In the old times, the university discharged this duty [teaching]
by means of the public readings or lectures,... and by the keeping
of acts and _opponencies_--being certain _vivâ voce_ disputations
--by the students.--_The English Universities and their Reforms_,
in _Blackwood's Magazine_, Feb. 1849.
OPPONENT. In universities and colleges, where disputations are
carried on, the opponent is, in technical application, the person
who begins the dispute by raising objections to some tenet or
doctrine.
OPTIME. The title of those who stand in the second and third ranks
of honors, immediately after the Wranglers, in the University of
Cambridge, Eng. They are called respectively _Senior_ and _Junior
Optimes_.
See JUNIOR OPTIME, POLLOI, and SENIOR OPTIME.
OPTIONAL. At some American colleges, the student is obliged to
pursue during a part of the course such studies as are prescribed.
During another portion of the course, he is allowed to select from
certain branches those which he desires to follow. The latter are
called _optional_ studies. In familiar conversation and writing,
the word _optional_ is used alone.
For _optional_ will come our way,
And lectures furnish time to play,
'Neath elm-tree shade to smoke all day.
_Songs, Biennial Jubilee_, Yale Coll., 1855.
ORIGINAL COMPOSITION. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., an
essay or theme written by a student in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, is
termed _original_ composition.
Composition there is of course, but more Latin than Greek, and
some _original Composition_.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng.
Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 137.
_Original Composition_--that is, Composition in the true sense of
the word--in the dead languages is not much practised.--_Ibid._,
p. 185.
OVERSEER. The general government of the colleges in the United
States is vested in some instances in a Corporation, in others in
a Board of Trustees or Overseers, or, as in the case of Harvard
College, in the two combined. The duties of the Overseers are,
generally, to pass such orders and statutes as seem to them
necessary for the prosperity of the college whose affairs they
oversee, to dispose of its funds in such a manner as will be most
advantageous, to appoint committees to visit it and examine the
students connected with it, to ratify the appointment of
instructors, and to hear such reports of the proceedings of the
college government as require their concurrence.
OXFORD. The cap worn by the members of the University of Oxford,
England, is called an _Oxford_ or _Oxford cap_. The same is worn
at some American colleges on Exhibition and Commencement Days. In
shape, it is square and flat, covered with black cloth; from the
centre depends a tassel of black cord. It is further described in
the following passage.
My back equipped, it was not fair
My head should 'scape, and so, as square
As chessboard,
A _cap_ I bought, my skull to screen,
Of cloth without, and all within
Of pasteboard.
_Terræ-Filius_, Vol. II. p. 225.
Thunders of clapping!--As he bows, on high
"Præses" his "_Oxford_" doffs, and bows reply.
_Childe Harvard_, p. 36.
It is sometimes called a _trencher cap_, from its shape.
See CAP.
OXFORD-MIXED. Cloth such as is worn at the University of Oxford,
England. The students in Harvard College were formerly required to
wear this kind of cloth as their uniform. The color is given in
the following passage: "By black-mixed (called also
_Oxford-mixed_) is understood, black with a mixture of not more
than one twentieth, nor less than one twenty-fifth, part of
white."--_Laws of Harv. Coll._, 1826, p. 25.
He generally dresses in _Oxford-mixed_ pantaloons, and a brown
surtout.--_Collegian_, p. 240.
It has disappeared along with Commons, the servility of Freshmen
and brutality of Sophomores, the _Oxford-mixed_ uniform and
buttons of the same color.--_Harv. Mag._, Vol. I. p. 263.
OXONIAN. A student or graduate of the University of Oxford,
England.
_P_.
PANDOWDY BAND. A correspondent writing from Bowdoin College says:
"We use the word _pandowdy_, and we have a custom of
_pandowdying_. The Pandowdy Band, as it is called, has no regular
place nor time of meeting. The number of performers varies from
half a dozen and less to fifty or more. The instruments used are
commonly horns, drums, tin-kettles, tongs, shovels, triangles,
pumpkin-vines, &c. The object of the band is serenading Professors
who have rendered themselves obnoxious to students; and sometimes
others,--frequently tutors are entertained by 'heavenly music'
under their windows, at dead of night. This is regarded on all
hands as an unequivocal expression of the feelings of the
students.
