The curriculum provides for a systematic_Oxford and the Rhodes Scholarships

history of Law. There is no opportunity for practical work at Oxford—‘the

case-system’ method is not used. On the other hand, the reading to be

done under the direction of the Tutor will afford a very solid foundation

of the general principles of Law before entering on the practical and

special study in chambers or in court. This School is often taken after

Honours have been obtained in some other Final School. The subjects of

the Final Examinations are—(1) Jurisprudence, (2) Roman Law, (3) English

Law (including the Law of Contract, of Succession, Real Property, and

Constitutional Law), (4) History of English Law, and (5) International

Law. The courses of lectures are given and arranged to meet these

requirements.

Every one who wishes to become a Barrister or Solicitor—the two

departments into which the practice of Law is divided in England—must

have kept nine Terms at the Inns of Court, or have served five years

as an articled clerk in some solicitor’s office, and must pass certain

examinations. These are not under the control of the University, though

certain exemptions and concessions are granted to those students who have

passed examinations at the University.

[Sidenote: Theology.]

The subjects of the Final Examination in Theology are—(1) specified

portions of the Holy Scriptures based on a study of the original texts,

including (_a_) the history, religion, and literature of Israel, and

(_b_) the history, theology, and literature of the New Testament; and

(2) the history and doctrine of the Christian Church till 461 A. D.;

this is based mainly on the study of Eusebius and certain Patristic

texts. In addition there are certain optional subjects—Hebrew, Evidences

of Religion, Liturgies, Archaeology and Textual Criticism of the Old

and New Testaments, and certain special subjects. The main subjects of

study for this examination are historical. ‘In addition to this training

in historical method, the School also affords scope for education in

scholarship, in so far as some texts must be read in the original

languages.’ The candidate has a choice of texts in Greek, Latin, and

Hebrew. There is a good course of inter-collegiate lectures, and the

Professorial lectures offer a very wide range of subjects. The library

facilities are excellent. There are a number of other institutions

not directly connected with the University which offer additional

opportunities for study and instruction.

[Sidenote: Oriental Languages.]

The courses given in this School are intended ‘for the most part for the

practical acquisition of the language studied’, and are of special value

to candidates reading for the Indian Civil Service. ‘The general subjects

are Sanskrit, Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian, and History as connected with

the literature of those languages.’ There is a well-equipped library and

museum in the Indian Institute.

[Sidenote: English Language and Literature.]

Though but recently established, the opportunities for special study and

for advanced instruction are well organized, and offer the choice of a

wide range of subjects. The curriculum provides both for the philological

and for the literary study of the English Language. Candidates are

examined in (1) portions of certain prescribed English authors, to be

studied with reference to the forms of the language; as examples of

literature; and in their relation to the history and thought of the

period to which they belong; (2) in the history of the English Language

and Literature, demanding a thorough study of philology as well as of the

history of literary criticism. In addition, the candidate who aims at a

first or second class in the Final Examination must offer one of a list

of nine or ten special subjects in philology and English literature. The

examination requirements demand very wide reading, as well as a thorough

study of some special period of English literature, or of some special

subject in philology.

[Sidenote: Modern Languages.]

Complete courses of instruction are given in French, German, Italian,

Spanish, Russian, and the Scandinavian languages; instructions will also

be provided for in other European languages, if called for. All the

Lecturers and Professors are prepared to give special instruction. A

recognized authority is appointed from time to time to deliver a public

lecture on some subject of modern language or comparative literature.

Candidates reading for this ‘School’ are not required to offer more

than one language. They will be examined in ‘the language as spoken and

written at the present day’, in certain prescribed texts, in the history,

philology, and the literature of the language offered. ‘This will include

the history of criticism and style in prose and verse, and the history,

especially the social history, of the corresponding country or countries

of Europe.’ In addition the candidate has the choice of certain optional

subjects as prescribed in the Examination Statutes.

[Sidenote: Final Pass Schools.]

For the sake of completeness, brief reference may be made to the Final

Examinations in the Pass Schools. The subjects of the examination are

divided into a number of groups, each containing a certain number of

subjects, e. g. one group contains Classical subjects, another Modern

subjects, another Mathematics, &c. Candidates must satisfy the examiners

in three subjects; as a rule not more than two subjects may be taken

from any one Group. The examination in these subjects may be taken

separately, i. e. it is not necessary to take all of them in the same

Term, and no limitations (except by his College) are placed on the

number of the Pass-man’s efforts to pass his ‘Groups’. In the course of

time the University examiners are said to be able to recognize familiar

faces in the Pass Schools with comparative ease—some cynics say, with

ill-concealed pleasure.

[Sidenote: Graduate study.]

The residential feature of the Oxford system, on the one hand, and the

stress laid on culture for its own sake, on a liberal education, on

the other, has not been very favourable to the growth of special or

graduate work. The Oxford life makes heavy demands on the student’s

time. An ideal of culture and scholarship (in the English sense of the

word) will not have much in common with the demands of technical and

professional training, with ‘specialization’ and the scientific spirit.

Conservative as Oxford is, it has not shut its doors to the spirit of the

times. Despite Ruskin, ‘science’ has made decided inroads and is to-day

firmly entrenched in Oxford soil. The new University Professorships and

Lectureships were another sign of the times. The extension and perfecting

of the examination system to meet the new conditions, and the absence of

any demand for ‘research’ work, discouraged the growth and development

of the Professorial system, and most of the Professorships suffered by

atrophy of functions and became part of the larger inter-collegiate

system. This must not be interpreted to mean that all work became

undergraduate in character. No greater mistake could be made. As has

been said, there is no hard and fast line at Oxford where undergraduate

work ends and graduate work begins. But it is true that, apart from the

work in Natural Science and Medicine, Oxford makes little pretence of

teaching method _as method_. By an extension of the tutorial system, it

substitutes the direct personal contact between the Professor and the

student. There are advanced lectures, to be sure, but they are purely

formal. Wherever there has been a demand for it, Professors have always

been ready to organize small classes for special study—on the model of

seminars, or even to accommodate their lectures to the needs of advanced

students. There exists to-day a very substantial framework on which is

being organized an efficient Graduate School. New departments are not

created at Oxford ‘by act of legislature’, nor are they grafted on to the

system. They must be a growth—a natural growth from within.

With the institution of the new ‘Research degrees’ in Letters and

Science[60], a good beginning has been made in the way of a school of

purely post-graduate study. Recently, also, certain endowments for

research have been established or reconstituted. The institution of

‘Research’ Fellowships, as apart from the ordinary teaching Fellowships

held by College Tutors and Lecturers, is but another indication of this

new spirit and of the new demands. Moreover, many College Tutors are

working in special fields or engaged in research, and are always ready to

advise the student or to give special individual instruction.

