Address delivered before the literary societies of Erskine College, Abbeville district, S. C. : on the fifth anniversary, September 18, 1844

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WITH THE RESPECTS OF MRS. B. F. PERRY.

ADDRESS

DELIVERED BEFORE THE

LITERARY SOCIETIES

OF

!pskii?e ©ollege,

ABBEVILLE DISTRICT, S. C,
ON THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY,

SEPTEMBER 18, 1844.

By B. F\ PERRY.

Delivered forty-three years ago, and re-published by his wife, that his words
of wisdom may still benefit the rising generation.

GREENVILLE, S. C.
1887.

THIRD EDITION

Philomathean Hall, Sept. 18, 1844.
Major B. F. Perry :

Sir: — We, the undersigned, having the honor of
representing the Philomathean Society, after having
heard your very eloquent and elaborate address on this
day, do tender you our individual thanks for honoring
us as you have done, and request a copy of same for
publication, desiring that the noble and profound senti-
ments contained therein may be disseminated throughout
our country.

Yours respectfully,

A. F. QUAY, )

W. A. STOKES, V Committee.

J. F. DONALD, J

Lindsay's Hotel, Sept. 18, 1844.

Gentlemen : — A copy of the address which I had the
honor of making before you to-day is herewith sent you.
It is at your disposal.

Permit me again to express to you the high gratifica-
tion which your performances to-day have given me.
They would have been creditable to any college in the
Southern States. And I can but express my regret,
that the modesty and diffidence of your learned presi-
dent and professors have prevented their institution
being so well known abroad as it ought to be. Eut
their merits, and the merits of Erskine College, are
destined to be known and appreciated by the whole
country.

With great respect, gentlemen, I am yours, etc.

, B. F. PERRY.

Messrs. Quay, Stokes and Donald, Committee.

ADDRESS.

An illustrious poet has said, more in the spirit of
philosophy than of song, that "the proper study of
mankind is man." The wisdom of this remark can but
strike the mind of every one. It is not only the proper
study of man to know his own faults and imperfections,
to find out his own intellectual powers and ability, so
that he may govern his passions and evil propensities,
and cultivate judiciously those gifts of mind and body
which God has bestowed upon him, but it is proper that
he should study the lives and characters of his fellow-
men, see their faults, and learn to imitate their virtues.

Nothing can conduce more to the improvement of the
young mind than the reading and contemplation of the
lives of great men — men who have borne an illustrious
part in the affairs of this world. It is by knowing and
studying their virtues, their noble deeds and heroic
daring, that we are inspired with emulation and encour-
aged to imitate their noble examples. In the history of
such men we are taught by example to turn from vice,
and to admire and love virtue. We see how great and
happy they have become, how much they have been
honored, and what noble rewards they met for their
well-doing in this life. And although in many instances
their cotemporaries may have been ungrateful, yet suc-
ceeding generations have never failed to do them justice.

It is said that men are known and to be judged by
the company they keep. That there is something in
human nature which has a tendency to adapt itself to
the circumstances which surround us must be obvious to

4 Erskine College Address.

every one. And it is perhaps fortunate that we are so
constituted — otherwise our unhappiness and discontent
would be greatly augmented in this life. Is it not some-
thing, then, to be in company with the wise and great
who have gone before us ? In the study of biography
we are in such company. We are made familiar with
their lives, actions and thoughts, and they leave their
impress upon our own characters and feelings.

No man ever read the autobiography of Franklin,
and studied his character, without -feeling himself a
wiser and better man. The young, entering upon the
trying and busy scenes of this world, feel themselves
stimulated and encouraged by the trials and difficulties
which beset the early path of that sage benefactor of
mankind. In the character of Franklin there was a
rare combination of wisdom, simplicity and greatness,
without one feeling of envy or unkindness towards his
fellow-men. His sole object in this life seems to have
been to do good to others, and to prepare himself for
doing the greatest good. There is no one whose life is
more worthy of being read, or whose character can be
studied to greater advantage.

He rose from the humblest walks of life, without
education, and without the aid or assistance of any one,
to be, in the language of the Earl of Chatham, " an
ornament to human nature, and the admiration of all
Europe." The secret of his rise and greatness was his
industry and integrity of purpose. They naturally and
necessarily lead to the cultivation of those other virtues
which so beautifully adorn his character. And there is
scarcely one in which he did not excel. He knew well
that no one could be great or useful without industry,
no matter what may be his talent or genius.

Let me here remark that this principle cannot be too
strongly impressed upon the minds of young men. In
every pursuit of life, industry and application are every-
thing. The human mind is so constituted that we
cannot be altogether inactive. Employment of some

Erskine College Address. 5

kind we must have. If not usefully and wisely
employed, we shall certainly be engaged unwisely or
viciously. Hence the absolute necessity of selecting-
some useful pursuit in life, and early learning habits of
industry and study.