"The band corresponds to the _Calliathump_ of Yale. Its name is a
burlesque on the _Pandean Band_ which formerly existed in this
college."
See HORN-BLOWING.
PAPE. Abbreviated from PAPER, q.v.
Old Hamlen, the printer, he got out the _papes_.
_Presentation Day Songs_, Yale Coll., June 14, 1854.
But Soph'more "_papes_," and Soph'more scrapes,
Have long since passed away.--_Ibid._
PAPER. In the English Universities, a sheet containing certain
questions, to which answers are to be given, is called _a paper_.
_To beat a paper_, is to get more than full marks for it. In
explanation of this "apparent Hibernicism," Bristed remarks: "The
ordinary text-books are taken as the standard of excellence, and a
very good man will sometimes express the operations more neatly
and cleverly than they are worded in these books, in which case he
is entitled to extra marks for style."--_Five Years in an Eng.
Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 238.
2. This name is applied at Yale College to the printed scheme
which is used at the Biennial Examinations. Also, at Harvard
College, to the printed sheet by means of which the examination
for entrance is conducted.
PARCHMENT. A diploma, from the substance on which it is usually
printed, is in familiar language sometimes called a _parchment_.
There are some, who, relying not upon the "_parchment_ and seal"
as a passport to favor, bear that with them which shall challenge
notice and admiration.--_Yale Lit. Mag._, Vol. III. p. 365.
The passer-by, unskilled in ancient lore,
Whose hands the ribboned _parchment_ never bore.
_Class Poem at Harv. Coll._, 1835, p. 7.
See SHEEPSKIN.
PARIETAL. From Latin _paries_, a wall; properly, _a
partition-wall_, from the root of _part_ or _pare_. Pertaining to
a wall.--_Webster_.
At Harvard College the officers resident within the College walls
constitute a permanent standing committee, called the Parietal
Committee. They have particular cognizance of all tardinesses at
prayers and Sabbath services, and of all offences against good
order and decorum. They are allowed to deduct from the rank of a
student, not exceeding one hundred for one offence. In case any
offence seems to them to require a higher punishment than
deduction, it is reported to the Faculty.--_Laws_, 1850, App.
Had I forgotten, alas! the stern _pariètal_ monitions?
_Harvardiana_, Vol. III. p. 98.
The chairman of the Parietal Committee is often called the
_Parietal Tutor_.
I see them shaking their fists in the face of the _parietal
tutor_.--_Oration before H.L. of I.O. of O.F._, 1849.
The members of the committee are called, in common parlance,
_Parietals_.
Four rash and inconsiderate proctors, two tutors, and five
_parietals_, each with a mug and pail in his hand, in their great
haste to arrive at the scene of conflagration, ran over the Devil,
and knocked him down stairs.--_Harvardiana_, Vol. III. p. 124.
And at the loud laugh of thy gurgling throat,
The _pariètals_ would forget themselves.
_Ibid._, Vol. III. p. 399 et passim.
Did not thy starting eyeballs think to see
Some goblin _pariètal_ grin at thee?
_Ibid._, Vol. IV. p. 197.
The deductions made by the Parietal Committee are also called
_Parietals_.
How now, ye secret, dark, and tuneless chanters,
What is 't ye do? Beware the _pariètals_.
_Harvardiana_, Vol. III. p. 44.
Reckon on the fingers of your mind the reprimands, deductions,
_parietals_, and privates in store for you.--_Orat. H.L. of I.O.
of O.F._, 1848.
The accent of this word is on the antepenult; by _poetic license_,
in four of the passages above quoted, it is placed on the penult.