The most valuable feature in the new system is that ‘the student enjoys

the advantage of being brought into close contact with those who have

a first-hand acquaintance with the department of knowledge to which he

is devoting himself, and are ready to give him the benefit of their

experience in researches similar to his own. Professors and Readers in

the University have gained a new responsibility by being brought into

relations with the most earnest students in their respective branches of

learning.’[61]

But perhaps most important of all for the trained research student is the

inexhaustible material to be found in that treasure-house, the Bodleian

Library, in the Radcliffe and the various special and College libraries,

and in the University Museums.

[Sidenote: ‘Research degrees.’]

These new degrees, Bachelor of Letters and Bachelor in Science, are open

to all Oxford graduates (i. e. those holding an Oxford B.A.), and also

to other students who are twenty-one years of age and who ‘can give

satisfactory evidence of having received a good general education’.

Rhodes Scholars who have taken their Bachelor’s degree at some Colonial

or American University will generally be able to avail themselves of

this latter regulation. All candidates for these degrees in Letters or

Science—and this applies also to those reading for the degree of Bachelor

of Civil Law (see p. 93)—should be sure to provide themselves with the

necessary credentials. They must be prepared to present:—

1. A certificate of age.

2. A certificate of degree or degrees already taken.

3. A detailed statement of work done, or published as a result

of their special studies.

These credentials should be supplemented by:—

4. Letters of recommendation from former instructors and

Professors.

5. A Catalogue or Register of the candidate’s University or

College.

6. Candidates must present some definite subject of study or

research.

Once admitted to be a candidate for the degree, the candidate’s work will

be under the direction of a Committee of two, one of whom is usually a

Professor, appointed by the Board of the Faculty to which his subject

belongs. In addition to the residence requirement of eight University

Terms (i. e. two years), he must first have ‘satisfied the Board of

Faculty, by examination only, or by submitting a dissertation, which,

if approved, is necessarily followed by a viva voce examination. The

Board may further require the candidate to publish his dissertation or

some part of it.’ Any one who has taken an Oxford B.A. has satisfied the

necessary requirements as to residence for the Research degree, and,

without necessarily residing in the University, he can pursue his special

studies _in absentia_ under the direction of the Committee and proceed to

his degree at his convenience.

[Sidenote: Opportunities for research. Classical studies.]

There are opportunities for research or advanced special work in almost

every field of knowledge, but some of them deserve special mention. It

goes without saying that the student of the Classics, of Comparative

Philology, and of Ancient History will find at Oxford not merely the

technical facilities in the way of instruction, libraries, and museums,

but an atmosphere particularly favourable to the prosecution of his

studies. ‘Every College has one or more classical lecturers on its

staff who have usually made a special study of some branch of classical

learning.’ A glance at the list of Professors and Lecturers for the

Honour School of Literae Humaniores[62] will be sufficient indication and

guarantee of the adequacy and efficiency of the instruction provided.

Most of the Honour lectures are of an advanced character.

The Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum (Arthur J. Evans, D.Litt.) lectures

(generally in Michaelmas Term) on Minoan and Primitive Aegean Culture, or

on other prehistoric subjects. There are also opportunities for special

work in Archaeology and Geography. Courses are given by specialists in

Egyptology, Palaeography, and Numismatics. Dr. Grenfell and Dr. Hunt are

continuing their work on the Oxyrhynchus Papyri.

[Sidenote: Archaeology.]

There is also a special endowment for research—the Craven Fellowship,

with an income of £200 per annum for two years; eight months in each year

must be spent abroad. The British School of Archaeology in Athens offers

(usually every other year) a studentship of £50 to some member of the

University. The library facilities are unexcelled: the Bodleian Library

with more than 600,000 bound volumes of printed works, and some 30,000

bound volumes of manuscripts; the Radcliffe Camera, in which are kept

practically all English books published since 1851, and where most of the

leading periodicals may be consulted; the Ashmolean Library, containing

most of the works on general archaeology; and the various College

libraries; the library of Oriel College containing a special collection

of books on Comparative Philology, and Worcester College Library a

valuable collection of books on Classical Archaeology. The collections

in the Ashmolean Museum present some exceptional opportunities for study

in the following departments:—Prehistoric and Early Dynastic Egypt;

Primitive Anatolia (Hittite Seals, &c.); Primitive Greece and the Aegean;

Greek Vases; Greek and Graeco-Roman Bronzes; Greek Sculpture—collection

of casts; Greek and Roman Inscriptions. There is a collection of coins in

the Bodleian.

The Pitt-Rivers Museum contains a unique ethnological collection, so

arranged and classified as ‘to illustrate so far as possible, by means

of synoptic groups of specimens, the actual or hypothetical origin and

gradual development of the various arts and appliances of mankind, as

well as their geographical distributions’.

[Sidenote: Modern History.]

The opportunities for advanced and special instruction in Modern History

are excellent. There is a good system of inter-collegiate lectures which

will be useful even to advanced students. The Regius Professor holds a

small class ‘specially designed for students working for the B.Litt.

degree’. There are courses in Palaeography and Diplomatic by specialists,

and facilities for doing special or research work in Colonial History.

A series of six lectures is delivered by the Ford Lecturer, elected

annually, upon some particular period or question connected with British

History.

Special work is also offered in Geography.

[Sidenote: Library facilities.]

‘The _Bodleian Library_ and the _Taylorian Library_ of foreign books

are open to all matriculated members of the University upon compliance

with certain conditions as to introduction. Each College also possesses

a library, and books and MSS. in the library of one College can usually

be consulted by members of other Colleges by arrangement with the

Librarian. The Bodleian Library, and some of the College libraries,

contain an immense quantity of MSS. and materials for mediaeval history

which have been imperfectly explored. The Bodleian is also extremely

rich in collections of MSS. illustrating the history of England during

the sixteenth, the seventeenth, and the early part of the eighteenth

century, and many Colleges possess important MSS. of the same period

which have been but little utilized by historians. The Carter MSS. in the

Bodleian are one of the chief sources for the study of Irish History.’

Mention should also be made of the library of the Oxford Architectural

and Historical Society, and of the special collections in the Ashmolean

Museum on Prehistoric Britain (Stone and Bronze and Early Iron Age),

Anglo-Saxon Britain, and of the Renaissance Bronzes and Majolica, and of

the library of the Indian Institute.

[Sidenote: Theology.]

Many of the Honour lectures in _Theology_ are adapted to the needs of

advanced students. Seminar classes are also held in several subjects.

A special University Lectureship in Assyriology has been established;

lectures are given on the bearing of Assyriology upon the Old Testament.

The instructional staff is excellent. Two theological colleges, Mansfield

College (Congregational) and Manchester College (undenominational), are

both well equipped with an efficient staff of lecturers.

[Sidenote: Oriental studies.]

