But they are not the end He must be taught to act upon his fellow-man, he must be united to his race by higher agencies and stronger sympathies than steam or electricity can control. In the triumphs over the material world, which we are permitted to witness, let us not forget that these are but the accidents of our being. Let us seek for more enduring monuments than can be found on the banks of the Nile or of the Euphrates.

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In training the minds of our scholars, while we give due attention to what is termed elementary drilling and discipline, let us not forget to cultivate the more expansive and aspiring faculties of our natures. Let us teach our scholars to feel and to enjoy the varied beauties of this fair creation - to see in it something more than the means of sensual gratification. Let us seek to give them that control of all their faculties which will make poverty wealth, and wealth only, the means of more extended usefulness.

And in moral training, let us remember that our work is but partially done when we have laid down

the formal precepts of moral conduct. These may be quite carefully observed, and yet produce only negative results; and negative results will not meet the demands of our times. Let us seek to inspire our scholars with those high moral feelings which light up the strongest characters of our race. Keep these great characters constantly before their minds as they are drawn by the historian, the orator, and the poet. Believe me, it is not in human nature wholly to resist this influence. We may labor in this way, and throw ourselves back upon the everlasting laws of God for succor and support. We may adopt here the language of a great school master as well as poet:

"against the threats

Of malice or of sorcery, or that power

Which erring men call Chance, this I hold firm,
Virtue may be assailed, but never hurt;
Surprised by unjust force, but not enthralled.
Yea, even that which mischief meant most harm
Shall, in the happy trial, prove most glory;
But evil on itself shall back recoil,

And mix no more with goodness, when at last
Gathered like scum, and settled to itself,
It shall be in eternal restless change,
Self-fed and self-consumed; if this fail,
The pillared firmament is rotteness,
And earth's base built on stubble."

Such are the conditions of our moral being under which it is our privilege to live and to labor.

One great experiment in civilization has been tried upon this continent. Its results are dimly, and yet most impressively recorded along the banks

of our western rivers, and upon the plains of Mexico and Central America. But what lesson do these impressive memorials from the "deep and grim repose" of centuries which have not yet been numbered, convey to us? In what respect are we the wiser or the happier for all the genius and talent which directed the world of life which once thronged in the valley of the Mississippi. A second experiment has already commenced. The tide of empire, in its westward progress, has flooded both the Atlantic and the Pacific shores; has ascended to the very sources of our rivers; is whitening the wide expanse of our inland seas with the sails of an active commerce, and is penetrating from either slope, the gorges of the Rocky Mountains. What shall be the character of this new civilization which must mark this continent? From the mighty mingling of races and creeds, of nations and tribes, of sects and forms, which we now behold upon a scale of unparallelled extent and grandeur, what are to be the permanent results? These are questions which concern us. It is only simple justice to our profession to say, that we shall contribute something more than our individual share in forming the character of the coming age. We shall do something in our professional capacity towards settling the question, whether the energies of this great nation, shall be expended upon a merely practical materialism, in simply ministering to man's physical wants, whether, along with these great conquests over the material world, there shall also appear triumphs in the wider realms of imagination and thought of

or