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without being watched ^ like schoolboys . But even in the advanced classes , the greatest care is taken to secure the regular attendance of the students
and to inculcate habits of diligence and perseverance . The fact is , that at the University of Glasgow , every ambitious young man may succeed : there are rewards held out to the
industrious ; but fines and disgrace are the necessary consequences of idleness . The prizes which are given to the students of each class , for general eminence , ought to operate as most powerful inducements to diligence &nd exertion : nor should any
compulsion be applied to young men who are sent to finish their education at a University , but such as respects moral feeling ; " the stimulants which alone will be of use" to them , " must prick the sense of honour and emulation , of disapprobation and disgrace . ' *
3 . But are not the morals of a Glasgow student exposed to a great hazard ? Is he not in danger of being led into improper company , or habits of extravagance ?—In these questions are involved the comparative advantages of a public and private education : but without occupying your time by
any discussion upon this subject , it may be observed that , there is not the least danger of a young man from England , who has been initiated in the principles of Unitarianism , injuring his character by the choice of his companions . It is very natural that he will first unite himself to those of
his countrymen who have spent some time at the College . Their company will be found move agreeable than the society of strangers ; aad if he be at all desirous of sharing in the respect which is attached to the character of
an English student , and of acquiring the approbation of the distinguished preacher and defender of our faith , he will conduct himself in a proper manner ; and will therefore be in as little danger of becoming a dissipated character , as of acquiring habits of indolence . The testimony of facts
bears me out in these suppositions . 1 believe there is not an instance of a Unitarian student from England injuring his moral character through the influence of the society he had formed , while at Glasgow College . A far more pleasing effect is almost necessarily produced . Where can a knowledge of the habits and disposi-
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tions of men be more easil y acquired than amidst several hundred students ? —If our Unitarian youths are gifted with dispositions more prone ta do evil , than imitate that which is goodif their morals are so delicate as to be
unable to resist the least temptation let them be kept at home or sent to some insulated monastery ; but if they be capable of exhibiting the di gnity of human nature , let them breathe the air of freedom ; let them see the world j let them be enabled to retain
a character free from vice , not because it has always been placed beyond their reach , but because they have thrust it from them : if they are to acquire a spirit of independence and to avoid the evils of established error ; let them be placed amongst those who differ from them , but where
not the least restraint is laid upon any particular sentiments ; let them be placed where the most important religious and political subjects are discussed with the greatest freedom and ability ; where a spirit of inquiry is
indulged and encouraged to the greatest degree ; where every one can take an active part in the good cause ; and where the friends of truth are every day enlivened by the renewed success of persevering industry . Should they in such circumstances refuse to
exhibit Methodistic zeal and Unitarian independence , it is because they never received the seeds of such dispositions either from their parents or Dissenting schools ; nay , more , it is because their minds are incapable of these Christian graces . Should they become immoral characters , it is
because their previous education must have been superficial , * or they must be endued with the unnatural desire of avoiding those who unite with them in sentiment , and who have been nourished with the fruits of the same
soil . Should they become extravagant , most of the blame falls upon their parents . They cannot be too profuse in their expenditure unless they be furnished with the means . As they are not lodged with the Professors or within the walls of the
College they can easily accommodat e themselves to their circumstances . Lodgings may be procured in the city for five , twenty , or thirty shillings a-week . The expenses of board may be equally varied ; they may be * & duced to eight , or ten , or extenaea
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G % fSi Advantages of an Education at the University of Glasgow .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1815, page 628, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1765/page/28/
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