Most of the courses in the School of Oriental Languages are for the

practical acquisition of the languages offered. There are also some

advanced lectures, and all members of the teaching staff are prepared

to give instruction and advice to students taking up any special line

of Oriental studies. There is a very complete collection of works

on Egyptology in the Bodleian Library and in the libraries of the

Ashmolean Museum, of Queen’s College, and of the Indian Institute. ‘The

Indian Institute Library contains about 23,000 volumes intended to

represent very fully the languages, the literature, the religions, the

institutions, the geography, the history, the ethnology, the archaeology,

and the administration of ancient, mediaeval, and modern India.’ Very

considerable opportunities and facilities are here afforded for the study

of Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu, Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Chinese, and

Burmese. The library contains a collection of 162 Sanskrit and Prākṛit

MSS., and 64 Persian MSS., as well as a large number of maps of official

publications of the Indian Provincial Government. All the leading

Oriental Journals in English, French, and German are kept here. The

Museum of the Indian Institute is a great aid to the historical study of

Indian subjects.

[Sidenote: English Literature.]

Though but very recently established, the work in the Schools of

English Language and Literature and of Modern Languages calls for

special consideration. The facilities for research in the Bodleian, and

especially in the Taylorian Library, are very considerable.

‘The Taylorian Library contains about 40,000 volumes, representing the

languages of Modern Europe, English (Anglo-Saxon, Early English), French,

German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Modern Greek,

Polish, Bohemian (Czech), Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Bulgarian. The

chief subjects are the philology and literature (mainly poetry and drama)

of these languages, and historical memoirs and biographies written

in them. The Library is specially strong in the literature of Dante,

Molière, Goethe and Schiller, Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Calderon, Camoëns,

and Old Norse Sagas. The Finch Collection forms a special library of

works on the Fine Arts, written in French, German, Italian, and other

European languages.

A special _Seminar-Library_ contains the leading literary and

philological periodicals on modern European Languages, the books

prescribed for the Honour School of Modern Languages, and a selection of

dictionaries, grammars, and works of reference connected with the study

of modern languages.’

[Sidenote: Natural Science.]

There are also abundant opportunities for research and for special work

in Natural Science. The laboratories in the University Museum, at Christ

Church, Magdalen, Balliol, and Trinity are well equipped. At the Oxford

Museum are laboratories equipped for special study leading to research

work in Physics, Electricity, Chemistry, Comparative Anatomy, Mineralogy,

Geology, Physiology, Human Anatomy, Pathology and Bacteriology, each

under the direct charge of the Professor of the subject. The teaching in

Pathology, Comparative Anatomy, and Physiology is adapted to the needs

of those preparing for Medicine. Special rooms have been set apart for

original research work in experimental Pathology and Bacteriology, in

Pathological Chemistry and Histology.

[Sidenote: Diplomas.]

Special work may also be done along certain lines for which diplomas are

granted by the University. These have been only recently introduced. ‘At

present they are given for a course of work extending over a year or more

in such subjects as Education, Geography, Economics, Engineering and

Mining, Anthropology, and Forestry, the object being to supplement the

ordinary curriculum for the B.A. degree by providing for more special

lines of study.’ There are seminar-classes in Geography and Economics.

[Sidenote: B.C.L.]

The advanced work in Law is of a very special character. Most of the

lectures in Law are intended for those reading for the Jurisprudence

School, so that the candidate for the B.C.L. is thrown largely upon his

own resources. Prof. Vinogradoff lectures on the History of Law and

Comparative Jurisprudence, and also holds a seminar-class along these

lines. But the bulk of the work for the degree must be done in private

under the direction and supervision of the College Tutor. The examination

for the B.C.L. is one of the most difficult University examinations.

It covers a very wide field and the standard required is very high.

Candidates must possess a fair knowledge of Latin, as certain special

subjects in Roman Law are studied in the original. The subjects studied

are concerned in the main with the theoretical side of legal study, with

the general principles and the history of Law.

Students from the Colonies who are intending to enter at one of the Inns

of Court will find no difficulty in keeping their Terms during their

residence at Oxford. The residence requirements at the Inns of Court

merely consist in eating three dinners during each Term.

The library of All Souls—the Codrington Library—contains a very complete

collection of works on Law and the history of Law—Roman, English, and

foreign. The English Law Reports of all periods, as also the principal

American and Colonial Reports, are to be found here.

Several Scholarships are offered by the University for proficiency in

legal studies.

The degree of B.C.L.—like the Research degrees of B.Litt. and B.Sc.—is

open to all who have taken an Oxford B.A., and to persons above

twenty-one years of age who have obtained a degree in Arts or in

Philosophy or in Science in some other University, and who have satisfied

the Board of the Faculty of Law that they will be qualified to pursue an

advanced course of legal study.[63] Honours can be obtained only by those

candidates who at the time of examination have not exceeded twelve Terms

(i. e. three years) from the date of their matriculation. The minimum

residence requirement is eight Terms.

The examination for the B.C.L. includes the following subjects:—

1. Jurisprudence (and Theory of Legislation).

2. Roman Law:—

(1) The principles of Roman Private Law, as set forth in the

Institutes of Justinian (to be read in the original).

(2) One special subject.—_Either_ Ownership and Possessions

(cf. _Digest_ xli. and xxiii. 1) _or_ Theory of Contract

generally (cf. _Digest_ xlv. 1).

3. English Law:—

(1) Real and Personal Property.

(2) Common Law (including Contracts, Torts, Criminal Law, and

the Procedure of the High Court).

(3) Equity (with special reference to Trusts and Partnership).

(4) One Special Subject to be selected by each Candidate for

himself from the following list:—

(_a_) Agency.

(_b_) Sale.

(_c_) Easements and Profits-à-prendre.

(_d_) Specific Performance.

(_e_) Criminal Law.

(_f_) Evidence.

4. International Law _or_ the Conflict of Laws.

CHAPTER VII

EXPENSES

The question of Expense, like many other Oxford questions, is very

difficult to discuss within the limits of a general statement. And yet

this has arisen with probably greater frequency than any other single

question since it was announced that the Rhodes Scholarships were to have

an annual value of £300. Is Oxford expensive? How far will £300 carry a

man? Why and how do the various Colleges vary in expensiveness? What are

the necessary expenditures?

In one of its memoranda (U.S.A.) the Rhodes Trust makes the following

statement:—

‘The sum of £300 is no more than is necessary to cover the expenses

of the year, including Vacations as well as Term. A Scholar must not

therefore count on his Scholarship as leaving any margin—least of all in

his first year, in which, owing to unavoidable initial payments, expenses

are heaviest. Experience suggests that a Scholar should start his Oxford

career free from financial embarrassment.’

Mr. Wells, in his chapter on expenses of Oxford Life,[64] discusses

and gives reasons for the various financial demands which the average

student has to meet. Stripped of the discussion, his opinion is, ‘it may

fairly be said that a man who wishes to live like other people, but is

willing to be careful, may be at College for about £160[65] a year, out

of which he can pay for his clothes, travelling, &c., and find himself in

pocket-money.’ But this, of course, implies that he has a home at which

to spend his Vacations, while no allowance is made for travelling in

Vacation.

