This is to certify that this is one of an edition
of five hundred copies printed from type in the
month of October, 1898.
PRINCETON
SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
1746-1896
MEMOR1
PRINC
-
8
-&
MEMORIAL BOOK
OF
THE SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRA-
TION OF THE FOUNDING OF THE
COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY AND OF
THE CEREMONIES INAUGURATING
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
PUBLISHED FOR
THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEW YORK
MDCCCXCVIII
i>
Copyright, 1898, by
THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY.
PREFACE
HIS book is issued to save in some permanent
form the record and memories of the Princeton
Sesquicentennial Celebration. It contains a full
account of the celebration, written by Professor
Harper, copies of the letters and telegrams of formal con-
gratulation, and a historical sketch prepared by Professor
De Witt. The entire volume has been in the editorial charge
of Professor West. In the printing and illustration of the
book we have been greatly helped throughout by the careful
supervision and good judgment of Mr. Charles Scribner and
Mr. Arthur H. Scribner, alumni of the university.
By reason of their rich coloring and ornamentation, many
of the congratulatory letters could not be reproduced with
exactness in print. However, the letters have been printed
in plain black, but with as much general resemblance to
their originals as types would secure. To give an example
of their artistic beauty, one of the finest, the letter of the
University of Bologna, has been reproduced in facsimile on
vn
a reduced scale. The other illustrations are almost entirely
views of buildings or scenes connected with the celebration
and portraits of the twelve Presidents of Princeton.
The chairman of the Sesquicentennial Celebration, Mr.
Charles E. Green, died in Princeton on December 23, 1897.
His sudden and unexpected death, after a life of labor and
love freely given to Princeton, and his unremitting efforts in
behalf of the celebration, make the insertion of his portrait
in this book exceptionally appropriate.
To all their guests during those fair October days in
1896, to the many universities and learned societies repre-
sented by delegates or parchments of congratulation, to
their very generous benefactors on that occasion, and to all
the sons and friends of Princeton everywhere, the President,
Trustees and Faculty of Princeton University dedicate this
memorial book.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
AN ACCOUNT OF THE SESQUICENTENNIAL CELE-
BRATION. By Professor George Maclean Harper, of
the Class of 1884.
PAGE
General Preparations . . . . i
The Public Lectures delivered by Professor Karl Brugmann
of the University of Leipzig, Professor Edward Dowden of
the University of Dublin, Professor A. A. W. Hubrecht of
the University of Utrecht, Professor Felix Klein of the
University of Gottingen, Professor Andrew Seth of the
University of Edinburgh and Professor ]. }. Thomson of
the University of Cambridge . 1 7
[The lectures are not printed in this book, as they have been already
separately published by Charles Scribner's Sons.]
PAGE
The First Day oftbe Celebration, Tuesday, October 20 20
The Religious Service in Alexander Hall . -27
The Sermon by President Patton . 28
The Reception of Delegates in Alexander Hall 5 6
List of Delegates from Universities and Learned Societies 56
Remarks of Mr. Charles E. Green, of the Class of 1860,
Chairman of the Sesquicentennial Celebration 64
Address of Welcome by the Reverend Doctor Howard Duf-
field, of the Class of 1873 . ... 65
Reply of President Charles William Eliot, of Harvard Uni-
versity, in behalf of the American Universities represented 77
Reply of Professor J. J. Thomson, of the University of Cam-
bridge, in behalf of the European Universities represented 80
List of Addresses of Congratulation .... 83
The Introduction of Delegates in the Chancellor Green Library . 87
Exhibition of Historical Relics ..... 88
The Orchestral Concert in Alexander Hall . .91
The Second Day oftbe Celebration, Wednesday, October 2 1 92
The Poem and Oration in Alexander Hall 92
The Poem recited by the Reverend Doctor Henry van Dyke,
of the Class of 1873 93
The Oration delivered by Professor Woodrow Wilson, of
the Class of 1879 . . 102
The Football Game at the University Athletic Field . 131
The Unveiling oftbe Memorial Tablet at Nassau Hall 133
The Torchlight Procession through Princeton and the Review
at Nassau Hall . 137
I'AOK
The Third Day of the Celebration, Thursday, October 22 147
The Sesquicentennial Anniversary Exercises in Alexander Hatt 1 48
Remarks by President Patton . 1 50
Announcement of the Endowments . . 153
Announcement of the University Title . 154
The Ceremony of Conferring the Honorary Degrees . 154
The Address of His Excellency the Honorable Grover
Cleveland, President of the United States . . .162
The Luncheon and Reception to the President and Mrs.
Cleveland at Prospeft .... 1 70
The Glee Club Concert in Alexander Hall . 1 70
The Farewell Dinner in the Assembly Hall . 171
Receptions Following the Celebration . .175
List of Contributors to the Sesquicentennial Endowment 182
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS OF CONGRATULATION
Arranged alphabetically under the following divisions:
From Universities, Colleges and Learned Societies 187
American . 189
Canadian . . .247
European . 253
Other Countries . 33
From Associations and Individuals 37
XI
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
By the Reverend Professor John De Witt, of the Class of 1861.
PAGE
The Beginnings of University Life in America . . 317
The Origin of the College of New Jersey 322
The Founding of the College. The Two Charters . . 334
The Opening of the College. The Administrations of Jona-
than Dickinson, Aaron Burr and Jonathan Edwards . 348
The Administrations of Samuel Davies and Samuel Finley 367
The Administration of John Witherspoon 379
The Administrations of Samuel Stanhope Smith and Ashbel
Green . . . 391
The Administrations of James Carnahan and John Maclean 406
The Administration of James McCosh. The Beginning of
the Administration of Francis Landey Patton . . 423
Historical Note on the Origin of Princeton University by the
Reverend Professor Shields, of the Class of 1844 . 455
xn
ILLUSTRATIONS
Arms of Princeton University . Corer
Nassau Hall. Etching by Mercier . Facing TttU-p,ige
Seal of Princeton University . . Title-page
Sesquicentennial Memorial Medal . Headpiece to Table of Contents
Designed by Thomas Shields Clarke of the Class of 1882.
Patriotic Memorial Arch ..... xvi
Designed by William S. Whitehead of the Class of 1891.
Alexander Hall Interior View . Facing page 28
The New Library Exterior View . 40
The New Library The Courtyard 56
Charles Ewing Green . 64
Blair Hall The Tower . 72
The Chancellor Green Library 88
Whig Hall and Clio Hall . 104
Upper Pyne Dormitory . . 120
Memorial Tablet placed on Nassau Hall Page 133
Lower Pyne Dormitory . . Facing page 134
The Torchlight Procession ... 144
Prospect . . i 70
David Brown Hall . . 180
The Houston Medal, made in 1 768, and containing the earliest
medallic picture of Nassau Hall . . 2ailpiece topage 185
Congratulatory Letter of the University of Bologna,
in facsimile on a reduced scale . . . Facing page 187
Academic Memorial Arch . . . . .188
Designed by Howard Crosby Butler of the Class of 1892.
Xlll
Facsimile of Congratulatory Letter of the University
ofTokio . ..... Facing page 306
Aula Nassovica, 1 760 The earliest picture of Nas-
sau Hall ... .... 316
Portraits of the Twelve Presidents of Princeton
The first eleven are reproduced from the paintings in Nassau Hall. The portrait of
President Fatten is from a photograph
Jonathan Dickinson . . Fadngpage 348
Aaron Burr ... . . 354
Jonathan Edwards . . . . 366
Samuel Davies .... 370
Samuel Finley . . 276
John Witherspoon . . . 382
Samuel Stanhope Smith . 394
Ashbel Green .... 402
James Carnahan . . 408
John Maclean . 4J8
James McCosh ...... 424
Francis Landey Patton . .
XIV
AN ACCOUNT OF THE
SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
FROM THE TOWN TO THE UNIVERSITY
GENERAL PREPARATIONS
is not generous, so much as it is just, to cele-
brate the pious memory of founders. They
are the fathers of institutional life. They have
given us great and goodly cities which we
builded not, and houses full of all good things which we
filled not, and wells digged which we digged not, vineyards
and olive-trees which we planted not. Far more than in
lands where the state is directly concerned with higher edu-
cation, the colleges of America, like many in the mother-
country, owe their existence to the wise forethought and
devoted liberality of private individuals, who of their own
free will, and pursuing no selfish ends, labored for the
future. There is thus peculiar fitness in acknowledging
frequently, and with all due dignity and splendor, our ever-
increasing debt.
It was natural that such thoughts should come to the
minds of the trustees and faculty of the College of New
Jersey, at the approach of the year 1896. There were few
colleges which owed so much to the efforts of early bene-
factors, or had clung so fondly and so long to the ideals of
their original conception. The College of New Jersey had
2 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
gained much and suffered somewhat by a proud and stub-
born loyalty to herself and by reverence for her makers.
She had been often charged with excessive respect for the
old ways, and had borne the accusation unashamed, though
not unmoved. And she had always changed in due time,
if change was best, but never dishonoring her past. It was
felt that now she might, without loss of modesty, and indeed
by way of bounden duty, commemorate her founders and
their noble aims, her sons and their achievements ; that she
might emphasize and avow those of her long-cherished
ideals which had worthily survived ; that she might honor
herself by entertaining distinguished guests.
But there was also in the minds of trustees and faculty the
thought that they too, in a sense, should be founders ; that
this anniversary would give occasion for throwing off old
disabilities and acquiring new power; that the time had
come for a great liberalizing of purpose and a great ex-
pansion of activity. To this end, they conceived that the
celebration which they already saw as a possibility should
be not only retrospective and, so to speak, domestic, but
stimulating and broadly comprehensive. It should also be,
they thought, an earnest of future improvement. It should
inaugurate not only an era of better opportunity along many
and diverse lines of culture, but a revival of learning and
high discipline, a more serious and reasoned application of
our own well-tried methods in the pursuit of old and honored
ends. The movement, it was hoped, would have depth
and intensity, together with whatever extension should be
within our means.
These ideas began to take definite shape in the spring of
1894, when the faculty appointed a committee to ascertain
the precise date of the founding of the College of New
Jersey. On the report of this committee, the faculty de-
termined the date to be the twenty-second of October, 1746,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 3
the day when the first charter was signed. In November,
1894, the board of trustees resolved that there should be a
sesquicentennial celebration, and fixed upon October the
twenty-second, 1896, as the anniversary day, in accordance
with the view of the faculty. The trustees, at this meet-
ing, further resolved to endeavor to collect a memorial en-
dowment fund, and to consider the question of a change of
title from " The College of New Jersey " to " Princeton
University." To carry these three purposes into effect,
three committees were appointed one on the proposed
change of title, another on endowment, and a third on the
sesquicentennial celebration. These committees were con-
stituted as follows :
I. COMMITTEE ON CHANGE OF CORPORATE TITLE
Charles E. Green, LL.D., Chairman, Trenton, New Jersey.
President Patton, Princeton.
Thomas N. McCarter, LL.D., Newark, New Jersey.
Henry M. Alexander, LL.D., New York City.
Hon. Edward T. Green, LL.D., Trenton, New Jersey.
II. COMMITTEE ON ENDOWMENT:
Trustees.
James W. Alexander, A.M., Chairman, New York City.
Hon. John A. Stewart, New York City.
Charles E. Green, LL.D., Trenton, New Jersey.
Rev. J. Addison Henry, D.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
M. Taylor Pyne, LL.B., A.M., Princeton.
Cyrus H. McCormick, A.M., Chicago, Illinois.
John J. McCook, LL.D., New York City.
J. Bayard Henry, A.M., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
4 PRINCETON SKSQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Faculty.
The President of the College.
The Dean of the Faculty.
Professor John T. Duffield.
Professor William M. Sloane.
Professor Andrew F. West, Secretary.
A lumni.
William B. Hornblower, LL.D., New York City.
Adrian H. Joline, A.M., New York City.
Charles Scribner, A.M., New York City.
C. C. Cuyler, A.M., New York City.
S. B. Huey, A.M., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
John D. Davis, A.M., St. Louis, Missouri.
James Laughlin, Jr., A.M., Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
W. W. Lawrence, A.M., Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
James W. Alexander, A.M., Chairman.
President Patton.
Charles E. Green, LL.D.
M. Taylor Pyne, LL.B., A.M.
Cyrus H. McCormick, A.M.
John J. McCook, LL.D.
Professor William M. Sloane.
Professor Andrew F. West, Secretary.
III. COMMITTEE ON THE SESQUICENTENNIAL
CELEBRATION :
Trustees.
Charles E. Green, LL.D., '60, Chairman, Trenton, New Jersey.
President Patton.
Rev. Dr. E. R. Craven, '42, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Hon. John A. Stewart, New York City.
Rev. Dr. William Henry Green, Princeton, New Jersey.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Hon. Thomas N. McCarter, LL.D., '42, Newark, New Jersey.
Rev. S. Bayard Dod, A. M., '57, East Orange, New Jersey.
M. Taylor Pyne, LL.B., A.M., '77, Princeton.
James W. Alexander, A.M., '60, New York City.
Rev. Dr. George B. Stewart, '76, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Cyrus H. McCormick, A.M., '79, Chicago, Illinois.
John J. McCook, LL.D., New York City.
J. Bayard Henry, A.M., '76, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Edwin C. Osborn, Princeton, New Jersey.
Faculty.
The Dean of the Faculty.
Professor Henry C. Cameron, '47.
Professor Charles W. Shields, '44.
Professor William A. Packard.
Professor Cyrus F. Brackett.
Professor Charles A. Young.
Professor William M. Sloane.
Professor William Libbey, '77.
Professor W. B. Scott, '77.
Professor Allan Marquand, '74.
Professor Andrew F. West, '74, Secretary.
Professor Woodrow Wilson, '79.
Professor W. F. Magie, '79.
Professor H. D. Thompson, '85.
Alumni.
Mr. A. P. Whitehead, '50, New York City.
Hon. John L. Cadwalader, '56, New York City.
Hon. W. L. Dayton, '58, Trenton, New Jersey.
General W. S. Stryker, '58, Trenton, New Jersey.
Mr. R. M. Cadwalader, '60, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mr. J. Dundas Lippincott, '61, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Hon. John R. Emery, '61, Newark, New Jersey.
Hon. Joseph Cross, '65, Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Hon. J. K. McCammon, '65, Washington, D. C.
6 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Hon. R. Wayne Parker, '67, Newark, New Jersey.
Mr. William Scott, '68, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Elmer Ewing Green, '70, Trenton, New Jersey.
Mr. James M. Johnston, '70, Washington, D. C.
Hon. Bayard Stockton, '72, Princeton.
Rev. Dr. Henry van Dyke, '73, New York City.
Rev. Dr. Howard Duffield, '73, New York City.
Rev. Dr. S. J. McPherson, '74, Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. M. Allen Starr, '76, New York City.
Mr. George A. Armour, '77, Princeton.
Mr. C. C. Cuyler, '79, New York City.
Mr. Cleveland H. Dodge, '79, New York City.
Mr. Rudolph E. Schirmer, '80, New York City.
Hon. D. M. Massie, '80, Chillicothe, Ohio.
Rev. James D. Paxton, '80, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Pennington Whitehead, '81, New York City.
Mr. Philip N. Jackson, '81, Newark, New Jersey.
Mr. Thomas Shields Clarke, '82, New York City.
Mr. Lawrason Riggs, '83, Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Thomas B. Wanamaker, '83, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Junius S. Morgan, '88, New York City.
Mr. T. H. Powers Sailer, '89, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Henry M. Alexander, Jr., '90, New York City.
Mr. C. Ledyard Blair, '90, New York City.
Mr. Henry W. Green, '91, Trenton, New Jersey.
Mr. Irving Brokaw, '93, New York City.
Mr. John W. Garrett, '95, Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Albert G. Milbank, '96, New York City.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
Mr. Charles E. Green, Chairman.
President Patton.
Dean Murray.
Mr. James W. Alexander.
Mr. M. Taylor Pyne.
Mr. John J. McCook.
Mr. J. Bayard Henry.
PRINCETON SESQUJCENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Professor C. A. Young.
Professor W. M. Sloane.
Mr. C. C. Cuyler.
Mr. Richard M. Cadwalader.
Hon. R. Wayne Parker.
Professor Andrew F. West, Secretary.
THE SUB-COMMITTEES.
The Chairman and Secretary were members ex officio
of all sub-committees.
On Programme.
Rev. Dr. E. R. Craven, Chairman.
Rev. Dr. George B. Stewart.
Mr. John J. McCook.
Rev. Dr. Howard Duffield.
Rev. Dr. Henry van Dyke.
Hon. Joseph Cross.
Mr. Elmer E. Green.
Professor W. B. Scott.
Professor Allan Marquand.
Professor H. D. Thompson.
On Invitations.
Professor W. A. Packard, Chairman.
President Patton.
Professor C. W. Shields.
Professor William Libbey.
Mr. Elmer E. Green.
On Publication.
Dean Murray, Chairman.
Rev. S. Bayard Dod.
Professor H. C. Cameron.
Professor W. M. Sloane.
Professor Woodrow Wilson.
General W. S. Stryker.
8 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Mr. James M. Johnston.
Mr. George A. Armour.
Mr. Junius S. Morgan.
On Honorary Degrees.
President Patton, Chairman.
Rev. Dr. William Henry Green.
Hon. T. N. McCarter. '
Dean Murray.
Professor C. A. Young.
Professor C. F. Brackett.
Professor W. M. Sloane.
Professor W. B. Scott.
Professor Woodrow Wilson.
Hon. John L. Cadwalader.
Dr. M. Allen Starr.
Hon. John R. Emery.
Mr. A. P. Whitehead.
Hon. W. L. Dayton.
On Reception and Entertainment.
Mr. James W. Alexander, Chairman.
Professor William Libbey, Secretary.
Mr. M. Taylor Pyne.
Mr. J. Bayard Henry.
Professor H. C. Cameron.
Professor Allan Marquand.
Professor W. F. Magie.
Professor H. D. Thompson.
General W. S. Stryker.
Hon. W. L. Dayton.
Mr. R. M. Cadwalader.
Mr. George A. Armour.
Hon. Bayard Stockton.
Mr. Cleveland H. Dodge.
Mr. C. C. Cuyler.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 9
Mr. H. M. Alexander, Jr.
Mr. Henry W. Green.
Mr. E. C. Osborn.
On Student and Alumni Participation.
Mr. M. Taylor Pyne, Chairman.
Professor H. D. Thompson, Secretary.
Mr. J. Bayard Henry.
Professor William Libbey.
Professor W. F. Magie.
Hon. J. K. McCammon.
Mr. William Scott.
Mr. James M. Johnston.
Hon. Bayard Stockton.
Rev. Dr. Howard Duffield.
Mr. C. C. Cuyler.
Mr. Cleveland H. Dodge.
Hon. D. M. Massie.
Mr. Rudolph E. Schirmer.
Mr. P^nnington Whitehead.
Mr. Philip N. Jackson.
Mr. Thomas Shields Clarke.
Mr. Lawrason Riggs.
Mr. Thomas B. Wanamaker.
Mr. Junius S. Morgan.
Mr. T. H. Powers Sailer.
Mr. C. Ledyard Blair.
Mr. Henry M. Alexander, Jr.
Mr. Henry W. Green.
Mr. Irving Brokaw.
Mr. John W. Garrett.
Mr. Albert G. Milbank.
The College of New Jersey never having been vitally
connected with the State of New Jersey or dependent upon
it, and the name, moreover, being misleading for the reason
that since the removal of the institution to Princeton in 1756
10 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
it had been popularly known as Princeton College, there
had long been a desire among its graduates that the name
should be changed. Not only was the institution in no strict
sense the College of New Jersey, but it had ceased to be
merely a college. Indeed, it had been one of Princeton's dis-
tinctions that while many colleges and pretentious schools
gave themselves the sounding title of university, she, with
real university equipment and real university work to show,
had long been content with the modest name of college.
But the time had come when it seemed to all her friends
that she should assume a designation which henceforth,
more even than before, she was to merit. The Committee
on Change of Corporate Title therefore reported favorably,
and acting in accordance with the laws of the State, drew
up the following certificate, which, on the thirteenth of
February, 1896, was signed by the trustees whose names
are appended, sworn to and subscribed by the clerk of the
board of trustees before a notary public, and deposited in
the office of the clerk of the county on the twenty-seventh of
May, 1896. On the anniversary day, one hundred and fifty
years after the granting of the first charter to the College of
New Jersey, this document was filed with the Secretary of
State of New Jersey, as shown below.
x
CERTIFICATE OF
CHANGE OF CORPORATE NAME.
The Trustees of the College of New Jersey, a College Corpora-
tion, being an institution of learning organized under and by virtue
of Letters Patent of his Majesty George the Second, King of Great
Britain, France and Ireland, granted and issued by Jonathan Bel-
cher, esquire, Governor and Commander in Chief of the Province of
New Jersey, September I4th, 1748, and established by Acts of the
Legislature of New Jersey, now in force in this State, doth hereby cer-
tify that at a regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of said corpo-
PRINCETON SESQUICKNTENNIAL CELEBRATION 11
ration called (among other things) for the purpose of changing the
corporate name of said College or institution of learning, the said Board
of Trustees by a two thirds vote of the members present at said meet-
ing resolved to change the name of said corporation to The Trus-
tees of Princeton University ; and to that end the said corporation
doth certify and set forth :
I. That the name of said corporation in use immediately preced-
ing the said vote and the making and filing of this certificate was
"The Trustees of the College of New Jersey."
II. The new name assumed to designate said corporation and to
be used in its business and dealings in the place and stead of that
mentioned in the last preceding paragraph is " The Trustees of
Princeton University."
In Witness Whereof the said The Trustees of the
College of New Jersey hath caused the official
seal of said Board of Trustees, being also the
common seal of said corporation, to be here-
unto affixed; and the undersigned, being a ma-
jority of said Board of Trustees, have hereunto
set their signatures; all, this thirteenth day of
February, in the year of our Lord one thou-
sand eight hundred and ninety-six.
[Seal.]
Francis L. Patton, President, M. Taylor Pyne,
E. R. Craven, James W. Alexander,
Henry M. Alexander, F. B. Hodge,
William M. Paxton, D. R. Frazer,
John A. Stewart, John K. Cowen,
John Hall, George B. Stewart,
W. Henry Green, Cyrus H. McCormick,
Charles E. Green, M. W. Jacobus,
Thomas N. McCarter, W. J. Magie,
S. Bayard Dod, Edw. F. Green,
J. Addison Henry, John J. McCook,
John Dixon.
12 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
STATE OF NEW JERSEY, )
County of Mercer. )
Elijah R. Craven, Secretary (otherwise known and designated as
Clerk) of " The Trustees of the College of New Jersey," being duly
sworn, on his oath says that the foregoing certificate is made by au-
thority of the Board of Trustees of said corporation as expressed by
a two thirds vote of the members present at a regular meeting of
said Board called (among other things) for that purpose.
E. R. CRAVEN.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this
1 3th day of February, A. D. 1896.
E. C. OSBORN,
[Seal.] Notary Public.
ENDORSED. " Received in the office of the Clerk of the County
of Mercer, N. J., on the 2;th day of May, A. D. 1896, and recorded
in Book C of Corporations for said County, page 369.
" B. GUMMERE, Jr., Clerk."
"Filed, October 22nd, 1896.
" HENRY C. KELSEY, Secretary of State."
STATE OF NEW JERSEY.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
I, Alexander H. Rickey, Assistant Secretary of State of the State
of New Jersey, do hereby Certify that the foregoing is a true copy
of the Certificate of Change of Corporate Name of " The Trustees of
the College of New Jersey," to "The Trustees of Princeton Univer-
sity," and the endorsements thereon, as the same is taken from and
compared with the original, filed in the office of the Secretary of
State on the Twenty-second day of October, A. D., 1896, and now
remaining on file therein.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand
and affixed my Official Seal at Trenton, this
[Seal.] Fourth day of December A. D. 1896.
A. H. RICKEY,
Assistant Secretary of State.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 13
In the winter and spring of 1896, President Patton and
Professor West attended the annual meetings of the vari-
ous Princeton alumni associations scattered throughout the
country, speaking in behalf of the new movement, inviting
an active participation in the festivities, both by attending
the celebration and by contributing to the memorial en-
dowment. Traveling together for the most part, they visi-
ted the associations and groups of alumni in New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Newark, Scranton,
Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Louisville, Chi-
cago, Saint Louis, Saint Paul, and Minneapolis. At every
point there was deep interest in the projected celebration,
and a hearty readiness on the part of the alumni to lend
their help. Never before had the alumni associations
turned out in such force at their annual meetings as during
this winter and spring. In the addresses delivered, Presi-
dent Patton usually spoke of Princeton's history and aims,
and Professor West outlined the proposed celebration and
indicated how the alumni might cooperate in making it
successful.
The Committee on Endowment opened an office in Uni-
versity Hall, which Professor West and several assistants
made the centre of a canvass to secure endowment from the
graduates and friends of the college. The task was ren-
dered difficult by the depressed state of business through-
out the country, and by the excitement and uncertainty of
an approaching presidential election ; and many, indeed,
were the predictions of failure or of only partial success.
In general, however, it may be said that to any but a
naturally pessimistic mind a fair measure of success was
indubitable from the outset. For never, perhaps, in the
history of an American college was so large and compact a
body of men more determined to do something for educa-
tion and the home that had nourished their youth than the
I 1 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Princeton authorities and alumni. There had in past years
been many agencies at work to promote the interests of the
college; but these undertakings were as diverse as they
were numerous. Now every effort was being made to ac-
complish one thing, and all under one acknowledged man-
agement.
To facilitate the work of reaching the alumni and reviv-
ing their interest, a new edition of the General Catalogue
was prepared, under the direction of Professor Libbey.
This was the first one ever issued by the college in Eng-
lish, the old Triennial Catalogues having all been couched
in the Latin peculiar to such publications. A Directory of
Living Graduates was also printed, and statistical tables of
the Princeton men in the various professions and in other
walks of life were sent to the alumni, together with other
pamphlets showing the growth and good work of the
college, and setting forth its great need of increased en-
dowments.
A large sum of money was needed to provide for that
deepening and broadening of the opportunities for study
and research which should accompany the change of title
from college to university. It was not thought, however,
that the meaning of a university lay in the presence of the
four faculties of arts and sciences, theology, law, and medi-
cine, but rather that the essential requirements would be
satisfied in an institution where a large number of higher
studies, based upon a sound preliminary training, could be
carried on to the fullest extent, in an atmosphere at once
liberal, inspiring, and strongly social. It was felt that the
pursuit of pure learning and culture was more certainly
the office of a university than even the preparation for the
exercise of learned professions. The traditions of Prince-
ton were in keeping with this view. Although the terms of
the old charter were so generous that no change of even a
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION I T>
word was needed to enable the college to assume legally all
desired university powers, still it was felt that the true fu-
ture of Princeton would depend upon improvement and ex-
pansion along the lines of its history, rather than upon any
attempt to apply some scheme of ideal reconstruction. Then
the considerations of location had weight. Princeton is the
only place in America where so large and old a college is to
be found in a village. This rural environment, although
less friendly to the ordinary professional and technical train-
ing than to the sheltered quiet of academic life, was thought
to be admirably suited for the development of a university
devoted to pure learning and to the liberal aspects of those
studies which underlie and help to liberalize professional
and technical education. Accordingly, the chief desire of
the endowment committee was to augment the library; to
provide better laboratory facilities ; to create new depart-
ments and strengthen the old ; to establish professorships,
fellowships, and graduate scholarships ; to diminish under-
graduate expenses ; and to build dormitories for the foster-
ing of a manly, scholarly, social life. A special feature of
the work was the contribution by classes, the favorite ob-
ject of class collections being the foundation of fellowships.
Many of the committee's purposes were destined to be
splendidly accomplished. They kept their affairs secret,
however, and the amount and nature of the gifts were not
made known until the final day of the celebration.
The preliminary labors of the Committee on the Sesqui-
centennial Celebration were long and arduous. When their
general plans had been outlined, and the details partly elabo-
rated, they issued an invitation to various universities and
learned societies, at home and abroad. This invitation was
in Latin, and printed on parchment. As an example, a re-
duced copy of the one sent to the ancient University of Bo-
logna is here subjoined.
(Sollegii
i cll&acjnlfico et (zfenatui oQcadetnico
C Pnlue^.ntatid cff&cuiidttetum c&ononiae foomrnotantium
J . . a*. .
Gralutem in -Uomino,
/ am elahcnte anno centeAimo quinquageAimo, am i/lu4fttdtftmt et doctiA-
dimi, ex quo fundatoteA (Sollegii 'ffieocaeAaziendid tke<)auzum acientiae in
agio AcholaAtico pie cjuacrenteA noatzam uniuetAitatem et condidezunt et
eadeni qua kodie gaudeinuA docendi didcendique libeilate donaueiunt
nobis placuit nee huiuA heneficii immemoiikua nee emum uixozum qui pet annoA
praetevitod alii donii dandij alii colendit AtudiiA noAtzum Atudium gene-talc fizma-
iicrunt immo etiam. 2)iuinatn illam pzouidentiam quae huctuque nobtA c&l auxiliata
pzaecipue zecognoAcentibuA AaeculateA inAtitueze feziaa tziduum celebzandaJ eaddemque
die anniuetAazio cente.Hino qutnquageAimo ad Auminum uentuzaA tioc eAt die uiceAimo
Aecundo menAiA GctobziA anno iam iam ineunte,
ofdcizco noA ^zaeAeA (auzatozeA ^zofeAAozeA (ootlegu Y&eocaeAazienAiA multa et
azta uincula quae noAtzain cum aliiA uniuetAitatibuA colligant zecozdanteA pzecamuz
ut unuin aliquem ex ueAtzo ozdine acadennco deligatiA uicazium qui tioApitio UAUA
noAtzo nobtACum co tempoze Laetetuz uiti quod antea fuezit (Collegium
tune rite facia inauguzakituz Aolemmtez et nouiA uizibuA, AIC enini ApezamuA, in Aae-
culum ingzedietuz nouuni,
in &d.ula TOaAMuica I /-> / < / > ,
. SEAL cfzanciAcuA Jbandeii zLatton,
' (Januaiti \ J &
..
die
ptmo canuati<
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 17
But the full extent of this committee's work can be real-
ized only by a consideration of the three festival days to which
they led, together with the preliminary fortnight in October,
1896. It was chilling to think what havoc in their plans a
few days of rain might cause, and no Princeton man cared
to dwell upon the dire possibility. All that men could do,
however, was done to avert disaster of this sort, and there
was assurance in the knowledge that only three times in the
last twenty years had the 2Oth, 2ist, and 22d of October
been aught but serenely magnificent at Princeton.
THE PUBLIC LECTURES.
THE first treat provided by the committee consisted of a
number of free public lectures by distinguished scholars from
other countries. They were given from October I2th to
1 9th inclusive, and attracted a large number of alumni and
teachers and professors, besides affording our own faculty
and students an unusual opportunity for hearing six men
notable in their particular lines of work. These courses were
an event in the intellectual life of Princeton, and occasioned
a lively interest throughout the country. Moreover, it was
a very great pleasure to have these distinguished gentlemen
intimately connected with the social and intellectual life of
Princeton, even for the all too brief period of a fortnight, and
their presence contributed not a little to the seriousness and
usefulness of our academic festival. The ordinary academic
exercises were not, of course, suspended during this time,
but the lectures on topics of more general interest, such as
Professor Dowden's and Professor Seth's, were so conve-
niently scheduled that students and members of the faculty
could hear them. The programme of lectures was as follows :
18 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
I.
Four lectures by Joseph John Thomson, Cavendish Professor of
Physics in the University of Cambridge, England. Subject : The
Discharge of Electricity in Gases. These lectures were delivered
in the Physical Lecture-room of the School of Science.
First lecture: nine o'clock Tuesday morning, October i3th.
Second lecture : nine o'clock Wednesday morning, October i4th.
Third lecture : nine o'clock Thursday morning, October 1 5th.
Fourth lecture: nine o'clock Friday morning, October i6th.
ii.
Four lectures by Felix Klein, Professor of Mathematics in the
University of Gottingen, Germany. Subject: The Mathematical
Theory of the Top. These colloquia were held in the Physical
Lecture-room of the School of Science.
First lecture: eleven o'clock Monday morning, October i2th.
Second lecture: eleven o'clock Tuesday morning, October i3th.
Third lecture: eleven o'clock Wednesday morning, October I4th.
Fourth lecture: eleven o'clock Thursday morning, October 15th.
in.
Six lectures by Edward Dowden, Professor of English Liter-
ature and Rhetoric in Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Subject:
The French Revolution and English Literature. These lectures
were delivered in Alexander Hall.
First lecture : three o'clock Monday afternoon, October 1 2th.
The Revolutionary Spirit before the Revolution.
Second lecture: three o'clock Tuesday afternoon, October i3th.
Theorists of the Revolution : William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft.
Third lecture: three o'clock Wednesday afternoon, October i4th.
Anti-revolution : Edmund Burke.
Fourth lecture: three o'clock Thursday afternoon, October i5th.
Early Revolutionary group and antagonists : Southey : Coleridge :
the Anti-Jacobin.
Fifth lecture: three o'clock Friday afternoon, October i6th.
Recovery and Reaction : Wordsworth.
Sixth lecture: three o'clock Saturday afternoon, October i7th.
Renewed Revolutionary Advance : Byron : Moore : Shelley.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 1!'
IV.
Two lectures by Andrew Seth, Professor of Logic and Meta-
physics in the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Subject: Theism.
The lectures were delivered in Alexander Hall at eleven o'clock
Friday morning, October i6th and Saturday morning, October ijth.
v.
One lecture by Karl Brugmann, Professor of Indogermanic Philol-
ogy in the University of Leipzig, Germany. Subject: The Na-
ture and Origin of the Noun Genders in the Indogermanic Lan-
guages (Ueber Wesen und Ursprung der Geschlechtsunterscheidung
bei den Nomina der indogermanischen Sprachen), This lecture was
delivered in German in the English Room, Dickinson Hall, at half-
past ten o'clock Monday morning, October
VI.
One lecture by A. A. W. Hubrecht, Professor of Zoology in the
University of Utrecht, Holland. Subject : The Descent of the Pri-
mates. This lecture was delivered in the Geological Lecture-room
in Nassau Hall at twelve o'clock noon, Monday, October igth.
All the lectures were well attended. Representative men
of science and letters, with students of philosophy and phi-
lology, flocked to hear them. The American Mathematical
Society held a special meeting in Princeton in honor of Pro-
fessors Thomson and Klein. Less formal gatherings were
also held in honor of the other lecturers. It was a delightful
intellectual week, full of pleasant incidents of a personal na-
ture. Such were the sympathetic demonstrations of appreci-
ation made by the auditors from time to time. Such were
the short addresses made to the lecturers at the close, and
their felicitous responses thereto. One of these, of peculiar
local interest, was the preliminary remarks of Professor Seth
on the many bonds that connect the history of Princeton with
the University of Edinburgh, and his fine tribute to Presi-
dent McCosh.
20 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
It was with great regret that the end of these courses was
seen approaching. Their educational influence was unques-
tionable, and the spectacle they afforded gave some hint of
the character of the celebration proper.
THE FIRST DAY.
Showers on the i8th and igth had freshened the grass
and laid the dust, and when the next morning dawned every
Princetonian was sure the sun shone upon no cleaner, fairer,
and more radiant town in all the world. The citizens of
Princeton, both collectively through the borough govern-
ment and as individuals, had done their utmost to beautify
the streets and decorate the houses. The national banner
and the Princeton colors were flying from flag-poles and cor-
nices. The horses in the streets wore orange ribbons in
their manes. The village shop-windows were abloom with
bright colors. In the gardens the beds of early chrysan-
themums were coming into flower. Two white triumphal
arches had been erected on old Nassau street. One stood
at the intersection of Stockton and Nassau. In form it was
a copy of the Arch of Trajan. It was national in character,
being fully decorated with American flags and native laurel.
This arch was given by the town of Princeton. On its
western front was inscribed
FROM THE TOWN TO THE UNIVERSITY
and on the eastern front appeared the motto
DOMINE FAC SALVAM REMPVBLICAM.
The second arch was placed in front of the Dean's House.
Its proportions were modelled after the Washington Arch
in New York. It was decorated with the orange and black
banners of Princeton, and bore on its two faces the mottoes
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 21
embodying a farewell to the old and a greeting to the new.
The mottoes were
AVE VALE COLLEGIVM NEOCAESARIENSE
and
AVE SALVE VNIVERSITAS PRINCETONIENSIS.
Inside the college fence spread the broad green acres
which are Princeton's pride, their gentle elms and tall
columnar tulip-trees all ablaze in soft but brilliant yellow
and orange, the maples burning here and there a scarlet
flame, and the Virginia creepers clothing old walls with fes-
tive purple. The centre for all eyes, like the chief figure in
a drama, was the long, massive, and yet graceful pile of Nas-
sau Hall, shining dark in changeless ivy amid the brief
glow of autumnal splendor. The students had decorated
their chamber windows and the walls of their dormitories
with orange and black banners and broad bands of bright
cloth. It was a general remark that Nature herself had
donned Princeton colors. No more brilliant orange could
be conceived of than the masses of foliage which lined Nas-
sau, Mercer, and Stockton streets and Bayard Avenue. The
broad, undulating plain southward from the Princeton up-
lands shimmered soft in the haze of Indian summer. The
view from Prospect, the President's House, was entrancing:
a gentle landscape of rolling forests touched here and there
with the white lines of village spires, and lying fairer to the
eye because of the dark evergreens which crown the ter-
races of the President's gardens.
The avenue of venerable elms which is called McCosh
Walk drew throngs of visitors. The Curator of Grounds
and Buildings had spared no efforts to beautify the newer
portions of the campus back of Dod Hall and Brown Hall
and around the Brokaw Memorial, and the young turf was
fresh and full of vigor and lay pleasantly in open, verdant
22 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
slopes. The walks were neatly trimmed, as they always
are ; but the grass on the front campus looked a little less
smooth and rich than usual, owing to the dry summer.
Work had already begun on the new Library Quadrangle,
but the materials of construction were fenced into a restricted
space. However, in the midst of all the new buildings,
spreading from the Infirmary westward, none attracted so
many loving and admiring glances as the brown walls of
Nassau Hall, of East and West Colleges, and Dickinson,
covered all with immemorial green. The roads through the
hill country north of Princeton, and those to Lawrenceville
and Kingston, were in fine condition; and fortunate indeed
were those guests who found time to walk or drive over
Rocky Hill, or along the zigzags of Stony Brook, or down
the Millstone River.
Extensive arrangements having been made for the enter-
tainment of guests, the immense throng of people who
began to arrive early on Tuesday, October the 2Oth, was
easily accommodated. This was effected by the facilities
afforded in the way of frequent special trains on the Penn-
sylvania Railroad, between Princeton and New York, Phila-
delphia, and Trenton, and by the engagement of hotels in
Trenton.
The official programme of the three days had now been
issued. Each day was so arranged that the entire official
body of delegates, accompanied by the Princeton trustees and
professors, was to meet in the morning in the same place at
the same hour, and, after receiving any notices that might
be opportune, go in academic procession to the first event of
the day. As a rule, only three events were placed on the
programme of any day, and every event was planned to
come within two hours in duration. The programme was
as follows :
(Beneral programme
of tbc
Princeton
Sesquicentennial
Celebration
TUESDAY
OCTOBER THE TWENTIETH
WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER THE TWENTY-FIRST
THURSDAY
OCTOBER THE TWENTY-SECOND
1896
An asterisk (*) indicates occasions at
which academic costume will be used.
Events indicated in brackets [],
though not part of the academic pro-
gramme, are given for the sake of
convenience.
ttue00ag, ctober tbe (Twentieth
Reception
10.30 a.m.
Academic Procession forms
at Marquand Chapel.
11.00 a.m.
Religious Service in Alex-
ander Hall.
3.00 p.m.
* Reception of Delegates in
Alexander Hall.
4.30 p.m.
Presentation of Delegates in
the Chancellor Green Library.
9.00 p.m.
Orchestral Concert in Alex-
ander Hall.
23
Second Dag
, ctober tbe
Slumnf and Student Dag
10.30a.m.
Academic Procession forms
at Marquand Chapel.
U. 00 a.m.
*The Poem and Oration in
Alexander Hall.
2.30 p.m.
[The undergraduate football teams
of the University of Virginia and
Princeton University will play on
the University Athletic Field.]
8.30 p.m.
Torchlight Procession and
Illumination of the Campus.
The procession will be re-
viewed by the President of
the United States.
TOiro H>ap
, October tbe CwentB=seconO
Seequicentennial annivetsarg Dag
10.30 a.m.
Academic Procession forms
at Marquand Chapel.
11.00a.m.
*The Sesquicentennial Cele-
bration in Alexander Hall.
35 p.m.
Reception to the President
and Mrs.Cleveland atProspect.
8.00 p.m.
[Glee Club Concert in Alexander
Hall.]
s >
O Q
CO
2 ** oo
S o g 8 j
&J C4 o <
"
4_ O i*
g ee
>0
For each great occasion of the three days' festival a
special programme was issued, and was adhered to
with uniform closeness, except in the case of the reli-
gious service on the first day, the programme for which
is here reproduced as it was actually carried out :
BODINE
Philadelphia
a
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tf
PR
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k.
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IA
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1
ft>
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1
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III
r ~ r
v
With ancient bitter hate,
Such might and cunning gre
|
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C
o
%
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>,
M
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S
Our foe attempts to enthrall us.
'hat though in every path of life
A host of fiends endeavor
9 wound us in the deadly strife ?
Their arts shall triumph never.
The ancient Prince of Hell
May threaten as he will ;
S.
H
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t/i
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_5
"rt
U
rt
h
IH
4J
V
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od's Word forever standeth sure,
Whatever man betideth ;
e makes the weakest soul endure,
Who in His grace confideth.
1
V
1
.g
c
V
H
Goods, honor, children, wife
We cheerful let them go,
No profit have they so
God's kingdom ours abideth.
Be
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8
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tbundretitb pea
11 people that on ear
Sing to the Lord
im serve with mirth
Come ye before h
a
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s
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1
DE WITT
igical Seminary
T PATTON
FACULTY
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: rom age to age end
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PROFE
Princeton
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A
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 27
The procession which formed in Marquand Chapel at half-
past ten on Tuesday morning, and which marched out two
and two to wind across the campus past Whig and Clio
Halls to Alexander Hall, was a mass of brilliant color, the
orange and black hoods of Princeton of course predominating.
Professor Libbey marshalled the line, which was headed by
President Patton and Dean Fisher of the Yale Divinity
School. Behind them came the faculty of the Princeton
Theological Seminary ; then Dean Murray and the dele-
gates from abroad ; then the trustees of the College of New
Jersey, the representatives of American universities, col-
leges, and learned societies, the faculty and instructors of
the College of New Jersey ; and, finally, a number of men
who have won higher degrees from Princeton. The pro-
cession entered the ambulatory of Alexander Hall at the
east end, through an immense concourse of undergraduates,
alumni, and visitors, and proceeded half way around, and
passed through the centre of the audience-room, which was
already half filled. President Patton, with the Princeton
faculty and those who were to officiate in the service, took
seats upon the bema, and the rest of the procession was
massed in the orchestra. At the right of the bema hung
a large white silk banner with the new arms of the univer-
sity worked in orange, with the dates 1746-1896, a gift
from the ladies of Princeton. The prelude, on the fine
organ recently given by Mrs. Charles Alexander of New
York, and placed in the musicians' gallery on the left, was
played by Professor Dwight Elmendorf, of New York, a
member of the class of 1882; and at its close a choir
of undergraduates and alumni sang the anthem " Veni
Creator Spiritus." Professor Fisher, Dean of the Divinity
School of Yale University, in a few solemn words in-
voked the blessing of Almighty God upon the proceedings
now beginning and upon the future life of Princeton Uni-
28 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
versity, and the entire assembly sang the One Hundredth
Psalm.
Professor De Witt, of the Princeton Theological Semi-
nary, read the third chapter of the First Epistle to the
Corinthians, and then President Patton preached the fol-
lowing sermon :
RELIGION AND THE UNIVERSITY.
FOR OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO MAN LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST.
I Cor. iii. n.
THE first charter of the College of New Jersey was signed
by John Hamilton, "President of His Majesty's Council,"
on the twenty-second day of October, 1746. A second
charter, still more liberal in its provisions, was obtained
from Governor Belcher in 1748.
It was surely the day of small things when a little
company of Presbyterians in the city of New York and
its vicinity interested themselves in establishing a seat
of learning in the Province of New Jersey as a means
of providing a liberal education for young men intending
to enter the ministry. The ineffectual efforts which they
had previously made, and their ultimate success, bear
striking testimony to the religious intolerance of the
times, the more enlightened policy of President Hamilton
and Governor Belcher, and the liberal spirit of the foun-
ders of the new institution, who, though Presbyterians
by conviction, and actuated, in the main, by zeal for the
religious necessities of their own church, accepted without
scruple a charter which gave no advantage to any de-
nomination, and, beyond a scheme for liberal culture,
made no specific provision for the needs of any profession.
The spirit of the founders has been kept alive in their
successors. The interests of the college have always
been in the hands of religious men, and of men, I may
Interior of Alexander Hall.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENN1AL CELEBRATION 29
say, belonging, as a rule, to a particular branch of
Protestant Christendom ; but it has never been under
ecclesiastical control. It has served the Church and it
has served the State without in any sense being under
the authority of either. The founders of the College of
New Jersey did not establish a theological school with a
preparatory department in arts ; they established a Fac-
ulty of Arts with an embryonic department of theology.
There is a great difference between the two methods,
and this difference has determined the course of Prince-
ton's subsequent development. The establishment, at a
later date, in Princeton of a theological school under
ecclesiastical control made it unnecessary and unwise to
continue theological instruction in the college; and from
that time until now the teaching force of the College of
New Jersey has consisted of a single University Faculty
of Arts. Thanks to the liberal policy of her founders,
thanks also to the wise Christian spirit of those who
have guided her course, Princeton College, though ever
hospitable to new ideas, and ever ready to recognize
new truth, has throughout her history been true to the
spirit of those who founded her, and has never had reason
to feel that in any instance she has violated her charter,
or been unfaithful to the moral obligations imposed by
the labors and benefactions of the Christian men who
have been interested in her welfare.
Considered in respect to nations and periods that are
characterized by immobility, the lapse of a hundred and
fifty years is not a matter that need call for special com-
memoration. But in this country the beginning of such
a period antedates the national life. Princeton shares
with her older sisters, Harvard and Yale, the distinction
of a life coeval with our national independence, and she
claims for herself a distinction, shared in equal degree by
30 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
no other institution, of being a large factor in the making
of the nation. Of the part that Princeton played in the
Revolutionary struggle ; of President Witherspoon, who
signed the Declaration of Independence; of the Prince-
ton men, and particularly of Madison and Paterson and
Oliver Ellsworth, who helped to make the Constitution
of the United States; of the meeting of the Continental
Congress in this place and under the roof of Nassau
Hall, you will in all probability be told by another speaker
on a later occasion. It is enough for me, having men-
tioned these names in connection with the political his-
tory of the country, to add to them the names of Henry
and Guyot in science ; of Jonathan Edwards and James
McCosh in philosophy ; of the Alexanders and Hodges
in theology; and then to ask if I am making an empty
boast when I say that Princeton has won for herself a
conspicuous place in the intellectual history of America.
It has been the aim of those who have governed this
institution to make and keep it a Christian college. The
men who have contributed to its endowment and ad-
ministered its affairs and taught in its class-rooms have
been Christian men. They have been men of deep con-
viction regarding God and his government, and they
have had high ideas respecting their responsibility for
the use of time and money. There is in the history of
the college, in what she has done and in what she has
been saved from doing, in what she has achieved and
in what she has escaped, abundant reason for profound
gratitude. Filled, then, with these thoughts of the past,
and standing upon the threshold of a new period in the
history of this institution, let us give thanks to God for
the good that has been done in his name by the men
who have served it and the men who have gone out from
it; and let us pray that to us upon whom devolves
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 31
the responsibility of opening a new era in the educa-
tional policy of Princeton there may be granted that
wisdom which shall save us from mistakes, and that
grace which shall enable us to use for God's glory the
power and influence that are given to us by reason of
our place in the organic life of a great institution.
Our history, as I cannot help believing, is also a pro-
phecy. There has been ample time in that history for
the line of tendency along which we are likely to de-
velop to reveal itself. For there is an analogy between
the history of an institution and the growth of an or-
ganism, and growth is recalcitrant to interference from
without. You may shape your block of marble as you
will, but you must be content to see the process of self-
realization go on in the organism according to the logic
of its inner life. There are universities that are made
in obedience to the wills of their founders, which have
no tradition to conserve. They are free to shape their
policy in unhampered independence of the past. But it
is not so with us. We have come to be what we are
through the slow growth of a hundred and fifty years.
We have our own ideas of education, which are, in
part, the result of our experience, and, in part, perhaps,
an expression of our conservatism. We give large
place in our curriculum to contemporaneous know-
ledge, but we are unwilling to part with our modest
heritage of Hellenic culture. We believe in special-
ization, but we also believe that the student makes a
mistake when, in his haste to win his spurs in some
narrow field of inquiry, he foregoes the advantage of
a broad general education. Intellectual discipline is
good, but it is not so important as high manhood ;
and, eager though we may be to turn out from year to
year a few men of high intellectual attainment, we
32 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
deem it far more important that the great body of our
graduates should be men of moral courage and re-
ligious convictions, public-spirited, patriotic, and pos-
sessed of clear, balanced, and discriminating judgment
in regard to public questions.
Princeton has a great work to do in science, philosophy,
and literature. I have no doubt that she will do it well.
I hope she will continue to do it under Christian rubrics
without any loss of moral initiative or religious faith.
I confess that I am not without my anxieties when
I think of the future of our American institutions in
relation to their religion. I see no reason why I
should not feel anxiety in regard to Princeton, for we
cannot hope to escape altogether from the operation of
the forces that are potent elsewhere.
I feel inclined to-day, speaking not to Princeton men
alone, nor in regard to Princeton specifically, to employ
the time allotted to me in considering the relation of
religion to the university. I do not know of any sub-
ject that could more properly be considered in a sermon
addressed to an academic audience ; nor do I know of
a time when this theme could be more seasonably
treated than that which is given me in connection with
these religious services with which we begin our Ses-
quicentennial Celebration that is designed to com-
memorate the history of the College of New Jersey
and to inaugurate Princeton University.
I
I CANNOT better begin what I have to say on this
subject than by reminding you of the fact that re-
ligion and by that I mean, of course, the Christian
religion is the genetic antecedent of the university. It
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 33
is true that we cannot impute a distinctively religious
origin to the universities of Salerno and Bologna, and
if we are looking for an explanation that will apply
equally to all the mediaeval universities, we must pay
for our comprehensiveness by being correspondingly
vague ; and then we can do no better than say with
Mr. Rashdall that the rise of the university is due to
the spirit of association that spread over Europe during
the middle ages, and that the universities were simply
guilds of learning. Even then, however, it might be
worth while to ask whether these guilds, as illustrating
the fellowship of kindred minds, did not receive a new
impetus from Christianity, which itself was an expansion
of the idea of the higher kinship as expounded by the
Saviour when he said, "Whosoever doeth the will of
my Father in heaven, the same is my mother and sister
and brother." But whatever be the origin of the
Southern universities, those of the North (and they are
the prototypes of our American colleges and universi-
ties) were undoubtedly the outgrowth of Christianity.
The religion of Christ gave men new ideals. It turned
them from the quest of pleasure and the love of plunder
to a life of contemplation and the pursuit of knowledge.
It made them thoughtful, serious, and reverent. Think-
ing is also religion, I believe Hegel somewhere says;
and whether he is right or not, it is certain that the man
who takes a serious view of life and has learned to ap-
preciate the deep mystery of Being is not far from the
place of communion with God. Christianity popularized
philosophy. For the Christian's creed was a meta-
physic ; and the man who had been taught to believe in
Creation, the Incarnation, the Trinity, Sin, and the
Atonement was obliged in the nature of the case to
have a very considerable theory of the universe. Many
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
of us, I dare say, remember that we took our first lessons
in philosophy in the pew, and that we got our first im-
pulse to think through the sermon. I believe it is
Stevenson who says that there is "a hum of meta-
physical divinity about the cradle of every Scot." There
can be little doubt, I think, that the religious training of
the Scottish people has had much to do in making them
the metaphysical people that they are. Christianity has
done for the world what a particular type of it has done
in a more marked way for Scotland. It has forced men
to think. It has made learning a necessity for all who
wish to be intelligently informed in regard to religion,
and a particular necessity for those who were the offi-
cial expounders of Christianity. The mediaeval univer-
sities were, for the most part, in the hands of the clergy,
because they had most need of them and could make
best use of them ; for it must never be forgotten that if
to-day there are other professions that require quite as
much learning as the clerical, there was a time when it
was the only profession that required any. If now, in
addition to what has been said, it be remembered that
Christianity inculcated philanthropy and high ideas re-
specting the duties of citizenship, we shall see how
largely it enters as a constitutive element in the
making of the modern university.
The stages of university history can be roughly indi-
cated, though we must not press the idea of chronologi-
cal sequence too far. First came the democratic guild
of scholars and masters devoting themselves to the
study of law as in Bologna, or to scholastic divinity as
in Paris, and living without endowments or even fixed
places of abode. Then came the period of endowed
foundations and perhaps it would be as well to take
William of Wykeham as a typical example of the great
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION .'IT)
patrons of learning, for he, says Mr. Rashdall, " may be
allowed the credit of having been the first college
founder who required his scholars to say their prayers
morning and evening and go to chapel daily." Then
in the New World came the colleges like those in New
England, like Princeton, like Lafayette, like a multitude
besides in the middle and western States, which were
the direct outgrowth of Christian philanthropy, and
which were established with the avowed purpose of
giving a liberal education from the Christian point of
view. Then came the State universities, and, last of all,
the triumph of Christian philanthropy in the lavish use
of wealth on the part of men like John C. Green,
Johns Hopkins, Ezra Cornell, and John Rockefeller, for
the more complete equipment of existing institutions or
the establishment of new universities. Now, though the
circumstances attending the establishment of colleges
and universities are different in different cases, and
though the religious motive in the establishment of
some of the more recent universities by private benefi-
cence, and particularly in the establishment of univer-
sities under control of the State, is not so manifest as in
the establishment of those which are more directly
identified with the religious interests of a particular de-
nomination of Christians, I am disposed to give Chris-
tianity credit for them all. I have not yet known of a
State university where the profession of atheism was
regarded as a desirable quality in a professor, and I
happen to know of more than one State university
where a sympathetic attitude toward revealed religion is
regarded as an essential qualification for a teacher of
philosophy. I am glad to have Princeton in that goodly
fellowship of American colleges that have been estab-
lished by Christian men, and have been built upon
36 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Christian foundations. I believe that these colleges
have done, and are still doing, a work of priceless
value for the Church and for the State. And yet I
sometimes wonder whether more use might not be
wisely made of the State universities ; whether a wise
economy of resources as in the newer States might not
suggest such an affiliation of various educational interests
as would serve to throw around young men a distinctly
Christian influence, and at the same time open to them
the opportunities of a wide range of study which only
a large institution can afford to offer. I recognize very
distinctly the fact that the ranks of the ministry have
been recruited very largely from the smaller denomina-
tional colleges, and I must not for a moment be under-
stood as in any sense detracting from the immense ser-
vices which those colleges have rendered and have yet to
render, or as implying that they deserve any but the
most liberal support of the denominations to which they
naturally appeal, when I say that at the present day
it is a matter of some importance that a very consider-
able number of those who enter the sacred calling should
be very intelligently informed in respect to the questions
now involved in science and philosophy before they
enter upon the professional study of theology ; and
that it would be a misfortune if the time should ever
come when it would be the strong men of the weak
colleges and the weak men of the strong colleges upon
whom we should mainly rely to fill up the ranks of the
Christian ministry.
I do not wish, however, to ignore the fact that
true though it may be that the universities are in a gen-
eral way the offspring of Christianity, there are uni-
versities (and Princeton is one of them) that may be
regarded as distinctly Christian institutions. Still they
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 37
are Christian rather in the conditions of their origin
than in the contents of their curricula. Their object is
not so much to teach religion as to teach science in a
religious spirit. It is more in the way they teach than
in what they teach that they deserve to be called Chris-
tian schools. Hence a Christian college is not to be
judged by the amount of religion that it teaches, or
the place it assigns to the Scriptures in its curriculum.
In the colleges and universities of which I speak, Chris-
tianity underlies, informs, unifies, and is the unexpressed
postulate of all instruction. And this Christian spirit
that practically affects teaching without announcing it-
self, which presupposes Christianity without any irri-
tating self-assertion, is on the whole the most effective.
Not that it is to be expected that a Christian university
should be reticent in regard to the truths of religion.
Indeed, as I shall at present be at pains to show, it
cannot be. And so it has come to pass that the uni-
versity has had its share of religious controversy. Very
naturally ; for when religion plants a seat of learning
and installs a faculty, it clearly says that religion is ready
to be tried by rational tests. The child of the Chris-
tian consciousness, the university by and by becomes its
critic. Born of Christianity, the time comes when it
attains its majority and refuses to remain in ecclesias-
tical leading-strings. This may seem ungrateful, but it
cannot be helped. The necessary consequence of the
alliance between religion and the university is the ra-
tionalizing of religion. It is easy to see that the ex-
tremes of tendency are superstition on the one hand
and infidelity on the other. Ecclesiasticism pure and
simple may easily run to the one extreme ; intellectual-
ism pure and simple may as easily run to the other.
How to be saved from either may be difficult; but we
38 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
may be sure that the religion which in the last analysis
will not bear examination must go down. Credo quia
impossibile is not the basis of a sound apologetic; and
whether it be Tertullian or Mr. Kidd who would have
us think so, it can never be rational to believe in an
irrational religion.
The rationalizing process may go wrong, but that is
no reason why men should stop thinking; and a univer-
sity is a very dead place if the men in it do not think.
When, therefore, the masters of the University of Paris
told the Pope that on a certain matter of dogmatic
theology they were more competent to speak than he
was, they were doing exactly what they might have
been expected to do, and in doing this were the pre-
cursors of that movement which put so many of the
universities of northern Europe on the side of Protes-
tantism and made them the embodiments of the spirit
of religious independence. When I say that the criticism
of religion in the university is inevitable, I am not say-
ing that it is of the essence of the university that its
teachings should be absolutely free. I have nothing to
say here by way of objection to those universities where
absolute freedom of teaching is the rule. There are
universities, I know, where that absolute freedom would
not be allowed. So far as Princeton is concerned I
find myself in very agreeable harmony with what one
of my younger colleagues has said in a recent periodi-
cal. "Princeton," says Professor Daniels, "is definitely
and irrevocably committed to Christian ideals. It has
therefore, with reference to certain primary problems,
already taken a definite position. It stands for a theistic
metaphysic. Nor does it claim or desire any reputa-
tion for impartiality or open-mindedness which is to be
purchased by a sacrifice of this its traditional philosophic
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 39
attitude." Princeton then, as we are told, "stands for a
theistic metaphysic." The critic might say, if he were
so disposed, that with equal reason it might be made
to stand for something less, or might be made to stand
for something more; and that there is something arbi-
trary about the boundary line that separates the kingdom
of fixed belief from that of free discussion. Now I
venture to say that the weight of the sentence that I
have thought sufficiently significant to quote lies not so
much in what Princeton is said to stand for as in the
fact that she is said to stand for something ; and I can
easily believe that the exact quantum of belief for which
Princeton stands may be some thing about which indi-
viduals may now differ and may vary from age to age.
What Princeton stands for really depends upon those
who govern her. No matter what our origin was;
what was believed one hundred and fifty years ago;
what Christian symbol or legend we put on the univer-
sity seal; what moral obligations are imposed by gifts
of generous benefactors, the exact amount of religious
belief that this university will stand for can be deter-
mined only by the amount of belief that the trustees
have the moral courage to enunciate in the form of a
resolution. That will depend upon the state of public
opinion; the degree of sensitiveness to public opinion on
the part of men who hold the places of responsibility;
and the amount of strong conviction ready for expres-
sion at any given time by the governing body.
This only shows how solemn the responsibility is
which rests upon the twenty-seven men who control
Princeton University. They have power to vote in the
election of their colleagues, but no power to direct
their votes after they take office. We have received
this institution from a past generation, and we hold it
40 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
with absolute power of tradition to the next. We can-
not bind our successors. We may install them with
due solemnity of precatory phrase, but we cannot predict
or control their action. The sacred interests of Prince-
ton are in our keeping. We have but a simple duty
respecting their transfer to the next generation. St.
Paul has expressed that duty in his own words to Tim-
othy: "The things which thou hast heard of me, the
same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able
to teach others also."
II
THERE is another phase of the subject with which we
are dealing. It concerns the inquiry as to the extent
to which religion, and particularly the Christian religion,
should enter into the curriculum of the university. There
are two extreme positions sometimes taken by those who
express themselves upon this question. There are some
who seem to suppose that it is proper and possible to
exclude all reference to religion, and confine the work
of university instruction to strictly secular themes.
Others, again, seem not to realize the changed condi-
tions of university life, and suppose that it is easy to
carry on through the entire undergraduate curriculum
a scheme of enforced religious instruction based upon
an accepted type of thought in respect to the Bible and
revealed religion. I am confident that a more careful
study will show that both of these positions are wrong ;
and that nothing requires more wisdom, tact, and know-
ledge of the actual conditions of thought in the learned
world than the problem of religion in the university. It
is a very large subject, and I question whether it can be
adequately dealt with by any one who is not in actual
contact with undergraduate life, and who is not aware
b
t^
o\
1
> o
S s
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 41
of the ins and outs of thought in it ; and who; moreover,
is not by reason of professional study brought-into close
relations with the.religious problems of the present day.
For myself, I believe that in the early years of under-
graduate life a course of elementary biblical instruction,
adapted to the needs of young men who are no longer
school-boys on the one hand, and are not yet students
of philosophy on the other, is a most important part of
the curriculum ; but I would not carry biblical instruc-
tion into the upper years of the curriculum, unless, in
point of scientific thoroughness, it could compare fa-
vorably with the work done in other departments ; and
then, of course, I would not make it compulsory, though
I firmly believe that advanced students in philosophy
and literature should have the opportunity of seeing
how the problems of literature *nd philosophy bear upon
the Bible and Christianity. For if secular themes are to
be discussed in a Christian university in a religious spirit
and under Christian conceptions, it is no less true that
religious themes must be discussed in a scientific spirit
and according to scientific principles. It is impossible
for a university to discharge its functions without de-
claring itself upon the great question of religion. The
subject no longer lies within the easy possibilities of
definition which existed half a century ago. Then the
student of Reid or Dugald Stewart debated the question
of mediate or immediate perception, or accepted the easy
account of the mental powers as they were mapped out
for him in the psychology of introspection, and seldom
went any deeper. His religious faith was buttressed by
a course of lectures on the evidences of Christianity,
which treated as postulates what have since become
some of the most serious problems of our times. There
were religious difficulties to be dealt with, but they lay,
42 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
for the most part, in a remote corner of the field of in-
quiry, and concerned questions like the days of Genesis
and the extent of the Deluge. It is otherwise now; for
the doctrine of evolution has made a great change in
regard to the place of religion in the studies of the uni-
versities. Every subject is considered from the histori-
cal point of view and according to the genetic method ;
and, whether we approve of it or not, the religious prob-
lem is forced into prominence. A man cannot study
genetic psychology and metaphysics and the theory of
knowledge at the present day without facing the prob-
lem of a separate and enduring selfhood, and without
asking whether the world is to be construed according
to a theistic or a pantheistic metaphysic. It is idle for
the theologians to attempt, as the Ritschlians do, to
exclude metaphysics from theology ; but it is just as
idle for the philosopher to talk of excluding theology
from metaphysics; theology is philosophy and phil-
osophy is theology, so far as the question of the rela-
tion of God to the world is concerned. All problems
in philosophy go back to two questions: whether God
exists separate from the world, and whether we exist
separate from God. The fate of religion lies in the
answer to these questions. When, therefore, the stu-
dent is wrestling with the problems of metaphysics, he
is putting his religious faith on trial. It is easy, then, to
see the vital relations which the chair of philosophy sus-
tains to practical Christianity, and the responsibility that
one assumes when he undertakes to be guide, philos-
opher, and friend to the young man who finds himself
obliged to seek for himself a fresh orientation in refer-
ence to his religious belief. Now, if one half of our
religion, or what is commonly called natural religion, is
necessarily involved in the study of philosophy, the
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 43
other half, or what is known as revealed religion, is as
necessarily involved in the study of history. We should
hardly think of excluding the history of civilization from
the studies of the university, yet it would be difficult, I
imagine, to treat the history of institutions without refer-
ence to Christianity, or to trace the history of ethical
ideas without mentioning the New Testament, or to write
the history of opinion in respect to social morality with-
out regard to the Sermon on the Mount and the Pauline
literature. These writings may, doubtless, be referred
to without raising the question of their authority; but
that question must be raised sooner or later, because
the question respecting authority is involved in that of
origin ; and the question respecting the origin of the
sacred books is involved in the question respecting the
place of Christianity in the history of the world; and
this again is part of the broader question respecting
the meaning and the history of religion. Any theory
that undertakes to explain human history must be ade-
quate to give a rational explanation of religion. It is
not merely because of its practical importance, but also
because of its persistent universality, that it has become
the object of so much interest to the philosopher. Hence
it happens that the most earnest students of the phe-
nomena of religion are not always religious men, but
men, often, who are anxious to show that their theories
which destroy the value of religion are abundantly ade-
quate to explain it. Now, when one enters upon the
study of the history of religion, I do not see how he
can content himself with the simple recognition of
Christianity as one of the forms in which the religious
consciousness has been manifested ; or how he can avoid
assuming some attitude in respect to the exceptional
claims that Christianity makes in its own behalf. He
44 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
knows what attitude some of the philosophers are tak-
ing. They are becoming constructive theologians.
They are lecturing on Jesus and St. Paul, and ex-
pounding the ethics and metaphysics of the New Tes-
tament in the interests of naturalism. What shall he
do? Shall the agnostic be free to deny the claims of
Christianity, and he be hindered from defending it?
Now I venture to say that the philosophical construc-
tion of the facts of Christianity is forced upon us by
the conditions of thought under which we live ; and
that there is no subject wider in its sweep, more im-
perative in its claim, and more momentous in the issues
with which it deals, than the philosophy of religion.
Into the making of it go one's psychology, one's ethic,
one's metaphysic, one's history, one's literary criticism;
and on it depend in greater or less degree one's social
science, one's politics, one's jurisprudence, one's the-
ology, one's religion. The day has passed when re-
ligion was regarded as something very important, but
not very interesting. There are too many, I fear, who
do not regard it as important; but among philosophers
it is generally conceded to be interesting. No well-
appointed university can refrain from dealing with its
problems. For us there can be but one of two posi-
tions : we must be silent and hand over the discus-
sion to the sceptic, or we must show ourselves worthy
of the high place we have already won in the depart-
ment of religious philosophy, and take a strong position
on the side of historic Christianity. There is little doubt
among us, I think, respecting the attitude that Princeton
should ever hold. Leaving to the theological schools
and to the appropriate ecclesiastical tribunals the dis-
cussion of questions in divinity on which the churches
are divided, and standing aloof from sectarian contro-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 45
versy, it is our duty to hold ourselves ready for the de-
fence of those fundamental truths in philosophy and in
religion, in the maintenance of which Christians of every
name have a common interest. I hope that Princeton
will always stand for belief in the living God, the im-
mortal self, an imperative morality, and the Divine
Christ. On this broad platform all the true friends of
Princeton can meet, and here we must stand if we would
be true to the spirit of our history and continue to de-
serve the confidence of Christian men.
Ill
I TRUST that I have made it clear that I fully recognize
the fact that however true it may be that Christian ideas
have been the moving causes in the endowment of uni-
versities and particularly of this, and however much it
may be proper and even inevitable that the great fun-
damental truths of Christianity should have place in
university teaching, the particular end for which the
university exists is not primarily the promotion of re-
ligion. The university should not be expected to do the
work of the Church. It has ends of its own, and these
are not distinctively religious. And yet we cannot keep
religion altogether out of our minds when we consider
these ends. Religion is indeed, as a little reflection will
show, necessary to the full and satisfactory realization
of the ends for which the university exists ; and it is in
this light that I now wish to regard it.
It is not necessary to lay stress upon the mediaeval
distinction between the university of masters and the
university of scholars for the purpose of settling ques-
tions of precedence or of determining the relations they
sustain to each other. It would hardly be denied on
46 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
the one hand that the professor's business is to teach;
and it would be pretty generally conceded on the other
that more is expected of him than the discharge of his
pedagogic functions. But the distinction I have referred
to will serve a good purpose if it reminds us that the
professors of a university sustain a relation to the general
public apart from the relation they sustain to the stu-
dents who listen to their instruction. They constitute
the priesthood of learning, and are set apart for the
service of truth. Besides training young men for the ac-
tive duties of life, it may be fairly expected of them that,
they should enlarge the borders of knowledge and con-
tribute substantially to the formation of a sound public
opinion. These, indeed, I take it, are the three great
functions of the university. The institution that is not
doing something in each of these directions is not accom-
plishing the work it was intended to do ; and for the
successful accomplishment of this work a reverent atti-
tude toward religion and a certain amount of religious
. faith would seem to be a logical necessity.
I lay stress upon that side of the professor's life which
relates him to the general public, for the non-academic
consciousness does not always properly apprehend it.
The professor would not think that his calling were
possessed of so much inherent dignity if he regarded
himself simply as the means of imparting to a body of
mediocre and often very idle young men the modest
amount of knowledge that they acquire during a college
course ; and he would particularly resent the crude
Philistinism that regards him simply in the light of an
employe". The dignity of the professor's calling can be
maintained only by regarding the incumbent of this office
as holding a commission as an independent seeker after
truth. There is something fascinating in such a life.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 47
In its fine scorn of material things, in its dignified and
independent simplicity, there is surely something to ad-
mire. We cannot help feeling, it is true, that intellec-
tual labor is sometimes wasted on very unimportant
matters ; and that much of what was never known
before is not worth knowing; and that original re-
search so often means only infinite pains for the gather-
ing of facts that involve no theory and help no generali-
zation and apparently serve no other purpose than to
verify the statement that of making many books there
is no end, and that much study is a weariness of the
flesh. Then, too, we find it hard sometimes to bear
the great man's arrogance and conceit ; and it disap-
points us to see him enter the world's market and sell
his rash judgments and crude novelties for such poor
price of place or fame as the world will give. But, after
all, the marvel is that the appetite for learning and the
zest with which men engage in intellectual toil should be
so enduring. I particularly wonder at the intellectual
earnestness of men who have discarded all religious be-
lief. They seem to be so inconsistent and illogical ;
they especially impress me so when they employ their
energies in seeking to destroy the world's faith in God,
for they seem to be undermining their own career and
leaving it without a reason. For on the supposition
that the world is a system of thought-relations there is
something natural in man's persistent effort to explain
his habitat and give an account of himself. For whether
God be our unreached goal of endeavor, the ideal Good,
the infinite Knower in front of us, above and beyond ; or
whether it be that the inspiration of the Almighty gives
man understanding, so that he is the master light of all
our seeing: in either case there is a religious element in
all inquiry; there is something that partakes almost of a
48 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
religious act in every serious effort to understand the
world ; there is something almost sacramental in the
apprehension of a great idea which at the same moment
interprets the world and brings the mind into fellow-
ship with God. I believe that the indwelling Spirit of
God is the source of our curiosity; that our restless
seeking after the right understanding of the world is
one of the ways in which God reveals himself; that the
religious nature of man is the key to his intellectual ac-
tivity and the basis of even his irreligious zeal ; that if
there were no God and no fellowship between God and
man, if all that is were explicable in the terms of matter
and motion, there could be no ideals and no intellectual
ambition ; that if man should lose his faith in God, he
would lose his love of truth; and that the death of re-
ligion would be the death of intellectual endeavor.
There is another work which the university ought to
perform. It should contribute toward the forming of a
sound public opinion. In a broad and far-reaching sense
it should teach patriotism. There is, I grant, a great deal
to justify the confidence with which we rest in the sober
second thought of the nation, and the optimism which
makes us feel that the common sense of the American
people is equal to any emergency. The essential moral-
ity of the people of our land, as it finds expression in
the pulpit and the press, is a great source of comfort in
a time of national peril. And yet when fundamental
morality is assailed, when revolutionary views of gov-
ernment are publicly expounded, when socialistic the-
ories find plausible advocates, it will not do to rely
altogether upon popular sentiment or the common sense
of the American people. We must do something to keep
this common sense from being corrupted, and this must
consist of something more than popular harangue and
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 49
the florid iteration of the commonplaces of morality.
There must be deep philosophical discussion of great
public questions by men of acknowledged authority in
political, social, and economic science. This work can
be done better in the universities than anywhere else.
This is what I mean when I say that the university
should be a school of patriotism. Of a certain type
of patriotism there is no lack. We may trust the in-
stincts of our people, without any help from academic
sources, to resist foreign interference and defend na-
tional honor. We understand without being reminded
of it that this land is our heritage and that this western
civilization is our problem. But the day is past when
national pride and patriotic devotion can be best ex-
hibited by awakening the memories of international
antagonism. We are in no danger of invasion. Our
foes are those of our own household. Our difficulties
are those which we share with other nations. They are
evils incident to the struggle for the democratization of
government, or that are consequent on its rapid devel-
opment ; that follow as a consequence of the congested
life of great cities, or grow out of the complicated ma-
chinery of industrialism. We who believe in the sta-
bility of government as an ordinance of God should
stand by each other in all civilized lands on account of
the dangers common to all. I believe that the uni-
versities have something to do toward helping on the
cause of good feeling between the nations, and particu-
larly between those two nations that are so closely
bound to each other by the ties of blood, the bonds of a
common speech, a common law, and a common religion.
Part of the history that we commemorate and of which
we are proud is the place that Princeton took in the
struggle for independence against the mother-land. And
50 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
now I trust that Princeton, as she enters upon a new era
in her history, will do her part toward the formation
of a public sentiment that shall make it impossible for the
clash of arms ever to be heard again between the two
great nations of the English-speaking world. I hope
that she will do something to stimulate the develop-
ment of the international conscience, to widen the range
of international law, and to hasten the day when in-
ternational disputes shall be settled by arbitration.
International law rests on a basis of morality. It is
essentially a university study, and I should like to see
Princeton take a high place in connection with its
development.
But, as I have already implied, the questions which
give us most cause for anxiety are national, and not in-
ternational. The question with us is whether the popu-
lar will is still on the side of constitutional government;
whether the public conscience will stand by the financial
integrity of the nation; whether great cities can have
good government; and whether the ten commandments
shall continue to regulate social behavior. It is true
that a campaign of education is needed. But it is an
education beyond that which the statistician and the
collector of facts can give us. It is an education beyond
that which appeals to our selfish greed. It must be an
education which goes to the roots of our moral life.
For purposes of convenience you may entrust the sci-
ence of ethics to one man, and of politics to another, and
of jurisprudence to a third. The economist may study
the laws of industrial activity, and the student of social
science deal with the pathological conditions of society
the poverty, the moral pollution, the crime; but when
we come to ask whether the remedy is to be found in
laisser faire, or the interference of the state, or in moral
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 51
measures, we shall find that no department is isolated
and distinct; that our metaphysics, our ethics, our juris-
prudence, our economics, our politics, our social sci-
ence, all overlap each other; that all are comprehended
in the one idea that we live in a moral universe. I
do not like the phrase Christian socialism, and I cer-
tainly do not agree with the opinion entertained by
those who use it most. But if Christianity is true, we
cannot afford to ignore what it has to say; and there
can be no sound public opinion upon these great ethical
problems which does not make acknowledgment of the
binding obligations of the laws of the kingdom of God.
But there is another work which the university is
expected to do; and this, though it does not so com-
pletely fill the imagination of the ambitious professor
who dreams of fame, is nevertheless the greatest work
which it can do. It is the province of the university to
train men, by means of a liberal education, for the active
duties of life. It is given only to a few to add to the
world's stock of knowledge; it is only at rare intervals
that we shall succeed in turning out a great thinker who
will make his mark upon his age. But our colleges and
universities are contributing every year to the moral and
intellectual forces of the world a body of young men
whose aggregate influence is enormous. It would be
a mistake if we should ever come to undervalue this
work in Princeton or assign it a second place. There
may easily be too many men engaged in the special
work of the scholar; there are only limited opportun-
ities for a career in science; but there is an unlimited
demand for men who can bring to the discharge of the
ordinary duties of citizenship the advantages of a liberal
education. The best work of Princeton is represented
to-day in her 3916 living graduates. They are our let-
52 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
ters of commendation. It is of course not to be ex-
pected of the average graduate that he should be a
technical scholar. But we have done something if we
have opened the eyes of his understanding, that he may
know what the world of thought and learning means.
We have done something if we have helped him so to
widen the area of his selfhood and adjust it to the
world he lives in that he can enter into appreciative
relationship with the true, the beautiful, and the good.
We have done something if we have so impressed his
moral nature that he is able to have worthy ideals in
regard to his own life, and a comprehensive sense of the
duties of citizenship. We have rendered no small ser-
vice to the world if as the result of our work the men
who go out from our halls are so appreciative of what-
soever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are of good report, that they will
think on these things. It needs no argument to show
that the complete man is he whose culture culminates
in religion. The utilitarian view of education, which
regards it as a means to an end, is not to be despised.
I should not be so unpractical as to overlook the fact
that education helps a man to make a place in the world,
to win fortune, fame, and power. But a large place
must be given to religion in the profit and loss account
of life; for what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole
world and lose his own soul ? University men are in
an ever increasing degree to be the influential men in
this nation. These are the men to whom we must look
to be the standard-bearers of a high morality, to set an
example of unselfish living for worthy ends; and that
their influence may be good in the ratio that it is
great, it is necessary that their moral and religious na-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 53
tures shall be trained as well as their intellectual powers.
We might well feel discouraged if the educated men
of this land should cease to be religious. And if the
graduates of our universities should turn their backs
upon the religion of their fathers, we might well exclaim:
"If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that
darkness!"
IV
THIS leads me to say, in a closing word, that the re-
ligious thought of the university must inevitably affect
the popular religion. University men set the intel-
lectual fashion of the day in religion as in other things.
I do not mean by this, of course, that religion will hold
its own by the grace of university authorities, any more
than I believe that God depends on the good-will of
the philosophers for the popular recognition of his au-
thority. Believing as I do in revealed religion, I do
not believe that it will be destroyed by the labors of a
few professors of historical and literary criticism. But
there may be, as there have been, times of religious de-
clension and relative loss of faith. And it is a matter
of great moment to religion whether or no the intel-
lectual atmosphere in the university is favorable to
serious religious thought. I should like to see a less
absorbing interest in sport and a more serious intel-
lectual tone. I would not cut off social pleasure from
university life; but I would not have a university career
degenerate into a period of indolent enjoyment. I
would not take life too seriously ; but I would not make
it a jest. There is reason to fear that men may become
sceptics, but there is more reason to fear that they will
lapse into indifference. There is a one-sided culture
that may prove itself the enemy of all that is deepest and
54 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
best in our nature. There is a type of Hellenism that
ends in a pagan rehabilitation of the flesh, where the
sensuous love of beauty slides easily into sensual dis-
regard of morals. There is a scientific devotion to
material facts which may end in the atrophy of the finer
elements of our spiritual nature, and so affect our poetry,
our sentiment, our hope, our trust in the Father in
heaven. These are tendencies in university life that
awaken anxiety in thoughtful minds.
And yet I do not think that the religious influence
of the university is only, or even chiefly, negative.
From the time of Wickliffe in Oxford and Huss in
Prague until the present day, the universities have been
centres of religious movements. We have had Puri-
tanism and Rationalism and Sacramentarianism. Chris-
tianity has been attacked and it has been defended by
university men. There have been periods of negative
theology and periods of apologetic. And with the
thought of the day on all questions centring in and in-
volving religious problems, one cannot help believing
that the university will soon be the centre of another re-
ligious movement. It will not be patristic and it will
not be Puritan in form ; but it must be constructive.
It will attempt the synthesis of modern thought in his-
tory, philosophy, and criticism in reference to the prob-
lem of Christianity. The process may not go on as
we could wish, and there may not go into it all that
we could desire ; but the work will proceed upon the
basis of the written Word and the Word made flesh.
The Logos will be the key to our metaphysic, our his-
tory, our social philosophy, our theory of life. The
men who engage in this work will rebuild the edifice of
faith upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. I do
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 56
not know what part Princeton will have in this religious
movement which dare I prophesy it? may open
the twentieth century. It would be strange if she
should have none. The fathers of this institution have
laid the foundations deep and strong. It is ours to build
thereon. Let us take heed how we build thereupon.
Let us especially be careful not to undo the work al-
ready done: for other foundation can no man lay than
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
But whatever be our place in the sphere of religious
philosophy, let us hope and pray that in the sphere of
practical religious life Princeton may keep the place
she has always held. No part of our work is more
important than that which addresses itself to the devo-
tional side of our nature and that centres in our chapel
services. There have been in past days great seasons
of religious awakening in this college. I pray God
that times of refreshing may come again. There has
always been here a body of earnest, spiritually minded
men; there were never more than there are to-day.
Christianity, as we understand it, is more than a series
of precepts: it is a way of salvation. We preach Christ
Jesus, and him crucified. We believe that he is the
propitiation for our sins, and that we have redemption
through his blood. Through all the hundred and fifty
years of the history of the College of New Jersey this
message has been faithfully proclaimed in her pulpit;
and it is the earnest prayer of all who love her best,
and have served her most, that the day may never
come when it can be said of those who hold high
place in Princeton University that they are ashamed
of the gospel of Christ.
56 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
After the sermon, which was listened to throughout with
close attention, particularly in the passages which appealed
for Christian relations between the two great branches of
the English-speaking race, and which met with immediate
response from the entire audience, a prayer was offered by
Dean Murray, and the hymn " Ein' feste Burg ist unser
Gott" was sung. The Rev. Dr. W. B. Bodine, of Phila-
delphia, pronounced the benediction.
When the service was concluded the official body of dele-
gates, trustees, and professors was entertained at luncheon
by Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Green. The less formal round
of teas, dinners, and luncheons of the preceding week now
began to take on more of the character of academic func-
tions. Of these the chief were the President's dinners, the
luncheons and teas provided by Mr. and Mrs. Green, the
dinners and luncheons of several professors and trustees
all ending, on the third day of the feast, with the luncheon
to the President of the United States and Mrs. Cleveland,
and the farewell dinner to the delegates.
