_Inaugural Address of the Rev. D. L. Carroll, D.D. President of
Hampden Sidney College, delivered on his induction into that office.
Published by request of the Board of Trustees. Richmond: T. W. White,
1835._
The friends of literature in Virginia have lately been favored with
several Inaugural Addresses, each of which has had its peculiar
merits. It is only of that whose title has just been given, that we
intend to speak. In the correspondence which is prefixed to this
Address, we learn that it was "prepared with great haste, amidst
anxieties and efforts to regain health, and amidst all the inquietudes
of journeying and absence from home." Apologies are seldom worth the
time spent in making or reading them. Generally, an author who prints
his production may be supposed to consider it of some value. To make
an apology, then, similar to that of Mr. Carroll, is but a modest way
of hinting that, with a fair trial, the writer could have done much
better. On the whole we _wish_ that there had been no apology; for the
Address needs none. It is not our purpose to give an outline of this
discourse, or enter into a critical examination of its merits--for
merits it has. We wish merely to call the attention of the reader to a
few extracts, hoping that a perusal of these will induce him to
procure and read the whole Address for himself. The first of these
extracts is on a subject too long overlooked, and too much neglected
in all our schools. We refer to social qualities. On this subject the
author's ideas are just and timely. He says:
"Every literary institution ought to aim at such a well regulated
intercourse amongst its students as would inspire them with a
dignified self-respect--as would cause them, even in retirement, to
conduct themselves with that delicacy and deference to each other's
feelings that become a high-minded and honorable company of gentlemen
associated in the pursuit of learning. They ought also, under proper
restrictions, to mingle occasionally in the best circles of society
around them. Neither their morals, their manners, nor their studies
would suffer from that evolution and play of the social powers to
which such an intercourse would give rise. I know indeed that a
certain degree of awkward reserve, and bluntness of manners, and
recklessness of dress have, in some minds, become almost inseparably
associated with genius. But a moment's reflection may convince any one
that it requires no very extraordinary endowments from the Creator, to
enable a man, after a little practice, to become a _clown_ in his
manners and a _sloven_ in his apparel. Let it not be supposed,
however, that in thus contending for the development of the social
powers and cultivable graces of our nature, we countenance the
contemptible littleness of dandyism. The mere dandy we despise as a
thing whose definition the great American lexicographer has given in
the following appropriate terms--'a male of the human species who
dresses himself like a doll, and carries his character on his back.'
Between the peculiarities of such a creature and the dignified
refinement and suavity of the educated gentleman, it were odious to
institute a comparison. It {66} is the latter to which regard is to be
had in a course of education. All that we contend for is, that the
youthful mind should be inspired with a deep consciousness of the
existence and the worth of those social powers and kindly sympathies
within itself, which bind it indissolubly to its species, and should
be led to regard their development and culture as a _necessary_ part
of its preparation for future life."
We are no less pleased with the following sentiments on the subject of
the moral influences that should pervade a College.
"The great question is yet to be decided--_What influence our educated
men will have on the moral destinies of this nation!_ A question
involving all those dear and mighty interests which bind us in hope to
this and to a future world. With such a question pending, I tremble
for the safety of my country, and blush for its reputation for sound
philosophy, when I reflect that here an attempt has been made to break
up the alliance between learning and religion, and to sever our
literary institutions from the practical influence of a pure
Christianity. I am happy to know that this _is not_ to be the order of
things in Hampden Sydney. I am not called to take the helm without a
chart or compass. And I never shall embark on a voyage of such perils
unless I can nail the Bible to the mast. We shall avoid all mere
proselytism and the inculcation of minor sectarian peculiarities. But
we shall _strenuously endeavor_ so to develope, and discipline, and
adapt to action the moral powers of youth, that, appreciating highly
their own immortal interests, they shall go out hence on the highways
of society a chosen band, clothed in the panoply of heaven to act as
_the lifeguards_ of the virtue, order, and common Christianity of
their country."
The conclusion of Mr. Carroll's Address is full of fervid eloquence,
rendered doubly interesting by a vein of that truest of all
philosophy, the philosophy of the Christian. In the two last
paragraphs sentiments are expressed, which at their delivery must have
produced a strong sensation. Such indeed we learn from those present
on the occasion, was their effect.
"It well becomes _me_ to tread with modest and tremulous steps in a
path consecrated by the luminous career of such men as the brothers
Smith, an Alexander, a Hoge, and a Cushing. 'There were giants in the
earth in those days--mighty men, even men of renown.' But they have
gone, as we trust, to adorn higher spheres of usefulness and glory,
and to shine in the firmament of God: whilst the radiance of their
characters, still not lost to earth, lingers, like the setting
sun-beams, on the high places of Hampden Sydney. They have _all_ gone
save one, at whose feet, as the Gamaliel of the Church, it has been my
distinguished privilege to sit, and to whose masterly management of
the young mind I am much indebted for whatever of mental furniture I
possess. I enter upon my duties, however diffident, with the
unblenching purpose of doing what I _can_ to promote the best
interests of the Institution over which I am called to preside. True,
with a body and a mind partially wrecked by the arduous labors of past
years and by successive attacks of prolonged illness, I cannot promise
much. But I come to the performance of my new duties cheerfully, and
with the frankness and integrity of a man in _sober earnest_ to do
what I can.
"Knowing and admiring, as I always have done, the noble generosity of
the Virginian character, I throw myself unreservedly upon the
clemency, and I expect the prompt, cordial, _efficient_ co-operation
of this honorable Board of Trustees. I do more. With a heart still
bleeding under a recent and final separation from that beloved people,
whose sympathies and prayers have been the solace of my past life for
years, I throw myself upon the kindness of this privileged Christian
community. Most gladly would I find a _home_ in their affections. Most
devoutly do I hope for and desire the sustaining influence of _their_
sympathies and of _their_ supplications to heaven in my behalf and in
behalf of this Institution. Let all the pious and prayerful join with
me to-day, in a renewed consecration of this College to God, under the
deep conviction that 'except the Lord keep the city the watchman
waketh but in vain.' With such for my allies, and God as my help, I
shall enter on my labors with the assurance that the inspiriting
motto--'_nil desperandum est_'--is far more applicable to Hampden
Sydney than it was to the republic of Rome in the zenith of her
glory."