The industry of Franklin was as remarkable as his
success in life was wonderful. Whilst an apprentice
boy he lived on bread and water, in order to have time
to read while his companions were gone to their meals.
He was equally industrious in after life, wherever we
see him, whether as an editor of a newspaper, the col-
onel of a regiment, a member of congress, the embas-
sador at foreign courts, or the sage and philosopher
amidst the learned societies of Europe. He was a man
of great observation as well as industry, and no
opportunity escaped him, either at home or abroad in
noticing and treasuring up the remembrance of every-
thing which came before him. In this way he made
many of his most important discoveries in natural phil-
osophy. He tells us that he reaped the truth of a
proverb which he was early taught by his father:
" Seest thou a man diligent in his calling, he will stand
before kings and princes.'' He had the honor not only
of standing before many kings and princes, but even
that of sitting down at the same table and" dining with
some of them.

Franklin's benevolence and justice were equal to his
industry and economy. No one had the good of man-
kind more at heart than he had ; no one ever labored
more assiduously to improve the condition of his fellow-
men. He practised what few seem to know, that the
most acceptable service we can render our God is that of
doing good to one another. He refused to take out
patents for his important discoveries in the useful arts
because they were discoveries which would lead to the
comfort and benefit of mankind, and to the free enjoy-
ment of them he would lay no restrictions. So high
was his sense of justice that he gave to charitable and

6 Erskine College Address.

public purposes all that he had saved from his salary
whilst in the employment of his country.

Franklin united in his character the simplicity of a
child with the wisdom of the sage. His boldest and
most brilliant experiments in natural philosophy were
conducted with a simplicity truly amazing. A silk cord,
a key, and a piece of brown paper, were the only appa-
ratus used by him in drawing down the lightnings from
heaven.

The character of Washington is a noble and proud
model for the study of the patriot and hero. History
can give us no other example at once so perfect and so
illustrious. He was an utter stranger to that feeling
which has darkened the character of so many who have
rendered great services to their country. He possessed
a proud purity of purpose and magnanimity of spirit
which never permitted him to entertain one selfish feel-
ing— all that he did was for the good of his country,
wholly and solely. He lost sight of himself altogether
whilst in the service of his country. His greatness
sprang from and rested on a pure heart and unerring
judgment. He made no pretensions to the brilliancy of
genius or the wisdom of learning. His only ambition
was to be useful to his country. He cared not for power,
and looked with indifference on mere honors. He ac-
cepted office only to render service to his country.

In the character of this great man there is one feature
which we cannot study too much. Like Franklin, his
aim through life was to master himself and have the
control of his own feelings and passions. He was by
nature a man of violent temper, strong feelings and
passions. They would have often led him astray but
for his command of himself. And his self-control was
as perfect as his ambition was spotless.

How few are there in this world who mrke it their
study to control and master their own passions and bad
feelings ! And yet how important is this study in the
life of every one. How much of evil, how much of dan-

Erskine College Address. 7

ger, and how much of misery and ruin should we avoid,
if we were to do so. Franklin's self-scrutiny carried
him so far as to make him keep a diary of his faults
and errors. He not only rose in the morning with a
determination to do well, and restrain all of his evil
passions and propensities, but at night he inquired of
himself whether he had done so, and wrote down every
omission.

In the lives and characters of most great men, we shall
find that their greatness is too often sullied by some
weakness or glaring faults of character. Few men are
perfect. But we may profit as much by the faults of
great men as by their virtues. Like dark spots on a
bright picture, we see them the more readily, and more
deeply regret them on account of the brightness of the
picture.

Such must be the feelings of every one in contemplat-
ing the character of Lord Bacon, who has been justly
styled "the wisest, greatest, basest of mankind." He was
endowed by nature with a mighty intellect, a genius
which seemed to encompass the whole circle of human
science. He had amassed treasures of learning which
no one man ever before possessed. And yet, with all
his genius and learning, he possessed weaknesses and
faults which would have sullied the character of the
humblest man who lived in his day and time. One
would naturally suppose, too, that such a man, possess-
ing a mind imbued with so much wisdom and philoso-
phy, would soar above the ordinary vices and frailties
of our nature. But not so. Lord Bacon has been
charged with base ingratitude to his friend and patron,
the Earl of Essex. He not only forgot all the magnifi-
cent presents which the noble earl had ever made him,
and all the generous acts of kindness which he had
received at his hands when poor and humble, but he
sought the blood and life of his patron with all the
insolence and vengeance of a malignant and unprinci-
pled persecutor. He has likewise been charged with

8 Erskine College Address.

bribery and corruption whilst discharging the high
duties of Lord Chancellor of England.

That these charges are true, to the extent to which
they have been made, may admit of some doubt. For
his conduct towards the Earl of Essex there are some
excuses offered by his biographer. But no excuse can
palliate the crime of ingratitude so wanton and so foul.
That he received money from suitors whilst Lord Chan-
cellor is very certain ; but it was then the custom and
habit of that court. And although Lord Bacon never
refused money which .was offered him as a bribe, he
nevertheless decided all of his cases according to law
and equity, without being influenced by the bribe which
he had pocketed.

The great faults in the character of Lord Bacon
grew out of his want of firmness — a natural defect in his
character, which no genius or learning could supply.
But for this infirmity, terrible as it proved in its conse-
quences, his . character would in all probability have
been as bright as his genius was illustrious. He wanted
firmness to resist the overtures and commands of his
sovereign. Owing to this, he engaged in the prosecu-
tion of his early friend and patron, instead of boldly
resigning his office, and giving up all future honors at
the Court of Elizabeth. Owing to this want of firm-
ness, he was induced by the threats and perauasions of
King James aud his infamous minister, the Duke of
Buckingham, to plead guilty to all the charges of high
crimes and misdemeanors which had been preferred
against him. Had he possessed the high, indomitable
courage which should have belonged to his genius, he
could have defended himself with great plausibility, if
not with entire success. But then the odium which
fell on his head would have had to be borne by the king
and his favorite minion.