The delegates from other institutions and from learned
societies were formally received, at three o'clock on Tues-
day afternoon, in Alexander Hall. Upon this occasion the
delegates from abroad, and the presidents, provosts, and
deans of American universities, occupied the platform, the
other delegates being seated, with the faculty and trustees
of Princeton University, in the orchestra, while the rest of
the house was open, by ticket, to the public. The delegates
and the institutions they represented were :
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston.
Hon. William Everett.
American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, Pa.
Hon. J. Craig Biddle, '41.
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PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 57
American University, Washington.
Chancellor John Fletcher Hurst.
Amherst College, Massachusetts.
President Merrill Edwards Gates.
Andover Theological Seminary, Massachusetts.
President Egbert Coffin Smyth.
University of Athens, Greece.
Hon. Dimitrius Botassi,
Consul-General of the Kingdom of Greece, New York.
Auburn Theological Seminary, New York.
Professor Henry Matthias Booth.
Bangor Theological Seminary, Maine.
President George W. Gilmore, '<$j.
The Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York.
Professor William T. Lusk.
Bowdoin College, Maine.
President William De Witt Hyde.
Brown University, Rhode Island.
Professor A Ibert Harkness.
The Bucknell University, Pennsylvania.
President John Howard Harris.
University of California, California.
Professor Joseph LeConte.
University of Cambridge, England.
Professor Joseph John Thomson.
The Catholic University of America, Washington.
Professor F. Hyvernat.
The Central University of Kentucky, Kentucky.
Chancellor L. H. Blanton.
58 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
The University of Chicago, Illinois.
President William Rainey Harper.
The University of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Professor Thomas Herbert Norton.
Clark University, Massachusetts.
President G. Stanley Hall.
College of Charleston, South Carolina.
President Henry E. Shepherd.
Columbia- University, New York.
President Seth Low.
Columbian University, Washington.
President B. L. Whitman.
Cornell University, New York.
President Jacob Gould Schurman.
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia.
President John Forrest.
Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.
President William J. Tucker.
Drew Theological Seminary, New Jersey.
President Henry A. Buttz.
University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Professor Andrew Seth.
The College of Emporia, Kansas.
President J. D. Hewitt.
Erskine College, South Carolina.
Professor J. I. McCain.
Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania.
President John S. Stahr.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 59
Georgetown University, District of Columbia.
President Joseph Havens Richards, S. J.
University of Gottingen, Germany.
Professor Felix Klein.
University of Halle, Germany.
Professor Johannes Conrad.
Hamilton College, New York.
Dean A. G. Hopkins.
The College of Hampden Sidney, Virginia.
Professor Walter Blair.
Hartford Theological Seminary, Connecticut.
President Chester D. Hartranft.
Harvard University, Massachusetts.
President Charles William Eliot,
Professor George Lincoln Goodale,
Professor William James.
Hobart College, New York.
Dean W. Pitt Durfee.
The Jefferson Medical College, Pennsylvania.
Professor James C. Wilson.
The Johns Hopkins University, Maryland.
President Daniel Coit Gilman.
The University of Kansas, Kansas.
Chancellor Francis H. Snow.
Kenyon College, Ohio.
Professor William F. Peirce.
Knox College, Canada.
Principal William Caven.
60 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Lafayette College, Pennsylvania.
President Ethelbert Dudley Warfield, '82.
The Lake Forest University, Illinois.
Mr. Cyrus Hall McCormick, '79.
Lane Theological Seminary, Ohio.
Professor Kemper Fullerton, '88.
Lehigh University, Pennsylvania.
President Thomas Messinger Drown.
University of Leipzig, Germany.
Professor Karl Brugmann.
Lincoln University, Pennsylvania.
President Isaac N. Rendall.
University of London, England.
Professor Joseph John Thomson.
McCormick Theological Seminary, Illinois.
Professor A. C. Zenos.
McGill University, Canada.
Principal William Peterson.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts.
President Francis A . Walker.
The University of Michigan, Michigan.
President James Burrill Angell.
The University of Minnesota, Minnesota.
President Cyrus Northrup.
University of the State of Missouri, Missouri.
President Richard H. Jesse.
Muhlenberg College, Pennsylvania.
President Theodore L. Seip.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 61
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D. C.
Professor John Trowbridge,
of Harvard University.
Professor Charles Augustus Young,
of Princeton University.
University of Nebraska, Nebraska.
Chancellor George E. MacLean.
New York Law School, New York.
Dean George Chase.
The University of North Carolina, North Carolina.
President E. A. A Iderman.
Northwestern University, Illinois.
President Henry Wade Rogers.
Oberlin College, Ohio.
Professor G. Frederick Wright.
Ohio State University, Ohio.
Hon. D. M. Massie, 'So.
University of Oxford, England.
Professor Gold-win Smith,
of Toronto.
Professor Edward Bagnall Poulton.
University of Paris, France.
Professor Henri Moissan.
University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania.
Provost Charles Custis Harrison.
Presbyterian Theological Seminary, South Carolina.
Rev. Dr. Samuel S. Laws.
Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey.
Professor William Henry Green.
62 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
x
Queen's College and University, Canada.
Chancellor Sandford Fleming.
Randolph Macon College, Virginia.
President W. W. Smith.
Roanoke College, Virginia.
President Julius D. Dreher.
Robert College, Constantinople, Turkey.
Professor Charles Anderson.
The Royal Society, London, England.
Professor Joseph John Thomson.
Rutgers College, New Jersey.
President A us tin Scott.
University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
Principal William Peterson,
of McGill College and University.
San Francisco Seminary, California.
Professor William Alexander.
The Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
Professor Samuel Pierpont Langley,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
South Carolina College, South Carolina.
President James Woodrow.
Southwestern Presbyterian University, Tennessee.
Professor James Adair Lyon, y js.
Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania.
President Charles DeGarmo.
Syrian Protestant College, Syria.
President Daniel Bliss.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 63
University of Texas, Texas.
Professor George Bruce Halsted, '75.
University of Toronto, Canada.
President James London.
Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
Professor Robert Yelverton Tyrrell,*
Professor Edward Dowden. ,
Union Theological Seminary, New York.
President Thomas Samuel Hastings.
Union University, New York.
President Andrew Van Vranken Raymond.
The United States Military Academy, West Point.
Colonel Peter S. Michie, U. S. A.
United States Naval Academy, Annapolis.
Commander Edwin White, U. S. N.
University of Utrecht, Holland.
Professor Arnold Ambrosius Willem Hubrecht.
Vanderbilt University, Tennessee.
Professor William L. Dudley.
University of Vermont, Vermont.
President Matthew Henry Buckham.
University of Virginia, Virginia.
Professor F. H. Smith.
Washington and Jefferson College, Pennsylvania.
President James D. Moffat.
The Washington and Lee University, Virginia.
Professor Henry Alexander White.
* Professor Tyrrell had arranged to be present, but was unavoidably detained.
64 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Wesleyan University, Connecticut.
Professor John M. Van Vleck, Acting President.
Western Theological Seminary, Pennsylvania.
Professor Matthew Brown Riddle.
Western University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania.
Chancellor William J. Holland.
The College of William and Mary, Virginia.
Professor Lyon G. Tyler.
Williams College, Massachusetts.
President Franklin Carter.
University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin.
President Charles Kendall Adams.
Wittenberg College, Ohio.
President S. A. Ort.
Yale University, Connecticut.
Professor George Park Fisher,
Dean of the Divinity School.
After music by Lander's orchestra, Mr. Charles E. Green,
of the Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Committee on the
Sesquicentennial Celebration, opened the exercises with a
brief statement of what Princeton College had done for the
country ; what she had stood for in the educational world
and in the national life ; her spirit and attitude toward both ;
of the stimulus to thinking and high work that had been
given the college by the lectures during the preceding week;
of the eminent men who had addressed in them the univer-
sity world ; of Princeton's appreciation of so large and dis-
tinguished a representation from the universities and colleges
of the old world and the new ; and most cordially welcomed
to the homes and hospitality of Princeton and the university
Charles Ewing Green.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 65
those who had responded to our invitation and honored us
by their presence. He also bade the representatives of the
institutions which had sent addresses, to express Princeton's
cordial appreciation of the very kind and flattering terms in
which they had been pleased to express their good wishes to
the college as it entered upon a new era.
Mr. Green then introduced the Rev. Dr. Howard Duffield,
of New York, who welcomed the delegates in the following
address :
FELLOW PRINCETONIANS AND FRIENDS OF NASSAU HALL:
Alma Mater keeps open house to-day. Her children are
thronging back to the old home. Her neighbors have
flocked together from all the country round. A noble
company of guests from beyond the water has come to
grace her jubilee.
Alma Mater has reached a grand climacteric. She
has garnered the fruitage of one hundred and fifty
years. Her hand touches the shining goal toward
which her patient steps have long been pressing. Gar-
landed with well-won laurels, she girds herself for wider
fields of toil. But scholastic honors are of little worth
when severed from human sympathies. She therefore
hails with peculiar delight this gathering together of her
sons and her companions, whose presence exalts her in-
vestiture with academic dignity into a coronation of af-
fection.
Alma Mater welcomes " her boys." They come to
her to-day from every compass point. They come
freighted with cares, scarred with the conflicts of life,
crowned with success, burdened with reverse, silvered
with the frosts of winter, but always " her boys." If,
as they gather around her, the emotion of their hearts
66 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
could be interpreted in speech, they fain would say:
" Alma Mater, well-beloved mother, dear art thou to us,
though thine attire be never so quiet and sober ; thy
virtues all unheralded among men ; thine achievements
bounded by the humblest sphere. We are glad when
we see thee put on thy beautiful garments. We re-
joice in thy widening renown. We exult as the voices
of the world take up thy praise but love thee more,
we cannot."
The College of New Jersey welcomes that guild of
literary craftsmen, in whose comradeship she has striven
for the welfare of our beloved land. Few American
academies had opened their doors when Princeton was
born. This institution was the child of those stalwart
pioneers of truth who must have a place of study, even
if it was built of logs, and who knew how to create a
university in a forest clearing. From the meridian of
Plymouth Rock, and from the bank of Neshaminy
Creek, came the influences that generated Princeton.
The Puritanism of New England and the Scotch-Irish-
ism of the middle colonies blended in her life. Harvard
furnished one of the most influential founders. Yale
contributed the three earliest of her presidents. The
Tennents inbreathed the institution with their flaming
ardor for the truth.
This handful of schools set to themselves a brave
mission. Before this land was measured, while its
settlers lingered within the sound of the sea, its forests
all untravelled, its rivers unmapped, its fields unfurrowed,
they conspired to rear a citizenship which could worthily
wield the scepter of such a sovereignty. They knew
that knowledge fed patriotism ; that ignorance was the
owlish foster-mother of public dishonor; that anarchy
cannot live in the light; that civic hate never kindled
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION G7
its incendiary torch at wisdom's altar-fires. Right well
did those old-time school-houses deserve to be called
" the Martello towers on the coast-line of our civiliza-
tion." It is a glad omen to behold this auspicious rep-
resentation of America's academic force, an armament
of truth which ultimately must possess the continent.
It is a peculiar privilege to salute the delegates of such a
brilliant constellation of institutions, established in busy
metropolitan centres ; lifting their cupolas above the
roofs of quiet country towns; anchored on the seaboard,
nestling against the hillside, reposing by the lake shore,
or studding the imperial prairie land of the West ; bear-
ing the titles of historic commonwealths, or standing as
the enduring and beneficent memorials of individual de-
votion to the truth ; but all baptized with the spirit of
antagonism to the forces which slink and burrow ; all
banded together by the stress of a supreme endeavor for
the uplifting of humanity.
Nassau Hall extends an especial warmth of welcome
to the illustrious men of letters from the Old World
seats of learning, who have rendered this moment
memorable by their coming hitherward. Princeton was
at the beginning a colonial school, but it has always
been infected with a cosmopolitan spirit. Columbus
discovered this new world, but Joseph Henry of Prince-
ton discovered the method of binding worlds together.
Our heraldry carries a blazon of European loyalty.
The name of " Nassau " unites us to the British throne,
and allies us with the champions of European liberty.
We wear the colors before which the arms of mediaeval
tyranny went backward, and the spirit of feudalism was
exorcised from Great Britain. The ocean has not in-
sulated this institution. The Atlantic has not been a
barrier, but a highway. The Princeton theology has
68 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
never held it to be an infraction of the eighth command-
ment to steal the good and the great wherever found.
Once and again she has recruited her teaching with
transatlantic thinkers. Alone among American univer-
sities she has crossed the sea for her presidents. Twice
she has summoned to her leadership the sons of that
land where the granite is clothed with the heather,
where strength is wedded with beauty. You have
journeyed hitherward over a path plowed by the keels
of Princeton's treasure-ships. You come to us, not as
aliens, but as allies, as kinsfolk, to add a bond tender
and undying to the friendships which already bind this
institution to those venerable haunts of learning which
are beyond the sea.
We bid you welcome in the name of an honored
past. In ancient Athens the Parthenon crested the
Acropolis. The sanctuary of wisdom glorified the hill
which was sacred to the divinity of war. In like manner
Nassau Hall stands upon a battle-field. Its site marks
a pivotal spot in the struggle for our national existence.
Its culture was a prime factor in the formation of our
nation's life.
The American revolution was not a spasm of blind
unreason. It was a war of eternal principles. It enlisted
men of thought, the children of the noblest era of Eng-
lish letters, the inheritors of the literary wealth of Eu-
rope. The academy became the recruiting-station for
the Continental Army. The munitions of war were
obtained from the arsenals of truth. There was logic,
as well as powder, behind the bullets. The bayonets
thought. The ideas by which the Mayflower was
motored marched to victory at Yorktown. American
independence is the fruit of a ripe intelligence.
Princeton was a veritable Gibraltar of Americanism.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 69
From the moment that the hum of freedom's fight ran
through the land, Princeton throbbed with patriotism.
Gowned in black, her students burned the papers that
hinted compromise with tyranny. They repeated the
Boston Tea Party upon the front campus. They wore
only American cloth. " We learn patriotism as well as
Greek," declared one of their number. They graduated
the secretary of the Mecklenburg Convention. Their
president sat in the Continental Congress. His impas-
sioned earnestness forced the passage of the Declaration
of Independence. The crucial struggle of the Revo-
lution left its imprint upon the wall of Old North. The
college chapel became the meeting-place of Congress.
Washington was present at its commencements, and
enrolled his foster son among its students, and issued
his farewell to the army within its shadow. The sign-
ing of the treaty of peace at Versailles was proclaimed
within its prayer hall in the presence of a brilliant assem-
bly of diplomats. The simple facts of the college annals
seem tinged with romance. Cold statistics glow with
rhetoric. Suffice it to say that in every instance where
scholarship ministers to the dignity and the prosperity
of the State ; in the conventions which framed laws for
the land ; upon the field of battle where its honor was
maintained ; in foreign courts and home cabinets ; on
the bench and in the pulpit ; in the chair of the president
of the Senate, and in the home of the President of the
nation, the sons of Old Nassau have uplifted the " Orange
and the Black."
This potency of Princeton is but an exponent of the
personal influence of her leaders. It has been her happy
lot to enjoy the guardianship of a company of great
teachers, who, as Lowell has truly said, " are as rare as
great poets." Dickinson and Burr were courtly, schol-
70 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
arly, masterful, and only less princely in thought than
Edwards. Jonathan Edwards, whose imposing figure
moves across a weird background of Indian haunted for-
est, wore the mantle of Plato in this modern world.
Davies, the builder of Old North, was a latter-day Chry-
sostom. Finley possessed a classic culture which won
academic recognition from beyond the Atlantic. With-
erspoon was a reincarnation of John Knox, whose blood
tingled in his veins. He recognized no kingship by di-
vine right except the royalty of humanity. His scholas-
tic attainments warranted the christening of his residence
with the name of Cicero's country-seat. His patriotic
zeal made the forum ring with accents like those which
in the olden time " shook the arsenal, and fulmined over
Greece." His teaching power reduplicated his person-
ality almost beyond parallel. Of Stanhope Smith, Wash-
ington wrote: "There is no college whose president is
thought to be more capable to direct a proper system
of education than Dr. Smith." Greene and Carnahan
led the American universities in the introduction of
chemistry as a distinct branch of undergraduate study.
MacLean, who wore so well the name of the beloved
disciple, was scholar enough to teach the entire curri-
culum, was publicist enough to create the public-school
system of his State, and possessed the high distinction
of having never rebuked a student without making a
friend. McCosh was our Augustus, who found Prince-
ton brick, and left it marble. Departed from earth, he
is still enshrined within the sanctuary of many a pupil's
heart. He was a far-sighted, deep-thoughted, tender-
hearted man. Well did he voice the emotions of his
great compeers, when with wistful pen he wrote as the
time of his departure drew nigh : " If I were permitted
to come back from the other world to this, I would visit
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 71
these scenes so dear to me, that I might once more see
the tribes go up to the house of God in companies."
Verily, if the spirits of those who have entered into
the better country share in the emotions of those who
tarry amid the vicissitude of earth, this great " choir
invisible " hail with joy this auspicious hour. Their
prayers pointed hitherward, and their unflinching sac-
rifice and undaunted toil smoothed the upward path to
this moment of eminence. They all died in the faith
of old Nassau's coming glory. Their unseen presence
hallows this moment in which their vision becomes real-
ity. The voices of the mighty dead salute you I
We welcome you in the name of an inspiring future.
One of the most striking incidents of academic story oc-
curred at the celebration of Lord Kelvin's distinguished
service in the cause of truth. He had forced so many
problems to solution, had lifted the shadow from so
many mysteries, had provided the civilizing energies
of the earth with such varied and invincible equipment,
that a notable company gathered to do him honor. He
met their congratulations with the significant statement :
" Were I at this moment to sum up my life, it would
be in the single word failure." But the time shall
come when that sad note of conscious defeat shall be
echoed with a victorious " Eureka." The world's intel-
lect is sweeping toward the light. The "open secret"
of nature shall be mastered. The hieroglyphics of crea-
tion shall at length be deciphered. The veil of Isis shall
at last be uplifted from the hidden and benignant face.
The modern impulse toward this sublime event began
when the world beheld gleaming behind the Alps :
"The glory that was Greece
And the grandeur that was Rome."
72 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
A thirst for knowledge smote humanity. A great
longing for a vision of the truth filled all hearts with
sleepless desire. An enthusiasm to know the reason of
things took possession of the European world. The Oc-
cident embarked in a crusade of thought. Schools sup-
planted palaces as seats of power. The aristocracy of
birth found a new patent of nobility in learning. The
crown jewels of the nations became the universities.
The glory of Italy was Bologna, with one starry word
as her motto, " Libertas." The kingliest achievement
of Charlemagne was the creation of the common school
which taught Paris how to become the intellectual mis-
tress of the earth. The old German schoolmasters
strung the Teutonic character with so true a fibre, and
infused the Teutonic spirit with such an indomitable love
for Fatherland, that Napoleon feared the universities
more than the Prussian bayonets. Where the soil of
Holland was drenched with the life-blood of her sons,
whose triumphant love of liberty was stronger than death,
arose the academic halls of Leyden. Our Saxon Alfred
vindicated his right to be called the Great, by laying the
corner-stone of the British universities, which, " steeped
in sentiment, spreading their gardens to the moonlight,
and whispering from their towers the last enchantments
of the Middle Age, keep ever calling us nearer to the
goal." Like a company of godfathers, bearing gifts,
the sons of these great centres of civilizing progress
stand to-day by the cradle-side of Princeton University.
Into her new life they pour their distinctive benefactions.
From Italy, the native land of Dante and of Angelo,
comes the intuition of that beauty which ever lies at
the heart of truth. France imparts the intrepid spirit of
experiment and discovery. Germany brings the genius
for original and sound research. Great Britain bestows
Tower of Blair Hall.
Erected 1897.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 73
that relish for the'classiqs, that reverence for ethics, that
instinct for metaphysics, which are the roots of all gen-
erous and 'enduring culture. From the combination of
such primal elements will Princeton seek to develop her
distinctive academic life. The Princeton idea of a uni-
versity came to definition, in connection with two of
its early presidents. Edwards said of himself, " If I
think of an unsolved theorem I will immediately try
to solve it." Of Burr, Benjamin Franklin said, "He
was a great scholar, but a very great man." To press
fearlessly toward the heart of every mystery, and to
raise manhood to its highest terms by the development
of great scholarship, is the exact impulse which is carry-
ing the college over into the broader field of university
work. The school-house is made for man, and not
man for the school-house. There is more in the mystery
of existence than the bread-and-butter problem. Intel-
lect is not an instrument for making a living, but for
the making of life. Culture is not for the sake of
wealth, but of the commonwealth. The university ex-
ists to train thinkers who can grasp, and state, and
help to solve the great problems of human life ; who
can liberate those subtle and potent energies which ex-
tinguish disorder, stamp out the seeds of crime, and
create better citizens, nobler characters, and more God-
like men.
We welcome you in the supreme name of Him who
is the fountain of all truth, and the goal of all thought,
whose honor is the scholar's inspiration, and whose
smile is the student's reward the name of the "Only
Wise God." When William of Orange entered the
lists in behalf of human liberty, he was asked, "Have
you arranged an alliance with any of the great powers
who will sustain you in the event of reverse?" "Before
74 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
I unsheathed my sword," was the royal reply, "I en-
tered into covenant allegiance with the God of battles."
Our founders were worthy princes of the house of
Nassau. They burned to enrich their country with a
dower of educated citizenship. They aspired to exalt
their church with a ministry of liberal and able scholar-
ship. But they were environed with difficulties as vast
and as dark as the forests which skirted their dwelling.
Their numbers were few. Their dollars were fewer.
Sympathy with high ideals is never easy to evoke. But
they were not resourceless. They were men of God.
Before they gave themselves to their heroic adventure,
they entered into covenant with Jehovah of Hosts. He
was their strength and their shield. Their academy was
founded in his name. The college was prayed into
existence. Its cradle was rocked in a church synod.
Its youth grew strong in an atmosphere tonic with
faith. It has become clothed with strength, and beauty,
and victory, beneath the smile of heaven.
The founders are imagined as intolerant. They were
intolerant of littleness. They were stern set against
superstition. They loved nothing so much as truth.
They feared nothing at all but half-truths. They con-
centrated their lives upon the intense effort to save
piety from deformity, to wed faith with intellectuality,
to crown Christian character with the diadem of a liberal
culture. The founders are imagined as narrow. They
were narrow enough not to perceive any conflict be-
tween faith and science. They assumed that he who
knew God best would best understand the works of
God; that the child was the truest interpreter of the
father. They were narrow enough to count as of very
little worth any culture that issued in universal doubt.
Their lives were narrowed into the conviction of the
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 75
absolute certainty of some things ; and they became
bond-slaves of the elemental principles of human no-
bility. They made the charter of Princeton the Magna
Charta of religious liberty in the academic life of Amer-
ica. In 1746 they wrote above the portals of their
college this legend: "That no person shall be debarred
of any of the privileges of the said college on account
of any speculative principles of religion; but those of
every religious profession shall have equal privilege and
advantage of education in said college." This trumpet-
note reverberated throughout the land. Bancroft said :
" It was from Witherspoon of New Jersey that Madison
imbibed the lesson of perfect freedom in matters of
conscience."
Upon this deep, broad rock-bed of faith and freedom
the university was founded. In the same catholic spirit
it has been builded. Its heraldic motto is " Dei sub
numine viget." Its official seal is blazoned with an
open Bible. Edwards projected as part of his Prince-
ton work a mighty " History of Redemption," which
should combine, in one stupendous literary product, the
ideas of Augustine's " City of God," Dante's " Corn-
media," and the Paradise epics of Milton. Wither-
spoon struck the key-note of his phenomenal adminis-
tration when he announced the theme of his inaugural
as "The Union of Piety and Science." Joseph Henry,
distinguished alike for ability and modesty, as was
Newton, whose brilliant successor honors this cere-
monial with his presence, habitually introduced his la-
boratory work by saying, " Young gentlemen, we are
about to ask God a question." Guyot devoted his rare
power of observation, and his marvellous stores of ac-
quisition, to displaying the harmony between the physi-
cal and the scriptural "Story of the Earth and Man."
76 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Stephen Alexander defined laws of nature as " Methods
according to which God ordinarily chooses to act."
The last time that McCosh stood in the chapel pulpit,
he opened the book to a favorite passage, the prose
poem of Paul concerning " Charity." As he reached
the sentence, " We know in part," he paused. With
the light of the unclouded land already brightening his
noble face, he condensed his entire philosophy into a
single characteristic declaration, " We know in part
but we know!" When he who now wears with such
ability and dignity the mantle of Princeton's president,
whose brain of light and heart of fire, whose piercing
intuition of the truth, whose ardent, progressive, untir-
ing, inspiring devotion to the welfare of the university
are Princeton's pride, was inducted into office, he inter-
preted in memorable phrase the religious genius of the
institution. Says President Patton in his inaugural :
" We do not mean to extinguish the torch of science
that we may sit in religious moonlight, and we do not
intend to send our religion up to the biological library
for examination and approval. We shall not be afraid
to open our eyes in the presence of nature, nor ashamed
to close them in the presence of God." This stately
hall in which we are assembled is an eloquent and
monumental tribute to a resplendent line of Princeton's
intellectual nobility, the lustre of whose learning was
heightened by the glow of a lofty and unshaken faith.
Some problems are settled at Princeton. Some issues
are not open to debate beneath its elms. Its philosophy
is rooted in the glory of God and the immortality of
man. God is postulated; and the divine spark in human
clay is assumed. Conscience underlies the curriculum.
Eternity is in view from the class-room. We seek the
truth, but we believe that Christ is the most exalted
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 77
revelation of the truth. The brightest rays of earthly
learning are only " broken lights of Him."
" Dei sub numine viget." The motto of the college
becomes the watchword of the university. It is historic.
It is prophetic. It explains the past. It ensures the fu-
ture. It condenses the chronicle of a century and a half
into a sentence. It sweeps the expanding horizon of
the future with a stroke of the pen. " Dei sub numine
viget." Dei sub numine vigebit. He who has led the
wilderness march in triumph will invest the conquest
of the promised land with glory. In His Great Name,
Princeton salutes her guests. Sursum corda!
Let knowledge grow from more to more,
But more of reverence with it dwell ;
That mind and soul, according well,
May make one music as before,
But vaster.
At the conclusion of this address of welcome there was
music by the orchestra, after which President Eliot, of Har-
vard University, read the following response on behalf of
the universities and learned societies of America :
In obedience to the summons of your Sesquicentennial
Committee, it is my high privilege, as the head of the
oldest American university, to present to the President,
Trustees, and Faculty of Princeton University, on this
auspicious occasion, the hearty congratulations of the
universities and learned societies of the United States.
The universities and learned societies of the United
States congratulate Princeton University on the rela-
tions of mutual support and affection in which she has
always stood with that great religious denomination, the
78 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Presbyterian Church a church which has rendered in-
valuable service to the cause of civil liberty as well as
of religious independence. They rejoice that this rela-
tionship is firm and close to-day, and that Princeton
University maintains from year to year its habitual
contribution to the ministry of that powerful church ;
but they also felicitate the University that it was ex-
pressly provided in the charter of 1748 that no person
of any religious denomination whatever should be ex-
cluded from any of the liberties, privileges, or immu-
nities of the college on account of his being of a
religious profession different from that of the trustees
of the college.
They appreciate as a valuable force in the political
and religious history of the country the conservative
spirit of Princeton University.
They share the pride and satisfaction with which the
graduates of Princeton remember the contributions of
the college to the membership of the Continental Con-
gress and to the public service of the United States
contributions illustrated by such names as Joseph Reed,
John Witherspoon, Oliver Ellsworth, Edward Living-
ston, and James Madison.
They remember with gratitude the services to the
profession of medicine which that distinguished Prince-
ton graduate, the patriot Benjamin Rush, rendered in
the early days of medical instruction in America.
They look back with respectful interest to the pioneer
work in American history done by David Ramsay, sur-
geon in the Continental army, in his writings on the
history of the American Revolution ; and they see in
him a worthy predecessor of the brilliant historical
writers whose names now adorn the rolls of Princeton
University.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 79
The scientific societies of the country venerate the
mental power, philosophic insight, and noble character
of Joseph Henry, long a teacher in this University,
and declare that no worthier name is written in the an-
nals of American science.
Universities and societies alike rejoice that to the
study of dialectics and systematic theology, long estab-
lished here, there was added in later times a school of
modern philosophy of wide and liberalizing influence.
They have seen with satisfaction that to the ancient
College of New Jersey was added, twenty-three years
ago, a school of natural science, which soon enlisted a
strong corps of vigorous and inspiring teachers and a
large body of enthusiastic students. The learned soci-
eties of the United States especially rejoice in this
broadening of the work of the University, and these
great enrichments of its instruction, apparatus, and
means of influence.
They see with peculiar satisfaction that the College
of New Jersey, like other old American colleges, has
conferred priceless benefits on the country by educating,
through successive generations, families capable of emi-
nent public service families which have won not only
local, but national repute. It is enough to mention as
illustrations the names of Alexander, Bayard, Dayton,
Frelinghuysen, Green, Hodge, Sloan, and Stockton.
The American colleges have rendered no greater ser-
vice to the nation than this of giving good training for
business, professional, or public life to successive gen-
erations from sound family stocks.
Finally, the American universities and learned soci-
eties congratulate Princeton University on its habitual
inculcation of patriotism and public spirit. The resort
to Princeton, though naturally in chief part derived from
80 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
the neighboring States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and New York, has been in early and in later times
of a national breadth. Princeton has thus promoted
the unity of the country, and strengthened the bands
which bind together the federated States.
The universities and learned societies of the United
States observe within recent years many signs of the
rise, among the American institutions of learning, of a
spirit of sympathy and cooperation unknown before.
Institutions which once felt widely separated by dis-
tance, by different denominational affiliations, or by di-
versities of political and social environment, now feel
themselves to be close kindred by nature, near neigh-
bors in spirit, and united in the common pursuit of the
same lofty ends. With one accord the American uni-
versities and learned societies, if they were all repre-
sented here, would express the ardent wish that, as the
centuries pass, the name and fame of Princeton may
mount higher and higher, and her continuous services
to freedom, learning, and religion be gratefully accepted
and recorded by the American people.
This dignified address by the President of Harvard Uni-
versity was received with hearty applause. And when the
applause had subsided, it broke out afresh upon the appear-
ance, at the front of the platform, of Professor Joseph John
Thomson of the University of Cambridge, England, who,
in behalf of the delegates from the European universities,
spoke as follows:
I rise to offer to Princeton University on behalf of the uni-
versities and societies of Europe a hearty congratulation.
When asked to undertake this duty I felt that the com-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 81
pliment paid to the part that Cambridge University had
taken in the establishment of the system of universities
in this country was so great that I could not refuse con-
sent. The compliment was all the greater because in
choosing me you have disregarded every consideration
of personal fitness or distinction.
There are no men more honored of Cambridge than
those men of Emmanuel College who started the greatest
scheme of university extension the world has ever seen
or will see. And although Cambridge cannot pride
itself on being so closely connected with Princeton as
with another university, yet there is something about
Princeton that reminds them of their university. I was
told long ago by Cambridge men that they never felt
more at home than when they were at Princeton. I,
since I have been here, have felt that feeling myself
strongly. Princeton, like Cambridge, is a university
remote from large cities and manufactories, and a cam-
pus with long vistas.
The labors of Princeton men during the last one hun-
dred and fifty years command the gratitude and consid-
eration of every university and scientific society. There
is no university but part of whose teaching is due to the
labors of Princeton men. To the historian, the lawyer,
the politician, and the man of science, Princeton is classic
ground. It appears that political events took place here
of incalculable importance to this country, and which an
Englishman can now heartily acknowledge were settled
in the way to best promote the peace, happiness, and
prosperity of the world. May they forever attain the
distinction of being the last occasion on which there is
any issue between these two great countries.
No man of science can forget that Princeton shares
with the Royal Institution of London the honor of being
82 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
the seat of the greatest discoveries, very important in
electricity. It was here that Young discovered the phe-
nomena of electrical vibration, although its importance
was not appreciated until it had been rediscovered a
few years ago. To Princeton belongs the honor of es-
tablishing the first chemical laboratory in this country ;
and that great discoverer and philosopher, Guyot, has
engraved the name of Princeton upon this planet. But
to be connected to this planet alone has not been enough
for Princeton. The researches of Professor Young on
the sun have caused the name of Princeton to be forever
associated with the very centre of the solar system.
But great as has been the contribution of Princeton to
science and learning, there is the more important fact
that this university has, year after year, for one hundred
and fifty years, sent out into the country a body of men
highly trained, and who have acquired by residence in
this university that keen sense of personal honor, that
fairness of mind which makes them capable of rendering
invaluable service to this country at a critical stage in
the history of this country, and they have been render-
ing valuable service ever since. As your President said
this morning, it is not the exceptional men of science that
are the real test of the work of this university.
There is no factor in this influence that so makes for
good as the existence of a fine university tradition.
That each university must make for itself. It cannot
receive it even from the most generous benefactor. It
must be got by the great deeds, great discoveries and
self-sacrifice of its graduates. These are rare things
and accumulate but slowly ; but Princeton has managed
to acquire them. But it is because of the possession of
this tradition, as well as the intellectual and scientific
achievements of Princeton, that on behalf of the univer-
ERRATUM Page 82, line 2, for Young read Henry.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 83
sides and other societies of Europe I offer you their
warmest congratulations.
After Professor Thomson's reply, which aroused great
enthusiasm, the orchestra played a selection, and Mr. Green,
then rising, read a list, which was as yet only partly
complete, of the institutions and societies which had sent
congratulatory addresses to Princeton University. As sup-
plemented a few days later, it was as follows :
American.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Massachusetts.
Amherst College Massachusetts.
Brown University . . Rhode Island.
University of California . . California.
Carleton College . . . Minnesota.
Catholic University of America . .Washington, D. C.
University of Chicago . .... Illinois.
University of Chicago (The Academical Council) . Illinois.
College of the City of New York . New York.
Clark University . . . Massachusetts.
University of Colorado . . Colorado.
Columbia Theological Seminary . South Carolina.
Columbia University . . New York.
Cornell University . New York.
Cornell University (The Faculty) . . New York.
Dartmouth College New Hampshire.
University of Denver . Colorado.
University of Georgia . . Georgia.
84 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Georgetown University . . Georgetown, D. C.
Hampden-Sidney College Virginia.
Harvard University . . Massachusetts.
Harvard University (The President and Fellows) . Mass.
Haverford College . . . Pennsylvania.
Hobart College . . . New York.
The Johns Hopkins University Maryland.
Knox College . Illinois.
Lafayette College . . . Pennsylvania.
Lake Forest University Illinois.
Lick Observatory . . . California.
McCormick Theological Seminary . Illinois.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (The Faculty) Mass.
University of Missouri Missouri.
University of Nebraska Nebraska.
New York University . . New York.
Northwestern University . Illinois.
University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania College . Pennsylvania.
Princeton Theological Seminary . . New Jersey.
Rutgers College . New Jersey.
Southwestern Presbyterian University . Tennessee.
Swarthmore College . Pennsylvania.
Syracuse University . . New York.
University of Texas Texas.
Trinity College . Connecticut.
Union University . . New York.
United States Military Academy . New York.
United States Naval Academy . . Maryland.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
85
Vanderbilt University .
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
Washington University
Washington and Lee University .
Western Reserve University
Western University of Pennsylvania
Williams College
University of Wisconsin
Wittenberg College
Yale University
Yale University (The Corporation)
Tennessee.
Vermont.
Virginia.
Missouri.
Virginia.
. Ohio.
Pennsylvania.
Massachusetts.
Wisconsin.
. Ohio.
Connecticut.
Connecticut.
Canadian.
Dalhousie University
McGill University
Queen's College and University
University of Toronto .
Halifax.
Montreal.
Kingston.
Toronto.
European.
University of Aberdeen
University of Amsterdam
University of Athens
University of Basle
University of Berlin
University of Berne
University of Bologna
University of Bonn
Scotland.
. Holland.
. Greece.
Switzerland.
Germany.
Switzerland.
. Italy.
. Germany.
86
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
University of Brussels
University of Budapest
University of Cambridge
University of Christiania
University of Copenhagen
University of Dublin .
University of Edinburgh
University of Glasgow
University of Gottingen .
University of Greifswald
University of Halle
University of Heidelberg
University of Jena
University of Kiel
University of Konigsberg
University of Leipzig
University of Leyden
University of Lille . .
University of London
University of Moscow
University of Munich
University of Oxford .
Owens College
University of Padua .
University of Paris
University of Prague
Queen's College .
University of Rome
University of Rostock .
Royal Prussian Academy
Belgium.
Hungary.
England.
Norway.
Denmark.
Ireland.
Scotland.
Scotland.
Germany.
Germany.
Germany.
Germany.
Germany.
Germany.
Germany.
Germany.
Holland.
France.
England.
Russia.
Germany.
England.
England.
. Italy.
France.
A ustria.
Ireland.
. Italy.
Germany.
Germany.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 87
Royal Society .... . England.
University of St. Andrews Scotland.
University of St. Petersburg Russia.
University of Salamanca . . . Spain.
University of Strassburg . . Germany.
University of Tubingen ... . Germany.
University of Upsala . . Sweden.
University of Utrecht . . Holland.
University of Zurich . Switzerland.
From other Countries.
University of Melbourne . . Australia.
Syrian Protestant College . Syria.
University of Tokio . Japan.
The chairman then announced that the exercises were at
an end, but invited the delegates and the Princeton trus-
tees and faculty to meet immediately in the Chancellor
Green Library and be presented to one another. Accord-
ingly, the long procession of delegates .streamed eastward
over the lawns, and there was much hand-shaking, though
necessarily but little conversation, in the rotunda of the
library, where there was barely room to stand. Here were
displayed most of the congratulatory addresses from uni-
versities, colleges, and learned societies a brilliant collec-
tion of beautifully executed letters, most of them in Latin
and on parchment, and many of them adorned with gor-
geous hand illuminations in mediaeval style.
There was also an exhibition, in the Trustees' Room, of a
collection of documents and relics connected with the origin
88 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
and hist6ry of the old College of New Jersey, together with
a collection of Princetoniana, which, for want of space, did
not include, however, the Pyne-Henry collection of some
six hundred autographs and documents, the Libbey collec-
tion of several hundred books and pamphlets, and the grow-
ing McAlpin collection. There were displayed :
1. The New York Post Boy, No. 213, Feb. 16, 1746-7, containing
an announcement of the granting of the first charter, Oct. 22,
1746. Libbey Collection.
2. The Charter of 1 748, original document. College Archives.
3. The first minutes of the trustees, i 748. College Archives.
4. The watch of Vice-President Burr.
5. A cane from wood of the Log College. Presented by the Rev.
F. Beck Harbaugh.
6. *The Sesquicentennial Memorial Medal, in gold. Morgan Col-
lection.
7. Davies' and Tennent's General Account of the College of New
Jersey. First edition, quarto, 8 pp., New York, 1752.
Loaned by William R. Weeks, Esq.
8. Davies' and Tennent's General Account of the College of New
Jersey. Second edition, folio, 8pp., London, 1754. [Facsim-
ile.] Loaned by William R. Weeks, Esq.
9. Davies' and Tennent's General Account of the College of New
Jersey. Third edition, folio, 8 pp., Edinburgh, 1754. Loaned
by William R. Weeks, Esq.
* The medal was designed by Mr. Thomas Shields Clark, '82. It is three inches in
diameter. On its face is a representation of Nassau Hall, standing amid the elms of
the campus, and below is the legend AVLA NASSOVICA, MDCCCXCVI. On the
back is the inscription (in Augustan capitals), QVOD ANTEA FVIT COLLEGIVM NEO-
CAESARIENSE NVNC ANNIS CL IMPLETIS VNIVERSITAS PRINCETONIENSIS SAECVLVM SPEC-
TAT NOVVM. Above this, in smaller letters in a Roman bracket, is the oldest motto
of Princeton DEI SVB NVMINE VIGET. The medal was struck at the United States
mint in Philadelphia. The issue consists of one copy in gold, thirty in silver, and five
hundred in bronze. There are also two proof copies in bronze.
-
-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 89
10. Davies' and Tennent's General Account of the College of New
Jersey. Fourth edition, small octavo, 16 pp., Edinburgh, 1754.
Loaned by William R. Weeks, Esq.
n. Petition of Gilbert Tennent and Samuel Davies in the name of
the College. The edition of 1752, both Edinburgh editions,
and the petition are original copies, and in each case the only
copies known. No. 8 is a facsimile of the only known copy,
which is in the British Museum.
12. Diary of President Davies, 1753-54. This is a record of the
trip for which the General Account was prepared.
13. Blair's Account of the College of New Jersey. Woodbridge,
New Jersey, 1764.
14. Witherspoon's Address in Behalf of the College of New Jersey.
15. Green's Address of the Trustees of the College of New Jersey.
1 6. Jonathan Edwards' Bible with his autograph. Presented by
the Rev. W. H. Prestley.
17. President Burr's Account-book. Open at account with Jonathan
Edwards.
1 8. President Burr's Manuscript Sermons. Presented by Mrs.
Eli Whitney.
19. Library Catalogue, 1760. Scribner Collection.
20. The Military Glory of Great Britain, a commencement exercise,
1762.
21. A Poem on the Rising Glory of America, a commencement ex-
ercise, 1771.
22. Wansey's Journal, extra illustrated. Open at account of
Princeton as it was in 1 794. McAlpin Collection.
23. Belcher's Commission as Governor.
24. Autograph Letter of Governor Belcher.
25. Autograph of Governor Belcher in a book given by him to the
library.
26. President Burr's Sermon at the Interment of Governor Belcher.
27. Autographs of President Dickinson, President Burr, President
Davies, President Finley, President Witherspoon, President
Smith, President Green, President Carnahan, President Mc-
Cosh. Pyne-Henry Collection.
90 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
28. Consent of New York Trustees to locate the College at Prince-
ton. Pyne-Henry Collection.
29. Accounts of Samuel Hazard, 1751.
30. Record of the sale of a negro to President Burr.
31. Scheme of a Lottery for the College, 1763.
32. Subscription List, 1802.
33. Petition of Trustees to the General Assembly, 1779.
34. Petition of Trustees to Freeholders.
35. Bill for lumber, 1764.
36. Bill for Trustee Dinner, 1771.
37. Autographs of Benjamin Rush, 1760; Richard Rush, 1797; John
Beatty, 1769; Elias Boudinot, Richard Stockton, 1748; Oliver
Ellsworth, 1766; James Caldwell ("the Rebel High-priest"),
1759; Henry Lee ("Light-Horse Harry"), 1772.
38. President James Madison's Diploma as LL.D.
39. Deed signed by Presidents Madison and Monroe.
40. Autograph Letter of President Madison announcing the delivery
of Louisiana to the United States.
41. Autograph of Vice-President Burr.
42. Receipt for Burr's board and washing.
43. Autograph Letter of Vice-President Dallas.
Nos. 29 to 43 belong to the Pyne-Henry Collection.
44. Old Diplomas. Libbey Collection.
45. Diploma of George Duffield, 1752, Chaplain of the Continental
Congress. Presented by George Duffield, M.D., of Detroit.
46. Triennial Catalogue, 1773. Libbey Collection.
47. Broadside Catalogue, 1805. Libbey Collection.
48. Commencement Programme, 1 760. Libbey Collection.
49. Nassau Hall as it was in 1760. Libbey Collection.
50. Portrait of Henry Lee ("Light-Horse Harry"), 1773. Pyne-
Henry Collection.
51. Views of the proposed library building, the west front, the
quadrangle, the tower.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 91
52. Autograph of William of Nassau, in whose honor Nassau Hall
was named. Pyne-Henry Collection.
53. Autograph of George II., under whom the charter was received.
54. Some official publications and periodicals, edited in whole or in
part by members of the university.
Long before nine o'clock on the evening of the first day,
Alexander Hall began to fill again, this time with an audi-
ence more generally composed of ladies than in the morning
or afternoon. When Mr. Walter Damrosch tapped for si-
lence, the auditorium was completely occupied in every part,
hundreds being obliged to stand in the aisles and back of
the seats in the gallery.
The programme was as follows
i. Jubilee Overture WEBER
II. TnnfiniSbefc SV.mpbOttp. . . SCHUBERT
a. Allegro Moderate
b. Andante con moto
III. Malbweben ...... WAGNER
INTERMISSION
iv. Hca&emic festival Overture . BRAHMS
(Composed for the Festival of the University of Breslau)
v. (Bavotte for Strings BACH
VI. poeme SV.mpbOnique, "Le Rouet d'Omphale"
SAINT-SAENS
vii. flDarcbe Solennetle . TSCHAIKOWSKY
MR. WALTER DAMROSCH, CONDUCTOR
92 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
When, in Weber's Jubilee Overture, the broad strains of
the national anthem emerged from the climax of complicated
harmonies, the audience rose by a common and spontaneous
impulse. It was generally remarked that the programme
was happily arranged to produce a cumulative effect, and
the march by Tschaikowsky was a grand and appropriate
conclusion.
THE SECOND DAY.
WEDNESDAY, the second day, was devoted to the alumni
and students, in the sense that the delegates were allowed
to rest somewhat from the fatigues of Tuesday, and further-
more because it terminated in the great torchlight procession
in which Princeton men were almost the only element. But
it might as fittingly have been called the day devoted to lit-
erature, for the most memorable of its events were the Ora-
tion and the Poem, both, to be sure, by Princeton graduates.
At half-past ten, as upon the preceding morning, the aca-
demic procession formed in Marquand Chapel, and marched,
through even a denser throng, to Alexander Hall, which was
filled with a large audience. Mr. Charles E. Green intro-
duced Governor John W. Griggs, of New Jersey, ex-officio
President of the Board of Trustees, who presided during the
morning, and whose first duty it was to present the Rever-
end Doctor Henry van Dyke, of New York City, a graduate
of the College in the class of 1873, representing the Clio-
sophic Society, who recited, with refinement and deep
feeling, this Academic Ode :
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 93
THE BUILDERS.
i
Into the dust of the making of man
Spirit was breathed when his life began,
Lifting him up from his low estate
With masterful passion, the wish to create.
Out of the dust of his making, man
Fashioned his works as the ages ran ;
Palace and fortress and temple and tower,
Filling the world with the proof of his power.
The clay wherein God made him
Grew plastic and obeyed him ;
The trees, high-arching o'er him,
Fell everywhere before him ;
The hills, in silence standing,
Gave up, at his commanding,
Their ancient rock foundations,
To strengthen his creations ;
And all the metals hidden
Came forth as they were bidden,
To help his high endeavour,
And build a house to stand forever.
II
The monuments of mortals
Are as the flower of the grass ;
Through Time's dim portals
A voiceless, viewless wind doth pass ;
And where it breathes, the brightest blooms decay,
The forests bend to earth more deeply day by day,
And all man's mighty buildings fade away.
One after one,
They pay to that dumb breath
The tribute of their death,
And are undone.
The towers incline to dust,
The massy girders rust,
The domes dissolve in air,
The pillars that upbear
94 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
The woven arches crumble, stone by stone,
While man the builder looks about him in despair,
For all his works of pride and power are overthrown.
Ill
A Voice spake out of the sky :
" Set thy desires more high.
Thy buildings fade away
Because thou buildest clay.
Now make the fabric sure
With stones that shall endure.
Hewn from the spiritual rock,
The immortal towers of the soul
At Time's dissolving touch shall mock,
And stand secure while aeons roll."
IV
Well did the wise in heart rejoice
To hear the secret summons of that Voice,
And patiently begin
The builder's work within ;
Houses not made with hands,
Nor founded on the sands.
And thou, revered Mother, at whose call
We come to keep thy joyous festival,
And celebrate,
With fitting state,
The glory of thy labours on the walls of Truth,
Through seven-score years and ten of thine eternal youth, -
A master builder thou,
And on thy shining brow,
Like Cybele, in fadeless light dost wear
A diadem of turrets, strong and fair.
I see thee standing in a lonely land,
But late and hardly won from solitude,
Unpopulous and rude,
On that far western shore I see thee stand,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 95
Like some young goddess from a brighter strand ;
While in thine eyes a radiant thought is born,
Enkindling all thy beauty like the morn,
And guiding to thy work a powerful hand.
Sea- like the forest rolled in waves of green,
And few the lights that glimmered, leagues between.
High in the North, for four-score years alone,
Fair Harvard's earliest beacon-tower had shone ;
Then Yale was lighted, and an answering ray
Flashed from the meadows by New Haven Bay.
But deeper spread the woodland, and more dark,
Where first Neshaminy received the spark
Of sacred learning to a frail abode,
And nursed the holy fire until it glowed.
Thine was the courage, thine the larger look,
That raised yon taper from its humble nook ;
Thine was the hope, and thine the stronger will,
That built the beacon here on Princeton hill.
" New light ! " men cried, and murmured that it came
From an unsanctioned source, with lawless flame ;
Too free it shone, for still the church and school
Must only shine according to their rule.
But Princeton answered, in her nobler mood,
" God made the light, and all the light is good.
There is no war between the old and new ;
The conflict lies between the false and true.
The stars that high in heaven their courses run,
In glory differ, but their light is one.
The beacons gleaming o'er the sea of life,
Are rivals but in radiance, not in strife.
Shine on, ye sister towers, across the night !
I too will build a lasting home for light."
VI
Brave was that word of faith, and bravely was it kept :
With never-wearying zeal, that faltered not, nor slept,
She toiled to raise her tower ; and while she firmly laid
The deep foundation-walls, at all her toil she prayed.
And men who loved the truth, because it made them free,
And men who saw the two-fold word of God agree,
96 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Reading the book of nature and the sacred page
By the same inward ray that grows from age to age,
Were built like living stones that beacon to uplift,
And, drawing light from Heaven, gave to the world the gift.
Nor ever, while they searched the secrets of the earth,
Or traced the stream of life through mystery to its birth ;
Nor ever, while they taught the lightning flash to bear
The messages of man in silence through the air,
Fell from that home of light one false perfidious ray,
To blind the trusting heart or lead the life astray;
But still, while knowledge grew more luminous and broad,
It lit the path of faith, and showed the way to God.
VII
Yet not for peace alone
Labour the builders.
Work that in peace has grown
Swiftly is overthrown,
When from the darkening skies
Storm-clouds of wrath arise,
And through the cannons' crash
War's deadly lightning-flash
Smites and bewilders.
Ramparts of strength must frown
Round every placid town
And city splendid ;
All that our fathers wrought
With true prophetic thought,
Must be defended.
VIII
But who should raise protecting walls for thee,
Thou young, defenceless land of liberty ?
Or who could build the fortress strong enough,
Or stretch the mighty bulwark long enough
To hold thy far-extended coast,
Against the overweening host,
That took the open path across the sea,
And, like a tempest, poured
Their desolating horde
To quench thy dawning light in gloom of tyranny ?
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 97
Yet not unguarded thou wert found,
When on thy shore with sullen sound
The blaring trumpets of an unjust king
Proclaimed invasion. From the insulted ground,
In freedom's desperate hour, there seemed to spring
Invisible walls for her defense;
Not trembling, like those battlements of stone
That fell in fear when Joshua's horns were blown ;
But standing firmer, growing still more dense
With every new assault of alien insolence :
While cannon roared, and flashed, and roared again,
In sovereign pride the living rampart rose,
To meet the onset of imperious foes
With a long line of brave, unconquerable men.
This was thy fortress, well-defended land,
And on these walls the patient, building hand
Of Princeton laboured with the force of ten.
Her sons were foremost in the furious fight :
Her sons were firmest to uphold the right
In council-chambers of the new-born state,
And prove that he who would be free must first be great
Of heart, and high in thought, and strong
In purpose not to do or suffer wrong.
Such were the men, impregnable to fear,
Whose patriot hearts were moulded here ;
And when war shook the land with threatening shock,
The men of Princeton stood like muniments of rock.
Nor has the breath of Time
Dissolved that proud array
Of imperturbable strength ;
For though the rocks decay,
And all the iron bands
Of earthly strongholds are unloosed at length,
And buried deep in gray oblivion's sands ;
The work that heroes' hands
Wrought in the light of freedom's natal day
Shall never fade away;
But lifts itself, sublime,
Into a lucid sphere,
For ever still and clear,
98 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
And far above the devastating breath of Time ;
Preserving, in the memory of the fathers' deed,
A never-failing fortress for their children's need.
There we confirm our hearts to-day ; and there we read,
On many a stone, the signature of fame,
The builder's mark, our Alma Mater's name.
IX
Bear with us then a moment, if we turn
From all the present splendours of this place,
The lofty towers that like a dream have grown
Where once old Nassau Hall stood all alone,
Back to that ancient time, with hearts that burn
In filial reverence and pride, to trace
The glory of our Mother's best degree,
In that " high son of Liberty,"
Who like a granite block
Riven from Scotland's rock
Stood loyal here to keep Columbia free.
Born far away beyond the ocean's roar,
He found his fatherland upon this shore ;
And every drop of ardent blood that ran
Through his great heart was true American.
He held no weak allegiance to a distant throne,
But made his new-found country's cause his own ;
In peril and distress,
In toil and weariness,
When darkness overcast her
With shadows of disaster,
And voices of confusion
Proclaimed her hope delusion,
Robed in his preacher's gown,
He dared the danger down ;
Like some old prophet chanting an inspired rune,
Through freedom's councils rang the voice of Witherspoon.
And thou, my country, write it on thy heart :
Thy sons are they who nobly take thy part ;
Who dedicates his manhood at thy shrine,
Wherever born, is born a son of thine.
Foreign in name, but not in soul, they come
To find in thee their long-desired home ;
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 99
Lovers of liberty, and haters of disorder,
They shall be built in strength along thy border.
Ah, dream not that thy future foes
Will all be foreign-born ;
Turn thy clear look of scorn
Upon thy children who oppose
Their passions wild and policies of shame,
To wreck the righteous splendours of thy name !
Untaught and over-confident they rise,
With folly on their tongues and envy in their eyes ;
Strong to destroy, but powerless to create,
And ignorant of all that made our fathers great;
Their hands would take away thy golden crown,
And shake the pillars of thy freedom down
In Anarchy's ocean, dark and desolate.
Oh, should that storm descend,
What fortress shall defend
The land our fathers wrought for,
The liberties they fought for ?
What bulwark shall secure
Her shrines from sacrilege and keep her altars pure ?
Then, ah then,
As in the olden days,
The builders must upraise
A rampart of indomitable men.
Once again,
Dear Mother, if thy heart and hand be true,
There will be building work for thee to do.
Yea, more than once again,
Thou shalt win lasting praise,
And never-dying honour shall be thine,
For setting many stones in that illustrious line,
To stand unshaken in the swirling strife,
And guard their country's honour as her life !
Softly, my harp, and let me lay the touch
Of silence on these rudely clanging strings :
For he who sings
Even of noble conflicts overmuch,
Loses the inward sense of better things ;
100 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
And he who makes a boast
Of knowledge, darkens that which counts the most,
The insight of a wise humility
That reverently adores what none can see.
The glory of our life below
Comes not from what we do, or what we know,
But dwells forevermore in what we are.
There is an architecture grander far
Than all the fortresses of war ;
More inextinguishably bright
Than learning's lonely towers of light.
Framing its walls of faith and hope and love
In deathless souls of men, it lifts above
The frailty of our earthly home
An everlasting dome ;
The sanctuary of the human host,
The living temple of the Holy Ghost.
XI
If music led the builders long ago,
When Arthur planned the halls of Camelot,
And made the mystic city swiftly grow,
Like some strange flower in that forsaken spot ;
What sweeter music shall we bring.
To weave a harmony divine
Of prayer and holy thought,
Into the labours of this loftier shrine,
This consecrated hill,
Where, through so many a year,
The hands of faith have wrought,
With toil serene and still,
And heavenly hope, to rear
The eternal dwelling of the Only King?
Here let no martial trumpet blow,
Nor instruments of pride proclaim
The loud exultant notes of fame.
But let the chords be clear and low,
And let the anthem deeper grow,
And let it move more solemnly and slow,
Like that which came
From angels' lips, when first they hymned their Maker's name ;
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 101
For only such an ode
Can seal the harmony
Of that deep masonry
Wherein the soul of man is framed for God's abode.
XII
O thou whose boundless love bestows
The joy of earth, the hope of heaven ;
Thou whose unchartered mercy flows
O'er all the blessings Thou hast given :
Thou by whose light alone we see ;
Thou by whose truth our souls, set free,
Are made imperishably strong,
Hear thou the solemn music of our song !
Grant us the knowledge that we need
To solve the questions of the mind ;
Light Thou our candle while we read,
And keep our hearts from going blind ;
Enlarge our vision to behold
The wonders Thou hast wrought of old ;
Reveal Thyself in every law,
And gild the towers of truth with holy awe.
Be Thou our strength when war's wild gust
Rages about us, loud and fierce ;
Confirm our souls, and let our trust
Be like a wall that none can pierce ;
Give us the courage that prevails,
The steady faith that never fails ;
Help us to stand, in every fight,
Firm as a fortress to defend the right.
O God, make of us what Thou wilt ;
Guide Thou the labour of our hand ;
Let all our work be surely built
As Thou, the Architect, hast planned.
But whatsoe'er Thy power shall make
Of these frail lives, do not forsake
Thy dwelling. Let Thy presence rest
Forever in the temple of our breast.
102 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
The poem was listened to with close attention and mani-
fest appreciation, being spoken so clearly that every one
could hear and understand each verse. " It soared stead-
ily," as a good critic observed, "and rested at a high point."
It was greeted by warm applause.
After a selection of music, Professor Woodrow Wilson,
of the class of 1879, representing the American Whig Soci-
ety, was introduced by Governor Griggs, and delivered the
oration, entitled " Princeton in the Nation's Service."
When Professor Wilson rose to speak, the members of
the class of 1879, wno were seated together, stood up to
greet him, but their cheers were drowned in those of the
whole assembly. The oration was interrupted by applause
at several points, particularly when the orator pleaded for
sound and conservative government, and an education that
shall draw much of its life from the best and oldest litera-
ture. At its conclusion the cheering was general and long-
continued.
PRINCETON IN THE NATION'S SERVICE.
PRINCETON pauses to look back upon her past to-day, not
as an old man grown reminiscent, but as a prudent
man, still in his youth and lusty prime, and at the
threshold of new tasks, who would remind himself of
his origin and lineage, recall the pledges of his youth,
assess as at a turning in his life the duties of his station.
We look back only a little way to our birth ; but the
brief space is quick with movement and incident enough
to crowd a great tract of time. Turn back only one
hundred and fifty years, and you are deep within quiet
colony times, before the French or Indian war or thought
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION H>.'!
of separation from England. But a great war is at
hand. Forces long pent up and local presently spread
themselves at large upon the continent, and the whole
scene is altered. The brief plot runs with a strange force
and haste : First, a quiet group of peaceful colonies, very
placid and commonplace and dull, to all seeming, in their
patient working out of a slow development; then, of a
sudden, a hot fire of revolution, a quick release of power,
as if of forces long pent up, but set free at last in the
generous heat of the new day ; the mighty processes of
a great migration, the vast spaces of a waiting conti-
nent filled almost suddenly with hosts bred in the spirit
of conquest; a constant making and renewing of gov-
ernments, a stupendous growth, a perilous expansion.
Such days of youth and nation-making must surely
count double the slower days of maturity and calculated
change, as the spring counts double the sober fruitage of
the summer.
Princeton was founded upon the very eve of the stir-
ring changes which put this drama on the stage not
to breed politicians, but to give young men such training
as, it might be hoped, would fit them handsomely for
the pulpit and for the grave duties of citizens and neigh-
bors. A small group of Presbyterian ministers took the
initiative in its foundation. They acted without ecclesi-
astical authority, as if under obligation to society rather
than to the church. They had no more vision of what
was to come upon the country than their fellow colonists
had ; they knew only that the pulpits of the middle and
southern colonies lacked properly equipped men, and all
the youth in those parts ready means of access to the
higher sort of schooling. They thought the discipline
at Yale a little less than liberal, and the training offered
as a substitute in some quarters elsewhere a good deal
104 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
less than thorough. They wanted a " seminary of true
religion and good literature " which should be after their
own model and among their own people. It was not a
sectarian school they wished. They were acting as citi-
zens, not as clergymen, and the charter they obtained
said never a word about creed or doctrine; but they gave
religion the first place in their programme, which be-
longed to it of right, and the formation of their college
they confided to the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson, one of
their own number, a man of such mastery as they could
trust. Their school was first of all merely a little group
of students gathered about Mr. Dickinson in Elizabeth.
Its master died the very year his labors began ; and it
was necessary to induce the Rev. Aaron Burr, one of the
trustees, to take the college under his own charge at
Newark. It was the charm and power of that memor-
able young pastor and teacher which carried it forward
to a final establishment. Within ten years many friends
had been made, substantial sums of money secured, a
new and more liberal charter obtained, and a perma-
nent home found at Princeton. And then its second
president died, while still in his prime, and the succession
was handed on to other leaders of like quality.
It was the men, rather than their measures, as usual,
that had made the college vital from the first and put it
in a sure way to succeed. The charter was liberal, and
very broad ideas determined the policy of the young
school. There were laymen upon its board of trustees,
as well as clergymen not all Presbyterians, but all
lovers of progress and men known in the colony. No
one was more thoroughly the friend of the new venture
than Governor Belcher, the representative of the crown.
But the life of the college was in the men that adminis-
tered it and spoke in its class rooms, a notable line of
15 "a.
ffi 3
o
o
t: OJD
II
rt
ffi ~
hH n
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 105
thinkers and orators. There had not been many men
more to be regarded in debate or in counsel in that day
than Jonathan Dickinson; and Aaron Burr was such a
man as others turn to and -follow with an admiration and
trust they might be at a loss to explain, so instinctive is
it and inevitable, a man with a touch of sweet majesty
in his presence, and a grace and spirit in his manner
which more than made amends for his small and slender
figure; the unmistakable fire of eloquence in him when
he spoke, and the fine quality of sincerity. Piety seemed
with him only a crowning grace.
For a few brief weeks after Burr was dead Jonathan
Edwards, whom all the world knows, was president in
his stead; but death came quickly and left the college
only his name. Another orator succeeded him, Samuel
Davies, brought out of Virginia, famous out of all pro-
portion to his years, you might think, until you heard him
speak and knew the charm, the utterance, and the char-
acter that made him great. He, too, was presently taken
by the quick way of death, though the college had had
him but a little while; and Samuel Finley had presided
in his stead, with wise sagacity and a quiet gift of leader-
ship, for all too short a time, and was gone, when John
Witherspoon came to reign in the little academic king-
dom for twenty-six years. It was by that time the year
1768. Mr. Dickinson had drawn that little group of stu-
dents about him under the first charter only twenty-one
years ago; the college had been firmly seated in Prince-
ton for only the twelve years in which it had seen Burr
and Edwards and Davies and Finley die, and had found
it not a little hard to live so long in the face of its losses
and the uneasy movements of the time. It had been
brought to Princeton in the very midst of the French and
Indian war, when the country was in doubt who should
106 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
possess the continent. The deep excitement of the
Stamp Act agitation had come, with all its sinister
threats of embroilment and disaffection, while yet the
college was in its infancy and first effort to live. It was
impossible it should obtain proper endowment or any
right and equable development in such a season. It
ought, by every ordinary rule of life, to have been quite
snuffed out in the thick and troubled air of the time. New
Jersey did not, like Virginia and Massachusetts, easily
form her purpose in that day of anxious doubt. She was
mixed of many warring elements, as New York also
was, and suffered a turbulence of spirit that did not very
easily breed "true religion and good literature."
But your thorough Presbyterian is not subject to the
ordinary laws of life is of too stubborn a fibre, too un-
relaxing a purpose, to suffer mere inconvenience to bring
defeat. Difficulty bred effort, rather; and Dr. Wither-
spoon found an institution ready to his hand that had
come already in that quickening time to a sort of crude
maturity. It was no small proof of its self-possession
and self-knowledge that those who watched over it had
chosen that very time of crisis to put a man like John
Witherspoon at the head of its administration, a man
so compounded of statesman and scholar, Calvinist,
Scotsman, and orator that it must ever be a sore puzzle
where to place or rank him whether among great di-
vines, great teachers, or great statesmen. He seems to
be all these and to defy classification, so big is he, so
various, so prodigal of gifts. His vitality entered like
a tonic into the college, kept it alive in that time of peril,
made it as individual and inextinguishable a force as
he himself was, alike in scholarship and in public affairs.
It has never been natural, it has seldom been possible,
in this country for learning to seek a place apart and hold
f
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 107
aloof from affairs. It is only when society is old, long
settled in its ways, confident in habit, and without self-
questionings upon any vital point of conduct, that study
can affect seclusion and despise the passing interests of
the day. America has never yet had a season of leisured
quiet in which students could seek a life apart without
sharp rigors of conscience, or college instructors easily
forget that they were training citizens as well as drilling
pupils; and Princeton is not likely to forget that sharp
schooling of her youth, when she first learned the lesson
of public service. She shall not easily get John Wither-
spoon out of her constitution.
It was a piece of providential good fortune that brought
such a man to Princeton at such a time. He was a man
of the sort other men follow and take counsel of gladly,
and as if they found in him the full expression of what is
best in themselves. Not because he was always wise,
but because he showed always so fine an ardor for what-
ever was worth while, and of the better part of man's
spirit ; because he uttered his thought with an inevitable
glow of eloquence ; because of his irresistible charm and
individual power. The lively wit of the man, besides,
struck always upon the matter of his thought like a ray
of light, compelling men to receive what he said, or else
seem themselves opaque and laughable. A certain
straightforward vigor in his way of saying things gave
his style an almost irresistible power of entering into
men's convictions. A hearty honesty showed itself in
all that he did, and won men's allegiance upon the
instant. They loved him even when they had the hardi-
hood to disagree with him.
He came to the college in 1768, and ruled it till he
died, in 1794. In the very middle of his term as head of
the college the Revolution came, to draw men's minds
108 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
imperatively off from everything but war and politics,
and he turned with all the force and frankness of his
nature to the public tasks of the great struggle: assisted
in the making of a new constitution for the State ; became
her spokesman in the Continental Congress ; would have
pressed her on if he could to utter a declaration of inde-
pendence of her own before the Congress had acted ;
voted for and signed the great Declaration with hearty
good will when it came ; acted for the country in matters
alike of war and of finance ; stood forth in the sight of
all the people a great advocate and orator, deeming him-
self forward in the service of God when most engaged
in the service of men and of liberty. There were but
broken sessions of the college meanwhile. Each army
in its turn drove out the little group of students who
clung to the place. The college building now became
a military hospital, and again a barracks for the troops
for a little while, upon a memorable day in 1777, a
sort of stronghold. New Jersey's open counties be-
came, for a time, the Revolutionary battle-ground and
field of manoeuvre. Swept through from end to end by
the rush of armies, the State seemed the chief seat of the
war, and Princeton a central point of strategy. The
dramatic winter of 1776 '77 no Princeton man could
ever forget, lived he never so long that winter which
saw a year of despair turned suddenly into a year of
hope. In July there had been bonfires and boisterous
rejoicings in the college yard and in the village street
at the news of the Declaration of Independence, for
though the rest of the country might doubt and stand
timid for a little to see the bold thing done, Dr. Wither-
spoon's pupils were in spirits to know the fight was to be
fought to a finish. Then suddenly the end had seemed
to come. Before the year was out Washington was in
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 109
the place, beaten and in full retreat, only three thousand
men at his back, abandoned by his generals, deserted by
his troops, hardly daring to stop till he had put the un-
bridged Delaware between himself and his enemy. The
British came close at his heels, and the town was theirs
until Washington came back again, the third day of the
new year, early in the morning, and gave his view halloo
yonder upon the hill, as if he were in the hunting-field
again. Then there was fighting in the very streets, and
cannon planted against the walls of Old North herself.
'T was not likely any Princeton man would forget those
days when the whole face of the war was changed, and
New Jersey was shaken of the burden of the fighting.
There was almost always something doing at the place
when the soldiers were out, for the strenuous Scotsman
who had the college at his heart never left it for long at
a time, for all he was so intent upon the public business.
It was haphazard and piecemeal work, no doubt, but
there was the spirit and the resolution of the Revolution
itself in what was done the spirit of Witherspoon. It
was not as if some one else had been master. Dr. With-
erspoon could have pupils at will. He was so much else
besides schoolmaster and preceptor, was so great a figure
in the people's eye, went about so like an accepted leader,
generously lending a great character to a great cause,
that he could bid men act and know that they would
heed him.
The time, as well as his own genius, enabled him to
put a distinctive stamp upon his pupils. There was
close contact between master and pupils in that day of
beginnings. There were not often more than a hundred
students in attendance at the college, and the president,
for at any rate half their course, was himself their chief
instructor. There were two or three tutors to whom the
110 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
instruction of the lower classes was entrusted ; Mr.
Houston was professor of mathematics and natural phi-
losophy, and Dr. Smith professor of moral philosophy
and divinity ; but the president set the pace. It was he
who gave range and spirit to the course of study. He
lectured upon taste and style as well as upon abstract
questions of philosophy, and upon politics as a science
of government and of public duty as little to be forgot-
ten as religion itself in any well-considered plan of life.
He had found the college ready to serve such purpose
when he came, because of the stamp Burr and Davies
and Finley had put upon it. They had one and all con-
sciously set themselves to make the college a place where
young men's minds should be rendered fit for affairs, for
the public ministry of the bench and the senate as well as
of the pulpit. It was in Finley's day, but just now gone
by, that the college had sent out such men as William
Paterson, Luther Martin, and Oliver Ellsworth. Wither-
spoon but gave quickened life to the old spirit and
method of the place where there had been sound drill
from the first in public speech and public spirit.
And the Revolution, when it came, seemed but an ob-
ject lesson in his scheme of life. It was not simply
fighting that was done at Princeton. The little town
became for a season the centre of politics too ; once and
again the legislature of the State sat in the College Hall,
and its revolutionary Council of Safety. Soldiers and
public men? whose names the war was making known
to every man, frequented the quiet place, and racy talk
ran high in the jolly tavern, where hung the sign of
Hudibras. Finally the Federal Congress itself sought
the place, and filled the college hall with a new scene,
sitting a whole season there to do its business, its presi-
dent, Elias Boudinot, a trustee of the college. A com-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 111
mencement day came, which saw both Washington and
Witherspoon on the platform together the two men, it
was said, who could not be matched for striking presence
in all the country and the young salutatorian turned to
the country's leader to say what it was in the hearts of
all to utter. The sum of the town's excitement was made
up when, upon a notable last day of October in the year
1783, news of peace came to that secluded hall, to add a
touch of crowning gladness to the gay and brilliant com-
pany that had met to receive with formal welcome the
minister plenipotentiary but just come from the Neth-
erlands, Washington moving amongst them the hero
whom the news enthroned.
It was no single stamp of character that the college
gave its pupils. James Madison, Philip Freneau, Aaron
Burr, and Harry Lee had come from it almost at a sin-
gle birth, between 1771 and 1773 James Madison, the
philosophical statesman, subtly compounded of learning
and practical sagacity ; Philip Freneau, the careless poet
and reckless pamphleteer of a party ; Aaron Burr, with
genius enough to have made him immortal, and un-
schooled passion enough to have made him infamous ;
" Light-horse Harry " Lee, a Rupert in battle, a boy in
counsel, high-strung, audacious, wilful, lovable, a figure
for romance. These men were types of the spirit of
which the college was full the spirit of free individual
development, which found its perfect expression in the
president himself.
It has been said that Mr. Madison's style in writing is
like Dr. Witherspoon's, albeit not so apt a weapon for
the quick thrust and instant parry; and it is recalled that
Madison returned to Princeton after his graduation, and
lingered yet another year in study with his master. But,
in fact, his style is no more like Witherspoon's than
112 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Harry Lee's way of fighting was. No doubt there were
the same firmness of touch, the same philosophical
breadth, the same range of topic and finished force of
argument in Dr. Witherspoon's essays upon public ques-
tions that are to be found in Madison's papers in the
"Federalist"; but Dr. Witherspoon fought, too, with
the same overcoming dash that made men know Harry
Lee in the field, albeit with different weapons and upon
another arena.
Whatever we may say of these matters, however, one
thing is certain : Princeton sent upon the public stage an
extraordinary number of men of notable quality in those
days ; became herself for a time, in some visible sort, the
academic centre of the Revolution ; fitted, among the rest,
the man in whom the country was one day to recognize
the chief author of the federal constitution. Princeto-
nians are never tired of telling how many public men
graduated from Princeton in Witherspoon's time,
twenty senators, twenty-three representatives, thirteen
governors, three judges of the Supreme Court of the
Union, one Vice-President, and a President, all within
a space of scarcely twenty years, and from a college
which seldom had more than a hundred students. Nine
Princeton men sat in the Constitutional Convention of
1787, and, though but six of them were Witherspoon's
pupils, there was no other college that had there so many
as six, and the redoubtable doctor might have claimed
all nine as his in spirit and capacity. Madison guided
the convention through the critical stages of its anxious
work with a tact, a gentle unobtrusiveness, an art of
leading without insisting, ruling without commanding,
an authority, not of tone or emphasis, but of apt sugges-
tion, such as Dr. Witherspoon could never have exer-
cised. Princeton men fathered both the Virginia plan
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 113
which was adopted, and the New Jersey plan which was
rejected; and Princeton men advocated the compromises
without which no plan could have won acceptance. The
strenuous Scotsman's earnest desire and prayer to God
to see a government set over the nation that should last
was realized as even he might not have been bold enough
to hope. No man had ever better right to rejoice in
his pupils.
It would be absurd to pretend that we can distinguish
Princeton's touch and method in the Revolution, or her
distinctive handiwork in the Constitution of the Union.
We can show nothing more of historical fact than that
her own president took a great place of leadership in
that time of change, and became one of the first figures
of the age ; that the college which he led, and to which
he gave his spirit, contributed more than her share of
public men to the making of the nation, outranked her
elder rivals in the roll-call of the constitutional conven-
tion, and seemed for a little a seminary of statesmen rather
than a quiet seat of academic learning. What takes our
admiration and engages our fancy in looking back to that
time is the generous union then established in the col-
lege between the life of philosophy and the life of the
State.
It moves her sons very deeply to find Princeton to
have been from the first what they know her to have
been in their own day : a school of duty. The Revolu-
tionary days are gone, and you shall not find upon her
rolls another group of names given to public life that can
equal her muster in the days of the Revolution and the
formation of the government. But her rolls read since
the old days, if you know but a little of the quiet life of
scattered neighborhoods, like a roster of trustees, a list
of the silent men who carry the honorable burdens of
114 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
business and of social obligation of such names as
keep credit and confidence in heart. They suggest a soil
full of the old seed, and ready, should the air of the time
move shrewdly upon it as in the old days, to spring
once more into the old harvest The various boisterous
strength of the young men of affairs who went out with
Witherspoon's touch upon them is obviously not of the
average breed of any place, but the special fruitage of an
exceptional time. Later generations inevitably reverted
to the elder type of Paterson and Ellsworth, the type of
sound learning and stout character, without bold impulse
added, or any uneasy hope to change the world. It has
been Princeton's work, in all ordinary seasons, not to
change, but to strengthen society, to give, not yeast,
but bread for the raising.
It is in this wise Princeton has come into our own
hands ; and to-day we stand as those who would count
their forces for the future. The men who made Prince-
ton are dead ; those who shall keep it and better it still
live ; they are even ourselves. Shall we not ask, ere we
go forward, what gave the place its spirit and its air of
duty ? " We are now men, and must accept in the high-
est spirit the same transcendent destiny ; and not pinched
in a corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but
redeemers and benefactors, pious aspirants to be noble
clay, plastic under the Almighty effort, let us advance
and advance on chaos and the dark."
No one who looks into the life of the institution shall
find it easy to say what gave it its spirit and kept it in
its character, the generations through; but some things
lie obvious to the view in Princeton's case. She has
always been a school of religion, and no one of her sons
who has really lived her life has escaped that steadying
touch which has made her a school of duty. Religion,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 115
conceive it but liberally enough, is the true salt where-
with to keep both duty and learning sweet against the
taint of time and change ; and it is a noble thing to have
conceived it thus liberally, as Princeton's founders did.
Churches among us, as all the world knows, are free
and voluntary societies, separated to be nurseries of be-
lief, not suffered to become instruments of rule ; and
those who serve them can be free citizens as well as
faithful churchmen. The men who founded Princeton
were pastors, not ecclesiastics. Their ideal was the ser-
vice of congregations and communities, not the service
of a church. Duty with them was a practical thing,
concerned with righteousness in this world, as well as
with salvation in the next. There is nothing that gives
such pith to public service as religion. A God of truth
is no mean prompter to the enlightened service of man-
kind ; and the character formed, as if in His eye, has
always a fibre and sanction such as you shall not easily
obtain for the ordinary man from the mild promptings
of philosophy.
This, I cannot doubt, is the reason why Princeton
formed practical men, whom the world could trust to do
its daily work like men of honor. There were men in
Dr. Witherspoon's day who doubted him the right pre-
ceptor for those who sought the ministry of the church,
seeing him "as high a son of liberty as any man in
America," and turned agitator rather than preacher; and
he drew about him, as troubles thickened, young poli-
ticians rather than candidates for the pulpit. But it is
noteworthy that observing men in far Virginia sent their
sons to be with Dr. Witherspoon because they saw in-
trigue and the taint of infidelity coming upon their own
college of William and Mary Madison's father among
the rest; and that young Madison went home to read
116 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
theology with earnest system ere he went out to the tasks
of his life. He had no thought of becoming a minister,
but his master at Princeton had taken possession of his
mind and had enabled him to see what knowledge was
profitable.
The world has long thought that it detected in the
academic life some lack of sympathy with itself, some
disdain of the homely tasks which make the gross globe
inhabitable, not a little proud aloofness and lofty supe-
riority, as if education always softened the hands and
alienated the heart. It must be admitted that books are
a great relief from the haggling of the market, libraries
a very welcome refuge from the strife of commerce. We
feel no anxiety about ages that are past; old books draw
us pleasantly off from responsibility, remind us nowhere
of what there is to do. We can easily hold the service
of mankind at arm's length while we read and make
scholars of ourselves. But we shall be very uneasy, the
while, if the right mandates of religion are let in upon us
and made part of our thought. The quiet scholar has
his proper breeding, and truth must be searched out and
held aloft for men to see for its own sake, by such as will
not leave off their sacred task until death takes them
away. But not many pupils of a college are to be in-
vestigators. They are to be citizens and the world's
servants in every field of practical endeavor, and in their
instruction the college must use learning as a vehicle of
spirit, interpreting literature as the voice of humanity,
must enlighten, guide, and hearten its sons, that it may
make men of them. If it give them no vision of the
true God, it has given them no certain motive to prac-
tice the wise lessons they have learned.
It is noteworthy how often God-fearing men have
been forward in those revolutions which have vindicated
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 117
rights, and how seldom in those which have wrought
a work of destruction. There was a spirit of practical
piety in the revolutionary doctrines which Dr. Wither-
spoon taught. No man, particularly no young man,
who heard him could doubt his cause a righteous cause,
or deem religion aught but a prompter in it. Revolu-
tion was not to be distinguished from duty in Princeton.
Duty becomes the more noble when thus conceived the
" stern daughter of the voice of God " ; and that voice
must ever seem near and in the midst of life if it be
made to sound dominant from the first in all thought
of men and the world. It has not been by accident,
therefore, that Princeton men have been inclined to pub-
lic life. A strong sense of duty is a fretful thing in
confinement, and will not easily consent to be kept at
home clapped up within a narrow round. The univer-
sity in our day is no longer inclined to stand aloof from
the practical world, and, surely, it ought never to have
had the disposition to do so. It is the business of a
university to impart to the rank and file of the men it
trains the right thought of the world, the thought which
has been tested and established, the principles which have
stood through the seasons and become at length part
of the immemorial wisdom of the race. The object of
education is not merely to draw out the powers of the
individual mind : it is rather its right object to draw all
minds to a proper adjustment to the physical and social
world in which they are to have their life and their
development ; to enlighten, strengthen and make fit.
The business of the world is not individual success, but
its own betterment, strengthening, and growth in spiritual
insight. " So teach us to number our days, that we may
apply our hearts unto wisdom," is its right prayer and
aspiration.
118 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
It was not a work of destruction which Princeton
helped forward even in that day of storm which came at
the Revolution, but a work of preservation. The Ameri-
can Revolution wrought, indeed, a radical work of change
in the world: it created a new nation and a new polity;
but it was a work of conservation after all, as fundamen-
tally conservative as the Revolution of 1688, or the ex-
tortion of Magna Charta. A change of allegiance and
the erection of a new nation in the West were its in-
evitable results, but not its objects. Its object was the
preservation of a body of liberties, to keep the natural
course of English development in America clear of im-
pediment. It was meant, not in rebellion, but in self-
defence. If it brought change, it was the change of
maturity, the fulfilment of destiny, the appropriate fruit-
age of wholesome and steady growth. It was part of
English liberty that America should be free. The
thought of our Revolution was as quick and vital in the
minds of Chatham and of Burke as in the minds of Otis
and Henry and Washington. There is nothing so con-
servative of life as growth ; when that stops, decay sets
in and the end comes on apace. Progress is life, for the
body politic as for the body natural. To stand still is to
court death.
Here, then, if you will but look, you have the law of
conservatism disclosed : it is a law of progress. But
not all change is progress, not all growth is the mani-
festation of life. Let one part of the body be in haste to
outgrow the rest and you have malignant disease, the
threat of death. The growth that is a manifestation of
life is equable, draws its springs gently out of the old
fountains of strength, builds upon old tissue, covets the
old airs that have blown upon it time out of mind in the
past. Colleges ought surely to be the best nurseries of
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 119
such life, the best schools of the progress which con-
serves. Unschooled men have only their habits to
remind them of the past, only their desires and their
instinctive judgments of what is right to guide them into
the future. The college should serve the State as its
organ of recollection, its seat of vital memory. It should
give the country men who know the probabilities of
failure and success, who can separate the tendencies
which are permanent from the tendencies which are of
the moment merely, who can distinguish promises from
threats, knowing the life men have lived, the hopes they
have tested, and the principles they have proved.
This College gave the country at least a handful of
such men, in its infancy, and its president for leader.
The blood of John Knox ran in Witherspoon's veins.
The great drift and movement of English liberty, from
Magna Charta down, was in all his teachings ; his pupils
knew as well as Burke did that to argue the Americans
out of their liberties would be to falsify their pedigree.