‘Oxford is emphatically a place for the well-to-do, or those who by their

brains have provided themselves with scholarships and exhibitions.’

‘The whole tradition of the place is against economy.... The world

in general expects Oxford to entertain it, ... and I do not think we

disappoint expectations in this respect.’

‘At the same time ... the cost of an Oxford education cannot be called

high, judged by the standard of what is usually paid for education in

England.’

There is no need for attempting here an explanation of the reasons for

the facts which occasion these conclusions as set forth by Mr. Wells;

but, keeping these statements in mind in connexion with the following

sketch of necessary expenditures, one may readily see the reason for the

statement in the Rhodes Trust’s Memorandum as quoted above.[66]

£300 is a comfortable sum, but it does not leave margins to be wasted in

riotous living or hoarded as a nucleus for a fortune. It will carry the

careful man through the year; but Rhodes evidently thought that in most

cases the Scholars would have some supplementary means—an asset, under

the circumstances, very desirable.

The Rhodes Scholar who expects to live _the year round_ on £300 should

realize at once that he is not to lay out for himself an extravagant

programme. He will have, in fact, to figure closely in order to make this

sum cover his _necessary_ expenses for the whole year.

There exists a considerable difference in the averages of expense

for different Colleges. This statement should not, however, be

misinterpreted. It is _possible_, mathematically, to live at what would

be styled ‘an expensive College’ at a minimum not much greater than that

of a ‘cheap College’ (excepting special arrangements, e. g. Keble and

St. Edmund Hall). But when it comes to practice, the atmosphere of the

Colleges must be taken into consideration.

In order to enjoy the advantages of College life, to get and to give the

best possible, the student should be ready and able to move on a plane

with the average men about him. This does not mean that he shall go with

the most expensive ‘set’ in his College, but he should be able to follow

Rhodes’s famous injunction, ‘Do the comparative.’

Every Oxford Student has sooner or later to draw on his bank account to

meet the following demands:—

Necessary expenses _for every one_ include—

=1. University Expenses.=

1. Matriculation (once only) £3 10_s._

2. University Quarterly Dues, 12_s._ 6_d._ (twelve shillings and sixpence)

per Term (four times per year).

3. Examination Fees (see Table, p. 103).

4. University Degree Fees (see Table, p. 103).

=2. College Expenses.=

1. Entrance, or Matriculation, Fee required in most Colleges—average

£5 (once only) (see Table, p. 105).

2. Caution money. Caution money is a deposit of a certain sum in advance,

required in most Colleges, in order to secure the College against loss

through damage to property or non-payment of College bills. With regard

to _Rhodes Scholars_ each College has made its own arrangements. As these

arrangements stand at present, fourteen Colleges require no deposit; four

have required £10; one has required £20; and one has required £40; while

two do not require caution money of any one. (For the sake of foreign

students, the sums ordinarily required of Commoners have been included

in the Table at the end of this Chapter, col. 2.[67])

Caution money, when required, is, as a rule, paid back, in whole or in

part, when the student ‘goes down’ (finally); in some instances a part

is retained and applied to the expense of ‘keeping name on the College

books’ and towards paying for M.A. degree.

=3. Furnishing.= It is necessary for every student in College to provide

himself with table-linen and table-ware, bed linen, &c. For instance,

one College suggests, ‘2 pair sheets, 3 pillow-cases, 3 table-cloths,

6 towels, toilet-covers, glass-cloths, dusters, set of china (½ doz.);

6 each of small knives, large knives, teaspoons, dessert-spoons,

table-spoons, small forks, large forks, tumblers, ... cruet-stands,

salt-cellars and spoons.’ Kettle, coffee and teapots are also needed.

These items may involve from £7 up, according to the taste of the

individual. Frequently some of them may be purchased from the scout.

The incoming tenant often finds it necessary to purchase or rent several

additions to the furniture which he finds in his rooms (see _Furniture_,

_infra_), and often has to see to numerous repairs—for the furniture is

handed on ‘from generation to generation’.

=4. Tuition.= Under ordinary circumstances undergraduates pay the regular

tuition specified in the following Table, averaging £8 per Term. Research

students are in some cases released from a part of this tuition, but may

have to pay for other tuition (special).

=5. Room-rent.= Rhodes Scholars will spend their first two years at least

_in_ College. (For rental rates, see Table, p. 105.) On an average, rooms

in College cost less rental than ‘licensed lodgings’. (See p. 66.)

=6. Furniture—Rental or Purchase.= It is the custom in Oxford for the

out-going tenant to leave most of his furniture for _sale_ to the

incoming tenant. The College has an assessor who ‘values’ the furniture

each time the room changes occupants. Some Colleges act merely as ‘sales

agents’, the purchase money passing from new to old occupant through

the College offices. In many cases the College _owns_ the furniture

and rents it to the student. Where rental is allowed the cost comes to

about fifteen per cent. of the valuation of the furniture, per year;

that is, about five per cent. is charged for use of the furniture, and

‘depreciation’ is charged at the rate of from five per cent. to ten per

cent. per year.

=7. Battels.= The term ‘battels’ is used in two senses. In its larger

sense it is applied to the Terminal bill which is sent three times per

year by the College to each of its students. In this sense it embraces

all items of current account between College and student (including

University Quarterly dues); College dues; tuition; College (amalgamated)

clubs[68]; room-rent; furniture-rent; ‘establishment charges’ (i.

e. cost of maintaining College plant, &c.); meals; groceries; coal;

lights; laundry; messenger and gate-bills; fines; and all extra charges

(percentages, breakage bills, special fees, &c.).

In its restricted sense ‘battels’ means a weekly statement which covers

dinners in hall—all meals; groceries and supplies for breakfasts,

luncheons, teas and coffee from kitchen, buttery, and common-room; coal

and faggots; messenger and gate fees (i. e. items of consumption and of

special service).

These statements are sent out each week—dinners in hall average

12_s._-14_s._ per week. In Winter Terms coal and faggots average about

4_s._ per week (less in Summer Term). The other items are entirely at

disposal of the individual.

It is _possible_ to keep these weekly bills as low as £1 5_s._, but

this is far below the average. From £12 to £20[69] per Term is a fair

estimate, with moderate living, for these items.

=8. Additional Charges.= There are a certain number (as reference to

_Handbook_, Chap. iii, will show) of not inconsiderable charges, which

might be classed collectively as ‘fixed charges’ were it not that they

vary in different Terms, or as ‘establishment charges’ were it not that

that term differs in its comprehensiveness in different Colleges. In this

class we may collect those charges which are made by each College under

some or all of the following designations.

_Establishment charges_:—Strictly speaking, for maintenance of College

buildings and current expense of the College plant; library fund;

building fund; College dues; porters; bed-making; shoe-cleaning;

percentage charged on kitchen and grocery bills, rates, taxes[70],

increased in direct proportion to totals of other parts of battels which

cover optional items.