Without firmness and high moral courage no man can
act correctly, no matter how pure his principles may be.
Without firmness no man is to be depended on in any

Erskine College Address. 9

great emergency. He may know the proper course to
pursue, and resolve to pursue it, but he will not be able
to resist the importunities and threats of those who
would mislead him.

In his philosophy, Lord Bacon manifested as much
boldness and originality as he did meanness and sub-
serviency in politics and law. This was because he had
not to contend with his fellow-man. He was left in
the field of philosophy to his own genius. And it is
strange that one should have the boldness to explore the
mysteries of nature, and to pry into the highest works
of his God, and yet want firmness enough to resist the
importunities of an unprincipled courtier. However
corrupt Lord Bacon may have been in law and politics,
or friendship and morals, he was perfectly pure and
correct in his philosophy. In other matters he may
have sought honors, or been mercenary in his feelings,
but in this, his great system of philosophy, he sought
only truth.

Lord Baacon lived in the most illustrious age of Eng-
lish history, and was surrounded by many of the greatest
and most remarkable men the world ever produced.
Shakespeare and Ben Jonson were his cotemporaries.
Lord Coke was his great rival at the bar and his victor
at the shrine of beauty. The learned, brilliant and
accomplished Sir Walter Raleigh flourished at the same
court, as did the equally unfortunate Essex. But the
genius of Bacon was towering invisibly high above them
all — no one approached him, and no one was to be com-
pared to him. He stood alone in the greatness of his
learning and the splendor of his mighty genius.

To pass from the character of Lord Bacon, the great
statesman, lawyer and philosopher, to that of Napoleon
Bonaparte, the hero and conqueror, is easy and natural,
although they differ so widely it) many of their essentials
of greatness. Bonaparte, without any learning, to be
called by that name, possessed a genius more gigantic,
an intellect more mighty than ever before fell to the lot

10 Eeskine College Address.

of human nature. No one can read his life and study
his character without being struck with awe as to the
extent of his genius and ability. What others learned
by hard study and laborious research, he seemed to have
by intuition. He had scarcely ever read a legal princi-
ple in his life, and yet in the formation of the Napoleon
Code he showed himself more familiar with the prin-
ciples of, law than the wisest and most learned lawyers
of France. As a civil ruler he never had an equal. It
is doubtful whether all the sovereigns of the earth, from
the creation of the world to the present time, could fur-
nish, if their rarest and highest gifts were selected, the
materials to compose so great a governor of mankind
and ruler of nations as Napoleon Bonaparte.

As an orator few men ever equalled him, if we are to
judge of eloquence by the effects which it produces on
the audience. Bonaparte would say more striking things
in a speech of ten minutes than was ever said in an hour
by Cicero or Demosthenes. He could accomplish the
intended effect of a speech before the polished Roman
or Athenian would be able to get through the exordium.
As a writer his style is worthy of being taken as a
model by every one who wishes to express his ideas in
the fewest words and in the most forcible manner. He
is also the most voluminous writer the world has ever
produced. It is said by Allison, in his charming history
of Europe, that Napoleon wrote more than Voltaire,
Bolingbroke and Sir Walter Scott, all put together.
This he did in the midst of his array on the field of
battle, and whilst governing, with the minutest particu-
larity, the varied interests of the millions who were
subject to his sway.

As a general he surpassed all the conquerors who had
ever preceded him. It is true that Alexander was a
younger man than Napoleon when he made his Eastern
conquests, and the countries subdued may have equalled
those conquered by Napoleon in population and extent
of territory, but the Persians, Egyptians and Indians

Erskine College Address. 11

were an effeminate and luxurious people, and never have
been able to withstand a hardy, disciplined and organ-
ized force. The conquests of Great Britain at this time
in a portion of that country, show the facility with
which an army may pass through these Eastern nations.
There seems to be something in the climate of a South-
ern people which enervates and enfeebles them.

Hannibal may, with more propriety, be compared to
Napoleon as a general. There is some analogy between
them and their fortunes. They both had to contend
with the same difficulties in many instances, and they
both fought against disciplined forces, experienced gene-
rals and a highly civilized people. They were both
highly successful for a time, and were both ultimately
conquered; but Napoleon knew how to improve on a
victory and secure a country when once conquered.
This the Carthagenian seems not so well to have under-
stood.

Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte were very
much alike in their characters and conduct as generals —
attending to the comforts of their soldiers, enduring
fatigue, exposing themselves to danger, robbing the con-
quered countries to maintain their own armies and cor-
rupt their own citizens. They were alike in the rapidity
of their movements and the secrecy of their attack.
But Caesar's conquests were all made over a barbarous
and half-civilized people, except the conquest of his own
country. In point of intellect there may also be insti-
tuted some sort of comparison. Julius Caesar was one
of the first orators of Rome — perhaps next to Cicero
himself. He was also a beautiful writer, as may be seen
by his Commentaries. That he was a wise and success-
ful governor of mankind cannot admit of a doubt.