"In order to prove that the Americans have no right to
their liberties," Burke cried, "we are every day endeav-
oring to subvert the maxims which preserve the whole
spirit of our own." The very antiquarians of the law
stood ready with their proof that the colonies could not
be taxed by Parliament. This Revolution, at any rate,
was a keeping of faith with the past. To stand for it
was to be like Hampden, a champion of law though he
withstood the king. It was to emulate the example of
the very men who had founded the government then for
a little while grown so tyrannous and forgetful of its
great traditions. This was the compulsion of life, not
of passion, and college halls were a better school of
revolution than colonial assemblies.
Provided, of course, they were guided by such a spirit
120 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
as Witherspoon's. Nothing is easier than to falsify
the past. Lifeless instruction will do it. If you rob it
of vitality, stiffen it with pedantry, sophisticate it with
argument, chill it with unsympathetic comment, you
render it as dead as any academic exercise. The safest
way in all ordinary seasons is to let it speak for itself:
resort to its records, listen to its poets, and to its masters
in the humbler art of prose. Your real and proper
object, after all, is not to expound, but to realize it, con-
sort with it, and make your spirit kin with it, so that
you may never shake the sense of obligation off. In
short, I believe that the catholic study of the world's
literature as a record of spirit is the right preparation
for leadership in the world's affairs, if you undertake it
like a man and not like a pedant.
Age is marked in the case of every people just as it
is marked in the case of every work of art, into which
enter the example of the masters, the taste of long
generations of men, the thought that has matured, the
achievement that has come with assurance. The child's
crude drawing shares the primitive youth of the first
hieroglyphics ; but a little reading, a few lessons from
some modern master, a little time in the Old World's
galleries, set the lad forward a thousand years and more,
make his drawing as old as art itself. The art of think-
ing is as old, and it is the University's function to impart
it in all its length : the stiff and difficult stuffs of fact and
experience, of prejudice and affection, in which the hard
art is to work its will, and the long and tedious combi-
nation of cause and effect out of which it is to build up
its results. How else will you avoid a ceaseless round
of error? The world's memory must be kept alive, or
we shall never see an end of its old mistakes. We are
in danger to lose our identity and become infantile in
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PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 121
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every generation. That is the real menace under which
we cower everywhere in this age of change. The Old
World trembles to see its proletariat in the saddle ; we
stand dismayed to find ourselves growing no older,
always as young as the information of our most numer-
ous voters. The danger does not lie in the fact that the
masses whom we have enfranchised seek to work any
iniquity upon us, for their aim, take it in the large, is to
make a righteous polity. The peril lies in this, that the
past is discredited among them, because they played no
choosing part in it. It was their enemy, they say, and
they will not learn of it. They wish to break with it
for ever: its lessons are tainted to their taste.
In America, especially, we run perpetually this risk of
newness. Righteously enough, it is in part a conse-
quence of boasting. To enhance our credit for origi-
nality, we boasted for long that our institutions were one
and all our own inventions ; and the pleasing error was
so got into the common air by persistent discharges of
oratory, that every man's atmosphere became surcharged
with it, and it seems now quite too late to dislodge it.
Three thousand miles of sea, moreover, roll between us
and the elder past of the world. We are isolated here.
We cannot see other nations in detail ; and, looked at in
the large, they do not seem like ourselves. Our prob-
lems, we say, are our own, and we will take our own
way of solving them. Nothing seems audacious among
us, for our case seems to us to stand singular and with-
out parallel. We run in a free field, without recollection
of failure, without heed of example.
This danger is nearer to us now than it was in days
of armed revolution. The men whom Madison led in
the making of the Constitution were men who regarded
the past. They had flung off from the mother country,
122 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
not to get a new liberty, but to preserve an old, not to
break a Constitution, but to keep it. It was the glory
of the Convention of 1787 that it made choice in the
framing of the government of principles which English-
men everywhere had tested, and of an organization of
which in every part Americans themselves had made
trial. In every essential part they built out of old stuffs
whose grain and fibre they knew.
'T is not in battles that from youth we train
The Governor who must be wise and good,
And temper with the sternness of the brain
Thoughts motherly, and meek as womanhood.
Wisdom doth live with children round her knees :
Books, leisure, perfect freedom, and the talk
Man holds with week-day man in the hourly walk
Of the mind's business ; these are the degrees
By which true sway doth mount; this is the stalk
True power doth grow on ; and her rights are these.
The men who framed the government were not radi-
cals. They trimmed old growths, and were not forget-
ful of old principles of husbandry.
It is plain that it is the duty of an institution of learn-
ing, set in the midst of a free population and amidst signs
of social change, not merely to implant a sense of duty,
but to illuminate duty by every lesson that can be drawn
out of the past. It is not a dogmatic process. I know
of no book in which the lessons of the past are set down.
I do not know of any man whom the world could trust
to write such a book. But it somehow comes about
that the man who has traveled in the realms of thought
brings lessons home with him which make him grave
and wise beyond his fellows, and thoughtful with the
thoughtfulness of a true man of the world.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 123
He is not a true man of the world who knows only the
present fashions of it. In good breeding there is always
the fine savor of generations of gentlemen, a tradition of
courtesy, the perfect felicity that comes of long practice.
The world of affairs is so old no man can know it who
knows only that little last segment of it which we call the
present. We have a special name for the man who ob-
serves only the present fashions of the world ; and it is
a less honorable name than that which we use to desig-
nate the grave and thoughtful gentlemen who keep so
steadily to the practices that have made the world wise
and at ease these hundreds of years. We cannot pre-
tend to have formed the world, and we are not destined
to reform it. We cannot even mend it and set it for-
ward by the reasonable measure of a single generation's
work if we forget the old processes or lose our mastery
over them. We should have scant capital to trade on
were we to throw away the wisdom we have inherited,
and seek our fortunes with the slender stock we have
ourselves accumulated.
This, it seems to me, is the real, the prevalent argu-
ment for holding every man we can to the intimate study
of the ancient classics. Latin and Greek no doubt have
a grammatical and syntactical habit which challenges
the mind that would master it to a severer exercise of
analytical power than the easy-going synthesis of any
modern tongue demands ; but substitutes in kind may be
found for that drill. What you cannot find a substitute
for is the classics as literature ; and there can be no first-
hand contact with that literature if you will not master
the grammar and the syntax which convey its subtle
power. Your enlightenment depends on the company
you keep. You do not know the world until you know
the men who have possessed it and tried its ways before
124 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
ever you were given your brief run upon it. And there
is no sanity comparable with that which is got from the
the thoughts that will keep. It is such a schooling that
we get from the world's literature. The books have dis-
appeared which were not genuine, which spoke things
which, if they were worth saying at all, were not worth
hearing more than once, as well as the books which
spoke permanent things clumsily and without the gift of
interpretation. The kind air which blows from age to
age has disposed of them like vagrant leaves. There
was sap in them for a little, but now they are gone, we
do not know where. All literature that has lasted has
this claim upon us : that it is not dead ; but we cannot
be quite so sure of any as we are of the ancient literature
that still lives, because none has lived so long. It holds
a sort of primacy in the aristocracy of natural selection.
Read it, moreover, and you shall find another proof of
vitality in it, more significant still. You shall recognize
its thoughts, and even its fancies, as your long-time
familiars, shall recognize them as the thoughts that
have begotten a vast deal of your own literature. We
read the classics and exclaim in our vanity: "How
modern! it might have been written yesterday." Would
it not be more true, as well as more instructive, to ex-
claim concerning our own ideas: "How ancient! they
have been true these thousand years " ? It is the gene-
ral air of the world a man gets when he reads the classics,
the thinking which depends upon no time, but only upon
human nature, which seems full of the voices of the
human spirit, quick with the power which moves ever
upon the face of affairs. " What Plato has thought, he
may think ; what a saint has felt, he may feel ; what at
any time has befallen any man, he can understand."
There is the spirit of a race in Greek literature ; the spirit
.PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 125
of quite another people in the books of Virgil and Horace
and Tacitus ; but in all a mirror of the world, the old
passion of the soul, the old hope that keeps so new, the
informing memory, the persistent forecast.
It has always seemed to me an odd thing, and a thing
against nature that the literary man, the man whose citi-
zenship and freedom are of the world of thought, should
ever have been deemed an unsafe man in affairs ; and
yet I suppose there is not always injustice in the judg-
ment. It is a perilously pleasant and beguiling comrade-
ship, the company of authors. Not many men, when
once they are deep in it, will leave its engaging talk of
things gone by to find their practical duties in the present.
But you are not making an undergraduate a man of let-
ters when you keep him four short years, at odd, or even
at stated, hours in the company of authors. You shall
have done much if you make him feel free among them.
This argument for enlightenment holds scarcely less
good, of course, in behalf of the study of modern litera-
ture, and especially the literature of your own race and
country. You should not belittle culture by esteeming
it a thing of ornament, an accomplishment rather than a
power. A cultured mind is a mind quit of its awkward-
ness, eased of all impediment and illusion, made quick
and athletic in the acceptable exercise of power. It is a
mind at once informed and just, a mind habituated to
choose its courses with knowledge, and filled with a full
assurance, like one who knows the world and can live in
it without either unreasonable hope or unwarranted fear.
It cannot complain, it cannot trifle, it cannot despair.
Leave pessimism to the uncultured, who do not know
reasonable hope ; leave fantastic hopes to the uncul-
tured, who do not know the reasonableness of failure.
Show that your mind has lived in the world ere now ;
126 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
has taken counsel with the elder dead who still live, as
well as with the ephemeral living who cannot pass their
graves. Help men, but do not delude them.
I believe, of course, that there is another way of pre-
paring young men to be wise. I need not tell you that
I believe in full, explicit instruction in history and in
politics, in the experiences of peoples and the fortunes
of governments, in the whole story of what men have
attempted and what they have accomplished through all
the changes both of form and purpose in their organiza-
tion of their common life. Many minds will receive and
heed this systematic instruction which have no ears for
the voice that is in the printed page of literature. But,
just as it is one thing to sit here in republican America
and hear a credible professor tell of the soil of allegiance
in which the British monarchy grows, and quite another
to live where Victoria is queen and hear common men
bless her with full confession of loyalty, so it is one thing
to hear of systems of government in histories and treat-
ises and quite another to feel them in the pulses of the
poets and prose writers who have lived under them.
It used to be taken for granted, did it not? that
colleges would be found always on the conservative side
in politics (except on the question of free trade) ; but in
this latter day a great deal has taken place which goes
far towards discrediting the presumption. The college
in our day lies very near indeed to the affairs of the
world. It is a place of the latest experiments ; its lab-
oratories are brisk with the spirit of discovery ; its lec-
ture rooms resound with the discussion of new theories
of life and novel programmes of reform. There is no radi-
cal like your learned radical, bred in the schools; and
thoughts of revolution have in our time been harbored
in universities as naturally as they were once nourished
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 127
among the Encyclopedists. It is the scientific spirit of
the age that has wrought the change.
I stand with my hat off at very mention of the great
men who have made our age an age of knowledge.
No man more heartily admires, more gladly welcomes,
more approvingly reckons the gain and the enlighten-
ment that have come to the world through the extraor-
dinary advances in physical science which this great age
has witnessed. He would be a barbarian and a lover
of darkness who should grudge that great study any
part of its triumph. But I am a student of society and
should deem myself unworthy of the comradeship of
great men of science should I not speak the plain truth
with regard to what I see happening under my own
eyes. I have no laboratory but the world of books
and men in which I live ; but I am much mistaken if
the scientific spirit of the age is not doing us a great
disservice, working in us a certain great degeneracy.
Science has bred in us a spirit of experiment and a
contempt for the past. It has made us credulous of
quick improvement, hopeful of discovering panaceas,
confident of success in every new thing.
I wish to be as explicit as carefully chosen words will
enable me to be upon a matter so critical, so radical as
this. I have no indictment against what science has
done : I have only a warning to utter against the at-
mosphere which has stolen from laboratories into lecture
rooms and into the general air of the world at large.
Science, our science, is new. It is a child of the
nineteenth century. It has transformed the world and
owes little debt of obligation to any past age. It has
driven mystery out of the Universe ; it has made mal-
leable stuff of the hard world, and laid it out in its ele-
ments upon the table of every class room. Its own
128 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
masters have known its limitations : they have stopped
short at the confines of the physical universe; they
they have declined to reckon with spirit or with the
stuffs of the mind, have eschewed sense and confined
themselves to sensation. But their work has been so
stupendous that all other men of all other studies have
been set staring at their methods, imitating their ways
of thought, ogling their results. We look in our study
of the classics nowadays more at the phenomena of
language than at the movement of spirit; we suppose
the world which is invisible to be unreal ; we doubt the
efficacy of feeling and exaggerate the efficacy of know-
ledge; we speak of society as an organism and believe
that we can contrive for it a new environment which
will change the very nature of its constituent parts ;
worst of all, we believe in the present and in the future
more than in the past, and deem the newest theory of
society the likeliest. This is the disservice scientific
study has done us : it has given us agnosticism in the
realm of philosophy, scientific anarchism in the field of
politics. It has made the legislator confident that he
can create and the philosopher sure that God cannot.
Past experience is discredited, and the laws of matter
are supposed to apply to spirit and to the make-up of
society.
Let me say once more, this is not the fault of the sci-
entist. He has done his work with an intelligence and
success which cannot be too much admired. It is the
work of the noxious, intoxicating gas which has some-
how got into the lungs of the rest of us from out the
crevices of his workshop, a gas, it would seem, which
forms only in the outer air, and where men do not know
the right use of their lungs. I should tremble to see
social reform led by men who have breathed it; I
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION \ '2'.1
should fear nothing better than utter destruction from
a revolution conceived and led in the scientific spirit.
Science has not changed the laws of social growth
or betterment. Science has not changed the nature
of society, has not made history a whit easier to un-
derstand, human nature a whit easier to reform. It
has won for us a great liberty in the physical world, a
liberty from superstitious fear and from disease, a free-
dom to use nature as a familiar servant ; but it has not
freed us from ourselves. It has not purged us of pas-
sion or disposed us to virtue. It has not made us less
covetous or less ambitious or less self-indulgent. On
the contrary, it may be suspected of having enhanced
our passions, by making wealth so quick to come, so
fickle to stay. It has wrought such instant, incredible
improvement in all the physical setting of our life, that
we have grown the more impatient of the unreformed
condition of the part it has not touched or bettered, and
we want to get at our spirits and reconstruct them in like
radical fashion by like processes of experiment. We have
broken with the past and have come into a new world.
Do you wonder, then, that I ask for the old drill, the
old memory of times gone by, the old schooling in pre-
cedent and tradition, the old keeping of faith with the
past, as a preparation for leadership in days of social
change ? We have not given science too big a place in
our education ; but we have made a perilous mistake in
giving it too great a preponderance in method in every
other branch of study. We must make the humanities
human again ; we must recall what manner of men we
are ; must turn back once more to the region of practical
ideals.
Of course, when all is said, it is not learning but the
spirit of service that will give a college place in the public
130 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
annals of the nation. It is indispensable, it seems to me,
if it is to do its right service, that the air of affairs should
be admitted to all its class rooms. I do not mean the
air of party politics, but the air of the world's trans-
actions, the consciousness of the solidarity of the race, the
sense of the duty of man toward man, of the presence
of men in every problem, of the significance of truth for
guidance as well as for knowledge, of the potency of
ideas, of the promise and the hope that shine in the face
of all knowledge. There is laid upon us the compulsion
of the national life. We dare not keep aloof and closet
ourselves while a nation comes to its maturity. The
days of glad expansion are gone ; our life grows tense
and difficult; our resource for the future lies in careful
thought, providence, and a wise economy ; and the school
must be of the nation.
I have had sight of the perfect place of learning in my
thought : a free place, and a various, where no man could
be and not know with how great a destiny knowledge
had come into the world, itself a little world: but not
perplexed; living with a singleness of aim not known
without; the home of sagacious men, hard-headed and
with a will to know, debaters of the world's questions
every day and used to the rough ways of democracy;
and yet a place removed, calm Science seated there,
recluse, ascetic, like a nun, not knowing that the world
passes, not caring, if the truth but come in answer to her
prayer; and Literature, walking within her open doors,
in quiet chambers, with men of olden times, storied walls
about her, and calm voices infinitely sweet ; here " magic
casements, opening on the foam of perilous seas, in faery
lands forlorn," to which you may withdraw and use your
youth for pleasure; there windows open straight upon
the street, where many stand and talk, intent upon the
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 131
world of men and business. A place where ideals are
kept in heart, in an air they can breathe ; but no fool's
paradise. A place where to learn the truth about the
past and hold debate about the affairs of the present,
with knowledge and without passion : like the world in
having all men's life at heart, a place for men and all
that concerns them ; but unlike the world in its self-pos-
session, its thorough way of talk, its care to know more
than the moment brings to light; slow to take excite-
ment ; its air pure and wholesome with a breath of faith ;
every eye within it bright in the clear day and quick to
look toward heaven for the confirmation of its hope.
Who shall show us the way to this place ?
At half-past two in the afternoon of Wednesday, the un-
dergraduate football teams of Princeton and the University
of Virginia were to play a match game on the University
Athletic Field. The seating facilities of the grounds had
been increased by building new stands. About six thousand
persons were present, among them many of the delegates.
To the European visitors an opportunity was thus afforded
of seeing one of the sights most characteristic of college life
in America. They were accompanied to the field by their
hosts, who did their best to explain the technicalities of the
game. Whether these were all made plain or not made
possibly only a small difference, for the contest happened
to be full of telling features, and the scene before and during
play was most picturesque. The weather had remained per-
fect. The orange and black banners of Princeton flapped
languidly beside the orange and blue of Virginia. So clear
was the air that one could distinguish faces across the field,
and it seemed as if the Sesquicentennial multitude had be-
come a single family. It was by no means an ordinary
football crowd. The average age of the spectators was
132. PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
probably twenty years older than usual. Many older Prince-
ton alumni doubtless were seeing a football game for the
first time, but the graybeards were just as enthusiastic as
the younger men. Fortunately the playing of the Princeton
team, by its strength, swiftness and skill, justified this in-
terest, and was in keeping with the best athletic reputation
of the college. The Virginia team played a manful game
and were roundly applauded for their many excellent points.
When time was called the score stood 48 to o in favor of
Princeton.
An interesting occurrence, not on the official programme,
but appropriate to the Sesquicentennial celebration, was the
meeting of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution in the
State of New Jersey, which was held on Wednesday after-
noon. This society, which contains a large number of
Princeton graduates and residents of Princeton and neigh-
boring towns, had caused to be placed on the right-hand
side of the north entrance to Nassau Hall a bronze memo-
rial tablet, which was unveiled upon this occasion.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
133
Colonel S. Meredith Dickinson, of Trenton, president of
the society, made a short speech presenting the tablet to the
trustees. Mr. Charles E. Green, in their behalf, thanked
the generous donors and accepted the gift, mentioning the
fact that this was the last official meeting of the Board of
Trustees of the College of New Jersey. The Honorable
134 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
John L. Cadwalader, of the class of 1856, then made an
address, of which the main theme was Princeton's share in
the Revolution and the appropriateness of the memorial.
The undergraduates and younger alumni had looked for-
ward with more interest perhaps to the torchlight procession
than to any other feature of the celebration. And it had
been one of the most difficult things to arrange for, because
it required the cooperation of so many agencies good
weather, the presence and enthusiasm of a large number
of men, and not least an intelligent arrangement of forces.
Nearly a year ahead of time it was suggested to the stu-
dents that they should organize a company which should
reproduce in the procession the famous Mercer Blues of
Revolutionary Princeton. The Mercer Blues were accord-
ingly formed and carefully trained. By the time of the
celebration their number was reduced to about one hun-
dred, but these men were a handsome marching body.
They wore reproductions of the blue-and-buff uniforms of
the Princeton company of Continental soldiers in the Revo-
lution. It would be easy enough to get the remaining un-
dergraduates into line, under their several class leaders,
when the time came. But no one could tell how many
graduates would be in Princeton on October 21, nor how
general would be their preparations for making an effective
display. In order to unify and stimulate their efforts, the
following circular was sent out:
STATEMENT OF THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE
TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION ON WEDNESDAY
EVENING, OCTOBER 21, 1896.
PRINCETON, September 22, 1896.
This statement is sent to the various class Secretaries at the re-
quest of a meeting of class Secretaries and Presidents held in Prince-
& s
qj 00
c -
>-, -a
^
i ^
o
J
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 135
ton, September 19. Each Secretary is respectfully requested to dis-
tribute them to his class without delay.
Pursuant to a notice a meeting of class Presidents and Secretaries
was held in Princeton Saturday afternoon, September 19. Sixteen
classes were represented. The Rev. Dr. W. C. Roberts of the class
of '55 presided. The arrangements for the torchlight procession on
the evening of Wednesday, October 21, were outlined by Professors
West, Libbey, and Thompson. The representatives of the different
classes stated what preparations were contemplated by their respective
classes, and a general discussion took place upon the following details :
LANTERNS AND TORCHES. It was decided that the various classes
should be left free to provide themselves with such lanterns or torches
as they might prefer, but that such classes as desire to carry 14-
inch spherical orange-colored paper lanterns can obtain them from
the Princeton committee at cost, provided they are ordered not later
than October i. In case any of the classes prefer to carry the so-
called "electric" torches or candles burning various colored fires, it
was decided that this might be done. The plan of the procession is
such that, save in specially arranged cases, every one participating
in it is expected to carry a lantern or torch of some kind.
BADGES. In addition to the usual class badges furnished by the
separate classes, it was decided that the committee should prepare
a special Sesquicentennial badge with a space left upon it where
the class numeral can be inserted if desired. These special badges
will be furnished at cost to such classes as apply for them not later
than October i ; and the application from each class should specify
whether or not the class numeral is to be inserted.
FLAGS AND BANNERS. Orange and black flags of different designs
are being prepared for decorative purposes. They will be furnished
to such classes as desire them for use at their headuqarters and else-
where, provided the orders are sent not later than October i. It is
understood that such classes as have distinctively class banners will
carry them in the procession.
136 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
TRANSPARENCIES. It was decided that handsome and appropriate
transparencies of an academic character should be admitted to the
procession, and that the designs for the transparencies be submitted
to the Princeton Committee.
FLOATS. In case any class desires to introduce a float or floats
into the procession full and definite arrangements must be made
with the Princeton Committee by October i.
The second day of the celebration (Wednesday, October 21) is
distinctively the Alumni Day, and it is therefore hoped that there will
be a large attendance of alumni on that day. As the accommoda-
tions over night in Princeton are necessarily limited, special arrange-
ments have been made with two leading hotels of Trenton, and
special trains will run each morning from Trenton, Philadelphia, and
New York, arriving in Princeton before the first exercise of each
day, and returning at night after the close of the exercises. It is
expected that the torchlight procession and the other exercises of
Wednesday evening will be over in time for special trains to leave
at about eleven o'clock.
Definite announcement will be made in Princeton by circular on
Wednesday morning, October 21, as to the time and place of the
assembling of each class for the procession.
All orders for lanterns, badges, and flags as above mentioned
should be sent to Professor H. D. Thompson, Princeton, N. J.
All alumni desiring accommodations or tickets to the various ex-
ercises of the celebration should apply to Professor William Libbey,
Princeton, N. J. Applications for tickets will be filed and all avail-
able tickets will be distributed at the office of the Committee in
Princeton to the applicants when they appear in person.
ANDREW F. WEST, '74,^
-.TT T , Princeton
WILLIAM LIBBEY, 77, \
HT-V -r .o I Committee.
. D. THOMPSON, 85, J
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 137
On Monday, October 19, the following final instructions
were issued :
TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION,
WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 21, 1896.
General Instructions,
1. Each class will assemble at the place marked for it on the
enclosed diagram of the Campus promptly at 8 P. M. and prepare for
the parade. See Diagram No. i.
2. All floats upon platform wagons, whether drawn by horses or
men, will form in line on the west side of University Place, in the
order of the classes they represent, at 8 P. M. The head of this
line will not advance beyond a point opposite the Halsted Observa-
tory until the class which they are to accompany reaches the front
of Halsted Observatory, when the float, or floats, will pass forward
and take their places in the line under the instruction of the aide
for the class. Each class aide must appoint an assistant to accom-
pany every float to see that it is moved forward promptly as his line
appears. The remaining floats will move forward at the same time
to the point indicated above, where they will halt until ordered to
move forward by the aides. Should any of the floats be disabled
along the line of march it must be immediately taken to one side and
the ranks closed up.
3. The central portion of the Campus, about the Big Cannon,
must be kept clear at all times. Each class must remain at its
assigned station subject to the orders of the aide in charge. Should
the designated aide not appear, one should immediately be chosen,
and he must at once report to the marshal for instructions.
4. The commanders of divisions will report at the Big Cannon
at 8 p. M. in undress uniform.
At 8. i o P. M. the College bell will be rung and the aides will all report
to their respective commanders at the Big Cannon for instructions.
138 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
At 8. 20 P. M. the "assembly" will be blown by the bugler. All
torches and transparencies must be lit by this time and the lines
formed immediately after this order, in columns of fours. The com-
manders of divisions will then take their places at the head of their
respective lines. As soon as each class is formed its aide will report
the fact to his commander.
The Marshal's aides will then visit each commander, and upon
ascertaining that all is in readiness, will return to the Marshal at
the Cannon,
5. The column will move promptly at 8.30 P. M. There will be no
delay.
LINE OF MARCH.
From the Big Cannon between West College and Reunion Hall
to University Place.
Along University Place to Dickinson Street.
Along Dickinson Street to Alexander Street.
(Here the floats will leave the line and pass along Alexander
Street to Mercer; thence to the westerly Seminary Gate. They will
rejoin their classes at this point as before at the Halsted Observ-
atory.)
Along Alexander Street to the Seminary Gate.
Through the Seminary Grounds to Mercer Street.
Along Mercer Street to Library Place.
Along Library Place to Stockton Street.
Along Stockton Street to Nassau Street.
(Should time permit the line will pass down Bayard Avenue as far
as Mr. Conover's house, and counter-march to Nassau Street.)
Along Nassau Street to Chestnut Street.
Counter-march to Washington Street.
(At this point the floats will leave the line and proceed to a point
on Nassau Street opposite Nassau Hall, where they will halt.)
The line will proceed along Washington Street to McCosh Walk.
Along McCosh Walk to the west side of Clio Hall.
From Clio Hall to the west end of Nassau Hall.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 139
In front of Nassau Hall past the reviewing-stand to their places in
the front Campus as assigned by the aides, and as indicated on the
enclosed diagram. See Diagram No. 2.
OFFICERS AND ORDER OF THE PROCESSION.
The 7 ist Regiment Band.
The Mercer Blues.
The Marshal and Aides.
Delegation from Yale University.
First Division : The Undergraduates.
Commander, Mr. H. C. Brokaw, '97.
Aides : '97, Mr. W. H. Andrus. '99, Mr. J. G. Stevenson.
'98, Mr. G. Cochran. 'oo, Mr. B. Wheeler.
Second Division: "The Old Guard," Classes from 1823 to 1859.
Commander, Gen. W. S. Stryker, '58.
Aides : '38, Rev. W. E. Schenck. '49, Dr. J. Paul.
'39, Col. M. R. Hamilton. '50, Dr. J. B. Piper.
'40, Dr. H. M. Alexander. '51, Dr. J. H. Wikoff.
'41, Prof. J. T. Duffield. '52, Mr. J. C. McDonald.
'42, Rev. Dr. E. R. Craven. '53, Mr. I. C. Whitehead.
'43, Hon. J. P. Stockton. '54, Rev. L. C. Baker.
'44, Hon. H. S. Little. '55, Mr. H. Y. Evans.
'45, Mr. C. M. Davis. '56, Lt.-Col.A. A. Woodhull.
'46, Hon. B. Van Syckel. '57, Mr. S. Bayard Dod.
'47, Mr. A. Martien. '58, Hon. W. L. Dayton.
'48, Rev. Dr. W. C. Cattell. '59, Hon. G. W. Ketcham.
140 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Third Division: Classes from 1860 to 1870.
Commander, Maj. J. C. Owens, '68.
Aides: '60, Mr. E. J. D. Cross. '65, Mr. C. F. Richardson.
'61, Hon. L. H. Anderson. '66, Hon. J. K. Cowen.
'62, Rev. L. W. Mudge. '67, Mr. F. E. Marsh.
'63, Mr. S. B. Huey. '68, Mr. C. S. Withington.
'64, Mr. W. Freeman. '69, Mr. J. W. Aitken.
Fourth Division : Classes from 1870 to 1880.
Commander, Col. D. G. Walker, '75.
Aides: '70, Rev. W. H. Miller. '75, Dr. T. W. Harvey.
'71, Dr. W. McD. Halsey. '76, Mr. H. L. Harrison.
'72, Rev. J. W. Hageman. '77, Mr. J. A. Campbell.
'73, Rev. J. H. Dulles. '78, Prof. H. S. S. Smith.
'74, Mr. C. D. Thompson. '79, Maj. J. R. Wright.
Fifth Division : Classes from 1880 to 1890.
Commander, Capt. F. G. Landon, '81.
Aides : '80, Prof. H. B. Fine. '85, Mr. J. B. Miles.
'8 1, Rev. R. D. Harlan. '86, Mr. F. Evans, Jr.
'82, Mr. E. S. Simons. '87, Mr. L. Stearns.
'83, Rev. E. H. Rudd. '88, Pres. W. M. Irvine.
'84, Mr. A. G. Todd. '89, Rev. L. S. Mudge.
Sixth Division: Classes from 189010 1896.
Commander, Capt. P. Vredenburgh, '92.
Aides: '90, Mr. L. D. Speir. '94, Mr. J. M. Thompson.
'91, Col. G. B. Agnew. '95, Mr. A. C. Imbrie.
'92, Mr. W. K. Prentice. '96, Mr. C. B. Bostwick.
'93, Mr. J. B. Carter.
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142 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
There is no means of ascertaining closely how many
Princeton graduates and how many guests and visitors
were in town when the unclouded sun of that rare October
day yielded the field at nightfall. It is probable that about
two thousand alumni and several times that number of in-
terested spectators were waiting for the grand spectacular
event. As the red sun dropped behind the pines of Mor-
ven, the Hunter's Moon rose broad and yellow in the east.
But other luminaries disputed the Princeton campus, for
between daylight and dark a thousand orange-colored lan-
terns, and as many more of red and blue and green, began
to twinkle among the trees and above the paths, and the
front of Nassau Hall, that old pile which Princeton men
have loved through so many generations, burst in a mo-
ment into a mass of orange-tinted electric fire. Lights
crept along the cornices and over the entrance and up
the white tower. They outlined the famous belfry, where
the busy work-day monitor hung silent. They flashed
forth upon the gilded pinnacle. The front campus would
have been a fitting theatre for a revel of fairies or some
gorgeous midsummer night's dream. The ground in front
of Nassau Hall was as bright as day, and so were the
main avenues, but on either hand was a pleasant mingling
of darkness and softest light. Along the elm boughs
glowed in graceful festoons lights that looked like new
constellations in the sky. From clumps of evergreen shim-
mered the yellow radiance, as if of enormous fireflies.
Every room in Reunion and East and West Colleges
poured forth a merry shine, and no part of the campus,
north of Potter's woods, was left to moonlight alone.
In the quadrangle around the Big Cannon there soon
began a scene of unwonted stir, although few places, to be
sure, have witnessed more bonfires and nocturnal celebra-
tions than that well-trodden square. Flaring torches, in
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 143
long, tossing lines, appeared from all directions. Trom-
bones and cornets reflected the light grotesquely increasing.
Bugles broke forth into rallying calls. Gigantic tigers and
other quadrupeds came nodding and bobbing over the
grass from one and another place of preparation and con-
cealment. Whole classes marched into their positions,
straight from their banquets and reunions. At first it
looked as if there would be an inextricable tangle of bands
and floats and transparencies, but before long all fell into
perfect order, and the several grand divisions, cheering
and impatient to be off, stood in their places, and every
torch was burning. At twenty minutes past eight the
bugles blew, and there was a hurrying to and fro of aides
and captains. At half-past eight all were in place again, and
precisely to the minute the long procession started. The
Mercer Blues, led by Professor Libbey in Continental uni-
form, and carrying the sword worn by General Hugh
Mercer at the battle of Princeton, marched with the solidity
and precision of veterans. They not only marched, but
performed various difficult evolutions, to the delight of the
thousands who thronged the streets. The delegation of
Yale Seniors, who followed them in a place of honor before
the main body of Princeton undergraduates, were loudly
cheered as they wheeled into line. The Princeton students,
many of them carefully dressed for the occasion in cos-
tumes supposed to represent the easy equality and contempt
for show which characterizes them, marched in classes, and
were not restrained from loud and constant cheering by
any feelings of modesty or timidity. Even had they rea-
lized how many gray-bearded men were immediately fol-
lowing them in the tortuous line, it is possible they would
not have subdued their ardor. But that Old Guard was
cheering too! The earliest class represented in the proces-
sion was 1839, which had two men in line, while on the
144 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
campus were graduates still older, as far back as 1825.
As classes of later date appeared, the numbers grew. Men
high in state and church, veterans of the Civil War, distin-
guished ministers, lawyers, physicians, business men, edi-
tors, teachers, some in carriages, but nearly all on foot, they
awoke the wildest storms of applause in every street of the
town, marching once more together as they "used to do 'way
back in Freshman year." With two exceptions, every one
of the sixty-two classes from 1839 to 1900 was represented
in the line. The few old gentlemen present who were
graduated still further back, but were prevented by age or
infirmities from marching in the line, sat on the reviewing-
stand. Men had come from distant countries, and the
remotest parts of the United States, to participate in this
parade. After this division of heroes came the classes from
1860 to 1896, with the students of the Princeton Theologi-
cal Seminary, four long divisions. From the class of 1896
one hundred and fifty men were present, from '95 one
hundred and forty, from '94 one hundred and twenty-five.
The class of '88 created the greatest amusement. The men
rode imitation horses, which were managed with well-
feigned dexterity. A large Trojan Horse was dragged
along in triumph after the burlesque equestrians. Their
progress was marked by a continuous roar of "inextinguish-
able laughter." The class of '79 carried several large and
remarkable transparencies, among them one representing
the bronze relief of President McCosh in the chapel, which
was their gift. Nearly all the later classes bore humorous
transparencies, illustrating some event in their own history
when in college, or enforcing some political opinion or some
theory of managing the new university. The class of '81,
dressed in the costume of Colonial soldiers, was preceded
by a gorgeous coach in which one of their number, made up
to represent George Washington, reclined at his ease. The
Review of the Torchlight Procession by President Cleveland
at Nassau Hall.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 145
class of '77 dragged a huge wooden cannon which belched
forth red fire, and a float on which stood a stuffed tiger, and
bore the Princeton flag which Professor Libbey carried with
him on his recent Arctic expedition. Some of the legends
held aloft by the younger classes were highly amusing, and
were greeted with shouts of laughter. The procession was
about a mile long, and took half an hour to pass a given
point. Probably more than three thousand men were in
the line.
Shortly after the procession had left the quadrangle, the
clatter of hoofs was heard on the now almost empty campus,
and the historic City Troop of Philadelphia, successors of
the Troop that fought under Washington at Princeton, in
their beautiful white-and-blue uniforms and mounted on
splendid chargers, dashed up to the reviewing-stand in front
of Nassau Hall, escorting the President of the United States
and Mrs. Cleveland, who were driven in a carriage to their
places, in the centre of a half-dozen long tiers of seats filkd
with the delegates and other invited guests. The President
and Mrs. Cleveland were welcomed by President Patton,
Governor Griggs, Senator George Gray of Delaware, Pro-
fessor West, and Mr. James W. Alexander of the Board
of Trustees. President and Mrs. Cleveland were placed
near the main entrance of Nassau Hall, where Washington
entered after the battle of Princeton, and where subsequently
he attended the College Commencement in 1783. The City
Troop wheeled to the right and dismounted in a line near
the walk in front of the College Offices. There were per-
haps two thousand persons, many of them ladies, in the
reviewing-stand, sitting in groups as they had come from
dining together in Princeton homes. Scarcely had the flutter
of arrival ceased, when the head of the procession, having
finished its long course through historic streets and academic
groves, emerged from the narrow space between Nassau
146 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Hall and Reunion, and wheeling to the left, began to pass
the stand. The fairy charm of the swinging lanterns was
broken by the flaring torchlights, and the band which pre-
ceded the Old Guard burst forth into the inspiring strains
of " Marching through Princeton." The veteran division
passed the Chief Magistrate of the United States with
uncovered heads, and he bowed to them repeatedly.
Each of the younger classes stopped before him and
gave him at least three cheers and often three times three,
and as many more for Mrs. Cleveland. There were many
witty allusions to the political situation, and no con-
cealment of the sympathy the men felt for the President and
his attitude. After nearly an hour the procession ceased to
pour past the reviewing-stand, and all its members were
massed in a dense throng facing Nassau Hall, singing the
songs of Princeton. There were innumerable calls for
speeches from President Cleveland, and he seemed about to
yield when the fireworks began to go off along the fence
which divides the front campus from Nassau street. As
the large dynamite rockets sailed towards the sky they
were accompanied by the Princeton "rocket" cheer, until
the general display of fiery wheels, bursting bombs, foun-
tains, showers, and set figures so took possession of the
crowd that they looked on in silent admiration. When the
final and magnificent figure, "Good night, Princeton 1746-
1896," rose into the air, beautiful and appropriate to the
occasion, the multitude gave one vast roar of approbation
and began to scatter. The City Troop mounted and rode
forward to escort the President and Mrs. Cleveland to
Prospect, the residence of President Patton. Those who
knew what a great day the morrow was to be went home
to rest. Most of the alumni spent some time seeking their
classmates in the throng, and retired in despair. Some
succeeded in having class reunions. The Chinese lanterns
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 147
burned themselves out. The campus was soon silent and
deserted. It was over, and soon only the moon, now
riding high aloft, poured her soft light through the trees.
Our revels now are ended : these our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air.
THE THIRD DAY.
ON Thursday, October 22, 1896, what had up to that time
been a purely academic festival was transformed into a great
national event. The Princeton sesquicentennial celebration
had from the first been more than merely local : it had been
given unusual dignity and value by the presence and coop-
eration of a more distinguished company of eminent men of
learning than was ever before assembled in this country.
Philosophy, literature, science, and art were worthily repre-
sented and duly honored. But it was remarked that the
trend of the proceedings was towards the expression of po-
litical ideas. It was manifest that what Princeton prided
herself on were her statesmen, the connection between her
lecture-rooms and the council-chambers of the nation, her
character for sober, just, and progressive political thought.
The men who had gathered to her revels came almost reluc-
tant to leave for three whole days of serenity and peace the
battle-field of political strife, where so many of them were
contending for all that was reasonable, peaceful, and just.
And of a sudden it turned out that Princeton became on the
last of these three days the storm-centre of the political
atmosphere, the spot upon which the eyes of the whole
country were turned.
A slight touch of frost was in the air when morning
dawned. The dreamy haze of Indian summer had rolled
148 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
southward, and the sun shone with a brightness prophetic of
winter. Leaves were falling in showers and eddying along
the ground. The sky was cloudless. Every footfall rang
sharply on the pavement; every hood of orange, scarlet, blue,
and purple stood out bright and handsome in the crystalline
air. Once more the great Princeton family and its guests
were astir. Princeton University was to be born this day.
A home in the world of learning was to be newly conse-
crated. The amount of the sesquicentennial fund was to be
announced. The President of the United States was to
make an address, and no one doubted that it would be, in
some sense, his valedictory speech to the American people.
The pageant of conferring the degrees was to be enacted.
The noble and beautiful Alexander Hall proved splendidly
adequate as the theatre of these events. It was completely
packed, except in the orchestra and on the stage, early in
the morning, while throngs of people strove in vain to
enter. The crowd filled the aisles and reached beyond the
doors, and men in the gallery seemed to stand on one
another's shoulders. Crowds of others lined the path to the
chapel, down which, at eleven o'clock, marched the City
Troop of Philadelphia, followed two and two by the academic
procession. At its head walked President Patton, with
President Cleveland on his right, the latter being perhaps
the only man who did not wear cap or gown or hood. In
front of Alexander Hall the City Troop stood like a line of
statues, the perfection of military form. They presented
arms as the Chief Magistrate passed. Mrs. Cleveland, with
her hostess, Mrs. Patton, had already entered the hall, and
was seated in the circle which surrounds the orchestra.
The procession descended the main aisle, while the audi-
ence rose and greeted it with tumultuous applause and
continuous and irrepressible cheering. The distinguished
scholars who were to receive degrees took seats upon the
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 149
platform, President Patton in the centre under the dais, with
President Cleveland on his right and Governor Griggs on
his left. In the small semicircle were also the Rev. Dr.
Theodore L. Cuyler, of Brooklyn ; the Right Rev. Henry
Yates Satterlee, Bishop of Washington ; Mr. Charles E.
Green; the Rev. Dr. Elijah R. Craven, of Philadelphia,
Clerk of the Board of Trustees; and near by were Dean
Murray and Professors Shields, Young, and Sloane, who
were to present the recipients of the degrees, and Professor
Libbey, the marshal. The rest of the academic procession
filled the orchestra.
When the applause had subsided and the music ceased,
Dr. Cuyler arose and offered the following prayer :
"Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, the heavens
are full of Thy praise. From Thee cometh down every
good and perfect gift. We thank Thee that Thy ser-
vants have planted the root divine which has spread like
a goodly cedar, and has yielded nurture to the work of
the Holy Spirit all over the earth. We thank Thee
that it has guarded the cradle of our youthful republic,
and that here Thy name has been honored and Thy
word has been taught. And now, Most Holy One, we
invoke thy richest blessings on our mother, who nur-
tured us so tenderly on her bosom. We invoke Thee
to bless our country on whose altar rest the ashes of her
fathers and the hopes of her children. Bless the Presi-
dent of the United States, and may he continue to honor
the high trust committed to his care to the very last hour
of his administration. Bless also the Governor of this
Commonwealth, and all who rule in high authority.
Bless those who come to us from the various colleges
and universities of the world, bringing congratulations
from sister institutions. We pray that every university
150 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
may be a fountainhead of truth, and that all their fruits
may be laid at the feet of Jesus Christ, and on this day
so full of memories and so radiant with hopes we join all
our voices in crowning Him Lord of all. Hear us in
these our petitions as we gather, weak, poor and sinful,
and as we join in the words our Saviour taught us to
say." The entire assembly then joined in the Lord's
Prayer.
Then, amid a hush of expectancy, President Patton slowly
arose, and with much dignity and grace of manner made
the announcement of the university title and endowments.
Every word fell clear and was heard in the remotest corners
of that densely crowded hall. One common tide of emotion
swelled and rose in the hearts of the alumni of the old Col-
lege of New Jersey while his utterance grew louder and his
voice was thrilled with deeper feeling as he approached
the climax, when, on a sudden, with one magical phrase he
called to the floods and they obeyed. Men who loved
Princeton as the home of their hearts, as the field of their
ideals and their hopes, trembled with enthusiasm as the
moment approached the moment of moments; and when
it came, they leaped to their feet, spontaneously, and a great
shout went up to heaven.
President Patton said, bowing to the President of the
United States, to the Governor of New Jersey and to the
audience :
We have waited long for this hour. To us it is the
hour of gladness, but we cannot conceal from ourselves
the fact that it is an hour in which we are conscious of
serious responsibilities as well. And so, reverently and
in the fear of God, we enter this house and begin the
exercises of the day by invoking the favor of God
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 151
Almighty. We have planned for an appropriate rec-
ognition of the fact that on this day there will occur
the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the signing
of the charter of the College of New Jersey.
We desired to mark the day by three appropriate cir-
cumstances. In the first place, it was our desire that
the occasion should be one in which there should be a
fitting celebration of the event to which I have just
referred, and we accordingly planned, with such fore-
thought and wisdom as we had, for a suitable academic
festival. I am speaking the feelings of my colleagues
on the board of trustees and in the faculty when I say
that we have been exceedingly gratified by the success
that has thus far attended our efforts; and we do not
forget that the degree of success that we have had is due
in the main to the kind, cordial cooperation of the uni-
versities of the world, to those who come to us from the
universities of this land, and especially to those who, at
great sacrifice of time and pressing engagements, have
crossed the sea and come to us from other lands. We
feel ourselves under a great debt of obligation, and I
desire at this moment to express to them in the heartiest
possible way the thanks of the trustees and faculty for
their kind presence among us, and friendly sympathy
shown us, and the deep interest they have ever mani-
fested in our institution.
We hope that they will carry away pleasant memories
of Princeton, but we assure you that, on our part, their
presence has been an inspiration to us, and that the cause
of the higher education has taken a long step in advance
as the result of their kindly presence. We wish to as-
sure them that their names will linger with us always
as pleasant memories ; that we feel ourselves nearer to
them than we ever did before ; that there is a commu-
152 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
nity of interest between us and the universities of the
world that we never realized before ; and that this
community of university interest is, let us hope, but
a symbol of that underlying, ever-growing interna-
tional community that shall make for peace, concord
and good-will among the nations of the earth.
It was not unnatural that the trustees and the faculty
of the College of New Jersey should think that the be-
ginning of a new era in her history furnished us with an
opportunity that we could not well let go by for an effort
in the direction of an increase in the endowments of the
institution in whose interests we meet this morning; and it
is my pleasure to say that, notwithstanding the stress of
difficult financial circumstances throughout the country,
our success in this direction has been exceedingly gratify-
ing, and has exceeded the most sanguine expectations, at
least of some of us, when this movement was inaugurated.
There has been placed in my hands a statement which
I shall read: In order to strengthen and extend the
various departments of instruction and research, a com-
mittee on endowment was appointed by the trustees, and
organized in January, 1895. This committee was ap-
pointed to secure the necessary means for strengthening
and extending the various departments of instruction
and research, both undergraduate and graduate. The
especial objects for which the increase of endowment
was sought were university fellowships and professor-
ships, an increase in the salaries of the faculty, an
increase in the general fund, and a new university library.
Many subscriptions have been received. Without
specifying in detail what must be reserved for a later
and fuller statement, it is proper to say at this time that
several fellowships have been secured and a McCormick
professorship has been founded ; a Blair Hall has been
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 153
given, its revenues being available for the support of
professors ; and a considerable, though not a complete,
endowment of the McCosh Professorship of Philosophy
has been obtained. A gift of $250,000 has been received
for purposes not yet ready to be announced publicly,
and a gift of $600,000 has been received for a univer-
sity library. The guarantee of subscriptions reported
up to October 21 is $1,353,291.
We have not abandoned the prosecution of this work,
and some unfinished business remains in connection with
the duties of the Endowment Committee. At a later
date we hope to be able to announce the complete
endowment of the McCosh professorship.
We are anxious to secure a complete endowment for a
graduate college, in order that the best facilities may be
furnished for the prosecution of graduate work; and it is
one of the still unrealized dreams of my early adminis-
tration that the time may yet come when there shall be in
this University such a school of historical and philosoph-
ical jurisprudence and political science as shall be worthy
of the historic foundations on which it will be planted,
and be the logical outcome of our historic beginning.
There was another circumstance by which we thought
it would be wise to mark the significance of this day.
Thanks to the liberal provisions of the charter of the
College of New Jersey, this institution from its begin-
ning has been fully empowered to do university work in
all its spheres, and we have had occasion to make no
change whatever in the charter of the College of New
Jersey in order that we might change its corporate name.
It has been thought best to change the corporate name
of the College of New Jersey, partly in order that the
name of the institution might more fittingly correspond
to the work that it has been doing for so many years,
154 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
and partly, also, that the new name might serve as an in-
spiration for new effort, and mark a new departure in the
direction of higher and more extended work in the great
realm of pure culture, as that realm divides itself into the
three great kingdoms of philosophy, science, and literature.
And so it is my pleasure, for expression of which I
have no equivalent in words, to say that the wishes of
the alumni in this respect have at last been fully real-
ized; to say that the faculty, trustees, and alumni stand
together, and, as with the voice of one man, give their
hearty approval to the change that has taken place.
It is my great pleasure to say that from this moment
what heretofore for one hundred and fifty years has been
known as the College of New Jersey shall in all future
time -be known as Princeton University.
As the new name was announced the audience broke
into immense applause, which settled into deep, concerted,
shattering cheering, each cheer ending with the triple
" Princeton University." With a blare of trumpets silence
was, after many minutes, restored, and President Patton,
with uplifted hand, cried, "God bless Princeton University,
and make us faithful in her service ! "
The orchestra then played a short selection, after which
began the ceremony of conferring the honorary degrees.
The Clerk of the Board of Trustees rose in his place and,
standing covered, said: "The recipients of honorary de-
grees will present themselves before the President as their
names are called. The Reverend Professor Shields will
present in Theology and Philosophy." Professor Shields
read the names of the gentlemen who were to receive the
honorary degree of doctor of divinity, and as each came to
the front of the platform and faced the audience, standing
near Professor Shields, the latter pronounced the titles and
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 155
mentioned some of the distinguished works of the recipient,
and then turning, led him to a place in front of President
Patton, who remained seated and covered. When the group
was complete, the President said: "Auctoritate mihi a Cu-
ratoribus Universitatis Princetoniensis commissa vos ad
summum gradum in divinitate admitto." The President
then arose and, uncovering, extended his hand to each in
turn, and after a word of greeting they were escorted to
their seats by Professor Shields.
In the same manner Professor Shields presented a group
of men distinguished in philosophy, upon whom was con-
"ferred the degree of doctor of laws, the word " legibus "
being substituted, in the President's formula, for "divinitate."
When this portion of the ceremony was completed, the
Clerk of the Board of Trustees, again standing covered,
said: " Professor Young will present in Mathematics, and
in the Physical and in the Natural Sciences." Professor
Young called upon the distinguished gentlemen and pre-
sented them, and to each group as it was formed the Presi-
dent, in the manner already described, said : " Auctoritate
mihi a Curatoribus Universitatis Princetoniensis commissa
vos ad summum gradum in legibus admitto."
The Clerk of the Board of Trustees in like manner said :
"Professor Sloane will present in History, in the Political
Sciences, and in Education." Professor Sloane introduced
the recipients, and the President conferred upon them the
same degree.
The Clerk of the Board of Trustees finally announced:
" The Dean of the Faculty will present in Archaeology,
Philology, Literature, and Art." Dean Murray then pre-
sented the distinguished gentlemen upon whom the degrees
of doctor of laws, doctor of letters, or doctor of music were
to be conferred in recognition of their services in the above-
mentioned fields, and the President received them with the
156 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
same address, but using the words " legibus," " litteris hu-
manioribus," or " musica," as occasion demanded.
When the groups of scholars presented by the Reverend
Professor Shields, Professor Young, Professor Sloane, and
the Dean of the Faculty had thus received their honorary
degrees, the Clerk of the Board of Trustees said : " I have
the honor to announce that the Trustees of Princeton Uni-
versity have conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws in
absentia upon the following persons :
THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE LORD KELVIN,
Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Glasgow.
OTTO VON STRUVE,
Formerly Director of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory at
Pulkova, Russia."
Then, removing his cap, the Clerk of the Board of Trus-
tees announced that the ceremony of conferring the hon-
orary degrees was concluded. It had been followed with
great interest by the spectators, and was indeed a notable
sight. The groups of honored and in many cases venerable
men who stood arrayed in Princeton hoods before Presi-
dent Patton and were by him welcomed first in formal
Latin, and then with informal cordiality in English and with
a grasp of his hand, into fellowship with the long roll of
Princeton's alumni ; the brief but effective remarks of those
who presented them ; the hearty recognition given by all
present to some of the most celebrated recipients, all this
composed a scene of academic ceremony unique in this
country. The recipients of the honorary degree of Doctor
of Divinity were:
THE REVEREND PROFESSOR WILLIS JUDSON BEECHER,
Auburn Theological Seminary, Auburn, New York.
THE REVEREND PROFESSOR WILLIAM CAVEN,
Principal of Knox College, Toronto, and Professor of Exegetics and
Biblical Criticism, Toronto, Canada.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 157
THE REVEREND DOCTOR MORGAN DIX,
Rector of Trinity Church, New York City.
THE REVEREND PROFESSOR GEORGE PARK FISHER,
Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Dean of the Divin-
ity School in Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
THE REVEREND DOCTOR WILLIAM REED HUNTINGTON,
Rector of Grace Church, New York City.
BISHOP JOHN FLETCHER HURST,
Chancellorof the American University, Washington, District of Columbia.
THE REVEREND PROFESSOR CHARLES MARSH MEAD,
Riley Professor of Christian Theology in the Hartford Theological
Seminary, Connecticut.
THE REVEREND DOCTOR SIMON JOHN McPHERSON,
Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois.
THE REVEREND DOCTOR SAMUEL JACK NICCOLLS,
Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Saint Louis, Missouri.
THE REVEREND PROFESSOR MATTHEW BROWN RIDDLE,
Memorial Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis in the
Western Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
THE RIGHT REVEREND HENRY YATES SATTERLEE,
Bishop of Washington, District of Columbia.
THE REVEREND DOCTOR JOSEPH TATE SMITH,
Baltimore, Maryland.
THE REVEREND PROFESSOR AUGUSTUS HOPKINS STRONG,
President of Rochester Theological Seminary and Davies Professor of
Biblical Theology, Rochester, New York.
THE REVEREND PROFESSOR JOSEPH HENRY THAYER,
Bussey Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation in
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The recipients of the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws
were:
JAMES BURRILL ANGELL,
President of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
MAURICE BLOOMFIELD,
Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology in the Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, Maryland.
158 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
KARL BRUGMANN,
Professor of Indogermanic Philology in the University of Leipzig,
Germany.
JOHN BATES CLARK,
Professor of Political Economy in Columbia University, New York City.
JOHANNES CONRAD,
Professor of Political Economy in the University of Halle, Germany.
WILHELM DORPFELD,
First Secretary of the German Archaeological Institute, Athens, Greece.
EDWARD DOWDEN,
Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature in Trinity College,
Dublin, Ireland.
JOSIAH WILLARD GIBBS,
Professor of Mathematical Physics in Yale University, New Haven,
Connecticut.
DANIEL COIT GILMAN,
President of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
GEORGE LINCOLN GOODALE,
Fisher Professor of Natural History and Director of the Botanical
Garden in Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
WILLIAM GARDNER HALE,
Professor of Latin in the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM TORREY HARRIS,
United States Commissioner of Education, Washington, District of
Columbia.
CHARLES CUSTIS HARRISON,
Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
GEORGE WILLIAM HILL,
President of the American Mathematical Society, West Nyack, New
York.
ARNOLD AMBROSIUS WILLEM HUBRECHT,
Professor of Zoology in the University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Holland.
WILLIAM JAMES,
Professor of Psychology in Harvard University, Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 159
FELIX KLEIN,
Professor of Mathematics in the University of Gottingen, Gottingen,
Germany.
THE REVEREND GEORGE TRUMBULL LADD,
Clark Professor of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics in Yale Uni-
versity, New Haven, Connecticut.
SAMUEL PIERPONT LANGLEY,
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of
Columbia.
HENRY CHARLES LEA,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
JOSEPH LECONTE,
Professor of Geology and Natural History in the University of Cali-
fornia and President of the American Geological Society, Berkeley,
California.
JAMES LOUDON,
President of the University of Toronto, Canada.
SETH LOW,
President of Columbia University, New York City.
JOHN WILLIAM MALLET,
Professor of Chemistry in the University of Virginia, Charlottesville,
Virginia.
SILAS WEIR MITCHELL,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
HENRI MOISSAN,
Professor of Chemistry in the University of Paris and Member of the
French Academy of Sciences, Paris.
SIMON NEWCOMB,
Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy in the Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity, Baltimore, and Director of the Nautical Almanac, Wash-
ington, District of Columbia.
WILLIAM PETERSON,
Principal of McGill University and Professor of Classics, Montreal,
Canada.
EDWARD BAGNALL POULTON,
Hope Professor of Zoology in the University of Oxford, Oxford,
England.
160 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
IRA REMSEN,
Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Chemical Laboratory in the
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
HENRY AUGUSTUS ROWLAND,
Professor of Physics and Director of the Physical Laboratory in the
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
ANDREW SETH,
Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in the University of Edinburgh,
Scotland.
GOLDWIN SMITH,
Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and formerly Regius Professor of
Modern History in the University of Oxford, Toronto, Canada.
JOSEPH JOHN THOMSON,
Cavendish Professor of Physics in the University of Cambridge, Cam-
bridge, England.
BENJAMIN IDE WHEELER,
Professor of Greek in Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
The recipients of the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters
were :
HENRY MARTYN BAIRD,
Professor of the Greek Language and Literature in New York Univer-
sity, New York City.
RICHARD WATSON GILDER,
Editor of "The Century," New York City.
THOMAS RAYNESFORD LOUNSBURY,
Professor of English in Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
FRANCIS ANDREW MARCH,
Professor of the English Language and Comparative Philology in
Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania.
HORACE ELISHA SCUDDER,
Editor of "The Atlantic Monthly," Boston, Massachusetts.
CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER,
New York City.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 161
The following gentleman received the honorary degree of
Doctor of Music :
EDWARD ALEXANDER McDOWELL,
Professor of Music in Columbia University, New York City.
When the stir occasioned by this ceremony had subsided,
the orchestra afforded relief to the audience, somewhat ex-
hausted by close attention with the eye, and then President
Patton, rising from his seat, expressed regret that the ven-
erable Lord Kelvin, the distinguished natural philosopher,
could not be present on this occasion, and read the following
cable despatch just received from him :
I heartily congratulate the College and University of Prince-
ton on the celebration of the one-hundred-and-fiftieth
year of its beneficent life upon which we look back, and
on the new developments now organized for continuance
of good work with ever-increasing energy in the future.
I regret exceedingly that my university engagements
in Glasgow make it impossible for me to be present at
Princeton on this occasion, and I ask the University and
its friends now assembled to accept this telegraphic ex-
pression of my cordial sympathy and good wishes.
KELVIN.
The reading was received with applause. President Pat-
ton then said :
It was our heart's desire to confer still another degree on
this occasion, but the distinguished gentleman upon
whom we wished to confer it has seen fit to use the
sovereign power of the American people which he rep-
resents in the interests of his own modesty, and there
was nothing left for us to do but to treat his wishes as
162 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
a command. We are, however, much gratified that we
meet this morning in the favoring presence of the Chief
Magistrate of our country. It would have pleased us
to honor ourselves in honoring him, and in so doing to
bear public testimony to our high appreciation of his
public services and strong, patriotic position in this, the
hour of his nation's trial. We thank him with full and
overflowing hearts to-day for leaving the cares of ex-
ecutive business in order that he may grace our aca-
demic festival, and we thank him for the willingness
that he has expressed in response to our urgent invita-
tion to say a few words on this occasion which inaugu-
rates Princeton University.
Ladies and Gentlemen : I have the great honor of
presenting to you the President of the United States.
When President Cleveland arose the entire audience rose
to greet him, and burst into enthusiastic and deafening
applause. The Princeton cheer, with the conclusion "Cleve-
land, Cleveland, Cleveland," rang with perfect solidity and
unanimity of sound from gallery and house alike. Ladies
clapped their hands and waved their handkerchiefs. The
ovation continued until the President was manifestly touched
and gratified. Finally, when the orchestra drowned the
cheering with a few strains of " Hail Columbia," in the
midst of breathless silence he read slowly and impressively
the following words :
MR. PRESIDENT AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :
As those in different occupations and with different train-
ing each see most plainly in the same landscape
view those features which are the most nearly related
to their several habitual environments, so, in our con-
templation of an event or an occasion, each individual
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 163
especially observes and appreciates, in the light his mode
of thought supplies, such of its features and incidents as
are most in harmony with his mental situation.
To-day, while all of us warmly share the general
enthusiasm and felicitation which pervade this assem-
blage, I am sure its various suggestions and meanings
assume a prominence in our respective fields of mental
vision dependent upon their relation to our experience
and condition. Those charged with the management
and direction of the educational advantages of this noble
institution most plainly see, with well-earned satisfaction,
proofs of its growth and usefulness, and its enhanced
opportunities for doing good. The graduate of Prince-
ton sees first the evidence of a greater glory and
prestige that have come to his Alma Mater, and the
added honor thence reflected upon himself, while those
still within her student halls see most prominently the
promise of an increased dignity which awaits their grad-
uation from Princeton University.
But there are others here, not of the family of Prince-
ton, who see with an interest not to be outdone the signs
of her triumphs on the fields of higher education, and
the part she has taken during her long and glorious
career in the elevation and betterment of a great people.
Among these I take an humble place, and as I yield to
the influences of this occasion, I cannot resist the train
of thought which especially reminds me of the promise
of national safety, and the guaranty of the permanence of
our free institutions, which may and ought to radiate
from the universities and colleges scattered throughout
our land.
Obviously a government resting upon the will and
universal suffrage of the people has no anchorage except
in the people's intelligence. While the advantages of a
164 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
collegiate education are by no means necessary to good
citizenship, yet the college graduate, found everywhere,
cannot smother his opportunities to teach his fellow-
countrymen and influence them for good, nor hide his
talents in a napkin, without recreancy to a trust.
In a nation like ours, charged with the care of
numerous and widely varied interests, a spirit of con-
servatism and toleration is absolutely essential. A col-
legiate training, the study of principles unvexed by
distracting and misleading influences, and a correct
apprehension of the theories upon which our republic is
established, ought to constitute the college graduate a
constant monitor, warning against popular rashness and
excess.
The character of our institutions and our national self-
interest require that a feeling of sincere brotherhood and
a disposition to unite in mutual endeavor should pervade
our people. Our scheme of government in its beginning
was based upon this sentiment, and its interruption has
never failed, and can never fail, to grievously menace
our national health. Who can better caution against
passion and bitterness than those who know by thought
and study their baneful consequences, and who are
themselves within the noble brotherhood of higher
education ?
There are natural laws and economic truths which
command implicit obedience, and which should unalter-
ably fix the bounds of wholesome popular discussion
and the limits of political strife. The knowledge gained
in our universities and colleges would be sadly deficient
if its beneficiaries were unable to recognize and point out
to their fellow-citizens these truths and natural laws, and
to teach the mischievous futility of their non-observance
or attempted violation.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 165
The activity of our people, and their restless desire
to gather to themselves especial benefits and advantages,
lead to the growth of an unconfessed tendency to re-
gard their government as the giver of private gifts, and
to look upon the agencies for its administration as the
distributors of official places and preferment. Those
who in university or college have had an opportunity to
study the mission of our institutions, and who in the
light of history have learned the danger to a people
from their neglect of the patriotic care they owe the
national life entrusted to their keeping, should be well
fitted to constantly admonish their fellow-citizens that
the usefulness and beneficence of their plan of govern-
ment can only be preserved through their unselfish and
loving support, and their contented willingness to accept
in full return the peace, protection, and opportunity
which it impartially bestows.
Not more surely do the rules of honesty and good
faith fix the standard of individual character in a com-
munity than do these same rules determine the character
and standing of a nation in the world of civilization.
Neither the glitter of its power, nor the tinsel of its com-
mercial prosperity, nor the gaudy show of its people's
wealth, can conceal the cankering rust of national dis-
honesty, and cover the meanness of national bad faith.
A constant stream of thoughtful, educated men should
come from our universities and colleges preaching na-
tional honor and integrity, and teaching that a belief in
the necessity of national obedience to the laws of God is
not born of superstition.
I do not forget the practical necessity of political par-
ties, nor do I deny their desirability. I recognize
"wholesome differences of opinion touching legitimate
governmental policies, and would by no means control
166 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
or limit the utmost freedom in their discussion. I have
only attempted to suggest the important patriotic ser-
vice which our institutions of higher education and their
graduates are fitted to render to our people, in the en-
forcement of those immutable truths and fundamental
principles which are related to our national condition,
but should never be dragged into the field of political
strife, nor impressed into the service of partisan con-
tention.
When the excitement of party warfare presses dan-
gerously near our national safeguards, I would have the
intelligent conservatism of our universities and colleges
warn the contestants in impressive tones against the
perils of a breach impossible to repair.
When popular discontent and passion are stimulated
by the arts of designing partisans to a pitch perilously
near to class hatred or sectional anger, I would have
our universities and colleges sound the alarm in the
name of American brotherhood and fraternal dependence.
When the attempt is made to delude the people into
the belief that their suffrages can change the operation
of natural laws, I would have our universities and col-
leges proclaim that those laws are inexorable and far
removed from political control.
When selfish interest seeks undue private benefit
through governmental aid, and public places are claimed
as rewards of party service, I would have our univer-
sities and colleges persuade the people to a relinquish-
ment of the demand for party spoils and exhort them to
a disinterested and patriotic love of their government for
its own sake, and because in its true adjustment and un-
perverted operation it secures to every citizen his just
share of the safety and prosperity it holds in store for all.
When a design is apparent to lure the people from
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 167
their honest thoughts, and to blind their eyes to the sad
plight of national dishonor and bad faith, I would have
Princeton University, panoplied in her patriotic tradi-
tions and glorious memories, and joined by all the other
universities and colleges of our land, cry out against the
infliction of this treacherous and fatal wound.
I would have the influence of these institutions on the
side of religion and morality. I would have those they
send out among the people not ashamed to acknowledge
God, and to proclaim His interposition in the affairs of
men, enjoining such obedience to His laws as makes
manifest the path of national perpetuity and prosperity.
I hasten to concede the good already accomplished by
our educated men in purifying and steadying political
sentiment, but I hope I may be allowed to intimate my
belief that their work in these directions would be
easier and more useful if it were less spasmodic and
occasional. The disposition of our people is such that,
while they may be inclined to distrust those who only
on rare occasions come among them from an exclusive-
ness savoring of assumed superiority, they readily listen
to those who exhibit a real fellowship and a friendly and
habitual interest in all that concerns the common wel-
fare. Such a condition of intimacy would, I believe,
not only improve the general political atmosphere, but
would vastly increase the influence of our universities
and colleges in their efforts to prevent popular delusions
or correct them before they reach an acute and danger-
ous stage. I am certain, therefore, that a more constant
and active participation in political affairs on the part of
our men of education would be of the greatest possible
value to our country.
It is exceedingly unfortunate that politics should be
regarded in any quarter as an unclean thing, to be
168 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
avoided by those claiming to be educated or respectable.
It would be strange, indeed, if anything related to the
administration of our government or the welfare of our
nation should be essentially degrading. I believe it is
not a superstitious sentiment that leads to the conviction
that God has watched over our national life from its
beginning. Who will say that the things worthy of
God's regard and fostering care are unworthy of the
touch of the wisest and best of men ?
I would have those sent out by our universities and
colleges not only the counsellors of their fellow-country-
men, but the tribunes of the people fully appreciating
every condition that presses upon their daily life, sym-
pathetic in every untoward situation, quick and earnest
in every effort to advance their happiness and welfare,
and prompt and sturdy in the defence of all their rights.
I have but imperfectly expressed the thoughts to
which I have not been able to deny utterance on an
occasion so full of glad significance, and so pervaded by
the atmosphere of patriotic aspiration. Born of these
surroundings, the hope cannot be vain that the time is
at hand when all our countrymen will more deeply
appreciate the blessings of American citizenship, when
their disinterested love of their government will be
quickened, when fanaticism and passion shall be ban-
ished from the field of politics, and when all our people,
discarding every difference of condition or opportunity,
will be seen under the banner of American brotherhood,
marching steadily and unfalteringly on towards the
bright heights of our national destiny.
As no address more suited to the hour and the audience
could possibly have been made, so no speaker could have
found more attentive and sympathetic listeners; and if the
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 169
welcome they gave to the President was enthusiastic, their
reception of his words was overwhelming. Round after
round of cheering rose from the great assemblage of college
graduates. Every variety of Princeton cheer rent the air.
To each salvo was added " Cleveland, Cleveland, Cleve-
land," and finally three cheers were given for Mrs. Cleve-
land. The orchestra and organ at last managed to make
themselves heard through the thundering volleys of cheers.
As they played the well-known music of " America," the
vast throng, which had been standing through the cheer-
ing, with one voice took up the national hymn with the
deepest patriotic fervor:
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring.
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble, free,
Thy name I love ;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills,-
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.
Our fathers' God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing ;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King.
170 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
The benediction was pronounced by the Right Reverend
Henry Yates Satterlee, Bishop of Washington. The audi-
ence resumed their seats until President and Mrs. Cleve-
land, with their host and hostess, President and Mrs. Patton,
had left the building.
Immediately after the exercises in Alexander Hall, Presi-
dent and Mrs. Patton entertained at a luncheon the Presi-
dent of the United States and Mrs. Cleveland, with the
delegates and other invited guests ; and at three o'clock
the hospitable gates of Prospect were thrown open to a
larger number of persons invited to meet President and
Mrs. Cleveland. The many hundreds who availed them-
selves of this invitation were introduced first to Doctor and
Mrs. Patton at the main door of the large drawing-room,
and by them presented to the President and Mrs. Cleveland.
An opportunity was given not only to meet the distin-
guished guests, but also to wander over the terraces and
enjoy the beautiful landscape to which the mansion owes
its name of Prospect. At about five o'clock the President
and his party were escorted by the City Troop to the sta-
tion, and left Princeton for Washington.
The University Musical Clubs gave a concert of student
music in Alexander Hall in the evening. It was attended by
a large audience. The programme performed was :
PART I.
1. THE ORANGE AND THE BLACK . . . Carmina Princetonia.
Glee Club.
2. ANNIVERSARY Rosey.
Banjo Club.
3. OLD BLACK JOE Foster.
6". T. Carter, Jr., '86, and Glee Club.
o
u
c_
g
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 171
4. SPRING SONG Mendelssohn
Mandolin Club.
5. STEPS SONG Carmina Princetonia.
Glee Club.
6. PRINCETON WARBLE Arranged.
D. H. McAlpin, '85, assisted by R. J. McDowell, '94,
and Glee Club.
PART II.
i. COLLEGE NATIONAL HYMN .... Ernest T. Carter, '88.
Glee Club and Organ.
i. ANVIL CHORUS (descriptive piece) . .... Arranged.
Banjo Club.
3. " ON THE ROAD TO MANDALAY" . . ... Prince.
James Barnes, '91, and Glee Club.
4. RUBINSTEIN'S MELODY Rubinstein.
Mandolin Club.
5. "Tnv BLUE EYES" Bohm.
R. J. McDowell, '94.
6. " OLD NASSAU " Carmina Princetonia.
Glee Club.
Meanwhile the official guests, the benefactors of the Uni-
versity, and the faculty were invited by the trustees to
attend a Farewell Dinner at eight o'clock in Assembly Hall.
About two hundred and fifty persons were present, sitting
at long tables, while Mr. Charles E. Green, the toast-master,
President Patton, the speakers of the evening, and several
other gentlemen sat on the platform at the high table.
On the floor were fifteen tables, each presided over by
some Princeton trustee or professor or alumnus as table-
host. At the far end of the dining-hall a ladies' gallery had
172 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
been constructed, and it was well filled when the time for
the speaking began. The ceiling was completely draped
in orange and black. The walls were hung with dull-col-
ored cloth, as a background for displaying large painted
shields of representative European and American univer-
sities. These shields, painted by Mr. W. S. Whitehead, '91,
were mounted in gilded cartouches and added much to the
attractiveness of the hall. Above the speakers' table was
a group of flags of all the countries represented at the
celebration.
At the close of the dinner Mr. Green spoke of the
pleasure which it gave him to introduce a representative of
the oldest living university, save Bologna, and called upon
M. Henri Moissan, Professor of Chemistry in the Univer-
sity of Paris, and member of the French Academy of
Sciences, who replied as follows:
Nous avons tous un grand respect pour la vieillesse,
et nous aimons a entendre de la bouche des personnes
agees ces souvenirs et ces comparaisons qui sont pour
nous comme les Ie9ons du passe". Princeton a cent
cinquante ans d'existence, cent cinquante ans d'une vie
de travail et d'un travail ininterrompu. On comprend que
tous ses amis se reunissent aujourd'hui pour lui apporter
en un bouquet 1'hommage de leurs meilleures pense"es.
Ces cent cinquante annees d'e"change quotidien de
1'idee, entre les maitres et les e"lves, ont cr6e des tra-
ditions, ont 6tabli un courant intellectuel. C'est la
premiere chose qui frappe I'e'tranger a son arrive'e a
Princeton.
J'ai beaucoup admire votre belle installation, au milieu
des arbres et de la verdure, vos collections, vos salles
d'e"tude, vos maisons d'etudiants, votre gymnase, et le
soin que vous prenez pour de" velopper le corps en me'me
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 173
temps que 1'esprit. J'ai admir6 aussi avec quel enthou-
siasme de genereux donateurs vont au devant de vos
d6sirs et mettent une partie de leur fortune au service de
la haute culture intellectuelle.
Vos generations d'eleves sont pleines de seve et d'ac-
tivit, comme ces beaux pieds de lierre touffus et vigou-
reux qui entourent le vieux batiment de Nassau, le foyer
de votre university.
On sent dans votre college les liens affectueux qui
unissent les maitres aux Sieves. C'est qu'en effet, si les
larges constructions, si les grands laboratoires, si les
spacieuses bibliotheques sont utiles, il est quelque chose
de plus indispensable, c'est le lien moral qui runit le
tout, c'est 1'esprit qui dirige ces enseignements, ce sont les
recherches nouvelles poursuivies, dans des voies dif-
ferentes, par les professeurs, ce sont les sentiments de
reconnaissance des eleves ; tout cela c'est 1'ame meme
de 1'universite.
Aussi nous sommes heureux de voir que votre uni-
versite s'appuie en grande partie sur renseignement donne
a 1'ecole de Lawrenceville. Vous preparez les esprits,
par une bonne instruction secondaire, a la culture supe-
rieure de Princeton.
Croyez bien que toutes ces choses sont connues et
suivies en France avec le plus vif interet. Rien de ce
qui se fait dans la grande Republique americaine n'est
indifferent a la Republique franaise. Nous n'avons pas
oublie que dans un temps deja lointain nos grands peres
ont mele leur sang au votre sur les champs de bataille
pour la cause sacree de votre independence. Et quand
vous luttez sur un nouveau terrain, quand vos univer-
sites prennent un developpement, un essor inattendu,
quand dans 1'astronomie, dans la physique, dans la pale-
ontologie, dans 1'histoire, vous devenez des maitres
174 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
incontestes, la France applaudit a vos efforts et a vos
succes.
Aussi je suis personnellement heureux d'avoir etc
choisi par 1' University de Paris pour vous apporter tous
ses voeux et toutes ses felicitations. Le College de
Princeton a deja grave son nom dans 1'histoire des
Etats-Unis, c'est le passe ; je bois a 1'avenir, je leve
mon verre en 1'honneur de 1'Universite de Princeton.
The regular toasts of the evening were responded to as
follows : Theology, by Professor George Park Fisher,
Dean of the Yale Divinity School; Philosophy, by Pro-
fessor Andrew Seth of the University of Edinburgh; Juris-
prudence, by the Honorable William B. Hornblower of
New York ; Mathematics, by Professor Felix Klein of the
University of Gottingen; the Natural Sciences, by Pro-
fessor Arnold Ambrosius Willem Hubrecht of the Uni-
versity of Utrecht; the Physical Sciences, by Professor Ira
Remsen of the Johns Hopkins University; History, by
Professor Goldwin Smith of Toronto; Literature, by Pro-
fessor Edward Dowden of Trinity College, Dublin ; and
the Higher Education, by the Honorable William T. Harris
of Washington.
Some of these speeches bore more or less directly upon
the subjects of the toasts, and were additionally valuable for
that reason ; others were of a less formal character, and none
the less interesting for that. The gentlemen from other
lands, who had won so many friends among Princetonians by
their lectures here, were received with the greatest cordiality
and spoke with warm feeling. An especially hearty reception
was given to the deep expressions of good will which exist
between the scholars of Great Britain and the United States,
and to the frequent mention of the ties which bind Prince-
ton to the universities of the mother country. Professor
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 175
Seth gave first voice to these fraternal sentiments, which
were enforced with great earnestness by Mr. Goldwin
Smith; while the heartfelt words and kindly face of Pro-
fessor Dowden went far to make this spirit of international
concord the dominant note of the evening. Finally, in
terms as eloquent as any others which the Sesquicentennial
Celebration evoked, and with emotion he found it hard to
restrain, President Patton thanked the guests of Princeton
University for their participation in her jubilee; thanked
them for leaving their homes and their important duties,
and coming from far and near to spend three days with us;
thanked especially the delegates who had crossed the
ocean to bear the greetings of older universities in other
lands, and wished them God-speed home again. And with
this the Sesquicentennial Celebration ended.
The Sesquicentennial guests were not allowed to scatter
to all parts of the earth without being honored in New
York City, whence most of the European delegates were to
sail on Saturday, October 24. Mr. Morris K. Jesup, the
President of the American Museum of Natural History,
hurried forward the preparation of two new exhibitions, that
of Vertebrate Palaeontology and that of Ethnology, in order
to open the halls containing them in honor of Princeton's
guests. All the leading educational and public institutions
of the city were invited to send representatives, and the
members of the faculty of Princeton University also re-
ceived an invitation.
On the afternoon of the reception the entire museum was
lighted. The ceremonies included a speech of welcome in
the Trustees' Room, by the President of the Museum, Mr.
Morris K. Jesup. The visitors met the trustees who were
present, and were then introduced to Professor F. W. Put-
nam, Curator of the Department of Ethnology and An-
176
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
thropology, and were conducted through his exhibit, as
arranged chiefly by Dr. Franz Boas. They then mounted to
the hall containing the Fossil Mammals of North America,
and were introduced to the curator, Professor Henry Fair-
field Osborn. The screen was withdrawn and the hall
opened for the first time after five years of continuous ex-
ploration in the West. The exhibition also includes the
famous Cope Collection, the larger part of which had not
been seen by the public before. Then on the evening of
Friday, the 23d, the University Club in the City of New
York gave a reception and dinner to the foreign delegates
at the Club House at Twenty-sixth Street and Madison
Avenue. The Reception Committee was as follows :
TOMPKINS MclLVAINE.
EDWARD MITCHELL.
ROBERT BRIDGES.
ARTHUR LINCOLN.
CHARLES BULKLEY HUBBELL.
GHERARDI DAVIS.
JAMES R. SHEFFIELD (Chairman).
SAMUEL R. BETTS.
SHERMAN EVARTS.
GROSVENOR ATTERBURY.
CHARLES ROWLAND RUSSELL.
LAWRENCE E. SEXTON.
W. K. DRAPER.
CARL A. DE GERSDORFF.
AUSTEN G. Fox.
ALMON GOODWIN.
GROSVENOR S. HUBBARD.
HENRY D. COOPER.
ASHTON LE MOINE.
TRACY H. HARRIS.
JACOB W. MILLER.
CHARLES K. BEEKMAN.
WILLIAM B. HORNBLOWER.
WILLIAM W. HOPPIN.
ROBERT L. HARRISON.
ARTHUR H. MASTEN.
ROBERT C. ALEXANDER.
HENRY W. CALHOUN.
HENRY A. JAMES.
ALLISON V. ARMOUR.
FRANCIS V. GREENE.
GEORGE BLAGDEN, JR.
R. W. G. WELLING.
EUGENE D. HAWKINS.
HENRY W. HARDAN.
WALTER G. OAKMAN.
EDWARD B. MERRILL.
GEORGE A. PLIMPTON.
BERKELEY MASTYN.
C. LEDYARD BLAIR.
HENRY MARQUAND.
JAMES MCKEEN.
M. TAYLOR PYNE.
The following invitation to the reception was sent out :
ohe Ihnivez&ity (oliib in t/ie (oity of noew Uozk
zecjue6t6 t/ie konoz of ijouz company
on oziday evening, Uctooez the twenty -third,
eighteen kundzed and ninety -fox,
at half pa6t nine o'clock, to meet
cftiedtick CJoatl cOtuc/mann of Joeipdic,
(Oontad of cftoalle, cJoevetetid Jjoctoi
(Daven of cJozotito f <27ir M , William JjawAon of <yi&ontveal,
Wil/ielm Jjotpfeld of (Sqthend, J^tofe66o^ Sdwatd ^Dowden
of Jjuhlin t J&iofeMoi c^, <&,, W< cfa>ubteckt of (Jbtteckt,
cfelix cJolein of Ljottingen,
of Jjatidf Jotincipal William J=>&tei6on of &]&
f Jjtofeddot Sdwaid CJOagnall Jooulton of Uxfotd f J
ubndtew (Osetk of <s>dinbutgk f JbiofcMoi C/oldwin &mitk
of Ootonto and Joiofeddo'C Jlodepk Jlokn dkomaon of (Dam-
biidge, delegated fiom foteign univeiditied in attendance at the
(Srequicentenniat (Delegation, of J^tinceton
(D flatted (D. cJa
eaman.
o. cf\oowland,
O, cftank c&townell,
(Special (committee
of the
A, v. p.
and
177
178 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
This invitation was accepted by the following citizens
of New York and other persons:
The Honorable WILLIAM L. STRONG, Mayor of New York City.
MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIARY.
Judge GILDERSLEEVE. Judge BARRETT.
Judge PATTERSON. Judge INGRAHAM.
Judge HAIGHT. Judge WALLACE.
Judge RUMSEY. Judge MACLEAN.
Judge WILLIAMS. Judge BISCHOFF.
Judge BOOKSTAVER. Judge LAWRENCE.
OFFICERS OF THE ARMY AND NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES.
Rear-Admiral ERBEN. Colonel WILLIAM C. CHURCH.
Rear-Admiral BUNCE. Commodore SICARD.
General RUGER. Captain A. T. MAHAN.
Doctor E. S. BOGERT. Professor PETER S. MICHIE.
CONSULS.
Hon. PERCY SANDERSON. Hon. E. BRUWAERT.
Hon. JOHN R. PLANTEN. Hon. A. FEIGEL.
Hon. D. U. BOTASSI.
CLERGYMEN.
The Reverend PERCY S. GRANT.
The Reverend Dr. W. R. HUNTINGTON.
The Reverend Dr. DAVID H. GREER.
The Reverend Dr. LYMAN ABBOTT.
The Reverend Dr. ROBERT COLLYER.
The Reverend Dr. MACARTHUR.
The Reverend Dr. JOHN HALL.
The Reverend EDWARD JUDSON.
The Reverend Dr. JOSEPH H. TWICHELL.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 179
PHYSICIANS.
Dr. J. D. BRYANT. Dr. T. ADDIS EMMET.
Dr. FRANCIS DELAFIELD. Dr. LEWIS A. STIMSON.
Dr. W. T. LUSK.
EDUCATORS.
Columbia University.
President SETH Low. Professor BRANDER MATTHEWS.
Professor JOHN W. BURGESS. Dr. WILLIAM H. DRAPER.
Professor E. D. PERRY. Mr. GEORGE H. BAKER.
Professor J. K. REES. Professor A. V. W. JACKSON.
Professor F. R. HUTTON. Professor H. T. PECK.
Professor J. H. VAN AMRINGE. Professor ROBERT S. WOODWARD.
