Page:Convocation Addresses of the Universities of Bombay and Madras.djvu/358



thoughtful steadiness of purpose, and a power of moral resistance which shall prevent your being helplessly swept away by the prevailing floods of fashion, of opinion, of frivolity and of mis-judgment.

Be careful in forming your opinions. An erroneous principle once assumed has the power of misleading even the strongest and best informed minds, and of binding them in chains of iron. All history and experience prove this. Beware especially of the tyranny of prejudice, than which nothing is more certain to warp and distort the mind. Prejudice is the very cancer of the soul.

Rest not, however, in mere knowledge polished, selfish and sterile, but gird your loins like men to translate that knowledge into action, alike for your own good and for the weal of your brother-man. Life demands of us not knowledge only, but action. Appreciate then your position as the teachers of India of the future, and fulfil as well as recognize the responsibilities which that position involves. Be zealous, wise and humble. The greatest philosophers the world has ever seen have spoken of the pursuit of knowledge as but a course between two ignorances, and the acceptance of this truth is itself an evidence of true knowledge, and true knowledge is the parent of humility and of wisdom. "The bough fruit-laden," says Sadi, the Persian poet, "lays its head upon the ground"; and, as a beautiful sonnet from the "Memories of Merton" hath it—
 * "Knowledge is like an errant knight of old,
 * Vaunting his prowess; eager for the fray;
 * Arm'd cap-á-pie; with peacock plumage gay;
 * Self-confident; adventure seeking; bold;
 * He roams throughout the world, ready to hold
 * Tournay against all comers day by day;
 * He enters magic caves without dismay,
 * And views strange sights which others ne'er behold.
 * But wisdom is his meek-eyed lady-love,
 * Whom if he wins not he is nothing worth—
 * Now casting down, her modest eyes on earth,
 * Now heavenward, trustful, she herself doth try,
 * And broodeth o'er her own heart silently,
 * Timid, but constant, patient, as a dove. "

Be students, then, all your lives. Never abandon that honorable title. Select with care not only your professional studies, but also the pursuits of your leisure hours. Love them and reduce their cultivation to a system. Diligently map out your time, and form with care your mental habits. Do everything at its proper season, and you will have time to do everything carefully and well.