PART. A literary appointment assigned to a student to be kept at
an Exhibition or Commencement. In Harvard College as soon as the
parts for an Exhibition or Commencement are assigned, the subjects
and the names of the performers are given to some member of one of
the higher classes, who proceeds to read them to the students from
a window of one of the buildings, after proposing the usual "three
cheers" for each of the classes, designating them by the years in
which they are to graduate. As the name of each person who has a
part assigned him is read, the students respond with cheers. This
over, the classes are again cheered, the reader of the parts is
applauded, and the crowd disperses except when the mock parts are
read, or the officers of the Navy Club resign their trusts.
Referring to the proceedings consequent upon the announcement of
appointments, Professor Sidney Willard, in his late work, entitled
"Memories of Youth and Manhood," says of Harvard College: "The
distribution of parts to be performed at public exhibitions by the
students was, particularly for the Commencement exhibition, more
than fifty years ago, as it still is, one of the most exciting
events of College life among those immediately interested, in
which parents and near friends also deeply sympathized with them.
These parts were communicated to the individuals appointed to
perform them by the President, who gave to them, severally, a
paper with the name of the person and of the part assigned, and
the subject to be written upon. But they were not then, as in
recent times, after being thus communicated by the President,
proclaimed by a voluntary herald of stentorian lungs, mounted on
the steps of one of the College halls, to the assembled crowd of
students. Curiosity, however, was all alive. Each one's part was
soon ascertained; the comparative merits of those who obtained the
prizes were discussed in groups; prompt judgments were pronounced,
that A had received a higher prize than he could rightfully claim,
and that B was cruelly wronged; that some were unjustly passed
over, and others raised above them through partiality. But at
whatever length their discussion might have been prolonged, they
would have found it difficult in solemn conclave to adjust the
distribution to their own satisfaction, while severally they
deemed themselves competent to measure the degree in the scale of
merit to which each was entitled."--Vol. I. pp. 328, 329.
I took but little pains with these exercises myself, lest I should
appear to be anxious for "_parts_."--_Monthly Anthology_, Boston,
1804, Vol. I. p. 154.
Often, too, the qualifications for a _part_ ... are discussed in
the fireside circles so peculiar to college.--_Harv. Reg._, p.
378.
The refusal of a student to perform the _part_ assigned him will
be regarded as a high offence.--_Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass._, 1848,
p. 19.
Young men within the College walls are incited to good conduct and
diligence, by the system of awarding _parts_, as they are called,
at the exhibitions which take place each year, and at the annual
Commencement.--_Eliot's Sketch of Hist. Harv. Coll._, pp. 114,
115.
It is very common to speak of _getting parts_.
Here
Are acres of orations, and so forth,
The glorious nonsense that enchants young hearts
With all the humdrumology of "_getting parts_."
_Our Chronicle of '26_, Boston, 1827, p. 28.
See under MOCK-PART and NAVY CLUB.
PASS. At Oxford, permission to receive the degree of B.A. after
passing the necessary examinations.
The good news of the _pass_ will be a set-off against the few
small debts.--_Collegian's Guide_, p. 254.
PASS EXAMINATION. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., an
examination which is required for the B.A. degree. Of these
examinations there are three during a student's undergraduateship.
Even the examinations which are disparagingly known as "_pass_"
ones, the Previous, the Poll, and (since the new regulations) the
Junior Optime, require more than half marks on their
papers.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 319.
PASSMAN. At Oxford, one who merely passes his examination, and
obtains testimonials for a degree, but is not able to obtain any
honors or distinctions. Opposed to CLASSMAN, q.v.
"Have the _passmen_ done their paper work yet?" asked Whitbread.
"However, the schools, I dare say, will not be open to the
classmen till Monday."--_Collegian's Guide_, p. 309.
PATRON. At some of the Colleges in the United States, the patron
is appointed to take charge of the funds, and to regulate the
expenses, of students who reside at a distance. Formerly, students
who came within this provision were obliged to conform to the laws
in reference to the patron; it is now left optional.