Professor HENRY DRISLER. Professor HENRY S. MUNROE.
Professor W. H. CARPENTER.
Yale University.
Professor A. T. HADLEY. Professor O. C. MARSH.
Professor GEORGE J. BRUSH. Professor A. W. WRIGHT.
Professor W. W. FARNHAM. Professor TRACY PECK.
Professor WILLIAM L. PHELPS.
Harvard.
Professor F. W. PUTNAM.
The Normal College.
President THOMAS HUNTER.
Professor HAROLD JACOBY.
Barnard College.
Mr. SILAS B. BROWNELL, Trustee.
College of the City of New York.
President ALEXANDER S. WEBB.
Professor R. OGDEN DOREMUS.
Hobart College.
President POTTER.
180 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Stevens Institute.
Professor HENRY MORTON.
Professor A. R. LEEDS.
Amherst College.
Professor B. K. EMERSON.
Lehigh University.
Professor W. H. CHANDLER.
Riitgers College.
President AUSTIN SCOTT.
Roanoke College.
President JULIUS D. DREHER.
New York University.
Chancellor H. M. MACCRACKEN.
Professor HENRY M. BAIRD.
Muhlenberg College.
President THEODORE L. SEIP.
The University of Pennsylvania.
Professor GEORGE F. BARKER.
Dartmouth College.
Professor CHARLES F. MATHEWSON.
Brown University.
Professor FRANCIS LAWTON.
Wesleyan University.
Professor C. T. WINCHESTER.
Professor J. C. VAN BENSCHOTEN.
The Teachers College.
President WALTER L. HERVEY.
The American Museum of Natural History.
Professor A. S. BICKMORE.
The General Theological Seminary.
Dean HOFFMAN.
cfl
ffi
e
^
I
rs
I
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 181
The University of Texas.
Professor GEORGE BRUCE HALSTED.
Princeton University.
The Honorable WILLIAM J. MAGIE, Trustee.
The Reverend Dr. DAVID R. FRAZER, Trustee.
The Reverend Dr. JOHN DIXON, Trustee.
Professor A. T. ORMOND.
Professor HENRY DALLAS THOMPSON.
Professor L. W. McCAY.
Professor C. F. W. McCLURE.
Professor C. G. ROCKWOOD, JR.
Also
Mr. S. P. AVERY. Mr. OLIVER P. HUBBARD.
Mr. JOHN CROSBY BROWN. Mr. ROBERT U. JOHNSON.
Mr. C. C. BUEL. Mr. ROSSITER JOHNSON.
Prof. J. G. CROSWELL. Mr. MORRIS K. JESUP.
Mr. ANDREW CARNEGIE. Mr. EDWARD KING.
Mr. WALTER DAMROSCH. Hon. JOSEPH LAROCQUE.
Hon. CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW. Mr. ROBBINS LITTLE.
Mr. WILBERFORCE FAMES. Mr. S. P. NASH.
Hon. DORMAN B. EATON. Mr. WM. L. PARKER.
Hon. CHAS. S. FAIRCHILD. Mr. GEORGE HAVEN PUTNAM.
Mr. R. W. GILDER. Mr. E. A. QUINTARD.
Mr. PARKE GODWIN. Mr. BENJAMIN SILLIMAN.
Mr. E. L. GODKIN. Mr. ALBERT SHAW.
Mr. JAMES D. HAGUE. Mr. RUSSELL STURGIS.
Hon. ABRAM S. HEWITT. Mr. JAMES GRANT WILSON.
Mr. WM. D. HOWELLS. Dr. W. J. YOUMANS.
The Council of the University Club also had invited the
delegates from abroad to dine with them that evening at
seven, just before the reception. Altogether the entertain-
ment offered by the University Club of New York was a
most fitting and delightful sequel to the Sesquicentennial
festivities.
182 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
LIST OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SESQUICENTENNIAL
ENDOWMENT FUND OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
UP TO JUNE i, 1897.
Besides the specific sums of money detailed in the fol-
lowing list, mention should be made of the organ and mo-
saic panels in Alexander Hall, presented by Mrs. Charles B.
Alexander ; the extensive collection of Virgils, estimated at
$50,000, presented by Mr. Junius S. Morgan, of the class
of 1888; an annual subscription of $600 made by Mr.
Charles W. McAlpin, of the class of 1888; examples of
South American woods, presented by ex- President Grover
Cleveland ; a collection of portrait masks, presented by Mr.
Laurence Hutton of New York ; a collection of minerals,
presented by Mr. Squiers of New York ; gifts of books from
Mr. Charles Scribner, of the class of 1875; and an engi-
neering model of the Eads Jetties, presented by Mr. Max
Schmidt, of Princeton.
Dr. R. S. Adams, '88, New York, . 15.00
John W. Aitken, '69, New York, 5,000.00
A. Gifford Agnew, New York, 2,500.00
Mrs. A. Gifford Agnew, New York, . 10,000.00
Cornelius R. Agnew, '91, New York, . 15.00
Mrs. C. B. Alexander, New York, 2,500.00
Henry M. Alexander, Jr., '90, New York, . 25.00
James W. Alexander, '60, New York, 2,500.00
Anonymous, 1,000.00
Anonymous, 1,000.00
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
183
Anonymous, 5,000.00
Anonymous, . 6,600.00
Anonymous, . 600,000.00
Anonymous, 250,000.00
Anonymous, . . 50,000.00
John S. Baird, '79, New York, 25.00
Hon. John I. Blair, Blairstown, N. J., 150,000.00
Brokaw Field Committee, . . . 380.56
Hon. John L. Cadwalader, '56, New York, 5,000.00
Cash, . . . 5.00
Cash, . 114.02
Estate of Mrs. Clark, Washington, D. C., . 1,000.00
Class of 1875, . . . 4,000.00
Class of 1880, . 1,366.65
Class of 1884, . . . 6,000.00
Class of 1890, miscellaneous cash, . 25.00
Hugh L. Cole, '59, New York, 50.00
John H. Converse, Philadelphia, 10,000.00
Rev. C. L. Cooder, Pottstown, Pa., i.oo
Professor E. C. Coulter, '84, Chicago, . foo.oo
C. C. Cuyler, '79, New York, . 4,000.00
Horatio N. Davis, '73, St. Louis, . . 500.00
John D. Davis, '72, St. Louis, . 3,000.00
Cleveland H. Dodge, '79, New York, . 5,000.00
William Dulles, '78, New York, 50.00
John P. Duncan, New York, 1,000.00
R. A. Edwards, '76, Peru, Ind., . . 2,500.00
E. W. Greenough, '75, Philadelphia, . 200.00
George H. Griffiths, Philadelphia, . 500.00
William E. Guy, '65, St. Louis, . 1,000.00
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Rev. Thomas C. Hall, '79, Chicago, 100.00
A. O. Headley, Newark, N. J., . . 1,000.00
Rev. Alexander Henry, '70, Philadelphia, 50.00
J. Bayard Henry, '76, Philadelphia, . . 1,020.00
Hon. W. B. Hornblower, '71, New York, 1,000.00
Joseph M. Huston, '92, Philadelphia, . 500.00
Andrew C. Imbrie, '95, New York, 10.00
Adrian H. Joline, '70, New York, . . 1,000.00
Thomas D. Jones, '76, Chicago, . . 2,500.00
David B. Jones, '76, Chicago, 2,500.00
Miss Mary Kennedy, New York, . 10,012.50
James Laughlin, Jr., '68, Pittsburgh, . 5,000.00
Hon. I. H. Lionberger, '75, St. Louis, . 1,000.00
Charles B. Lockhart, Pittsburgh, . . 10,000.00
Charles H. Macloskie, '87, .... 50.00
Malcolm MacMartin, '67, New York, . 1,000.00
Alexander Maitland, New York, 5,000.00
Mrs. Matthews, Newark, N. J., . . 1,000.00
John D. McCord, Philadelphia, . 1,000.00
Estate of Cyrus McCormick, Chicago, 100,000.00
Fulton McMahon, '84, New York, . 5.00
Clarence B. Mitchell, '89, Lakewood, N. J., . 10.00
Mrs. William Moir, New York, . 5,000.00
J. E. Nicholson, '88, New York, . 25.00
Mrs. William Paton, New York, . 1,000.00
Dr. James Paul, '49, Philadelphia, . 50.00
Robert Pitcairn, Pittsburgh, 2,000.00
M. Taylor Pyne, '77, Princeton, . 50,000.00
Mrs. M. Taylor Pyne, Princeton, . 1,000.00
John Scott, '79, Philadelphia, . 25.00
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 185
Edward W. Sheldon, '79, New York, .
R. E. Speer, '89, New York,
Louis D. Speir, '90, New York, .
Dr. M. Allen Starr, '76, New York,
Rev. Dr. W. C. Stitt, '56, New York, .
Mrs. William Thaw, Pittsburgh,
Rev. S. T. Thompson, '51, Tarpon Springs,
Transfer from Treasurer's Books,
George Trotter, '91, New York, .
T. F. Turner, '89, New York, .
L. C. Vanuxem, '79, Philadelphia,
Guy S. Warren, '95, St. Louis,
Professor H. C. Warren, '89, Princeton,
Professor J. H. Westcott, '77, Princeton,
Mrs. Mary I. Winthrop, New York, .
Dr. John E. Woodruff, '70, New York,
R. L. Zabriskie, '95, Aurora, N. Y., .
Professor A. C. Zenos, Chicago,
1,000.00
10.00
5.00
10,000.00
25.00
10,000.00
Fla., 10.00
50.00
25.00
10.00
50.00
500.00
IO.OO
250.00
5,000.00
IOO.OO
50.00
50.00
$1,361,974.73
cccpimus litteros |?cstra& humanitcr scriptas, quibus roaatie ut h
nostris unum aliquem adlfog mittamus, qui fcriis &ac-cutaribu5,
quas ptvpcMcm cclcbraturi cstis, huiusTi|ni\wr5tati$ nomine intcrsit.
os quideml^obis beni^ne ac liberaliter iuuitantibu satiefaa'-
re nostramque c-r^a |^>od obseruantiam coram declararc tnaxi-
cum locorum lonatnquitate id fuccrc prohibeamur,
tcKmurj^ios absented, doltemniqque a j^Vobis in
dtituta, quorum res et a><mtus propter studiorum doctetatem nobidcum
imun<?d ed&e putamu&. mentibud atque animid prosfquiiuur.
oilggium non ita sane yetus e&t.nec plus quam
itc'in
centum ct qutnquaainta anni a primo ctus ortu
fct'Dcratac ctuitatcs. quanun <? numciv ctvitas c$t
incotavum uirtutc t in5utria libcrtatidquc. cutud ^mp
runt. bcncficio in summas oy& breyi prwnrunt, $\c '
,v Icadcmia d^ctorum hominunt plancquc sapientium oiv'fa ct
quam cclcrrime omni di&ciplinarum genere floruit, ut iam
marum ^uroyag 0niu^r&itatum dignitatem a^mulctur.
"r<2 nc& cum cetera cupiinu&l v obi6 prosper*? cucniw. turn in
nim& optamug t utTlnn7grsita5 ^rincgtontgnsis. quo nomine
gocag6an7n5t: nowum sacculum intjnzssurum cst.jjloriac
patrimonium a maioribud relictum ma^te ma^isque aiuwat, luccin-
que Doctrinae ct sapicntiac 5uae tcrrarum orbi tribucrc pcnjat, h^c
existimantes omnia quae aJ) humani generis commoda, qua* ad lau-
N?m atque honwtatem pcrtineant, disciplinarum ct artium proa,tvsf-io-
ne ac propq^atione praccipuc contineri.
wnoitia l^alendie
,/ J V>
o.
r\^ "i
I
Reduced Facsimile of the Congratulatory Letter
of the University of Bologna.
CONGRATULATORY ADDRESSES, LETTERS AND TELE-
GRAMS RECEIVED FROM UNIVERSITIES, ACADEMIES,
COLLEGES, SOCIETIES AND INDIVIDUALS, AND ARRANGED
ALPHABETICALLY UNDER THE FOLLOWING DIVISIONS:
I. UNIVERSITIES, ACADEMIES AND COLLEGES.
AMERICAN.
CANADIAN.
EUROPEAN.
OTHER COUNTRIES.
II. ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS.
SAUVE
VNTVERS1TAS
PRINCETONIENSIS
AMERICAN
[AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES]
PRAESES ET SOCII
ACADEMIAE ARTIUM ET SCIENTIARUM
VIRIS HONORANDIS AC REVERENDIS
PRAESIDI ET SOCIIS COLLEGII NEO-CAESARIENSIS
SALUTEM IN DOMINO SEMPITERNAM
Cum litterae nobis haud ita pridem vestrae allatae sunt, ubi
exposuistis, verissime quidem, ea tamen brevitate et modestia, qua
clarissimi de suis ipsorum gestis disserentes semper usi sunt, quan-
tam gloriam pro meritis erga scientiam et patriam Collegium Neo-
Caesariense adeptum sit, prorsusque nuntiastis venerabilem istam
Academiam, ad novum fastigium cum operum turn honoris ascen-
dentem, illustrius sibi nomen summo jure esse vindicaturam, nosque
pro singulari vestra humanitate ad Comitia Maxima in a. d. xi. Kal.
Novembris proximas amicissime atque honorificentissime advocastis.
Nos inde, Praeses et Socii Academiae Americanae, isto man-
dato gratissime audito, legatum Nostrum Gulielmum Edvardi F.
Olivarii N. Everett, ipsum cum patre et avo in albo societatis nostrae
conscriptum, in Collegio Harvardiano per gradus inferiores ad gra-
dum Doctoris in Philosophia elatum, nee non olim Linguae Latinae
Professorem adjutorium, in Universitate priscae Cantabrigiae Bri-
tannorum Artium Magistrum, a collegio quoque Gulielmensi gradi-
bus honorariis Doctoris cum Litterarum Humaniorum turn juris utrius
autem ad Congressum Rerumpublicarum Foederatarum a civibus
suis Massachusettensibus legatum, quin etiam Collegio vestro sanc-
tissimo vinculo annexum, quod abavus ejus, Alexander Sears Hill,
gradum in artibus apud Neo-Caesarienses est assecutus, creavimus
et renuntiamus.
In cujus rei testimonium Secretarius noster manum apposuit
et sigillum Academiae nostrae apponendum curavit. Virum porro
ipsum, pro meritis suis vestraque humanitate spectata benigne re-
cipiatis, non est cur vos precamur.
Valete,et omnia quae optetis, Deo juvente.felicissime consequimini.
Datum Bostoniae Nov. Anglorum a. d. Kal. Jun. MDCCCXCVI.
SAM. H. SCUDDER,
Secretarius.
191
[AMHERST COLLEGE]
PRAESES ET PROFESSORES
COLLEGII AMHERSTIENSIS
VIRIS ILLUSTR1SSIMIS DOCTISSIMIS
PRAESIDI CURATORIBUS PROFESSORIBUS
IN COLLEGIO NEOCAESARIENSI COMMORANTIBUS
SALUTEM
RAESES Professoresque huius Collegii vobis summas
gratulationes faciunt, quod mox adveniet dies anniver-
sarius centesimus quinquagesimus, ex quo Collegium
Neocaesariense conditum est, et a vobis invitati ut participes
saecularium feriarum essent, quas vos celebraturi estis, gratias
agunt. Itaque ex suo ordine delegerunt Praesidem Merrill
Edwards Gates, LL. D., qui ei celebration! adesset.
Precantur autem ut rite inaugurata vivat, floreat, augeat
UNIVERSITAS PRINCETONIENSIS.
Datum Amherstii Massachusettensium die primo Junii
A. D. MDCCCXCVI, et Collegii Amherstiensis LXXV.
MERRILL EDWARDS GATES,
^_^ Praeses.
I SEAL |
192
[ BROWN UNIVERSITY ]
PRAESES ET PROFESSORES
mber0itatt0 ISrunensfe
VIRIS ILLUSTRISSIMIS ET HONORANDIS
PRAESIDI ET CURATORIBUS ET PROFESSORIBUS
Collegtt Jieocae0arfen0t0
SALUTEM
Cum recordemur multos nobilissimos collegii Neocae-
sariensis viros qui in omni recto studio atque humanitate
versentur et memoria teneamus quae arta vincula cum omnes
universitates coniungant turn maxime nostram cum vestra
academia colligent, Universitatem Brunensem enim quasi
prolem vestri collegii venerabilis habemus, vobis laeti gra-
tulamur de praeclaris facinoribus Jam effectis atque saeculum
novum faustum vobis precamur.
Albertum Harkness delegimus vicarium qui vobiscum
saecularibus feriis laeteretur atque nos omnes vestrum gau-
dium gaudebimus.
ELISAEUS BENJ. ANDREWS,
Praeses.
Datum Providentiae
in Universitate Brunensi
die septimo Aprilis
A. D. MDCCCXCVI
10:5
[UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA]
cjfie communication from Princeton
tfonivetdity in reference to trie coming dedc/uicentennial
celebration, had been presented to out cJooard of cJoegentd,
QJ am indtructed to day that we cordially accept the
invitation ana name ad out repredentative on that occasion
f-jodeph Joe (oonte, .SD, f J^tofeddot of yeologij and
lOatutal ofoutoiy in the Ivnivetditi/ and ^Stedident of the
aQmetican ideological Society,
We heattily congratulate Princeton
on net long and honorable hidtoty, on her predent pros-
perity, and on her promide of a dtill laraer influence in
the yeard to come.
Of have the honor to be
JJoutd in clodedt dympathy t
c/J&artin CJoellogg,
SzeMdent of the tynivefMty of djalifoznia.
CJuetkeleijt (Dal,
il tyth, f8g6.
194
[CARLETON COLLEGE]
CARLETON COLLEGE,
NORTHFIELD, MINN., May 27, 1896.
The President and Professors of Carleton College grate-
fully acknowledge the gracious invitation of the President,
Trustees and Professors of Princeton College, to attend
the approaching celebration of her one hundred and fiftieth
anniversary. They desire to express their appreciation
of the large contribution to learning, to Christian culture
and to religious life, which Princeton has made during
these one hundred and fifty years, and to congratulate her
on the proposed enlargement of opportunities for pursuing
the highest educational work.
They sincerely regret that so far as can now be foreseen,
it will not be practicable for a representative of Carleton
College to be present upon the auspicious occasion of the
opening of Princeton University.
In behalf of
The Faculty of Carleton College :
JAMES WOODWARD STRONG,
President.
195
[CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA]
V1RIS ILLUSTRISSIMIS ORNATISSIMIS DOCT1SSIMIS
UNIVERSITATIS PRINCETONIENSIS
PRAESIDI CURATORIBUS PROFESSORIBUS
PHILIPPUS J. GARRIGAN PRO TEMPORE RECTOR
NECNON PROFESSORES AC DOCTORES
UNIVERSITATIS CATHOLICAE AMERICANAE
SALUTEM IN DOMINO
Cum pro arctissimo illo vinculo quo, quotquot toto terrarum orbe
florent Universitates litterarum, quasi cognatione quadam inter se conti-
nentur, laus uniuscujusque ac honos in alias quoque sponte redundet,
facere omnino non potuimus quin summopere de festis diebus a vobis
celebrandis una vobiscum gauderemus exoptatamque invitationem ves-
tram ad nos tarn gratiose transmissam perlibenter exciperemus.
Utrumque vero eo majori cum laetitia praestitimus atque praestamus,
quo pluribus artium scientiarumque luminibus illustratam, quo praeclari-
oribus in Rempublicam meritis auctam laetabundi conspicimus almam
Academiam vestram, quam vel in nova hac terra Americana jam adornat
tam plena auctoritatis, tam fecunda, tarn veneranda antiquitas.
Quapropter, non per litteras tantum, sed praesentes etiam quantum id
nobis licuit Rectoris vicario, his potissimum diebus, ob Moderatorum
conventum variis negotiis distento ex animo vobis felicissimam tanto-
rum laborum ac meritorum recordationem gratulaturi, convocato Senatu
academico nostro, Reverendum admodum Dominum Henricum Hyvernat,
Theologiae Doctorem ac linguarum et antiquitatum orientalium Profes-
sorem, virum omnibus nominibus praestantissimum selegimus, ut votorum
nostrorum apud vos omnes testis existeret atque interpres.
Interim Largitorem omnium bonorum Deum O. M., a quo omne
datum bonum et omne donum perfectum, enixe rogamus ut vos omnes
diu sospitet et almam vestram Universitatem caelestibus benedictionibus
repleat plurimos in annos.
Datum Washingtonii, in aula McMahonia, pridie idus Octobris, A. D.,
MDCCCXCVI.
PHILIPPUS J. GARRIGAN.
| SEAL )
19G
[UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO]
RAESES CVRATORES PROFESSORES VNIVERSITATIS
CHICAGINIENSIS VIRIS ILLVSTRISSIMIS DOCTISSIMis
PRAESIDI CVRATORIB- PROFESSORIB- VNIVERSITATIS
PRINCETONIENSIS SALVTEM IN DOMINO PERGRATVM EST
NOBIS VIRI ILLVSTRISSIMI ET DOCTISSIMI VOBISCVM
LAETARI ANNVM CENTESIMVM QVINQVAGESIMVM ESSE
EXACTVM EX QVO PATRES NE DISCI PLINA ARTIBVSQ- OPTIMis
INDOCTOS RELINQVERENT POSTEROS SEMINARIVM DOCTRlNAE
PIECONDIDERVNT QVOD PER TOTANNOS PRAETERITOS PIETATE
MAIORVM BENEFICIISQ- FIRMATVM A DEO CVLTVM A VOBIS AD
AMPLISSIMVM HONOREM PERDVCTVM IAM INAVGVRABITVR
VNIVERSITAS PRINCETONIENSIS NOS IGITVR PRAESES
CVRATORES PROFESSORES VNIVERSITATIS CHICAGINIENSIS
HOC VELIMVS VOBIS PERSVADEATIS NOS PRO MAXIMO
HONORE DVCTVROS VNVM ALIQVEM EX ACADEMICO ORDINE
NOSTRO AD VOS MITTERE QVI EO TEMPORE BEATO VOBIS
OMNIA BONA PRECETVR VTINAM MODO ADIPISCATVR
NOSTRA TAM NVPER CONDITA VNIVERSITAS ANNVM
CENTESIMVM QVINQVAGESIMVM DIGNITATIS TAM PLENA
QVAM VESTRA ATQVE A DEO PETIMVS VT RES A PATRIB
VOBISQ- GESTAE MAGNVM PIGNVS CVM NOBIS TVM VOBIS
IN RELIQVVM TEMPVS SINT DATVM IN ACADEMICO CONCILio
NOSTRO A- D- VII- ID- MAI- ANNO SALVTIS HVMANAE MDCCCXCvi
PRAESES
197
[UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO]
Cfncagtntenst0
Sonlcgio 9teocae;>ci'tiei4si
galutem in
-uri
et
ecc
ab
-t-si itte cjuetM- nupe-r mu-i-ti
ezga -noo ficrie^cta
tvo^ttae
l o^|icio
et confcaae et
rector Ho*te-& et
n
cwimo Infri^ens ca pietate ^apietvtia pe^Aeuerantia ^e ootenbU i^t flic
c^uvwcfue awni^ i-anv tMufta c^i^ae -mewtia ocu^va pe-tceperit o
ta-pi-biuu-i et aebij^iclii tu-vn iit- operiuuo nt^vvta-n-o aen-eti ^tifi
it fomvawtitcyu-e. elCi-U'VC vc^titz- -tat4t- -H-oui- ar-tiit-w/ bom-ici-Ci-i -uota-
ab priactt-kn -uetuotn-rvtawe i^ub ueott.'U/m aiiob
a vttea Confeatu^'Hi- Steocacaarieiiae tot bocteinae
vt-oo rite pvean-e -H-tit-tinms
ivt- dcabem-i-co Gotvcl^io
MDCCCLXXXXVI a. b. XIV
CLviito
(^oob^peeb,
a6
198
[UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI]
VIRIS ILLUSTR1SSIMIS AC DOCTISSIMIS
PRAESIDI CURATORIBUS PROFF.SSORIBUS COLLEGII NEOCAESARIENSIS
S. P. D.
UNIVERSITAS CINC1NNATIENSIS
Quoniam literis perhutnaniter ad universitatem nostram dads gratum vobis fore
significavistis si collegii neocaesariensis iamiam hunc centesimum et quinquage-
simum annum conditi iam novis auspiciis in universitatis princetoniensis formam et
dignitatem amplificandi sollemnitati unum ex nobis qui nostro nomine adfuerit
deligerimus misimus collegam nostrum
THOMAM HERBERTUM NORTON
artium liberalium magistrum philosophiae doctorem scientiae et artium liberalium doctorem
chemiae professorem
eumque iussimus votorum nostrorum pientissimorum existere interpretem cum
intersit magnopere hominum omnium ut scientiae literarumque studia per orbem
terrarum quam maxime floreant atque vigeant.
In cuius rei testimonium sigillum huius universitatis praesentibus
literis apponi fecimus.
PHILIPPUS VAN NESS MYERS,
Prseses Facultatis p. t.
CAROLUS LINCOLN EDWARDS,
Secretarius.
Datum ex aedibus academicis Cincinnatis
die t mensis Octobris anno MDCCCLXXXXVI.
199
[COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY]
PRAESES CVRATORES PROFESSORES
VNIVERSITATIS COLVMBIAE
IN
VRBE NOVO EBORACO
VIRIS ILLVSTRISSIMIS DOCTISSIMIS
PRAESIDI CVRATORIBVS PROFESSORIBVS
VNIVERSITATIS PRINCETONIENSIS
s.
SVMMA CVM DELECTATIONE VIRI CLARISSIMI VESTRAS LITTERAS ORNATAS
ACCEPIMVS -QVIBVS -AD SOLLEMNIA APPROPINQVANTIA- NOS TAM BENIGNE -VOCA-
VISTIS QVOD ACADEMIA NVPER COLLEGIVM SED NVNC DEMVM OPTIMO IVRE
VNIVERSITAS APPELLATA OMINIBVS SECVNDIS AD DIES FERIARUM RITE CELE-
BRANDOS MAGNO CVM GAVDIO NVNC ANIMVM INTENDIT LIBENTER VOBIS
GRATVLAMVR ILLIS DIEBVS LAETABILIBVS ANNALIVM PRINCETONIENSIVM
ANIMO RECORDANTES NON -.SINE CAVSA GAVDEBITIS QVIS ENIM LOCVS EST-
TAM BARBARVS TAM A CONSORTIO HOMINVM ARTIBVS INSTRVCTORVM REMO-
TVS QVO KAMA HVIVS VNIVERSITATIS PRAESTANTISSIMAE NONDVM PERVA-
SERIT QVIA NOS COMITER ROGATIS VT QVOSDAM AD VOS MITTAMVS QVI
HVIVS- FELICISSIMI EVENTVS MEMORIAM IN -AVLA- ACADEMICA PRINCETONIENSI
HOC TEMPORE CELEBRENT NOS SANE VOBISCVM LAETITIAM HAVD MEDIOCRI-
TER PERCIPIENTES VOBISCVM ETIAM AMORE LITTERARVM SCIENTIARVMQVE
QVASI VINCVLO COMMVNI INTIME CONIVNCTI DE ISTA BENIGNITATE GRATIAS
NVNC AGIMVS AMPLISSIMAS E COETV NOSTRO PRAETEREA AD VOS LEGATVM-
IAM ELEGIMVS VIRVM IDONEVM QVI NOSTRAM ERGA VOS BENEVOLENTIAM
PRAESENS TESTIFICETVR PRECAMVR INSVPER VIRI DOCTISSIMI VT VNIVERSI-
TAS- PRINCETONIENSIS- ADHVC AD IVVENES VIROSQVE FRVCTIBVS DOCTRINAE
EXORNANDOS TAM ILLVSTRIS POSTHAC EODEM MODO AD SAPIENTIAM EX-
PONENDAM AD VIRTVTEM EXCOLENDAM AD FIDEM CHRISTIANAM DENIQVE
DEFENDENDAM VIGEAT FLOREATQVE IN AETERNVM
DATVM NOVI EBORACI ID OCT ANNO D N MDCCCXCVI
200
[CORNELL UNIVERSITY]
Co ti)e -presttient trustees, anfc jfacultp
of
ffrincttcm
We, tlje Jfaeultp of Cornell Unitocrsitp, fjatoing appointcb our
ibent to act as our Delegate at tfje esquiccntcnnial Celebration of rtjc
f ounbing of tljc College of #ctu 3iaep anb tljc Ceremonies inaugit^
rating Princeton Slnitocrsitp, desire to eonbcp to pou our Ijeartp congra^
tulation.^ upon sucl) an auspicious client.
We congratulate nou upon pour iHugtrioug pajrt, upon rtje long line
of ^cfjolar^ to&o Ijabc mabc tlje name of $rhtccton rcnotoneb in C^urcl)
anb tatc, in Itetter^ anb in -Science. We arc especially minbful of
tljc profounb influence crcrtcb ftp tljc Alumni of Princeton in Raping
tlje bcstinics of tljc Colonies anb of tljc Clnitcb States in tljc critical
periob of t^cir fonnation anb earlp grotot^. We congratulate tlje
prhiceton of to^bap upon tljis noble inheritance, tljc trabitionarp art of
combining scljoiarsijip tDtt^ patriotic bctootion to affairs of state.
We congratulate pott further upon pour rcmarhablc increase hi
numbers anb tocaltlj of enboiument, anb upon tlje great impending
cljange toljiclj tljis prosperity Ijas noto renbcreb possible. ^e College
of $cto '3 crscp is to be transformcb into Princeton anibersitp. four
StubieS arc to be broabcneb anb bcepeneb in accorbance luitl) tljc spirit
of tljc nclu age. We confi'bcntlp crpect tljat tljc career of bistinguisljcb
crcellcncc upon toljiclj pou arc about to enter toill mafee tlje name of
prhtceton llntocrsitp cben more famous tljan tljat of tljc College of
$eto *3:ersep.
31. .
Cljarlejai J^enr^ l^ull,
of tlje QniDwit? JFacultg.
forh,
October J6, 1896.
201
[ CORNELL UNIVERSITY ]
tot Curatortfcus
Collegi
Boctores {Hntoergttatis Cornelltanae
llmum tcr bcrcm a pnniorbiu? scliolac prrrlarnr pviiifcroiucn.su? per
acta tricbrantibu#, botto 3prnc^ibi, ^apiniti^iini^ cuvatoritJUjS, auc-
rovilnts vcvuni florcnruini, nluninuT onnu bocttinne pniauanna nir.ic quc
cicrjanriis oviurio, Dirjnis boimvum nrtium boctovibits, nrcnon cavunbcni
ct boiuc famnc rolicgi srubioinstumiG .ibulcsfmribiu? uostva ipsovum
nomine omniunique quibus srlioi.i :J riiarciuus acquc rorbi cor, ovnruln
miw boctove.s 53nibcr!5itati^ Cotmcllianac.
collegium nciunini per tot .innos piMcrcviros lirtci\is
tcvamquc boctchuim tarn biligcntcr, tarn fortitcr, tarn fdi-
ntcr bcfcnbiiisc, atque ibco nwgis oprannts cr auguvamuv fovc ut
^>rincctonim^i.^ ^er ^occuia Vinticntia creacat ct fiovcat.
3Iatobum ouln "Scljurmanum prawiotm nostrum
qut rptilis sollr mnititts lartntnincu;. acctimtrrrr,
SDabamutf
3fi. r. $. nibcccjrcbi.
202
[DARTMOUTH COLLEGE]
Praeses (^uratores Professores
Collegii Qartmuthensis
Viris Clarissimis Eruditissimis
Praesidi Curatoribus Professoribus
ii JSJeocaesariensis
SDP
Gratias agimus quam plurimas, Viri Doctissimi, quod inter tot universi-
tates sive collegia, cum domi turn peregre, nos quoque Dartmuthenses,
vobis pluribus retinaculis coniunctos, et amicissimo animo salvere iussis-
tis, et unum e nobis ad hoc delectum mittere, quern mense Octobri huiusce
anni per festos dies anniversaries hospitio benignissimo acciperetis.
Quo tempore ipsum scitote Praesidem nostrum adesse animo intendere,
qui tarn vobis ista agentibus saecularia verbis nostris gratuletur, quam
omnibus, qui tune temporis ad vos convenerint, id multo uberiore oratione
explicatiusque, quam per litteras fieri potest, praesens praesentibus con-
firmet quod de Collegio Neocaesariensi in Vniversitatem Princetonien-
sem tune rite auguratoque evecto speramus ; scilicet fore ut illas vitae
humanioris lampadas (sit venia verbis tritissimis) abhinc annos centum
et quinquaginta accensas, atque inter praeceptores vestros alteri ab altero,
spatio aetatis decurso, toties in manus datas, nunc, flammis denuo excitatis
ardentes, longius iam latiusque relucentes, vos, pariter strenui cursores ac
torosi illi adulescentes, quos modo Olympiorum victoriam consequi vidi-
mus, quam longissime perferatis ; cumque immane quantum cursum per-
egeritis, calcem denique conspicati, ferendas deinceps pieque fovendas iu-
ventuti robustissimae tradatis. Valete.
Dabamus Hanoverae
a. d. xvii Kal. Mai.
anno MDCCCXCVI
GUILIELMUS J. TUCKER,
fraeses.
FRANCISCUS G. MOORE,
pro Pracceptoribus.
203
[UNIVERSITY OF DENVER]
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER,
UNIVERSITY PARK, COLO., Oct. 19, 1896.
To THE SECRETARY OF THE PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION:
I had hoped until a few days ago that I might be able to repre-
sent the University of Denver this week in Princeton. But the immense
distance and imperative duties combine to prevent my coming in person.
We send our regrets and salutations. We, beginning life, salute you,
having nobly lived for years. Princeton's influence is very great even
here in the distant West. We are held to better educational ideals by
your steadfast example. Historic methods and principles are more easily
maintained in an experimenting age, by reason of Princeton's holding
fast to the things already proved. But progress is also made easier for
us by your ready acceptance of what is new and true. We find it easier
to uphold the Christian philosophy of education because of your abiding
devotion to Christ as the centre of highest culture. In these and in
many other ways we are your debtors. May all richest blessings rest
upon the new University for untold ages.
The trustees, faculty and students of the University of Denver send
greetings.
Yours sincerely,
WILLIAM F. MCDOWELL,
Chancellor.
204
[GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY.]
$ r
***&
Collegii J5eocae0arien0t0
<eorstopolttana
alutem
Jjittezad oznatiddimad in quibud de die annivezdazio (oollegii vedtzi centcdimo quin-
quagedimo rile agenda ceztwzed facti dumud libcnttddime accepimua et maxima/) vobid
agitnuA gzatiad quod noA veAtii in feiuA AaecidaubuA celektandiA c/audii pazticiped
GmneA quidem <S^mcticanoA c/audere opoztet zecozdanteA atque ipM oculij ceznenteA
quanta azdoze in omnibuA noAtzae zcgionis paztibu.) optimazuin aztiuni atudia et diAci-
plinae libezaleA excolantuz, ^atzeA entm et condttozeA ampliMimae kujuA zei puklicae
nihil antiquiut) fiabuezunt quatn ut adoleAcenteA noAtzi ad oninein humanitatem tnfoz-
mazentuz quo meliozeA evadezent civeA ac Aibi et zei publicae honozi et emotumento eAAe
poAAent. Quapzoptcz civitahA fundamenhA vixjactiA illaA Acicntiazum AedeA conAtitue-
zunt quae kodie omnium laudibud effezuntuz, Sntez quad nemini duhium eMe potedt
quin pzaecipuum tenuezit ac teneat locum (jjollegium ^Beocaedaziende.
^obid igituz feziad daeculazed Miemnitez agentibud ex ammo gzatulamuz liujudque
gzatulationiA tedtem dedic/namud ffbevezendum tSatzem ^fodeplium cf&avenA d^ichazdd,
e docietate fedu, liujud Ibnivezditatid SFbectozem, qui fedtivitatibud vedtzid intezdit vobidque
Aignificet quam vekementez exoptemud ut beneficiid quae pez centum quinquaginta
annod (Collegium 'ffieocaedaziende patziae noAtzae contutezit, novid nunc aucta vizibud
novaque nomine indicjnita c lbnivezditad ^Szincetoniendid majoza in died mezita ad/iciat.
Datae X Kal. Septembres, Anno Domini M'DCCOXCVI- Georgiopoli.
cf6avend
f. Snnid,
205
[HAMPDEN-SIDNEY COLLEGE]
et Zbzofe66oze6 o\3atnpden6idneien6e6
V V. (ol, cbmeAidi GuzatozibuA
GQcadetniae
<Sx humaniddiniid iucundiddimidque littetid
ivi clatiddimi et etuditiddimi, ilium diem appropinquate
laeti accepimud quo die tanto tarn laudabili CU.IAII tarn
emendo pvaeclata academia vedtia, exAtttuia e,)t ifonivet-
6ita6. lOeque enim potent in hoc putcfita Aocietate nodtia
unud 6ociu,a ad Aiimmum gtadum konotid petvenite ut
non onined communi cj audio afficiantui, iboA etgo dum
locid oodcutiotiouA amotem bonatum attium fovete et
pwpagate 6tudemu6 non podAiimiiA cjuin dumma,! atced
emuniti et cortAtabil'vci gaudeatnud,
ut piaeAenteA pvaeaentibua vobia oatendamud
auctanicjue dignitatem vedttam una cum ceteiid p^o
vedtta utoanitate invitatid ycato oze iaudemud ad diem
ptaeftnitam pet lecjatum pzofeddoiem yualtetum
ni)i cjuid accideiit adetimua,
3). a. d. VI 36aL SQpi.
SS.3). CDIDCCCLXXXXY1
Ox &9,cademia 9&den4idneicn6< .
206
[ HARVARD UNIVERSITY ]
QRAESES- SOON- INSPECTORES- PROFESSORES- IN- VNI-
VERSITATE HARVARDIANA COMMORANTES PRAESIDI
CVRATORIBVS-PROFESSORIBVS- COLLEGII- NEOCAESARIEN-
SIS VIRIS ILLVSTRISSIMIS DOCTISSIMIS S
I ITTERAS- VESTRAS- VIRI ILLVSTRISSIMI ET- DOCTISSIMI
I ACCEPIMVS- EX- QVIBUS- INTELLEXIMVS- SVMMO - CVM
GAVDIO-VOS- MOX CELEBRATVROS SIMVL- ET- DIEM'AN-
NIVERSARIVM- COLLEGII- NEOCAESARIENSIS ET- NATALEM
VNIVERSITATIS PRINCETONIENSIS
IVVABIT- NOS-CVM- DIES- FESTI ADERVNT- VNVM ALIQVEM
ID QVOD- BENIGNE PETITIS E NVMERQ- NOSTRO- LEGARE
QVI- FERNS- SOLLEMNIBVS- INTERSIT- IDEMQVE- BEATISSIMI
VT- SPERAMVS SAECVLI INITIO - NASCENTI VNIVERSITATI
EA- QVA- PAR- EST- BENEVOLENTIA NOSTRO- NOMINE
GRATVLETVR
(oaiotu6 uiiil-&>liot
PRAESES
DAT ID APR
A CIO ID CCC LXXXX VI
CANTABRIGIA
207
[HARVARD UNIVERSITY]
to Jrinceton
On tlir auspicious occasion of t lir one ImnHrrD anD ftftirtt)
of t\)t foutuung of Princeton
J^tesident and cfellows of cfoatvatd (Dollege
desite to send to
^ohe cTtustees and (Faculty of the (College of^&ew JleiAey
keaitu gteetingA, congiatiilationA on the achievements of the
Qollege of i&ew OJeidey in the paAt, anal good wished fot its
continued piospetity and usefulness,
Oney have tketefote appointed as delegates to this Gr
centennial (Delegation theit tttisty and well-beloved officers
(Shailes Y^iiLiam Sliot, J^Jo,
Lincoln yoodale, c)T&, 2)., , 2),,
Sfiikei SSiofctiMi of 'JSatutal
William James, $15, 2),, h. 3)., itt. 2).,
StofenMt of 3o ay etiology,
and have chatcjed them to convey to the ^5zustees and cf acuity
the felicitations of the <J=>tesident and (yellows / and to express
the confident hope and expectation that the beneficent influence
of J-Dtinceton Ibniveisity will c/ tow evet widet as the centuties
pass, and its services to science, lettets, and philosophy evet mote
eminent,
a he Jotesident and cFellows
ofcKDaivatd (o allege hy
(jdwatd W, cffooopet,
(Samtnidge, f)}t)a.iMchiiMttj,
'She f5tk of October,
SEAL
208
[ HAVERFORD COLLEGE ]
Oo-z.a/
t/t^t-t-i^ J
MDCCCXCVI.
209
%j e^o^et-uw-^K- e-6^O H^o-w-^l'^ t/^t-^ ^CC-uA-ut^tVi^tWi-v - ct-c-c^Ct'V^t-*^^, o^u^c^et-
kft^MM^M^C^* fr*fc**4* ^a^
**vC' Cxtto-cv 'Q^o-c-C-e^t-u^*^ ^/ e-o
^c^;n. * , c^j^;t-p-i^ 44cCtMM CxM^c^v^u^cua^f^i^Ca^ Cc,CK^^C"
t'CL't', e-u ^e-f^C-c-O'&x^ue't^ Cc-a--CU'^t- e^C^c^uxtrjt ;-ic-t-i"Cfc-wtw^V ? G^w^
se.ne.L. Q/i,a,'tu.tt,tv*^ ctt-e 4-c^tte- /e.i-^a-4^ o,u-
t/i
i*Cc~t~cLi'GsCs , e/ t^a--C'i-c.i^.
tJ/. ^. B.
[HOBART COLLEGE]
PRAESES PROFESSORESQUE
Coliegtt Hofcartiatu
PRAESIDI CURATORIBUS PROFESSORIBUS
Collegii JleocaesartettSiis
SALUTEM PLURIMAM DICUNT
Magna nos voluptate affecerunt literae quibus nos ad ferias vestras prox-
imo Octobri celebrandas benigne et comiter vocatis. Recte arbitramini,
Viri optimi et doctissimi, ferias illas quibus Universitatis vestrae vita
prior quodammodo concluditur, nova ampliorque mutato, ut par est,
nomine exoritur et nobis et iis omnibus qui bonis literis faveant omni
observantia dignas visum iri.
Pergrato igitur animo literis vestris acceptis ad istas ferias unum de
nostris mittere in animo est, cui partes demus vobis nostris verbis gratu-
landi. Huius nomen, necnon quo tempore expectandus sit alteris literis
docebimus. Vobis interea gratulantes etiam atque etiam gratias pro
humanitate vestra impensissimas agimus. Valete. Datum Genevae in
Republica Neo-Eboracensi prid. Kal. Maias Anno Salutis Nostrae
MDCCCXCVI?
In superiorum literarum ampliorem fidem sigillum Collegii Hobartiani
eis apponi jussimus nostrumque chirographum subscripsimus.
E. N. POTTER,
Praeses.
210
[JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY]
magnified, (Duratotibua il
(oolleqii
cKoopkinA
littetad a vobid accepimud, quibud podt
centum et quinqucuyirUa annoA in libeiauum ailium dtudiid
coiendid ptomovendidque feliciddime exactor, novum daeculum
ingtedduti et novum nomen Aumptuu, no6 invitavidtid ut died
XX, XXI, XXII menAtA Uctobtid fedtod vobidcum concelebta-
iemu.6 ,
QJtaque, ut died tarn faudtod, eo quo pat. edt honote, pto-
dequamutt ex nodtto otdine QjQcademico Joiaedidem ^Jjanieietn
(Dolt yiiman t vitum illudtoidjimufnt educatotem honotatiddi-
tnunif atbittum ad tetminod condtituendoa feliciddimum, dele-
gimudf qui ptaeaend vobid giatulanai munua obviet et
yota pto incolumitate ptodpetitate diututnitateque
nuncupatet,
(o. C/IOorton <&tewazt,
c&aUimotae
/o
.. x-n . . H r (outatozutn
die ^bzimo menAiA juntt i SEAL
(&. Q$. MDCCCXCl/I
211
[KNOX COLLEGE]
cp
A y/7 P \PI\ PT
<yt^)L'\4/\*fiJ \-siJ 01"
(Dollec/ii
Q)n (ooUegio loeocaedaziendi (oommozantibuA
&alutem in Jjomino.
^*-*/nuitatl comitet a uooid f uiti illudttiddiini et doctia-
1 dimi, ad ftuendum otdinid nobilid uedtii heap
i
x^"^ ml- /&
/ j I die anniueidatii centedimo quinquaaedimo (3
^^ iueocae6ai\,en.Ai6 conditi, otamud ut c/tato ammo
gtatiad ok konotem inuitationii ag'unuA et ledpondendo affittne-
mu.6 tnagnae laetitiae nooid unum ex otdine no^t^o ut uobid
giatuletui et diet dollemnia oblectatione patticepd ait, uicatium,
detegare,
2)atum (jale^uzgiae ^okdnneb c/6. oinieij ,
in (S^ula (Sollegii ^&z>
otdibui tfept. okomaA c/b. Willazd,
&%.2>. MDCCCXCY1.
212
[LAFAYETTE COLLEGE]
di (outatozibuA atcjue
SALUTEM
GtatiaA ptoptet kumanitatem uedttam lefeiented, atcjue
de illiiAtu (yolUaii ffieocaedatietidid amplificatione
tiobidcurn laetantea, giatulationed 6tnctti64imaA uobio
dignificamud, atcjue dpetamud foie at centum et cjuin-
quaginta atinid diem magnum imponatla,
Y&ob'iA piacu.it Joiaedidem nodtzum Stkethettum
2), y^atfield uicaiium deligete, <jui koapitio
utatui, atcjue uobiacum eo tempote laetetut.
amet,
. Vvazfield,
213
[ LAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY ]
tuiatoied ^biofeddoied ifanivetditatio J^aciditvanae
(Dollegii
^D
n ^omno,
(jzatiAAimae, vizi claziAAimi, littezae veAtzae nobid fuetunt, complezunt nod
6ummo gaudio, 3)eo ommpolenti vobiMum ycaliab ac/tmuA, ^uod (oollegw
Tfieocaedaziendi fundatoted magn.an.imi fuerunt et pet tot annoA ptaeAideA
cuzatozed ptofedMzeA docti6Ainu fweliMimi alumni LibetaliAAimi atque bene-
ficentiAAimi amtci Aunt fueiunt,
Quod (Collegium ^loeocaeAarienAe Acientiatn kumanitatem et otnneA aztet
cfuae ad eaA peztinent coluit atque diAAeminavit, quibuA patzia et eccleAia
fuezunt Aunt ezunt beatae, pzaeAeztim cum noAtza c Ut->nivezAitaA jSaciAiLvana
e numezo eiuA alumnozum duo pzaeAideA VIZOA konozaliAAinwA, nunnulioA
cuzatozcA munificentiAAimoA, ezudiAAimoA pzofeAAozeA cooptavezit, S)euA
Aempez efctem concedat, ut ThiwmtMUu SzincetonienAid c/uae iam (oollegio
'ffieocaeAaziendi Auccedet aucta poAAeAAionibuA occaAwnikuA maiiiA etiani et
meliuA opuA pzo bono publico ad maiozem 3)ei c/loziam efficiat, pluzimum
valeat, in Aaeculo Aaeculozum flozeat,
($alve IbnivezditaA ^zincetonien-AiA,
(Syzum d&all d7^c(ozmick, 3)avida S^enton efoned e cuzatozibuA noAtzii
vicazwA delegimuA qui, 2)eo voiente, ipAi pzaeAenteA noAtzaA gzatulationeA
fctant,
'z&atu.m J&acuilvae &UinenMA
die viceAitno ^eptemkziA
<&!.<$, M.D.CCC.XC. VI.
214
[ LICK OBSERVATORY ]
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
MOUNT HAMILTON, October 20, 1896.
1746-1896.
The ASTRONOMERS of THE LICK OBSERVATORY of THE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA offer their congratulations upon
the completion of the one hundred and fiftieth year of the
COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY ; and express their warmest hopes
for PRINCETON UNIVERSITY in the centuries to come. "The
best of prophets of the Future is the Past."
EDWARD S. HOLDEN,
J. M. SCHARBERLE,
W. W. CAMPBELL,
R. H. TUCKER,
W. J. HUSSEY,
A. L. COLTON,
C. D. PERRINE,
R. G. AITKEN.
215
[MCCORMICK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY]
Hcabemtae ftbeolooicae flfecCormicensis
/
Salutem in Domino.
<z v-ff.&t
/ / ' y y /
-i-i^-m -tM 'fo'td'fa>- / l't,i Wstzt-l^
vc&a-'H-ad'CtmCed
-t-M -M.4.tl=
ottzudtf tt-Utf -
't-e
v-id A-ut
/
ui-i^f
IHnivetsitatis pvincetoniensis
/
-ri-(
P
f
.
Scriba.
216
Praeses pro anno Facultatis.
[MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ]
Institute of Cedmologg
The Faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offer to the
$rcgitient:, ratectf and the $rofej0$org of gtanceton (Untoergitp their
heartfelt congratulations at the establishment of the Ctni\)frait)i upon
the broad and firm foundation laid in the noble work done by the
College of |j5etD 31et$CJ> during the past one hundred and fifty years in
3fitt, CfjCOlogp and ^Ciflltt, and in much honorable and useful service
to the ftcpuWic. $catc and $rogpmtp to ^rinccton.
FRANCIS A. WALKER
JOHN D. RUNKLE
GEO. A. OSBORNE
ROBERT H. RICHARDS
F. W. CHANDLER
WM. T. SEDGWICK
E. B. HOMER
WM. H. LAWRENCE
ALPHONSE N.VANDAELL
WEBSTER WELLS
JOSEPH J. SKINNER
CHARLES F. A. CURRIER
WM. H. NILES
HENRY P. TALBOT
JEROME SONDERICKER
THOMAS E. POPE
H. O. HOFMAN
GEORGE F. SWAIN
EDW. F. MILLER
DANA P. BARTLETT
ALLYNE L. MERRILL
FRED A. BARDWELL
ARLO BATES
WM. L. PUFFER
THEODORE HOUGH
JOHN BIGELOW, JR.
AUGUSTUS H. GILL
FREDERICK S. WOODS
GAETANO LANZA
CHAS. R. CROSS
FRANK VOGEL
ROBERT P. BIGELOW
RICHARD W. LODGE
WILLIS R. WHITNEY
FREDERICK H. BAILEY
CHARLES L. ADAMS
G. RUSSELL LINCOLN
G. THEODORE DIPPOLD
LEONARD M. PASSANO
WILLIAM Z. RIPLEY
CECIL H. PEABODY
ARTHUR A. NOYES
N. RICHARD GEORGE
FRANK H. THORP
JOHN W. SMITH
S. H. WOODBRIDGE
C. FRANK ALLEN
ALFRED E. BURTON
LINUS FAUNCE
J. BLACKSTEIN
WILLIAM A. JOHNSTON
CHARLES E. FULLER
GEORGE W. HAMBLET
GEORGE H. BARTON
HENRY M. GOODWIN
HARRY W. TYLER
HENRY K. BURRISON
217
[MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY]
MASSACHUSETTS
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Boston, Q^pril 1 J t i8g V ,
uhe (Dorporation and cf acuity of tke (yjloassachusetts
(institute of technology congratulate the (Dorporation, the
President, tke cF acuity and tke Students of tke 6 allege of
nDew Jersey upon tke approach of the one hundred and
fiftieth anniversary of tke college, and upon tke wise decision
to recognize tke proper constituents of a university in its various
departments and schools, some of them long crowned with honor
and consecrated by eminent services to (sftate and IGation and
to the larger (Commonwealth of Jbearning, while the youngest
has yielded rich fruit to science and the industrial arts, <$>
delegate from the Snstitute of technology will attend the cele-
bration of October 22c), and Join in the congratulations of
the world of scholars upon the rise of Princeton ihniversity,
cfzanciA o3(. Walkez,
(tfecretazy,
218
[ UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ]
{Hmberatatts
Curatoriims $rofessortfcus Coilegit
>alutem,
quod res ad litterag et gcientiam jspectanteis tarn
ge00t0ti0 gratulantes gaudemujs boss pro prosper itate
per centum quinquaginta annojs perducta dignitatem ab ilia
modegtijSjsmta tarn non conbenienti Collegii ad beram ?Httt-
\)ersttatts ^rineetontae appeliationem conberjsurojs.
itaque ut ipjse ^onore0 dicat et fessto tempore collaetetur
^raejsidem nostrum birum iliugtri&iimum
ftenrteum Jesse
acaoemica
31D, fllpai. anno ^aluttjs mDcccrcbi.
219
[UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA]
(oancellaunA cJoectozeA Jotofe66oze6
"?0 , , ( CY7 i
YniueiditatiA lioei
YvciA Q)llii6tzi66imi6
CP ! . Cp f
<2Jn (oollecjio nDeocae6aiien6i
(Sralutem in Jjomino.
I ^anceltaiiua cfoectoted tStofeddoted rniueiditatid
\**s kendid inuitati a potedtatibud (oollegii lOeocaedauendU
ut ex duo oidine academico aliquem deligant uicatium ad
celebiandum diem anniuetdatium (oollegii /Oeocaedatienoid
centendimum cjuin(jua^endimuni, eiddem dinceie gtaiiad agunt,
(sollegium uetud koneatumcjue de tebud decundid ex animo
giatulamuz, memoted cum multotum et etuditoium uiiotum
tei publtcae o^mezicanae datotum turn acceddionid dcientiae in
tegno littetatum, Sn dignum dtudii yeoigium Sduinum
&macJL>ean huiud yniuetditatid (oanceliatium yicazium nod-
ttum delegimud in celebtanda dolemni inauguzatione y
ditatid J^iincetoniendid die uicendimo decundo mendid
anno rniltendimo octincfentendimo nonagendimo dexto,
Jo. Q&). &/ieztnan,
3)atum Join.colne.nAi
in (3.ula ''Pniu.ettHtatij
i- H I \
ate Uicen,Aimo dunn ( SEAL )
(S3,, <&, MDCCCXCVl.
2^0
[COLLEGE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK]
e&eA et (Srenatud
(oollzqii Ytbani
di (ouzatozibu6
(oolleqii foeo-
c/
<sf. S. 2).
aeculated feuad lite celebzantibud vobid iota mente
qtatulamui , (Salmatn c/Toat'cem, iueo-(3aedar,ien-
c> '
dem, a doctiddiniid viiid inatitutam, dempez validid-
dumid viuouA arted iioezaled couiidde nemini edt
ignotum, Jotuiitni ex uedttid doctoiibud claiuetunt fautoted
mudaium, dapientiae, acientiarum, Mn taled fadtod tedpici-
ented iute laetamini; iuie etiam ad amplioied vocati /tonoted
et dignitatem, cetetod tebud academicid ptaefectod, ut laetentui
vobidcum aicedditid. ^uae cum ita dint, lubentet legabimud
qiii illid faudtid fedtidcfue diebud vobid addit, et adfeiat gt,a-
tulationed, yaleatid, floteatid,
texandez (tf.WeM .3).
3)atum yioeo-
in aula nojtza
anno podt (Sh-LiAtum natum,
mdleAumo octingentedumo nonageMimo Aexto,
221
[NEW YORK UNIVERSITY]
Cancellarius Concilium Curatorum Professoresque Uni-
versitatis Neo-Eboracensis viros illustrissimos et doctissimos
Praesidem Curatores Professores Collegii Neocaesariensis in
Deo salvere iubemus.
Vos cum petieritis a nobis rem iucundam, nempe ut legemus
aliquem virum ex numero nostrorum qui adsit in diebus festis
quibus vos rite celebretis confectum lustrum trigesimum Collegii
Neo-Caesariensisetintersit auspiciis Universitatis Princetoniensis
a. d. XI Kal. Novembres huius anni, gratis animis accipimus
munus quod vos nobis praebetis. Una vobiscum laetamur propter
dies festos qui instant et legamus Cancellarium Henricum Mit-
chell MacCracken qui nostro loco illis diebus vobis intersit.
In Universitate Neo-Eboracensi
Nonis luliis MDCCCLXXXXVI.
CHARLES BUTLER, Praeses.
ISRAEL C. PIERSON, Secretariats.
2-2-2
[NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY]
the presibent, ^Trustees, anb jfacult^ of the
College of IRew Jersey,
GREETING:
/* # <* Kbe Hacult\> of liovtbwestern
have had the honor to receive the official communication inviting them to tend a dele-
gate to represent the Ibniversily at the <$esquicentennial Celebration of the (college of
95ew Jersey,
^hey cordially accept the invitation and tahe pleasure in presenting a6 their dele-
gate president 9Senry ''Wade cfhogers, accredited from this University ad the bearer
of it& respectful greetings and congratulations,
^he ubmversity is glad by its delegated presence to have a share in a festival cele-
brating the completion of a hundred and fifty years of the life of a venerable institution
of (Christian learning whose growth has been part of the progress of our land, and
whose prosperity has borne fruit in the advancement of every noble cause,
^he cfaculty join with their congratulations the fervent wish that the favor of
S&eaven may continue to abide with the (College in the centuries to come, and that the
new name, IPfinCCtOtt THuiVCrsitp, rivalling the honors of the old, may grow ever
brighter in merited renown,
flortbwestern
JEvaneton, f llinota, Secretary of the cfaculty,
September 22, 1896. (oollege of liberal (S^tts.
223
[ UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ]
praefectus Curatores professores
{ftniversitatis flbenns^lvaniensie
IDiris Clartesimte Boctissimia
praesiM Curatoribus profe0soribu0
Golleou IReocaesanenste
Salutem
<Huob per titteras nuper receptas certiores facti sumus vlri
clartssimi Doctissimi vos in mente babere mense ctobri projtmo
feriis saeculartbus per trffcuum babenftis fun&attonem Collegii 1Reo
caesariensis celebrare memoriam virorum illustrissimorum qui 6e
Collegio vestro fteque universa patria nostra partim bonis fcanfcts
partim scientia promovenba juventuteque Hmericana in boctrinam
virtutem religionem instruenba bene meriti sint piissime renovare
eobem autem tempore institutionem Tflniversitatis princetoniensis
e fun&amentis Collegii IReocaesariensis tot tantisque laboribus
firmatis tune tanquam novi pboenicis e patris cineribus nascenbae
rite facere ib nos snmmo gaubio afficit permopetque ut laetitiam
quam sentimus majimam vobis significemus beque tactis praeteritis
splenbibis gratulationes pro futnris ut et splenbibiora fiant vota
faciamus.
t)is be causis bas litteras scrtbenbas curarimus et virum insignem
praefectum nostrum Carolum Custis Ibarrison legatum constituimus
qui vobis gratulationes nostras votaque perferat.
In cujus rei testimonium sigillum "dniversitatis curatores ejusbem
apponi jusserunt.
224
[PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE]
Pennsylvania College,
GETTYSBURG, PENNA., March 29, 1896.
The President, Trustees and Faculty of Pennsylvania College
beg to gratefully acknowledge the honor of an invitation to par-
ticipate in the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anni-
versary of the founding of Princeton University, and to extend
their Christian greetings and hearty congratulations to the Presi-
dent, Trustees and Faculty of the University. They recognize in
Princeton, not only one of the oldest, but also one of the foremost
and best of American Universities, whose progress, conjoined with
a wise conservatism, has cordially recognized what is good in the
old and carried it on into the new, in curricula and methods meet-
ing modern demands without sacrificing the best results of past
educational experience, and whose influence upon the Christian
higher education of this country has been most wide-reaching,
inspiring and helpful.
With earnest wishes for the success of the Anniversary occa-
sion and for the future of Princeton,
Very truly yours,
H. W. MCKNIGHT, Prest.
225
[PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY]
wottae, -ui^v c^a^idM-w^ feate&<yu<!- belecti^vmi,
gaubio -n-oa co-wp^e-ue-ru-H't ptaesettivM- c\i\\\> acnoia -n-oafcta-
-uete^e a^i4icitia- cont-i4-ncta dint,
0141-vi^ipoi'c-vttt- e^ie|actenti, Out vtv p^incipio
2ieti>ovi-, ^uvt-batote^ -uoca-uit ebu-ca-
i i-tv cewtttm- c^t^lttcjt^agivi^ta ai4t^ii>, a^ii* abi>eraii> atiia
et^ I*a6orcd i^taatot^o^w<vH |ibetit^i4t atcjue bocto-tuvn boc-
-vt-ec-no-n- pet^ bovra pctt-tovtot-u^-VM- / H4-n--iificotti--H-v, c-l uitea
u-t Aci-eii-tia'M-t- fvvi-vM-avt-itatevM-an-c- covena eFocbezal"ci S^ic^puo-
i/m (E^t*ti avn-ana et ac^uaia^ bow^-w vviag-
a 1)eo ab ^ovni^i-ca, ao DC^O et, -uidv^n^ ott ;
ovw-nea -te* ecvi-Hba3 fafcaituo, -Httwc vi-cn;o daccnfo i
i botc-vn a patte at^va-ntc, ei at^ctaa po^aeoaio
et -nova jwra p^aetet eu-vn- itt- finevn -tvt Sccfcaia et ^at^ia ei/u::* pet
ore-M-i. uvgea-nt.
Sic ite-t-u-'M* iwpfetwm cot i^fttb *3)owivtti ue^^w-nt matieiao itt-
ioavvt et l-Ce6>avi-t vnvtl-ei-t to oevni-Ma Mi-a.
cmte-vM- -ue-M-ient Z\\A\\ cccs-u^tation-e potta-n-tea
in. tatcvtio Scfvofac 'Jsf^cc^'ogiae
bie M-OVK> 9Haiv SI. S. M DCCC XC VI ^tac^ea eFacuftato.
[RUTGERS COLLEGE]
PRAESES CURATORES PROFESSORES
COLLEGII RUTGERSENSIS
IN NOVA CAESAREA
Magistris Universitatis Princetoniensis Doctissimis lustaque
Ex Causa Illustrissimis
S. D.
QUAM PRIMUM post festum Academiae vestrae
diem tarn bene fausteque celebratum congregati
QUOD Academia vestra per annos CL Collegium
Neocaesariense nunctipata summarum scientiae rerum
studium divinarum necnon humanarum semper optime
accuratissime fovebat
QUOMQUE ista Academia Universitatis hodiernam
Princetoniensis appellationem una cum officiis maioribus
illo die festo sibi ritu adrogasset
VOBIS Amicis amicissimi gratulabamur gratulamur
sinceramque spem nostram vestram Universitatem Prince-
toniensem studiosi suum desiderii atque laboris scholastici
quasi agrum quendam qiii accessionibus continuis se dila-
tat atque extendet Optimo ctim qucestu citlturam esse ver-
bis exprimere vellemus.
AUSTIN SCOTT,
HAEC spei atque gratulationis Praeses.
emmtiatio est scripta et data Novi
Brunsvici in Nova Caesarea II
Non. Nov. MDCCCXCVI.
227
[SOUTHWESTERN PRESBYTERIAN UNIVERSITY]
(oancellaziuA et
LoniuezAttatU
iuxta
ztA Qjllu6tzi66imi6
di (ouzatozibuA <J^>zofe66ozibu6
n (oollecjio meocae6azien6i (oommozantibuA
ralutem in JJomino.
ad Aaeciilai&A fetiad uocati dumud, quo tempote et
Jjuncetonietidid inaugu'cabitiii , aiatiaa agimud,
atque noAtuim collegam ^acokum <, Jbyon, alumnum (ol-
legii uedtzi eundemque a uobid ^Doctotem Zhfiilodop/iiae cteatum,
legatum delegimud,
in
die P *i,
&$,. rf. MDCccxcri.
yeozgiuA a. iBicola66en,
228
[ SWARTHMORE COLLEGE ]
et
in (Collegia dtfwaztfimozienAi cotnmozanteA
Zbzaeduti, (ouzatozibud, <J^>zofeA6ozibii6
(oollecjii loovae (oaedazienaid
vizis doctiAAunid atcjue Hiu6tzi66imiA
2)
^ * cfS t
yaide gaudemud., viti doctidaimi et illudttid.nmi, quod a
vocamut ad feiiad Aaeculated die annivetdaiio centeaitno
io poAt conditam vedttam tinivezditatem, hoc edt
die viceAimo decundo mendi6 Uctobtid anno iam ttanaeunte f
Jo'cincetoniae habendad.
iicazium aeleaimud <J?tae<)idem nodttani, (yatolum
tfairno, Jokiiodopkiae JJoctotem, qui illiud diei gtatulatio
intetdit et piaedend vobia dianificationi ait nodtiae Aiimmae
voluntati,).
cfezzid Vv, Jozice,
$wartkmoziae, ($czil>a (pto tempoib),
die quinto afunii OtduitA (S^cademici <$wattlim
A. D. MDCCCXCVl.
229
[SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY]
Cancellarius et Professores
Univenttatis Syracusanae
Praesidi Curatoribus Professoribusque
Collegii Neocaesariensis
Salutem
W \ er S ratum est 9 u d nos P er Utter as elegantlssimas tanta comitate
m^J invitastis ut unum aliquem ex nostro or dine acadenrico deligamus
f~ vicarium qui hospitio usus vestro 'vobiscum spatio annorum cen-
^M- turn quinquaginta finito laetetur. Scitote, viri doctissimi, nos
virum idoneum qui praesens sit particeps gaudii vestri libenter esse delecturos.
Vobis vehementer gratulamur de tot annis Deo generique hominum de die at is
in quibus etiam hanc civitatem constitutam anteceditis. ^uod quanto afficium
fuit difficile aestimare, nam Collegium Neocaesariense cuius tricesimumfesti-
nat aetas claudere lustrum, perpetuo fans doctrinae artiumque optimarum
atque morum exemplar non modo reipublicae in qua conditum sed omnibus
partibus or bis novi erat. Vestrum iam habemus unum ex institutis nostrae
patriae maximis et precamur idemfelicius utiliusque in posterum sit. Nobis
omnibus qui pro disciplina nitamur est unum propositum ut homines meliores
excultioresque faciamus. Optimus quisque collegium quod veritatem colat et
quot annis maius liber aliusque fiat atque fidem faciat se etiam secundius
fore laete contemplatur .
Uni'versitas Syracusana quae spatium annorum quinque et viginti mox
perficiet et anno insequenti ferias celebrabit Collegium Neocaesariense iam
quinquiens aevo functum honorificis verbis prosequitur et eodem tempore
salutat Universitatem Princetoniensem bre'vi rite faciendum quae ve/uf sol
"aliusque et idem" nascetur.
Datae Kal. Mai. MDCCCXCVI.
Syracusis in Rep. Nov. Ebor.
^Jacobus R. Day,
Cancellarius.
230
[TRINITY COLLEGE, CONNECTICUT]
/
9f.
f
y X
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/ /
e&e. ife-tttd.
f
-y-X
^'yi'tt-fiu
/
d-ft/t.
/
ft
/ x X
ftLe-w-mi- nt<i
17
xx/ x
e<Ce.-a-lfi-?at>, a-u
<te<i
-0,110, -mt-n-c i&t-iy
l.tte. ued^-t&.e fee-l ft
' '
'X" y^-
.td -uewe. e-'t dtzM.ie.'M
u-f-ivni>34t- / nu dm-fe'
ff
*
144
L ndtte-wi -afZ
c4-e<ti
/y
-e^i c-ie<z.e-i
' X y
a.u.1. Zu.'i.tt'
f f
ueMetta-ce-wtiddt-mtid. ti- aa.ttdut-tn.
#
xx // / y y X X y
tte-i 'ia.ti'ti.'L.'t.fi'm tied'i-iti'm nleied.e'M.'i.ewi, vtiM.-mii-l.-e'i.
'
/
tt-t-t-e
tettyeut-fmicd
tlt&frt
ttd
-tta.-6.td
ded
S
c^d-e
-i-u-v-e-^n-ud
%
231
[ UNION UNIVERSITY ]
Praeses Professores Universitatis Concordiae Viris Illustris-
simis Doctissimis Praesidi et Curatoribus et Professoribus
Cqllegii Neocaesariensis Salutem in Domino.
Cum gratulationibus plurimis de centum et quinquaginta
tarn honorate et utiliter actis annis, summaque spe de saeculo
novo in quern jam ingressuri sitis, placuit nobis vestram invi-
tationem ut die vicesimo secundo mensis Octobris anno currente
hospitio vestro aliquo ex nostro ordine academico legato utemur
accipere et Praesidem nostrum Andrew Van Vranken Raymond
delegare, qui eo tempore vicarius noster apud vos fuerit.
Datum Schenectadiae,
a. d. XI. Kal. Aug. MDCCCXCVI.
232
[UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY]
HEADQUARTERS U. S. MILITARY ACADEMY,
West Point, N. Y., May i, 1896.
The Superintendent and Professors of the United States Military
Academy, to the President, Trustees and Professors of the
College of New Jersey.
Gentlemen :
We have the honor to acknowledge the invitation of the
College of New Jersey to select one of our members to represent
the United States Military Academy at the one hundred and
fiftieth anniversary of the founding of said College on the 226.
day of October, 1896, and to express our high appreciation of
the courteous remembrance.
Colonel Peter S. Michie, Professor of Natural and Experi-
mental Philosophy, the Senior Professor at the United States
Military Academy, has been selected as the representative of
the Academic Board to be present on the aforesaid occasion.
We also take advantage of the opportunity to convey our
best wishes for the prosperity and welfare of the honored and
venerable College of New Jersey, and to express our conviction
that, under its new name of the University of Princeton, it will
be in the future, as it has been in the past, one of the justly
distinguished institutions of learning of our country.
O. W. ERNST,
Colonel of Engineers,
Supt. U. S. Military Academy,
President of Academic Board.
233
[ UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY ]
UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY,
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND,
October i4th, 1896.
SIR :
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the announce-
ment of the President, Trustees and Professors of the College
of New Jersey, that during this present month of October,
1896, there will be instituted a festival to terminate on the
one hundred and fiftieth anniversary day of the establishment
of that renowned College.
It becomes my duty also to state on the part of the Academic
Staff of this institution that we appreciate the honor of an invi-
tation to send a delegate as a guest of the College of New
Jersey to take part in the formal and solemn inauguration of
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
and, if it be possible, a delegate will be selected whose name
will hereafter be made known to you in writing.
Very respectfully,
P. H. COOPER,
Captain, U. S. Navy,
To Superintendent.
FRANCIS L. PATTON, D.D., LL.D.,
President of the College of New Jersey,
Princeton, New Jersey.
[VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY]
SENATUS ACADEMICUS
UNIVERSITATIS VANDERBILTIAE
PRAESIDI CURATORIBUS PROFESSORIBUS
COLLEGII NEOCAESARIENSIS
SALUTEM.
Pergratae nobis litterae perlatae sunt quibus nuntiatis vos, viri
doctissimi, ferias saeculares in honorem eorum qui vestram Univer-
sitatem condiderunt instituisse. Profecto decet eorum virorum illus-
trissimorum memoriam amore fideli conservare et sacram tenere qui
templum artium liberalium apud vos struxerunt et omnia studia fove-
runt. Optimo quoque iure censuistis et nobis et aliis quibus doctrina
scientiaque curae sunt dandam esse partem in hoc die festo. Gratias
ergo maximas agimus quod nos dignos habuistis qui ad has ferias
vobiscum celebrandas invitemur, atque unum ex nostris Professoribus,
Gulielmum L. Dudley, libentissime elegimus qui et testis sit nostrae
erga vos benevolentiae et particeps vestri gaudii. Fraterno animo
vos salvere iubemus, sperantes fore ut Universitas Princetoniensis
multa in saecula duret et floreat. Valete.
JACOBUS H. KIRKLAND,
Cancellarius.
D. Nashvillae, die XXV Septembris,
Anno MDCCCXCVI.
235
[ UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT ]
*
Untotrsitatis
Collestt
accpete
e-t -olca'ti-u-m aocc>c / uot>t-;> ccieotavioiiy XI.
raeolhe'Hn- -nosteiwM- iavw-
ah
antics CL ^e^icil'et et Jacwe:yte
opes et uitei et |ai4^a^H et
^ vtovo VM-
eFe-tiac
bia (WvHCW-iota -u-6ic(4H-e
totae
p^CKXt-
eicw^e a-u-
avwp^io^e^
vnooc wcep-
ac i-mpetu/m coi^co^bi
tvt ^epi^^. ^Pl^ihii^to-^tan-a X.
-. cwvvo Sa^uti^ MDCCCXCVI.
236
[UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA]
PROFESSORES VNIVERS1TATIS VIRGINIENSIS
VIRIS DOCTISSIMIS ILLVSTRISSIMIS
PRAES1DI CVRATORIBVS PROFESSORIBVS
ADHVC COLLEGII NEOCAESARIENSIS IAMIAM VNIVERSITAT1S
PRINCETONIENSIS
SALVTEM IN DOMINO
t.c^e'
K^
J*-.
r
V-Usiis i+A*t*
'bti-HsCL, tcirVH, d.
ia*e, 3*1,1 t, i. ^t- to.
a^tt-
t-a,
^r^o- k,^ Wses^'t^ &-t- &-&-t^'K>t^i. a^eu^eviu- a^a^
uax^e^ v~o-<j-^i^ tt^^K^e-^i^e-n^Ce^t^ c^t^cvuu^c
cx^cvn^
e-t M
'M*<--u*m' y^t-t-uu^
u cvw^c-oc-Ct-a^a-
Praeses ordinis professontm.
237
[WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, MISSOURI]
The Chancellor and Faculty of Washington
University gratefully acknowledge the kind
invitation of the President, Trustees and Fac-
ulty of Princeton University to take part in
the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth
anniversary of the founding of Princeton
College.
They regret that they cannot be represented
on that occasion, but they extend their hearti-
est congratulations on the growth and success
of Princeton University, and their best wishes
for its continued prosperity.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY,
St. Louis, October 15, 1896.
238
[WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY]
et
oniA UccidentaliA
idi et %Lxofe66ovibu6
(oollecjii foeocaedaziendid
(Sralutem
noA vocatid ut cetehiando fedtum diem (Dollecjii
centedimum {juinquagedimum itUewimud,
ST&agnaA giatlaA habemiiA, et lihentet vicatium delega-
qui pzaeclata tempoti^ acti facta atcjae 6pem futuii
maiotetn vobid giatuletut, yalete,
2)atum (olcveiandi XII,
IUMU ^StaeMclid c^acultatiic/ue
pet
239
[ WESTERN UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ]
elvt- oeaio
14- t4.-H-u.-m
ccc noA^o <ytbine acabevnico wca^i
UatiA cuitvo cente^ivno
eitivia, et ^aetewn4--t uo&vacui^i- fioniiv auae, "Dei
caui>a -pfcomowvt-bi ^cientlavM- et ^i
, et -wacci-we ri.ovvcvra-toi>
i&ti<> -mi/tte^e eco ^vac t^nive^aitate -uicatii^vn- &cet,
ia bte uiceai
c^Codcmb, Ca^i^eWaum'kH fi-ujuo
beic|imuo iHca^vuti^ et ei wanbomiUd -ut -uol:>i
ebba.
clCe-kHJicvi S.
a&ia6
acabe^M-icis
. Z>. MDCCCXCVI.
240
[WILLIAMS COLLEGE]
Praeses Professores Collegii Guilielmensis viris clarissimis doctis-
simis Praesidi et Professoribus et Curatoribus Collegii Neocaesari-
ensis salutem reddunt.
Ex vestra invitatione nos Praesidem nostrum delegimus vicarium
qui proximo mense Octobri gratulationes hujus Collegii vobis afferat
et ad celebrandas ferias apud vos adsit. Interea etiam nunc vobis ac
Collegio honoratissimo vetustissimo Neocaesariensi gratulamur non
modo de ejus senectute beata sed etiam de annorum centum et quin-
quaginta praeteritorum memoria splendida. Speramus porro fore ut
Universitas Princetoniensis in futurum, sicut adhuc Collegium Neo-
caesariense, vera felicitate fruatur.
EBEN BURT PARSONS,
Scriba.
Datum in oppido Guilielmensi die
vicesimo Junii
A. S. MDCCCXCVI.
241
[UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN]
c et
(Dollecjii /Oeocaedatiendid
<sf.
et
c/iyei p.
Quod vo6, vizi docti^imi et dpectatiuimi, zite memotes diebuj fedtid
celebvandid et vcnezabdem collegii tfeatzi antiqiutatem et 6anctiMimam
eozum (jui fundavezunt memoziam pzoaequi voluidtia ncc non 6otttmnibaA
pezacttd mine demutn nomen uynivezditatid adaciAceze con6titutdti6, qui
Aempez Atudiozutn pzope univezdalium patzocinium AuAcepiAtiA, nemo eAt
cezte Aive tei publicae noAtiae communiA Aive maiotiA littezazum et dcienti-
azum zei publicae CIVIA quin. ex ammo gaudeat,
Quapzoptez legavimud eo6 qui vokia Aalutem ah ozdmtbud noAtuA
nuntient et munezikuA legatozum uutfftum ^LbnivezditattA noAtzae apud
vo6 fungantuz,
Qiwzum nomina ac dignitatem haec Mint:
CJoendall
yuiiielmuo gfteavrid, Jo<.
), et ^baedagog.
2)eud 6. c)T5, inceptid faveat
et VOA valete,
242
[WITTENBERG COLLEGE]
et ,ktofe66<yce6
0n (oollegio Yitebezcjenai (oommozanteA
Zhzaedidi et Zbzofe66ozM>u6
(ooiiegii I\oeocae6azien6i6 <*(uod Jjie
YiceAuno &ecundo
cfiet loniverditoo
@f. 3). S.
tofesMoied (Doll&gii y'iteke^genAi6 quod (Collegium
eocaed atieru e feiiad daeculated inatitueiit multum gaudemud
et fote ut eaedem ak eo itetum et itetutn celebientut tetnpoie fu-
tuto Apeiamu,6, cJloomae tniile annotiim conditae cont'ig'iMe iudod
^aecuLa^e^ c/uattum celebtaie mernotia tenemiid. Ibtinam Ibni-
ve^AltaA f Jo^Lncetonietui6 duo millejimo die annivetdatio feiiaa
celeb let !
yohi^f J^taeaea et JL>iojedAotea (oollegit i^eocaeoaiiendio I
agimiiA maxima^ pio invitatione duavi laetiMimi<jue
m nottium, <sf, &Q, Utt, vicatium cjui fio,)pitio U.AIIA
vobidcum eo tempoie laetetur. ubi quod antea fuetit (Dolle-
gium fOeocaeJarietue IhnivetAitad JL>^lncetoni&n6iA tune rite
facta inaucjuiakitut delecjabimua,
kduazduA (j, vveavez,
S)atuin Spring ficldii <$czika ct
in
SEAL
die quinto (
A. S. MDCCCXCYI.
243
[ YALE UNIVERSITY ]
et <zocii et
foltetnnia
iA, vizi illuAtziAAimi et doctiAAimi, ex ammo ac veze gzatulamuz non
quoo (oollecjium c )15eo-(yaeMzierii)e pet tot annoa exdtdtt flozuitque, Jet)
etiatn quia et VOA el qui ante vos fuezunt, intez multaa zezutn politicazum
mutatioMA, immo veto intez tot zezum kumanazum viciddituaine.), dtudiid
UbetalihuA vczaeque zeligioni foztitez felicitez Atmpez COMtduitfiA, c T6ec noA
veAtzam hanc liidtoziam pzaeclazatn zeApiceze poAAutnuA Aine peculiazi quoaam
gaudio dam. zecozdamuz muttoA e noAtziA alumniA apud VOA munezibuj officiiA-
que et adminiAtzandi et docendi noneAtidjime functoA eAAe,
c/T&axime VOA decebit annum vcAtzt (oollegu centeAimum qutnquageAimum
feziiA AaeculazibuA donate, ApczamtiAque foze ut tAtae feziae talibuA caeztmonitA
aujpicitAque tarn bonid agantuz ut ex dlo die tn pezpetuum pezmaneat czeAcat-
que in Ain.gu.loA annoA ^bnivezAitaA 2^zincetonienAi6.
pezgzatum feciAtiA quod noA vobiAcurn eo die anmvezAazio laetazi
voluiAtiA, congzuentique tcmpoze a nobiA deligetuz qui pzo nobiA lioApitio vcAtzo
utatuz,
). v5ow-Sor<a (yonnecttcutenAi
1 3). 1806.
L'l I
[ YALE UNIVERSITY ]
ibniverdity,
October t
vo the \5ruatee6 and 9 acuity of
Jorinceton Lbniversity :
^he (Corporation of ^Jale ibniversity
have designated tke cJoeverend J^rofessor yeorge
^Sarh cftsher, 3), 3),, , 2)., to attend ad
their official representative the exercised to be held
at Princeton in commemoration of the sesquicen-
tennial anniversary of tke founding of tke (Dollege
of vu^to ^Jersey f and to extend in person tke con-
gratulations which have already been expressed
by a formal communication in writing,
cJoy vote of tke (Corporation,
'> cf, 68, 3)exter,
dtfeczetazy.
245
CANADIAN
[ DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY ]
enatud G&ademicuA tonwetdttatid Jjalhou&i
anae
Yizt
zt6
di (ouzatoubud <JotofeAAoiibii6
(oollecjii loeo-ioaeAazienAid
yokiA, viti apectatiddimi et doctiAAitni f gtatulamut, quod act <S3 t n-
nivetAauum (DenteAimum quinquagedimum IbniveiAitatiA veatiae con-
dltaejam bzevi pteventuti e6ti6,
J=>e'ccjiatiun nobid fuit, ahkitic aliquot men6eA, cettioied fieri vo6 f
nanc tantam occaAionem dpectante,) , 6tatu,i&6t Ihnivetditatern vedtratn,
(juam bene novunuA ntituceni alrnam. o^rtutm Joibeialium, iucem
aocttinae et Actentiae in-iignetn t et vetudtate venezabilem, nomine vetete
omiAAOf nomine appeliare now et ampliote quod ejuA utilitati aucto-
titati famaeque accomtnodatiua videatut.
<JJe invitatwne ut noA pet vicatium cfetiid addimuA a vobid
mende Ucto^i celebtandid tarn kenigna tamque konoiifica gtatiaA
IwentiAAime. agimuA : quamobtem Jjtae,)idem no.)ttuni Mokannem
cfotiedt, *Jj,<J-), t dJ . (D,Jh., vitum tevetendum et etuditurn delegi-
tnud, qui t lOumine favente/ aiAce c/etiid addit et patticepd dit Laeti-
tiae veAtiae ac koApitii, et teAtificetui quanto in konote apud nod dit
Lbnive.iAitaJ J^tincetoniendiA quamtamque voluptatem ejuA auctuA et
p%OAperitaA detnpet nob'iA dint allatuza.
y.
cR3. ($ Sdin, <$oc,, ny. C$, (an,
zuatum (jGalifaxiae,
djapite c }lj. dcotiae,
1. 3). MDCCCXCVl.