The great fault in Bonaparte's character was his
selfishness. This led to all the errors of his life. He
was by nature kind-hearted and affectionate. There
was nothing of cruelty in his temper or disposition,
except when it become necessary to promote his own

12 Erskine College Address.

selfish views. He loved Josephine ardently and pas-
sionately; she had shared with him his humbler fortunes,
and had patiently endured with him the fatigues of
some of his campaigns ; but he put her away and mar-
ried a women whom he had never seen, because she was
the Arch Duchess of Austria, and he was anxious to have
an heir to his throne. He loved his brothers, and made
them kings and princes ; and yet he treated them like
slaves for the gratification of his own ambition. He
loved his officers and crowned them with honors, wealth
and distinction ; he was as kind as a father to his
soldiers, and has been seen administering with his own
hand to the humblest wants on the field of battle ; he
studied the comforts of his army with a philanthropy
which would do credit to a Howard ; he has been known
to yield his own horse to his sick soldiery, and expose
his life in the hospitals of Egypt attending to their
comforts. But in order to gratify his unhallowed ambi-
tion to gain a battle or conquer a nation, or add a new
laurel to his brow, he would sacrifice officers and men
by thousands and hundreds of thousands.

In one respect he was certainly the opposite of Lord
Bacon. There was no want of firmness in his character.
His courage was indomitable. Nothing could shake it.
To his mind there were no terrors. He cared not for
the combined forces of Europe. With an army of fifty
thousand men he would undertake to conquer one of
three hundred thousand. We see him, almost solitary
and alone, escaping from Elba, and throwing himself
into the midst of an army of ten thousand, sent to
capture him. Without an army, and without a dollar
in his treasury, we see him putting himself in hostile
array to the combined forces of England, Austria,
Prussia and Russia. Neither power nor wealth, nor the
smiles of beauty, nor the fascinations of glory and fame
could make him yield or falter in his resolution.

But for his selfishness, Napoleon would have been
one of the best, as well as one of the greatest of men.

Erskine College Address. 13

His fame would have been sullied by no crime, though
it might have been far different from what it is in
splendor and brilliancy. But in how many characters,
great and small, do we see this same fault blazing forth
conspicuously and marring and destroying all that is
beautiful or useful in their lives. How common a
fault is it in the character of mankind. We find it more
or less in the heart of every one. How hard, therefore,
should we endeavor to guard against it. In the char-
acter of Bonaparte, how fatal was it. With what
crimes did it cover him all over. For twenty years it
destroyed the peace of Europe, over-turned Empires,
subdued nations, and destroyed the fairest and richest
cities of the earth.

There is much to study in the character of Dr. John-
son, the great moralist — many traits to admire and some
to condemn. His life, as written by Boswell, is,
perhaps, the most admirable specimen of biography to
be found in the English language. It makes us
thoroughly and minutely acquainted with the man.
And how different does Dr. Johnson appear in the pages
of Boswell from any character which we may form of
him from his own writings. In fact this great leviathan
of literature had two characters — the character in which
he wrote, calm, dignified and philosophical — and the one
in which he spoke, which was impatient, violent and
rude, approaching vulgarity. He was overbearing and
insulting in his conversation and intercourse with his
fellow-men. But in his writings he acts and speaks the
moralist and philosopher in every line. His style of
writing is stiff and formal, showing great labor of
thought in the formation of his sentences. But he con-
versed in a free, easy and natural style.

Dr. Johnson was a man of great learning and ability,
great labor and industry, but not regular in his studies
or mental efforts. He was a most kind-hearted and
charitable man, but he had no respect for the feelings of
others. No man would relieve physical want or suffer-

14 Erskine College Address.

ing more cheerfully than Dr. Johnson, or make greater
sacrifices to do so ; but he would inflict the greatest
mental anguish without being moved, and do it with a
deliberation truly savage. He was a man of great and
sincere piety, but his religion was not free from the
blindest superstition. With all of his strength of intel-
lect he was possessed of weaknesses which would be
laughed at in a child. He believed in ghosts and would
always enter the house with a particular foot first, never
being known to enter with the other foremost. He was a
very patriotic man, but he most cordially despised those
who differed with him in politics, although they were
equally patriotic with himself. Such were some of the in-
consistencies in the character of this great man, and they are
found in some measure, in the character of every one.

Dr. Johnson had great confidence, as well he might
have, in his virtue, morality and piety. He was a
philosopher, and could advise others to look with
indifference on this life and all its charms and pleasures.
He was wedded to no absorbing pleasure, and had no
strong ties or attachments to bind him to this world.
A.nd yet he could never contemplate death without the
greatest horror. The idea of dying would always fill
his mind with terrors unspeakable.

But the great fault in his character was his want of
manners, his violence, his rudeness and his coarseness.
If he had tried as hard to improve his temper and
manners as he did to treasure up learning, he might
have left behind him a more enviable character; one
which we could study and imitate to much greater ad-
vantage. The scholar and learned man is too apt to
disregard the study and practice of those courtesies and
amenities of life which make our intercourse with each
other pleasant and agreeable. Manners are to be ac-
quired as well as science and literature, and they are just
as important to us through life.