P.D. An abbreviation of _Philosophiæ Doctor_, Doctor of
Philosophy. "In the German universities," says Brande, "the title
'Doctor Philosophiæ' has long been substituted for Baccalaureus
Artium or Literarium."
PEACH. To inform against; to communicate facts by way of
accusation.
It being rather advisable to enter college before twelve, or to
stay out all night, bribing the bed-maker next morning not to
_peach_.--_Alma Mater_, Vol. I. p. 190.
When, by a little spying, I can reach
The height of my ambition, I must _peach_.
_The Gallinipper_, Dec. 1849.
PEMBROKER. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a member of
Pembroke College.
The _Pembroker_ was booked to lead the Tripos.--_Bristed's Five
Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 158.
PENE. Latin, _almost, nearly_. A candidate for admission to the
Freshman Class is called a _Pene_, that is, _almost_ a Freshman.
PENNILESS BENCH. Archdeacon Nares, in his Glossary, says of this
phrase: "A cant term for a state of poverty. There was a public
seat so called in Oxford; but I fancy it was rather named from the
common saying, than that derived from it."
Bid him bear up, he shall not
Sit long on _penniless bench_.
_Mass. City Mad._, IV. 1.
That everie stool he sate on was _pennilesse bench_, that his
robes were rags.--_Euphues and his Engl._, D. 3.
PENSIONER. French, _pensionnaire_, one who pays for his board. In
the University of Cambridge, Eng., and in that of Dublin, a
student of the second rank, who is not dependent on the foundation
for support, but pays for his board and other charges. Equivalent
to COMMONER at Oxford, or OPPIDANT of Eton school.--_Brande. Gent.
Mag._, 1795.
PERUVIAN. At the University of Vermont, a name by which the
students designate a lady; e.g., "There are two hundred
_Peruvians_ at the Seminary"; or, "The _Peruvians_ are in the
observatory." As illustrative of the use of this word, a
correspondent observes: "If John Smith has a particular regard for
any one of the Burlington ladies, and Tom Brown happens to meet
the said lady in his town peregrinations, when he returns to
College, if he meets John Smith, he (Tom) says to John, 'In yonder
village I espied a _Peruvian_'; by which John understands that Tom
has had the very great pleasure of meeting John's Dulcinea."
PETTY COMPOUNDER. At Oxford, one who pays more than ordinary fees
for his degree.
"A _Petty Compounder_," says the Oxford University Calendar, "must
possess ecclesiastical income of the annual value of five
shillings, or property of any other description amounting in all
to the sum of five pounds, per annum."--Ed. 1832, p. 92.
PHEEZE, or FEEZE. At the University of Vermont, to pledge. If a
student is pledged to join any secret society, he is said to be
_pheezed_ or _feezed_.
PHI BETA KAPPA. The fraternity of the [Greek: Phi Beta Kappa] "was
imported," says Allyn in his Ritual, "into this country from
France, in the year 1776; and, as it is said, by Thomas Jefferson,
late President of the United States." It was originally chartered
as a society in William and Mary College, in Virginia, and was
organized at Yale College, Nov. 13th, 1780. By virtue of a charter
formally executed by the president, officers, and members of the
original society, it was established soon after at Harvard
College, through the influence of Mr. Elisha Parmele, a graduate
of the year 1778. The first meeting in Cambridge was held Sept.
5th, 1781. The original Alpha of Virginia is now extinct.
