--must be the motto of him whose integrity should be on a level with
his skill, who should win a double confidence, and who, if he do his
duty well, is as sure of his proper influence in society, and on
society--and that influence a noble one--as if he were the member of a
profession ensured to respectability by all the favours that influence
can extort, and all the prerogatives that time can accumulate. As
compared with that of the church and bar, our hold upon the public is
by a thread--but it is the thread of life.
Such are the responsibilities, the opportunities, and the prospects,
of those who are now about to prepare themselves for their future
career. We who teach have our responsibilities also; we know them; we
are teaching where Bell taught before us; we are teaching where ground
has been lost; yet we are also teaching with good hopes, founded upon
improved auguries.
ON THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE AS A
BRANCH OF EDUCATION.
A LECTURE DELIVERED AT THE ROYAL INSTITUTION
OF GREAT BRITAIN.