249
[ McGILL UNIVERSITY ]
U. 25. if. f 3f <& ^
5tmpli^imi!a
i <Curntoritnt)S
iHacgtlltanae
Ulcgio in
JJergratnm nobis fecistis quob annornm centum et qninquaginta feliciter perartorum laetam
memoriam celebratnri nos qnoqne e finiiima at uicina cioitate in partem ganbii ncslri tiocare
nolnistis. tit cniin inter omnia boctrinae bomicilia nbicumquc terrarnm posita suminn semper
ejcstare bebet benenolcntia et caritas, quippe qnornm patrotinio trabitoe sint artes bisci-
plinaequc omnee quae ab I) u man it at cm pertinent, arto qnobam sotictatis uintulo et ipsac inter
se coljaercntee, ita cos potissimnm betet fraternitotis nexnm ma^ime praebitare qui, quamtris
becureu lentpornm et rernm iniqnitate seporati, constii tamen sibi sunt naturali BC quabam
oolnntatis stnbiornm officiornm tommnnione inter GC contineri. ibentissimis igitur animis
ocrasionem tarn lactam arripimns fraternam imotram erga vo& amintiam testiticanbi. QHna
in re nt semper alias t omniums sanguinis et communinm oviginnm satrosancta nobis olniersa-
tnr mcmoria, quae utinam nunqnam consenescat ant bebilitetnr! Git quasi saeculorum quob-
bam augurium futurorum qnob Ijac qnantnlnnuumqne est pietatis erga DOS botnmentnm et nos
comiter innitamstis et nos libentissime praebuimns. nib ? nonne similia ntrique llnioersi-
tati fncrnnt primorbia? et qnamqnam mnltum iam mutata est rernm conbitio ac species, quam-
qnam bioersam lanbamus rei pnblicae rationem, genere tamen lingna twlnntate institntis nonne
abeo inter nos consociati sumns ut paene nnius membra corporis esse mbeamur ? ^^^^^^
nare scitote, niri boctissimi, cnm mnlti et illnstres oiri laetum illnm biem cestrae originis
uobiscum propebiem celebratnri slut, beueuolcnlioi cm abfuturum esse nemincm quam quern 110-
tornm nostrornm interprctem belegimus, cestrae laetitiae leslem ac participem. Is erit flro-
cancellarins Ijnius Hnioersitatis, Omlielmus JJeterson, JUagister ^.rtium, egnm SUoctor, cni
eo magis corbi erit uestris interesse feriis quob Scotia oriunbus et nnper in Ijas terras trans-
nectns probe scit quam bene be uestra Unioersitate, perinbe ac be nostra, merita sit patria, cnm
Gtotis IjominibtiG tanqnam proprium mnnns manbatum esse uibeatur opus fnnbamenta Uni-
uersitatum jacienbi qnae Ijobie ejcstant in tot tamque bioersis orbis terrarnm partibus. (Knm
DC limns accipiatis nt qui DOS artissimi Ijuius cognationis tnuctili optime possit commonefacere.
nib plnra ? Hnioersitati nestrae notwm iam saeculum optimis anspiciis angnstiore nomine
ingrcbienti eje animo gratulamnr, fansta in futnrum precantes omnia. (JHuaecunquc os ^Imae
iUatvis nataliciam celebrantes oobis optatis eabem et nos optare pro certo fjabetote. t)ioat,
crescat, florcat per saecula plnrima llniucrsitas JJrincctoniensis ! ^^^^~^^^^^^^^
Saturn ittoutc
a. 6. fiSfi Ttion. ctofir.
250
[QUEEN'S COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY]
dt49t>td 66
<t-n
m.'t,<M. t-e
f
&,
/
-add-e-ndtt.
-e-a
-c.<e-v-'t'(Z4uz-(i<e jfcutd&i-e. &-
f
t
,
*
ifittti tut-tti-m ( <3ie'nei<iud
XXVII
/r /5
V. 3. MDCCCXCVI.
*
/^ "^\
I SEAL )
V /
251
ti<z
/
[UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO]
Canccllanujs, <3ice Cancellariug,
Coronfonensfe
et ^rofeggoribujs praegtanttstistmae
galutem majrtmam aant.
Cjrcellenttsmmt,
vGnoniam rcrtiorca farti
anitocrgitatcm pracclari&simam annum ccntcgimum
nquagcslmum iam pcrcgiaar, noa, ut noatram crga
focnctoicntiam ostcnbamug noatragquc gratulationcg
tuiationibua multonim amicotrum abbamua, liaa praracntf a
^*^. ^ummam niim c tc^tta gloria bignitatcquc lacti-
ttrnn noliiptatcnuiuc capinnia. ^ratulannir l)obia quob
tot ranraaquc facilitate^ arabnuif aa niaritiiiatia, quob tot
atubcntca a'cftolarcaquc in aulia \)f atria \3ibctia\ quob tot
alumnoa smntularr a rrimioaiiiic luunrratia'. ^ratula
nmr nobia quob arrium libr raliuni bi^cipiinarumquc bo
nanini, quob iittcrarum Ininianioruni, quob a'r icntiar pin
loaophiar rlicologi.ic, quob patriac raritatia. quob parie ct
?r CjStig ct fuisti0\ '^^^^^^^^
ut gtct fortuna bomu#, ut amplis^imig ^o-
nan bus alumbctia, ut magnum ct rcipublirac ct rcligioina
ct hia pracacrtim tcmporilnirf fibci publicar pracaibium
gitig, ncbc iuj: birtutig ct gioriac bc^trac riuccrc bcsinat,
nog onnir a mpinnia ct aunnno atubio prcramur.
CF Clni\j: oront:
1896
JPnitoera'itatis <roHr0ium l?nitf rsit? of (Coronto
npub Coroiuonfncs Corporate .^
252
EUROPEAN
[UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN]
.-La.
;y -y
tdd-. IL&'t't-fld tT^tt-H t-tZ&t'i
.t-ftt-i tz.'mzft wad -a-it
/
out
i/frtm we-voi &,-a.ut&ie. Ctti/i
<?
tied-i-H
y y _/ /'
e- -t^i fa<&l-i.e<m afi.t^fitt ued'i'l'i
/ S
fufr
v^df-t-td
/
: ftt&edd&i
, / j /. /># /
anuct. -nod -t.fiiw.ct4.ti /%24^^*z-.
/ ff
ifi-fT-via edi
S
eimc-a -ex.
/
-tet ctiudei
/ y
-fi&i
f c/a-ui'l-t.; d-e-ez t^t^-t^a^
XXX* (L^' MDCCCXCVI.
255
[UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS]
ANASTAIIOS AIOMHAHS KTPIAKOS
TOT EN A0HNAIS EeNIKOI IIANEniSTHMIOr
xat KaQ-rjY^^
tip
<I>PArKISKQ A. IIATTQN
ITpumvsi
TO!' EN IIPINSTQNH HANEniSTHMIOT
Xaipstv.
T' ixo|itaa[i6a ta ojASTSpa j r pa(j.|j.aTa ot? lyats [jOo
Trpo? 6[ia<; TWV Trap' YJJI.IV xaOTjYTjtwv Tiva (j-sOe^ovta wv jieXXst' a^stv iopttov.
'H{isi?, (3XttOTe, ^oXXa? [isv 6[j.oXoYou|j.v /aptta? tq> TS wavao^q) Qscp tip swrovci
"'EY<JD sijJ-t T( aX^Gs'.a xai to ^w?" xal OUTW Osiav icoS({avtt TT ( V spatsivyjv aXij-
Oc'.av, xai ujxtv SKI ! xaXoxa-f ot6i<x T^ ^poc ^[Adc, xai so l'a[JLEV w? xotvoo OVTO? jraaiv
v ( |J.tv TOO u^sp Tij? ijrtaTYjjfirj? OCYMVOS xoiva? y_pTj xai Ta? sopTa; a^siy xavTsiiOsv
ax; arco axoTr-.a; avaaxoitstaeai 6' T;V r^vuxajXEv xai avuosiv [j.sXXojj.si' 68dv, xai TOI?
zapsXYjXoGdot StSaaxaXotc sic TO [j.sXXov )(p^a6af oo [J.TJV aXXa 8td TS TTJV TWV
xatpwv ^aXeTOTTjTa, oo fap I'^EOTIV Tjjuv TYjXtxau6' opwacv otXYjta xaxa OTTO TWV
(Bappapwv iv KpiJTiQ iftfvo^sva TtavYj^DpiCsiv, xai Sia TO Ta? iopTa? aYsa6at sv
Ta |j.a6rj[i.aTa ^ap' -r^iv StSaaxsTat ^povot?, xai S'.a TO TOO? TOTTOD? w?
aXXrjXtov StsaTavai, auTOt [tiv 00^ otot T' sajjiv TtapaYsvsaOat, EVSTSI-
Xa|xs6a Se ATjfj-TjTptq) MTcoTaiTj), avSpi xoajxtip xai ^tXojtdXtSt xai Tf;? "EXXaSo?
Ttap' ojiiv npo|sv<|) tivat TE irp6? u[J.a? iv Tip xaOTjxovTt Xf^vV xa ' 1 tt(i.^oa[ JASV xai
a YX a P^ vat ' <) t j ^ v 7ra f /> ^{iwv i'f' 01? Tac lopTa; aysTs auvsu^aaOat 81 (is6' o;j.wv
Tip SoTr^pi TWV ywToiv 0etp, tv' waitsp ev T(p ^apsXyjXuGoTi OUTW xai TO Xotrcov (IYJ
TrtSa^tXeuo^svo? TO SffXttov xai aytov af>To5 yw? ujj.iv TS xai Traai
?, waTrsp 6 Osio? IlaoXo? E^TJ, ao'f lav C
'0 Hputavtc A.
256
[UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS]
[ Translation ]
ANASTASIOS DIOMEDES KYRIAKOS
President of
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY AT ATHENS
and Professor of Theology
TO
The distinguished
FRANCIS L. PATTON
President of
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Greeting.
We have received with great pleasure your letter in which you express
the wish that one of our professors be sent to participate in your approach-
ing celebration. We are sincerely grateful to the all-wise God who said,
"I am the truth and the light," and thus showed the precious truth to be
divine, and to you, dear sir, for your kindness to us; and we are aware
that, as the struggle for knowledge is common to us all, we should make
the celebration in common, and then as from an eminence survey the road
that we have travelled and are yet to travel, and use the experience of the
past as a guide to the future. But because of the hardness of the times
(for it is impossible for us, seeing the evils done by the barbarians in Crete,
to attend festivities), and because the celebration takes place in our term-
time, and because of the great remoteness of our countries from one an-
other, we cannot be present in person. We have, however, delegated
Demetrius Botassi, who is a wise and patriotic man and Consul-Gen-
eral of Greece to the United States, to be present with you at the proper
time, and to acknowledge the honor and rejoice with you at your celebra-
tion, as well as to join with you in prayer to God, the giver of lights, that,
as in the past so in the future also, he may not cease to bestow his pure
and holy light liberally both upon you and upon all those who, as the
divine Paul saith, are seeking for wisdom.
Farewell.
President A. Diomedes Kyriakos.
257
[ UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM ]
quod antea fuit (BoUegium < TOeocaedauende
abfiinc ^bnivetditad ^tincetonienoit futuia
U A * niaxime diffezant cf&omineA ab ofMtUutU, id ipAum CAM nemo
dubitavezit, quod in ma.gn.am, Aummam czeAcente numezo annozum
quo virezint, cflloA, ad uitimam neceAAitatem pedetemptim appzopin-
quanteA, paullatim AeneAcendo mazceAceze cogit loatuza, 96a.ec veto
zobozc augentuz, et eo longiuA Aempez al> intetitu futuzo abeMe videntuz, quo longiuA
tempoze pzoceAMzunt, ofamvezo quum nemo ob iliam cauAam zecuaet, quin feAtoA
aqat dieA, quikuA amicum aliquem aut neceAAazium duum, ceztum Apatium.
tempoziA pezmenAum, natalicia cetebzantetn videat, quid magiA apte, magiA na-
tuzae zei convenicntez fiezi poteAt, quam ut omneA gaudeamuA et gzatulemuz ubi
ofnAtitutum aliquod bonum, utiie, Aalutaze, quale adkuc fu.it VftJfeum (collegium,
iam eo pezveniAAe ceztiozeA facti AumuA, ut confirmation Apatio centum et quinqua-
qinta annozum bene pezacto, non Aoium vivat vigeatque, Aed ad ampuoza adApi-
zanA, ^thnivezAitatiA pztvdegiiA inAignitum, noviA vizibuA in pzoximum Aaeculum
ingzedi poAAit. cftaque %nivezAitati T^IS^CETOd^IE^SJ quae nunc zite facta
inauquzabituz, gzatulamuz ( tbnivezAitaA QQtnAtelodamenAiA, neque minuA Ain-
cezaA gzatulationeA AuaA a ^obiA fiabezi cupit, quod legation ad 'VoA mitteze
nequivezit, qui voce et vuitu teAtazetuz, felicitatem ^eAtzam ^ovaeque IknivezAi-
tatiA Aalutem ei cozdi eAAe, 915am loca zemota maximeque diiuncta, quae im-
pedimenta fuezunt quin legatuA noAtez ad VOA venizet, kattdquaquam nocent
vinculo coniunctwniA, quod communw Atudwzum libezaltum conAhtuit intez omneA,
COA quoque qui numquam Ae videzint aut VIAUZI Aint; amoz eozum qui bonaA
azteA colunt non IOCIA viciniA Ae continet, Aed mazia Aupezat et pzaecipdia tzanAilit.
SfSac pezAuaAwne fzeti f UmivezAitatem noAtzatn commendamuA in amicitiam
'VeAtzam, et ApezamuA foze ut in multa Aaecula maneat, flozeat, pzopagationi
Acientiazum diu Aempezque, ut adkuc fecit (Collegium ^eocaeAazienAe, inAezviat
IbnivezAitaA ^zincetonienAiA,
(D > O\D, CJOUfirif ffbectoz cff&agnificuA,
^U, Mo6epku6 Mitta, <$enatuA
). (S^mAtelodami
<%nno MDCCCXCVI SffienAe Octokzi
258
[UNIVERSITY OF BASLE]
cJoectov. et <&enatii6 Ibnivetaitatid
(boit
eq
(Sum nobid ante aliquot mended littezae vedtzae c/tatiddiddimae allatae edAent, quibud
noA iubetatid unum de nodtzid deligeze, qui dolemnibud daecuiazibud die annivezAazio
centedimo quinquagedimo academiae vedtzae cetebzandid intezeAAet, nemo neque turn
neque exinde inventuA eAt, qui tnunuA hoc honozificentiAMtnum AUAcipezet. c lk>num-
quemque enitn detezzeze videntuz et itinez'iA inAueta Longitudo et neceAAitaA pzaelectionutn
acadenucazum poAt tziutn menAium vacationem dliA ipAiA diebud inAtauzandazum,
'tyobiA igituz, quae eAt veAtta bentvolentia, excu.Aa.toA noA eAAe volumuA. (Sum vezo iam
viva nuntii voce quid AentiamuA, Aignificaze non poAAumuA, liceat pez littezaA quidem
vobiA gzatulazi, quod poAtquam pez tziginta luAtza facem <$cientiae populazihiiA Atzenue
pzaetuliAhA, nunc in eo eAt, ut in ampliAAimam univezAitatiA Apeciem atque fozmam
exczeAcatiA, QuikuA 2)ivinae pzovidentiae doniA vobidcum laetazi eo magiA noAtzum
eAt, quod ad earn civitatium libezazum Aocietatem peztinetid, quacum nobiA foedez'iA
Acdicet dSelvctici AOCUA (M quidem pazva licet componeze maanU) miza quaedam
inAtitutozum publicozum similitude amicitiaque longaeva intezced.it. &t vezo cum ah
antiquid noAtziA Acientiae littezazumque dedibud longiuA pzoApicimuA, in died magiA
admizabundi obdezvamud, quatn lacte in tola vcdtza tezza tamquam in Aolo novali
bonazum aztium Atudia eflozuezint, quam pzofuAa Ait cJT&aecenatum veAtzozum
munificenha, quam Labozwdam atque pzaeAtanhum fezaccm fzuctuum de pzaeAtitezit
Iwminum doctozum veAtzozum induAtzia, Quo in dluAtzi optimozum quozumque
ceztamine inclutam HdlbCniWlll I^COCflC^aricn^Clll pzincipem quendam locum teneze
pezAuaAum kabemud. ofdemque ApezamuA atque cupimud, ut etiam venientibud dae-
culiA vobid contingat zezum vezitatem acute explozaze, diAcentium commoda humanitez
adiuvaze, decud atque gloziam addeze patziae.
tDatum d&adileae die XY mendid $ulii anni MDCCCXCYI.
(Daioliia yon det &T&ukiL f
Szozectoz.
259
[ UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN ]
COLLEGIO NEOCAESARIENSI
DISCIPLINAE SEVERAE AUCTORI
RELIGIONIS PURAE DEFENSORI
ARTIUM LIBERALIUM CULTORI
QUOD PER CENTUM QUINQUAGINTA ANNOS
IUVENILEM IUVENILIS MUNDI AETATEM
ET CORPORIS ET ANIMI LABORIBUS
AD SUMMA IN RE PUBLICA MUNERA EDUCAVIT
SEMISAECULARIA TERTIA
ANN! MDCCCXCVI DIE XXII OCTOBRIS
FAUSTA FELICIA PRECANTUR
AVITAEQUE COLLEGII NEOCAESARIENSIS LAUDI
NOVA IN UN1VERSITATE PRINCETONIENSI INCREMENTA EXOPTANT
RELIGIONIS STIRPIS STUDIORUM
SOCIETATE CONIUNCTAE
UNIVERSITATIS FRIDERICAE GUILELMAE BEROLINENSIS
RECTOR ET SENATUS
260
[UNIVERSITY OF BERNE]
LITTERARUM UNIVERSITATIS PRINCETONIENSIS PRAESIDL
CURATORIBUS, PROFESSORIBUS I1LUSTRISSIMIS ATP DOCTISSIMIS
LITTEEAEUM UNIVEESITATIS BEENENSIS
RECTOR ET SENATUS S.
NSTITUTI Vestri collegialis olim, nunc acaclemici fundationis diem sesquicentesimum ipso
hoe anno pie oelebraturi quod nostram quoque Litterarum Universitatem Isetitiarum
Vestraruin participem esse iussistis, summo nos affecit gaudio et mira quadam animorum
satisfactione. Docuit enitn nos invitatio Vestra corde sincerissimo atque amicissimo
effluens idem Vos sine dubio sentire, quod nos, non solum singulas uniuscuiusque Litterarum
Universitatis disciplinas, ne preeclara ilia Scientific unitas misere depereat, artioribus, quam nunc fit,
inter se vinculis esse coniungendas, verum etiam ipsas Litterarum Sedes, quotquot in vasto terrarum
orbe Scientiam Isetissime effloreseentem alunt, colunt, evehunt, sibimet propius esse admovendas. Arti-
flcia nimirum atque teehnas, quee dieuntur, inventaque ad vitam quotidianam pertinentia summa cum
invidia propter inliberale commodum ab exteris nationibus aut prohiberi omnino aut severis legibus
restringi solere, satis constat, Scientiam vero ipsam, unam atque individuam, publica luce perfusam
nee non internationali quodam flore exuberantem, qusecumque ubique recte reperiuntur atque rite
emendantur, cuncta undique studiose collata almis brachiis amplecti, facile intellegitur. Quod cum
probe nos cognovisse confldamus, benivolentia Vestra baud dici potest quanta Isetitia nos affecerit, quia
a Vobis quoque novos Litterarum fontes ad nos redundaturos esse certo speramus, siquidem, ut Tul-
lium nostrum auctorem sequar, omnes trahimur et dueimur ad cognitionis et scienti cupiditatem,
in qua exeellere pulchrum putamus, labi autem, errare, nescire, decipi et malum et turpe ducimus."
Accedit, quod diei festi celebratio a Vobis ineunda grato Vos simul animo eorum, qui antea in
Musarum sacellis commorati sunt, meminisse demonstrat. Quas virtus Vestra, ab hodierna rerum setate
propter speculativam privataruni utilitatum abundantiam frigidius, quam par est, habita, ob id potissi-
mum summopere laudanda esse videtur, quia nulla potest inveniri Scientise pars, quee non, priorum
eogitatorum acumine nixa, viam quasi ad altiora tendendi a superioribus patefactam posteris esse sibi
persuadere debeat. Multifariam certe ab anterioribus erratum esse baud negaverimus, sed ipse error,
veritatis privignus, homines non sine ratione ratione praeditos semper ad castam Veritatis aram reduxit
novis observationibus iisque illustrioribus ditatos. Neque vero nimia maioruni admiratione imbuti molli
animorum segnitia delitescere nos patiemur, sed communi omnes alacritate evecti socias ad studia
liberalia acerrime promovenda mauus nobis porrigenms. Turn demum clarissimum illud Veritatis
templum exsedificabitur, undique unicum atque perfectum, ab omni labe humana purum, lucis divinas
plenum. Q. B. F. F. F. Q. F.
Datum BEBN.E a. d. XII Kal. Jul. a. CIOIOCCCLXXXXVI.
HEEMANNUS HAGEN, PHIL. DE.
LITTERAEUM UNIVEBSITATIS BERNENSIS
H. T. RECTOR
261
[ UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA ]
Rector et Benatus
;praeeiM 0uratoribu0 Doctoribua
Hlm.i /Barer
StuMorum
A
C[ollegii
6
ccepimus Utteras Destras bumaniter scriptas, quibus rogatis ut be
nostris unum aliquem ab Dos mittamus, qui fertis saecularibus,
quos propebiem celebraturi estis, buius "Qniversitatis nomine
intersit.
quibem Dobis benigne ac liberaliter invftantibus satis*
facere nostramque erga Dos observautfam coram becla*
rare majime vellemus. Seb cum locorum longinquitate
ib facere probibeamur, cogitatione complectimur Dos absentes,
sollemniaque a Dobts instituta, quorum res et eventus propter
stubiorum societatem nobiscum communes esse putamus, men*
tibus atque animis prosequimur.
|eocaesariense Collegium non ita sane vetus est, nee plus
quam centum et quinquaginta anni a prime eius ortu
numerantur. Seb quemabmobum foeberatae civitates,
quarum e numero civitas est Destra, incolarum virtute et inbus*
tria libertatisque, cuius semper stubiosae fuerunt, beneficio in
summas opes bre\>i pervenerunt, sic Destra item Hcabemia
boctorum bominum planeque sapientium opera et labore quam
celerrime omni bisciplinarum genere floruit, ut iam vetustissi*
marum JEuropae "dniversitatum bignitatem aemuletur.
uare nos cum cetera cupimus Dobis prospere evenire, turn
in primis optamus, ut THniversitas princetoniensis, quo
nomine Collegium IHeocaesariense novum saeculum in*
gressurum est, gloriae patrimonium a maioribus relictum magis
magisque augeat, lucemque boctrinae et sapientiae suae terra*
rum orbi tribuere pergat, boc ejistimantes omnia quae ab bu*
mani generis commoba, quae ab laubem atque bonestatem per*
tineant, bisciplinarum et artium progressione ac propagatione
praecipue contineri.
S>. ^Bononia Ikalenbis Sejtilibus /IDDCCCI'CDU.
Jfranci0cu0 IRoncati,
o. f. IRector "Clniversitatis.
262
[UNIVERSITY OF BONN]
ECTOR et senatus universitatis Fridericiae Guilelmiae Rhenanae docto-
rum concilium in foederatis civitatibus Americanis antiquissimum, quod
collegii Neocaesariensis nomine CL annos feliciter exegit iamque uni-
versitatis nomine Princetoniensis novum aetatis et honorum cursum au-
spicatur, plurimum salvere iubemus atque avere.
Vellemus quidem diebus sollemnibus, quos ob has fortunae nominum-
que vices inituri estis, per legatos ipsi interesse et vota pro incolumitate gloriaque Vestra
nuncupare coram, sed quoniam maria interiecta et longinqua itinera vetuerunt, hac tamen
epistula nostram Vobis adsensionem et quam in pectore fovemus gratulationem et com-
precationem declarari voluimus, nam cognatione nos Vobiscum teneri iunctos quasi quos-
dam consanguineos sentimus, non modo quod disciplinarum ac doctrinae libertas semper
Vobis cordi fuit, non secus ac rei publicae isti in qua universitas Vestra innata est libertas
fidei et religionum actuumque civilium, sed etiam quod originem traxisse collegium Vestrum
meminimus ab ilia studiorum et contentionum gravitate dignitate virtute, quae post refor-
mationis tempus Batavos et Britannos nobilitavit ; eaque ratione Vestram historiam repli-
camus ad memoriam operum laborumque quibus Europeae gentes quondam ac maiores
nostri insudarunt. et quae ab initio fuit litterariis collegiis in nova tellure constitutis atque
in vetere coniunctio et societas earn proximo tempore variae commeantium et conversan-
tium necessitudines auxerunt amplificarunt. quam ob rem in votis quibus festissimos ludos
Vestros sesquisaeculares prosequimur, hoc summum est, .ut permaneat haec coniunctio
communitasque in annos omnes magis magisque profutura utrisque. etenim in finibus
Americae natura rerum hominumque vita quae animum attentum et curiosum prompta
cogitatione et acri percutiant plura fert quam in nostris regionibus, et locupletes cives
multo largius ac liberalius studia litterarum adiuvare eisque quae opus sunt subministrare
solent. quod si ex alacri potentium ingeniorum concertatione bonarum artium inventio
conceptio explanatio vigebit sub utroque Phoebo, exemploque nostratibus dato a Vestrati-
bus tam hie quam illic ornatissimae erunt et paratissimae sedes musarum, turn impetrasse
nos laeti lubentes profitebimur quae optavimus optataque consignavimus sollemne Vestrum
condecoraturi ominibus optimis.
Bene rem gerite et valete
Dabitnus Bonnae a. d. V. Kal. Octobres MDCCCLXXXXVI.
Rector et Senatus Universitatis
Fridericiae Guilelmiae Rhenanae.
MAURITIUS RITTER,
h. a. Rector.
HOFFMANN,
Seer. Univ.
263
[UNIVERSITY OF BRUSSELS]
e$tt43;ee:>, f e 1 5 Qlvtit , 1 896.
be
cJicctotat.
-me c&atae be uoud eccp-ti'me't tou-te
atat-i^ube poui: -C'lvo-Hviei^'t oue -6ui a |ait -Ce (Eo
be ^i-kiceton e-n ivi/uit'ant uti- be i>c^ i44evn-6'te^ &
ueti>ai^e be ^a |o^ibatiovt.
G'e^t fcie-H a -te^r^-t cju'iC i>e -uoit, a ca-u^c be
-fa "te-ptisc bed co-uto ai>a/nt ^a bate bti 22 ck>6fce, bana
-f'ivHpoddi&i-Cite be oe ^ai^e ^ep^e^entet^ a ce^ |etej>; cat i^
ecvtii^ic, aue -tie-H- -H-'e^t p-ftid titile ai^ ptoa-te^ paci^iaue
be ^'^-u-vnanite aixt-e cce> a/ta^bes -tewnioi^iv b'-fioi^i^ed
be -tou^v -fed powtev bw- a^o^>e et ^t'awa^i-t
-Gut : <e bea)e-foppei4te-n.t ince^a-nt be ^a Science.
e^ aateet, 9TCe^^ieu-td, -feocpte^o-H
be pto|o-Hbe ccmcnbetatio-H bu co-tp^
et -fed wtiei4i>.
fit 9Tteddiet<^d -fed 2/tedibe-M-t, Stitate-w-^d, et ^tc^codeutd bu
be 2/fcincefcm
264
[UNIVERSITY OF BUDAPEST]
IRector et Senatus
IReoiae Sdentiarum TIlniv>er0Uati0 Ibunoaricae Bufcapestinensie
IRectori /Iftagnifico et Ifncl^to Senatui
Hcafcemtco Tflnivereitatis princetoniensis.
J> ,1
'UMMA nos laetitia affecerunt litterae Vestrae, quibus
certiores nos fecistis, illustrem Universitatem Vestram die
20- Octobris h. a. sollemnia fundationis celebraturam esse.
Quae sollemnia cum ex animi sententia Vobis gratula-
mur, turn vero in posterum omnia fausta atque laeta opta-
mus Universitati Vestrae ominamurque.
Quod praegravibus rerum conditionibus, non per legates
publice missos gratulationem nostram facere nobis conces-
sum est, vehementer dolemus.
Valete, nobisque favete.
Dabimus Budapestini in Hungaria die 4- mensis Octobris
anno Domini millesimo octingentisimo nonagesimo sexto.
Rector et Senatus Universitatis.
Stephanus Bognar
Archi Dioecesis Strigoniensis Presbyter, S?? S^! Pont. max.
Camerarius, Philosophiae et Theologiae Doctor; Studii
biblici novi-foederis Professor p. o. S. Sedis consid. Assessor
Societ. litter, philos. S"! Thomae de Aquino Praeses item
compl. erud. Soe Collega, etc. facultatis Theologicae eme-
ritus Decanus et Praeses ; Scient. Universitatis Rector
Magnificus.
265
[ UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE ]
HINC LUCEM ET POCULA SACRA.
Collegii Jleocae0arten0t0
;prae0tot Curatoribu0 ;profe00ortlm0
Cantabrtgten0t0,
, wtv boottdiwi-, Goegi/u.m
ct auitvauagi-vi'ta a&fiinc avi^oa fe&ct-tet ^un-bati-4-w
ce cc.fe6tatw-t.M-wt, ct tot a/H.vu>ta.m. uicifew-^ apectatu-wt
etta/m ^lini-uet^ttatid vt-ovH-en au<>plci-i-^ opti-vn-iA edae a
tccotbati- Goffe<ji.t^i4i- -uc^t^a-vH i-M-^v^M-e eo tevn^oz-e
, cjtt-o teaio tota, c^wae cizcu'kM. iacetat, ahfvuo i-m-petii
tvvci- i-n-tct cofoi^iaa |ozeii^io:M/ma3 tM^-^neta^att^t-. 3vvuat -M-U-M^C
bocfa.i-M.ae aebevM- -oe^ttavM-, at^ai^H-ati-avM- aeaw-ote CWa-Mtico a
bevtlavte ^tu-bi-otvi-vM. -H-cce^sitiibin^e ct4-vH ^ni/oetovtate vt-o^t-ta
watt i>ei>ttae ^itei^tet o^3eci4.ti e
i^ ca-u^aa fegatu^m^ ab -uo i^itti-vnt^,
aw-i, nla vitte-tli ab -uo pteiati*, Ho^ttt-i-i'H ovwvwwvw, -n-ovwi-vi-e, ^-ovt -ntobo
ptaetet-i-tos anvu>i> ptoape-t. petactoi> oWegio Deofao gtatvt^etii
i-tt poatet-u-vM- ^14-i.De.taitatt. -uedttae pet ^aecvtla p-Cuti-14-ta [vtt
ovn-m-a {ta-uota eacoptet.
ii bte cyuatto
MDCCCXCVl.
266
[UNIVERSITY OF CHRISTIANIA]
bte a. b. XI (Eaf. 9tot>. &. a.
s. a
tvi-bvcatt<> |ote u vncu
u VM- a4Ht*w 1 at4ob pe^ centu^^i- c^ c^t*i-n<^uaginta an-
it* -oedtta tU>i/tate |fo^t^vt, wunc uvt/i-
i-tatia -HOVHC-H. blawitate / m^vw,e ^vavt-ci^catti-t toe to a-n-l-mo
i a) GUvietvcano ot^e, pattia
t-ta pet -ua^ta atc^t^e ii44-M4-eni>a VM-OMHO et -uiar-u-vw i
o\\v\\<i$ acabe-vniac, cj-w-ae -6i
et i-
u/t uea-t-r-a p^oApe-r-a \v\,c'c<iw\,<iv\k<a / Sono*cM^-e AWCCC^M^ -HO^ omo-
-w-tetito co*tacau44*W44^ pt a ceo anivn^t ^en^tewtla -uota
-ue^trae novae -u^t-i^voc'TMtati- fceviebicat
bie II
id MDCCCLXXXXVI.
0. g. Sc^iote, S. 0Manb. 9TC. 9ng*tab.
267
[ UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN ]
tke ibnivetoity of Jotinceton.
< U>niversity of Copenhagen kegs leave to thank tke
tbniversity modt heartily for tke honor conferred
upon it by tke. kigkly complimentary invitation received from
tke (Committee of tke (Sresquicentennial (Celebration, oJt
would have been a ^eat datidfaction to the Lbnivetdity of
Gopenkagen to have keen able to take pavt in tke celeotation
by tending a representative; but the time appointed for the fes-
tival rendering this unfortunately impossible, we must content
ourselves with sending our best greetings and congratulations ,
expressing at tke same time tke sincere wish that our sister
tvniversity of Princeton may flourish and thrive in future,
as it has done hitherto, a benefit and a glory to its country
as well as to Science and (Scholarship in general,
(Dopenkagen,
Ct/P p
o\O. y.
ectot of the
268
[ UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN ]
firis
iM Cnratnrilms
Cnlbgii
II LI il -
-HCK> cmoaue -'taniv ocea-M/w-w- bi^ociaft-UWn i/H pa/t
tc/w- Doca^Uis acvw-bii, auo cevttcoi4i4ui4t at^i-naua-
c^l/tae cele-6'tal/U'ti
eovbu -mi)H:aiHotii>
pi/tio -ue^ttx> -m occaoio-He tai44 -faeta
-HOM-
uc-t-u-n^ /n
co-w/fa ^
auae i-ntc-t
JLntritattont w
-HO-M.
, ibeo-
>, boc/to<>,
u
a-nae
16 91taii, 1896.
Salmon
269
[ UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH ]
To
The PRESIDENT and PROFESSORS of the
UNIVERSITY of PRINCETON.
of Edinburgh,
3l6t SulB 1896.
car and tionoured Colleagues,
3t is witb no ordinars feelings of price and ssmpatbs
tbat we offer sou our bearts congratulations on tbe auspicious occa=
sion of sour 1 50tb academic JBirtbdas, and on sour bigbls meriteb
promotion from tbe ranfe of a College to tbat of a TUnfversits.
"Me bave ever fondls regarded tbe College of flew Jersey as a near Scottisb
Cousin, nas, almost as a cbild of our own. 1ber btstors ano traditions, ebucational,
pbilosopbical, and religious, bave ever been closely allied to ours ; and from ber
foundation bs members of tbe presbsters of Hew lt>orft down to tbe present das
mans of ber leading men bave been eitber of Scottisb extraction or alumni of
Scottisb THui versifies suffice it to mention tbe illustrious names of president
TKHitberspoon in tbe last centurs, and president flD'Cosb in tbe present. HI*
tbougb as a TUniversits we are enttrels undenominational, we cannot refrain
from expressing our warm admiration of sour College as a cbampion of civil
and religious liberts, a sacred cause for wbicb mans of our common ancestors
laid down tbeir lives.
TOle most gladls recognise tbe fact tbat sour College bas for mans sears past
performed all tbe functions of a Ulnfversits witb signal success. We rejoice to
bear of tbe furtber expansion of sour Scbool of pbilosopbs, of tbe admirable
equipment of sour Scbool of Science, and of tbe bandsome endowments wbicb
american liberality and public spirit bave placed at sour disposal. Me tberefore
beartils welcome sou now as a SisteMUntversits tbe "dniversits of Princeton-
born, flMnerva*ltfce, so fulls and spiendidls accoutred as to entitle ber at once to
rank among tbe foremost of ber elder sisters.
flDas (Bod abundantls bless and prosper sou in sour beneficent career, and
mas t)e bind tbe Scottisb cousins of tbe Id World and tbe IRew ever more closels
in tbe bonds of esteem and affection !
Jn name and bs autborits of tbe Senatus Hcademicus of tbe tlniversits of
JEdinburgb.
W. MUIR, Principal.
J. KIRKPATRICK, Secretary.
270
[UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW]
[Ttlegram]
Glasgow, Oct. 12, 1896.
President Patton,
University, Princeton, N. J.
Glasgow University heartily congratulates
Princeton University. Deeply regret that work
here prevents any member of Senate attending
celebration.
Principal CAIRO.
271
[UNIVERSITY OF GOTTINGEN]
UNIVERSITATI PRINCETONIENSI
OLIM COLLEGIO NEOCAESARIENSI
NOBILI ORNAMENTO MAGNI AMERICANORUM POPULI
CONIUNCTI NOSTRAE ACADEMIAE PER AMICITIAM
A PATRIBUS TRAD1TAM TRADENDAM POSTERIS
QJJEM FLORENTEM ET IN DIES CRESCENTEM VARIA BONARUM ARTIUM LAUDE
LUBENTES SUSPICIMUS ET CONSALUTAMUS
LATE LUCENTIS LITTERARUM FACIS IN PARVULO OPPIDO GESTATRICI
QUEMADMODUM NOS QUOQUE RURALEM FERE SECESSUM LAUDAMUS
ET OT1UM LITTERIS APTIUS
SODALI NOSTRAE ATQUE AEQUALI IN STUDI1S COLENDIS
CONSILIORUM VITAE ET CONDICIONIS ADFIN1TATE ETIAM IN DIVERSA ORBIS REGIONE
POSITI GAUDENTES
TERTIA-SEMISAECULARIA-FELICITER AGENDA
EX ANIMO CONGRATULAMUR
NOVA SAECULA BONAE FRUGIS PLENA AUGURAMUR
UNIVERSITATI ; FAUSTA OMNIA UT COLLEGIO EVENERUNT
AUCTIORA COMPRECAMUR
UNIVERSITATIS-GEORGIAE-AUGUSTAE
PRORECTOR ET SEN ATUS
DABAMUS GOTTINGAE DIE IV MENSIS MART1I AD MDCCCXCVI
L. BAR.
272
[UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD]
VNIVERSITATIS
LITTERARVM GRYPHISWALDENSIS
EECTOR ET SENATVS
COLLEGII NEOCAESARIENSIS
PRAESIDI CVRATORIBVS PROFESSORIBVS
SALVTEM PLVRIMAM DICVNT
quo maiore iam floruit tempore viri illustrissimi et doctissimi
academia nostra eo magis gaudemus sororibus eius iunioribus
non solum in Germania natis verum etiam in ceteris terris
bonae enim litterae firmissimum sunt vinculum quo inter se
coniunguntur omnes nationes pie igitur atque ex intimo animo
vobis gratulamur et gratias habemus quam maximas quod
comiter voluistis ut unus e collegio nostro festissimos eos dies
vobiscum celebraret quibus collegium Neocaesariense uno iam
saeculo peracto in novam universitatem Princetoniensem sit
rite transiturum nimium dolemus locorum spatium qui inter-
iecti sunt inter vestras nostrasque regiones quia hoc solum
nos impedit quominus suavi illi invitationi obsequium demus
valete nobisque favete.
PAULUS GRAWITZ,
h. t. Rector Academiae.
273
[UNIVERSITY OF HALLE]
QVOD BONVM FELIX FAVSTVMQVE SIT
INCLVTAE VNIVERSITATI LITTERARVM
PRINCETONIENSI
QVAE CVM ANNO SVPEEIORIS SAECVLI QVADRAGESIMO SEXTO
HOMINVM EGREGIORVM SAPIENTISSIMO CONSILIO CONDITA ESSET
VT ARTIVM LIBERALIVM STVDIVM OMNIBVS MODIS FOVERET AC PROPAGARET
HVIC NOBILI8SIMO ET CVM SALVTE TOTIVS REIPVBLICAE ARCTISSBIE CONEXO OPPICIO SVO
NVNQVAM DEFVIT
ADIVTA CVM MVLTORVM VIRORVM LIBERALITATE QVI VARIIS DONIS ET IN8TITVTIS
EAM IN8TRVXERVNT ET EXORNAVERVNT
TVM VERO LIBERTATE DOCENDI DISCENDIQVE QVI VT AB IP8IS CONDITORIBVS El
CONCESSA ERAT ITA VSQVE AD HODIERNVM DIEM SEMPER INCOLVMIS MANSIT
QVARE PER TRIGINTA QVAE ELAPSA SVNT LVSTEA CVM INDEFESSA PRAECEPTORVM ACADEMICORVM CVRA
ET STVDIO TVM DEI OPTIMI MAXIMI GRATIA ET BENIGNITATE
NOBILISSIMO COLLEGn NEOCAESARIENSIS NOMINE LAETISSIME FLORVIT
NVNC VERO VNIVERSITATIS LITTERARVM NOMEN ET DIGNITATEM NACTA
IN EODEM QVEM HVCVSQVE TENVIT HONORIFICENTISSIMO CVR8V PERGERE PERSEVERAT
CVM EXIMIA ET IWENTVTIS ACADEMICAE ET TOTIVS REIPVBLICAE VTILITATE
.
SACRA NATALICIA SESQYISAECYLARIA
DIE XXII MENSIS OCTOBRIS ANNI MDCCCXCVI
RITE PERAGENDA
EX ANIMI SENTENTIA GRATVLANTVR
FIDEM VOLVNTATEMQVE SVAM TESTANTVR
PRO SALVTE ET INCOLVMITATE EIVS PIA VOTA NVNCVPANT
FAVSTA FELICIA FORTVNATA OMNIA PRECANTVR
VNIVERSITATIS FRIDERICIANAE HALENSIS
CVM VITEBERGENSI CONSOCIATAE
RECTOR ET SENATVS
EBERTH
h. t. Sector
274
[UNIVERSITY OF HEIDELBERG]
Der
UNIVERSITAT PRINCETON
bringt
zur Feier ihres
Einhundert und Fiinfzigjahrigen Bestehens
frohen und herzlichen Gliickwunsch dar
die
Ruperto-Carola Altheidelbergs.
Was der hohe Sinn und die Aufopferung der Vater begriindet haben, das haben die
jiingeren Geschlechter sorgsani bewabrt und treulich ausgebaut. So ist die Universitat Princeton
eine Hiiterin der Wissenschaft und ein Hort der Kultur jenseits des Oceans geworden. Moge
sie noch lange bliihen und sich kraftig weiterentwickeln, fur die Jugend eine Quelle edler
Bildung, fiir den Staat eine Zierde, fiir die Menschheit ein Segen. Mit diesem Wunsche griisst
die alteste Universitat Deutschlands die Universitat Princeton, mit ihr verbunden, obwohl durch
den Ocean von ihr getrennt, durch die gleiche Liebe zur Wissenschaft und die gleiche Arbeit
an den hochsten Giitern des Geistes.
Prorektor und Senat
der Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg.
Dr H. B. BASSERMANN
h. t.prorector
275
[UNIVERSITY OF JENA]
:/
icl C&tt&ta.'O. <z4 @**2<z^!rf tze.*
/ /
PRINCETON UNIVER-
SITY -U4 Csete<t ded Cx<<, ** <* die -v-o-t
p f
/> / s j 0s -s/ . j--/ s s /
tfie -de* a.6et<ifeii. {Svt^a-uti&dfmi.'fi-fii'ie et^i^a.^ tc-ndete
y
te.cit'n tmctt die Grwimew. det-n m'tia.*, ttwfe-l eze'
f
t&ie ywi4d&ndcAtt& -iSi-te (^f-te'te f&nze'i-t . <^te < 2fc-/fe <ie'l(ue-l. <nri-ci
ii-d-flfi-fif ttte -a.-fetcM-yi *<z v.ewt'M.ei-e'n ti-
/'U'ntte.
-deim J2?e-jM.Si-te.
nett-me'ti wt'i <te<n
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY tt*ia? &</**=
/ /. / , .. / / /
-cfeidd -ed tv^u tfniw.aji.'iicSi. -tuei'l, fie<id<i'W>ctcSi cie'l
/ f
.<&euSi.<t<!. ,
o-Cy.e.-t G^e^ftt^fii^u^i-a. ttce.wM. -ccte. PRINCE-
f f ' f f
TON UNIVERSITY deu-fe M-tuc^/t'c^e+i ./ *e ^et-a.ei^-a.e^
/ / S S
/> / / J / JP /I J> / / / -X /
ne^'i tfttfi ftttf tite (Q'tjtii'Cq.e. izwicn t&ie d-ce dtcsi fi-n fite
v #0
S. S*
. ,f / SJ /} . d ' # /
'Z.tt'CZ-'fr&'fcC'ri Wt't-'^ Ct'Wt JSfelfot'rl'^e Z&'t
/ tf .. / J @M? /# / . />
M, <&e<t '&'&42,'l't<t'&l'C&&<3 f l <y($'02lf''M-'M.'M,-Z, -Cl-etdd 'trl't
# // f'
'X X S/ XX 'X /f ^ /
< e'tfiet^feti fr&e-t-ue * C?^^*
-ae^i Sf. <&e4l-6e*n-6e4 -ffj6. <z. (f.
276
[UNIVERSITY OF KIEL]
RECTOR ET CONSISTORIVM
VNIVERSITATIS KILIENSIS
PRAESIDI CVRATORIBVS PROFESSORIBVS
VNIVERSITATIS PRINCETONIENSIS
S
QVAS ANTE HOS SEX MENSES AD NOS DEDISTIS LITTERAS HONESTISSIMAS
ACCEPIMVS GRATO ET PROPENSO PERLEGIMVS ANIMO
ETENIM SICVT APVD GRAECOS ANTIQVITVS EVM MOREM OBTINVISSE CONSTAT
VT IN AMICORVM ET AFFINIVM POPVLORVM FESTIS SOLLEMNIBVS RITE CELEBRANDIS
PER THEOROS OFFICIOSE DELECTOS SE REPRAESENTARI CVRARENT ITA VOS HVMA-
NISSIME NOS INVITASTIS AD VNVM EX COLLEGIS NOSTRIS DELEGANDVM QVI SACRIS
SESQVISAECVLARIBVS AB ACADEMIA VESTRA FELICITER INSTAVRANDIS NOMINE
NOSTRAE VNIVERSITATIS INTERESSET
VERVMTAMEN CVM FIERI NEQVEAT VT AD HANC HOSPITALEM INVITATIONEM
PROMITTAMVS QVAE PER LEGATVM TRADERE NON LICET LITTERIS MANDANDA
ESSE CONSTITVIMVS BONA VOTA PRO ACADEMIAE VESTRAE PROSPERITATE SALVTE
DIVTVRNITATE
CVM DECREVERITIS QVOD IAM PER TRIGINTA LVSTRORVM SPATIVM FLORVIT
HVCVSQVE COLLEGIVM NEOCAESARIENSE AD VNIVERSITATIS PRINCETONIENSIS DIG-
NITATEM PROMOVERE FESTI QVI INSTANT DIES GRATIAE PIAEQVE RECORDATIONI
PRAETERITORVM PARITER AC FVTVRORVM TEMPORVM LAETAE BONAEQVE SPEI
SACRI ERVNT
ITAQVE ACADEMIAE VESTRAE VT DE LONGA CVRSVS STRENVE ET EFFICACITER
ABSOLVTI CONTINVITATE GRATVLAMVR ITA SIMVL SPERAMVS IPSAM ETIAM IN
POSTERVM AC PER MVLTOS FELICESQVE ANNOS BONARVM ARTIVM LITTERARVM
SCIENTIARVMQVE HVMANIORVM FVTVRAM ESSE SANCTAM SEDEM ET DOMICILIVM
INCOLVME
QVOD VT FELICITER EVENIAT FAVSTISSIMA QVAEQVE OPTAMVS PRECAMVRQVE
VNIVERSITATIS PRINCETONIENSIS RECENS NATAE ET DISCENTIBVS ET DOCENTIBVS
VT IN QVOVIS ET DOCTRINAE ET HVMANITATIS GENERE HI EXEMPLO PRAEEVNTES
AEMVLANTES ILLI MEMORES VTRIQVE VIRTVTIS MAIORVM ET ANTECESSORVM NVN-
QVAM DESINATIS SERERE VT AIT STATIVS ARBORES QVAE ALTERI SAECVLO PROSIENT
VALETE
DABAMVS KILIAE
IDIBVS SEPTEMBRIBVS
A. D. MDCCCLXXXXVI \^ DR. L. POCHHAMMER
STELLVERTRETENDER RECTOR DER UNIVERSITAT KIEL
277
[UNIVERSITY OF KONIGSBERG]
QVOD BONVM FELIX FAVSTVM FORTVNATVMQVE SIT
INCLVTAE
VUIVERSITATI PRfflCETONENSI
PAVSTISSMIS AVSPICHS
ANTE HOS CENTVM QVINQVAGINTA ANNOS
CONDITAE
DOCTORVM ILLVSTRISSIMORVM SPLENDIDIS NOMINIBVS AEQVE
AC DISCIPVLORVM PRAESTANTISSIMORVM STVDIIS AS8IDVIS
INSIONTTAE
OMNIGENAE HVMANITATIS ALTRICI MODERATRICI PROPAGATRICI
VNIVERSAE AMEEICAE DECORI ATQVE ORNAMENTO
SACRA - SOLLEMNIA
DIEBVS XX XXI XXII MENSIS OCTOBRI8 ANNI MDCCCLXXXXVI
PIE CELEBBANTI
EX ANIMI SENTENTIA GRATVLAMVR
EIDEMQVE
FORTVNAM PROPITIAM
SALVTEM PERPETVAM
GLORIAM SEMPITERNAM
OPTAMVS
VOTVERSITATIS ALBERTINAE REGIMONTANAE
RECTOR ET SENATVS
ET PROFESSORES OMNIVM ORDINVM
( SEAL j
REGIMONTII PRVSSORVM
EX OFFIOINA HARTVNGIANA.
278
[UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG]
PRAESIDI CURATORIBUS PROFESSORIBUS
COLLEGII NEOCAESARIENSIS
VIEIS ILLUSTRISSIMIS AC DOCTISSIMIS
S. P. D.
UNIVERSITATIS LIPSIENSIS RECTOR ET SENATUS
Q
UONIAM LITTEEI8 PEEHUMANITEE AD UNIVEESITATEM NOSTEAM DATI8 GRATUM
VOBIS FOBE SIGNIFICAVISTIS SI COLLEGII NEOCAESAEIENSIS ANTE HOS CENTUM ET
QUINQUAGINTA ANNOS CONDITI IAM NOVIS AUSPICIIS IN UNIVEESITATIS PEINCETONIEN8IS
FOEMAM ET DIGNITATEM AMPLIFICANDI SOLLEMNITATI UNUM EX NOBIS QUI NOSTEO
NOMINE INTEEESSET DELIGEREMUS MISIMUS COLLEGAM NOSTEAM
FRIDERICUM CAROLUM BRUGMANN
LINGUARUM INDOGEEMANICAEUM PEOFESSOREM PUBLICUM ORDINARIUM
EUMQUE IUSSIMUS VOTOEUM NO8TEOEUM PIENTISSIMOEUM EXISTEEE INTEEPEETEM
NAM INTEEEST MAGNOPERE BONAEUM OMNIUM UT SCIENTIAE LITTEEAEUMQUE
STUDIA PEE OEBEM TEEEARUM QUAM MAXIME FLOEEANT ATQUE VIGEANT
DK. EBNST WINDISCH
h. t. Eector
DATUM LIPSIAE DIE I MENSIS OCTOBRIS ANNO MDCCCLXXXXVI
279
[UNIVERSITY OF LEYDEN]
Collegto Jeocae0arten0t
euntoemtati* JLugouno Batatae
JJermagno nog affecistis lionore / qnob nos intiitastis / nt be nostro Senatu nno plnribnsoe
legatis missis bobiscum cclebraremns ferios / qnas in enm biem paratis / qni ollegii bcslri
nntalis erit centcsimns qninqnagesimnB / ibemqne primus a quo illnb ampliore atqnc Ijonoratiore
^rtncetontensts;
nomine oocabitnr. ((Una facultate a oobis oblata inbenlissime nteremnr / nisi graes nos
retincrent tansae / be qnibns antea BOS fecimns certiores. (Jrgo/ib qnob ntinam praesenti-
bns fatere liceret / Ijisce ab t)os botis literis significare oolnmus ex animi sententia cobiscum
nos laetari.
JJermagna enim est Ncoracsariensis ollegii apub boctos illjeologos praesertim / gloria.
Ht ex ingenti eornm numero / qni illustri illi iHnsantm scbi becori fnernnt ct ornamento / pan-
tos nominemns: biget et l)ic et alibi terrarum lans lonatljanis (Ebroarbsii qnem QEalttinnm
Untericannm inre bicnnt; cnins / licet per breoe taninm tempus <Eollegio Neocaesariensi prae-
fnerit / Ijanb bnbie a bobis pie tolitnr memoria ; mnlta quoqne et l)onorate ct Ijonorifice be
^obgiis/patre filioqne/bcqne singnlari acnmine Jacobiitt'ffiosliii pljilosopljipraebicare solemns.
3ta primntn propter magna eins in bisciplinas merita dolleginm bestrnm etbiligimns et
abmiramnr.
Seb acccbnnt aliae amoris caritatisque cansae l)anb leoiores.
(fllni enim bcstri (Eollegii ieterunt fnnbamenta / biri egregii fortesqnc, in mentem nobis
patres nostros reoocant / qni in mebia flamma belli abuersns praepotentes trnbelesqne snscepti
bominos ^Icabemiam Cngbuno-Bataoam tamqnum Cibertatis arccm conbibernnt. CHuornm
bn* atqne auspcje uilielmns ille QUanfiacns / iEacitnrni nomine clarus / cum totins patriae turn
Kniuersitatis nostrae pater et bicitnr ct tjabetnr. nius imago Senaculum nostrum intran-
tium ocnlos prima ab se conoertit: Ijnnc enim abesse atqne pracesse nostris uolnmns bclibera-
tionibns. ^. quo prognatns ille uilielmns / qui simnl t) n tnm terrarnm pracses ct Ueje fait
Brittanniae. dini in quanto apnb bos sit Ijonorc ^.nlae Nassotricae bcclaratis nomine /qnam
tamquam acbcm Cibertatis e*stnwstis/inqna eaee?tcolcrenturbefenbcrenturqnc birtntcs/quac/
illo patrono / Brittanniae laetam plenamque pracstantissimorum bonorttm attulernnt libcrtatem.
NOB ergo bobis / si non sanguine at mente animoque cognatos putamns / ct pro bobis /
tarn qua in commnnis cninsbam patriae i imbue / oota facimns / spcvamusqnc fore nt Uniucrsitas
bcstra / e* praeclaro illo nata (JTollegio NeocaeBariensi/crescat floreatque /atqne esse pergat/
ib qnob collegium illnb fnit semper :
berae libertatis propugnacnlum / sanctae rcligionis praesibinm / In* bisciplinarnm.
Cngb. jBat. ab tD.bjII. m. ct f . JttJU(!LrXb3.
01. . breebe,
iltttot|Blajnifttu5.
280
[ UNIVERSITY OF LILLE ]
ACADEMIE DE LILLE
CONSEIL DE L' UNIVERSITY
LILLE, LE 23 JUILLET, 1896.
MONSIEUR LE PRESIDENT:
L'Universite de Lille a etc tres-touchee de 1'invitation que
vous lui avez adressee en vue des fetes par lesquelles vous allez
celebrer le Sesquicentenaire de 1'Universite de Princeton. Elle
cut etc heureuse d'y envoyer un representant et n'en est em-
pechee que par la distance si grande qui separe les deux villes.
Du moins le Conseil de notre Universite a-t-il exprime le desir
que je transmette a 1'Universite de Princeton ses voeux les plus
sinceres de prosperite. J'ai 1'honneur d'etre aupres de vous
I'interpre'te de ses sentiments,
et je vous prie d'agreer,
Monsieur le President,
1'assurance de ma cordiale confraternite,
Le President du Conseil de 1'Universite,
BAYET.
Monsieur le President de 1'Universite de Princeton.
281
[UNIVERSITY OF LONDON]
mncellatiud yice-(OanceUa'ciu6
Lhnivetditatia Joon
<sf, . 3),
vu>tfcV4/m Euai/t, iJv&i- bocttoai/mi, owatvto semper
i \,n eo efafiorcme^ittt u a^y ot^vnit^-Hi- artvw-144 &
-uev -te-M-tH-iore Coco vi-cvtio aw-aoi -ui-a c^acba-m. opti-knc -mi^-M-ita- pciteat.
-uero awb ajoa ftui-ba oatpit o6Ci-uio -novnitia -uvtorufn i>et te
auocvtwnk ope^, boctevnavn^ pto-kn-ot>e^W4^t, fiovtae opel
cu-t-cci/M.-u-'W t-M-ie'TU'-H^. 9tovi- pa-t-uo igit'U-t -H-OA
gaitbio, Cfwob cei^tio-te^ vvupc* ^aoti- AW-VWI^^ (BoWegt-u-n* i>eote^n4t, tot
ceptotuvw be ot4tni ^c/re et awtic^uatwvM' ct tecevi-tiottvHt te^u."m
opti-kwc vM^e^itottwi^, tot bocipw-fotw-VH vedtigio iWott444i ptoopeto
ivt-g^ebi-evi tl-w-vH lama- iv-uvi-at-tat-w-vH, -M-W-VI-O ab ai^-tpviotes ivt- / tepw-6^ica
ea>ectuvn : i-b c^i^ob pe^
tot
j c\iw\ -uiro -HO&I^ ^pectato
vtt
vw-oeat, ct ^t coepta voSid ownia bev-H-cc-pa
bocto-te 3^leaiae Socletatia ^oct-o,
abl-wtu-t>u 14-odtto cmoat^e n-ovM-iti-e OJOA
a, cj-w-a
acci-pieti*,
A. S. MDCCCXCVI.
, y
282
[UNIVERSITY OF MOSCOW]
[ Telegram ]
Moscow, le 12 Octobre, 1896.
t
Universite de Princeton, Princeton, New Jersey.
L' Universite Imperiale de Moscow felicite cordiale-
ment 1' Universite de Princeton sur le centcinquantieme
anniversaire de son existence civilisatrice. Vivat Uni-
versitas, vivant professores et studiosi.
RECTEUR NEKRASSOFF.
283
[UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH]
PRAESIDI CURATORIBUS PROFESSORIBUS
COLLEGII NEOCAESARIENSIS
VIRIS ORNATISSIMIS DOCTISSIMIS HUMANISSIMIS
RECTOR ET SENATUS
UNIVERSITATIS LUDOVICO-MAXIMILIANEAE MONACENSIS
S. P. D.
x litteris Vestris, quibus sacra sollemnia Collegii Neocaesariensis abhinc centum
quinquaginta annos conditi mense Octobri huius anni concelebratum iri
annuntiavistis, magnam cepimus laetitiam. Cognovimus enim Vos plane idem
ac nos sentire, omnes omnium gentium humanrtate excultarum Universitates uno quodam
societatis vinculo contiueri ideoque, quidquid sive laeti sive adversi uni earum acciderit,
id ceteras ad se quoque pertinere arbitrari. Nee fefellit Vos opinio, quam de nostra
adversus Collegium Vestrum concepistis voluntate. Nam et ex animi sententia Vobis
gratulamur, quod schola Vestra triginta lustra felicissime peregit et nune tanta auctoritate
floret, ut opibus aucta mox ampliorem campum vario doctrinarum generi praebitura sit,
et officii ducimus dies festos, quos agetis, piis votis prosequi. Cui sollemnitati quod
magno opere optastis ut unus e numero nostro delegatus intersit, gratias Vobis agimus
maximas, sed vehementer dolemus, quod invitationi Vestrae benignae hospitalique satisfacere
nemini nostrum per anni tempestatem ac muneris academic! rationes concessum erit.
Faxit autem Deus Optimus Maximus, ut quae trans Oceanum nova existet Universitas
Princetoniensis laeta capiat incrementa, studiosae iuventuti saluti, rei publicae ornamento
futura! Valete.
Dabamus Monachii a. d. Kal. XII Maias anni MDCCCXCVI.
284
[UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD]
i e-t Sotolai/e^ ^-m/u: axm.
8. 3.
1*, tHZ't" bocti:i/mi, ^eou-Cates feti-as ^tobi-e oe^e&^avi^iSi^d : nee
no&i* i/ucw-nbivi-ft C3*e potent c^ant- vae-titi-o-e -uesfoae pa-tte-m-
ble-w- -uo6>i;>ci^^H- iw^tai^rate, c^u-o pti-Hi-'M.vn, post a-cmos CL fe^ict-te^
Caetla ai^spicik* ^vi^atot^> Deatei tot a&unc an-M-ia Solfcali
i/a i-H/cu-H-aou-'Ca i-vttet tu-tia avuoen-ita-tc*, cotter
coWocaue ru^t : c^uo itt *ece^>u oppo^tuvi-iiKiivM-a Sltuoia *ebe*, vto-ua
acceione i^bic* abcmcta, abeo i-vi-
vni, i-M- tJYeofoaia, in ocie-ntia pfvi^Mca p^o^ecit u-t p^w^avtam vi-am-ti
ac vn^^icewt AC ptae^tlte^it.
igitt^t acoiti-e-n^e^, c^uiou^v a-n-tlcj-u-iAdivKavn o-tigii-ve-vM. et pe-tpefcu-a-H^ c
iacta-t-c de-wpet cot;oi e*t, qra-t-u-vati-owe* Dofii* awi-mo
wt- watw^itatevn ac i.vn>eM<ve-m -uigo^ewv
-u-t wuttu& now biea opta
^ -uott^H-tati oe^t'tae iioc wtct ouaccw-ti -uica'tv-u-nt
Soultotv, ^ooCoaiae ^cofe^ao*****, Soci-etatv oHegiae abcri-ptw-vn.,
fio^pt-tio acceptus ^aCi^tent -uoti* intpe^tvat pCi^tvu^avK et p^en^iina-VM-.
elCtiic covnU'evn- abbibi-vM-wo o^-MatKydi-mivm ui-ti^nt So^b-uin-w-w S*m^, SoCtegii ^Ifnvu
apub no* o^iwt SocinvM. et elCiitottac Sllobe^nae ^oj ? e
vubica/mus uo^i^ ncmb W\\V\AA,S nottt-vn e^^e atcj-u^e aw^w/m aidant- tto6id ip*i.
i/n- ^onio no^tta (Eonuocationvd bie
A. s. MDCCCXCVI.
w
285
[THE OWENS COLLEGE, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY]
THE OWENS COLLEGE,
MANCHESTER, March 6, 1896.
SIR:
I had the honour, at the meeting of the Council of the Victoria
University held yesterday, to lay before it the kind and gratifying
invitation of the Princeton University Sesquicentennial Celebra-
tion Committee, transmitted at your instance by His Excellency
the Ambassador of the United States.
The Council of the Victoria University requests me to thank
the Committee for the honour which this invitation confers upon
the Victoria University, and to assure the Committee of the in-
terest here taken in the forthcoming jubilee of so celebrated and
distinguished a seat of learning. The Council of the Victoria
University has further requested me to appoint a representative
of this University at the celebration, in accordance with the kind
invitation of your Committee, should it prove the case that any
member of our body the choice of whom would be acceptable to
your Committee should be able to attend. Unfortunately, the
latter part of October is one of the most busy seasons of our
academical year. I will take care to transmit to you before long
the name of a representative, should it be in my power ; and I
beg you in any event to accept my assurance of the interest
which will be here felt in the Sesquicentennial Celebration in
which your Committee has so courteously invited a representa-
tive of this University to take part.
I remain, Sir,
Your faithful servant,
A. W. WARD,
Vice- Chancellor of the Victoria University.
To the Hon. Secretary,
Princeton University Sesquicentennial Celebration Committee.
286
[UNIVERSITY OF PADUA]
UNIVERSITATI PRINCETONIENSI
UNIVERSITAS PATAVINA
s. P. D.
uos dies post exactum centesimum et quinquagesimum annum, ex quo
*^)
Collegium Neocaesariense conditum est, Illustres Doctissimique Viri,
novam UNIVERSITATEM PRINCETONIENSEM inaugurates
et festos habendos et rite concelebrandos Jure optimo instituistis, nos,
Patavinae Universitatis antistites, Vestrarum laudum memoriam recolentes laetis-
simos agemus.
Plurima quidem studiosorum hominum societatibus inter se communia sunt:
aequi verique inquisitio, docendi discendique libertas, voluntatum consiliorumque
consensio, clarorum liberaliumque virorum memoria. Itaque haec Universitas, quae
diutinae aut ab externa dominatione vix interceptae aut demum recuperatae liberta-
tis iura constantissime exsequuta suo munere functa est, maximo opere laetatur in ea
orbis terrarum parte, quae ab Italiae alumno Christophoro Colombo divinitus detecta
hominibusque monstrata est, insignem studiorum Sedem exstitisse, in qua, libertatis
firmo praesidio, vera exquirantur mentesque iuvenum disciplinis optimis erudiantur.
Quodetsi, tanto maris spatio interiecto, eo anni tempore, quo praeteriti studiorum
cursus finis cum novi initio congruit, aliquis ex nobis vicarius delegari non potest, qui
gratulationes nostras votaque praesens Vobis exhibeat, tamen, quum nullis propemo-
dum finibus humani animi sensus circumscripti sint, date nobis, Praestantissimi Viri,
vt festis iis diebus in mentibus Vestris illud insideat, nos et absentes summae laetitiae
Vestrae ex animo interfuturos esse.
Hae vero litterae nostra referant vota certioresque Vos faciant exoptare nos, ut
nova UNIVERSITAS PRINCETONIENSIS apud validissimas gentes, quae ex
Europa in longinquae telluris sinum sua actae virtute iamdiu civilibus artibus omni-
umque rerum investigationi se dediderint, celeberrimarum Universitatum gloriam
adsequatur insignique aemulatione earum rerum cognitionem augeat, quae decori
usuique hominibus sint, quibusque eorum animi artius inter se vinciantur.
Patavii, d. XX Octobris, A. MDCCCXCVI.
EX SENATUS ACADEMICI AUCTORITATE
0KAROLUS F. FERRARIS,
RECTOR MAGNIFICUS.
287
[UNIVERSITY OF PARIS]
A MONSIEUR LE RECTEUR
A MESSIEURS LES CURATEURS ET PROFESSEURS
DE
L'UNIVERSITE DE PRINCETON
MESSIEURS,
'Universite de Princeton a pris place parmi les
grandes universites americaines, qui savent, tout en
demeurant fideles a leurs traditions, satisfaire aux
exigences nouvelles de la science et accomplir
des progres chaque jour. Elle travaille en toute liberte, regie par
elle-meme ; elle doit a la sagesse de son Conseil, au zele et a la
generosite de ses maitres, de ses disciples et de ses amis 1'admi-
rable developpement de ces dernieres annees. Elle est aujourd'hui
une ecole de science universelle.
En un siecle et demi, vous avez fait une oeuvre, qui, par-
tout ailleurs, aurait demande plusieurs siecles. Et votre avenir ne
peut manquer d'etre heureux et brillant. Les Etats-Unis d'Ame-
rique reussissent dans tout ce qu'ils entreprennent. Apres avoir
cre"e un peuple avec des elements divers ; apres avoir concilie, dans
leurs institutions et leurs mceurs la democratic avec la liberte",
1'autonomie des Etats, des Communes, des Corps et des individus
avec 1'unite nationale ; apres avoir acquis, par 1'effort de tant d'ac-
tivites energiques, une eclatante prosperite materielle, ils entrent
en concurrence avec 1'Europe dans le domaine tout entier : theolo-
gie, philosophic, philologie, science, histoire, esthetique. C'est pour
nous un sujet particulier d'admiration de voir la jeune AmeYique
s'appliquer si heureusement a 1'etude des premieres civilisations du
vieux continent. Deja on peut se demander s'il ne viendra pas un
jour ou 1'etudiant europeen traversera 1'Atlantique pour trouver
reunis en abondance les moyens d'etudier la Grece et Rome, qui
furent les institutrices de 1'Europe.
Messieurs, cette activite intellectuelle est une dignite, c'est
aussi une force de plus pour votre pays. Voici que les representants
des corps scientifiques du monde entier sont venus apporter leur
hommage a la science americaine en la personne de votre Universite.
Mais laissez-nous vous dire que nous avons des raisons speciales
de nous rejouir des honneurs qui vous sont rendus. Vous avez bien
voulu rappeler, dans 1'invitation adresse a 1'Universite de Paris,
qu'elle est Valma mater des universites du monde ; et d'autre part
nous nous souvenons que nos peres eurent 1'honneur d'aider les
votres a fonder votre grande Republique. Aucun des souvenirs
de notre long passe ne nous semble plus glorieux et ne nous est
plus cher.
Le Recteur de /' Universite de Paris,
GREARD.
Le Secretaire du Conseil de /' Universite,
PFR. ERNEST LAVISSE.
289
[UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE]
O&ectoi et <g$enatu6
(jaiolo-cFetdinandeae yetmanicae
animid, 'tyizi illudtzed, littezad ^edtzad accepimuA, quibud ad
dollemnia daeculazia Iknivezditatid 32zincetoniendid ^obidcum celebzanda
invitabamuz,
93am quo AaepiuA fit, at vizi docti ex ultimii otbid ferrarum tegioni-
bw) congzediantut dtudwzumque ftuctuA intez 6e communtcent, eo magii
koApeA hoApitem dilic/it, AingulazeA ejuA viztuteA admizatuz et diAczitnina
ea pazvi habenda CAA& in.teU.egit, quibud gented kumanae ducentibua fatiA
Aepazantui,
So majoze autem gaudio nuntiuA 'VeAtez gzatiAAttnuA noA affecit,
quod pzobe AciebamuA eoA, qui (S^cademiam Szincetonietuetn fauAtiA omi-
nibud condidezunt, fuiAAe intez pzitnoA, qui antiquidAimazum littezazum
Aetnina tzanA Oceanum Apazgezent zeconditioziAque doctzinae cultum in viz-
gine, ut ajunt, tezza pzopagazent.
Quam ob zem. libentez, Ai fiezi potuiAAet, tniAiAAemu,A aliquem ex ozdine
Aenatozum collegii noAtzi, qui a, d, XI, S&al, 9Sm>. zevocata ozic/inum cele-
bezzimae (S^cademiae ^eAizae memozia dedidezatidAimozum UAUA atnicozutn
h-OApttw YokiAcum laetazetuz,
($ed quoniam nemo inventuA eAt in <$enatu c U)nivezAitatiA noAtzae,
qui diutuzno et inopinato itinezi faciendo vacazet, hid littezid 'tyobid pzo
officiid 'VeAtziA ultzo oblatid gzatiaA agimuA, ac noA, cum illuxezit died dol-
lemnid, non minud quam di adeddemud, Vedtzi memozcd foze polliccmuz.
'Valetc, vizi UluAtzeA, et eadem via, quam deceddozed ^edtzi ante kod
centum et quinquaginta annod bontd avibud ingzeAAi Aunt, felicitez foztunate-
que pezgite,
3)abamud ^zaae <9d. ul, MDCCCLXXXXVl.
uppezt,
k. t. C Ubniv. Qeim, ffbectot.
290
[QUEEN'S COLLEGE, BELFAST]
The President and Council of Queen's College, Belfast, have received
with feelings of deep interest and sincere pleasure the communication
addressed to them by the President, Trustees and Professors of the Col-
lege of New jersey informing them of the intended Sesquicentennial
commemoration of the foundation of the College and of the ceremonies by
which the inauguration of Princeton University is to be celebrated.
They regret much that it has been found impossible to delegate one of
their number to represent this College on so important and memorable an
occasion, the commencement of their own winter session at the same date
calling for the presence of all the members of their academic body in Bel-
fast. But, though they shall thus reluctantly be unrepresented, they none
the less heartily join in the congratulations and good wishes with which
the time-honoured College and the new University will be greeted.
Queen's College, Belfast, is specially and intimately connected with
Princeton by the fact that the late President of the College of New Jersey,
whose name and distinguished services to it can never be forgotten, the
venerable Reverend James McCosh, D. D., LL. D., may be said to have
been a gift from Belfast, where he commenced his professional career and
where his memory will long be cherished, and by this circumstance also
that one of the present professors at Princeton, who occupies there a posi-
tion of honour and usefulness, the Reverend George Macloskie, M. A., D. Sc.,
is an alumnus of this College, where he first exhibited that remarkable
aptitude for the study of Natural History which he has since pursued
with so much honour to himself and such advantage to the cause of
science.
Princeton University may be assured that the sincerest interest is taken
in its welfare by this College, where the confident hope is cherished that
the proceedings at the Sesquicentennial celebrations may be happy and
successful, and that the honourable history and traditions of the College
of New Jersey may be continued and perpetuated in the new institution
now to be inaugurated.
J. HAMILTON, President.
Queen's College, I. PUXSER, Registrar.
Belfast, June, 1896.
201
[ UNIVERSITY OF ROME ]
292
[UNIVERSITY OF ROSTOCK]
Das Concilium der Universitat Rostock hat mit lebhafter Theil-
nahme die freundliche Einladung zu der vom 20. bis 22. October
dieses Jahres stattfindenden Feier der 1 50'. Wiederkehrdes Stiftungs-
tages der Universitat zu Princeton empfangen. In vollkommener
Wiirdigung der hohen Verdienste derselben um die Beforderung und
Entwickelung der Wissenschaften hatte es gerne durch ein Mitglied
seines Kreises personlich die Beziehungen zum Ausdruck gebracht,
die naturgemass zwischen zwei denselben hohen Zielen dienenden
Anstalten bestehen. Indess, die weite Entfernung Hess die Entsend-
ung eines Deputirten unthunlich erscheinen und so beehrt sich das
Concilium der Universitat Rostock der Princeton-University auf
diesem Wege zu dem bedeutungsvollen Tage seine aufrichtigsten
Gluckwiinsche darzubringen. Moge der wissenschaftliche Geist, der
die Angehorigen der Princeton-University beseelt, nie aufhoren sich
zum Ruhme der Union und des engeren Heimathstaates, so wirk-
ungsvoll wie bisher zu bethatigen. Von Herzen wiinscht das Con-
cilium der Universitat Rostock, dafs die heute so glanzvoll dastehende
Princeton- University, getragen von dem opferfreudigen Sinne hoch-
herziger amerikanischer Patrioten.in den nachsten Jahrzehnten sich zu
immer schonerer Bliithe entfalten und dass die eifrige Wirksamkeit
ihrer gelehrten Docenten nach wie vor der freien Wissenschaft zum
Wohle und Heile gereichen moge.
Rostock, den 30. September 1896.
Der Rector der Landesuniversitat
DR. WILHELM STIEDA.
293
[THE ROYAL PRUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES]
COLLEGIO NEOCAESARIENSI
ARTIUM LIBERALIUM IN ORBE NOVO ANTIQUAE SEDI
RELIGIONIS SINCERAE INCONCUSSO FUNDAMENTO
UBI NATURAE HUMANITATISQVE STUDIA PARI ARDORE
CULTA FLORUERUNT OLIM ET NUNC FLORENT
ACTOS FELICITER CL ANNOS GRATULANS
LUDOSQVE SAECULARES M. OCT. MDCCCXCVI INSTANTES
OPTIMIS OMINIBUS PROSEQVENS
UT NOMINE AC MOMINE AUCTA
UNIVERSITAS PRINCETONIENSIS
AVITAE LAUDIS MEMOR IN DIES MAGIS
INTER UTRIUSQVE MUNDI SORORES EMINEAT
AMICIS VOTIS EXPETIT
ACADEMIA REGIA BORUSSICA
SCIENTIARUM
DATUM BEROLINI NON. IULIIS MDCCCXCVI
294
[ THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON ]
to c&tt -to 'mi/nb t&e -mcww
-ue-ti^. ea^li^. ti/w-co, it ^tct^ -fvab -vuitfr -t^ve
-vufvo o^ -tft-e ot^vct ^ibc ol (W (9tt^ai4tic lvalue oc-uoteb
to -t^ie abuaM^oei44ei4^ o| Sta/bu/tal
Society
w
\\%\ \
tlve
an
a-nb ^p^eab ol
OCtutoersttp of Princeton
anb t^e ^/te^ibei'it anb
-to -t&a-t
a
-to
014
occason
ol tlve
-tlvei-t
ol i
-H,
cwb
-tt^we to
15tfi- fllu-auot, 1896.
e, -to
as
ol
ci/tee-t-
tfie Sioi^al Society.
295
[UNIVERSITY OF SAINT ANDREWS]
o^, c cwceito/r i/w a-,
S*o-
bic au^picato i
fl/tincctonianae ccc ai4t4tvi<>
-mte-t praecfa / toi> i-i/foo ui-to^ etui ofo
cii-m faube fitcabct^i-pae a>cot^ae p-tae
e-t in-oo-t'tate^. 9tec w\\/i\\,\\
-u^ioaue ibe-n^ foftct'tatid c\*,v\\ in
-tu-Hi- -m eco^e^ia ^t-ubiu'H4, ibci44- i
S. S. \9rl-^O'M3C('ict eccco^enba lafeot i
acim/m
^vacc ivt
et
, . .,
< ^Picc-
IV. 3Cal. Oct.
296
[UNIVERSITY OF SAINT PETERSBURG]
UMVERSITATIS CAESAREAE PETROPOLITAME
SENATUS
COLLEGII HUCUSQUE NEOCAESARIENSIS
MOX
UNIVERSITATIS PRINCETONIENSIS
PEAESIDI CURATORIBUS PROFESSORIBUS
S. P. D.
Quod illustrissimi Studii vestri, viri clarissimi et doctissimi,
origines pie recolentes simulque pulcherrimi illius, quod per omnes
terras vagatur, litterarum scieutiaruinque commercii baud immemo-
res nos quoque votis pro novella Universitate rite suscipiendis prae-
sentes esse voluistis, grato vobis laetoque animo referimus acceptura.
Quo magis dolendum arbitramur, quod in diversissima regione habi-
tantes totoque paene orbe a vobis divisa neminem hoc anni tempore
invenimus, qui huius gratitudinis nostrae comis fidusque existere
posset interpres, ut ad has mutas decurrendum sit litteras, ne in com-
muni gratulatione nostrae erga vos voluntatis testificatio desideretur.
Cupimus igitur simulque confidimus ad tanta doctrinae et laudis
incrementa reservari quam hodie inauguraturi estis
UNIVERSITATEM PRINCETONIENSEM
ut scimus quiddicamus gloriosissima ista Republica quovis pacto
digna fiat ; confidimus autem, quia is semper fuit civibus vestris
animus, ut strenue audendum, ea prudentia, ut sollerter elaborandum,
ea denique constantia, ut non ante successum coeptis desistendum
existimarent.
Dabimus Petropoli die 25 Septembris anni MDCCCXCVI.
Universitatis Caesareae Petropolitanae Rector P. NIKITIN.
Ordinis historicorum et philologorutn Decanus I. POMJALOVSKIJ.
Ordinis physicorum et mathematicorum Decanus A. SOVETOV.
Pro Decano ordinis iureconsultoriun BASILIUS LEBEDEV.
Ordinis linguas orientales professorum Decanus VICTOR LIBER BARO A ROSEN.
297
[UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA]
Sector
<g$cademiac ifalmanJinae, OPta&idi @utabu-
tw caeJetiique ejuidem fltdinib ffodaliliM (golleyii ^/eocaebauenM, iPtincei/oniae : &alu,4em in
Sfnv yuamjifuumam dicun4.
t&Meiae, qua* ex ToliiA, gtmhlMt'mi Titi, die !>cilice4 /Weiwe> accefiimm, accutad
concinne defticiae, nodi* heiaiaJae etmiium in mcdumjucundae acddtw, eo quod, cum
quinquaaebimo ($eccaeMiienAtb (jolleaii, $a4ali fao vttiia haud dulia etya nob lenevvlentia jaciani
celJioteb/ ium tiiam quod, de eJuAdem (jolleyii in "''UniveiMJatem ffiimcedonieittem" ccmmu4a=
iione, ei inauyvnaivont jaudum evenium nofab lenundiend Suae (juidem tmncia nobibmeJijiM
e/ JPide ei dudiib communi^M volib ccniuncdiMimib maximam laeiviLam, aflulete adque delecda-
(U,mu,laiiM,maA iaidui Tofa, Tiu fieullu!>4ie!>, ei de liMelib lenemeiiti, iefiendimw> yiaito JM
in nodlam "^imam @Jla4lem ofoetvanfiam : e4 ianio baecmali ffiedo ofth
quaeque a &eo (/. @M. exoianJeb, vcliil de djfmtwb "'MnvvewUafa ffllinwioniewttt" im>4i4u4vone t4
inaucfuiatione kernel t,4 vitium ex inieino tewnt, yia^ulamui.
($onnullo!> teveta ex ncdto ^Icademico cidine Itya4c!> ad vo!> fieMenJel mifleiemuA, qui ei
ovtaio uieiewiuA fiobfiiJic eiuma vofateumficfaumafiuetendul laeMia; velumenimveto, !>i, in 4an4a
teutm iniquiJaJe in qua ^AJianiae nunc Jemfioiib vetbanJM,, fiaec noldiM debideua, Mcu4 ftMe/ in vofa
jieii ac jieijici nequeanJ, Ma nihilomimu> ToA, Iil,aei>4an4i^imi vili, ccmi4al>imui mende, ffieumque
/itecaliimut u4 veidtae jFetiae tolemne;* l>ene e4 jtliciiel, evenian4 14 fatduA in fiodelum ex scienfia*
turn aylo quern novi* vitilwA nunc colele coefiidib, lm4 jlolenteb, M,n4 udeiumi, wn4 fiea4i.
&a4um ffalmanfacae: giiud %iiv ettifadem : onit @Maii <^nni SJni MDCCCXCVI.
(Hn SJccJolum oMayidiclumquc nomine
/^\
fo $A/iei,al>e
298
[UNIVERSITY OF STRASSBURG]
KAISER- WILHELMS-UNIVERSITAT,
STRASSBURG, den 3. August 1896.
Im Namen des akademischen Senates unserer Hochschule
spreche ich Ihrer Universitat zur Feier ihres isqjahrigen
Bestehens unsere herzlichsten Gliickwunsche aus. Ich ver-
binde damit unseren besten Dank fur die freundliche Ein-
ladung, die Sie an uns ergehen liessen, und den Ausdruck
unseres Bedauerns, von der Entsendung eines Vertreters zu
Ihrem Jubilaum Abstand nehmen zu miissen. Da die Zeit
Ihres Festes gerade mit dem Beginn des Wintersemesters
zusammenfallt, ist es leider keinem Mitgliede des Lehr-
korpers unserer Universitat moglich, eine Reise auf so
weite Entfernung zu unternehmen.
Der Rektor der Universitat,
LENEL.