=9. Gratuity to College servants.= The Colleges recognize a ‘tip’ to

the scout, and scout’s boy; and small tips to porters, messengers,

boot-cleaners, &c., are customary. In-College students may reckon about

£2-£3 per term for these gratuities.

=10. Amalgamated Clubs.= The membership in College clubs is one of the

‘not compulsory but obligatory’ items in College expenses. Students are

not required to join, but every man who is active in the College life

becomes a member of the Amalgamated Club. Initiation fee averages £2

(paid, of course, _once_ only); Terminal dues average £2, three times per

year (generally included in Terminal battels).

These are what may fairly be considered the _necessary_ items of current

expense, exclusive of University charges, degree fees, the sum which is

laid down as caution money, and investment in furniture, furnishings and

repairs.

The total of Terminal battels will amount, for a man who lives

comfortably without extravagance, to between £40 and £55 per term (three

times per year) according to his College. This is exclusive of books,

clothing, and any ‘not-College’ expenses.

=11. Degree Fees.= Each College charges a fee, varying from £1 1_s._ to

£7, when a student takes a B.A. degree; from £1 1_s._ to £8 4_s._ when

he takes an M.A., &c. (see Table, p. 105). This is exclusive of and in

addition to the degree fee charged by the University.

In addition to these _necessary_ College expenses it may be as well to

have in mind other probable expenses.

=Athletics.= Athletic life, almost universal in Oxford, involves the

purchase of one’s own costumes and outfit. Entrance into various contests

costs small sums ranging from 2_s._ 6_d._ in College tennis tournaments,

to £3 10_s._ before one may enter inter-College boat races.[71] To the

man who is successful in athletics expenditure for ribbons and blazers

involves some outlay, often considerable. Needless to say, such expenses

should be very welcome.

=Clubs (other than the Amalgamated Clubs).= Membership to the Union costs

£1 1_s._ entrance fee, and £1 5_s._ per Term; or life membership may be

commuted at £10 10_s._

The in-College clubs are inexpensive, with a few exceptions. Several

University clubs cost at the rate of about £1 1_s._ per Term; while a few

of the more exclusive clubs are very expensive.

=Subscriptions.= Certain charitable subscriptions, to which most men

give, may average about £1 10_s._ per year.

=Occasional Expenses.= Exceptional expenses, which a man may expect to

meet at least once during his three years, are subscriptions for sending

a College crew to some regatta, which involves from £1 up; and for a

College ball, which will also average about £1.

Rental of a punt or canoe during Summer Term is not a necessity, but it

is a very possible extra, involving another pound or two.

To discuss riding and driving, &c., of course takes us into the realm of

luxuries.

It is useless to deal with optional details; but when all is said and

done, the man who expects to take Oxford as Oxford is, and who, while

not extravagant, is at the same time not inclined to stint himself, must

expect to put between £175 and £200 as a _minimum_ into his six months at

Oxford.[72]

The intricacy and the elastic possibilities of the battel-sheet, together

with the diversity of plans existing in different Colleges, make it

impossible to arrive at accurate comparative figures, but the following

is a fair sample of one Term’s battels.

(For eight weeks.)

__________________ COLLEGE.

_Mr._ _______________________

(Summer Term, 1905.)

£ _s._ _d._

Kitchen and Buttery 16 2 7½

Messenger 0 1 8

Postage and Parcels 0 6 5

Faggots 0 1 0

Knocking-in (Gate fee) 0 7 0

Coals 0 8 5½

Groceries 2 17 4

-------------

Total Weekly Battels 20 4 6

Percentage 1 15 3

University Dues 1 5 0

College Dues and Establishment Charges 5 8 0

Room Rent 5 10 0

Furniture Rent 1 10 0

Rates and Taxes 1 2 0

Tuition Fees 7 7 0

Glazier, 6_s._; Damage, 3_s._ 4_d._ 0 9 4

Laundress 1 7 4

College Clubs 2 5 7

Electric Lighting 10 0

-------------

£48 14 0

A TABLE OF CERTAIN UNIVERSITY CHARGES.

University Fees.

£ _s._ _d._

1. Matriculation 3 10 0

2. Quarterly dues (4 times per year) 12_s._ 6_d._; in 7 10 0

3 years

3. On claiming exemption from Responsions or on claiming

exemption from the First Public Examination

(Moderations) 1 0 0

On claiming Senior Foreign standing 2 0 0

” ” Junior Foreign standing 1 0 0

4. Examination Fees—

[73]First Public Examination (Moderations)

_a._ Holy Scripture 1 0 0

_b._ For each of the other parts 2 0 0

Preliminary Examination in Jurisprudence (Law

Preliminary)[73] 1 10 0

For any Honour School other than the Schools of

Mathematics or Natural Science 3 0 0

For the Honour School of Mathematics 2 10 0

” ” Natural Science—

(1) In Physics _or_ Chemistry 3 10 0

(2) In any other subject 1 0 0

Before each examination in Civil Law 1 1 0

On admission as a candidate for the Degree of

Bachelor of Civil Law 5 0 0

On _admission_ or _re-admission_ as a Candidate for

the Degree of Bachelor of Letters or Bachelor of

Science 5 0 0

On application or re-application for a _Certificate_

as a Candidate for the Degree of Bachelor of

Letters or Bachelor of Science 5 0 0

5. Degree Fees—

A. University.

Final admission to Degree of Bachelor of Arts 7 10 0

Final admission to Degree of Bachelor of Literature 7 10 0

Final admission to Degree of Bachelor of Science 7 10 0

Final admission to Degree of Bachelor of Civil Law 8 0 0

B. College.

In addition to the University Degree Fees each College

requires a fee varying from £1 1_s._ to £8 4_s._ from

each of its students when he takes a degree. See Table,

p. 105.[73]

_Note._—For more complete list of examination fees see _Examination

Statutes_ or _Handbook_.

A TABLE OF CERTAIN COLLEGE CHARGES.

The columns in the following table correspond with the numerical

arrangement of ‘College expenses’ above.

The figures in columns 1, 2, 4, 5 and 11 are taken from the seventeenth

(1906) edition of the _Student’s Handbook_.

It is impossible to give exact figures for Furnishings, Furniture,

Battels, Additional Charges, Gratuities, and Amalgamated Clubs (i. e.

items 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively), and therefore they are omitted

from this table.

With regard to caution money (column 2), see ‘2. Caution Money’ above.