One of the proudest and noblest characters in English
history is that of John Hampden. He was a gentleman

Erskine College Address. 15

by birth and education. He was a gentleman in
manners, feelings and intercourse with his fellow-men ;
a country gentleman of learning, talents, high honor and
noble patriotism. He was a bold and disinterested man,
modest and unassuming; he never thrust himself
forward in the world. When a great and terrible crisis
came in the affairs of his country, he cheerfully took the
position of danger and responsibility; he placed himself
at the head of those who were contending for the consti-
tutional rights and liberties of England, and nobly did
he sustain his position. His character may well be
studied. It is a model for the gentleman, the scholar,
the statesman, the patriot and the noble and disinter-
ested man. His firm spirit and high sense of justice
could not see the laws and chartered rights of his country
trampled upon by a tyrannical and perfidious sovereign
without nobly exposing his person, his fortune and his
life in their defence. He was the more moderate of his
party, and the most disinterested of all who thought of
opposition to Charles the First. But no sooner did he hear
that the great privilege of an English Commoner, that
of granting supplies, was to be taken from him, and
taxes levied in the shape of ship money, that he deter-
mined not to pay those taxes, however trifling his share
of them might be. Unfortunately for his country, un-
fortunately for English liberty and the cause of
humanity, he fell in the first skirmish which took place
between the King and his Parliament. For purity of
purpose, devotion to the principles of constitutional
liberty, high and unflinching firmness in defence of those
principles, he has had; but one equal ; that was Wash-
ington ; and like Washington, his public career is fault-
less. Well may he be taken as the patriot model.

The character of the Earl of Chatham, the great
Commoner of England, is that of a proud patriot,
possessed of all the greatness of a bold and fearless
statesman, brilliant and overpowering in his eloquence,
but with none of the simplicity of true greatness. Every

16 Erskine College Address.

thing which he did, every word which he uttered was
done for effect. He was, indeed, as his critics have
said of him, a stage actor. His whole life was a piece
of acting, but it was noble, brilliant and dazzling. He
was, however, a pure patriot, incorruptible, and if ambi-
tious of power, it was only for the purpose of serving
his country more effectually.

The eloquence of Chatham was of the highest order.
The speaking of no man perhaps ever produced a more
grand effect on his audience. His denunciations, his
sarcasm, his scorn, were terrible and overpowering.
Much, however, of the effect which his speeches pro-
duced, was no doubt owing to his manner. He spoke
to a few hundred persons and not to the English nation.
His speeches were not to be reported, and therefore his
only care was about their immediate effect. He
believed with the great Athenian orator, that action
was everything where a speech was only to be heard.
But action is nothing when the speech is to be read, and
all speeches are now made with that view. There
can be no doubt that this fact has had a most fatal
effect on modern eloquence. No longer do we witness
in the halls of legislation the fire and energy of Demos-
thenes or the thunder and lightning of Chatham. In
their places, we have a cold and verbose eloquence
which, instead of firing up and carrying off the feelings
of the audience, only tends to make them more dull
and lethargic.

The difference between listening to a speech and read-
ing it cannot be better illustrated than by reference to
the speeches of Edmund Burke and Patrick Henry.
The English language does not afford speeches more
profound, more philosophic, more brilliant or more
eloquent than those of Burke. His style is indeed rich
and magnificently ornate, but the statue is worthy of
the drapery. His argument and illustrations are as
able and as beautiful as his language is ornamental.
Whilst reading his speeches, we know not whether

Erskine College Address. 17

most to admire, his profound reasoning or his rich and
gorgeous style. One would suppose from reading these
speeches that the eloquence of such an orator would
have been irresistible and overpowering — that the still-
ness of death would have prevailed whilst one of them
was being delivered in the House of Commons, and that
crowds would have gathered from all parts of the great
metropolis of England to hear them. But how different
was the fact. Burke could never get a respectable
audience to listen to one of his speeches. The announce-
ment of his intention to speak was literally a clearing of
the House. Even friendship and respect for the
speaker could not induce many to bear the infliction of
his dullness. One of his speeches, that on American
taxation, was said to be so dull that an intimate friend
could not endure its delivery, but sneaked out of the
House of Commons under tables and benches to pre-
vent being seen. The next morning, however, when
that speech was reported in the London papers, this
friend not only read it, but wore out the newspaper in
reading it over and over again.

How different are the speeches of Patrick Henry.
The thrill of his eloquence has become traditionary in
Virginia, and yet tradition cannot tell us what he said.
The effect is remembered, and has been repeated from
father to son, but the words were forgotten as well as
the sentiment or idea expressed. His powers as an
orator were, however, irresistible. No one ever thought
of leaving the Virginia House of Burgesses whilst
Patrick Henry was speaking. Nor did his audience
think of anything else whilst he wis speaking, except
what fell from his lips. He held them spell-bound,
physically and mentally. Their thoughts, their reason,
their judgment, and their feelings were all, for the time
being, surrendered to him, and he made them think, feel
and act as he pleased.

Fortunately for the fame of his eloquence few of his
speeches have been handed down to us. Those that we

18 Erskine College Address.

have, and some of them were regarded as his greatest
efforts, are so destitute of all the essentials of great
speaking and eloquence, that they would do no credit to
a school boy. Whilst reading them we naturally in-
quire of ourselves whether it is possible such speeches
could have come from the Virginia Demosthenes; and
above all, whether they could have produced the won-
derful effects they did on the people of Virginia.