299
[UNIVERSITY OF TOBINGEN]
Der
Akademische Senat
der
Koniglich Wiirttembergischen Universitat
an
V-tzt
/
tfr&
J-e'rt.i'
/ / /
/
-y <O z-zz'
'fci't
/
300
[UNIVERSITY OF UPSALA]
PRAESIDI CURATOfflBUS PEOFESSORIBUS
COLLEGE NEOCAESAKIENSIS
S. P. B.
RECTOR ET SENATUS
UNIYERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS
Per litteras humanitatis plenas nuper certiores nos fecistis, Viri illus-
trissimi et doctissimi, in eo esse, ut festi a Vobis dies celebrentur, quibus
memoriam Collegii Neocaesariensis abhinc CL annos eonditi pie recolatis
iidemque Universitatem Princetoniensem rite inauguretis. Quod ut
magno cum gaudio nostro cognovimus, ita non potuit non gratissimum
esse, quod unum aliquem ex nostro numero legatum mitti voluistis, qui
Vestro usus hospitio Vobiscum festo illo tempore laetaretur. Cui invita-
tioni tarn liberali atque tarn honorificae quoruinus obsequamur cum regi-
onum longinquitate officiorumque nostrorum ratione prohibeamur, nobis
liceat hoc uno quo possumus modo Vobis Vestraeque Universitati et
peracti temporis prosperitatem congratulari et in posterum laetissima et
optima quaeque precari. Vivat, vigeat, incrementa capiat Universitas
Princetoniensis ! Docentium laude, f requentia discentium semper floreat !
Praeclara ilia artium optimarum studia foveat, augeat, exornet !
Valete nobisque favete !
Dabamus Upsaliae mense Septembri a. MDCCCLXXXXVI
Senatus academici nomine
TH. M. FEIES,
Rector.
301
[UNIVERSITY OF UTRECHT]
praesibi Curatorfbus professoribus
dniversitatis princetoniensis
<sf.2),
Rector flDagntficus et Senatus
THntx>ersitatis Illtraiccttnac
>aeti uestra laetitia, THiri Hmplissimf, libenter accepimus
instare biem, quo uestri CxaU(BinJ, quob fuit olim,
irRUlDJEtRSIKIHOTS, quae moj futura est, spatio sesqui*
saeculari elapso, biem anniuersarium sollemniore
solito sitis celebraturi ritu.
tmnc faustissimum euentum uobis impense gratulamur, nee non
sinceris prosequimur uotis pro uestrae XPiniuersitatis in annis et
saeculis, quae beinceps sunt insecutura, felicitate. (SUDU MUBflD
/IDOiRiriDils IRjeDH)!^, HX3Ue uobis uestrisque stubiis faueat pros*
peramque fortunam inbulgeat.
Collegam nostrum Hmbrosium Hrnolbum (Builielmum Tbubrecbt
It). C. quern bonoris causa sollemnitatibus, quas obituri estis, cele*
branbis abbibuistis rogauimus ut uestri gaubii testis ocularis
coram apub vos barum litterarum gratulationem et bona uota sua
confirmet oratione.
\Dalete
2)atum 'rbltzaiecti mendid ^fuli
die XXyi <%>. 2). MDCCCLXXXXV1 IRcctot Aaflnificus
Ob. Ub. Doutsma
Senatus Bctuarfud
5. be Xouter.
302
FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
[UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE]
THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE,
1 2th May, 1896.
SIR:
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the
document dated ist January, 1896, in which is conveyed
an invitation to the University of Melbourne to attend
at the celebration of the I5oth Anniversary of the foun-
dation of the University of New Jersey, U. S. A.
In reply, I am directed to inform you that the Council
of this University, at its meeting held yesterday, passed
the following resolution :
" That the University of New Jersey be thanked for
" the honour it has done the University of Melbourne in
" asking it to appoint a delegate to attend at the celebra-
" tion of such an important and interesting event ; and
"the University of New Jersey be informed that the
" University of Melbourne will gladly avail itself of the
"invitation, if it be possible to make arrangements for
" so doing."
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
E. F. A BECKETT,
Registrar.
To the Secretary of the
Princeton Sesquicentennial Celebration.
305
[SYRIAN PROTESTANT COLLEGE]
SYRIAN PROTESTANT COLLEGE,
BEIRUT, SYEIA.
b, 1896,
Q acuity of ike (sfytian Jjiotedtant (Dollege
ul-Ooulliyat ud-^futii/at ul-S^ngellyat) acknowledge with,
tkankd tke couttedy of tke J^tedident, )tu<)teed and cfaculty
of tke (oollecje of luew ^jeidey in extending to tketn an in-
vitation, lately received tkiougk tke Uonited (Stated Jo elation
at wondtantinople, to he tepiedented at tke csfedquicentennial
(Delegation to oe field in JL>unceton in Uctooet next, eft
giveA tkem muck pleaduie to he ahle to accept tke invitation/
witfi tke appointment of cJoev, ^Daniel cJolidA, Jj, ^D,, J^tedi-
dent of tke (Dollege, ad tnei^ teptedentative.
Sn hekalf of tke cFaculty of tke (sfyiian Jototedtant
(Dollege t
Slcbett
306
*
[ Translation. |
President FRANCIS L. PATTON,
United States of America,
Princeton University,
FTnifpH St-atcs nf Amprira
4?
DEAR SIR:
I have the honor to tender you my hearty thanks for your courtesy
in extending to me the invitation to the celebration of the one hundred
and fiftieth anniversary of the College of New Jersey and inauguration
of the said College as Princeton University, to be held for three days,
from October 20 to 22 of the present year.
The prosperity or decline of a country depends, to a very large ex-
tent, upon the state of education in that country. Though there may
be many causes which have brought about the present prosperity of the
United States in agriculture, industry and commerce, it is mainly due,
I would say, to the development and progress of science and arts re-
sulting from the excellent system of education in your country, and
I believe the success of your College in educating so many men since
its foundation must have contributed to the national welfare in no
small degree,
You are now about to expand your scheme of instruction at the time
when you celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
College. It is a matter of great congratulation for your country as
well as science and arts themselves, for it will help further enlighten-
ment of your country in a greater degree.
I only regret that circumstances do not allow me to send out any
representative from this University and to let him attend personally
the most auspicious celebration. I write this, however, in order to
present you the congratulations with my sincere hope for the prosperity
and success of the Princeton University.
I have the honor to be,
Dear Sir,
Yours very respectfully,
ARATA HAMAO,
President, Imperial University.
TOKIO, September 30, 1896.
-a-
Facsimile ot the Congratulatory Letter
of the University of Tokio.
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CONGRATULATORY ADDRESSES,
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
RECEIVED FROM
ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
[ ALLIANCE OF REFORMED CHURCHES HOLDING THE PRESBYTERIAN SYSTEM ]
PHILADELPHIA, PA., October 19, 1896.
To THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, GREETING :
The American Section of the "Alliance of the Reformed Churches through-
out the World holding the Presbyterian System," through its officers, tenders
to you cordial congratulations upon the Sesquicentennial of the justly cele-
brated institution of learning whose interests are in your charge. Presby-
terians have cherished a deep affection for the "College of New Jersey"
through the one hundred and fifty years which have elapsed since it was first
established an interest natural in view of the history of the Institution. The
majority of its founders were Presbyterians ; its first classes assembled in the
home of a Presbyterian pastor, who was the first president ; and the support
of the Presbyterian General Synod resulted in the erection of Nassau Hall, the
first of the collegiate buildings. From the initial years onward, the interest of
Presbyterians in the Institution has been made increasingly manifest by gener-
ous gifts ; and none have rejoiced more than they in the ever-enlarging body
of students ; in the notable men who have occupied in the College positions of
trust and learning; and especially in the eminent persons filling from time to
time the Presidency of the Institution.
It is, further, a cause of rejoicing that the liberal spirit and scholarly temper
of the Presbyterian Churches made the College from the beginning an institu-
tion free to all worthy persons, and gave it an impetus to sound thinking and
high scholarship which has been steadily maintained by its officers and faculty
through all the years of its life. Established in the interests of true religion
as well as of learning, it has been a source also of great spiritual profit to
the Presbyterian and other Christian Churches, through the numerous ministers
whom it has educated, and who have loyally served in their day and genera-
tion our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Gladly, therefore, do we tender to you our thanks for the services rendered
by the College to the Churches of Christ during a century and a half; greatly
do we rejoice in the prosperity which God has bestowed upon it ; earnestly do
we hope, now that it has become a university, for an ever-increasing influence
on its part in the maintenance both of true religion and sound learning ; and
cordially do we invoke upon all its interests grace, mercy and peace from God
the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
In behalf of the Alliance,
WM. CAVEN, Chairman,
WM. HENRY ROBERTS, Secretary,
GEO. JUNKIN, Treasurer.
309
[ LORD KELVIN, PROFESSOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW ]
[Telegram]
GLASGOW, Oct. 21, 1896.
PRESIDENT, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY,
New Jersey.
I heartily congratulate the College and University of
Princeton on the celebration of the 150 years of its be-
neficent life upon which we look back, and on the new
developments now organized for continuance of good
work with ever increasing energy in the future. I regret
exceedingly that my University engagements in Glas-
gow make it impossible for me to be present at Prince-
ton on this occasion, and I ask the University and its
friends now assembled to accept this telegraphic expres-
sion of my cordial sympathy and good wishes.
KELVIN.
310
[OHIO SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARS]
SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARS,
IN THE STATE OF OHIO.
CINCINNATI, O., Oct. 20, 1896.
The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of
Ohio extends to the College of New Jersey its hearty
congratulations on the completion of a century and a
half of corporate existence.
The history of Princeton, linking us with the early
struggles of the Colonial Epoch, the grand formative
period of our nation, forms a brilliant chapter in the
annals of the Republic. May her career in the future
exemplify, as in the past, the highest type of American
scholarship !
Signed on behalf of the Society,
SAMUEL J. HUNT, Attest:
Governor. A. H. PUGH,
Dep. Secretary.
311
[PRESIDENT DWIGHT OF YALE UNIVERSITY]
MUNICH, GERMANY,
September 30, 1896.
My dear President Fatten :
I write you a few lines this evening to express to you what I
have already expressed to Professor West as your representative my
regrets at my necessary absence from the exercises of your celebration
at Princeton on occasion of your Sesquicentennial Anniversary. The
Corporation of our University extended my vacation so far as to cover not
only the usual summer recess, but also the autumn term; and as my family
were desirous of coming abroad, and it was desirable for them to do so at
this time, it was a matter of importance for me to be with them.
Professor Fisher will, at the request of our Corporation, act as official
representative and delegate from Yale ; and other professors, as Professors
Lounsbury, Ladd and Gibbs, will also be present and bear witness of the
kindly sentiments of Yale towards Princeton.
Your anniversary will be a memorable one in the history of your insti-
tution ; and as it passes from the old historic College of New Jersey into
the Princeton University of the future, the institution will take to itself new
honor and new success. The relation of our institution to yours in the
early days was a peculiarly interesting one. The later days have witnessed
friendly sentiment and generous devotion to the same good cause. May
the future find the two united in the true University brotherhood with
the truest loyalty to learning and truth, and with the loftiest purpose for
education and religion.
I beg you will present my kindest and most respectful regards to the
members of your Board of Trustees and your Faculty, and my thanks for
the friendly invitation extended to me to be present at the anniversary.
Were it not that the ocean separates me from my home at this time, I
should surely have answered your kind summons by my presence and by a
word from Yale a word which will be spoken with the true Yale sym-
pathy and friendship by our professors, and better and more felicitously,
no doubt, than I could have spoken it.
With much regard, I am very truly yours,
TIMOTHY DWIGHT.
312
[PROFESSOR WILHELM OSTWALD, UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG]
[Telegram]
LEIPZIG, Oct. 21, 1896.
UNIVERSITY,
Princeton, N. J.
Vivat crescat floreat Universitas Princetoniensis in
aeternum.
OSTWALD,
Professor of Chemistry.
313
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
NASSOVICA. 1760.
PRELIMINARY NOTE.
I am indebted to the History of the College by President Maclean ; to
the Princeton Book published by Houghton, Mifflin & Company ; to the
several Histories of the Presbyterian Church by Webster, Hodge, Gillett, and
Briggs ; to those who have written sketches of Professors, and to Professor
Charles W. Shields and Professor Henry C. Cameron, who have carefully
studied the beginnings of the University. In writing a brief historical sketch
of a college, one is compelled to make the Presidents, not absolutely, but rela-
tively too prominent. It seems impossible, with so little space at one's dis-
posal, not to do injustice, through lack of adequate mention, to Professors who
not only have shared with the Presidents the burdens of administration, but
as teachers have done the distinctive work of an institution of learning, and
have largely given to it its reputation. The elder John Maclean; the brothers
James and Addison Alexander ; Albert B. Dod, the mathematician and man
of letters; Joseph Henry, the physicist; Stephen Alexander, the astron-
omer; Arnold Guyot, the geologist and geographer; Lyman H. Atwater, the
great teacher and wise counsellor; and Alexander Johnston, the political
historian, and others, deserve commemoration in a volume like this as really
as do Jonathan Dickinson and James McCosh. J. De Witt.
I. THE BEGINNINGS OF UNIVERSITY LIFE IN AMERICA.
HE earliest colleges planted in America not only
adopted the curriculum of the European univer-
sities and manifested their spirit in new con-
ditions, but are descended from them. Almost
the youngest of the colleges of Cambridge is Emmanuel,
founded in 1584. From the beginning of its life it was
the home of Puritanism. Indeed, from the beginning of
the Puritan movement this was true of the university.
Before Emmanuel 1 College existed, as Mr. Froude has said,
" Cambridge, which had been the nursery of the reforms,
retained their spirit. When Cambridge offended the govern-
ment of Elizabeth, it was by over-sympathy with Cartwright
and the Puritans." This sympathy with Puritanism on
the part of the university at the close of the sixteenth
1 " Emmanuel owed its origin to the same movement of thought which pro-
duced your Commonwealth, and the ideas which found expression on the
coast of Massachusetts Bay were fostered in Sir Walter Mildmay's new Col-
lege at Cambridge. Emmanuel College was founded to be a stronghold of
the Puritan party in the days when they were waging a stubborn and deter-
mined war for the possession of the English Church." Prof. Mandell
Creighton, " Record of Harvard University's 25oth Anniversary," p. 277.
318 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
century was most intense in Emmanuel College. From
Emmanuel came the most of the founders of Harvard. In
this way, just when Emmanuel College had passed the first
half century of its existence, Cambridge University became
the mother of the oldest of the American universities. Thus,
both because of intellectual and religious sympathy, and
by the mode of a visible historical descent, the spirit of the
institution which had long existed on the banks of the Cam
in England, was embodied in the new institution of learning
established on the bank of the Charles in New England.
So strong was the sense of their indebtedness to the univer-
sity in the mother country, and so intense was the feeling
of historical relationship, that the founders of Harvard
changed the name of the village in which the new college
was given a home from Newtown to Cambridge. The
college soon justified the hopes of its founders ; the hopes
especially of that " reverend and godly lover of learning,"
John Harvard, who endowed it with his library and with
one half of his other property, and from whom it obtained
its name.
Sixty-five years later Harvard College became, in turn,
the mother of another college. For just as Harvard traces
its origin to graduates of Emmanuel, Yale traces its be-
ginnings to the Rev. James Pierpont, a Harvard graduate of
the class of 1681, and the Rev. Abraham Pierson, a Harvard
graduate of the class of 1668. The governor of Massachu-
setts, Earl Bellamont, when addressing the General Court
of the Commonwealth in 1699, made this remark: " It is a
very great advantage you have above other provinces, that
your youth are not put to travel for learning, but have the
muses at their doors." It was not only the disadvantage
of distance which the establishment of Harvard College
overcame, but the disadvantage also which the non-con-
forming subjects of Great Britain suffered, of inability,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 319
because non-conformists, to enjoy the advantages of the
English universities. Still, distance alone was thought a
disadvantage in Connecticut. At the close of the seven-
teenth century the population of the New England colonies
had risen to one hundred thousand ; and already, in the
colony of Connecticut, with a population of fifteen thousand,
the need of an institution of liberal learning was deeply felt.
Like the founders of the college at Cambridge, Massachu-
setts, those most active in founding Yale College were min-
isters of the Gospel, the most of them graduates of Harvard.
In Dexter's historical sketch of Yale University, he says
that " tradition describes the meeting of a few Connecticut
pastors at Branford, the next town east of New Haven,
about the last of September, 1701, and implies that to con-
stitute a company of founders, those then met gave (or
probably, for themselves and in the name of their most ac-
tive associates, agreed to give) a collection of books, as the
foundation for a college in the colony." The college charter
clearly indicates that the end intended to be secured by the
establishment of Yale was that which had led to the found-
ing of Harvard and the universities from which it was de-
scended. Full liberty and privileges were granted to the
undertakers "for the founding, suitably endowing, and or-
dering a collegiate school within His Majesty's colonies
of Connecticut wherein youth may be instructed in the arts
and sciences who, through the blessing of Almighty God,
may be fitted for public employment in the Church and civil
State." During the same year, 1701, the trustees under the
charter held their first meeting ; and Yale College began its
great and beneficent career.
Harvard and Yale, with the Virginia College of William
and Mary, the last founded by a royal charter in 1693, were
the only institutions of higher learning in the colonies at the
commencement of the eighteenth century. In important re-
320 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
spects they were alike in origin and aim. Each of them
arose among a homogeneous people. Each was the college
of a people compacted by common religious beliefs and
common modes of worship, by common social customs and
ideals. Each was the college of but a single colony, sep-
arated from the other colonies by distance, by its special
government, and not seldom by conflicting interests. Each
was a college born of the needs of the religious communion
which was united with the State : and, what is specially
important to notice, each was born at a time when the col-
onies stood separate from one another, each valuing most
highly what was most distinctive in its constitution, and
conscious only of a loose union with the other colonies
through the common government across the sea. Each,
therefore, came into existence years before the colonists
began to realize their unity as Americans, and to be con-
scious of their affection for a common country.
The conditions under which the fourth American college,
the college at Princeton, was born, gave to it in impor-
tant respects a different character. It was not the college
of an established Church. It was not the college of a
single colony. It was not the college of people sprung
from a single nationality. It sprang out of the life of a
voluntary religious communion which had spread itself over
several colonies, and which united a large portion of their
peoples in common aims and activities ; and it sprang into
being at the time when Americans began to be conscious
of their unity as Americans, and when the sentiment of pa-
triotism for a common country was beginning to energize in
united political action. In this way, at its birth, this fourth
American college had impressed upon it a national and
American character which it has never lost, which has
largely determined its patronage and its policy, and which,
during the war of independence and the period of consti-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 321
tutional discussion following the war, enabled it to render
great and special services to the United States.
When the separate colonies of East and West Jersey
were united in 1702, the Province of New Jersey formed by
the union contained a population of fifteen thousand souls.
This population was made up for the most part of English
Friends, of New England Puritans, and of Presbyterians
from Scotland and Ireland. The settlers increased rapidly
in number; so that when, in 1738, the Province sought an
administration distinct from that of New York, it contained
not less than forty thousand people. The conquest of New
York by the British had introduced into that city and the
colony to which it belonged a mixed population. The
Province of Pennsylvania, organized by the liberal consti-
tution called " The Holy Experiment," granted by its pro-
prietor, had opened its vast territory to immigrants of
different nationalities and religious beliefs. The Pennsyl-
vania immigrants were English Friends, Germans, and Pres-
byterians from the north of Ireland.
The wave of immigration from Presbyterian Ulster, on
touching the American shore, spread itself more widely
than any other. Scoto-Irish Presbyterians were to be found
in New York, in New Jersey, in Pennsylvania, and in the
southern colonies. They easily allied themselves with each
other and, in the middle colonies, with the Puritan emigrants
from New England. This alliance between the Scoto-Irish
and the New England Puritans gave to the Presbyterian
Church, from the beginning, what may be called properly
an American as distinguished from an English or Scotch-
Irish character. Indeed the Presbytery of Philadelphia, or-
ganized as early as 1705 or 1706, by seven ministers, repre-
sented at least four sources of the colonial population. In
1717 a synod was formed with the three presbyteries of
Long Island, Philadelphia, and New Castle. This organi-
322 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
zation was the strongest bond between the several popula-
tions just named in the three adjoining colonies. It united
them in a single church. It brought together, often and at
stated times, their religious leaders. The Puritan clergymen
of East Jersey who were graduates of Harvard or Yale, and
the Scotch-Irish ministers of Pennsylvania, who had won
their degrees at Glasgow or Edinburgh, met and conferred
at the synod of the church, and, after their return to their
parishes, corresponded with one another on the welfare of
their congregations, of the communities in which they lived,
and of what they were beginning to call their common
country. In these conversations and letters, not only the
need of ministers for the rapidly multiplying churches, but
the need also of educated leaders for the rapidly forming
communities were often mentioned for the reason that they
were deeply felt. The conviction soon became strong and
well-nigh unanimous that these needs could be supplied only
by a college for the middle colonies.
II. THE ORIGIN OF THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY.
IN presenting the origin of Princeton College, one can
best begin by repeating the statement just made, namely,
that during the first half of the eighteenth century, by far
the strongest bond uniting a large proportion of the popula-
tion of southern New York, East and West Jersey, and the
Province of Pennsylvania, was the organized Presbyterian
Church. It constituted for these people a far stronger
social tie than the common sovereignty of Great Britain ;
for this sovereignty was manifested in different forms in the
different colonies ; and, except in Pennsylvania, where the
proprietary's spirit of toleration had fair play, it neither de-
served nor received the affection of the most of the colonists.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 323
In an important sense the British rule in the middle colonies
was that of a foreign power. The New Englanders in East
Jersey were settlers under a government in whose adminis-
tration they had no substantial share. Far from controlling,
they could with difficulty influence the political action of the
Governor and his Council. In southern New York the Dutch
were restive under the English domination. In New York
City and on Long Island the relations between the Scot-
tish Presbyterians and New England Puritans on the one
hand, and the English Episcopalians on the other, were
often inimical ; and it was only the latter to whom, on the
whole, the King's representative was at all friendly. In
Pennsylvania there were English Friends, Germans who
had been invited by Penn to settle in the eastern counties
of the Province, and Scoto-Irish Presbyterians, who landed
at the port of Philadelphia in large numbers, and took up
farms in the rich valleys between the mountain ranges.
From the " Irish settlement," at the union of the Delaware
and the Lehigh, where the city of Easton now stands, to
Harris' Ferry on the Susquehanna, now the capital of the
State, there were many Presbyterian communities ; and
from these, in turn, moved the new emigrations to the great
valley, called the Cumberland Valley, north of the Potomac,
and, south of that river, the Valley of Virginia.
The Presbyterians of these colonies and of Maryland and
Virginia secured a visible unity when, in 1705 or 1706, their
pastors and churches were organized as a presbytery.
Touching the character of this organization, there has been
a good deal of debate. But whether formed on the model
of the English presbyterial association, 1 or on that of the
more highly specialized Scotch presbytery, the Presbytery
of Philadelphia, as it was popularly called, furnished a means
of association and of interchange of ideas among the Eng-
1 Briggs' "American Presbyterianism," p. 139.
324 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
lish-speaking clergymen who were scattered along the At-
lantic coast from Cape Charles to Montauk Point. Into this
new ecclesiastical organization soon came the New England
congregations of East Jersey. By 1720 the Presbyterian
Church was composed of German, Dutch, Scoto-Irish, and
New England elements. The last two were by far the larg-
est and most influential.
The rapid increase of the population, the need of new
churches, and the opportunities offered to organize them,
impressed on the Presbyterian ministers of that day the
need of an increase in their own ranks. Others might be
depended upon to organize the material elements of civiliza-
tion in the new communities ; but, just as it was at an ear-
lier date in New England, the duty of providing religious
teachers for the people was largely left to the ministers
already at work. Francis Makemie, the first Presbyterian
minister to come from Ireland to America, gave expression
to his anxiety on this subject in letters written to Increase
Mather of Boston and to correspondents in Ireland and
London. In response to calls from the settlers, some min-
isters came from New England and others from Ireland ;
but the supply was far from equal to the demand. As
the churches had multiplied, the original presbytery had
been divided into several presbyteries, and these had been
organized as a synod. And the members of the synod, be-
coming more distinctly conscious of their mission to their
common country, began to agitate the question of their
independence, in respect to ministerial education, of both
Great Britain and New England.
This agitation did not terminate in itself. A few minis-
ters, unwilling to wait for ecclesiastical action, opened pri-
vate schools in which they taught the liberal arts ; and to
the students thus prepared who desired to become readers
in divinity, they offered themselves as preceptors. Precisely
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 325
these steps in behalf of liberal education were taken by the
two Presbyterian ministers of New Jersey who afterward
became the first two presidents of Princeton, Jonathan Dick-
inson of Elizabethtown, and Aaron Burr of Newark. Still
another Presbyterian minister, William Tennent, opened a
private school destined to become far more influential than
the school of either Dickinson or Burr. This was the Log
College at the Forks of the Neshaminy.
William Tennent was born in Ireland in 1673. We owe
to the investigations of Dr. Briggs our knowledge of the
fact that he was graduated at the University of Edinburgh,
July n, 1695. 1 He was admitted to deacon's orders in the
Church of Ireland by the Bishop of Down in 1704, and two
years later was ordained a priest. Though an Episcopalian,
he was related by blood to Ulster Presbyterians, and he
married the daughter of Gilbert Kennedy, the Presbyterian
pastor of Dundonald. His father-in-law had suffered dur-
ing one of the persecutions of the non-conformists, and the
story of his hardships may be responsible for Tennent's re-
nunciation of the Church of Ireland. At all events, " after
having been in orders a number of years, he became scru-
pulous of conforming to the terms imposed on the clergy of
the Establishment, and was deprived of his living, and there
being no satisfactory prospect of usefulness at home, he
came to America." 2 He landed at Philadelphia with his
four sons in 1716. Two years later he applied for admis-
sion to the Synod of Philadelphia. The committee to
whom his application was referred were satisfied with his
credentials, with the testimony concerning him of some
of the brethren connected with the synod, and with the
material reasons he offered for " his dissenting from the
Established Church in Ireland." These reasons were re-
1 "American Presbyterianism," p. 186.
2 Webster, "Hist. Pres. Church," p. 365.
326 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
corded in the synod's minutes, ad futuram rei memoriam,
he was voted a minister of the Presbyterian Church, and
" the Moderator gave him a serious exhortation to continue
steadfast in his holy profession." After laboring at East
Chester and Bedford in New York, he removed in 1721 to
Pennsylvania, and took charge of two congregations, Ben-
Salem and Smithfield in the county of Bucks. Five years
later he accepted a call to a congregation in the same
county, at a point afterwards called the Forks of the Ne-
shaminy. Whether a church had been organized before his
arrival cannot now be positively determined. A house of
worship was built about 1727. Here he lived for twenty
years, during sixteen of which he was actively engaged as
the pastor of the church. His personality is not well enough
known to enable one to draw his portrait even in outline.
Two things concerning him, however, are well known : his
religious and missionary zeal and his exceptional attainments
in classical learning. " While an orthodox creed and a de-
cent external conduct," writes Archibald Alexander, " were
the only points upon which inquiry was made when per-
sons were admitted to the communion of the church, and
while it was very much a matter of course for all who had
been baptized in infancy to be received into full communion
at the proper age," 1 this did not satisfy Mr. Tennent. The
evangelical spirit which burned in the members of the Holy
Club at Oxford inflamed the pastor of Neshaminy. He de-
sired as communicants only the subjects of a conscious
supernatural experience. When Whitefield first visited
Philadelphia, Mr. Tennent called upon him at once, and
they soon became intimate friends. He admired White-
field's oratory, and was in full sympathy with his methods
as a revivalist. Whitefield cordially reciprocated Tennent's
friendship. He found no one in the colonies in whose com-
1 " Log College," p. 23.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 327
panionship he was more strengthened and comforted. He
spent many days at the Forks of the Neshaminy, and it is
to his journal that we are indebted for the best description
of the Log College.
William Tennent's high sense of the value of a liberal
education, his desire to extend its benefits to his four sons,
his determination to relieve, so far as he might be able, the
destitution of ministers in the church with which he was
connected, and his ambition to propagate his own views of
preaching and of the religious life, led him, soon after his
settlement at Neshaminy, to open a school of liberal learn-
ing and of divinity. His cousin, James Logan, Secretary
of the Province of Pennsylvania, gave him for this purpose
fifty acres on Neshaminy Creek. There he raised a log
building as a study for his pupils. It was as humble as the
cabin of reeds and stubble which Abelard built for himself
at Nogent, and which was made famous by the flocking of
students from Paris to hear the words of the master. " The
place where the young men study now," writes George
Whitefield in his journal, " is in contempt called the College.
It is a log house, about twenty foot long, and near as many
broad ; and to me it resembled the schools of the old proph-
ets. For that their habitations were mean, and that they
sought not great things for themselves, is plain from that
passage of Scripture wherein we are told that, at the feast
of the sons of the prophets, one of them put on the pot,
whilst the others went to fetch some herbs out of the field.
From this despised place, seven or eight ministers of Jesus
have lately been sent forth, more are almost ready to be
sent, and a foundation is now being laid for the instruction
of many others." The annals of the Log College are "the
short and simple annals of the poor." Its life was brief,
and of those who studied there we possess no complete list.
Most of the ministers of Pennsylvania, while they probably
328 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
regarded it with fear, spoke of it with contempt. When
Tennent died no one continued his work. The building has
long since decayed or been destroyed, and its site within
the fifty acres is not clearly known. But the work done by
the Log College was a great work. Tennent convinced the
Presbyterians of the Middle Colonies that they need not
and ought not to wait upon Great Britain and New Eng-
land for an educated ministry ; and through his pupils and
the pupils of his pupils, he did more than any other man of
his day to destroy customs which were as bonds to the
church, and to teach his brethren that evangelical feeling
and missionary zeal were necessary to fulfil the mission
of his communion in the growing colonies. "To William
Tennent, above all others, is owing the prosperity and
enlargement of the Presbyterian Church." 1
From this school were graduated the four sons of the
elder Tennent, and not a few others, who became eminent
in the church; some of them in connection with the early
life of Princeton College, and, before that college was
founded, as founders of institutions like the one from which
they came. One of these was Samuel Blair, who estab-
lished a classical school at Fagg's Manor or New London-
derry, where John Rogers, afterwards pastor of the Brick
Church in New York City ; Samuel Davies, Princeton's
fourth President; and William Maclay, United States sen-
ator from Pennsylvania, were educated. Indeed, it may be
said that by nothing is the high character of the Log
College education more satisfactorily evidenced than by the
attainments and efficiency of Samuel Blair and his brother
John, upon both of whom Tennent had impressed his
religious views and his zeal for the higher learning. No
less distinguished than the Blairs was Samuel Finley, who
succeeded Davies as President of Princeton College. That
1 Webster, " Hist Pres. Church."
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 329
he was one of Tennent's students is not certain, but is
in the highest degree probable. Tennent's school was in
existence when Finley came from Ireland to Philadelphia
to continue his studies, and there was no other school near
at hand where students for the ministry were educated.
He united with Tennent's presbytery and was licensed by
it. When he became a pastor he opened a school like the
Log College, and during all his life he supported the views
which were associated with Tennent's name. What Samuel
Blair did at Fagg's Manor, Samuel Finley did at Notting-
ham, Maryland. He founded a seminary for classical study
and for the training of ministers. How important its career
was is shown by the fact that " at one time there was
a cluster of young men at the school, who all were after-
wards distinguished, and some of them among the very
first men in the country : Governor Martin, of North Car-
olina; Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, and his brother,
Jacob Rush, an eminent and pious judge; Ebenezer Haz-
ard, Esq., of Philadelphia; Rev. James Waddell, D. D., of
Virginia; Rev. Dr. McWhorter, of Newark, N. J.; Colonel
John Bayard, Speaker of the House of Representatives ;
Governor Henry, of Maryland ; and the Rev. William M.
Tennent, of Abbington, Pa." 1 Less successful, because of
the temper of the principal, was the school of another pupil,
John Roan of Derry.
The ministers educated in these schools soon showed
themselves equal to positions in the colonies usually occu-
pied by graduates of the universities of Scotland or of the
New England colleges ; and it was their conspicuous suc-
cess as pastors or teachers which led the Synod to take ac-
tion in 1739 looking to the establishment of a college for
the whole church. In that year an overture for erecting a
seminary of learning was presented to the Synod. The
1 " Log College," pp. 305-306.
330 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Synod unanimously approved the design of it, and in order
to accomplish it did nominate Messrs. Pemberton, Dick-
inson, Cross and Anderson, two of whom, if they can be
prevailed upon, to be sent home to Europe to prosecute
this affair with proper directions. And in order to this, it is
appointed that the committee of the Synod, with correspon-
dents from every Presbytery, meet in Philadelphia the third
Wednesday of August next. And if it be found necessary
that Mr. Pemberton should go to Boston pursuant to this
design, it is ordered that the Presbytery of New York sup-
ply his pulpit during his absence. 1
Two of the committee, Messrs. Pemberton and Dickinson,
were natives of New England; Pemberton was graduated
at Harvard and Dickinson at Yale. Dr. Anderson was
from Scotland, and Mr. Cross was from Ireland. The com-
mittee at once entered upon its duties. But the period did
not favor the prosecution of the scheme. " While the com-
mittee concluded upon calling the whole Synod together
for the purpose of prosecuting the overture respecting a
seminary of learning, yet the war breaking out between
England and Spain, the calling of the Synod was omitted,
and the whole affair laid aside for that time." 2 This was
the last legislative action taken upon the subject by the
united church. Had the Synod founded a college, it is not
probable that Princeton would have been selected as its site ;
and, had Princeton been selected, the institution, by its of-
ficial relation to the church, would have had a character
and career very different from those of the College of New
Jersey.
But a conflict now began within the Synod, which led to
its division in 1742. The conflict and the resulting division
were due to the activity of two parties holding opposing
1 "Records of the Presbyterian Church." Minutes, 1739.
2 "Records of the Presbyterian Church." Minutes, 1740.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 331
opinions as to the value of vivid religious experiences, and
of preaching designed immediately to call forth religious
confession, and as to the learning requisite for admission to
the ministry. On the one hand was the party of the Log
College. A number of its graduates and friends had been
erected into the Presbytery of New Brunswick. This Pres-
bytery, in violation of a rule of the Synod, had licensed
John Rowland, a student of the Log College, and had
intruded him within the bounds of the Presbytery of Phila-
delphia : for the Synod had taken action that no candidate
for the ministry, having only a private education, should be
licensed by any Presbytery until such candidate's learning
had been passed upon by a committee appointed for that
purpose. The Synod responded by a resolution which
characterized the Presbytery's conduct as disorderly, and
admonished that body to avoid "such divisive courses" in
the future. Moreover, the Synod refused to recognize
Rowland as a minister, and ordered him to submit to the ex-
aminations appointed for those who had only a private edu-
cation. The members of the Presbytery of New Brunswick
were intensely indignant. They asserted that the Synod's
action reflected seriously upon the character of the training
received at the Log College ; that it showed the Synod to
be absolutely blind to the religious needs of the growing
Colonies ; that it was an undeserved rebuke administered to
the man who, more intelligently and faithfully than any
other minister of the church, had labored and sacrificed in
the interest of classical and theological education ; and that
it had its origin in the Synod's wilful opposition to vital re-
ligion. The other party, to which a majority of the Synod
belonged, was recruited largely from the Scotch-Irish clergy
of Pennsylvania. Between these two parties stood the Pres-
bytery of New York, led by Dickinson and Pemberton.
What the members of New York Presbytery could do in
332 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
the way of pacification they did. But the conflict from its
beginning was too bitter to be composed, and it was made
more bitter by the visit to America of George Whitefield,
and the participation of the Log College and the New
Brunswick men in Whitefield's revival measures. A di-
vision of the Synod was inevitable. It took place in 1742.
The Presbytery of New York, though separating in that
year from the Synod of Philadelphia, did not at once unite
with the Presbytery of New Brunswick. But negotiations
for such a union were soon begun. In 1745 the union was
effected, and the Synod of New York, formed by the union
of the Presbyteries of New York, New Brunswick and New
Castle, the last made up wholly of Log College men, was
constituted.
This Synod, it will be observed, was a union of New
England clergymen and those who were immediately con-
nected with the College on the Neshaminy, or who sym-
pathized with the aims and measures of its founder. During
the three years intervening between the division of the
church and the formation of the new Synod of New York,
many conferences were held and letters were written on the
subject of a college. Owing to this schism it was impossi-
ble for those now connected with the Synod of New York
to take part in founding that " seminary of learning" which,
in 1739, the undivided Synod had determined to organize.
The adoption of the Log College as the College of the
Synod was not favorably regarded for several reasons. It
was too far from New York ; it was within the limits of the
home of the other Synod ; its plan was too narrow ; and, be-
sides, the elder Tennent died the very year of the organiza-
tion of the New York Synod. The work of the Log College
was over. Moreover, large-minded leaders like Dickinson
and Burr wanted a college organized on a plan far larger
than that of the Neshaminy school. Nor were they at all
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 333
disposed to wait for synodical action. The character of the
clerical promoters of the College of New Jersey, their train-
ing, and their actual behavior make it not only credible, but
in the highest degree probable, that if a college subject to
the supervision of a church judicatory was ever before their
minds, it was thought of only to be rejected. To quote the
words of Dr. Maclean, the historian of the College, they
" most probably neither sought nor desired the assistance
of the Synod." Besides this underlying indisposition to
invoke ecclesiastical action, there were special reasons at
this time for not allowing the subject to be brought before
the Synod for discussion. There were a few fh the Synod
of New York who, hoping for a reunion of the divided
church, might propose cooperation with the Synod of Phila-
delphia in the support of the college which the latter Synod
was expecting to open at New London in Pennsylvania.
Gilbert Tennent's opposition to any large plan had to be
anticipated, for he had always expressed a preference for
private and local schools. And Samuel Blair, who was
conducting successfully an academy at Fagg's Manor, could
scarcely be expected to favor any scheme which would end
the work to which he had given his life. Considerations
like these determined the promoters to independent but
associated action. Three of them, Jonathan Dickinson,
Aaron Burr and John Pierson, were graduates of Yale ; the
fourth, Ebenezer Pemberton, was graduated at Harvard.
The men from Yale had seen in their own alma mater what
independent action could effect, and before the minds of
the four ministers and the three laymen who acted with
them was present an ideal very different from that which
Tennent had made actual in the Log College. Certainly,
with whatever design they began the project, when, after
conference and discussion, they proceeded to final action,
they did far more than organize a college for the education
334 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
in the liberal arts of candidates for the holy ministry. That
this function was in their apprehension important, and even
eminent, there can be no doubt. But this was only one of
several functions of the College of the higher learning for
the middle Colonies. The benefits to be conferred by it on
society at large in the rising communities of these Colonies,
and especially on the other liberal professions, were quite as
distinctly before the minds of the promoters and first trus-
tees of Princeton College as were its relations to clerical
training. This is made clear both by the provisions of the
two charters and by the social and political standing of the
trustees these charters name.
III. THE FOUNDING OF THE COLLEGE. THE Two
CHARTERS.
THE two political divisions of New Jersey, the East and
the West, were united in 1703. Up to 1738 the Governor
of New York represented the sovereign in the province of
the Jerseys also. In that year New Jersey was granted a
separate executive, and Lewis Morris was appointed gov-
ernor. He continued in office until his death in 1746. On
the death of Governor Morris, John Hamilton, President of
the Council, became the acting governor by operation of
law ; and it was of Governor Hamilton, on October 22,
1746, that the charter with which the College began its life
was granted. The year before, the ministers whose names
have been mentioned, and their associates, William Smith,
William Peartree Smith and Peter Van Brugh Livingston,
had been refused a charter by Governor Morris. The rea-
sons for his refusal can be inferred from his views and his
previous conduct. Apart from the doubt he may have felt
as to his right to bestow it before receiving permission from
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 335
the home government, he believed that he would be doing
an illegal or, at least, an impolitic act, if he granted the
rights of a corporation, for educational purposes, to minis-
ters and laymen not in communion with the Church of Eng-
land. He had already refused a charter to the First
Presbyterian Church of New York, for the reason that there
was no precedent for conferring that privilege on a company
of " Dissenters."
But the death of Governor Morris gave to the promoters
of the College new hope, and they presented the same peti-
tion to Governor Hamilton. He was the son of Andrew
Hamilton, who had been governor of East and West Jersey
for a period of ten years. The fact that Andrew Hamilton
was a native of Scotland led him to look with favor, cer-
tainly with less opposition than that displayed by either
Lord Cornbury or Governor Morris, 1 on the rapid growth
of the Presbyterian Church in the Colonies. His son John,
himself perhaps a native of New Jersey, shared these views
and feelings. At all events, he granted the petition, and
signed the charter. This was the first college charter con-
ferred in America by the independent action of a provincial
governor. The charter of Harvard was the act of the leg-
islature of Massachusetts ; that of Yale the act of the legis-
lature of Connecticut ; that of William and Mary was
granted immediately by those sovereigns. The precedent
1 Lord Cornbury and Governor Morris, though they were both opposed to
non-conformists, were alike in nothing else. The latter, on more than one
occasion, opposed vigorously the former's tyranny. Governor Morris was on
the whole an admirable governor. And as to his opposition to the charter,
Dr. Maclean makes the following remark : " In this matter the friends of the
Church [of England] were in all probability no more unreasonable than the
Dissenters themselves would have been, had their respective conditions been
reversed. It was reserved for those not connected with established churches
to be liberal-minded and regardful of the rights of others." " History of the
College of New Jersey," Vol. I, p. 43.
336 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
made by Governor Hamilton was followed by other gov-
ernors ; and its propriety was never afterward officially
questioned. Indeed, it was never publicly questioned, ex-
cept in a newspaper controversy in which only private and
irresponsible opinions were expressed by writers who did
not even sign their names.
The name of John Hamilton, therefore, should be given
a conspicuous place in any list of the founders of Princeton
University. He granted the first charter; he granted it
against the precedent made by the governor whom he suc-
ceeded in the executive chair ; and he granted it with alac-
rity, certainly without vexatious delay. What is more
remarkable, at a time when Episcopalian governors were
ill-disposed to grant to Presbyterians ecclesiastical or even
educational franchises, he an Episcopalian gave this
charter to a board of trust composed wholly of members of
the Presbyterian Church. Though the son of a governor,
and acting as a royal governor, he made no demand that
the government be given a substantive part in its adminis-
tration ; and though granting the franchise as governor of
a single province, he gave to it a board of trustees in which
four provinces were represented. For the times in which he
lived, his conduct evinces exceptional large-mindedness. It
appears to have proceeded from the confidence he felt that
a company of reputable gentlemen, of whatever Christian
communion, and however widely their homes might be
separated, who were willing to give their time, money and
labor to the founding and maintenance of a college of liberal
learning for men of all classes of 'belief, must be worthy of
the confidence and protection of the sovereign political
power. It has already been shown that the projectors of
the College impressed upon it an unsectarian character by
declining to seek the aid and oversight of the Presbyterian
Synod, and that nevertheless its control by Presbyterians
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 337
made it of necessity an inter-colonial institution. It is but
just to the memory of President Hamilton to add, that legal
effect was first given both to this religiously liberal proposal
and to this national outlook by the signature of an acting
royal governor who was a member of the Church of England.
Unfortunately, the first charter was not recorded, and it is
on that account impossible to compare its exact language
with that of the second. But the "Pennsylvania Gazette" of
August the thirteenth, 1747, published an advertisement of
the College, which contains the first charter's substance. In
this advertisement it is stated that the charter named seven
trustees, the four clerical founders and William Smith, Peter
Van Brugh Livingston and William Peartree Smith. To
these original trustees was given full power to choose five
others, who should exercise equal power and authority with
themselves. The five chosen were the Rev. Richard Treat,
and four clerical representatives of the Log College interest.
The charter constitutes the trustees a body corporate with
full power to act as such, and to convey their power to the
successors whom they might elect. In the exercise of this
power, however, no acts or ordinances for the government
of the College could be passed, repugnant to the laws of
Great Britain, or of the province of New Jersey, and pro-
vision is distinctly made that no person shall be debarred of
any of the privileges of the College on account of any spec-
ulative principles of religion, but " those of every religious
profession have equal privilege and advantage of education in
said college." The charter gives to the trustees and their suc-
cessors the power to give any such degrees as are given in any
of the universities or colleges in the realm of Great Britain. 1
1 Reprinted in "Princeton College Bulletin," Feb., 1891. Mr. William Nelson,
to whose studies of the early history of the Province of New Jersey both the
State and the University are indebted, brought it to the notice of the Fac-
ulty. But for him we should not know the names of all the first trustees.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Whether in their respective preambles there was any dif-
ference between the the first and second charters, no one
knows and it were idle to conjecture. So far as appears,
the scope of the institution, its educational design, the meth-
ods appointed for fulfilling this design, the powers of the
governing board, the degrees to be granted and the entire
framework of a college or university, as set forth in the
second charter, were set forth in the first, with the same
precision, in the same order, and in the same general lan-
guage. The second charter was sought by the original
trustees, or suggested by the Governor and agreed on by
both, in order to increase the number of trustees, to intro-
duce into the Board representatives of the provincial govern-
ment, to give laymen of other religious communions a share
in the administration, to secure the favor of civilians in
Philadelphia, and to make the lay trustees equal in number
to those who were clergymen. These statements at least
indicate the only changes that were actually made. One
change proposed, to give to four members of the Provincial
Council of New Jersey places, ex officio, on the Board, was
not adopted. What would have been the effect of its adop-
tion no one can tell. Possibly, it would have taken from
the College its inter-colonial character and made it a merely
local and provincial institution. But this is not certain. A
similar provision in the charter of Yale did not prevent its
development into a great national university. The changes
were the result of friendly correspondence and conference
between the promoters of the College and Governor Bel-
cher ; but it is not possible to say in whose minds they sev-
erally originated.
In changing the constitution of a corporation, either the
charter may be amended or a new charter may be granted.
Why, in the case of the College, the latter method was
adopted is not perfectly clear. It may be that this was re-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 339
garded as the more convenient method, or that, even if not
so convenient, it was thought either safer or more honora-
ble, or both, to hold a charter from a royal governor than to
hold one from a president of the Council. Possibly some
of the steps taken by the government in issuing the first
charter were irregular, or possibly some of the steps neces-
sary to be taken were omitted. Three facts are significant.
No mention of the charter of 1 746, so far as can now be as-
certained, was made in the Council's journal. In 1755 the
first charter was attacked by a writer in the "New York
Gazette," and a reply by a friend of the College was pub-
lished, but in this reply the first charter, far from being de-
fended, is pronounced "probably invalid," and the tone of
the note is one of felicitation that the legality of the College
rests securely on the charter of 1748. When Nassau Hall
was built, the Trustees presented an address to the Governor
who gave the second charter, in which they welcomed him,
not only as patron and benefactor, but as " founder " also.
These facts justify and almost compel the belief, that the
conviction was general, that a cloud rested on the College's
title to its franchise, which could be dissipated only or at
least be best removed by an absolutely new charter. But
they do not at all warrant the statement that the first charter
was impotent and void. It was actually operative until the
new charter was granted ; and, had it not been superseded,
it would have continued operative until, challenged in the
courts of the province, a decision had been rendered against
it. Many of the official acts of governors and legislatures,
if tested in the courts, would be held illegal, and some of
them so illegal as to be invalid. But, never being chal-
lenged, they have been just as potent as if they had complied
with every constitutional demand. The first charter of the
College, in its sphere, had certainly all the potency which acts
of the kind just described have in their spheres. Moreover,
340 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
we have not at this late day knowledge enough of the facts
of the case to assert with confidence what, if the case had
been tried, the decision of the court would have been. And
even if it could now be satisfactorily proved, that, of the
steps necessary to be taken, enough were omitted to make
it certain that the first charter would have been adjudged
illegal, it never was. On the other hand, it was granted ; it
was announced ; the College was advertised and opened on
its basis; and it was called an "infant college," and one to
be "adopted," by the very governor who granted the new
charter. Let it even be supposed, that Governor Hamilton,
in granting the charter, was guilty of unlawful usurpation
of power. Louis XVIII regarded Napoleon I as a usurper,
and Charles II so regarded Oliver Cromwell. But neither
the Bourbon nor the Stuart king held that the franchises
granted under the government of his predecessor were for
that reason null and void. Governor Belcher and his Coun-
cil, for reasons not clearly known to us but satisfactory to
themselves, granted a new charter instead of amending the
old one. But that is no good reason for taking a position
which would compel the removal of the name of Jonathan
Dickinson from the list of the presidents, and the name of
John Hamilton from the list of the founders of the College. 1
1 It is true, as is said above, that a friend of the College, writing in the " New
York Gazette," expresses the belief that the first charter was " probably in-
valid." But it must not be forgotten that fears were expressed by a devoted
friend of the College that the second charter might be successfully attacked on
legal grounds. When Mr. Tennent and Mr. Davies were in Europe, Tennent
thought well of applying for aid to some members of the courts, particularly
the lord chancellor. Davies says, " I was afraid, in case the College were
discountenanced by them, they would find some flaw in the charter, and so
overset it." Davies was speaking of the second charter. He referred the
case to his friend the Rev. Mr. Stenet, who, he says, agreed with him fully.
Stenet himself went afterward, not to the lord chancellor, but to Lord Duplin.
He consulted with him in confidence. What Lord Duplin said about the
charter we do not know. All that we know is that he assured Mr. Stenet
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 341
The vacancy created in the office of governor by the
death of Lewis Morris in 1746 was filled by appointment,
in 1747, of Jonathan Belcher. Governor Belcher was a
native of Massachusetts. His father, a man of large estate,
had been a member of the Council of that Colony. The
son was graduated at Harvard in 1699. Upon his grad-
uation he visited Europe as a gentleman of fortune, and
spent six years in Great Britain and on the Continent. He
was received at the Court of Hanover, where he made the
acquaintance of Sophia, the ancestress of those electors who
became kings of England. On his return to Boston, he
became a merchant. In 1729 he was appointed the agent
in England of the Colony of Massachusetts, and in 1730
governor of the Colony, an office he retained until 1741.
During his administration he was actively interested in Har-
vard College. He took advantage of the opportunities his
position gave him to promote what he believed to be its
welfare. He was not only an alumnus, but, as governor of
the Colony, was a member of the Board of Overseers. His
influence seems to have been exerted to compose the dif-
ficulties between the two ecclesiastical parties which at that
period were struggling for the control of the institution.
He was a man of active intellectual sympathies and re-
ligious character. Such a man, coming to New Jersey as its
chief executive, would be disposed to take a deep interest
in the prosperity of the new " seminary of learning." He
would easily be interested in the project of the seven gradu-
ates of New England colleges who were among its sponsors.
that he would do nothing to their injury. " Dr. Maclean's History of the
College," Vol. I, p. 233. The truth is that mere private opinions never set-
tled the question of the validity of any charter. An actually existing and oper-
ative charter can be adjudged invalid only by the proper court of law. To
postdate the founding of the college two years, for the reason that private
individuals thought the first charter illegal or invalid, would be not only un-
warrantable, but highly reprehensible.
'Ml! PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Governor Belcher, soon after his arrival in New Jersey,
in August, 1747, began to think and write about the Col-
lege. As early as October of that year, having received
from President Dickinson a catalogue of the institution, he
wrote to the Rev. Mr. Pemberton, then pastor in New York,
expressing the hope that the latter would come to Burling-
ton and " lay something before the Provincial Assembly
of New Jersey for the service of our infant College."
Especially interesting is the Governor's statement: "I say
our infant College, because I have determined to adopt it
for a child, and to do everything in my power to promote
and establish so noble an undertaking." Indeed, he wrote
no less than three letters about the College on the same
day ; that to Mr. Pemberton already quoted, one to Jona-
than Dickinson, whose death, unknown to the Governor, had
occurred the day before, and one to Mr. William Peartree
Smith of New York, in which the phrase, "our infant Col-
lege," is repeated. A week earlier he had written a letter to
his friend Mr. Walley of Boston, in which, speaking of the
College, he expressed the opinion that Princeton was the
best situation for it, and added, " I believe that the trustees
must have a new and better charter, which I will give to
them." Indeed, until the second charter was granted on
September 13, 1748, no one seems to have shown a greater
interest in the institution than the Governor of the Province.
The details of the second charter were the subject of cor-
respondence and of frequent conferences between himself and
the original promoters. One important question discussed
was the persons to be named as the board of trustees, the
board to which the property of the College was to be in-
trusted and which was to possess plenary power in admin-
istration. The interests of religion were cared for by re-
appointing the clerical trustees under the first charter, except
Jonathan Dickinson, who had died, and Samuel Finley, and
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 343
by adding four others. All of the four were members of the
Synod of New York, except David Cowell, pastor of the
church at Trenton. When the division of the Presbyterian
Church took place Mr. Cowell took the side of the Synod of
Philadelphia, but he was not a violent partisan. Indeed, he
was always a warm friend of Samuel Davies, and did much
afterward to induce Davies to accept the presidency of the
College. Three " Log College " ministers, Gilbert Tennent,
William Tennent, Jr., and Samuel Blair, who were trus-
tees under the first, are named in the second charter. The
new clerical trustees were all active pastors.
Governor Belcher desired to associate the institution close-
ly with the state. For eleven years he had been governor
of the Colonies of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He
was always disposed strongly to assert the right of the state
to a large place in all great projects having in view the wel-
fare of the people. It was this habit of strongly asserting
his dignity and authority as governor that led to unfriendly
relations between himself and the people of Massachusetts,
and finally to his dismissal, as it was the lavish expendi-
ture of his private resources in the support of the dignity of
his office during his official life in his native province that
seriously reduced his fortune. His correspondence shows
his belief in the high value of the services which, as gov-
ernor, he could render to the new college ; and it was quite
in keeping with his views and previous conduct to propose
that the Governor of the Province and several of his Council
should be, ex officio, members of the corporation. The last
clause of this proposal met with strenuous and successful
opposition. Whether the East Jersey and New York trus-
tees under the first charter opposed it, it is not possible
positively to say. Whatever they may have thought of the
gentlemen who composed the council as at that time consti-
tuted, it was probably no part of their original design to
344 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
give a place to the official element, and doubtless they
would have preferred to form no other connection with the
state than that which binds every corporation to the gov-
ernment which creates it. The opposition to both clauses
of the proposal to give the state, as such, a share in the ad-
ministration came naturally from the trustees who repre-
sented the Log College, and especially from Governor
Belcher's intimate friend, Gilbert Tennent, then the pastor
of the Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Even
the innocent provision that the Governor of the Province
should be, ex officio, president of the board of trustees was
introduced against Mr. Tennent's earnest, indeed, some-
what indignant remonstrance. At last a compromise
was made. The Governor of the Province was made, ex
officio, the president, and four members of the Council were
named as trustees. But the latter were not named as mem-
bers of the Council. They were appointed as eminent citi-
zens of the Province, and their names appear in the charter
not as councillors, but as individuals.
It is to the Governor's interest in the College that we
must attribute the appointment as incorporators of three
citizens of Philadelphia. The three laymen in the board
under the first charter were residents of New York. These
were retained, but Philadelphia was given an equal number.
These were the Hon. John Kinsey, formerly attorney-gen-
eral and now chief justice of Pennsylvania, the Hon. Ed-
ward Shippen, judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and
Mr. Samuel Hazard, an eminent private citizen. " In the
preparation of the charter," says Dr. Maclean, " Governor
Belcher sought Chief Justice Kinsey's advice, and placed it
in his hands for revision before submitting it to the attorney-
general of New Jersey for his approval." In making these
appointments, Governor Belcher sought for the College the
interest not only of the city of Philadelphia, but also of its
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 345
largest religious communion. Both Chief Justice Kinsey
and Judge Shippen were members of the Society of Friends.
The charter which names these trustees recites, as the
occasion of its grant, a petition presented by sundry of the
subjects of the King, expressing their earnest desire that a
college may be erected in the Province of New Jersey, for
the benefit of the said province and others, " wherein youth
may be instructed in the learned languages and in the liberal
arts and sciences," and that these petitioners have expressed
their earnest desire that those of every religious denomina-
tion may have free and equal liberty and advantages of edu-
cation in the said College, any different sentiments in religion
notwithstanding. In the name of the King, therefore, it is
granted that there be a college erected to be distinguished
by the name of the College of New Jersey. The trustees
are constituted a body politic ; and, after the provision is
made that the Governor and Commander-in-chief of the
Province of New Jersey, for the time being, shall be trus-
tees, the original corporators are named. The charter was
read in Council on September 13, having previously been
examined by the attorney-general, and issued on the next
day, September 14, 1748.
Including the Governor, there were twenty-three trustees.
Of these twelve were ministers of the gospel, all of whom
were liberally educated. Six of them were graduates of
Yale, three were graduates of Harvard, and three received
their training under the elder Tennent at the Log College.
Of the lay trustees, Jonathan Belcher was graduated at
Harvard, and William Smith, William Peartree Smith and
Peter Livingston at Yale. The four members belonging
to the Council of the Province of New Jersey were John
Reading, James Hude, Andrew Johnston and Thomas
Leonard. Andrew Johnston was elected treasurer. Three
lay trustees were from New York, and three were from
346 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Pennsylvania. Two of the trustees belonged to the Society
of Friends, and one was an Episcopalian. The Governor
was born of Puritan parents ; in his younger manhood he
was devout and active as a Puritan ; in middle life he was
in sympathy with Whitefield and the Tennents, and in his
last years he was a member of the Presbyterian Church
of Elizabethtown. The remaining trustees, whether laymen
or ministers, were members of the Presbyterian Church.
The names of two that appear in the first charter do not
appear in the second, the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson, who
had died, and the Rev. Samuel Finley. Why the latter was
not reappointed is not known. It is not necessary to sup-
pose that a clergyman who was afterward elected president
of the College was at this time persona non grata to the
Governor, the Council, his former colleagues, or the new trus-
tees. It is more than probable that, not being strong, already
burdened by the cares of both a parish and an academy in
Maryland, and living at a long distance from the College,
he felt himself unable to endure the fatigues of travel over
poor roads to the necessarily frequent meetings of the board.
Few boards of trust, having in view the purposes for
which they were created, have been more wisely organized.
In their several spheres, its members were all men of stand-
ing. Many of them had already shown more than ordinary
ability, and some of them were eminent. In the persons of
the trustees three of the middle Colonies, their two chief
cities, three religious communions, commerce, and the liberal
professions, and the royal government of the province in
which the College had its home, were represented, and all
who had share in its administration were united in the
earnest purpose to make it worthy of its franchises.
The charter of 1748 is to-day the charter of the Univer-
sity. It has been amended in but a few, and these not im-
portant, particulars. Grateful for his grant of the charter,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 347
the trustees in 1755 addressed Governor Belcher as not
only the patron and benefactor of the College, but its
"founder." He was indeed deeply solicitous for its wel-
fare, and as governor, citizen, and Christian rendered to it
great and conspicuous services. But it is at least a ques-
tion whether the title of founder applied to him was de-
served, or was in itself happy. It was certainly unmerited,
if it is to be interpreted as excluding either his predecessor,
John Hamilton, or President Jonathan Dickinson from shar-
ing equally with him the honor due to those who laid the
foundations of the University. After all, to speak of the
"founders" of a university is to employ a metaphor;
and it is not by a figure taken from among forms which
have no life, even though it be a noble and spacious build-
ing, that the character and career of a university can be
best exhibited. To obtain an adequate symbol, we must
rise into the realm of life. It is scarcely figurative to say
that a university is not a mechanism, not even an artistic
product, but an organism. And this is true of Princeton.
A living seed, whose high descent we can trace through
Yale and Harvard, through the Log College and Edin-
burgh, through Cambridge, Oxford and Paris, back to Al-
cuin and the school of Egbert at York, was planted here,
wisely and with prayer. We shall better state the facts and
shall more nearly credit each benefactor with the service he
rendered, if we refuse to say that these men or this man
founded it, and shall say instead, men planted it, men
watered it, men cherished and nourished it, men threw about
it the safeguards of the common and the statute law. All
the while it grew because of the living and energizing idea
which informed it. For the same reason it yielded seed
after its kind and became a mother of colleges. And year
by year its leaves and fruit, as they still are, were for the
healing and the vigor of the nation.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
IV. THE OPENING OF THE COLLEGE. THE ADMIN-
ISTRATIONS OF JONATHAN DICKINSON, AARON
BURR AND JONATHAN EDWARDS.
THE first charter having been granted, the trustees
made preparations for the opening of the College. Their
announcement was made on the I3th of February, 1747.
They promised that it should be open to the public in May.
Neither its presiding officer nor the place where instruction
would be given was named. But on the 27th of April they
were able to say: "The Trustees of the College of New
Jersey have appointed the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson, Presi-
dent of said College, which will be opened in the fourth
week of May next at Elizabethtown, at which time and
place all persons suitably qualified may be admitted to an
academic education." 1 No records remain from which can
be ascertained the number of students during this first
session. In 1748, however, six students were granted the
degree of Bachelor. " It is morally certain," says Dr. Mac-
lean, "that some, if not all of them, had been in training
under the supervision and instruction of President Dickin-
son." One of Princeton's first graduating class was Richard
Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Mr. Dickinson's work as President was very brief. It
began in the fourth week of May, 1747. He died before
the first week of the following October had closed. The
man to whom, as much as to any single person, the College
was indebted for its existence, for the high ideas which
informed it, and for the cordial cooperation of the Church
and the State in its establishment, was permitted only to
1 " At the time specified, the first term of the College of New Jersey was
opened at Mr. Dickinson's house, on the South Side of the old Rahway Road,
directly West of Race Street."" Hatfield's History of Elizabeth," p. 350.
Jonathan Dickinson.
'747-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 349
launch it upon its career. Nothing is known of the curricu-
lum. We possess no account of it to which we can appeal
in justification of the degree granted to these first gradu-
ates. Their title rests upon the fame of their Presidents ;
and there can be no better title than that they pursued with
credit a course which Jonathan Dickinson and Aaron Burr
esteemed adequate for the first degree in the liberal arts.
President Dickinson was their principal instructor during
the early part of their course. In teaching he had the
assistance of the Rev. Caleb Smith, a graduate of Yale, the
pastor at Newark Mountains, and later one of the most
useful trustees of the College.
Mr. Dickinson died October the seventh, 1747 ; and the
following notice of his death and burial appeared on the
twelfth of the same month. Dr. Hatfield, the historian of
Elizabeth, supposes it to have been written by the Rev.
Ebenezer Pemberton of New York, one of his associate
founders: "On Wednesday morning last, about four o'clock,
died here, of a pleuritic illness, the eminently learned and
pious Minister of the Gospel and President of the College
of New Jersey, the Rev. Mr. Jonathan Dickinson, in the
sixtieth year of his age, who had been Pastor of the First
Presbyterian Church in this town for nearly forty years,
and was the Glory and Joy of it. In him conspicuously
appeared those natural and acquired moral and spiritual
endowments which constitute a truly excellent and valuable
man, a good Scholar, an eminent Divine, and a serious,
devout Christian. He was greatly adorned with the gifts
and graces of the Heavenly Master, in the Light whereof
he appeared as a Star of superior Brightness and Influence
in the Orb of the Church, which has sustained a great and
unspeakable Loss in his Death. He was of uncommon and
very extensive usefulness. He boldly appeared in the De-
fence of the great and important Truths of our most holy
350 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Religion, and the Gospel Doctrines of the free and sov-
ereign Grace of God. He was a zealous Professor of godly
Practice and godly Living, and a bright ornament to his
Profession. In Times and cases of Difficulty he was a
wise and able Counsellor. By his death our Infant College
is deprived of the Benefit and Advantage of his superior
accomplishments, which afforded a favorable prospect of its
future Flourishing and Prosperity under his Inspection.
His remains were decently interred here yesterday, when
the Rev. Mr. Pierson, of Woodbridge, preached his funeral
sermon ; as he lived desired of all, so never any Person in
these parts died more lamented. Our Fathers, where are
they and the Prophets, do they live forever?"
Mr. Dickinson was fifty-eight years of age when he was
elected President of the College. He was the most eminent
minister of the Presbyterian Church. Certainly, of the
division of that church to which 'he belonged, no other min-
ister had been so variously active or so influential. Born
in Massachusetts in 1688 and graduated at Yale in 1706,
he was not twenty-one when he became minister of the
church of Elizabethtown. " It was a weighty charge to be
laid on such youthful shoulders. And yet not too weighty,
as the sequel proved. Quietly and diligently he applied
himself to his work, and his profiting presently appeared to
all. It was not long before he took rank among the first
in his profession." 1 He united with the Presbytery in 1716,
and his church followed their pastor the next year. As a
member of the judicatories of the Presbyterian Church, he
labored to unite its discordant elements. He was the chief
author of the Adopting Act of 1729, the synodical act
which made a national church of that communion possible,
and which is substantially its doctrinal basis to-day. As
a pastor, he was not only faithful and efficient in caring for
1 Hatfield's " Elizabeth," p. 329.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 351
the moral and spiritual life of his people, but helpful every
way. He read medicine and practised it. He was an
adviser in legal difficulties, and greatly aided his pa-
rishioners in their strife before the courts for their homes,
when their titles were attacked by the East Jersey pro-
prietors. He published treatises in Theology and Apolo-
getics, and on the Church. His sermons were regarded
by his contemporaries as among the ablest preached in the
Colonies, and his name was often associated with that of the
elder Edwards when the great theologians of the Colonies
were named. He was deeply interested in missionary work,
and united with Mr. Pemberton, of New York, and Mr.
Burr, of Newark, in promoting a mission to the red Indians.
Long before 1746 he felt the necessity of a college nearer
New Jersey than Harvard or Yale, and did all in his power
to supply the want by correspondence, by conference, by
agitation in the Synod, and by opening a classical and
theological school in his own house. He was a man of
devout religious character and earnest evangelical spirit.
Though without sympathy with much in the measures em-
ployed by Whitefield, he was on Whitefield's side, encour-
aged and defended him, and invited him into his pulpit.
He had the advantage of a fine, manly presence ; and is
said to have been serious but affable in his intercourse. It
would be difficult to name another American clergyman of
his day more widely and variously active, or whose activity
was more uniformly wise and beneficent. This was due,
as far as it could be due to any single quality, to a large-
ness of vision which enabled him to see both sides in a
controversy and most of the factors in a practical problem.
He seems always to have been controlled by principle and
impelled to action by high purposes. He was a man of
calm temperament, and his faculties and attainments were
made to yield the very best results to a resolute will. Yale
352 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
may well be proud of him as an alumnus, and Princeton
may well cherish the memory of the first as the memory
of one of the greatest of her Presidents.
Immediately upon the death of Dickinson, the care of the
College was entrusted to the Rev. Aaron Burr. The stu-
dents were taken from Elizabethtown to Newark. It was
fortunate that Burr was so near at hand. It is probable that
the Academy in Newark was still open ; but whether it
was or not, his conduct of that institution made it compara-
tively easy for him to take charge of the College. Its work
went on without interruption ; but no student was graduated
until the second charter had been granted. To Burr be-
longs the honor of the organization of the curriculum of the
College, its ceremonies and its discipline. How deeply im-
pressed he was by the dignity of a college appears clearly
in the account of the first commencement, 1 held on the gth
of November, 1748, and of the inaugural address he deliv-
ered. The State was represented by the Governor and
Commander-in-chief of the Province. The trustees under
the new charter subscribed the oaths and declarations which
the law required, and elected Burr as President. This ac-
tion was followed by the exercises of the commencement.
The procession formed at the lodgings of the Governor and
moved to the place appointed for the public acts. The char-
1 The reporter of this commencement was one of the trustees, William Smith,
who was a corporator under both charters. He was not only a graduate
of Yale College, but his interest in the acts of the new institution, whose first
commencement he has narrated, was due to the fact that he held the position
of tutor in his alma mater for five years. He was one of the most prominent
lawyers in the Province of New York, a man of great influence in colonial
politics, earnestly desirous of a union among the Colonies, and a member of
the Congress held at Albany to secure a union between them. Upon his
death the " New York Gazette " described him as a gentleman of great eru-
dition, the most eloquent speaker in the Province, and a zealous and inflexi-
ble friend to the cause of religion and liberty.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 353
ter was read before the audience, who stood to hear it. In
the afternoon the President of the College delivered a Latin
oration on the value of liberal learning to the individual, to
the church, and to the state. He spoke at length of the
benefits conferred by the universities on Great Britain, and
congratulated his countrymen that as soon as the Eng-
lish planters of America had formed a civil state they
wisely laid religion and learning at the foundation of their
commonwealth, and always regarded them as the foremost
pillars of their government. He referred with gratitude
to the growing reputation of Harvard College in New Cam-
bridge, and Yale College in New Haven, which had sent forth
many hundreds of learned men of various stations and char-
acters in life who had proved an honor and ornament to their
country. Most of the literati present, said Mr. Burr, looked
to the one or the other of these colleges as their alma mater.
The sun of learning had now in its western movement be-
gun to dawn upon the Province of New Jersey. They were
fortunate in having as their generous patron their most ex-
cellent Governor, who, from his own acquaintance with
academic studies, well knowing the importance of a learned
education, and being justly sensible that in nothing could he
more subserve the honor and interest of His Majesty's
government, and the real good and happiness of his sub-
jects in New Jersey, than by granting them the best means
to render themselves a religious, wise and knowing peo-
ple, had, upon his happy accession to his government, made
the erection of a college in this Province for the instruction
of youth in the liberal arts and sciences the immediate ob-
ject of his attention and care. He spoke with gratitude of
His Excellency's friendship, shown in the ample privileges
granted in His Majesty's royal charter of the College ;
privileges, said Mr. Burr, the most ample possible con-
sistent with the natural and religious rights of mankind.
354 PRINCETON SESQU1CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
He spoke in a tone not only of congratulation, but of tri-
umph, of the provision of the charter which grants free and
equal liberty and advantages of education in the College,
any different sentiments in religion notwithstanding, asserting
that in this provision they saw the axe laid to the root of that
anti-Christian bigotry which had in every age been the parent
of persecution and the plague of mankind, and that by the
tenor of the charter such bigotry could assume no place in
the College of New Jersey.
The disputations of the students followed. These were
carried on in Latin. Six questions in philosophy and the-
ology were debated. The reporter of the commencement
names only one : "An libertas agendi secundum dictamina
conscientice, in rebus mere religiosis, ab ulla potestate hu-
mana coerceri debeat ? " Upon the conclusion of the dispu-
tations the President presented the candidates to the trus-
tees, asking whether it was their pleasure that they should
be admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Arts ; and the
degrees were bestowed. The degree of Master, honoris
causa, was accepted by the Governor. An oration of wel-
come was then pronounced in Latin, by Mr. Daniel Thane,
one of the new bachelors. Like the discourse of the Presi-
dent, it was an eulogy of the liberal arts, in view of the
benefits they yielded to mankind in private and social life,
and was concluded by an expression of the gratitude of the
bachelors to His Excellency the Governor, the trustees and
the President of the College. Upon the conclusion of the
exercises the trustees met, adopted the college seal, and
enacted laws for the regulation of the students. "Thus,"
concludes the reporter, " the first appearance of a college
in New Jersey having given universal satisfaction, even
the unlearned being pleased with the external solemnity
and decorum which they saw, it is hoped that this infant
College will meet with due encouragement from all public-
Aaron Burr.
748-1757-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 355'
spirited generous minds ; and that the lovers of mankind
will wish its prosperity and contribute to its support."
Princeton University may well congratulate itself on the
first public appearance of the College in its annual cere-
mony, on the stately and decorous observances, on the
large-mindedness of the inaugural discourse, the assured
tone of the orator when speaking of the value of the liberal
arts to the communities of Europe and America, on the
spirit of hopefulness as to the future of the College, on
the emphasis of the value of the institution not only to
the church, to the communities and to the state, and on the
sense of relationship not only with Harvard and Yale, but
also with the universities of the mother country. The acts
and addresses gave to the first commencement of the Col-
lege a dignity which we must regard as exceptional among
first commencements. It was in all its parts regarded as a
happy omen, auguring a large and great career.
The College laws enacted by the trustees on the same
day show the standard of admission to have been, for the
times, a high one. No one could be admitted to the Col-
lege who was not able to translate Virgil and Cicero's Ora-
tions into English, and English into true and grammatical
Latin, and the Gospels into Latin or English, and give the
grammatical construction of the words. The curriculum of
the College during this period was in harmony with its
standard of admission. The Latin and Greek languages
and mathematics were studied throughout the entire course.
Physical science was represented by natural philosophy and
astronomy. Logic was studied with text-book, and its prac-
tice was secured by means of discussion. Rhetoric was
taught in the same way, and essays and declamations were
required. Mental and moral philosophy were from the
beginning prominent in the course.
The loss of the minutes of the Faculty makes it impossible
356 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
to set forth in detail the curriculum and the methods of in-
struction. But we are fortunate in possessing letters of
Joseph Shippen of Philadelphia, the son of Judge Edward
Shippen, a trustee of the College, which give us a vivid
picture of the life of a student. In 1750 he was a mem-
ber of the freshman class. In a letter to his father, writ-
ten in French, he says : " But I must give you an account
of my studies at the present time. At seven in the morn-
ing we recite to the President lessons in the works of Xeno-
phon, in Greek, and in Watts' Ontology. The rest of the
morning, until dinner time, we study Cicero, De oratore, and
Hebrew Grammar, and recite our lessons to Mr. Sherman,
the College tutor. The remaining part of the day we spend
in the study of Xenophon and Ontology, to recite the next
morning. And besides these things we dispute once every
week after the syllogistic method, and now and then we learn
geography." Two months later (April iQth) he requests his
father to send him "Tully's Orations, which," he adds, "I
shall have occasion to use immediately." In a letter of
May 12, 1750, he says: "I believe I shall not want any
more books till I come to Philadelphia, when I can bring
them with me; which will be Gordon's Geographical Gram-
mar and (it may be) Watts' Astronomy and a book or two
of logic. We have to-day a lesson on the Globes. As I
have but little time but what I must employ in my studies,
I can't enlarge, otherwise I would give you some account of
our College, as to the constitution, method, and customs,
but must leave that till I see you." In a letter of the ist of
June he says: " I shall learn Horace in a little while; but
my time is filled up in studying Virgil, Greek Testament,
and Rhetoric, so that I have no time hardly to look over
any French, or Algebra, or any English book for my im-
provement. However, I shall accomplish it soon. . . . The
President tells our class that we must go into logic this
week, and I shall have occasion for Watts' book of Logic."
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 357
The letter of young Shippen presents with remarkable
fulness and intelligence the studies of the freshman class.
Watts' Astronomy is in all probability the volume entitled
" The Knowledge of the Heavens and the Earth Made
Easy, or The First Principles of Geography and Astronomy
Explained," an octavo published first in 1726, the sixth edi-
tion of which appeared in 1760. Its author was Isaac
Watts, whose " Imitations of the Psalms" was already be-
ginning to displace the version of Rouse in some of the Pres-
byterian churches. He was the author also of the " book of
Logic" which Shippen studied; and of this book Dr. John-
son has said : " It has been received into the universities, and
therefore wants no private recommendation. If he owes
part of it to Le Clerc, it must be considered that no man
who undertakes merely to methodize or illustrate a system
pretends to be its author." The text-book which in the cor-
respondence is called " Watts' Ontology " is probably the au-
thor's essay or work on the "Improvement of the Mind, or
Supplement to the Art of Logic." It had a wide circulation
and a long life. It appeared first in 1741 as a single octavo
volume, and when Shippen studied it in Princeton it was in
its third edition. As early as 1762 it was translated into
the French and published at Lausanne. Dr. Johnson not
only acknowledges his own indebtedness to it, but adds :
"Whoever has the care of instructing others may be
charged with deficiency in his duty if this book is not com-
mended." Isaac Watts was not a university man. The
Independents of England, in his day, had to rely for their
education on private academies. Few men of his age, how-
ever, had their powers so well in hand as he had his, and
few men have employed their powers more usefully. His
literary product is enormous in its bulk and wide in its
range. His sympathy with youth made him an admira-
ble composer of text-books. While England during the
eighteenth century produced many writers of far greater
358 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
attainments and endowments, it is questionable whether it
produced any other so immediately and widely useful.
The sophomore class studied rhetoric, mathematics, natu-
ral philosophy and astronomy, and continued their classi-
cal reading. Astronomy was studied with text-book and
the orrery constructed by David Rittenhouse. The text-
book in natural philosophy was a work in two volumes.
Its author was Benjamin Martin, a learned optician, who
appears to have been as prolific a writer as Isaac Watts
himself, and whose works, in their day, were highly es-
teemed. No less than thirty-one of his works were pub-
lished. His Natural Philosophy is entitled " Philosophia
Britannica, a New and Comprehensive System of the New-
tonian Philosophy, Astronomy and Geography, with Notes."
He conducted a school, made optical instruments, invented
a reflecting microscope, and enjoyed a high reputation as a
maker of spectacles. He wrote on natural philosophy, on
electricity, on the construction of globes, and on the ele-
ments of optics.
The study of the classics was continued during the four
years. The seniors had a special course in ethics, using as
a text-book Henry Grove's " System of Moral Philosophy,"
in two volumes. As early as the administration of President
Burr more time than was customary in colleges was de-
voted to the study of mathematics and natural science.
Optional studies were pursued in these branches. In 1752,
Shippen writes as follows : " The President has been in-
structing two or three of us in the calculation of eclipses."
He also speaks of his studying, outside of the necessary
exercises of the College, the theory of navigation.
While President Burr was organizing the curriculum,
the trustees were conferring and corresponding about the
permanent location of the College. Newark was too near
to New York City to satisfy the trustees residing in Penn-
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
sylvania. It was important, if the College was to retain the
support of the communities represented in the Board of
Trustees, that a place should be selected which would be
reasonably convenient to both Pennsylvania and New York.
Proposals were made to two of the central towns of New
Jersey. The trustees were fully aware of the pecuniary
and social value of the College to any town in which it
should be planted, and they were determined not to plant
it among any people who were unwilling to compensate the
institution for its presence. In September, 1750, they voted
" that a proposal be made to the towns of Brunswick and
Princeton to try what sum of money they could raise for
the Building of the College, by the next meeting, that the
trustees may be better able to judge in which of these places
to fix the place of the College." In the following May the
trustees selected New Brunswick, " provided the citizens of
the place secure to the College a thousand pounds in procla-
mation money, ten acres for a college campus, and two hun-
dred acres of woodland not farther than three miles from
the town." Meanwhile the citizens of Princeton were active
and anxious. They were ready with a definite proposition
as to land for the building, and with promises of a sub-
scription for its erection. The treasurer and another mem-
ber of the board were directed to view the promised land at
Princeton, and also that to be given by the inhabitants of
New Brunswick, and to report to the trustees in the follow-
ing September. By September the views of the trustees
concerning the respective advantages of the two towns had
somewhat changed ; and from this time until September,
1752, when it was voted that the College be fixed at Prince-
ton, the latter place steadily increased in favor.
Princeton was almost on the line between the eastern and
western divisions of New Jersey. Indeed it lies between
the lines made by the two surveyors, Keith and Lawrence.
360 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
It is almost midway between New York and Philadelphia,
and its one street was a part of the great thoroughfare be-
tween them. It stands on the first highland west and north
of the ocean ; and this highland, though but a little more
than two hundred feet above the level of the sea, is the
first of the foot-hills of the Appalachian mountains. A set-
tlement had been made as early, certainly, as 1696. Four
of the seven families of settlers belonged to the Society of
Friends. They came from other parts of New Jersey. The
two remaining families came from New England. These
families the Clarks, the Oldens, the Worths, the Homers,
the Stocktons, the Fitzrandolphs, and the Leonards "con-
stituted the strength and sinew of the community, not only
at the beginning, but long afterward." A few miles east of
Princeton stands the village of Kingston. It is thought
that Kingston derived its name from the fact that it stands
upon the road called the King's Highway, between New
Brunswick on the Raritan and Trenton on the Delaware.
If not settled before Princeton, it received its name earlier,
and its designation suggested the name of the town in
which the College was placed. It is not unlikely that the
latter was called after William III, of England, by his title
of Prince, and that the name of the College building, Nas-
sau Hall, was suggested to Governor Belcher by the name
of the town in which it stood. The conditions insisted on
by the trustees were all met by the people of Princeton.
Mr. Sergeant, the treasurer, had already viewed the ten
acres of cleared land on which the College was to stand,
and the two hundred acres of woodland. The final action
was taken by the board in September, 1752. The terms of
payment of the one thousand pounds proclamation money
are set forth in the vote of that date. The trustees de-
manded that a deed of the land be executed by a certain
date, or the privilege of having the College established at
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 3G1
that place would be forfeited. Four and a half acres of
ground were deeded to the College by Nathaniel Fitzran-
dolph, and the date of the execution of this deed may be
regarded as the date of the College's location in the town
where it now stands.
It was determined to proceed with the erection of two
buildings, a college hall and a house for the President. It
was voted that the college hall be built of brick, if good
brick could be made at Princeton. Fortunately, at a sub-
sequent meeting, the vote was rescinded, and stone was
selected. The President's house, which was to have been
built of wood, was built of brick. The site of the college
on the land was selected by Samuel Hazard, and the plan
in general was indicated by Dr. Shippen. Each of them
acted in association with Mr. Robert Smith, the architect
of the building. The ground was broken in July, 1754.
Soon afterwards the corner-stone was laid at the north-
west corner of the cellar. The building was completed in
1757. It was one hundred and seventy feet long and fifty-
four feet wide. At the centre it projected toward the front
four feet, and toward the rear twelve feet. What is now
the cellar was then the basement. It had, as now, three
stories, and was surmounted by a cupola. Twice since its
erection, in 1802 and in 1855, the interior of the building
has been destroyed by fire ; but the honest workmanship of
the first builders enabled it to survive both desolations. Dr.
Finley, a later President of the College, thus describes it:
" It will accommodate about one hundred and forty-seven
students, computing three to a chamber. These are twenty
feet square, leaving two large closets with a window in each
for retirement. It has also an elegant hall of gentle work-
manship, being a square of near forty feet, with a neatly fin-
ished front gallery. Here is a small though exceedingly
good organ which was obtained by a voluntary subscrip-
362 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
tion, opposite to which, and of the same height, is erected a
stage for the use of the students in their public exhibitions.
It is also ornamented on one side with a portrait of his late
Majesty at full length, and on the other with a like picture
(and above it the family arms neatly carved and gilt) of his
Excellency Governor Belcher. The library, which is on the
second floor, is a spacious room, furnished, at present, with
twelve hundred volumes, all of which have been gifts of the
patrons and friends of the institution both in Europe and
America. There is on the lower story a commodious din-
ing hall, together with a large kitchen, steward's apartments,
etc. The whole structure, which is of durable stone, hav-
ing a neat cupola on its top, makes a handsome appearance
and is esteemed to be the most convenient plan for the pur-
poses of a college of any in North America."