-------------------+-------------+----------+---------+-----------------+

| and | Caution | | |

-------------------+-------------+----------+---------+-----------------+

| £ _s._ | £ | £ _s._ | |

Balliol | 5 0 | 21 | 25 0 |£8 up., average |

| | | | £15 |

Brasenose | 5 0 | 25 | 25 4 |£9 up. to £23 |

Christ Church | 5 0 | 25 | 24 0 |£6 to £28 |

Corpus Christi | No. | 30 | 27 0 |£10 to £16 |

Exeter | 5 0 | 25 | 22 1 |£10 10_s._ to |

| | | | £16 16_s._ |

Hertford | 5 5 | 30 | 22 10 |£12 to £18 |

Jesus | 2 0 | 20 | 21 0 |£8 8_s._ to £15 |

Keble[74] | 5 0 | (Special arrangement. |

| | See opposite page.) |

Lincoln | No. | 30 | 24 0 |£10 10_s._ to |

| | | | £16 10_s._ |

Magdalen | No. | 40 | 24 0 |£10 to £28 |

Merton | 1 10 | 30 | 22 1 |£7 to £18 18_s._ |

New College | 5 0 | 30 | 24 0 |average under £15|

Oriel | 5 0 | 30 | 22 10 |average £12 |

Pembroke | 5 0 | 30 | 23 0 |£9 to £15 15_s._ |

Queen’s[75] | 5 0 | 30 | 22 10 |£7 10_s._ to £21 |

St. John’s | 4 0 | 30 | 22 1 |£8 8_s._ to |

| | | | £16 16_s._ |

Trinity | 5 0 | 30 | 24 0 |£12 to £16 |

University | 5 0 | 30 | 25 4 |£6 6_s._ to |

| | | | £18 18_s._ |

Wadham | 5 0 | 30 | 22 10 |£9 to £16 10_s._ |

Worcester | 8 5 | 20 | 21 0 |£9 9_s._ to £15 |

St. Edmund Hall[76]| 3 0 | 14 | 15 15 |£8 to £12 |

| | | | |

-------------------+-------------+----------+---------+-----------------+

-------------------+-------------------------+

| |

| Degree Fees. |

| |

+------------+------------+

| B.A. | M.A. |

-------------------+------------+------------+

| £ _s._ _d._| £ _s._ _d._|

Balliol | 4 4 0 | 6 6 0 |

Brasenose | 5 0 0 | 8 0 0 |

Christ Church | 3 3 0 | 3 3 0 |

Corpus Christi | 2 10 0 | 5 0 0 |

Exeter | 4 12 6 | 4 0 0 |

Hertford | 5 5 0 | 5 5 0 |

Jesus | 3 1 0 | 3 1 0 |

Keble[74] | 1 0 0 | 1 0 0 |

Lincoln | 1 1 0 | 1 1 0 |

Magdalen | 0 17 6 | 1 5 0 |

Merton | 2 0 0 | 2 0 0 |

New College | 2 2 0 | 2 2 0 |

Oriel | 4 10 0 | 5 10 0 |

Pembroke | 7 0 0 | 5 0 0 |

Queen’s[75] | 5 5 0 | 3 6 0 |

St. John’s | 6 7 0 | 6 15 0 |

Trinity | 3 16 0 | 6 1 0 |

University | 5 0 0 | 6 0 0 |

Wadham | 4 4 0 | 8 4 0 |

Worcester | 3 1 0 | 6 3 0 |

St. Edmund Hall[76]| 4 9 0 | 4 9 0 |

| | |

Non-collegiate.[77]| | |

-------------------+------------+------------+

CHAPTER VIII

OPPORTUNITIES

THE VALUE OF A RHODES SCHOLARSHIP—QUALIFICATIONS—CHOICE OF A

COLLEGE—CHOICE OF WORK—ADVANTAGES

There are two questions which are of vital importance to every person

who is considering a Rhodes Scholarship, whether Candidate, member of

a Committee of Selection, or a chosen Scholar. What advantages does a

Rhodes Scholarship offer? What opportunities does Oxford offer to a man

who has won the Scholarship?

The ultimate answer to both depends upon the type of man who is chosen;

while two very important factors are the spirit in which the Scholar

accepts his appointment and the course which he chooses to follow at

Oxford.

There can be found no better statement of the qualities which are desired

in the typical Scholar than that which Rhodes himself suggested (see p.

18). In this outline, Rhodes, consciously or unconsciously, epitomized

the qualifications of the best product (in theory at least) of the Oxford

life and system. Naturally, the better the adaptive possibilities of the

material, the better the chance of turning out a finished product of the

desired quality.

A few words may serve to emphasize the comprehensiveness of these

qualifications. Rhodes’s first requirement was that regard should be paid

to ‘literary and scholastic attainments’. However, to this qualification

he gives, in his scheme of units, but three points in ten. He desired

neither ‘bookworms’ nor ‘grinds’; but men with the broad interests of the

student, which lie not alone in intense study of books, but in a wide

humanity and true culture. Rhodes preferred men who, with fixed habits

of work and high scholastic ambitions, at the same time are alive to

the importance of guarding ‘lest our culture separate us from humanity’;

he believed that education consists in giving as well as getting, and

that the danger of too high scholastic aims lies in drawing the scholar

away from active participation in the political and social life of his

fellow students. For this reason, while he insists upon a high standard

of scholarship, he gives seven points in ten to qualifications other than

scholastic.

‘Fondness for, and success in, manly outdoor sports’ ought not to allow

of much misinterpretation. Yet Rhodes Scholars were once advertised

as ‘all athletes’, and there has been disappointment in some quarters

because they are not ‘all athletes’. There are degrees of athleticism.

One may be athletic without being an athlete. And it has happened that

one may be a Rhodes Scholar without being particularly athletic. However,

‘fondness for manly outdoor sports’ is above all a characteristic of

Oxford men. ‘Exercise’ is a part of Oxford life. The athlete has great

advantages in the Oxford system. The man who comes to Oxford without

athletic propensities and without a hearty interest in sports is apt not

only to have a dull time of it, but to find himself in an ‘unhealthy,

enervating atmosphere’. It is not necessary that one be a ‘record’ man

or a ‘star’, but the athletic qualification should be given its proper

significance.

The third qualification resolves itself into honest manhood and

good-fellowship, and is closely linked with the fourth, which insists

upon moral force of character and the qualities of leadership. These

requirements do not mean that one shall play the ‘lion in society’

any more than that he shall attempt to dominate in the activities of

his College. They mean that he shall possess the moral and social

qualifications, the personality that will make him fit into the Oxford

system; it means that he shall be a straightforward, enthusiastic,

‘social animal’; that he shall enjoy, and find interests in, and improve

by, comradeship and mutual friendships. If an Oxford student neglect the

‘social side’ he will have lost some of the best opportunities which

Oxford life affords.

Rhodes on one occasion defined a University education as the ‘education

of rubbing shoulders with every kind of individual and class on

absolutely equal terms’; and it was this education of which he wished the

Rhodes Scholars to partake.

Moral force of character is a qualification which cannot be too much

insisted upon. Cut off from home ties and home influences for three

years, with six months of each spent in travel and among strangers, with

the opportunity and at the same time the necessity to decide nearly

all questions which arise without check and with little counsel, moral

force and will power are not only invaluable, but indispensable assets.