"Its objects," says Mr. Quincy, in his History of Harvard
University, "were the 'promotion of literature and friendly
intercourse among scholars'; and its name and motto indicate, that
'philosophy, including therein religion as well as ethics, is
worthy of cultivation as the guide of life.' This society took an
early and a deep root in the University; its exercises became
public, and admittance into it an object of ambition; but the
'discrimination' which its selection of members made among
students, became an early subject of question and discontent. In
October, 1789, a committee of the Overseers, of which John Hancock
was chairman, reported to that board, 'that there is an
institution in the University, with the nature of which the
government is not acquainted, which tends to make a discrimination
among the students'; and submitted to the board 'the propriety of
inquiring into its nature and designs.' The subject occasioned
considerable debate, and a petition, of the nature of a complaint
against the society, by a number of the members of the Senior
Class, having been presented, its consideration was postponed, and
it was committed; but it does not appear from the records, that
any further notice was taken of the petition. The influence of the
society was upon the whole deemed salutary, since literary merit
was assumed as the principle on which its members were selected;
and, so far, its influence harmonized with the honorable motives
to exertion which have ever been held out to the students by the
laws and usages of the College. In process of time, its catalogue
included almost every member of the Immediate Government, and
fairness in the selection of members has been in a great degree
secured by the practice it has adopted, of ascertaining those in
every class who stand the highest, in point of conduct and
scholarship, according to the estimates of the Faculty of the
College, and of generally regarding those estimates. Having
gradually increased in numbers, popularity, and importance, the
day after Commencement was adopted for its annual celebration.
These occasions have uniformly attracted a highly intelligent and
cultivated audience, having been marked by a display of learning
and eloquence, and having enriched the literature of the country
with some of its brightest gems."--Vol. II. p. 398.
The immediate members of the society at Cambridge were formerly
accustomed to hold semi-monthly meetings, the exercises of which
were such as are usual in literary associations. At present,
meetings are seldom held except for the purpose of electing
members. Affiliated societies have been established at Dartmouth,
Union, and Bowdoin Colleges, at Brown and the Wesleyan
Universities, at the Western Reserve College, at the University of
Vermont, and at Amherst College, and they number among their
members many of the most distinguished men in our country. The
letters which constitute the name of the society are the initials
of its motto, [Greek: Philosophia, Biou Kubernaetaes], Philosophy,
the Guide of Life.
A further account of this society may be found in Allyn's Ritual
of Freemasonry, ed. 1831, pp. 296-302.
PHILISTINE. In Germany this name, or what corresponds to it in
that country, _Philister_, is given by the students to tradesmen
and others not belonging to the university.
Und hat der Bursch kein Geld im Beutel,
So pumpt er die Philister an.
And has the Bursch his cash expended?
To sponge the _Philistine's_ his plan.
_The Crambambuli Song_.
Mr. Halliwell, in his Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words,
says of this word, "a cant term applied to bailiffs, sheriffs'
officers, and drunkards." The idea of narrowmindedness, a
contracted mode of thinking, and meanness, is usually connected
with it, and in some colleges in the United States the name has
been given to those whose characters correspond with this
description.
See SNOB.
PHRASING. Reciting by, or giving the words or phraseology of the
book, without understanding their meaning.
Never should you allow yourself to think of going into the
recitation-room, and there trust to "skinning it," as it is called
in some colleges, or "_phrasing_," as in others.--_Todd's Students
Manual_, p. 115.
PIECE. "Be it known, at Cambridge the various Commons and other
places open for the gymnastic games, and the like public
amusements, are usually denominated _Pieces_."--_Alma Mater_,
London, 1827, Vol. II. p. 49.
PIETAS ET GRATULATIO. On the death of George the Second, and
accession of George the Third, Mr. Bernard, Governor of
Massachusetts, suggested to Harvard College "the expediency of
expressing sympathy and congratulation on these events, in
conformity with the practice of the English universities."
Accordingly, on Saturday, March 14, 1761, there was placed in the
Chapel of Harvard College the following "Proposal for a
Celebration of the Death of the late King, and the Accession of
his present Majesty, by members of Harvard College."
"Six guineas are given for a prize of a guinea each to the Author
of the best composition of the following several kinds:--1. A
Latin Oration. 2. A Latin Poem, in hexameters. 3. A Latin Elegy,
in hexameters and pentameters. 4 A Latin Ode. 5. An English Poem,
in long verse. 6. An English Ode.