Governor Belcher was not content simply to enjoy the
position of the College's official patron. He gave to its in-
terests his time. He commended it to his friends, encour-
aged the trustees in every way, and was one of its largest
benefactors. It was altogether appropriate that the trustees
should, as they did, propose to name the new building after
him. This honor the Governor declined, and requested the
trustees to call the building Nassau Hall, as "the name
which expresses the honor we render, in this remote part
of the globe, to the immortal memory of the glorious King
William the Third, who was a branch of the illustrious
House of Nassau." The trustees recorded his letter, and
ordered that "the said edifice be in all time to come, called
and known by the name of Nassau Hall." The College was
removed to Princeton in the autumn of 1756. "In that
year," says Mr. Randolph in his memoranda, "Aaron Burr,
President, preached the first sermon, and began the first
school in Princeton College." The College opened with
seventy students.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 363
The erection of this building required a large addition to
the funds of the College. The friends of the institution in
the Colonies, unable to meet the expense, sent to the mother
country a commission to ask contributions. The Governor
wrote, in behalf of the commission, to his British friends.
Two clergymen were found, who were willing to act as the
solicitors. These were the Rev. Samuel Davies, of Vir-
ginia, and the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, of Philadelphia. It was
necessary to their success that they secure the sanction and
commendation of the Synod of New York. The commen-
dation of the Synod was addressed to the General Assem-
bly of the Church of Scotland. It stated the importance of
the College to the congregations under the care of the
Synod. It set forth the services which the College had
already rendered in supplying educated and accomplished
ministers for these churches. It certified that Mr. Tennent
and Mr. Davies were appointed by both the trustees and the
Synod, and recommended them and their mission to the
acceptance of the Church of Scotland. Davies and Tennent
were well received by the Independent and the Presbyterian
ministers of England. The Scottish General Assembly
heard their petition favorably and even with enthusiasm,
and appointed a committee to draw up an act of recom-
mendation for a collection in the churches. This was the
more gratifying because the Synod of Philadelphia or sev-
eral of its members had endeavored, by correspondence, to
put stumbling-blocks in the way of their success, no doubt
because of Synod's desire to promote the interests of its
own College. Tennent visited his native Ireland, and suc-
cessfully brought the subject to the attention of the Synod
of Ulster. " The mission of these gentlemen," says Dr.
Maclean, " was successful beyond all expectation, and they
obtained an amount of funds which enabled the trustees to
proceed without further delay in the erection of their pro-
364 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
posed college hall, and also of a house for the residence of
the president and family." 1 Tennent and Davies received
in London about twelve hundred pounds sterling ; and from
the west of England and from Ireland Tennent obtained
five hundred pounds. Davies collected in the provinces
about four hundred pounds. In addition to this, about
three hundred pounds were contributed for funds for can-
didates for the ministry, and collections for the College
were made in the churches in Scotland and Ireland by order
of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and of
the Synod of Ulster.
The College had now been in existence for eleven years.
It had a permanent home in a favorable location, and was
the possessor of the finest college hall in the country. Effec-
tive measures had been taken to heal the schism in the Pres-
byterian Church. The reunion of the two Synods, which
brought to the aid of the College and to its patronage a far
larger number of friends than up to this time it had pos-
sessed, took place in 1758. But before the reunion took
place two of its most important friends passed away. Gov-
ernor Jonathan Belcher 2 died on Wednesday, August 31.
In less than a month his death was followed by the death
of President Aaron Burr.
'"History of the College," Vol. I, p. 152.
2 The administration of Governor Belcher in New Jersey was wise and able,
and of great advantage to the province as well as to the College. Samuel
Smith the historian, and a contemporary, contrasts his career as governor
of Massachusetts with his career as governor of New Jersey. In Massachu-
setts he " carried a high hand in the administration, disgusted men of influ-
ence, and, at one time, putting a negative on several counsellors, occasioned
so many voices to unite in their applications against him that he was removed
from his government." When he was appointed governor of New Jersey
" he was advanced in age yet lively, diligent in his station and circumspect
in his conduct, religious, generous, and affable. He affected splendor at least
equal to his rank and fortune, but was a man of worth and honor. And
though in his last years under great debility of body from a stroke of palsy,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 365
Governor Belcher's death was not unexpected. He was
almost seventy-six years old, and for several years he had
been a paralytic. But President Burr was only forty-one ;
and it had been hoped that the College, whose curriculum
and discipline he had so wisely organized, would have the
benefit of his wisdom for many years to come. Born in
1716, he was graduated at Yale in 1735, and was ordained
at Newark in 1738. For nine years he was the pastor of
the Presbyterian church in that place, and conducted also a
large Latin school. In 1747, on the death of Dickinson,
he took charge of the College, and was reflected President
under the new charter. The Rev. Caleb Smith delivered,
by appointment of the Trustees, a discourse commemora-
tive of President Burr, in which he is presented as a peace-
loving, studious and industrious man, of quick and large
intelligence, of great wisdom in the administration of the
College, devout and earnest as a Christian, and as a preacher
"he shone," says Mr. Smith, "like a star of the first magni-
tude." The following extract from the memorial discourse
goes far in explaining the wide popularity he enjoyed and his
conspicuous success as President. " He was a great friend
to liberty both civil and religious, and generously espoused
this noble cause on every suitable occasion. As he ab-
horred tyranny in the State, so he detested persecution in
the Church, and all those anti-Christian methods which
have been used by most prevailing parties, somehow or
other, to enslave the consciences of their dissenting breth-
ren. He was very far from indulging a party spirit, and
hated bigotry in all its odious shapes. His arms were open
he bore up with firmness and resignation, and went through the business of
the government in the most difficult part of the late war with unremitting zeal
in the duties of his office." No act of his administration, however, gave him
greater satisfaction than his grant of the charter of 1748 to the College. From
the day of its grant to his death, he was among its most active and generous
benefactors.
3G6 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
to a good man of any denomination, however he might in
principle differ or in practice disagree as to what he himself,
in the lesser matters of religion, judged to be preferable.
He was no man for contention, and at a wide remove from
a wrangling disputant; these bitter ingredients came not
into the composition of his amiable character. His modera-
tion was well known to all men that knew anything of him.
A sweetness of temper, obliging courtesy and mildness
of behavior, added to an engaging candor of sentiment,
spread a glory over his reputation, endeared his person to
all his acquaintances, recommended his ministry and whole
profession to mankind in general, and greatly contributed
to his extensive usefulness."
Four days after the death of Burr, the commencement of
1757 took place. It was the first commencement at Prince-
ton. The graduating class numbered twenty-two. With-
out any delay a successor was chosen. Seventeen out
of the twenty trustees present at the meeting voted for
the father-in-law of Burr, the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, of
Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It required no little pressure
to induce Mr. Edwards to leave Stockbridge and his work
among the Indians. It was the more difficult because his
life there gave him the time and seclusion needed for study
and composition. To quote the language of the trustees,
"he came only after repeated requests." An ecclesiastical
council, in December, 1757, released him from his labors at
Stockbridge. He arrived at Princeton and was qualified as
President on the sixteenth of February, 1758. One week later
he was inoculated for the smallpox, and died the twenty-sec-
ond of March. He preached before the College, but did little
teaching. We are told that "he did nothing as President,
unless it was to give out some questions in Divinity, to the
senior class, to be answered before him ; each one having
opportunity to study and write what he thought proper upon
Jonathan Edwards.
1758.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION W37
them. When they came together to answer them, they
found so much entertainment and profit by it, especially by
the light and instruction Mr. Edwards communicated in
what he said upon the questions when they had delivered
what they had to say, they spoke of it with the greatest
satisfaction and wonder." l We can easily understand how
severe a blow the death of this great man, almost immedi-
ately after his accession to the Presidency, must have been
to the College. But the fact that he had accepted the Presi-
dency gave celebrity to the College; and though he was not
permitted to labor for it, the College has always derived
great advantage from his illustrious name. " Probably no
man," says Dr. Maclean, " ever connected with this institu-
tion has contributed so much to its reputation both at home
and abroad."
Less than a month after the death of President Edwards
the Trustees met for the election of his successor. They
turned to a graduate of the elder college which had given
them three Presidents, and invited the Rev. James Lock-
wood of Weathersfield, Connecticut, to take the vacant
place. Dr. Ashbel Green speaks of him as " a man of great
worth and high reputation." He declined the election, as,
later, he declined the election to the Presidency of Yale
College after the resignation of Clapp, and the Board chose
as Jonathan Edwards' successor the Rev. Samuel Davies.
V. THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF SAMUEL DAVIES AND
SAMUEL FINLEY.
THE election of Samuel Davies to the presidency of the
College was the beginning of a new era in its administration.
Up to this time the prevailing influence had been that of the
1 Edwards, " Works," Biographical Introduction.
368 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
New England Presbyterians of East Jersey. The first three
Presidents were graduates of Yale ; and when the fourth
election was held another Yale graduate was chosen. But
the statement of Mr. Davies, that himself and another gen-
tleman divided with Mr. Lockwood the votes of the Trus-
tees, would seem to indicate that what may be called the
New England element had to face formidable rivals in the
Board. It is not probable that the Board was divided into
parties ; but it is not difficult to believe that the Trustees
from East Jersey, who owed so much to the two colleges
of New England, and who were in sympathy with their
methods and aims, held that the College must for some
time to come obtain its chief executive officer from among
the graduates of Yale and Harvard. Two or three consid-
erations, however, after Mr. Lockwood's declinature led a
large majority of the Board to look elsewhere. The now
disbanded Log College, whose friends had united with the
College of New Jersey in the support of the latter institu-
tion, had as yet been given no representative in the execu-
tive office; the patronage of the College was more and
more drawn from the Middle and Southern Colonies ; and
the Presbyterian Church was developing rapidly a distinc-
tive and influential ecclesiastical life. Meanwhile two Pres-
byterian ministers, one of whom was graduated at the school
of a son of the Log College, and the other probably at the
Log College itself, had discovered gifts which seemed to
their friends to fit them for the presidential office. Both
were prominent ministers of the Church. One was eminent
as a sacred orator, the other as a classical scholar and
teacher. One of them lived in Virginia and the other in
Maryland : two Colonies to which the College was looking
for students. When Mr. Lockwood declined, the Board's
attention was fixed exclusively upon these two men : the
Rev. Samuel Davies and the Rev. Samuel Finley. The
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 369
choice fell upon Mr. Davies. He was chosen at a meeting
held the sixteenth of August, 1758. At first, he declined
absolutely ; partly because of the unwillingness of the Vir-
ginia Presbyterians to give him up to the College, and partly
because he believed that Mr. Finley would make the better
President. But opposition to Finley developed in the Board,
and a way was found for the release of Davies from his Vir-
ginia parish. A meeting of the Trustees was held in May,
1759, when he was again elected. He began his adminis-
tration on the twenty-sixth of the following July.
The new President was the most eloquent preacher in
his communion. One of the historians of the Presbyterian
Church 1 does not hesitate to describe him as "next to
Whitefield, the most eloquent preacher of his age." His
Celtic blood endowed him with the gifts of vivid emotion
and fervid speech. He had passed through a religious ex-
perience as violent in its phases as that of Bunyan or of
Whitefield. The classical and theological education he had
received at the school of Samuel Blair had disciplined his
powers without diminishing his enthusiasm. He was in
full sympathy with the theology of the evangelical revival,
and ardently adopted the measures by which the revival
was promoted. In Virginia, where the Church of England
was established, and where it was necessary for ministers
not connected with the establishment to procure from the
General Court licenses to hold religious services, Davies
was fortunate enough to obtain one. He was settled at
Hanover as the pastor of the church ; but his eloquence
was heard in the neighboring counties by delighted congre-
gations. " The different congregations or assemblies to
which he ministered were scattered over a large district of
country, not less than sixty miles in length ; and the licensed
places for preaching, of which there were seven, were, the
1 Dr. Gillett.
370 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
nearest, twelve or fifteen miles apart." 1 In addition to his
work as pastor and preacher, he was the most prominent
citizen of his Colony in maintaining and defending the
rights secured to the non-conformists by the Act of Tolera-
tion. His addresses and correspondence show that the
cause of religious liberty in Virginia could not have had a
wiser, abler or more faithful advocate. What large-mind-
edness, catholicity of spirit and diplomatic courtesy could
effect was secured by his activity to the dissenting Presby-
terian colonists and to their clergy. The contest for toler-
ation was long and doubtful. Indeed, toleration was not
finally secured until religious liberty was won by the sepa-
ration of Virginia from the mother country. But to Davies,
as much as to any one man, the Presbyterians of Virginia
owed the confirmation of their right as British subjects to
worship God after the customs of their fathers. Amid all
this work, he found time to take a large and active part in
the general work of the growing church to which his con-
gregation belonged. He led the Presbytery of which he
was a member in its organization of missionary labors, and
no counsel was more highly valued in the Synod than his.
His eloquence and ability and his popularity in Virginia
and throughout the Church by themselves might well have
led the Trustees to invite him to the presidency of the Col-
lege. But though never a trustee himself until as President
he became a member of the corporation, he was early asso-
ciated with it. At the commencement of 1753, as a candi-
date for Master, he defended the thesis Personates distinc-
tiones in Trinitate sunt csternce, and was granted the degree.
It was as a laureatus of the College, therefore, as well as one
of a commission of the Synod, that in November of the same
year he sailed for Great Britain with Gilbert Tennent to
ask contributions for the institution. The success of the
1 Maclean's " Hist," Vol. I, p. 223.
Samuel Davies.
1759- '?6i.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 371
commission was largely due to the profound impression
made by the preaching and the charming personality of
Davies. Everywhere he went he justified the reputation for
eloquence which preceded him. He was heard seventy times
in Great Britain, and, it is said, never failed to produce a pro-
found spiritual impression. Nor did his sermons, like those
of Whitefield, lose their power to interest when reproduced
in type. Undoubtedly, the criticism that their language is
often loose and their rhetoric often turgid is just. But they
are great discourses, organized by an orator who knew the
power of eloquence and how to wield it, suffused with feel-
ing, made substantial by weighty truths and vitalized by the
spirit of the Great Awakening. The popularity of Davies
as a preacher survived for many years the man himself.
Between his death in 1761 and the close of the century, no
less than nine editions of his sermons were published in
England. These were widely circulated in that country
and in America. It is a remarkable tribute to a literary
product the whole of which was thrown off rapidly, and
the most of which was published posthumously, that was
paid by a successor in the presidency, Ashbel Green, more
than sixty years after Davies' death: " Probably there are
no sermons in the English language which have been more
read, or for which there has been so steady and unceasing
a demand for more than half a century." Twenty years
after this tribute was paid to them, a new edition was pub-
lished in America and introduced to a new generation of
readers by the Rev. Albert Barnes.
Davies began his administration at the college com-
mencement of 1759. His popularity in the Colonies in-
creased the number of the students in attendance to nearly,
if not quite, one hundred. The curriculum, so admirably
organized during the presidency of Aaron Burr, as far as
appears, was not altered or extended. Admission to the
372 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
freshman class was granted on the same terms, except that
the candidate was required to demonstrate his acquaintance
with " Vulgar Arithmetic." The annual examinations of the
classes were open to the public, and any " gentleman of
education " present might question the students. The cus-
tom of punishment by fines, which prevailed, was so far
changed that the tutors were permitted to substitute other
modes of correction less than suspension. The services of
morning and evening prayers were varied ; a chapter of
Holy Scripture was to be read in the morning, a psalm or
hymn to be sung in the evening, customs which were ob-
served until evening prayers were abolished during the
administration of Dr. McCosh. One change in morning
prayer made at this time had a much shorter life. It was
resolved by the Trustees that the President and tutors might
appoint a student to read a passage of Scripture " out of the
original language." The catalogue of the college library
was published, with a preface written by the President, in
which he urged its increase "as the most ornamental and
useful furniture of a college, and the most proper and valua-
ble fund with which it can be endowed." The whole num-
ber of volumes in the library was less than twelve hundred.
" Few modern authors," writes President Davies, " adorn
the shelves. This defect is most sensibly felt in the study
of mathematics and the Newtonian philosophy, in which the
students have but very imperfect helps either from books
or from instruments." The question of the length of resi-
dence necessary to secure the first degree in the arts was
debated by the Trustees; and it was determined that "every
student shall be obliged to reside in college at least two
years before his graduation."
The " Pennsylvania Gazette " contains an account of the
commencement of 1760. The odes on Science and Peace,
written by the President and sung by the students, and the
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 373
description of the orations of the graduating class, confirm
the remark of Ashbel Green, that President Davies " turned
the attention of his pupils to the cultivation of English com-
position and eloquence." His effective oratory, we can
easily understand, deeply impressed the students ; and the
duty of preparing and delivering an oration each month,
which he put upon each of the members of the senior class,
was no doubt one of the causes of the establishment, a few
years later, of the Well-meaning and Plain-dealing clubs,
which, as the Cliosophic and American Whig societies, are
in existence to-day.
The brief administration of Davies abundantly justified
his election to the presidency. Jeremiah Halsey, then
tutor, writing soon after Davies' arrival in Princeton to begin
his work, says of him: "He has a prodigious stock of
popularity, I think in this respect equal if not superior to
the late President Burr. He has something very winning
and amiable in his deportment, at the same time command-
ing reverence and respect, so that he appears as likely to
shine in this character as any one that could be thought of
on this continent." He was indefatigable in labor, and he
worked with an enthusiasm which rapidly broke down a
constitution not strong at its best. In January, 1761, "he
was seized with a bad cold," which refused to yield to reme-
dies ; an inflammatory fever followed. He died February
4, 1761, when only thirty-seven years of age. He was
President for only a year and a half. Heu quam exiguum
vitcz curriculum ! 1
Upon the death of Mr. Davies, the Board of Trustees had
no difficulty in choosing a successor. A number of them at
Davies' first election had cast their votes for Samuel Finley.
Davies himself thought Finley better fitted than himself to
perform the duties and bear the burdens of the office. A
1 From the inscription on his monument in the cemetery.
374 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
meeting of the trustees was called, to be held May 28, 1761;
but a quorum not being in attendance, a second meeting was
held three days later. At this meeting Mr. Finley was
unanimously chosen. For ten years he had been an active
member of the Board, and was perfectly conversant with the
state of the College. He had acted as President pro tem-
pore. Mr. Finley was not a man to postpone an answer to
an election for the sake of appearances. He was exception-
ally .frank and direct in speech and action. We need not
be surprised, therefore, that the minute which records his
election contains the statement that " the said Mr. Finley,
being informed of the above election, was pleased modestly
to accept the same." How highly he was regarded by the
friends of the College is evident from a letter written by
the Rev. David Bostwick, who soon after became a trustee
of the College, to the Rev. Mr. Bellamy, in March, 1761.
Referring to the death of Davies and the need of a suc-
cessor, he says: "Our eyes are on Mr. Finley, a very ac-
curate scholar, and a very great and good man. Blessed
be the Lord, that such an one is to be found."
Samuel Finley was born in Ireland, in the county of
Armagh, of a Scottish family, and was one of seven sons.
Early in life he discovered both a taste for learning and
fine powers of acquisition. The religious education which
he obtained in the family determined his studies in the
direction of theology, and he looked forward to the life of a
minister, even before his family migrated to America when
he was in his nineteenth year. He reached Philadelphia in
September, 1734, and as soon as possible he continued his
preparation for the ministry. The six years, which inter-
vened between his arrival in 1734 and his license to preach
on August 5, 1740, appear to have been passed in earnest
study of the classics and divinity. At all events, the at-
tainments for which he was distinguished, which gave to
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 375
the Academy instituted by him its high and wide repu-
tation, and which led to his invitation finally to become
President of Nassau Hall, make it highly probable, that
this period of his life was passed in earnest and continuous
study, under the direction of one no less competent than
William Tennent, and full of Tennent's evangelical spirit.
He was licensed when the evangelical revival was exerting its
widest influence. He threw himself into the work of that
great movement with enthusiasm, travelling widely and
preaching with earnestness, particularly throughout the
western part of New Jersey. For six months also he sup-
plied the pulpit of the Second Presbyterian Church of
Philadelphia, and was ordained by the Presbytery of New
Brunswick in October, 1742. Of the several calls received
by him he was disposed to accept one from Milford, Con-
necticut. His Presbytery sent him there, permitting him to
preach at other points, if the way should be open. A sec-
ond religious society had been established at New Haven,
but was not yet recognized by either the civil or the re-
ligious authorities. Mr. James Pierpont, a son of the
Rev. James Pierpont, was interested in this new church,
and invited Finley to preach before it. This was illegal ;
and on September 5, as he was about to occupy the pul-
pit, he was arrested and imprisoned. He was indicted by
the Grand Jury, convicted of vagrancy, and sentenced to
be exiled from the colony. The sentence was executed,
and he was unable to induce the authorities to permit his re-
turn. In June of the same year he accepted an invitation
to become the pastor of the Presbyterian church in Not-
tingham, Maryland ; where he remained for seventeen years.
Mr. Ebenezer Hazard, sometime Postmaster-General of the
United States, says of Dr. Finley : " He was remarkable for
sweetness of temper and politeness of behaviour. He was
given to hospitality ; charitable without ostentation ; exem-
376 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
plary in discharge of his relative duties ; and in all things
showing himself a pattern of good works. He was a Cal-
vinist in sentiment. His sermons were not hasty productions,
but filled with good sense and well-digested sentiment, ex-
pressed in language pleasing to men of science, yet per-
fectly intelligible by the illiterate. They were calculated to
inform the ignorant, to alarm the careless and secure, and
to edify and comfort the faithful." Such a man's pastorate
would be likely to bear fruit in the quiet and continuous
development of a high sentiment in the community. Before
his pastorate he engaged in some religious disputes, and
these are embodied in two sermons. Other discussions
were carried on by him after his settlement ; but his only
publications are seven discourses, the last of which is a ser-
mon on the life and character of his predecessor, Mr. Davies.
He was above all a student, a teacher, and a faithful, intelli-
gent and successful administrator of the two educational
institutions with which he was officially connected. Not
long after his settlement at Nottingham he began to gather
about him pupils, following the example of William Tennent
on the Neshaminy. No doubt he was led into this work
by his sense of the need of ministers in the Presbyterian
Church ; but his pupils were not all candidates for the sacred
ministry. The names of some of the more distinguished
of these pupils have already been mentioned in another
connection. The success of Dr. Finley in the Nottingham
Academy, and the impression made by his personality and
his learning on his brethren of the ministry, led many of
them early to think of him as a suitable candidate for the
Presidency of Nassau Hall. He was President for five
years. It was a period of quiet but rapid and healthful de-
velopment. The number of students was increased. The
curriculum was enriched. The success of the College is in-
dicated by the fact, that during his administration the sal-
Samuel Finley.
1761 - 1766.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 377
aries of the President and the Faculty were enlarged, and
two tutors were added to the teaching force. To the gram-
mar-school, founded by Burr, and taken under the govern-
ment of the College during Burr's presidency, was added
an English school, which the Trustees ordered "to be under
the inspection and government of the President of the Col-
lege for the time being." So large had the College become,
that in 1765, at the last commencement held by Dr. Finley,
thirty-one students were admitted to the first degree in the
arts, and eleven others were made Masters. The President
was the most important and laborious of the teachers. In-
deed, we are told that it was his unremitted application to
the duties of his office that impaired his health and brought
about his death when only fifty-one years of age. The
impression made by him on his students is well stated by
one of them, the Rev. Dr. John Woodhull, of Monmouth.
"His learning," says Dr. Woodhull, "was very extensive.
Every branch of study taught in the College appeared to
be familiar to him. Among other things, he taught Latin,
Greek and Hebrew in the senior year. He was highly re-
spected and greatly beloved by the students, and had very
little difficulty in governing the College." Dr. Finley's was
the last administration during which the instruction of the
College was given by the President aided only by tutors.
As yet there were no professorships. The earliest profes-
sor named in the Triennial Catalogue is John Blair, who
was elected the year succeeding Finley's death. During
Finley's administration the number of tutors was increased
by two. These were Samuel Blair, who, at the age of
twenty-six, was called to the Presidency of the College,
and the second Jonathan Edwards, only less distinguished
than his father as a theologian, and for two years the Presi-
dent of Union College.
During the administration of Dr. Finley the freshman
378 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
year was spent in the study of Latin and Greek, particularly
in reading Horace, Cicero's " Orations," the Greek Testa-
ment, Lucian's " Dialogues " and Xenophon's " Cyropaedia."
In the sophomore year, the students read Homer, and
studied Longinus, etc., geography, rhetoric, logic and math-
ematics. The public exercises in oratory and disputation,
in which Davies was so deeply interested, were increased in
number and more highly organized by Finley. Both foren-
sic and syllogistic disputations were held, the former always
in the English, the latter often in the Latin language. Even
Sundays gave the students no rest from intellectual activity,
for disputations on a series of questions prepared on the
principal subjects of natural and revealed religion were held
before a promiscuous congregation. Once a month, orations
of the students' own composition were pronounced before a
public audience, and the students were continually exercised
in English composition. The institution during this admin-
istration was distinctively a college, not in any sense a uni-
versity. The contact between the teacher and the student
was frequent and intimate ; the latter was subjected to in-
spection and to discipline, and his hours were carefully regu-
lated. The relation between tutor and pupil was not unlike
that subsisting in the colleges of the English universities.
The students were distributed into the four classes which
still exist, and the social distinctions between them, which
in later years have been recognized by the students them-
selves, in the days of Finley were determined by the Faculty.
" In each of these classes," says the authorized account of
the College, " the students continue one year, giving and
receiving in their turns those tokens of respect and subjec-
tion which belong to their standings in order to preserve a
due subordination." The commencement exercises of the
College were all announced, and many conducted, in the
Latin language. They were elaborate and stately. The
academic proprieties were carefully observed, and the
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 379
" mixed auditory " must have been impressed, if not edified,
by the large use made of Latin.
The period during which Dr. Finley was President was
one of great political excitement, in which the institution
shared. In 1766 a committee of the Trustees was appointed
to prepare an address to His Majesty " for his gracious
condescension to these Colonies in the repeal of the Stamp
Act." This address must not be taken to indicate a deep-
seated loyalty on the part of the Trustees and the other
members of the College. On the contrary, there are evi-
dences in the official action of the institution that its loyalty
to the mother country had been seriously weakened. In the
address presented by the Trustees to the Governor of the
Province in 1763, no mention is made of the government of
Great Britain, and there are no protestations of loyalty to
the King. There was a spirit within the institution, as well
as abroad in the Colonies, preparing it for the administration
of the "high son of liberty" who was to be Finley's suc-
cessor. Meanwhile, the College was fortunate to have en-
joyed for five years the direction of the clear and largely
informed intelligence of Samuel Finley, and to have had
infused into its life his own enthusiasm in behalf of religion
and the higher learning. Simple in character, calm in tem-
perament, devoted to books, and quiet in manner as Finley
was, one might well have predicted that his administration
would be a long one, and his life continue to the period of old
age ; but his too abundant labors broke down his constitu-
tion. He was attacked by an acute disease, and died in
Philadelphia, after expressing his perfect resignation to the
divine will, on July 17, 1766, in the fifty-first year of his age.
VI. THE ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN WITHERSPOON.
THE death of President Finley was felt by its friends to
be a serious blow to the College. It was felt more keenly
380 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
because the College had suffered so many times the loss of
its President. In the one hundred and fifty years of its life
it has had only twelve Presidents, but five of these were in
their graves when the institution was only twenty years
old. Soon after Dr. Finley's death the Board of Trustees
unanimously elected the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon, of
Paisley, Scotland. Richard Stockton, a graduate of the
College, a member of the Board, and afterwards, with Dr.
Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence,
was in England at the time; and the Trustees requested
him to visit Dr. Witherspoon and urge his acceptance.
While awaiting his reply, negotiations were carried on for
the admission into the Board of representatives of that por-
tion of the now reunited Presbyterian Church which had
taken no part in the establishment of the College, and which
up to this time had shown little interest in its maintenance.
As part of these negotiations it was voted to increase the
Faculty by the election of several professors. One of the
new professors, the Rev. John Blair, 1 professor of Divinity
and Morality, was chosen Vice-President until the next
commencement. Dr. Hugh Williamson, of Philadelphia,
was elected professor of Mathematics and Natural Philoso-
phy, and Jonathan Edwards, then a tutor in the College and
the son of the former President, professor of Languages
1 John Blair was a native of Ireland, and was born in the year 1720. He
was a younger brother of Samuel Blair, one of the first Trustees of the Col-
lege. He was educated at the Log College. He was ordained in 1742, and
became pastor of the Middle Spring Church in Cumberland County, Pennsyl-
vania. In 1757 he went to Fagg's Manor, and became pastor, succeeding his
brother in the pulpit and also as the principal of the classical school. He
prepared many students for the ministry. After his resignation as professor
of Divinity in Princeton College he was settled as pastor at Walkill, Orange
County, New York, where he died December 8, 1771. Dr. Archibald Alex-
ander says of him, that " as a theologian he was not inferior to any man in
the Presbyterian Church in his day."
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 381
and Logic. News having reached the Trustees that With-
erspoon had declined, the Board elected the Rev. Samuel
Blair, pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, to the
presidency, and appointed him also professor of Rhetoric
and Metaphysics. Blair's election was unanimous. He
was the first graduate of the College elected to the office.
He was only twenty-six years of age. He was the son of
the Rev. Samuel Blair, of whom mention has already been
made as the founder and principal of the Classical School
at Fagg's Manor, in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He
was graduated in 1760, and was tutor in the College from
1761 to 1764. No man in the Church at that time gave
greater promise. He was successful as a student, as a
teacher, and as a preacher ; but, more than all, he impressed
men by the beauty and strength of his character. His
magnanimity had now given to it a signal opportunity for
exercise. He was anxious to accept the position to which
he had been chosen with cordiality. He had every reason
to trust himself in the office ; but, like the Trustees, he
was convinced that no one else could so well occupy the
position as Witherspoon, if only he could be induced to ac-
cept it. Therefore he placed his declinature in the hands
of a member of the Board, to be presented if it seemed pos-
sible to secure Witherspoon, and urged on the Trustees the
policy of endeavoring to induce Witherspoon to reopen the
question of removing to America. This policy was suc-
cessful. Witherspoon expressed his willingness to come if
he should be reelected. Blair's declinature was accepted,
and Witherspoon became the sixth President of the
College.
John Witherspoon was at this time forty-five years of
age. He had already had an influential career in the
Church of Scotland. He was the son of a minister, and
came from a ministerial ancestry. His father was an able
382 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
and faithful pastor, and through his mother he was de-
scended from John Knox. When fourteen years of age he
entered the University of Edinburgh, and after a course of
seven years became a licentiate. Both his college and
theological courses gave promise of distinction. "At the
divinity hall he stood unrivalled for perspicuity of style,
logical accuracy of thought and taste in Sacred Criticism."
In 1744 he was presented by the Earl of Eglinton with the
living of Beith in West Scotland. There he remained for
between twelve and thirteen years. He not only was suc-
cessful as a parish minister, but he appeared before the
public as an author. His first volume gave him national
fame. It was entitled " Ecclesiastical Characteristics ; or,
The Arcana of Church Policy." It was written at the time
when the Moderate party was dominant in the Church, and
it satirized sharply but without ill nature the principles and
the conduct of the Moderates. The wide difference be-
tween the platform of the party and the symbolical plat-
form of the Church offered the satirist a fine opportunity.
Witherspoon admirably improved it. His work was widely
read, exerted a good deal of influence and increased his
popularity. In ten years five editions were published.
Soon after the publication of the first edition, which did not
bear the name of the author, he published "A Serious
Apology " for the satire and confessed himself its author.
Not long after he published two " Essays in Theology,"
on justification and regeneration, which made him known
as a theologian of ability. The essays embodied and de-
fended evangelical and Calvinistic views. His ministry at
Paisley was quite as successful as that at Beith. Several
of his discourses were published, and the University of
Aberdeen, in 1764, gave him the degree of Doctor of Di-
vinity. At the time of his call to the presidency of the Col-
lege, he was in reputation behind no man in the Evangeli-
John Witherspoon.
1768- 1794.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 383
cal party of the Church of Scotland, and was, perhaps,
better able than any other to debate in the Assembly with
the leaders of the Moderate party, like Blair and Campbell
and Robertson.
When Witherspoon came to America the Colonies and
the British Government were quarrelling. In 1764 the
Stamp Act was passed. The colonists arose in alarm and
anger and protested against it. Two years later the Act
was repealed. But the fact that it had been passed, and the
declaration accompanying the repeal, namely, that Parlia-
ment possessed the right to tax the Colonies in all cases
whatsoever, left in the minds of the colonists a feeling
which Lord Shelburne afterwards described as "an unfor-
tunate jealousy and distrust of the English Government."
Already this feeling had been manifested in the public ex-
ercises at Princeton College. On more than one occasion
the College orators had been enthusiastically applauded
when unfolding the blessings of political liberty ; and after
the passage of the Stamp Act, except in the vote of the
Trustees expressing their gratitude to the King for its re-
peal, there is no evidence that in any academic function the
union between the Colonies and the mother country was
mentioned with gratitude or pride. This silence was in
marked contrast with the custom of the College in earlier
days, when the greatness of the British Empire was a favor-
ite theme for college oratory. A few years earlier than the
date of Witherspoon's arrival, there had been formed in the
College two literary societies called the Well-meaning and
Plain-dealing clubs, out of which afterwards grew the Clio-
sophic and American Whig societies. In these clubs the
enmity to the home government found frequent and at
times violent expression. The College, the province in
which it had its home, and the provinces on each side of
it, while not so active as Massachusetts or Virginia, were
384 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
in sympathy with the population of those energetic and
forward Colonies. They rejoiced in the meeting of the first
Continental Congress in New York in October, 1765, and
in the declaration of that Congress: " That the only repre-
sentatives of the people of these Colonies are persons chosen
therein by themselves, and that no taxes ever have been or
can be constitutionally imposed on them but by their re-
spective legislatures."
Witherspoon, with his family, sailed from London in May,
1768, and landed at Philadelphia on the sixth of the follow-
ing August. He was inaugurated on the seventeenth of
the same month, and delivered a Latin inaugural address, on
the Union of Piety and Science. He soon showed himself
to be an American in feeling, and soon found in the Ameri-
can cause ample opportunity for the exercise of his best
gifts. It is not only true, as Dr. Maclean says, that " from
the beginning of the controversies which led to the War of
Independence and to the severance of the Thirteen United
Colonies from their allegiance to the British Crown, Dr.
Witherspoon openly and boldly took the part of his adopted
country " ; it is also true that he brought to this work
political talents of the very highest order, and personal
traits which made his migration to the country an inestima-
ble blessing to the struggling colonists. He was bold and
influential as an agitator ; active with both his pen and his
voice ; one of the foremost of the party of action ; not only
ready for a declaration of independence, but earnest in his
advocacy of it. He never lost hope or courage in the
darkest days of the war; and he was wise and active in
both State and Church in the constructive period which
followed the final victory. Called as a minister to the presi-
dency of a Christian college, he is best and most widely
known as a great patriot and statesman ; and he must
always occupy in history a high place among those few great
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 385
characters like Ambrose of Milan and his own ancestor,
John Knox, who have been great in both Church and State.
The high reputation of Witherspoon at once lifted the
College into a position of prominence which it had never
before occupied. The endowment of the College first en-
gaged his activities. The pecuniary embarrassment of the
institution was so great that the professor of Divinity, the
Rev. John Blair, offered his resignation and it was accepted.
Dr. Witherspoon found himself compelled to go upon a beg-
ging expedition into New England, from which he returned
with subscriptions for one thousand pounds in proclamation
money ; and this was only the first of several journeys on
the same errand. He was an earnest and laborious teacher.
He took the place of Mr. Blair as a professor of Divinity.
He was most popular and influential as a teacher when in-
structing his pupils in Mental and Moral Philosophy. In
addition to his lectures in Divinity and Ethics, "he delivered
lectures to the Juniors and Seniors on Chronology and
History, and on Composition and Criticism ; and he taught
Hebrew and French to those who wished it." Mr. Rives,
the biographer of Madison, Witherspoon's most eminent
pupil, and Ashbel Green, another of his students, call at-
tention to the emphasis placed by Witherspoon on studies
on the constitution of the human mind and on fundamental
truth. Dr. McCosh says that Witherspoon was a man of
action rather than reflection ; and this judgment is correct.
Nevertheless, it is probable that no contemporary teacher in
America was more successful in impressing upon the minds
of his students the great features of the system of philosophy
he expounded and defended. When one reflects upon the
deep impression made by him on the intellectual life of
those who sat in his lecture-room, and who afterwards be-
came eminent, he is ready to believe that no professor in
an American college has won greater triumphs as a teacher.
386 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
If Witherspoon's strong personality made him an uncom-
promising college ruler, he only followed the advice which
he gave to the tutors, namely: "Maintain the authority of
the laws in their full extent, and fear no consequences." At
the same time, so inspiriting and stimulating were the man
and his lectures that the rigor of his rule is not often men-
tioned by his pupils. Ashbel Green and Stanhope Smith
and James Madison were won by him ; their energies were
called out, and their powers genially disciplined.
The plans which Witherspoon and the Trustees had
formed for the enlargement of the institution were largely
frustrated by the political events then occurring in the
country. But the college curriculum was extended ; the
teaching force was increased ; 1 endowments were secured ;
1 One of the professors during his administration was William Churchill
Houston, who was born in North Carolina in 1740. He came to Princeton
and taught in the grammar-school. He afterwards entered the College and
was graduated in 1768. He was at once appointed a tutor. In 1771 he was
elected professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. When the War of
the Revolution began, he entered the army and was for some months a captain.
He resigned and resumed his work as professor. But, like Dr. Witherspoon,
he was elected to office, first as a member of the General Assembly of New
Jersey, then as a member of the Council of Safety, and in 1779 as a member
of Congress. He resigned his professorship in 1783 and was admitted to the
bar. In 1784 he was again elected to Congress, and was a delegate to the
Convention at Annapolis in 1786. He died in 1788.
Another of the professors elected during Witherspoon's administration was
Walter Minto, who was born in Cowdenham, Scotland, December 5, 1753.
At fifteen years of age he entered the University of Edinburgh ; " after com-
pleting his preparatory studies he turned his attention to Theology, rather, it
would appear from subsequent events, to meet the expectations of friends than
from his own unbiased choice." During this period he devoted quite as much
time to literature as to divinity, and became a frequent contributor to a peri-
odical called " The Gentleman and Lady's Magazine " and published in
Edinburgh. He visited Italy, having in charge as tutor two sons of the Hon.
George Johnstone, formerly Governor of West Florida and member of the
British Parliament. On his return he resided in Edinburgh as a teacher in
mathematics. " His reputation as a man of science appears to have been
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 387
a larger body of students than ever before were under the
instruction of the Faculty, and they were drawn from a
wider area. During his administration the largest class
which was graduated in the eighteenth century received
their degrees, but it is also true that during his administra-
tion the smallest class was graduated. This was not the
fault of the President. The position of Princeton on the
highway between New York and Philadelphia made it a
perilous place during the earlier years of the War of Inde-
pendence. A critical battle of the war was fought within
the limits of the village. The college campus was the
scene of active hostilities. Nassau Hall itself was employed
as barracks, and cannon-balls mutilated its walls. There are
few memorials in Princeton more highly valued to-day than
the two cannons now standing in the campus, both of which
were used in the War of the Revolution, and left after the
battle of Princeton near the College.
Mention has already been made of the Cliosophic and
American Whig societies, the two literary societies of the
College, which have been in existence from the date of their
considerable, arising probably from his correspondence with the philosophers
of Great Britain, and several minor publications on the subject of Astronomy."
In connection with the Earl of Buchan, he wrote the life of Napier of Mer-
chiston, the inventor of logarithms ; the Earl writing the biographical portion,
and Minto the scientific portion, including a vindication of Napier's claims to
the original invention. He sailed for America in 1786, and became principal
of Erasmus Hall, a school at Flatbush, Long Island. In 1787 he was called
to the professorship of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Princeton Col-
lege as the successor of Ashbel Green. " Of his colleagues and pupils Dr.
Minto enjoyed the confidence in an unusual degree." He was the treasurer
of the corporation. He received continual applications from parents to
receive their sons beneath his roof on account of the advantages which they
supposed would be enjoyed within the limits of his domestic circle. The text-
books in mathematics which his pupils used were prepared by himself. He
died in Princeton, October 21, 1796. Abridged from the "Princeton
Magazine," Vol. I, No. i.
388 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
foundation to the present time. These societies had their
beginning in two debating clubs. The earlier name of the
American Whig Society was the Plain-dealing Club ; that
of the Cliosophic Society, the Well-meaning Club. These
earlier societies appear to have been organized during the
excitement caused by the passage of the Stamp Act. In
both of them the patriotism of the College found expression ;
but out of their rivalry there grew serious disturbances.
These led the Faculty, in 1768, to forbid their meetings.
The societies were soon revived under different names ; the
Plain-dealing adopting a name indicating the political views
of its members, the Well-meaning one expressive of its lit-
erary aims. But politics was not the exclusive interest in
the one, nor was literature in the other. One word in the
motto of the Whig Society is literce ; and the founders of
Clio Hall were quite as much in sympathy as those of the
Whig with the aims and struggles of the Colonists. The
College itself does not possess a more distinguished list of
founders than does each of these societies. William Pater-
son, Luther Martin, Oliver Ellsworth and Tapping Reeve
laid the foundations of Clio Hall, and James Madison, John
Henry and Samuel Stanhope Smith revived the Plain-
dealing Club under the name of the American Whig So-
ciety. The interior life of these institutions is not open to
the public. Their members have pursued the aims of the
society in essay and oration and debate with the freedom
which belongs to sessions held in camera. Their judges
have been their peers. The Faculty of the College during
all their life have accorded to them great freedom, and
have interposed only when the violence of youthful feelings
seemed likely to injure, if not to destroy, the societies them-
selves. Fortunately, crises of this kind have been very few.
The sense of independence and responsibility has given to
the societies dignity, and they have earned the tribute paid
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 389
in later years by President McCosh, that " no department
of the College has conferred greater benefit upon the students
than have Whig and Clio Halls."
Perhaps, at no later period in their history have they been
more useful than they were during the administration of
John Witherspoon. Life, during the periods immediately
preceding the Revolutionary War and immediately suc-
ceeding it while the Constitution was being formed and
adopted, was intense. During the first period the question
of the maintenance of independence was agitating every
man ; and, during the second, the problem of the new gov-
ernment which was to unite the victorious Colonies offered
itself for solution to every thoughtful mind. It is an in-
teresting fact that the two plans of constitutional government
for the United States, which were debated at length in the
Convention that formed the Constitution, were presented
to that body by two of the founders of these literary socie-
ties. The one which laid the greater stress on the rights
of the individual States was presented by William Paterson
of New Jersey ; the other, which contemplated a stronger
federal government, was proposed by James Madison of
Virginia. During the war the societies, with the College,
suffered greatly ; but when the war ended they were revived.
Originally, each society had a patronage dependent upon
the sections from which its members came. Ashbel Green,
who was active in reviving the American Whig Society
after the war, says that at the time of this revival " the sec-
tional patronage was entirely done away." Princeton's
interest and Witherspoon's labor in the cause of the Colo-
nies against the mother country received at the close of the
war what the sons of Princeton have always interpreted as
an honorable recognition. When the soldiers of the army
mutinied and surrounded the State House in Philadelphia,
where the Continental Congress was sitting, Princeton was
390 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
selected as the temporary capital of the United States.
For several months the Congress held its sittings in the
Library Room of Nassau Hall, and the rooms of the stu-
dents were used by committees. At the commencement of
1783 "we had," says Ashbel Green, "on the stage with the
Trustees and the graduating class, the whole of the Congress,
the Ministers of France and Holland, and George Wash-
ington, the Commander-in-chief of the American army."
Washington contributed for the uses of the College fifty
guineas, which the Trustees employed to procure the por-
trait of him, painted by the elder Peale, which now hangs
in the portion of Nassau Hall in which the Congress sat.
Writing in 1842, Dr. Green says: "The picture now occu-
pies the place, and it is affirmed the very frame, that
contained the picture of George the Second, which was
decapitated by Washington's artillery."
At the close of Dr. Witherspoon's administration in 1794,
the College had been in existence nearly half a century.
In the careers of those whom an institution has trained,
after all, is to be found its title to honor or condemnation.
The general catalogue of no collegiate institution, for the
first fifty years of its existence, presents a more remarkable
series of great names in Church and State. The clerical,
medical and legal professions are represented by influential
and illustrious names. The cause of the higher education
is represented by great teachers and administrators. To the
Continental Congress and to the Continental army the Col-
lege gave eminent and patriotic members and officers. The
graduates of no other college were so numerous or so influ-
ential in the Constitutional Convention. Its alumni of this
period were to be found in the two Houses of Congress, in
the Legislatures of the different States, and in the chairs of
Governors, in the seat of the Chief Justice, in the courts
of the various States, in the Cabinets of Presidents, and as
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 391
envoys of the Republic at foreign capitals. Of the earlier
administrations, the administration of Witherspoon is the
most illustrious if judged by the brilliant careers of its
students. It was given to no other man in the eighteenth
century to take the most prominent part in the education of
thirteen presidents of colleges. During his presidency
there were graduated six men who afterwards became
delegates to the Continental Congress, twenty men who
represented their respective commonwealths in the Senate
of the United States, and twenty-four who sat as members
of the House of Representatives. Thirteen were Governors
of Commonwealths, three were Judges of the Supreme
Court, one was Vice-President, and one was President of
the United States. Upon the characters of most of these
Witherspoon set his mark. They were imbued with his
views in philosophy and morals. His high and profound
religious character gave tone to their lives ; and his patri-
otism wrought in them as an inspiration. If the greatness of
a man is to be measured by the influence he has exerted on
other minds, John Witherspoon must be remembered as one
of the foremost men of the Republic during its heroic period.
The close of his administration was but little in advance of
the close of his life. He was able to preside at the annual
commencement on the twenty-third of September, 1794, and
less than eight weeks afterwards, on the fifteenth of Novem-
ber, veneratus, dilectus, lugendus omnibus?- he passed to his
reward.
VII. THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF SAMUEL STANHOPE
SMITH AND ASHBEL GREEN.
UP to the close of Dr. Witherspoon's presidency, the
College during each administration derived its special traits
1 From the inscription on his tombstone.
392 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
almost wholly from the President. He determined its cur-
riculum ; he exercised its discipline in all serious cases ; he
begged money for its maintenance ; he led its religious life ;
he taught several branches of learning to the members of
the higher classes. The distance at which many of the Trus-
tees lived, and the difficulties of travel, prevented frequent
meetings of the Board, and threw on him responsibilities
in number and variety far beyond those now devolved on
college presidents. The Faculty of Instruction was made
up of himself and two or three tutors. The latter, by the
constitution of the College, were so completely under his
direction as scarcely to deserve the name of colleagues.
The relation between the President and the students was
immediate and close. He stood to them in loco fiarentis ;
and they felt at liberty to go to him at all times for advice
and for aid.
Princeton was fortunate in its Presidents. Each was fitted
by his character and prepared by his previous career for
the conduct of an office of this character. All had been
pastors. In obedience to what he believed to be a divine
vocation, each in early manhood had undertaken the cure
of souls. Some of them had successfully conducted private
schools, and all had had their religious affections warmed
by the Evangelical Revival. If some of the readers of this
historical sketch should be disposed to criticise it because
so much attention has been given to the Presidents, the
answer is obvious : the life of the College was determined
and directed almost wholly by the President for the time
being. To send a student to Princeton was to commit him
to Samuel Davies, or Samuel Finley, or John Witherspoon,
for the formation of his character, for the discipline of his
faculties, and in some measure for the direction of his sub-
sequent life.
The death of Witherspoon is the point in the life of the
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 393
College at which the President loses much of his relative
prominence. Up to this point the Chief Executive gives
character to the institution ; from this point onward the in-
stitution has a life of its own. Of course, the President is
always the great figure in a college. But the Presidents of
Princeton after Witherspoon are far less prominent than the
institution, and the success of their administrations is due to
the exaltation of the College at the expense of activities to
which their gifts would otherwise have impelled them. Jon-
athan Edwards expected to find in the presidency of the
Princeton College of his day an opportunity for literary ac-
tivity, and planned to compose here a great Philosophy of
History with the title, " The History of Redemption " ; but
James McCosh, though always industrious as a writer, found
the administrative duties of his position so various and so
commanding as absolutely to forbid the composition of vol-
umes like those which had given him distinction before he
came to America.
On the sixth day of May, 1795, the Trustees unanimously
elected Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith Dr. Witherspoon's suc-
cessor. Dr. Smith had been Vice-President since 1789, and
from that time on had relieved the President of many of
the burdens of his office. He accepted at once, appeared
before the Board, and took the oath of office. His in-
auguration was postponed until the next commencement,
the thirtieth of September following, when he delivered an
inaugural address in the Latin language. For the first
time, the salary of the President was designated in the coin-
age of the United States. It was fixed at fifteen hundred
dollars a year, with the usual perquisites.
The new President was a native of Pennsylvania, and
the son of the pastor of the Presbyterian church of Pequea.
His mother was a sister of Samuel Blair, the head of the
Academy at Fagg's Manor. He was the first alumnus of
394 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
the College to fill the presidency. He was graduated in
1769, and as the first scholar of his class pronounced the
Latin salutatory. A year after his graduation, when twenty-
one years of age, he returned to Princeton as tutor in the
College, and for the purpose of reading Divinity under Dr.
Witherspoon. His special duties as tutor were to give in-
struction in the classics and in belles-lettres. Here he re-
mained until 1773, when he went to Virginia as a mis-
sionary. The interest awakened by his preaching was deep
and wide-spread. " Throughout the Middle and Southern
States," says Dr. Philip Lindsley, "he was regarded as a
most eloquent and learned Divine by his contemporaries."
It was the impression made by him as a preacher and a
man of culture that led to his call as the first President of
Hampden Sidney College. Here he labored as President
three or four years. The state of his health compelled him
to resign. In 1779 he was invited to become Professor of
Moral Philosophy at Princeton, and though strongly at-
tached to the work in which he had been engaged in Vir-
ginia, he accepted, and from this time on labored for his
Alma Mater. He came only two years after the battle of
Princeton. Dr. Witherspoon was a member of Congress,
and a large amount of administrative work fell on Professor
Smith. This work was done under most difficult conditions,
for he was never strong ; and on several occasions he was
prostrated by hemorrhages like those which compelled him to
retire from Hampden Sidney. Yet he neglected no work ;
and his learning obtained recognition from the two older
colleges of New England and from learned societies. In
the year 1785 he was made an honorary member of the
American Philosophical Society, and delivered its anniver-
sary oration an address intended to establish the unity of
the species. In 1786 he was engaged, with other eminent
ministers of the Church with which he was connected, in
Samuel Stanhope Smith.
1795 - 1812.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 395
preparing its form of government with a view to organizing
the General Assembly.
Dr. Smith was anxious to extend the course of instruc-
tion and to enlarge the teaching body. Besides himself,
at the time of his accession to the presidency, Dr. Minto
was the only professor. Dr. Smith established a Profes-
sorship of Chemistry the year of his accession to the presi-
dency. The first occupant of the chair was John Maclean,
a native of Glasgow and a graduate of its University.
When he had completed his medical course, he gave spe-
cial attention to chemistry, studying at Edinburgh, London
and Paris. While at Paris he adopted new theories, not
only in chemistry, but in government. He became a re-
publican and emigrated to the United States. Dr. Ben-
jamin Rush, of Philadelphia, to whom he brought letters,
recommended him to settle in Princeton and practise his
profession. Dr. Rush, at the same time, recommended the
College to secure his services as a lecturer in chemistry.
The lectures made a profound impression. In 1795 he was
elected to the first chair of Chemistry established in any
college in the United States. It was through Dr. Maclean
that Princeton College was enabled to perform a valuable
service for Yale College. Benjamin Silliman, the first Pro-
fessor of Chemistry in Yale College, writes as follows in his
diary : " Brief residence in Princeton. At this celebrated
seat of learning an eminent gentleman, Dr. John Maclean,
resided as Professor of Chemistry, etc. I early obtained an
introduction to him by correspondence, and he favored me
with a list of books for the promotion of my studies. I also
passed a few days with Dr. Maclean in my different transits
to and from Philadelphia, obtained from him a general in-
sight into my future occupation, inspected his library and
apparatus, and obtained his advice respecting many things.
Dr. Maclean was a man of brilliant mind, with all the acu-
396 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
men of his native Scotland, and a sparkling wit gave variety
to his conversation. I regard him as my earliest master of
chemistry, and Princeton as my first starting-point in that
pursuit, although I had not an opportunity to attend any
lectures there." All accounts of Professor Maclean show
that the admiration expressed for him by Dr. Silliman was
general. Archibald Alexander visited Princeton in 1801,
and wrote of him as one of the most popular professors who
ever graced the College. " He is at home," says Dr.
Alexander, " almost equally in all branches of science.
Chemistry, natural history, mathematics and natural philos-
ophy successively claim his attention." For a period of
seventeen years he was professor in Princeton College.
In 1812, owing to his impaired health, and believing that a
milder climate would restore it, he resigned and accepted
the chair of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry at William
and Mary ; but before the first college year closed, illness
compelled him to resign. He returned to Princeton, and
died in 1814.
The funds of the College and its buildings suffered
greatly during the War of the Revolution. Its library was
scattered, and its philosophical apparatus almost entirely
destroyed. The Trustees appealed to the State of New
Jersey for aid, and the State granted six hundred pounds
proclamation money a year, for a period of three years ; the
use of the money being limited to the repair of the College
buildings, the restoration of the College library, and the
repair and purchase of philosophical apparatus. This appro-
priation was intended simply to make good losses which the
College had suffered as a consequence of the war ; and if
the influence exerted by the College on behalf of the inde-
pendence of the Colony is considered, it must be regarded
rather as the payment of a debt than as a gift.
Dr. Minto, the Professor of Mathematics and Natural
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 397
Philosophy, died in 1796. The College was too poor to fill
his place with another professor, and the work of his chair
was taken by Professor Maclean. The reputation which
Professor Maclean gave to the College led to applications
on the part of students who desired to pursue only the scien-
tific part of the college curriculum. These applications
were granted by the Board, and a resolution was passed
not only that they should be permitted to read on scientific
subjects only, but also that they should receive certificates
of their proficiency, to be publicly delivered to them on the
day of commencement, the College reserving to itself the
privilege of bestowing honorary degrees on those who had
highly distinguished themselves in science in this or other
colleges.
As though the College had not been sufficiently disciplined
by its poverty and the calamities incident to the War of
Independence, Nassau Hall, March 6, 1802, except the outer
walls, was destroyed by fire. This was the second destruc-
tion of the library and a large part of the philosophical ap-
paratus. The Trustees met on the sixteenth, and at once
determined to rebuild upon the original plan of the College,
making, however, a few alterations, partly with a view to
security from fire, and partly to increase the room devoted to
instruction and philosophical apparatus. An address was
issued to the people of the United States, reciting the design
and the history of the College, and appealing to the friends of
religion, of science, and of civil liberty for contributions for
the rebuilding of the hall and the endowment of the institu-
tion. Forty thousand dollars were subscribed. This sum
was far from enough to put the institution in the condition in
which it was before the fire. A special address was therefore
sent to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
asking that speedy and liberal contributions be made in all
the churches subject to the Assembly's care. So successful
398 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
were the labors of the board and of the President to increase
the funds of the institution, that they not only rebuilt Nassau
Hall, but added two new buildings the Philosophical Hall,
which stood upon the site of the John C. Green Library, and
a building for sophomore and freshmen recitation rooms
and the library, the building now used for the College
Offices. South of the latter building, where Reunion Hall now
stands, was built a dwelling-house for the Professor of Lan-
guages, which was occupied until it was taken down in 1870.
Not long before this, immediately in front of the Green
Library, and on a line with the President's (now the Dean's)
house, had already been built a dwelling-house for the Pro-
fessor of Mathematics and Philosophy. On the highest floor
of the building now known as the College Offices two rooms
were set apart for the Cliosophic and American Whig socie-
ties. In all this work Dr. Smith took the lead ; and, a large
part of his time being taken up in travelling and soliciting
funds, the Rev. Ashbel Green, a trustee of the College and
pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia,
acted as President during his absence. The success attending
the efforts to rebuild Nassau Hall and to add the buildings
already mentioned encouraged the Trustees to increase the
number of professors. The College was growing so rapidly
in numbers that it was necessary to relieve the President of
a part of his duties. Meanwhile Dr. Maclean was feeling
greatly the burden of teaching Mathematics in addition to
Chemistry and Natural Philosophy. In 1802 the chair of
Languages was founded, and William Thompson 1 was
1 William Thompson, in 1802, was called from Dickinson College, Pennsyl-
vania, where he had been Professor of Languages, to the chair with the same
title in Princeton. Dr. Maclean (" Hist.," Vol. II, p. 45) says of him : " He
had the reputation of being an accurate scholar, a good teacher and an ex-
cellent man. He was advanced in life when he became professor in Princeton
College, and after a few years, his mind giving way under the pressure of
arduous duties, he was constrained to give up his position, and died not long
after."
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 399
chosen its professor. In 1803 Dr. Henry Kollock, 1 a grad-
uate of the class of 1794, was made Professor of Theology,
and Andrew Hunter, also an alumnus, was made Professor
of Mathematics and Astronomy.
A report from the Faculty to the Board describes in great
detail the curriculum, of which Dr. Maclean justly says
that no one, after reading it, can fail to see that the labors
of the President, professors and tutors must have been
extremely arduous, that the course of instruction was liberal,
and that in many respects it would compare favorably
with that of the College at a much later date. So rapidly
did the number of students increase, that in 1805 it was
proposed to erect an additional building. It was thought
that a gentleman interested in scientific pursuits would aid
the College in this matter ; but his offer was withdrawn,
with the result that seventy students were compelled to room
elsewhere than in Nassau Hall. How rapid this increase
was may be inferred from the fact that in 1806 fifty-four
members of the senior class were admitted to the first degree
in the arts. At no previous period in its history had the
College attained an equal degree of prosperity and reputa-
1 Henry Kollock was born at New Providence, New Jersey, December 14,
1778, and was graduated at Princeton, 1794. In 1794 he was appointed
tutor, with John Henry Hobart, afterward Protestant Episcopal Bishop of
New York, who says of Kollock : " Although he is a Democrat and Calvinist,
he is the most intelligent, gentlemanly and agreeable companion I have ever
found." He pursued his theological studies without a preceptor, and "made
considerable proficiency," says Dr. Carnahan, " in Hebrew, Chaldee and
Arabic." His teachers in Theology were the great English theologians,
Anglican and Puritan. He was licensed to preach in 1800, and soon after
became pastor of the church of Elizabethtown. In 1803 he returned to
Princeton as pastor and professor of Theology. In 1 806 he accepted a call
from the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah. He died Decem-
ber 29, 1819. Dr. Carnahan, Bishop Capers, of the Methodist Church, and
the Hon. John M. Berrien, of Georgia, all speak of him as a man of great
eloquence, charming in society, and exceptionally faithful and acceptable
as a Christian pastor. Vide Sprague's "Annals," Vol. IV, pp. 263 et seq.
400 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
tion. The Faculty consisted of a President, four professors,
three tutors, and an instructor in French, and the number of
students had risen to two hundred. Indeed, the number
of students was almost too large for the Faculty. Disturb-
ances occurred which compelled that body to invoke in their
behalf the authority of the Trustees. Commencement day
was regarded as a public holiday for the population of the
entire district in which the College was situated. It furnished
an occasion for other than academic sport. " Eating and
drinking," says Dr. Maclean, " fiddling and dancing, playing
for pennies, and testing the speed of their horses, were the
amusements in which no small numbers of those assembled
on such occasions were wont to indulge. And, when a lad,
the writer once witnessed a bull-baiting on the College
grounds while the exercises were going on in the Church."
Just because of the College's prosperity, discipline was
difficult to exercise ; but, on the whole, the internal life of the
institution was sound, and had the Trustees not interfered
with the Faculty, it is probable that the difficulties arising
from time to time between the students and their instructors
would have been more easily composed.
In 1810 and 1811 conferences were held between a com-
mittee of the Trustees and a committee of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, on the subject of
establishing a theological seminary for that Church. The
intimate relations between the College and the General As-
sembly, the large support that the College had received
from Presbyterians, and the benefits which in return it had
conferred upon that communion, led both the Trustees
of the College and the Committee of the General Assembly
to consider seriously the question of affiliating the Theologi-
cal Institution so closely with the College as to make the
two institutions one. This plan was soon abandoned. But
the Trustees and the Committee concurred in the belief
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 401
that the Seminary might well find its home near to the
College; and an agreement was made by which the Trus-
tees engaged not to appoint a professor of theology in the
College should the Seminary be permanently established at
Princeton. The College retained its freedom, and the
Seminary was established as an institution of the General
Assembly, beginning its life in 1812. While the immediate
effect of the establishment of this new institution was, as
Dr. Maclean has said, to bar for many years all collection
of funds for the improvement of the College, both derived
substantial advantages from their establishment in the same
town, and from their warm friendship.
Dr. Smith resigned in 1812. He lived seven years after
his retirement. He revised and published some of his
works. He died on August 21, 1819, in the seventieth
year of his age. The graduates of the College during his
administration did not, as a class, gain the distinction
reached by those graduated under his predecessor ; but the
list includes a Vice-President of the United States, two
Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate, nine
United States senators, twenty-five members of the House
of Representatives, four members of the President's Cabi-
net, five ministers to foreign courts, eight Governors of
States, thirty-four judges and chancellors, and twenty-one
presidents or professors of colleges.
Dr. Ashbel Green's administration of the College, soon
after the burning of Nassau Hall, in 1802, was so success-
ful, that upon Dr. Smith's resignation he was unanimously
chosen the President. When elected he was a trustee. He
was an alumnus. His father, the Rev. Jacob Green, a
graduate of Harvard, was one of the trustees named by
Governor Belcher in the second charter ; his grandfather,
the Rev. John Pierson, a graduate of Yale, was one of the
promoters of the College and a trustee under the first char-
402 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
ter ; and his great-grandfather, Abraham Pierson, a graduate
of Harvard, was one of the founders of Yale, and its first
president or rector. His father had acted as President of
the College, with the title of Vice-President, during the
period intervening between the death of Jonathan Edwards
and the election of Samuel Davies. Ashbel Green was
born at Hanover, in Morris County, New Jersey, in 1762.
He was graduated at the College in 1793, and delivered the
valedictory oration. Immediately after graduation he was
appointed tutor, and two years afterwards was elected Pro-
fessor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. After hold-
ing his professorship for a year and a half, he accepted
a call from the Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.
In this position he had from the beginning an eminent
career. His fine presence, courtly manners and prominent
family connections made him an eminent citizen of Phila-
delphia. As Philadelphia at that time was the national
capital, he was brought into intimate contact with some of
the most eminent men of the country. His autobiography
is one of the interesting personal records of the period. He
had scarcely been settled in Philadelphia when the work of
reorganizing the Presbyterian Church for the now inde-
pendent United States was begun. This work was con-
temporaneous with the formation of the Constitution of the
country. Young as he was, no minister of the Church not
even Dr. Witherspoon was more influential in this impor-
tant and difficult work. From the first he was in favor of
the separation of Church and State, and strongly advised
those changes in the Scotch Confession of Faith which
placed the Presbyterian Church of this country specifically
on the platform of the widest religious liberty.
He was a high Calvinist and a strong Presbyterian, active
in the Church's judicatories and deeply interested in the or-
ganization of its missionary work. He was elected chaplain
Ashbel Green.
i8iz- 1822.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 403
of the Congress of the United States in 1792, with Bishop
White, and was reflected by every successive Congress
until, in 1800, the Capital was removed from Philadelphia
to Washington. During his pastorate in Philadelphia he
made two extended journeys, one to New England and the
other to Virginia, and was received in both sections of the
country as a man of eminence. He was deeply interested
in theological education ; was one of the original committee
of the General Assembly to organize a theological semi-
nary; and was the author of the plan for a theological insti-
tution which the Assembly adopted, and to which it gave
effect in the institution at Princeton. He was President
of its Board of Directors from the beginning until his death
in 1848; and when, in 1824, the trustees of the Theological
Seminary were incorporated, he was made one of them, and
continued a trustee for the remainder of his life. At the
time of his election to the Presidency of Princeton College
he was the best-known and probably the most influential
minister of the Presbyterian Church.
On October 29, 1812, after having been a pastor for more
than twenty-five years, he left Philadelphia for Princeton,
and entered upon the duties of the College Presidency.
The Trustees, before finally adjourning, elected Mr. Elijah
Slack Vice- President of the College and Professor of Math-
ematics and Natural Philosophy, and chose two tutors. Soon
after Mr. Lindsley was elected Professor of Languages.
During the first year of Dr. Green's administration these
gentlemen were the Faculty. The year was one of great
excitement throughout the country. It was the year of the
beginning of the second war with Great Britain. The ex-
citement of the nation was reflected in the life of the Col-
lege. Discipline was difficult. Soon after Dr. Green's
induction disturbances became so serious as almost to reach
the point of a general rebellion. The conduct of the Faculty
404 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
and of Dr. Green in the suppression of the disturbances and
in disciplining the offenders appears to have been eminently
wise ; certainly, it was so regarded by the Board of Trustees.
The latter body put on record its opinion that the Faculty
manifested a degree of prudence, vigilance, fidelity and
energy that deserved the warmest thanks of every friend
of the College. The succeeding year was passed, not only
without a recurrence of the difficulties, but with good order
and a profound religious movement. This was true also
of the year 1815. But the college year of 1816-17 proved
"to be the most turbulent year of Dr. Green's administra-
tion." It was the year of the great rebellion, and was ended
with the dismission of a large number of students. The
action of the Trustees, or the remarks of some of them
following the rebellion, the Vice-President of the College
interpreted as a reflection on himself, and he resigned. Dr.
Slack was a man of ability, and indeed of eminence, in the
departments under his charge ; and Dr. Maclean, who knew
him, pays a high tribute to his character, his fidelity and
ability. The vacancy caused by his resignation was filled
by the election of Professor Henry Vethake, a member of
the Faculty of Rutgers College. In 1818 a chair was added,
with the title of Experimental Philosophy, Chemistry and
Natural History. Dr. Jacob Green, a son of the Presi-
dent and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, was
elected, and filled it with ability until his father's resignation.
Meanwhile, as the College was increasing in numbers,
the Trustees proposed to build a new edifice and to place
its students under the government of an entirely different
Faculty, so soon as the number of students should render
it expedient to do so. A site was not selected, but a com-
mittee was appointed to seek one within the limits of the
village, and resolutions looking to the endowment of this
new college were passed. The plan failed of success. Had
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 405
this succeeded, it is probable that Princeton University to-
day would be a collection of small colleges under one cor-
poration. In 1819 the qualifications for admission to the
College were made more severe ; but the regulations
adopted by the Trustees could not be enforced, owing to
the inefficiency of the preparatory schools on which the
College depended for students. The subject of discipline
was oftener before the Trustees during this administra-
tion than during any other, and in a resolution the relation
of the Faculty to the students was fixed. Dr. Green's health
compelled him to resign in 1822. No one of his predeces-
sors had before him more difficult problems connected with
the interior life of the College. These he solved with great
wisdom and conscientiousness. The Trustees received his
letter of resignation with deep regret. When they accepted
it they addressed him a letter in which they said : " In accept-
ing your resignation, they cannot withhold the expression
of their highest respect for your ministerial character, your
general influence in the Church of God, your uniform and
unwearied exertions to promote the best interests of the stu-
dents under your care, for both time and eternity. Under
your auspices the College has not only been extricated from
its financial difficulties, but it has secured a permanent
source of increasing income, while it has sent forth a number
of students not exceeded in former times, calculated to give
stability to its reputation, a ledge for the continuance and
the growth of its usefulness to the Church and State."
Soon after his retirement from the presidency, he returned
to Philadelphia, where he had been so eminent and success-
ful as a pastor, and lived for twenty-two years a life of great
activity and usefulness. He was influential particularly in
the missionary work and in the judicatories of the Church.
He was eminent as a citizen and a churchman. He was
most deeply interested in the religious life of the students
406 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
while connected with the College. He was strongly attached
to the Church in which he was born, and which he had
done so much to organize after the Revolutionary War.
Probably he was at his best when addressing a deliberative
body or acting as a counsellor upon a committee. In these
two positions he was unexcelled ; and it was his eminence
and reputation as a counsellor and legislative speaker that
led his successor, Dr. Carnahan, to say at his burial : " By
his talents he was fitted to fill any civil situation, and by
his eloquence to adorn the halls of our National Legis-
lature." He died when eighty-five years of age, in the
year 1848, at Philadelphia, and was buried at Princeton,
in the cemetery where his predecessors were at rest.
VIII. THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF JAMES CARNAHAN
AND JOHN MACLEAN.
AFTER the resignation of Dr. Green, the Trustees elected
as President Dr. John H. Rice, of Richmond, Virginia. Dr.
Rice was the pastor of the Presbyterian church in that
place, an eloquent and widely popular preacher, an influen-
tial writer on ecclesiastical and theological subjects, and
deeply interested in collegiate and theological education.
Owing to the severe illness with which he was suffering at
the time of his election, and which continued for several
months, he was unable to respond to the invitation until
March 14, 1823. In a letter of that date, he declined the
position, believing that he was called to labor in the South ;
and not long afterwards he accepted a call to the chair of
Systematic Theology in the Theological Seminary at Hamp-
den-Sidney, Virginia. Meanwhile, the Trustees appointed
Professor Lindsley to the Vice- Presidency, and put on him
the duties of the higher office until the President-elect's
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 407
arrival in Princeton. Mr. John Maclean was made teacher
of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. Professor Linds-
ley, Mr. Maclean and two tutors constituted the Faculty,
and about eighty students were in residence. On receiv-
ing Dr. Rice's declinature, the Trustees at once elected
Vice-President Lindsley to the Presidency ; but Dr. Linds-
ley declined, probably because the election was not unani-
mous. The Board then chose the Rev. James Carnahan, a
native of Pennsylvania, and, at the time of his election,
forty-eight years of age. Through both father and mother
he was descended from Scoto-Irish Presbyterians who had
settled in the Cumberland Valley. His father had been an
officer of the army of the Colonies during the Revolutionary
War. Mr. Carnahan was graduated at Princeton in 1800
with high honors. After a year's theological study under
the Rev. Dr. John McMillan of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania,
he returned to Princeton and was for two years a tutor in
the College. Although earnestly pressed to remain, he re-
signed in 1803. He labored first as a pastor, largely in the
State of New York, and afterwards as a teacher. For eleven
years preceding his election he taught with great success
an academy at Georgetown in the District of Columbia.
Throughout the communion of which he was a minister he
was highly esteemed as a man of high character, excel-
lent judgment and absolute devotion to whatever work he
gave himself.
The condition of the College was such as to make the
office of President anything but inviting. The students
were few, the income was small. There was almost no
endowment. Repeated efforts had been made to increase
the permanent funds, but it appeared impossible to excite
any general interest in its welfare. There were conflicting
views within the Board of Trustees as to the general policy
of the College, and the personal relations between some of
408 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
the members of the Board were severely strained. Happily,
Dr. Carnahan was unaware of the whole truth when the
office was tendered to him. Had he known all, he would
undoubtedly have declined. Indeed, so depressed was he
by these difficulties that not long after his acceptance he
made up his mind to abandon the office ; and he finally
retained his place only because of the earnest pleadings of
his young colleague, Professor Maclean. Notwithstanding
these exceptional burdens and perplexities, his administra-
tion after a few years became, and continued to be, singu-
larly successful. The number of students was largely in-
creased. The curriculum was enriched and developed. The
Faculty was enlarged by the foundation of new chairs, and
by the election of professors, some of whom became emi-
nent in their respective departments, and whose memories
are to-day among the most highly valued possessions of the
University. The Triennial Catalogue contains the names
of thirty professors who were elected during Dr. Carnahan's
Presidency. Among them are several of the most distin-
guished names in the annals of American science and letters.
The discipline of the College, though lenient, was firmly and
equitably administered, and the influence exerted by the
College on the students during their residence had never
before been stronger or more beneficent.
The success of Dr. Carnahan was due in part to his
calm temperament, the fine balance of his faculties, his un-
selfish devotion to the College and his patience under
adverse conditions, partly to the liberty of action granted
by him to his younger colleagues in the Faculty, and largely
to the remarkable enthusiasm, energy and intelligence of
the senior professor, John Maclean, who in 1829, when not
yet thirty years of age, was elected Vice-President of the
College. Those who remember Dr. Maclean only in his
later years will have difficulty in bringing before them the
James Carnahan.
1823 - 1854.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 409
man who as Vice-President shared with Dr. Carnahan the
duty of determining the general policy of the College, and of
taking the initiative in the election of professors for chairs
already established, in founding new chairs, in enlarging
the number of students, and in settling the principles of
College discipline. He was a man of quick intelligence,
able to turn himself to almost any teaching work, always
ready to change his work, or to add to it, and always will-
ing to accept a reduction of income. He was especially
vigilant in looking out for new and additional teachers ; but
at all points he was alert, and his one ambition was the pros-
perity of the College. Between Dr. Carnahan and Dr.
Maclean there existed, from the beginning to the close of the
former's administration, a warm and intimate friendship.
Each was perfectly frank with the other. Each highly
valued the other. Each finally supplemented the other;
and each was ready to efface himself or to work to the
point of exhaustion in the interests of the institution. It is
but justice to the memory of both of them to say, that the
administration of Dr. Carnahan, especially from 1829 until
his resignation in 1854, was a collegiate administration, in
which the two colleagues labored as one man, the distinctive
gifts of each making more valuable those of the other.
Soon after Dr. Carnahan's election the College lost the
services of Vice-President Lindsley, who as Professor of
Languages had done much to give the College fame. He
was popular both in the College and beyond it, and his
popularity was deserved. He was invited to many posi-
tions of prominence in educational institutions, both before
he resigned and after he left the College in order to become
President of Cumberland College in Tennessee. He was
high-spirited and unduly sensitive, faithful to duty not only,
but enthusiastic, and as a teacher " one of the best," says
Dr. Maclean, " of whom I have any knowledge."
410 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
When Dr. Lindsley retired, the smallness of the Faculty
compelled each of the remaining members to do an extraor-
dinary amount of teaching as well as administrative work,
and it became evident that the Faculty must immediately
be enlarged. The Rev. Luther Hasley was made Professor
of Chemistry and Natural History, and his acceptance gave
some relief to his elder colleagues. The change in the ad-
ministration made discipline difficult, and the Faculty
appear to have begun Dr. Carnahan's administration by
making one or two serious mistakes, and thus to have been
responsible for an exodus of students to Union College.
One of the mistakes was that of invoking the civil authori-
ties to aid the College in inflicting punishment in a case in
which College discipline ought to have been regarded as
sufficient. The Faculty voted against the opposition of the
President and Vice-President, that the offenders should be
"handed over to the secular arm." These mistakes were
not repeated. In 1826 the first Young Men's Christian
Association connected with any College in the United
States was organized in Princeton under the name of " The
Philadelphian Society," and from that time to the present it
has continued the central organization of the students for
religious work. During the same year, at commencement,
the first Alumni Association of Nassau Hall was formed,
with James Madison, of Virginia, as its president, and John
Maclean as its secretary.
The College continued a small institution until 1828
or 1829, when the policy of increasing the professors was
seriously adopted. It was energetically prosecuted, under
great difficulties, for a number of years. In this policy is
to be found the chief cause of the success of Dr. Carnahan's
administration. In 1829 Professor Robert B. Patton, the
successor of Dr. Lindsley as Professor of Languages, re-
signed. His resignation was a great loss to the College.
He was in the profession, and a teacher so able as fully
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 411
to have maintained the reputation which the College had
secured for instruction in language during Dr. Lindsley's
life in that chair. It was at this time, while the funds of the
College were at their lowest, that the Board of Trustees, in
1830, took the bold step of appointing six new professors,
transferring, in order to do so, Professor Maclean to the
chair of Ancient Languages and Literature. Professor
Albert B. Dod was given the chair of Mathematics ; Pro-
fessor Vethake, who had expressed a wish to return to
Princeton, the chair of Natural Philosophy ; John Torrey
was made the Professor of Chemistry and Natural History ;
Dr. Samuel L. Howell was called to the chair of Anatomy
and Physiology ; Mr. Lewis Hargous was made Professor
of Modern Languages; and Mr. Joseph Addison Alexander 1
was appointed Adjunct Professor of Ancient Languages and
Literature. No braver step was ever taken by an American
1 Joseph Addison Alexander, D. D., was born at Princeton, April 24, 1809.
He was graduated with the first honor of his class in 1826. After his resigna-
tion of his chair in the College, he was elected associate professor of Oriental
and Biblical Literature in Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1840 he was
elected professor ; in 1851 he was transferred to the chair of Biblical and
Ecclesiastical History, and in 1859 to the chair of Hellenistic and New Testa-
ment Literature. He died in 1860. His power of rapidly acquiring knowledge
and his extraordinary memory enabled him to read in twenty-five or more
languages. His interest in them was rather literary than philological. His
wide cultivation, his fine gifts of expression and his enthusiasm in scholarship
and literature made him a brilliant and .stimulating lecturer in every depart-
ment conducted by him. His essays, sermons and commentaries show him to
have been an exact scholar as well as a man of letters. His published works
are many and valuable. All of them show remarkable talents, and some of
them genius. But they do not fairly exhibit either the high quality of his
intellect or his fertility. All were written rapidly, as though he were im-
patient to pursue another of the many subjects to which his large and various
knowledge invited him. Few Americans enjoyed so thoroughly as he did a
scholar's life, and very few have brought into the lecture-room so much of
inspiration for their students. He was thought to be the most gifted mem-
ber of a singularly able family. He was a man of fine sincerity of character ;
a devout, humble and believing Christian.
412 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
college. It was soon justified by a large increase in the
number of students. While the whole College had num-
bered up to this time less than 100, in 1830 and 1831
67 new students were received. The next year there were
139 in the College, and the number rose, speaking roughly,
year after year until the beginning of the Civil War, which
separated temporarily the South from the North. The most
remarkable increase is that in the decade between 1829 and
1839. I n l % 2 9 tnere were DUt 7 students, while in 1839
there were 270. The election of the six professors just
named was only the initiation of a policy that was faithfully
executed during the whole of the administration. Two
years later the College secured the services of Joseph
Henry, whose exceptional greatness as a man of science
gave celebrity to the institution, and whose transparent
goodness endeared him to both colleagues and students.
In 1833 James Waddel Alexander 1 was elected Professor
1 James Waddel Alexander, the son of the Rev. Archibald Alexander, was
born March 13, 1804; graduated at Princeton College 1820, and studied at
Princeton Theological Seminary. Besides being professor in the College,
1833-44, he was professor in the Theological Seminary, 1848-51 ; pastor
of the Presbyterian Church at Trenton, New Jersey, 1828-30; editor of the
" Presbyterian " at an earlier date, and finally pastor of the Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian Church, New York, from 1851 until his death in 1859. He was
a gifted and cultivated man. He read widely, reflected deeply, and wrote
charmingly on a great variety of subjects. He was one of the most frequent
and highly valued contributors to the " Princeton Review " from its establish-
ment until his death. His love of letters was a passion only less command-
ing in its influence on himself than his religion. Upon all his students and
parishioners a deep impression was made by his ability, cultivation, refine-
ment and elevated character. These traits appear also in his letters, as in
all his published writings. The strength and beauty of his features, his en-
gaging social qualities, his intellectual life and his purity and unselfishness
enabled him, in whatever position, to exert a stronger influence on individual
men, than most men, in the circles in which he moved. He was an example
of the highest type of Christian preacher and pastor produced by the Ameri-
can Church.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 413
of Belles-lettres. In 1834 Stephen Alexander was added
to the Faculty. Indeed, it may be said that the cata-
logue of professors, beginning in 1830 with the name of
Albert B. Dod and closing in 1854 with Arnold Guyot and
covering the years of Dr. Carnahan's administration, needs
only to be examined to justify the statement that no policy
was ever more brilliantly executed than the policy, initiated
by Dr. Carnahan and Dr. Maclean, of increasing the chairs
and seeking men to fill them without waiting for an endow-
ment. What a remarkable addition in point of numbers
there was to the teaching force of the institution while Dr.
Carnahan was President will be seen from the fact, that dur-
ing the whole life of the College up to his presidency only
fourteen professors had been appointed, while during his
administration alone there were thirty. Of course some
plans were adopted which failed. As early as 1834 a year
in which other additions to the Faculty were made, as that
of Professor Hart to the Department of Languages it was
seriously attempted to establish a summer school of medicine.
The design was given up, owing to the death of the Profes-
sor of Anatomy and Physiology, and was never revived.
In 1846 a law school was founded, and three gentlemen
were elected professors. The lectures were kept up with
much spirit for two years, but the school was then dis-
continued. The position of the College was not favorable
to the establishment of professional schools of law and
medicine, and from that time on no attempt was made to
establish them.
The growth of the College compelled the authorities to
provide increased accommodations for the students. Two
dormitories were erected: East College in 1833 and West
College in 1836, each four stories in height; they were built
of stone with brick partitions and fire-proof stairways of
iron, and the stairs enclosed in brick walls. Each of the
414 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
dormitories gave accommodation to sixty-four students.
The College authorities were unable to gratify their taste
in their construction; but for sixty years and more they
have served their purpose well, and it is probable that no
investment of the College has yielded a larger return. The
cost of erecting each was less than fourteen thousand dol-
lars. The growth of the College led also to increased
activity in the two literary societies. Up to this time they
had no homes of their own. The meetings were held in
rooms provided by the College in the building now known
as the College Offices. But in the winter of 1836-37 two
new halls were built ; the description of one will serve for
both, as they were alike: "Whig Hall," says Professor
Cameron, " is a building in Ionic style, sixty-two feet long,
forty-one feet wide, and two stories high. The columns of
the hexastyle porticos are copied from those of a temple by
Ilissus near the fountain of Callirrhoe, in Athens. The
splendid temple of Dionysus in the Ionian City of Teos,
situated on a peninsula of Asia Minor, is a model of the
building in other respects."
During the administration of Dr. Carnahan the College
gained immensely, not only by the separate but also by the
associated energies of the able men who formed the Fac-
ulty. Their meetings were frequent, and the exchange of
ideas led to a higher and increased activity in all depart-
ments: discipline, examinations, lectures and recitations.