In the Virginia debates on the adoption of the Fed-
eral Constitution, we have the speeches of Patrick
Henry, Chief Justice Marshall and James Madison,
thrown side by side. Henry was incomparably the
most eloquent of the three, if we judge from the repu-
tation they have left behind them. But it will not do
to compare their written speeches. We had as well
think of instituting a comparison between the efforts of
a young Sophomore and those ot a profound statesman
and orator.

We have a few of the speeches of Lord Chatham.
Those that we have are more the speeches of Johnson
and the other reporters than they are of Chatham.
None of his speeches were written out by himself, or
even corrected by him. They must, therefore, be badly
reported ; but after making these just allowances they
fall very far short of his reputation as an eloquent and
powerful debater. It is said that Lord Chatham was
nothing in reply — that he did not care for the last word
in debate, which was always a matter of so much im-
portance to his great rival, Lord Holland. Like Demos-
thenes, he could say nothing unless he had thought
beforehand on the subject.

This trait in the character of certain great orators
deserves our serious consideration. It is said that Demos-
thenes never could be induced to take a part in any
discussion without previous preparation. When called
on by the Athenians to reply to some one who had
spoken, he kept his seat, and could not be induced to
speak. But Demosthenes was a mere orator. He was

Brskine College Address. 19

Dot, like Cicero, an accomplished scholar and profound
statesman — a man of great learning and science. Hence
the reluctance which he had to speaking without prepa-
ration. It is idle to suppose that any one can speak
well on a subject which he has not thought of and
studied at some period of his life. And, on the con-
trary, it is an easy matter for any one to speak on a
subject familiar to his mind, and which he thoroughly
comprehends. Nothing can be more erroneous than the
idea that some men are more eloquent without any pre-
paration at all. If they had been eloquent on the spur
of the occasion, it is always owing to the fact that the
subject has long occupied their thoughts and feelings.
If they had not studied the subject of their speech the
day before, they had the year before, or at some pre-
vious time.

It was thought of Sheridan, that many of his most
magnificent bursts of eloquence were impromptus — that
they were made extempore, and without previous thought
or preparation. But instead of this having been the
case, it was afterwards discovered that he had written
out at length all of those eloquent speeches which
seemed to have been the production of the moment.
He had, however, studiously concealed his labor and
preparation from his associates. Such, too, will be found
to be the case with all ready and eloquent speakers. It
is a mistake to suppose that any one can be great with-
out an effort — and equally mistaken is the notion that
any one can be eloquent without study.

Eloquence and liberty are congenial. They have
always flourished together. The one cannot exist with-
out the other. And the world knows nothing of elo-
quence, except as it existed in Greece and Rome, and
still exists in England and America. The French
nation never produced an orator until the spirit of lib-
erty burst asunder the chains which had so long enslaved
that people. The first germs of French eloquence are
to be found in their Revolutionary assembly.

20 Ersktne College Address.

Mirabeau is, perhaps, the first Frenchman who de-
serves the name of an orator, and he was by far the
greatest, as well as the first. His eloquence was of the
most powerful and commanding order. He governed
the National Assembly from the time he first took his
seat in it to the day of his death, with absolute power.
He was a man of great talents, great boldness, com-
manding person and huge, hideous, though intellectual
head and face. He was a nobleman by birth, but had
been rejected by his own order in the elections. He
then became the representative of the people, and swore
vengeance against that nobility from whose confidence
and society he had been expelled. During this stormy
period of French history there arose many orators and
eloquent men. They disappeared, however, as soon as
the tyranny of Robespierre had gained the ascendancy.

On the accession of Napoleon to power, he soon sup-
pressed what little of eloquence had again sprung up in
the French Chamber of Deputies. But he was the great
and munificent patron of literature, the arts and sciences.
And how different is the spirit of literature from that of
eloquence. The one seems as naturally to seek the quiet
and stillness of despotism as the other does the rough
and stormy violence of liberty.

In the existence of great men there is one thing
remarkable. If we look into ancient and modern his-
tory we shall see that most great men have existed in
clusters. They have seldom appeared solitary and alone,
but have always had cotemporaries and associates in
their greatness. Homer and Hesiod, the most ancient of
poets, and still the most remarkable, were supposed to
have lived about the same time. Herodotus, the father
of historians, was the cotemporary of Thucydides and
Xenophon, two of the most beautiful of ancient histo-
torians. Sophocles, Euripides and iEschylus, the most
distinguished dramatic poets of Greece, flourished about
the same era. In philosophy, there were living at the
same time, Socrates and Plato — the tutor and pupil

Erskine College Address. 21

teaching the immortality of the soul, and inculcating
the sublimest principles of morality and virtue. Demos-
thenes flourished with many orators, Lysias, Isocrates
and others, who would have been more conspicuous but
for his own great and overshadowing eloquence. He
was also the cotemporary of Aristotle, the most distin-
guished of ancient philosophers. And Aristotle was
the friend and tutor of Alexander, the greatest captain
and conqueror of antiquity. Themistocles, Aristides
and Alcibiades, the most eminent of Grecian statesmen,
were all cotemporaries and rivals.