"Other Compositions, besides those that obtain the prizes, that
are most deserving, will be taken particular notice of.
"The candidates are to be, all, Gentlemen who are now members of
said College, or have taken a degree within seven years.
"Any Candidate may deliver two or more compositions of different
kinds, but not more than one of the same kind.
"That Gentlemen may be more encouraged to try their talents upon
this occasion, it is proposed that the names of the Candidates
shall be kept secret, except those who shall be adjudged to
deserve the prizes, or to have particular notice taken of their
Compositions, and even these shall be kept secret if desired.
"For this purpose, each Candidate is desired to send his
Composition to the President, on or before the first day of July
next, subscribed at the bottom with, a feigned name or motto, and,
in a distinct paper, to write his own name and seal it up, writing
the feigned name or motto on the outside. None of the sealed
papers containing the real names will be opened, except those that
are adjudged to obtain the prizes or to deserve particular notice;
the rest will be burned sealed."
This proposal resulted in a work entitled, "Pietas et Gratulatio
Collegii Cantabrigiensis apud Novanglos." In January, 1762, the
Corporation passed a vote, "that the collections in prose and
verse in several languages composed by some of the members of the
College, on the motion of his Excellency our Governor, Francis
Bernard, Esq., on occasion of the death of his late Majesty, and
the accession of his present Majesty, be printed; and that his
Excellency be desired to send, if he shall judge it proper, a copy
of the same to Great Britain, to be presented to his Majesty, in
the name of the Corporation."
Quincy thus speaks of the collection:--"Governor Bernard not only
suggested the work, but contributed to it. Five of the thirty-one
compositions, of which it consists, were from his pen. The Address
to the King is stated to have been written by him, or by
Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. Its style and turn of thought
indicate the politician rather than the student, and savor of the
senate-chamber more than of the academy. The classical and poetic
merits of the work bear a fair comparison with those of European
universities on similar occasions, allowance being made for the
difference in the state of science and literature in the
respective countries; and it is the most creditable specimen
extant of the art of printing, at that period, in the Colonies.
The work is respectfully noticed by the 'Critical' and 'Monthly'
Reviews, and an Ode of the President is pronounced by both to be
written in a style truly Horatian. In the address prefixed, the
hope is expressed, that, as 'English colleges have had kings for
their nursing fathers, and queens for their nursing mothers, this
of North America might experience the royal munificence, and look
up to the throne for favor and patronage.' In May, 1763, letters
were received from Jasper Mauduit, agent of the Province,
mentioning 'the presentation to his Majesty of the book of verses
from the College,' but the records give no indication of the
manner in which it was received. The thoughts of George the Third
were occupied, not with patronizing learning in the Colonies, but
with deriving revenue from them, and Harvard College was indebted
to him for no act of acknowledgment or munificence."--_Quincy's
Hist. of Harv. Univ._, Vol. II. pp. 103-105.
The Charleston Courier, in an article entitled "Literary
Sparring," says of this production:--"When, as late as 1761,
Harvard University sent forth, in Greek, Latin, and English, its
congratulations on the accession of George the Third to the
throne, it was called, in England, a curiosity."--_Buckingham's
Miscellanies from the Public Journals_, Vol. I. p. 103.
Mr. Kendall, an English traveller, who visited Cambridge in the
year 1807-8, notices this work as follows:--"In the year 1761, on
the death of George the Second and the accession of his present
Majesty, Harvard College, or, as on this occasion it styles
itself, Cambridge College, produced a volume of tributary verses,
in English, Latin, and Greek, entitled, Pietas et Gratulatio
Collegii Cantabrigiensis apud Novanglos; and this collection, the
first received, and, as it has since appeared, the last to be
received, from this seminary, by an English king, was cordially
welcomed by the critical journals of the time."--_Kendall's
Travels_, Vol. III. p. 12.
For further remarks, consult the Monthly Review, Vol. XXIX. p. 22;
Critical Review, Vol. X. p. 284; and the Monthly Anthology, Vol.