The question of age has here an important bearing. No definite age can

be set as absolutely the best, but the general experience so far would

seem to point to a desirability that the men be mature. By that we

mean that a man should have arrived at a point where his experience,

his knowledge of himself and of men, and his knowledge both of books

and of business, render him capable of forming quick, accurate, and

independent judgements, of choosing his work, of initiating and pursuing

his own plans, of working without a task-master and independent of mere

textbooks; of carrying his plans to fulfilment, and of accomplishing his

work in spite of a multitude of distractions and side interests which

will make constant bids for his attention.

There is, however, danger in choosing too mature a man. He may be so

advanced in his studies or so old in his habits as to find Oxford

unprofitable or uncongenial. He may be so deeply interested in his

definite line of work, or ‘take himself so seriously’, as not to ‘mix’

well. He may be so set in his ways as to be unadaptable to Oxford ways.

There is such a thing as too much self-reliance. The Rhodes Scholar

should have ‘independence of character’ and should have ‘principles’,

but he should not assert an aggressive individuality. He should be able

and ready to get into sympathy with English life and English ideals; he

should remember ‘when in Rome to do as the Romans’, in so far as the

customs of the Romans do not conflict with his principles and ideals; he

should ‘catch on’, be able if necessary to rearrange his wardrobe and

his vocabulary, and to readjust his political and social vision. All this

a man may do without losing one particle of his own local or national

patriotism.

Rhodes’s favourite maxim was ‘do the comparative’. That would perhaps be

his first injunction to Rhodes Scholars. He asked for _men_—the greater

their ability the better; he did not demand the superlative; but he did

object to less than the ‘comparative’ _in any respect_.

Choice of a College.

It must be plainly evident from what has preceded on the subject of

Oxford, that the choice of a College is a matter of very considerable

importance. Although in some ways not of so much consequence to students

from abroad as to Englishmen, yet in others it is even more desirable

that the foreign student be satisfied with his College environment.

An English student, no matter what his College, will probably have a

number of friends and old ‘school-fellows’ in other Colleges. A student

from abroad, an American for instance, will be more limited to chance

acquaintances among the students outside his own College. Moreover, to

the Rhodes Scholar Oxford becomes in a sense ‘home’ during his three

years. And when all points are considered, one’s impressions of Oxford

and of Oxford men—and to that extent of England and Englishmen—are

bound to be influenced predominantly by the character of his immediate

surroundings.

Englishmen are influenced in their choice of a College by several

motives: family associations, ‘school’ traditions, scholastic reputation,

social character, athletic fame. Some men go where their fathers went;

others where their school-fellows go; others to Colleges which are

‘high’ on the river; others to ‘football’ Colleges; others where ‘Honour

men’ are sought; others where they happen to obtain or expect to obtain

‘scholarships’ or ‘exhibitions’; and still others—where they can.

The Rhodes Scholars will not ordinarily be so directly affected by these

considerations, but will be no less inclined to look to the traditions

and history of the College and the character and personnel of its past

and present student body and the ideals which the College represents.

The names on the tutorial list will be of decided interest, especially

to the man who contemplates advanced work; but this consideration should

weigh even more with the student who is going to do undergraduate work

for the reason that in the former case the man who is doing research work

will very possibly work under a ‘Tutor’ outside his College, while nearly

always those doing undergraduate work are under Tutors of the College to

which they belong.

Under the present arrangement a Rhodes Scholar, when appointed, is

to send to Mr. Wylie, along with his credentials (see p. 42), a list

containing the names of several (five or six) Colleges in the order of

his choice. One has no assurance that he will be admitted to the College

of his first choice, as the methods of selection and the limits of

accommodation of individual Colleges, as well as the provision of the

Rhodes Trust that the scholars shall be distributed among the Colleges,

prevent the entrance of large numbers at any one time into any one

College.

Thus it is important that one be careful not only in making his first,

but in making his second, his third, and even his fourth choice. One

should carefully consult what sources of information he can, and be as

familiar as possible with the characters of the Colleges which he names

in his list.[78]

Expense, for instance, may be considered by some. There is some

difference between the cost of living at various Colleges. Yet one should

not let a difference of a few pounds outweigh other considerations which,

were that eliminated, would attract him to other Colleges. The advantages

which one thinks he may obtain from congenial surroundings—the influence

of certain traditions, the presence of certain Tutors—the atmosphere

which is best adapted to one’s disposition and to his work; these should

be the considerations which determine a choice.

It may be of interest to future applicants, in this connexion, to know

that a thick volume of eulogistic letters of recommendation, &c., is not

so highly prized in Oxford as it may seem to be in certain other places.

The facts—all of them—are wanted, in a plain, matter-of-fact, concise

form. But pages of glowing praise are likely to cause first amazement,

then amusement, then suspicion, and sometimes rejection in certain Senior

Common-rooms in Oxford.[79]

[Sidenote: Standing.]

It has been often asked: how may one know whether he is going to obtain

‘Senior or Junior standing or neither’? A positive answer is difficult.

However, any one may at once learn from his own University whether it

is affiliated with Oxford or not, and whether his local standing will

entitle him to Oxford Senior standing.[80]

If not, he may still entertain hopes for senior Standing in case he

has obtained ‘honours’ (e. g. _Phi Beta Kappa_, or _summa cum laude_)

with his degree. The student who cannot qualify for Senior standing may

reasonably expect to obtain Junior standing if he has a degree and can

show a satisfactory record in a satisfactory course.[81]

Choice of Work.

To make the most of his opportunities it is essential that the Rhodes

Scholar shall as early as possible choose the course of study which he

wishes to pursue at Oxford. Owing to the difficulty of adjusting himself

to the Oxford method and system, one is likely, unless he studies the

matter out carefully, to lose much valuable time. As soon as appointed

the Rhodes Scholar should inform himself as quickly and as thoroughly

as possible, from what sources may be available, and further, if

necessary, by correspondence, as to the opportunities and facilities and

the requirements for work in the subject in which he is interested. It

should be borne in mind that Oxford does not draw a sharp line between

‘undergraduate’ and ‘graduate’ study; that reading for the B.A. degree

in an Oxford Honour School is to a large extent ‘specializing’, and that

the work need by no means be a repetition of what one has done elsewhere

in getting his B.A.; that the tutorial system calls for a large amount

of private reading with elastic limitations, with much work during

Vacations; and that this system will require in most cases a radical

readjustment of habits and methods of work.

A brief restatement of courses and combinations of courses which are most

readily open to Rhodes Scholars may simplify this problem to some extent.

Every Rhodes Scholar has before him the choice[82] (1) of reading for a

B.A. in one of the nine Honour Schools; (2) of doing ‘special study’ for

which a Diploma is granted; (3) of doing research work for the Bachelor’s

degree in Letters or Science; or (4) of taking the course for the degree

of Bachelor of Civil Law. In some cases two of these courses may be

combined.

The fact that more than half of the Rhodes Scholars now in residence,

after having taken their B.A.’s in American or Colonial Universities,

are reading in the Honour Schools, is evidence sufficient to show that

they are able to find courses leading to the B.A. in Oxford which are

considerably more than mere repetitions or reviews of their former

courses. The Classical, the History, and the Law courses have proved

especially available.