If we examine Roman and English history we shall
find the coincidences of greatness at particular eras
equally as remarkable. Cicero, the greatest of
Eoman orators, was the cotemporary of Julius Csesar,
the greatest of Roman generals. The Augustan age of
Rome was distinguished by a galaxy of great names —
great in everything but eloquence. The capital and
mistress of the world had then lost too much of the
spirit of liberty for eloquence to flourish within her
walls. But she was great in literature, science, refine-
ment and civilization. Horace and Virgil at this
period lived and wrote their immortal poems. Many
others might be mentioned.

In England, I have already referred to the age
of Queen Elizabeth, when Lord Bacon, Sir Edward
Coke, the Cecils, Sir Walter Raleigh, Shakespeare, Ben
Jonson and others, almost equally illustrious, lived
and flourished. I have also spoken of another period
of English history which produced the Earl of
Chatham, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke and
Lord Holland. Charles James Fox, who has been
called the Demosthenes of England, and William Pitt,
the great statesman, who became Prime Minister of
England at Uie age of twenty-four, were the sons of
Lord Holland and the Earl of Chatham, and may be
referred to the same age. Dr. Oliver Goldsmith was
also their cotemporary, than whom the world has pro-

22 Ersrine College Address.

duced few poets more beautiful, or prose writers more
elegantly simple and natural. About the same era
there lived Burns, the immortal ploughman of Ayrshire
and poet of Scotland. The age of Queen Anne is
another period in English history, bright with a galaxy
of illustrious names. Addison, Pope, Swift and Steele
were amongst those who adorned and elevated the
literature of England at that time.

If we were to examine the histories of France, Ger-
many, Italy and Spain, we should find coincidences
equally as remarkable. The history of America, too,
would afford many instances. I will mention one. It
is near us. The District of Abbeville has produced
four men, who are now living, and one of whom would
be enough to have immortalized an age or a nation.
The proudest period of Roman greatness would have
been adorned by such a man as Langdon Cheves. For
greatness of intellect, profound wisdom, boldness and
purity of purpose, he has no superior. He has dis-
charged the duties of every station which he has filled
with an ability which has never been surpassed. As a
Judge, he was learned and profound ; as a member of
Congress he displayed great wisdom, and an industry
and ability which have been seldom equalled ; as a
financier, at the head of the great banking institution of
the country, he evinced a boldness, a sagacity and wis-
dom which have never been surpassed. The honor of
his birth is due to Abbeville District — the city of
Charleston, however, claims the double honor of having
distinguished, and been distinguished by him.

John C. Calhoun, as every one knows, owes his birth
to this District. Had he been born in England instead
of the United States, he would have graced the bright-
est period of her history. As an orator and parliamen-
tary debater, he would have ranked with the Foxes and
Pitts. As a man of genius and a brilliant statesman,
he would not have been surpassed by the proudest
names of which England can boast. In private life he

Erskine College Address. 23

has always sustained a character pure and spotless.
His career in Congress was a most brilliant one. He
entered the House of Representatives a very young
man, immediately preceding the declaration of war, and
his devotion to business, united with his genius and
ability, soon placed him at the head of that body, filled,
as it was, by the greatest men the country afforded.

General McDuffie, though not a native of Abbeville
District, was educated and brought up in it, and now
resides here, after having long represented the District
in Congress with distinguished honor to himself and
country. As an orator, his bold and fearless eloquence
at the bar, in the House of Representatives, and in the
Senate of the United States, has placed him amongst the
most distinguished speakers of this or any other age.
For many years he had no equal, no rival in the halls
of Congress. He stood, as it were, alone, the master
spirit of that great assembly, towering far above his
compeers and associates.

James L. Petigru is a native of Abbeville District.
He is known only as a lawyer, and an upright, pure
and noble-hearted man. Like Sir Samuel Homily, he
has devoted himself to his profession, and in learning
and ability he is surpassed by no one, either in the
United States or England. The resemblance between
him and Romily is not altogether professional. There
are many traits in their characters strikingly similar.
They were both of French descent, and rose from the
humbler walks of life. There is a simplicity, a benevo-
lence and a pureness in the character of both which
we seldom meet with. They were both devoted to their
profession, and cared not to mingle in public affairs.
Like the great English lawyer, Mr. Petigru is the
admiration of his friends and associates.

There are many others, natives of Abbeville District,
who might be named, filling high places in this and
other States. When we see such a cluster of great men,
all springing from one district, at one and the same

24 Erskine College Address.

time, well may that District claim to be the Athens of
South Carolina. Well may she, like the Roman matron,
when asked for her jewels, point to her sons.

But Abbeville has now given another claim to this
distinction. She has not only sent forth her sons, like
the proud city of Greece, to fill the highest offices
within her own and the neighboring States and the
Confederation, and to receive the highest and noblest
honors which their country can bestow, but she has now
erected a College, where her sons, and the sons of her
neighboring Districts, and the adjoining States, may
reap the advantages of a thorough and complete educa-
tion. No higher evidence can be given of the virtue,
intelligence and intellectual attainments of any people,
than the establishment of schools and colleges. Nor can
any stronger guarantee be offered that a people will
remain wise and virtuous.