VI. pp. 422-427; Vol. VII. p. 67.
PILL. In English Cantab parlance, twaddle, platitude.--_Bristed_.
PIMP. To do little, mean actions for the purpose of gaining favor
with a superior, as, in college, with an instructor. The verb with
this meaning is derived from the adjective _pimping_, which
signifies _little, petty_.
Did I not promise those who fished
And _pimped_ most, any part they wished.
_The Rebelliad_, p. 33.
PISCATORIAN. From the Latin _piscator_, a fisherman. One who seeks
or gains favor with a teacher by being officious toward him.
This word was much used at Harvard College in the year 1822, and
for a few years after; it is now very seldom heard.
See under FISH.
PIT. In the University of Cambridge, the place in St. Mary's
Church reserved for the accommodation of Masters of Arts and
Fellow-Commoners is jocularly styled the _pit_.--_Grad. ad
Cantab._
PLACE. In the older American colleges, the situation of a student
in the class of which he was a member was formerly decided, in a
measure, by the rank and circumstances of his family; this was
called _placing_. The Hon. Paine Wingate, who graduated at Harvard
College in the year 1759, says, in one of his letters to Mr.
Peirce:--
"You inquire of me whether any regard was paid to a student on
account of the rank of his parent, otherwise than his being
arranged or _placed_ in the order of his class?
"The right of precedence on every occasion is an object of
importance in the state of society. And there is scarce anything
which more sensibly affects the feelings of ambition than the rank
which a man is allowed to hold. This excitement was generally
called up whenever a class in college was _placed_. The parents
were not wholly free from influence; but the scholars were often
enraged beyond bounds for their disappointment in their _place_,
and it was some time before a class could be settled down to an
acquiescence in their allotment. The highest and the lowest in the
class was often ascertained more easily (though not without some
difficulty) than the intermediate members of the class, where
there was room for uncertainty whose claim was best, and where
partiality, no doubt, was sometimes indulged. But I must add,
that, although the honor of a _place_ in the class was chiefly
ideal, yet there were some substantial advantages. The higher part
of the class had generally the most influential friends, and they
commonly had the best chambers in College assigned to them. They
had also a right to help themselves first at table in Commons, and
I believe generally, wherever there was occasional precedence
allowed, it was very freely yielded to the higher of the class by
those who were below.
"The Freshman Class was, in my day at college, usually _placed_
(as it was termed) within six or nine months after their
admission. The official notice of this was given by having their
names written in a large German text, in a handsome style, and
placed in a conspicuous part of the College _Buttery_, where the
names of the four classes of undergraduates were kept suspended
until they left College. If a scholar was expelled, his name was
taken from its place; or if he was degraded (which was considered
the next highest punishment to expulsion), it was moved
accordingly. As soon as the Freshmen were apprised of their
places, each one took his station according to the new arrangement
at recitation, and at Commons, and in the Chapel, and on all other
occasions. And this arrangement was never afterward altered,
either in College or in the Catalogue, however the rank of their
parents might be varied. Considering how much dissatisfaction was
often excited by placing the classes (and I believe all other
colleges had laid aside the practice), I think that it was a
judicious expedient in Harvard to conform to the custom of putting
the names in _alphabetical_ order, and they have accordingly so
remained since the year 1772."--_Peirce's Hist. of Harv. Univ._,
pp. 308-811.
In his "Annals of Yale College," Ebenezer Baldwin observes on the
subject: "Doctor Dwight, soon after his election to the Presidency
[1795], effected various important alterations in the collegiate
laws. The statutes of the institution had been chiefly adopted
from those of European universities, where the footsteps of
monarchical regulation were discerned even in the walks of
science. So difficult was it to divest the minds of wise men of
the influence of venerable follies, that the printed catalogues of
students, until the year 1768, were arranged according to
respectability of parentage."--p. 147.
See DEGRADATION.