Most Rhodes Scholars, in case they do not receive Senior standing

(which permits them to read directly for their Final Schools), find it

advisable to take _Pass_ Moderations or the Preliminary Examination in

Jurisprudence (‘Law Prelim.,’ see p. 79) rather than Honour Moderations,

so as to begin reading for Final Schools as soon as possible.

Most Rhodes Scholars will require their full three years for doing

an Honour School, unless beginning with Senior standing or giving up

several Vacations to hard study. Students with Senior standing, or, in

some cases, with Junior standing, will be able to finish their work

for the B.A. at the end of the second year, leaving the third free for

special study (e. g. for a Diploma, or for a B.Sc. or B.Litt. or B.C.L.).

However, where a man wishes to take his Honour examinations at the end of

his second year, he must, unless he be already well up in his subject, be

ready at once for hard and consistent work.

It may be found very practicable and profitable to combine studies

leading to a Diploma with a course of reading for the B.A.

For the advantageous pursuit of research work for the degrees B.Sc. or

B.Litt., it is necessary that the student fix upon some clearly defined

and limited subject for original work, and it will be a great advantage

for him to have already become acquainted with research methods in his

home University. The research student at Oxford is thrown largely upon

his own resources as to method. The guidance and advice of Professors

and Tutors who are specialists will be of great value; but this is in

most cases limited to a few hours per Term of private audience. If the

student is well up in his subject he may generally complete the work for

a B.Litt. or a B.Sc. degree in two years. Or, if he has done special work

in preparing for an Honour School during his first two years, he may be

able to obtain a B.Litt. or B.Sc. at the end of his third year.

[Sidenote: B.C.L.]

The work for the advanced degree of Bachelor of Civil Law covers a much

wider range of studies than is required at most American Law Schools;

but it is not so practical. Special attention is paid to the study

of Roman Law, a fair knowledge of Latin being required. The course

of study includes the general field of English Law, Jurisprudence,

and International Law. The work in English Law will prove a valuable

foundation for those intending to practise in American Courts. Most

of the work for the degree must, however, be done in private. There

are lectures, to be sure, and there is the weekly conference for an

hour or two with the Tutor, during the eight weeks of Term. It is very

advisable, therefore, that Rhodes Scholars who have had only a general

course in Law or who have had no legal training whatever before coming

to Oxford, should read for the Bachelor’s degree in the Honour School

of Jurisprudence, and not to attempt to enter upon the more advanced

work for the B.C.L. immediately. Practically all the work done for the

B.A. degree in Jurisprudence will be of value in reading for the B.C.L.

degree, which may possibly be taken during the third year by the more

ambitious students. Such a course of study, however, will leave the

Rhodes Scholar with little or no time for travel during his Vacations. It

will mean close, persistent, hard work throughout the entire three years,

during Term-time and during most of the Vacations.

Attention ought to be called to the opportunities offered in Science and

Medicine at Oxford, which seem to be generally underrated. The laboratory

facilities are in most cases adequate and the staff of instruction very

large and efficient.[83] The long residence requirement for the degree in

Medicine makes it impossible for the Rhodes Scholar who intends to stay

at Oxford for three years only to take this degree.

It is not necessary to repeat here what has been said about the value of

an Oxford education from the broader point of view of the Oxford life

sketched in a previous chapter. Add to the many opportunities for broad

culture and social training the opportunity of meeting Rhodes Scholars

from all parts of the British Empire, the United States, and Germany. The

friendships formed will prove not the least of the many opportunities

and the pleasant experiences of the three years at Oxford. The student,

in whatever sphere his interests lie, will find golden opportunities,

not so much for getting the most out of life, but for putting the most

into it, and enriching it, with wise experience, pleasant memories,

and high ideals. ‘The embryo doctor, lawyer, journalist, clergyman,

politician, who aims at the highest can by the help of this bequest

spend three additional years, unoppressed by anxious care, in laying

broadly and firmly the intellectual basis on which his professional work

is to be done.’ For the benefit of those who are thinking of entering

the public service of their country, the words of Mr. Harris, United

States Commissioner of Education, may be quoted here:—‘We must educate

hundreds of our scholars and politicians in studies of Jurisprudence

and International Law; we must have a corps of trained specialists who

know the minute details of each great nation’s past history and present

achievements—Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Austria, Italy,

Spain, Holland, Belgium, and the Scandinavian countries. The Rhodes

bequest is the most timely of gifts for higher education, because it

gives opportunity to begin this education of that class of our population

which will furnish our consulates, our home offices, and our embassies

with attachés. Out of the most successful of these will come by and by

our foreign ministers and our home experts in diplomacy.

‘England is the best place in which to begin this work. The excellence

of the University of Oxford is without doubt the training of the ready

gentleman who cannot be pushed off his feet by an attack upon the

weaknesses of his personality. His training at Oxford gives him that

secure self-possession and self-respect which commands the respect of

his fellows. Our American students need have no fear that they will lose

their nationality at Oxford, for they will find the English ideal of a

gentleman exactly fitted for Anglo-Saxons everywhere. The more perfectly

they accept its training in this regard the more ready they will be for

the great work of extending our American influence in the councils of the

world.’

Stubbs said, in his inaugural address as Professor of History at Oxford,

‘We want to train not merely students but citizens; and citizens of the

great communities—the Church and the civilized world; to be fitted not

for criticism or for authority in matters of memory, but for action.’

Oxford has long been the training-school for the great men of England,

but she has of late years made it more and more her endeavour to conform

to this ideal—that is, to train men for action. Whatever the defects

of the system, it nevertheless remains true that the Oxford student is

brought under the influence of the same scholastic training which the

rulers of the British Empire have enjoyed; and he not only sees and feels

the working of that machinery, but he is, as an undergraduate, intimately

associated with the men who will within the next half-century lead in

English life and thought.

Add to these opportunities and influences the advantages of travel

in England and on the Continent during the half-year of Vacation, of

becoming familiar with modern European languages, of studying political

thought, the Press and public opinion, the institutions and customs and

characteristics of the different countries, of getting a first-hand

acquaintance with contemporary Europe (not to mention the advantages for

the study of history and art), and of looking at American and Colonial

affairs through European spectacles. The Japanese are sending students

in great numbers from one country to another, students who observe and

compare and test—and they are choosing and adopting the best which they

find in each. Why should not other nations learn more from one another?

Wider experience and wider knowledge mean broader and saner judgements,

a truer perspective, a clearer vision, a juster and more sympathetic

appreciation of the achievements, the methods, the objects, and the

ideals of the contemporary nations, together with a better understanding

of one’s own country and a better equipment for and a higher ideal of the

duties and possibilities of citizenship.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

LIST OF RHODES SCHOLARS

The curriculum provides for a systematic study of the principles and