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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1879)
148 T1IK UICOINNING. VOL. Vllt, nil things, both physical uml menial, she outsteps her legitimate boundaries; drives design from the universe, and brings her. sell' into disrepute. There are two dis Until spheres of cognition one of matter and mm ion the oilier of consciousness and thought. The first is the ground work of physical science, the other is quite beyond her domain. Man adapts means It) ends. Ho builds a machine so as to accomplish a given purpose. It must be so adjusted that there shall be a harmonius working of all parts. God builds a universe much in the same way, as is shown in Ihe perfect adjustment of the human structure, and evinced by the "Mason Spider" which ex cavities a subterranean palace, lines it with silken tapestry, and closes its liabila. tion with a door which swings upon a hinge. When we thus look through na lure up to nature's Deity, we discover that analogy between the human and divine intelligence which shadows forth the "Image ol God." From the preceding inquiry we conclude that mind is not the product of matter, and that man is a free moral agent. "We are then responsible beings. It behooves each individual to pause and reflect. The world stands waiting for his service- and with justice requires it at his hands. J. O. S. TUB JiEQINNIXG. T last the idols so long worshipped 'klkt in the English universities have fallen. Their temples are occupied by other divinities, and incense of a differ ent natuie ascends their alters Zeus and Jupiter no longer hold imperial sway. Their power is divided; and instead of the almost exclusive Greek and Latin altars of a few years ago, Iherc may lie found fanes dedicated to various Natural Sciei -ces with priests to attend their fires. They who declare that the pursuit of classical studies is less.oagcr than former, ly speak truly, as also do llioy who say, that this circumstance is beneficial to the cause of higher education. England, un til a few years ago, required so high a de gree ol classical scholarship for gradua tion in her universitiis, that many whose taslo would not permit them to spend so much time on ancient languages failed to attend. The rapid growth of modern language, furnishing a medium for the cultivation of those faculties so little tie. veloped by the study of the sciences, and the great improvement in our own lan guage lessening the need til an acquaint mice with the Latin and Greek, have led to the establishment of different courses of study from which the classics are wholly or partly omitted. In the regu lar classical courso the sciences and mod ern languages have found a place, thus increasing the number of studies and af fording a broader basis of education. The same levolution lias taken place in the older colleges of this country, only the change has not been so great because the evil was less. Because the continental universities were more liberal, they have experienced very little change. Thus during the last century the clas sics have lost the name of education itself, and have come lo be regarded merely as a factor of education. Nearly all Ameri can univeisilies have been established since the levolution began, this fact in addition to the independent spiiit of our people lias given to us many different means of culture, both with and without the aid of Latin and Greek. Although thus libei ally provided for, many students indulge themselves quite frequently in abuse against the dead linguages. They reason from (wo points; the first lias some claim tt originality, that our country is practical and a knowledge of these Ian guages is useless. The second Is without criginality, being a repetition of the argu ments used by scholars to ell'ect the re for. niation previously mentioned. I shall not claim for the classics a very high degiee of utility, as the word is com nionly defined, nor do I doubt the practi-
