tly
altered by the invention of printing, which took place about midway
between us and the origin of Universities. A man has not now to go
away to where a professor is actually speaking, because in most cases
he can get his doctrine out of him through a book, and can read it,
and read it again and again, and study it. I don't know that I know of
any way in which the whole facts of a subject may be more completely
taken in, if our studies are moulded in conformity with it.
Nevertheless, Universities have, and will continue to have, an
indispensable value in society--a very high value. I consider the very
highest interests of man vitally intrusted to them.

In regard to theology, as you are aware, it has been the study of the
deepest heads that have come into the world--what is the nature of
this stupendous universe, and what its relations to all things, as
known to man, and as only known to the awful Author of it. In
fact, the members of the Church keep theology in a lively condition
(laughter), for the benefit of the whole population, which is the
great object of our Universities. I consider it is the same now
intrinsically, though very much forgotten, from many causes, and
not so successful as might be wished at all. (A laugh.) It remains,
however, a very curious truth, what has been said by observant people,
that the main use of the Universities in the present age is that,
after you have done with all your classes, the next thing is a
collection of books, a great library of good books, which you proceed
to study and to read. What the Universities have mainly done--what I
have found the University did for me, was that it taught me to read
in various languages and various sciences, so that I could go into the
books that treated of these things, and try anything I wanted to make
myself master of gradually, as I found it suit me. Whatever you may
think of all that, the clearest and most imperative duty lies on
every one of you to be assiduous in your reading; and learn to be good
readers, which is, perhaps, a more difficult thing than you imagine.
Learn to be discriminative in your reading--to read all kinds of
things that you have an interest in, and that you find to be really
fit for what you are engaged in. Of course, at the present time, in a
great deal of the reading incumbent on you you must be guided by the
books recommended to you by your professors for assistance towards the
prelections. And then, when you get o