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psspp^MpS^^^^^^ 1206 The Publishers' Cir...
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188 Fleet Street : November 16, 1885.
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will be long before the echoes of Iiord ...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Psspp^Mps^^^^^^ 1206 The Publishers' Cir...
psspp ^ MpS ^^^^^^ 1206 The Publishers' Circular Nc ^ ig ^
188 Fleet Street : November 16, 1885.
188 Fleet Street : November 16 , 1885 .
Will Be Long Before The Echoes Of Iiord ...
will be long before the echoes of Iiord IT Iddesleigh ' s powerful address to the
students of the University of Edinburgh will die away . The oration , which should certainly
I appear in the permanent form of a published work work , is is the tne most most unique unique survey survey or of E jiingnsn nglish
literature , which has been given to the public for a considerable time . Lord Iddesleigh has
clearly formed a high idea of the duties of the position of Lord Rector of the University .
Formerl j . y those who 15 received the only electoral — honour which itwas in the power of the
students to confer contented themselves by delivering a first and final address immediately
after their accession to office . But , in this connection , Lord Iddesleigh remarked that
the intercourse between the Rector and the great body of students should not be limited
to the single address which custom prescribed , and which usually formed the only opportunity
of their being brought together . Obviously , it would be impossible here to speak with any
degree of fullness regarding this fine oration , which traced so thoroughly , and yet succinctly ,
the progress of our literature from the earliest to the present times . It is marvellous that ,
amidst the troubles of these stirring political days , one of our leading statesmen should
have been able to come before the public with a discourse so free from party spirit and so
rich with the true treasures of thorough English study .
We have pleasure in quoting two especially noteworthy passages from Lord Iddesleigh ' s
address : * The great mass of books / he said , are
like the great mass of men , a mixture of good and evil , and are neither to be blindly
followed nor blindly rejected . It would but narrow the mind in the first place ; and
depend upon it that from narrowing to perverting is but a short step . Heed the advice of
a very wise counsellor , especially to youth , the late Dr . Arnold . He says , "• Keep your
view of men and things extensive , and depend upon it that a mixed knowledge is not a
superficial * one . As far as it goes , the views that it gives are true , but he who has read
deeply one class of writers alone gets views \ which are almost sure to be perverted , and
, which are not only narrow but false . Adjust your proposed » mt w * amount of reading w to your mtf ^ ^
¦ time and inclination . This is perfectly free to any man , ^ bi \ t whether the amount be large
i or small let it , be % varied in its kind and widely •» ri ¦ 1 lxave , a confident opinion on any
• ' i one point corinected with the improvement of 11 it the human mind , it is out this . " Iff then ,
• . / j . we . agree that i the ^ most important question , is Sfer ^ my ^ . i' . niYn ' i 1 : ' ,,, „ ,,, . ' , ' , '¦; . , ' mi 1 : ' , ; ., ¦ ' , ' , "„ ' ' ' , ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ f-- ¦¦; , ¦¦¦ , ¦¦ I" /' ,
not whatbut howwe shall readlet us , , , consider the dangers against which we must be
on our guard . I have already touched upon that of indolence , even though it be busy
indolence . There is another fault which we must avoid—that of misdirected energy , the
energy of the unhappy student whom Mr . -Lowe uowell ii selects selects as as the tne butt ouzz of or his ms clever ciever satire satire :
* ' A reading machine ever wound up and going , he mastered whatever was not worth the
knowing . " It is to men of this sort that the old proverb applies—they cannot see the wood
for the trees . They are so intent upon details that they lose all idea of the whole , and for
want of grasp of the whole they lose the benefit of the very details with which they
are so energetically busy themselves . The remedy is not far to seek , and I may give it
as a remedy applicable to both faults of which I have been speaking . It is , always to read
with an object , and that a worthy object . ' Referring to the reading of the students ,
Lord Iddesleigh continued : * I content myself with saying it is one of the great advantages
of such places of learning as our Universities that every student has the means of readily
obtaining advice , guidance , and assistance in laying out and pursuing a course of serious
study . He will here be introduced to great minds of the past , to the historians , the
philosophers , the orators , the poets , whose works have charmed and have instructed generation
after generation , and he will be shown how best to employ his time in turning his
acquaintance with them to profit . The only piece of advice I would give is one which , no doubt , he
has received from many others . It is to make a point Mr of mastering ^ ' —at least one subject V of
study by sheer hard work without the aid of any of the ingenious inventions for saving
time and trouble which are so dangerously tempting . Set your faces alike against the
use of cribs and translations , and against skipping of difficult passages . Do not try to
turn the flank of a difficulty , but brace up your minds to overcome it . By doing this
with one or more branches of your work you will strengthen your mental powers and gain
a vantage ground from which you will be able with ease to invade and conquer the fruitful
plains of knowledge which you will perceive l w ^ y ¦ _ ing ovfv ^ . B open ~^^ ^^ before you ^ J --- . As , . — a — , wit - once — said ,
easy writing is confoundedly hard reading ; so —w we may m say of easy stud - y that it means
app terribl r ^ l y -mr y to barren ^ true knowledge knowled — — ^ yg ge . the You ^ w noble may lines indeed in
which JL Jtm f \ ^ f Wordsworth addresses ^^^^ the Grecian crowd who shouted when they heard the pro the
hands clamation of their of their master country . Those ' s freedom who desire at to
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Citation
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Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), Nov. 16, 1885, page 1206, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_16111885/page/2/
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