'J' II E H E g 1? E R I A N 5 proportioned room was surrounded by books. The best editions of the best authors were there ami a generous collec tion of the classics." 'These,1' said l'leydcll, "are my tools of trade. A lawyer without n knowledge of history or litem ture is a mechanic, a mere working'tnason. If he possesses some knowledge of these he way venture to call himsell an architect. What are the Dooks that I would suggest to the lawyer and which will elevate him from a "mere working man" to an architect! The Hiblc comes first, as it has the purest and most sim ple English and furnishes an unlimited field of forcible illustra tion. The lawyers ho draws his nictitrcs Irom that vast storehouse can rivet the attention of the simplest mind, can stir the most stubborn juror, and entertain the gravest judge. Next to the Hiblc we must place Shakespeare, who wrote as no other man ever wrote in the English language, whose knowledge seems universal and power of expression bound less. How arc we to measure the value of Shakespeare? lie has lelt us a rich inheritance, greater than the possessions of old England. If the wealth of England should be destroyed, it could be replaced from the wealth of other nations, but if the writings of Shakespeare the children of genius were destroyed, how incomparably gi cater the loss, for there was and can lv but one Shakespeare. That loss to the world could never be estimated. Of the more ancient classics, Homer and Virgil stand pre-eminent, and should be made perfectly familiar to every advocate who would give his pub lic speech adornment and range of fancy necessary to place in high rank as an orator. Among the English orators and prose writers, Edmund Hurkt, in my judgment stands high est. His thought and depth and variety, his command of languoge marvelous, his learning was universal, his illustra- tions beautiful, and his manner polished. No man can read Hurke lor an hour without feeling his own mind has become expanded, and that he is ready to take a more comprehensive view of the world that surrounds him, than before, l'lie writings and speeches of Edmund Hurke should be the com panion of every lawyer. America has not his equal in gener al knowledge combined with classical culture, but she has produced one orator who was a greater statesman, possessed with more power when dealing with questions that concern the welfare ol great governments. The reading of his speeches expands and broadens the intellect, and fits the student for deep and careful meditation upon the perplexing problems of the law. I refer to Daniel Webster, whose name seems 1nsep arable from the grandeur that surrounds his memory. A lawyer, too, should have lighter literature to keep alive his inventive genius, to keep his imagination from becoming drllcd as age creeps over him. Scott, Hulwer, and Victor Hugo stand high in this department. No lawyer should think that he has ever readied the time of life when his hours of recreation cannot be made pleasant by the companionship of these novelists nor his mind brightened by their woi.dcrful pen pictures. I do not wish to be understood as fixing the limit of a law yer's reading. I have simply suggested the character of lit erature and range of thought necessary to develop the man into a profound thinker, a cultured speaker and fit him for the responsibilities of this most exacting profession. The lawyer of America to become great must be something more than a lawyer. lie should be a statesman. No lawyer can ever be called great in his profession unless he rises above the mere trial of lawsuits, which involve commonplace actions in court for the recovery of money," or contests over the title of real property. He only becomes great when he is able to grapple with questions within the jurisdiction of our American courts, which take cognizance of matters of national concern.' Erskiuc became great in the defense of the people against the the encroachment of the king, and when he secured the right of trial by jury. Marshall became great when lie. defined and carried out the expansive power of the federal constitution. Pinkney became great when he argued the case of "The Ncride," which evoked from Chief Justice Marshall the rec ognition of a master mind as an orator. Daniel Webster be came great as u lawyer when he wrested from the court the famous Dartmouth college decision. William Wert became great when he expounded before the power ol congress to rcg ulate navigation within the limits of states in the case of Gib bons vs. Ogdcn. I might go on with illustrations of William H. Seward, Charles O'Connor, James T. Hrady, Jeremiah S.. Black, and of others no less renowned. I might speak of some still living, such as David Dudley Field, William M. Evarti, Senator Edmunds, John K. Dillon and a host of others. The lawyers and judges who settled the questions ol inter state commerce, of a national currency as defined in the legal tender deicisions, of reconstruction amid the clamorings of rival states, or the election of a president of this republic, have held in their grasp the liberty of this people, have stood between peace and war, and preserved the rich inheritance of freedom. So liberal and so thorough is the training of the minds of great lawyers through the study of general jurisprudence that they arc fitted to take places in the front rank of American statesmen in the public service. One writer lias said, "the mind of the American lawyer bounds through bioad regions' in which it is permitted to expatiate as the winds daSh about the great American prairies." The highway of honor is open to American lawyers. They have shown their executive ability in the government ofstates. They have shown their legislative ability in.thc house ol rep resentatives and in the senate. They have shown their abil ity to uile nations by the large number who have filled the presidcntialchair.The man who first fashioned the sound finan cial poliey3f th's country was a lawyer, Alexander Hamilton. The secretaries ol slate who settled the most trying difficul ties between the United States and the nations of Europe were lawyers, Daniel Webster and William II. Seward. The' statesman who handled the portfolio of war during our late gigantic rebellion was a lawyer, Edmund M. Stanton. The man who held the destiny of this nation in his hands, and by (iod granted wisdom brought freedom to 4,000,000 slaves and saved the nation from the wreck and ruin of slashing armies, as the president of our United States, was a lawyer, Abraham Lincoln. And now a word to you as professois nftliio university. The state has given ou the power to' add to this already prosperous institution of learning, a college of law. In other departments of the university you arc giving to the young people a preliminary education, which fits them when they have gone out. from this school lor study thereafter in special callings,so that as to them you are not performing a complet ed work. In the department of law, however, you have taken a step in advance. In this you are undertaking to lit these men to enter at once upon the practice of one of the noblest and grandest professions. This work should be thorough and complete. I have said something of the labors and duties that these young men mast perform when they go forth to battle with the world, if they are to secure' honor for them selves and bring credit upon this university. They must climb high upon the steps of the ladder of learning, so as to be above the reach of meaner rivals. They must be fitted to dive deep into the science of the profession which they are to IJI.IHIIUHWfMWflHyilriMlnfc