The founders and patrons of Erskine College will
long receive the gratitude and thanks of the country.
Their sagacity and wisdom were shown in the location
of this institution: It too frequently happens that where
schools and colleges are founded in towns and cities, the
temptations to dissipation and extravagance are so great
that it may well be questioned whether the students
derive more of benefit or injury from their collegiate
course. Here they are removed from all such tempta-
tions, and their only pride and ambition must be to
excel each other in their studies. The foppery and
frippery of dress cannot excite their jealousy or rivalry.

The students of this institution will go hence, with
their minds imbued with the great principles of science
and literature, virtue and religion. These are the
foundation on which their future happiness, fame and
prosperity must depend. From other similar institu-
tions, surrounded with all the fascinations of vice and
extravagance, it too often happens that the student car-
ries with him into the world, feelings, principles and
habits, there contracted, which prove his ruin and

Erskine College Address. 25

destruction. The fond parent, instead of being proud
of him, for his virtues and attainments, will have to
repent in pain and sorrow, the disgrace and misery
which their love and kindness have brought upon one
of their own offspring.

Gentlemen of the " Philomathean Society:"
I have the pleasure of distributing amongst you the
honors which your talents, industry and good behavior
have won for you. Here they are — take them, as the
just rewards of your merit — but do not look upon them
as filling the measure of your fame and usefulness.
Instead of having passed through the labors of your
life, you are now only on the verge of them. Your
education, instead of being finished has only commenced.
The foundation is laid, nothing more. You are to build
hereafter the superstructure. If you have been hereto-
fore industrious, you must still be more so, as you
advance in life, and your cares and responsibilities
increase. Do not flatter yourselves with the belief that
this life is one of ease and pleasure. We were placed
here by an all-wise Being for higher and nobler pur-
poses than the mere enjoyment of idle pleasures.

Let me entreat you, gentlemen, by all that can endear
you to life, to apply yourselves at once to your different
professions and pursuits. Enter on the study of them
immediately, and steadily persevere in them, as long as
you live. Never permit yourselves to be disheartened,
or to hesitate in your onward course. Industry and
prudence, honor and integrity, will never fail to crown
your exertions with success.

You were told by the learned, eloquent and pious
Judge who addressed you on your last anniversary, that
the end and aim of all our exertions was happiness. Let
me tell you that idleness and happiness can never exist
together — I care not how much of wealth, luxury and
splendor may surround you, if you wish to be happy,
you must not be idle. It was intended by the Creator
of all things that we should all labor. By the sweat of
his brow man is to gain his livelihood.

36 Krsklne College Address.

If you select one of the learned professions for a pur-
suit in life, you must not do so under the impression
that it will not' be necessary for you to labor. Your
life, on the contrary, if you aspire to any of the honors
and distinctions of your profession, will be one of end-
less labor. And whilst you are pursuing your studies
or profession, let me beseech you to avoid all tempta-
tions which may be thrown in your way. Avoid all
bad company, all evil or idle associates, as you would
shun vice itself. You will very often meet with persons
high in life, surrouuded by wealth and fame, who are idle
and vicious. Shun them and their society as you would
a pestilence. By your associates are you known, and
every one of you must rise or fall to the level of the
company you keep.

The next danger I would caution you against, is that
of giving way to your passions of anger and resentment.
Be slow unto wrath, is the command of our holy and
blessed religion. Never cease to bear in mind that it is
more magnanimous to forgive than to resent an injury.
True courage is more often tested by the one than the
other. A coward is very often tempted to resent some
insult or imaginary grievance, whilst a brave man only
lias courage to forgive or pass it by unnoticed. Be sure
that you are always right, and no circumstance can then
force you into any personal altercation with your fellow-
man.

The painful and agonizing event which has so recently
oast a melancholy gloom over the walls of this institu-
tion, and filled your hearts with the bitterest pangs of
sorrow and mourning, should be an awful warning to
you through life, to restrain your feelings and govern
your passions. In a moment of thoughtless excitement
and passion, caused by some trivial and unimportant
consideration, a fellow-student, filled with high hopes
aud expectations, has fallen by the haud of his College
■ompanion, who, perhaps, had never entertained towards
him any other than feelings of kindness and love. How

Erskine College Address. 27

forcibly does this sad and painful catastrophe illustrate
to us the truth of the remark, that when passion rules,
reason is dethroned — we are no longer masters of
ourselves.

In conclusion, gentlemen, let me impress on you, as
you are about to leave this institution, to carry with you
and treasure up in perpetual remembrance, those great
principles of virtue, morality and religion, which have
been taught you by your learned President and Pro-
fessors. If you are disposed to regard your happiness
and prosperity in this life, and your future welfare in a
world to come, these are the lessons to which your minds
will most often revert, and which will be the last to
depart from your memories. You have been long asso-
ciated as companions and friends. Let me assure you
that early friendships, like early lessons of piety and
religion, are the most permanent. You are now going
to separate, perhaps forever. In all human probability,
your destinies may be cast in different and distant coun-
tries. You may never meet again in this world — but
let this be your bond of union and sympathy. At
night, when you have offered up your prayers to God,
and in the morning, when you have returned your
thanks for your preservation during the past night, let
your thoughts revert to your Alma Mater, and her
lessons of wisdom and religion, which were taught you
all in common. Go, prosper and be happy. My
earnest and fervent prayers go with you.

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