The scientific researches of its eminent professors for not
a few of them became eminent added to the reputation of
the institution and gave it a standing which it had never
before enjoyed as an institution of learning. Indeed, it may
be said that in the sense in which it had been an eminent
home and nursery of patriotism in the days of Witherspoon,
it was now a great institution for the cultivation of the sci-
ences and the liberal arts. From time to time, however,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 415
the College sustained great losses by the death or the re-
moval to other institutions of several important members of
the Faculty. Joseph Addison Alexander, after three years
of work, was seized by the Theological Seminary, where,
until his death, he had a brilliant career. Joseph Henry,
after laboring for sixteen years in the chair of Natural Phi-
losophy and making discoveries in the sphere of science and
performing inestimable services for his country, was called,
in 1848, to the Smithsonian Institution. Albert B. Dod, 1
who was brilliant not only in the Chair of Mathematics but
in the pulpit and in the pages of the " Princeton Review," died
in 1845; an d James W. Alexander, whose cultivation and
fertility as a writer entitle one to say of him that he might
have become one of the most eminent of American men of
letters, felt it his duty to become a pastor, and resigned in
1844. These were great losses, but men of ability were at
once called to the vacant places, and the large work of the
institution did not suffer. Dr. Elias Loomis, and, after his
resignation, Professor McCulloch, took the place of Joseph
1 " In my student days there was a professorial constellation in the Faculty
that for brilliancy has rarely, if ever, been equalled in any American institu-
tion. It was our privilege to be instructed in mathematics by Albert B. Dod,
in physics by Joseph Henry, in belles-lettres and Latin by James W. Alexan-
der, in astronomy by Stephen Alexander, in chemistry and botany by John
Torrey. Mr. Maclean's rare talent for leadership was strikingly exhibited in
the selection and collection of such a group of educators at a critical period
in the history of the College. All but one of the group, at that time the most
conspicuous, lived to accomplish the full career of distinction of which their
early professorial life gave promise. With the eminence to which these
attained all are familiar. Few, however, at the present day appreciate how
sore an intellectual bereavement Princeton suffered in the death of Albert B.
Dod in the prime of his early- manhood. His intellect was notable for the
versatility as well as the rarity of his genius. He seemed alike eminent in
mathematics, in physics, in philosophy, in literature, in aesthetics and in
theology. Though his death occurred when but forty years of age, no one
had contributed more largely to the high reputation of the ' Princeton Re-
view ' not only in this country, but Great Britain, by his profound and schol-
416 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Henry ; Dr. Hope, a man of charming Christian character
as well as a wise and stimulating teacher, succeeded Dr.
James Alexander; and Stephen Alexander, a graduate of
Union College, who became eminent as an astronomer and
a man of eloquence, took the place of Professor Dod. By
nothing is the intellectual life of the College at this time
more clearly shown than it is by the fact that of the thirty
professors elected during Dr. Carnahan's administration,
about one half were its own graduates.
Dr. Carnahan resigned in 1854. In the thirty-one years
of his administration, sixteen hundred and seventy-seven
students were admitted to the first degree of the arts, the
annual average being over fifty-four. Of these, seventy-
three became presidents or professors in colleges or other
seminaries of learning, eight became senators of the United
States, twenty-six members of the National House of Repre-
sentatives, four were members of the Cabinet, and a large
number became eminent in the liberal professions. The
number graduated during his presidency was larger than
arly articles on ' Analytical Geometry,' ' The Vestiges of Creation,' ' Transcen-
dentalism ' including an exhaustive discussion of Cousin's ' Philosophy,' ' Ox-
ford Architecture,' Finney's ' Sermons and Lectures,' ' The Elder Question,'
which at the time agitated the Presbyterian Church, and ' Lyman Beecher's
Theology.' Rarely has any college or university had in its curriculum a course
of lectures more inspiring intellectually and aesthetically instructive than Pro-
fessor Dod's course in ' Architecture,' covering the whole field, Egyptian,
Grecian, Roman, Gothic and Modern. They were delivered without manu-
script, and held the audience in rapt attention by interesting information,
subtle analysis of principles, elevated thought, lucid statement, brilliant rhet-
oric, delivered with the ease of a conversational manner, with frequent passages
thrillingly eloquent. The same intellectual qualities characterized his ser-
mons. Those who remember Professor Dod as a lecturer and preacher are
frequently reminded of him when listening to the President of our University.
Had Professor Dod's life been spared, as the lives of his eminent colleagues
were, to bring forth fruit even to old age, among the many Princeton men
who have attained high distinction his name would have been conspicuous."
"MS. of Professor J. T. Duffield."
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 417
the number during the administrations of all his prede-
cessors. While he was in office the relations between the
Trustees and the Faculty, and between the members of the
Faculty, were singularly harmonious. The students enjoyed
a larger measure of freedom than during any earlier admin-
istration. And when students were disciplined, their wel-
fare had quite as much influence in determining the chastise-
ment as the welfare of the institution.
In his letter of resignation Dr. Carnahan paid a high
tribute to his colleague, Vice-President Maclean. After the
remark, that Dr. Maclean was the only officer living of those
connected with the College when his presidency began, Dr.
Carnahan said : " To his activity, energy, zeal and devotion
to the interests of the institution, I must be permitted to
give my unqualified testimony. We have passed through
many trying times together. In time of need he was
always at his post without shrinking. He was always ready
to meet opposition in the discharge of what he thought to
be his duty." Dr. Carnahan lived six years after his resig-
nation. He was chosen a trustee of the College, and his
successor says of him: " In every respect he was a helper
to his successor, and gave him his cordial support both in
the Board and without." He died on March 3, 1859, an ^
was buried at Princeton, by the side of his immediate pre-
decessor, Dr. Ashbel Green.
It was ordered that in December, 1853, at the stated semi-
annual meeting, the Board should elect a President of the
College. Three gentlemen were named for the position,
two of them without their consent. One was Joseph Henry,
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, who positively de-
clined to be a candidate. Another was the Rev. Dr. David
Magie, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, a graduate of the College,
an eminent preacher and pastor, and one of the Trustees,
who, notwithstanding his earnest advocacy of Dr. Maclean's
418 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
election, received several votes. The third was Dr. John
Maclean, Vice- President of the College. Dr. Maclean was
elected. He took the oath of office and delivered his in-
augural address at the commencement of 1854. His ad-
dress was partly historical, and partly an exposition of the
policy to be pursued during his administration. The new
President was a native of Princeton, and was born March
3, 1800. He was the son of the College's first Professor of
Chemistry. He was graduated in the class of 1816, and was
its youngest member. For a year after his graduation he
taught in the classical school at Lawrenceville. In 1818
he became a tutor, and from that date until his resignation
as President in 1868 he was a member of the Faculty. His
whole active life was thus given to the College. He in-
terested himself only in such objects as were in harmony
with the interests of the College. He taught at various
times Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Latin, Greek, and
the Evidences of Christianity. He acquired knowledge
with great ease, and his wide intellectual sympathies are
shown in the chairs he filled. In his younger life he was
an able and stimulating teacher ; but the burden of adminis-
tration was laid upon him soon after he became a teacher,
and the exceptional executive ability shown by him led his
colleagues to believe that it was his duty to subordinate
his scholarly ambition to the welfare of the College. Dr.
Maclean acquiesced, and in this way he was prevented
from becoming eminent in any branch of study. It is not
too much to say that up to his presidency Princeton had
enjoyed the services of no chief executive officer who so
completely sank his own personality in the institution he
served. As has already been said, his untiring energies
and his sagacious judgment of men and measures con-
tributed largely to the success of the administration of Dr.
Carnahan ; and it was confidently expected that his own ad-
John Maclean.
1854- 1868.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 419
ministration would at its close show an advance as great as
that made between the death of Dr. Green and his own acces-
sion. In one important respect this expectation was not dis-
appointed. It must be remembered, to the lasting honor
of most of the institutions of higher education in America,
that up to the close of the Civil War they accomplished
their great work for the Church and State with almost no
endowments. This is true of both Princeton and Yale.
Speaking only of Princeton, after having been in exis-
tence one hundred and seven years, and after having
made the noble record shown by the General Catalogue
and the statistics which have been given in this sketch,
the treasury contained only fifteen thousand dollars of
endowment. It is almost incredible that all, except this
amount, which had been received by the treasury was of
necessity expended for the purchase of lands and the erection
of buildings and the maintenance, year after year, of the
work of the College. Besides maintaining the College
and largely increasing the number of its students, Dr.
Maclean, aided by his colleagues, and especially by Dr.
Matthew B. Hope and Dr. Lyman H. Atwater, endeav-
ored successfully during his administration to provide the
College with some permanent funds. All efforts up to this
time to secure an endowment had failed, and efforts had
repeatedly been made, three times during the previous
administration, in 1825, 1830, and 1835. "The aggregate
of gifts to the College," says Dr. Dufneld, " during Dr.
Maclean's administration was about four hundred and fifty
thousand dollars." This aggregate is probably a larger
amount than the College had received in gifts from its
foundation to the beginning of Dr. Maclean's administra-
tion. The accessions to the College were greatly increased.
The last year of Dr. Carnahan's administration the number
catalogued was two hundred and forty-seven ; seven years
420 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
later, in 1861, just before the beginning of the Civil War,
three hundred and fourteen students were in residence. But
for the beginning of hostilities, and the exodus of all the
students from the South, the graduating class of that year
would probably have numbered nearly one hundred. The
life of the College during this period was in no respect
different from its life during the previous administrations.
The same modes of teaching were pursued, and the same
policy in discipline was executed. The aim of Dr. Maclean
and his colleagues was to perfect the institution as a college.
They had tried the experiment of a university, and, as they
supposed, had failed. The Summer School of Medicine and
the Law School had been abandoned, and the whole influ-
ence of the Faculty was exerted to develop the institution
along the lines of the course of study leading to the first
degree in the arts. In this Dr. Maclean and the Faculty
were eminently successful. How popular the College was,
and how really national it was in the support given to it,
will be seen from the fact that of the three hundred and
more students in attendance during the college year of
1859-60, more than one third came from the Southern
States, and that twenty-six of the thirty-one States of the
Union were represented in the classes.
The success of Dr. Maclean's administration as thus in-
dicated was achieved against great obstacles. He had not
been a year in the presidency when the College suffered a
second time from the burning of Nassau Hall. It was
destroyed by fire in 1855, and was rebuilt at great expense,
the old chapel being enlarged and made the library. This
expenditure had scarcely been made when the College was
compelled, by the financial crisis which seized the country
in 1857, to abandon for a time the project of increasing
its endowment. A period of business depression followed,
from which the country had not recovered when, in 1861,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 421
the Southern States seceded and the Civil War began. No
college in the North was so popular in the South as Prince-
ton. As has already been said, at the beginning of the
civil strife one third of its students were living south of
Mason and Dixon's line. When to this blow to the Col-
lege was added the enlistment of not a few of its students
in the Union army and the diminution of the entering
classes on account of the call of the country upon its young
men to defend the Union on the field of battle, the only
cause for wonder is that during the four years of active
hostilities the College maintained itself so well. With the
close of the war the number of students slowly increased.
Three years after peace was declared that is to say, in
1868 the entering students numbered one hundred and
seventeen, " the largest number," says Dr. Dufneld, "up
to that period in the history of the College."
But just as the College was recovering the popularity
which it enjoyed immediately before the war began, Dr.
Maclean began to feel the burdens of age. His energy
was not what it once was, and, what was more important,
the war, among its other revolutions, had changed the
views of many, interested in higher education, concerning
the college curriculum and college management. The
Presbyterian Church, which had been divided since 1838,
was preparing the way for a reunion. The country was
entering upon a new life. Dr. Maclean felt that it was
appropriate that he should yield to another the position
which for fourteen years he had occupied with such con-
spicuous success. He resigned at the close of fifty years
of official life, his resignation taking place at the commence-
ment of 1868. After he retired he employed his leisure in
writing the history of the College. One of his students has
admirably said : " Of the intellectual character of Dr. Mac-
lean it is not easy to form an estimate. The circumstances
422 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
of the College forced him to give instruction in so many
departments that it would have been a marvel if he had
found additional time to prove his genius in any. But so
strong and facile was his mental energy, that it developed
a notable degree of talent for almost every subject that in-
terested him. He was able to hold the different chairs
in Princeton, not through mere partiality, for it is now
known what his modesty at the time concealed that he
received overtures from other colleges to fill similar pro-
fessorships with them. Dr. Matthew B. Hope, than whom
Princeton never had a shrewder judge of men, used to say
that had Maclean given Himself to any particular study in
science, philosophy, or language, he would easily have
attained celebrity in it. If we doubt this, we may find a
reason for the failure of Dr. Maclean to become a master in
speciality, not in the lack of special ability, but rather in
the possession of certain other intellectual impulses, which
made his thoughts overflow any single channel." :
But if he failed to attain eminence in any single direction,
Dr. Maclean was eminently gifted as a counsellor. He
grasped seriously the elements of any situation in which the
College was placed, and was as able as most men to discern
the policy which it demanded. He knew men well. He
not only seldom made mistakes, but was extraordinarily
successful in the selection or nomination of colleagues.
His accurate estimate of men was shown in his estimate
of himself. Probably no man ever connected with Prince-
ton College took his own measure more exactly, or so
thoroughly knew his own limitations. This knowledge of
himself was due not more to his ability than to the simplicity
and sincerity of his character. This sincerity, with the
magnanimity and the charity that were blended with it,
was recognized by those associated with him in the Board
1 Memorial Address by James M. Ludlow, D. D.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 423
of Trustees and Faculty of Instruction, and by his students
and the people of the town in which he passed his life.
" My immediate predecessor," says Dr. McCosh, " was
John Maclean, the well-beloved, who watched over young
men so carefully, and never rebuked a student without
making him a friend." Dr. Charles Hodge called him
the most loved man in America; and Dr. Ludlow gave
apt expression to the feeling of all his students, touching
his personal interest in them, in the remark: "St. Hilde-
garde used to say, ' I put my soul within your soul.' Dr.
Maclean put his soul within the soul of the young man, if
ever a man did. He felt for us, he felt as he felt himself in
us." It was the conviction of Dr. Maclean's sympathy
with the life of each of his students, his readiness to sacri-
fice himself for their interests, that gave him in his old
age and retirement the love and honor of troops of friends
that blessed his latest years. In the narrower and retired
life he lived after his resignation he was as active as a
philanthropist, though within a restricted field, as he ever
had been. As he had lived beloved by all, he died lamented
by all, August 10, 1886.
IX. THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES McCosn. THE
BEGINNING OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF
FRANCIS LANDEY PATTON.
THE resignation of Dr. Maclean having been accepted, to
take effect at the commencement of 1868, the Trustees
elected, as his successor, the Rev. Dr. William Henry
Green, Professor of Oriental and Old Testament Literature
in Princeton Theological Seminary. Professor Green,
though a graduate of Lafayette College, belonged to a
family which had been associated with Princeton College
424 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
from its foundation. He was a descendant of Jonathan
Dickinson, the first President of the College and of Caleb
Smith, its first tutor ; and among its distinguished graduates
and benefactors were some of his near relatives. For
many years he had given himself exclusively to Oriental
and Old Testament studies; but in his younger life had
shown fine gifts as a teacher in other departments, and
had been the pastor of a prominent church in Philadelphia.
It was felt not only that his acceptance would strengthen
the hold of the College on the Church which had in the
main supported it, and bring to it new friends and enlarged
endowment, but that Dr. Green's scholarship and character
would greatly benefit the scholarship, the discipline and the
general life of the institution. The Trustees received his
declinature with great regret ; but the news of it was heard
at the Theological Seminary with the greatest pleasure.
Except that of Dr. Green, no name invited the Trustees
until it was proposed that the Rev. Dr. James McCosh,
Professor of Logic and Philosophy in Queen's College,
Belfast, Ireland, be invited to take the vacant chair. Dr.
McCosh visited America in 1866, and his addresses deep-
ened the impression which his apologetic and philosophical
discussions had made on the American public. He was re-
ceived and heard everywhere as a thinker and writer of de-
served eminence. The writer of this sketch well remem-
bers the large audience which gathered in the Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian Church one evening during this visit, to listen
to his defense of the Gospels against the attack made upon
them in Kenan's "Life of Jesus"; and how fully he sus-
tained the reputation which had preceded him. His views
in philosophy were those which had been taught and de-
fended at Princeton College ; and his Scottish nationality
and his residence in Ulster were an additional recommenda-
tion to the College of John Witherspoon and to the Church
James McCosh.
1868- 1888.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 425
of Francis Makemie. Moreover, the fact that he had taken
the side of the Free Church at the disruption, and had
shown himself as ready as any of his brethren to make sac-
rifices in the cause of the autonomy of Christian con-
gregations, led the friends of the College to believe that he
would be at home in a republic. The divided Presbyterian
Church was about to reunite ; and it was felt that it was
fortunate that Dr. McCosh had no memories of the theo-
logical and ecclesiastical battles which culminated in the di-
vision. For these reasons, his acceptance was received with
great pleasure, and with confidence that the College would
prosper and be enlarged during his administration. The
Rev. Dr. Stearns of Newark, a trustee of the College, was
Moderator of the New School Presbyterian General As-
sembly in 1868. While the Assembly was sitting he learned
of Dr. McCosh's acceptance. The writer happened to be
standing by when he told the news to the late Dr. Henry
Boynton Smith. Dr. Smith said, " It was a wise choice. He
is a man of great ability. He may easily prove as great a
gift to the Church and State as John Witherspoon." While
his acceptance awakened high hopes, no one anticipated his
great and brilliant administration. Looking back upon it,
now that it has been closed, it must be regarded as the
most successful and in some respects the greatest adminis-
tration the College has enjoyed. Undoubtedly, Dr. McCosh
was fortunate in the time of his presidency, and in his col-
leagues. But greatness consists largely in seizing the op-
portunities which time offers ; and not a few of his colleagues
were his own students, who owed much of their inspiration
to his teachings and example.
His administration is too recent to make appropriate an
estimate of it, like that which has been given of each of the
earlier administrations. He is the last of the Presidents
who have completed their work. Such an estimate can be
426 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
made only of a presidency which stands, not at the close of,
but well within, a series. Concerning one thing, however,
there is no peril in making a positive statement. What-
ever shall be the development of the institution hereafter,
it must always be said of James McCosh, that while loyal
to the foundation and the history of the College, he it was
who, more than any other man, made it in fact a University.
Though it was not until after he had been called away from
earth that the name was given, it should never be for-
gotten that the University life began in, and because of, his
administration. 1
'The following minute of the Faculty, adopted November 17, 1894, recog-
nizes this fact : " In recording the death of President McCosh, the Faculty
are not able to give adequate expression to their feeling. For many years
their relations with him were closer than those of any other portion of the
Academic body ; and their continued friendship with him since his retire-
ment from office has only deepened the sense of bereavement and increased
the veneration and love with which they have followed him to his grave.
" While presiding in the Faculty, Dr. McCosh always commanded respect by
his conscientious devotion to the interests of the College ; by his fidelity in
the routine of official duty; by his watchful supervision of the details of the
whole administration ; by his kindly interest in the labors of his colleagues ;
by his hospitable welcome to every new study and new teacher ; by the wis-
dom and liberality of his plans for expanding the courses of instruction ; and
the wonderful efficiency and success with which he carried these plans toward
completion.
" The results of his Presidency have made a new epoch in our history. The
College has virtually become a University. Its Faculty has been trebled in
numbers. Its alumni and friends have rallied around it with new loyalty.
Munificent gifts have been poured into its treasury. Schools of Science, of
Philosophy, of Art, of Civil and Electrical Engineering, have been founded,
with endowed professorships, fellowships and prizes, and an ample equipment
of libraries, museums, laboratories, observatories, chapels, dormitories, aca-
demic halls, and athletic grounds and buildings. We live amid architectural
monuments of his energy, which other college generations after us will con-
tinue to admire.
" In his own department of instruction Dr. McCosh has raised the College to
its proper eminence as a seat of philosophical culture. He did this primarily
as a thinker, by original contributions to Logic, to Metaphysics, to Psychol-
ogy, to Ethics and to the Intuitional School of Philosophy ; also as a writer,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 427
The story of the life and work of this great benefactor
and executive, it has seemed to the writer, ought to be told
here by those who knew him intimately and were asso-
ciated with him in the work he did. Happily, the litera-
ture is abundant, and throws light from various sides on
his noble personality, his gifts as a thinker, writer and
teacher, and on his career as President. For a biography,
detailed enough for our purpose, we are indebted to his
student, colleague and intimate friend, Professor Andrew
F. West. This biography, illustrated by extracts from his
autobiography and estimates of his ability and attainments
by the numerous works, written in a strong and clear style, with which he has
enriched the philosophical literature of his time ; and especially, as an inspir-
ing teacher, by training enthusiastic disciples, who are now perpetuating his
influence in various institutions of learning. From this Faculty alone a band
of such disciples has borne him reverently to his burial.
"In the sphere of college discipline Dr. McCosh aimed at the moral train-
ing of the whole undergraduate community. The students were brought
into more normal relations with the Faculty. Vicious traditions and customs
among them were uprooted. Their self-government was guarded and pro-
moted ; and their religious life found fuller expression in the new Marquand
Chapel, Murray Hall and the St. Paul's Society.
" In the cause of the higher education Dr. McCosh became a leader at once
conservative and progressive. On the one hand, he sought to retain the
classics for their disciplinal value and as fundamental to the learned profes-
sions and all true scholarship ; and for like reasons, the mathematics as
essential to the sciences, whether pursued as bodies of pure knowledge or
applied in the arts. But on the other hand, he found due place for the host
of new special studies, literary, historical, political, artistic, technical, de-
manded by modern life and culture. His inaugural address ' On Academic
Teaching in Europe ' may be said to have struck the key-note of true aca-
demic teaching in America.
" As the representative head of the College, President McCosh was always
and everywhere faithful to its Christian traditions. By his writings, lectures,
and addresses he defended ' Fundamental Truth ' in religion no less than in
philosophy ; he vindicated the ' Method of the Divine Government,' physical
as well as moral ; he set forth the ' Typical Forms and Special Ends in
Creation ' as consistent with evolution ; he showed the analogy of ' The
Natural and the Supernatural ' ; and he maintained a logical ' Realism ' and
' Theism ' against the growing scepticism of the day. At the same time his
428 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
by others who knew him well, will for this volume be the
best history of his administration.
" Rarely," writes Professor West, " has academic history
repeated itself with such precision and emphasis as in the
person of President James McCosh, 1 who, though unique
discriminating conservatism was ever held in hearty sympathy with the
modern scientific spirit, and his steadfast adherence to the principles of evan-
gelical religion never narrowed his Christian sympathies. A leader in great
international Alliances and Councils of the Churches, he also consistently
welcomed students of every religious denomination to their chartered privileges
within our walls. The representatives of all creeds mingled in his funeral.
" While a commanding figure has passed from public view, there remains
among us, who were his nearer associates, the charm of a unique personality
and rare Christian character, to be henceforth enshrined in our memories
with reverence and affection.
"To his bereaved family we can only tender our deepest sympathy, pray-
ing that they may receive those divine consolations which he himself taught
during his life and illustrated in peaceful death."
1 The information used for this notice comes from many sources, princi-
pally from members of Dr. McCosh's family, his pupils and friends in
Great Britain and America, his own writings, and many scattered publications
about him. This information has been used freely, perhaps even to the point
of adopting some statements of fact and turns of expression without acknow-
ledgment. Of the newspaper obituaries the best for his life in Scotland is
to be found in "The Scotsman " of Edinburgh, under date of November 19,
1894 (an account drawn largely from the volume on " Disruption Worthies,"
published in Edinburgh and London, 1881), the best for his Belfast life is in
"The Northern Whig" of Belfast, November 19, 1894 (based mainly upon
information given by Mr. Thomas Sinclair of Belfast), and the best for his
Princeton life appeared in the "New York Tribune" November 17, 1894.
Interesting incidents of his relations to the students are in the " New York
Herald" of November 18, 1894. A good undergraduate estimate is to be
found in the " Nassau Literary Magazine " for December, 1894, and another
in the number for June, 1888. There is a sketch by the present writer
in the " New York Observer" of November 22, 1894, and a briefer one in the
" Educational Review " for November, 1894. An article by Professor Ormond
appears in the "Educational Review" for February, 1895. Professor Sloane
has edited Dr. McCosh's autobiography, and has given the one full and satis-
factory account we have. It is entitled "The Life of James McCosh," and
is published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. A. F. West.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 429
in his own generation, had a real prototype in the person
of one, though only one, of his predecessors, President
John Witherspoon, the ruler of Princeton a century ago.
Each of them was in point of ancestry a Covenanter, by
birth a Lowland Scotchman, in his youth a student at the
University of Edinburgh, in his young manhood a minister
of the Church of Scotland at a crisis in its history, and in
that crisis an important figure, Witherspoon heading the
opposition to moderatism and Dr. McCosh helping to form
the Free Church. When already past the meridian of life
each of them came to America to do his greatest work as
President of Princeton, the one arriving in 1768 and the
other in 1868. Though of different degrees of eminence in
different particulars, they were nevertheless of fundamen-
tally the same character, being philosophers of reality, min-
isters of evangelical and yet catholic spirit, constructive
and aggressive in temper, stimulating as teachers, stout
upholders of disciplinary education, men of marked per-
sonal independence, of wide interest in public affairs and
thoroughly patriotic as Americans. The principles of col-
lege government on which Witherspoon acted Dr. McCosh
expressly avowed. ' These principles,' he wrote, ' were
full of wisdom, tact and kindness. Without knowing them
till afterward, I have endeavored to act on the same prin-
ciples, but more imperfectly. Govern, said he, govern
always, but beware of governing too much.' 1 Their
presidencies were long and successful. Each lived the last
twenty-six years of his life in Princeton, and it may be
noticed as a striking final coincidence that they passed
away a century apart, almost to the day, Witherspoon
dying November 15, 1794, and Dr. McCosh on November
1 6, 1894.
"James McCosh was born April i, 1811, at Carskeoch
Farm, on the left bank of the ' bonnie Doon,' just above
1 "John Witherspoon and his Times," Philadelphia, 1890.
430 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
the village of Patna, some twelve miles from Ayr, the
county town of Ayrshire. In this region, so full of inspir-
ing Scottish memories, his boyhood was spent, and, in
common with so many of his countrymen who have risen
to fame, he received his first education in the parochial
school. In 1824, when but thirteen years old, he entered
the University of Glasgow, an institution already famous in
the annals of the Scottish philosophy for the teaching of
Reid and Hutcheson, a fit place for the young student to
begin, who was later to write the history of the Scottish
School. Here he remained five years. In 1829 he entered
the University of Edinburgh, coming under the influence
of Thomas Chalmers and David Welsh in theology, and of
Sir William Hamilton in philosophy. He had also some
strong intellectual compeers among the students of that
time. Such, for example, was Tait, afterward Archbishop
of Canterbury. Incidents of Dr. McCosh's youth and
student days formed the basis of many an interesting anec-
dote in his later years. Of such were his remembrances as
a boy of the recurring anniversaries when his elders used
to pledge with enthusiasm ' the memory of Bobbie Burns.'
At other times he would dwell with fondness on one or
another loved feature of the home scenery of Ayrshire or
the talk of its people. The competition for intellectual
honors at the University formed another theme. Then, too,
the strong impress of Sir William Hamilton's personality
as well as of his teaching was one of those things that
delighted his Princeton pupils to notice, especially as seen
in the way he treasured some remark of his great teacher.
' Do you know the greatest thing he ever said to me ? ' Dr.
McCosh asked one day of the writer. ' It was this : So
reason as to have but one step between your premise and
its conclusion.' The syllogism unified and turned into a
rule of conduct ! Well might such a vigorous maxim take
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 431
the imperative form. And how vividly real it made the act
of reasoning seem ! It was toward the close of his student
days at Edinburgh that Dr. McCosh wrote his essay en-
titled ' The Stoic Philosophy,' in recognition of which the
University, upon motion of Sir William Hamilton, con-
ferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts.
" In 1835 ne was licensed as a minister of the Established
Church of Scotland. Toward the close of the same year he
was elected, by the members of the congregation, minister of
the Abbey church of Arbroath, the ' Fairport ' of Sir Wal-
ter Scott's ' Antiquary,' a flourishing town in Forfarshire, on
the eastern coast, sixteen miles north of Dundee. While in
this parish he made the acquaintance of the Rev. Thomas
Guthrie, eight years his senior, the minister of the neigh-
boring parish of Arbilot, and afterwards so celebrated in the
Old Greyfriars pulpit in Edinburgh. They were helpful to
each other in their pastoral work and counsel, and formed
the nucleus of a group of ministers who met to discuss
with earnestness the impending dangers to the Church
consequent upon 'intrusion' of ministers by the Crown
upon congregations, irrespective of the preference of the
people. They promptly identified themselves with the view
that this subjection of the Church to the Crown was to be
brought to an end, advocating, as Dr. McCosh had already
done in his Edinburgh student days, what was known as
Non-Intrusion. In 1838, on the suggestion of Dr. Welsh,
his former teacher, Dr. McCosh was appointed by the
Crown to the first charge of the church at Brechin, a short
distance from Arbroath. Brechin was an attractive old
cathedral town with a large outlying country parish. In
this arduous charge he labored most assiduously in com-
pany with his colleague, the Rev. A. L. R. Foote. Besides
attending to his stated church ministrations and the regu-
lar visiting of its congregation, he went abroad every-
432 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
where, preaching the Gospel in barns, kitchens and taverns,
or in the open fields and wherever else he could do good. 1
His communion roll gradually swelled until it included four-
teen hundred persons. Meanwhile the ecclesiastical sky was
darkening. The disruption of the Church of Scotland was
impending, and when, in 1843, it had become inevitable, Dr.
McCosh, in common with hundreds of other ministers, sur-
rendered his living. He at once proceeded to organize in
his old parish a congregation of the Free Church, into
which over eight hundred of his former parishioners fol-
lowed him. He also rendered great service at this crisis
by organizing new congregations, providing them with
preachers, raising money and getting sites for the erection
of new churches. 'A good horseman,' says one of his
best newspaper biographies, 2 ' he rode long distances from
place to place and preached in barns, ball-rooms or fields, as
was found necessary.' In 1843 and the following year he
was a member of one of the deputations appointed by the
General Assembly to visit various parts of England and
arouse Non-conformist interest in the position of the Free
Church. In 1845 he was married at Brechin to Miss Isa-
bella Guthrie, daughter of the physician James Guthrie, and
niece of Thomas Guthrie, his friend in his early ministry at
Arbroath.
"In this round of active life, with all its details and distrac-
tions, he kept alive his philosophical thinking, and in 1850
published, at Edinburgh, his ' Method of the Divine Govern-
ment, Physical and Moral.' 3 It was most favorably reviewed
1 "Disruption Worthies. A Memorial of 1843." Edinburgh and London,
1 88 1. The sketch of Dr. McCosh, written by Professor George Macloskie, is
found on pp. 343-348.
2 "The Scotsman," Edinburgh, November 19, 1894.
3 " No sooner did McCosh's heavy though pleasant labors in founding con-
gregations of the Free Church relax a little, than he began the composition
of 'The Method of the Divine Government, Physical and Moral.' During
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 433
by Hugh Miller and commended by Sir William Hamilton.
It brought him at once into prominence as a philosophic
writer of force and clearness. 1 The story goes that Earl
Clarendon, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, sitting down
the period of writing the author received much encouragement from his
intimate college friend, William Hanna. It was he, likewise, who aided in
the work incidental to publication. The author showed his book in manu-
script to Dr. Cunningham and Dr. James Buchanan. Both approved, and
the latter suggested some changes which were adopted. The volume was
published in 1850, and through Dr. Guthrie copies were sent to the two
Scotchmen then most eminent in the world of abstract thought, Sir William
Hamilton and Hugh Miller. The former announced his decision at once :
' It is refreshing to read a work so distinguished for originality and sound-
ness of thinking, especially as coming from an author of our own country.'
Hugh Miller said in the 'Witness' that the work was of the 'compact and
thought-eliciting complexion which men do not willingly let die.' The first
edition was exhausted in six months. An American edition was pub-
lished very soon afterward, and that, too, sold rapidly. The book passed
through twenty editions in less than forty years, and still has a sale in both
Great Britian and America. Time, therefore, may be said to have passed its
judgment upon the ' Divine Government.' " Professor W. M. Sloane, "Life
ofMcCosh."
1 Some of Dr. McCosh's Services to Philosophy. .The real importance of
Dr. McCosh's work in philosophy was to a great extent obscured during his
life by a certain lack of appreciation of which he occasionally complained.
"They won't give me a hearing," he would say somewhat mournfully. And
then he would cheer up under the assuring conviction that Realism, as it was
the first, would also be the final, philosophy. Dr. McCosh's position in
philosophy suffered during his life from a kind of reaction against the Scottish
school, which had set in with Mill's destructive criticism of Hamilton. It
was also materially affected by the strong movement in the direction of
evolutionary empiricism of which Herbert Spencer was the exponent and
leader. The dogmatic and positive tone of Dr. McCosh himself had doubt-
less something to do with the tendency to undervalue his work.
There are other circumstances which must not be overlooked in estimating
the value of Dr. McCosh's philosophy. It scarcely ever happens that a man
is the best judge of his own work, or that the things on which he puts the
greatest stress possess the most permanent value. Much of Dr. McCosh's
work is of a transitional character. His whole attitude toward evolution, for
example, is that of a transitional thinker who, although hospitable to the new,
434 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
to read a copy one Sunday morning, became so absorbed
in the book that he missed going to church, and read on
till evening without stopping, and soon after offered Dr.
McCosh the chair of Logic and Metaphysics in the newly
maintains, on the whole, the old points of view. Dr. McCosh, it may be said
briefly, accepted evolution provisionally, but he could scarcely be called an
evolution thinker. Again, it is true of Dr. McCosh, as of most other men,
that the principle and content of his work must be distinguished from the
form in which he embodied it. Generally it is a failure to distinguish the
principle from the accidental form that constitutes one of the greatest limita-
tions of any thinker. This is certainly true of Dr. McCosh. The essence of
all his doctrines was so associated in his mind with a certain mode of con-
ceiving and stating them as to make the form seem essential to the doctrine.
An example of this is his theory of Natural Realism in the sphere of per-
ception, in which a certain mode of apprehending the object was deemed
essential to the assertion of reality itself.
Leaving out of view, however, accidental features and elements of a merely
transitional character, it seems to me that Dr. McCosh has contributed several
elements of distinct value to the thinking of his time. One of these is to be
found in his treatment of the Intuitions. At the time Dr. McCosh first
became interested in the problems of speculation, Intuitionism had suffered a
kind of eclipse in the writings of Sir William Hamilton, whose attempt to
combine Scottish Epistemology with Kantian Metaphysics had resulted in a
purely negative theory of such intuitive principles, for example, as causality.
Dr. McCosh harked back to Reid and reasserted the pure Scottish position
against the unnatural hybrid of the Hamiltonian metaphysics. But he is not
to be regarded as simply a reasserter of Reid. His wide acquaintance with
the history of philosophy, as well as his keener faculty of criticism, led to a
more careful and discriminating analysis of the intuitive principles of the
mind as well as to a more philosophical statement of them. He also con-
nected them with the three epistemological functions of cognition, judgment
and belief, in such a way as to bring them into closer relations with experience,
and, by recognizing a distinction between their cognitive and rational forms,
to admit the agency of an empirical process in their passage from the singular
to the more general stage of their apprehension. Of course, where the reality
of intuitive principles is denied, Dr. McCosh's interpretation of them will not
be appreciated. But inasmuch as the affirmation of native elements in some
form is likely to continue, the contribution of Dr. McCosh to Intuitional
thinking is likely to be one of permanent value. The one point on which Dr.
McCosh was most strenuous was that of Realism. He had a kind of phobia
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 435
founded Queen's College in Belfast. Dr. McCosh accepted
the offer, removing to Belfast in 1852, and continuing there
until he came to Princeton. His class-room was notable in
many ways, for his brilliant lecturing, his interesting
of all idealistic or phenomenal theories. This rendered him somewhat unduly
impatient of these theories, and they sometimes receive scant justice at his
hands. But whatever his failings as a critic, there was no ambiguity about
his own point of view. He was the doughtiest kind of a realist, ready at all
times to break a lance in defence of his belief. Here, as elsewhere, in esti-
mating the value of Dr. McCosh's work, it is necessary to observe the dis-
tinction between the principle and the form of his doctrine. Perhaps few
thinkers at present would accept the unmodified form of his realism. But
the positions he had most at heart, namely, that philosophy must start with
reality if it would end with it, and that philosophy misses its aim if it misses
reality and stops in the negations of Positivism or Kantism, these are positions
which a very wide school of thinkers have very much at heart. Dr. McCosh's
realism is a tonic which invigorates the spirit that comes into contact with it,
and indisposes it to any sort of indolent acquiescence in a negative creed.
In harking back to Reid, Dr. McCosh was recognizing intellectual kinship
in more ways than one. The spirit of Reid, while pretty positive and dog-
matic, was also inductive and observational. Reid hated speculation, and
would not employ it except at the behest of practical needs. Dr. McCosh
was a man of kindred spirit. His distrust of speculation amounted at times,
I think, to a positive weakness. But his shrewd common sense, combined
with a genius for observation and an intense love of fact, constituted perhaps
the most marked quality of his mind. It has kept his work fresh and inter-
esting, packed his books with new and interesting facts and shrewd observa-
tions, and has made them rich treasure-houses for those who come after him.
This is especially true in his psychological work. Here, where, on account
of the rapid advance of Psychology in both method and content, the results
of his generation of workers are fast becoming inadequate to the new demands,
it ought not to be forgotten that Dr. McCosh was almost the pioneer of a
new departure in Psychology in this country ; that his was the most potent
voice in the advocacy of that marriage of the old science of introspection
with Physiology, out of which the new Physiological Psychology arose ; that
his example was most potent in advocating the substitution of an observa-
tional for a closet Psychology ; and that while he contributed little to experi-
mental results, the influence of his spirit and teaching was strongly favorable
to them.
Perhaps in the end it will be seen that Dr. McCosh rendered his most last-
436 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
method of questioning, his solicitude for his students and
their enthusiasm for him. Besides fulfilling his regular
duties, he served as an examiner for the Queen's University
ing service in the sphere of religious thought. In view of the tendency in
many quarters to divorce Philosophy from Religion and insist that philosophy
has no legitimate interest in the problems of religion, the attitude of Dr.
McCosh is reassuring. That the problems of religion are the supreme and
final questions in philosophy, and that no philosophy is adequate that is
unable to find some rational justification, at least, for a Theistic view of the
world, these were points on which he insisted as cardinal. Dr. McCosh was
a profound thinker who saw clearly the necessity of a metaphysical ground-
work of both Morals and Religion. His own Theistic conviction was at all
times firm and unclouded. But aside from the form of his own individual
beliefs, his insistence on the questions of God's existence and man's relation
to Him as the vitalest issues of philosophy, contains an important lesson for
the time.
In this connection, also, his relation to the Evolution theory is noteworthy.
It was in the religious aspect of this theory, and especially its bearing on
Theism, that he was most vitally interested. He early saw that a Theistic
conception of development was possible, and this prevented him from adopt-
ing the view of its extreme opponents, and condemning it as necessarily
atheistic and irreligious. He maintained the possibility of conceiving evolu-
tion from a Theistic basis as a feature of the Method of Divine Government,
and this led him to take a hospitable attitude toward the evolution idea, while
at the same time it enabled him to become the most formidable critic of
evolution in its really atheistic and irreligious forms. This treatment of the
problem of evolution by a religious thinker possesses more than a transitional
value. It correctly embodies, I think, the wisest and most philosophical
attitude which a religious mind can take toward the advances of science dur-
ing that period of uncertainty which ordinarily precedes the final adjustment
of the new into the framework of established truth.
On the question of Dr. McCosh's originality, I think this may be said :
While it is true that he has added no distinctively new idea to philosophy,
yet his work possesses originality in that it not only responded to the demands
of the time, but also bears the stamp of the author's striking and powerful
individuality. The form of Dr. McCosh's discussions is always fresh, char-
acteristic and original. He was an original worker, in that his work bore the
stamp of his time and personality, and constituted part and parcel of the
living energy of his generation. Prof. A. T. Ormond, "Princeton College
Bulletin," January, 1896.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 437
of Ireland, as a member of the distinguished Board of Ex-
aminers who organized the first competitive examinations
for the civil service of India, and as an examiner for the
Furgusson Scholarships, open to graduates of Scottish
Universities. 1 In 1858 he visited the principal schools and
universities of Prussia, carefully acquainting himself with
their organization and methods, and publishing his opinions
regarding them in 1859. ^ was at Belfast he brought out
his "Examination of Mr. J. S. Mill's Philosophy, Typical
Forms and Special Ends in Creation " (in conjunction with
Professor George Dickie), "The Intuitions of the Mind," 2 and
" The Supernatural in Relation to the Natural." In his church
relations he was both an active promoter of evangelical
piety, and an efficient helper in ecclesiastical counsels. He
helped to organize the Ministerial Support Fund of the Irish
Presbyterian Church, seeking to evoke liberality and self-
1 " The Northern Whig," Belfast, November 19, 1894.
2 " The positive characterization of modern Princeton must begin with a
description of its dominant mode of thinking, which is the philosophical.
This is one of our many inheritances from Dr. McCosh. So habituated to
this habit of mind is the Princeton teacher, that he hardly realizes the strength
of this prevailing tendency. A Harvard man is apt to measure things by
literary standards, and a Harvard graduate who comes as an instructor to
Princeton is apt to be surprised to find how pervasive and all but universal
is this philosophical temper here. It is this cast or mould of thinking, rather
than strict uniformity in philosophical beliefs, which is the most striking
feature of the University's intellectual life. Traditionally Princeton is com-
mitted to a realistic metaphysics as opposed to agnosticism, materialism or
idealism. The far-reaching importance of the last is, indeed, admitted ; but
the maturer judgment of Princeton's philosophers inclines to the acknow-
ledgment of ' a refractory element ' in experience, which, while ' without
form and void,' unless enmeshed in the categories of Reason, refuses ' wholly
to merge its being in a network of relations.' They prefer, therefore, to
admit the existence of an impasse to a complete intellectual unification of the
universe, than to purchase metaphysical unity at the cost of surrendering the
judgments of common sense, and at the risk of discovering that the hoped-for
treasure is but dross at the last." Prof. W. M. Daniels, "The Critic," Oct.
24, 1896.
438 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
support in view of the coming disendowment. In the face
of much opposition, he advocated giving up the Regium
Donum. Arguments he used in this discussion were after-
wards influential with Mr. Gladstone in connection with the
disestablishment of the Church of Ireland. 1 He advocated
a system of intermediate schools to prepare for higher insti-
tutions of learning, and particularly labored for the great
cause of a general system of national elementary schools.
His own pupils attained marked success in the examinations
for the civil service, and some of them became very emi-
nent, one of them being Sir Robert Hart, the present
Chief of the Chinese Customs Service. He was not a man
who could be hid, and so there is little to wonder at in the
distinction he earned, whether evidenced by the respect of
men like Chalmers, Guthrie, Hugh Miller, Sir William
Hamilton, Dean Mansel, the present Duke of Argyll and
Mr. Gladstone, the kindly humor of Thackeray or the flings
of Ruskin and sharp rejoinders of John Stuart Mill.
"Dr. McCosh paid his first visit to America in 1866, re-
ceiving a hearty welcome. In June, 1868, he was called to
the presidency of Princeton. He accepted the call after due
deliberation, and arrived at Princeton on October 22 of the
same year. The story of the low condition of Princeton at
that time, consequent upon the Civil War, does not need to
1 " The ecclesiastical condition of Ireland was at that time anomalous ; the
rich Episcopalian minority being sustained as an Established Church ; a sop
thrown to the Presbyterian middle-class minority in the shape of a Regium
Donum, or partial endowment, which helped them to acquiesce in the wrong
done to the Roman Catholic majority, who were poor and left out in the cold.
When the right time arrived Dr. McCosh lectured and wrote in favor of Dis-
establishment and Disendowment, and argued from his experience in Scot-
land for the inauguration of a Sustentation Fund by the Irish Presbyterians.
This was the opening of a struggle which ended in the carrying out of all his
views, greatly to the furtherance of religion, as the people of Ireland now
confess." Professor Geo. Macloskie, in Sloane's "Life of McCosh," pp.
1 20, 121.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 439
be told here. So far as equipment and numbers can speak,
the tale is soon told. Excepting a few professors' houses,
there are now on the campus only four buildings which were
owned by the College when Dr. McCosh arrived. They
are Nassau Hall, the old President's (now the Dean's)
house, the College Offices and West College. There were
but sixteen instructors in the Faculty, and about two hun-
dred and fifty students.
" The institution was depleted, salaries were low, and
academic standards had suffered both in the way of scholar-
ship and discipline. It had been a discouraging time in
Princeton's history, and the self-denial of President Maclean
and the band of professors who went with the College
through the war has been only too slightly appreciated.
The writer entered Princeton as a freshman in January,
1870, when the beginnings of Dr. McCosh's power were
being manifested. His influence was like an electric shock,
instantaneous, paralyzing to opposition, and stimulating to
all who were not paralyzed. Old student disorders were
taken in hand and throttled after a hard struggle, out-door
sports and gymnastics were developed as aids to academic
order, strong professors were added, the course of study was
both deepened and widened, the ever-present energy of Dr.
McCosh was daily in evidence, and great gifts were coming
in. Every one felt the new life. When the Bonner-Mar-
quand Gymnasium was opened, in 1870, the student cheer-
ing was enough to rend the roof. It was more than
cheering for the new gymnasium, it was for the new era.
"It is not possible in this sketch to tell the story of the
twenty years from 1868 to 1888, but the results may be in-
dicated. 1 The campus was enlarged and converted into a
1 " A member of the first class that entered Princeton under the Presi-
dency of Dr. McCosh, I am called here to speak not for myself alone, but in
the name of two thousand old pupils who would pay the tribute of honor and
440 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
splendid park, every detail of convenience and beauty being
consulted in the transformation. 1 The old walks were re-
placed with something substantial, grading and planting
love to the memory of our grand old man. We loved him because he loved
Princeton. He was born in Scotland, but he was born an American and
Princetonian. If you could have opened his heart, you would have found
' Princeton ' written there. He was firmly convinced that this college, with
its history, its traditions, and its Christian faith, was predestinated to become
one of the great American universities. ' It is the will of God,' he said, ' and
I will do it.' A noble man, with a noble purpose, makes noble friends.
Enthusiasm is contagious. Dr. McCosh laid the foundation of Princeton
University broad, and deep, and strong ; and he left behind him a heritage
of enthusiasm, a Princeton spirit which will complete his work and never
suffer it to fail. We love him because he loved truth, and welcomed it from
whatever quarter of the wide heaven it might come. He had great confidence
in God as the source of truth and the eternal defender of His true word. He
did not conceive that anything would be discovered which God had not made.
He did not suppose that anything would be evolved which God had not
intended from the beginning. The value of his philosophy of common sense
was very great. But he taught his students something far more precious
to love reality in religion as in science, to respect all honest work, and to
reverence every fact of nature and consciousness as a veritable revelation
from Almighty God." The Rev. Dr. Henry van Dyke: Address at Dr.
McCosh's burial.
'"I remember," said Dr. McCosh, "the first view which I got of the
pleasant height on which the College stands, the highest ground between the
two great cities of the Union, looking down on a rich country, covered with
wheat and corn, with apples and peaches, resembling the south of England as
much as one country can be like another. Now we see that height covered
with buildings, not inferior to those of any other college in America. I have
had great pleasure in my hours of relaxation in laying out always assisted
by the late Rev. W. Harris, the treasurer of the College the grounds and
walks, and locating the buildings. I have laid them out somewhat on the
model of the demesnes of English noblemen. I have always been healthiest
when so employed. I remember the days, sunshiny or cloudy, in April and
November, on which I cut down dozens of deformed trees and shrubs, and
planted large numbers of new ones which will live when I am dead. I do not
believe that I will be allowed to come back from the other world to this ; but
if this were permitted, I might be allured to visit these scenes so dear to
me, and to see the tribes on a morning go up to the house of God in com-
panies." "Life of Dr. McCosh," pp. 195, 196.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 441
were carried out on an extensive scale, the drainage was re-
modelled, and many other such things, which seem small
separately, but mean so much collectively, were attended
to. The following buildings were added : The Halsted
Observatory in 1869, the Gymnasium in 1869-70, Reunion
Hall and Dickinson Hall in 1870, the Chancellor Green
Library and the John C. Green School of Science in 1873,
University Hall in 1876, Witherspoon Hall in 1877, the
Observatory of Instruction in 1878, Murray Hall in 1879,
Edwards Hall in 1880, the Marquand Chapel in 1881, the
Biological Laboratory in 1887, and the Art Museum about
the same time. The administrative side of the College was
invigorated in many ways, a dean being added to the
executive officering in 1883. The Faculty was gradually
built up by importation of professors from other institutions,
and afterward by training Princeton men as well. Twenty-
four of Dr. McCosh's pupils are now in the Faculty.
The course of study was revised and made modern, with-
out giving up the historic essentials of liberal education.
Elective studies were introduced and developed, and the
relating of the elective to the prescribed studies in one har-
monious system was always kept in view. To the old aca-
demic course of four years, leading to the degree of Bachelor
of Arts, courses leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science
and Civil Engineer were added, and graduate courses lead-
ing to the university degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and
Doctor of Science were organized. 1 The entrance require-
1 " Indeed, the traditional university constitution a semi-monastic life,
fixed terms of college residence, adherence to old academic custom, and a
hierarchy of degrees is found nowhere in more vigor than at Princeton.
The true future of Princeton lies not in the development of professional
schools, nor in the pursuit of utilitarian studies, but in both the college and
the graduate department is inseparably bound up with the cause of pure
academic culture and learning." Prof. W. M. Daniels, "The Critic," October
24, 1896.
442 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
ments were improved in quality and were exacted with more
firmness. The interior relations of the various departments
of study to each other and to the general culture of the stu-
dent were gradually better adjusted, and beginnings of
specialized study founded on general culture were instituted.
The use of the library was made of importance as a help
to the student's regular class work. The two literary so-
cieties, Whig and Clio, were relieved of the distress under
which they had suffered from secret societies by exterminat-
ing these societies, and helped in their friendly rivalry by
the establishment of additional college honors open to their
competition. Old class-room and chapel disorders slowly
gave way before better buildings and improved instruction.
Useful auxiliaries to the curriculum were encouraged, and,
in particular, the President's ' Library Meeting ' was started.
Here, month after month, the upper classmen met in large
numbers to hear some paper by Dr. McCosh, some pro-
fessor from Princeton or elsewhere, some bright alumnus
or scholar unattached to a university. Distinguished
strangers got into the habit of coming to see the College,
and such visits as those of General Grant and other Ameri-
can dignitaries, and of the German professors Dorner and
Christlieb, of the Duke of Argyll, of Froude and of Matthew
Arnold, were greatly enjoyed. And so, by slowly working
agencies, a change in the way of growth, now rapid and
now apparently checked, was taking place. The impover-
ished small College was being renovated, uplifted and ex-
panded. It was put on its way toward a university life. 1
1 " I think it proper to state," wrote Dr. McCosh, " that I meant all along
that these new and varied studies, with their groupings and combinations,
should lead to the formation of a Studium Generate, which was supposed in
the Middle Ages to constitute a university. At one time I cherished a hope
that I might be honored to introduce such a measure. From my intimate
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 443
Its Faculty and students increased until in 1888 the sixteen
instructors had become a body of forty-three, and the stu-
dents were over six hundred. Yet this gratifying increase
is not the great thing. It might have come and amounted
to little more than a diffusion of weakness. But it was quali-
tative as well as quantitative, for the College was steadily
producing a body of better and better trained men, and a
body of men having an intense esprit du corps of great
value for the future solidarity of Princeton. For Dr. Mc-
Cosh not only left his indelible mark upon them singly, but
fused their youthful enthusiasms into one mastering passion
for Princeton as a coming university, democratic in its stu-
dent life, moved by the ideas of discipline and duty, unified
in its intellectual culture, open to new knowledge, and Chris-
tian to the core.
"His relations with the students were intimate and based
on his fixed conviction that upon them ultimately rested the
fate of Princeton. This conviction meant more than that he
saw in young men the coming men. ' A college depends,'
he once said, ' not on its president or trustees or profes-
sors, but on the character of the students and the homes
they come from. If these change, nothing can stop the
college changing.' To his eyes the movement that deter-
acquaintance with the system of Princeton and other colleges, I was so vain as
to think that out of our available materials I could have constructed a uni-
"versity of a high order. I would have embraced in it all that is good in our
college ; in particular, I would have seen that it was pervaded with religion,
as the college is. I was sure that such a step would have been followed by
a large outflow of liberality on the part of the public, such as we enjoyed in
the early days of my presidency. We had had the former rain, and I hoped
we might have the latter rain, and we could have given the institution a wider
range of usefulness in the introduction of new branches and the extension
of post-graduate studies. But this privilege has been denied me." " Life of
McCosh," pp. 213, 214.
444 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
mined everything was the movement from below upward
and outward, and the business of president, trustees and
professors was to make this mass of raw material into the
best product possible ; but, first of all, the material must be
sound if there is to be success in the product. The phi-
losopher of elemental reality 1 was never more true to his
principles than just here. Given, however, a body of
students of sound stock, he felt sure the desired results in
their discipline and culture were obtainable by intelligent
and patient treatment. First of all, as the negative condi-
tion of success, he insisted that idleness must be done away
with or no progress would be possible. ' If they are idle
you can do nothing with them,' was one of his axioms,
nothing to prevent the positive vices to which idleness
gives occasion, and nothing to develop the mind by whole-
some exercise. Next on his programme came an orderly
and regular course of study to be pursued by the student
without faltering. Then in order to bind all the student's life
into one and place him in the right direction, he depended
upon the sense of moral responsibility, quickened and ener-
1 " The last address by Dr. McCosh in this chapel was a memorable one.
It was given several years ago, on a Sunday evening, in the simple religious
service held here in the close of the day. He had been asked repeatedly
once more to preach in the pulpit, from which he had so often spoken, but
had declined from a fear that he might not be able to endure the strain.
This simple and less exhausting service he readily undertook.
" On the occasion to which I refer he read, with a touching emphasis, St.
Paul's 1 3th Chapter of First Corinthians, that wonderful chapter in which the
apostle discourses on Charity. Having ended the reading, he gave a brief
analysis of its points, remarking on the great climax of the last verse : 'And.
now abideth Faith, Hope and Charity, but the greatest of these is Charity.'
Then he announced his purpose of saying a few words on the first clause of
the Qth verse, and read it slowly, and those who heard it will not forget the
scene as he said, ' For we know in part," instantly adding, with an almost
triumphant tone, ' But we know. " Dr. James O. Murray : Address at the
Funeral.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 445
gized by Christian truth. 1 It was a simple programme,
and great as it was simple. 2
"His capacity for detail was marvellous, and hence he could
1 " I should sadly fail in doing any justice to the memory of Dr. McCosh
did I not lay a special emphasis on the Christian element in his administration.
Amid all his high ambitions and large plans and unsparing labors for the
College, he never forgot, and his Faculty was never allowed to forget, that it
should maintain the character and do the work of a Christian college. He
believed profoundly that education must have a Christian basis. He was
loyal to all the traditions of the past, and he sought to administer the office
he held in the spirit of its noble charter. It was under his guidance that the
practice of administering the Holy Communion at the beginning and close of
the college year was instituted. Is was to him a source of the truest joy
when this beautiful chapel was reared by the generosity of its donor. He
wrote the graceful inscription on yonder tablet. In private and in public, in
active cooperation with the Christian Society of the College, in many a con-
fidential talk with his students on the great themes of religion, he sought
always to develop the Christian element in college life. I do not think he
favored the idea of a College Church. In fact, though a Presbyterian by deep
conviction, he avoided anything which would divert attention from his own aim
to make the College Christian rather than denominational. The catholicity
of his spirit here was full and large. The legacy of devotion to the Christian
element in college life he has left us is indeed a sacred and abiding one."
Dr. James O. Murray: Address at the Funeral.
2 " What a figure he has been in Princeton's history ! I need not describe
him. You can never forget him, You see him tall, majestic; his fine
head resting on stooping shoulders ; his classic face ; with a voice like a
trumpet; magisterial; with no mock humility; expecting the full deference
that was due his office, his years and his work. Here is the fruit of his life :
the books he has written ; the college that he has built ; the alumni all over
the land who are his grateful pupils.
"Through a quarter of a century and more he lived among us a stalwart
man, with an iron will : no mimosa he, sensitive, shrinking and shrivelling at
the touch of criticism ; but a sturdy oak that storms might wrestle with but
only heaven's lightning could hurt. Loyal to conscience deep in convic-
tion tender of heart living in communion with God, and loving the
Word of God as he loved no other book he was the President who woke
the admiration, and touched the hearts, and kindled the enthusiasm of
Princeton men. No wonder they were proud of him ! " President Patton's
Memorial Sermon.
446 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
meet special individual needs as well as plan on the general
scale. It seems as though his sanity of judgment and con-
stant endeavor to develop normal character was the very
thing that enabled him to recognize the kind and extent of
departure from the normal standard in any student at any
stage of development. Once he met a rather pompous un-
dergraduate who announced with some impressiveness that
he could no longer stay in the church of his fathers, as he
needed something more satisfying, and that he felt it proper
to acquaint Dr. McCosh with the great fact. The sole reply
was, 'You '11 do no such thing.' And so it turned out. In
answer to a cautiously worded long question put by a mem-
ber of the Faculty in order to discover whether some one
charged with a certain duty had actually performed it, the
answer came like a shot, ' He did.' No more ! How
short he could be ! To an instructor in philosophy whom
he wished to impress with the reality of the external world
as against the teachings of idealism, he said, with a sweep of
his hand toward the horizon, ' It is there, it is there ! You
know it ! Teach it ! ' Then, too, he was shrewd. In the case
of a student who pleaded innocence, though his delinquency
was apparent to the doctor, who nevertheless wanted to be
easy with him, the verdict was, ' I accept your statement.
You '11 not do so again.' On one occasion a visiting cler-
gyman conducting evening chapel service made an elabo-
rate prayer, including in his petitions all the officers of the
College, arranged in order, from President to trustees, pro-
fessors and tutors. There was great applause at the last
item. At the Faculty meeting immediately after the service,
the doctor, in commenting upon the disorder, aptly remarked:
' He should have had more sense than to pray for the
tutors.' His consciousness of mastery was so naive that
he cared little for surface disorder in the class-room, so far
as his confidence in being able to meet it was involved, but
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 447
cared a great deal if he found himself at a dead point in the
course over which he felt he must carry the class. 1 Here
the dullards, the apathetic, the drones, the light-witted and
especially the provokers of disorder came in for a castigation
of the most interesting kind. ' Sit down, sir,' sometimes
served both to suppress a tumult and at the same time
waken a mind that had never been awake before. He
could talk to men with a severity and tone of command few
would dare employ. Though the most indifferent could
not fail to see he was terribly in earnest at times, they also
saw his hearty and deep affection for them. 'A man of
granite with the heart of a child ' is an undergraduate's
estimate of the old doctor. 2
1 " Dr. McCosh was preeminently a teacher. His place with Wayland, and
Mark Hopkins, and Woolsey among the great College Presidents of America
is due in no small degree to the fact that, like them, he was a teacher. I
know that I speak the sentiments of some who hold a position similar to
mine in other institutions, when I say that the increase of executive duties
that draws the President from the class-room is a misfortune. It would have
been an irreparable loss, to be made up by no amount of efficiency and suc-
cess in other directions, for Dr. McCosh to have withdrawn from the position
of a teacher while he was able to teach. For he was a superb teacher. He
knew what he believed and why he believed it, and he taught it with a moral
earnestness that enforced attention. . . . There are teachers who handle a
great subject in a great way, with no lack of sympathy or humor, and a large
knowledge of human nature ; who win your confidence, and stimulate your
ambition ; who make you eager to read ; and who send you out of the lec-
ture-room with your heart divided between your admiration of the man and
your interest in his theme. Dr. McCosh was a teacher of this kind. No
mere closet-philosopher was he; no cold-blooded overseer; but a teaching
member of the Faculty in which he sat ; a man of heart as well as brain ; who
could feel as well as think; and who could be both hot and tender." Presi-
dent Patton's Memorial Sermon.
2 " In matters of administration Dr. McCosh, without being in any sense
autocratic, managed to exercise a good deal of authority. For there is no
nice provision of checks and balances in the government of a college. The
three estates of Trustees, Faculty and Undergraduates constitute an organ-
ism that furnishes a fine opportunity for experiments in political theories.
448 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
" A pleasant picture of the impression he made on another
man of simple heart and strong nature is preserved in a
letter of President Mark Hopkins, of Williams College,
written after Dr. McCosh had visited Williamstown. It
may well be inserted here. ' That visit,' he writes, ' is
among my most pleasant recollections. It was during the
summer vacation ; the weather was fine, and we were quite
at leisure to stroll about the grounds and ride over the hills.
Riding thus, we reached, I remember, a point which he said
reminded him of Scotland. There we alighted. At once
he bounded into the field like a young man, passed up the
hillside, and, casting himself at full length under a shade,
gave himself up for a time to the associations and inspira-
tion of the scene. I seem to see him now, a man of world-
wide reputation, lying thus solitary among the hills. They
were draped in a dreamy haze suggestive of poetic inspira-
tion, and, from his quiet but evidently intense enjoyment, he
might well, if he had not been a great metaphysician, have
The government may be monarchical or republican or patriarchal. It may
do its work after the fashion of the American Congress or the English Par-
liament. It may be uni-cameral or bi-cameral, as the Trustees choose or do
not choose to put all power in the hands of the Faculty. But by the charter
of the College the President is invested with a power that belongs to no one
else. He ought to be very discreet, very wise, very open to suggestion, and
very good-natured : but when he is sure that he is right, very resolute. I
imagine that Dr. McCosh was as good a man as one could find anywhere to
have so much power in his hands. He had the insight to know when the
Trustees were more important than the Faculty, and when the Faculty were
wiser than the Trustees : and he belonged to both bodies. He was shrewd,
sagacious, penetrating and masterful. If there had been a weatherwise man
among us, he would sometimes have hoisted the storm-signals over the Col-
lege Offices : for the Doctor was a man of like passions with us all. He car-
ried the in loco parentis theory of government further than some are disposed
to have it carried to-day. The students loved him, and he loved them. He
was faithful with them ; spoke plainly to them ; as a father with his sons he
was severe; and also as a father he was tender and kind." President Pat-
ton's Memorial Sermon.
Francis Landey Patton.
,888 .
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 449
been taken for a great poet. And, indeed, though he had
revealed himself chiefly on the metaphysical side, it was
evident that he shared largely in that happy temperament
of which Shakespeare and Tennyson are the best examples,
in which metaphysics and poetry seem to be fused into one
and become identical.' 1
" About his personality numberless stories have gath-
ered, illustrative of his various traits. He was the constant
theme of student talk, even to his slightest peculiarities.
The ' young barbarians all at play ' were fond of these, and
yet with reverence for him. Who can forget the various
class-room and chapel incidents ? Who will ever forget
some of the doctor's favorite hymns ? No one, surely, who
heard two of them sung with deep tenderness at his
burial. 2
" Dr. McCosh gave up the presidency June 20, 1888, pass-
ing the remainder of his days at his newly built home on
Prospect Avenue. His figure was well known among us
1 New York " Observer," Thursday, May 13, 1869.
2 JAMES McCOSH, 1811-1894.
Young to the end, through sympathy with you,
Gray man of learning ! champion of truth !
Direct in rugged speech, alert in mind,
He felt his kinship with all human kind,
And never feared to trace development
Of high from low assured and full content
That man paid homage to the Mind above,
Uplifted by the " Royal Law of Love."
The laws of nature that he loved to trace
Have worked, at last, to veil from us his face ;
The dear old elms and ivy-covered walls
Will miss his presence, and the stately halls
His trumpet- voice. While in their joys
Sorrow will shadow those he called " my boys."
November 17, 1894. Robert Bridges, '79.
450 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
these last years, as he took his walks in the village, or out
into the country, or under the elms of the McCosh Walk,
or sat in his place in the Marquand Chapel. His interest
in the College never abated. Yet he did not interfere in it
after he left it. As President Patton has observed, ' He
was more than a model President. He was a model ex-
President.' Nor did he lose sight of ' my boys,' his
former pupils. At the annual reunions of classes it became
the custom to march in a body to see him at his home. He
' knew them,' even if not always by name. Yet he would
astonish many a one by recalling some personal incident
that might well be supposed to be forgotten. Nearly one
hundred and twenty of his pupils have followed his example
in devoting themselves to the cause of the higher learning.
Some of them may have failed to follow the doctor's phi-
losophy in all its bearings, some may have diverged other-
wise, but no one, I feel sure, has failed to carry away
a conviction of the reality of truth and of the nobility of
pursuing it, as well as at least a reverence for the Christian
religion. On April i, 1891, his eightieth birthday occurred.
It was duly honored. 1 The day was literally given over
to the old doctor. The President, the Trustees, the Faculty
as a body, the students, the alumni, the residents of Prince-
ton and distant personal friends were present or represented.
His last really public appearance was at the International
Congress of Education held in connection with the World's
Columbian Exhibition at Chicago in July, 1893. The
popular interest and the interest of educators in him were
such as to make him the most noted figure there. Other
presidents and institutions joined cordially in doing him
honor, and his presence at the Princeton section of the
university exhibits was the occasion for a demonstration of
affection from his old pupils.
1 See " Harper's Weekly," April, 1891.
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 451
"On Sunday, October 28, 1894, he was, as usual, in his
place in the chapel. It was his last appearance there.
Within a day or two he gave such evidence of failing
strength that his end was seen to be near. Without the
stroke of disease, clear-minded to the last, at his own home
and surrounded by all his family, he peacefully passed
away at ten o'clock in the night of Friday, November 16,
1894. The students whom he had never taught, but who
loved him, rang the bell of Nassau Hall to tell Princeton
that Dr. McCosh was dead.
" Fortis vir sapiensque is part of the epitaph of one of the
Scipios. It describes Dr. McCosh. But he was more than
a strong and wise man. He discerned," concludes Pro-
fessor West, " so far as to distinguish between the transient
and the enduring, the illusory and the real, in character, in
thought, in education and in religion. He sought and laid
hold on ' the things that cannot be shaken.' And they will
' remain.' For, as one of his pupils well said when we
turned home from his grave, ' He was himself one of the
evidences of the Christian religion.'" 1 With this account
of Dr. McCosh and of his administration the last of the
completed administrations of the Presidents this historical
sketch may appropriately be closed. On the resignation of
1 " He was a great man, and he was a good man. Eager as he was for the
material and intellectual advancement of the College, he thought even more of
its moral and religious tone. He was an earnest and able preacher, and his
trumpet gave no uncertain sound. Alike in speculative philosophy and in
practical morals he was always on the Christian side. He never stood in a
doubtful attitude towards the Gospel, and never spoke a word that would
compromise its truths. So that when I think of his long career and what he
did and how he lived, I am reminded of the apostle who was so consciously
devoted to the service of the Gospel that he could not conceive himself as
under any circumstances doing anything that would hinder it ; and who said,
in the words that I have placed at the beginning of this discourse: 'We can
do nothing against the truth but for the truth.'" President Patton's
Memorial Sermon.
452 PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Dr. McCosh, the Trustees elected, as his successor, the
Rev. Dr. Francis Landey Patton, Professor of Ethics in
the College, Professor also in Princeton Theological Semi-
nary. He was inaugurated as President on the twentieth
of June, 1888. Those who, on that occasion, spoke for
the Faculty and the Alumni, while expressing gratitude
for the past career of the College and loyalty to its " dis-
tinctly Christian basis," expressed the hope also that the
name University would soon be adopted. " We shall be
glad," said Dr. Henry van Dyke, speaking for the Alumni,
"when the last swaddling-band of an outgrown name drops
from the infant, and ' the College of New Jersey ' stands up
straight in the centre of the Middle States as the University
of Princeton." The new President, sharing in the general
desire, answered, in his inaugural discourse, the questions,
"What is a university?" and "What kind of a university
ought Princeton to be ? "
Inheriting thus from the previous administration the ideal
of a University, and the beginnings of its realization, Presi-
dent Patton has labored with conspicuous success to make
this ideal actual. The Faculty of Instruction has been
largely increased, the departments have been more highly
organized, and additional courses for undergraduates and
graduate students have been established. The number of
students during the first eight years of the present adminis-
tration rose from six hundred to eleven hundred ; and more
states and countries are represented in the student body
to-day than at any previous period. Leaving out of view
the gifts and foundations which have been made in connec-
tion with the Sesquicentennial Celebration, not only were
additional endowments given and real property of great
value to the College acquired during the eight years re-
ferred to, but as many as eight new buildings were erected.
This exceptionally rapid development of the institution,
PRINCETON SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
along the lines already indicated, during the present admin-
istration and the administration immediately preceding it,
determined the Board of Trustees to apply for a change in
its corporate name. It was thought that the one hundred
and fiftieth anniversary of the grant of the first charter
would offer a suitable occasion for the change of the name
from the College of New Jersey to Princeton University,
and the Sesquicentennial Celebration was projected. In this
celebration the President of the United States, the Governor
of New Jersey, Representatives of Foreign Universities
and of the Universities and Learned Societies of the United
States, united with the President, the Trustees, the Faculty,
the Patrons, the Alumni and the Undergraduates of the
College, and the citizens of Princeton, in commemorating
with joy and gratitude the great and beneficent career of the
College of New Jersey. The appropriateness of the cele-
bration and the propriety of the new name were cordially
and unanimously acknowledged. The addresses during
the celebration, and the responses to the invitations to assist
in the Academic festival, embodied the feeling expressed in
the legend inscribed on one of the arches :
AVE SALVE VNIVERSITAS PRINCETONIENSIS.
[ WHILE writing the historical sketch, I had many conversations with Dr.
Shields, and am under great obligations to him for valuable information and
suggestions. In these conversations he developed a view of the specific aims
of the original projectors of the College and of the relations between the two
charters which does not agree with the view presented by myself in the fore-
going pages. At my request, Dr. Shields has embodied his view in a note on
" The Origin of Princeton University " ; and the note is here subjoined.
JOHN DE WITT.]
THE ORIGIN OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY.
BY PROFESSOR CHARLES W. SHIELDS.
IN the year 1755, on the completion of Nassau Hall, the Trustees ad-
dressed Governor Belcher as " the founder, patron and benefactor of the
College of New Jersey." His right to this title, thus authoritatively bestowed,
had been established by several eminent services which now show their fruit
in the character and life of Princeton University.
First. He legalized the College. The charter held at that time [1747] by
Pemberton, Burr, Tennent, Finley and others was under suspicion and dis-
cussion. The previous royal Governor had refused to grant it. It had been
obtained, in the absence of a succeeding Governor, from a mere President of
the Council, who was old and infirm. It had not been approved by the
Council, nor sent to the home government for ratification. It did not even
contain any provision for a representative of the Crown in the College man-
agement. It lacked the most essential elements of legality. In these circum-
stances Governor Belcher took the legal advice of Chief Justice Kinsey of
Pennsylvania, and deferred the first commencement until he could frame " a
455
456 THE ORIGIN OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
new and better charter," which was unanimously approved by the Council,
and endorsed by the Attorney-General as containing nothing inconsistent
with His Majesty's interest or honor. By this new charter the royal Gov-
ernor was made ex-officio president of the College corporation, and all the
Trustees were bound by stringent oaths of allegiance. The Governor did
not rest satisfied until four of the King's councillors had been admitted to
seats in the Board of Trust, and the Treasurer of the Province had been
elected Treasurer of the College. In various ways he secured the validity of
the charter, and thus made Princeton University possible and perpetual as a
legal entity.
Second. He secularized the College in a good sense. In the first charter
there were but three laymen William Smith, Livingston, Peartree Smith
named with nine clergymen Dickinson, Pearson, Pemberton, Burr, Gilbert
Tennent, William Tennent, Blair, Treat, Finley. Governor Belcher made the
lay equal the clerical corporators in number, and gave the King's councillors,
esquires, and gentlemen precedence of the ministers, according to existing
usages in His Majesty's province. It is not surprising that he found it diffi-
cult to persuade both Mr. Burr and Mr. Tennent that this was a good arrange-
ment. They desired a preparatory college for ministers, or at most a clerical
college for the education of the youth of the Church ; while he wished all the
learned professions represented in the governing body, with no preference or
predominance of divinity. He thus saved Princeton University at its origin
from excessive clericalism and ecclesiasticism.
Third. He liberalized the College in its spirit. The non-denominational
clause was in both charters, and does not bear upon the point. No charter
could have been legally obtained without that clause. It was required by the
fundamental law of the province, as the language of the document shows.
Moreover, the Episcopalian churchmen in the King's Council would never
have allowed a so-called " dissenting " college such as Presbyterian church-
men alone would have founded. The liberality of the parties, therefore, was
necessary, politic, advantageous, creditable in all respects. But it was Gov-
ernor Belcher who made the generous compromise possible and effective.
He not only retained all the Presbyterian churchmen in the new Board, but he
associated with them representatives of the Church of England, of the Society
of Friends, of the Reformed Dutch and Welsh Calvinists, as equally governors
of the College, and not as mere sharers in its privileges. He thus early
imparted to it that character of catholic orthodoxy which Princeton Uni-
versity still possesses.
Fourth. He was foremost in nationalizing the College. But for his com-
prehensive policy, Pemberton and Burr might have founded some local col-
lege in East Jersey, or Tennent and Davies might have founded some sectional
THE ORIGIN OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY 457
college in Pennsylvania. All these ministers were then involved in a church
schism and, at best, could only have united in a colonial Presbyterian insti-
tution. Retaining them in the new College, he made it a unifying centre
amid their ecclesiastical disputes and divisions ; drew representative men from
other colonies into its corporation ; urged its location at Princeton, between
West and East Jersey ; united New York and Philadelphia influences in its
counsels ; and corresponded with its friends from New England to Virginia.
By connecting it with the State rather than the Church, and by introducing
civilians among its divines, he combined civil with ecclesiastical tendencies to
colonial unity, and thus laid the foundations, for Witherspoon, of a school of
statesmen as well as a nursery of ministers ; in other words, of a future na-
tional university.
Lastly, he made the College financially secure on this enlarged basis. It
was at the point of failure for want of funds. Both Pemberton and Burr, not-
withstanding his urgent solicitation, had declined to visit the mother country
on a collecting tour. He found cordial helpers in Davies and Tennent ; in-
duced them to procure a recommendation of the Synod ; and gave them his
own influential letters, by means of which they obtained contributions from
English churchmen and non-conformists as well as from Scotch and Irish
Presbyterians. The total amount secured by the mission was sufficient for
the erection of the largest public edifice in the colonies, and about one half
of it came from non-Presbyterian contributors, such as the Bishop of Dur-
ham, the Lady Huntingdon Connexion, the Independents and Baptists, in-
cluding some distinguished scholars. The facts clearly show that these con-
tributions were due to the catholic policy of the governor. He thus made
Nassau Hall a monument of the united gifts of England, Scotland and Ireland
to the cause of Christian learning in America.
It is now evident, I think, that Governor Belcher was rightly called the
founder of the College. What were the circumstances ? On arriving in the
Colony, he discovered that, in the interim since the death of the preceding
Governor, a college had been projected with a new royal charter which re-
quired his official notice. Placing himself in cordial sympathy with the
movement, he announced his belief that some public educational institution
was greatly needed by the inhabitants of New Jersey. And yet, as the King's
representative, he could not leave so weighty a civil interest in the hands of a
few clergymen, however excellent they might be. Moreover, he found that
their proposed college was of dubious legality ; that there was not a trace of
it in the public records; that it was wholly denominational in its manage-
ment ; that it was impracticable under existing conditions in a royal province
attached to the Bishop of London ; and that it would soon have perished
utterly, with all that was good and noble in it. In a most generous spirit
458 THE ORIGIN OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
he took its projectors into his own counsels ; rescued its best elements
and founded in its place another and different college, which was a strictly
legal corporation, largely civil in its constitution, and intended for the higher
education of the whole province, including all religious denominations. In
contrast with the previous project, it was described at that time as " a most
catholic plan containing no exclusive clauses to deprive persons of any Chris-
tain denomination either from its Government or from any of its Privileges."
It differed from the former project somewhat as a state university differs from
a church college and divinity school, or as Princeton University now differs
from Lafayette College and Princeton Theological Seminary.
It is also evident that to Governor Belcher must be traced the present
university spirit of the College. The Presbyterian churchmen would have
founded an exclusively Presbyterian institution, in a denominational spirit,
for an ecclesiastical purpose. It was no more their aim than their province
to found a State university including all denominations. They had been
laboring to found a synodical college, which they relinquished only because of
a schism in the Synod itself. " Their governing motive," says Dr. Maclean,
"was to provide for the youth of their Church, and more especially for their
candidates for the ministry, a thorough training in all the various branches
of a liberal education, including as a matter of the highest interest full instruc-
tion in the doctrines of the Christian faith according to their understanding of
them." Instead of thus narrowing and bounding the field of liberal culture
in his civil domain, the Governor devised for them a more ample charter,
which by its terms gave to them no exclusive control as Presbyterians over
" the education of the youth of this province in the liberal arts and sciences,"
but simply provided by implication for the maintenance of that essential
Christianity which is common to all denominations. And, according to the
plain intent and scope of this charter, the Governor organized the College, as
we have seen, with a board of civilians and divines, with different denomina-
tions represented by the charter members and their first successors, and
with equal reference to all the learned professions, the secular as well as the
sacred. It is true, that after his decease the policy grew more denomina-
tional and ecclesiastical until the emergence of Princeton Seminary, when, as
Dr. Hodge informs us, "the Trustees agreed to withdraw from theological
instruction in preparation for the ministry." But it is also true that from the
first the governor aimed to make the College of New Jersey in spirit what it
has become in fact and in name Princeton University. And nobly has it
at last fulfilled the aim of its founder.
The comparative neglect of his name and services may be easily explained.
At the Revolution we came under patriotic influences which threw into the
shade much that was good and noble in our colonial life, and made it diffi-
THE ORIGIN OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY 459
cult to appreciate a loyalist governor as a public benefactor. Our later
historians, too, have unwittingly robbed him of credit by giving it to some
of his coadjutors. Because the names of Dickinson, Pierson, Pemberton and
Burr appear alone in a New York advertisement of 1747, it has been inferred,
naturally, that they were the sole originators of the College; and upon this
assumption successive histories and sketches have been written for nearly a
hundred years. But recently discovered papers show us that these four
ministers were associated in their project with the Tennents, Blair, Finley
and others, and could not have been the exclusive founders or builders of the
College. Dickinson, unhappily, died before it was legally organized. Burr
was made its President by Governor Belcher's composite Board of Trustees,
and, of course, only voiced their policy in his inaugural address. Pemberton
retired from its trusteeship to Boston before it was settled at Princeton.
Both Pemberton and Burr failed to rescue it at a crisis when it would have
perished but for the energetic efforts of Belcher, as seconded by the eloquent
appeals of Davies and Tennent in Great Britain. Without those efforts the
Latin School at Newark could not have become Princeton College. More-
over, in contrast with recent historians, the earliest known historian, Samuel
Blair the Second, in 1761, acting as the official historiographer, distinctly
ascribed the origin of the College to His Excellency Jonathan Belcher, at
that time governor, and classed the College of the first charter among pre-
vious " disappointments and fruitless attempts to plant and cherish learning
in the province of New Jersey."
Finally, our recent historians, while justly praising the three " pioneer
Presidents," have quite overlooked the founder, patron and benefactor of the
College. The great Dickinson has the titular distinction of First President,
since from the beginning he held that place in the minds of all parties ; and
his claim to the honor will not be questioned by any loyal son of Princeton.
Aaron Burr, the first President who conferred degrees, seems to have con-
fined himself to the duties of instruction during the ten years of his adminis-
tration. Jonathan Edwards was President but two or three weeks. The
plain fact remains that the College, as we know it, was founded and erected
by Governor Belcher with the aid of Tennent and Davies, and in the line of
that succession has continued one hundred and forty years until the present
day. The New England influence impressed upon Princeton University at
its origin was not the " iron heel of mighty Edwards," of which Oliver Wen-
dell Holmes has sung, but the liberal hand of Jonathan Belcher, representing
another type of culture as well as orthodoxy.
It is but simple justice to a forgotten benefactor to state these historical
facts. They involve no disparagement of any of his clerical coadjutors, who
themselves gladly surrendered their own scheme and accepted his potent
460 THE ORIGIN OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
leadership. Their praiseworthy aims as churchmen were not inconsistent
with his larger views as governor of the province. He was himself in per-
fect sympathy with them as an evangelical Christian, as a thorough Calvinist
of the Whitefield type, as an admirer of " the pious and learned Dickinson,"
and even as a churchman of the evangelical school. But he was also much
more than all this. He was an enlightened, far-seeing statesman, with influ-
ence at court. He was a classical scholar, with a taste for learning. He was
a former Harvard graduate and overseer, versed in academic studies and
educational matters. He was an efficient man of affairs, with a long public
record. He was a ruler ambitious of the best kind of fame. He was a
royal patron of a college which he styled his adopted daughter and the
alma mater of coming generations of scholars, divines and statesmen. He,
and he alone, at that time had both the opportunity and the disposition to
lay the foundations of a great Christian university.
During his own lifetime he was the accepted founder of the institution.
The Trustees of his day, including the petitioners for the former charter, so
entitled him, and wished to have the College Hall bear the name of Belcher,
after the manner of Harvard and Yale. "As the College of New Jersey,"
said they, " views you in the light of its founder, patron and benefactor, and
the impartial world will esteem it a respect deservedly due to the name of
Belcher, permit us to dignify the edifice now erecting at Princeton with that
endeared appellation ; and when your Excellency is translated to a house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens, let Belcher Hall proclaim your
beneficent acts for the advancement of Christianity and the emolument of the
arts and sciences to the latest generations."
He declined this honor, and suggested the name of the illustrious house of
Nassau, by which Protestantism had been enthroned in English civilization.
We are fortunate in now having that more euphonious historic name, but we
are indebted to Governor Belcher for it, and his modesty is to be somewhat
regretted if it shall have deprived him of a just fame to which he is entitled.
Should any memorial statue ever be erected in the niche over the doorway of
Nassau Hall, it could only be inscribed, in the language of the original
Trustees, to JONATHAN BELCHER, THE FOUNDER, PATRON AND BENE-
FACTOR OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY.
ERRATA.
Page 185, line n, for '89 read '88.
" 206, " 10, for hoc read hac.
" 269, " 8, for Universitate read Universitatis.
" 287, " 23, for vt read ut.
" 291, for Puxser read Purser.
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