著名优秀英语讲话稿.doc

著名优秀英语讲话稿 OFWHATUSEisacollegetraining?Wewhohavehaditseldomhearthequestionraisedmightbealittlenonplussedtoansweritoffhand.AcertainamountofmeditationhasbroughtmetothisasthepithiestreplywhichImyselfcangive:Thebestclaimthatacollegeeducationcanpossiblymakeonyourrespect,thebestthingitcanaspiretoaomplishforyou,isthis:thatitshouldhelpyoutoknowagoodmanwhenyouseehim.Thisisastrueofwomensasofmenscolleges;butthatitisneitherajokenoraone-sidedabstractionIshallnowendeavortoshow. Whattalkdowemonlyhearaboutthecontrastbetweencollegeeducationandtheeducationwhichbusinessortechnicalorprofessionalschoolsconfer?Thecollegeeducationiscalledhigherbecauseitissupposedtobesogeneralandsodisinterested.Attheschoolsyougetarelativelynarrowpracticalskill,youaretold,whereasthecollegesgiveyouthemoreliberalculture,thebroaderoutlook,thehistoricalperspective,thephilosophicatmosphere,orsomethingwhichphrasesofthatsorttrytoexpress.Youaremadeintoanefficientinstrumentfordoingadefinitething,youhear,attheschools;but,apartfromthat,youmayremainacrudeandsmokykindofpetroleum,incapableofspreadinglight.Theuniversitiesandcolleges,ontheotherhand,althoughtheymayleaveyoulessefficientforthisorthatpracticaltask,suffuseyourwholementalitywithsomethingmoreimportantthanskill.Theyredeemyou,makeyouwell-bred;theymakegoodpanyofyoumentally.Iftheyfindyouwithanaturallyboorishorcaddishmind,theycannotleaveyouso,asatechnicalschoolmayleaveyou.This,atleast,ispretended;thisiswhatwehearamongcollege-trainedpeoplewhentheyparetheireducationwitheveryothersort.Now,exactlyhowmuchdoesthissignify? Itiscertain,tobeginwith,thatthenarrowesttradeorprofessionaltrainingdoessomethingmoreforamanthantomakeaskilfulpracticaltoolofhimtmakeshimalsoajudgeofothermensskill.Whetherhistradebepleadingatthebarorsurgeryorplasteringorplumbing,itdevelopsacriticalsenseinhimforthatsortofoupation.Heunderstandsthedifferencebetweensecond-rateandfirst-rateworkinhiswholebranchofindustry;hegetstoknowagoodjobinhisownlineassoonasheseesit;andgettingtoknowthisinhisownline,hegetsafaintsenseofwhatgoodworkmaymeananyhow,thatmay,ifcircumstancesfavor,spreadintohisjudgmentselsewhere.Soundwork,cleanwork,finishedwork;feeblework,slackwork,shamworkhesewordsexpressanidenticalcontrastinmanydifferentdepartmentsofactivity.Insofarforth,then,eventhehumblestmanualtrademaybegetinoneacertainsmalldegreeofpowertojudgeofgoodworkgenerally. Now,whatissupposedtobethelineofuswhohavethehighercollegetraining?Isthereanybroaderlineinceoureducationclaimsprimarilynottobenarrownwhichwealsoaremadegoodjudgesbetweenwhatisfirst-rateandwhatissecond-rateonly?Whatisespeciallytaughtinthecollegeshaslongbeenknownbythenameofthehumanities,andtheseareoftenidentifiedwithGreekandLatin.Butitisonlyasliteratures,notaslanguages,thatGreekandLatinhaveanygeneralhumanity-value;sothatinabroadsensethehumanitiesmeanliteratureprimarily,andinastillbroadersensethestudyofmasterpiecesinalmostanyfieldofhumanendeavor.Literaturekeepstheprimacy;foritnotonlyconsistsofmasterpiecesbutislargelyaboutmasterpieces,beinglittlemorethananappreciativechronicleofhumanmaster-strokes,sofarasittakestheformofcriticismandhistory.Youcangivehumanisticvaluetoalmostanythingbyreachingithistorically.Geology,economics,mechanics,arehumanitieswhentaughtwithreferencetothesuessiveachievementsofthegeniusestowhichthesesciencesowetheirbeing.Nottaughtthus,literatureremainsgrammar,artacatalogue,historyalistofdates,andnaturalscienceasheetofformulasandweightsandmeasures. Thesiftingofhumancreations!othinglessthanthisiswhatweoughttomeanbythehumanities.Essentiallythismeansbiography;whatourcollegesshouldteachis,therefore,biographicalhistory,thatnotofpoliticsmerely,butofanythingandeverythingsofarashumaneffortsandconquestsarefactorsthathaveplayedtheirpart.Studyinginthisway,welearnwhattypesofactivityhavestoodthetestoftime;weacquirestandardsoftheexcellentanddurable.Allourartsandsciencesandinstitutionsarebutsomanyquestsofperfectiononthepartofmen;andwhenweseehowdiversethetypesofexcellencemaybe,howvariousthetests,howflexibletheadaptations,wegainarichersenseofwhatthetermsbetterandworsemaysignifyingeneral.Ourcriticalsensibilitiesgrowbothmoreacuteandlessfanatical.Wesympathizewithmensmistakesevenintheactofperatingthem;wefeelthepathosoflostcausesandmisguidedepochsevenwhileweapplaudwhatovercamethem. Suchwordsarevagueandsuchideasareinadequate,buttheirmeaningisunmistakable.Whatthecollegeseachinghumanitiesbyexampleswhichmaybespecial,butwhichmustbetypicalandpregnanthouldatleasttrytogiveus,isageneralsenseofwhat,undervariousdisguises,superiorityhasalwayssignifiedandmaystillsignify.Thefeelingforagoodhumanjobanywhere,theadmirationofthereallyadmirablethedisesteemofwhatischeapandtrashyandimpermanenthisiswhatwecallthecriticalsense,thesenseforidealvalues.Itisthebetterpartofwhatmenknowaswisdom.Someofusarewiseinthiswaynaturallyandbygenius;someofusneverbeeso.Buttohavespentonesyouthatcollege,incontactw