Page:Convocation Addresses of the Universities of Bombay and Madras.djvu/354

Rh

regulation and stern control of the processes of the mind," says a well-known author, "is indeed the foundation of all that is high and excellent in the formation of character. He who does not earnestly exercise it, but who allows his mind to wander, as it may be led by its own incidental images or casual associations, or by the influence of external things to which he is continually exposed, endangers his highest interests both as an intellectual and moral being."

Gentlemen, the broad fields of thought lie before you all unfenced, and the golden time of youth is yours. Choose your plot of ground with nice discrimination, let its tillage be within the compass of your strength; plough, sow, reap, and fill your arms with the sheaves of an abundant harvest. Be not dismayed at obstacles. The vinegar of perseverance will soften the Alps of difficulty. "With labour and patience," says the Eastern Proverb, "the mulberry leaf becomes satin."

Man and Mind are noble subjects of study.

", ."

The study of human nature on the large scale is as grand and elevating as the study of it on the small scale is petty and debasing. The science of man's nature; the science of his physical peculiarities and geographical distribution; and the sciences which indicate the laws that govern men when grouped in cities and nations deserve your careful study. History, too, "a quarry well worth the hawk," offers to you philosophy illustrated by examples, and the wondrous lessons of mind which moves the mass, of ideas more potent than bayonets. It speaks to you of the justice of an Aristides, the simple life of a Cincinnatus, the respect of a Regulus for his plighted word, the chastity of a Scipio and the virtues of a Cato, and it invites you to a standpoint above the din and excitement of battle, of revolution and of contending human interests, in order that from that vantage ground you may calmly read the mighty lessons of the world's infancy and manhood, and from them gain a clue to the real aim and end of humanity itself. Or, is your bent towards the science of Language? The classification of Languages is the classification of mankind. A scientific analysis of language proves the unity of the human race. "One blood"! What a wealth of brotherhood and kindness lies hid in that short phrase. The Chevalier Bunsen, an able writer and clear thinker on this subject, gives a classification of the languages of men, and, after stating the two possible hypotheses which have been advanced, first of