PLACET. Latin; literally, _it is pleasing_. In the University of
Cambridge, Eng., the term in which an _affirmative_ vote is given
in the Senate-House.
PLUCK. In the English universities, a refusal of testimonials for
a degree.
The origin of this word is thus stated in the Collegian's Guide:
"At the time of conferring a degree, just as the name of each man
to be presented to the Vice-Chancellor is read out, a proctor
walks once up and down, to give any person who can object to the
degree an opportunity of signifying his dissent, which is done by
plucking or pulling the proctor's gown. Hence another and more
common mode of stopping a degree, by refusing the testamur, or
certificate of proficiency, is also called plucking."--p. 203.
On the same word, the author in another place remarks as follows:
"As long back as my memory will carry me, down to the present day,
there has been scarcely a monosyllable in our language which
seemed to convey so stinging a reproach, or to let a man down in
the general estimation half as much, as this one word PLUCK."--p.
288.
PLUCKED. A cant term at the English universities, applied to those
who, for want of scholarship, are refused their testimonials for a
degree.--_Oxford Guide_.
Who had at length scrambled through the pales and discipline of
the Senate-House without being _plucked_, and miraculously
obtained the title of A.B.--_Gent. Mag._, 1795, p. 19.
O what a misery is it to be _plucked_! Not long since, an
undergraduate was driven mad by it, and committed suicide.--The
term itself is contemptible: it is associated with the meanest,
the most stupid and spiritless animals of creation. When we hear
of a man being _plucked_, we think he is necessarily a
goose.--_Collegian's Guide_, p. 288.
Poor Lentulus, twice _plucked_, some happy day
Just shuffles through, and dubs himself B.A.
_The College_, in _Blackwood's Mag._, May, 1849.
POKER. At Oxford, Eng., a cant name for a _bedel_.
If the visitor see an unusual "state" walking about, in shape of
an individual preceded by a quantity of _pokers_, or, which is the
same thing, men, that is bedels, carrying maces, jocularly called
_pokers_, he may be sure that that individual is the
Vice-Chancellor. _Oxford Guide_, 1847, p. xii.
POLE. At Princeton and Union Colleges, to study hard, e.g. to
_pole_ out the lesson. To _pole_ on a composition, to take pains
with it.
POLER. One who studies hard; a close student. As a boat is
impelled with _poles_, so is the student by _poling_, and it is
perhaps from this analogy that the word _poler_ is applied to a
diligent student.
POLING. Close application to study; diligent attention to the
specified pursuits of college.
A writer defines poling, "wasting the midnight oil in company with
a wine-bottle, box of cigars, a 'deck of eucre,' and three kindred
spirits," thus leaving its real meaning to be deduced from its
opposite.--_Sophomore Independent_, Union College, Nov., 1854.
POLL. Abbreviated from POLLOI.
Several declared that they would go out in "the _Poll_" (among the
[Greek: polloi], those not candidates for honors).--_Bristed's
Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 62.
At Cambridge, those candidates for a degree who do not aspire to
honors are said to go out in the _poll_; this being the
abbreviated term to denote those who were classically designated
[Greek: hoi polloi].--_The English Universities and their
Reforms_, in _Blackwood's Magazine_, Feb. 1849.
POLLOI. [Greek: Hoi Polloi], the many. In the University of
Cambridge, Eng., those who take their degree without any honor.
After residing something more than three years at this University,
at the conclusion of the tenth term comes off the final
examination in the Senate-House. He who passes this examination in
the best manner is called Senior Wrangler. "Then follow about
twenty, all called Wranglers, arranged in the order of merit. Two
other ranks of honors are there,--Senior Optimes and Junior
Optimes, each containing about twenty. The last Junior Optime is
termed the Wooden Spoon. Then comes the list of the large
majority, called the _Hoy Polloi_, the first of whom is named the
_Captain of the Poll_, and the twelve last, the Apostles."--_Alma
Mater_, Vol. I. p. 3.